River Cats Leave Reno with 9-7 Win Over Aces

RENO, Nev. – A seesaw contest went down to the wire, but the Sacramento River Cats were able to end their series with the Reno Aces on a high note by snagging a 9-7 win over the Aces at Greater Nevada Field on Sunday.

Striking first was the River Cats (34-23/70-62), who produced a pair of tallies in the top of the first thanks to a Marco Luciano RBI double while Hunter Bishop collected an RBI on a sacrifice fly. However, the Aces (17-40/54-78) were able to counter with a pair of runs of their own when Matt Mervis doubled to right field with two outs, scoring Jorge Barrosa and Tommy Troy.

An AJ Vukovich single gave Reno the lead temporarily, until the duo of Jesus Rodriguez and Luciano launched a pair of solo homers during Sacramento’s half of the fifth. Rodriguez hit his on the first pitch of the inning, going deep to left field, while Luciano had a tape measure blast to deep center field that was originally calculated at 508 feet (but was later revised to 436 feet).

Continuing to swing back-and-forth, the Aces once more jumped in front when Tryo and Andy Weber both chipped in RBI singles during the home half of the sixth. That lead did not last a full half inning before the River Cats put up a four spot, using an RBI single from Brett Wisely and a three-run blast by Osleivis Basabe to snatch the lead for good.

Sacramento added an insurance tally in the top of the ninth, one that proved to be unnecessary, as Wisely logged his fourth and final hit of the day and later scampered around the bases to score on a Bishop single into left field.

Down but not out, Reno managed to score twice in their final set of swings when Vukovich ripped a single to right and Cristian Pache singled to center, the latter of which came with two outs and forced Sacramento hurler Ryan Watson from the contest.

On to get the final out was Miguel Díaz (S, 6), who struck out the only batter he faced and stranded a pair of inherited runners. It has been an impressive stretch for Díaz, who has only allowed one earned run (two total) over 16 appearances dating back to July 22.

That secured the victory for Sean Hjelle (5-1), who had entered in relief of Hayden Birdsong and tossed three innings while allowing just two runs with a trio of strikeouts and no walks.

Four different River Cats tallied a multi-hit game, all of which was led by Wisely’s 4-for-5 effort with a trio of runs scored, one double, and an RBI. Meanwhile, Rodriguez tallied his own trio of hits which included his solo homer and scored twice more while striking out once.

The River Cats will return home for their next series, a six-game set with Las Vegas that begins on Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. (PT).