Payton's Grand Slam Not Enough to Lift Aviators Past Rainiers
When Mark Payton stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the eighth inning Sunday, he and his Aviators teammates were in dire need of a big hit. Sure enough, the left fielder delivered the biggest of them all, a one-out, opposite-field grand slam. Alas, big as it was,
When
After taking an early 2-0 lead, the Aviators (22-16) watched the Tacoma Rainiers score nine unanswered runs en route to a 10-6 victory before a Mother's Day sellout crowd of 9,034 at Las Vegas Ballpark. A trio of Rainiers recorded three-hit games, led by right fielder
Facing Las Vegas starter Tanner Alexander and three relievers, Tacoma (18-20) pounded out 15 hits, including four doubles, a triple and three home runs. That was more than enough to offset the production of Payton, who added a bunt single to his ninth home run of the year and was the only Aviators' hitter to finish with multiple hits.
The day actually started well enough for the home team. After Anderson (3-3) retired the first six Rainiers he faced in order, his teammates staked him to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second when
The bases-loaded threat ended when
The Rainiers boosted their lead to 5-2 on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, after which Anderson was was lifted for reliever
Besides putting up the two runs in the second, the Aviators' offense struggled to come through in the clutch against Cloyd (1-1), who scattered five hits and five walks over 5 2/3 innings. But four of the right-hander's five strikeouts came with men on base.
Indeed, Payton's big blast aside, it was a frustrating afternoon for the Aviators' hitters, who left eight runners on base and went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position. As a result, by the time Payton came up in the eighth and followed three consecutive one-out walks with his team's third grand slam of the season, it was too little, too late.
Game Notes:. With the loss, the Aviators dropped to 5-5 on their season-long 10-game homestand. They're also now 1-6 in day games and 1-5 on Sundays this season. … Las Vegas shortstop
On Deck: Las Vegas and Tacoma resume their four-game set at 7:05 p.m. Monday. Right-hander
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