AVIATORS TOP FIVE OF THE WEEK

1. K is for Ken: Aviators lefty Ken Waldichuk struck out seven batters in a row — and nine overall — despite pitching only five innings in the Aviators’ 9-3 victory over Sugar Land on Wednesday. Waldichuk, who earned the save in the recent Futures Game in which the Aviators’ Shea Langeliers was named MVP, was acquired by the A’s from the Yankees in an Aug. 1 trade for former A’s ace Frankie Montas.

2. Space Cowboys attack: The Aviators lost 23-8 to visiting Sugar Land on Tuesday, which might seem like a lot of runs to give up in one game — until you consider the Houston Astros’ top farm club scored 17 runs in one inning against Oklahoma City three nights earlier in a 21-4, seven-inning victory.

3. Shea rocks Yanks: Recent Aviators call-up Shea Langeliers went 3-for-4 with his second major league homer and knocked in two runs in the parent A’s 13-4 loss to the New York Yankees on Thursday. The catching prospect raised his batting average to .289 with two homers and seven RBIS in 38 at-bats through Friday since being summoned from Las Vegas.

4. Almost like home: Langeliers, who played for Valley High grad Steve Rodriguez at Baylor, spoke on the A’s podcast about making his major league debut at Choctaw Stadium, home of the Texas Rangers, just 21 miles from where he grew up in Keller, Texas: “It was a pretty easy drive for family and friends, and then a bunch of my friends from Waco (where Baylor is located) came up. I kinda had my own little fan section those couple of days.”

5. Still a major attraction: Through 60 dates, the Aviators’ total attendance of 413,640 continues to lead the PCL. The team has averaged 6,894 spectators, with nine sellouts, and the franchise has surpassed the 300,000 mark in home attendance in each of its 39 seasons.

Ron Kantowski Las Vegas Review-journal For coverage of Saturday night’s Space Cowboys-aviators game, see page 2XC in Sports Extra.