Repko Irrepressible In 4-2 'Topes Win
Albuquerque drew first blood in the second inning in a rally ignited by Repko, who roped a double to left and scored on a single by Chin-Lung Hu to give the Isotopes a quick and tidy 1-0 lead.
Repko struck again in the fourth, hammering a solo home run to extend the 'Topes' lead to 2-0.
Already responsible for both of the Isotopes' tallies, the fleet-footed outfielder was once again in the center of Albuquerque's third offensive rally of the contest in the sixth. Luis Maza led off the inning with a walk and scampered into third when Repko singled to right. As Vegas starter David Purcey started to deliver a pitch to the plate, Repko took off for second. The ball escaped catcher J.P. Arencibia for a wild pitch, allowing Maza to sprint home as Repko slid into second with a stolen base. The speedy Repko was not finished there, however, swiping third base as well, a move that proved prescient as the next batter Hu lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring the runner from third and giving Albuquerque a 4-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Isotopes pitchers baffled the 51s, holding Vegas to four hits in seven innings. Starter Josh Lindblom tossed a pair of scoreless innings to start the game, allowing just a hit and a walk while fanning one. Lindblom then gave way to Giancarlo Alvarado who was typically dominant. Through 5.2 innings, Alvarado allowed two runs on five hits while walking three and increasing his PCL-leading strikeout total to 126 with seven punch-outs. By locking down the victory, Alvarado (11-9) is tied with Charlie Haeger for the most victories in the Pacific Coast League this season.
The 51s finally broke through on Alvarado in the bottom of the eighth, courtesy of back-to-back homers by Travis Snider and Brian Dopirak that trimmed the advantage to 4-2, but Albuquerque's bullpen came on to douse the rally. Brent Leach finished off the eighth by inducing a line-out to left before closer Scott Strickland entered in the ninth to try and secure the save. Las Vegas made it interesting on Strickland, putting two on with a single and an error, but the indomitable closer escaped any damage by getting Howie Clark to fly out to center to end the game, earning Strickland his PCL-leading 26th save of the season in a 4-2 Isotopes triumph.
Left-hander Scott Elbert (1-1, 5.16) will look to guide the Isotopes to a fourth straight victory tomorrow against Vegas righty Marty McLeary (1-1, 5.56) in an 8:05 PM MT start from Cashman Field in downtown Las Vegas.
After two more days in Vegas and four more in Reno, the 'Topes are back on Saturday, August 22 for a 13-game homestand, the longest in team history.
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 www.albuquerquebaseball.com or www.ticketmaster.com. For more information or for a complete list of 2009 promotions visit www.albuquerquebaseball.com.