Breaking NewsSponsored by The Sullivan Auto Group
Subscribe: Home Delivery Special!
Cats help charity, Sidewinders in loss
Sacramento auctions off jerseys as it aids Tucson's victory.
By Martin McNeal - mmcneal@sacbee.com
Last Updated 12:28 am PDT Sunday, June 29, 2008
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C4
The River Cats organization put forth a monumental effort to support the Komen for the Cure foundation, created to end breast cancer. The players, coaches, batboys and even mascot Dinger wore pink jerseys that were bid on via silent auction during Saturday's game.
On the field, though, the River Cats were scrappy, but a bit sloppy and eventually helped the Tucson Sidewinders to an 8-6 victory before an announced crowd of 12,249 at Raley Field.
It wasn't a lack of effort that hurt the River Cats (48-34), but absence of productivity and execution.
For example, Sacramento entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 8-5. The Sidewinders received six hits from their Nos. 3-6 hitters, while the River Cats had just two through the first eight innings.
Sidewinders first baseman Jamie D'Antona had given his squad the three-run advantage with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth. But it was a throwing error by reliever Brad Kilby in the top of the eighth that allowed Tucson to break a 5-5 tie.
With two outs and runners on first and third and a 3-2 count on Robby Hammock, Kilby attempted a pickoff. The throw to first appeared to surprise first baseman Casey Rogowski and allowed Josh Whitesell to score the tiebreaking run.
Kilby then induced Hammock to pop out to River Cats third baseman Jesus Guzman for the third out.
Sacramento manager Todd Steverson took responsibility for the Kilby throw. When asked if a play had been called to attempt to pick off or at least hold the runner at first, Steverson said, "It was a play.
"I'll take the blame on that one. It probably shouldn't have been on in that spot. And especially with hindsight being 20-20 and (Kilby) getting the guy to pop out. That's what really makes you think about it."
The River Cats got their third hit of the game when catcher Landon Powell homered to right to make the score 8-6 in the ninth. A hit, a walk and a wild pitch on a strikeout allowed the Cats to get the tying run to second, but Cliff Pennington flied out to end the game.
Steverson said he didn't think his team played sloppily despite two errors.
"We only had two hits going into the ninth," he said, "but we were on base all day. We were selective enough to get walks and get runners on, but we just couldn't get hits when we needed them."
Unique content, exceptional value. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Most Popular
More Stories in Sacramento River Cats
News |
Sports |
Business |
Politics |
Opinion |
Entertainment |
Living Here |
Travel |
Blogs |
Cars |
Homes |
Jobs |
Classifieds/Shopping
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Site Map | Advertise | Guide to The Bee | Bee Jobs | FAQs | RSS
Contact Us | e-edition | Subscribe | Manage Your Subscription | E-newsletters | Sacbeemail | Archives
sacbee.com | Sacramento.com | Capitol Alert | SacMomsClub.com | SacPaws.com | SacWineRegion.com
Copyright © The Sacramento Bee
2100 Q St. P.O. Box 15779 Sacramento, CA 95816 (916) 321-1000