Matos goes 0-for-5, as Aviators edge River Cats 2-1 in series opener

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Final score says it all from Sutter Health Park in Sacramento as the Las Vegas Aviators defeat the Sacramento RiverCats by a run 2-1 in triple A action (@RiverCats photo)

By Stephen Ruderman

SACRAMENTO–Luis Matos’ eight-game hitting streak came to an end with an 0-for-5 night, as the Las Vegas Aviators beat the River Cats 2-1 in the opener of a six-game series in Sacramento.

It was a mild and overcast day in Sacramento, as the tarp covered the field at Sutter Health Park following a late-afternoon thunderstorm. The rain cleared out, and the game started without delay.

Sean Hjelle took the mound for the River Cats, and he was opposed by the Aviators’ right-hander, Adam Oller. Both pitchers pitched well early on, and neither one of them gave up a hit until the third inning. The Aviators broke through with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, when center-fielder, Max Schuemann, knocked in a pair with a single down the right-field line.

Hjelle got out of the fifth without further damage, but he was pulled after five innings, as he gave up four hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Oller, meanwhile, pitched six shutout innings, walking three and striking out six, giving up just three hits.

Nick Swinney pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning for the River Cats, and he retired the first two men he faced in the seventh, but was pulled following a two-out walk. Spencer Patton pitched a 1-2-3 seventh for Las Vegas, and Nick Avila pitched through a leadoff walk in the top of the eighth for Sacramento.

The Aviators brought in the right-hander, Chad Smith, for the bottom of the eighth. Luis Matos flied out to center to start the inning, but Bryce Johnson reached on an infield hit up the third-base line, and Tyler Fitzgerald singled Johnson over to third on a perfectly-executed hit and run.

David Villar knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly to center to put the River Cats on the board, but Joey Bart swung out swinging on a slider off the outside to end the inning.

Cole Waites pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for Sacramento, and Las Vegas brought in Garrett Acton for the bottom of the ninth. Ford Proctor singled to right to start the inning, and then Colton Welker, who had already been hit by two pitches tonight, struck out, as he ended up going around on a pitch that got his wrist for a painful first out.

Will Wilson flew out to center, and Michael Gigliotti walked, which set things up for the red-hot Luis Matos, whose eight-game hitting streak was on the line along with the game. Matos fouled off three two-strike pitches, but on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, he popped up to the Aviators’ second-baseman, Zack Gelof, out in shallow center to end it.

Adam Oller got the win to improve to 2-2; Sean Hjelle got the loss to fall to 1-1; and Garrett Acton got his third save of the season. The River Cats fall to 26-32, and into last place in the Pacific Coast League West, as they are seven games back of the first-place Reno Aces.

On a side note, Joey Bart went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts, as he continues his rehab.

Game 2 of the series will be tomorrow night at 6:45.

Giants Defeat Rockies 10-4; Series is tied at 1-1

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San Francisco Giants’ Thairo Estrada follows the flight of his RBI-single off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Dinelson Lamet in the second inning at Coors Field in Denver on Tue Jun 6, 2023 (AP News photo)

By: Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants continued their road trip with a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. The Giants wanted to avoid a two-game losing streak, and that they did — as they defeated the Rockies 10-4 at Coors Field in Denver. San Francisco improved to 30-30, while Colorado dropped to 26-36.

The Giants’ starting lineup consisted of LaMonte Wade Jr., Thairo Estrada, Joc Pederson, J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, Mike Yastrzemski, Patrick Bailey, Brandon Crawford, and John Brebbia. Brebbia pitched just one inning and gave up two hits and one walk before exiting the ballgame.

After a scoreless first inning, San Francisco grabbed an early lead in the top of the second inning. Brandon Crawford doubled on a line drive to Randal Grichuk, and Patrick Bailey scored for a 1-0 lead. Thairo Estrada then singled on a line drive to Brenton Doyle, and Crawford scored for a 2-0 lead. LaMonte Wade Jr. went to third base.

