River Cats cannot solve Aviators as bullpen falters again

West Sacramento, Calif. - The Sacramento River Cats (6-8) blasted three home runs on Thursday evening but would drop another late inning heartbreaker to Las Vegas (13-2) by a final of 9-6.
It took the River Cats' offense until the fifth to get going, but once they got rolling they made things interesting in a hurry. Trailing 5-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, the River Cats used back-to-back homers from outfielder Henry Ramos and shortstop Abiatal Avelino to climb within two runs. The next inning, Aramis Garcia hit the River Cats' third homer of the night to tie things up, and they would take a 6-5 lead into the eighth inning.
The River Cats held a one-run lead after seven innings in each of the three games this series, but as they did on Tuesday and Wednesday, Las Vegas would storm back against the Sacramento bullpen. The defense shared the blame in this one, however, as three errors led to three unearned runs which doomed the River Cats.
Righty Enderson Franco (0-0, 9.45) will look for his first victory of the season as the River Cats play host to the Salt Lake Bees for a four-game series. The Bees will throw right-hander Alex Klonowski (0-1, 7.88). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. (PT). Catch all of the action live online at rivercats.com, on the MiLB First Pitch app, or on Money 105.5 FM.
Additional Notes

• Henry Ramos and Abaital Avelino hit back to back homers in the fifth inning. This is the second time this season the River Cats have achieved this feat. Avelino hit the second home run in both cases.
• Abiatal Avelino stole his second base on the season, taking control of the team lead for stolen bases. The River Cats now have five stolen bases on the season, three coming in the last two days.
• Sacramento's three errors on Thursday gave them 20 this season which leads the Pacific Coast League.

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The Sacramento River Cats are the Triple-A affiliate of the three-time World Champion San Francisco Giants. The team plays at Raley Field in West Sacramento, consistently voted one of the top ballparks in America. Season Tickets, Mini-Plans, and Flex Plans can be purchased for the River Cats' 20th season by calling the River Cats Ticket Hotline at (916) 371-HITS (4487). The only place to guarantee official River Cats tickets is at www.rivercats.com. For information on other events at Raley Field, visit www.raleyfield.com.