There would be no late inning slip for Seth Etherton this time around.
The last time the Reno Aces' starting pitcher was on the mound, he was in command for five solid inning before nearly giving away game. But on Tuesday, Etherton showed the same tenacity that has dropped his earned run average by almost a point and half in nine games.
Etherton went seven innings in the Aces' 5-3 win over the Tacoma Rainiers at Aces Ballpark in front 4,623 fans after facing 1 hour, 8 minute rain delay. And while he gave up nine hits in the game, including a line drive home run, it was when he gave those up that mattered most.
"The one that it (the rain delay) affects most is our pitcher," Aces manager Brett Butler said. "He got hot (during warmups) and I think it was premature because they really thought it was going to blow over and it us.
"I knew he wouldn't go as far, but he went farther than I thought. He threw the ball well. He was Houdini out there today. He got himself out of a lot of jams and gave us seven strong innings."
The Aces will play the Rainiers again at 7:05 p.m. today at Aces Ballpark where they will look to extend their win streak over Tacoma to 11 games.
Etherton struck out four and walked one on his way to his team-high ninth win (9-6). He also rebounded from a July 23 performance in which he held a 10-3 lead through five innings before allowing four more in the sixth, that nearly cost him a win.
He has lowered his earned run average from 6.11 on June 1 to 4.76 coming into the game, something Butler said is because of consistency.
"You know he's doing well, especially with his changeup, when it's down in the zone," he said. "He got it up a little bit today, but he had to make the quality pitches when he did and he did that tonight."
While Etherton was hot from the start, the Aces' offense staggered early. They scored in the bottom of the first to tie the game up at 1-1 before falling into a 13-batter hitless streak from the end of the first until the fifth inning.
Rainiers' starter Gaby Hernandez sat the Aces down in order in the second, third and fourth innings and got the first two outs in the fifth before Orlando Mercado hit hard grounder up the first baseline that first baseman Mike Carp couldn't wrangle in on a dive attempt. Brandon Watson followed with a single and Rusty Ryal smashed a triple deep to centerfield to clear the bases and give Reno a 3-1 lead.
Mercado was sent back down to Double-A Mobile after the loss to make room for Luke Carlin, who is being sent back to the Aces after a stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The lead didn't last as former Major League second baseman Alex Cintron blasted a two-run homer over the right field fence in top of the sixth to tie it at 3-all.
The Aces grabbed the lead back for good in the bottom of the inning when Cole Gillespie, who was traded to the Aces on July 20, tripled to centerfield to score Ruben Gotay.
"He just left a slider kind of up and over the plate," Gillespie said. "I was just trying to put it in play. I was fortunate to get enough of a good piece of it and put it in the gap.
"I've had a few opportunities early to come through with guys on base, but with the score being tied at that point in a game like that, it was a big run for us."
Brandon Allen added an insurance run in the eighth when he homered to right field to extend his hit streak to 12. The streak ties the franchise high, that was set by Ryal earlier this season.
"I think I'm going to name him Big Al," Butler said. "Because Allen has the ability to come through (when it matters).
to right field.