RENO, Nev. – The first half of the 2026 season for the Reno Aces concluded with six games in El Paso, Texas against the Chihuahuas, but Reno could not secure a series victory in a set that featured many different new and returning faces.
Christian Cerda’s sacrifice fly in the second inning on June 16 gave the Aces the first lead in their series with the Chihuahuas, but El Paso scored six straight runs to take the game one victory by a 6-1 final.
Starter Kohl Drake retired each of the first eight El Paso hitters he faced, including recording each of the last seven consecutive via strikeouts.
Scoring Reno’s only run was Manuel Pena, who reached base twice and closed his Triple-A debut contest 1-for-3. Meanwhile, Max Kepler also made his Aces debut and finished the game 1-for-2 before checking out of the contest.
Tommy Henry made Aces history and Reno briefly held a lead after the second frame in game two on June 17, but consecutive three-run frames led the way to an eventual 9-6 El Paso victory.
Entering after starter Mitch Bratt in the fifth, Henry recorded both of his outs via the strikeout to become Reno’s all-time strikeout leader with 308, surpassing the previous mark of 307 set by Charles Brewer (2012-2014).
It was a return to the lineup for yet another familiar face, as A.J. Vukovich was activated from the Injured List prior to the game and went 2-for-3 with a double, run scored, and two RBI. He was one of three Aces with a pair of knocks, as the also-returned Aramis Garcia closed 2-for-3 with a run scored while Pena went 2-for-5 with a double and run scored.
Yu-Min Lin tossed his second quality start of the season on June 18, but this time it ended in an Aces victory as Reno rewarded him with six runs in the fifth leading to an 8-1 win over the Chihuahuas.
In the contest with the smallest margin of victory during the series, Lin was sharp throughout as he allowed just a single run in the bottom of the fifth before checking out after six. Though he only struck out, he issued only one walk and limited the Chihuahuas to three total hits. There was even a dominant stretch by Lin when he retired 10 in a row from the second through sixth.
Reno’s bullpen went the final three frames without yielding a run, which included two perfect frames from Spencer Giesting who struck out three of his six hitters faced. That marked just the fourth time a Reno reliever had gone two or more perfect innings with three or more strikeouts since the beginning of 2025.
Eight of nine Aces in the starting lineup had hits, none more than the 3-for-5 effort from Luis Urías who also scored once and drove one in. Both Jose Fernandez and Vukovich homered, the former logging one hit and two RBI while the latter had one RBI and two hits. Of Reno’s 14 total hits, only three went for extra bases with the pair of homers and one double from Tyler Locklear.
Ryan Waldschmidt crushed the third leadoff home run by an Ace this season to start their June 19 contest, but that was Reno’s only run as El Paso took control for a 14-1 win in game four of the series.
Before most fans found their seat Waldschmidt had homered on the game’s first pitch, his fifth of the season with Reno and first career Triple-A leadoff home run. That lead lasted three frames before El Paso took the lead with two in the bottom of the fourth, then continued to add on with 12 runs over their final three set of at-bats.
Just one night after being held to a single run, Reno returned the favor and limited the Chihuahuas to a single tally during Reno’s 7-1 win against El Paso on June 20.
Aces starter Brandon Pfaadt found a groove after allowing an unearned run in the first, checking out after 3.1 innings and four strikeouts without a walk. Entering was the trio of Juan Burgos (1-4), Dylan Ray, and Gerardo Carrillo who combined to go the final 5.2 frames without allowing a run on two hits. Earning the win with 1.1 run-free frames was Burgos, his first win of 2026.
A 1-1 score held until the top of the fifth when the Aces scored in four consecutive innings, all of which started with a go-ahead homer to start the fifth by Danny Serretti, who was starting his second stint in Reno. In his first game back with the Aces, Serretti unloaded on a 2-1 offering and crushed it out to center field.
All nine Aces in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit, with a pair of three-hit games by Kristian Robinson and Serretti. The former of the two doubled while driving in three runs, while the latter scored twice and homered. Four others had multi-hit games including a 2-for-4 effort with a run scored and RBI from Cerda.
An RBI fielder’s choice from Aramis Garcia brought the Aces within a run in the top of the sixth, however they could come no closer as the El Paso Chihuahuas gave Reno a 7-1 defeat to end the first half of the season on June 21.
That Reno tally was their only of the contest, though it took an impressive diving play from Mason McCoy at shortstop to save additional runs on the play. Outside of that frame, Reno had a runner on base in every inning except the fifth.
Of Reno’s six hits, four came from the duo of Danny Serretti and Manuel Pena, both of whom were 2-for-4 though all four knocks were singles. Kepler recorded the only extra-base hit of the day for the Aces with a double in the top of the third, while Angel Ortiz had the only other hit in a 1-for-3 game.
Eight different Aces hit above .300 in the series, though Vukovich had the highest average of those with 10 or more plate appearances for the week right at the .400 mark. In addition to his six hits, he had 10 total bases thanks to a double and a homer to go with three RBI and three walks.
Locklear’s four RBI were a team-high for the week, while Waldschmidt ended the first week of his second stint batting .300 with five runs scored, one double, two homers, two RBI, and three walks.
The Aces now prepare for the start of the season’s second half at Greater Nevada Field, and Reno will welcome the Oklahoma City Comets, Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, for a six-game set beginning on Tuesday.