The Giants took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Patrick Bailey tripled on a sharp fly ball to Brenton Doyle, and Mitch Haniger scored for a 3-0 lead.

The Rockies avoided a shutout in the bottom of the fourth inning. Nolan Jones reached on a fielder’s choice, which was fielded by J.D. Davis, and Randal Grichuk scored to cut the Giants’ lead to 3-1.

The Giants added to their lead in the top of the fifth inning. LaMonte Wade Jr. singled on a ground ball to Brenton Doyle as Mike Yastrzemski and Patrick Bailey scored to extend the Giants’ lead to 5-1. J.D. Davis doubled to Doyle as Wade Jr. and Joc Pederson scored to expand the Giants’ lead to 7-1. Michael Conforto singled on a line drive to Doyle as Davis scored to increase the Giants’ lead to 8-1.

The Rockies scored a double in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jurickson Profar doubled on a sharp line drive to Mitch Haniger, and Charlie Blackmon scored to cut the Giants’ lead to 8-2.

The Giants padded their lead in the top of the seventh inning. J.D. Davis was out on a sacrifice fly to Jurickson Profar, and LaMonte Wade Jr. scored for a 9-2 lead with two outs.

The Rockies responded in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jurickson Profar tripled on a fly ball to Austin Slater, and Charlie Blackmon scored to cut the Giants’ lead to 9-3. Ryan McMahon then doubled on a sharp fly ball to Slater, and Profar scored to reduce the Giants’ lead to 9-4.

The Giants reached double-digits in the top of the ninth inning. Mitch Haniger walked, and LaMonte Wade Jr. scored for a 10-4 lead. Thairo Estrada went to third base, while Wilmer Flores went to second base.

The ballgame ended with an epic ending. Ryan McMahon grounded into a double play as Brandon Crawford went to Thairo Estrada, who went to LaMonte Wade Jr. Jurickson Profar was out at second base, while McMahon was out at first base with three outs.

The Giants and Rockies will face each other again on Wednesday, June 7 at 5:40 pm Pacific.

MLB podcast The Show with Stephen Ruderman: A’s fans to hold reverse boycott Tuesday night at Coliseum; Future of A’s in hands of Nevada Assembly

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Renderings view from the MGM in Las Vegas of a possible Las Vegas A’s ball park at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino which if approved by the Nevada State Legislature should be completed in either 2027 or 2028. (Renderings from the Oakland Athletics Baseball Company)

On the MLB podcast The Show with Stephen:

#1 The Oakland A’s this week proposed a very unusual start time for home games once their up and running in Las Vegas at the Tropicana and that would be a 4pm PT first pitch. The idea is that would not cause interference with the take off and landings at Las Vegas Airport which home plate faces.

#2 There are also some more musts that the A’s must achieve to economically make this ball park in Vegas a success they must sell out every single game and you have to consider 30% of tourists need to be part of that make up of that sold out attendance.

#3 The A’s are further challenged with having the smallest ball park in MLB a 30,000 seat capacity and they must sell out not just the 81 home games but also other events and shows at the Tropicana site.

#4 The Nevada State Legislature has not held the vote to pass this year’s budget because Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo will not sign off on it and the A’s ball park SB509 project has been pushed back because they can’t pass a budget even without the ball park on it.

#5 Stephen, the A’s last thread of hope hangs with the Nevada Legislation, 50 plus years of Oakland A’s baseball, four World Series, six Hall of Famers in Oakland’s history are in the hands of these Nevada assembly people. The deadline to pass a budget has passed and now their looking at a special session how much does the stadium weigh on this budget getting passed.

Stephen Ruderman does the MLB podcast each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s snap 15 game road skid; Oakland crushes Bucs hitting four home runs winning 11-2

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Oakland Athletics’ Jace Peterson (6) returns to the dugout after hitting a two-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Chase De Jong during the eighth inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Tue Jun 6, 2023 (AP News photo)

 A’s Crush Pirates Hitting Four Home Runs Winning 11-2.

