Bad stretch gets worse for Aviators after dropping home series against Rainiers

Las Vegas lost four of the last five games of the week against Tacoma as it lost the series 4-2. Moreover, the team has lost nine of its last 11 games.

Too many Rainier home runs early in the series and then the Aviators couldn’t get out of their own way late.

With the recent cold stretch, Las Vegas is now 20-19 in the second half despite having already won the first half of the minor league season which equals a playoff berth. However, post all-star break, the team has sported an 8-12 overall record.

The season-long 12-game homestand continues for the Aviators next week with a six-game home series against the Sacramento River Cats. That set of games are set to begin Tuesday, Aug. 11 from Las Vegas Ballpark.

First pitch of that new series is set for 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday, W, 10-8

Las Vegas’ losing streak is now a thing of the past following a two-run series-opening win over Tacoma Tuesday night. As a result of ending the five-game losing streak, the Aviators sent the Rainiers to their sixth straight loss in a roller coaster of a game that a pair of eighth inning home runs ultimately decided.

In his Triple-A debut catcher Cole Conn whacked a leadoff homer to start the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 7-7 tie. That was the lone hit of his 1-for-4 debut.

Immediately after Conn’s blast teammate Jack Winkler added a solo dinger of his own before designated hitter Michael Stefanic contributed another run via an RBI single.

Before that eighth inning, all of Las Vegas’ offense came in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames after failing to record a hit the first time through the lineup.

Center fielder Brayan Buelvas drove in two runs on a double in the fourth inning to put the home team ahead, 2-1. He started off August on a positive note after tallying 19 RBI in the month of July.

In his first rehab game of a major league assignment, second baseman Zack Gelof walloped a three-run home run in the fifth. It was a rough start to his outing after he was hit by a pitch on the first pitch he saw.

He went 1-for-3 in the win with that homer, three RBI, a run scored and a hit-by-pitch.

In the sixth inning, right fielder Jared Dickey plated two more runs on a triple to put the Aviators up, 7-3.

Las Vegas’ relief pitching may have been the most shaky part of the winning performance by the collective. Reliever Wander Suero allowed a leadoff home run to begin the eighth. That would be the start of things for him after coughing up a single, striking out a batter and then giving up a two-run longball after that.

Soon after, Tacoma would tie the game at seven apiece on an RBI single with two outs on the board. THe visitors’ final run came in the ninth on another two-out run-producing hit on a double.

Starter Ryan Magdic pounded the strike zone in his outing despite being taken yard on a one-out solo homer in the fourth inning to open the game’s scoring for the night. He allowed another one in the sixth inning following his first walk allowed in the game, this time for two runs.

Magdic was pulled after that two-run dinger after tossing a career-high in pitches. In his outing, he gave up three runs on six hits with three strikeouts and a walk in 5 ⅓ innings of work with 90 pitches to show for it.

Wednesday, L, 16-10

Las Vegas’ valiant effort was not enough after pitcher Luis Morales put forth his worst start of the season. Even after climbing back into the contest, Tacoma pulled away yet again after its lead was cut to a single run.

Prior to making this latest outing, Morales had gone three straight starts without a loss while collecting 15 strikeouts over the last two. The Rainiers got on him quickly beginning with a leadoff home run on the second pitch of the game.

That first inning saw Tacoma add a three-run blast and a two-run double before chasing Morales from the mound as the visitors sent 10 guys to the plate in the opening frame.

Morales turned in his shortest start of the season with six runs allowed on three hits in ⅔ of an inning with a strikeout and four walks. That seventh run by the Rainiers came on another leadoff home run in the fourth inning with right-hander Jake Garland on the bump.

The Aviators didn’t begin climbing back into the game until the fifth inning when designated hitter Bryan Lavastida launched a three-run home run after not playing in the series opener.

An inning later, shortstop Darell Hernaiz added another run on an RBI double before coming around to score on a force out to climb within a run of tying the game at seven. Later in the game, Hernaiz would add another run on a single as part of his 2-for-4 night with a single, a double, three RBI, two runs scored, a hit-by-pitch and a strikeout.

