Comeback Cats Capture Sixth Straight with 6-2 Victory

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – For a third straight game the Sacramento River Cats overcame a two-run deficit, this time using six unanswered runs from the sixth through the eighth innings en route to a 6-2 victory over the Albuquerque Isotopes on Friday.

The Isotopes (17-44) struck first for a third straight game, plating two with their first set of swings. Two batters into the game and Albuquerque had pushed across a run, as an error on the first batter of the game put a runner in scoring position where he scored on an RBI knock from Nolan Jones. Later in the frame Jones also scored, coming home on a double to right field from Sam Hilliard.

That score held all the way until the sixth despite some action throughout, as Albuquerque failed to produce with a pair of runners on and no outs in the fourth.

It took until the sixth for the River Cats (38-23) to reach the scoreboard, all of which started with a single from Brett Auerbach. Joining him on base was Hunter Bishop after the latter singled to center, and both scored just a batter later when Luis Matos’ sinking liner into center field got past the center fielder and saw Matos reach third.

Similar to Wednesday’s win, the River Cats pushed across the go-ahead run in the seventh when a wild pitch allowed Donovan Walton to score, who had reached base with a leadoff single.

Insurance was added in the home half of the eighth, with three runs scoring that gave Sacramento all the space they needed. Bishop’s second double in as many games put a runner in scoring position, but it looked like he might be left aboard after two quick outs. That was, until a dropped fly ball at first base by Grant Levigne, his 14th of the season that allowed Bishop to score.

Following a walk, driving two home was Jakson Reetz as he ripped a double into the left-center gap that easily scored both runners which pushed the game to its 6-2 final. For Reetz, nine of his last 11 hits have been doubles.

Though he did not factor into the decision, left-hander Carson Whisenhunt pitched the longest outing of any River Cats pitcher this season, lasting 5.2 frames while giving up only one earned run (two total) on five hits with three runs and five strikeouts. He also struck out five for the ninth time this season.

The bullpen was strong in relief once again, as the duo of Nick Garcia (1-0) and Juan Sanchez (S, 4) combined to pitch 4.0 innings without allowing a hit. Garcia went 1.1 innings and earned his first Triple-A victory while striking out three, while Sanchez worked a six-out save to convert his fourth of the campaign.

A trio of River Cats picked up two-hit games, as Bishop, Matos and Reetz each found their way aboard twice. Both Reetz and Bishop logged two-baggers, with Reetz responsible for the only two RBI on the night (four of six scored on errors).

Tonight’s win was the sixth straight for Sacramento, the second time this season they have won six straight games. This is the first time since 2014 in which the River Cats have multiple six-game winning streaks, and they have allowed only 11 runs to score on their current streak. It also moved Sacramento to 15 games above .500 for the first time since late in the 2014 season.

While Sacramento has already clinched a series victory against Albuquerque, they will look to keep their winning streak alive in game five of the series tomorrow with first pitch at 6:37 p.m.