The Las Vegas Aviators are back atop the second-half standings after another offensive outburst Friday night.
Las Vegas beat the Sugar Land Space Cowboys 11-3 at Las Vegas Ballpark for its fifth straight victory and ninth win in 10 games. The Aviators improved to 75-53 overall and 31-24 in the second half, moving into a tie with Sacramento for first place in the PCL West.
Las Vegas already secured a postseason berth by winning the first half. Now the Aviators are in position to add a second-half division title with the regular season winding down.
Conn, Mann lead bottom of lineup
The biggest production Friday came from the lower half of the Las Vegas order.
Cole Conn, Luke Mann and Jack Winkler, batting sixth through eighth, combined for 11 hits, nine runs and five RBIs.
Conn went 4-for-5 with a double, triple and four runs. Mann matched him with four hits, driving in four runs and scoring three times.
Winkler added three hits, a walk, an RBI, two runs and his ninth stolen base.
Sugar Land scored in the first against Joey Estes, but Las Vegas took control with four runs in the second.
Brayan Buelvas walked before Conn reached on an infield single that also brought Buelvas home following a throwing error. Mann followed with an RBI single before Winkler singled.
Drew Swift’s sacrifice bunt then turned into two more runs when Sugar Land third baseman Raynel Delgado threw the ball away, giving Las Vegas a 4-1 lead.
Mann stays hot
Sugar Land cut the lead to 4-3 in the third, but Mann answered again.
Conn doubled with two outs in the bottom half before Mann singled him home for a 5-3 advantage.
The same combination struck again in the fifth. Conn tripled with two outs before Mann drove a 410-foot home run to center, his third homer with Las Vegas.
Mann finished 4-for-5 with a double, home run and four RBIs. The 2023 14th-round pick out of Missouri has now produced consecutive impact performances after homering Thursday.
Las Vegas broke the game open with four more runs in the seventh. Conn singled, Mann doubled and Winkler drove in Conn before another Sugar Land throwing error brought home two runs.
Denzel Clarke followed with an RBI triple to make it 11-3.
Johnson earns first Triple-A win
Estes allowed three runs on five hits and one walk over 2 2/3 innings before Jared Johnson took over.
Johnson inherited two runners in the third and allowed both to score on Jake Meyers’ double. He then settled in and kept Sugar Land off the board for the rest of his outing.
Johnson worked 2 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out three. He earned his first Triple-A victory in his sixth appearance and improved to 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA.
The 25-year-old Johnson was a 14th-round selection by Atlanta in the 2019 draft out of Smithville High School in Mississippi.
Taylor Rashi followed with two perfect innings. Seth Johnson and Ben Bowden each added a scoreless inning.
After Meyers’ double in the third, Johnson and the rest of the Las Vegas bullpen did not allow another run.
Up next
Two games remain in the series.
The Aviators and Space Cowboys meet again Saturday at 7:05 p.m. PDT at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Right-hander Mason Barnett (3-1, 4.93 ERA) is scheduled to start for Las Vegas against Sugar Land right-hander A.J. Nezuh (1-1, 4.67 ERA).
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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.
