Walk Off Sees Tacoma Even Series with Sacramento

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Twice the Sacramento River Cats were one out away from taking a 2-0 series lead in a six-game set over the Tacoma Rainiers, but Tacoma generated a rally each time that powered them back to a 7-6 walk-off victory in 10 innings.

Each team put a runner on in the first via a single, with the Rainiers (26-27) moving their runner to third after a stolen base and throwing error, but both were left stranded. The River Cats (24-29) followed that up by drawing a pair of walks in the second, but again were denied a run.

For a third straight inning Sacramento put their leadoff runner on, doing so when Matos drew a free pass. This time the River Cats were able to take advantage, as David Villar blasted his third homer of the season to left field that broke the scoreless tie for a 2-0 lead.

Walks were the theme of the night for Tacoma, and Sacramento made them pay again just an inning later with Villar once more delivering the blow. Coming at the conclusion of a battle where he fouled off numerous pitches, Villar prevailed in a 12-pitch at-bat with a single through the left side that scored Michael Gigliotti.

Continuing the rally, the River Cats loaded the bases with one out, but scored only twice more starting when Jacob Nottingham was hit by a pitch to earn an RBI the hard way. The final run of the inning crossed the plate on a bases-loaded walk by Shane Matheny.

When the Rainiers finally reached the scoreboard, they matched the three-run inning by the River Cats to stay within striking distance. Mike Ford began the inning with a leadoff homer, with Tacoma completing their swings thanks to a pair of RBI singles from Pedro Severino and Cesar Hernandez to make the game 5-3.

Those were the only runs allowed by Sacramento starter Sean Hjelle, who retired the final four hitters he faced which included a pair of strikeouts. He left in line for the win following the fifth, striking out three while yielding six hits in his 5.0 innings of work, just the fourth time this season a River Cats starter has lasted five frames.

Phoenix Sanders tossed a clean sixth with a strikeout in the sixth, flipping the ball to Daniel Tillo in the seventh. Though Tillo surrendered a homer on the first pitch of his outing to the recently entered Pat Valaika, he bounced back and did not allow another base runner.

Right-hander Cole Waites notched his eighth straight scoreless appearance by working around a pair of one-out base runners, then saw Joey Marciano take the bump tying to close out the contest. Marciano found trouble as the first two Tacoma batters reached, but the situation improved after he earned a strikeout.

A bad hop on a ground ball saved the Rainiers from a game-ending double play but did move the River Cats one out away from a second victory, until Tacoma tied the game on a single towards the right side by Cooper Hummel that left Sacramento without a play.

Turning the page, the River Cats jumped back in front thanks to the automatic runner in the top of the 10th. A Will Wilson sacrifice bunt moved Clint Coulter to third, the perfect spot for him to score on a Matos RBI single through the right side for the go-ahead run.

Seeking their first one-run victory on the road in 2023, Marciano returned to start the 10th and recorded an out before exiting for Melvin Adon (1-4). His outing started when he hit Adam Engel with a pitch, and though he had the River Cats one out away from victory for a second time after a strikeout, the contest ended shortly after on a two-RBI single to right field by Valaika for a walk-off 7-6 Tacoma win.

This marked the first loss this season for the River Cats both in extra innings and in games decided by a walk off. Even in defeat they drew a total of 13 walks, a new season high (previous: 12, 4/11 at Reno) and the most since they drew 13 twice last season, with the last instance against El Paso on June 24, 2022. While the offense was earning them, the pitching limited them by walking only two batters to match their season low.

Both Matos and Villar amassed three-hit games, with the latter ending 3-for-6 with two runs and three RBI while the former was 3-for-5 with a run, RBI and a walk. Going 2-for-3 was the duo of Nottingham and Gigliotti, with Nottingham reaching base four times while Gigliotti chipped in a run and pair of walks.

Sacramento will try to regain an edge in the series when these two teams line up for game three with the first pitch tomorrow at 7:05 p.m.