Even though half of the River Cats starting lineup began their season with Oakland, it was a former River Cat that helped make the difference in the game. Steve Tolleson and the other top three hitters in the batting order in the Tucson Padres lineup collected 12 of their 18 hits in a 12-7 win over the River Cats on Thursday evening at Raley Field. Tolleson’s not sure about the Padres plans for him. Whether he gets the call or not, he’s just happy to be playing everyday. “I don’t really know too much,” said the 27-year old from Spartanburg, South Carolina. “At the time of the trade, they were struggling up there as a team with their utility players, but I’m just here having a good time

Jemile a minute: Sacramento lead-off hitter continued his hot hitting in Sunday’s doubleheader, going 3-for-4 with a run scored in Game 1 and 1-for-3 with an RBI in Game 2. The second baseman has perhaps been the River Cats’ most consistent offensive force all season, hitting .333 in April (25-for-75) and May (28-for-84). Weeks is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, during which he is 12-for-31 (.387) with seven runs and five RBIs. Weeks started the season by reaching base in 26 consecutive games. He has failed to reach base only twice in 37 games started this season. The 5-foot-9, 160-pounder is tied for the team lead with three triples, eight stolen bases and a .425 on-base per

The Sacramento River Cats (19-11) defeated the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (13-17) 4-0 on Saturday night behind a dominating pitching performance that limited the Sky Sox to just two hits. Guillermo Moscoso (2-2, 3.73 ERA) provided Sacramento with six strong innings of one-hit baseball that included eight strikeouts and two walks. The 27-year-old righty did not allow the lone hit until the top of the fourth inning when Colorado Springs shortstop Chris Nelson led off the inning with a double to right center field. Moscoso quickly regained control and retired the next nine batters before handing the final three innings over to the bullpen. RHP Fernando Cabrera, RHP Fautino De Los Santos and R

This time around, a slightly re-tooled Graham Godfrey was ready. Ready to show that the changes he made in the offseason were paying off. Ready to pop the glove with the hard stuff. And after striking out the side in the first inning, he knew that he couldn’t let this great start go to waste. “It sets the tone for the rest of the game,” said Godfrey. “I think the guys playing behind me picked up on that and they feed off that. It’s a good way to start things off.” On a sunny and warm Thursday evening at Raley Field, the sombreros were out and the margaritas were flowing as the fans in attendance this Cinco de Mayo witnessed a great pitching performance as the Cats cruised to a 7-1 vict

Considering that the Sacramento River Cats have been on a roll lately – winners of eight of their last ten - you would hope that, along with all the kids finding prizes in the plastic eggs that were scattered across the grass in the Kinder BBQ area, the Cats would find a way to scatter enough hits to keep the good times rolling along. The visiting Tucson Padres cut the good times short by providing solid starting pitching and timely hitting to best Sacramento 7-5 on Easter Sunday, despite comeback attempts in each of the final four innings by the River Cats. A weakness of the Cats early this season has been allowing the opposing team to put up multiple runs in the opening frame. Falling

Since the River Cats pushed Josh Outman’s start back one more day, a spot came open for another player from Oakland’s outstanding minor league system to make an appearance before the 5,327 in attendance at Raley Field Tuesday evening. This time it was Graham Godfrey’s number that was called. Godfrey, a player whom Cats Manager Darren Bush has had the pleasure of managing at several of the A’s farm clubs, got the spot start. Even though Godfrey pitched well enough to win, he gave up three runs in the first inning that crippled the Cats’ chances of pulling off the win. In the end, the River Cats lost a tough one, 5-3 in the ninth inning to the Las Vegas 51s. For the third consecutive game

The Sacramento River Cats’ play has paralleled with the heat in the last week, with the team winning five straight games. The Tacoma Rainiers came into town Saturday and were on pace to leave Sacramento winless, but fortunately for them, the River Cats found themselves down early and were unable to show off any of the late magic that was displayed the night before. The Tacoma Rainiers were 40-38 coming into the mid-day game against the River Cats, who have found themselves 41-38 and seven games out of first place in the PCL South Division. On the mound the Rainiers had the early advantage, as their starter Luke French was currently 8-2 with a 2.27 ERA. French leads his team in wins a