Donaldson paces Cats in Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Josh Donaldson went 4-for-5 with five RBIs on Monday at Cashman Field, propelling the Sacramento River Cats to a 9-8 victory over the Las Vegas 51s that extended their division lead to 2 1/2 games over Fresno.

Donaldson fell just a triple short of the cycle, finishing with a three-run homer, a double and a pair of singles, accounting for four of Sacramento’s nine hits. The Cats catcher also scored a pair of runs, and increased his batting average to .455 on the season.

Donaldson’s three-run blast came in the seventh inning with Sacramento trailing 7-6, and gave the River Cats bullpen all the cushion it would need. After Las Vegas cut the lead to 9-8 with a run in the eighth, Erick Threets struck out the side in the ninth inning to earn his third save.

Graham Godfrey started for the Cats, but did not make it out of the first frame, leaving the game due to an apparent injury. Five relievers tossed the final 8 1/3 innings, with Arnold Leon (1-0) picking up the win in his Triple-A debut.

Jermaine Mitchell chipped in offensively with a 2-for-4 game, including a run scored and an RBI for the River Cats, while Grant Green added his 12th double of the season and drove in a pair.