EL PASO, Texas – Tommy Henry made Reno Aces history and Reno briefly held a lead after the second frame, but consecutive three-run frames led the way to an eventual 9-6 El Paso Chihuahuas victory on Wednesday.
Producing the early counter for the Aces (30-41) was a familiar face in their return to the lineup, Ryan Waldschmidt, as his homer to start the third frame matched the Mason McCoy two-out homer for the Chihuahuas (33-38) in the bottom of the first.
El Paso again struck with two outs in the third, but a pair of Reno runs in the fourth gave the Aces their one and only lead in the game. Consecutive doubles from Manuel Pena and A.J. Vukovich, the latter of which also returned to the lineup after a lengthy stay on the Injured List, scored the game’s tying run. Later in the frame it was Angel Ortiz picking up an RBI on a sacrifice fly on the go-ahead run.
Reno starter Mitch Bratt worked the first four frames, yielding only two runs on two hits while walking one with four strikeouts. Henry (0-4) would enter upon Bratt’s exit, and though he allowed three runs on three hits and lasted just 0.2 innings, both of his recorded outs came via the strikeout.
That gives Henry 308 for his Reno career, making him the new all-time Aces leader in strikeouts. Henry surpasses the previous record of 307 set by Charles Brewer, who pitched in three seasons with Reno from 2012-2014.
The Aces continued to fight through the contest, including fourth home run this season by Aramis Garcia who began his third Reno stint this year in the sixth frame, but it was not enough to keep up with the three-run frames by El Paso in the fifth and sixth innings.
Vukovich drove home one more with a single in the seventh, ultimately finishing his return to the lineup at 2-for-3 with a double, run scored, and two RBI. He was one of three Aces with a pair of knocks, as Garcia also was 2-for-3 with a run scored while Pena went 2-for-5 with a double and run scored.
Game three of this series gets underway on Thursday at 5:35 p.m. PT from Southwest University Park.