Rodriguez's pitching gets River Cats back on track

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA - The Sacramento River Cats (19-17) outlasted the Tacoma Rainiers (17-19) in a pitcher's duel by the final score of 6-1 on Saturday night at Raley Field.

Right-hander Dereck Rodríguez has been tearing up the Pacific Coast League this season and continued to do so tonight. Rodriguez struck out a season-high eleven batters and only allowed two hits in six innings pitched. Rodriguez allowed a solo home run in the first inning, but retired 15 of his next 17 batters.
Rainiers' starter Roenis Elías pitched well with seven strikeouts, but the River Cats took advantage when he exited the game in the sixth inning. Kyle Jensen smacked a three-run shot to left field to give Sacramento a 3-1 lead and added two more runs in the seventh thanks to RBI knocks from Chase d'Arnaud and Ryder Jones.
The River Cats are back in action tomorrow with a Mother's Day doubleheader. The first game will start at 1:05 p.m. (PT) and the River Cats will send right-hander Casey Kelly (3-3, 7.24) to the mound. He'll face left-hander Aríel Miranda (2-0, 5.55). The second game will begin thirty minutes after the conclusion of game one tomorrow. Catch all of the action live online at rivercats.com, on the MiLB First Pitch app, and on the air on Money 105.5 FM.
Additional Notes

• After striking out eleven batters tonight, Rodriguez brought his season total up to 40 and lowered his season ERA to 3.15, both of which lead the River Cats pitchers.

• d'Arnaud also stole two more bases on Saturday night. He leads the team with eight this season and is tied for third in the PCL.

• Jensen's 446-foot blast in the sixth inning was the second-longest by the River Cats this season behind d'Arnaud, who hit a 464-footer back on April 11.