Paw Patrol Night

Suffering their first six-game series loss since the middle of June, the Reno Aces are looking to stack wins as they return home to host the El Paso Chihuahuas, Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, for a six-game series beginning on Aug. 4 at 6:35 p.m. PT.

Last week against Round Rock, Arizona’s No. 1 prospect Demetrio Crisantes led the way at the dish by logging nine hits and batting .375, but he had little production otherwise with just one run scored, one double, and one RBI. Danny Serretti also was above the .300 line at .313, scoring three runs with one double, one homer, two RBI and a .952 OPS. Pavin Smith led the way in RBI (four) and homers (two) for the Aces while playing in all six games.

Jose Cabrera started the series finale and tossed five full innings while allowing one hit and striking out six without a walk, though he earned a no decision. Cabrera’s effort earned him Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week honors, his first ever weekly honor at the Triple-A level. He becomes the second Aces hurler to earn the honor this season, joining southpaw Kohl Drake on April 5 after his five no-hit innings at Albuquerque.

This upcoming series between Reno and El Paso marks their third of the season, the first set to be played in Reno. The Chihuahuas have taken four of six in each of the previous two meetings, first doing so from April 21-26 by taking each of the first three and the finale. Their last matchups was Reno’s previous six-game set loss prior to last week against Round Rock (5-1 series loss), with El Paso taking games one, two, four and six from June 16-21.

Reno’s 6.97 ERA is their highest against any opponent this season, just barely topping the 6.95 ERA they have compiled against Las Vegas (18 games against Las Vegas). Despite the high ERA, the Aces have logged their third best strikeout-to-walk ratio of any opponent this season at 2.28 (second: 2.29, Albuquerque).

Reno’s hitting against the Chihuahuas has been middle-of-the-road, with their .275 average ranking fifth of nine opponents. The Aces have recorded a total of 37 extra-base hits against El Paso, again fifth most against any opponent, which includes 15 homers (1.25/game) which is their fourth most against any opponent.

El Paso’s 8-4 lead in the 2026 season set have drawn them level in the all-time series at 79-79 (.500), with Reno’s 79 wins against the Chihuahuas ranking seventh most against any opponent in franchise history (Fresno in sixth, 89). In franchise history the Aces have worked to a 5.51 ERA against the Chihuahuas, fifth best of opponents with 100 or more games played, while Reno’s .287 batting average ranks fourth under the same criteria.

After finishing the first half in sixth place at 10 games back of first half winner Las Vegas, El Paso has had a tough time in the second half with a record of 9-23 (.281) and 15.5 games back of first place Sugar Land. The Chihuahuas come into the series having lost six straight games as they were swept last week in a six-game set at home by Albuquerque. El Paso was producing runs even in series defeat, scoring seven or more runs in five of six games while averaging 8.0 runs per game.

As a team, the Chihuahuas have been hitting just .257 in the second half, and their combined OPS ranks dead last in the PCL (25th in Triple-A). Their 176 runs scored are ninth fewest in the league while their 32 homers are tied for seventh fewest with two others, but they have stayed out of double plays as their 16 are also the fewest in the PCL.

From the hill, El Paso’s 7.38 ERA is not just the highest in the PCL but all Triple-A, as are their 246 total runs and 227 earned runs allowed. The 167 walks issued are second most in the PCL and fifth most in Triple-A, and their 249 strikeouts are third fewest in Triple-A and second fewest in the PCL.

Dustin Harris has been leading the way on an individual level in the second half as his .348 batting average since June 23 ranks as seventh best in the PCL of those with 50 or more plate appearances. In addition to the average, he has totaled 13 runs, three doubles, one triple, four homers, nine RBI, and a 1.017 OPS. Carlos Rodriguez also cracks the top 30 in 25th place by batting .316 with 13 runs scored, 12 RBI, and two homers.

Sean Boyle has been the best starter for El Paso that remains on the active roster, as he has a 6.44 ERA in the second half which ranks as the 20th best in the PCL with four or more starts. Evan Fitterer sits ahead of him in 16th place at 6.05, though he currently is placed on the Injured List.

El Paso has three of San Diego’s top-30 prospects including their top prospect and baseball’s No. 30 overall prospect Ethan Salas. So far, he has played just four games but is batting .357 with five hits including three double and a triple, five RBI, and a .760 OPS. Jagger Haynes is the top pitcher ranked No. 13, who thus far is 0-1 with 18.00 and seven strikeouts to eight walks in two starts.

This series gets underway on Tuesday, Aug. 4 with game one at Greater Nevada Field beginning at 6:35 p.m. PT.

Right-handed pitcher Jose Cabrera turned in a dominant outing on Sunday against the Round Rock Express, Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, earning his first career Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week award

The 24-year-old tossed five shutout innings, allowing just one hit and striking out six Express hitters without allowing a walk. In those five innings, Cabrera faced the minimum with the only blemish coming as a leadoff double in the second inning by Aaron Zavala who was later thrown out trying to steal third.

Sunday night marked his second outing of at least five scoreless frames in just his sixth start with the BLC-Nine. He is one of three pitchers in the PCL this season to turn in two starts of at least five scoreless innings and six-or-more strikeouts. The last Aces pitcher to accomplish that was Logan Allen during the 2024 season.

For the season, Cabrera now owns a 4.15 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 30 innings with Reno this season.

Coming off a successful offensive week in a series win against Tacoma, the Reno Aces could not continue their momentum as they suffered a series defeat on the road at the hands of the Round Rock Express, Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

Riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak, the Aces could not keep up their offensive pace as they managed just one run during a 5-1 defeat in the series opener with Round Rock on July 28.

The only tally for Reno came in the top of the third when Anderdson Rojas singled with two on and one out, scoring A.J. Vukovich who had been hit by a pitch to start the frame.

Starter Yu-Min Lin tossed his fourth quality start after allowing two earned runs (five total) on five hits with four strikeouts in six full frames. Landon Sims and Juan Burgos each worked a scoreless inning out of the bullpen, with one hit allowed by the former while the latter walked and punched out one each.

Reno flipped the tables on the Express in game two of the set on July 29, this time holding their opponents to a single run as the Aces secured a 4-1 victory.

The Aces had to overcome a first-inning Express lead, scoring in the third, fourth and sixth innings. That included a Pavin Smith homer in the fourth, a solo shot marking his first of the Triple-A season, while three others tallied RBI including Danny Serretti who finished 2-for-3 with a double and runs scored.

The trio of Kade Strowd (3-2), Philip Abner, and Spencer Giesting combined on five run-free frames and five hits (two each from Strowd and Giesting), and Strowd punched out four of the seven hitters he faced in earning the victory.

Bryce Jarvis was called upon in the ninth and converted his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth with one strikeout and hit batsman. That was the first save of his MiLB career, as his only other save came last season with Arizona June 10, 2025 against Seattle.

Reno put runners on base in each of the first five innings and had a runner in scoring position in the top of the eighth thanks to a double from LuJames Groover, but in the end failed to capitalize during a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Round Rock on July 30.

Three of the seven hits in the game for Reno came from Arizona’s No. 1 prospect Crisantes, his second three-hit effort at Triple-A. Meanwhile, three others logged singles including Robinson, Vukovich, and Smith.

That marked the fifth shutout loss of the season for the Aces, dropping their record to 4-5 in such games. The last shutout loss the Aces suffered was towards the beginning of the month when they took a 7-0 defeat in Tacoma on July 2. This was also just the sixth time Reno had been shut out at Dell Diamond, the first since a 6-0 loss to the Express on May 31, 2025.

The Aces scored four times between the fourth and fifth innings on July 31, establishing a 4-2 lead, but in the end three runs by Round Rock in the bottom of the seventh turned into a 5-4 Express victory.

After Round Rock started the scoring in the bottom of the second,Reno responded quickly with a three-run home run courtesy of Smith. The blast had come just three batters into the top of the fourth as Manuel Pena singled to get things started while Serretti joined him aboard with a walk.

Serretti added onto that lead when he hammered his fourth homer of the season in solo fashion during the top of the fifth, ripping a two-out blast from a full count out to right field.

Tommy Henry had tied franchise history with his 68th career Aces start but left after 5.2 innings and two runs allowed on five hits with four strikeouts to three walks.

Reno had pulled level in the eighth inning to force extras where they took the lead with a single tally in the top of the 11th, but Round Rock stole a 9-8 victory on a two-run walk-off homer from Jarred Kelenic on Aug. 1.

Robinson had helped the Aces to draw even with the Express during the top of the eighth when his leadoff double resulted in game’s the tying run. After moving to third on Reno’s 43rd sacrifice bunt of the season, he quickly scored when a throwing error was made on a ball put in play by Demetrio Crisantes.

That score eventually forced extra innings to decide a winner, but it took two frames after both teams failed to score in the 10th. The Aces had pushed home the free runner in the inning on an RBI groundout from Jose Ferandnez, but it took little time for Round Rock to walk off winners as Kelenic blasted his sixth of the season as the first batter of the inning.

Both Crisantes and Fernandez ended their nights with three hits, the former doubling once, scoring once, and driving one in while the latter had a pair of RBI and scored once. Meanwhile, Matt O’Neill also had a run, RBI and double in addition to a two-hit effort.

There were several repeats in the series finale on Aug. 2, as Sunday’s contest went to extra innings for a second consecutive day where the Express were able to capitalize in the bottom of the 10th and hand the Aces their second shutout loss of the series, 1-0 in 10 innings.

Sunday’s game saw a scoreless tie move all the way through the ninth inning, though it was not for lack of trying. Reno had put a runner on in each of the first four innings, three times reaching scoring position, but failed to capitalize.

Round Rock failed to get much going until the latter stages, and twice nearly scored in the final third of the game. It took an impressive outfield assist from center field by Anderdson Rojas to cut down a runner trying to score in the home half of the seventh, while Dylan Ray had to dance out of danger in the eighth by stranding the bases loaded.

One of the best chances of the night for Reno came in the top of the ninth, as they saw Smith draw a leadoff walk and advance up to third after a Gavin Conticello sacrifice bunt and wild pitch. Despite a runner just 90 feet from home with only one out, the Aces could not drive him in and watched the inning end with a ground out and strikeout.

Jose Cabrera had drawn the start for Reno and worked five run-free innings, striking out six without a walk for the second time this season while allowing only a single hit. Crisantes had his second straight three-hit day, finishing the game 3-for-5. Of Reno’s six hits, only two went for extra bases as the duo of Vukovich and Christian Cerda each doubled, the former finishing with two hits.

Cabrera’s effort earned him Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week honors, his first ever weekly honor at the Triple-A level. He becomes the second Aces hurler to earn the honor this season, joining southpaw Kohl Drake on April 5 after his five no-hit innings at Albuquerque. Overall, he is the fifth Ace to earn weekly recognition this season (sixth instance), joining LuJames Groover, Tim Tawa, and Tyler Locklear.

At the dish, Crisantes led the way by logging nine hits and batting .375, but had little production otherwise with just one run scored, one double, and one RBI. Serretti also was above the .300 line at .313, scoring three runs with one double, one homer, two RBI and a .952 OPS. Smith led the way in RBI for the week on the Aces with four.