Mariachis Fall In Front of 15,190 Fans

Albuquerque, NM – A promising pitching matchup appeared as if it was living up to its billing early Saturday. Hunter Brown and Ryan Feltner, both highly rated prospects in their respective organizations, dueled against one another through three innings with just one hit combined between them.

However, Sugar Land began to hit Feltner in the fourth and Brown continued to cruise, and the Space Cowboys claimed a 12-2 victory over the Mariachis in front of 15,190 fans, the 12th largest-crowd in Isotopes Park history.

Feltner started his evening with three dominant hitless innings and four strikeouts. Sugar Land dented the offensive columns on the scoreboard by plating two runs on four hits in the fourth, as RBI hits from JJ Matijevic and Korey Lee gave the Cowboys a 2-0 lead.

The big blow came in the fifth inning with two on and two out, when Pedro León destroyed a pitch 458 feet into the left field picnic pavilion for a three-run homer, putting the Mariachis in a 5-0 hole.

Sugar Land continued to pile on in the sixth when Lewis Brinson and Korey Lee started the sixth with back-to-back tape-measure blasts to left field.

Brown worked five scoreless innings with six strikeouts before Albuquerque was able to chase him in the home sixth. Two walks, including a 12-pitch battle by Brian Serven, ended Brown’s night. Reliever Jon Olczak came in and issued a free pass to Coco Montes before Ryan Vilade lifted a sacrifice fly and D.J. Peterson had an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 7-2.

After Sugar Land scored again in the seventh, Leon connected on his second three-run homer of the night in the eighth inning, putting the game well out of reach at 12-2.

*Topes Scope: *- This was the biggest crowd to any Minor League Baseball game this season, shattering the 13,050 that the Louisville Bats drew on April 23. It was also the largest MiLB crowd since the Buffalo Bisons drew 16,409 on May 30, 2019.

- This was the first time the Isotopes have drawn over 15,000 fans to a home game since 15,652 attended the July 4, 2018 contest against Tacoma.

- Albuquerque lost a home game as the Mariachis for just the fifth time, dropping to 13-5 at The Plaza.

- J.D. Hammer entered the contest working on a string of six consecutive scoreless relief appearances, but entered this game in the sixth and immediately served up the back-to-back jacks to Brinson and Lee.

- Despite taking two of the first five games in this series, the Isotopes have a run differential of minus-18 (41-23) against Sugar Land.

- Albuquerque committed two errors, their 10th contest (and second straight) with multiple miscues this season. They have at least one error in 24 of the 35 games.

- Pedro Leon had the sixth multi-homer game for a player against Albuquerque in 2022. Four of the instances have come in May: Kevin Padlo (5/1 vs. SAC), Kevin Pillar (5/6 at OKC), Alex De Goti (5/10 vs. SUG).

- The Isotopes surrendered at least three homers in a contest for the 11th time this season.

On Deck: The Isotopes and Space Cowboys wrap up their series on Sunday afternoon, with right-handed pitcher Zach Neal (2-3, 7.16) scheduled to start for Albuquerque against Sugar Land right-hander Chad Donato (2-2, 4.95). First pitch is set for 1:35 PM. It is Agricultural Day at Isotopes Park and oven mitts will be given to the first 3,000 fans, courtesy of New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau.