Sacramento shuts out 51s, 4-0, in series opener
For seven innings, Sacramento starter Shaun Anderson moved quickly through the 51s.
The team scattered four hits against him and never came close to scoring. They advanced just one runner past first in the entire game.
Not quite a recipe for success, Las Vegas dropped the series opener 4-0 to the River Cats on Friday night at Raley Field.
At one point, the righty sent down 10 straight batters in a row. In total, he struck out seven in his seven-inning start and walked none.
On the night, Las Vegas (63-67) struck out 12 times, with reliever Derek Law fanning the final five batters of the game.
“He was mixing up, throwing a cutter and slider,” manager Tony DeFrancesco said of Anderson. “The big boys, (Zach) Borenstein, (Peter) Alonso, (Bryce) Brentz, we just can’t keep striking out at the rate we are. We’ve got to do a better job.”
Those three, the 2-3-4 hitters in the lineup, went a combined 1-for-10 with five strikeouts in the game.
“Those three guys, they’re a big part of the lineup,” DeFrancesco said. “You’ve got to be able to put something in play. It seems like it’s all or nothing right now, overswinging and chasing. Just not getting the job done.”
With a dormant offense, the 51s saw Sacramento strike in the first inning off starter P.J. Conlon.
Ryder Jones’ sacrifice fly gave the River Cats (51-79) the only run they would need in the game.
In the fourth, Sacramento tagged Conlon for three more runs thanks to four straight hits — two doubles and two singles.
Myles Schroder (double), Aramis Garcia and Orlando Calixte each had RBI hits in the inning.
“He left some mistakes up over the middle of the plate,” DeFrancesco said. “His velocity is 87 (miles per hour). If he doesn’t get his changeup over consistently, he doesn’t really scare them with his fastball so he’s really got to be real fine.”
The Las Vegas bullpen — which got two scoreless frames from Eric Hanhold and a perfect inning from Kyle Regnault — shut down the River Cats and was a bright spot for the team on a night where the offense didn’t come through.
“The bats were flat, only five hits on the night,” DeFrancesco said. “We got five singles, not much offense. … We’ve got to do a better job making adjustments.”
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Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.
