Sacramento Scores Twice, but Not Enough Against Salt Lake 

SALT LAKE CITY – An early four-spot was too much for the Sacramento River Cats to overcome on Friday despite tallying a pair of runs in the sixth, falling to the Salt Lake Bees in game four of their series by a 6-2 final.

The Bees (69-78) loaded the bases with no outs during their opening set of swings, putting two aboard with a pair of singles and a double steal before a walk. Another free pass forced home the game’s first run in front of a two-RBI single from Jack Lopez in the next at-bat, while the final run of the frame scored on a sacrifice fly that turned into a double play when Wade Meckler caught Lopez trying to advance to second.

It was not until the sixth that the River Cats (66-81) managed to counter, packing the bases with runners after a one-out double by Yoshi Tsutsugo along with consecutive walks to Bryce Johnson and Brett Wisely. After a strikeout, Donovan Walton came through with a two-out knock as his ball up the middle was taken by the shortstop to the right of second base, and the throw was both late and off-the-mark. That resulted in a pair of runs crossing the plate, but Walton was only credited with one RBI while the other scored on the error.

Those were the only two runs of the contest for the River Cats, but it was not for lack of trying as Sacramento originally loaded the bases in the top of the first, doing so with a trio of walks. Through the first three innings the River Cats stranded six runners but were then kept off the base paths during the fourth and fifth.

Leading 4-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth, Salt Lake added insurance to their lead by responding with their own pair of runs. Consecutive inning-opening singles put runners at the corners, while a later single by Orlando Martinez and groundout from Zach Humphreys each delivered a run.

Sacramento continued to battle, putting on a runner in each the seventh and eighth innings. However, neither could reach home plate as Ramos was eventually left aboard at third while Johnson was picked off first.

Charged with the loss for Sacramento was starter Kai-Wei Teng (6-5), as he went the first 5.1 innings and allowed six runs on six hits with six strikeouts and four walks. Taking the baton from Teng was Miguel Yajure, who worked the final 2.2 innings and limited the Bees to just one hit while fanning three.

Meanwhile, JD Hammer finished as the winning pitcher of record in a relief role, tossing 3.1 innings while allowing a pair of runs (only one earned) on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

All six Sacramento hits came from different bats, though it was Walton with the run-producing knock in a 1-for-4 effort. Both Tsutsugo and Johnson scored once, but the former was 1-for-4 with a double while the latter was 1-for-3 along with Armando Alvarez (double).

Two games remain in the 2023 campaign, with the penultimate contest of the season taking place at 5:35 p.m. PT from Smith’s Ballpark on Saturday.