The Sacramento River Cats extended their winning streak to three with a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at Raley Field Thursday night. Starting pitcher Bruce Billings gave the River Cats another solid outing to bring his record to 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA. He provided seven innings of work, giving up no runs on five hits and striking out six. Sacramento was able to pounce on Sky Sox starting pitcher Brandon Hynick early, giving Billings two-run support in the first inning. Outfielder Jermaine Mitchell started the inning with a triple to deep center field. Mitchell then scored on a double from Collin Cowgill to give the River Cats their first lead of the game. First baseman Chri

Third baseman Josh Donaldson led the River Cats to a 7-1 victory against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at Raley Field Tuesday night. Donaldson finished the game 3-4 and a walk, including a two-run double that gave the Cats the lead in the fifth inning. Donaldson finished the game with three runs batted in. Sacramento starting pitcher Graham Godfrey had another solid outing as he pitched six innings and struck out five batters while giving up six hits and one unearned run. Colorado’s only run came in the second inning when shortstop Brendan Harris reached base on an error by River Cats shortstop Adam Rosales. Harris then reached third on a hit-and-run play with right fielder Hernan Iribar

The Sacramento River Cats pounced all over the Tucson Padres to win 11-3 at Raley Field Sunday afternoon. The win earns the River Cats a split of the series, as they won the first and final games and the Padres won the two in between. It didn’t take long for the River Cats bats to come alive, quickly scoring two runs off of Padres starting pitcher Mark Pope. But the Cats weren’t done there. Sacramento was able to tally on another five runs in the second inning to bring the lead to 7-0. The five-run frame featured a three-run home run from catcher Josh Donaldson with two outs. It was Donaldson’s second home run of the season. Starting pitcher Brad Peacock was able to keep the Padres off

The Sacramento River Cats' offense struggled on Friday night as the River Cats fell to the Tucson Padres 5-1 at Raley Field. The River Cats' only offense came in the first inning with the first River Cat that stepped up to the plate. Leadoff batter Jermaine Mitchell, took a 0-1 pitch and launched it over the right field wall for his first homerun of the season, and 50th of his career. This brought the score to a 1-1 tie as Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal had hit a home run of his own with two out in the top of the first. River Cats pitcher Travis Banwart gave up another run in the third inning when Padres third baseman Everth Cabrera stole third base with two outs and was brought home by

The Sacramento Kings defeated their Pacific Division rival the Los Angeles Lakers 113-96 at Power Balance Pavilion Thursday night in the final game of the season. With the win, the Kings finished 22-44 for the season. The Kings were 16-17 at home and only 6-27 on the road, a number they will have to increase if they want to succeed in the NBA. Prior to the start of the game, Kings star DeMarcus Cousins came to center court and thanked the fans for being a great sixth man all year long, which brought a loud applause from the 16,281 in attendance. Though the Lakers sat all of their starters in anticipation for the beginning of the postseason on Saturday, the Kings began the game strong an

The Sacramento River Cats (10-3) were able to extend their winning streak to four as they defeated the Tacoma Rainiers (4-8) 5-1 at Raley Field Tuesday night. Right fielder Michael Taylor continued his strong start to the season, recording two doubles and a walk on four at-bats. Taylor entered the game batting .413 with one home run and 11 runs batted in. Taylor's .413 batting average heading into Tuesday night's game was ranked seventh in the Pacific Coast League. “I feel good at the plate,” he said. “I feel comfortable with everything I’ve worked on in the offseason coming into this season, and I’ve stuck to that plan and process, and right now things are going well. I’m swinging the b

The Sacramento Kings dropped their fourth straight game as they fell to the Houston Rockets 104-87 at Power Balance Pavilion Sunday night. Sacramento came out with little energy, and it showed as the Rockets jumped to a quick 10-2 lead and never trailed the rest of the game. “We just didn’t have a lot of energy tonight, and that’s something we’ve got to work on,” Kings guard Jimmer Fredette said. “We’ve got to continue to get better at that and come bring it every single night so we are disappointed with ourselves.” After scoring at least 99 points in their previous 12 games, the Kings have been held to under 85 points in their last three games. Coach Keith Smart attributes this to the

The Sacramento Kings were unable to achieve back-to-back wins as they fell to Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns for the third time this season Tuesday night at Power Balance Pavilion. DeMarcus Cousins did all he could, leading all scorers with a career-high 41 points en route to the 109-100 loss. Cousins also hauled in 12 rebounds and shot 16-25 from the field. “He had a career night taking advantage of their interior,” Kings coach Keith Smart said. “We had him posting up in different areas on the floor, so he had both baseline- and middle-drive. Then they started doubling, and that’s something that’s going to happen to him as he grows as a pro.” But not even Cousins’ monster game could o

The Sacramento Kings ran out of gas as they fell to the Detroit Pistons 124-112 Wednesday night at Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings suffered another loss on the court, losing guard Tyreke Evans to an ankle sprain. Evans came down awkwardly on his ankle after making a layup late in the game. X-rays came up negative and Evans is listed day-to-day. Following two losses in a row, struggling on both sides of the floor, the Kings came out with an intensity that allowed them to jump out to a big lead against the Pistons. Forward Jason Thompson played great for the Kings, scoring 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting and grabbing 15 rebounds off the glass. “Jason is the perfect guy for what we are d

