Matos, Nottingham Do Damage for Cats in 7-3 Win Over Rainiers

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Half of the 16 hits by the Sacramento River Cats in their Thursday contest came from the duo of Luis Matos and Jacob Nottingham, as the pair produced four hits with one home run apiece to help power Sacramento past the Tacoma Rainiers, 7-3.

For the second time in as many games the River Cats (25-29) were on the board to start the game in the first, as Tyler Fitzgerald manufactured a double by singling into center and stealing second, his ninth swipe of the campaign. There to drive home his first run of the game against his former team was Nottingham, flicking a pitch the opposite way into right field for the early lead over the Rainiers (26-28).

An inning later Sacramento tripled the lead, as a pair of one-out singles from Ford Proctor and Will Wilson resulted in runs when Matos rocketed a ball into the left-center gap for a two-out, two-RBI double.

Provided the early advantage, River Cats starter Drew Strotman (2-5) also found his groove and retired eight consecutive Tacoma hitters, a stretch that began in the end of the first after he worked around a pair of base runners. That span would extend all the way until one out in the fourth, with Stotman recording one strikeout in every frame.

However, the streak was snapped with a one-out walk, which immediately scored when Brian O’Keefe’s double to left center scored Cooper Hummel all the way from first. The double was just the second hit of the game for Tacoma.

It didn’t take long for the River Cats to get the run back, as they loaded the bases with only one out during their swings in the fifth, though they scored only once on a sacrifice fly from Proctor to score Nottingham.

Returning for the fifth inning of work was Strotman, who had trouble to start the frame when the first two runners reached with a single and walk. Following a heads-up play from Wilson on a fielder’s choice to get the first out, Strotman was able to get himself out of danger by inducing an inning-ending double play ball to Wilson.

Riding that momentum, Sacramento continued to add to their lead in the sixth, doing so in a big way from the bat of Matos. Sitting in a 0-1 count, Matos sent a fastball over the fence in right field for his first Triple-A home run, a two-run blast that scored Michael Gigliotti who had walked to begin the inning. Now with three hits on the night, Matos became the first River Cat with at least three hits in three straight games since Jason Krizan did so from June 25-27, 2021.

Nick Swiney entered for the sixth and tossed a clean inning, but the Rainiers began to fight their way back into the game during the home half of the seventh. They did so in just two batters, as a leadoff single to center from O’Keefe set the stage for a two-run homer by Zach DeLoach to return the score to 6-3.

Out of nowhere in the eighth Nottingham struck again, hooking a one-out solo home run down the left field line that pushed the Sacramento lead to the game’s final ending point at 7-3. That marked his fourth hit of the night, matching Matos after the latter singled with two-outs in the seventh. Together the pair drove in six of the seven Sacramento runs.

The pitching staff ensured there was no Tacoma comeback tonight, as Chris Wright took over in the eighth and sat down the side in order before Erik Miller followed suit in the ninth. Picking up his second win of the campaign was Strotman, while Rainiers starter Konner Wade (0-3) was charged with the loss.

It was officially a 4-for-6 night for Matos, finishing just a triple away from the cycle with a run, a double, a homer and four RBI. Slightly better in average was Nottingham, closing 4-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run, and two runs driven in. Meanwhile, the trio of Proctor, Wilson and Gigliotti were each 1-for-4 with a run scored while Proctor also drove one in.

Game four will take place from Cheney Stadium on Friday night with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.