Gerber hits 15th home run but River Cats fall in series finale

Sacramento will enjoy a day off before hitting the road for nine games in Las Vegas, El Paso

(Ralph Thompson Anysportphoto.com)

June 18, 2019

West Sacramento, Calif. -- The Sacramento River Cats (36-35) closed out a seven-game homestand on a losing note, falling 7-4 to the Iowa Cubs (40-32) on a hot Tuesday afternoon.Sacramento got on the board first but three second-inning errors led to four runs crossing the plate for the visiting Cubs.

West Sacramento, Calif. -- The Sacramento River Cats (36-35) closed out a seven-game homestand on a losing note, falling 7-4 to the Iowa Cubs (40-32) on a hot Tuesday afternoon.
Sacramento got on the board first but three second-inning errors led to four runs crossing the plate for the visiting Cubs. Outfielder Mike Gerber's two-run shot in the bottom half of the inning highlighted an impressive rebound to quickly tie the game at four, but Iowa would add runs in the fifth, seventh, and ninth to close out the game.
Gerber's homer was his 15th of the season, extending his team lead to three. It marks the most he's totaled in a season for one team and puts him just four shy of breaking a career high for a full season. In 2016, he clubbed 18 between Advanced-A Lakeland (14) and Double-A Erie (4). Gerber currently owns the seventh best OPS (1.032) in the Pacific Coast League among qualified players.
Left-hander Ty Blach (2-4, 5.66) is scheduled to pitch Thursday's series opener in Las Vegas while the Aviators will counter with righty Paul Blackburn (6-1, 4.48) First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. (PT). Catch all of the action live online at rivercats.com, on the MiLB First Pitch app, or on Money 105.5 FM.
Additional Notes
• Right-hander Craig Kimbrel, who was one of two marquee free agents to not sign with a major-league club before the season began (the other being left-handed starter Dallas Kuechel), made his Chicago Cubs organizational debut in the seventh. He struck out one batter and got through the inning clean needing just eight pitches.
• Rule-5 draft pick Travis Bergen made his third rehab appearance for the River Cats, going two innings allowing an unearned run on one hit while striking out three. Overall, it's the left-hander's fifth outing since beginning the assignment as he pitched in two games for the Advanced-A San Jose Giants before joining Sacramento.
• The River Cats defense made five errors in a game for the first time since 2017 but thankfully fell one mishap short of tying a franchise record.