Tag Archives: Carson Whisenhunt

Sacramento River Cats

Sacramento Suffers First Road Loss at Hands of Reno

Luciano Records Second Three-Hit Game of Season

Luciano Single in the 1st inning

By : Jake Ward (River Cats Media Relations)

RENO, Nev. – All good things must come to an end, and so did the unblemished road record for the Sacramento River Cats as they were handed a 9-1 defeat at the hands of the Reno Aces in game four of their series on Friday.

Whisenhunt gets the strikeout in the 2nd inning.

The Aces (3-3) took the advantage early with their swings in the first by getting to River Cats (5-2) starter Carson Whisenhunt (0-1) for a pair of runs on the strength of four singles, with the latter two RBI singles from Tristin English and Alber Almora Jr. that came with two outs in the frame.

Two innings later Reno added onto its lead, doing so with one swing of the bat thanks to Kevin Newman who hit the first pitch of the third over the wall in right to make it 3-0. Continuing the offense, the Aces tacked on three more in the fourth after an error at shortstop in front of a Jancarlos Cintron single set the stage for a three-run homer by Jorge Barrosa to left center. 

After a final strikeout, Whisenhunt exited the contest in favor of right-hander Daulton Jefferies, who kept the Aces off the board for most of his 4.1 innings except for the sixth. Consecutive singles to open the frame put a pair on, allowing Barrosa and Jose Herrera to each collect an RBI with their own base knocks. Later in the inning, the final run of the frame on a sacrifice fly from Kyle Garlick. 

Walton’s Single in the 3rd inning

Sacramento prevented the shutout with a run in the top of the seventh, scoring once on a double play ball by last night’s winning pitcher, Donovan Walton. The inning was poised to be much larger than just a single run, with Blake Sabol drawing a walk to lead off while Yusniel Diaz followed immediately with a single. Another walk, this time to Ismael Munguia, loaded the bases, until Walton’s double play traded one run for two outs leaving a final line out by Luis Matos to end the inning.

Whisenhunt was charged with the loss after allowing the first runs of his Triple-A career, yielding six (five earned) on eight hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work. Jefferies went the rest of the 4.1 innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits with two walks and four punchouts.

On the other side, Reno starter Cristian Mesa (2-0) made it into the seventh inning. He eventually left after 6.0+ innings while allowing just the one run on five hits, though he walked three and struck out only two.

Luciano Single in the 8th inning

Pacing Sacramento at the plate was Marco Luciano, who was 3-for-4 on the night which included a single that came off the bat at 106.0 mph in the top of the first. Each game that Luciano has tallied a hit has been a multi-hit effort, as he now has four multi-hit games including a pair of contests with three base knocks. Also collecting hits were Matos (1-for-4, double), Diaz (1-for-3), and Walton (1-for-3). 

Mattos Double in the 5th inning

Both teams will return to the field of Greater Nevada Field for game five of this series on Saturday, with first pitch at 4:05 p.m.

Sacramento River Cats

River Cats Fight To The End, Split Doubleheader

Whisenhunt Dazzles in Game One, Ramos Homers in Game Two

By Jake Ward (RiverCats Media Relations)

March 31, 2024

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Fans of pitching were in for a treat in the doubleheader on Sunday between the Sacramento River Cats and the Salt Lake Bees, as the two sides kept each other at bay and wound up splitting the twin bill after Sacramento took game one by a 1-0 final but saw the Bees capture game two in extra innings, 3-2.

Game One (7 Innings)

Pitching was the theme in the first of the day’s twin bill, and shining was none other than the No. 3 prospect in the San Francisco Giants organization, Carson Whisenhunt. He punched out the first batter he faced, struck out the side in the second, and ended his day after three innings by recording six of his nine outs via the strikeout. Each of his punchouts ended with a whiff by a Bees (1-2) batter, and he yielded just one hit without a walk.

Following the groove of the lefty for the River Cats (2-1) was right-hander Spencer Bivens (1-0), who picked up where Whisenhunt left off by striking out two in the fourth, the latter of which came with runners at the corners to leave them stranded.

It takes two to duel, as despite a leadoff single from Heliot Ramos, Sacramento was held off base in each the second and third innings by Zach Plesac. Finally in the fourth the River Cats broke through against Plesac thanks to the duo of Casey Schmitt and last night’s walk-off hero Brett Wisely. Wisely walked and was able to swipe second to put himself in scoring position, when Schmitt tallied his first hit of the season that sailed into center field and produced what would be the game’s only run.

Bivens kept his momentum going through the sixth, as a walk to Jack Lopez in the top of the fifth was erased when Lopez was caught stealing. Next time out, Bivens worked around a one-out ground rule double by Livan Soto to end the sixth.

Taking over to start the seventh was right-hander Cody Stashak (S, 1), who worked a quick and clean seventh for his first save since he was a member of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on May 20, 2019. Despite his dominant outing, Whisenhunt earned a no-decision.

