Aces rally for five, but Aviators win 8-5 on Jackie Robinson Day

Reno’s offense found its only real pulse in the fifth inning, and by then the Aces were already paying for a slow start. Las Vegas scored all eight of its runs in its first five trips to the plate, and that early pressure carried the Aviators to an 8-5 win over Reno on Jackie Robinson Day at Greater Nevada Field.

The Aces had only two hits and three total baserunners through four innings, and both of those hits belonged to Ryan Waldschmidt. That left Reno in catch-up mode almost from the start, while the Aviators kept adding runs before the middle innings could settle into anything manageable.

Then came the fifth, when Reno finally stacked traffic and showed the offense’s ceiling. Jesus Valdez and Jean Walters singled, then Tommy Troy worked a bases-loaded walk to force in the first run of the frame. Waldschmidt was hit by a pitch to bring home another, a wild pitch pushed across a third, and Kristian Robinson finished the rally with a two-run single through the right side. In a matter of a few swings and a few free baserunners, Reno had a five-run inning and was suddenly within three.

That burst, though, was the difference between a rally and a comeback. Reno could not erase the damage from the first four innings, and when the Aces got the first two runners on base in the ninth, they still could not close the gap. Robinson and Waldschmidt each finished with two hits, and Robinson drove in two runs, but the rest of the night never caught up to the fifth-inning surge.

Kohl Drake took the loss after allowing seven of Las Vegas’ eight runs on seven hits in 3.1 innings. The result dropped Reno into an early hole in the Silver State Showdown, the first installment of a six-game series between the Diamondbacks’ and Athletics’ Triple-A clubs. Reno entered at 9-8, Las Vegas at 9-6, and the matchup carried added weight on a Jackie Robinson Day night that included pregame and in-game tributes to Robinson’s legacy.