Aviators competing atop Pacific Coast League after third straight series win

The fast start to the season continued for the Las Vegas Aviators despite hitting the road for the first time.

Following a six-game series against the El Paso Chihuahuas of the San Diego Padres organization, Las Vegas claimed four of the games for a third straight series win this past week.

The Aviators lead the Pacific Coast League West with a 10-5 overall record. In addition, the team is tied with the Oklahoma City Comets atop the entire Pacific Coast League.

Now, Las Vegas will return home to the friendly confines of Las Vegas Ballpark. It will be greeted with a six-game series with Sugar Land of the Houston Astros organization.

That series is set to begin Tuesday, April 15 with the series opener set for 11:05 a.m.

Tuesday, 11-7

Seven wins through the first 10 games of the season for Las Vegas following a series-opening win over El Paso Tuesday.

The bottom third of the Aviator lineup accounted for five runs and three RBI in the win including a three-run home run in the sixth inning by catcher Daniel Susac out of the nine-hole. That swing cut a four-run deficit to just one on the way to a comeback win for the visitors.

In the eighth inning, seven-hole hitter Brett Harris reached on a single before he was followed by a walk to left fielder Drew Avans. Susac would later load the bases after reaching on an error. Harris came around to score on a force out off the bat of center fielder Denzel Clarke to tie the game at seven apiece.

First baseman Nick Kurtz was the next batter following Clarke and would give Las Vegas the lead on the team’s second three-run home run of the game. He now has a hit in all nine Triple-A games played in his career with home runs in five of those games including back-to-back outings for the second time.

Right fielder Colby Thomas added an insurance run in the form of a leadoff homer in the ninth to give the Aviators an, 11-7, lead.

The first start for pitcher Carlos Duran as an Aviator was less than stellar as he didn’t make it out of the opening inning.

A hit batter and back-to-back walks loaded the bases in the opening inning before he could record his first out. Four runs would score, erasing an early 2-0 lead netted by the Las Vegas offense, before Duran would be taken out of the game.

He’d leave with a final stat line of ⅔ of an inning, with five runs surrendered on three hits to go along with two walks.

Reliever Ryan Cusick got the win after working two scoreless innings of one-hit ball with a strikeout and a walk.

Fellow reliever Grant Holman would secure the save in six-out fashion yielding just a hit while striking out a batter.

Wednesday, W, 6-4

An early lead was converted into a third straight win for Las Vegas as it ran its overall record to 8-3 through the first 11 games of the season.

Power in the bats put the team ahead in the third inning and it never looked back.

Center fielder Drew Avans opened the third frame with an inside-the-park homer to add on to the team’s 1-0 lead built in the second inning. Later in the game, he’d add another RBI on the way to a 1-for-4 night with a home run, two RBI and a run scored.

Immediately following the homer by Avans, teammates Darell Hernaiz and Nick Kurtz followed it up with a double and two-run shot to really break into the score column. Kurtz now has a hit in each of his first 10 Triple-A games with homers in six of the 10 outings.

Three different batters recorded two-hit nights including infielders Alejo Lopez and Brett Harris as well as catcher Willie MacIver. One of Lopez’s hits drove in a run in the sixth inning to give the visitors a, 6-1, lead.

Starting pitcher Jack Cushing allowed a lead off single in the bottom of the first before retiring nine straight batters. His lone hiccup came in the home half of the fourth when a run came across on an error.

Cushing went four full innings with one run allowed on two hits to go along with four strikeouts and a walk.

With Cushing in the dugout, reliever Jake Walkinshaw opened the sixth inning by giving up a single, RBI single and a two-run home run to chop the Aviators lead to, 6-4.

Right-handed pitcher Elvis Alvarado entered in the ninth inning and struck out the side to secure the win.

The last two Las Vegas relief pitchers for the night combined to go three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and a walk. Lefty Matt Krook (1-0) got the win while Alvarado picked up his second save of the year.

Thursday, L, 7-6

The three-game win streak for the Aviators is now over following the first loss in a scheduled six-game series with the Chihuahuas.

Las Vegas’ latest loss came in walk-off fashion just three pitches into the appearance of reliever Tyler Baum. The walk-off home run sent Baum to an 0-2 record on the year coupled with an 13.50 ERA.

An inning earlier, the Aviators threw out a runner at home plate in order to preserve the tie.

El Paso took its first lead in the second inning behind an RBI single followed by a two-run single. By the end of the inning, the home team took a 4-2 lead.

Starting pitcher Mason Barnett would eventually leave the game in the fifth inning after allowing another run. He’d finish with a final stat line of six runs allowed on six hits in 4 ⅓ innings of work with two strikeouts and two walks.

Barnett is still decision-less three starts into the new year with an ERA of more than seven. He has given up 10 runs in his 12 innings on the mound.

