Sacramento Winning Streak Snapped by Reno, 10-7

RENO, Nev. – A six-run second inning set the tone early in game four between the Sacramento River Cats and the Reno Aces, as Sacramento had its four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday night by a 10-7 final.

Both sides went down quickly in the first, and it was the River Cats (42-25) that opened the scoring in the top of the second. Consecutive inning-opening singles from David Villar and Hunter Bishop set Sacramento up with a prime scoring opportunity, though only the former scored on a wild pitch from Aces (31-36) starter Christian Mena (3-1).

The lead did not last long as Reno opened their scoring in the home half of the frame with a monstrous home run from Deyvison De Los Santos, as he crushed a 471-foot homer out to center field, the sixth-longest Triple-A dinger in 2024. That was one of three big flies in the inning, the second of which was a solo shot that came from Ronaldo Hernandez while Adrian Del Castillo’s 12th homer of the campaign was of the three-run variety.

All three home runs were yielded by Sacramento starter Mason Black (2-3), which were not only his most in a game this season but also a new career high. It made him the 10th River Cat to allow three homers in a single inning, the last of which was Conner Menez during a 6-5 Sacramento loss at home to Reno on June 28, 2021.

While Sacramento kicked off the fourth with a double from Donovan Walton and pushed across a pair of runs in the frame, one of which on an RBI groundout while the other crossed on another wild pitch, the Aces continued to build their lead with a single run in each the third, fourth and seventh. Among those tallies was a solo homer in the third from Sergio Alcantara, who finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI.

This was the first time this season that the River Cats had surrendered four home runs, the first time they have done so since the tail end of the 2023 campaign when they also allowed four in an 18-8 loss at home to Tacoma on Aug. 15, 2023.

During the eighth the River Cats managed one last flurry of scores, plating three in the frame with two scoring on an RBI double down the left-field line from Ismael Munguia. Meanwhile, Tyler Fitzgerald chipped in a sacrifice fly to complete the frame.

Both teams traded runs in their final at-bats, as the Aces added an insurance marker on a bases loaded walk while Bishop countered with his fourth home run of the season. This was the second time this series that Sacramento has allowed double-digit runs, and it marked just the third loss this season for Sacramento when they score seven or more runs (21-3 in such games).

Taking the loss was Black, as his final line showed six earned runs on eight hits in 1.1 innings with only two strikeouts, the second straight outing in which he has allowed six or more runs.

Along with the loss, a win by the Sugar Land Space Cowboys over the Oklahoma City Baseball Club has moved Sugar Land 2.0 games ahead of the River Cats once again in the chase for the PCL first-half title.

Even with tonight’s loss, the River Cats have already captured a series split at minimum and will try again for a series victory when the two teams square up for game five of their series on Saturday at 6:35 p.m. from Greater Nevada Field.