Aviators blow 4-0 lead, drop third in a row to Bees

For five innings Monday night at Las Vegas Ballpark, the Aviators danced on glass against the Salt Lake Bees, yet somehow avoided suffering so much as a surface scratch. When the dangerous dancing continued in the sixth inning, though, the Aviators’ good fortune did not.

After squandering multiple scoring opportunities through the first half of the game, the Bees broke through big time in the top of the six, wiping out a 4-0 deficit by sending 10 batters to the plate in a seven-run inning on the way to an 8-5 victory before a limited-capacity crowd of 4,897.

Salt Lake outfielders Scott Schebler, Brennon Lund and Jo Adell each hit home runs and drove in all seven runs in the breakout inning, as the Bees (8-9) rallied to beat Las Vegas for the third straight day after dropping the first two games of the six-game series.

This one truly was a tale of two halves, as the Aviators (8-9) were in firm control midway through the contest. One day after managing just one hit against Salt Lake starting pitcher Packy Naughton and two Bees relievers, Las Vegas jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead thanks to second baseman Vimael Machín, who had a one-out RBI double in the bottom of the first inning and a run-scoring double-play groundout in the third.

The Aviators then doubled their lead in the fourth when center fielder Skye Bolt and designated hitter Francisco Peña each smashed solo homers off Bees starting pitcher Andrew Wantz.

On the way to building that 4-0 advantage, Las Vegas dodged one bullet after another, as the Bees failed to cash in any of their eight hits through the first five innings. In fact, Salt Lake put runners in scoring position in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings but couldn’t come through with the clutch hit.

That all changed in the sixth.

Working his second inning in relief of starting pitcher Daulton Jefferies, who was making his Aviators debut, Las Vegas right-hander Matt Milburn allowed the first two hitters to reach base on a single and left fielder Cody Thomas’ fielding error. Schebler then launched Milburn’s 0-1 pitch into the swimming pool in center field to cut the Aviators’ lead to 4-3.

Milburn regrouped by striking out Salt Lake catcher Anthony Benboom, but then surrendered Jake Gatewood’s double, followed by Lund’s two-run blast to right field. Two pitches later, Salt Lake’s Brandon Marsh singled to end Milburn’s night, and two pitches after that, red-hot Bees left fielder Jo Adell crushed a two-run homer to left to give the Bees a 7-3 lead.

Adell’s no-doubter — which came off Aviators lefty Adam Kolarek, who was making his first appearance since being optioned to Las Vegas — was his sixth home run of the series and 10th of the season, which leads Triple-A West.

Las Vegas tried to mount a comeback of its own, as first baseman Frank Schwindel led off the sixth inning with his team’s third solo homer of the night, trimming the Bees’ lead to 7-5. An inning later, the Aviators brought the tying run to the plate when shortstop Pete Kozma raced to third base on a pair of Salt Lake throwing errors with two outs.

However, Bees reliever Jake Buchanan, who pitched for the Aviators in 2019, retired Machín on a groundout to end the Aviators’ threat. It would be their last threat of the game, as Buchanan (1-1) pitched a perfect eighth inning and — after Salt Lake tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth — James Hoyt did the same in the bottom of the ninth to earn his first save.

SOLID DEBUT: Jefferies, who is widely considered the Oakland A’s top starting pitching prospect, made his first start of 2021 after missing the early part of the season with biceps tendinitis, which he suffered late in spring training.

Although he surrendered seven hits in his four innings of work, the 25-year-old right-hander showed a lot of poise in pitching out of multiple jams. Jefferies, who was on a 50-pitch limit, also was extremely efficient, throwing 27 of 40 pitches for strikes. He struck out one, didn’t walk a batter and stranded runners in scoring position in three of his four innings.

GAME NOTES: Right-fielder Greg Deichmann (first-inning single; third-inning double) was the only Aviator with multiple hits. … One day after his nine-game hitting streak was snapped, Kozma went 1-for-4. He’s now hit safely in 12 of 15 games this season, as has Bolt, while Schwindel has hit safely in 12 of 16 contests. … Aviators relief pitcher Domingo Acevedo was outstanding once again, retiring all three batters he faced in the eighth, striking out two. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.25 and he’s been nearly untouchable at home, pitching six scoreless innings while allowing two hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts over five appearances. … Schebler finished the game 4-for-5 with a game-high four RBI. Adell (2-for-5), Gatewood (2-for-4, double), Lund (2-for-4), Luis Rengifo (2-for-5, double) and Matt Thaiss (2-for-5) also had multi-hit games for the Bees, who finished with 17 hits. All nine batters in the lineup had at least one hit. … Buchanan was outstanding for Salt Lake, retiring 12 of 15 batters he faced, with only Bolt (homer), Kozma (error) and Austin Allen (walk) reaching base in four innings. … The Bees hit into three double plays Monday, matching their total for the entire season heading into the game. … Las Vegas committed two errors, ending a string of six consecutive errorless games at home. The two miscues matched the number of errors the Aviators had in their first 10 home games.

ON DECK: The Aviators will assume their Reyes de Plata (Silver Kings) persona for the second time this season Tuesday when they conclude their six-game series against Salt Lake at Las Vegas Ballpark. Right-hander Grant Holmes (0-0, 12.41 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season for Las Vegas, while the Bees are undecided on their starting pitcher. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

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