PCL Reno Aces

Aces Game Notes

Published on September 14, 2021 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Reno Aces News Release


First pitch from Las Vegas Ballpark is slated for 7:05 p.m. PT.

For the First Time in Forever:

The Reno Aces rallied with a four-run ninth to stun the Salt Lake Bees, 6-3. Blake Lalli's team leads all of Triple-A and ranks third in MiLB with 63 tallies in the final frame.

Over the last five games, 13 of the Aces' 14 pitchers to come out of the bullpen have not allowed an earned run. In 24 combined innings of work, those 13 relievers have surrendered just one unearned tally on 12 hits with seven walks. Reno's bullpen rides an 18.1-inning scoreless streak into tonight's contest.

Cooper Hummel recorded his fifth-consecutive contest with at least two hits. The Aces' utilityman continued his hot streak in September with a 2-for-4 performance at the dish with a home run and a pair of RBIs. In 11 appearances this month, Hummel is slashing .487/.500/.897 with four homers, 16 RBIs and 13 runs scored.

Jamie Ritchie jumped out to a four-game hit streak with a single in the ninth frame.

Juniel Querecuto increased his hitting streak to seven games with an RBI base knock in the ninth frame.

Drew Ellis reached base safely in his last 18 games with the Aces since July 10, drilling the eventual game-winning home run in the final frame.

Jake Hager enters the night on a six-game hitting streak. The Aces' shortstop is batting .304 over that stretch with a pair of doubles, one dinger, three RBIs and seven runs scored.

Ildemaro Vargas extended his hitting streak to seven games with his single in the opening frame. Reno's all-time hits leader is slashing .412/.412/.765 during his successful hitting stretch. The 30-year-old recorded a home run in his second-straight game, giving him five homers in September for a personal best in any month this season. It also marks the second time this season Vargas has registered a dinger in back-to-back games, with his first coming on June 27-28 against Sacramento.

Into the Unknown:

Humberto Mejia will make his 15th start with the Aces and fifth against Las Vegas. The right-hander will look to rebound from his loss on Sept 9 against the Aviators and pick up his third win in four starts. Following his two tough starts with Reno where he allowed at least six runs in each outing, Mejia has boasted a 6-3 record with a 4.14 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 63 innings of work since June 18.

Mike Fiers will make a Major League rehab start for the Bees and is expected to be followed by game one starter, Brian Howard. Fiers has not pitched in Triple-A since his Aug. 3, 2014 start with Nashville versus New Orleans. The veteran right-hander has won both career starts against the Aces, allowing no earned runs on a combined eight hits and striking out 12 batters in 12.2 innings of work.

Aces are Better Than People:

With Vargas reaching the 500-hit plateau, he has his sights set on breaking two more Aces records. The veteran infielder is seven runs away (266) from breaking Cole Gillespie's record of 272 and seven appearances away (368) from snapping Gillespie's franchise mark of 374 games played. Vargas has 35 stolen bases and 197 RBIs with Reno, needing just one stolen base to tie Evan Frey (36) for fifth in Aces' history and five more RBIs to match Kevin Cron (202) for third all-time.

Querecuto, with the Aces alone, has recorded 282 base knocks in his three seasons, ranking seventh all-time behind Mike Freeman with 301. The veteran infielder is also eight base knocks away from 900 in his MiLB career and five extra-base hits from 100 in Triple-A.

Christian Lopes is one double away from recording 200 career two-baggers. The Aces' infielder recorded his first double since Aug. 15 against El Paso. Lopes is also nine runs away from scoring his 300th career run at the Triple-A level.

Alek Thomas is four runs away from reaching the 200-tally plateau in his professional career.

Let It Go:

Reno leads all of professional baseball with a .291 batting average while holding third in runs scored with 775. The Biggest Little City's squad has recorded a MiLB-leading 1137 hits, leading Las Vegas by 26 hits (1111). The Aces are out-hitting 12 of the 32 MLB teams in nearly 30 fewer games.

Reno leads Triple-A batting .310 with 277 runs scored, 389 hits, 60 home runs, 74 doubles and 13 triples after the sixth frame. With its Minor League-leading 277 tallies and .310 batting average in the seventh inning or later, the Biggest Little City's team has 16 more runs than Carolina with 261 and 35 more points than second-best Quad City with a .275 mark.

In the seventh inning alone, the Aces lead all of Minor League Baseball with a .323 batting average and 148 base knocks while being one of two teams to reach the 100-run plateau with 110 tallies.

The Aces have scored at least 10 runs in 24 contests this season, holding a 21-3 record in such games.

The Biggest Little City's team has mounted 21 comebacks this season, boasting a 14-7 record in contests it erases a deficit of three or more runs to tie the game.

Blake Lalli's club has put forth a 15-3 record when its starter tosses at least six innings of work.

Jesus Liranzo tossed his second blank performance out of the bullpen against Las Vegas on Sunday, marking his ninth scoreless relief appearance since Aug. 1. In his 11 outings since the start of August, the Aces' reliever has registered 15 strikeouts and a 2.31 ERA in 11.2 innings of work.

Check out the Reno Aces Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from September 14, 2021


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