The Albuquerque Isotopes had their first home series of the season against the Salt Lake Bees. The first three games of the series were competitive, but the Isotopes only came back to win one.
The home opener on Tuesday, April 4 had a crowd of over 6,639 despite it being 43 degrees at the start of the game: the coldest first-pitch temperature at home in Isotopes history.
They won their home opener 7-5, rallying late to secure the win. Isotopes gave up four hits, but three of them were home runs, which led to the Bees getting an early lead.
Home runs and errors played a big part at the start of this series. In the first three games, the Isotopes had three home runs and one error, while the Bees had six homers and six errors. Balls flew beyond the outfield with wind in the batter's favor. At the start of a season, errors are to be expected while teams play their way into form.
Pedro Lopez praised his team for solid play and keeping the games competitive.
"I can't ask more from them. They're busting their butts, running the bases — I think we're playing good defense and pitching well. Just the last two nights haven't gone the way we wanted to, but overall I think we're playing good baseball," Lopez said.
During the first game, neither team scored until the fourth inning: Kevin Padlo hit a home run for the Bees. This was the only hit the Isotopes gave up down 3-0 going into the bottom of the fourth.
Coco Montes had a leadoff single and got to third due to errors from Salt Lake. Aaron Schunk was thrown out at first, but it gave enough time for Montes to run home to put the Isotopes on the board. The fourth inning ended with the Isotopes down 3-1.
Trey Cabbage hit the Bees' third home run and Chad Wallach hit a sacrifice fly to score Taylor Jones. The top of the seventh ended with the Isotopes down 5-1.
Jimmy Herron walked and Boyle sent him home with a home run to cut into the Bees lead in the bottom of the seventh. Jones and Montes had back-to-back walks, and Michael Toglia tripled to tie the game. The bottom of the seventh ended with the game tied 5-5.
The bottom of the eighth started with Grayson Greiner getting hit by a pitch. Herron followed it up with a double. Nolan Jones doubled to give the Isotopes their first lead of their game at 7-5 going into the ninth. Nick Mears closed the game and earned the save, not giving up a hit.
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The second game on Wednesday,April 5 ended in a 4-2 for the ‘Topes. The Isotopes had seven hits but didn't find a way to rally back in the game.
Noah Davis was the starting pitcher for the Isotopes. He loaded the bases with three straight walks with two outs. The Isotopes managed to escape without giving up a hit in the inning by forcing a ground out.
Toglia hit a home run to start the bottom of the second and give the Isotopes a lead.
In the top of the third, the Bees’ Jo Adell hit a home run and the next two batters were walked. The defense stepped up, though, with Jones having an excellent throw to home plate to get an out followed by a double play. The Isotopes were up 2-1.
Padlo had a leadoff single and Cabbage tripled to tie the game 2-2 in the top of the sixth. In the next inning, Soto was walked and Adell hit a double to give the Bees the lead, but the Isotopes didn't give up another run. At the bottom of the ninth, the Isotopes were down 4-2 and couldn't find a way to score.
The Isotopes lost the third game of the series 6-5 on Thursday, April 6. They had another chance to rally back for a win and even got a base in the ninth, but they ultimately came up just a run short.
In the second inning, Schunk hit deep into right field and sprinted for a triple. Jimmy Herron scored the first run of the game by hitting into the infield and reached first on an error. The second inning ended with the Isotopes up 1-0.
The Bees responded right away in the top of the third when Soto hit a single and Adell hit a home run to give Salt Lake a 2-1 lead.
Jones homered to tie the game in the bottom of the third. Montes followed it up with a single and then stole second. Schunk doubled to give the Isotopes back the lead. The inning ended with the Isotopes back in front 3-2.
In the fifth inning, Adell was walked and Moniak reached first on a throwing error. Michael Stefanic hit a ground ball but still scored a run. Taylor Jones then singled to give the Bees a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth.
Herron reached first base on an error and Greiner singled to tie the game 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth. In the bottom of the seventh, Doyle had a leadoff single and Jones sent him home with a line drive just right of third base for a double.
The Isotopes were up 5-4 but Padlo took back the lead for the Bees. After Taylor Jones was walked, he hit a home run in the top of the eighth to go up 6-5, which was the score at the end of the game.
When asked what fans being in the stands does for the team, Montes says the team plays hard no matter what, but the fans can be intimidating for opposing teams.
"We're going to play hard, play the same way every time, but it's nice to have fans, especially at home. Maybe they can get rowdy and get those other guys nervous," Montes said.
The Isotopes have their next home series on Tuesday, April 18 against the Oklahoma City Dodgers.
Thomas Bulger is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thomasbulger10
Thomas Bulger is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thomasbulger10
