WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – Coming off a six-game series against the Isotopes in Albuquerque, the Sacramento River Cats return home next Tuesday for a six-game homestand against the Las Vegas Aviators.

The River Cats are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants and the Aviators are the affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, meaning the upcoming series will have some extra juice given the parent clubs’ rivalry. The series arrives with good timing as the Giants and A’s just split a two-game series in San Francisco this week.

Sacramento was the affiliate of the A’s for 15 years until 2015 when the River Cats switched to the Giants. The move led to an initial spike in attendance as the team drew 672,354 fans in 72 games during 2015, leading Minor League Baseball (MiLB) in total attendance. Sacramento also drew the second highest attendance per game in the minors with an average of 9,338 fans per game in 2015.

However, attendance began to gradually decline in 2017 and 2018. In fact, the River Cats drew their lowest attendance since arriving in Sacramento in 2018 with 538,785 fans at 70 home games. Although it was the team’s lowest attendance since arriving in the 916, it was still good enough to rank fifth in the Pacific Coast League (PCL).

From 2000-2007, the franchise’s first eight seasons, Sacramento led MiLB in attendance each year. During 15 years of affiliation with the A's organization, the River Cats won two Triple-A titles, four PCL championships, six conference titles and 11 PCL West division championships. In six complete seasons with the Giants, the team won each title once in 2019 when they stood atop of all of Triple-A as champions.

The River Cats entered their series against the Isotopes, the affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, with a 10-8 overall record. As of Tuesday, April 26, Sacramento is tied for first place in the PCL West with the Reno Aces, the affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Aviators trailed the River Cats and Aces by one game with a 9-9 record entering play Tuesday evening.

The outcome of Sacramento’s series against Albuquerque was unknown as of press time. Visit westsacramentosun.com for more coverage of the River Cats.

RELATED: River Cats poised for bounce back season

Sacramento began the 2022 season with a six-game homestand against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, the affiliate of the Houston Astros. The River Cats won their first four games, three by only one run, but lost the last two games of the series.

In the team’s first road series of the year, Sacramento split six games with Reno, winning the fifth game of the set on April 16 by a whopping score of 18-8. The River Cats then returned home for a six-game series against the Oklahoma City Dodgers, the affiliate of the Giants’ bitter rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sacramento split once again, this time winning three of the last four games to avoid the team’s first series loss of 2022.

The upcoming series between the River Cats and Aviators will likely feature multiple Major Leaguers on both sides who are on rehab assignments recovering from various injuries. For the River Cats, outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. (left knee inflammation) just returned from the injured list and made his season debut for Sacramento on April 23. Right-handed pitchers Alex Cobb (abductor strain) and Anthony DeSclafani (ankle inflammation) plus infielder Tommy La Stella (Achilles) and third baseman Evan Longoria (finger) may be joining Wade soon.

For the Aviators, OF Ramon Laureano (suspension) began his assignment on April 23 as well. However, he is returning from an 80-game suspension after testing positive for performance enhancing drug nandrolone last year. Laureano is set to finish his suspension on May 8.

Oakland RHP James Kaprielian (shoulder) has made two rehabs starts so far. The first on April 15 for Low-A Stockton went well. Unfortunately for the A’s, the second start on April 20 did not go well at Triple-A Las Vegas. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Kaprielian is scheduled to make at least one more rehab start before returning to the A’s, so he could be making an appearance in Sacramento next week.

RELATED: What to know about attending a River Cats game in 2022

Promotions for the upcoming homestand include Toyota Family Value Tuesday, Wet Nose Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, Orange Friday presented by SMUD and Mother’s Day on Sunday. Additionally, Sutter Health Park has fireworks every Friday and Saturday home game.

The River Cats and Aviators begin a six-game series on Tuesday, May 3 with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 P.M.