Fitzgerald the Hero, Doubles to Help River Cats Top Dodgers

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – For nearly each of the beginning seven innings on Friday, the Sacramento River Cats had runners on base but could not push across a run. That was, until the home half of the eighth when Tyler Fitzgerald came up clutch once again this season thanks to a two-RBI double, powering Sacramento past the Oklahoma City Dodgers 2-1 on Salute to Armed Forces Night.

Pitching was the theme of the night for both sides, allowing base runners but then putting in the work to keep each team off the scoreboard. The first of those hits came in the bottom of the first when Austin Slater singled on the first pitch of his current rehab appearance with the River Cats (23-27).

It took until the top of the third, but breaking through on the scoreboard first were the Dodgers (36-14) as they used an inning-opening double from Jahmai Jones to put a runner in scoring position, crossing the plate in the next at-bat on a Drew Avans single.

That 1-0 advantage for the Dodgers would hold all the way until Sacramento’s swings in the eighth despite the River Cats putting their leadoff runner aboard five times through the first seven frames. Much of the reason was the Sacramento bullpen, who took over for starter Drew Strotman following his exit in the fourth after yielding the one run on five hits with four strikeouts, three of which came after Oklahoma City scored in the third.

Entering first was Nick Swiney, facing just one batter over the minimum during the fifth and sixth frames while punching out two. Taking the baton next was Joey Marciano (4-1), holding steady through the seventh and eighth by allowing just one hit and walk along with three strikeouts to ultimately take credit for the victory.

Their efforts kept Sacramento in the contest just long enough to find the timely hit, coming from one of the hottest bats the River Cats have had since his promotion to Triple-A on May 3. Still trailing by one in what became their final at-bats, Will Wilson was hit by a pitch just in front of a Luis Matos single to put the pressure on Oklahoma City with two aboard and no outs.

Playing a bit of small ball was Clint Coulter, doing his job well by pushing both runners forward 90 feet on a near-perfect sacrifice bunt. Into the box stepped Fitzgerald, who needed just two pitches to slice his fifth double of the season down the right field line into the corner, plenty deep enough to score both runners and whip the home crowd into a frenzy.

Needing to close out the final three outs of the contest, the River Cats turned to left-hander Erik Miller (S, 2) who slammed the door shut by striking out two of the three hitters that he faced. Though Wright did allow a one-out walk to Yonny Hernandez, he was quickly erased when he was caught stealing just moments before the final punch out, the 11th of the night by River Cats pitchers.

Saturday’s hero Fitzgerald was the only Sacramento player with a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with the two-out double the biggest of them all. Six other River Cats tallied hits as Sacramento outhit the Dodgers (8-6), which included Matos going 1-for-4 with a run scored.

Tonight’s win for Sacramento kept alive their chances for a series split with the top team in the Pacific Coast League, and they seek to level the series in the finale of this six-game set on Sunday with first pitch at 1:05 p.m.