Struggling Isotopes fall to Chihuahuas
Loss to El Paso Monday is 7th in the last 8 games
The Albuquerque Isotopes continue to scuffle, but count Drew Weeks among those who look at this stretch as a temporary blip during a 140-game season.
“I thought we played a good game,” said Weeks, Albuquerque’s right fielder. “The wins will come. They always do.”
The top road team in the Pacific Coast League, El Paso, beat the Isotopes 6-3 on Monday night. The Chihuahuas (51-44) are the first-place team in the PCL’s Pacific Southern Division and extended their lead over third-place Albuquerque (4549) to 5½ games with three games remaining in this series.
Albuquerque, meanwhile, has dropped seven of its last eight games.
“We haven’t played good baseball coming out of the (All-Star) break,” Isotopes manager Glenallen Hill said.
In five of the team’s last nine games, Albuquerque has scored three or fewer runs. But they closed out a subpar weekend in Las Vegas on Sunday with a stellar 18-hit,
14-run performance. That momentum didn’t carry over, but Weeks said not to worry.
“This team can rake,” said Weeks, who hit a solo home run in the eighth inning Monday night that brought the Isotopes to within 4-3 of El Paso. “We’re never too far from first place with the bats, especially if we get hot.”
Monday kick-started what is sure to be an interesting seven-game homestand for the Isotopes.
After four with El Paso, next up is a three-game set on the weekend with Fresno — which like El Paso is a division leader. And Fresno is expected to have former Albuquerque prep product Ken Giles — recently demoted by World Series champion Houston — on the roster.
El Paso is certainly one of the most mercurial groups in the PCL. The Chihuahuas were coming off a four-game home series against Reno in which El Paso was swept.
But while El Paso is the second-worst home team in the league, the Chihuahuas have been glorious outside of West Texas, sporting a nifty 32-14 record after Monday’s win.
The Isotopes still have 72 hours to carve into that deficit. Weeks said Albuquerque was not treating this series with any particular urgency, even if it is trying to chase down El Paso.
“You like to win regardless of whether you’re playing a first-place team or a last-place team,” he said.
There was plenty of back and forth Monday before an announced crowd of 8,973 fans.
Stephen Cardullo’s RBI single in the first off El Paso starter Brett Kennedy (8-0) scored the game’s initial run.
With the benefit of a pick-off throwing error on Isotopes reliever Nelson Gonzalez, the Chihuahuas scratched home an unearned run in the fourth to tie the game.
Anthony Bemboom put Albuquerque in front again in the bottom half with an RBI single to score Weeks, but Shane Peterson went opposite field and swatted the first pitch from Gonzalez in the top of the fifth for a home run over the left-field wall to square things at 2-all.
El Paso moved ahead 4-2 in the sixth, with an RBI double from Matt Szczur and an RBI single from Diego Goris. Leading 4-3 in the ninth, El Paso tacked on two insurance runs.
“It’s just baseball,” Weeks said of the Isotopes’ slump. “Every team goes through that every season. You’ll hit your rough patches, especially at this level. But I like watching everyone hit on this team. It’s fun.”
Among the promotions this week are 50-cent hot dog night Wednesday, and another appearance as the Mariachis on Friday.