Isotopes Make Grand Slam History in 12-9 Loss to Dodgers
September 16, 2022 – Pacific Coast League (PCL) – Albuquerque Isotopes News Release
Albuquerque, NM – Wynton Bernard and the Albuquerque Isotopes made more grand slam history on Friday night. Bernard launched Albuquerque’s 14th slam of the season, setting an all-time Minor League Baseball record for a team in one season. It also tied the professional baseball record for one campaign.
Despite the heroics, Albuquerque (59-78) fell to Oklahoma City (77-62) by a final score of 12-9. The Dodgers remained 1.0 games behind first-place El Paso in the PCL’s Eastern Division, with 11 games left in the season.
The Isotopes struck first when Carlos Pérez brought home Ezequiel Tovar with an RBI single in the first innings.
Oklahoma City plated a run in the second, but Tovar put his team ahead again with a solo clout off the scoreboard in left-center, his first homer at Triple-A.
A double-play grounder briefly evened it at two, then LJ Hatch crushed a two-run shot to left in the fourth, making it 4-2 Isotopes.
Albuquerque starter Karl Kauffmann walked a pair in the fifth, then Edwin Rios made him pay with a three-run homer to left-center field, giving the Dodgers their first lead at 5-4.
Devin Mann added to Oklahoma City’s advantage with a two-run shot over the center field wall in the sixth, upping the score to 7-4.
The homer barrage continued in the seventh and eighth. Jacob Amaya delivered the dagger, a three-run blast to left with two outs off Nick Kennedy, as the Dodgers vaulted in front 10-4 at the stretch. In the eighth, Ryan Noda reached the third level of the berm with a two-run shot.
Bernard delivered his slam in the eighth inning, a blast into the Smith’s Pavilion on a 2-0 pitch from Marshall Kasowski.
Topes Scope: – Albuquerque set an all-time Minor League Baseball record with their 14th grand slam of the season. They are tied with the 2000 Oakland Athletics and 2006 Cleveland Indians for most slams by one team in a campaign.
– Bernard’s slam was the third of his professional career and second this season. He also went deep with the bases full on July 24 vs. Sugar Land.
– Bernard tallied his team-leading 41st multi-hit game of the year. He is batting .407 (22-for-54) with six doubles, three homers and 12 RBI in 14 games since returning to the team Aug. 31. Bernard has hits in 12 of their 14 contests.
– Bernard’s home run was his 20th of the season, meaning he has registered the 20/20 season in Isotopes history (he currently has 29 steals). The other two were Joc Pederson in 2014 (eventually reached 30/30) and Sam Hilliard in 2019 (35/22). Bernard also picked up his 30th double, the 25th Isotopes player to record at least 30 two-baggers in one campaign. The only seasons it didn’t happen were 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2013.
– The Isotopes have 224 home runs, second in all of professional baseball behind the New York Yankees (225).
– Tovar went deep for the first time since June 14 vs. Akron, a span of 62 at-bats. It was his 28th multi-hit game of the season out of 68 played between Hartford and Albuquerque.
– Pérez tallied his 78th RBI of the season, but only his sixth in the month of September.
– Hatch’s home run was his eighth of the season. 10 of his 13 long balls as a professional have come at Triple-A, all since Sept. 6, 2021.
– Tonight was the third time this season four different Isotopes pitchers all surrendered a home run. It also happened April 20 at Round Rock and May 10 vs. Sugar Land. It was also the 14th time Albuquerque has given up at least four long balls in a contest.
– This was the 23rd game decided by eight runs or more, and Albuquerque dropped to 8-15, including 6-9 at home.
– Albuquerque allowed double digit runs in a contest for the 32nd time, and they have yet to win when it has happened.
– The Isotopes have not scored in double digits since July 29, a span of 40 games.
– Ryan Vilade struck out three times in a game for the fourth time this season. It was the 14th time he has done so in his professional career, tying his worst.
– Kauffmann tied his career-high for walks with five, set on four separate occasions, most recently July 26 vs. Las Vegas. He has issued at least three free passes in eight of his 11 Triple-A starts.
– JD Hammer has a 13.00 ERA (9 IP/13 ER) over his last nine appearances with six of his nine 2022 homers allowed during this stretch that started Aug. 18.
– Nick Kennedy has allowed at least one run in 18 of his 39 outings, and multiple runs in 13 of his appearances.
On Deck: Albuquerque and Oklahoma City will be back at it Saturday at 12:05 PM. Left-handed pitcher Logan Allen is slated to start for the Isotopes, while fellow southpaw Robbie Erlin is scheduled for the Dodgers.
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