Late rally can’t keep 51s from losing 7th straight

Seven doesn’t seem to be a very lucky number for the Las Vegas 51s.

At least not after a seven-hit, seven-run fifth inning sent the team to its season-high seventh straight loss on Wednesday night at Nashville in First Tennessee Park, an 8-7 defeat to the Sounds in which a late rally brought the team close to breaking out of its tailspin.

Five Las Vegas batters in a row recorded RBIs in the top of the ninth inning to put the tying run on second with two outs, but Nashville reliever Kyle Finnegan got 51s designated hitter Josh Rodriguez to ground out to first to end the game.

”It’s a tough loss even though it was good to see the guys battle back and make it an interesting game,” Las Vegas manager Pedro Lopez said. “I’m not pleased with the outcome but I really have to tip my hat to our guys because they did a hell of a job trying to come back in this game and win.”

Las Vegas (37-67) entered the bottom of the fifth inning leading 2-1 and with starter Wilfredo Boscan (4-10) seemingly in control, with five strikeouts through four innings. Things unraveled for the 27-year-old righty quickly though: he recorded only one more out in the game and allowed seven runs in total, six of which were earned.

A single and a strikeout started the inning, then eight straight Sounds batters reached against Boscan and reliever Kyle Regnault to give Nashville (49-54) an 8-2 lead.

“We had a couple mistakes behind him and then after that I think he went away from his game plan, what made him successful early on,” Lopez said. “He made a couple of bad pitches and got hurt.”

One of those mistakes came with the game tied 2-2 when Boscan induced a one-hop grounder to shortstop with a runner on first, but Amed Rosario’s throw to second was wild and the potential second out was lost to an error.

”I think he was rushing,” Lopez said. “I don’t think it was a double play ball and he was trying to make it a double play ball. That’s when errors come in.”

Rosario certainly didn’t let his 18th error of the season affect him at the plate though, finishing his night 4-for-5 with four singles. His RBI single to centerfield in the ninth inning started the scoring in Las Vegas’ late rally, driving in rehabbing Mets’ outfielder Brandon Nimmo and moving rehabbing Mets’ infielder Neil Walker, who Lopez said would be recalled to the big leagues Thursday, to third.

The next four batters also drove in runs for the 51s, but the team still fell one short of tying the game. In what’s turned into more than a week of losing, the numbers keep coming up wrong for Las Vegas.

“I don’t think we lost the game in the ninth inning, not getting the last hit,” Lopez said. “We lost the game early on. We made some errors behind Boscan, he left some pitches over the zone and we couldn’t stop the bleeding.”

Up next

Who: 51s at Nashville Sounds

When: 5:05 p.m. today

Where: First Tennessee Park, Nashville, Tenn.

Starters: Ricky Knapp (4-12, 6.69 ERA) vs. Chris Jensen (5-1, 3.97 ERA)

Next five

Friday: at Nashville, 5:05 p.m.

Saturday: Colorado Springs at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

Sunday: Colorado Springs at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

Monday: Colorado Springs at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday: Colorado Springs at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

Update

Knapp leads the Pacific Coast League in losses by two, only ahead of teammate Wilfredo Boscan, who suffered his 10th loss on Wednesday. Jensen will be making only his fifth start for the Sounds after appearing earlier in the season as a reliever. In those four starts, he’s pitched 21 1/3 innings with a 4.64 ERA.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow@BenSGotz on Twitter.