Aces Fall to Tacoma

Two big innings was all it took for the Tacoma Rainiers to take down the visiting Aces on Sunday afternoon at Cheney Stadium. Taylor Clarke was tagged for five runs on five hits in 5.2 innings of work and Braden Shipley allowed two earned on one swing of the bat in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Tacoma a 7-2 victory. Ildemaro Vargas led the Aces offensively, chipping in his sixth consecutive multi-hit game in a row. Reno was without their two stars down on rehab this afternoon as A.J. Pollock and Steven Souza Jr. both had a scheduled day off. The loss drops Reno to a record of 38-45 on the season with seven games left before the All-Star break.

The Rainiers got into the scoring column in the bottom of the second inning. Four hits and a walk plated four against Aces right-hander Taylor Clarke. Three consecutive batters reached to load the bases with no outs. Kirk Nieuwenhuis delivered the first blow of the afternoon with a soft line-drive into right field to score Seth Meijias-Brean and Andrew Aplin. Ian Miller capped off the scoring outburst with a two-RBI double making the score 4-0. Reno responded with one of their own in the top of the third inning. With Juniel Querecuto batting, Ildemaro Vargas stole second base and Kristopher Negron scored from third on an errant throw.  The Aces loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the sixth inning. Cesar Puello closed the gap to two runs on a sacrifice fly ball to score Socrates Brito. Unfortunately for the Aces, that was all their run support for the day. Braden Shipley came on for Clarke in the bottom of the sixth and allowed a three-run blast to Zach Vincej. The Vincej three-run home run proved to be the nail in the coffin. Greg Gross will send right-hander Neftali Feliz to the mound tomorrow night. Feliz is making his first start of the season for Reno and first since 2013.

Top Performers - Reno

• Ildemaro Vargas (2-for-4, BB)

• Socrates Brito (2-for-5, R)

• Cesar Puello (1-for-3, RBI, BB)

Top Performers – Tacoma

• Ian Miller (1-for-4, 2 RBI)

• Adam Law (2-for-4, 2 R)

• Kirk Nieuwenhuis (1-for-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR)

Tomorrow’s Matchup

Notes & Information

Two is Better Than One: With a 2-for-4 performance today, Ildemaro Vargas has hit safely in eight consecutive games and has recorded multiple hits in six straight games. Over the past six games Vargas is 13-for-31 (.419) with two doubles and two runs scored. This season, the 2017 Pacific Coast League All-Star is batting .282 with 94 hits, 40 runs scored and 26 extra-base hits. 

First Time Since: Neftali Feliz is scheduled to make his first start since August 2, 2013. Feliz has made 65 starts in his career and holds a career record of 38-39. Feliz is 1-3 in 25 games with the Aces in 2018. He’s added two saves and 32 strikeouts.  

Reno Aces Press Release