The Las Vegas Aviators hosted the Oklahoma City Comets on Thursday, May 29, for game three of the series. The Aviators fell 9-3 and are now 1-2 in the series.
Luis Morales started on the mound for Las Vegas. The Comets were able to connect with ease on his pitches. An RBI line-drive single put Oklahoma City in the lead 1-0. Morales’ arm heated up to strike out two batters back-to-back. Las Vegas had three batters make contact at the plate but left two stranded on base.
Morales, the No. 4 prospect for the A’s, worked the mound in the second inning, varying between 85 and 95mph. He struck out two and caused a line out for three quick outs. All four Aviators made contact against Comets pitcher Bobby Miller. Colby Thomas was left on base after hitting a double to right field.
The Comets added more runs to the board in the third inning. Alex Freeland hit an RBI double, and Ryan Ward hit a two-run homer to put Oklahoma City ahead 4-0. Carlos Cortes booked it to the left-field foul line for a big out. The Aviators continued to make contact but couldn’t find a hole to get on base.
The top of the fifth inning brought in two runs for the Comets. James Outman hit a solo homer. An RBI double play groundout brought in the runner on third. With two outs and the Comets leading 6-0, Morales’ time on the mound came to an end. He threw 4.2 innings, allowed seven hits and six runs, walked three and struck out six batters. David Leal stepped up to the mound for the Aviators. He caused a flyout to end the inning.
Carlos Duran took the mound for the Aviators in the top of the sixth. Michael Kopech replaced Miller on the mound for Oklahoma City.
Ward hit his second homer of the night to put the Comets up 8-0 in the top of the seventh inning. José Rodríguez was the new pitcher on the mound for the Comets. With two outs, Thomas was hit by a pitch in the helmet. Cortes homered on the first pitch to put the Aviators on the board, 8-2. Brennan Milone hit his first career Triple-A hit. He hit a line drive single to center field. Ben Harris replaced Rodríguez on the mound and caused a flyout to end the inning.
Starting the top of the eighth inning was Shohei Tomioka on the mound for the Aviators. He struck out two batters and caused a pop-out. Edgardo Henriquez pitched for the Comets in this inning. Seth Brown recorded his third hit of the night with a double to right field. Daniel Susac hit a groundout RBI to put the Aviators at 8-3. With two outs and two runners on base, Oklahoma City changed pitchers to Jack Little. Little was able to strikeout Thomas to end the inning.
The Comets didn’t hold back in the ninth inning. Ward hit his third home run of the game to take the Comets to a 9-3 lead. The Aviators had no luck in their last at-bats with a groundout and two pop-outs.
Las Vegas ended the game with six hits and three RBIs. The Comets had 13 hits and eight RBIs.
