Las Vegas endures lengthy week after losing 5 of 6 to St. Paul

It wasn’t an ideal week for the Las Vegas Aviators after they lost five of six games at home to the St. Paul Saints of the Minnesota Twins organization.

Before a series finale loss on Sunday, the club was locked into a three-way tie at the top of the Pacific Coast League West standings. Following the loss, the team is now a single loss away from falling to .500 on the year.

As of now, Las Vegas is 19-18 so far this year.

Runs were given up at a rapid rate in the Aviators five losses, with the pitching staff giving up 11 or more runs in three of the team’s five losses.

On the other hand, the week closed with the call-up of outfielder Henry Bolte who had a historic couple days this week. At one point this week, Bolte recorded 12 straight hits across two and half games which tied a PCL-record.

Upon doing so, it was announced at the conclusion of Sunday’s series finale that Bolte had been called up to the Athletics and will make his big league debut in short order.

Tuesday, L, 15-7

Through 25 night games this season, Las Vegas has dropped 13 of them including Tuesday’s series opening loss to St. Paul. The visitors turned in three four-run innings as part of the victory including slugging six home runs.

Entering the week, Saints first baseman Aaron Sabato had just two home runs through his first 16 games this season. In this one, he had three longballs alone.

Sabato led off the top of the fourth inning with a solo homer. Two innings later, he added a second solo dinger to tie the game at six apiece. That third home run came in the seventh inning to put two more runs on the board.

At that point, Sabato was 4-for-4 with a double, three homers, seven RBI and three runs scored.

Sabato’s double was a three-run swing in the second inning which went down as the first of three four-run innings for St. Paul. The fourth run of the frame came on an RBI double with two outs.

With Sabato’s second dinger, three more runs scored in that sixth inning via a two-run double and an RBI single. Both of the latter things came with two outs.

Reliever Ben Bowden entered the game in the eighth inning and immediately served up a leadoff home run. Two more homers were smacked off Bowden before he left the mound including a solo shot and a two-run big fly.

Fellow reliever Nick Hernandez (0-1, 13.03 ERA) got the loss in a contest that was started by pitcher Joey Estes, who gave up five runs on six hits in five innings of work to go along with three strikeouts and three walks.

Despite the lopsided finish, the Aviators led more than halfway through the game.

Left fielder Cade Marlowe and first baseman Joey Meneses drove in runs on an RBI triple and an RBI sacrifice fly to open the night’s scoring. Teammate Euribiel Angeles added another run on an RBI single in the second inning.

Las Vegas was most-successful in the fifth inning with three two-out RBI singles by the aforementioned Meneses, second baseman Michael Stefanic and designated hitter Chad Wallach. The team’s final run of the game came on an RBI sacrifice fly by catcher Bryan Lavastida.

Wednesday, L, 11-2

After losing the series opener on Tuesday by eight runs, Las Vegas sunk even lower with a nine-run loss on Wednesday night to St. Paul. The Saints didn’t hit Aviator starting pitcher Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang often but they hit him hard when they did.

However, the visitors did tax the Las Vegas bullpen.

Zhuang made his first start since April 7 since being moved down to Double-A Midland. In his limited time to start the season at the Triple-A level, he went 0-1 with a 9.39 ERA.

Entering the second inning, Zhuang coughed up his first run on a leadoff home run. He followed that up by giving up another leadoff homer in the third inning for a 2-0 St. Paul advantage.

With two outs on the board in the fourth inning, the righty walked a batter and hit a batter with a pitch before the Saints broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single.

In six innings on the mound, Zhuang gave up three runs on three hits with a strikeout and two walks.

Things really went south in an uneven seventh inning when eight total runs were scored by the visitors. That frame opened with a third leadoff homer for the away team. Soon after, the bases were loaded with just one out tallied against pitcher Luis Morales.

With relief pitcher Wander Suero on the mound, he issued an RBI walk before having two runs plated on a two-run double. All runs were charged to Morales who gave up four runs on two hits with two walks in ⅓ of an inning of work.

Las Vegas found itself down, 10-2 after a two-run single and an RBI double. St. Paul’s final run of the game came on an error in that game-changing seventh inning.

