Eight-run eighth inning caps strong start by Gilbert
RENO, Nev. – The Reno Aces’ bats exploded late to top the Albuquerque Isotopes 14-4. An eight-run eighth inning marked the fourth-straight game with 10 or more runs, but a strong start by Tyler Gilbert put up five scoreless frames to put Reno in a good position even before the
RENO, Nev. – The Reno Aces’ bats exploded late to top the Albuquerque Isotopes 14-4. An eight-run eighth inning marked the fourth-straight game with 10 or more runs, but a strong start by Tyler Gilbert put up five scoreless frames to put Reno in a good position even before the eighth. Josh VanMeter homered twice on the night, his third and fourth homers in the last three games.
VanMeter opened up the scoring, going yard in his first at bat to make it 1-0 after one inning of play. The home run was his sixth of the season, and fifth in the last seven games.
The run was more than enough of a cushion for Gilbert, who started on the mound for Reno. The lefty allowed no runs on just one hit in five innings of work, striking out five. The five inning outing was his longest start of the season, and the five punchouts were another season high.
Neither team would score until the sixth, when the Aces hung four runs on four hits to make it 5-0. Andrew Young opened the inning with a double, eventually scoring on a Drew Ellis single. Ellis came around to score along with Matt Lipka on a Henry Ramos triple, with Ramos scoring after a Juniel Querecuto double to cap the four-run inning.
Reno kept the scoring coming in the seventh inning, scoring on another VanMeter solo home run. The second home run of the game marked the second time in the last three games that VanMeter has hit a pair of homers, and was the fifth homer in his last seven games.
The shutout was broken up in the top of the eighth, with Jose Gomez hitting a two-run homer to make it a 6-2 game.
The Aces exploded for eight runs in the home half. After Seth Beer crossed the plate on a Matt Lipka steal that drew a throw down to second, Young belted his second grand slam of the season to take an 11-2 lead. Four pitches later, Daulton Varsho drilled a solo shot to right to extend the advantage to double-digits, 12-2. Ramos and Querecuto rounded out the inning’s run total, each recording an RBI single to take a commanding 14-2 edge through eight frames of action.
Albuquerque scored two times in the final inning but could not mount the 12-run comeback, giving the Aces a 14-4 win.
The Aces start game two of the six-game series in Albuquerque tonight against the Aviators, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. PT. Tickets are available now at RenoAces.com, or by texting TIXX to 21003. The broadcast will be available locally on KPLY 630 AM, or on RenoAces.com.