Having already clinched the Pacific Coast League Pacific South division, the Sacramento River Cats won their fifth game in a row. A crowd of 10,638 fans at Raley Field watched the hometown team defeat the Las Vegas 51s 5-1. The Cats have now won 13 of their last 16 games. The first three innings were scoreless. Las Vegas threatened in the first inning with a single and a walk, but the rally ended when Adam Loewen struck out for the third out with men on first and second. The River Cats started off weak in the first inning as Jermaine Mitchell and Adrian Cardenas grounded out and Wes Timmons struck out. Tyson Ross settled down and began taking control of the situation as he put Las

Jemile a minute: Sacramento lead-off hitter continued his hot hitting in Sunday’s doubleheader, going 3-for-4 with a run scored in Game 1 and 1-for-3 with an RBI in Game 2. The second baseman has perhaps been the River Cats’ most consistent offensive force all season, hitting .333 in April (25-for-75) and May (28-for-84). Weeks is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, during which he is 12-for-31 (.387) with seven runs and five RBIs. Weeks started the season by reaching base in 26 consecutive games. He has failed to reach base only twice in 37 games started this season. The 5-foot-9, 160-pounder is tied for the team lead with three triples, eight stolen bases and a .425 on-base per

The Sacramento River Cats (28-16) defeated Oklahoma City (20-23) 11-2 on Sunday afternoon at Raley Field to earn a series split after dropping the first two games to the RedHawks. After RedHawks starting LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith (2-3, 5.23) issued consecutive walks to Jemile Weeks and Aaron Sogard in the bottom of the first, the River Cats offense set the tone when Michael Taylor tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI single to center field that scored Weeks. After advancing to third base on Taylor’s single, Aaron Sogard scored on the next at bat when Josh Donaldson hit a sacrifice ground-out to put Sacramento up 2-1. Rowland-Smith then walked DH Anthony Recker and Taylor swiped his third steal o

River Cats starting pitcher Travis Banwart was named the Pacific Coast League (PCL) Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 9-15, League officials announced Monday. This is the first Pitcher of the Week award for a River Cats player this season. Earlier this season, River Cats outfielder Jai Miller won the Player of the Week award for his efforts April 18-24. Banwart made two starts during the week, finishing 1-0 with a 0.68 ERA over 13.2 innings pitched. On Monday, May 9, Banwart allowed three hits and struck out seven batters through 7.0 scoreless innings as the River Cats shut out the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 9-0. He followed that performance throwing 5.0 scoreless innings against the

 As a part of the Time Tested Books’ Living Library series, co-sponsored by Midtown Monthly, author and baseball historian Allan O’Connor presented Sunday at Time Tested Books on Sacramento’s long history in the “Other Major League.” He talked about his book, “Gold on the Diamond,” which chronicles the history of Sacramento baseball teams since the sport arrived here during the Gold Rush. “Before 1960 and before the usage of air travel by major league baseball teams, the Pacific Coast League was in many ways a third major league, located on the west coast while the American and National Leagues served up the national pastime on the East Coast,” O’Connor shared. The Sacramento Senators,

The River Cats are now sitting atop the Pacific Coast League South Division with slightly more cushion between them and the Fresno Grizzlies after defeating the visiting Las Vegas 51s 3-2 on Monday night in front of 8,019 fans at Raley Field. Prior to Monday night, the River Cats were involved in a heated five-game battle against division rivals, the Fresno Grizzlies. The Cats managed to take four out of five games, allowing them to clinch the playoff tiebreaker. With visibly less enthusiasm than seen in recent games, fans filed into the stadium. The Cats didn’t give fans much to cheer about until the top of the fourth inning when 51’s pitcher Zach Jackson walked Travis Buck and Michael

The rivalry between the Fresno Grizzlies and the Sacramento River Cats will culminate when the teams face off for a five-game series starting Wednesday. With Fresno leading Sacramento by one game in the PCL South Division standings entering play Monday, the rare five-game series will go a long way in determining the division winner. Not only are the Grizzlies and the River Cats division rivals, but their Major League affiliates, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A's, have also been locked in a rivalry ever since the two teams moved to the Bay Area. Adding extra pressure to the rivalry is an intense Playoff race that will be decided by the showdown at Raley Field. For many River C

Despite Hall of Fame second baseman and Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg at the helm, the Iowa Cubs (70-53) fell to the Sacramento River Cats (66-58) 5-4 on Tuesday night at Raley Field behind the bats of outfielders Chris Carter and Michael Taylor. River Cats starter Brett Tomko (0-0), trying to improve upon his latest outing – in which he gave up seven runs over two-thirds of an inning – gave up an RBI single in the first inning before settling in to retire eight consecutive batters. After a leadoff single in the top of the fourth by Iowa first baseman Micah Hoffpauir, Tomko got second baseman Bobby Scales to line-out to Taylor in right field before Taylor subsequently gunned down Hof

