Wisely Homer Enough for Sacramento on Saturday

LAS VEGAS – A two-run blast from Brett Wisely in the top of the third was all the scoring needed by the Sacramento River Cats on Saturday, getting an early lift from the offense while the pitching did the rest of the work in a 2-0 shutout win over the Las Vegas Aviators.

For the second straight night Wisely launched a two-run homer in the third, making him the second Brett to homer in consecutive nights this season after Brett Auerbach did so in the first two games of the season on March 28-29. This time the blast came in a 2-0 count and traveled 406 feet out to center field, and occurred just after Grant McCray kept the inning alive with a two-out single for his first of two knocks in the game.

Sacramento had just three other hits in the game to total five, but it hardly mattered with the pitching in a groove on the mound from the get-go. Carson Whisenhunt (1-1) drew the start and tossed six scoreless frames with four hits allowed and two strikeouts, his first quality start of the season and third of his Triple-A career.

Additionally, Whisenhunt has gone two straight outings and 10.2 combined innings without a walk, and he’s the first pitcher to go two straight outings without issuing a free pass since Kyle Harrison did so from Aug. 10-15, 2023.

Taking the baton behind him was Tristan Beck, who earned a hold by working two frames and allowing one hit with three punchouts. Finishing the job was Justin Garza (S, 1), who notched his first save with a pair of strikeouts and one hit allowed.

Outside of Wisely and McCray, it was Jake Lamb and David Villar who logged hits for the River Cats. Villar has hit in all four games he’s played in and is batting .417, while Lamb has hits in seven of eight games on the year.

With the win the River Cats now have the chance to go for a series split in the series finale, which gets underway on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. (PT).