La Stella homers, Villar plates 3 in 9th inning defeat

Aviators 7, River Cats 5

Rehabbing San Francisco second baseman Tommy La Stella fields a grounder and throws to first in a game for the Sacramento River Cats (5/5/22). (Ralph Thompson Photo)

By Maverick Pallack

May 6, 2022

West Sacramento, Calif. — A home run from second baseman Tommy La Stella and three RBIs from third baseman David Villar ultimately were not enough to complete the comeback, as the Sacramento River Cats (14-13) fell 7-5 to the Las Vegas Aviators (15-12) on Thursday night. The Aviators took sole

West Sacramento, Calif. — A home run from second baseman Tommy La Stella and three RBIs from third baseman David Villar ultimately were not enough to complete the comeback, as the Sacramento River Cats (14-13) fell 7-5 to the Las Vegas Aviators (15-12) on Thursday night.

The Aviators took sole possession of first place with the win, getting the deciding two runs in the top of the ninth on a clutch, two-out single by Las Vegas center fielder Ramón Laureano.

A couple of mistakes spoiled an otherwise solid home Triple-A debut for righty Tristan Beck. The 25-year-old struck out five while allowing five runs on seven hits (two home runs) and two walks in 5.1 innings.

A two-out rally gave Sacramento an early 1-0 lead in the second inning. Catcher Jhonny Pereda extended his hitting streak to seven with a single to right field, advanced to third on a double by shortstop Arquímedes Gamboa, and scored on a wild pitch.

After falling behind in the fourth, La Stella started the comeback in the bottom of the fifth with his first home run of his rehab stint.

Villar tied the game in the bottom of the eighth when he lined a double to left to score Gamboa and second baseman Alex Blandino.

After Laureano regained Las Vegas the lead, the River Cats brought the tying run to the plate, but were unable to send the game to extra innings.

Right-hander Raynel Espinal (1-0, 2.30), who came out of the bullpen his last game, rejoins the rotation for his start on Friday, taking on left-hander Jared Koenig (0-2, 3.68) at 6:45 p.m. (PT). Listen to Johnny Doskow call the game online at rivercats.com or on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

Sacramento right-hander Corey Oswalt was excellent out of the bullpen. The 28-year-old struck out three over a perfect 1.2 innings of relief.
Pereda finished the day 2-for-4 with a walk. Since April 21, Pereda is 11-for-26 (.423) with four runs, three doubles, and five RBIs.
First baseman Mike Ford went 0-for-2 with three walks and an error in his River Cats debut.