Kelly dazzles as River Cats finish series with victory

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA -- For his second consecutive outing, right-hander Casey Kelly shined on the mound and led the Sacramento River Cats (25-28) to victory, this time helping end the homestand with an 8-1 win against the Albuquerque Isotopes (28-25).
Kelly struck out a season-high nine batters while walking none and allowing five hits -- all singles -- while retiring the side in order during four of the seven innings he pitched on Tuesday afternoon. The back-to-back quality outings from Kelly have helped to lower his ERA from 7.27 to 5.65.
On the offensive side of things, Sacramento cranked out 16 hits for their third highest output of the season. Infielders Ryder Jones and Myles Schroder each recorded four hits, including a two-bagger from Schroder in the seventh to bring him within one of 100 career doubles.
The big blow came in the five-run fourth inning when right fielder Orlando Calixte lined a three-run shot to left -- his eighth homer of the season. He's now tied for second on the team in home runs, trailing Chris Shaw, who is on the disabled list, by two.
The River Cats are off to El Paso, Texas for a five-game set with the Chihuahuas. Left-hander Daniel Camarena (0-0, 1.50) will make his second start for Sacramento after being signed to a minor-league deal last week. He'll face El Paso RHP Walker Lockett (2-5, 5.31). First pitch is set for 5:35 p.m. (PT). Catch all of the action live online at rivercats.com, on the MiLB First Pitch app, and on the air on Money 105.5 FM starting at 7:00 p.m. (PT).
Additional Notes
• Kelly's nine strikeouts set a season high for him, and fell two short of his career high, which was set last August in an 11-strikeout performance in Omaha.
• With two hits of his own on Tuesday, Casey Kelly recorded the first multi-hit game by a River Cats pitcher since May 8, 2017 when Michael Roth finished the day 2-for-3 at home against the Reno Aces.