Coming all the way back from a 2-0 series deficit, the Sacramento River Cats clinched their opening-round PCL playoff series against the Reno Aces on Sunday with a 13-2 win at Raley Field.
With the victory, the River Cats advanced to the PCL Championship Series, in which they will face the Omaha Storm Chasers.
Lenny DiNardo allowed three hits and two earned runs in seven innings to earn the win for Sacramento. It was the third game in a row the River Cats held Reno -- the highest-scoring team in the PCL during the regular season -- to just two runs.
Quiet through the first two innings, Sacramento's bats broke out for five runs in the third to begin the rout.
Grant Green, Josh Donaldson and Adrian Cardenas all drove in three runs in the game. Donaldson went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles.
After losing the first two games of the series in Reno, the River Cats won three straight at home to clinch the series.
"The guys here, like I've said all year, we've got a bunch of guys here that are winners," Donaldson said.
"When we came back here, I really feel like winning that first game here was the biggest thing," he said. "After we won the first game, we knew we had what it took to come back and win."
Aces starter Tom Layne took the loss, as the Aces' first playoff appearance in the three-year history of the franchise came to an end.
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