The Sacramento Kings lacked the energy necessary to win the game once again, as they fell to their Northern California rival Golden State Warriors 115-89 Tuesday night at Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings were unable to capitalize on the Warriors’ forced improvisation with their rotation following a trade made just before the game. The Warriors decided to make a splash before the trade deadline by swapping out guard Monta Ellis, former first-overall pick Kwame Brown and second-year forward Ekpe Udoh in a five-player trade. In return from the Milwaukee Bucks: the injured Andrew Bogut and a disgruntled Stephen Jackson. Ellis was the Warriors’ leading scorer this season with 21.9 points and

The Sacramento Kings were unable to continue their modest two-game win streak as the Kings fell 106-99 to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night at Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings returned to old habits with turnovers once again, finishing the game with 16 turnovers and only 19 assists. Despite a big game from DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings were unable to overcome the turnovers as the Hawks took advantage to leave Sacramento with the road win. Cousins finished with yet another double-double, this time with 28 points and 12 rebounds, even with fouling out of the game. “I just thought we had too many mistakes we made,” Kings coach Keith Smart said following the game. “Based on how we had played

The Kings returned home after a tough five-game road trip to beat the Indiana Pacers 92-88 in a hard-fought battle at Power Balance Pavilion Wednesday night. “I don’t know how, but somehow this group found a way,” Kings head coach Keith Smart said. “I don’t know how we did it, but this group has some resilience. They fought, they found a lineup that got us back into the game, and they closed it out. And that’s what I’m trying to get us to become: a team on any given night.” On their eventful road trip, the Kings went 1-4 while earning their first road win, along with setting a new franchise record with only 23 points of the first half in a 99-60 rout by the Dallas Mavericks. Sacramento

The Sacramento Kings failed to close the game as they fell to the Orlando Magic 104-97 on Sunday at Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings were unable to capitalize on Magic big man Dwight Howard’s foul trouble. Howard started the game but was forced to leave the game at the 10:20 mark in the first quarter after two quick fouls on Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins. Howard didn’t return until midway through the second but was quickly forced to leave the game once again as he was called for a bump foul on Cousins for his third foul of the night. Howard only played 20 minutes all game and was held scoreless until he made a layup and made a free throw after the foul at 6:35 remaining in the game fo

The Sacramento Kings suffered their second-straight loss as they fell to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night by 108-98. Last season’s MVP Derrick Rose finished the game with 19 points, one rebound and eight assists while playing only 32 minutes due to foul trouble for much of the second half. During that time, backup point guard C.J. Watson contributed nicely with eight points, five rebounds and nine assists of his own. The Kings were once again led by their backcourt Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton. Evans finished with 19 points, two rebounds and two assists, while Thornton finished with 20 points, five rebounds and one assist. Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins finished with 15 points and

Following a long eight-month hiatus, the Sacramento Kings finally returned to Power Balance Pavilion and provided a sellout crowd with a 100-91 win over the rival Los Angeles Lakers. After almost seeing their team move to Anaheim last season followed by a labor disagreement that caused a delay to the start of the season, Kings fans filled the arena for the Kings “blackout” game and were rewarded with a hard-fought victory by their new-look Kings. Fans were loud and into the game before the ball was even tipped off. With the lights off, fans were instructed to activate the purple light sticks that they were given at the door, and continued cheering through much of a tribute video that fol

With no end in sight to the NBA lockout, Sacramento Kings forward Donte Greene gave Kings and NBA fans something to cheer about on Sunday evening at the Pavilion at UC Davis as he hosted the Goon Squad Classic. Greene came up with the name because him and fellow teammates Jason Thompson and Pooh Jeter are known as the “Goon Squad,” as they jump up and down before Kings games to help pump up the crowd. Since there has not been a labor agreement between the players and the owners of the NBA, Greene decided to host the Goon Squad Classic, a charity game that benefited numerous charities both locally and nationally. It was the first time that the Sacramento region had seen professional bask

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

The Sacramento River Cats again avoided elimination from the postseason as they defeated the Reno Aces 8-2 at Raley Field on Saturday night. The River Cats were able to bring the series to 2-2 and force a game 5 after falling behind in the series 0-2 to the Aces earlier in the week. “After dropping two games in Reno, we are just fortunate enough to have put ourselves in a situation to play tomorrow,” said River Cats second baseman Wes Timmons. “There’s no pressure now, in reality, the pressure is on them now. Nobody wants to go up 2-0 and then lose.” The River Cats quickly pounced on Reno’s starting pitcher Gaby Hernandez. Starting center fielder Jermaine Mitchell hit a lead-off triple

The Sacramento River Cats won their sixth game in a row, defeating the Las Vegas 51s by a final score of 4-3 on Wednesday night at Raley Field. Las Vegas got on the scoreboard first when starting right fielder Adam Loewen doubled to left field and scored shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who was on second base after a single and a walk to Jayson Nix. It didn’t take long for the River Cats to respond and get on the scoreboard as well. Jai Miller hit his 31st homer of the season to lead off the second inning and give the River Cats their first run. Then with designated hitter Josh Donaldson on second, center fielder Jermaine Mitchell doubled to score Donaldson. Wes Timmons came up to bat next,

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