By Barbara Mason

Tuesday evening the Oakland A’s (13-50) played game two in their series with the Pittsburgh Pirates (32-28) the A’s finally snapped their long 15 game road losing streak at 15 games with a crushing 11-2 win at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

On Monday night at PNC the A’s had a 3-0 lead into the fifth inning of game one but could not hold on losing the first game of the series 5-4. The Bucs did score in three innings in the game with eight hits.

Game One was a very competitive game for Oakland and they came into the second game of the series looking to even it up.

Tuesday A’s-Bucs game recap: The Pirates took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning and the A’s tied up the game in the second. Shea Langeliers hit a home run in the second inning to give Oakland the 1-1 tie.

Oakland took the lead in the third inning 2-1. Seth Brown doubled Ryan Noda home and again the A’s had a very competitive game in the works. The Pirates tied up the game 2-2 in the fifth inning when outfielder Bryan Reynolds scored.

Oakland scored three runs in the sixth inning. Jace Peterson, Jonah Bride and Ryan Noda all had singles driving in base runners and taking a 5-2 lead.

The A’s were not even close to being finished. In the eighth inning Oakland knocked a couple of balls out of the park, both of them two run homers. Jace Peterson hit the first one followed by Brent Rooker with the second long ball. Its was Oakland’s night to shine leading 9-2 going into the ninth inning.

This was the kind of game that most ball players dream of. Jace Peterson would hit a second home run, a two run homer and he was 5 of 5 for the evening. Seven different A’s scored in this game. The final was 11-2 and Oakland had broken their 15 game road game losing streak.

This was a terrific game for Oakland, a competitive game. They had 15 hits and four home runs. The A’s had evened the series and a game like this is bound to give the players an amazing lift. Pitcher James Kaprielian went six innings and got his first win of the season.

Game three will be played Wednesday morning with first pitch scheduled for 9:35 AM PT. Hogan Harris (0-0 ERA 6.97) will take the mound for the A’s going for the series win. The Pirates will send Roansy Contreras (3-4 ERA 4.82) to the hill. The A’s scored in five innings in Tuesday’s game. This is the way that a team wins and hopefully the A’s can duplicate more of this play in Wednesday’s contest.

Aces stay undefeated hang on to beat Sun 90-84

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The Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and the Connecticut Sun guard Tyasha Harris (52) take a photo before their game at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Montville on Tue Jun 6, 2023 (photo by @ LVAces)

Aces Hang On To Beat Sun 90-84

By Barbara Mason

Tuesday night the Las Vegas Aces (7-0) took on the Connecticut Sun (6-2) in a re-match of last season’s championship game. This was the most anticipated game of the season and the Aces who took a perfect record into the game came away with a 90-84 win staying undefeated.

On Sunday the Aces very nearly lost to the Fever trailing for most of the game and in fact did not take the lead until the final minutes of the game avoiding the loss 84-80.

Las Vegas knew full well that there was a target on their backs and every team is out to take down the champions. The Aces had a strong defense against the Sun and they took advantage of their speedy offense. This game no doubt was the biggest challenge they had faced this season and the Aces lived up to it.

Tuesday game recap: The Aces got on top of the Sun in the opening quarter taking a 25-14 lead. The Sun had 6 turnovers in the quarter and had trouble containing the Las Vegas offense. The Aces shot 53% from the field in the first quarter, getting a far improved start over Sunday’s game against the Fever. The Aces had 13 fast break points to the Suns 0 in the quarter.

Las Vegas extended their lead in the opening minute of the second quarter leading 28-14. The Aces led in the half from start to finish and had a 48-31 lead at halftime. The Suns had 12 turnovers and also had trouble containing the Aces’ offense.

Las Vegas was shooting at 50% from the field and would have to keep the pressure on in the second half. Jackie Young shot for 11 points in the half and both Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray had ten points.

The Suns came into the third quarter with great energy on both ends of the court cutting into the Aces lead to 53-41. As the quarter came to an end Las Vegas led 70-53 finishing the quarter with the energy that they were lacking to start. The Sun had one quarter left to make any sort of run.

