Dean homers, River Cats drop Saturday day game “at” Reno 

West Sacramento, Calif. — Two runs and a homer by center fielder Austin Dean was not enough to lift the Sacramento River Cats (61-77) to victory as they fell 8-4 “at” the Reno Aces (77-61) on Saturday.

Dean wasted no time making an impact, leading the game off with a single.

After advancing to third on a double by second baseman Jason Krizan, Dean scored on a wild pitch for the game’s first run. Left fielder Jason Vosler promptly doubled the River Cats’ lead with an RBI groundout.

The teams traded zeros in the second before Dean again kicked off a two-run inning with a towering home run in the third. The 28-year-old lined an 0-1 change-up from righty Edwin Uceta 378 feet for his 17th big fly of the season (106.5 MPH exit velocity).

Three batters later, designated hitter Yermín Mercedes lined a double to plate Krizan to make it 4-0.

Sacramento was perfect through 3.2 innings before a bunt single by Reno center fielder Dominic Fletcher broke up the bid for history. Six pitches later, designated hitter Leandro Cedeno launched a two-run shot off righty Norwith Gudino for his first career Triple-A homer.

One inning later, Reno plated three runs off lefty Joey Marciano (4-2) to take a 5-4 lead.

Right-hander Wei-Chieh Huang (2-2, 4.53) will try to earn the series split with a win on Sunday. He’ll take on righty Brandon Pfaadt (4-0, 2.52) at 1:05 p.m. (PT). Listen to the game online at rivercats.com or on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

• Righty Trevor Hildenberger, who opened the game with a strikeout in a perfect inning on Saturday, extended the franchise record as the 93rd player for Sacramento this season.
• Despite Reno being the home team, the game was played at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for the third consecutive day. The series finale is set to move back to Greater Nevada Field on Sunday.