Robinson Blasts Homer for Reno but Rainiers Swipe Game Three

RENO, Nev. – A brief pause in the contest helped the Reno Aces to plate their only two runs of the game in the bottom of the seventh, but those pair of tallies fell shy in what resulted in a 7-2 Tacoma Rainiers victory on Thursday.

Tonight’s contest featured a 35-minute delay in the top of the seventh due to a power outage, but it was a break that the Aces (13-11/45-54) needed as they proceeded to plate a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Doing the damage for Reno was Kristian Robinson as his eighth blast of the season not only tied him for the team lead but drove home Matt O’Neill, who had singled in the at-bat directly in front of Robinson.

Unfortunately, those two runs could not erase the 6-0 hole the Aces found themselves in, as the Rainiers (11-13/44-55) had used a pair of three-run frames in the first and sixth innings to build a comfortable six-run lead.

The game’s final run crossed the plate in the ninth when Brock Rodden launched his 13th homer of the Triple-A season in solo fashion during the top of the ninth, bringing the contest to its 7-2 final.

Starter Dylan Ray (1-5) settled in after the first but was still handed the loss, yielding just those three runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts over four full innings.

Only Philip Abner tossed a scoreless outing in the contest for the Aces, working the eighth inning and allowing only one hit while striking out one in the process.

O’Neill led the way in hits for the Aces with a 3-for-4 effort, scoring once in the process on Robinson’s home run. That blast was the only hit of the night for Robinson, ending his game 1-for-3. Meanwhile, the trio of Anderdson Rojas, Manuel Pena, and Jose Fernandez all doubled once, though the former also logged a pair of hits.

Game four of this series gets underway at 6:35 p.m. PT on Friday from Greater Nevada Field.