Friday Albuquerque 5, Iowa 4 Today Albuquerque at Oklahoma City, 6:05 p.m. Radio: KNML-AM (610)

The right-hander basically had a blast there Friday night, handcuffing the Iowa Cubs for seven innings and helping the ’Topes earn a 5-4 victory.

Parisi allowed two runs on just three hits and struck out six, improving his career record to 5-0 at Isotopes Park. In his seven innings, Parisi retired the I-Cubs 1-2-3 five times.

“Normally guys don’t like to pitch here,” Parisi said, “but the ball doesn’t carry if you keep it on the ground. When you make your pitches, it can be fun.”

Except for a few anxious moments after Parisi left, Isotopes manager Lorenzo Bundy enjoyed the evening, too. His team earned its first four-game sweep since July 2009 and its first against Iowa since ’07.

In addition, Albuquerque erased a season-opening 2-6 road trip with a 6-2 home stand. Bundy was quick to credit Parisi for capping the series in style.

“Other than one inning, he was in complete command,” Bundy said. “Iowa’s a good hitting team, too, so that was a very impressive job by Parisi.”

How did Parisi do it? That’s a matter of perspective.

“He throws a lot of cutters,” Bundy said. “I don’t think that’s any secret around the league. He’s not Mariano Rivera or anything, but he’s got a pretty good one.”

Parisi, on the other hand, credited his strong outing to another pitch.

“I threw more fastballs than normal,” he said. “(Pitching coach Glenn Dishman) and I have been working on that. Guys start looking for the cutter on the second and third time through the order, so once I’m able to command the fastball, the cutter’s that much better.”

The Isotopes staked Parisi (1-0) to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, and Iowa seriously threatened to catch up only once. Josh Vitters drew a lead-off walk in the third inning — Parisi’s only base on balls — and the I-Cubs added two singles and a sacrifice fly to draw within a run at 3-2.

Albuquerque picked up single runs in the fifth and seventh to make it 5-2, while Iowa managed just one base runner over Parisi’s final four innings of work. Relievers Francisco Felix and Scott Rice allowed a run apiece in the eighth and ninth innings but were able to close out the win.

“Pitching and defense two nights in a row,” Bundy said. “It’s kind of nice to win without even hitting a home run.”

Friday’s game capped an enjoyable week for Parisi, who turned 29 on Wednesday. He was all smiles Thursday, as well, hammering a few balls during a batting-practice session.

“Pitchers always love taking batting practice, especially here,” Parisi said. “We shag so many balls during BP, it’s nice to get a turn in the cage.”

It seemed to pay off, at least briefly, as Parisi smacked a solid single to center field in the second inning, one of Albuquerque’s six hits.

Unfortunately, he was picked off by Iowa catcher Wellington Castillo two pitches later.

“Guess I forgot to work on my base running,” Parisi said with a sheepish grin. “I’ll do that next time.”

The sweep renewed an Isotopes tradition, as owner Ken Young foots the bill for a team steak dinner. The idea brought smiles to both Bundy and Parisi.

“Guys are pretty excited in our locker room right now,” Bundy said. “Hopefully, we can get a few more steaks as this season goes on.”

NOTE: Iowa was forced to pitch by committee Friday when scheduled starter Randy Wells was called up by the Chicago Cubs.

Wells is insurance for Ryan Dempster, who is set to pitch Sunday but has soreness in his pitching arm.