After winning nine of their past 12 games, your Albuquerque Isotopes are sitting pretty at 12-9 — the first time the team has been three games above .500 since having an 11-8 record on April 21, 2023.
The ’Topes, without a winning season in more than a decade, have a long way to go to end that streak, of course, but there is no denying they aren’t just winning, they are destroying teams, particularly at the plate.
Albuquerque clinched a 4-2 series victory against Oklahoma City with a 17-run outburst on Sunday, scored 56 runs over the past six games. The week before, it was 58 runs in a 5-1 series win at El Paso.
The easy answer is no. If they scored at this pace all season, they’d shatter all sorts of baseball scoring records.
But there isn’t any reason to think that the Isotopes — a team with strong bats on the roster and some strong bats waiting in the wings at Double-A Hartford — can’t continue to ride out the good thing they have going right now deep into those dog days of summer.
QUESTION: Since the Los Angeles Dodgers switched their Triple-A affiliate from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City for the 2015 season, the two teams have had 12 series played in Albuquerque. How many of those series played in Albuquerque have the Isotopes won?
The Isotopes hit the road for a six-game Pacific Coast League series at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento against the River Cats, Tuesday through Sunday.
Isotopes, Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, 12-9 overall, fourth place PCL
Sacramento River Cats, Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, 11-8 overall, tied for second place PCL
Pointing out in this space a week ago that the Isotopes’ Charlie Condon, the elite home-run hitting prospect, hadn’t hit a home run in front of the home fans was admittedly early.
He had, after all, played in only two home games at the time.
But now, after the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of the University of Georgia has played in seven home games at Isotopes Park? Well, Condon still has zero homers.
What's up, Chuck? Albuquerque fans want some souvenirs!
Some things that have been looking good lately for the 'Topes, some not so good.
The Isotopes have scored a PCL-best 138 runs this season, 114 of them coming in the past two series.
Isotopes pitchers have allowed just five runs in the first inning this season — by far the lowest total of runs allowed of any inning for Albuquerque. The Topes are outscoring opponents 14-5 in the first inning of their 21 games played.
Albuquerque's 37 stolen bases are eight more than any other Pacific Coast League team. Cole Carrigg’s 11 stolen bases are two more than any other player in the league (and five more than third place).
Though Condon was singled out above for a lack of home-game homers, truth is he’s not really alone. The Isotopes have hit just six homers in 12 home games this season — four of them coming Sunday (that’s two homers in the first 11 home games).
While that first inning has been nice to the Isotopes, Albuquerque opponents are outscoring the Topes 28-10 in the fifth inning. The only other inning the Isotopes are “losing” this season is the ninth with opponents outscoring them 8-3. Albuquerque is tied or winning the run differential in all other innings this season.
OKC’s Zach Erhard hit the first inside-the-park grand slam in Isotopes Park history in the Comets 9-6 win over Albuquerque on April 14. Isotopes pitcher Luis Peralta walked four batters in the inning before the grand slam in a 5-0 second inning for the Comets.