Albuquerque Holds On For 5-4 Win

Salt Lake City, UT – The Isotopes’ Ryan Feltner and Zach Neal combined for a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning when the Bees buzzed back with four runs of their own but Chad Smith completed 1.1 innings to earn his eighth save of the year in the 5-4 Albuquerque (18-23) win Saturday night at Smith’s Ballpark.

Offensively, the Isotopes registered 10 hits and three doubles. Wynton Bernard led the way with three hits. Five players tallied RBI: Elhuris Montero, Scott Schebler, Alan Trejo, Ryan Vilade and Jonathan Morales. Trejo had two hits.

The Topes grabbed a 1-0 lead three batters into the game. Bernard leadoff with a single to center and advanced to second on his eighth stolen base of the year. A Dom Nuñez groundout pushed Bernard to third. A batter later, Montero drove him in with a sac fly. An inning later, Albuquerque’s lead grew to 2-0. Montes drew a one-out walk and got to second on the second out of the inning. Morales then lined an RBI double to the gap in the right.

Another single run by the Isotopes was plated in the fourth frame. Trejo singled to right and tagged up for second on a Montes fly ball out. An RBI double over the left fielder’s head by Vilade made the Isotopes lead 3-0.

Albuquerque added two more in the eighth on an RBI double by Schebler and RBI single by Trejo.

But the Bees (22-19) buzzed back in the eighth inning with four runs including a three-run clout by David McKinnon. The Isotopes led, 5-4.

Ryan Feltner started the game but not factor into the decision. He tossed 3.0 shutout innings while fanning seven. Zach Neal piggybacked after Feltner and earned the win after tossing 4.1 innings and allowing three runs on four hits with five punchouts.

Topes Scope: - Albuquerque had a shutout going into the eighth inning prior to allowing four runs. They have not completed a shutout since winning 9-0 over Sacramento on August 21, 2019.

-The Isotopes are now 6-5 in one-run ballgames.

- Bernard is now 8-for-8 in steals, the most in the PCL without being caught. He is 31-of-33 since last season.

-Bernard tallied at least three hits in a game for the fourth time (Last: 4/30 vs. SAC). He also has a hit in his last three games (6-for-16) with two multi-hit efforts in that span.

-Morales plated his third RBI in his last four games.

-Feltner didn’t throw at least 5.0 innings for the first time this year. He also struck out seven of the 12 batters faced.

-Vilade drove a run in for the third-straight game, his longest of the season.

-Neal made his first appearance out of the pen since August 7, 2018, with OKC.

-Trejo tallied his fourth multi-hit effort and his second in-a-row.

-Smith nailed down his PCL leading eighth save.

On Deck: The series finales against the Bees is set for 1:05 pm MT. Riley Smith is expected to take the mound for the Isotopes while Davis Daniel is slated to start for Salt Lake.