Andrew Eggers
Rivercats.com
Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. – The River Cats pushed across 10 runs in the fifth and sixth innings combined as they walked all over the Salt Lake Bees Saturday night, 12-2, at Franklin Covey Field. As a team Sacramento collected 15 base-hits with six players in the line-up responsible for a multi-hit game.

Sacramento’s four-run, fifth inning was punctuated by Adam Pavkovich’s fielding error in right field which allowed Casey Rogowski and Brooks Conrad to cross home plate. Rogowski and Conrad had reached base after delivering back-to-back, run-scoring hits.

The Cats strung together three consecutive hits to start the fifth frame, helping to spark a six-run inning.

After consecutive doubles from Michael Affronti and Chris Denorfia, the newly acquired Eric Patterson parked a two-run home run over the fence in right field and now has a total of nine for the season. Patterson had a monster game as he reached base five times while recording three hits and three RBI in four official at-bats.

Later in the inning, Bees’ starting pitcher Giancarlo Alvarado was knocked out of the game after Rogowski’s second single of the game. Like he had in the second inning to give the Cats the initial lead, Rogowski came around on a Landon Powell single, stretching the lead to 9-2.

The River Cats’ Danny Putnam, who hit the ball that Pavkovich booted an inning prior, earned a pair of runs batted this time around in when he launched a two-run blast and handed a 11-2 lead to starter Lenny Dinardo in the process.

Dinardo earned his second win of the season against the Bees as he was effective in six innings of work. He scattered five hits, fanned six and walked none, improving his season record to 6-3. His only two blemishes on the scorecard came in the fourth when Brandon Wood managed a two-run double, giving the Bees a 2-1 lead at the time.

Alvarado dropped to 6-3 for the year after being charged with nine runs, seven of them earned, and issued five bases on balls in five and one-third.

The series is now split at one apiece as the Cats improved to 56-40 on the season, three back in the loss column to Salt Lake which dropped to 58-37. Tomorrow’s starters on the hill are scheduled to be lefty Dan Meyer (8-5, 4.95 ERA) for the Cats and right-hander Nick Adenhart (6-8, 5.74 ERA) for the Bees for a 1:05 p.m. start time.


Game Notes: 10,881 were in attendance tonight at Franklin Covey Field but Sacramento manager Todd Steverson was not because he is currently on a four-day vacation mandated by the Oakland A’s and will not be in Salt Lake for any of the games…The Cats have now strung together five games in which they have collected more than 10 hits with a 4-1 record in those games…In that span they have produced 45 runs on 59 hits…Wes Bankston and Richie Robnett were the only two starters in Sacramento’s line-up not to get a hit in the game…Sacramento is now 42-17 when it scores first in a game...The River Cats are now 26-21 on the road in 08’…Against the Bees this season the Cats are 5-4…

E-mail any comments or concerns to Andrew Eggers at mediarel@rivercats.com