LAS VEGAS – Though it was the Las Vegas Aviators that scored first, the Reno Aces rallied for three runs in the fourth frame and eventually secured a 4-2 win on the road in game two.
Starter Kohl Drake had trouble battling walks in his outing, issuing four without a single strikeout for the Aces (28-31), but he limited the damage and allowed only two runs on five hits in four frames.
The Reno lineup took him off the hook for the loss in the fourth, finally striking against Aviators (32-25) starter Joey Estes to take a lead they would never relinquish. Three consecutive singles loaded the bases for Reno, and Angel Ortiz drove in two of the three when he lined a double to center field.
Kristian Robinson chipped in a sacrifice fly for the Aces to finally take the lead before the third came to a close, then he added another in the away half of the sixth to double the Reno advantage to 4-2.
Reno’s bullpen was nails throughout the game, combining to toss the last five frames while allowing only four hits and striking out five. Additionally, the Aces’ pitching staff held the Aviators to a 0-for-10 mark when batting with runners in scoring position.
The bullpen as a unit did not issue a walk, and the win went to Bryce Jarvis (2-1) after he tossed a quick and clean fifth. Meanwhile, Taylor Rashi (S, 1) converted his first save of the season by pitching a run-free ninth with ninth inning in which he allowed a single hit.
During the contest Tyler Locklear logged another two hits, pushing his multi-hit game streak to seven games which is tied for the PCL lead and is the longest by an Ace since Cooper Hummel (eight games) and Ildemaro Vargas (seven games) had respective streaks both start on Sept. 9, 2021.
That was the only multi-hit performance for Reno, though both Locklear and Ortiz logged doubles and Ortiz and Robinson each had four RBI.
Reno will try to take a commanding series lead when the two teams meet again for game three of this series at Las Vegas Ballpark on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. PT.