Salt Lake pounds Albuquerque 15-3 with four homers, 10 extra-base hits

Denzer Guzman turned a rout into a statement. Fresh off being named Pacific Coast League Player of the Month for May, the 22-year-old ripped apart Albuquerque again, going 4-for-5 with three runs, a home run, two triples and an RBI in Salt Lake’s 15-3 win at The Ballpark at America First Square.

For the Angels, it was the kind of night that can change the conversation around infield depth. Guzman entered the game hitting .338 with a .404 on-base percentage and a .580 slugging mark, and his latest surge only sharpened the case that his bat is forcing its way into bigger organizational plans. In May, he hit .382 with a 1.102 OPS in 28 games and led the Pacific Coast League in batting average, hits, doubles, total bases, RBI and slugging percentage.

Salt Lake did not need long to separate itself. Christian Moore opened the second inning with a bases-clearing double that keyed a five-run frame, and the Bees kept stacking pressure from there. By the time the third inning was over, Salt Lake had built a 9-0 lead and had already shown the kind of power and patience that has made this series so dangerous for Albuquerque.

Guzman was at the center of the explosion. After tripling earlier, he launched a solo homer, then later added another triple before scoring again. Jeimer Candelario finished 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI, two runs and a walk, Bryce Teodosio went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs, and Trey Mancini added a two-run home run of his own. Salt Lake finished with four homers and 10 extra-base hits, and three different innings produced four or more runs.

The seventh inning delivered the knockout punch. Teodosio started it with his second homer of the season, Josh Lowe followed with a three-run shot for his second homer in as many games, and Guzman kept the line moving with another triple before Candelario brought him home. Albuquerque scratched out three runs in the fifth, but Salt Lake answered quickly and never let the Isotopes build any real momentum.

Taijuan Walker made his first start as a Bee and gave Salt Lake a steady beginning over the first two innings, while Joey Lucchesi earned the win and Erasmo Ramírez took the loss. The game drew 4,891 fans in game three of the six-game home set, with Salt Lake improving to 31-29 and staying 4.5 games behind Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League West. Albuquerque fell to 33-28, and the Bees, in their second season at The Ballpark at America First Square and 32nd as a franchise, kept showing how quickly their offense can turn traffic into a blowout.