RENO, Nev. – Stellar pitching and seven combined runs between the third and fourth inning led to the fourth shutout win of the season for the Reno Aces, blanking the Tacoma Rainiers to start their six-game set with a 7-0 victory on Tuesday.
In a game started by Mitch Bratt it was no doubt there would be excellent pitching, as he worked four scoreless frames while yielding just two runs with three punchouts. Though his fourth shutout appearance this season did not go long enough to qualify for the win, the offense went to work in the middle third to take a comfortable lead.
All three runs in the third scored in the most exciting of fashions when Tim Tawa’s deep fly ball to center crashed off the wall along with the center fielder, allowing him and two others to speed all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. That represented the 15th in Aces history, the second this season alongside Andrew Velazquez.
During the fourth, Reno notched hits in five of the first six at-bats, the second of which was an RBI single from Christian Cerda. Immediately following was Kristian Robinson, who blasted an 0-1 offering over the wall in center for a two-run shot. One final run scored later in the frame thanks to a Tawa sacrifice fly.
Pitching did the rest of the heavy lifting, as Jonatan Bernal (1-0) and Landon Sims each tossed two run-free frames, the latter struck out three with two walks. That effort earned Bernal the victory, the first in his Triple-A career, while Gerardo Carrrillo worked the ninth and yielded one hit with a strikeout.
That secured the Reno’s first shutout win over Tacoma since July 10, 2025, however it was the first time that the Aces had held the Rainiers without a run in Cheney Stadium since Aug. 5, 2015.
Seven of nine Aces in the starting lineup had hits in the game, including four multi-hit efforts with at least one run scored from the quartet of Ryan Waldschmidt, Tawa, Tyler Locklear, and Robinson. All had an extra-base hit except Locklear as Waldschmidt also logged a double.
Off to a hot start in this series, the Aces will look to keep up the momentum when the two teams meet for game two of the set on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. PT.