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

The Sacramento River Cats beat the Reno Aces 8-4 on Friday before a sell-out crowd in its season home opener. This is the Cats' 11th season in Sacramento. The game began with a tribute and moment of silence for Art Savage, who died in November of lung cancer. Savage, who was the first president of the San Jose Sharks, is credited with bringing the River Cats to Sacramento and the construction of Raley Field. Jersey No. 1 was retired Friday and will hang on the outfield wall in his honor. The crowd cheered and performed the wave, as the game began. Fans followed every pitch count and on-field play. "The crowd is always intense and excited," said Steve Sepulveda, a longtime season ticket

As we look forward to summer and the end of the rain, the baseball season draws near. While most teams in the area fail to attain success, the Sacramento River Cats have been successful from the start. They first came to Sacramento in 2000. The Sacramento River Cats are the minor league affiliate for the Oakland Athletics. In the past decade, they have won four Triple-A Championships and eight Pacific Division Championships. They have also sent a long list of players to the major league including Barry Zito, Erik Byrnes, Nick Swisher and others. As the franchise continues to produce, the list of players that make it to the pros through the Sacramento River Cats will continue to grow.

 WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif.-After winning their eighth PCL South Division championship in 10 years, the Sacramento River Cats (86-57) are headed to the postseason, yet again. Sacramento is taking on the Tacoma Rainiers (74-70) of the Pacific North Division. They were 9-7 against the Rainiers in the regular season. The River Cats’ pursuit of a third straight Pacific Coast League and Triple-A title got off to a good start on Wednesday. Veteran right-hander Chris Gissell had one of his best performances on the mound this season. He gave up seven hits and two earned runs and had six strikeouts in five innings of work. Brett Wallace and Chris Carter both hit home runs as Sacramento cruised

 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

There is no doubt that the Sacramento River Cats have brought an exciting and competitive brand of baseball to this city since they moved to Raley Field from Vancouver, Wash., in 2000. From the moment of arrival, the team performed and continues to perform well, winning four PCL championships and seven PCL southern division titles, as well as the Triple-A championship last season.   Another area in which this team has never struggled is putting fans in the seats. For the past nine seasons, the River Cats have led all minor league baseball in attendance, carrying about 10,000 fans a game during that span. However, attendance has dropped during the current season due to the economic situat

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

 West Sacramento, Calif. - The Sacramento River Cats are happy to be back at the friendly confines of Raley Field after spending most of July on the road. The team will host the Salt Lake Bees in a quick four-game series before Sacramento goes back on the road. Salt Lake could very well be the River Cats’ first-round opponent in the playoffs. The Bees are only four games behind the Colorado Springs Sky Sox for first-place in the Pacific North Division. The South Division winner will play the North Division winner in the first round. The Series kicks off Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. when Shawn Chacon will take the mound for Sacramento. Newly acquired third baseman Brett Wallace and pitcher

 WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - After a much-needed three days off for the All-Star break, the Sacramento River Cats return to action at Raley Field on Thursday night to begin a four-game homestand with a PCL Pacific South Division foe, the Reno Aces. It’s Sacramento only weekend homestand this month. Sacramento hopes some home cooking will help them start the second half as the finished the first: dominating the league. The River Cats ended the first half of the season on a hard-fought road trip in which they went 5-4. Although Sacramento does enjoy a 10.5 game lead over the second-place Reno Aces in the division, Reno is hot right now. The Aces leapfrogged the struggling Fresno Grizzlies and

 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

 In a battle of two first-place teams, Gio Gonzalez (4-1) will take the mound for the River Cats. On the other side, Adam Eaton (2-0) will look to help the Sky Sox shut down Sacramento’s hot offense. What better way to spend your lunch break than a ballgame at Raley Field? Wednesday, the Sacramento River Cats are offering the Businessperson’s Special. The package includes a ticket in the Delta Box, a hot dog, drinks and peanuts at the great price of $15. Come take an extended lunch break from work and watch two of the best teams the Pacific Coast League has to offer. The River Cats (43-25) taken on the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (39-29) in day-baseball.  

 The greatest thing about baseball is that from game to game you never know what is going to happen. One day your team can be involved in a pitchers’ duel and the next day there is a home run derby at the ballpark. One of the most rare and exciting plays in baseball is when the runner steals home. River Cats fans have been lucky enough to witness this play successfully executed twicethis season. Center fielder Eric Patterson was the speed racer on third in both instances. He first stole home on April 28 against the Las Vegas 51s to provide the winning margin in a 3-2 triumph. He did it again on May 19 against the Round Rock Express as part of an ever rarer triple steal. “The pitcher ha