Aviators vs Bees

FSM Essential Recap: Aviators vs Bees – Series 17

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Las Vegas Aviators (49-40) | Salt Lake Bees (42-48)

Game 6

The Aviators struck twice for 3-run homers to make the difference for the offense, concluding the series with a 6-1 win over Salt Lake.

 

Matt Thais put the Bees on top first in the series finale, blasting a solo shot to right in the 2nd. While this has been the story all week, McKay and Sam Selman came out of the bullpen to shut down Salt Lake’s production. They changed the momentum with a solid four shutout innings combined and allowed the offense to take over.

Vegas waited until the later innings to climb back; the Bees had their number early on. They went down in order in the 5th and 6th innings, including a strikeout of the side for Salt Lake. The bullpen heroics keeping it at 1-0 for so long was a key factor in the potential comeback; keeping the crowd involved for the conclusion of the first half was big.

Jonah Bride finally answered the call this offense was looking for, connecting for a clutch 3-run dinger in the 7th. Vegas grabbed the 3-1 lead as Bride rounded the bases for the 2nd time in Triple-A this year.

The Aviators built from there the very next inning, adding more insurance in a similar fashion. Cal Stevenson struck for a 3-run shot of his own, with it only being his 1st so far this season. The unlikely heroes in Bride and Stevenson stepped up as Shea Langeliers is off shining on the big stage in Los Angeles. The offense set things to be quickly shut down in the 9th.

Garret Acton shut down the side to close things down, ending the series on a high note. While the results may not have been there in innings past for this bullpen, the most reliable reliever stepped up when it mattered. Acton now ends the first half with a 0 earned run average.

 

Game 6 Box Score

 

WP: Sam Selman (2-0)

LP:  Kyle Barraclough (4-4)

SV: Garrett Acton (2)

HR:   Aviators – Jonah Bride (2), Cal Stevenson (1)

        Express – Matt Thais (8)

 

The Aviators start the second half of the season on the road for a weekend series against Rock Round, they face the express starting Friday at 5:05 p.m.

 

 

Game 5

It was a nightmare for the aviators and the home crowd last night, falling 11-0 this time to the Salt Lake Bees.

 

Jose Rojas opened the scoring again for Salt Lake in the 1st, blasting another home run in this series to make it 1-0. Kean Wong followed his antics the very same inning, later connecting for a solo shot of his own as the onslaught was starting to begin. Five different pitchers combined to shut out the Aviators last night. They could only muster five hits while the Bees went off.

Jake Palomaki then drove home a run with a single in the 2nd to make it 3-0, before more home run damage came in the 3rd. Matt Thais connected for his 5th home run of the season to bring home two and make it 5-0.

Matters only worsened in the 6th inning for Vegas. Jake Gatewood started the 4-run inning by doubling home Jack Mayfield. Kyle Kasser followed up by bringing home Gatewood with a knock before Kean Wong struck again with the 2-run double. The home crowd fell silent, and fans began to leave as the Aviators were down 9-0 before the 7th inning stretch.

Jake Gatewood ultimately joined the dinger club on Saturday night the next inning, hammering a 2-run shot to make it a ridiculous 11-0 ballgame. His 8th of the season was also his 3rd of the series so far. He and Jose Rojas have been lethal to the home pitching staff all week.

The Bees have now taken four games in this series, which went from 2 ballgames to forget to a series to forget. Riordon and the home crowd hope this team can find some way to put this drought behind them and start the long road trip on a high note tomorrow.

 

Game 5 Box Score

 

WP: Jonathon Aro (4-5)

LP: Adrian Martinez (4-4)

HR: Express – Jose Rojas (15), Kean Wong (3), Matt Thais (7), Jake Gatewood (8)

 

The Aviators are right back at it tonight vs Salt Lake. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. every game this week.

 

 

 

Game 4

Two offensive outbursts in the 2nd and 7th innings for Salt Lake proved too much once again for Vegas; they fell for the 3rd straight game 6-3.

