51s erupt early, then hold off Aces for sixth straight victory

The wins have been coming for the 51s, but they haven’t been easy.

Las Vegas ran its winning streak to a season-high six games with an 8-6 victory over the Reno Aces at Greater Nevada Field but not before seeing a blowout turn into a close game.

The 51s (40-33) staked ace Gabriel Ynoa to an early lead, pounding Reno starter Edwin Escobar in the second and third innings for seven runs.

And Ynoa did his best to hold the Aces down, taking a one-hitter into the seventh inning.

Ynoa’s first two starts against Reno this season were two of his worst — the first time he gave up five runs and the next time 11.

“He got ahead of the hitters a lot better tonight,” manager Wally Backman said. “He had a few deep counts, but not a whole lot, (and) he pitched to both sides of the plate, commanded his fastball well and commanded his offspeed stuff well, too.”

Ynoa cruised for a majority of his start Thursday, picking up his Pacific Coast League-leading ninth win of the season.

“I thought Ynoa was outstanding,” Backman said. “The last time he faced these guys, they hit him pretty hard. He made some adjustments, and we got some timely hits.”

Travis Taijeron and Nevin Ashley hit two-run homers in the second inning, and a Taijeron two-run double and Ynoa single plated three runs in the third.

Ynoa started to run into trouble in the seventh with an 8-0 lead, giving up three straight hits to begin the inning and two runs before he was pulled after 6 2/3 innings.

After his departure, Chasen Bradford came in and recorded a strikeout before Seth Lugo came on for the eighth.

With a tired bullpen, the 51s were reliant on Lugo finishing the eighth inning, even though Reno got four straight hits off him.

“The bullpen’s been beat up pretty good. We really needed Lugo to get through that inning,” Backman said. “We had a six-run lead, and he gave up some big hits there to make it 8-6, but we really needed him.”

Lugo gave up four runs in the eighth, three on a home run by Zach Borenstein, then got Tuffy Gosewisch to fly out to center and Carlos Rivero to strike out to end the inning.

With Paul Sewald unavailable to pitch the ninth after throwing in the past two games, Josh Smoker came on for the save.

The Aces brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth — something that seemed implausible two innings before — but Smoker nailed down his first save of the season with a scoreless inning.

“We needed Lugo and Smoker to be able to finish the game for us,” Backman said. “That’s what we had tonight.”

Rotation update

The 51s have been thin in the rotation since Sean Gilmartin and Logan Verrett were called up this week to the New York Mets.

That’s been compounded by the fact that Robert Gsellman is still on the disabled list.

To compensate, the Mets purchased Darin Gorski’s contract from the Somerset Patriots, and he will make his first start this season with the 51s on Friday in Reno.

Gorski was 10-8 with a 5.52 ERA in 28 games — 27 starts — last season with Las Vegas.

Rafael Montero will start Saturday, but the 51s starter for Sunday is still to be determined.

Lugo, who began the season as a starter before shifting into the bullpen this month, could possibly get that start.

One person who won’t is Gsellman, who has been out with a quad injury, and though he is nearing his return, still isn’t completely pain free.

Backman said Gsellman still feels pain when he runs and called him “day to day.”

Up next

Who: Las Vegas 51s at Reno Aces

When: 7:05 p.m. Friday

Where: Greater Nevada Field

Starters: Darin Gorski (0-0, 0.00 ERA), 51s, vs. Matt Buschmann (3-6, 5.37 ERA)

Next five

Saturday: Sacramento at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

Sunday: Sacramento at Las Vegas, 12:05 p.m.

Monday: Sacramento at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday: Sacramento at Las Vegas, 12:05 p.m.

Wednesday: Off

Key stat

The 51s’ six-game winning streak is a season high. While on their streak, they have gained ground on first-place El Paso and are two games behind the Chihuahuas. They’ll have a chance to record their first sweep of the season Friday.

Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand