Three Stars: August 10 vs. Salt Lake

The Isotopes (60-59) closed their latest homestand with a 10-7 loss to the Salt Lake Bees (55-64) on Wednesday night at Isotopes Park.

After two scoreless innings, Salt Lake put up two runs apiece in the third and fourth frames before Albuquerque cut the gap to 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth with a three-run homer from John Lindsey. But later on in the sixth, the Bees surged for four runs via two-run homers from Jeremy Moore and Gil Velazquez. The ‘Topes got a run back in their half of the inning to pull within 8-4, but in the seventh, Moore struck again with a two-run, inside-the-park homer to give Salt Lake a 10-4 edge.

Albuquerque responded with a three-run seventh, with a Ivan De Jesus Jr. sacrifice fly and a two-run double from Jay Gibbons providing the scoring, but that would be as far as they’d get to the Bees. After a league-wide day off tomorrow, the ‘Topes will begin an eight-game road trip against the Fresno Grizzlies and Sacramento River Cats. First pitch for Friday’s four-game series opener in Fresno will be at 8:05 p.m. MT.

Here are tonight’s Three Stars of the Game for your Isotopes:

1. John Lindsey, DH (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, one run scored)

The big man’s been solid at the plate in recent times, and he continued to swing well tonight with a three-run blast (his 10th of the season) in the fourth inning that got the ‘Topes back in the ball game.

2. Jerry Sands, LF (2-for-4, HR, RBI, two runs scored)

Sands collected his 22nd home run of the year in the sixth inning, which chopped the Bees’ lead to 8-4. He was also part of the ‘Topes three-run inning, hitting a two-out single that was followed by a single from Jamie Hoffmann, which then led to Lindsey’s dinger.

3. Jay Gibbons, 1B-RF (1-for-4, 2 RBI)

Albuquerque didn’t give up despite being down six runs in the seventh inning, and it was Gibby’s two-out, two-run double that put the ‘Topes within striking distance of the Bees once again.

For a full recap of tonight’s game, check out AlbuquerqueBaseball.com!

Three Stars: August 9 vs. Salt Lake

After falling behind early and losing in the last two nights, the Isotopes (60-58) reversed the trend and continued to pour it on Tuesday night, eventually taking a 19-6 romp over the Salt Lake Bees (54-64) at Isotopes Park.

The ‘Topes put up three runs in the first and after the Bees got two of them back in the second, Albuquerque added three more in their half of that inning for a 6-2 lead. Salt Lake cut the lead to 6-3 in the fourth, but the ‘Topes then rattled off two runs in the fourth, two more in the fifth and another in the sixth, taking an 11-3 edge. Then came the seventh, which saw the Bees’ two-run burst in the top half of the inning dwarfed by an eight-run, game-sealing explosion from the ‘Topes in the bottom half — an outburst marked by back-to-back-to-back home runs from Jerry Sands (two-run), Jamie Hoffmann and Justin Sellers and, later in the inning, a grand slam from Ivan De Jesus Jr.

Here are tonight’s Three Stars of the Game for your Isotopes:

1. Jamie Hoffmann (5-for-5, 2 HR, BB, 5 RBI, three runs scored)

The outfielder had a field day with the Bees’ pitching, swatting a three-run homer in the first inning and then a solo shot in the seventh. He also drove in another run with a single in the fourth.

2. Ivan De Jesus, Jr., 2B (4-for-5, HR, BB, 6 RBI, three runs scored)

De Jesus’ grand slam in the seventh inning was Albuquerque’s second of the season and first since Trayvon Robinson’s slam on July 17th against Nashville. The infielder also had a two-run single in the fifth that got the ‘Topes into double digits on the scoreboard.

3. Jerry Sands, 1B (2-for-6, 4 RBI, two runs scored)

Sands was part of the ‘Topes power display in the seventh, cranking his 21st homer of the season. He also helped get the ‘Topes off to a strong start with a two-run double in the second inning, pushing their early edge to 6-2.

For a full recap of tonight’s game, check out AlbuquerqueBaseball.com!

Three Stars: August 8 vs. Salt Lake

For the second straight night, the Isotopes (59-58) fell into a deep early hole, battled back to make it a game and eventually came up short, dropping a 9-6 decision to the Salt Lake Bees (54-63) on Monday night at Isotopes Park.

After spotting the Bees a pair of runs in the top of the second, the ‘Topes hit the board in their half of the inning with an RBI single from A.J. Ellis. But Salt Lake would respond with a run in the fourth to make it 3-1, and then surged for five runs in the fifth inning. Down 8-1, the ‘Topes whittled away at the gap with two runs in the fifth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth, but the Bees tacked on one more run in their ninth. Reliever Ryan Brasier then went through the ‘Topes 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the frame to seal a win for the visitors.

Here are tonight’s Three Stars of the Game for the Isotopes:

1. Justin Sellers, SS (2-for-4, 2 RBI, one run scored)

A pair of doubles — one that triggered a two-run fifth for Albuquerque and another that plated Jay Gibbons and Jamie Hoffmann to cut Salt Lake’s lead to 8-6 in the eighth — keyed Sellers’ night and helped the ‘Topes climb back into the contest.

2. A.J. Ellis, DH (1-for-3, BB, RBI)

After Salt Lake jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second, Ellis knocked a two-out single to right field in the bottom half of the inning to score Jamie Hoffmann, who had doubled earlier with one away.

3. Tim Federowicz (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, one run scored)

Three Triple-A hits, three home runs. In addition to a RBI groundout in the fifth inning, “FedEx” clocked a solo homer off Bees starting pitcher Jerome Williams in the seventh, which pulled the ‘Topes within 8-4.

For a full recap of tonight’s game, head on over to AlbuquerqueBaseball.com!

Three Stars: August 7 vs. Salt Lake

The Isotopes (59-57) fell to the Salt Lake Bees (53-63), 11-8, in the series-opening game of a four-game set on Sunday night at Isotopes Park.

The Bees, who were led by designated hitter Hank Conger and his six-RBI performance, plated three runs each in the first and second innings, shooting out to a 6-0 lead, and after spotting the ‘Topes their first run of the night in the third, they tacked on two more in the fourth for an 8-1 edge. Albuquerque responded with a four-run fourth — three of those runs coming from Tim Federowicz’s second home run with the ‘Topes — to pull within 8-5, but the Bees plated a pair of runs in the sixth to push the lead to 10-5. A three-run sixth got the ‘Topes within 10-8, but that would be as far as they got as Salt Lake got one more in the seventh to cap the night’s scoring.

Here are Sunday’s Three Stars of the Game for your Isotopes:

1. Tim Federowicz, C (1-for-3, 3 RBI, two runs scored)

After hitting his first home run in Triple-A last night against Tacoma, Federowicz claimed his second in the fourth inning off Salt Lake starting pitcher Trevor Bell to get Albuquerque back in the game.

2. Russ Mitchell, 3B (2-for-3, one RBI, one BB)

Mitchell continues to swing a hot bat, and his RBI single in the sixth inning helped the Isotopes cut Salt Lake’s lead to 10-8. He also collected a single earlier in the fourth inning.

3. Ivan De Jesus, Jr. (1-for-5, one RBI)

After leaving the bases loaded in the fifth, the ‘Topes found themselves in the same position with one out in the sixth. The same fate wouldn’t befall them again, as DeJesus’ bloop single got Federowicz home and triggered a three-run burst for Albuquerque.

For more on tonight’s game, head over to AlbuquerqueBaseball.com!