Tag Archives: Heliot Ramos

Baseball, Sacramento River Cats

River Cats and Aces Seesaw but Reno Nabs Final Tally

Luciano, Wisely and Diaz Earn RBI Each

By: Jake Ward

Featured Photo by : Shawn Jonas

RENO, Nev. –  The Sacramento River Cats and the Reno Aces traded shots in the middle innings of the series finale of their six-game set, but it was Reno that had the last laugh to split the series as they secured a 6-4 victory on Sunday.

Luciano’s RBI Double in the 3rd inning

For a second straight game the River Cats (5-4) scored first but were unable to keep the lead, breaking the scoreless tie in the third with a two-out RBI double from Marco Luciano that scored Donovan Walton, who had reached with a walk. The Aces (5-3) answered with their swings in the bottom half in a similar fashion as a leadoff walk came around to score on an RBI single from Pavin Smith. 

Ramos’ Single in the 4th
Brett Wisely’s RBI Single in the 4th inning

To start the fourth the River Cats pulled back in front thanks to Brett Wisely, as he singled into left center that scored Heliot Ramos from second who had reached with a single of his own before advancing on a walk to Casey Schmitt.

It took an inning for the Aces to respond, but they did so with a trio of runs in the home half of the fifth on the strength of doubles from Albert Almora Jr. and Kyle Garlick and a pair of free passes.

Yusniel Diaz’s RBI Single in the 6th

Trailing by two, Sacramento found a way to knot the game once again in the away half of the sixth with a rally started when Jakson Reetz was hit by a pitch and Wisely was issued a walk. Reetz did not wait long as he immediately came around to score on an RBI single to left center by Yusniel Diaz, while Wisley scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Walton. 

Walton’s Sacrifice Fly brings Wisely into score

The lead only lasted a half inning, as Reno responded with two of their own in the bottom of the sixth that was kicked off by a Sacramento error. Consecutive singles from Jancarlos Cintron, Barrosa and Almora Jr. resulted in both of the runs, and the inning was kept from getting worse when Barrosa was thrown out at third and gave Sacramento a way out of the frame.

Down but not out, the River Cats loaded the bases back-to-back walks to Heliot Ramos and Schmitt, finally filling when Reetz was hit by a pitch for a second time. Despite having the opportunity to take the lead, one of the year’s most clutch hitters Wisely was unable to capitalize and left them loaded.

After taking over for starter Spencer Howard, who allowed two runs on five hits in 4.1 innings pitched with five strikeouts, RJ Dabovich (0-1) was charged with the loss as he was tagged for four runs (three earned) in his only frame of work.

Keeping the River Cats in the game down the stretch was the trio of Justin Garza, Randy Rodriguez and Cody Stashak, who each combined on 2.0 scoreless innings with only two hits allowed.

Picking up the win for Reno was Blake Walston (1-0), who entered after the recently signed Joran Montgomery who was still ramping up for the Diamondbacks’ regular season. Walston went 2.2 innings and two earned runs on only one hit with four walks and two strikeouts. Down the stretch, Francisco Morales earned a hold with a clean 1.1. innings while Justin Martinez collected his second save of the campaign with a perfect ninth. 

All four Sacramento hits came from different bats, with the trio of Luciano (1-for-5, double), Wisely (1-for-3, run) and Diaz (1-for-3) responsible for most and an RBI each. 

Having completed their first six-game series with a split, the River Cats will now return home for their first six-game set at Sutter Health Park beginning on Tuesday against the El Paso Chihuahuas with first pitch at 6:45 p.m.

Sacramento River Cats

Sacramento Secures 12-Inning, 9-8 Victory in Battle Against Reno

Reetz Homers Twice While Walton Earns First Career Pitching Victory

By : Jake Ward (River Cats Media Relations)

Reetz’s first homer in the 2nd inning.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Tuesday’s series opener between the Sacramento River Cats and the Reno Aces had a little bit of everything including scoring in eight innings, a pair of two-homer games, and even a position player earning the victory on the mound as Sacramento was able to hold on for a wild 9-8 victory in 12 innings. 

Brett Wisely triples in the 2nd inning.

