Three-Run Frame Not Enough for Sacramento Against Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Trailing by one run heading into the ninth on Thursday, the Sacramento River Cats had nearly sent the contest into extra innings but saw the game’s tying run thrown out trying to advance resulting in a 4-3 win for the Albuquerque Isotopes.

All scoring in the game was contained within two innings, with the Isotopes (42-57) finally breaking through in the third with four runs. That came after Bryce Johnson cut down a run at the plate in the first with an excellent throw from right field, and River Cats’ (44-54) starter Kai-Wei Teng stranded another pair of base runners in the second.

Consecutive doubles started the home half of the third for Albuquerque, leaving runners at second and third to score on a subsequent three-run homer by Cole Tucker that just cleared the wall in left field. That was the first home run allowed by Teng in his time with Sacramento.

A pair of flyouts had Teng one out from escaping the inning, but a single that deflected off the glove of Teng kept the inning alive for Jonathan Morales who hit the third Isotopes’ double of the inning that scored Morales from first.

In the fifth inning the Sacramento offense started to awaken, and it came with a jolt as Jakson Reetz mashed his second Sacramento home run on a 2-2 pitch out to left field. In the very next at-bat, Donovan Walton continued the power with his own solo shot to left center on a 1-0 pitch, the third time this season that the River Cats have homered in consecutive at-bats. The last instance came when Luis Matos and Brett Wisely did so during the third inning of an 18-2 victory on June 11 over Las Vegas.

Seemingly heading for a bigger inning after a single and walk put a pair on, a double play quickly changed the outlook of the frame. With a runner at third, a hard-hit ball to third base by Bryce Johnson was misplayed for an error, resulting in the run scoring.

Outside of that third inning, Teng looked sharp as he allowed just three hits in the other four frames. He closed his line having allowed four runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings, striking out three and walking two in the process.

Nick Swiney and Erik Miller were tasked with keeping the contest separated by only a run, a task they accomplished as Swiney went 2.0 innings with two hits and two punchouts while Miller faced the minimum despite allowing a hit with one strikeout. For Miller, he has allowed just a single run on the road in 15.0 innings of work for a 0.60 ERA.

The Sacramento bats cooled down until their final trip to the dish, putting the tying run on base thanks to a walk by Reetz. Down to their final out, Ricardo Genoves hit a high fly ball that ended up falling for a single in shallow left field thanks to the no-doubles defense by Albuquerque. Trying to score all the way from first was Reetz, but he was thrown out trying to score which preserved the 5-4 victory for the Isotopes.

Finishing off the contest for the Isotopes was Tommy Doyle, his second of the series and fifth of the season, striking out one during the ninth. It secured the win for Albuquerque starter Josh Rogers (3-6), who allowed two earned runs (three total) on four hits in 5.0 innings.

All five Sacramento hits came from different bats, which included the pair of home runs by Reetz and Walton. It was the ninth time this year that Sacramento had homered in the same inning, and Walton became the 14th River Cat to homer in back-to-back games. Staying hot in July was Armando Alvarez, as his single gave him a hit in 13 out of 17 games this month.

Sacramento will aim to level the series when the teams take the diamond tomorrow, with first pitch of game four scheduled for 5:35 p.m. PT.