Sacramento Scores First but Denied Victory by Salt Lake

SALT LAKE CITY – Despite scoring first and last, it was not enough for the Sacramento River Cats to achieve victory as they were topped on Thursday by the Salt Lake Bees behind a 10-4 final.

In the second the River Cats (4-11/48-42) reached the scoreboard, plating a run when Blake Sabol singled and advanced to second on a failed pickoff, ultimately scoring on a Ryan McKenna single into left center. An inning later and Sacramento added on, as Marco Luciano kicked off the third by cranking a 3-2 offering over the wall in left field for a solo homer, his fourth of the season.

The Bees (7-8/39-50) drew level with a pair of runs in the home half of the inning, all beginning with a double that advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball. Later it was a Jordyn Adams single with two outs, scoring Jason Martin who had reached on a walk.

Briefly the River Cats jumped back in front during the fifth, as David Villar extended his season-long hitting streak to 14 games when he hammered a 1-0 pitch deep to left field. It was his team-leading 13th blast of the season, and he is now just one game shy of matching Casey Schmitt’s team-leading 15-game hitting streak earlier this season.

That was the last time Sacramento enjoyed the lead, as Salt Lake poured on three runs in both the fifth and sixth before adding two final insurance tallies in the seventh. Among the highlights was an Adams RBI double and a two-run Martin homer.

Sacramento’s final tally was a last-ditch effort in the top of the ninth, forcing across a run when a Christian Koss triple to start the frame set up Schmitt with an RBI opportunity, cashing in with a sacrifice fly. Ultimately it was not enough for the River Cats, who have lost consecutive games and 10 of their past 11 contests.

Right-hander Austin Warren (0-1) was charged with the loss as he allowed the go-ahead runs in the fifth, allowing three runs on one hit and two walks with a strikeout in 0.2 innings.

Having one of the better nights at the dish for the River Cats was Blake Sabol, who wound up with three hits and scored once. Meanwhile, Luciano had a pair of knocks including his homer, while Koss scored once thanks to his triple in the ninth.

The River Cats will try to pull level in the series once again in game four on Friday, with first pitch from Smith’s Ballpark at 5:35 p.m. (PT).