The Sacramento River Cats return to Raley Field holding a six-game winning streak. Sacramento will face the Tacoma Rainiers in a four-game series that opens Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. The Rainiers continue on the road after taking three of four games from the Las Vegas 51s.

Sacramento took three of four games from Tacoma when the teams last faced off April 12-15. The Cats had 38 hits in the season opening series, compared to the Rainiers’ 23. A costly overthrown ball in the final game of the series gave Tacoma a narrow 2-1 win against the Cats.

Matt Watson, well known in Raley Field history for his homer in the 2005 All-Star Game, has proved once again that he’s a major asset to the Cats. Watson returned to the Cats on Friday and has not disappointed. In Sunday’s game against the Aces, Watson went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. In Monday’s game against the Aces, Watson was 2-for-4 with two home run bombs, two RBIs and three runs. Watson is 9-for-17 in his return and has a .529 average in four games.

The Cats’ bats have come alive in their six-game win streak. Chris Carter showed why he is the Oakland A’s top prospect with his performance in Monday’s game against Reno, hitting two home runs for a PCL-leading 12 on the season. Brett Harper is riding a three-game hitting streak after blasting a momentum-changing grand slam Monday.

Corey Wimberly is on a five-game hitting streak, and unstoppable when it comes to reaching bases. With a 2-for-5 performance Monday, Wimberly increased his consecutive on base streak to 28 games. Eric Sogard is on a five-game hitting streak, hitting 2-for-4 with a double and run scored in Monday’s game. Sogard had a .444 on-base percentage and .337 average in May.

The River Cats struggled with consistency earlier in the season, and it was challenging to string wins together. With new faces and improved morale the team has its longest winning streak of the season.

Tacoma will be bringing out their big guns, and Sacramento still needs to keep on its toes. Tacoma (24-24) has won its last three games 17-9, 9-7, and 7-4. Tacoma pitcher Luke French, who is scheduled to start Tuesday night, has a 5-2 win record and 1.76 ERA.

With two teams on hot winning streaks, something has to give. With both teams having major hitting potential these could turn out to be some high-scoring games.