Baseball Game Preview: Valencia Tigers vs. Katella Knights

For the second straight game, Valencia will face off against Katella. The Tigers will host the Knights at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. Valencia has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with four straight defeats, while Katella will come in with five straight wins.

Valencia is headed into the contest having just suffered their biggest loss since February 25th on Tuesday. They lost 17-3 to Katella.

For Katella's part, Hector Perez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. The dominant performance also gave Perez a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI.

In other pitching news, Juan Carlos Navarro looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.

Back at the plate, Julian Bustos was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Guillermo Leyva, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Katella kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in three consecutive games.

Katella's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-3. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for Valencia, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-9.