After a slow start against Fresno Friday night, the Las Vegas offense wasted no time in game two of the series Saturday night at Cashman Field. Second baseman Dilson Herrera led off the bottom of the first against Grizzlies starter Luis Cruz with a double to right center. Then with one out, shortstop Matt Reynolds and first baseman Alex Castellanos hit back to back doubles to plate two. With designated hitter Kevin Plawecki batting, a wild pitch moved Castellanos over to third. He scored when Plawecki hit a grounder to second baseman Joe Sclafani who chose to throw home instead of to first, not recording an out.
The 51s added a run in the second when third baseman Wilfredo Tovar doubled and came home on a single by center fielder Kyle Johnson. In the third, left fielder Cory Vaughn doubled and came home on the first of two home runs by right fielder Travis Taijeron.
Right-hander Noah Syndergaard started for Las Vegas and was wild, but worked around three walks to hold the Grizzlies scoreless over the first three innings. In the fourth, with a 5-0 lead, Syndergaard walked the first batter and then surrendered a one-out home run to right fielder Domingo Santana. It was only the second hit by Fresno, but with 5 walks and several deep counts, Syndergaard’s pitch count was up over 80 by the time he was relieved by left-hander Scott Rice. Syndergaard’s final line was 3.2 innings, 5 walks, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned and 5 strikeouts.
After 3 quiet middle innings, the 51s offense exploded for a 10-run 7th against Gonzalo Sanudo and Darin Downs. The inning was highlighted by Taijeron’s second home run of the game. Vegas collected 8 hits, 2 walks, and a sacrifice fly. There was also a hit batter. Reynolds and Plawecki each collected two hits in the inning. Reynolds was 4 for 5 on the night with 2 RBI, 3 runs scored and 2 stolen bases. Plawecki was 2 for 5 with 5 RBI and Taijeron was 3 for 5 with 5 RBI. Every hitter in the 51s lineup had at least one hit.
After Syndergaard’s early exit, Scott Rice pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to notch the win. Hansel Robles struck out 4 in his two scoreless innings. Jack Leathersich gave up a two-run home run to designated hitter Preston Tucker in the 8th, but then pitched a scoreless 9th to close out the victory.