Huang, bullpen stifle Aviators for 2022 season-finale victory

River Cats 5, Aviators 0

Sacramento righty Wei-Chieh Huang fires in a pitch in the River Cats' 2022 season finale vs Las Vegas (9/28/22).

By Maverick Pallack

September 28, 2022

West Sacramento, Calif. — Three early runs provided enough run support for righty Wei-Chieh Haung (3-2) and the bullpen, as the Sacramento River Cats (65-83) won 5-0 in the season finale vs the Las Vegas Aviators (71-79) on Wednesday. Sacramento stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Center

West Sacramento, Calif. — Three early runs provided enough run support for righty Wei-Chieh Haung (3-2) and the bullpen, as the Sacramento River Cats (65-83) won 5-0 in the season finale vs the Las Vegas Aviators (71-79) on Wednesday.

Sacramento stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Center fielder Bryce Johnson kicked off the rally with a leadoff triple, and quickly scored on a bloop RBI single by designated hitter Austin Dean.

A pair of well-placed outs from top prospects right fielder Heliot Ramos (No. 18 on MLB Pipeline) and third baseman Casey Schmitt (No. 6 on MLB Pipeline), led to two more runs to round out the inning.

Huang, who was named the River Cats’ Most Improved Player of the Year on Wednesday, struck out seven while allowing three hits and a walk over 5.0 shutout frames. The performance set a career-high in innings for a season by Huang, finishing 2022 with 79.0.

The River Cats’ bullpen picked up where Huang left off, combining to strike out eight over the final 4.0 scoreless innings.

Lefty Enmanuel De Jesus, co-winner of the River Cats’ Pitcher of the Year Award (splitting with righty Luis Ortiz), struck out two in a perfect sixth inning.

Righties Michael Stryffeler and Ryan Walker struck out two each in scoreless innings. Right-hander RJ Dabovich, San Francisco’s No. 20 prospect on MLB Pipeline, struck out two in a perfect ninth to close out the 5-0 win.

Additional Notes

Catcher Jhonny Pereda, the River Cats’ winner for Best Teammate, had a solid day behind the dish and at the plate, catching a shutout while also going 1-for-2 with a run and a walk.
Sacramento added runs in the seventh and eighth with a pair of RBI doubles. Johnson made it 4-0 when he lined an RBI ground-rule double. Left fielder Steele Walker knocked in the River Cats’ last run of the season in the eighth, doubling home Ramos.
Ramos’ eighth-inning run had a unique callback to 2021. In both the 2021 and 2022 season finales, Ramos scored on an RBI double in the eighth inning to make it 5-0 for the River Cats’ final run of the year.