Francisco’s Knock Lifts Kitties to 3-2 Win

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Knotted at 2-2 moving into the eighth inning, newcomer Javier Francisco delivered in the clutch for the Sacramento River Cats as his single into left field provided the winning run in a 3-2 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes in the series opener on Tuesday.

Striking early on was the River Cats (35-23), as the rehabbing Austin Slater hit the second leadoff homer of the year for Sacramento in their first set of swings that gave them an early edge, 1-0. Thanks to the help of starter Tommy Romero, that lead held until the sixth as Romero went 5.0 scoreless frames while punching out four.

In the top of the sixth the Isotopes (17-41) snatched the lead, doing so with their own dinger courtesy of Michael Toglia. With one on and one out, he took a 3-0 offering from Tanner Andrews and sent it over the wall in right field, jumping Albuquerque ahead, 2-1.

That lead did not last long, as Brett Auerbach crushed a 1-1 pitch deep into left field with one away in the inning to reset the game with a 2-2 score. It was the second homer of the campaign for Auerbach, and it left the bat at 103.5 mph before traveling 398 feet.

Those homers sent the game into the final third deadlocked, which allowed Francisco to play the hero in just his second contest. He made his Triple-A and Sacramento debut on Sunday by going 3-for-4 with a triple and trio of RBI, and delivered another RBI in the most opportune time for Sacramento as he slapped an 0-1 pitch from John Curtiss the other way into left field with a pair of runners on. Scoring from second base was Donovan Walton, who just beat the throw home for the go-ahead run.

On to close things out in the top of the ninth was Spencer Bivens (S, 7), who remained perfect in save opportunities this season by working around a pair of hits. Bivens has not surrendered a run in his past nine games, a stretch that spans 16.1 innings.

He preserved the win for Juan Sanchez (4-0), who did the heavy lifting after Andrews by going 2.0 innings and allowing only a single base runner while striking out four despite inheriting a pair of runners on base.

Going perfect at the dish tonight was Auerbach, who collected three other hits on the night along with his homer to finish 4-for-4. Meanwhile, both Jakson Reetz and Francisco had a pair of hits, with the former logging a double.

Winners of three straight for the seventh time this season, Sacramento will look to keep the streak alive when these two teams line up for game two of this series tomorrow with first pitch from Sutter Health Park at 6:45 p.m. (PT).