Aces offense erupts in Silver State Series, nearly earns split

Reno’s offense seized the Silver State Series from the first pitch and turned the opener into a 15-7 statement that echoed through the rest of the week. Tyler Locklear’s three-run homer in the first inning set the tone, and the Aces kept stacking damage with four multi-run frames, including three-run innings in both the first and second, at Las Vegas Ballpark on June 2.

That early avalanche mattered because it changed the entire rhythm of the rivalry set. Reno reached 15 runs, its season high, and matched that with eight doubles, also a season best and the seventh time in franchise history the club had hit that mark. The Aces had not scored that many runs in a game since beating Sacramento 15-2 on Aug. 29, 2025, and the six runs through two innings were their most in that span since Sept. 16, 2025, against Albuquerque.

The game was not just about one swing. Tim Tawa doubled and LuJames Groover walked before Locklear unloaded, then Jacob Amaya added a two-RBI double and Christian Cerda chipped in an RBI double as Reno kept pressuring a Las Vegas staff that entered the series with the weight of being the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate and the 2025 Pacific Coast League champions. Groover added his own blast in the fifth, another sign that the Aces were not relying on a single inning or a single hitter to fuel the outburst.

Jose Cabrera gave the night another layer of significance. Making his Triple-A debut, he earned the win with five innings, six strikeouts and no walks, a tidy debut in a rivalry game that already had the feel of a measuring stick. In a homestand that was the second half of Reno’s longest of the 2026 season, the Aces did more than pile up runs. They showed they could carry offensive pressure deep enough to force Las Vegas into a long night.

The broader Silver State picture still tilts toward Reno. The Aces had won each of the previous five season series against Las Vegas dating to 2021, and they have gone 74-47 in the rivalry since the start of that season, with an all-time edge of 157-140. Even so, this set carried real tension because the clubs had already shown how wild their meetings could get, including Reno’s one-hit loss on April 14 and Las Vegas’ nine-run inning in a 10-5 win. The June series did not produce a clean sweep, but Reno’s bats were loud enough to make the split chase feel like the latest chapter in a rivalry that still swings on one inning, one homer and one night of momentum.