Aces to welcome the Aviators back to Greater Nevada Field

The Reno Aces set to welcome intrastate rival Las Vegas Aviators back to Greater Nevada field for its third six-game set of the season, beginning on July 8.

Reno has yet to drop a series in 2021, boasting a 6-0-3 mark, with two series wins over Las Vegas, and three splits.

The Aces enter the series against the Aviators with four wins in their last six-game series against the Tacoma Rainiers.

In the first win over Tacoma, Reno scored four runs in the first inning and four more in the third inning, thanks mostly to a three-run homer from Stuart Fairchild and a grand slam from Juniel Querecuto that proved to be the difference in the 8-5 win.

The second game of the series featured great pitching from Reno, with starter Josh Green going 7.2 innings and allowing one run to pick up his sixth win of the year in a 2-1 victory.

After another 8-3 win, the Aces lost the next two games of the series, but became the first team in Minor League baseball to reach 400 runs scored in the process.

The Aces finished the series with a 6-4 win over Tacoma thanks to homers from Drew Ellis and Querecuto. Reno pitcher Ryan Weiss picked up the win in his Triple-A debut and Miguel Aguilar recorded his eighth save of the season.

The Aviators have won three straight games against Sacramento after dropping its five previous contests between the River Cats and Salt Lake Bees.

In victories over Sacramento, Las Vegas stunned its opposition with back-to-back walk-offs, taking down the River Cats, 15-14, in extras on Independence Day and a 4-3 victory on the next day off of a two-run home run by Cody Thomas in the ninth. Las Vegas finished the series with a 14-9 win over Sacramento.

12 of the Oakland Athletics top-30 prospects are currently on the Aviators’ active roster, including No. 2 ranked A.J. Puk. The 26-year-old has struggled against the Aces this season, allowing seven runs on nine hits in five innings of work across three relief appearances.

Fellow top-10 prospect Luis Barrera (7) will also make his return to Northern Nevada after receiving his first call-up to the Major during the club’s first trip to Reno. In 10 starts against the Aces, the 25-year-old is slashing .250/.400/.440 with nine hits and four RBIs. Barrera has recorded a pair of three-hit contests against the Biggest Little City’s team.

Vimael Machin has been Las Vegas’ best bat against its Nevada counterpart, putting forth a .257/.333/.457 slash line with a club-leading 11 RBIs in eight contests. The Aviators’ infielder struggled in his two games at Greater Nevada Field this season, going 1-for-9 with a triple and a run scored.

Pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo will kick off the series on the mound for the team from Summerlin, registering an 0-1 record with a 10.38 ERA in four starts since being optioned from Oakland. The 23-year-old left-hander struggled in the Majors this year, going 2-4 in 13 appearances and allowing 29 earned runs on 46 hits in 38.0 innings of work.

The Aviators rank second in Triple-A West with 368 runs scored and 524 hits while being tied for first in walks with 245. Las Vegas’ pitching staff has struggled through 54 games, allowing the most runs in Triple-A with 397 while holding a league-worst 6.78 ERA.

The Aces begin their series with the Aviators on July 8 with the first pitch slated for 6:35 p.m. PT. Thursday’s game can be heard on renoaces.com or KPLY 630 AM locally with Zack Bayrouty on the call.