Minor League Recap 6/14/2021: Another Game, Another Blow Out

Just the game in Reno was played on Monday, as the rest of the affiliates had a regularly scheduled day off. But I think it’s safe to say, this one made up for the absence of the rest.

Reno Aces 21 Las Vegas Aviators 16

I don’t even know where to begin. The sides combined for 37 runs on 37 hits, including seven homers, 16 walks, 6 errors and three hit batters. Both sides rallied from deficits of five more to take the lead, but it was the Aces who eventually prevailed. They jumped out to a 6-1 lead after two innings, Josh VanMeter hitting homers in each frame, but then suffered a meltdown to end all meltdowns. The Aviators sent fifteen men to the plate in the bottom of the third, scoring 11. Zach Lee absolutely could not get out of the inning, as eight of the nine batters he faced reached base. He ended up allowing 9 runs (8 earned) on eight hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch in 2.1 innings. Surprisingly, Lee didn’t give up any home-runs.

The Aces trailed 12-6 after three, and things calmed down a bit in the middle innings. Each side scored once in the fourth, Reno getting a home-run from Camden Duzenack. But then both failed to add to their tallies in either the fifth or sixth frames. But Reno then rediscovered their hitting stroke, exploding for fourteen runs over the final three innings, with five-, six- and three-run frames. Juniel Querecuto and Matt Lipka each went deep for the Aces in the eighth, as the visitors took the lead. Las Vegas responded to make it 18-16 to Reno as we went into the ninth. But the Aces added three more before Miguel Aguilar broke with protocol and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the win.

VanMeter reached base safely all SEVEN times he was up, on three hits (including the two home-runs) and four walks. He drove in five. Lipka had five hits, scoring and driving in three; while Jamie Ritchie and Bryan Holaday each got on base four times. Six different Aces scored at least three times. Obviously, the pitching was nothing to write home about, to put it mildly. Noé Ramirez got the win for his scoreless seventh inning, and apart from Aguilar, was the only Reno pitcher not to allow a run.