 

The Bees wasted no time grabbing the early lead once again, forcing Vegas to play comeback is now becoming a trend this series. After facing the minimum in the 1st inning, Zach Logue made the costly mistake with a 3-1 cookie to Chad Wallach in the 2nd. Wallach hammered the 3-run shot to open the scoring for his 5th on the year.

The Aviators had nothing to say offensively in response until the 5th inning. Then, Mickey McDonald cashed in Dalton Kelly with a single to finally get on the board. Salt Lake held the lead at 3-1 into the top of the 7th inning, where they began to add on more. Public enemy number 1 in this series, Jose Rojas proceeded to drive in two more runs with a double, putting his team up a grand slam at 5-1.

Vegas took advantage of a defensive miscue in the home half of the inning; however, it showed signs of a potential momentum change. With the bases loaded, Austin Allen was allowed to score thanks to an error by Jack Mayfield at short to bring it within three runs. Kyle Barraclough was asked to enter and clean up the mess for Salt Lake, striking out Max Schueman and Nate Mondou to kill the rally.

The Aviators brought it to within two in the next inning after Vince Fernandez nearly missed a dinger, driving home Matt Davidson with a triple. The rally was cut short again; however, the next 3 Vegas batters whiffed on strikes to the sound of the home crowd’s annoyance.

Jack Mayfield then redeemed himself by doubling home an insurance run in the top of the 9th, leading to Gerardo Reyes quickly closing things down. Rojas followed up his 2-home run game by leading his offense again with the critical double, while Chad Wallach broke out of his struggles with a solid 2-4 game in light of his homer.

Vegas left 25 men on base; the numbers that have been seen in all series accurately describe their recent struggles. Mickey Mcdonald went 3-3, but without the rest of the lineup cashing in opportunities, something has to give to avoid the series loss.

 

Game 4 Box Score

 

WP: Cesar Valdez (6-4)

LP: Zach Logue (3-2)

SV: Gerardo Reyes (5)

HR: Express – Chad Wallach (5)

 

The Aviators are right back at it tonight vs Salt Lake. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. every game this week.

 

 

Game 3

Jose Rojas was the difference last night for Salt Lake with 2 bombs, the Aviators were shut out falling to the Bees 2-0.

 

The Aviators’ offense was nowhere to be found last night, as four pitchers combined to throw a shutout for Salt Lake. Janson Junk went six innings in light of the win, sending home eight batters before the bullpen closed things out.

Jose Rojas went yard in the 3rd, and 5th innings for the game’s only two runs, continuing to pester the Aviators so far this week. He has 14 on the season and three so far in this series.

The Aviators only left ten runners on base, even with the shutout looming. The opportunities simply weren’t there for the opposing pitching staff on a dominant night. The only notable offensive performance for Vegas was Jonah Bride, reaching scoring position twice on a 2-3 night. The Bees sent the heart of the order down eight times, including two strikeouts for Langeliers.

 

Aviators vs Bees
Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aviators

The two home runs were Parker Dunshee’s only mistakes last night; he had higher hopes for his lineup. Instead, Riordan went to his three most reliable pitchers from the bullpen to follow. Sam Selman, David McKay, and Garrett Acton helped hold the deficit for the potential offense that never came. McKay and Acton both maintain 0 ERAs as of today and can be considered the only positive outcome in this one.

The Aviators remain ten games over .500 and hope this is a night to forget. The offense has gone through slumps at home before, coming back stronger, most notably against this near exact Salt Lake team last month. Riordan and the organization hope this is what this team needs to finish the series on a high note potentially.

 

 

Game 3 Box Score

 

WP: Janson Junk (1-3)

LP: Parker Dunshee (3-8)

SV: Ty Buttery (1)

HR: Express – Jose Rojas 2(14)

 

The Aviators are right back at it tonight vs Salt Lake. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. every game this week.

