Reno, NV. - The Reno Aces lost a tough one to the Sacramento River Cats by a score of 7-6 in the series opener at Greater Nevada Field. Angel Franco and Kristopher Negrón led the offense, Franco going 3-for-4 and Negron going 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit home run in the seventh
Reno, NV. - The Reno Aces lost a tough one to the Sacramento River Cats by a score of 7-6 in the series opener at Greater Nevada Field. Angel Franco and Kristopher Negrón led the offense, Franco going 3-for-4 and Negron going 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning. Matt Koch got the start, delivering six innings of three-run baseball. Erik Davis took the loss, allowing two runs in the top of the ninth inning.
Sacramento got into the scoring column first, plating two runs in the top half of the second inning. Chris Shaw started the inning off with a double to left field. Jae-Gyunn Hwang followed with a single to left to put runners on the corners with no outs. Tim Federowicz singled home Shaw to give the River Cats their first lead of the ballgame. Juniel Querecuto finished off the inning with a sharp line drive into right field, scoring Hwang and giving Sacramento a 2-0.
Reno and Sacramento exchanged runs in the second, third and fourth innings to bring the score to 3-2 in favor of the visitors. After two scoreless innings from both sides, each offense came alive. The River Cats plated a single run in the top of the 7th thanks to back-to-back singles from Conor Gillaspie and Mac Williamson. Reno responded with fury, sending eight runners to the plate. Angel Franco got the inning started with a ground ball through the infield. Evan Marzilli drove in Franco with his first Triple-A triple of the season, narrowing the Sacramento lead to just one. John Ryan Murphy tied things up with a single, scoring Marzilli and sending Negron to the plate in place of Kaleb Fleck. Negron launched his 11th big fly of the season, and the Aces third pinch-hit homer of the season, giving Reno a 6-4 advantage.
Sacramento scored one in the top of the eighth, but Reno still held a one-run lead with just three outs to get. Reliever Erik Davis entered in the top of the 9th inning looking for his third save of the season. Williamson greeted Davis with a game-tying home run. After a Hwang walk, Juan Ciriaco singled home Hwang and gave the River Cats the lead they needed to hold off the Aces.
The loss moves Reno to a record to 69-54 on the season with 19 games left to play. The Aces will take on the San Francisco Giants top affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats three more time before welcoming the Fresno Grizzlies to town. Tickets are on-sale now at www.renoaces.com or by calling (775) 334-4700. Follow the club all season long on Twitter (@Aces) or like the team on Facebook.
