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Taters Propel Isotopes for Second Straight Game Against Sacramento

April 28, 2022

Albuquerque, NM – The home team made things enjoyable for elementary school children attending a School Day Matinee at Isotopes Park. Albuquerque (9-12) hit an early barrage of homers for the second consecutive game, going deep five times in the first four innings en route to a 13-2 blowout over

Albuquerque, NM – The home team made things enjoyable for elementary school children attending a School Day Matinee at Isotopes Park. Albuquerque (9-12) hit an early barrage of homers for the second consecutive game, going deep five times in the first four innings en route to a 13-2 blowout over the Sacramento River Cats (11-10) in front of 5,407 fans Thursday afternoon. 13 runs set a new season-high for the Isotopes.

In a carbon copy of last night’s game, Wynton Bernard hit the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning over the wall in left-center for a leadoff home run, giving his team an immediate edge. Sean Bouchard made it back-to-back blasts by going to the same spot of the ballpark, also marking Bouchard’s second straight day with a homer.

The homers continued in the second as Brian Serven and Taylor Snyder each connected on a solo blast to the Isotopes bullpen in left field. For Serven, he has gone deep in each of the last four games he has appeared in.

After Sacramento plated their first run in the third, Albuquerque answered with three in the fourth. Serven doubled before scoring on a single by Jonathan Morales. LJ Hatch then blasted a pitch to left-center for a two-run blast, making it 7-1 in favor of the hosts.

Serven capped his prolific day with a solo homer in the sixth, as he finished 3-for-4 with two home runs and a double.

Brandon Gold pitched well in his first start of the season for Albuquerque, allowing just two runs in four-plus innings. The bullpen was dominant as Reagan Todd, Logan Cozart, Jake Bird and Nate Griep combined to pitch the final five frames with no hits allowed and seven strikeouts.

With the Isotopes rolling, they blew the game completely out of reach in the eighth by scoring five runs, highlighted by Snyder’s three-run triple.

Topes Scope: - Albuquerque hit their most home runs in a contest since mashing six on June 27, 2021 vs. Tacoma. They have now gone deep 18 times in their last six games.

- 13 runs were the most scored for Albuquerque since a 13-5 win over Reno last Sept. 23 at Isotopes Park.

- Hatch now has six home runs as a professional in 559 at-bats, and three of them have come with the Isotopes since Sept. 6 last year. This was his first long ball at Isotopes Park.

- Hatch has reached base safely via hit or walk in 11 of his 19 plate appearances this year after going 3-for-4 today.

- Bernard and Bouchard combined for the second set of back-to-back home runs for the Topes this season, as Colton Welker and Scott Schebler did so April 16 vs. Tacoma.

- Serven’s two homers marked the second multi-homer game for an Isotope in 2022. Bernard hit a pair on April 22 at Round Rock.

- Isotopes pitching snapped a streak of 13 games in a row in which they had given up a long ball. The last time they kept their opponent in the yard was April 12 vs. Tacoma.

- Albuquerque has made life rough for opposing starting pitchers at home this season. In nine games, visiting starters are 0-6 with a 15.73 ERA (30.1 IP/53 ER), 60 hits allowed and 17 home runs given up.

On Deck: The Isotopes aim for three wins in a row Friday night when Frank Duncan (0-1, 13.50) takes the hill against Sean Hjelle (2-0, 1.96). A Mariachis Beanie will be given to the first 2,500 fans 21 and older, courtesy of Modelo Especial. It is also the first of two Bark in the Park nights this season. First pitch will be at 7:05 PM.