Sacramento Offense Drives Game Two Victory Over Las Vegas 

SUMMERLIN, Nev. – Offense continued to be the theme for the Sacramento River Cats on Wednesday, scoring nine runs in a winning effort for a second consecutive game over the Las Vegas Aviators, this time by a 9-6 final.

For the fifth time this season the River Cats (60-73) logged 17 hits or more, and started the scoring from the jump with a pair of runs in the first. It took just two batters to start the scoring, as Tyler Fitzgerald singled and then scored on a subsequent Trenton Brooks knock into left center. Brooks later scored a run of his own when he was driven in by a knock by Luis Gonzalez.

During the home half of the inning, the Aviators responded with separate solo home runs, the first from Tyler Wade in leadoff fashion while Yohel Pozo hit his with two outs on a 3-2 pitch.

Sacramento returned the favor in the second, as Fitzgerald roped a solo homer to left field that put the River Cats back on top. A walk to Brooks and single by Heliot Ramos represented the other runs in the frame, both scoring on a double from David Villar to center field which ended up putting the River Cats in front for good.

Their cushion got bigger with a run in both the fourth and fifth, starting with a Villar blast as he began the fourth while Bryce Johnson delivered an RBI single to left in the fifth that scored Ramos. Those runs proved crucial when the Aviators drew close thanks to a three-run homer by Kyle McCann, capitalizing on a walk by Brett Harris and a single by Cody Thomas.

A pair of Las Vegas doubles cut the lead to just one in the home half of the sixth, as Conner Capel’s leadoff double came around to plate a run with two away in the inning when he traded places with Wade.

Finally in the eighth the River Cats were able to find more insurance runs, as Armando Alvarez put himself in scoring position after a leadoff single by stealing second base before ultimately crossing the plate on Brooks’ RBI single to center field. For good measure they pushed across one final run in the ninth, scoring courtesy of an error after a bunt single by Wisely.

Aiding the offense late was a pair of solid relief appearances by Melvin Adon (2-6) and Erik Miller, starting with Adon as he was the only pitcher on either side in the contest to work a clean inning by doing so in the eighth. Adon then flipped the ball to Miller, who overcame an error and walk by punching out two of the final three hitters for his team-leading 10th save of the year. He is now the first River Cats pitcher to earn double-digit saves since Fernando Abad had 13 in the 2019 campaign.

In what was already a solid game offensively for the River Cats, Sacramento left some on the table as they stranded 18 runners on base, setting a new franchise record for a nine-inning contest. The previous record was 17, done twice with the last occurrence on July 1, 2015 in a 4-3 win at home over the Salt Lake Bees.

Each of the first eight spots in the Sacramento lineup recorded a hit, which included a trio of three-hit games from Fitzgerald, Villar, and Luis Gonzalez. Fitzgerald and Villar were each 3-for-6 with a home run, though Villar drove in three runs to the one of Fitzgerald. Meanwhile, Gonzalez also drove in one while ending 3-for-4 with a pair of walks.

The River Cats will attempt to win their third straight when they take the field of Las Vegas Ballpark tomorrow, battling the Aviators in game three with first pitch starting at 7:05 p.m.