Sacramento Starts Series on Winning Note, Downs Albuquerque 5-1

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The All-Star break turned out to be the recharge that the Sacramento River Cats needed, as they scored five times including a three-run fourth while Robbie Ray and the pitching staff held the Albuquerque Isotopes in check, all leading to a 5-1 victory in the series opener on Friday.

Playing a short three-game series, it was the start from Ray (1-0) that got things going early as he faced the minimum through the first and worked around a leadoff walk in the second. From that point forward he retired each of the next 13 hitters he faced, kicking that stretch off by striking out the side in order during the third. It wasn’t until his last batter that the streak ended, issuing a walk before exiting.

Just before Ray subbed out, the River Cats (6-10/50-44) found a way to tally some run support by dropping a three-spot in the fourth. Ryan McKenna singled while Trenton Brooks walked putting runners at the corners, with Jakson Reetz driving in the first run of the game thanks to a single into left field.

That was followed by a sacrifice fly from Christian Koss, while the final run of the frame came courtesy of Marco Luciano when he lined a ball into right field.

Sacramento continued to add on during the sixth, doing so with one swing of the bat thanks to Blake Sabol. He launched his fifth of the year in solo fashion on a 2-0 offering, extending the lead to 4-0.

It took until the top of the eighth for the Isotopes (10-9/36-58) to stop the shutout bid, matching the River Cats with a solo home run of their own from Trevor Boone when he pinch-hit for Kris Bryant. However, Sacramento snatched the run right back in the bottom of the frame, tallying the game’s final run on the second RBI single of the night from Luciano.

Ray ended up the winning pitcher of record, his first in Triple-A this season but his second in a row as he was the winning pitcher in his last game for the San Jose Giants (A) on July 14. He then gave way to Cody Stashak, who tossed a scoreless 0.2 innings, while Spencer Bivens also had a scoreless outing by working the top of the ninth.

For Luciano, he is 9-for-18 (.500) in his last four games and finds himself on a seven-game hitting streak thanks to his pair of RBI singles. Five other River Cats also recorded hits, including McKenna and Reetz, who were each 1-for-4 while Reetz scored once and drove one in.

After taking an early advantage in the series, the River Cats will look to make it consecutive wins for the first time since June 27-28 when the two teams line up tomorrow for game two tomorrow at 6:37 p.m.