Aviators held to one hit in 5-0 loss to Bees

Less than three weeks ago, Packy Naughton was pitching for the Rocket City Trash Pandas in Double-A South — and not pitching well. So it seemed highly unlikely that when Naughton took the mound for the Salt Lake Bees on Sunday afternoon at Las Vegas Ballpark that he would be able to tame an Aviators lineup that had scored 33 runs in the previous three days.

Well, the 25-year-old southpaw didn’t just tame the Aviators, he nearly no-hit them.

Making just his third career Triple-A start, Naughton held Las Vegas hitless for 7 2/3 innings and combined with two Salt Lake relief pitchers on a one-hitter in a 5-0 shutout victory before a limited-capacity crowd of 4,963.

After issuing a five-pitch walk to Aviators’ leadoff batter Buddy Reed to start his day, Naughton was absolutely dominant, retiring 18 consecutive batters until Pete Kozma reached on a fielding error by Bees third baseman Jake Gatewood leading off the bottom of the seventh. Naughton then retired the next five batters, including striking out Skye Bolt and Mikey White to start the eighth inning.

That brought up Aviators center fielder Cody Thomas, who entered the day batting just .179 and who had struck out in his first two at bats. But on a 1-1 pitch — his 102nd of the game — Naughton elevated a fastball that Thomas pulled to right field for a double to end the no-hit bid as well as Naughton’s afternoon.

After Bees manager Lou Marson strolled to the mound and took the ball, Naughton made his way to his dugout where his teammates greeted him with a standing ovation, as did the Las Vegas Ballpark crowd.

“He was excellent,” Aviators manager Fran Riordan said of Naughton’s performance. “He did a great job of keeping us off-balance He got ahead of almost every hitter, frequently landing his off-speed pitch for strike one, and he worked his fastball to both sides, never really leaving anything over the heart of the plate. Anytime a pitcher can do that — change speeds, go in and out — he’s going to have success. He did a really nice job today.”

Prior to Thomas’ double, the closest the Aviators came to a hit was with two outs in the fourth inning, when first basemen Francisco Peña ripped a ball to deep left-center field. Salt Lake’s Jo Adell raced over from left field, launched himself in the air and made a spectacular catch while diving onto the warning track.

Adell also provided the offensive spark for the Bees (7-9), hitting a pair of home runs — a three-run shot in the fifth off Aviators starting pitcher Parker Dunshee and a solo blast in the eighth off reliever Ben Bracewell. The Los Angeles Angels’ top prospect also homered twice in Thursday’s series opener and now has nine bombs on the season.

On any other day, Adell easily would’ve been the star of the game. Instead, Naughton earned that honor with a performance that was as surprising as it was impressive, given that the former ninth-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds entered the day with 6.75 ERA this season. In his first two starts with Salt Lake, Naughton gave up a combined six runs (three in each game) on 13 hits with one walk and four strikeouts over 8 2/3 innings. That followed an ugly season debut with Rocket City, when he allowed seven runs on seven hits in just two innings.

On Sunday, though, Naughton picked the Aviators apart, throwing 66 of 102 pitches for strikes and registering first-pitch strikes on 10 of the last 11 batters he faced, including the final seven in a row. He issued just the one walk to Reed and struck out eight.

“Obviously, everybody in our dugout was aware that the opposing pitcher was throwing a no-hitter,” Riordan said. “Our guys were not giving anything away during their at-bats. But at the same time, we just weren’t able to capitalize on the mistakes [Naughton] made, because there were very few of them. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the guy in the other dugout.”

After Naughton departed following Thomas’ double, Bees relief pitcher James Hoyt — who was tagged for five runs in 1/3 of an inning in the Aviators’ 12-6 victory on Friday — struck out Edwin Diaz to end the eighth. Right-hander Jake Reed followed Hoyt and retired the side in order in the ninth, although replays clearly showed that Reed was safe on a bunt attempt leading off the inning.

When Vimael Machín grounded to short to end the game, it marked just the second time in the franchise's 38-year history that Las Vegas had been on the wrong end of a one-hitter. That it happened at Las Vegas Ballpark, which has been a nightmare for pitchers since opening in April 2019, was all the more stunning.

“A no-hitter is pretty much the furthest thing you could ever imagine happening in this ballpark,” Riordan said. “But I talk all the time about what you try to do as a pitcher: The fact is, a quality pitch is a quality pitch no matter where you’re playing. And Naughton was able to throw quality pitches in spades today.”

GAME NOTES: Dunshee (0-3) actually matched Naughton pitch for pitch in the early going. He retired the first nine batters he faced before giving up a leadoff walk to start the fourth. After surrendering Adell’s three-run homer in the fifth, Dunshee retired the final four batters he faced. The right-hander was charged with four runs on five hits and one walk while striking out eight in six innings. … The only other time Las Vegas was one-hit was on April 18, 2018, in a 2-1 loss to the Fresno Grizzlies at Cashman Field. ... Kozma (0-for-4) had his eight-game hitting streak snapped. He’s still hit safely in 11 of the 14 games he’s played this season. … Las Vegas played error-free baseball once again Sunday, making it six consecutive home games without committing a miscue. They have just two errors at home all season. … Prior to the game, the A’s released Aviators relief pitcher Brian Schlitter and promoted right-handed pitcher Jesus Zambrano from Double-A Midland (Texas). Schlitter, who spent most of the 2019 season with Las Vegas, was 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA in five appearances (seven innings) with Las Vegas this season.

ON DECK: The Aviators and Bees continue their six-game series with Monday at Las Vegas Ballpark. Right-hander Daulton Jeffries, who is one of the Oakland A’s top pitching prospects, will make his season and Aviators debut on the mound. Jeffries has been sidelined with a biceps injury he suffered late in spring training. The Bees will counter right-hander with Andrew Wantz (0-0, 2.75 ERA). First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

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