Pitching is 51s’ downfall in playoff ouster by Reno

Starting pitching was supposed to be the 51s’ strong suit in their Pacific Coast League playoff series against Reno. But Las Vegas’ young rotation failed to live up to expectations as a pair of Aces pitched like, well, aces, to help Reno eliminate the 51s in four games.

Las Vegas starter Logan Verrett had 11 strikeouts in five innings Saturday night in Game 4 but also threw three wild pitches and allowed five runs (two earned) to the Aces in a 7-3 defeat before a crowd of 5,420 at Aces Ballpark.

Reno rode a big inning to victory for the third straight day, scoring four in the fifth — capped by a two-run homer by Danny Dorn — after plating five in the fifth in Game 3 and five in the first in Game 2.

Aces starter Charles Brewer — who was 0-3 with a 10.23 ERA against the 51s in the regular season — retired the first 11 batters he faced and scattered three hits in six scoreless innings before surrendering a three-run homer to Allan Dykstra in the seventh.

That’s all Las Vegas — which led the league in runs (6.1 per game) in the regular season — could muster as it was outscored 24-13 in the series.

Verrett, who led the 51s in wins (11) this season, struck out four batters in the fourth, when Mike Jacobs reached base on a wild pitch on strike three and advanced to second on another wild pitch. After Verrett fanned Dorn for his third strikeout of the inning, Garrett Weber made him pay for his wildness with an RBI single to put Reno ahead 1-0.

The Aces extended their lead to 5-0 in the fifth with the help of Verrett’s third wild pitch and two errors. Nick Ahmed reached on a throwing error by shortstop Matt Reynolds, took third on a single by Roger Kieschnick and scored on a wild pitch. Kieschnick took second on the play on an error by catcher Taylor Teagarden and scored on Andy Marte’s RBI double. Dorn delivered a two-out windblown blast to right.

Verrett issued his only walk to Mike Freeman to start the sixth and Brewer bunted him over to second. Ahmed followed with an RBI single off reliever Chasen Bradford.

Las Vegas finally got to Brewer in the seventh, when Andrew Brown and Brandon Allen opened the inning with singles to set the stage for Dykstra.

The 51s went down in order in the seventh and eighth, when the Aces added another run on consecutive doubles by Weber and Michael Freeman.

Las Vegas manager Wally Backman was ejected in the ninth for arguing balls and strikes after Allen’s check swing was called a strike.

Allen worked a leadoff walk before Teagarden lined out to center and Dykstra grounded into a season-ending double play.

While Ahmed and Kieschnick — Reno’s first two batters — went a combined 16-for-32 in the series, Muno and Reynolds went a combined 3-for-32 for the 51s, and Brown went 2-for-13.

The Aces, who won the PCL and Triple-A title in 2012, will face Omaha in the PCL Championship Series. The Storm Chasers beat the Memphis Redbirds 6-2 on Saturday to win the American Conference series in four games.

Las Vegas, which won PCL titles in 1986 and 1988, also lost in four games to Salt Lake in the first round of last year’s playoffs and has been eliminated in the first round in its last four postseason appearances.

The 51s, in their second season as the New York Mets’ top affiliate, led their division wire-to-wire for the first time in their 32-year franchise history and also won at least 80 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time. Las Vegas went 81-63 for the second straight season, tying Reno for the league’s best record.

Mets’ top prospect Noah Syndergaard, 22, gave up six runs in four innings of a 7-5 loss in Game 3. Matthew Bowman, 23, allowed six runs in four innings of a 6-0 loss in Game 2 — when Andrew Chafin fired a four-hit shutout for the Aces.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33.