The Sacramento River Cats fell to the Omaha Storm Chasers 11-6 Friday night at Raley Field, completing Omaha’s sweep for the Pacific Coast League Championship and ending the River Cats season. It in Omaha’s first PCL Championship in franchise history. After dropping the first two games in Omaha, the River Cats hoped to overcome the deficit just as they did against the Reno Aces in the Pacific Conference Championship Series. The River Cats sent out right-hander Travis Banwart to the mound. Last series, against the Reno Aces, Banwart also pitched in an elimination game and pitched 6.0 innings pitched, two earned runs on five hits with three strike outs and one walk. Banwart looked to be c

With everything they’ve worked for the entire season on the line, the Sacramento River Cats found themselves down 0-2 after two games of the first round of the Pacific Coast League Playoffs. After losing the first two games in Reno, 7-4 and 4-2, the Cats force a fourth game after beating the Reno Aces 5-2 at Raley Field on Friday evening and keep the best-of-five series alive. That’s good news for the team with the best record in the regular season. Josh Donaldson, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, knew that it was just a matter of time before the offense woke up. “It’s something that we really haven’t been tested all year because we had such a big league all year”, said Donaldson as he l

It was the last regular season game of the year. A chance for the team to thank the fans for being such great guests all year long and an equal chance for the River Cats diehards to cheer one last time during a great campaign. From the Sacramento players greeting loyal guests at every entrance to Raley Field to the pre-game fireworks booming from center field to the River Cats own regular season player awards - all of it took place before the contest in front of the fifth sellout of the year - 14,014 roaring fans. Everything fell into place on Thursday evening for the Cats to win their last home game of the regular season 7-1 against the Las Vegas 51’s. The game started out as a pitcher

The Sacramento River Cats pounced early on the Las Vegas 51s en route to a 13-1 victory on Monday night at Raley Field. Sacramento first baseman Chris Carter started the scoring with a two-out solo homerun deep over the left field wall. Sacramento continued their attack on Las Vegas starting pitcher Kyle Drabek in the second inning. With runners on first and third, Sacramento shortstop Adam Rosales lined a single to left field to score another run and load the bases with only one out. Drabek then walked three consecutive batters to give the River Cats a 5-0 lead. Drabek finally got out of the inning after getting third baseman Josh Donaldson and left fielder Michael Taylor out. The Rive

The Sacramento River Cats clinched their 10th PCL South Division title in 12 seasons with an 15-2 victory against the host Tucson Padres on Tuesday night. The River Cats are the first team in major American professional sports (MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL) to win 10 division championships this century. Sacramento has also matched the Pacific Coast League record for consecutive division titles with five. The Albuquerque Isotopes are the only other team in league history to win five division titles in a row, accomplishing the feat between 1987 and 1991. Sacramento struck for three runs in the first inning and starter Travis Banwart made that lead hold up, allowing two runs (none earned) over seve

When you think about it, Graham Godfrey’s path was not on the fast track. In fact, for a guy that started the season with Double-A Midland, where he is today is a huge leap in the right direction. As Godfrey told me earlier this year, it was just one small mechanical thing he changed and voila, a steady, dominating pitcher was born. With Godfrey pitching nearly lights out, the Sacramento River Cats stayed on the winning side of things with a 7-3 victory over the Albuquerque Isotopes at Raley Field on Tuesday evening in front of 10,016 happy fans. The win gives him a league tying 12 and he’s only two away from tying the Sacramento franchise record of 14. What would that accomplishment

Round Rock took three out of the four-game series against Sacramento, which managed to break its second longest eight-game losing streak of the season, with an action-packed win Monday night, 5-3. Texas Rangers’ affiliate, Round Rock Express, took an early lead in the first by capitalizing on an error by River Cats second baseman Andy LaRoche that allowed third baseman Esteban German to score after stealing his 40th base of the season in the same inning. An action-packed second inning for the River Cats gave Sacramento a two-run lead after a single from Carter and an RBI double by center fielder Jermaine Mitchell bringing the score 3-1. A sprained thumb had Carter out since April, after

