Aces Notes
July 1, 2021 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Reno Aces News Release
Bad Romance:
The Reno Aces unloaded nine of its 13 home runs in the final two contests against Sacramento to split its six-game slate. The Aces have yet to lose a series in 2021, holding a 5-0 mark with three ties, two of which coming against the River Cats.
Drew Ellis led all players with a .455/.478/1.136 slash line with 10 base knocks, seven extra-base hits, and 10 RBIs. The D-Backs' prospect capped off his week with three home runs in the final two contests, including a two-homer, five-RBI performance in the series finale on Tuesday.
Along with Ellis, Stuart Fairchild smacked a pair of dingers in on June 28, registering four RBIs and combining to knock in nine of the team's runs in the Aces' 11-8 victory. The duo became the first set of players since Yasmany Tomas and Kevin Cron in May 2019 to record multiple home runs in the same game.
Five Aces pitchers provided scoreless relief for the team during its six-game slate, allowing a combined six hits in 9.2 innings of action with 11 strikeouts.
Chester Pimental paced the blanking bunch with three appearances against Sacramento, giving up just two hits and striking out six batters in 4.2 frames out of the bullpen.
Rain on Me:
The Aces will have to face two of the Mariners' top 10 prospects in Jarred Kelenic and Cal Raleigh.
No. 2 prospect Kelenic is batting .310 in Triple-A with eight home runs, 23 RBIs and 25 runs scored in 24 appearances. The 21-year-old made a brief stint with Seattle in mid-May before being optioned to Tacoma on June 9.
Raleigh dominated the Aces in his first series at Greater Nevada Field, slashing .519/.567/.963 through six starts and boasting a team-high 14 hits and eight RBIs. The Mariners' No. 8 prospect leads Triple-A West with 20 doubles, just one ahead of Aces' first baseman Seth Beer (19).
Wyatt Mathisen is slated to make his first appearance against the Aces since being designated for assignment by Arizona on May 12. In four games with Tacoma, Mathisen has recorded two hits with two runs scored.
Reno's Ellis put forth the team's best marks against Tacoma in its first series, going 10-for-23 (.435) with four doubles and six RBIs.
The Edge of Glory:
The Aces have escaped the depths of despair with stellar numbers in the seventh inning or later, locking down a Triple-A-leading .332 batting average, 152 runs, 185 hits, 32 home runs and 35 doubles.
With its Minor League-leading 152 runs scored in the seventh inning or later, the Biggest Little City's team has 42 more runs than second-best Lake Elsinore and Beloit with 110.
Reno paces all of Minor League Baseball when trailing with a .311 batting average and 146 runs scored.
Jamie Ritchie and Seth Beer have been electric in the late innings, combining for 36 hits in 101 at-bats (.356) to go along with 24 RBIs and 35 runs scored. Beer's 21 hits, eight doubles and 19 runs scored in the seventh or later sit atop the Triple-A West leaderboard. Ritchie sits just behind Beer with 15 runs scored.
In the eighth frame alone, Reno leads the Minors with a .338 batting average, 69 hits, 18 doubles, 13 home runs and 59 runs scored.
Lalli's squad is hitting .340 in the ninth inning, the highest marks in all of professional baseball.
Reno's 40 tallies in the final frame are second in professional baseball, behind the Houston Astros with 41. Bryan Holaday has been electric in the ninth, going 4-for-6 with a pair of home runs and Triple-A-leading six RBIs.
Born this Way:
The Aces' bats were born this way, serving as the only team in professional baseball with a team batting average of over .300 with a .301 mark at the dish. The team's average at the dish sits 26 points ahead of second-place Sugar Land (.275).
Reno ranks second in MiLB with 375 runs scored, six tallies ahead of the Tampa Tarpons (369).
Beer has recorded 19 doubles this season to rank third in Minor League Baseball. The Aces' first baseman has smacked 25 extra-base hits this season to sit in a tie for eighth in Triple-A.
Jamie Ritchie continues to rake at the plate, ranking first in Triple-A with both a .390 batting average and a .533 on-base percentage.
The Aces have been dominant in the second half of contests, boasting a 10-3 record in games they come back to tie the game by a deficit of three or more runs.
Reno also holds an undefeated 6-0 mark in contests when Seth Beer knocks a pitch out of the park and a 12-2 record when the first baseman smacks a double.
On 13 occasions, an Aces pitcher has registered at least five strikeouts in a game, helping the team from the Biggest Little City to an 11-2 mark.
Aces all-time hits leader Ildemaro Vargas has flaunted a base knock and a run scored in four straight games since returning to the Biggest Little City.
Pacific Coast League Stories from July 1, 2021
- Ninth-Inning Rally Fizzles in Chihuahuas Loss - El Paso Chihuahuas
- POSTGAME NOTES: Hilliard, Duncan Lead Isotopes to 6-3 Victory - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Sugar Land Claims Slim 2-1 Victory over Round Rock - Round Rock Express
- Skeeters Open Round Rock Series with 2-1 Win - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - July 1, 2021 vs. Reno Aces (7:05 p.m. PT) - Tacoma Rainiers
- Aces Notes - Reno Aces
- Series Preview: Bees Travel to Take on OKC - Salt Lake Bees
- OKC Dodgers Game Notes - July 1, 2021 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Blake Lalli to coach in MLB's All-Star Futures Game - Reno Aces
- Aviators' Hitters Sizzling at Las Vegas Ballpark this Season - Las Vegas Aviators
- River Cats to Host Annual Job Fair on July 6 - Sacramento River Cats
- Reno Aces Baseball Camp Set for August 2-4 - Reno Aces
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