Connecticut made a run in the fourth quarter with Rebecca Allen shooting 22 off the bench. The 19 point lead that Las Vegas had in the quarter had been cut to three points 76-73 with 3:50 left in the game. The Sun had taken control of this game.

With less than two minutes left in this game the Aces were facing yet another challenge. Again it was Jackie Young to the rescue pushing the Las Vegas lead to 86-79. Young has come to the rescue over and over in the fourth quarter of these tight games. Las Vegas pulled it together in the final minutes of the game winning it. It was another tight game that the Aces had to fight hard to win.

Las Vegas is now undefeated with a 7-0 record. A’Ja Wilson finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and Jackie Young had 22. It was another gutsy performance by the defending champs hanging on for the win.

Connecticut Bench player Rebecca Allen had a career high 22 points and was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. She single handedly gave her team an amazing chance to pull this game out. The Sun got very close, playing a terrific fourth quarter, but just fell short.

The Aces have not seen the last of the Sun taking them on again this Thursday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

A’s Blow Lead in 5-4 Loss to Pirates

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The Oakland A’s Nick Allen turns on the jets to run out a ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Mon Jun 5, 2023 (@Athletics photo)

By: Mary Anne

The Oakland Athletics opened a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night. The A’s fell short against the Pirates 5-4 in a back-and-forth series opener at PNC Park. Entering play, Oakland looked to end their four-game losing streak, but they couldn’t get in the win column as they dropped to 12-50, while Pittsburgh improved to 32-27.

The A’s Pitt stop wasn’t complete without their starting lineup of Esteury Ruiz, Ryan Noda, Brent Rooker, Seth Brown, Carlos Pérez, JJ Bleday, Jonah Bride, Jace Peterson, Nick Allen, and JP Sears. Sears pitched for 4 2/3 innings and gave up two hits, one run, one earned run, five walks, and six strikeouts before exiting the game. And, although Manny Piña wasn’t in the A’s starting lineup, the Venezuelan catcher celebrated his 36th birthday today.

The A’s wasted no time taking a quick lead in the top of the first inning. Ryan Noda singled on a line drive to Ji-Hwan Bae, and Esteury Ruiz scored for a 1-0 lead.

The A’s added to their lead in the top of the third inning. Seth Brown doubled on a line drive to Ji-Hwan Bae, and Ryan Noda scored for a 2-0 lead. Brent Rooker went to third base. Carlos Perez was out on a sacrifice fly to Connor Joe, and Rooker scored for a 3-0 lead. Brown went to third base with one out.

The Pirates avoided a shutout in the bottom of the fifth inning. Connor Joe doubled on a fly ball to Seth Brown deflected by Jace Peterson, and Mark Mathias scored to cut the A’s lead to 3-1. Andrew McCutchen went to third base.

The Pirates snatched a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Andrew McCutchen walked, and Ke’Bryan Hayes scored to cut the A’s lead to 3-2. Mark Mathias went to third base, and Austin Hedges went to second base.

Bryan Reynolds walked, and Mathias scored to tie the game 3-3. Hedges went to third base, and McCutchen went to second base. Jack Suwinski flew into a sacrifice fly double play, Seth Brown went to Jonah Bride, and Hedges scored for a 4-3 lead. McCutchen was out at third base with three outs.

The A’s tied the game 4-4 in the top of the eighth inning. Aledmys Diaz doubled on a sharp line drive to Bryan Reynolds, and Brent Rooker scored for a 4-4 tie.

The Pirates regained their lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Andrew McCutchen was out on a sacrifice fly to Ryan Noda, and Ji-Hwan Bae scored for a 5-4 lead with two outs.

