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PCL1 Las Vegas Aviators

Reno Belts 9 HRs in 20-9 Victory over Aviators

June 30, 2019 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Las Vegas Aviators News Release


Prior to Saturday's game at Las Vegas Ballpark, Aviators manager Fran Riordan was asked to assess the strengths of the Reno Aces, his team's opponent in the opener of a five-game homestand. "They swing the bats really well, and there aren't a lot of easy outs in their lineup," Riordan said. "So we have to pitch well and stay away from damage, because they've got a lot of guys - one through nine - who can hit the ball out of the ballpark."

Needless to say, Riordan was spot-on with his evaluation. Unfortunately, his pitchers weren't spot-on with executing the game plan.

Making their first visit to Las Vegas Ballpark, the Aces belted nine home runs - including two in their first two at-bats and five in the first three innings - and cruised to a 20-9 victory. The result spoiled a historic night for the Aviators, as the 30th sellout crowd of 10,332 pushed this year's attendance to 389,524, establishing a new record in the franchise's 37th year of Triple-A baseball.

Perhaps the Aviators (45-37) were still groggy after their overnight bus trip from Fresno pulled into Las Vegas Ballpark at 6 a.m. Or perhaps the Aces were just riding the momentum of a four-game sweep in Salt Lake during which they scored 23 runs. Either way, the game got out of hand in a hurry, as Reno scored two runs in the first inning and four in the second - all off Las Vegas starter Tyler Alexander (5-4) - then added six more in the third against reliever Ben Bracewell.

Every player in the Aces lineup had at least one hit, led by shortstop Domingo Leyba, who had two homers, three singles and six RBI in his first five at-bats. Catcher John Ryan Murphy also went deep twice for Reno (37-44), which raced out to a 12-2 lead on the way to its fifth consecutive win.

The onslaught started when the first two batters in the Aces' lineup - Abraham Almonte and Leyba - ambushed Alexander, crushing two of his first three pitches for opposite-field home runs. Almonte belted the first pitch of the game just inside the right-field foul pole, and two pitches later, Leyba splashed one into the pool beyond center field.

Almonte and Leyba were at the center of the action once again in the second inning. After Andy Young singled and scored on Murphy's one-out, two-run home run that barely cleared the left-field wall, Alexander retired Juniel Querecuto on a comebacker for the second out. But then he walked Almonte, and Leyba followed with another homer to center, this one landing on the pool deck.

The Aviators answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second on Skye Bolt's sacrifice fly and Corban Joseph's RBI single. But any thoughts of a comeback were quickly dashed when Reno sent nine men to the plate in a six-run third inning. Kevin Cron delivered the big blow, a two-out, three-run bomb to dead center field. It was Cron's Pacific Coast League-leading 26th homer of the season and the Aces' fifth big fly in their first 21 plate appearances.

They would add to that total on home runs by Young (two-run shot in the sixth), Murphy (solo shot in the sixth), Wyatt Mathisen (two-run shot in the seventh) and Yasmany Tomás (two-run shot in the ninth). Tomás' blast was noteworthy in that he hit it off Aviators backup catcher Cameron Rupp, whom Riordan pressed into service to spare his bullpen.

The only positives for the Aviators came courtesy of the offense. Joseph, who is the PCL's leading hitter, extended his season-high hitting streak to 13 games by going 3-for-4 with a triple, three RBI and a run. It was his 10th multi-hit game during the streak. Chris Herrmann, who is continuing his rehab assignment for the Oakland A's, and Seth Brown also had three hits, and each scored twice.

Las Vegas has now scored nine or more runs in five of its last six games. Unfortunately, this time around, that wasn't nearly enough to secure a victory.

GAME NOTES: With his three hits Saturday, Joseph boosted his league-leading average to .391. The veteran infielder is 28-for-53 (.528) during his hitting streak with 18 runs, seven doubles, one homer and 16 RBI. Joseph now has a .500 average in June (38-for-72), recording at least one hit in 19 of the 20 games he's played this month. ... Alexander saw his four-game winning streak come to an end, yielding six runs on five hits, four of which left the ballpark. ... Riley Smith (1-0) picked up the victory for Reno in his Triple-A debut. The right-hander gave up eight runs on 10 hits with one walk and three strikeouts. ... The Aces now lead this year's Silver State Diamond Challenge against the Aviators, 5-4. ... Saturday's crowd was 16th of 10,000 or more.

BARRETO GETS THE CALL: Las Vegas second baseman Franklin Barreto saw his season-high 11-game hitting streak come to an end after going 0-for-3, leaving the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. But he departed for a good reason: The 23-year-old infielder/outfielder is heading back to the big leagues.

Barreto will leave Las Vegas on Sunday morning and take the roster spot of outfielder Stephen Piscotty, who will be placed on the 10-day injured list after leaving Saturday's game against the Angels with a sprained knee. Barreto, who hit .233 in 32 games with Oakland last season, is expected to join the A's in Anaheim in time for Sunday's 1:05 p.m. game.

Along with Joseph, Barreto has been the Aviators' hottest hitter. Despite going hitless on Saturday, he's batting .387 in June with nine homers, 32 RBI, 25 runs and 13 doubles, raising his average from .240 to .296 since May 31.

ON DECK: The Aces and Aviators continue Silver State Diamond Challenge on Sunday at 7:05 p.m. Paul Blackburn (7-1, 5.45 ERA), who earlier this week was named to the Triple-A All-Star Game, will try for his team-leading eighth win of the season when he battles Taylor Widener (6-4, 8.14) in a clash of right-handers.

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