SAN ANTONIO - River Cats catcher Francisco Peña homered twice to lead the offense past the Missions with a Wednesday night 5-2 win. Chris Shaw also went deep for Sacramento hitting back-to-back home runs with Pena. The win evens up the series at 1-1 ahead of Thursday night's rubber match.Sacramento's
SAN ANTONIO - River Cats catcher Francisco Peña homered twice to lead the offense past the Missions with a Wednesday night 5-2 win. Chris Shaw also went deep for Sacramento hitting back-to-back home runs with Pena. The win evens up the series at 1-1 ahead of Thursday night's rubber match.
Sacramento's offense got things going immediately following the first pitch. Steven Duggar lead off the game with a single and eventually scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Mike Gerber to give the River Cats an early 1-0 lead.
The Missions tied things up in the bottom of the second inning. Hernán Pérez lead off the inning with a single before Tyrone Taylor moved him to third with a double. In the next at-bat, Troy Stokes Jr. picked up his 30th RBI of the season on a groundout.
After coming on to pitch in the third, the River Cats offense jumped on Derby in the top of the fourth inning. Francisco Pena and Chris Shaw lead off the inning by hitting back-to-back home runs over the left-centerfield wall. The Missions trailed 3-1 following the longballs.
The Missions started chipping away at the River Cats' lead in the fifth inning. Stokes Jr. starting things off with a double and he came around to score on a Nate Orf groundout. The Missions trailed 3-2 going into the sixth.
The River Cats added some insurance runs in the eighth inning. After allowing a lead off single, Derby was pulled for Danny Coulombe. Coulombe struck out the first batter he faced but the next batter wasn't so kind. For the second time in the game, Pena left the yard, this time driving in two runs and giving the River Cats a 5-2 lead.
Aaron Wilkerson got the start for the Missions. After allowing a run in the first inning, Wilkerson settled things down in the second and third innings. He was pulled halfway through the third inning for Bubba Derby. Wilkerson lasted for 2.2 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits, and four strikeouts. In relief, Derby recorded his 7th loss of the season and falls to 5-7 on the year.
Casey Meisner was the starting pitcher for the River Cats. He stifled Missions batter for most of the night. In six innings, Meisner allowed two earned runs on four hits, walked two, and didn't record a strikeout. With the win, he improves to 2-0 on the season. Submarine pitcher Tyler Roger pitched the final two innings and picked up his third save of the season.
Mauricio Dubón began the day with the Missions but switched clubhouses after being traded to the San Francisco Giants. Wearing number 14, he started at shortstop for the River Cats and batted second. He went 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat with Sacramento.
The Missions and River Cats will wrap up their three-game series Thursday night at Wolff Stadium. Right-hander Burch Smith (6-3, 2.53) is scheduled to start for the Missions and Sacramento has yet to announce their starter. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
-With the loss, San Antonio falls to 68-41 on the season.
-With a second inning single, Hernan Perez extended his hitting streak to 14 games.
-Wilkerson's 2.2 innings pitched is tied for his second shortest outing with the Missions. He also pitched 2.2 on July 12 against Omaha and he only lasted for 0.2 innings against Las Vegas June 10.
2019 is the 118th season of baseball in San Antonio and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Single game tickets are on sale now at the Wolff Stadium Box Office or online at samissions.com. Season seat memberships are available now by calling 210-675-PARK (7275).
