Cats Walk-Off Winners Again, Win Seventh Straight Game

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Running out of time while down by two in the series finale, the Sacramento River Cats saw Bryce Eldridge blast a three-run homer in the eighth but still needed a single from Osleivis Basabe in the ninth to earn their second walk-off win in as many days, giving Sacramento a six-game series sweep of the Sugar Land Space Cowboys behind a 4-3 final on Sunday.

For a second straight day the River Cats (24-15/60-54) picked up a walk-off win over the Space Cowboys (14-22/53-58) by a 4-3 final, but it was Sacramento’s third of the series after snatching game one on Tuesday by a 10-9 final in 10 innings.

Today it was Basabe who played the hero with two outs in the ninth, fighting off a pitch to the opposite field with a flare shot that landed just in front of the right fielder. Scoring on the play was Luciano, who had singled at the start of the inning. Charged with the loss was Tayler Scott (1-2), who had a tough series after being credited with the blown save on Tuesday.

It was a roller coaster to get to that point, however, as the River Cats had experienced the joys of a comeback and nearly the despair of a late-game loss. Down 2-0 after a trio doubles resulted in a pair of runs during the second inning for the Space Cowboys, the bottom of the eighth contained a similar recipe for Sacramento to spark the comeback on Tuesday.

A pair of batters reached consecutively in the frame, as Osleivis Basabe worked a long at-bat that ended in a walk while Tyler Fitzgerald doubled to left center that had a pair on base for Bryce Eldridge. San Francisco’s No. 1 prospect delivered in the clutch yet again, winning a challenge on a potential strike three that extended his at-bat to a full count and allowed him to smash a fastball the opposite direction for a go-ahead three-run homer. Five of Eldridge’s 12 home runs this season have given Sacramento the lead (one game-tying homer).

Entering on a rehab assignment was Erik Miller (W, 1-0; BS, 1), who had collected 14 saves for Sacramento when he last pitched in Triple-A during 2023. However, Miller allowed a pair of hits, the last of which was a double into the gap that scored the tying run when the Space Cowboys were down to their final strike. However, thanks to Basabe he left with his first Triple-A win since July 22, 2023.

Eldridge had just the one hit four trips, but it was a big one that allowed the River Cats to fight for their seventh consecutive victory. Sacramento has won seven games in a row for the second time this season, the last of which was from June 29 against Oklahoma City through July 6 in Reno against the Aces.

That stretch featured a six-game winning streak over the Aces, but it was split into a pair of three-game sets in Sacramento (July 1-3) and Reno (July 4-6). That means this series was the first six-game series sweep for the River Cats since Triple-A moved to the six-game format at the beginning of the 2021 season.

Basabe had two hits in three at-bats during the game, scoring and walking once in addition to his game-winning hit. Jesus Rodriguez had his first two-hit game as a River Cat, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk. Fitzgerald’s only hit was his double in the eighth, while Logan Porter was 1-for-4.

Sacramento will look to keep up the winning streak on Tuesday when they face off against the Round Rock Express at Dell Diamond beginning at 5:05 p.m. (PT).