Landon Knack gave Oklahoma City the kind of start that makes a road game feel orderly: no walks, eight strikeouts and only one earned run across 6 1/3 innings. With Knack controlling Las Vegas and the Comets building their lead in three steady bursts, there was little suspense left by the middle innings of a 7-2 win Wednesday at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Knack struck out Cole Conn to begin his night and allowed only one baserunner through the first three innings, a Bryan Lavastida single in the second. He worked around Joey Meneses’ two-out double in the fourth, struck out Luke Mann during a perfect fifth and carried a shutout into the sixth.
By that point, Oklahoma City had given him six runs to work with.
The Comets broke through in the third after Noah Miller doubled and Hyeseong Kim singled, putting runners at second and third. A groundout held them there, but Zach Ehrhard followed with a sharp line drive to center that brought both runners home.
Ehrhard reached three times and finished 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBIs. His early swing supplied the separation; his walk two innings later helped set up the blow that effectively finished the game.
Oklahoma City added a run in the fourth when Alek Thomas singled and scored on Kim’s two-out double to right. Kim went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Thomas and Mike Sirota also collected two hits apiece as the Comets finished with 12.
The lineup turned a useful cushion into a commanding one in the fifth. Ehrhard and Josue De Paula opened the inning with walks against Nathan Dettmer, and James Tibbs III lifted a fly ball over the wall in center for a three-run homer. In the space of three batters, a 3-0 lead had doubled.
Tibbs’ homer was the game’s decisive swing, but the inning continued with singles from Sirota and Thomas before Wander Suero entered and stopped the rally. Oklahoma City did not need anything more. Six runs across the third, fourth and fifth innings had put Knack in position to keep attacking the Las Vegas lineup without having to work around free passes.
The Aviators finally reached him in the sixth. Darell Hernaiz singled with two outs, and Brayan Buelvas drove a sharp double to left that scored Hernaiz. Knack retired Meneses on a fly ball to end the inning, limiting the damage to one run.
Johnathan Rodríguez opened the seventh with a double, but Knack struck out Lavastida before departing. Garrett McDaniels handled the next two outs, stranding Rodríguez at third and preserving the five-run lead.
Knack’s final line reflected how firmly he held the game: 6 1/3 innings, one earned run, eight strikeouts and no walks. The Comets’ bullpen allowed one earned run over the remaining 2 2/3 innings.
Ryan Fitzgerald restored the six-run margin in the eighth with a solo homer to right off Jake Garland. The blast completed Oklahoma City’s scoring and gave the Comets two home runs to go with three doubles.
Las Vegas managed one final run when Meneses led off the ninth with a homer to center against Paul Gervase. Gervase retired the next three batters, ending the game with a strikeout of Mann.
The late homer changed the score, not the shape of the night. Oklahoma City played without an error, received traffic throughout the lineup and backed Knack before the Aviators could mount any pressure. From Ehrhard’s two-run double through Tibbs’ three-run shot, the Comets supplied more than enough offense for a starter who never gave Las Vegas a walk—or much of an opening.