RENO, Nev. – Coming off a successful offensive week in a series win against Tacoma, the Reno Aces could not continue their momentum as they suffered a series defeat on the road at the hands of the Round Rock Express, Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
Riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak, the Aces could not keep up their offensive pace as they managed just one run during a 5-1 defeat in the series opener with Round Rock on July 28.
The only tally for Reno came in the top of the third when Anderdson Rojas singled with two on and one out, scoring A.J. Vukovich who had been hit by a pitch to start the frame.
Starter Yu-Min Lin tossed his fourth quality start after allowing two earned runs (five total) on five hits with four strikeouts in six full frames. Landon Sims and Juan Burgos each worked a scoreless inning out of the bullpen, with one hit allowed by the former while the latter walked and punched out one each.
Reno flipped the tables on the Express in game two of the set on July 29, this time holding their opponents to a single run as the Aces secured a 4-1 victory.
The Aces had to overcome a first-inning Express lead, scoring in the third, fourth and sixth innings. That included a Pavin Smith homer in the fourth, a solo shot marking his first of the Triple-A season, while three others tallied RBI including Danny Serretti who finished 2-for-3 with a double and runs scored.
The trio of Kade Strowd (3-2), Philip Abner, and Spencer Giesting combined on five run-free frames and five hits (two each from Strowd and Giesting), and Strowd punched out four of the seven hitters he faced in earning the victory.
Bryce Jarvis was called upon in the ninth and converted his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth with one strikeout and hit batsman. That was the first save of his MiLB career, as his only other save came last season with Arizona June 10, 2025 against Seattle.
Reno put runners on base in each of the first five innings and had a runner in scoring position in the top of the eighth thanks to a double from LuJames Groover, but in the end failed to capitalize during a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Round Rock on July 30.
Three of the seven hits in the game for Reno came from Arizona’s No. 1 prospect Crisantes, his second three-hit effort at Triple-A. Meanwhile, three others logged singles including Robinson, Vukovich, and Smith.
That marked the fifth shutout loss of the season for the Aces, dropping their record to 4-5 in such games. The last shutout loss the Aces suffered was towards the beginning of the month when they took a 7-0 defeat in Tacoma on July 2. This was also just the sixth time Reno had been shut out at Dell Diamond, the first since a 6-0 loss to the Express on May 31, 2025.
The Aces scored four times between the fourth and fifth innings on July 31, establishing a 4-2 lead, but in the end three runs by Round Rock in the bottom of the seventh turned into a 5-4 Express victory.
After Round Rock started the scoring in the bottom of the second,Reno responded quickly with a three-run home run courtesy of Smith. The blast had come just three batters into the top of the fourth as Manuel Pena singled to get things started while Serretti joined him aboard with a walk.
Serretti added onto that lead when he hammered his fourth homer of the season in solo fashion during the top of the fifth, ripping a two-out blast from a full count out to right field.
Tommy Henry had tied franchise history with his 68th career Aces start but left after 5.2 innings and two runs allowed on five hits with four strikeouts to three walks.
Reno had pulled level in the eighth inning to force extras where they took the lead with a single tally in the top of the 11th, but Round Rock stole a 9-8 victory on a two-run walk-off homer from Jarred Kelenic on Aug. 1.
Robinson had helped the Aces to draw even with the Express during the top of the eighth when his leadoff double resulted in game’s the tying run. After moving to third on Reno’s 43rd sacrifice bunt of the season, he quickly scored when a throwing error was made on a ball put in play by Demetrio Crisantes.
That score eventually forced extra innings to decide a winner, but it took two frames after both teams failed to score in the 10th. The Aces had pushed home the free runner in the inning on an RBI groundout from Jose Ferandnez, but it took little time for Round Rock to walk off winners as Kelenic blasted his sixth of the season as the first batter of the inning.
Both Crisantes and Fernandez ended their nights with three hits, the former doubling once, scoring once, and driving one in while the latter had a pair of RBI and scored once. Meanwhile, Matt O’Neill also had a run, RBI and double in addition to a two-hit effort.
There were several repeats in the series finale on Aug. 2, as Sunday’s contest went to extra innings for a second consecutive day where the Express were able to capitalize in the bottom of the 10th and hand the Aces their second shutout loss of the series, 1-0 in 10 innings.
Sunday’s game saw a scoreless tie move all the way through the ninth inning, though it was not for lack of trying. Reno had put a runner on in each of the first four innings, three times reaching scoring position, but failed to capitalize.
Round Rock failed to get much going until the latter stages, and twice nearly scored in the final third of the game. It took an impressive outfield assist from center field by Anderdson Rojas to cut down a runner trying to score in the home half of the seventh, while Dylan Ray had to dance out of danger in the eighth by stranding the bases loaded.
One of the best chances of the night for Reno came in the top of the ninth, as they saw Smith draw a leadoff walk and advance up to third after a Gavin Conticello sacrifice bunt and wild pitch. Despite a runner just 90 feet from home with only one out, the Aces could not drive him in and watched the inning end with a ground out and strikeout.
Jose Cabrera had drawn the start for Reno and worked five run-free innings, striking out six without a walk for the second time this season while allowing only a single hit. Crisantes had his second straight three-hit day, finishing the game 3-for-5. Of Reno’s six hits, only two went for extra bases as the duo of Vukovich and Christian Cerda each doubled, the former finishing with two hits.
Cabrera’s effort earned him Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week honors, his first ever weekly honor at the Triple-A level. He becomes the second Aces hurler to earn the honor this season, joining southpaw Kohl Drake on April 5 after his five no-hit innings at Albuquerque. Overall, he is the fifth Ace to earn weekly recognition this season (sixth instance), joining LuJames Groover, Tim Tawa, and Tyler Locklear.
At the dish, Crisantes led the way by logging nine hits and batting .375, but had little production otherwise with just one run scored, one double, and one RBI. Serretti also was above the .300 line at .313, scoring three runs with one double, one homer, two RBI and a .952 OPS. Smith led the way in RBI for the week on the Aces with four.
The Aces now return to Reno for a six-game series at Greater Nevada Field beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 6:35 p.m. PT against El Paso.