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PCL Las Vegas Aviators

Aviators Topple Sacramento 14-9 for Third Straight Win

July 7, 2021 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Las Vegas Aviators News Release


At about 8:15 p.m. Sunday at Las Vegas Ballpark, the Aviators were staring down the barrel at their eighth loss in their previous nine games ...their sixth loss in a row ... and an 0-4 start to a homestand against the Sacramento River Cats.

At that moment, the Aviators trailed Sacramento 14-11, and the odds of them rallying to win a Fourth of July slugfest against the River Cats were longer than a Shohei Ohtani home run. The odds that they would somehow steal that game and win the next two to salvage a split of the six-game series against their longtime Northern California rivals (who to that point had scored 60 runs in four days)?

Well, there were no odds, because no reputable sportsbook would've bothered posting a line.

What happened next once again proved that the cliche "Anything is possible" still has merit: After scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth and once in the 10th Sunday to stun the River Cats 15-14, the Aviators on Monday got a walk-off two-run homer from outfielder Cody Thomas with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to turn a 3-2 loss into a 4-3 win.

Then came Tuesday and, well, let's just say Las Vegas bucked those long-shot odds - and did so without so much as a hint of the drama that was needed the previous two nights.

After spotting Sacramento a first-inning lead for the third straight game, the Aviators erupted for nine runs in their first three at-bats and coasted to a 14-9 victory before a crowd of 7,404 at Las Vegas Ballpark - and as a result, they indeed salvaged a split of the six-game series against the River Cats.

Hot-hitting first baseman/catcher Carlos Pérez became the first Aviator this season to record five hits in a game, going 5-for-5 with a homer, three runs and four RBI. Second baseman Vimael Machín and outfielder Austin Beck each hammered two-run homers in a five-run fifth inning that gave Las Vegas a 9-1 lead.

The Aviators added a run in the fifth and two in the sixth to open up a seemingly insurmountable 12-2 lead - seemingly, because Sacramento pushed across a total of seven runs in the final two innings to create some tension. But the Aviators answered with a pair of eighth-inning insurance runs to lock up their third straight victory.

Lost in Las Vegas' offensive onslaught was the performance of starting pitcher Paul Blackburn, who picked up his third victory of the season after surrendering just two runs on six hits in five innings, walking one and matching a season high with seven strikeouts. Southpaw reliever A.J. Puk followed Blackburn to the mound and delivered one of his best performances of the season, yielding two hits and one walk in two scoreless innings.

Even though the three relievers who followed Puk to the mound - right-handers Argenis Angulo, Zach Jackson and Domingo Acevedo - struggled to slam the door shut, they eventually did. As a result, the Aviators secured a split of the six-game series with their third straight win over Sacramento - something nobody would've predicted (or bet on) as recently as Sunday night.

GAME NOTES: All nine Las Vegas hitters had at least one hit, with five guys producing multiple hits: Pérez (5-for-5, homer, three runs, four RBI); Cody Thomas (2-for-6, run, two RBI), Nate Mondou (2-for-5, two RBI), Machín (3-for-4, walk, four runs, three RBI) and Luis Barrera (2-for-4, walk, two runs). With his two hits, Barrera snapped a 3-for-35 slump. ... Aviators third baseman Jacob Wilson went 1-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to five in a row, during which he's 7-for-18 with one home run, seven runs and six RBI ... Aviators catcher/designated hitter Austin Allen took the day off, preserving his 13-game hitting streak. During the streak, which is the longest for an Aviators' batter this season, the veteran catcher is batting .339 (19-for-56) with three home runs and 11 RBI. ... Even though the Aviators outhit Sacramento 18-14 on Tuesday, the River Cats still finished the six-game series with 84 hits. ... Las Vegas outfielder Greg Deichmann missed his second straight game because of a hamstring injury he suffered in Saturday's game. He remains day-to-day. ... The Aviators lead the season series against Sacramento 11-7.

ON DECK: After their regularly scheduled off day Wednesday, the Aviators will head north to Reno and take on the first-place Aces in a six-game series that kicks off at 6:35 p.m. Thursday. Hard-throwing southpaw Jesús Luzardo (0-1, 10.38 ERA) and right-hander Daulton Jefferies (2-1, 6.17) are slated to start the first two games for Las Vegas.

The Aviators will return to Las Vegas Ballpark on July 15 for the start of a six-game series against the El Paso Chihuahuas that runs through July 20. Click here to purchase tickets.

Catch every Aviators game throughout the season on Raider Nation Radio 920-AM, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @AviatorsLV.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 7, 2021


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