Aces strike out 14 Isotopes in fourth straight victory

The Reno Aces were dominant in a bullpen game, combining for 14 strikeouts in a 6-2 victory against the Albuquerque Isotopes on Friday night at Greater Nevada Field.

Konnor Pilkington got the start on the mound and was lights out, shutting down the Isotopes through 3 2/3 frames while punching out a season-high eight batters. Jake Rice trailed the southpaw out of the bullpen, allowing one run with five strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings of work.

Chris Rodriguez and Erich Uelmen closed out the later innings. Rodriguez surrendered one run in two frames with one walk and no punchouts. Uelmen shut down Albuquerque in a clean ninth inning, walking none and striking out one.

Alek Thomas put the Aces on the board in the second inning with his second home run of the year, a solo shot over the right-field porch. In three games since returning to the Aces lineup on September 17, the outfielder has gone 5-for-11 with two extra-base hits.

Michael Perez added an important insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with his seventh big fly of the year. He later added his second RBI of the night with a sacrifice fly to score Blaze Alexander in the eighth. The backstop slashed 10 doubles, four home runs, and 13 RBI since joining the Aces on August 2.

The Aces will look for their fifth win in a row in Friday's matchup against the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

The Reno Aces contributed to this report.