The Las Vegas Aviators and Sacramento traded all of their offense in the first three innings Thursday, but the River Cats made their early edge hold up in a 4-3 win at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Las Vegas fell to 65-50 and dropped its second straight game in the series. Neither team scored after the third inning, and Sacramento’s bullpen held the Aviators hitless over the final four frames.
Sauer gives up four early
Matt Sauer, who joined the Athletics organization last week after spending the 2026 season with the KT Wiz in the KBO, made his second start for Las Vegas and fell behind early.
Scott Bandura walked, stole second and scored on Bo Davidson’s RBI single in the first. Las Vegas answered immediately when Drew Swift walked, Michael Stefanic singled and Joey Meneses doubled home Swift to tie the game 1-1.
Sacramento took control in the third. Marcelo Mayer opened the inning with a solo home run before Bandura singled and Davidson followed with a two-run homer, giving the River Cats a 4-1 lead.
Sauer lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits. He walked three, struck out three and surrendered two home runs as his ERA climbed to 8.44.
Aviators answer but cannot finish comeback
Las Vegas cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the third when Swift walked again and stole second. Darell Hernaiz doubled him home before Stefanic followed with another double to score Hernaiz and make it 4-3.
The Aviators never scored again. Las Vegas managed only five hits and went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Stefanic inches closer to .300
Stefanic delivered another strong night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
The performance raised his average to .293 as he continues to inch closer to the .300 mark. He accounted for three of the Aviators’ five hits.
Hernaiz and Meneses supplied the other two. Hernaiz doubled and drove in a run, while Meneses added an RBI double in the first.
Bullpens take over
James Gonzalez replaced Sauer in the fourth and gave Las Vegas 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Wander Suero, Gustavo Rodriguez and Ben Bowden each followed with a scoreless frame.
The four relievers combined to allow four hits over 5 2/3 shutout innings, giving the Aviators repeated chances to tie the game.
Sacramento’s bullpen was even sharper. Alex Carrillo, Braxton Roxby and Eric Cerantola combined for four hitless innings with eight strikeouts to protect the one-run lead.
Cerantola struck out Cole Conn, Jack Winkler and Bryan Lavastida in order in the ninth to earn his first save.
Up next
The Aviators continue the series Friday at 7:05 p.m. PDT at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Left-hander Ryan Magdic (0-2, 7.06 ERA) is scheduled to start for Las Vegas. Sacramento had not announced its probable starter.
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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.
