Coming into Thursday night’s contest at Raley Field, the Sacramento River Cats were on a roll. As winners of four of their last five, the team’s confidence was riding high, especially considering the pitching staff had only given up seven runs in the last five games. All that changed with the Tacoma Rainiers in town. They brought their ace, Anthony Vasquez, who had a streak of nine consecutive quality starts on the line dating back to last July, pitched a gem and kept Sacramento’s bats confused by changing speeds often. The pitching performance allowed the Rainiers to win the game 1-0 on a beautiful 79 degree evening in front of 4,304 fans. For the River Cats, the action got started in t

The River Cats lost to the Tacoma Rainiers 2-1 in final inning of Wednesday’s 10-inning game. This was the second game in the River Cats four-game series against the Rainiers. The River Cats won the previous game Tuesday 5-1. The sun shone off and on through the partially cloudy sky, and the 68-degree temperature made the stadium a comfortable place to sit and watch the game. Fans were smiling and cheering the entire time. The first inning appeared promising for the River Cats after Rainier shortstop Carlos Triunfel’s interference at bat caused the first out of the game. The interference also sent center fielder Trayvon Robinson back to first after his attempt to steal second and third.

In the first two series of the year the Sacramento River Cats won both of them by winning three of the four games played in each. In the third series of the year, it was a close one, but the Cats beat the Reno Aces 2-1 in a classic pitchers’ duel on Monday night at Raley Field. The Aces were the first to scratch a run onto the huge Raley Field scoreboard when Ryan Wheeler ripped a 3-0 pitch from Cats starter Jarrod Parker that went screaming over the right field fence on a rope for a solo home run. Parker was solid though three innings of work. One-third of the way through the game, he had four strikeouts, three hits and a walk. In the bottom half of the third, Cats left fielder Grant G

As the grass gets greener and the sun starts to shine more often, the question for some players in the Oakland A’s system is - which team will they be starting the season with, the Oakland A’s or their Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats? Some players, like Jemile Weeks, suited up in the maroon and grey of the Cats for most of last year until getting the call to don the Kelly green and gold of the Athletics late in the season. For Weeks, it’s a comfortable feeling knowing that a good portion of the River Cats players he spent most of the last couple of years with had a chance to make this year’s big club. “It’s great, I love it,” Weeks said. “These are guys I played with in th

The Sacramento River Cats organization is hiring for about 200 stadium jobs starting next week, and unlike previous years, this year’s jobs are being filled online – not at a job fair. “There’s a wide variety of positions we’re hiring for,” said River Cats spokesman Nick Lozito. “They’re all positions that involve interaction with our fans, so we’re looking for people who are friendly and people who can help maintain what we’ve created here.” Positions include grounds crew, ticket sales, in-game promotions crew, kid’s corner attendants and parking attendants. Applicants don’t need to be experts on baseball, but they must be at least 18 years old, Lozito said. Before hiring, applicants w

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

  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

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

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

The Sacramento River Cats held their winning streak against the Reno Aces, killing with a final score of 10-1. With a turnout of 9,342 fans for the last of the five-game set, the I-80 rivals started off with an easy three-up, three-down and no on-bases for the first three innings. The first excitement of the night happened when River Cats left fielder Michael Taylor walked, making it the first on-base of the evening, but Aces turned around and scored the last out of the third inning by throwing Cats first baseman, Anthony Recker, out at first. The fourth inning was when things got intense. Aces right fielder Cole Gillespie made the first earned base, hitting the ball foul along the fir

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

Even though half of the River Cats starting lineup began their season with Oakland, it was a former River Cat that helped make the difference in the game. Steve Tolleson and the other top three hitters in the batting order in the Tucson Padres lineup collected 12 of their 18 hits in a 12-7 win over the River Cats on Thursday evening at Raley Field. Tolleson’s not sure about the Padres plans for him. Whether he gets the call or not, he’s just happy to be playing everyday. “I don’t really know too much,” said the 27-year old from Spartanburg, South Carolina. “At the time of the trade, they were struggling up there as a team with their utility players, but I’m just here having a good time

The Sacramento River Cats (50-27) defeated the visiting Reno Aces (45-32) 8-3 on Saturday night at Raley Field to take the first game of the four-game series. RHP Rich Harden (0-0, 3.52) returned to Sacramento for his second rehab start as he works his way back to the Oakland A’s rotation after suffering a strained lateral muscle below his right arm during spring training. Working with a 75-pitch, five-inning limit, Harden lasted 4 2/3 innings and yielded three earned runs on three hits, with six strikeouts and two walks. Despite struggling to locate his fastball, Harden’s notoriously filthy change-up was effective throughout his start. The righty is clearly building arm strength as his f

Continued from Parts 1 and 2. Click here to read Part 1 and here to read Part 2.   As one gets older, you start accepting that certain boxes on your personal “bucket list” will never be checked off. I’ve had to chance to meet several people that I either enjoyed their work or admired them from afar. From politicians to actors to athletes, all have been moments I’ve logged away in the memory bank. The day I interviewed Rickey Henderson is now on top of that list. In this final part of my three-part story with the great Rickey Henderson, he talks about playing the Big Apple and why, even though his critics said he was washed up, he delayed his retirement until he reached the ripe old a

The River Cats made the first and last run at Friday's game against the Fresno Grizzlies, giving them a close win (6-5) in the first game of the four-game homestand. The smell of hot dogs, beer and popcorn filled the air. What better way to spend a Friday night than in the summer sun cheering on your favorite baseball team? This was the first time the River Cats have hosted the Grizzlies this season at Raley Field, and 12,211 fans were present. Having recently lost 5-1 to the Grizzlies, made this win that much sweeter. The River Cats got the ball rolling with center fielder Jai Miller's home run, the first score of the game. However, in the fourth inning, the Grizzlies took the lead in

Continued from Part 1.  Click here to read. It's one thing to gaze from afar and laud your personal heroes from your seat in the stadium. But to get a chance to not only speak with but spend 45 minutes alone with the greatest base-stealer of all-time was one of the highlights of my writing career. The Oakland A's were my favorite baseball team when i was a kid. My first sports idol was Reggie Jackson. My second was Rickey Henderson. For part one of this story, click here. In this second segment of a three part story, Henderson talks about playing for the his hometown Oakland A's, the 1989 earthquake-interrupted World Series, his 1990 MVP season and playing with Mark McGwire and Jose Ca

Though coming high off an 11-4 victory over the Tacoma Rainiers Saturday evening, the Sacramento River Cats were unable to repeat the strong lead needed to keep the visitors from getting their third win in the fourth and final game, losing 4-0. The sun was shining brightly Sunday afternoon and with the slight breeze, the 80-some-degree weather felt pleasant, especially when compared to the recent gray and rainy fits. Fans wore smiles and seemed to be enjoying themselves, as were a number of dogs out that day for Raley Field’s Bark in the Ballpark event, some of whom pranced in a pre-game dog parade around the field. Post-parade, River Cats pitcher A.J. Griffin made his first start at the