Baseball: Aces belt four home runs in win over Tacoma

TACOMA, Wash.- Rusty Ryal hit a pair of home runs, including a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning, to lift the Reno Aces to an 8-5 win over the Tacoma Rainiers Thursday night at Cheney Stadium.

Ryal went back-to-back with Tony Clark in the sixth inning, giving the Aces a 5-2 lead. The Rainiers would rally for three runs in the seventh, though, to tie the score. But it wouldn't take long for Reno to re-take the lead, as Ryal blasted a 2-2 Eric Hull offering deep over the right field wall to put the Aces back in the lead for good. Ruben Gotay hit a two-run homer in the ninth to give Reno all the insurance it would need.

The win went to Jason Urquidez (1-1), who gave up the Reno lead in the seventh but hung on to be the pitcher of record after Ryal's go-ahead bomb in the eighth. Doug Slaten recorded the final four outs to pick up the save. Aces starter Yusmeiro Petit, making his third Major Leauge rehab start, allowed two runs on six hits over four innings of work. Petit punched out five and didn't issue a free pass.

Hull (5-3) was pinned with the loss for the Rainiers. Tacoma starter Chris Seddon worked six innings, allowing five runs-four earned-on seven hits. Seddon walked one and struck out three.

At the plate for Reno, Ryal, Clark and Gotay all went deep, while Trent Oeltjen fell just a homer shy of the cycle.

After a road swing through Tacoma and Portland, the Aces return home for an action-packed four-game homestand at Aces Ballpark on June 27.

For tickets, stop by the Aces Ballpark Box Office, call (775) 334-7000 or visit www.RenoAces.com.