For eight innings Wednesday night, the Aviators were in control behind a dominant start from Gage Jump. In the ninth, the game turned quickly. Albuquerque scored six runs, highlighted by Nic Kent’s two-out, three-run homer, to stun Las Vegas 6-5 at Las Vegas Ballpark.
The loss drops the Aviators to 24-21. The Isotopes improve to 26-21.
Jump in command
Jump delivered his strongest outing of the season, firing seven shutout innings while allowing four hits and striking out nine without issuing a walk. He worked efficiently throughout, retiring the side in order three times and stranding a runner at third in the second after a double and stolen base.
Las Vegas built a 3-0 lead behind him. A wild pitch brought home Michael Stefanic in the second, Joey Meneses added a sacrifice fly in the third and Cade Marlowe followed with an RBI double to extend the margin. The Aviators pushed it to 4-0 in the seventh when Tommy White lined a two-out RBI single to left, and Brian Serven’s RBI double in the eighth stretched the lead to 5-0.
Las Vegas finished with 11 hits but stranded nine runners and went 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
Ninth-inning unraveling
Luis Morales opened the ninth and allowed two runs before Wander Suero entered with two on and one out. Suero struck out Andrew Knizner on three straight sinkers, freezing him with the final pitch to move within one out of the win.
Momentum shifted quickly.
Cole Carrigg ripped an RBI double to right field to trim the lead to 5-3, and two batters later Kent launched a 101.9 mph drive 393 feet to left field for a three-run homer that gave Albuquerque its first lead of the night. Suero was charged with two earned runs, along with the inherited runners who scored, and took the loss and blown save.
TJ Shook worked a scoreless ninth to secure the comeback.
Notes
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and Brett Harris each had two hits, while Marlowe drove in a run and scored once. White added his 15th RBI of the season and remains in the running in Minor League Baseball’s Nickname Knockout contest, where fans can vote for “Tommy Tanks” at MLB.com.
Jump’s seven shutout innings lowered his ERA to 4.50 and marked his longest outing of the year.
Up Next
The series continues Thursday night at Las Vegas Ballpark, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PT.
Left-hander Carson Palmquist (1-3, 7.20 ERA) is expected to start for Albuquerque, while right-hander Morris (3-3, 5.48 ERA) is slated to take the ball for Las Vegas.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
