The Las Vegas Aviators closed their final regular-season homestand with another comeback and a little more breathing room atop the Pacific Coast League West.
Colby Halter hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning Sunday as Las Vegas rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Sacramento River Cats 4-3 at Las Vegas Ballpark. The Aviators won their fifth straight game, took five of six from Sacramento and improved to 83-59 overall.
Las Vegas also moved to 39-30 in the second half, maintaining a two-game lead over Tacoma in the PCL West with one regular-season series remaining.
Sacramento builds an early lead
Sacramento jumped ahead against Las Vegas starter Jackson Finley in the first inning.
Victor Bericoto doubled with one out before Parks Harber hit a two-run homer to center, giving the River Cats a 2-0 lead.
The deficit grew to three runs in the fourth. Charlie Szykowny tripled to open the inning, then Diego Velasquez doubled him home.
Finley exited after 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out two.
Jake Garland entered with one out in the fourth and immediately helped keep the game within reach. After hitting Aeverson Arteaga, Garland induced Fernando Gonzalez into a double play that ended the inning.
Aviators finally break through
Las Vegas had opportunities against Sacramento starter Joe Whitman but struggled to convert them.
Joey Meneses singled and Jack Winkler doubled in the fourth, putting two runners in scoring position with one out. Whitman escaped by striking out Johnathan Rodríguez and Luke Mann.
The Aviators finally scored in the sixth.
Devin Taylor opened the inning with a double before Brayan Buelvas moved him to third on a flyout. Meneses followed with an RBI single to right, cutting Sacramento’s lead to 3-1.
Whitman limited Las Vegas to one run on five hits over six innings.
Halter turns the game around
Sacramento turned to Alex Carrillo in the seventh, and Las Vegas immediately applied pressure.
Rodríguez walked to start the inning before Carrillo threw a wild pitch that moved him to second. Mann followed with another walk.
Davis Diaz struck out, leaving Halter with two runners aboard and one out.
Halter drove a 1-0 pitch over the center-field wall for a three-run homer, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 Las Vegas lead.
The 410-foot shot left the bat at 100.7 mph and was Halter’s fourth home run of the season. It accounted for his 18th, 19th and 20th RBIs.
Bullpen protects the lead
Luis Morales had already stabilized the game before the comeback.
Morales worked two hitless innings, allowing one walk and striking out three. He earned the win and improved to 4-5.
Hunter Bigge took over in the eighth and worked around a hit batter and a walk. Aeverson Arteaga lined into a double play to Bigge, who threw to Halter at second to end the inning.
It was one of four double plays turned by the Aviators.
Joe Rock handled the ninth and had to protect the one-run lead after Gonzalez opened with a single.
Rock got Darren Baker to line out, then threw a wild pitch that moved Gonzalez to second. A passed ball later sent him to third, putting the tying run 90 feet away.
Rock responded by striking out Zach Morgan and Thomas Gavello to finish the game and earn his first save.
Las Vegas takes five of six
The victory completed a strong final homestand for the Aviators.
Las Vegas dropped the series opener to Sacramento before winning the next five games. The run included a 1-0 win Wednesday, victories of 6-2 and 9-6, Mason Barnett’s complete-game 3-2 win Saturday and Sunday’s comeback.
The five-game winning streak has pushed the Aviators to 39-30 in the second half.
Tacoma sits two games back at 37-32, while Sacramento fell to 35-34 and is four games behind Las Vegas.
One series left
Las Vegas now heads to Sugar Land for its final six games of the regular season.
The series opens Tuesday at Constellation Field, with first pitch scheduled for 5:05 p.m. PDT. Neither team has announced a starting pitcher.
The Aviators will enter the final week holding first place in the PCL West before the Pacific Coast League championship begins Sept. 22.
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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.
