Ramos, Bart Blast Sacramento to Victory

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Home runs provided five of the six runs scored by the Sacramento River Cats on Wednesday, as a solo homer by Heliot Ramos and the second grand slam of the season by Joey Bart powered Sacramento to a 6-2 game two win over the Albuquerque Isotopes.

Entering the home half of the sixth, the River Cats (56-71) found themselves in a 2-0 hole after the Isotopes (56-72) scored once in each of the first two frames. A game-opening double by Wynton Bernard led to the first run of the contest after he scored only two batters later on an RBI single by Coco Montes, while insurance came in the second on an RBI groundout by Roman Quinn.

That score held after a great relay by the River Cats in the top of the sixth, as a ball that was hit by Montes caromed off the wall away from both Fitzgerald and left fielder Trenton Brooks. Chasing down the ball was Fitzgerald, who started a pair of perfect throws that concluded with a strike to home plate by Johan Camargo that made it just in time to keep Montes from an inside-the-park home run.

A loud crack of the bat put Sacramento onto the scoreboard for the first time in the bottom of the inning as Ramos hammered an opposite-field home run in his first game back to Sacramento that sailed over the bullpens and into the lawn area in right-center field. That marked his 10th homer of the campaign with the River Cats, making him the sixth to hit multiple home runs in a River Cats uniform this year.

Moving into the seventh, Sacramento loaded the bases with a single by Fitzgerald in front of walks to Brooks and Ramos. Forcing home the tying run was a third consecutive walk, the last issued by Chance Adams (5-3) to David Villar that knotted the score at 2-2.

Locked in a new ballgame with the bases still loaded and one out, up to the plate stepped Bart who unloaded on the first pitch he saw, sending it 438 feet over the wall in left field for his second grand slam of the season. His first bases-loaded four-bagger came back on June 29 in an 8-4 victory over the Reno Aces. This grand slam was not only the third of his career, including one he hit as a member of Salem-Keizer on July 9, 2018, but tied him for the team lead in grand slams along with Jakson Reetz.

Bart's blast represented the game’s final runs as the duo of Randy Rodriguez and Erik Miller each went a hitless frame, as Rodriguez struck out the side with one walk while Miller faced the minimum three batters and punched out one.

That preserved the victory for John Brebbia (1-0), who captured the win in the first appearance of his current rehab assignment with Sacramento. Brebbia had found himself in a bit of a jam with a leadoff single and a one-out walk, while a throwing error later in the inning put runners at the edges. However, Brebbia found his groove and struck out the last two hitters of the frame.

Brebbia had taken the baton from starter Kai-Wei Teng, who was responsible for the two Albuquerque runs despite only one being earned. Still, it was a quality start for Teng (only the third of the season by a Sacramento hurler) as he lasted 6.0 innings and allowed four hits while fanning seven with only one walk.

Of the seven Sacramento knocks, only Bart produced a multi-hit contest by going 2-for-4 that included his grand slam. Additionally, Ramos finished 1-for-3 but scored twice after drawing a pair of free passes.

Both sides will try to take an edge in the series when they line up for game three tomorrow, with first pitch from Sutter Health Park tossed at 6:45 p.m.