'Topes Trumped By Aces, 22-8
Reno came out swinging in the bottom of the first when Jake Elmore, the second batter of the game, roped an RBI triple, putting the Aces on the board 1-0. After a Josh Bell single scored Elmore, Mike Jacobs smashed a two-run homer to right, giving the home team a quick 4-0 advantage. Three batters later, Taylor Harbin capped the opening stanza with a solo homer, boosting the advantage to 5-0.
The offensive eruption by the Aces continued in the third, as the home team plated four more. After an RBI single by Harbin and a run-scoring groundout made the score 7-0, Elmore hammered a two-run double to right, padding the advantage to nine runs after just three innings.
Albuquerque finally answered in the fourth in a rally ignited by a one-out single from Jerry Sands and a walk to Scott Van Slyke. With two runners on, Federowicz smashed a three-run shot to right, trimming the lead to 9-3 Aces. Ivan De Jesus Jr. kept the rally going with a double and promptly scored on a single by pitcher Cole St. Clair, bringing the Isotopes within 9-4.
Reno scored again in the fourth to make the score 10-4 but the 'Topes rallied one more time in the fifth. Alex Castellanos laced a one-out double, and after a walk to Sands, Federowicz hammered a double to right, plating both runners and cutting the deficit to just four runs at 10-6. Federowicz finished the night 3-for-5 with a season-high five RBI to almost singlehandedly lead the Isotopes offensive attack.
Four runs proved to be as close as the visitors would get, as the Aces delivered the knock-out punch in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Bell started the uprising with an RBI single in front of a walk to Jacobs and an RBI double by A.J. Pollock that made the score 12-6. Luis Vasquez then entered the game and immediately unleashed a wild pitch, allowing Jacobs to score. After Federowicz tracked down the ball at the backstop, his throw back to Vasquez covering home sailed over the pitcher's head, allowing Pollock to score and increase the lead to 14-6. That play would prove to be a harbinger of the rest of the inning, as Vasquez loaded the bases on two walks and a hit-by-pitch before plunking Tyler Graham to send in another run. After Adam Eaton drew another base on balls to drive in another tally, Ramon Troncoso entered the game and surrendered another bases loaded walk, making the score 17-6. The Aces then added three more on a two-run double by Bell and an RBI single by Jacobs to cap the 10-run inning, executed entirely with two outs.
Albuquerque added a run in the eighth and another in the ninth, but the late rally was in vain as Reno tacked on two more in the bottom of the eighth to coast to a 22-8 win.
The 'Topes will look to bounce back on Saturday behind right-hander Stephen Fife (8-5, 4.25), who will make the start for Albuquerque against Aces spot-starter righty Bryan Henry (2-0, 3.86) in an 8:05 PM MT start from Aces Ballpark.
After an eight-game road trip to Reno and then Colorado Springs, the 'Topes are back home on Saturday, August 18 for a four-game homestand with division-rival New Orleans. The weekend includes Saturday fireworks and a Green Chile Bobblehead giveaway!
Tickets for any Isotopes game may be purchased at the Isotopes Park Box Office, at Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or on-line at www.abqisotopes.com or www.ticketmaster.com.