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Quakes' Isabel drives in team-record eight runs

Dodgers prospect belts two homers, falls triple short of the cycle
Ibandel Isabel has hit 13 home runs at home and 13 on the road this season. (Ben Sandstrom/MiLB.com)
August 19, 2017

Ibandel Isabel was so locked in at the plate on Friday night, even his singles were setting records.The Dodgers prospect homered twice and eclipsed the Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga mark with eight RBIs as the Quakes defeated Lake Elsinore, 12-6, at The Diamond. He finished 4-for-5 and fell a

Ibandel Isabel was so locked in at the plate on Friday night, even his singles were setting records.
The Dodgers prospect homered twice and eclipsed the Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga mark with eight RBIs as the Quakes defeated Lake Elsinore, 12-6, at The Diamond. He finished 4-for-5 and fell a triple shy of the cycle.

"I can't recall a moment in my little career in baseball where I've seen a guy knock in eight runs and hit two balls probably a combined half a mile," Rancho Cucamonga manager Drew Saylor said. "It was pretty special to be able to see that."
Box score
Isabel blasted a three-run shot to left field in his first at-bat in the second inning. He drove in another run with a single off the wall in right in the fourth. Radar guns clocked the hit at 120 mph off the bat, the second-hardest hit ball in the Statcast era behind a June home run by Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
Isabel added an RBI double to right in the eighth after grounding out in the sixth.
The 22-year-old stepped to the plate for the final time with two runners on in the ninth to face right-hander José Ruiz.
"They brought in Ruiz and we know he's an upper-90's arm, kind of a max effort-type thrower," Saylor said. "We knew it was going to be strength versus strength."
Isabel worked the count to 2-2, then sent the fifth pitch the opposite way over the fence in right-center. The blast sent the Quakes dugout into an uproar.
"Obviously, they were excited, knowing it was going to be a home run, but as the ball continued to fly I think that's when everybody was looking at each other going, 'Wow,'" Saylor said.
Aside from shattering his previous career high of five RBIs -- set on April 28 against Lancaster -- Isabel grabbed sole possession of the Rancho Cucamonga record. Four Quakes had produced seven RBIs, with Carlos Duncan doing it most recently on May 24, 2002.

The native of the Dominican Republic also surged ahead of teammate DJ Peters for the California League lead with 26 long balls in 108 games. Before this season, his previous career high was 12 homers.
"The power that you see, it's God-given," Saylor said. "Even in batting practice, the opposing team will come out early just to watch the displays he puts on. I don't think there's anything that I can say he's tapped into that he hasn't done in years past. I think what we're trying to teach him is learning how to harness it and conduct some professional at-bats.
"He doesn't need to hit the ball 600 feet, even though he can do that, but needs to be an advanced hitter and continue to grow and be the player we hope he can become one day."
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Nolan Long (1-0) got the win, despite allowing two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out two in the seventh inning. Tony Gonsolin yielded two hits and fanned three over two scoreless frames to notch his fourth save.
Storm starter Jerry Keel (1-3) surrendered seven runs on 10 hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in a season-high 7 2/3 innings.

Alex Kraft is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow and chat with him on Twitter @Alex_Kraft21.