RENO, Nev. – The Reno Aces completed a comeback attempt on Tuesday, tying the game in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI single from Tyler Locklear, but extra-innings were again unkind to Reno as it was Sacramento pulling out a 10-6 win in 10 innings.
Getting an afternoon matinee underway at 11:05 a.m., the Aces (24-28) quickly found themselves in a deficit as the River Cats (30-20) kicked off the game with three hits in the first four batters. All three of those knocks went for extra-bases, including a two-run homer in the second at-bat of the game from former Reno Ace Buddy Kennedy.
After that first inning, Reno starter Thomas Hatch settled in and allowed just one more unearned run on a Grant McCray sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Including that run, Hatch allowed just two earned runs (three total) on six hits in six frames with a strikeout.
That marked the second consecutive quality start for the Aces, the first of the season for Hatch. It was the first time that Reno has had back-to-back quality starts since Spencer Giesting and Dylan Ray did so on Aug. 22 and Aug. 23 of last season.
For the third time in the first five innings the Aces put the leadoff man aboard, and in the fifth was when they finally capitalized. Still facing off against Sacramento’s starting southpaw Carson Whisenhunt, the frame was started by the first Triple-A hit for Angel Ortiz, who was making his Triple-A debut, and he later scored on an RBI groundout by Anderdson Rojas.
Upon Whisenhunt’s exit the Aces added one more, loading the bases against reliever Ryan Walker courtesy of a leadoff single by Luis Urías, a walk to Luken Baker and another Ortiz single. With the bases loaded, Andrew Velazquez worked a free pass to earn an RBI, but a flyout brought an end to the frame without more damage.
One of the primary reasons that Reno tied the contest in the ninth was due to Kristian Robinson, singled to open the inning and then stole second base. Though he had to wait for two batters, Locklear eventually delivered a two-out RBI knock into center that knotted the contest.
As has been the case, Reno struggled in the extra frame as they allowed seven runs in the top half of the 10th to Sacramento. Undeterred, the Aces kept battling and plated three runs of their own in extras, all scoring on the first Triple-A home run from Ortiz as he blasted a 2-1 offering a total of 415 feet after leaving the bat at 101.9 mph.
Ortiz had a memorable debut, becoming the fourth Ace this season to homer in his Reno debut (third to homer in Triple-A debut), finishing 3-for-5 with a run scored. Reno also received a pair of RBI from the bottom of the order, as Rojas had two hits with an RBI while Velazquez finished 1-for-3.
Charged with the loss was Yilber Díaz (2-1), as he allowed all seven runs to score in the 10th to be given his first loss of 2026.
Game two of this series gets underway at 6:05 p.m. PT from Greater Nevada Field on Wednesday.