Walk Off Hands Kitties Second Straight Loss

RENO, Nev. – For the first time since the end of the 2023 season the Sacramento River Cats slugged five homers in a game, but still it was not enough to hold onto a victory in game five against the Reno Aces as the home squad scored three in the ninth for a 7-6 walk-off win on Saturday.

Excitement started from the very first pitch of the contest for the River Cats (42-25), as Tyler Fitzgerald smacked a ball to deep left-center field that hit the top of the wall and caromed away just long enough for Fitzgerald to race around the bases and tally an inside-the-park home run. Two batters later and Luis Matos added on with his own dinger, this one clearing the wall in nearly the same spot where Fitzgerald’s fell short.

This marked the sixth time this season that Sacramento has hit multiple homers in the same inning, with two of those instances coming in the first frame as they also did so on May 22 at El Paso. Meanwhile, the inside-the-park home run for Fitzgerald was the 13th by a River Cat since 2005, and marked the second this season as Hunter Bishop also did so for his first Triple-A homer exactly one month ago on May 15 against Oklahoma City.

For Fitzgerald it was his was the second inside-the-park homer as a River Cat, making him the third to do so since 2005 along with Aaron Cunningham and Darren Ford. His first came a year ago to the day on June 15, 2023 when he hit one on the road against Sugar Land.

An inning later and the River Cats continued to add on with the long ball, as Ismael Munguia hit the only Sacramento home run that was not a solo shot by crushing a two-run dinger in the second. It was a two-out blast by Munguia, his second homer of the season, which scored Donovan Walton who had walked just prior.

Matos continued his hot streak in the third inning, stepping up to the plate and unloading on his second homer of the night to deep left field. It was Matos’ second two-homer game of the season, both of which have come against Reno as he also did so on April 3. For the season, six of his seven home runs have come against the Aces at Greater Nevada Field.

In the fourth Walton also joined the home run party, mashing his fourth of the campaign in no-doubt style as he hammered a 1-0 pitch out to right field. At that time, Sacramento had tallied just five hits, all of which were home runs.

The Aces (32-36) officially started their comeback in the third inning, plating a pair after a leadoff walk and ensuing single came around to score on a two-RBI double by Jordan Lawlar. That was the first of three run-scoring innings for Reno, who struck again in the fourth on a Jose Herrera single before doing so again in the fifth when Lawlar singled to open the frame and scored in the next at-bat on a double by Kyle Garlick.

That was the last of the scoring until the final at-bats despite numerous opportunities for both sides, which included Sacramento getting a leadoff double from Matos in the eighth inning before ultimately leaving him stranded.

On the close out the contest was Nick Garcia (L, 2-1), who worked around the first two batters reaching in the eighth thanks to a double play but once again ran into trouble in the ninth. A walk to pinch-hitter Adrian Del Castillo and a double by Albert Almora Jr. had a pair in scoring position with one out, and both crossed home in the next at-bat when Lawlar hit a triple to right center.

It seemed Sacramento might force extra innings after a strikeout of Garlick for the second out, but a Tristin English single into right-center field spelled the end of the contest and sent Reno home with a 7-6 walk-off victory. It was the second walk-off loss for Sacramento this season, and in walk-off decisions they have lost two straight as they were also topped by El Paso in that fashion on May 24 by the same 7-6 final in nine innings.

Additionally, this was just the first loss this season when the River Cats have held the lead after the eighth inning, and only their second loss when they’ve been leading after seven frames. It also marked the fifth time this season in which Sacramento has lost consecutive games.

Lost in the walk-off loss was the Triple-A debut for San Francisco’s No. 6 ranked prospect Hayden Birdsong, who was solid by allowing just three runs on five hits in four innings while punching out seven batters. He had only twice struck out seven or more this season while with Richmond, and recorded his first Triple-A strikeout in the opening frame against Lawlar.

At the dish, Matos closed his night 3-for-5 thanks to his pair of homers and the double, his fourth three-hit game of the season and all have come in Reno against the Aces. Meanwhile, Walton was also 2-for-3 while scoring twice and smashing his homer.

Unfortunately, this loss paired with a Sugar Land Space Cowboys victory has dropped Sacramento three games back of the Pacific Coast League first-half title with just seven games left to play.

The River Cats can still manage a series victory if they can claim a victory in the finale on Sunday, with first pitch between the two teams coming at 1:05 p.m. (PT) from Greater Nevada Field.