In total, the Saints sent 12 men to the plate in that seventh inning. Through the first two games of the series, the visitors have tallied 24 total hits. Of those 24 total hits, only eight have been singles.

The Aviators had the leadoff man reach in three of the first four innings but couldn’t do much with it as they were limited to just two runs in the loss. Center fielder Henry Bolte was responsible for those two runs on a 479-foot blast in the third inning to knot the game at two apiece.

That’s the furthest home run of any Aviator batter this season while being longer than any dinger hit in all of baseball this year at any level.

Thursday, W, 7-6

Las Vegas avoided a collapse to pick up its first win of the week while preserving a pitching gem from starter Mason Barnett Thursday night.

Third baseman Tommy White plated the game-winning run on an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure the first win of the series for the home team. He went 2-for-5 with a single, double, RBI and a run scored in his ninth game played this year.

St. Paul has scored 20 runs in the seventh inning or later this series.

In this one, the Saints didn’t score their first run until the top of the seventh. Now in a 5-1 game, they whacked a three-run home run to inch even closer. An inning later, the team made it a run score game again with a run scoring on a double play.

Down to their last out, St. Paul tallied an RBI single to tie the game at six apiece. Relief pitcher Elvis Alvarado was given the blown save but got the win in the end.

Barnett recorded a no-decision but pitched a gem of a game after entering the week with a perfect 2-0 record coupled with a 3.86 ERA. By the third inning, he recorded his third strikeout looking before collecting his first strikeout swinging in the fourth inning which also counted as his third 1-2-3 inning in the early going.

The Saints didn’t log its first hit until a leadoff single to begin the fifth inning. Even with two runners on and one out on the board, Barnett struck out a batter and induced the inning-ending groundout.

Barnett hurled six scoreless innings while given up three hits to go along with six strikeouts and a walk.

Las Vegas’ offense took the lead early largely behind a big first inning. Catcher Brian Severn hit his second home run of the season when he plated three runs in the opening frame. Second baseman Michael Stefanic drove in another run on a two-out RBI single but was thrown out going for second base.

Center fielder Henry Bolte nearly manufactured the team’s final run by himself following a leadoff single. He’d steal second base and eventually score on a fielder’s choice.

Friday, L, 7-4

Only a split is possible for the Aviators following their third loss this week at the hands of the Saints. The team created its own fair share of trouble en route to the three-run loss.

Starter Gage Jump (0-1, 5.64 ERA) made his seventh start of the season and would assist in leading the charge that saw the pitching staff walk at least one batter in six of the nine innings. In total seven walks were issued with five coming from Jump alone.

Back-to-back one-out walks in the first inning would lead to the game’s first run on an RBI single by St. Paul. Two innings later, the visitors would add another run on an RBI sacrifice fly following a leadoff double and a single.

By the fourth inning, Jump issued his fourth walk but with two runners on and nobody out, he’d get out of trouble with three straight strikeouts. He gave up six runs (five earned runs) on six hits with eight strikeouts and five walks on a career-high 103 pitches.

Jump is now 0-2 this year with a 6.33 ERA.

Despite the loss, Las Vegas outhit its opponent for the first time this week. Opposing starter Zebby Matthews caused a lot of trouble for the offense and held it in check in spurts. Through five innings, he had thrown just 60 total pitches. Two innings later, he had hurled just 73 pitches as he eventually pitched eight total frames on the way to the win.

Left fielder Cade Marlowe led off the bottom of the fourth with a triple and would soon score on an RBI groundout by teammate Bryan Lavastida.

The first run scored off Matthews came on a solo home run from center fielder Henry Bolte, who had himself a night with a 5-for-5 stat line.

Bolte’s night began with a leadoff double in the first inning before advancing to third on a flyball. He’d later be tossed out at home on a fielder’s choice. He’d hit another double in the fifth inning and was tagged out at home plate for the second time in the loss.

That earlier dinger wouldn’t be his only one as he went yard again in the seventh inning to trim the deficit to three.

In the ninth inning, Bolte added a fifth hit in the form of a two-out triple before being driven in on an RBI single by third baseman Tommy White.

