Victor Bericoto’s drive in the ninth climbed high off the wall in left-center, and for the first time since a three-run fifth inning put Sacramento in a hole, the River Cats had the tying run within reach.
Bericoto pulled into second with a leadoff double. Two batters later, Parks Harber lined a single into center, scoring Bericoto easily and cutting Reno’s lead to one. Harber stood at first as the potential tying run, but Kade Strowd struck out Charlie Szykowny and Eddys Leonard in succession to close out the Aces’ 3-2 win Wednesday at Sutter Health Park.
The final push gave Sacramento’s quiet night at the plate a jolt, but not quite an escape. The River Cats and Aces finished with four hits apiece; Reno simply bunched three of its four into the fifth inning, turning Trystan Vrieling’s recurring control trouble into all the offense it needed.
Vrieling had kept Reno scoreless through four despite issuing five walks. He stranded two runners in the first, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second and retired the side in order in the third. His sixth walk, to Santiago Espinal leading off the fifth, finally caught up with him.
After Tommy Troy struck out, Adrian Del Castillo drove a ball the other way toward the left-field corner. It carried just far enough, slipping inside the foul pole for his sixth home run and a 2-0 Reno lead.
Vrieling retired Gavin Conticello for the second out, but Demetrio Crisantes restarted the inning with a double to left. Braxton Roxby entered and was greeted by Kristian Robinson, who drove a pitch sharply toward the wall in left. Crisantes scored and Robinson slid into second ahead of the throw, giving Reno the third run that eventually separated the teams.
Vrieling was charged with three earned runs over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked six, a line that captured the tension of his outing: Reno managed only three hits against him, but the traffic kept building until Del Castillo broke through.
Sacramento answered immediately behind Harber. His leadoff fly in the bottom of the fifth carried toward the warning track in right, where Conticello lost track of it near the wall. The ball dropped over his head, and Harber raced around second for a triple, Sacramento’s first hit after Yu-Min Lin retired the first 12 River Cats.
Szykowny brought Harber home with a groundout, but Lin did not allow the response to grow. He held Sacramento to one earned run over seven innings, struck out six and did not issue a walk.
The River Cats came within inches of drawing closer in the sixth. Zane Zielinski, making his Triple-A debut, sent a high drive to the wall for his first hit at the level. The ball struck near the top of the wall and stayed in play for a double, prompting an unsuccessful argument from manager Dave Brundage and Brundage’s ejection. Zielinski remained at second as Lin struck out Darren Baker and Bericoto.
Zielinski also walked in the eighth, when Sacramento put two aboard against Juan Burgos. Baker’s called third strike ended that threat and left the River Cats with three outs to erase a 3-1 deficit.
Their pitching staff had given them the chance. Roxby worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and no walks, and Alex Carrillo and Nick Zwack followed with a scoreless inning apiece. Sacramento’s bullpen combined for 4 1/3 scoreless frames after Reno’s decisive fifth.
Bericoto and Harber brought the possibility of a comeback all the way into the ninth. Harber finished 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, accounting for half of Sacramento’s hits and helping produce both runs.
His second hit extended the game’s suspense. The next two swings that mattered ended it.