Nine-Run Third Frame Energizes Cats, Zoom to 17-9 Victory

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Nine runs in the third inning were the highlight of Thursday’s win for the Sacramento River Cats, unleashing a frame that included the second grand slam of the season from Osleivis Basabe to flip momentum in the game and eventually secure a 17-9 victory over the Round Rock Express.

The River Cats (40-32/76-71) had found themselves in a 4-0 deficit through the first three sets of at-bats by the Express (41-31/75-72), who had jumped on Sacramento starter Hayden Birdsong for three runs in the first and one more in the top of the third.

Sacramento finally answered in the bottom of the third, plating their first run after the Round Rock combo of starter Kumar Rocker and Aidan Anderson walked the bases loaded, and eventually walked home a run. Not settling for a walk, Basabe got a pitch to hit in a 3-1 count and launched his second grand slam of the season over the wall in left center.

That made Basabe the second River Cat this season to hit two grand slams this season, joining Marco Luciano who has done so on May 10 at Tacoma and July 6 at Reno. Overall, the River Cats have nine grand slams on the year which is second in the Pacific Coast League only to the 11 of Reno.

Not finished in the frame, the River Cats continued to add onto the new lead with RBI knocks from Logan Porter, Wade Meckler, and Tyler Fitzgerald. That added on four more runs, two of which came on a double from Meckler, his fourth in the past three games.

A solo home run helped the Express cut into the lead, but the River Cats put things out of reach with a four-spot in the fifth inning. Fitzgerald drove in yet another run when he singled home Dayson Croes, while Luis Matos and Basabe were also credited with RBI during the frame.

Both teams traded three-run innings and single-run frames from that point forward, starting with three in the top of the sixth for the Express. Entering to start the frame and making his Triple-A debut was Will Bednar, but he recorded just two outs and allowed three runs on three hits. Taking over was Sean Hjelle (6-1), who settled the scene for the River Cats and escaped the image without further damage despite inheriting a runner. Hjelle’s steady presence earned him his sixth victory of the season, as he went 2.1 innings while allowing only a single hit and striking out three.

The last big inning for Sacramento was the bottom of the seventh when they tacked on three more to the tally, with Basabe stepping up big yet again with a two-RBI double down the left-field line. Not only did that leave him a triple shy of the cycle, it pushed him to a total of eight RBI in the contest which tied a franchise record. Only two other River Cats had driven in eight runs during a game in franchise history, starting with Cody McKay on Sept. 1, 2002 while Dan Johnson was the second to do so on April 11, 2004.

Five different River Cats had multi-hit games, though none more than the four-hit performance by Matos in his first game back with the River Cats since being optioned. He ended his day scoring three runs and driving in two, while both Meckler and Fitzgerald also drove in a pair with the former logging two hits while the latter had three.

Sacramento will look to keep up the momentum in the final three games of the season, as they continue their set with the Express on Friday at 6:45 p.m. (PT) from Sutter Health Park.