On a night that had the Sacramento River Cats thinking about grounding up Round Rock Express pitcher Mark Hamburger, the first time starter was serving up filet mignon as he blanked Sacramento in his four innings of work to help the Express beat the Cats 7-3 at Raley Field on Friday evening. For the home team, Josh Outman started to slip a little in the second when the hitters for Round Rock started taking him up the middle with several solid hits. After Val Majewski and Joey Butler had back-to-back singles, Matt Kata hit into what looked like a tailor-made double play. Cats second baseman Andy LaRoche’s throw was offline and pulled Brandon Allen off the bag. With two men on, one of the

Usually, Cats’ starter Travis Banwart pitches well during the first few innings of a contest. Banwart’s quietly had a very good season. His numbers put him near the top of several Pacific Coast League pitching categories. He ranks fourth in strikeouts, third in WHIP and third in batting average against while being the team leader in all of those areas. On Tuesday evening at Raley Field, things went in a different direction for Banwart when he got off to a rough start as five of the first six batters got on base and the River Cats found themselves down 4-0 after one. But after the shaky start, Banwart settled in and pitched well as he set down 13 of the next 14 batters he faced and helpe

This was one to remember. On a beautiful afternoon at Raley Field on Saturday, one rare occurrence seemed to open the door for several more as the day went on and the Sacramento River Cats split a rare double header against their bitter rivals, the Reno Aces. The Aces won the first contest 3-2 and the Cats won the nightcap 5-4 in a game that had just about everything but the proverbial kitchen sink. How about both managers being ejected during the same at-bat, a foul ball that found it’s way into the press box, a guy being about a foot short of hitting for the cycle and a walk-off homer run all occurring during the crazy second game? We'll save that for later.  How about the first game

Considering that the Sacramento River Cats have been on a roll lately – winners of eight of their last ten - you would hope that, along with all the kids finding prizes in the plastic eggs that were scattered across the grass in the Kinder BBQ area, the Cats would find a way to scatter enough hits to keep the good times rolling along. The visiting Tucson Padres cut the good times short by providing solid starting pitching and timely hitting to best Sacramento 7-5 on Easter Sunday, despite comeback attempts in each of the final four innings by the River Cats. A weakness of the Cats early this season has been allowing the opposing team to put up multiple runs in the opening frame. Falling

Since the River Cats pushed Josh Outman’s start back one more day, a spot came open for another player from Oakland’s outstanding minor league system to make an appearance before the 5,327 in attendance at Raley Field Tuesday evening. This time it was Graham Godfrey’s number that was called. Godfrey, a player whom Cats Manager Darren Bush has had the pleasure of managing at several of the A’s farm clubs, got the spot start. Even though Godfrey pitched well enough to win, he gave up three runs in the first inning that crippled the Cats’ chances of pulling off the win. In the end, the River Cats lost a tough one, 5-3 in the ninth inning to the Las Vegas 51s. For the third consecutive game

Jose Yepez’s strode to the plate with the game tied 2-2.  Moments later, Yepez stroked a seeing-eye single that broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth inning and was the difference in Tacoma’s 4-2 win over the hometown River Cats. The Rainiers catcher cracked a sharp shot straight up the middle that just got by the outstretched hand of Sacramento pitcher Vinnie Chulk and skipped off of both shortstop Eric Sogard and second baseman Jemile Weeks' hands before it slowly rolled into the outfield to give Tacoma the win.  A smaller than average crowd was on-hand for the River Cats first Saturday game of the season. Maybe it was the cooler temperatures from the previous couple of games or maybe it was the