That early offense was thwarted after the Aviators’ relievers were worn out yet again. The Rainiers added two more runs on back-to-back RBI singles following the first two batters of the inning reaching safely. Additional runs would come across to score in the frame with an RBI sacrifice fly and a double before adding another run on an RBI single in the eighth.

Tacoma’s loudest inning came in the final frame with three home runs tallied in the ninth inning including back-to-back solo jacks with one out on the board. With two outs recorded, the visitors added another two runs on the third blast of the inning.

Thursday, L, 10-6

It’s back-to-back losses for Las Vegas after starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel was chased early in his outing. Tacoma followed that up by hitting multiple home runs off home team relievers that essentially deemed a midgame comeback irrelevant.

In his third start with the Aviators, Keuchel was still in search of his first win with his new club. He’d find himself down, 1-0 after just two at-bats in this one before being pulled from the mound after a third walk in the opening frame.

Keuchel gave up a run on a double, with three walks versus just one strikeout in ⅔ of an inning. In home games this season, he has given up five runs on five hits in 2 ⅔ of an inning with three strikeouts and four walks.

From there, the Rainiers took flight on Aviator relief pitching beginning with a moonshot to leadoff the fourth inning. An inning later, the visitors added two more runs on a two-run blast on the heels of a leadoff walk.

Manager Fran Riordan would take reliever Domingo Robles out in favor of left-hander James Gonzalez. Immediately upon entering, he gave up a solo home run as Tacoma went up 5-1.

Starting fast again, the Rainiers opened the sixth inning with back-to-back singles before launching a three-run homer to break a 5-5 tie. Gonzalez (4-2) would be given the loss as he gave up four runs on four hits in 1 ⅓ of an inning with two strikeouts.

Las Vegas’ offense was started by red-hot Brayan Buelvas when he led off the fourth inning with a home run of his own. Not only was that the home team’s first run of the game it was only the team’s second hit of the contest.

The Aviators’ biggest punch came in the fifth inning when they scored three runs to tie the game at five apiece. It began with a back and a single before left fielder Jack Winkler brought home a run on an RBI single.

Shortstop Drew Swift plated two more runs with a single ahead of the game-tying RBI-swing from third baseman Michael Stefanic with two outs.

Las Vegas’ final run of the game was a solo home run by designated hitter Bryan Lavastida with one out in the eighth inning. He has now homered in back-to-back games.

Friday, W, 4-2

The Aviators are hopeful this recent win can offset a bad stretch that has lasted since returning from the all-star break. A two-man tandem of shortstop Darell Hernaiz and center fielder Brayan Buelvas powered the offense which was enough in a contest that featured a last-minute change to the starting pitcher position.

Hernaiz got the home team on the board with a two-run single in the second inning. He now has five RBI in the series. Two innings later, Bulevas smacked a solo home run with one out on the board as Las Vegas went up 3-0. He has now homered in back-to-back games.

Buelvas added an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning as the duo went 3-for-7 with a single, double, home run, four RBI, two runs scored and three walks. The other two runs in the win were scored by catcher Bryan Lavastida.

Pitcher Yunior Tur was a late scratch from his scheduled start as fellow right-hander Geoff Hartlieb took the bump instead. Hartlieb dealt with some issues with the leadoff man reaching but very rarely had problems beyond that.

WIth two runners on and nobody out in the second, Hartlieb struck a batter out and induced a double play to get out of the jam. A second leadoff man reached in the fourth inning and would become the second runner to not come across home plate.

Hartlieb went four scoreless innings with two hits given up coupled with two strikeouts and a walk. He put up that stat line on just 45 pitches.

In total, Tacoma had five leadoff men reach base while just one eventually scored. That lone run came in the seventh inning following a leadoff walk.

With reliever Ben Bowden on the mound, the Rainiers pumped out an RBI single and an RBI double. The trail runner on the latter hit was thrown out at home for the last out of the frame.

Bowden (2-1) still secured the win despite giving up those two runs on three hits in 2 ⅔ innings of work with two strikeouts and three walks. Fellow reliever Nick Hernandez also tallied his first hold of the season.

Pitcher Gustavo Rodriguez earned his first save of the season after striking out two in his lone scoreless inning with the ball.

Saturday, L, 4-2

In a near direct role reversal of yesterday’s contest as pitcher Matt Sauer saw his Las Vegas debut be spoiled. Third baseman Michael Stefanic was responsible for the two home team runs as the team’s offense recorded just six hits in the game.

Sauer signed with the franchise yesterday and was on the mound a day later making his debut for the Triple-A club. He last pitched for Oklahoma City in 2025.

To start his Aviator career, he opened his showing by hitting Tacoma’s Ryan Bliss with a pitch to open things. Bliss would then steal a base before Sauer walked the next batter. A double plus another stolen base would set the stage for the RBI sacrifice fly that scored the aforementioned third baseman.

Sauer would be yanked from the mound after Bliss opened the third inning with a double. In the losing effort, he gave up a run on two hits in two-plus innings of work with a walk to his credit.

Bliss was a thorn in the side of Las Vegas pitching for a good portion of the night. He doubled home a run with two outs in the fourth inning. That lead runner originally reached due to an error.

Tacoma’s final run of the game came on a leadoff homer in the fifth inning with reliever Jake Garland on the mound.

In addition, pitcher Jared Johnson made his Triple-A debut, going two scoreless innings with a strikeout and two walks on his stat line.

The Aviators led off the fourth inning with a double and that’d count as the team’s first hit of the game. Soon after, Stefanic blasted a two-run homer as he went 2-for-3 with a single, home run, two RBI, a run scored and a walk.

Sunday, L, 8-5

Las Vegas lost a lead and subsequently lost the series this week against Tacoma from Las Vegas Ballpark. Pitcher Ryan Magdic went from potentially snagging his first win to being given another loss in a game that featured eight unanswered runs at one point for the visitors.

Magdic (0-1, 6.32 ERA) made his second start of the series while still in search for his first Triple-A win.

By the midway point of the third inning, he had gone faced the minimum as he stacked three straight 1-2-3 frames. In addition, he recorded four strikeouts through the first three innings of the game on his way to a career-high five strikeouts during his outing.

A leadoff hit-by-pitch in the fourth inning would go down as the first baserunner of the game for the Rainiers. He’d come around to score on an RBI double ahead of a two-run homer that Magdic gave up one pitch after having his delivery interrupted by a timeout that was called by the batter.

Despite that, Magdic entered the sixth inning for the third straight game but would run into more trouble soon thereafter. He offered up a solo home run to tie the game at four apiece.

Tacoma now had 17 homers in this series including a ninth inning blast in this one.

Magdic lost Las Vegas’ lead on an RBI double coupled with an RBI single. In the seesaw showing, he gave up six runs on eight hits in six innings with five strikeouts versus no walks. Moreover, he hurled 85 pitches with 64 of them going for strikes.

The backend of that performance burned an early 4-0 lead for the home team.

Third baseman Michael Stefanic led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run to kick things off. The Aviators had the leadoff man reach in each of the first four innings of the game. Teammate Brayan Buelvas got in on the action with an RBI double in the third inning. He recorded six RBI during the series.

Buelvas scored shortstop Darell Hernaiz on that hit, who is one of two players that currently have a six-game hit streak with the other being the aforementioned Stefanic. The combination of Hernaiz and Stefanic went 4-for-9 with two singles, a double, a homer, an RBI, two runs scored, a walk and a strikeout.

Las Vegas’ final run to grab that four-run lead came on an RBI single from second baseman Jack Winkler.

Of the six Aviator leadoff men to reach, only one scored and that came in the ninth inning following a walk and eventual RBI sacrifice fly from catcher Chad Wallach.

However, the team loaded the bases in the fourth inning but a strikeout and double play would end the scoring threat. Two innings later, a leadoff walk would not turn into a run after a double play and groundout got the Rainiers out of danger.

Once again, it happened in the eighth inning with two runners on with just one out tallied. A flyout and strikeout ruined the chance as the team left 12 men on base while going 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.