Las Vegas looking for better luck with upcoming home stretch

Las Vegas is looking for a fresh home start following a recent cold stretch and the road back begins by facing the first place team in the Pacific Coast League Eastern Division.

The Aviators are getting ready to embark on a six-game home series against the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Colorado Rockies organization. Game one of six will take place Tuesday, May 19 from Las Vegas Ballpark.

Last year, the team took eight of its 12 meetings against Albuquerque.

This year’s Las Vegas club is 4-2 against the East while currently sitting two games behind Sacramento for the top spot. Earlier this season, the team had two games against the River Cats cancelled due to weather.

Most recently, the Aviators won their last two games and four of their last five including the series win on the road versus the Reno Aces.

However, when last seen at home Las Vegas lost five of its six games with its last win coming back on May 7th.

Tuesday, W, 16-8

A 10th comeback win this season counts as the series opening win for the Aviators over the Isotopes. They scored 15 of the final 17 runs of the game en route to the win.

Two RBI were driven in and four runs were scored by the leadoff guy for Las Vegas beginning with center fielder Denzel Clarke, who participated in his first rehab game. After being replaced by backup Brayan Buelvas, the success continued at the top of the lineup. Clarke reached base on an error to leadoff the home half of the first before being driven in on an RBI single by Joey Meneses.

Buelvas drove in a run on a single in the fourth inning to bring the home team within a run of tying the game at six apiece. Soon after, he’d be tossed out at home plate trying to score the game-tying run.

Ultimately, the Aviators tied the game on a solo home run by Meneses in the fifth inning. With two RBI in this one, his season total is now 37 which leads the team. Later in the same frame, teammate Cade Marlowe added a solo home run of his own to give Las Vegas its first lead of the game following six consecutive runs.

That stretch of Las Vegas runs began back in the third inning behind back-to-back singles to open the frame. Second baseman Joshua Kuroda-Grauer plated those two runs with a double ahead of designated hitter Tommy White’s two-out RBI triple.

It was an eight-run seventh inning that saw the Aviators send 12 players to the plate that really broke the game open to build a 10-run lead. Catcher Brian Serven drove in one of the runs while four runs scored on three different fielder’s choice attempts.

Relief pitcher Ben Bowden saved the bullpen’s effort highlighted by him striking out the side in the top of the sixth. That counted as the team’s first 1-2-3 inning in the eventual win. Fellow reliever Michael Kelly struck out the first batter of the seventh inning to go down as the team’s fourth straight strikeout.

With right-hander Yunior Tur on the mound, Albuquerque had three of its first four batters in the third inning walk to load the bases. A two-run single would break the 1-1 tie before Tur walked a fourth batter which led to manager Fran Riordan snatching him from the mound.

All of those walks would burn Tur as he was charged with all the runs including the three-run double that came after he left the contest. Before Tuesday, he had walked just five batters in 18 innings pitched this season.

Las Vegas visited the mound twice in that third inning while its opponent sent 11 men to the plate with five scoring.

Pitcher Geoff Hartlieb made his second spot start of the year and was sharp though his outing was short. After surrendering a one-out double in the first inning, he’d allow the runner to score on an error.

By the second inning, the Isotopes had tallied three doubles with the final one being left stranded. Hartlieb struck out the next three batters he faced after yielding that extra-base hit.

After working just two innings, Hartlieb gave up just one unearned run on three hits with four strikeouts to show for it.

Wednesday, L, 6-5

An unbelievable collapse led to a one-run loss for Las Vegas that undid eight innings of work. It lost a five-run lead in the ninth inning leading to the club’s first loss when leading after the first eight innings of the game.

Relief pitcher Luis Morales quickly found himself floating in trouble after coughing up a one-out single, walk and back-to-back RBI singles to trim the 5-0 lead to 5-2 before being taken out of the game.

Morales gave up four runs on four hits in 1.1 innings pitched with a strikeout and a walk. He has now allowed three or more earned runs in three of his last six outings.

Fellow reliever Wander Suero struck out the first guy he faced ahead of an RBI single and game-changing three-run homer to give Albuquerque its first lead of the game. Not only did he get the blown save but he earned the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year.

Suero gave up two runs on two hits in 0.2 of an inning despite two strikeouts.

That finish blew a fantastic start by left-hander Gage Jump, who tallied two straight 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth inning. By then, he had retired nine straight including five of his six strikeouts to that point.

Jump’s powerful stretch would continue into the fifth inning when he tallied his third straight 1-2-3 inning for a 12-person total. Before leaving the game for good, he recorded his ninth strikeout of the game and has now accumulated at least six strikeouts in five straight starts.

In total, Jump went seven scoreless innings on just four hits to go along with those nine strikeouts versus zero walks. He has now gone back-to-back starts without allowing a walk following a five-walk effort against St. Paul a couple of weeks ago.

Originally, designated hitter Michael Stefanic got Las Vegas on the board after scoring on a wild pitch on the heels of a leadoff single. He’s back with the team as of May 16th after being designated for assignment by the franchise earlier this month.

In the third inning, No. 4 and No. 5 hitters Joey Meneses and Cade Marlowe added runs on an RBI sacrifice fly and RBI double respectively. Shortstop Joshua Kuroda-Grauer kept the seventh inning alive via a two-out double before being driven in on an RBI single by teammate Tommy White.

Kuroda-Grauer went 2-for-5 in the loss with a single, double and two runs scored.

Lastly, Las Vegas added another run an inning later on an RBI double by catcher Brian Serven. White, Marlowe and Serven all recorded RBIs for a second consecutive night.