Sacramento Snaps Slump, Slugs Bees 11-8

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento River Cats snapped their offensive slump in a big way on Friday evening, producing four-straight multi-run frames that culminated in a grand slam to help Sacramento sting the Salt Lake Bees by an 11-8 final.

It was the Bees (9-10) that started the scoring, plating one in the first thanks to the first Triple-A hit and RBI for Korey Holland. Salt Lake tacked on two more in the away half of the second, the first crossing on a Mitchell Daly Sacrifice fly, which was also his first Triple-A RBI. Meanwhile, the other was allowed to score on a bases loaded balk from River Cats (10-9) starter Kyle Harrison.

A three-run fourth by the River Cats took Harrison off the hook for the loss, and it took just two batters into the frame for Sacramento to reach the scoreboard thanks to consecutive doubles from Grant McCray and Marco Luciano. David Villar singled two batters later, which extended his team-best hitting streak to eight games and also drove home Luciano from second. Two batters later and the game was tied on the third double of the inning, this time from Max Stassi that allowed Villar to score from first.

Two runs in the fifth gave Sacramento a lead they would never relinquish, both runs crossing on a double into left center from Sergio Alcántara, scoring Brett Auerbach and Luciano on the play.

While the Bees claimed a run back in the top of the sixth after four consecutive walks by Sacramento reliever Carson Ragsdale (2-2), the River Cats offense went back to work with another pair of runs in the home half of the frame on yet another double from McCray, this time scoring Stassi and Hunter Bishop.

Once again, the Bees tried to fight their way back, scoring twice in the seventh with their own two-run double, this from Mitchell Daly as he finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI.

Those runs would hardly matter as the River Cats nearly put the game out of reach in the bottom of the frame, doing so on one swing of the bat from Osleivis Basabe as he crushed a grand slam that rang off the left field foul pole on a 1-0 offering. It was the first Sacramento slam since Donovan Walton did so last season on July 21, 2024 vs. Albuquerque.

The game’s final runs were pushed across in the ninth when the Bees persisted until their final out, stringing together three straight hits to start the inning that featured an RBI double from Yolmer Sánchez. However, Justin Garza was eventually able to shut the door by striking out the final three hitters he faced.

Despite allowing eight runs the pitching staff had the strikeout stuff working, starting with Harrison who sliced up seven while walking two and allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits in 4.0 innings. Ragsdale took over in relief and yielded a run on no hits and four walks, ultimately capturing his second win of the year. Both Miguel Díaz and Tristan Beck earned a hold, the latter of which went 1.2 perfect frames while striking out four of the five hitters he faced.

As a squad, Sacramento struck out a season-high tying 17 hitters for a second straight night and have struck out double-digit batters in 12 of 19 games this season (63.2 percent). The River Cats have struck out 13 or more batters in three consecutive games for the first time since they did so in four straight games from June 13-16, 2023 at Sugar Land (56 total), and have also struck out 15 or more batters in consecutive games for the first time since they did so in 2024 on May 16 (15) and May 17 (16).

Luciano paced the River Cats in hits with his second three-hit game of the year, and along with McCray became the third and fourth River Cats to tally a pair of doubles in a single game. Basabe led the team in RBI with four thanks to the grand slam, while both McCray and Alcántara added a pair.

This win evens the series at two games apiece, and both teams will look to gain an edge in game five of this set on Saturday at 6:37 p.m. (PT) from Sutter Health Park.