TACOMA, Wash. – It was an exhibit in situational hitting.
With two outs in the third inning, the River Cats produced six consecutive hits and scored four runs en route to an 8-6 win over Tacoma in Pacific Coast League play before an announced crowd of 4,529 at Cheney Stadium on Thursday.
Aaron Cunningham singled and, after advancing to second on a wild pitch, scored on a single by Danny Putnam. Matt Murton followed with a double, and scored with Putnam on a triple by Wes Bankston. Brooks Conrad had an RBI single, and Jeff Baisley singled before starter Rich Dorman struck out Donnie Murphy to end the inning with Sacramento ahead 5-0.
"We did a great job of getting some pitches to hit and capitalizing on some mistakes," River Cats manager Todd Steverson said.
Sacramento added to its lead with two outs in the seventh. Conrad, who went 2 for 5 with three RBIs, doubled to score Cunningham and Murton.
Tacoma avoided its first shutout since May 9 – a 3-0 loss at Iowa – with three runs in the eighth. Craig Wilson doubled off reliever Bret Prinz to score two runs, and Rob Johnson had an RBI single.
Brad Kilby nearly surrendered the lead in the ninth. After Oswaldo Navarro led off the inning with a single, Prentice Redman walked before Matt Tuiasosopo hit a home run to left-center field. Kilby then followed two strikeouts with consecutive walks before Johnson flied out to end the game.
"The bottom line is we won," Steverson said. "But we don't want to live like that."
Josh Outman, who was acquired by the A's organization in the July 17 trade that sent Joe Blanton to Philadelphia, shut out the Rainiers through 5 1/3 innings in his second start for the River Cats. He allowed four hits and had seven strikeouts.
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