NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Albuquerque Isotopes

Isotopes Rally Falls Short In 7-5 Loss

June 14, 2008 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Albuquerque Isotopes News Release


Down 7-0 in the seventh inning, the Albuquerque Isotopes (31-36) mounted a furious comeback, scoring five runs in the final three innings before ultimately succumbing 7-5 to the Omaha Royals (33-33) Friday night at Isotopes Park. Chris Barnwell led the offensive attack for the 'Topes, recording three hits, including a season-high two doubles, while driving in a pair in the losing effort.

In seven-run hole with nine outs to go, Albuquerque started chipping away at the O-Royals in the seventh when Dallas McPherson roped a one-out double to left-center before scoring on an RBI single by John Baker to put the Isotopes on the board 7-1.

After Barnwell knocked a one-out single in the eighth, the 'Topes struck again on a double that clung to the left-field line off the bat of John Gall, scoring the speedy Barnwell from first and cutting the lead to five at 7-2.

Now within striking distance, Albuquerque made one last stand in the bottom of the ninth in the hopes of replicating the walk-off win from Thursday night. Andrew Beattie got the rally started by drawing a one-out walk before cruising into second on a single by Baker. Chase Lambin then drove a double down the right-field line to plate Beattie and draw the Isotopes to within 7-3. After a strikeout to Lorenzo Scott, Barnwell lined a double to left field, scoring both Baker and Lambin to bring the 'Topes all the way back to within two at 7-5. With the tying run at the plate, however, the O-Royals brought in Joel Peralta, who fanned Gall on three pitches to quell the uprising and seal the 7-5 Royals win.

As much as the final third of the game belonged to Albuquerque, the first two thirds was all Omaha, who erupted for five runs in the third in a rally ignited by a lead-off homer by David Matranga and sustained by a pair of Isotopes errors to allow the O-Royals to jump out to a 5-0 lead.

Miscues would haunt the Isotopes again in the fifth when a throwing error led directly to the Royals' sixth run of the game. With Tupman perched on second, Chris Lubanski smacked a ground ball to second base where Beattie made a spectacular diving stop but threw errantly to first, allowing Tupman to scamper all the way around to score.

Omaha would knock one more run across in the seventh when Matranga struck again with an RBI single to give the Royals a 7-0 cushion.

Royals starter Horacio Ramirez (1-1) earned the win after dominating through six innings in which he allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out four. "Topes right-hander Dallas Trahern (1-6) suffered the loss after yielding six runs, one earned, on nine hits in four and two-thirds innings.

The Isotopes will look to return to the win column in game two of their series against the Omaha Royals tomorrow night as 'Topes right-hander Bobby Keppel (6-6, 5.40) will square off against Royals righty Matt Wright (1-3, 5.64) at Isotopes Park, first pitch slated for 7:05 PM.

Tomorrow night, The Lab will have the sounds of the Beatles echoing as the renowned Beatlemania Again performs a pre-game concert prior to Saturday night's game, gates will open early at 4:30 PM with the concert slated to begin at 5:15 PM Tickets can be purchased at Isotopes Park or any Ticketmaster outlet, www.ticketmaster.com, or Ticketmaster by phone 505-883-7800. For more information on individual game tickets, season tickets, or mini-plans, visit www.albuquerquebaseball.com or call 505-924-2255.

Check out the Albuquerque Isotopes Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board...

Pacific Coast League Stories from June 14, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central