Trejo's Walk-Off Grand Slam Stuns Space Cowboys, 11-9

Albuquerque, NM – In a night of dramatic twists and turns, Alan Trejo had the last laugh.

The Albuquerque Isotopes shortstop belted a walk-off grand-slam to center field in the bottom of the 11th inning, completing his team’s second dramatic rally of the night as the Topes defeated Sugar Land 11-9 in the series opener at Isotopes Park. Trejo’s hit was the first walk-off grand slam in Isotopes history.

Wynton Bernard was Albuquerque’s automatic runner to start the bottom of the 11th. Dom Nuñez launched a towering drive to right-center that hit off the very top of the wall for a double, but Bernard was only able to reach third. Pérez then walked to load the bases, but Sam Hilliard went down swinging for the first out. After Jon Olczak threw a first-pitch strike to Trejo, the right-handed batter destroyed a pitch well into the trees in center field.

Neal and Space Cowboys starter Brett Conine combined to set down the first nine batters of the game before Albuquerque got to work against Conine in the second.

Sam Hilliard led off with an infield single before Trejo doubled him home with the game’s initial run. Scott Schebler reached on another infield hit, then Trejo scored on a base hit from Coco Montes. With the bases loaded and two outs later in the frame, Nuñez took a full-count pitch for ball four, enabling Boswell to trot home with the third run.

Jose Siri homered off the scoreboard to put Sugar Land on the board in the fourth, but Albuquerque had an answer in the bottom half. Boswell delivered an RBI double before scoring on a two-out RBI single by Nuñez.

Sugar Land started their comeback in the fifth when Lewis Brinson and Pedro León each launched solo blasts off Neal, cutting the deficit to 5-3.

In the sixth, Neal walked the leadoff man before issuing a one-out single. He was replaced by JD Hammer, who surrendered an RBI single to Taylor Jones but retired the next two batters, keeping Albuquerque in the lead.

With the Isotopes still nursing a one-run edge in the seventh, Zach Lee gave up a leadoff double to Pedro León. León was still on third base when Lee issued a walk, prompting skipper Warren Schaeffer to bring in Justin Lawrence. Jose Siri immediately connected on a two-run double to give Sugar Land their first lead, then immediately scored when Enmanuel Valdez singled, making it 7-5.

With a runner on first in the ninth and Sugar Land one out away from wrapping up a 7-5 win, Trejo singled to keep the game alive. Schebler then bounced a ball through the shift into right field, enabling Pérez to score on the single. Right fielder Pedro León’s throw to try and nab Pérez was off line, and Trejo scampered home to tie it up. Montes then struck out, sending the contest to extras.

After neither team scored in the 10th, the Space Cowboys came roaring back in the 11th. David Hensley lined a leadoff single up the middle to plate León from second base. After a groundout, Korey Lee plated Hensley with his own base hit to make it 9-7 Sugar Land.

Topes Scope: - Trejo hit his second walk-off home run as an Isotope, having also done so Sept. 24, 2021 vs. Reno. He is the fourth player to hit multiple walk-off blasts as a Tope, joining Paul Hoover, Jerry Sands and Dustin Garneau. Overall, this was the 33rd game-ending home run in Isotopes history.

- Trejo hit his third grand slam with Albuquerque (July 5, 2021 vs. El Paso and May 7, 2022 at Oklahoma City).

- Trejo recorded his first three-hit and three-run game since Sept. 9, 2021 vs. El Paso.

- The Isotopes have seven grand slams this season, tied with the Reno Aces for the most in affiliated baseball.

- Albuquerque won their seventh straight home game, their longest streak at Isotopes Park since rattling off nine from Aug. 6-23, 2016.

- The Topes won a contest when trailing after eight innings for the first time since Sept. 24, 2021 vs. Reno, when they entered the ninth down 5-2 but won 7-5 capped by Trejo’s walk-off blast.

- Albuquerque enjoyed their second walk-off win over Sugar Land, the first came last July 20 via Nick Longhi RBI single in the 10th inning.

- Montes was 3-for-5 and is now batting .455 (15-for-33) over his last nine games. Five of the contests have been of the multi-hit variety for Montes, who has 10 RBI during the hot streak.

- Nuñez is batting .316 (12-for-38) with five doubles, a homer, seven RBI and 10 walks over his last 10 games. He has averaged being on base twice per game during the stretch.

- Neal has allowed eight home runs in 19.2 innings against Sugar Land this season. He is the fifth Isotope to allow three homers in a contest this year (Matt Dennis, Logan Cozart, Brandon Gold and Riley Smith) which is tied for a team season-worst.

- Neal worked into the sixth inning for the fifth time in 12 starts, although he has completed a full six just twice.

- Following a stretch of 10 consecutive scoreless appearances, Lee has allowed nine runs over his last eight innings (10.13 ERA).

- Albuquerque used at least six pitchers in a contest for the 25th time this season, including four times in the last seven ballgames.

On Deck: Albuquerque will turn to right-handed pitcher José Ureña in game two of the series tomorrow. Sugar Land is expected to start right-hander JP France. First pitch from Isotopes Park is set for 6:35 p.m.