Three batters into the game, Las Vegas held an early, 1-0, lead off an RBI single by first baseman Nick Kurtz. He now has a hit in all of his first 11 games played at the Triple-A level in addition to recording his 18th RBI of the season.

Shortstop Logan Davidson also tallied an RBI single along with right fielder Alejo Lopez. Left fielder CJ Alexander launched a lead off homer in the eighth to tie the game at six apiece. It was his second homer of the year.

Friday, L, 7-3

From three straight wins to back-to-back losses for Las Vegas.

With pitcher Gunnar Hoglund on the hump from the start, the Aviators could’ve get offense when it needed it most and it resulted in another missed chance for the righty to capture his first win of the year.

Hoglund didn’t face real trouble until the third inning when El Paso started the frame with a double and RBI single to chop the early 2-0 lead in half.

Former Aviator Trenton Brooks tied it an inning later on a lead off home run. He was responsible for the walk-off homer last night in the first Chihuahuas’ win of the series.

Hoglund went 5 ⅔ innings of work with two runs surrendered on five hits with five strikeouts. In three starts, he is 0-1 with a 3.45 ERA while going at least four innings in all appearances.

After Hoglund’s exit, the bullpen was hounded. El Paso opened the home half of the seventh by being hit by a pitch followed by a double and a two-run single before the first out was recorded.

By the end of the frame, Las Vegas would find itself down, 6-2, on the scoreboard. Left-handed reliever Hogan Harris was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits in 1.1 innings on the mound while picking up a strikeout.

To make things worse, relief pitcher Ryan Cusick allowed a lead off homer in the eighth inning on a 2-0 count.

Center fielder Drew Avans smacked an RBI double with one out in the third inning. Not long after, teammate Nick Kurtz would do the same for an early, 2-0, lead for the visitors.

Kurtz has recorded at least one hit in all of his first 12 Triple-A games. In this one, he went 2-for-4 with a single, a double and an RBI. In addition, Kurtz has tallied an RBI in nine of his first 12 games at the Triple-A level including seven outings with two or more.

Designated hitter CJ Alexander went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. As a result, he left three runners on-base with two being left in scoring position.

Saturday, W, 11-2

Las Vegas has claimed at least a split in this scheduled six-game series with El Paso following a victory that ended a two-game skid.

Starting pitcher Jacob Lopez worked around two runners on-base with nobody out with three straight strikeouts. He opened the next frame with two more strikeouts for five straight Ks, all swinging.

In the fourth inning, Lopez issued a lead off double but would get out of danger with another strikeout followed by a pop out and groundout.

Lopez ended the game with a season-high 10 strikeouts in five innings of work with four hits allowed versus just two walks. He had eight and four strikeouts respectively in his first two starts this season.

With back-to-back wins now, Lopez is 2-0 this season with a 2.45 ERA.

The first Chihuahua runs of the night didn’t come across until the sixth inning behind a two-run single after falling behind, 10-0.

Las Vegas netted its lead behind power in the team’s bats. Right fielder Colby Thomas blistered a three-run home run in the game’s opening frame. Two innings later, infielders Brett Harris and Nick Kurtz would go back-to-back for a 5-0 start.

Kurtz has recorded a hit in each of his first 13 Triple-A games in his career. He’s batting .348 in the series with three HRs, nine RBI in the series.

The big inning came in the fifth when the Aviators turned a 6-0 lead into a 10-0 drubbing on the heels of RBI singles from Thomas, left fielder CJ Alexander and catcher Daniel Susac in addition to another run scoring on an error.

Sunday, W, 13-6

Three straight series wins for Las Vegas following a second straight win to close a six-game series with El Paso.

The first two hitters in the Aviator lineup caused major damage and provided the team with more than enough cushion for the win. Number two hitter, Brett Harris, hit the first of two RBI doubles in the fourth inning along with teammate Darell Hernaiz.

The latter shined as well from fifth spot in the team’s lineup to the tune of a 2-for-5 day with a single, double, three RBI, a run scored,  strikeout and a walk.

Harris was far from done. He homered for two more runs an inning later and would add another RBI on a single in the seventh.

Leadoff man Drew Avans hit a two-run blast of his own in the ninth inning.

The tandem of Harris and Avans combined to go 7-for-12 with four singles, two doubles, a home run, five RBI, eight runs scored versus just two strikeouts.

Pitcher Joey Estes had a strong four innings, allowing just two runs on six hits with four strikeouts.

Reliever Tyler Baum was jumped on once he entered the game in the seventh inning. He would surrender a two-out walk and a two-run homer. In this series, Baum was hit for three runs on two hits in one-plus innings of work.

Fellow reliever Matt Krook (2-0) got the win after another strong performance on the bump. He gave up two hits in two scoreless innings with three strikeouts and a walk. In more than eight innings of work this season, Krook has yet to give up a run.