With the bases loaded and down by two in the bottom of the ninth, the Bees had a chance for a comeback win. They failed in their attempt, however, as Michael Bourn hit a fly ball to center to end the inning and the Bees fell to the Albuquerque Isotopes 4-2 on Saturday night at home.
The Bees drew first blood with a home run in the third inning, but runs by the Isotopes in the fourth and eighth kept the Bees at arm's length and allowed Albuquerque to go up 2-0 in this series.
All six of the runs were scored off of home runs.
Turning Point • With the score tied in the top of the eighth, Albuquerque's Noel Cuevas and Jordan Patterson hit back-to-back home runs to put the Isotopes up by two.
Bees MVP • Catcher Carlos Perez went 3 for 4 with a leadoff double in the second inning, a home run in the fourth and a walk in the ninth.
Hidden Hero • Third basemen Sherman Johnson opened scoring for the Bees in the first inning with a home run to right.
Quoteworthy • "The pitchers were attacking the zones [and] going after guys and making guys swing the bat," Bees manager Keith Johnson said on every run being off of a home run. "The defense was playing pretty solid. I think there was only one error between the two teams. It was a good game. Obviously we came out on the short end of it but we gave it our best at the end and just came up a little short."
Angel Angle • Kenyan Middleton pitched a scoreless inning in Thursday night's game at Detroit. Middleton has allowed one earned run in his past 11 appearances (91⁄3 innings). He came into the season ranked as the ninth-best prospect in the Angels system by Baseball America. He has has a 2.51 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 141⁄3 innings.
What's next • The Bees will play the final game of the three-game series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Smith's Ballpark.
PCL Standings
American North W L Pct. GB
Colo Springs (Brewers) 35 24 .593
Okla City (Dodgers) 33 27 .550 2½
Omaha (Royals) 31 29 .517 4½
Iowa (Cubs) 26 36 .419 10½
American South W L Pct. GB
RMemphis (Cardinals) 37 25 .597
Nashville (Athletics) 32 28 .533 4
Round Rock (Rangers) 30 33 .476 7½
New Orleans (Marlins) 22 39 .361 14½
Pacific North W L Pct. GB
Reno (Diamondbacks) 39 23 .629
Tacoma (Mariners) 34 26 .567 4
Fresno (Astros) 29 33 .468 10
Sacramento (Giants) 23 37 .383 15
Pacific South W L Pct. GB
Salt Lake (Angels) 34 28 .548
Albuquerque (Rockies) 30 31 .492 3½
El Paso (Padres) 30 32 .484 4
Las Vegas (Mets) 24 38 .387 10
Saturday's Games
Colorado Springs 8, Iowa 1
Nashville 6, Memphis 3
New Orleans 12, Omaha 4
Oklahoma City 10, Round Rock 5
Colorado Springs at Iowa, 6:08 p.m.
Albuquerque 4, Salt Lake 2
Fresno at El Paso, 7:05 p.m.
Las Vegas at Tacoma, 8:05 p.m.
Reno at Sacramento, 8:05 p.m.
Sunday's games
Albuquerque at Salt Lake, 1:05 p.m.
Nashville at Memphis, 1:05 p.m.
New Orleans at Omaha, 1:05 p.m.
Iowa at Colorado Springs, 1:30 p.m.
Reno at Sacramento, 2:05 p.m.
Las Vegas at Tacoma, 2:35 p.m.
Round Rock at Oklahoma City, 5:05 p.m.
Fresno at El Paso, 6:05 p.m.