Reno Aces Take Series, Post Historic Double Shutout Against Albuquerque

Ryan Waldschmidt's bases-clearing, three-RBI double in a six-run eighth inning didn't just flip a game against Albuquerque; it tied him with Wily Mo Peña for the Reno franchise record for most consecutive games to start a season with an RBI, at four. That sequence captured everything about the Aces' six-game series against the Isotopes: late-game pop, tight margins, and franchise benchmarks stacking up in April.

Reno took the series, its first of the 2026 Pacific Coast League season, in a set where four of six games were decided by two runs or fewer and three by a single run. The Aces won by multiple methods: a late-inning eruption, a grinding 18-hit offensive output, and a pair of shutouts in games two and four that hadn't been posted within the same series since 2018, with the only other instance dating to Reno's inaugural 2009 campaign.

The more surgical of the two shutouts was a 1-0 win built on a single decisive sequence. Kristian Robinson's wind-aided triple set the table, and Jacob Amaya followed with a sacrifice fly to account for the game's only run. One hit, one run, one win.

The 18-hit contest told a different story about this roster: eight runs scored on 18 hits with only two extra-base knocks, a sign of an offense that can string contact together across innings without leaning on the long ball. That kind of manufacturing holds up over a 150-game PCL grind better than a lineup dependent on exit velocity alone.

Merrill Kelly added organizational weight to the series. The Diamondbacks right-hander used a rehab assignment to throw five scoreless innings with two strikeouts, a controlled, veteran-caliber outing that pushed Reno's rotation well above its baseline. His appearance gives the Aces a workable template for absorbing MLB rehab stints while keeping rotation rhythm intact for the prospects around him.

Four close games, a double shutout that hadn't happened in eight years, and Waldschmidt's name alongside Wily Mo Peña in the franchise record book. Reno enters the stretch of April with hard evidence that this roster can win ugly, win by manufacturing, and win with one swing.