River Cats vs. I-Cubs Photobook

The Sacramento River Cats welcomed the Iowa Cubs to Raley Field this week. The results were positive on the field for Sacramento, as they took three of four games. However, the series left a number of players on both sides with bumps and bruises. We have a pictorial overview of the series inside. ALL PHOTOS BY CHRIS LOCKARD

River Cats starter Juan Dominguez was outstanding on Wednesday, allowing only one run over 6.1 innings of work. He struck out seven and walked only two. Dominguez had a horrible April, posting a 9.37 ERA in five appearances. He has improved in May, going 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA in five starts. He is holding hitters to a .250 BAA in May, 100 points lower than in April.








Cubs prospect Angel Guzman had a scary moment on Wednesday when he was nearly hit in the forehead with a sharp base-hit by Jeremy Brown. Guzman was able to fall out of the way and the ball appeared only to graze him. After taking a few moments to regain his senses, Guzman was able to smile about the experience.










OF Charles Thomas has been a catalyst for the River Cats' offense of late. The speedy outfielder appeared in three of the four games versus Iowa and reached base eight times, scoring two runs and driving in two. Thomas is hitting .306 and playing Gold Glove caliber defense in center.










Top Cubs prospect Felix Pie introduced himself to the River Cats this week. He had five hits on Tuesday and he walked three times on Thursday. Pie hit 11 homeruns in only 59 games last season in AA.











It hurts so good. OF Hiram Bocachica earns an RBI the hard way on Wednesday by getting beaned near the head while the bases were loaded. He would stay in the game and reach base two more times after the beaning. Bocachica earned a well-deserved day off on Thursday.

A's top prospect Daric Barton listens to the National Anthem with teammate Doug Clark on Wednesday. Barton joined his teammates for the game on Wednesday after a long day of doctor's visits. Barton has a cast on his left arm, which is in a sling. He is expected to miss six to eight weeks. He was injured on Tuesday in a collision with former major leaguer Tony Womack.









After going one for his first 26 in AAA, OF Jason Perry has put together his first AAA hitting streak, collecting hits in each of his last two starts. Before Wednesday's game, manager Tony DeFrancesco of said of Perry's early struggles: "I’m kind of surprised [that Perry is off to a slow start]. He got off to such a great start in Midland, hitting over .400, and we had high expectations for him. He’s a guy who has some power and some bat speed. When you get off to a tough start, it kind of becomes a mental game now. He ended his last game with a double, so hopefully that is the start of something." DeFrancesco may be a prophet, as Perry went 2-4 on Thursday and is now three for his last five. He scored two runs and drove home one in the River Cats 6-5 win on Thursday.











The I-Cubs star for the series was second baseman Mike Fontenot, who collected seven hits and reached base nine times. Fontenot is hitting .313 for the I-Cubs.