River Cats Defeat Aviators 5-3 to Stave Off Elimination
It took the Aviators 139 games of a 140-game season to lock up the Pacific Coast League Pacific Southern Division title and the franchise's first postseason berth since 2014. If they're going to extend their season once again and secure the franchise's first playoff series win since 1988, they'll need
It took the Aviators 139 games of a 140-game season to lock up the Pacific Coast League Pacific Southern Division title and the franchise's first postseason berth since 2014. If they're going to extend their season once again and secure the franchise's first playoff series win since 1988, they'll need to come away victorious in a winner-take-all showdown against the Sacramento River Cats on Sunday afternoon at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Las Vegas fell behind early in Game 4 on Saturday, struggled mightily against River Cats starting pitcher
The two squads will return to the stadium for Sunday's 12:05 p.m. series finale with a crystal-clear picture of what's at stake: The winner will move on to next week's PCL Championship Series and face either the Round Rock Express or Iowa Cubs, while the loser will pack up the equipment bag for the final time in 2019 and head home.
Making the challenge all the more daunting for the Aviators? They're handing the ball to a starting pitcher (James Kaprielian) who will be making just his second career Triple-A start. Also, they might not have the services of
Las Vegas manager Fran Riordan said after the game that Mateo injured the top part of his fingers, but he hadn't received X-ray results. Thus, Riordan is unsure of his shortstop's status for Game 5.
If Mateo is unable to play, the Aviators' infield will look just as it did for the final eight innings Saturday: two players (Trace Loehr and
The bright spot? All three of those players have come up big at various points since joining the Aviators, including Loehr, who replaced Mateo on Saturday and made several solid defensive plays and also scored his team's first run.
"He's been our catalyst all year, and our offense kind of goes as he goes," Riordan said of Mateo. "So to lose him after his first at-bat hurt. I don't know if he's going to play tomorrow, but like we've been saying the entire season, it's the next man up. We're going to have to go with what we have, and I have full confidence that these guys can get it done."
That they nearly got it done in dramatic fashion in Game 4 was somewhat remarkable, considering how Sacramento dominated early on, both on the mound and at the plate. Navas, who was 0-5 with a 5.08 ERA in 15 appearances (five starts) with Sacramento in the regular season, pitched like an ace, holding the Aviators without a hit for the first 4 2/3 innings.
The right-hander from Venezuela ended up allowing just that one hit - a double off the center-field wall by
"Navas threw a really good ballgame tonight," said Riordan, who actually managed the former Oakland A's prospect in 2017 when both were at Midland. "He kept us off the barrel of the bat, he pitched inside well, he mixed up his arsenal and we just couldn't do anything against him."
While Navas (1-0) was carving up the Aviators, his offense backed him with a 3-0 lead, scoring once in the first on
All of that damage came against Las Vegas starting pitcher
After Avelino's single put Sacramento ahead 3-0,
Just when it looked like the River Cats might be on their way to a blowout win, the Aviators' offense finally sprung to life. Not surprisingly, outfielder
That score held until the bottom of the eighth, when the Aviators strung together three consecutive hits against flame-throwing River Cats reliever
Alas, that would be as close as the Aviators would get. After
"We put ourselves in position to tie the game or even take the lead in the bottom of the eighth," Riordan said of his team's late rally. "We kept fighting, and that's what we do - that's been our calling card all season."
And the reigning PCL Manager of the Year doesn't expect that to change come Sunday - no matter what names he pencils in on his lineup card.
"I expect the same thing we've gotten for 144 games to this point," Riordan said. "We're going to put this game behind us, and the guys are going to shower, get something to eat, go home, get a good night's sleep and wake up ready to go."
GAME NOTES: Bolt (1-for-3), Campbell (1-for-3, run), Garneau (1-for-4, RBI) and Payton (2-for-3, run, RBI) were the only Aviators to record hits Saturday. … Payton raised his batting average in the series to .500 (8-for-16). Also, during his 12-game hitting streak, he's batting .469 (23-for-49) with two home runs, five doubles and nine RBI. He has multiple hits in 10 of those 12 contests, including three of four playoff games. … Avelino (2-for-5),
ON DECK: Kaprielian is scheduled to oppose Sacramento left-hander
Conversely, Kaprielian's first Triple-A start a week ago Sunday was much more successful. The right-hander held Tacoma to one run on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts in four innings, as the Aviators went on to an 8-1, playoff-clinching victory at home. Kaprielian, who started the season at Stockton before being promoted to Midland, threw 52 of 73 pitches for strikes.
"It's only going to be the second time I've seen him pitch, but he sure made a good impression in his first outing," Riordan said of his Game 5 starter. "He attacks the strike zone, he's got good stuff and we're going to need his best tomorrow. He's a guy who has pitched in a lot of big games in his career, he's got a big pedigree behind him, and we're going to expect great things."
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