Saturday, L, 13-8

Saturday’s loss means the Aviators will lose this week’s home series against the Saints. It goes down as the fourth loss in the last five outings for Las Vegas after St. Paul scored 10 runs in four innings in order to take a stranglehold on the game.

Pitcher Kade Morris suffered his first loss since April 22 despite entering play with 12.1 innings over his last two starts with one run allowed on 11 hits with six strikeouts and seven walks.

He didn’t have as much luck this time around with a run scoring on his in the very first inning following a one-out walk. Saints’ third baseman Orlando Arcia drove in the run on a two-out double before scoring on an error in the infield.

Two innings later, St. Paul produced back-to-back two-out singles before another error, this time on a pickoff attempt from Morris, advanced the runners. Both runners would score on a two-run single moments later.

To start the fourth inning, Morris coughed up a leadoff home run as the home team fell behind, 5-3. That counted as the first run of the game scored by the visitors with less than two outs recorded. It would get even worse as he gave up a two-run dinger with two outs as six of the first Saints’ seven runs were scored with two outs on the board.

After opening the fifth inning with a walk, stolen base and another walk, Morris was relieved of his Saturday pitching duties. Upon entering the game, reliever Yunior Tur gave up an RBI single, struck out a batter and allowed two more runs on a double.

Ultimately, Morris (3-2, 5.10 ERA) got the loss after giving up nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits in four innings of work while striking out five and walking three.

Las Vegas’ bullpen didn’t do much better.

Relief pitcher Stevie Emanuels loaded the bases in the sixth with one out tallied. Soon after, he’d surrender a two-run single as the Aviators fell behind, 12-3.

Emanuels gave up two runs on two hits in ⅔ of an inning with three walks versus two strikeouts. On the same account, Tur gave up a run on two hits in his lone inning of work with three strikeouts and a walk.

St. Paul also homered off right-handed reliever Wander Suero in the eighth inning.

Las Vegas didn’t induce its first 1-2-3 inning until the seventh frame. By that point, the opponent had scored in four straight innings and five of the first six.

Center fielder Henry Bolte came in seven for his last seven at-bats following a 5-for-5 night about 24 hours ago. That streak has now touched a PCL-record 12 straight hits in as many at-bats on the heels of a second straight 5-for-5 night.

After doubling in his first at-bat, Bolte homered in the third inning as part of a two-run frame by the home team. The other run was driven in on an RBI single by left fielder Cade Marlowe.

Bolte also singled in the fifth, doubled in the seventh for three more runs and hit a leadoff homer for his second longball of the loss in the ninth. For a second consecutive night he went 5-for-5, this time with a single, two doubles, two homers, five RBI and two runs scored ending just a triple-shy of the cycle.

Teammates Michael Stefanic and Brian Serven also homered in the loss.

As a team, the Aviators were sat down in order for the first time in the fourth inning. That would start a stretch of three straight innings with the same outcome.

Sunday, L, 4-2

There wasn’t much to write home about in the series finale that saw Las Vegas lose a fifth game this week to St. Paul.

Designated hitter Brian Serven opened the day’s scoring with an RBI single with two outs on the board in the first inning. That extended his hit streak to five straight games. 

In the sixth inning, the Aviators produced three straight one-out singles with the final being an RBI single by third baseman Bryan Lavastida, who now has three RBI this week.

Even with those moments, Las Vegas had plenty of missed opportunities. Among those was the team striking out seven times in the first four innings. By the end of the game, the club had gone 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position while leaving 11 men on-base.

To close the sixth inning, catcher Chad Wallach was struck out looking with two runners on the basepads. Moments before the strikeout, the 34-year-old narrowly missed a blast that would’ve given his team a 4-3 lead.

Pitcher Joey Estes made his second start of the week but would fall to 1-4 on the year as a result.

WIth the bases loaded and two outs in the second, Estes had the bases cleared on a three-run single to lose that early 1-0 lead built by Serven.

Estes went six innings, giving up three runs on six hits with six strikeouts and a walk with his ERA now sitting at 5.54 for the year.