One day after logging 14 strikeouts in their season-opening contest, which was the most in a season-opener in Sacramento history since at least 2005, the River Cats collected another 11 punchouts in their campaign’s second game. Last year in 2023, there were only 10 instances of Sacramento logging 11 or more strikeouts in consecutive games (high of four from 6/13-6/16).

Charged with the loss for Salt Lake was Plesac, who lasted 5.0 innings and allowed just two hits and a pair of walks while striking out four. Former San Francisco Giant Hunter Strickland tossed the sixth and allowed one hit with a strikeout.

Both teams had just three hits in the contest, and only Soto of Salt Lake had a multi-hit game. For the River Cats, the trio of hits came from Ramos, Schmitt and David Villar, while the only run was scored by Wisely after his walk. The game was the fastest seven-inning game in Sacramento history at one hour and 38 minutes, topping the season opening contest between these same two teams from last year on April 1, 2023 by one minute (one hour, 39 minutes).

Game Two (9 Innings)

Continuing the low-scoring theme of the day, game two of the doubleheader did not see a run through the originally scheduled seven innings. It was not until the eighth inning that the Bees broke through on the scoreboard, taking advantage of the free runner on second base with a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third, where they scored easily on a single by Jordyn Adams. Salt Lake continued the offensive and loaded the bases, ultimately scoring once more on a bases loaded walk.

On the first pitch of the home half of the eighth the River Cats answered, as Heliot Ramos hammered the first offering to straightaway center field for a two-run homer. The first of the year by Ramos was reminiscent of his pair of walk-off home runs in 2023, getting out of the park in a hurry and energizing the home crowd.

Moving into the ninth, it seemed as if Sacramento would escape the inning without allowing a run, but the throw to first from Otto Lopez on a would-be inning-ending double play sailed wide and into the Bees’ dugout, allowing the run to score. The River Cats would then go down in order to bring an end to the game.

Both teams were able to put runners on in the early going, but both had a runner picked off in the first. Each team had one hit in the third and fourth innings but failed to get anything to materialize.

Sacramento starter Mason Black went five innings and scattered four hits, striking out five in the process but left with a no-decision. RJ Dabovich made his season debut and worked 1.1 scoreless innings, while Tanner Andrews (0-1) yielded an unearned run in 1.2 innings but was also charged with the loss.

Earning credit for the victory was Zac Kristofrak (1-0), as he tossed 1.2 scoreless frames while walking and striking out one. Davis Daniel, Salt Lake’s starter, also was rendered a no-decision despite his six frames of work, allowing five hits and punching out five.

Luciano collected the only multi-hit game in the second half of the day for Sacramento, going 2-for-3 with a walk. Also logging hits was Ismael Munguia, Blake Sabol, Lopez and Pinder.

With the first homestand in the books, Sacramento will now hit the road for their first six-game set, which begins on Tuesday at Greater Nevada Field in Reno, Nev. as the River Cats take on the Reno Aces beginning Tuesday at 2:05 p.m.

San Francisco Giants

Whisenhunt displays electric stuff in brief Triple-A season debut

https://www.mlb.com/giants/news/topic/mlb-pipeline-coverage

By: Jesús Cano

@jesus_cano88

The Giants are already loaded with a starting rotation consisting of Logan Webb, Blake Snell, Jordan Wicks and Kyle Harrison, but a young arm is strong-arming his way toward San Francisco.

In his 2024 debut, Carson Whisenhunt struck out six batters while allowing just one hit over three scoreless innings in Triple-A Sacramento River Cats 1-0 win over Salt Lake on Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park.

“It’d be really cool to get the opportunity to go up there and be with those guys,” Whisenhunt said. “I’m trying not to look that far ahead. Just trying to get back into the field and take care of things. And if I get the opportunity to go out there, I’ll take advantage of it.”

MLB Pipeline’s No. 80 overall prospect allowed just one hit — a single grounded to right field by Livan Soto, the second batter he faced — and racked up 12 swings-and-misses.

The 23-year-old’s arsenal is equipped with a sinker, a slider and a curveball. On Sunday, Whisenhunt generated five whiffs with his sinker, which topped at 95 mph. His changeup accounted for seven whiffs.

“I’ve been working on a bunch of different things through Spring Training and the offseason,” Whisenhunt said. “I feel like all of my pitches were really good today. There were a few misses that I can work on and get better at, but for just that first time back out there, an actual game felt really good.”

Whisenhunt put himself on the map last year. In 16 appearances, he posted a 2.45 ERA and held hitters to a .177 average-against in 58 2/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A. He ascended from the club’s No. 8 prospect slot to No. 3 this season.

“I’m not trying to do too much on the mound,” Whisenhunt said about last season’s success. “I’m trying not to overthink it or do anything out of the ordinary. Coming into this year, I’m trying to keep that same mindset, just trying to stay myself.”

His numbers are even more impressive when you consider that he was shut down late last July with a left elbow sprain. Remaining healthy was a key priority for Whisenhunt during the offseason.

Having already mastered his changeup and sinker, the East Carolina product also spent time working on command and developing his curveball. He only threw it twice for the River Cats in Sunday’s game, but already feels like progress has been made.