ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - After a weather-delayed start on Saturday, the Bees fell behind early as Albuquerque built a 7-0 lead through seven innings. Salt Lake scored twice late, but the deficit proved too much as the Bees dropped an 8-2 decision to the Isotopes in their penultimate game of the season.
Albuquerque 8, Salt Lake 2
WP: Jake Brooks (4-4)
LP: Ryan Costeiu (1-3)
Key Performers
Arol Vera: 3-4, R, 2 2B
Logan Porter: 2-4, R, HR, RBI
Brady Choban: 1.0 IP, 2 K, 0 H, 0 R
Game Summary
After a one-hour, one-minute delay to the start of the game, Albuquerque put its first two runners on in the third inning, one via a single and the other on a throwing error. The single came around to score on another throwing error, giving the Isotopes the first run of the game. The runner who reached on the first error later scored on a sacrifice fly, giving Albuquerque a 2-0 lead after three innings.
The score stayed at a stand still until two outs in the bottom of the fifth, when Edouard Julien pulled a double to right field to bring home Albuquerque's third run of the night.
In the sixth inning, the Isotopes loaded the bases with two outs. Tyler Freeman then lined a cutter off Jared Southard’s arm and into left field, driving in three runs with a double to extend Albuquerque’s lead to 6-0. Julien came through again with an RBI single to cap the scoring and push the lead to 7-0 after six innings.
Logan Porter went on to spark some two out magic in the seventh inning, Logan Porter demolished his fifth homer of the season 391 feet into the pavilion beyond the left field wall for the Bees first run, cutting the deficit to six.
Arol Vera’s second double of the game made it back-to-back innings with the Bees scoring a run. Raudi Rodriguez came through again, lining a single off the first baseman’s glove to score Vera from second and make it 8-2 heading to the bottom of the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, Albuquerque stretched its advantage by plating an eighth run courtesy of a line-drive RBI single, sending the contest into the final frame.
Though Salt Lake put two runners on in the ninth, the comeback attempt fell short in Saturday’s defeat.
Game Notes
- Salt Lake fell to 11-17 on Saturdays, dropping their penultimate game of the season. The Bees lost their fifth straight Saturday contest, last seeing the win column on that day on August 15 in El Paso. Additionally, Salt Lake is 8-9 in September and needs a win in the season finale to finish .500 in the month for the first time since 2023 (13-8 record).
- The Bees committed three errors for the second time in the month of September. The first came on Sept. 3 in Sac. Salt Lake is 31-53 overall and 14-27 on the road when they commit at least one error.
- Reaching 1,406 total hits for the season, Salt Lake officially eclipsed the 1,400-hit milestone. This marks the highest hit total for a Bees team since 2018, when they capped off the campaign with 1,402.
- After scoring first in the first three games of the week, the Bees have let the Isotopes post the game’s first run in consecutive outings. Albuquerque opened yesterday and today’s games with a two-run third and never relinquished the lead in either contest.
- Making his eighth career Triple-A start, Bees right-hander Ryan Costeiu pitched five innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits while striking out four—his highest strikeout total since punching out eight on Sept. 3 in Sacramento. The outing also pushed him past the 400-inning mark for his Minor League career.
- Yolmer Sánchez became the game's first baserunner by drawing a seven-pitch walk with two outs. The free pass extended the veteran's on-base streak to six consecutive games.
- To lead off the second inning, Ben Gobbel lined a sweeper to the pull side for a single, extending his on-base streak to nine games. The infielder has also recorded hits in eight of his last nine games.
- Arol Vera managed his first three-hit effort of the campaign and first at any level since July 12, 2025 with High-A Tri-City. With one out in the third inning, Arol Vera laced his fifth double of the season into the right-center gap. It marked his second double in the past three games while extending his hit and on-base streaks to three games. Vera later beat out the throw for his second double of the game and sixth of the season after a line drive bounced past the shortstop. It marked his first multi-double game at any level since June 7, 2023, as a Dust Devil against the Eugene Emeralds. A ninth-inning single completed the three-hit ledger, coming out of the nine spot. Vera is the seventh Bee to notch a three-hit performance batting ninth this season, and first since Logan Porter did so on August 26 at Tacoma.
- Omar Martinez kept the top of the fifth inning going with a single to the opposite field. In his first game back from the development list, the catcher recorded his first hit since Sept. 4 at Sacramento. The game marks his 70th of the season.
- Leading off the sixth inning, Nelson Rada sliced a ball through the five-hole for his first hit of the game. The outfielder extended his on-base streak to eight games and his hit streak to four.
- Sparking some two-out magic, Logan Porter launched his fifth homer of the season 391 feet into the pavilion beyond the left-field wall. The long ball was his first extra-base hit since his last homer on Aug. 19 against Reno. Porter also extended his on-base streak to four games with the round-tripper. The catcher singled in the ninth inning, securing his first multi-hit performance since a three hit day on Aug. 26 in Tacoma.
- In an injury-shortened outing—his 55th appearance of the year—Jared Southard surrendered four runs across 0.2 innings, marking his briefest stint on the mound since being pulled without recording an out on Sept. 2 in Sacramento.
- Leonard Garcia closed out the sixth inning on 13 pitches. The southpaw has struck out at least one batter in 15 of his 16 outings with the Bees this season after punching out one tonight.
- With one out in the eighth inning, Raudi Rodriguez lined a slider off the first baseman’s glove to plate Arol Vera from second. The knock extended his on-base streak to five games and his hit streak to four, while giving him RBIs in two of his last three games.
- Niko Kavadas kept the top of the eighth going with a two-out walk. The first baseman extended his on-base streak to nine games with the free pass and has now drawn a walk in back-to-back games.
- Salt Lake’s fourth pitcher of the game, Brady Choban, got through the bottom of the seventh inning unscathed. The righty struck out two in his inning of work, his highest total since June 12 in Reno when he also fanned a pair. He has now posted scoreless outings in consecutive games.
- In his 23rd outing, Dillon Tate surrendered his first run since Aug. 29 in Tacoma—an unearned tally resulting from a defense mishap. Across his stint, the right-hander scattered two hits and punched out one.
Up Next
The Salt Lake Bees gear up for their 2026 season finale against the Isotopes in Albuquerque, with game 148 of 148 set for 1:35 p.m. MDT inside Isotopes Park.