With a dominant start in last year’s playoffs, pitcher Kade Morris helped the Las Vegas Aviators win the Pacific Coast League championship. By giving the hard-nosed right-hander the ball Tuesday to open the postseason, manager Fran Riordan is hoping for a repeat performance.
Riordan said that Morris’ recent hot streak, in addition to his playoff experience, earned him the chance to start game one of the best-of-three PCL playoffs against the Oklahoma City Comets, 7:05 p.m. at Las Vegas Ballpark.
“Kade does have the experience of winning a game in the championship,” Riordan said. “His numbers have been really good, especially the last few starts, and he’s built up to go deep in the game, so it was a natural choice.”
The Aviators (87-61) clinched a playoff berth by winning the first-half PCL title in June. They’ll face the Comets (89-60) — the Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate that won the second half — for a spot in the Triple-A Championship, Saturday at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Morris, the Athletics’ No. 13 prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline, finished the regular season with back-to-back quality starts and went 9-5 with a 4.08 ERA this year for the Aviators.
Last year, Morris silenced the Tacoma Rainiers in the first game of the PCL playoffs, sprinkling four hits and one run over seven innings. Las Vegas won game two (and the PCL title) before losing the Triple-A Championship to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on a walk-off home run.
After Morris, the Aviators will start Ryan Magdic (2-2, 5.57 ERA) in Game 2 on Wednesday. The big Canadian southpaw steadily climbed the A’s minor league system this year, pitching for High-A Lansing and Double-A Midland before earning a promotion to Triple-A in July.
Aviators on hot streak
Las Vegas goes into the PCL playoffs as one of the hottest teams in Triple-A. They’ve gone 12-6 in September (including an eight-game win streak), and won four out of six games on the road last week against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
The Aviators this year set the franchise record record for wins (87), formerly held by the 2002 Las Vegas 51s (85).
“The team’s got really good energy right now,” Riordan said. “We have a great mix of players that have been playing at a high level for a really long time, and guys who are just experiencing it for the first time.”
Outfielder Devin Taylor, the Athletics’ No. 7 prospect, has hit .295 with three home runs since being promoted to Las Vegas on Sept. 1. Catcher/outfielder Cole Conn, the organization’s No. 21 prospect, launched a two-run homer in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Sugar Land.
The Aviators have also relied on the steady leadership of veterans like first baseman Joey Meneses, whose 110 RBIs lead the PCL.
Turning the tide against Comets
Oklahoma City has been a formidable opponent for Las Vegas this year, going 7-5 against the Aviators. While Las Vegas won four out of six in an early-season series against Oklahoma City, they’re just 1-5 against them in the second half, including five consecutive losses.
“They do a lot of things really well,” Riordan said of the Comets. “We just have to really focus on having quality at-bats, getting on base, executing situational offense, hitting with two strikes, and hitting with two outs, especially.”
Oklahoma City finished the year with the PCL’s best record. The Comets feature top up-and-coming players like outfielder James Tibbs III — whose 30 home runs rank second in the PCL — and No. 14 overall prospect Mike Sirota, an outfielder with a .461 on-base percentage across High-A, Double-A and Triple-A this season.
Up next
Who: Las Vegas Aviators vs. Oklahoma City Comets (Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate)
When: 7:05 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (if necessary)
Where: Las Vegas Ballpark
Promotions: Tuesday — Squishy cube giveaway; Wednesday — Squishy dumpling giveaway
Aviators starting pitcher: Tuesday — Kade Morris (9-5, 4.08 ERA); Wednesday — Ryan Magdic (2-2, 5.57 ERA); Thursday (if necessary) — TBD
