Dubón finishes triple shy of cycle, River Cats’ comeback bid falls short

Bees 11, River Cats 9

Sacramento infielder Mauricio Dubón lines a ball against Reno on July 31, 2021. (Rachel Sollazzo)

By Maverick Pallack

September 26, 2021

Salt Lake City, Utah. — The Sacramento River Cats (53-67, 1-2) could not take advantage of second baseman Mauricio Dubón’s all-around great game, losing a high-scoring battle with the Salt Lake Bees (51-71, 2-1). Dubón finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs,

Salt Lake City, Utah. — The Sacramento River Cats (53-67, 1-2) could not take advantage of second baseman Mauricio Dubón’s all-around great game, losing a high-scoring battle with the Salt Lake Bees (51-71, 2-1).

Dubón finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs, while also flashing the leather. His Salt Lake leadoff-hitting counterpart, left fielder Taylor Ward, also finished a triple short of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a walk, three runs, and four RBIs.

The first three innings were a roller coaster with three lead changes and 15 runs scored.

The River Cats roared out to a 3-0 lead in the first with a leadoff home run from Dubón (first pitch of the game) and a two-run shot from center fielder Heliot Ramos.

Salt Lake responded in the bottom of the inning with four runs off righty Ronnie Williams, two coming on shortstop Brendon Davis’ home run.

Sacramento retook the lead in the second on Dubón’s two-run double, before the Bees tied the game on Ward’s home run, and exploded for five runs in the third off lefty Conner Menez (2-3) for a 10-5 lead.

Former Salt Lake righty Jake Jewell provided vital length for the River Cats’ bullpen, striking out five, while allowing just one hit and one walk in 3.1 innings.

The River Cats scored three in the seventh and another in the eighth, but could not push that tying run across the plate.

Right-hander Sean Hjelle (1-5, 5.44) looks to get the River Cats back in the win column against Salt Lake left-hander Ryan Smith (0-1, 11.85) at 12:05 p.m. (PT) on Sunday. Listen to Johnny Doskow call the game live online at rivercats.com or on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

First baseman Jason Vosler extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a 2-for-5 day. Over that stretch, he is 21-for-49 (.429) with 11 runs and seven RBIs.
In his first game for Sacramento, right fielder Ka’ai Tom went 1-for-4 with a two-run triple in the seventh.
Ramos went 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs, and a walk. Since Sept. 14, Ramos is 13-for-31 (.419) with eight runs, seven RBIs, and a 1.018 OPS.