Cats Take Fourth Straight with Seven Unanswered

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – First pitch had to wait nearly an hour after a rainy day forced a delayed start to game five, but the Sacramento River Cats stayed ready to play as they scored seven unanswered runs from the third through the eighth as they clinched an 8-2 victory over the El Paso Chihuahuas.

Each of the first three runs of the game scored via a sacrifice fly, starting in the first as both the Chihuahuas (6-8) and the River Cats (9-5) traded an out for a run with a fly ball to the outfield. For El Paso it was Nate Moundou doing the honors, while Sacramento countered with one from Trenton Brooks.

Sacramento starter Spencer Howard was able to limit the first to just a single run when it appeared as if the Chihuahuas were set for a big start to the game, loading the bases with each of the first three batters thanks to a pair of walks in front of a Graham Pauley single. Meanwhile, the River Cats also had the bases loaded with their swings in the first, but neither team could fully capitalize.

El Paso jumped back in front during the second, using another sacrifice fly when Kevin Plawecki scored on a ball to left field from Clay Dungan.

It took an extra inning for the River Cats to respond, but they were able to knot the game in the third with the first run of the game that did not come from a sacrifice fly. David Villar reached base when he was hit by a pitch with one out, then advanced all the way to third on a single into left-center from Trenton Brooks. That put him in perfect position to score on a single from Casey Schmitt, as he ripped a ball into right field that leveled the score at 2-2.

During the bottom of the fourth the River Cats took their first lead of the contest, and scoring the eventual winning run was Heliot Ramos. With one out he laced a two-bagger into center, advanced to third on a groundout, and finally scored thanks to a Marco Luciano single into right center.

Insurance came in the seventh thanks to a four-run frame, with the centerpiece of the inning a two-RBI triple from Ismael Munguia. Both Villar and Brooks reached base, the former on a single while the latter reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt, setting up Schmitt to collect another RBI in the contest thanks to a single into left. Two batters later is when Munguia struck, and the last run of the inning scored on a sacrifice fly from Donovan Walton.

The game’s final run came during Sacramento’s last at-bat in the eighth, as a walk to Brett Wisely came back to hurt El Paso when a wild pitch moved him into scoring position where he scored on a Luciano single through the right side.

Sacramento starter Spencer Howard danced around danger in his early innings but only allowed two runs on four hits in 3.2 innings of work with two walks and three strikeouts. Taking the win was the newly added Clay Helvey (1-0), who hurled 2.1 relief innings while punching out three and yielding only one hit.

Right-hander Randy Rodriguez and lefty Juan Sanchez kept the scoreless relief streak going, as Rodriguez went 1.0 inning with one hit allowed while Sanchez was nearly perfect through 2.0 innings with a pair of strikeouts while walking one. For Rodriguez, he has still yet to allow a run of any kind in 2024, as he has now worked 4.2 combined innings over five appearances while allowing just two hits.

Charged with the loss for El Paso was starter Randy Vasquez (0-2), who was tagged for three runs one five hits with three walks and six strikeouts.

A trio of River Cats had multi-hit games consisting of Luciano, Schmitt, and Brooks, with the former two driving in a pair each while the latter had one of his own. Munguia also had his own pair of RBI, while Ramos extended his hitting streak to six games with a 1-for-2 effort with two runs scored and a double.

This six-game set between Sacramento and El Paso will come to a close tomorrow, with first pitch of game six set for 1:05 p.m. from Sutter Health Park.