Aces ride O'Brien's homers to big win over Nashville

RENO - Outfielder Peter O'Brien belted a pair of home runs to send the Reno Aces (@Aces) to an 11-5 win over the Nashville Sounds Wednesday night at Aces Ballpark.

O'Brien's 3-for-4, 4-RBI night ensured the Aces a series split against the Sounds. The slugger has 23 homers and 93 RBI on the season - numbers good enough to rank in the top three in the Pacific Coast League in both categories.

His big night started in the second inning right after Brandon Drury doubled down the left field line to start a rally. O'Brien followed with his first hit of the night - a double of his own to drive in Drury and give the Aces a 1-0 lead.

The inning continued when Matt Pagnozzi (@MattPagnozzi) shot a base hit into left field to score O'Brien and make it 2-0. Jordan Pacheco (@Jstylep) followed with a double but was stranded in scoring position.

Nashville came back to even the game at 2-2 in the fourth when Jason Pridie lifted a two-run homer to left-center off of Aces starter Blayne Weller.

O'Brien wasted little time getting the lead back for Reno. Leading off the bottom of the fourth, he crushed a 1-0 pitch from Sean Nolin out to left for a solo homer.

A base hit by Nick Evans and a double by Drury pushed the Aces' lead to 4-2 in the fifth. O'Brien followed with his second long ball of the game, this time on the first pitch he saw from Taylor Thompson. The two-run line drive to deep center field made it a 6-2 lead.

Nashville scored a pair of runs in the sixth to close the gap to 6-4, but a big seventh inning put the game out of reach.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Nick Buss (@chilibuss) hit a routine bouncer to Joey Wendle. The second baseman's throw to first was low and skipped away from first baseman Nate Freiman. A run scored to make it 7-4 and the Aces took full advantage.

A wild pitch plated the eighth run of the night and Danny Worth clubbed a two-run double off the wall to push the lead to 10-4. Evans followed Worth with a run-scoring double of his own.

The double from Evans in the seventh gave him 40 multi-hit games on the season. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Glaesmann ripped his third double of the game. It was the ninth double of the game for the Aces, setting a new franchise record.  

Weller worked 5 2/3 innings and earned the first Triple-A win of his career. Nolin was charged with the loss to drop his record to 2-2 on the season.

Along with O'Brien and Glaesmann, Worth had three hits in the win.

The Aces welcome the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, to Aces Ballpark Thursday to begin a four-game series. Right-hander Aaron Blair (6-2, 3.30) starts for Reno against left-hander Marco Gonzalez (1-4, 5.03) for Memphis. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Only eight home games remain in the 2015 season. Group outings are on-sale now at www.RenoAces.com or by calling (775) 334-4700. For up-to-date news and notes throughout the season, follow the club on Twitter (@aces) or like the team on Facebook.