Gauthier's first career grand slam lifts Oklahoma City past Reno 9-8

Austin Gauthier turned Oklahoma City’s biggest early swing into a 9-8 win at Greater Nevada Field on Thursday night, blasting his first career grand slam as the Comets outlasted Reno. The lead grew to seven runs, then shrank fast, but Paul Gervase got the final three outs and protected a win that snapped Oklahoma City’s three-game losing streak.

The turning point came in the third inning, when Noah Miller and James Tibbs III delivered consecutive hits to set the table and Gauthier cleared the bases. Oklahoma City added three more runs in the fifth and pushed the margin to 9-2. Oklahoma City’s six-run third was its highest-scoring inning since May 21, also against Reno, and it was the club’s sixth grand slam of the season.

Reno still made it uncomfortable. The Aces scored five runs in the sixth, all with two outs, and kept pressuring until the ninth, when the tying run was left stranded. The night before, Reno had beaten Oklahoma City 4-3 in 10 innings, so the Aces were one swing away from a 2-0 start to the first series of the 2026 second half before the Comets answered back.

Gauthier finished 1-for-3 with two walks and four RBI, extending his hitting streak to seven games and going 12-for-24 over that stretch. He had not homered since April 21. The Comets entered at 42-35, the Aces at 34-44, and the split through the first two games left the series with one game to play.