The scoring was hot and heavy early on a beautiful day in Reno, Nev., and the River Cats (3-1) wasted little time as they dropped two runs in each of the second and third innings. A leadoff triple in the second from Brett Wisely put him just 90 feet away from scoring the game’s first run, which he did mere moments later on a wild pitch from Aces (2-1) starter Blake Walston. Two batters later, Jakson Reetz crushed his first dinger of the season that traveled an eye-popping 456 feet over the scoreboard in left center to make it 2-0.

Ramos homers in the 3rd inning.

While the Aces got one back on a Jose Herrera single to left in the home half of the second, Heliot Ramos started the third with a bang by crushing his second homer in as many games with a deep blast to left center. A bases loaded walk later in the inning pushed the score to 4-1. For Ramos, he is the first River Cat to homer in consecutive games in 2024. 

That lead was not meant to last when Kyle Garlick stepped to the plate for Reno, as he grooved a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right field for a three-run homer that instantly tied the game with just one out in the third. Reno then took the lead with a run in each the fourth and fifth, as Tim Tawa doubled and scored the go-ahead run followed by the second Garlick homer of the afternoon on an 0-2 pitch to lead off the home half of the fourth.

Reetz two-run homer in the 8th inning.

Sacramento’s offense went dormant until the eighth, coming to life when Reetz matched Garlick with his second home run of the day, this a ball that just cleared the wall in left center and tied the score once more at 6-6. In 2023 there were 10 River Cats who had two-homer games, which included a pair from Jakson Reetz. He was also the last to do it in 2023, coming on July 30 at Albuquerque. 

From that point forward it seemed as if there might not be a winner in the game, as each time the River Cats would jump in front, Reno was there to answer. In the ninth, singles from Casey Schmitt and Chase Pinder set the table for a Wisely double down the left-field line, though it scored only Schmitt on the play.

Through eight innings River Cats pitchers had not issued a walk, but that changed in the ninth as they walked the bases loaded while the second of two balks in the frame ended up forcing home the tying run.

Villar’s RBI single in the 10th.

Back at it in the 10th, David Villar came through in the clutch when he sent a ball through the hole at second base which scored Ismael Munguia, who began the frame on second as the free runner.

Stashak Gloves the line drive comeback shot.

Entering to pitch was right-hander Cody Stashak, who was able to get two relatively quick outs with runners at the corners, the second of which was a comeback-liner that would have connected with Stashak had he not displayed incredible reflexes to get his glove up for the second out. Despite that play, he would walk in the tying run that forced game into the 11th, which was the only of the three extra innings to not feature any scoring.

Part of the reason for no scoring in the 11th was infielder Donovan Walton (1-0), who entered for his first minor league pitching appearance in his career (one major league pitching appearance for San Francisco on June 3, 2022 at Miami) as Sacramento tried not to burn their bullpen arms in the first game of the series. Walton was effective, as he earned a trio of fly balls that left the free runner stranded on base. 

Stepping to the plate and proving to be the hero once again was Reetz, though this time all he needed was a double down the left-field line to easily score Trenton Brooks as the free runner and give Sacramento the 9-8 advantage.

Out for the bottom of the 12th again was Walton, putting the cap on Sacramento’s first 12-inning game since they also went 12 innings against Sugar Land on April 8, 2022 in a 7-6 victory. However, Walton needed some help as there were not one, but two outfield assists on plays at the plate that prevented the tying run from scoring.

Pinder’s assist in the 12th .

First, a Herrera single with only one out looked as if it could score free runner Tristin English from second base, but his hesitation while rounding third provided just enough time for Reetz to collect the relay throw that was started by Pinder and dive back across home plate to tag out English. In the very next at-bat, Tawa sent a double into the left-center gap that seemed as if it also might tie the game. However, Munguia was able to get to it quickly and connected on a relay with Marco Luciano that had the ball to the plate with feet to spare, ultimately sealing the 9-8 win for the River Cats. 

Those final two plays earned Walton his first pitching victory of his professional career, though it would not have been possible without three combined scoreless innings from Randy Rodriguez (one inning with one strikeout) and Juan Sanchez (two innings with three strikeouts), as neither allowed a base runner.

Charged with the loss for Reno was Chris Rodriguez (0-1), who was able to stay clean in the 11th but gave up the one unearned run in the top of the 12th. 

