Aviators crush five home runs in 18-9 rout of Reno

Try as they might, the Aviators simply could not keep the Reno Aces off the scoreboard Saturday night, allowing runs in seven of nine innings. Fortunately for Las Vegas, starting pitcher Grant Holmes and two relievers limited the damage, yielding single runs in six of those seven innings.

The Aces’ pitchers? They weren’t so lucky.

On the strength of second baseman Nate Mondou’s first-inning grand slam and right fielder Cody Thomas’ third-inning three-run homer, the Aviators’ offense exploded for 13 runs before making nine outs and cruised to an 18-9 victory before a capacity crowd of 8,920 at Las Vegas Ballpark.

Besides setting a season high for runs scored, Las Vegas (18-15) — which tallied seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and another six in the bottom of the third — belted a season-best five home runs. Two of those homers came courtesy of Thomas, who followed his three-run shot in the third inning with a solo blast in the seventh, the latter giving the Aviators a 16-8 lead.

Given the fact Thomas finished 3-for-5 with his two homers, three runs and five RBI, one would assume he was an easy choice for Hero of the Night honors (especially since he also homered in Friday’s 8-3 win over Reno). And while he probably would’ve won such an honor had there been a vote, the results of that vote likely wouldn’t have been unanimous.

Among the other candidates:

• Mondou, who staked the Aviators to a 7-1 first-inning lead when he sent an 0-1 pitch from Reno starter Humberto Mejia (0-2) over the right-field wall for the team's first grand slam of 2021. Mondou added a fifth RBI on a force out in the fourth inning that plated Las Vegas’ 14th run.

• Vimael Machín, who went 2-for-5 with a first-inning double that scored the Aviators’ first run. The second baseman finished with two runs and a bases-loaded walk, among his three RBI.

• Carlos Perez, who went 2-for-5 with a double, two runs and an RBI in the catcher’s first start since returning to the team following an Olympic tryout with the Venezuelan National Team.

• Jacob Wilson, who went 2-for-3 and scored twice, including in the third inning when he immediately followed Thomas’ first homer with his own solo shot, his sixth of the season.

• Austin Allen, who produced two key singles in the first three innings and finished 2-for-5 with two runs, two RBI and a walk.

• Frank Schwindel, the Aviators’ red-hot first baseman who was held in check through his first five at-bats, delivering just a first-inning infield single … until his final at-bat in the eighth inning, when he hammered a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run homer. It was Schwindel’s team-leading 11th homer of the season, with six of them coming in his last 23 at-bats.

As sensational as those individual performances were, Saturday’s victory can only be classified as a complete team effort. To wit: All nine hitters in the Aviators’ lineup scored at least one run … all before the end of the third inning. What’s more, the final seven batters in that lineup combined to go 10-for-15 with three homers, 11 runs and 13 RBI … all before the end of the first three innings, during which Las Vegas went 7-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

In all, the Aviators finished the night with 15 hits (seven of which went for extra bases) in 39 at-bats (.385 average), while also drawing 10 walks. Not only that, but Las Vegas finished with nearly as many hits with runners in scoring position (7) as it did runners left on base (8).

All of which offset the fact Reno (20-13) scored runs in every inning but the second and eighth. Alas, only once did the Aces have a multi-run inning, when they put up a three-spot in the seventh. By then, the Aviators had a 15-8 lead … and they were far from finished circling the bases, adding a run in the seventh (on Thomas’ second homer of the night) and two in the eighth (on Schwindel’s blast).

By picking off wins the last two nights, Las Vegas now finds itself in a spot it hasn’t been since the opening week of the season: just two games behind first-place Reno in the West Division of Triple-A West.

GAME NOTES: Thomas, who was batting just .175 with one homer and two RBI as late as May 30, has raised his average to .268 in the span of 11 games, during which he’s gone 15-for-42 (.357) with four doubles, six homers, 15 RBI and 12 runs. … With his 2-for-6 effort Saturday, Schwindel is now on a 12-for-23 tear over his last five games with six homers (at least one in every game), three doubles, nine runs and 10 RBI. He now leads Las Vegas in batting average (.323), homers (11), hits (41), runs (30) and RBI (24). … Six of the nine Aviators batters had multiple hits, the only exceptions being leadoff hitter Luis Barrera (0-for-4, two walks, run), No. 2 hitter Pete Kozma (1-for-3, 3 walks) and No. 9 hitter Mondou (whose only hit was his first-inning grand slam) … Holmes had his best outing of the season, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks. However, both walks came in the fifth inning, the last of which ended his night after 4 2/3 innings, costing him a shot at his first victory of 2021. … A.J Puk followed Holmes and also surrendered four runs (on four hits and three walks) in just two innings. The southpaw now has an 11.37 ERA. … Shortstop Camden Duzenack led the way for Reno, going 3-for-5, including his fifth home run of the season.

ON DECK: The Aviators and Aces return to Las Vegas Ballpark at 12:05 p.m. Sunday, with Paul Blackburn (2-1, 4.28) scheduled to start for Las Vegas and oppose fellow right-hander Josh Green (3-1, 4.26).

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