WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Though their lead disappeared in the bottom of the eighth, the Reno Aces recovered quickly in the top of the ninth and found two final runs to secure a 6-4 victory for a Friday night win over the Sacramento River Cats.
In their second set of swings the Aces (33-39/65-82) took the game’s first lead, doing so with a two-out single by Kristian Robinson that deflected off River Cats (37-36/79-66) pitcher Darien Smith, allowing Gavin Conticello to score after he had opened the frame with a single.
That lead grew in the third with a three-spot for the Aces, the first two of which came via the big fly from the duo of Tommy Troy and Adrian Del Castillo. Troy’s leadoff blast to center was his fifth of the year and traveled 428 feet, but he was quickly outdone when Del Castillo’s seventh of the Triple-A campaign out to right field topped him just barely at 433 feet.
Those three runs proved crucial as Sacramento plated two in the bottom half of the frame, an inning which was aided by a pair of Reno errors. The first was a direct result of an error following a Darren Baker single, while Bo Davidson doubled home a run after Robinson and Trent Youngblood collided in left center while trying to make the catch.
Sacramento finally found a way to equalize in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of runs, the first a sacrifice fly from Darren Baker while a Will Brennan single to left brought home the tying run.
Locked in a new ballgame, the Aces quickly regained their advantage and countered with two runs of their own in the top of the ninth. Both scored on a two-out double by Gavin Conticello, but the inning came to an end when Conticello was thrown out trying to advance to third.
On to try to close out the ballgame for the Aces was Reno’s 2026 Pitcher of the Year in Gerardo Carrillo (S, 7), who saw things get interesting with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth. Following an intentional walk to Bo Davidson, Carrillo then slammed the door by striking out Parks Harber to lock down a 6-4 Aces win and his seventh save of the season.
That saved the game for Drey Jameson (2-2), who rebounded from a blown save and notched his second win after allowing one earned run (two total) on four hits while striking out one.
Reno starter Jose Cabrera did not allow any more damage after those two unearned runs in the third, punching out seven without a walk while allowing just a trio of hits over six innings. That effort marked the second Triple-A quality start of Cabrera’s career, but he was denied his second win with the Aces.
Troy’s three-hit night led the way for the Aces, a night that included a solo homer while he also scoring twice. Conticello nearly matched him by going a perfect 2-for-2 in a night that saw him double with two RBI and three walks. Del Castillo’s homer was his only knock of the night, while Crisantes added a double in two trips to go with two walks.
Now even at 2-2 in the series, the Aces will try to secure a series victory with a win in game five of the set on Saturday at 6:37 p.m. PT.