The Las Vegas 51s dropped 3 of 4 in Reno
The
Las Vegas 51s spent the third full week of June playing four games in Reno
against the PCL’s best team and things did not go well. The Aces have the best
record in the league thanks in large part to a league-best .852 team OPS and
their top-notch offense was on display in this series, as they scored 28 runs
on 45 hits during the four game series. Two of the guys initially scheduled to
start in this series were promoted to the Mets before their turn came up –
Rafael Montero and Tyler Pill – so the 51s had to rely on reliever Logan Taylor
to make two spot starts during the four game series.
 |
| Game one was Star Wars night |
Taylor
made his first start opposite Aaron Laffey during game one, and while he and
Kyle Regnault were great, the next two guys out of the 51s pen struggled. The
game was tied at zero through five, but then Reno scored eight runs over the
next two innings against the combination of Ben Rowen and Tim Peterson to take
control of the game. Las Vegas managed just five hits in the game, and a Phil
Evans double was the only extra base hit.
Game
two was Wilfredo Boscan’s turn for Las Vegas, and he just didn’t have his best
stuff. Boscan allowed five runs on seven hits, four of which went for extra
bases (three doubles, one homer). The 51s offense came alive for ten hits and
seven walks in this game, but they went just 1-11 with RISP in a 7-3 loss. The
51s made it a 5-3 game when Jio Mier went deep in the 6th, but then
Hansel Robles took over in relief of Boscan and gave those two runs right back.
The
51s finally held a lead during game three, but it did not last long. Phil Evans
connected for an RBI double and scored in the 1st to put Las Vegas
up 2-0, but Reno had taken control at 6-3 by the end of the 4th.
Ricky Knapp was fairly effective over the first three innings, although he had
still allowed a pair of runs on a pair of triples as Reno tied things up. The
51s got one run out of a bases loaded, one out situation in the 4th
to temporarily re-take the lead, but then the Reno offense came up and showed
Las Vegas how to get things done. They scored six runs on eight hits, including
two doubles and two homers, over the next two innings, with all of the runs
coming against Knapp. Amed Rosario played third and committed an error in the
game on a pop out that he appeared to lose in the stadium lights – he saw it
last minute but couldn’t even get his glove on it. Zach Borenstein fell a
double shy of his third career cycle.
Taylor
started again in the final game of the series and this time he got some run
support. Las Vegas jumped ahead 6-2 with him on the mound for the first two
innings and then he connected for a double to CF before handing the ball off to
Kyle Regnault again. The offense exploded for eight runs on fourteen hits
without Amed Rosario in the lineup, because he was given a game off before the
scheduled off-day Wednesday. The break appears to have come at an ideal time
for Rosario, who hit his first mini-slump during the series – per 51s
broadcaster Russ Langer, this was the first time Rosario had an 0-fer reach ten
AB’s all season.
After
dropping three of four against the top team in the PCL, the 51s return home to
host the division leading Salt Lake Bees for four. Las Vegas is currently
eleven games behind first in their division, so this will be a great
opportunity to make up some ground. Thursday’s matchup features a pair of
former Major Leaguer’s, as Donovan Hand (1-2, 5.40 ERA) is scheduled to take
the ball for Las Vegas opposite Doug Fister (1-0, 4.02 ERA). Below are the team’s
stats from this series, with highlights included where appropriate.
