Aces Derail Express 16-3 in Series Finale

ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Round Rock Express (40-27) closed out their season series with the Reno Aces (29-38) on Friday night, falling by a final score of 16-3 at Dell Diamond. Rehabbing Houston Astros 2B José Altuve and RHP Collin McHugh each saw playing time on their road to recovery.
Round Rock RHP Jose Urquidy (3-1, 3.41) suffered the loss after surrendering three hits on three runs and a walk in a 6.0 inning start. Despite the loss, Urquidy fanned eight Aces hitters. On the winning side, Reno RHP Taylor Widener (5-4, 9.00) allowed only two runs on four hits while punching out nine.
Altuve went 0-4 at the plate but made a series of outstanding defensive plays in 8.0 innings of work. McHugh relieved Urquidy in the seventh inning and allowed a hit, two earned runs, a walk, a strikeout and a home run in his first rehab appearance.
Reno kicked off scoring in the first inning as CF Abraham Almonte worked a leadoff walk prior to racing home from first on a Domingo Leyba double. RF Travis Snider later singled home Leyba to double the Reno. In the fourth, LF Matt Szczur extended the lead to 3-0 with a solo home run.
The E-Train finally broke through in the sixth as RF Chas McCormick shot a no-doubter home run into the left field berm. C Jamie Ritchie followed closely thereafter with a bomb of his own that brought Round Rock within 3-2.
However, with McHugh on in the top of the seventh, Szczur worked a walk that eventually came around to score on a Wyatt Mathisen two-run homer. Express 1B AJ Reed continued the back-and-forth affair in the home half of the seventh, firing a solo blast into deep left field to keep Round Rock within two runs.
The Aces shut down hope of an Express rally as they piled on seven runs in the eighth. The frame saw 12 Reno batters come to the plate, combining for two doubles, five singles and a pair of walks. The big inning was highlighted by a two-run homer off the bat of rehabbing Arizona Diamondbacks DH Jake Lamb .
In the final frame, Snider singled prior to a Szczur double. Mathisen then doubled home Snider before Szczur followed closely behind on a John Ryan Murphy home run that finalized a 16-3 final score.
Round Rock beings a four-game series against the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners affiliate) on Saturday night. Rainiers LHP Anthony Misiewicz (2-3, 5.52) is scheduled to start opposite an Express pitcher to be announced.  First pitch at Dell Diamond is set for 6:05 p.m.
For more information on the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and join the conversation during our historic 20th season using #20STROng.
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Round Rock Express Baseball, owned and operated by Ryan Sanders Baseball, LP, is the proud Triple-A Affiliate of the Houston Astros and a member of the Pacific Coast League