Díaz, Dean homer as River Cats drop Crawford’s rehab debut to Rainiers

Rainiers 5, River Cats 2

Rehabbing San Francisco shortstop Brandon Crawford throws to first during his rehab assignment with the Sacramento River Cats (8/2/22). (Caleb Hanna)

By Maverick Pallack

August 3, 2022

West Sacramento, Calif. — Two solo home runs were not enough to power the Sacramento River Cats (42-58) to a series-opening victory vs the Tacoma Rainiers (44-55) as they fell 5-2 on Tuesday. Right fielder Austin Dean opened the scoring in the second with a towering 436-foot solo shot to

West Sacramento, Calif. — Two solo home runs were not enough to power the Sacramento River Cats (42-58) to a series-opening victory vs the Tacoma Rainiers (44-55) as they fell 5-2 on Tuesday.

Right fielder Austin Dean opened the scoring in the second with a towering 436-foot solo shot to center field for his 12th big fly of the season (106.3 MPH exit velocity).

After Tacoma took a 4-1 lead in the seventh, three runs coming on center fielder Forrest Wall’s go-ahead shot, second baseman Isan Díaz made it 4-2 with another rocket.

Díaz tied current San Francisco infielder David Villar with his team-leading 21st homer of the season, lining a solo home run 386 feet to right field (110.5 MPH exit velocity).

Reigning PCL Pitcher of the Week, right-hander Tristan Beck (4-7), had a solid start despite receiving the loss. The 26-year-old struck out four while allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk in 6.0 innings.

Rehabbing San Francisco infielder Brandon Crawford started his first rehab game for Sacramento, playing 5.0 innings at shortstop while going 0-for-1 with a walk. Crawford met with the media pregame. The transcript is available here.

Righty Wei-Chieh Huang (0-2, 7.85) will try to stop the skid with a victory in his first start since returning from the injured list. He’ll take on righty Konner Wade (3-3, 5.23) at 12:05 p.m. (PT). Listen to Johnny Doskow call the game online at rivercats.com or on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

Catcher Andrew Knapp, who won PCL Player of the Week last week, went 2-for-4 with a double on Tuesday. The Roseville, California native is 13-for-31 (.419) with seven runs, three doubles, four home runs, 11 RBIs, and a 1.358 OPS in eight games for Sacramento.
Center fielder Shane Matheny singled again on Tuesday. The 26-year-old is 3-for-13 (.231) in three games since joining the River Cats on July 30.
Right-hander R.J. Dabovich, who ranks as the Giants’ No. 16 prospect on MLB Pipeline, struck out two in a perfect inning of relief.