AVIATORS WEEKLY TOP 10

1. If you water it …

Aviators groundskeeper Isaiah Lienau was part of the maintenance crew at Thursday’s game between the Yankees and White Sox at the “Field of Dreams” movie site in Dyersville, Iowa. Lienau works for BrightView Landscape’s Sports Turf Division, which MLB hired to build the temporary 8,000-seat ballpark.

2. … he will come

Lineau grew up about an hour from the movie site and contributed to the construction of the pastoral diamond that was surrounded by 150 acres of corn. “To have been involved with the field from the early days and get the chance to go back and be part of this historic game is really special,” he told Aviators in-house reporter Matt Jacob before leaving for the Heartland.

3. Quite an encore

A few hours after being named Triple-A West Player of the Week after hitting .619 with two homers, five doubles and four RBIs, Aviators catcher Austin Allen hit three homers, went 4-for-5 and drove in five more runs in a 14-5 victory over Salt Lake on Monday.

4. Skye rises, falls

Aviators outfielder Skye Bolt went 5-for-5 in that win over the Bees and also made a diving catch and sprained his thumb. He sat out the next three games before returning to the lineup Friday night at Tacoma.

5. Unlikely hero

Marty Bechina, who replaced Bolt in the lineup, delivered a two-run single in a ninthinning rally that sparked Tuesday’s 10-9 home victory and snapped the outfielder’s 0-for-14 and 1-for-27 slumps.

6. Double bubble

Veteran shortstop Pete Kozma smacked seven doubles in the six-game series against Salt Lake that concluded Tuesday. With seven big league seasons, Kozma was the most experienced of the Aviators former big leaguers until Thursday’s signing of Khris Davis (220 homers over nine MLB seasons). Davis had two hits in his Aviators debut.

7. Top 10 jinx?

After it was reported in this space that Aviators reliever Aaron Brown had retired the first 16 hitters he faced since being called up from Double-A, he issued a walk to the first Salt Lake batter he faced on Aug. 7. Brown’s hitless streak ended at 6⅔ innings when he yielded an RBI single Tuesday night.

8. Spectator appeal

Tuesday’s crowd of 5,202 pushed Aviators 2021 home attendance to 302,437. Las Vegas’ Triple-A club has topped the 300,000 plateau in each of its 38 seasons.

9. Puk stop

Hard-throwing relief pitcher A.J. Puk was recalled by the A’s Monday after starting the season in Oakland and struggling for the Aviators before recently getting his groove back. The 2016 first-round draft pick tossed a perfect inning, striking out two, in the A’s 4-3 victory at Cleveland on Tuesday.

10. Aviators quick quiz

Which former Las Vegas manager was drafted higher by an NBA club than he was a MLB team? A: Tim Flannery. B: Tony DeFrancesco. C: Jerry Royster. D: John Shoemaker.

The correct answer is Shoemaker, who managed the 2003 51s and was drafted in the sixth round in 1978 by the Chicago Bulls out of Miami-Ohio. He was selected twice by MLB teams, in the 26th round by the Giants out of high school and in the 35th round by the Dodgers after his junior year at Miami, where he led the RedHawks to an upset victory over Marquette during the 1978 NCAA Tournament. Ron Kantowski Las Vegas Review-Journal