One day after the Las Vegas Aviators won with pitching, Devin Taylor made sure they could win without it.
Taylor homered twice, including a grand slam, and drove in seven runs in just his second Triple-A game Wednesday as Las Vegas rallied from five runs down to beat the El Paso Chihuahuas 14-12 at Southwest University Park. Seven Aviators had at least one hit as Las Vegas finished with 16 and improved to 77-55.
The victory came less than 24 hours after four Las Vegas pitchers combined for a 6-0 shutout. Wednesday looked nothing like it, with the teams combining for 26 runs, 33 hits, seven home runs and 17 walks.
Taylor’s Triple-A start gets even better
Taylor arrived from Double-A Midland on Tuesday and immediately went 2-for-4 with a walk in his Triple-A debut.
His second game was on another level.
Taylor finished 4-for-6 with two home runs, seven RBIs and three runs scored. Through his first two Triple-A games, the 22-year-old is 6-for-10 with two homers, seven RBIs and a .600 average.
The Athletics selected Taylor in the second round of the 2025 draft out of Indiana. He earned the promotion after batting .323 with a .943 OPS, 14 home runs and 54 RBIs in 68 games for Midland.
His first Triple-A homer came in the third inning Wednesday, a 409-foot solo shot to left-center that left the bat at 103.9 mph. It cut an El Paso lead that had already reached 5-0.
An inning later, Taylor delivered the swing that completely changed the game.
Five-run deficit disappears
El Paso overwhelmed Las Vegas starter Ryan Magdic in the first inning.
Nick Solak hit a two-run homer before Marcos Castañon and Nick Pratto followed with consecutive solo shots. Blake Hunt later singled home another run as El Paso scored five times in the inning.
Hunt added a solo homer in the third, leaving Las Vegas down 6-1 even after Taylor’s first home run.
Then the Aviators’ offense took over.
Jack Winkler doubled to begin the fourth, Luke Mann singled and Colby Halter brought Winkler home with a single. Davis Diaz struck out before Cole Conn walked to load the bases for Taylor.
Taylor fell behind 1-2 before launching a grand slam to right field. The 421-foot drive came off Daison Acosta at 105.4 mph and tied the game 6-6.
El Paso briefly reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning when Solak doubled home Mason McCoy, but Taylor was far from finished.
Taylor completes seven-RBI afternoon
Las Vegas threatened again in the fifth after Mann opened with a single.
Halter forced Mann at second, then stole second before Diaz walked and Conn singled to load the bases. Taylor followed with a two-run single to left that scored Halter and Diaz, giving the Aviators their first lead at 8-7.
A wild pitch moved Conn and Taylor into scoring position before Johnathan Rodríguez doubled both home.
Las Vegas had gone from trailing 6-1 to leading 10-7 in less than two innings.
Taylor’s seven RBIs all came between the third and fifth innings. He became the centerpiece of an offense that repeatedly answered every El Paso push.
Halter, Rodríguez keep adding on
The production extended well beyond Taylor.
Halter hit a two-run homer in the sixth, his second of the season, to stretch the lead to 12-7. He finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored.
Rodríguez went 3-for-6 with three doubles and three RBIs. His two-run double in the fifth gave Las Vegas its first three-run cushion, then his RBI double in the ninth provided a critical insurance run.
Winkler added two hits, an RBI and two runs, while Mann went 3-for-5 and scored once. Conn also reached twice and scored two runs.
Las Vegas went 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
El Paso refuses to go away
The Aviators needed nearly every one of those runs.
Magdic allowed seven runs on 10 hits, including four home runs, over four innings. James Gonzalez followed and allowed two runs across two innings as El Paso cut the deficit to 12-9.
Las Vegas pushed the lead to 13-9 in the seventh, but Wander Suero allowed a single and consecutive walks before Castañon’s fielder’s choice brought home another run. Seth Johnson entered with the bases loaded and one out, struck out Pratto and retired Rodolfo Durán on a line drive to end the threat.
Johnson recorded two outs and earned the win.
El Paso made one final charge in the eighth.
Mason McCoy singled home a run and advanced to third on Taylor’s throwing error. Solak then singled him home, cutting the Las Vegas lead to 13-12 and putting the tying run at third.
Drew Rom replaced Luis Morales and got Castañon to ground out, stranding Carlos Rodríguez at third and preserving the lead.
One more run proves valuable
Brayan Buelvas singled and stole second with one out in the ninth before Rodríguez ripped his third double of the game to left.
The hit scored Buelvas and gave Las Vegas a 14-12 lead.
Rom returned for the bottom of the ninth and walked two batters, but the Chihuahuas could not capitalize. Durán lined out before Hunt grounded into a game-ending double play.
Rom worked 1 1/3 hitless innings to earn his first save.
From shutout to slugfest
The two games in El Paso could hardly have been more different.
Jamie Arnold threw five scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut Tuesday, and the Las Vegas bullpen completed a six-hit shutout. The 6-0 victory was the Aviators’ fifth shutout of the season and their first since June 27.
A day later, Las Vegas pitchers allowed 17 hits, 12 runs and 10 walks. The offense answered with 14 runs, led by a player who had been in Triple-A for barely 24 hours.
Tight race atop PCL West
The win moved Las Vegas to 33-26 in the second half.
The Aviators are tied with Sacramento at .559 atop the Pacific Coast League West standings. Tacoma sits two games behind both clubs at 31-28.
Las Vegas has won the first two games of the El Paso series and is 77-55 overall.
Up next
The series continues Thursday at Southwest University Park with first pitch scheduled for 5:35 p.m. PDT.
Las Vegas has not announced its starting pitcher. El Paso is scheduled to start right-hander Koenig, who is 0-0 with a 3.60 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.
