Isotopes begin season tonight
Home opener is set for next Tuesday
The Albuquerque Isotopes’ bright red jerseys and caps were immaculate for a Tuesday night autograph session at Isotopes Park.
Tonight, the uniforms start getting dirty.
The ’Topes open the 2018 Pacific Coast League TripleA baseball season on the road, playing the opener of a fivegame series at Salt Lake. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and Isotopes manager Glenallen Hill and his players can’t wait. “I’ve played enough golf. Time to get to work,” relief pitcher and Albuquerque native Austin House said.
“We have a really good team this year and we’re all pretty excited to get started.”
Albuquerque opens the campaign with eight players currently on the parent Colorado Rockies’ 40-man roster. Six of them, including scheduled starting pitcher Yency Almonte, figure to be in the Isotopes’ lineup tonight.
Outfield figures to be a particular strength with David Dahl, Raimel Tapia and Noel Cuevas opening the season with the ’Topes. All three are members of the Rockies’ 40-man roster, and they should provide Hill with an impressive mixture of speed and power.
The Isotopes may get familiar with the Salt Lake Bees about as quickly as Hill becomes familiar with his own roster. The PCL’s quirky schedule has Albuquerque and Salt Lake squaring off 12 times over the season’s first 19 days, including a four-game series starting next week at Isotopes Park.
Albuquerque’s home opener is set for Tuesday against Las Vegas.