Tuesday night started the six-game home stand between the Las Vegas Aviators and the Tacoma Rainiers. The Aviators won the game 5-4 off of a walk-off RBI single to left field.
Mason Barnett started at the mound for the Aviators, working with a 2mph wind. The right-hander entered the game 3-4 on the season. The Rainiers had Jhonathan Díaz begin on the mound.
The Rainiers started off hot in the second inning. Austin Shenton hit a solo homer to right field for the first hit of the game. Dominic Canzone followed with a homer to right center field. A walked batter led to a stolen base and RBI single by Jack López to put the Rainiers up 3-0. Las Vegas took to the plate and got on base right away. Colby Thomas and Logan Davidson each singled to be the first runners on base for the Aviators. Max Muncy hit an RBI flyout to put Las Vegas on the scoreboard. Willie Maclver hit an RBI double to make the score 2-3.
The Rainiers got on base in the fourth when Colin Davis hit a single. He got in a pickle stealing second and came out safe, diving right under the baseman’s glove. Jack López hit an RBI single to score Davis, making the score 4-2.
Barnett struck out the first batter and walked the second. Tyler Locklear tried to steal second, but Maclver threw him out. A groundout ended the top of the fifth inning.
Las Vegas brought out Anthony Maldonado to pitch in the sixth inning. Barnett ended his 5.0 inning run with a 5.33 ERA and one strikeout. Maldonado didn’t allow a single hit in his first inning pitched.
The first hit since the top of the fourth inning came from López. The hit was also the first off of Maldonado. The Aviators ended Maldonado’s time on the mound after pitching 1.2 innings, not allowing a run and striking out one. Ben Bowden took over the mound and threw a groundout to end the inning. Tacoma switched it up on the mound and brought out Hagen Danner.
The Rainiers got two on base from a dropped fly ball and a grounder up the center to start the eighth inning. Bowden struck out Spencer Packard to leave the runners stranded. Matt Brash took the mound for Tacoma. CJ Alexander replaced Zack Gelof in the lineup for the Aviators. Darrell Hernaiz hit a laser just fair of the right field line for a double. Thomas hit a two-run, 396ft homer to tie the game 4-4.
Matt Krook took the mound for the Aviators in the ninth. Nick Dunn singled, and López grounded into a double play. Krook walked two batters with two outs. He threw a strikeout for the final out. Bryan Shaw was the new pitcher for the Rainiers. He walked Clarke, who stole two bases on a throwing error by the catcher. Maclver was also walked. Lopez grounded out to move the runners to second and third. The Rainiers intentionally walked Alexander. With the bases loaded, Avans hit a line drive to left field for the walk-off win. The Aviators won 5-4.
Krook earned the win on the mound. He is now 3-1 on the season. Krook pitched 1.0 innings, allowed one hit and struck out one batter.
The teams face each other again on Wednesday, April 30, at 6:35pm PT at Las Vegas Ballpark.