 

 

Game 2

Four home runs and a 6-run 3rd inning proved too much for Vegas last night. The Bees responded with an onslaught for the 15-7 loss in Game 2.

 

Christian Pache answered in the 1st inning with a home run to open the scoring. Things looked good early for the Aviators grabbing the 1-0 lead. However, Kean Wong wasted no time the next inning for the Bees, tying things up with a solo shot of his own. Nate Mondou then connected for his 3rd home run of the season in the home half, and Vegas would grab the 2-1 lead right back.

The Bees forced starter Jack Cushing out early in the 3rd inning, posting six runs before the Aviators could finally escape. Jose Rojas tied things with a run-scoring single, and Matt Thais opened things up with the bases-clearing double. Vegas brought it back to a 7-5 game in the home half, thanks to RBI singles from Shea Langeliers and Billy McKinney.

Mondou eventually brought it to a 1-run game, scoring Vince Fernandez with a single in the 5th, but things would escalate quickly. Jose Rojas produced another run-scoring single in the 6th before Dillon Thomas hammered the gut-wrenching 3-run shot to make it 11-6.

The deficit was soon out of the hands of Vegas’ offense, thanks to Jake Gatewood. He joined the home run party by blasting a 3-run shot in the 7th, later stealing the show with a solo shot in the 9th.

Off the bench, replacing David Fletcher, Gatewood went 3-3 with his two home runs. Kean Wong also recorded three knocks as Salt Lake’s 17 hits stunned the home crowd. 14 of the 15 runs were earned for the home pitching staff, but the opportunities were there for the Aviators. They left an unacceptable 21 men on base, striking out 14 times to even the series for the Bees.

 

Game 2 Box Score

 

WP: Brian Moran (2-1)

LP: Jack Cushing (1-3)

HR: Aviators- Christian Pache (2), Nate Mondou (3),

       Express – Kean Wong (2), Dillon Thomas (11), Jake Gatewood 2(7)

 

The Aviators are right back at it tonight vs Salt Lake. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. every game this week.

 

 

Game 1

The Aviators went yard 3 times in the 4th inning last night as the offense coasted for the 10-4 win over Salt Lake.

 

Jose Rojas opened the scoring in the 1st inning, greeting Collin Wiles rudely with his 12th home run. Dillon Thomas added another in the inning with a run-scoring single to give the Bees their only lead of the night at 2-0.

While the Aviators did fall early, they responded quickly in the home half. Christian Pache connected for a 2-run dinger, his 1st of the season that tied things rather quickly. Matt Davidson followed up Pache by bringing home McKinney with a knock to put them up 3-2 after just 1.

Jo Adell was able to even the score back for the Bees at 3 in the 3rd with an RBI double, but the Aviators came to play offensively in the series opener. They produced seven runs in the 4th and 5th innings securing the win for Wiles.

Max Schuemann and Shea Langeliers both hammered 2-run shots in the 4th before Vince Fernandez joined the club with a solo shot for their 3rd long ball of the inning. Langeliers now has an eye-opening 16 home runs on the season. Billy McKinney would then bring it to double-digits in the run department the next inning for Vegas, lacing a 2-run single.

The Bees had no answer for such a sizeable deficit in the final innings, leaving 17 men on base last night. The Aviators opened the series the exact way the home crowd could have hoped for, 7 of the nine starters recorded hits, and Fran Riordan only went to the bullpen twice. Jack Mayfield brought in a run in the 9th with a double for Salt Lake, but Ryan Castellani quickly closed things out in the 9th.

 

Game 1 Box Score

 

WP: Collin Wiles (7-6)

LP: Ryan Smith (0-6)

HR: Aviators- Christian Pache (1), Max Schuemann(2), Shea Langeliers (16), Vince Fernandez (11)

       Express – Jose Rojas (12)

 

The Aviators are right back at it tonight vs Salt Lake. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. every game this week.

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– Duncan Dye 

Follow Duncan on Instagram @duncandyefsm  

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Photography by Elvin Anderson, Jr.