Ryan Carpenter tossed seven solid innings on his 27th birthday Tuesday night, but the Sacramento River Cats (57-72) pulled away in the bottom of the ninth with a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Isotopes (62-67) at Raley Field. Albuquerque finished the road trip with a 2-6 record and remains 2.5 games
Ryan Carpenter tossed seven solid innings on his 27th birthday Tuesday night, but the Sacramento River Cats (57-72) pulled away in the bottom of the ninth with a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Isotopes (62-67) at Raley Field. Albuquerque finished the road trip with a 2-6 record and remains 2.5 games back of first place Salt Lake with 12 games left in the regular season.
Carpenter held the River Cats to two runs and six hits during his outing for his 14th quality start of the season. Carpenter also struck out nine batters while walking none. The Glendale, AZ native ranks second in the PCL with 144 strikeouts in 2017, the second-most in a single-season in Isotopes history.
Right-hander Shane Carle retired all three batters he faced in the eighth inning before Carlos Estévez entered the game in the ninth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Estevez threw an errant pickoff to first base that allowed Sacramento to score the game-winning run.
Derrik Gibson was responsible for Albuquerque's only scoring, hitting a two-run double in the fourth inning. Outfielder Noel Cuevas had strong night at the plate with three hits and one walk, raising his batting average to .324 for the year.
Following Wednesday's league-wide off day, the Isotopes will begin their final homestand of the regular season with a four-game series against Salt Lake. Zach Jemiola (5-4, 6.07) will head to hill for Albuquerque on Thursday while right-hander Jaime Barria will make his Triple-A debut for the Bees. First pitch from Isotopes Park is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
