A pitching duel it was not.
The Albuquerque Isotopes secured a series victory over the Las Vegas 51s with a 17-11 win on Wednesday night. The two teams combined for 31 hits and 28 runs, making it the sixth highest scoring game in Isotopes team history.
Matt Flemer got the start on the mound for the Isotopes, and the 51s wasted no time handing it to him. In the first inning, Las Vegas scored four runs, beginning with an RBI double from first baseman Dominic Smith. Zach Borenstein singled to drive in Smith, and then stole home with Jose Lobaton at the plate following a David Thompson walk. Lobaton followed with a single to right field to drive in Thompson and give the 51s a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first inning.
The Isotopes wasted no time answering in the bottom half of the frame, as a leadoff walk to Raimel Tapia set up a two-run home run for Drew Weeks, his first at the Triple-A level.
“It was seven balls in a row, so on 3-0 he’s definitely going to just try and get it across the plate,” Weeks said. “When I hit it I said, ‘Dang, I just missed it.’ I just turned and looked at the outfielder and he just kept going, and going, and the ball just kept carrying, and carrying, and it eventually got out.”
Jordan Patterson followed a popup from Noel Cuevas, and he followed Tapia’s lead with a walk. Catcher Tom Murphy ended up following Weeks’ lead with the Isotopes’ second two-run home run of the inning to tie the game at four.
In the top of the second, Flemer was able to limit the 51s to just one run, but he gave it up on a home run by second baseman Ty Kelly for what was already the third home run of the game and an omen of what was still to come.
The Isotopes added two more runs in the bottom half of the frame, as Patterson doubled to drive in Weeks, and Cuevas added a double of his own to bring Patterson around to score the Isotopes sixth run of the game and give them a 6-5 lead.
The top half of the third inning looked much like the top half of the second, as Flemer only allowed one run, but it once again came in the form of a home run — this one from David Borenstein to tie the game at six.
In the bottom half of the inning, Flemer helped his own cause with a bunt single that brought Derrik Gibson home from third and moved Castro to second, as Tapia stepped to the plate. On an 0-2 count, Tapia hit a line drive to dead center field that Matt denDekker made a diving attempt at, but was unable to catch.
The ball proceeded to roll all the way up the “Topes Slope” before coming to a halt underneath the padding on the wall. As denDekker chased down the ball, Castro and Flemer came home, with Tapia right on their heels. He got the green light at third base and raced home, capping it with a headfirst slide into home that beat an offline throw to cap of an inside the park home run.
It was the first time an Isotopes player had hit an inside the park home run at home since the 2013 season, and gave Albuquerque a 10-6 lead.
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Weeks followed Tapia and launched his second home run of the game to centerfield, expanding the lead to 11-6.
“The second one I hit, I knew it would get over the center fielder’s head,” Weeks said. “I thought I didn’t hit it high enough, and it just kept carrying and carrying. I like it here.”
Kelly answered in the top of the fourth with his second home run of the game, to make the score 7-11.
In the bottom half of the inning, Josh Fuentes got involved in the action with a single that drove in Murphy. After Fuentes and Castro, who was on second, each advanced a base, Flemer came up once more and again helped his own cause with a sacrifice to right field that scored Castro from third and pushed the lead to 13-7. Tapia followed with a single to plate another run and make it 14-7.
After Las Vegas added two more in the top of the fifth, the Isotopes added another three runs to their total. Gibson recorded a 2-RBI double, and Castro followed with a triple to drive in Gibson.
Another Las Vegas homer in the top of the sixth, the seventh of the game, got the 51s into double digits in the run category and was the 11th straight half inning that saw at least a run cross the plate to begin the game. The Isotopes broke that streak with a scoreless bottom half of the inning.
A Kelly double in the top of the seventh gave the 51s their 11th run of the game and brought them within six, 17-11. However, that ended the scoring for both teams, as the back end of each bullpen was able to shut out the other side. For the 51s, that included their centerfielder denDekker pitching a scoreless eighth inning.
The two teams meet for the series finale Wednesday at 12:05 p.m.
Cameron Goeldner is a sports beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer and softball but also contributes content for baseball, basketball, football and track and field. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @goeldfinger.