At the dish, every River Cat to have an official at-bat reached base, and they were led by the 3-for-4 effort from Wisely who also scored once, tallied two doubles and a triple, and drove in a pair. He would not be outshined by Reetz, who clobbered two dingers in a 3-for-5 day to go with four RBI and a double. Also picking up multi-hit games was the pair of Luciano (2-for-5, run scored, two walks) and Villar (2-for-6, double, RBI).

Each of the first four games of the 2024 season have been decided by one run, which had not happened in a single season for Sacramento since 2017 when each contest from July 24-27 was separated by just one tally. That happened twice in 2017, with the first such instance occurring from May 6-9. Dating back to the final two games of 2023, each of the past six River Cats contests have been one-run games.

Just two minutes shy of the four-hour mark was when the game came to a close, the longest game time for the River Cats since they went four hours and 34 minutes against Sugar Land in that 12-inning marathon on April 8, 2022.

Both teams will be back in action with another afternoon matinee on Wednesday, with first pitch at 2:05 p.m. from Greater Nevada Field. 

Sacramento River Cats

Wisely Walks Cats to Victory In 2024 Season Opener

Photos by Shawn Jonas

By: Jake Ward (River Cats Media Relations)

March 30, 2024

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – It took a day longer than it was originally scheduled for, but the Sacramento River Cats celebrated their first win of the 2024 season in walk-off style thanks to a solo home run from Brett Wisely in the bottom of the ninth to give Sacramento a 3-2 win over the Salt Lake Bees. 

The game entered the ninth locked at 2-2 after the Bees (0-1) had scored twice in the away half of the eighth on their own home run, a two-run shot from Chad Wallach that came against left-hander Juan Sanchez.

Wisely Walks Cats to Victory In 2024 Season Opener

Wisely wasted no time in sending the crowd home happy, as he unloaded on the third pitch of his at-bat and sent a ball into the bullpen beyond the right-field wall for the first River Cats (1-0) homer of the season. In 2023 Sacramento was 8-6 in walk-off games, but only two were won by a home run (both came from Heliot Ramos on a Saturday).

Early on it seemed as if the River Cats might not need the late-game theatrics, as they plated a pair in the fourth inning and had held that lead until the eighth. After tallying the first hit of the 2024 campaign for the River Cats (1-0), Trenton Brooks was also responsible for the first RBI of the year. Catcher Blake Sabol set the table with a single into right field and then swiped second base, later scoring easily when Brooks sent a knock into right-center field.

To start the game, it was the Bees that nearly took the advantage out of the gate. Both of the game’s first two batters reached base, as Jordyn Adams smacked a leadoff double to left field and then was joined on the basepaths when Livan Soto’s bunt single put runners at the corners.

Settling into a groove after that was Sacramento starter Carson Seymour, who was making his Triple-A debut. Seymour immediately punched out the next two hitters, with the latter kicking off a double play to end the inning when Sabol threw out Soto trying to steal second.

Wisely Walks Cats to Victory In 2024 Season Opener

Sacramento also had its chances at breaking the game open but failed to score in the home half of the third despite loading the bases thanks to singles from Brooks and Chase Pinder, along with a walk drawn by Marco Luciano. The bags were full once again in the fourth behind Brooks’ RBI single, but Sacramento managed only one more run on a walk by Ismael Munguia. 

After Seymour’s exit, he flipped the ball to newcomer Tommy Romero, who shut the Bees down for three full innings. The right-hander allowed just a trio of hits and a walk while recording six of his nine outs via the punchout. As a squad, the River Cats ended the night with 14 strikeouts, which was their most in a season-opener since at least 2005.

There to collect the victory was last year’s Triple-A wins leader Nick Avila (1-0), who started the sequel to his undefeated 2023 campaign (14-0) by working a clean ninth with a pair of punchouts.

Brooks led the way at the dish, closing his night 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Wisely also collected a pair of knocks including his game-winning walk-off, while both Pinder and Sabol had a hit each.

Taking the loss for Salt Lake was Jimmy Herget (0-1), who allowed a home run to the only batter he faced. 

Both teams will have a busy day tomorrow, as last night’s postponement has turned Sunday into a doubleheader consisting of two seven-inning games beginning at 1:05 p.m.