Josh Terrell
Rivercats.com Beat Writer

West Sacramento, Calif.- Three Sacramento pitchers combined to throw a four-hit shutout as the River Cats blanked the Colorado Sky Sox 3-0 this afternoon at Raley Field. The River Cats (27-16) third shutout of the season earned the team the series win over Colorado, who dropped to 19-21.

Kazuhito Tadano made the spot start, his 2007 Triple-A debut, after striking-out 49 batters in 41 1/3 innings with a 4.14 ERA at Double-A Midland. The 27-year-old right-hander retired the first eight batters he faced, striking-out three in a row at one point.

His herky-jerky motion and rapid-fire delivery kept the Sky Sox guessing as the Japanese import fell into a comfortable rhythm, allowing very little time in-between throws. Tadano tossed 6 2/3 innings of four-hit scoreless ball for the win (1-0), walking two while sending seven Sox batters down on strikes.

“He’s got some deception with that delivery, keeping batters off-balance,” said manager Tony DeFrancesco. “He’s got a great splitter, he kept everything down today and he had more movement on his fastball.”

“It was the best command I’ve seen from him, he had all three pitches working.”

In contrast, Colorado starter Bob Keppel was rocky in the first and had a hard time finding the strike-zone.

A single by J.J. Furmaniak, J.D. Closser’s fifth double of the year and a walk by Kevin Melillo had the bases juiced for Daric Barton, who laced a clean single into right field for the game’s first score. After a visit to the mound by the Sky Sox pitching coach, Kurt Suzuki’s double-play grounder forced in Closser for a 2-0 River Cats lead.

Keppel righted the ship as Tadano continued to breeze through the Sox order, and the game quickly developed into a pitcher’s duel. Both starters put goose eggs on the board in the second, third, and fourth innings.

That was until the bottom of the fifth, when Furmaniak took a Keppel pitch deep to the left field wall. Colorado left fielder Sean Barker appeared to put a glove on it as he crashed full-length into the wall, but the ball was gone. It was Furmaniak’s team-high tenth home run of the season, good for a 3-0 Cats lead.

“I think he had it in his mitt for a minute, but it counts in the book as a homer,” Furmaniak said. “I’ve been feeling more relaxed at the plate, and when that happens the ball just seems to jump off the bat.”

The solo home run gave the River Cats a PCL-best 46 round-trippers on the season.

“For me personally, I’m feeling more patient at the plate. Waiting for a good pitch to hit, I’m getting into some good hitters’ counts,” Furmaniak said.

“I think as a team, we’re getting those counts, and forcing pitchers to throw fastballs. We’re putting shorter, compact swings on those fastballs and the ball is traveling.”

Tadano left the game in the top of the seventh with two outs and Colorado runners on second and third. Jeffrey Gray got the call from the bullpen, keeping the Sox off the board with a lazy fly ball from Douglas Bernier to center fielder Danny Putnam, smothering the threat and keeping the shutout intact.

Gray would go on to pitch a scoreless eighth, throwing an efficient 17 pitches over 1 1/3 innings. Erasmo Ramirez came-on in the ninth to close it down, going 1-2-3 to preserve the River Cats’ third shutout of the year and record his second save. The two relievers didn’t allow a single baserunner in 2 1/3 innings.

Losing pitcher Keppel (1-3) allowed three earned runs on six hits and four walks, striking-out three in 5 2/3 innings of work.

Sacramento returns tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. to start a four-game set with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim-affiliate Salt Lake Bees, the two teams splitting their first series in Salt Lake.

The game will feature Oakland Athletics outfielders Mark Kotsay and Chris Snelling as they begin their Major League Rehabilitation assignments with the River Cats. Sacramento will send lefty Dan Meyer (1-0, 2.41) to face fellow lefty Jonathon Rouwenhorst (4-0, 3.79).