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Isotopes Fall to Rainiers in Near-Perfecto, 4-0

May 12, 2012 - Pacific Coast League (PCL) Albuquerque Isotopes

Tacoma Rainiers (12-23) starting pitcher Andrew Carraway took a perfect game into the seventh inning but settled for a combined three-hitter as the Rainiers downed the Albuquerque Isotopes (22-14) 4-0 in the two teams' series finale Friday night at Cheney Stadium. The defeat marks just the second time the "˜Topes have been shutout in 2012 but Albuquerque still leaves Tacoma with a series win, taking three of four against the Rainiers.

Making his Triple-A debut, Carraway (1-0) set down 18 Isotopes in a row, cruising into the seventh inning with a perfect game. Fittingly, the chance at history was thwarted by red-hot Elian Herrera, who slapped a lead-off single in the top of the seventh to break up the perfect game and the no-hitter in one fell swoop. Herrera's base knock extends his current hitting streak to 16 straight games, just three shy of a franchise record. When Carraway departed after 7.1 innings of work, he'd surrendered just one hit and walk while striking out four to claim his first career Triple-A victory.

"˜Topes starter Michael Antonini was almost equal to his mound rival, firing three scoreless frames until Guillermo Ortiz smashed a two-out homer to right in the fourth that gave the Rainiers a 1-0 edge. The big-fly turned out to be the only blemish on an otherwise excellent outing for Antonini (1-1), who suffered a hard-luck loss after yielding the one run on just three hits through 6.0 innings while walking one and striking out a season-high eight.

Tacoma would end up blowing a 1-0 game wide open in the eighth, scoring three times on Isotopes reliever Shawn Tolleson, who was also making his Triple-A debut. After back-to-back one out singles by Trayvon Robinson and Carlos Triunfel, Carlos Peguero drew a walk to load the bases. Tolleson then unleashed a wild pitch that went right between the legs of catcher Tim Federowicz, allowing Robinson to coast home and double the home team's lead to 2-0. Yet another wild pitch from Tolleson allowed Triunfel to trot home before Quiroz put the nail in the coffin with an RBI single, extending the Rainiers' lead to 4-0.

The insurance runs proved unnecessary, however, as Tacoma reliever Oliver Perez (1) came on in relief of Carraway and went the route, allowing just two hits in 1.2 innings to close out his first save of the season and the 4-0 Rainiers win.

Albuquerque will now head to Salt Lake City, Utah to begin a four-game series on Saturday with the Bees, Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Right-hander Fernando Nieve (1-1, 12.41) will make his first start for the "˜Topes after spending two weeks on the Disabled List nursing a strained hamstring against Salt Lake lefty Greg Smith (No Record), who will be making his Bees debut. First pitch from Spring Mobile Ballpark is 6:35 PM MT.

After a series in Salt Lake, the Isotopes will return home on May 17 for a 12-game homestand, the longest such stretch of the 2012 season that includes the Celebrity Softball Game, Bark in the Park, fireworks and a 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.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 12, 2012


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