SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The Sacramento River Cats (60-50) were held without a baserunner until one out in the sixth inning, but forced their way back into the ballgame to eventually snatch a 3-2 victory against the Pacific Coast League's best San Antonio Missions (68-42).Left-hander Conner Menez gave up a
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The Sacramento River Cats (60-50) were held without a baserunner until one out in the sixth inning, but forced their way back into the ballgame to eventually snatch a 3-2 victory against the Pacific Coast League's best San Antonio Missions (68-42).
Left-hander Conner Menez gave up a two-run shot in the first inning to fellow Northern California native David Freitas, but no Missions baserunner would cross the plate for the rest of the game. Menez tossed five innings and struck out seven before the bullpen kept the game close to allow the River Cats to take the lead in the eighth.
San Antonio's starter Burch Smith had faced the minimum through five and a third, but shortstop Abiatal Avelino broke the ice with one of his two hits in the game. After getting on the board in the seventh, the River Cats would strike for two more an inning later thanks to an RBI single from outfielder Mike Gerber, followed by a wild pitch that allowed new River Cat Mauricio Dubón to scurry home to give Sacramento their first lead of the night.
The River Cats will head up the road to Round Rock for a four-game series with the team chasing San Antonio in the American Southern division. Right-hander Enderson Franco (5-5, 6.29) will make his 20th start of the year for Sacramento while the Express will counter with lefty Ryan Hartman (5-5, 5.46). First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m. (PT). Listen to all of the action live online at rivercats.com, on the MiLB First Pitch app, and on Money 105.5 FM (PT) beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Additional Notes
• Outfielder Joey Rickard's team-high 14-game hitting streak came to an end with an 0-for-3 evening, though he did draw a walk to extend his on-base streak to 23 games.
• Left-hander Sam Selman, called up by the Giants earlier today, made his major-league debut in Thursday morning's fifth inning. After recording his first big-league strikeout, Philadelphia's Roman Quinn took him deep just one pitch later. He would get out of the inning with nothing more than a walk to his name. Right-hander Jandel Gustave, also recently called up, pitched two scoreless innings in what was his Giants debut.
