The Las Vegas Aviators closed their road trip on a high note Sunday night, defeating the Salt Lake Bees 10-6 to claim the six-game series 4-2 at The Ballpark at America First Square.
Las Vegas improved to 53-32 and maintained its lead atop the Pacific Coast League West after scoring eight runs in the first four innings before holding off Salt Lake’s late comeback attempts.
Wallach powers early outburst
Veteran catcher Chad Wallach delivered the biggest offensive performance of the night, finishing 2-for-4 with a triple, a home run and three RBIs.
Wallach gave the Aviators an early cushion in the first inning with a two-run triple that stretched the lead to 3-0. He added a solo homer to left-center in the third inning for his second home run of the season.
The son of former major leaguer Tim Wallach, the 33-year-old has appeared in 781 minor league games and logged 2,663 career at-bats. Sunday’s performance was another reminder of the veteran presence he has brought to the Aviators’ clubhouse during their first-place season.
Aviators jump on Manoah
Las Vegas wasted little time putting pressure on former major league right-hander Alek Manoah.
Drew Swift opened the game with a double before Michael Stefanic was hit by a pitch and Cade Marlowe walked to load the bases. Jared Dickey brought home the first run on a fielder’s choice before Wallach lined a two-run triple into left-center to make it 3-0.
Stefanic doubled home Swift in the second inning, then Wallach’s solo homer and Brayan Buelvas’ RBI double extended the advantage to 6-0 in the third.
After Salt Lake answered with two runs in the bottom of the third, the Aviators added two more in the fourth. Dickey singled home Stefanic before Jack Winkler drew a bases-loaded walk to push the lead to 8-2.
Pelham shuts down rally
The Bees made one final push behind Ben Gobbel, who finished 3-for-3 with a home run, four RBIs and a walk.
Jeimer Candelario drove in two runs with a triple in the third before Gobbel’s three-run homer in the fifth cut the deficit to 8-5.
Las Vegas turned to CD Pelham with two outs in the fifth, and the right-hander immediately ended the threat by striking out Ryan Nicholson. Pelham allowed one run over 1 1/3 innings to improve to 5-0 with a 2.04 ERA, continuing his outstanding season out of the Aviators’ bullpen.
The Aviators answered in the sixth when Buelvas singled home Winkler. Marlowe then scored on a passed ball in the seventh to restore a four-run cushion at 10-6.
Brady Basso tossed a scoreless seventh, Yunior Tur struck out two in the eighth and Wander Suero worked around two baserunners in the ninth to close out the victory.
Balanced offense backs Las Vegas
The Aviators collected 14 hits and received contributions throughout the lineup.
Swift finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while Marlowe went 2-for-4 with two walks and crossed the plate once. White added two hits, Buelvas finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Dickey drove in two runs.
Stefanic reached base three times, scored twice and drove in a run, while Winkler scored twice and drove in another run despite going hitless.
Joey Estes started for Las Vegas, allowing five runs over 4 2/3 innings before Pelham and the bullpen combined to secure the series-clinching win.
Up next
The Aviators are off Monday before opening a six-game homestand against the Tacoma Rainiers on Tuesday at Las Vegas Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PDT. Probable pitchers had not been announced following Sunday’s game.
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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.
