On Monday night, a crowd of 8,519 witnessed the beginning of a new chapter in Las Vegas sports history. The Athletics hosted the Milwaukee Brewers at Las Vegas Ballpark, opening a six-game homestand in Summerlin, Nev.

Behind home plate was Carson High School graduate and University of Nevada alum Clint Vondrak. The veteran umpire, who made his Major League debut in 2020, was working behind the plate for the 11th time this season. The Brewers and Athletics certainly kept him busy.

Vondrak called 247 pitches, his highest total of the year. Sixteen pitches were challenged under Major League Baseball’s new Automatic Balls and Strikes (ABS) system, with 11 calls overturned. The controversial challenge system played a notable role throughout the marathon contest.

According to UmpScorecards, Vondrak finished the game with an overall accuracy rating of 90 percent in a wild 15-14 Brewers victory that lasted 12 innings.

Game Recap

Both starting pitchers, Kyle Harrison and Jeffrey Springs, faced immediate pressure as the teams traded runs in the opening inning. Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers wasted no time, launching Harrison’s first pitch of the game 483 feet for a leadoff home run — the longest homer hit in Major League Baseball this season.

Milwaukee answered in the third inning, scoring three runs off Springs to build a 4-2 advantage. The Athletics responded with a six-run outburst, fueled by Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom. Kurtz connected for his first home run of the night against Joel Kuhnel, a former teammate whom the Athletics traded to Milwaukee just last week.

The Brewers chipped away at the deficit as the Athletics bullpen struggled to hold a four-run lead. Key hits from Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn helped Milwaukee force extra innings.

In the 10th, the Brewers erupted for four runs, pushing the score to 14-10 in a game that more closely resembled a football shootout than a baseball game.

Kurtz struck again in the bottom half of the inning, crushing a two-run homer to bring the Athletics within striking distance. Later, pinch hitter Jonah Heim delivered a game-tying homer in right field to keep the Athletics alive.

Milwaukee finally broke through in the 12th inning, scoring the game’s 29th run on a fielder’s choice before shutting the door in the bottom half to secure a 15-14 victory. The contest stands as Major League Baseball’s highest-scoring game of the season to date.

Amid the offensive fireworks between Milwaukee and the Athletics, who are temporarily based in Sacramento until their planned move to Las Vegas in 2028, Vondrak had a front-row seat to one of the most memorable games of the season, and a glimpse of what Major League Baseball’s future in Southern Nevada could look like.

— Writer Ryan Barbarigos is a student at University of Nevada, Reno who is studying journalism.

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