‘Topes use small ball to win

Fans line up before the gates open to Isotopes Park for Thursday night’s Pacific Coast League season opener between Albuquerque and the Iowa Cubs. The club was giving away Isotopes blankets to the first 3,000 fans into the ballpark. The Isotopes beat the Cubs, 10-3. Story, D1. (jim thompson/journal)

Welcome to the Humidor Era.

The Albuquerque Isotopes opened the 2013 season in fine fashion Thursday night, scoring seven runs in the seventh inning to earn a 10-3 win over Iowa at festive Isotopes Park.

It wasn’t exactly a pitchers’ duel as the teams combined for 22 hits. But the Isotopes’ newly installed humidor did seem to have an impact. No home runs were hit and a handful of well-struck balls seemed to run out of steam in the outfield.

“I’d say possibly three balls would’ve left the ballpark (without the humidor),” ‘Topes manager Lorenzo Bundy said, “maybe four. All I know is it was a 3-3 game into the seventh inning with no home runs. I don’t know what to read into it. I’m not smart enough.”

All 11 of Iowa’s hits were singles, as were nine of the Isotopes’ 11. But the home team did come up with a couple of timely extra-base shots. Alex Castellanos sliced a two-run triple to right-center, and Jesus Flores hammered a two-run double to the center-field berm – both in the seventh.

Isotopes starting pitcher Stephen Fife was not ready to credit the singles-laden game to the humidor. In fact, he didn’t notice much of a difference in his four innings of work.

“For me, nothing,” Fife said. “The only one was Flores’ hit to center. It really looked like he got it and it came up short.”

Earlier in the week, Bundy talked about the importance of manufacturing runs with this year’s Isotopes team. Oddly, that was the way Albuquerque’s huge seventh inning started.

Flores singled and was sacrificed to second. Six hits and an infield error later, the ‘Topes had a comfortable lead.

“We played for one run and ended up scoring seven,” Bundy said with a shrug. “It was kind of a strange game.”

Things started according to the Opening Day script for the Isotopes, who roughed up Iowa starter Chris Rusin for three runs in the first inning. The left-hander did not fare well in three starts in Albuquerque last season, and it appeared the trend might continue.

Dee Gordon led off the frame with a walk, promptly stole second base and scored when Elian Herrera’s single was bobbled in right field. Scott Van Slyke later added a hit, and Rusty Ryal’s two-run single made it 3-0.

It was one of three hits on the night for Ryal, who scored a run and drove in two.

“I hadn’t played in 12 days,” Ryal said, “because of sickness and some injuries. It just felt good to play and win in front of a new set of fans.”

If the ‘Topes seemed to have Rusin on the ropes early, they couldn’t knock him out. He allowed just one more hit through five innings, and kept Albuquerque’s hitters in check long enough for Iowa to tie the score.

The I-Cubs bunched four singles together to plate two runs off Albuquerque starter Fife in the third. Ty Wright’s RBI single off reliever Red Patterson made it 3-3 in the fifth.

Albuquerque’s bullpen stepped up from that point on. Geison Aguasviva, Angel Castro and Josh Wall shut the I-Cubs down on just one hit over the final 3â…” innings.

The game completely turned in the seventh, when Herrera’s two-run single, Castellanos’ two-run triple and Flores’ two-run double got a large opening-night crowd of 9,369 fans fired-up.

Aguasviva, the only left-hander on Albuquerque’s pitching staff, was the beneficiary of his team’s big seventh inning and earned the victory.

“We have to pick our spot when to use him,” Bundy said, “but he did a nice job. Castro and Wall were rock-solid, too. It was a good way to finish our first ballgame.”

— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal

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