The A’s and Pirates will meet again on Tuesday, June 6, at 4:05 pm Pacific. A’s starter for Tuesday right hander James Kaprielian (0-6 ERA 8.12) he’ll be opposed by the Pirates right hander Mitch Keller (7-1 ERA 3.25) at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

Former Giants manager Roger Craig passes away at 93; Giants Gear Up For 3-Game Series with Colorado

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American League manager Tony La Russa, center left, from the Oakland A’s, and National League manager Roger Craig, of the San Francisco Giants, watch batting practice at Wrigley Field in Chicago, July 10, 1990, both managed against each other in the previous season at the 1989 World Series. (AP file photo)

Former Giants manager Roger Craig passes away at 93; Giants Gear Up For 3-Game Series with Colorado

By Barbara Mason

Former San Francisco Giants manager Roger Craig who was hired to replace former Giant manger Jimmy Davenport with 18 games left in the 1985 season. Craig passed away at the age of 93 as announced by Giants Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer.

Craig managed the Giants to the National League West Division title in 1987 with some exciting former Giants first baseman Will Clark, third baseman and left fielder Kevin Mitchell and outfielder Jeffery Leonard to name a few.

Craig in 1989 led the Giants to a National League title and to the World Series against the cross bay rivals Oakland A’s. The A’s swept the Giants in four games but it was a turn around for the franchise who suffered so much of the 1980s until Craig came on the scene and helped mold them as a post season contender.

Craig will be remembered for the moniker “Humm Baby” which he got from former Giant catcher Brad Gulden who said “humm baby” to the pitchers before they delivered a pitch. The Giants adapted the moniker as their signature for the 1986 campaign “Humm Baby.” Craig managed the Giants from 1985-1992.

Roger also developed a pitching staff that used the split finger fastball that helped show what good pitching did to good hitting in order for those teams to advance to the post season the way they did. Craig also had a good relationship not just with his players but he was patient and answered and worked very well with the reporters who covered the Giants over the years. There is no doubt Roger Craig will be sorely missed.

Giants-Rockies series preview: Monday the San Francisco Giants (29-30) had a second day off in the past four days. They had a day off last Thursday preparing for their past weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles. San Francisco had a shutout in game two (4-0) of that series but dropped games one and three and find themselves below .500 once again. They are 5.5 games behind the co-leaders of their division: the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

On Tuesday, the Giants travel to Colorado to take on the Rockies in a three game series. The Rockies have a 26-35 record and are at the bottom of the NLWest.

The Rockies have decided to send Dinelson Lamet to the mound with a 1-2 record and a 13.17 ERA. The Giants starter was undecided early this afternoon but it looks like they may send Sean Manea to the hill. The Giants have some great relief pitching earning a save rate of 76%.

San Francisco has a lot of fire power in contrast to the Rockies with Michael Conforto, Thairo Estrada and JD Davis. Conforto has 11 home runs this season, Estrada has a .301 batting average and JD has 31 RBI’s. They have a solid lineup, all of them able to put runs up on the board.

The Rockies home run leader is Ryan McMahon with 9 homers this season and Elias Diaz has a great batting average at .309. McMahon is also their RBI leader with 34 RBI’s.

First pitch in Tuesday’s game is 5:40 PM at Coors Field in Denver as San Francisco will be looking to not only get back on the winning track but also get their season record back over .500. Fans will be treated to a great match-up between these two teams.

MLB standings aside, both of these teams seem to raise their level of play when they meet so picking a projected winner does not always pan out. It will come down to who has more fire power in this series.

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Panthers need this one tonight to avoid going back to Florida 0-2; Knights with home ice can go up 2-0

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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone, left, celebrates his goal against the Florida Panthers with Brett Howden (21), defenseman Zach Whitecloud (2) and center Chandler Stephenson during the third period at T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Sun Jun 4, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Marko:

#1 Marko, with just less than ten minutes left in the game and the Vegas Golden Knights trailing the Florida Panthers the Knights made good use of their last and final period of the first game of the Finals. With the game tied 2-2 the Knights came roaring back with three goals to take game 1, 5-2.

#2 The Knights Jonathan Marchessault said that the Knights were ready mentally and breaking it open like they did in the third period was a show of their character to kick off the finals.

