Pitching staff surrenders just two hits in win over Aviators

Las Vegas, Nev. — Pitching and hitting were both firing on all cylinders on Thursday as the Sacramento River Cats (21-27) knocked off the host Las Vegas Aviators (23-26) in game one of the series.

Pete Kozma singled off Logan Webb in the first and Austin Allen singled off Gerson Garabito in the fourth, and that would be all for the Aviators. The righty Webb, added to the roster Thursday on a rehab assignment, tossed two innings in his first appearance since May 29. He threw 26 pitches and allowed one earned run, which scored on a double play.

After Garabito exited the game, the bullpen didn’t allow a baserunner and dominated the 15 batters they faced. Kervin Castro and Sam Selman each struck out two in two innings while Trevor Gott wrapped things up by striking out the side in the ninth.

Offensively, the River Cats got things going in the second inning as second baseman Arismendy Alcántara plated two with his second triple of the year. And after a Joey Bart solo shot in the fourth, Sacramento broke the tie by posting a four-spot in the seventh. Braden Bishop’s double scored two followed by an RBI single from the recently-added shortstop Mauricio Dubon, who went 2-for-5 in his return to the River Cats.

Right-hander Tyler Beede is set to get the ball Friday night for the River Cats, whose hitters will be tasked with facing the highly-touted lefty Jesus Luzardo. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. (PT). Listen to Johnny Doskow call the game online at rivercats.com or on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

• The first four hitters in the River Cats lineup combined for 10 of the team’s 15 hits, with Bishop and Bart each racking up three. It’s the sixth consecutive time the club has recorded 10 or more hits, and the 11th time in a row they’ve recorded eight or more. Altogether, Sacramento has posted 15 or more hits nine times in 2021.
• It’s now ten straight innings Castro has pitched since allowing a run, earned or unearned. Only five batters have reached base against him in that time frame.