Five-Run First Powers Sacramento to 6-4 Win Over Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Sacramento River Cats had it all working on Saturday night, as starter Carson Ragsdale dominated while the offense had their best set of swings in the opening frame that all resulted in a 6-4 victory over the Albuquerque Isotopes.

Nearly all of Sacramento’s offense occurred during the first frame, as the River Cats (16-22/60-53) plated five of their six runs as they led the contest from bell to bell. The inning was started by an Isotopes (17-21/43-70) error, one of three in the inning, and saw RBI knocks going to Trenton Brooks (single) and Donovan Walton (double).

Meanwhile, Ragsdale (1-3) turned in perhaps his best Triple-A outing to date and started it off by striking out each of the first four batters he faced while retiring the first seven straight. Through his first three innings, Ragsdale had allowed only a single hit and totaled six strikeouts.

It wasn’t until the home half of the fourth that Ragsdale was tagged for a solo home run when Nolan Jones, playing in the second game of his rehab assignment, crushed a 1-2 pitch for a homer to right field.

The River Cats earned that run back in the top of the fifth, as Luis Matos matched Jones with a leadoff homer of his own by hammering a 2-0 pitching over the wall in left field.

While Ragsdale kept it scoreless in the fifth, he surrendered two final runs before making it through the sixth. A leadoff single came around to score on a double from Nolan Jones, who then in turn crossed the plater later in the frame on a single from Jordan Beck. He ended with a final line of three runs allowed (two earned) on five hits in 6.0 innings, his first Triple-A quality start and winning effort.

Albuquerque tried one last rally in the bottom of the eighth, pulling within two runs when Greg Jones went deep on the first pitch of his at-bat against lefty Kolton Ingram. That was as close as the Isotopes could come as the River Cats turned to Tyler Myrick (S, 4) for the final out in the eight and all of the ninth, who shut the door by facing the minimum four batters with three strikeouts.

Hot at the dish was Trenton Brooks, who notched his first three-hit game in the month of August and was 3-for-4 with a run scored. Meanwhile, Matos produced a pair of knocks that included a double and homer, while Walton drove in a pair of runs on his double.

Sacramento still needs to win the series finale on Sunday to leave Albuquerque with a series split, and they will have the chance to do so when the teams take the field for first pitch at 5:05 p.m. (PT).