Despite a late comeback by the home club, the El Paso Chihuahuas fell in the first game of three against Sacramento for a 6-5 loss on Friday night.
Going into the bottom of the eighth inning, El Paso trailed 6-2 to Sacramento and hit four straight hit for three runs. El Paso had the tying run looking to score with no outs in the bottom of the eighth, but the River Cats’ pitching staff saved the inning.
Matt Szczur hit 3-of-5 on Friday, with three singles on his 29th birthday, while Brett Nicholas went 3-for-4 with an RBI double. Pitcher Jonathan Aro, who was just sent back to the club, pitched a scoreless relief outing, and Trey Wingenter struck out three on 11 pitches in the top of the ninth.
In front of a roaring 7,635 fans, San Francisco Giants third baseman and three-time MLB All-Star Evan Longoria went 2-for-3 with an RBI double in his first MLB injury rehab game with Sacramento.
Now, the Chihuahuas and Salt Lake are tied for first place in the Pacific Southern Division.
