RENO, Nev. – The Reno Aces entered their series ready to take on the streaking Oklahoma City Comets, and though Oklahoma City continued their blazing path at the beginning of the set, Reno brought down their trajectory by the end of the week.
Tuesday’s series opener on May 19 saw Thomas Hatch work a scoreless outing, tossing 3.1 innings while striking out two with two hits and two walks, but the Comets broke through following his exit and secured a 6-3 win.
Reno had scored three times in the ninth to avoid the shutout, as Luis Urías drove in one and Andrew Velazquez plated two with singles, and the latter was one of three with two hits in the game. The top half of the lineup combined for six hits, including two-hit efforts from Kristian Robinson and LuJames Groover.
Three runs in the eighth for the Aces brought them within a run after initially trailing 5-1, but the bases were left stranded and the Comets escaped with a 6-4 win on May 20.
Consecutive doubles by Anderdson Rojas and LuJames Groover got the action going to start the frame with the latter earning an RBI. Groover quickly advanced to third on a wild pitch and then took home in the same fashion on a wild pitch ball four to Luken Baker. Despite sitting within a run and a walk that loaded the bases, two strikeouts closed the frame.
Starter Dylan Ray allowed just two hits through the first five innings for Reno on May 21, but Oklahoma City took control in the sixth and handed the Aces an 8-0 defeat.
Reno’s two hits in the contest came in each of the first two innings, as Groover singled in the first and Christian Cerda matched it in the second. However, the Aces saw 21 straight hitters retired until a one-out walk to Rojas in the top of the ninth, leading them a season-long five-game losing streak.
That streak ended the following day on May 22 as the Aces generated seven runs by the end of the fourth in inning and held through a late Comets rally for a 7-6 victory.
Four runs in the second inning started Reno on the right foot, the highlight being a three-run blast from Urías following a Tommy Troy RBI single. The Aces tacked on three more in the fourth featuring yet another homer, as Troy started the inning with a solo blast to left center while Tyler Locklear earned an RBI on a single to center.
Entering in the eighth and logging a four-out save was Drey Jameson, as he struck out one without a hit allowed to convert his fifth save in as many chances. That preserved the victory for Gerardo Carrillo, who worked the 1.2 frames following Drake’s exit and yielded a single unearned run on no hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
A leadoff blast from Robinson and a stellar starting effort from Mitch Bratt helped the Aces notch a second consecutive one-run victory over Oklahoma City with a 2-1 win on May 23.
Before all fans could find their seats, Robinson hammered the first pitch to straightaway center field for Reno’s first leadoff homer of the season. That was the fifth time in franchise history that the Aces have homered on the first pitch of the game, the first since Albert Almora Jr. did it on July 30, 2024.
Additionally, it was Robinson’s second leadoff homer of his Aces career, also accomplishing the feat on Sept. 13, 2025 when Reno was at home against Las Vegas (fourth at-bat of game).
Bratt went five innings without a run, his second outing of five run-free frames this season which is the most on the squad. Over those five innings he punched out five without a walk and allowed three hits, marking the first win in his Triple-A career.
Reno was able to put at least one runner on in every inning, but scored only once more on a Rojas double in the fourth. Though Oklahoma City found a way to strike for a run against Yilber Díaz on a sacrifice fly, he worked the final six outs in the contest for his second save of the year.
Unfortunately, the series still ended with a loss as a quality start from Yu-Min Lin and a ninth-inning rally fell just shy, as the Aces left the bases loaded and Oklahoma City secured a 5-3 win on May 24.
Lin was tagged for three runs in the first but otherwise settled in, and he logged just the second quality start by an Ace this season (also: Dylan Ray) and finished it with six strikeouts.
Reno managed runs in on a Locklear single in the third and a Luken Baker in sacrifice fly in the fifth but had one of their best scoring opportunities in the ninth. They avoided double play balls after putting the leadoff runner on and even scored a run on a wild pitch but eventually left the game-tying run stranded on second.
Urías was big in the victory, reaching in all five plate appearances by going 3-for-3 with a run scored and a pair of walks. That helped Urías have a big series, finishing with Reno’s second-best average at .368 while scoring four runs, hitting a homer, and driving in five RBI.
Groover had the best average of the week for the Aces, hitting .421 with two runs scored, a trio of doubles, and a 1.055 OPS. The recently promoted Troy was the only other Ace above .300, hitting .333 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI.
The Aces will now return home and turn their attention to their closest geographical rival, as the Sacramento River Cats come into town for a six-game series beginning on Tuesday, May 26 beginning at 11:05 a.m. PT.