Late Scoring Dooms RedHawks in Series Opener

Originally Published: Jul 1, 2010 11:42 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico -- After four scoreless innings Thursday, both teams’ offenses came alive late propelling the Isotopes to a 7-5 win over the RedHawks.

Doug Mathis (3-4) pitched seven innings for Oklahoma City (43-36) in the loss, allowing nine hits and six earned runs. Corey Wade (1-0) received his first win for Albuquerque (40-38) this season, after allowing just one hit in his one inning of service.

The Isotopes loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, and Justin Sellers cleared the bases with a double to left field to take a 3-0 lead.

Back-to-back doubles by Mitch Moreland and Chris Davis put Oklahoma City’s first run on the board in the top of the sixth. In the next at-bat, Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled to left field to bring Davis home and close the gap to 3-2.

In the bottom of the seventh, JD Closser laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance runners to second and third. Two at-bats later, Timo Perez doubled to right field to score two and take a 5-2 advantage. Back-to-back RBI singles by Ivan De Jesus Jr. and Jay Gibbons pushed the advantage to five runs.

Oklahoma City added two more in the top of the eighth, but couldn’t overcome the late deficit.

The RedHawks will try to snap their two-game losing streak at 8:05 p.m. Friday in Albuquerque.