Walker homers, plates 4, Vosler lines 3 hits as River Cats fall to Bees 

Salt Lake City, Utah — A towering three-run blast by right fielder Steele Walker was not enough to lift the Sacramento River Cats (47-62) to their season-high fifth straight victory as they fell 8-6 at the Salt Lake Bees (52-57) on Friday.

After first baseman Yermín Mercedes’ RBI single, Walker demolished a change-up from righty César Valdez for a 448-foot, three-run home run (107.2 MPH exit velocity) for a 4-0 lead in the first inning. The big fly was Walker’s first since joining Sacramento on Aug. 9.

Salt Lake responded in the second with four runs on four hits and two walks off righty Ronnie Williams, who was making his season-debut for Sacramento.

The game remained tied until the seventh when the Bees burned righty Randy Rodriguez (0-1) for four runs on one hit and three walks.

Sacramento did not quit, scoring runs on an RBI groundout by Walker and an RBI single by center fielder Bryce Johnson to make it 8-6.

With the bases loaded and two outs, lefty Brian Moran entered and struck out shortstop Dixon Machado on three pitches to escape the jam and maintain the Bees’ two-run lead.

Right-hander Tristan Beck (4-7, 5.86) will try to secure the River Cats a series win with a victory on Saturday. He’ll take on righty Christopher Molina (0-1, 7.71) at 5:35 p.m. (PT). Listen to Johnny Doskow call the game online at rivercats.com or on the MiLB First Pitch app.

Additional Notes

• Third baseman Jason Vosler had a solid day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs and a stolen base.
• Right-hander Norwith Gudino was excellent in relief, striking out two while walking one in 2.1 no-hit innings.