Aviators topple Sacramento 14-9 for third straight win

At about 8:15 p.m. Sunday at Las Vegas Ballpark, the Aviators were staring down the barrel at their eighth loss in their previous nine games …their sixth loss in a row … and an 0-4 start to a homestand against the Sacramento River Cats.

At that moment, the Aviators trailed Sacramento 14-11 with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the odds of them rallying to win a Fourth of July slugfest against the River Cats were longer than a Shohei Ohtani home run. The odds that they would somehow steal that game and win the next two to salvage a split of the six-game series against their longtime Northern California rivals (who to that point had scored 60 runs in four days)?

Well, there were no odds, because no reputable sportsbook would’ve bothered posting a line.

What happened next once again proved that the cliché “Anything is possible” still has merit: After scoring twice in the ninth and once in the 10th Sunday to stun the River Cats 15-14, the Aviators on Monday got a walk-off two-run homer from outfielder Cody Thomas with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to turn a 3-2 loss into a 4-3 win.

Then came Tuesday and, well, let’s just say Las Vegas bucked those impossible odds — and did so without a hint of the drama that was needed the previous two nights.

After spotting Sacramento a first-inning lead for the third straight game, the Aviators erupted for nine runs in their first three at-bats and coasted to a 14-9 victory before a crowd of 7,404 at Las Vegas Ballpark. As a result, they indeed split the six-game series against the River Cats.

Hot-hitting first baseman/catcher Carlos Pérez became the first Aviator this season to record five hits in a game, going 5-for-5 with a homer, three runs and four RBI. Pérez, who hit a first-inning grand slam in Sunday's comeback victory, started his big night with a three-run double in the first to give Las Vegas a 3-1 lead. He also singled and scored on Austin Beck's two-run homer in the third, singled in the fourth, hit a two-run homer in the sixth, and singled and scored the Aviators' 14th and final run in the eighth.

In addition to Pérez and Beck — whose two-run homer was his third in as many days — second baseman Vimael Machín added a two-run shot in a five-run third inning.

By the time third baseman Jacob Wilson followed Beck's and Machín's homers with a two-out, two-run double in the third, the Aviators (26-28) led 9-1. After Nate Mondou's RBI single in the fifth and Pérez's two-run shot over the left-field fence in the sixth, Las Vegas had a seemingly insurmountable 12-2 lead — seemingly, because Sacramento (23-30) pushed across a total of seven runs in the final two innings to create some tension. But in between, the Aviators tacked on a pair of eighth-inning insurance runs to thwart the River Cats' comeback attempt.

Lost in Las Vegas’ 18-hit attack was the performance of starting pitcher Paul Blackburn, who picked up his third victory of the season after surrendering just two runs on six hits in five innings, walking one and matching a season high with seven strikeouts. Southpaw reliever A.J. Puk replaced Blackburn and delivered one of his best outings of the season, yielding two hits and one walk in two scoreless innings.

Even though the three relievers who followed Puk to the mound — right-handers Argenis Angulo, Zach Jackson and Domingo Acevedo — struggled to slam the door shut, they eventually did to give the Aviators a much-needed series split — something nobody would’ve predicted (or bet on) as recently as Sunday night.

GAME NOTES: Pérez finished the series 10-for-19 with two homers and 11 RBI, raising his batting average to .247 to .298. ... All nine Las Vegas hitters had at least one hit, with five players producing multiple hits: Pérez; Thomas (2-for-6, run, two RBI), Mondou (2-for-5, two RBI), Machín (3-for-4, walk, four runs, three RBI) and Luis Barrera (2-for-4, walk, two runs). With his two hits, Barrera snapped a 3-for-35 slump. … Thomas has reached base safely via hit or walk in 16 consecutive games. ... Beck, who had one home run and six RBI in 20 games at Class-A Lancaster before being promoted to Las Vegas on June 26, has hit a two-run homer in three straight games. Those three homers are Beck's only three Triple-A hits. ... Wilson's third-inning double extended his hitting streak to five in a row, during which he’s 7-for-18 with one home run, seven runs and six RBI … Aviators catcher/designated hitter Austin Allen took the day off, preserving his 13-game hitting streak. During the streak, which is the longest for an Aviators’ batter this season, the veteran catcher is batting .339 (19-for-56) with three home runs and 11 RBI. … Even though the Aviators outhit Sacramento 18-14 on Tuesday, the River Cats still finished the six-game series with 84 hits. … Las Vegas outfielder Greg Deichmann missed his third straight game because of a hamstring injury he suffered in Saturday’s game. He remains day-to-day. … The Aviators lead the season series against Sacramento 11-7.

ON DECK: After their regularly scheduled off day Wednesday, the Aviators will head north to Reno and take on the first-place Aces in a six-game series that kicks off at 6:35 p.m. Thursday. Hard-throwing southpaw Jesús Luzardo (0-1, 10.38 ERA) and right-hander Daulton Jefferies (2-1, 6.17) are slated to start the first two games for Las Vegas.

The Aviators will return to Las Vegas Ballpark on July 15 for the start of a six-game series against the El Paso Chihuahuas that runs through July 20. Click here to purchase tickets.

Catch every Aviators game throughout the season on Raider Nation Radio 920-AM, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @AviatorsLV.