RENO, Nev. – It was a hard-fought series between the Reno Aces and Salt Lake Bees coming out of the All-Star Break, one that saw all three games within two runs entering the final frame, but in the end, it was Salt Lake who snatched the series win from Reno.
Twice the Aces took a one-run lead during the series opener on June 17, but twice it did not hold as the Bees used two final runs in the eighth to hand Reno a 9-8 defeat on Friday.
A Gavin Conticello RBI double in the fifth and Jose Fernandez two-run homer in the sixth had briefly put the Aces on top twice, but two final runs from Salt Lake in the eighth sealed the deal.
Fernandez drove in three of Reno’s eight runs thanks his third blast of the season and an RBI single during the fifth. Four others drove in a run, two of which were Manuel Pena and Conticello who each doubled for their only knock.
After taking an early lead behind a pair of three-run innings, the Aces needed five more in the ninth to walk away the victors with an 11-6 decision over the Bees to level the series on July 18.
Fernandez shined again as he finished a triple shy of the cycle, crushing his second homer in as many days with another two-run big fly in the first inning. He later singled and doubled in the ninth to finish with 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored.
Meanwhile, Danny Serretti reached in all five plate appearances thanks to a 2-for-2 effort with three walks and three RBI. That marked the 10th time this season an Ace has reached base five times in a game, but he is just the seventh to do so without recording an out. Of the 10 total prior instances, Serretti is the only Ace to achieve the feat while recording three or more RBI.
Jose Cabrera started and left after 4.2 innings, but recorded nine of his 14 outs via the strikeout which (at the time) was the most strikeouts in a game by an Aces starter this season.
Not even a five-run eighth could save Reno a defeat on in the series finale on July 19, as their large inning brought them within one until Salt Lake added insurance late in an 8-6 decision for the Bees.
A home run in the second inning to start the game’s scoring from Pena was all the scoring the Aces could manage for most of the contest, as they were then held in check until they rallied again late in the eighth. That homer was the 30th of the 2026 campaign for Pena, third most in all affiliated baseball.
It was a two-out rally for the Aces in the eighth, putting a runner on in three different ways with a walk, single and hit batsman. Danny Serretti gave a rude greeting to Tayler Saucedo by launching a three-run homer to left field as the very first batter he faced, pulling the score to 7-6. That was just the third homer of the season for the Aces, but the 27th time this season that the Aces have hit multiple home runs in a single game.
Starter Tommy Henry was charged the loss for Reno, his sixth of the season after surrendering five runs on eight hits despite setting the new Aces single-game best strikeout mark this season with 10 after Cabrera punched out nine just a day earlier.
Both Pena and Serretti finished their game with two hits including a homer, the latter driving in three runs while the former had one RBI but scored twice. Smith was the only other Ace with an RBI, ending his game with two while going 1-for-3 and scoring once.
Serretti was on fire in the set, batting .500 for the series with six RBI and five walks in just the three games. His 1.567 OPS barely topped that of Fernandez (1.500), who batted .417 for the week with five runs scored, two homers, and seven RBI.
Reno now returns to Greater Nevada Field in preparation for a six-game series with the Tacoma Rainiers beginning on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. PT.