The Las Vegas Aviators continued their strong start to the second half Thursday night, building an early four-run lead before holding off the Sacramento River Cats for a 4-3 victory at Sutter Health Park.
Early offense provides enough cushion
Sacramento starter Carson Whisenhunt found himself in trouble almost immediately. Cade Marlowe opened the second inning with his Pacific Coast League-leading eighth triple before Bryan Lavastida followed with an RBI single. Moments later, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer added an RBI single to make it 2-0.
Another rally followed in the fourth inning. Kuroda-Grauer walked, Darell Hernaiz singled and Tommy White lined a two-out single to left that scored both runners. That proved to be all the offense Las Vegas would need.
Kuroda-Grauer sparks another balanced attack
Kuroda-Grauer reached base in all five plate appearances, finishing 4-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. Marlowe added three hits, including his league-leading triple, while Hernaiz collected two hits. White finished with two RBIs.
Even so, the Aviators missed several chances to extend the lead. They stranded 14 runners and finished 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Still, the early scoring proved enough.
Estes hands it over to the bullpen
Joey Estes earned his third victory after allowing two runs on four hits in five innings. He struck out three, walked three and escaped an early first-inning jam before settling into a groove.
Sacramento answered with solo home runs by Osleivis Basabe and Dayson Croes in the fourth inning. Then Basabe drove home Scott Bandura with an RBI single in the sixth after Bandura tripled. That cut the deficit to 4-3.
However, the bullpen protected the lead from there. CD Pelham allowed one run before James Gonzalez and Yunior Tur each worked scoreless innings. Finally, Michael Kelly earned his eighth save by retiring the final three hitters. He capped the night with a line-drive double play and a game-ending groundout.
Up next
The Aviators continue their six-game series against Sacramento on Friday at Sutter Health Park. Probable pitchers had not been announced at the time of publication.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, 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.
