RailCats drop their 3rd straight opener tonight as the Sioux City Explorers win 3-1. Coming into the game, the Explorers had the lowest batting average as a team at .211 but had the lowest ERA at 2.30. This game was made for a pitching duel as both starters went 6 innings.

1. Spencer Adams had himself a nice night getting a quality start. He went 6 innings, gave up 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, walked 1, and struck out 5. He was tagged with the loss as Luis Toribio hit a 2-run blast to center field to make the score 3-0. In the end, that home run was the game winner.
2. This is the 1st time all season that the RailCats lost a game despite having more extra base hits than their opponent. RailCats had 1 home run from Jarius Richards and a double from Joe Suozzi. The Explorers only had 1 extra base hit, which was the 2-run home run from Toribio.
3. For the second straight game, the RailCats left 10 runners on base.
4. In the 4th inning, the RailCats had the bases loaded with 1 out. Cooper Edwards swung for the fences at 3 straight sliders, and Jake Allgeyer grounded out to 1st. At that time, the Explorers were only up by 1 run. If the RailCats could have capitalized off of that situation, we could be looking at a different game.
5. The RailCats as a team went 0-6 with RISP had 3 strikeouts and 1 walk. Not being able to key in on those situation has really hurt the ‘Cats this year. Clutch hitting is something that doesn’t seem to be in this teams DNA. They get hits and can score runs, but leaving 10 runners on and going 0-6 with RISP just tells me when the stakes are high the team just can’t follow through.
6. Jarius Richards has been on a tear since joining the RailCats; tonight he went 2-5 with a solo home run to right field. He is on a 7-game hitting streak and has hit 4 home runs in the last 5 games. Oh, and he also stole 2 bases, both coming in the 3rd as he stole 2nd and 3rd. Joe Suozzi is also on a 5-game hitting streak.
7. Cooper Edwards threw out Austin Davis twice; the first time was in the 1st inning and the second time was in the 6th.
8. Nate Alexander had himself a bounce-back night, going 1 inning, giving up 1 hit on a fly ball to Baron Radcliff (who at first I thought should have made the catch instead of letting it fall in front of him, but after the replay, I changed my mind) and struck out the next 3. Nate gave up 4 earned runs in his last 3 outings, pitching in 2 innings. Outside of Cleburne, he has been lights out.
9. This was a night the RailCats should have won, but when the momentum stops at the bottom of the 3rd, that’s when you’re left with 10 runners on base and going 0-6 with RISP. I would expect Elvis Peralta or Joe Suozzi to be put in that 9-hole spot to balance out this lineup.

Final Thought: Going into this game I was feeling a confidence I hadn’t felt since the beginning of the 2024 season. (Now we know where that went.) Coming off a Cleburne series where they were in all except 1 game, had me thinking positively of this team. The hitting was there and pitching was holding their own, so facing a Sioux City team that struggled to hit and produce runs. This would have been the series you could get back into the race, as getting a sweep would have boosted this team in the standings but, most importantly, their confidence. But, it feels like same old ‘Cats team, get yourself a win try to build momentum, your pitching staff is lights out and your offense can’t drive anyone in. The big difference from this team versus the 2024 team is that they are hitting and taking walks. You can say that they have been unlucky, so if that’s the case, start making your own luck and drive runners in!