This is a press release courtesy of the Portland Beavers

Former Beaver Seth Etherton pitched eight strong innings and benefitted from a pair of RBIs by Josh Whitesell as the Reno Aces took the first of four games from the Portland Beavers 4-1 in front of 2,993 Tuesday night at PGE Park.

Etherton (5-5) set down the first eight batters he faced on his way to holding the Beavers to five hits and a run while striking out four. The veteran right-hander held Portland scoreless until a solo homer in the eighth, bettering his June 6 performance in which he held the Beavers without a run until Eliezer Alfonzo’s seventh-inning solo home run.

In his second start for the Beavers since signing a minor-league deal with the Padres June 16, Brian Lawrence (1-1) took the loss, giving up four runs on 10 hits and a walk with five strikeouts over six innings.

Trent Oeltjen and Rusty Ryal each contributed two hits as the Aces (36-36) won for the fifth straight game and eighth time in their last nine.

Jose Lobaton hit his third home run of the year and Craig Stansberry extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a pair of doubles for the Beavers (34-38), who have lost seven of their last nine games.

The Aces jumped to an early lead and coasted to the series-opening victory.

Oeltjen led off the game with a double and scored on an RBI single by Whitesell, who returned to the Aces after being optioned from their parent club, the Arizona Diamondbacks, on June 19.

Reno threatened again in the third, loading the bases with no one out. But after Oeltjen scored on an RBI forceout by Whitesell, Lawrence induced an inning-ending double play to escape with no further damage.

The Aces put up a pair of runs in the fourth when Chris Roberson singled and scored on a triple by Ryal, who then came home on an RBI sacrifice bunt by Etherton.

Lobaton’s solo shot to right off Etherton provided an eighth-inning spark but was all the Beavers could muster.

Bobby Korecky allowed a ground-rule double to Stansberry but pitched a scoreless ninth for his 10th save of the season.

The Beavers and Aces continue their series Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. at PGE Park.

NOTES: Infielder Beamer Weems had a sixth-inning, pinch-hit single in his first career Triple-A at-bat after being transferred to Portland from Class A Lake Elsinore earlier in the day … Stansberry has hit safely in 25 of his last 28 games … all three of Lobaton’s home runs this season have come with the bases empty … three of Etherton’s four outings of seven-plus innings this season have come against Portland … the Beavers concluded the first half of their season 34-38, three games behind last year’s 37-35 mark.