Bernard Rescues Isotopes in 7-6 Victory over Chihuahuas
September 11, 2022 – Pacific Coast League (PCL) – Albuquerque Isotopes News Release
Albuquerque, NM – The Wynton Bernard show took center stage on Sunday afternoon at Isotopes Park. Bernard tied the game with a solo home run in the ninth inning, then singled home the winning run in the tenth to cap a five-hit day, as Albuquerque defeated El Paso 7-6 in the series finale.
The Isotopes snapped a franchise-worst 10-game home losing streak with the victory, and also ended a string of 11 consecutive losses to the Chihuahuas.
With the victory, the Isotopes (57-76) also avoided a seven-game sweep at the hands of the Chihuahuas (75-60).
Albuquerque immediately jumped on El Paso starter Jay Groome for two runs in the first inning. Wynton Bernard led off with a double before scoring on Jimmy Herron’s sacrifice fly. Carlos Pérez then launched a solo homer, making it 2-0.
After the Chihuahuas got a run in the second, Bernard cashed in another double in the bottom half, plating Tim Lopes.
Jonathan Morales continued to swing a hot bat with an RBI single in the third, plating Coco Montes, who doubled.
After Smith exited following his quality start, Matt Dennis took over on the mound in the seventh, and was able to strand two runners. However, Dennis allowed a leadoff double in the eighth to Kyle Martin, who scored on Thomas Milone’s single.
Joel Peguero then relieved Dennis. After giving up a one-out double to put runners on second and third, he got out of the inning with a strikeout and groundout in which Lopes made a great diving stop at second base.
With one out in the top of the ninth, C.J. Hinojosa lined a two-run homer into the Chihuahuas bullpen, giving them their first lead at 5-4.
Bernard led off the ninth with a first-pitch solo smash over the wall in center field, tying the game at 5. Sam Hilliard pinch-hit and drew a walk, but the next three hitters were retired, sending the ballgame to extra frames.
El Paso scored a run in the 10th, but a double play grounder ended the frame. In the bottom half, Morales was hit by a pitch, then Lopes hit a grounder to second which was muffed by Kervin Pichardo, loading the bases. Ryan Vilade singled to tie the game, then an out later Bernard delivered his heroics, sending the Isotopes into a frenzy.
Right-handed pitcher Riley Smith was very strong for Albuquerque, turning in six innings of five-hit, two-run ball with eight strikeouts, a season-high.
Topes Scope:
– Bernard recorded the second five-hit game of his professional career, the other was Aug. 23, 2015 with Double-A Akron (Detroit). It was Albuquerque’s fifth five-hit game by a player of the season, a team record for one campaign. This also marks the first time in Isotopes history they had a player record five knocks in back to back contests, as Vilade did so last night.
– It was Bernard’s first contest with three extra-base hits since April 29 vs. Sacramento, when he doubled twice and homered.
– The Topes earned their fourth walk-off victory of 2022 and first since June 28 vs. Sugar Land, when Alan Trejo launched a grand slam.
– Albuquerque won for just the third time in 18 meetings against El Paso this season, breaking an 11-game losing streak to the Chihuahuas that dated back to Aug. 2.
– The Isotopes have avoided a sweep by winning the finale against El Paso three times in the last two seasons. In addition to today, they won at Southwest University Park on May 18, 2021 and June 12, 2022 when in danger of being swept.
– For the first time since Aug. 24 vs. Round Rock, the Isotopes scored first at home (span of 11 games).
– Smith turned in the 16th quality start of the season for Albuquerque, and his sixth, a team-high. It was his first quality start since Aug. 9 vs. Reno. He tallied his most strikeouts in a game (eight) since fanning 10 for Double-A Jackson (Arizona) on June 10, 2019.
– Smith also recorded his best outing of the season against El Paso. Coming into the game, he was 0-2 with a 16.88 ERA (25 ER/13.1 IP) against the Chihuahuas, but lowered the ERA to 12.57 today.
– Pérez launched his first home run since Aug. 28 vs. Round Rock, a span of 26 at-bats.
– Peterson drew multiple walks in a game (two) for the first time since taking three on July 27 vs. Las Vegas. It was his sixth multi-walk game of the season.
– Morales is batting .404 (21-for-52) with 10 runs batted in over his last 13 games. He has seven multi-hit contests during the stretch.
– The Isotopes improved to 14-19 in one-run games, and 7-4 at home. This is the first time they have played three consecutive one-run contests since the first three games of the season, April 5-7 at Oklahoma City.
On Deck: The Isotopes open a six-game home series against the Oklahoma City Dodgers on Tuesday. Right-handed pitcher Brandon Gold is scheduled to start for Albuquerque, while OKC has not announced a probable. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.
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