Jack Mahoney’s night ended in the third inning with an apparent leg injury, leaving the Albuquerque Isotopes to cover far more ground than the distance from the mound to the clubhouse.
By then, Salt Lake already had scored in three separate innings. The Bees kept adding on after Mahoney departed, handing Albuquerque a 7-2 loss Wednesday night at Isotopes Park.
Mahoney allowed three earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out none. Nelson Rada opened the game with a double and scored when Niko Kavadas sent a ground ball through the right side. In the second, Yolmer Sánchez drew a leadoff walk and came around on Ben Gobbel’s two-out double just inside the right-field line.
Raudi Rodriguez singled to begin the third and moved up on a sacrifice bunt. Mahoney then exited, and Sebastián Rivero greeted Valente Bellozo with a two-out line-drive single to left that brought home Rodriguez. The run was charged to Mahoney, deepening an early hole that Albuquerque never escaped.
Salt Lake scored in each of the first five innings. Bryce Teodosio opened the fourth by driving a full-count hanging curveball over the wall in left-center, stretching the lead to 4-0.
Albuquerque answered in the bottom half. Sterlin Thompson walked, and Vimael Machín lined a sharp single to left that moved Thompson to third. Chad Stevens’ sacrifice fly produced the Isotopes’ first run, but it was their only answer through seven innings.
The Bees broke the game open in the fifth. After a hit batter, Kavadas turned on a 1-0 pitch and hit a low line drive just over the right-field wall. Tyler Freeman could only turn and watch as Kavadas’ two-run homer pushed the margin to 6-1.
Kavadas finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs. Salt Lake added another run in the seventh and totaled 13 hits.
Bellozo absorbed the innings after Mahoney’s injury, working 5 2/3 frames and allowing four earned runs. He struck out three without issuing a walk. Evan Shawver handled a scoreless ninth with one strikeout and one walk.
The Isotopes managed five hits against four Salt Lake pitchers and struck out 10 times. Joel Hurtado allowed one run over five innings for the win, striking out four and walking four.
Freeman supplied most of Albuquerque’s offense, going 2-for-3 with a walk and scoring one run. He opened the eighth with a line drive into right-center and sprinted into second ahead of the throw. Edouard Julien’s groundout moved him to third, and Thompson brought him home with another groundout.
Machín went 1-for-4 in his return to Albuquerque after a late-season opportunity in the majors. Before the game, the 32-year-old recalled the unexpected clubhouse moment when he learned he was going back.
“And then it came closer to me and gave me a big hug and told me that I was going to the big leagues, that it was well-deserved. So it was kind of nice.”
— Vimael Machín, Isotopes Infielder
The stint carried particular meaning for Machín because all three of his children were able to see him play at that level.
“I’m so blessed that I can, you know, I can finally say that all of my three children saw me play in the big league.”
— Vimael Machín, Isotopes Infielder
That personal milestone offered a brighter note on a night when the Isotopes spent almost the entire game chasing Salt Lake. Mahoney’s abbreviated start forced Bellozo into emergency duty, the Bees struck in every inning before the game was half over, and Albuquerque never produced the sustained rally needed to change its course.