Suarez strikes out nine, halts Express in 2-1 win

West Sacramento, CA - Andrew Suárez was dominant tonight for the Sacramento River Cats (43-61), shutting down the Round Rock Express (46-59) offense en route to the 2-1 win.

Suarez ran into trouble in the first inning, giving up his only run of the night in an inning that included two hits, a walk, and a wild pitch. The left-hander settled in after that, allowing just two more hits and two walks the rest of the night. He set a season-high tonight with nine strikeouts and at one point retired 14 straight Express hitters.
The River Cats offense backed Suarez's outing with back-to-back runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Last night's walk-off hero Ryan Lollis got Sacramento on the board first with an RBI-double and Ryder Jones followed by driving in Orlando Calixte.
Sacramento will send left-hander Matt Gage (0-4, 6.65) to the hill for the fourth and final game of the series tomorrow night. Right-hander Tyler Wagner (1-9, 7.01) will go for Round Rock. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. (PT) and the game can be heard live on the air on ESPN 1320 and online at rivercats.com.
Postgame Notes
Suarez: Andrew Suárez broke his streak of three straight losing starts tonight…threw first pitch strikes to 20 of the 27 batters he faced…lowered his home ERA from 6.85 to 5.52…now has 33 strikeouts in 29.1 innings over four home starts.
Sandoval: Third baseman Pablo Sandoval finished 0-for-4 with four groundouts in his third game with Sacramento…is hitting .200 with a .385 on base percentage with the River Cats.
Lollis: Ryan Lollis is now hitting .333 over his last 10 games (11-for-33) with four runs and five RBI…leads the team with a .318 batting average.
Jones: Right fielder Ryder Jones is 5-for-11 with four RBI in his last three games…he's now hitting .321 in 31 home games.
Two-Baggers: Sacramento smacked four doubles tonight, one shy of their season high…they are third in the PCL with 217 doubles this season…third baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang leads the team with 19.
Sac Starters: In the first five games after the All-Star break, Sacramento starters owned a 7.03 ERA (19 ER, 24.1 IP)…in the 10 games since then, they have combined for a 2.39 ERA (14 ER, 52.2 IP).
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The Sacramento River Cats are the Triple-A affiliate of the three-time World Champion San Francisco Giants. The team plays at Raley Field in West Sacramento, consistently voted one of the top ballparks in America. River Cats Season Tickets, Mini-Plans, and Flex Plans can be purchased for the 2017 season by calling the River Cats Ticket Hotline at (916) 371-HITS (4487). For more information about the River Cats, visit www.rivercats.com. For information on other events at Raley Field, visit www.raleyfield.com.