Express Bash River Cats for Seventh-Straight Win

ROUND ROCK, Texas – The Round Rock Express (43-29) stayed hot and beat the Sacramento River Cats (33-39) by a final score of 8-3 on Friday evening. Round Rock has now won seven consecutive games.

Express reliever RHP Fer Ozuna (4-2, 4.66) earned the win after a scoreless inning that included only one hit. River Cats reliever RHP Tanner Andrews (3-3, 4.89) collected the loss after allowing one earned run on four hits with two strikeouts.

Along the Train Tracks

• Sacramento struck first without recording a hit in the third inning. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases. A ground out for CF Tyler Fitzgerald scored 1B Jacob Nottingham from third base to make it 1-0.
• In the bottom of the third, LF Sandro Fabian crushed a solo homer to left field and tied the game at one.
• Round Rock tallied another run in the fourth. CF Elier Hernandez led the frame off with a single and advanced to second base on a ground out. 1B Dustin Harris singled to score Hernandez and give the E-Train a 2-1 advantage.
• Sacramento battled back and tied the game at two in the fifth inning. A two-out solo home run from SS Brett Wisely leveled the score.
• Fabian delivered the goods yet again in the sixth inning. With two outs and DH Blaine Crim on second base, Fabian smacked a single to give the Express a 3-2 lead.
• Two walks and a single loaded the bases in the seventh inning with nobody out for the E-Train. The vaunted Hernandez came to the plate and reached on an error, allowing C Matt Whatley to score from third base. With the bases still juiced, Crim was the hero and smashed a grand slam 453 feet to extend the lead to 8-2.
• Sacramento tacked a run across on a ground out in the ninth inning from LF Michael Gigliotti but Round Rock still held on for the comfortable 8-3 win.

E-Train Excerpts:

• The home run for LF Sandro Fabian was his eighth of the season. After he did not have a home run in his first 25 games of the year, Fabian has eight in his last 32 games. The righty went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
• In his Triple-A debut, RHP Owen White tossed 5.0 innings and allowed only two runs on one hit with three walks and four strikeouts. The righty tossed 5.0 innings or more in six outings this year at Double-A Frisco.
• The grand slam for DH Blaine Crim was the first for Round Rock since May 25 at Albuquerque off the bat of INF Davis Wendzel. Crim finished the night 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored. He’s hit a home run in three consecutive games.

Next up: Round Rock will face Sacramento in game four on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. CT. Texas Rangers rehabber RHP Glenn Otto (0-0, 3.00) makes his third rehab start with the E-Train. Sacramento has yet to name a Saturday starter.

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