Isotopes' Late Rally Falls Short to Bees

The Isotopes (5-4) scored five runs in the eighth inning Friday, but the late-game rally fell a run short as the Salt Lake Bees (5-4) defeated Albuquerque, 8-7, during a windy night at Isotopes Park.

Albuquerque trailed 8-2 heading into the eighth inning before a pair of bases loaded walks and a three-run triple from Noel Cuevas cut the Bees' lead to one. The last batter of the inning, Tom Murphy, drove a ball deep to left field, but the wind held it up at the warning track as it was caught for the final out.
The Isotopes attempted another rally in the bottom of the ninth with two batters reaching base, but were unable to bring them around to score.
Josh Fuentes led the way at the plate for Albuquerque collecting three hits. Drew Weeks belted his third home run of the season in the first inning while Jordan Patterson's solo shot in the third was his first long ball of the campaign.
Starting pitcher Sam Howard was charged with his first loss. The southpaw struck out eight batters during his 4.0 innings on the hill, but also allowed four runs, six hits and three walks.
The Isotopes and Bees will be back in action Saturday evening from Isotopes Park. The game is scheduled to get underway at 6:35 p.m.