PCL1 Albuquerque Isotopes

Robinson Slam Sends 'Topes to 9-5 Win

Published on July 17, 2011 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Albuquerque Isotopes News Release


Trayvon Robinson unknotted a 3-3 tie with a grand slam in the fifth that propelled the Albuquerque Isotopes (50-45) to a 9-5 series-ending win over the Nashville Sounds (43-52) Sunday evening at Greer Stadium. The streaky Isotopes have now followed up four straight losses with three straight wins.

Nashville surged to an early lead in the first inning when Eric Farris led off the frame with a solo homer that gave the Sounds an immediate 1-0 edge. After a double by Erik Almonte, Taylor Green added an RBI single, doubling the first-inning advantage to 2-0.

The Sounds added another run in the second on a Farris sacrifice fly to take a 3-0 lead before the Isotopes roared back in the top of the fourth. After Albuquerque got on the board when Jay Gibbons scored on a throwing error by the shortstop Farris, A.J. Ellis blasted a two-run double to center that knotted the game at 3-3.

It would not stay deadlocked long. Ivan De Jesus Jr. started the next Isotopes rally in the fifth with a single in front of back-to-back walks to Gibbons and Russ Mitchell that loaded the bases for Robinson, who smashed an opposite-field grand slam home run to left that instantly gave Albuquerque a 7-3 lead. Robinson's blast is the first grand slam hit by an Isotope this season.

Nashville was down but not out, chipping away with a run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI groundout and another in the eighth on an RBI single by Jordan Brown to bring the Sounds back into striking distance at 7-5.

Any thoughts of a late comeback by the home team would be dashed in the top of the ninth, however, when the Isotopes tacked a pair of insurance runs. Gibbons started the uprising with a lead-off double, and three batters later, Ellis knocked him in with a two-out single to right, extending the lead to 8-5 ‚¬ËœTopes. Ellis finished the night with a pair of hits and three RBI. For good measure, Joe Becker laced an RBI single down the right field line, plating Hoffmann, who had reached on a walk, and sending Albuquerque to a comfortable 9-5 win.

For the third time in as many starts the victory went to Isotopes right-hander John Ely (6-4) who grinded through five strong innings, allowing four runs, three of them earned, on five hits while walking three and striking out four. Ely is now a perfect 3-0 in the month of July. The loss went to Sounds starter Amaury Rivas (6-9), his fourth against the ‚¬ËœTopes this season.

Albuquerque will now return home for a four-game series against division-rival Oklahoma City at Isotopes Park. Right-hander Joe Newby (1-3, 4.15) will make his second straight spot start for the Isotopes against RedHawks righty Nelson Figueroa (5-5, 5.61) in a 7:05 PM MT first pitch from The Lab.

The Isotopes return home tomorrow for an eight-game homestand against division rivals Oklahoma City and New Orleans that is highlighted by Dukes Retro Night and an annual Orbit bobble 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.albuquerquebaseball.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 17, 2011


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