Vaughn's walk-off homer does in Zephyrs

Cory Vaughn launched a two-run home run over the left-center field fence with one out in the bottom of the ninth Saturday for the Las Vegas 51's to dispatch the New Orleans Zephyrs 10-8 in the finale of a four-game series at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nev.

Grant Dayton (2-2) walked Brandon Allen to begin the inning and got Anthony Seratelli to pop out to catcher Kyle Skipworth on a bunt attempt, but grooved a 2-2 pitch to Vaughn that sent the Z's to their third straight loss and knocked their elimination number down to two with nine games left in the season.

The game had been tied 8-8 since Taylor Teagarden hit a solo home run off of Edgar Olmos with two outs in the sixth, and the Z's could not squeeze a run out of a bases-loaded opportunity with two outs in the top of the ninth when Gonzalez German (3-0) struck out Kyle Skipworth.

Both teams scored in each of the first four innings, with Las Vegas on top 7-6 before Brian Bogusevic led off the fifth with a triple against 51's starter John Lannan, and Kyle Jensen followed with his 26th home run of the season over the left-center field wall to end Lannan's night.

Six of the next nine Zephyrs batters struck out, as Giancarlo Alvarado fanned each of the three batters he faced to finish the fifth and one in each of the next two innings. Jack Letherisch entered the game with two outs in the seventh and struck out Juan Diaz, his third of the night.

Z's batters struck out once in each of the first four innings around seven hits against Lannan, including a two-run double by Jensen in the third inning to score Kike Hernandez and Mark Canha, and a one-out double by Austin Wates in the fourth that led to the first of two runs in the frame.

Hernandez drove Wates home with a single to center field, and Zack Cox, who followed Wates' at-bat with a walk, scored on a sacrifice fly by Canha.

Those runs tied the game at six runs apiece, as Las Vegas tagged New Orleans starter Anthony DeSclafani for six runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Lannan ended DeSclafani's night with a two-out, two-run triple in the third inning to drive in Brandon Allen and Anthony Seratelli one inning after DeSclafani hit two batters and gave up a two-out, bases-clearing double to Bobby Abreu that put the 51's ahead 4-2.

DeSclafani walked two while giving up five hits and striking out three but also hit three batters, including Matt Reynolds in the first inning that led to the 51's first run of the game when he scored on a ground out by Taylor Teagarden.

Wates scored the Z's first run in their half of the first inning on a groundout by Canha after Wates had led off the game with a single. The same scenario also produced their second-inning run when Diaz hit a leadoff single and scored on a groundout by DeSclafani.

Steve Ames took over for DeSclafani in the third and got Daniel Muno to ground out to first base, but he walked two in the fourth, including a one-out free pass to Abreu that turned into a run that gave Las Vegas its 7-6 lead when he scored on a double by Teagarden.

Five Zephyrs hitters finished with two hits as part of a 12-hit attack, but they also struck out 12 times, with three each from Jensen and Diaz.

The Zephyrs will open their final road series of the season with the opener of a four-game set against the Salt Lake Bees at 8:05 p.m. at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City, Utah. Brian Flynn (8-9, 3.98 ERA) is scheduled to start for New Orleans against Randy Wolf (5-2, 4.68 ERA) of Salt Lake.