51s drop doubleheader at last-place Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Just over a month ago, the 51s dropped both games of a doubleheader to the Albuquerque Isotopes.
On Tuesday, the 51s suffered the same fate, losing 7-0 and 4-3 to Albuquerque at Isotopes Park.
“Some teams you just don’t play good baseball against,” Las Vegas manager Wally Backman said. “I don’t really get that, because when I go position by position and pitcher by pitcher, there’s no way that team’s supposed to beat us like this.”
But the 51s have lost six straight games to last-place Albuquerque (52-64) and are 4-11 against the Isotopes this season.
In the first game, Las Vegas starter Duane Below (5-10) got tagged for seven runs — five earned.
The Isotopes jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning after a single following Johnny Monell’s misplayed pickoff. They scored again in the third on a triple after a Monell error on another pickoff attempt and led 3-0.
The 51s never recovered. They managed just three hits — two from T.J. Rivera, one from Niuman Romero — off Eddie Butler, who threw a seven-inning compete game.
In the second game, 51s starter Tyler Pill, recently called up from Double-A Binghamton, gave up three runs on two home runs in the first inning. But he settled down after that, retiring 12 in a row to end his five-inning outing.
“He kind of turned the page after the first inning, and he pitched very well,” Backman said. “He pitched well enough to get a win tonight. He came out of the game after five innings not because of his pitch count (but) because I had to use (Jim) Henderson.”
The 51s had scored twice in the second and tied the score in the sixth on Travis Taijeron’s home run before Henderson (0-1) took over in the bottom of the inning.
Henderson, in Las Vegas on a rehab assignment from the New York Mets, gave up the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly.
The losses send the 51s to 57-61 on the season, a far cry from where they think they should be.
“We’ve never been four games under .500, I don’t think,” Backman said. “When I look at the talent that we put on that field and compare it to the other teams that we’re playing, it’s disappointing that we’re not winning more games.”
Up next
Who: Las Vegas 51s at Albuquerque Isotopes
When: 5:35 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Isotopes Park
Starters: Sean Gilmartin (9-5, 4.63 ERA), 51s, vs. Kyle Freeland (2-2, 5.40 ERA)
Next five
Thursday: Off
Friday: New Orleans at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday: New Orleans at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday: New Orleans at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Monday: New Orleans at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Update
Sean Gilmartin will be activated from the disabled list before Wednesday’s game. He hasn’t pitched since July 20 because of shoulder tendinitis.
Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand
