Interleague showing sees Las Vegas lose 4 of 6 at home to Iowa

Levels of unfamiliarity showed time and time again as the Las Vegas Aviators came up short in a six-game home series against the Iowa Cubs of the Chicago Cubs organization this past week.

Of the six games, Las Vegas came out on top in two of them as it suffered all four of its losses after allowing nine or more runs in each.

This past week of games served as the first interleague matchup between the two clubs since 2019. As a result of this week’s contests the all-time series is now 54-53 in favor of the Cubs.

The Aviators will look to set a new trend as it preps for a two-week road trip that will see the team play its final road games of the regular season. That stretch begins with a six-game trip to Sacramento for a slate of contests against the River Cats of the San Francisco Giants organization.

First pitch is set for Tuesday, Sept. 2 with first pitch slated for 6:45 p.m.

Tuesday, W, 10-0

Las Vegas swept up a series opening win over Iowa Tuesday night as the team earned its fifth shutout of the season. As a result, the Aviators are now 26-2 this season when scoring 10 or more runs.

Starter Kade Morris was masterful as he entered looking for his second straight win after having gone seven straight starts before capturing his last victory. During that time, he went 0-5.

Morris struck out a batter while facing the bases loaded in the second inning. In the third, he allowed a leadoff single before getting out of the frame with a flyout and back-to-back strikeouts. Things didn’t stop there as he worked around a two-on, one out situation with a caught stealing, strikeout and groundout.

It wasn’t until the seventh inning where Morris was lifted from the game after working six scoreless innings of five-hit ball with seven strikeouts and a walk. In doing so, he picked up that second straight win to improve to 5-6 on the year.

Las Vegas was boosted by a seven-run fourth inning after loading the bases before the first out was recorded. While the first two runs of the inning came on a fielder’s choice and an RBI walk to designated hitter Nick Martini, the next five came in a more dramatic way.

Third baseman Alejo Lopez plated two runs on a two-run single which set the stage for a three-run home run from teammate Max Schuemann.

In fact, it was the 2025 Aviator debut for Schuemann and he turned in a performance that saw him finish a triple-shy of the cycle. He drove in another run on a two-out RBI single ahead of a two-run double by catcher Daniel Susac.

Schuemann went 3-for-4 with a single, double, homer, four RBI, two runs scored and a walk.

Wednesday, L, 11-9

Las Vegas won’t win a third straight game as it dropped its first game of a scheduled six this week with Iowa.

With the game tied at eight apiece, the Cubs closed the game a lot better than their opponents which began with breaking the tie in the eighth inning. With pitcher Tanner Dodson on the mound, he hurled a wild pitch toward home plate that allowed the ninth Iowa run to come across. In that same inning, he’d give up an RBI single with two outs and a runner at second base.

Dodson would be given the loss to drop to 2-2 on the year.

Third baseman Colby Halter cut that two-run deficit in half with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth. That was the final at-bat of a more than productive outing for the corner infielder.

Former Aviator Carlos Perez landed the final blow in the form of a solo homer with one out tallied in the ninth inning.

Las Vegas scored its eight runs in the first three innings of the game starting with a run on a double play in the first inning and an RBI single from center fielder Junior Perez. The biggest motion came in the third inning when the aforementioned Halter sent a two-run dinger over the wall for his third longball of the season.

Ultimately, the game would be tied later in that third inning on an error and back-to-back RBI sacrifice flies.

Pitcher Blake Beers got his first start of the year after seven straight no-decisions in as many appearances. He saw eight Cubs batters in the second and third innings of the loss.

In the second inning, Beers coughed up four total runs on two separate two-run singles. A frame later, Iowa opened the third with a single and two-run blast and would add another two runs on a double with two outs.

In just two innings of work, Beers gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits with a strikeout and a walk.

Thursday, W, 8-4

There was plenty of power from the plate for Las Vegas as it took a second meeting through the first three of a scheduled six games this week against Iowa. Now, the team has won three of its last four games and now needs a win on Friday night to ensure at least a series split this week.

Center fielder Junior Perez was responsible for the power at the plate for the Aviators but the stage was set by some “smaller” sounding runs. First baseman Shane McGuire drove in the team’s first run of the night on an RBI double in the bottom of the third. Not long after, designated hitter Colby Halter added another on an RBI sacrifice fly.

Perez took center stage from there with a two-run moonshot to push the advantage to 4-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Perez did an encore performance but this time with the bases juiced for a grand slam finish. He has now homered in 10 of his first 22 Triple-A games after tallying the first multi-home run game of his Triple-A career.

Perez went 3-for-4 with a single, two homers, six RBI, two runs scored and a strikeout.

Pitcher Ken Waldichuk was finally able to piece together a start that didn’t fully unravel before leaving the mound as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John Surgery.

With two outs on the board, Waldichuk gave up a single and a double but the lead runner would be tossed out at home. Two innings later, he gave up another two-out single before picking off the runner and catching his stealing.

Waldichuk averted danger a third time in the fourth inning after the leadoff man reached on an error. He’d promptly strike out the next batter before inducing a flyout and popout to retire the side.

Unavoidable danger presented itself finally in the fifth inning where Waldi’s blemishes came including an RBI single and a two-run homer to trim the Las Vegas lead from 4-0 to 4-3.

Even with the late hang-ups, Waldichuk (1-5) got his first win of the year after allowing three runs on five hits with five innings logged to go along with four strikeouts and a walk.

Relievers Carlos Duran and Scott McGough combined to work four scoreless innings with just one hit surrendered with one strikeout and a walk to show for it.

Friday, L, 10-2

This six-game series will be split going into the weekend slate of games after a second straight Las Vegas loss to Iowa.

Starting pitcher Aaron Brooks had the strikeout pitch working but it just wasn’t enough as the Cubs’ offensive spurts were just enough to get by. His last win came on July 11th while he lost his last start on the road against Albuquerque. Along the way, he had gone 0-2 with five no-decisions during that time with just three starts recorded and four stints out of the bullpen.

Iowa scored its first run of the game on an RBI sacrifice fly in the first inning followed by a leadoff dinger in the second. In fact, Brooks wouldn’t produce his first 1-2-3 inning until the third.

Through the first three innings, Brooks compiled five strikeouts on his way to a season-high of eight while dropping to 2-4 on the year. He went 4 ⅓ innings with five runs allowed on six hits to go along with eight strikeouts and two walks.

The wheels fully came off in the fifth inning when Iowa forced a pitching change amidst a three-run inning including a pair of RBI singles and a run that scored on a wild pitch. Moreover, the visitors added four more runs an inning later while facing relievers Gustavo Rodriguez, Michel Otanez and David Leal.

In total, Iowa sent 10 men to the plate in the four-run sixth inning. As part of the win, the Cubs had four leadoff men reach base with all four of them coming across to score.

While dealing with issues on the mound, the Aviator offense suffered scarce runs in its own right. First baseman Shane McGuire walked in the team’s first run of the game after drawing the free pass in the first inning with the bases loaded.

Las Vegas wouldn’t score again until the bottom of the seventh on an RBI double from second baseman Max Schuemann.

In the loss, the Aviators tallied seven total hits with five coming in the fifth inning or later. Moreover, the team had scenarios to score more runs in the final two innings of the game but came up short.

With two runners on and one out on the board in the eighth, the team failed to score a run. It happened again a frame later after the leadoff man reached on a single.

Saturday, L, 10-8

Things completely fell apart for Las Vegas as pitcher Anthony Maldonado found himself in trouble that he just could not get out of. Despite the loss, the Aviators held multiple leads in the game.

In the top of the ninth, Maldonado issued a walk on a 3-2 count and two outs recorded. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, he’d surrender a game-changing grand slam to give Iowa the, 10-7, lead.

Maldonado is now 1-5 this season with his fourth blown save coming on Saturday. He gave up four runs on two hits in just an inning of work to go along with a strikeout and two walks.

Las Vegas’ offense tried its hand at a comeback but couldn’t complete the effort. With the bases loaded, the lone run that would score came across on a fielder’s choice.

Eight runs appeared to be more than enough to nearly earn the Aviators a win. It opened with a two-run single from catcher Bryan Lavastida. Things stayed quiet until a three-run home run with two outs tallied in the fourth inning by shortstop Drew Swift. That went down as Swift’s first career Triple-A home run.

Third baseman-turned-center fielder Max Schuemann and center fielder-turned-third baseman Alejo Lopez were responsible for the next two runs on an RBI double and leadoff homer in the seventh inning respectively.

Pitcher Mitch Spence made the start and had Iowa jumped right on him for two first inning runs on an RBI double and an RBI single. The Cubs would add additional runs in the third and fifth inning.

Spence would be lifted after an RBI single in the fifth inning as part of his 4 ⅓ inning outing with six runs allowed on 11 hits with six strikeouts to show for it.

Sunday, L, 9-6

It will be a lost series for Las Vegas after dropping its fourth game in its last five tries. The team was outscored 4-1 in the final four innings of the game, a theme that reappeared throughout the six-game series.

Iowa scored runs in the sixth inning on a one-out RBI double and a two-out RBI triple. Two innings later, the team launched a leadoff home run before an additional run scored on an RBI sacrifice fly.

Las Vegas’ lone run in the final four innings came on an RBI single from catcher Daniel Susac with two outs tallied in the bottom of the ninth. Earlier in the contest, he provided the two-run home run swing to tie the game at five apiece in the fifth inning.

Susac went 3-for-5 with two singles, a homer, three RBI, a run scored and two strikeouts.

The Aviators also got a longball from designated hitter Bryan Lavastida in the third inning with nobody on and one out. That marked his first home run since joining Las Vegas a few weeks ago.

With starting pitcher Kade Morris on the mound, Las Vegas found itself in an early 4-0 hole behind a strong second inning by the visitors. After loading the bases with one out, the Cubs scored second inning runs on an error, a two-run single and an RBI sacrifice fly.

Morris (5-7) gave up seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in 5 ⅓ innings of work with three strikeouts and two walks to go along with the stat line.