Isotopes strike early in victory over 51s

Jeff Hoffman came into the season as MLB.com’s No. 40 prospect.

He’s second in the Colorado Rockies’ system and was the centerpiece in the Troy Tulowitzki trade in 2015.

At one point in time, many thought he would go No. 1 overall in the 2014 draft before Tommy John surgery dropped him to ninth.

Friday, the 51s saw firsthand why Hoffman has been so highly touted. The righty shut them down for seven innings, allowing just one hit as the 51s went on to lose 8-4 to the Albuquerque Isotopes at Cashman Field.

“I thought that he kept us off balance,” manager Pedro Lopez said. “We didn’t have too many good at-bats against him.”

The 51s (10-12) did load the bases in the second against Hoffman, with a pair of walks and a catcher’s interference, but they weren’t able to turn that into anything.

Aside from that, Hoffman only gave up one more walk and single to Amed Rosario. He struck out eight in the effort.

“We should have been a little more aggressive on pitches that we were able to drive. We didn’t do that,” Lopez said. “You’ve got to give credit to the opposition. He did a good job. He spotted pitches well.”

Meanwhile, the 51s got themselves into a hole that would prove to be insurmountable in the first inning.

Starter Ricky Knapp gave up four runs in the first on four hits, but while Travis Taijeron did make a nice catch in the inning, the defense behind him did him few favors.

With the Isotopes (11-10) already up 2-0, Rafael Ynoa hit a ball that second baseman Gavin Cecchini knocked down. As Cecchini slowly went to retrieve it, Stephen Cardullo broke for home and scored.

“That kind of led to a big inning, but also Knapp didn’t make pitches in that first inning,” Lopez said. “I think that even after we made the errors, if he would have made good pitches, we could have got out of that inning a little easier but it happens.”

Rosario made an error on the very next play. Later in the game, Phillip Evans made a throwing error. The 51s also had a few misplays in the outfield in a continuation of a tough defensive week for them.

“Maybe we could have caught some of those balls. I think the conditions tonight, they were pretty tough. The wind was changing in every direction, every pitch, it seemed like,” Lopez said. “They played in the same conditions. They made the plays. But if you look at it, the balls that landed when they hit them, we didn’t hit those balls. We didn’t hit anything down the line. Everything was hit in the gaps or it was hit right at them.”

The 51s did mount somewhat of a comeback in the eighth inning, down 7-0.

After Hoffman exited, they tagged reliever Shane Carle for four runs, two on a Rosario double down the first base line, one on a Dominic Smith RBI ground out and one on a Travis Taijeron RBI single.

But ultimately, the hole they were in combined with a good night from Hoffman was too much to overcome as they dropped their third straight game and ninth straight against Albuquerque.

“We’re not going through the best moments right now. I feel like we’re not playing our best baseball, either. We’re making a lot of errors, we’re making mental mistakes, we’re not pitching well,” Lopez said. “But we’re going to break out of this. I know this is a good group.”

Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.

Up next

Who: Albuquerque Isotopes vs. 51s

When: 7:05 p.m. Saturday

Where: Cashman Field

Starters: Matt Flemer (1-2, 6.20 ERA), Isotopes, vs. Rafael Montero (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Next five

Sunday: Albuquerque at Las Vegas, 12:05 p.m.

Monday: Albuquerque at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday: Tacoma at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday: Tacoma at Las Vegas, 10:35 a.m.

Thursday: Tacoma at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.