By Justin Lawson
jlawson@nevadaappeal.com
RENO " Ruben Gotay was in the midst of becoming the heel that cost the Reno Aces an opportunity to string two wins together Saturday after he committed two errors in one inning.
But after hitting the game-winning home run it was easy to forget about the mishaps.
Gotay's solo homer, his first of the season, broke an eighth-inning tie and led the Aces to a 6-4 win over the New Orleans Zephyrs at Aces Ballpark in front of a crowd of 8,124.
"For me I just got blessed right there," said Gotay, who was 2-for-4 with three runs, but had two errors. "After the first five innings it was a little tough. I wasn't getting the job done defensively and to be in that situation to get the job done, put the team ahead it kind of relieves and makes me feel better."
Reno will look to win just its third series of the year at 1:05 p.m. today when they close out the series with the Zephyrs.
The Aces have struggled to add to the win column as of late, having lost seven of their last 10 coming into the game. Errors were a big factor in those games as they have committed 17 errors in that span.
The mishaps showed up again Saturday, committing three more.
Gotay committed two in the fifth inning, the first coming when leadoff hitter Cameron Maybin hit a grounder to third and Gotay had to come up throwing to get the speedster. His throw went wide and glanced off Josh Whitesell's glove at first as he stretched to get the errant throw.
The Aces made another error on the next batter when Manny Mayorson grounded up the left side and it went through Gotay to Abraham Nunez at short. Nunez couldn't glove it and overran the ball. Mayorson would have been safe at first, but the botched play allowed Maybin to reach third with no one covering the bag.
Michael Ryan doubled to clear the bases and tied the game at 3-3. John Lindsey followed with a groundball to third that hopped passed Gotay for an error. Brett Carroll grounded into what should have been the inning-ending double play had Maybin been thrown out at first. Instead the grounder scored Ryan and the Zephyrs grabbed a 4-3 lead.
Even with the errors, Aces' starting pitcher Hector Ambriz (1-2) pitched like he had a solid defense behind him. He struck out seven in seven innings and walked just one batter.
"(For) Ambriz to have the ability after a couple of boots to be able to keep his composure," Aces manager Brett Butler said. "That's a sign of a future big league pitcher."
The Aces played small ball in the sixth when Gotay leadoff with a single and Chris Roberson walked on the next at bat. Nunez hit what was essentially a swinging bunt to the pitcher that moved both runners. Ambriz then sac-bunted Gotay in on the safety squeeze to tie the game back up at 4-4.
After each team went scoreless in the seventh, the field was set for Gotay's game-winner. He smashed a 2-1 pitch about 370 feet away to give the Aces a 5-4 lead.
The Aces added an insurance run the Aces wouldn't need with Bobby Korecky pitching a 1-2-3 ninth and picking up his second save in as many days.
and his fifth on the season.
"When you make two or three errors, you're not expected to win," Butler said. "But that's the thing about these guys, is they continue to battle and they don't quit. And if our pitchers keep us in the ball game it's going to be exciting all summer."