Round Rock Drops Series Opener 8-5 in Albuquerque 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Round Rock Express (62-56) allowed eight unanswered runs as they fell to the Albuquerque Isotopes (54-63) by a final score of 8-5 in Tuesday night’s series opener at Isotopes Park.

Round Rock starter LHP Kolby Allard (1-3, 5.37) went home with the loss after a 4.0-inning outing that saw seven runs, six of which were earned, eight hits, two walks and two punchouts. Albuquerque reliever RHP Matt Dennis (5-3, 7.12) earned the win with 3.1 shutout innings. Isotopes RHP Chad Smith earned a save with a shutout ninth frame.

Along the Train Tracks:

• Round Rock plated all five of its runs in the first inning to kick off the night’s action. CF Elier Hernandez hit a leadoff single before being taken off the basepath as LF Nick Solak grounded into a force out. A Josh Jung walk moved Solak to second and single from DH Yohel Pozo sent home the first run of the game.
• Jung scored next on a single from 1B Andy Ibáñez before SS Davis Wendzel doubled to send Pozo and Ibáñez home. A single from 2B Ryan Dorow plated Wendzel and made it a 5-0 game.
• Albuquerque trimmed the lead to 5-2 in the second frame when LF Ryan Vilade tripled to score 1B D.J. Peterson and a Bret Boswell double drove Vilade in.
• The Isotopes took over the lead in the fourth inning thanks to three home runs. After a leadoff single from Vilade, C Jonathan Morales went yard to score the pair. With one out, 2B LJ Hatch and 3B Tim Lopes hit back-to-back jacks and pushed Albuquerque ahead 6-5. SS Coco Montes followed Lopes with a double before scoring thanks to a single from RF Michael Toglia for a 7-5 lead.
• The home team extended their advantage to 8-5 in the eighth when Montes hit the fourth home run of the night for the Isotopes. The Express went down in order with one lineout and two groundouts in the top of the ninth as the 8-5 score held to be final.

E-Train Excerpts:

• Express DH Yohel Pozo hit 1-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored in his return to Round Rock’s lineup on Tuesday night. Pozo last appeared in a game for the E-Train on June 12 in Tacoma before being placed on the team’s Temporary Inactive List. He was reactivated on August 21.
• Round Rock SS Davis Wendzel tallied a multi-hit night after going 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run scored and one walk. The outing marked Wendzel’s ninth multi-hit game of the season.
• 3B Josh Jung did not record a hit for the first time since coming off of the Express Injured List on August 9. The infielder went 0-for-4 with one walk, one run scored and one strikeout. The hitless outing snapped an active hit streak of 10 games for Jung.
• Round Rock’s bullpen continued its streak of unearned runs into Tuesday night’s eighth inning. The streak ended at 29.1 before reliever RHP Daniel Robert allowed an Albuquerque home run. RHP Fernery Ozuna tossed 2.0 innings and struck out one before RHP Tyler Duffey earned one shutout inning and two Ks.

Next up: Round Rock and Albuquerque play for game two on Wednesday night at Isotopes Park. Express RHP Cole Winn (8-4, 5.62) is scheduled to toe the rubber against Isotopes RHP Brandon Gold (6-5, 6.25). First pitch is set for 7:35 p.m. CT.

Single game tickets are available for purchase or bring your group to Dell Diamond. For more information on the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!