Ramos, Villar plate a run in series-opening defeat

West Sacramento, Calif. — The Sacramento River Cats (27-40) struggled to figure out lefty Ryan Weathers (4-4), falling 8-2 to the El Paso Chihuahuas (38-29) in Tuesday’s series opener.

After being no-hit through the first 5.0 innings, the River Cats broke through in the sixth with two runs.

Catcher Jhonny Pereda kicked off the inning with a single to left, advanced to second on rehabbing San Francisco center fielder Steven Duggar’s one-out single, and scored on back-to-back walks by first baseman Jason Vosler and right fielder Heliot Ramos.

Designated hitter David Villar made it 6-2, plating Duggar on a sacrifice-fly with his team-leading 52nd RBI.

Lefty Matt Hall (0-1) made his River Cats debut on the mound. In his first start since signing with San Francisco from the Kansas City Monarchs (independent), Hall struck out four while allowing one run on two hits and five walks in 2.1 innings.

Left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus (2-1, 4.33) looks to rebound with a win on Wet Nose Wednesday. He’ll take on El Paso lefty Aaron Leasher (2-4, 5.79) at 6:35 p.m. (PT). Listen to Johnny Doskow call the game online at rivercats.com or on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

• Duggar finished 1-for-4 while fellow rehabbing San Francisco outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. went 0-for-2 while playing 5.0 innings at first base.
• Left-hander Joey Marciano lowered his ERA to 2.20 with a scoreless eighth inning of relief.
• Right-hander Yunior Marte also had a solid inning out of the bullpen, striking out one in a perfect ninth.
• El Paso second baseman Robinson Canó, an eight-time MLB All-Star, went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run.