Sacramento sputters to fourth straight loss

The Sacramento River Cats (40-60) lost their fourth straight on Sunday afternoon as they came up short against the Tacoma Rainiers (51-50) by a score of 7-4.

Matt Gage got off to a rough start and was unable to get into a groove this afternoon. The lefty did not strike out a batter on Sunday and walked four, as the Rainiers jumped out to a 5-1 lead against him. The bullpen failed to hold Tacoma down either as Derek Law and Dusten Knight came on in relief of Gage. The two right-handers combined to toss 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks while striking the only two batters of the game.
The River Cats offense played catch-up all afternoon as they trailed from the first inning on. The bottom of the order lead the way for Sacramento, accounting for six of their eight hits and two of their four RBI. Time Federowicz and Juan Ciriaco each notched a multi-hit game, but the River Cats could not close the gap, and took the loss 7-4.
Sacramento will finish up their season series with Tacoma tomorrow afternoon behind right-hander Tyler Beede (6-7, 4.79). Tacoma will counter with lefty Marco Gonzales (0-0, 0.00), who will be making his first start with Tacoma this season. First pitch is set for 11:35 a.m. (PT) and the game can be heard live on the air on ESPN 1320 and online at rivercats.com.
Postgame Notes
Gage: After coming in on July 18 in relief of Albert Suárez, Matt Gage made his first start since July 13…the lefty struggled to find consistency, as he went 4.2 innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits, walked four and did not strike out a better…threw a total of 94 pitches and just 55 for strikes.
FedEx Delivering: Tim Federowicz went 3-for-4 in this afternoon's game with two doubles and an RBI…is hitting .467 7-for-15 with four RBI during his current four-game hitting streak.
Strikouts: River Cats pitchers struck out just two batters Sunday, a season-low…River Cats hitters, meanwhile, struck out seven times, including two each by Jarrett Parker, Ryder Jones, and Justin Ruggiano.
Lolli Leading Off: In his first game leading off for the River Cats this season, Ryan Lollis went 0-for-3 with an RBI and a walk…since joining Sacramento on July 3, Lollis has hit in six different spots in the order.
*
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. River Cats Season Tickets, Mini-Plans, and Flex Plans can be purchased for the 2017 season by calling the River Cats Ticket Hotline at (916) 371-HITS (4487). For more information about the River Cats, visit www.rivercats.com. For information on other events at Raley Field, visit www.raleyfield.com.