River Cats lose second in a row; Wimberley one closer to record

Originally published on SacramentoPress.com on July 30, 2010
The Sacramento River Cats were defeated by the Colorado Springs Sky Sox for the second straight game, losing by a score of 5-2 on Thursday night at Raley Field.

The Cats were able to pounce on Sox's starting pitcher Alan Johnson (9-6)
early in the first inning, scoring two runs.

The Cats' Corey Wimberley was able to lead off the game with a single to
right field. The Cats' next batter, Eric Sogard, hit a single of his own to right field, advancing Wimberley to third base with no outs.

With Chris Carter batting, Sogard got caught in a rundown on a pick-off
attempt by Johnson, allowing Wimberley to steal home and beat the throw for
the first run of the game. Sogard was also able to reach second base
safely, completing a successful double steal.

Carter proceeded to hit a single to left field, advancing Sogard to third
base, still with no outs in the inning. Cats' right fielder Michael Taylor
was able to score Sogard for the Cats' second run, but did so by grounding
into a double play. Steve Tolleson would eventually fly out to right field
to end the inning, but not before the Cats had done some damage by putting
the first two runs on the scoreboard.

Holding a 2-0 lead, Cats' starting pitcher Kyle Middleton (6-7) cruised past
the Sky Sox's batters for five innings, until he encountered problems in the
top of the sixth inning.

After a one-out single and a walk to the Sox's Matt Miller, Travis Metcalf
put the Sox on the scoreboard with a two-RBI double to to left field, tying
the game at two runs a piece.

After a mound visit, Middleton gave up a two-run home run to the next Sox
batter, Mike Paulk, putting the Cats behind the Sox 4-2. The Sox would
score another run off of Cats reliever Justin James before ending the inning
with the lead at 5-2.

This lead would ultimately remain intact, as the game remained scoreless for
the final four innings, and the Cats lost by the score of 5-2. With that
loss and a Fresno win on Thursday night, the Cats now trail the Fresno
Grizzlies by one game for the top of the division.

With Wimberley's steal of home on Thursday night, he now has 42 steals for
the season, one short of Eric Patterson's club record, set just last year.
Wimberley will look to tie or break Patterson's record on Friday night as
the series continues against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at 7:05 p.m. at
Raley Field.

Photos by Ahsan Awan

---