PCL Las Vegas Aviators

Francisco Peña Homers Twice, Aviators Rally for Wild 8-6 Victory vs. Tacoma

August 4, 2021 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Las Vegas Aviators News Release


The Aviators on Monday night surrendered five early runs to the Tacoma Rainiers before their pitching tightened up and the offense began chipping away, only to eventually squander multiple late-game scoring opportunities in a 5-4 loss at Las Vegas Ballpark.

On Tuesday, the Aviators returned to the field - this time as the Reyes de Plata ("Silver Kings") - and once again gave up five early runs to the Rainiers before their pitching tightened up ... and the offense began chipping away ... and they were presented several late-game scoring opportunities.

This time? They cashed in those opportunities - or, more accurately, veteran catcher Francisco Peña cashed them in.

Peña blasted a pair of homers - a two-run shot in the seventh and a go-ahead three-run bomb in the eighth - as Las Vegas (39-39) capped an otherwise disappointing six-game series against the Rainiers with a thrilling 8-6 come-from-behind victory at Las Vegas Ballpark.

Throw in a second-inning RBI single that plated his team's first run and Peña finished the night 3-for-4 with six RBI. He also finished the six-game series 9-for-23 with three homers and nine RBI, and he extended his hitting streak to a season-best nine games.

The excitement began in earnest in the sixth inning. After Las Vegas relief pitcher Aaron Brown wiggled out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the top of the inning, Aviators second baseman Nate Mondou crushed a one-out solo homer to right-center field that trimmed Tacoma's lead to 6-2. An inning later, designated hitter Seth Brown - who tripled and scored on Peña's second-inning single - led off with a double to deep center field.

Peña then stepped to the plate and deposited Tacoma reliever Darin Gillies' 2-0 pitch over the right-center field wall for an opposite-field homer. Suddenly, Las Vegas - which trailed 5-0 before its first at-bat and 6-1 after 5½ innings - was within striking distance. After reliever Ben Bracewell pitched a perfect top of the eighth inning, Peña and his teammates went to work on completing their comeback.

Right fielder Luis Barrera (infield single), Mondou (walk) and left fielder Mickey McDonald (bunt single) all reached safely to load the bases with nobody out - an impressive feat, given that all three are left-handed hitters and Rainiers interim manager Tony Arnerich brought in southpaw Williams Jerez specifically to face the trio.

Arnerich left Jerez in the game to face right-handed hitting first baseman Carlos Pèrez, who promptly brought home Barrera courtesy of a sacrifice fly. Jerez then struck out Seth Brown for the second out, building the drama for Peña - and that drama would last nearly 10 minutes. That's because when Peña fouled off Jerez's first pitch, the ball bounced hard off the right hand of home-plate umpire Reid Gibbs.

After trainers examined Gibbs, he left the game, forcing second-base umpire Junior Valentine to jog to the umpires' room to put on his gear. After Valentine finally returned to the field and Jerez threw several warmup pitches, Peña dug back into the batter's box and took the next two pitches for balls. When Jerez grooved the next one down the middle, Peña hammered it high and deep over the left-field wall for a three-run homer.

With his team having turned a five-run deficit into a two-run lead, Las Vegas manager Fran Riordan handed the ball to reliever Sam Moll in the top of the ninth. The left-hander, who joined the Aviators from the Oakland A's exactly a week earlier, pitched a 1-2-3 inning to lock up his second save in 48 hours.

Moll's perfect outing put a bow on yet another terrific performance by Las Vegas' bullpen, which came to the rescue of starting pitcher Kyle Friedrichs, who was called up from Double-A Midland (Texas) earlier in the day and forced to pitch on three days' rest. Friedrichs quickly retired the first two hitters of the game, then allowed five runs on five hits and a walk before finally getting out of the first inning.

The right-hander faced just three hitters in the second, then turned things over to Grant Holmes, Aaron Brown, Bracewell and Moll. Combined, the quartet limited Tacoma to just one run on three hits and three walks over the final seven innings. That completed a spectacular three-day run during which the Aviators' bullpen pitched 17 innings and held the Rainiers (43-35) to two runs, 11 hits and seven walks while striking out 14.

GAME NOTES: Peña is batting .351 (13-for-37) during his nine-game hitting streak. He now has 16 homers and 51 RBI on the season, with the latter figure just one behind team-leader Cody Thomas, who has been sidelined for more than a week with an Achilles' injury. ... In addition to Peña, Seth Brown (2-for-4, two runs), McDonald (2-for-4, run) and Barrera (2-for-3, run) finished with multiple hits. ... After going a combined 5-for-34 with runners in scoring position in losses to Tacoma on Thursday, Friday and Monday, the Aviators were 4-for-5 in that situation Tuesday. ... Aaron Brown, who needed just six pitches to get out of bases-loaded trouble in the sixth, literally has been untouchable since joining the Aviators from Midland on July 24: In five appearances, the southpaw has retired all 16 hitters he's faced. ... Holmes, who began the season in the Aviators' starting rotation, replaced Friedrichs and retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced, with the only baserunner reaching on an error. The right-hander threw 31 of 43 pitches for strikes and gave up one run on three hits and a walk while striking out four in 3 1/3 innings, his longest relief stint of the season. ... Las Vegas third baseman Vimael Machín, who left Monday's game in the seventh inning after injuring his oblique on a swing, did not play. He was replaced in the lineup by Marty Bechina.

ON DECK: Following Wednesday's scheduled off day, the Aviators will resume their 12-game homestand at Las Vegas Ballpark on Thursday when they welcome the Salt Lake Bees for a six-game series.

The first three contests will feature promotions, with $2 Beer Night on Thursday (presented by Corona Premier), postgame fireworks on Friday and an Aviators T-Shirt giveaway on Saturday (presented by The Valley Health System).

First pitch for all six games against the Bees is 7:05 p.m.

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

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