Huang shines, River Cats drop series opener vs Las Vegas 

West Sacramento, Calif. — A strong start by right-hander Wei-Chieh Huang was not enough to power the Sacramento River Cats (58-72) to victory as they fell 8-1 to the Las Vegas Aviators (64-66) in Tuesday’s scorching series opener.

A first pitch temperature of 107 degrees briefly slowed down the bats as the two teams combined for two runs over the first 5.0 innings.

Huang was excellent despite having his two-game win streak snapped. The 28-year-old earned a no-decision with one earned run on two hits and no walks while striking out seven in 5.0 innings.

Sacramento threatened in the bottom of the fourth when third baseman Jason Vosler, who was celebrating his 29th birthday, lined a one-out double before a lineout and fly out stranded him in place.

One inning later, still down a run, the River Cats again put the tying run on second with less than two outs. Designated hitter Willie Calhoun started the game-tying rally with a broken-bat ground-rule double. After two outs, right fielder Steele Walker came through with a clutch RBI single to right field.

The game did not stay tied for long as a four-run top of the sixth gave Las Vegas a commanding 5-1 lead.

Right-hander Ronnie Williams (1-0, 4.58) will take on a Las Vegas TBD in game two of the series at 6:35 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday. Listen to Johnny Doskow call the game online at rivercats.com or on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

• Shortstop Ford Proctor had a solid day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a single and a double.
• Right-hander Shelby Miller spun a scoreless top of the ninth. The 31-year-old is 8-for-8 in save opportunities with a 0.66 ERA, 21 strikeouts, a 0.95 WHIP, and a .128 opposing batting average over his last 13.2 innings since July 27.
• Former River Cats lefty Sam Selman, who pitched for Sacramento from 2019-2021, struck out three in 1.2 perfect innings of relief.