Isotopes win to remain red hot
They trail El Paso by 6½ in division
The Albuquerque Isotopes have made up an awful lot of ground in the Pacific Coast League standings recently.
Getting from Oklahoma City to Albuquerque on Saturday was a bit more challenging, but even that could not put a damper on the ’Topes’ parade.
Flight issues made for a remarkably long day that ultimately ended with a satisfying 7-2 victory over Fresno. It was the Isotopes’ third straight win and 12th in 14 games overall and had players in a mood to party afterward.
After Raimel Tapia’s highlight-reel performance, the Isotopes had strobe lights, dance music and a smoke machine going in their clubhouse. The atmosphere was enough to keep players from noticing Tapia’s appearance on “SportsCenter’s Top Plays.”
The center fielder earned ESPN’s No. 2 spot by providing dazzling defense on back-toback catches on the center-field berm in the fifth inning. First, he retreated to the base of the wall and made a tumbling grab on Chan Jong Moon’s long fly ball. Tapia then raced across the bottom of the berm toward right-center and reached back to snag Nolan Fontana’s deep line drive. Which was tougher? “The second one,” Tapia said through translator and teammate Simon Castro, “because I felt like the wind was taking it. I had to reach back for it. It was tough.”
Tapia was unaware of his “SportCenter” honors but both Castro and manager Glenallen Hill were pumped up when they learned about it.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Hill said. “The fact that he feels so free out there and is having fun but still able to concentrate and make those catches is great. I haven’t seen two better ones than that in this park.”
Tapia also finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs to help Albuquerque stay hot. Not bad on a day when the team arrived at the ballpark nearly six hours late.
The Isotopes’ journey on Saturday began when their scheduled 9 a.m. flight out of Oklahoma City had to return to the airport because an unidentified item was spotted hanging from the plane.
The problem was easily corrected but it led to a delay in OKC, a diversion to Denver and close call with a connecting flight. The ’Topes eventually arrived at Isotopes Park at 5:15 p.m. with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
“That’s the nature of this league sometimes,” Hill said. “Things don’t always go according to plan. But the common denominator is to focus when the game starts and these guys did that.”
Once the game started, the Isotopes wasted little time getting back to business. Eddie Butler pitched seven strong innings, Dustin Garneau homered and the home team steadily pulled away.
It was the latest chapter in what’s been a remarkable turnaround for Albuquerque, which once appeared dead and buried in the PCL’s Pacific Southern Division. On July 7 the ’Topes were 19 games under .500 at 34-53 and in last place in the division. They trailed first-place El Paso by 17 games.
The deficit was 14 games as recently as Aug. 1, but Albuquerque’s latest hot streak has coincided with an El Paso swoon. The ’Topes trail the Chihuahuas by 6½ games, six in the loss column, with 17 remaining, but nine of those games are head-to-head against El Paso.
The Isotopes got no help in their pursuit Saturday as El Paso defeated Salt Lake 5-1, but it didn’t spoil Albuquerque’s fun. “We’re in the spirit now,” Castro said. “Everybody’s having fun.”