#3 The Knights Zach Whitecloud scored a critical goal and Mark Stone got an insurance goal but the goal was reviewed for a high stick and the goal turned out to be confirmed.

#4 Marko, the Knights had scored their third and final goal when Reilly Smith scored an empty netter to make the final look like there was never a tie score.

#5 The Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 of 33 shots and allowed four goals. As you saw this first game did the Panthers just seem to loose confidence in the third period or the Knights just started working their offensive plans and pulled it off on Florida.

Join Marko for the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: A’s hope to turn it around in Pittsburgh after getting swept in Miami

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Oakland A’s starter Paul Blackburn pitches against the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park in Miami on Sun Jun 4, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Barbara:

#1 In the bottom of the eighth inning the Miami Marlins Luis Arraez’s infield single helped the Marlins pass the Oakland A’s at LoanDepot Park in Miami on Sunday as the Marlins scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth for a two run 7-5 win.

#2 Talking a little more on Arraez he did get a smash hit that bounced off second baseman Aledmys Diaz’s mitt and base runner Joey Wendle scored the go ahead run to help get the Marlins on top 6-5.

#3 The Marlins (32-28) and second in the NL East and they have their best record since they were in the playoffs in 1997 through 60 games and after 83 wins in 2004

#4 The A’s had their hands full in this three game series Sunday couldn’t have been their best chance to beat the Marlins but that eighth inning with the Marlins scoring two runs to top the A’s 7-5.

#5 The A’s take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (31-27) in the first of a three game series. JP Sears (0-3 ERA 4.37) will take the mound for the A’s and Johan Oviedo (3-4 ERA 4.50) will be on the hill for Pittsburgh. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PM.

Join Barbara for the A’s podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Aces Mightily Challenged By Fever But Prevail 84-80; Las Vegas on six game winning streak

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Indianapolis Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) and Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) wait to set up for the next play at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sun Jun 4, 2023 (@LVAces photo)

Aces Mightily Challenged By Fever But Prevail 84-80

By Barbara Mason

The Las Vegas Aces (6-0) took on the Indiana Fever(1-4) Sunday in Indianapolis and picked up their sixth straight win to remain undefeated beating the Fever 84-80.

The Aces got a slow start and found themselves down 28-21 after the first ten minutes of play. This team does not find themselves trailing very often and so it was a bit disconcerting when they continued to trail after the first half of basketball although it had become a one point game 39-38.

The third quarter was shaky at best with the Aces continuing to struggle and the Fever extending their lead 63-56. The defending champions had a bulls eye on their back and the Fever were doing their best to zero in on Las Vegas.

The team needed to lean on Kelsey Plum who had five points through three quarters. Jackie Young was not having the game that we usually see from her. either The team would need all hands on deck to pull this game out in the fourth quarter.

With 7:38 left in the fourth quarter the Aces called a timeout. They had fallen behind 71-61 and were in danger of dropping their first game of the season. The fiery game that we have become accustomed to seeing from all of these players was off in this game and they would have to dig deep to win this one.

The Fever were shooting over 55 % from beyond the arc and the Aces were only 20% from downtown. The two teams were very even from the field but it was not only the long balls but Indiana was out rebounding them as well.

With 4:03 left in the game the Aces had tied it all up at 72 and had a real fight on their hands. With two minutes left on the clock the Fever had a 79-76 lead. With 47 ticks left in the game it was all knotted at 80. The Aces had to pull out all the stops winning the fourth quarter 28-17 and the game 84-80. It was a ferocious pace in the final minutes and the Fever put up quite a fight but it was Las Vegas who prevailed in the end.

A’Ja Wilson finished the game with the high of 27 points and ten rebounds. Jackie Young had 19 points and teammate Chelsea Gray had 17. The Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell had the high for Indiana with 22 points and they sure gave the Aces a run for their money falling to the defending champions at the end.

After the scare, the Aces will head to Connecticut for a game with the Sun. The Sun have a 6-1 record and Las Vegas will again have to dig deep in this game. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.