Black Strong Early, Offense Clicks in 8-4 Win for Kitties

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – For a second straight game the Sacramento River Cats jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but this time it stuck all the way through as Sacramento was able to outlast the Albuquerque Isotopes with an 8-4 win on Wednesday evening.

After leaving a pair of runners on in the first, the River Cats (15-20/59-51) officially broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third, using the first two batters of the inning to do so. Wade Meckler got things going with a double into right center and Grant McCray followed with a single putting runners at the corners, both of which would score on a Trenton Brooks sacrifice fly and Brett Auerbach RBI single.

Continuing to add on in the fifth, McCray laced a triple into the left-center gap to leadoff the frame, scoring in the next at-bat on a double from David Villar. Meanwhile, Brooks added a second sacrifice fly for the other run.

Sacramento had the chance to pull in front due to starter Mason Black (5-5), who did not allow a hit through five innings of work He retired each of the first 10 Isotopes (15-20/41-69) he faced until a one-out walk in the fourth to Jordan Beck snapped that streak, striking out two along the way.

It wasn’t until the sixth when he lost the shutout bid, allowing a pair of solo home runs to Beck and Connor Kaiser, the latter of the pair hitting his first with one away in the frame before Beck struck two batters later.

However, the River Cats added back onto the lead in the seventh with an Auerbach double into left field that immediately followed a Brooks single. Later in the eighth, it was the duo of Meckler and McCray doing damage as the former tallied an RBI single while the latter brought home a run on a double. That left McCray just a home run shy of the cycle, but he does have a hit in 13 consecutive games and is batting.333 (19-for-57) over the streak.

Logging hits in each of his first four at-bats was Donovan Walton, which when combined with his four-hit day yesterday gave Walton hits in eight consecutive at-bats to begin the series. Today he worked in a walk over that time, meaning he had reached base safely in nine consecutive plate appearances. That just tops the seven consecutive at-bats in which Bryce Johnson logged a hit last year, going 6-for-6 on Aug. 15, 2023 before earning a hit in his first trip to the plate on Aug. 16.

Though he was struck for a pair of homers, Black earned his fifth win of the year after he allowed just the two runs on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts, finishing 6.0 innings for a second consecutive start. Clay Helvey took the baton from Black and was perfect over two innings while collecting his third hold.

Both McCray and Meckler were 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and a double, but the former drove in a pair of runs and also had a three-bagger compared to only one for Meckler. Additionally, both Brooks and Auerbach had a pair of knocks and RBI, with Auerbach also mixing in a double.

Having snapped a four-game losing streak and leveling the series at one game apiece, the River Cats will look to take an edge in the series when these two teams line up for game three on Thursday at 5:35 p.m. (PT).