The Sacramento River Cats returned to the confines of Sutter Health Park for the first time in a week but were met with a similar result to the end of their last series, as a pair of runs in the fifth inning from the El Paso Chihuahuas propelled them to a 3-1 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday.
Both starters were in a groove early, as River Cats (5-5) hurler Blayne Enlow (0-1) retired nine of the first 10 batters that he faced. Meanwhile, his counterpart Nolan Watson (3-0) danced around a pair of runners early after he hit Luis Matos with a pitch and allowed a single to Marco Luciano. However, a lineout and pair of strikeouts got him out of the danger, allowing him to get through his outing without allowing a run.
During the fifth Watson was given some run support, with a rally started on a bunt single by Tirso Ornelas. He was moved into scoring position along with Kevin Plawecki after Plawecki sent a ball into the left-center gap for a double, and both scored two batters later when a ball in play from Clay Dungan just ricocheted off the glove of a diving David Villar at third base for a two-out, two-RBI double.
In the sixth the River Cats put a runner on with a double from Trenton Brooks, but it wasn’t until the eighth when they finally broke through one the scoreboard. Ismael Munguia walked just in front of a ground rule double from Matos, setting up an RBI sacrifice fly for Luciano, but the play turned into a pair of outs when Matos was caught trying to advance to third.
Moving into the ninth, the Chihuahuas got an insurance run when a leadoff double from Plawecki turned into a 3-1 lead, with the RBI belonging to Dungan when he sent his own two-bagger into left center. For Dungan, he was responsible for all three El Paso RBI on the night from the leadoff position.
Photo: Chase Pinder takes an at-bat during Sacramento’s contest.Photo: Alice Hewitt