Austin Allen continues hot hitting in Aviators’ 11-1 rout of Salt Lake

Over the past 10 days, six current and former Aviators have taken flight to the major leagues: first baseman Frank Schwindel (Chicago Cubs), outfielders Greg Deichmann (Cubs) and Seth Brown (Oakland A’s), third baseman Jacob Wilson (Houston Astros), and pitchers Jesús Luzardo (Miami Marlins) and Daulton Jefferies (A’s).

Having watched his former teammates get their big-league opportunities, veteran catcher Austin Allen has remained in Las Vegas and gone about his business — and that business includes sending a loud-and-clear message to his bosses in Oakland: I’m ready for my big-league opportunity, too.

One night after collecting three doubles, Allen delivered four singles and scored three runs Sunday to help the Aviators halt a two-game slide with an 11-1 thumping of the Salt Lake Bees before a crowd of 5,915 at Las Vegas Ballpark. Center fielder Skye Bolt also had a huge night, going 5-for-5 with three runs and two RBI, as Las Vegas pounded out 21 hits and received outstanding pitching from starter Paul Blackburn and three relievers.

Allen, who served as the designated hitter, drove in his team’s first run with a bases-loaded single and later scored in a five-run first inning, then singled and scored in the second as Las Vegas raced out to a 7-1 lead. Not only did the 27-year-old St. Louis native deliver at least three hits for the third time in his last four games, but he extended his hitting streak to seven, during which he’s gone 11-for-16 (.688).

The hitting streak only begins to tell the story of the damage Allen has done with the bat for nearly two months. In 37 games since June 17, he’s batting .353 (55-for-156) with 11 doubles, nine homers and 25 RBI; he’s hit safely in 33 of those contests (including 13 of the last 14); and he’s produced 16 multi-hit games. Along the way, Allen has raised his season batting average from .253 to 319.

While Allen came up big again Sunday, he was hardly alone. The first seven batters in the Aviators’ lineup recorded multiple hits, while Bolt, first baseman Francisco Peña, second baseman Vimael Machín and left fielder Carlos Pèrez all contributed two RBI.

After falling to the Bees 6-2 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday, Las Vegas (41-41) put this one away early, needing just eight batters to exceed their run total from the previous two nights. After Salt Lake (38-44) took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first, the Aviators promptly answered by batting around and scoring five times against Bees starting pitcher Kyle Tyler, who had an inauspicious Triple-A debut.

Tyler allowed the first seven Las Vegas hitters to reach base safely on two walks and five singles, with Allen (RBI single), Peña (bases-loaded walk), Machín (RBI single) and Pèrez (RBI single) driving in the first four runs. After getting out of the first inning thanks to a run-scoring double play and a strikeout, Tyler’s struggles continued in the second. With one out, the right-hander gave up five straight hits (a double and four singles), and the Aviators cashed in two of them to build a 7-1 lead — and that lead would’ve been greater had Bolt not been thrown out at third base by Tyler, who chased down an errant throw from the outfield that had skipped past his catcher and rolled to the backstop.

In all, seven of the first 15 Aviators who came to the plate circled the diamond and scored on 10 hits and two walks, all against Tyler.

That was more than enough support for Blackburn, who bounced back from two subpar outings (12 runs and 22 hits in 10 1/3 innings) to deliver his best performance of the season. The veteran right hander gave up one unearned run on five hits in six innings, didn’t walk a batter, struck out six and threw 51 of 78 pitches for strikes.

After allowing the first two hitters of the game to reach on a single and an error, Blackburn retired seven in a row and 16 of the next 20. Thanks to a pair of double plays, he faced just two batters over the minimum during this stretch.

Relievers Argenis Angulo, Adam Kolarek and Grant Holmes followed Blackburn to the mound, with each allowing just one hit while tossing a scoreless inning.

GAME NOTES: Las Vegas went 11-for-22 with runners in scoring position, while the Bees were 0-for-8 in that situation. … Bolt joined Pèrez as the only Aviators to collect five hits in a game this season. For the year, Bolt is batting .500 (27-for-54) against Salt Lake. … Peña had his 11-game hitting streak snapped in Saturday’s loss to the Bees, as he went 0-for-4. The veteran catcher/first baseman is still batting .340 (18-for-53) over his last 12 games with six homers and 16 RBI. He’s now second on the team in home runs (16) and leads the club in RBI (54). … Shortstop Pete Kozma (2-for-5 Sunday) is 7-for-18 (.389) in the series with four doubles. However, he committed a pair of fielding errors, one of which led to the Bees’ lone run. The miscues snapped the Aviators’ string of five consecutive errorless games, but they did turn three double plays. … Blackburn picked up his fourth victory of the year and has now thrown 83 2/3 innings, most in Triple-A West (formerly the Pacific Coast League). ... Right fielder Marty Bechina (0-for-5) was the only Las Vegas batter not to record a hit. … Second baseman Nate Mondou, who leads the Aviators with a .325 batting average, was a late scratch from the lineup as he continues to recover from fouling a ball off his right knee during Thursday’s game. … Salt Lake is still 13-9 against the Aviators and has already clinched the season series. Since dropping the first two games in Las Vegas in May, the Bees are 6-2 at Las Vegas Ballpark.

ON DECK: Jefferies, whom the A’s optioned back to Las Vegas on Sunday, is scheduled to start Monday’s game against Salt Lake. Jefferies, who is 3-1 with 5.19 ERA in 12 starts with the Aviators this season, made one start with Oakland on Aug. 1. The right-hander held the Angels to three runs on three hits and three walks while striking out three in five innings, leading Oakland to an 8-3 home victory and earning his first big-league win.

The Bees are undecided on a starting pitcher for Monday’s contest, which begins at 7:05 p.m.

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