The Las Vegas Aviators never slowed Oklahoma City’s offense Wednesday, though Jonathan Ornelas continued his strong start with his new club.
Oklahoma City scored in seven of eight innings and handed Las Vegas an 11-2 loss at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Aviators fell to 62-40 and managed only four hits.
Ornelas collected two of them, including his second home run with Las Vegas.
Oklahoma City applies constant pressure
Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang allowed runs in each of his five innings.
Alek Thomas tripled and scored in the first before Ryan Fitzgerald homered in the second. Ryan Ward added a two-run homer in the third, then Fitzgerald went deep again in the fourth.
Oklahoma City scored once more in the fifth, pushing its lead to 6-1. Zhuang allowed six runs on nine hits, walked three and struck out three.
Aviators struggle to answer
Las Vegas scored its first run in the third.
Brayan Buelvas doubled and advanced on Chad Wallach’s groundout. Colby Halter followed with a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
However, the Aviators did not score again until the ninth. Las Vegas drew six walks but finished 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
The Aviators also grounded into two double plays and stranded six runners.
Ornelas stays hot
Ornelas opened the ninth with a solo home run to left. He finished 2-for-4 and accounted for half of Las Vegas’ hits.
Through five games with the Aviators, Ornelas is batting .450 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs. He also owns a .542 on-base percentage and an .850 slugging percentage.
The Athletics signed Ornelas after he opted out of his contract with the Yankees organization. Before joining Las Vegas, he hit .299 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs across 75 Triple-A games.
Eighth inning ends any doubt
Stevie Emanuels allowed one run across two relief innings, but Oklahoma City broke the game open against A.J. Causey.
Ryan Ward doubled home a run before Jack Suwinski hit a three-run homer. The four-run eighth extended the lead to 11-1.
Causey allowed four runs on three hits in one inning.
Up next
The Aviators and Comets continue the series Thursday at 5:05 p.m. PDT in Oklahoma City.
Neither team had announced a starting pitcher.
Related stories
Welcome to Dice City Sports — where we provide premium, exclusive, up-to-date news and analysis surrounding the Las Vegas sports scene. Follow along on social media, and check back for new articles daily!
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.
