Isotopes Battery Charges Albuquerque to Victory
The Isotopes battery of catcher Tom Murphy and pitcher Kyle Freeland ignited Albuquerque (46-59) to an 8-3 victory over the Salt Lake Bees on Thursday night.
Murphy continued his torrid stretch through July by going 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI, two runs scored, and was a triple shy of hitting for his second cycle of the season. The 25-year-old blasted his team-leading 15th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the first inning to help Albuquerque take a 3-0 lead. Murphy is now hitting .569 (33-for-58) in July with eight home runs and 21 RBI.
Freeland tossed one the best outings of his young Triple-A career, limiting the Bees to two runs and seven hits in 6.1 innings. The left-hander also tied his career-high for strikeouts with seven and did not issue a walk the entire game. The win improved Freeland's record to 2-2 with Albuquerque.
After the Isotopes scored three runs in the first inning, they added two more in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by Joey Wong's RBI triple off the right field wall. Wong picked up his second RBI of the game in the sixth inning with a double to left field to bring home Mike Tauchman.
Murphy extended Albuquerque's lead to 7-2 in the seventh inning with an RBI single before Jordan Patterson hit a solo home run in the eighth for the Isotopes' final run. Patterson's home run was his eighth of the year as he finished the night with two hits and three runs scored.
The Isotopes conclude their series against the Bees tomorrow night at Isotopes Park. Left-hander Harrison Musgrave (6-5, 4.83) gets the start for Albuquerque, while the Bees will have right-hander Troy Scribner making his Triple-A debut. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.