It’s that time again! Spring is in the air and the tri-tip is cookin’ at Raley Field. The Sacramento River Cats kick off their 2011 season Thursday at home against the Tacoma Rainiers at 7:05pm and SacramentoPress.com has you covered. This season, the Press will have some of our most enthusiastic writers and photographers covering the action. Writers include Lindol French, Mark Needham and a few interns. Working the cameras for some great action shots will be Steven Chea, Ron Nabity and some of the other great shot-takers on our roster. For the Cats, a new manager and several new faces fill out the roster. They hit the field with renewed vigor in pursuit of another Pacific Coast League

With the River Cats’ win over the Iowa Cubs Wednesday night, Sacramento was able to move within one game of first place. While Sacramento handled business at Raley Field Wednesday night, the division-leading Fresno Grizzlies fell to Omaha. After his short stint in Oakland, Chris Carter was able to join the Cats to start the series against Iowa. While he was gone, the River Cats went 3-4, scoring two or less runs in three of those games. On Tuesday, Carter hit his 28th homer of the season, putting him in third place for home runs, third in RBIs, and tied for third in runs scored. Carter is also fourth in strikeouts with 126, and that part of his game is what brought him back to Sacrament

The River Cats aren’t supposed to be worried about this. They’re one of the strongest minor league teams in all of baseball, making the playoffs eight of the 10 years they have played in Sacramento and having won four Pacific Coast League Championships. So the thought of the baseball team by the bridge missing out on its final as well as usual destination would be a surprise to say the least. For guys like Corey Wimberly who are trying to prove themselves, playoffs are what’s on their mind. "Playoffs mean a lot,” Wimberly said. “Especially from the guys coming up from Double-A, we got a little chip on our shoulder. The guys who were here last year lost in the championship game, so from

Neither Rickey Henderson's presence nor a sellout crowd of 14,014 was enough to inspire the Sacramento River Cats to win Saturday. Having won the first two games of a three-game series against the Fresno Grizzlies, who are leading in the Pacific Coast League South Division, the River Cats lost game three 5-1. The River Cats remain six games behind the Grizzlies in the standings. Before the game, River Cats second baseman Eric Sogard said that winning and making up all three games in one series would be huge, but that the team is satisfied it has won the series already taking two out of three. "We've been playing good, we have a solid squad right now," said Sogard. "We're not where we wan

The Sacramento River Cats began their final four-game set in June the same way they opened the month – by hosting the Tacoma Rainiers. In the earlier series, the River Cats dropped three of the four games, but they have bounced back to record 13 wins and 11 losses entering Saturday night. River Cats starting pitcher Kyle Middleton entered the game having thrown 18 scoreless innings, and he extended that streak to 21 innings before surrendering a Rainiers home run in the fourth inning Saturday. Middleton completed six innings before the bullpen took over to finish the game and get Middleton his fifth win against five losses for the season. In the second inning, the River Cats took an ear

It looked like the Sacramento River Cats were going to walk away from this game with ease, but after a late resurgence by the Salt Lake City Bees; it took a clutch at bat from Corey Wimberly in the bottom of the 9th to seal the victory. This Saturday night win in front of a sell-out crowd extended the River Cats win streak to six games and allowed them to reach .500 for the first time since early May. The River Cats were able to get on the board early and often, scoring seven runs in the first five innings. With an RBI single by second baseman Eric Sogard.in the second inning to start things off, the pace was set early for the River Cats. Eric Sogard extended his hitting streak to 13 game

 There are a lot of little things that I love about baseball: the crack of the bat, ballpark dogs with extra onion and sauerkraut, the sound of the ball smacking leather, nerding out on statistics, big swooping 12-to-6 curve balls that fall off the table, monster jacks, infield hits, bleacher bums, diving catches, when infielders barehand the ball (or even better, when outfielders do it).   The list goes on and on, but there may be nothing about baseball that I enjoy more than a good manager ejection.   The "manager ejection" is unique to baseball. I mean, you see basketball coaches get tossed from time to time, and sometimes they throw a little tantrum, but it's not the same.   I do