Happy Birthday Joe Paterson!

Reliever Joe Paterson is celebrating his 26th birthday today.

The lefty started the season with the Diamondbacks, and joined Reno at the end of April. He has earned one win and compiled a 1.86 ERA for the Aces.

Happy Birthday, Joe!

Trevor Bauer Takes the Mound for Reno

RHP Trevor Bauer, who entered the season ranked the 8th-best prospect in all of baseball, will take the mound for the Aces today in his Triple-A debut.

Bauer, who was Arizona’s top pick and third pick overall in last year’s draft, started the 2012 season with Double-A Mobile. He was 7-1 with a 1.68 ERA in eight games with Mobile. He compiled 60 strikeouts, and allowed just 33 hits through 48 1/3 innings.

The 21-year-old helped lead UCLA to the College World Series championship game in 2010. The following year, he was named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year for his work with the Bruins. Bauer won the 2011 Golden Spikes Award, which is presented to the top amateur baseball player in the country each year.

Tickets for tonight’s game and a jam-packed weekend at Aces Ballpark are on-sale now at RenoAces.com, by calling (775) 334-7000 or by visiting the Aces Ballpark Ticket Office.

Chris Young Joins Aces on Rehab Assignment

 

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Chris Young will continue his Major League Rehabilitation Assignment tonight with the Reno Aces at Aces Ballpark, the club announced today.

Young, a 2010 National League All-Star, was placed on Arizona’s 15-day Disabled List on April 18 with a right shoulder contusion. After beginning his rehab assignment with Advanced-A Visalia, Young will join the Aces in time for tonight’s series opener against the Oklahoma City RedHawks at Aces Ballpark. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. PT, and tickets are available now.

Before being sidelined, Young was batting .410 with five home runs and 13 RBIs through just 11 games. As one of the game’s premier all-around players, the Houston native helped lead the Diamondbacks to a National League West Division Championship last season.

This stint will mark Young’s second in an Aces uniform. In 2009, he played in 13 games for Reno, batting .370 with nine extra-base hits and nine RBIs.

Tickets for tonight’s game and a jam-packed weekend at Aces Ballpark are on-sale now at RenoAces.com, by calling (775) 334-7000 or by visiting the Aces Ballpark Ticket Office.

Happy Birthday Jensen Lewis!

Aces’ reliever Jensen Lewis is celebrating his 28th birthday today. The righty, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 3rd round of the 2005 draft.

Entering his first season in the D-backs’ organization, Lewis has earned one save and compiled a 1.69 ERA this season with the Aces. During his four major league seasons, he limited right-handed hitters to a .223 average.

Lewis graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2006 with a degree in communications, and was 17-12 in three seasons with the Commodores. He was the 2010 Roberto Clemente nominee for the Indians in 2010.

Happy Birthday Jensen!

Josh Bell Named PCL Player of the Week

Aces infielder Josh Bell, who has been one of Minor League Baseball’s best hitters since joining the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week, the league office announced today.

In six games this week, Bell batted .522 (12×23) with two home runs, 12 RBIs and a 1.413 OPS. He led the Aces to a 5-1 (.833) record over the period.

Bell began the season with Triple-A Norfolk in the Baltimore Orioles chain, batting .094 (3×32) with one home run and three RBIs in nine games. Since being traded to the D-backs organization and joining the Aces on April 23, he has recorded six more RBIs than any other Minor League batter. Over that stretch since April 23, Bell ranks fourth among Minor Leaguers in hits (32), sixth in batting average (.421) and seventh in total bases (51). Despite spending the first two-plus weeks in the International League, he enters tonight’s doubleheader in Nashville tied for fourth in the PCL with 29 RBIs.

Bell becomes the second Aces player to earn PCL Player of the Week honors this season, after fellow infielder Ryan Wheeler was given the award on April 30. This honor marks the ninth PCL Player of the Week award in Aces franchise history. The club also has had two PCL Pitcher of the Week honors in its history.

Numero Uno

With yesterday’s 8-3 victory over Memphis, the Aces are now in first place in the Pacific North Division. Reno enters today’s game riding a season-high 6-game winning streak. The streak marks the Aces’ first 6-game win streak since the back-end of an 8-game winning stretch last season (July 9-19). The active winning streak is the 2nd-longest in the PCL, behind Las Vegas (8 games).

The Aces now hold the top spot in the PCL North since the first four days of the season. Last season, the Aces spent 148 days in first place, including 133-straight to finish the season.

Reno has also hit the .500 plateau for the first time since they were 2-2 on April 8.

The Aces will return home next Thursday for an eight-game homestand against the Oklahoma City Red Hawks and the New Orleans Zephyrs.

 

Bonus Baseball

 

Following last night’s extra-innings victory over Memphis, Reno improved to 4-0 on the season in extra-innings contests. The Aces are now tied with Omaha for most extra-innings victories in the PCL this year. With the win, the Aces are 21-17 all-time in extra innings games.

The game, which lasted a brutal 4 hours and 59 minutes, was not even the longest game in the PCL that day. The New Orleans Zephyrs topped the Tucson Padres 11-8 in a 16-inning game that lasted 5 hours and 17 minutes. The teams played six scoreless extra-innings frames before Luke Montz’s walk-off three-run blast sealed the win.