SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
From last to first, the Albuquerque Isotopes are still hanging in there in the Triple-A Pacific Coast Baseball League.
That’s right, the minor league team of the Colorado Rockies, the club with a nuclear name, finished last in the 10-team league in the first half of the season, but since the turnaround for the second half, manager Pedro Lopez’ team has gone up and now shares first place at 11-4with the Round Rock team of the Texas Rangers.
“We just began playing better,” Lopez says. “Our pitching improved and we started to hit the ball unlike the first half. It’s still pretty close though with the Dodgers’ Oklahoma City and Oakland’s Las Vegas right up there.”
There has been plenty of birthday news regarding Albuquerque at this point in July. It’s righthanded starting pitcher Kyle Johnston who turned 26 on Monday and is scheduled to hurl at Sugar Land (Houston) Tuesday night. He currently owns a 4-1 record.
Second baseman Aaron Schunk, batting .329, will turn 25 on July 24, the same day that outfielder Daniel Montero becomes 24, and who is presently hitting .289, while southpaw pitcher P.J. Pulin’s 26th birthday is July 25 and he is currently 3-1 on the mound.
Catcher Willie Macliver turns 25 on July 27, and on the same day, outfielder Jeremy Herron turns that number 27. Macliver is sporting a .303 batting average, and Herron is at .275.
Righthanded starter Jeff Griswell is scheduled to take a 4-1 record to Wednesday’s 10:05 morning contest at Sugar Land.
The Isotopes came away with a split in their last two starts, losing 4-2 at home versus Salt Lake on Saturday, and winning 9-3 over visiting Salt Lake on Sunday.
THE CURRENT STANDINGS:
Albuquerque (Colorado) 11-4
Round Rock (Texas) 11-4
Oklahoma City (Dodgers) 10-5
Las Vegas (Oakland) 9-6
Reno (Arizona) 7-8
Salt Lake (Angels) 7-8
Tacoma (Seattle) 7-8
Sacramento (San Francisco) 6-9
El Paso (San Diego) 4-11
Sugar Land (Houston) 3-12
