Pitching Shines, Offense Delivers in 6-2 Cats Victory

TACOMA, Wash. – Shaking off what had been a slow start to the series, the Sacramento River Cats flipped the switch on Thursday as they used a combination of solid pitching along with timely extra-base hits in a 6-2 defeat of the Tacoma Rainiers.

The effort from the pitching staff set the tone for the River Cats (32-24), as starter Trevor McDonald (5-3) retired each of the first 11 batters that he faced. That streak came to an end when he hit a pair of batters consecutively in the fourth, which eventually gave way to an RBI single by Tyler Lockler.

McDonald’s only other slip up came in the sixth when Harry Ford hit his second homer in as many games, following his grand slam yesterday with a solo shot down the left-field line on a 1-1 pitch. Outside of that, McDonald allowed only one other hit (three total), striking out three without a walk in his fifth victory of the season.

Offensively, the River Cats got things moving in the second inning that started with the team-leading 11th homer of the season by Marco Luciano on the first pitch he saw. Leaving the bat at 106.8 mph, Luciano pulled the ball to left center and watched it travel 419 feet. Later in the frame with two outs Hunter Bishop singled and advanced to second on a throwing error, scoring in the next at-bat when Sergio Alcántara singled into right field.

While the Ford homer tied the game in the top of the sixth, Sacramento wasted no time in taking back the advantage when Hunter Bishop delivered a triple to left center, scoring Luciano on the play who had singled to open the frame. Bishop did not wait long, scoring on a sacrifice bunt fielder’s choice by Alcántara that saw Bishop just get in ahead of the tag at home plate from Ford, who had also dropped the ball.

Insurance came in the top of the seventh, doing so in a big way for multiple reasons. Coming to the plate hitless in his last 18 at-bats (over the past five games), Bryce Eldridge wasted no time as he hammered the first pitch he saw the other way over the wall in left center for a two-run dinger. It was the second homer of the season for Eldridge, who’s first was a grand slam in his third game this year on June 5.

Behind McDonald, Joey Lucchesi and Ryan Watson each worked a clean frame, both striking out a pair of batters while Watson walked one.

Combined with his three-bagger in the sixth, Bishop ended his night 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two triples and an RBI. He is the first River Cat since teammate Wade Meckler on Aug. 13, 2024 against Salt Lake to hit two triples in a game. Also finishing with three hits was Luciano, who was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a homer, and an RBI. Wade Meckler finished 2-for-4 while starting at second base for the first time in his professional career, while Alcántara closed with a knock and two RBI.

Now having won their first game of the series, Sacramento will look to level the set at two games apiece when they meet Tacoma again as the designated “home” team in Cheney Stadium at 7:05 p.m. (PT) on Friday.