River Cats tee off on Aces for lopsided win

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA -- Reno Aces right-hander Taylor Clarke was no match for the Sacramento River Cats (4-3) on Wednesday as the home team posted 11 runs (seven earned) on the opposing starter en route to a 18-4 victory over the Aces (3-4).
The River Cats wasted little time getting to Clarke, putting up three runs in the opening inning thanks to a bases-clearing triple off the bat of outfielder Austin Slater. Five runs went up on the board in the second, ignited by third baseman Chase d'Arnaud's first of two home runs in the game.
Entering the sixth inning down 11-1, Reno essentially waved the white flag, bringing in infielder Cody Decker to pitch. Throwing 60 mile-per-hour fastballs, he recorded three outs in just 12 pitches. But he did surrender a 464-foot home run to d'Arnaud, whose second of the game landed on top of the grounds building beyond the left-center field fence.
Then in the seventh, another infielder entered from the bullpen. Daniel Robertson was given the eighth and allowed five runs on four hits and a walk, including outfielder Chris Shaw's second homer of the year.
Shaw broke out on Wednesday, going 5-for-6 to raise his batting average by 125 points. Fellow corner outfielder Mac Williamson built upon his hot start, logging a hit for the sixth straight game and homering for the second straight.
Lost in the offensive madness was an impressive five-inning outing from River Cats starter Casey Kelly, who struck out eight and allowed just one run on three hits and two walks.
The two teams will wrap up this three-game set Thursday evening as left-hander Conner Menez is expected to be called up from Advanced-A San Jose to make a spot start for the River Cats. He'll face Aces righty Troy Scribner (0-0, No ERA).
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.
Additional Notes
• Shaw's five-hit day was his first as a pro since being drafted by the Giants in the first round back in 2015. Shaw did collect four hits last June at El Paso, where he went 4-for-5 with two home runs.
• During the sixth inning, reliever Tyler Rogers received a rare plate appearance, and managed to draw a walk off left-hander Jared Miller. It was just Rogers' seventh career plate appearance in six minor-league seasons.
• At 464 feet, d'Arnaud's bomb was the longest home run hit at Raley Field since last summer when Shaw clubbed one 469 feet on June 19 off Albuquerque's right-hander Jon Gray.
• Today was Decker's fourth career pitching appearance in the minors, and first since tossing a scoreless ninth last season while playing for San Diego's Triple-A affiliate El Paso. For Robertson, it was his pitching debut as a pro.