Snell Strong in 5-1 Win for Kitties on Friday

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A dominant starting effort from Blake Snell set the Sacramento River Cats on the path to victory Friday night, cruising through five innings and propelling Sacramento to its fourth straight win with a 5-1 win over Oklahoma City.

Though he hit a batter in the first inning, Snell (1-0) erased it with a double play and proceeded to strike out the side in the second. The southpaw struck out five straight including the first two batters of the third, and eventually finished with a total of 10 strikeouts after striking out two in each the fourth and the fifth frames. Snell’s 10 punchouts are tied for the most in a game by a River Cat this season, matching Carson Whisenhunt who did so on May 4 against Tacoma.

The River Cats (26-17) took a lead in the first, stringing together a two-out rally that consisted of a walk to Trenton Brooks and a double from Hunter Bishop that was one foot away from being his third home run in as many games. That knock put both runners in scoring position, ultimately taking a lead on a balk from Oklahoma City (23-20) starter Christian Romero (0-1).

Sacramento added onto their lead with three runs in the fifth, two of which came from the bat of Brooks when he laced a double into the left-center gap that scored both Brett Auerbach and Ismael Munguia, both of whom were hit by a pitch to reach base. Earning his sixth RBI of the year was Hunter Bishop, as he brought home the final run of the frame with a single through the right side.

The lead continued to grow in the sixth, as a Jakson Reetz double kicked off the frame before he scored later in the inning on a single from Turner Hill.

Sacramento had a no-hitter going through six innings, but all came to a halt when Andre Lipcius hammered a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left field to snap the River Cats shutout. However, that homer, plus a Trey Sweeney single with two outs in the seventh, represented the only Oklahoma City hits in the game. It was their fewest hits in a game this season, and the fewest hits allowed in a contest this year by Sacramento.

Following Snell was Tanner Andrews, who put up a scoreless sixth before exiting for Justin Garza, who allowed his first run in eight games dating back to April 18. Working the ninth in a non-save situation was Spencer Bivens, who struck out the side in the ninth.

Both Bishop and Donovan Walton ended with a pair of knocks, the third straight two-hit game of the year for Bishop. Should he tally one more in his next game, he would match Casey Schmitt for the longest multi-hit game streak this season.

Heading into the weekend the River Cats hold a 4-0 series lead, and they’ll look to hold Oklahoma City down once more on Saturday when the two teams line up for game five at 6:37 p.m. (PT).