Olympians from all over northern California joined Sacramento River Cats fans Monday afternoon at Raley Field to celebrate Olympic Day and see the final game in the four-game series against the Fresno Grizzlies. While the Cats claimed the first run of the day, the Grizzlies soon came back with two homers of their own in the top of the fifth. By the second half, it appeared the Cats might be in for another loss, but the team turned its offensive game on high, scoring once to tie during the eighth and once more at the bottom of the ninth for the big win and a final score of 3-2. The game started off slowly. Though Cats first baseman Chris Carter gave the Grizzlies a scare in the second, tr

A day after triumphing over the Fresno Grizzlies, the Sacramento River Cats could not score against their rivals Saturday night. The Grizzlies took the win, 3-0, in front of 13,700 fans in the second game of a four-game homestand series. What was to become a lively game got off to a sleepy start with both teams remaining scoreless for the first three innings. In the fourth inning, when Grizzlie outfielder Tyler Graham and his teammate infielder Edgar Gonzalez got to home plate after Thomas Neal singled into the middle of the field giving his teammates the chance to score. In the seventh inning, Grizzlies pitcher Andrew Kohn was relieved after reaching his limit of 100 pitches. Kohn was

The highly anticipated five-game series between the Sacramento River Cats and Fresno Grizzlies concluded Sunday afternoon with the River Cats taking a 2-1 victory and four of the five games. With the win, the River Cats move into first place in the Pacific Coast League’s South division and also hold an important playoff tiebreaker should The River Cats and Grizzlies finish the season with identical records. The series finale was decided by an unlikely hero for the River Cats. Outfielder Jermaine Mitchell was called up from Single-A Stockton on Aug. 28 and started just his second Triple-A game on Sunday. Mitchell took the roster spot of outfielder Chris Carter, who was placed on the disa

  On Tuesday, July 27, The Sacramento River Cats played the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.  The River Cats entered the game tied with the Fresno Grizzlies for the division lead.  Strong performances both on the mound and at the plate helped the River Cats win, while the Grizzlies lost that same night.  The result gave the River Cats a 1.5 game lead entering their game against the Sky Sox on Wednesday, July 28.  Unfortunately, the River Cats lost the second game of their home stand against the Sky Sox on the 28th, while the Grizzlies rallied to defeat the Tacoma Rainiers in the 10th inning on the same night.  Thus, the battle for the division lead continues.  The River Cats play the Sky Sox aga

The Sacramento River Cats defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 4-3 in the 11th inning Friday night, putting them 5 games behind first-place Fresno in the Pacific Coast League South Division.  The River Cats  play Fresno again Saturday night, leaving eight games before the All-Star game. Following are some photos from Friday night. River Cats mascot Dinger poses for pictures with young fans before the game in front of Raley Field.   Pitcher John Halama (#48) about to release.   Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson (center) dispenses wisdom to outfielder Corey Wimberly (right).   A Grizzlies player (left) leading off first base waits for a hit from his teammate before taking off.   Raley F

Memphis Grizzlies (1-2) at Sacramento Kings (0-3) Tip-off at 7:00 pm TV: Comcast SportsNet California Radio: Sports 1140 KHTK Opening Night couldn’t come any sooner for the Sacramento Kings. After starting the season with an 0-3 road trip, the Kings could use some good old-fashioned home-cooking from thankfully, a sold out ARCO Arena crowd. Thanks to a campaign committee led by Mayor Kevin Johnson, the Kings will play in front of 17,317 fans tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies. The announcement came Wednesday during the Kings first regular season contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Who’s who on Memphis? The Grizzlies come to Sacramento after losing their home opener to the Detr

 The Sacramento River Cats return home for the final home stanza of the regular season after an amazing road trip in which they went 7-1. The homestand begins Saturday night with a four-game series with the Portland Beavers. The River Cats will be honoring three local heroes in Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker and Chicago Cubs first baseman Derek Lee. The first 1,500 people in attendance will get to choose from the three bobbleheads. The person whose bobblehead runs out first will be named the 2009 River Cats High School Hero. The fans in attendance should be excited to see Dana Eveland (8-4, 4.94) take the mound for Sacramento against Wade LeBlanc (3-9

August is the month where they separate the men from the boys. The Sacramento River Cats look to be one of the upper-tier teams in the Pacific Coast League. Tickets for the first round of the playoffs went on sale Wednesday at Raley Field. Even though Tony DeFrancesco’s club has a 7.5 game lead over their rival the Fresno Grizzlies in the Pacific South Division, Sacramento still feels they must always look in the rear-view mirror to see which team is creeping up behind them. The River Cats begin an eight-game home stand tonight that will go a long ways in deciding who they might face down the road in the playoffs. Sacramento begins its home stand against the Oklahoma City RedHawks. As of

 As the Sacramento River Cats finish up a four game-series with the Las Vegas 51s, the Fresno Grizzlies and Reno Aces are in Sacramento’s rear-view mirror in the PCL Pacific South Division standings. The River Cats are in the middle of a pennant race, and July will go a long way in deciding who wins the division. Sacramento plays Fresno and Reno eight times each in July. Sacramento begins the month with a three-game series at Raley Field against Fresno. As of Tuesday, the River Cats are six games ahead of the Grizzlies in the division. Sacramento then goes on the road for their longest road trip of the season, starting with four in Reno. The Aces trail the River Cats by seven games in th

 The Sacramento River Cats are back home beginning tonight for the start of an eight-game home stand. They begin their four-game series with the Salt Lake Bees tonight as former River Cat and now Oakland A’s second baseman Mark Ellis returns to Sacramento as a River Cat for a rehab assignment. The Bees have suddenly exploded as one of the top-tier teams in the PCL. Sacramento has a much-needed day off Monday before they finish their home stand with another big four-game series with another squad from the PCL Pacific North Division, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Sacramento split their last four-game series with Colorado Springs just two weeks ago. The River Cats finished up a quick three-

 After a quick four-game road trip against the Salt Lake Bees in which they won three of four, the Sacramento River Cats returned home for a crucial eight-game stand. Sacramento first are currently taking on the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in a four-game series. The series featured the top two teams in the Pacific Coast League. The festivities kicked off Saturday night at Raley Field with Youth Baseball and Softball Night, and Boy Scout Night. Things did not go the River Cats’ way to begin the series. Starter James Simmons struggled early. He gave up eight hits and seven runs in five innings of work. The River Cats have had a knack for late-game heroics in 2009. They tried to pull off anoth