PCL Albuquerque Isotopes

Lambert, Dennis Lead Albuquerque over Round Rock, 6-3

Published on May 27, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Albuquerque Isotopes News Release


Albuquerque, NM - Pitching was the story on Thursday evening at Isotopes Park. Rehabbing Colorado Rockies starter Peter Lambert went three innings of scoreless, three-hit ball and Matt Dennis followed with 2.2 frames with just an unearned tally relented. The offense was able to chip in a few timely hits, and it added up to a 5-3 Topes win over the Round Rock Express.

The Isotopes (19-26) quickly got on the board when Ryan Vilade walked to start the first before scoring on Elehuris Montero's RBI single. However, Albuquerque squandered chance to pad their lead over the next three frames.

In the second and third, the Topes left a combined three runners on base but strung together a trio of hits in the fourth. Sean Bouchard doubled in his second at-bat since coming off the Injured List, then Bret Boswell singled before Kyle Holder brought home Bouchard with a two-out RBI knock.

The home team doubled their advantage to 4-0 in the fifth when Tim Lopes connected on a two-run blast into the visitors bullpen, his fourth clout of the campaign.

Round Rock (28-17) found the scoreboard in the sixth after a pair of doubles and a fielding error by Bouchard at first base, but Albuquerque made it 5-1 in the bottom half thanks to four walks and two wild pitches by Express reliever Yerry Rodriguez.

Matters became a bit dicey for the Topes in the seventh as Nick Tanielu led off with a double against Julian Fernández before scoring on a one-out triple by Bubba Thompson. Josh Smith then knocked in a run with a groundout, making it 5-3 at the stretch.

After Zach Lee walked a batter while also recording two outs in the eighth, Albuquerque manager Warren Schaeffer went to his closer Chad Smith with the tying run at the plate. Smith rewarded his skipper by striking out Meibrys Viloria to end the eighth, then set down the Express in order in the ninth to close it out.

Topes Scope: - Smith now has a 10.1 inning scoreless streak over nine appearances dating back to April 30. He has fanned at least one batter in 15 of his 17 outings this season.

- Smith's career Triple-A ERA is 2.58 over 53 appearances with Albuquerque (2021 and 2022).

- Lopes' homer in the fifth was just Albuquerque's 13th this month after hitting 39 in April. He broke a four-game homerless drought for the Topes, which had been their longest since June 3-6, 2021 vs. Las Vegas.

- The Isotopes drew eight walks, their most in a contest since eight on May 11 vs. Sugar Land. It was their 10th time with five or more free passes in a game this year; it has now occurred three nights in a row.

- The game lasted 3:02, just the eighth of 33 Isotopes contests to finish in over three hours since enforcement of pace of play began on April 15. However, this is the third time it has happened since May 19.

- Fernández has surrendered a run in 11 of 17 games in which he has pitched this season.

- Ryan Vilade batted leadoff for Albuquerque and was 0-for-3 with a pair of walks. He is batting .228 (18-for-79) when hitting first or second in the lineup as compared to .340 (17-for-50) from the seven-hole.

On Deck: The Isotopes and Express will play game four tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. Albuquerque is undecided on a starting pitcher, while Round Rock will throw left-hander Jake Latz. Camo Hats will be given to the first 3,000 fans, courtesy of Pepsi.

Check out the Albuquerque Isotopes Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 27, 2022


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