El Paso, Albuquerque Combine For 14 Ninth-Inning Runs

Every now and then the Pacific Coast League gives a gift of a game. The combination of altitude, high winds and the hotter big league ball will lead to one of those games where everyone in attendance has to ask “what did I just see?”

Sunday was one of those days.

El Paso beat Albuquerque by one run to claim the season-opening series between the two teams. Here’s another way to explain it: reality seemed to lose its grip on a game that saw the game tied twice and six lead changes. But even that doesn’t really explain it properly.

The two teams combined to score 14 runs in the ninth inning.

El Paso entered the top of the ninth trailing 9-8. It then scored eight runs to take a 16-9 lead. But Albuquerque had the tying run at the plate when Austin Davis struck out Sam Hilliard to wrap up the Chihuahuas 16-15 win. Davis came in with two out in the ninth to finish the game. His one out meant he was one of two of the 12 pitchers used to not allow a run (Lake Bachar threw 1.1 scoreless innings of relief for El Paso).

There were seven home runs, five triples, 33 hits and 12 walks. There were five scoreless half innings and 13 half innings with at least one run. Cal Mitchell and Sean Bouchard each had four hits.

The Isotopes took a 3-0 lead after three innings. El Paso rallied to tie it 3-3 with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth. Albuquerque retook the lead 4-3 with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but El Paso tied it back up in the sixth.

The Chihuahuas took their first lead of the game on a Oscar Mercado home run in the seventh, but an RBI Bouchard triple, a Jordan Beck RBI single and a Jimmy Herron bases-loaded walk gave the Isotopes a 7-5 lead.

A three-run Mason McCoy homer in the top of the eighth gave El Paso an 8-7 lead, but Bouchard’s second RBI triple in two innings and a sac fly by Beck sent the game to the ninth with Albuquerque leading 9-8.

Then everything fell apart for Albuquerque. Back-to-back triples by Mercado and Mitchell got things started for El Paso. A sac fly, a double, a hit by pitch and a walk loaded the bases and chased John Curtiss. New reliever Kyle Wilcox gave up a two-run single, a walk and then a Brett Sullivan grand slam before the eighth-run inning mercifully ended.

At this point, if Albuquerque had folded, trailing by seven heading into the bottom of the ninth, it would have been understandable. That would have been expected when Alex Jacob recorded back-to-back outs to start the ninth. Two outs, no one on base. Down by seven.

But this game at this point had moved into the stuff of bizarre legend. After a single, an error kept the game alive. Willie MacIver then doubled to drive in two.

Two outs, one man on base, down by five.

Greg Jones walked (after successfully challenging a 3-2 called strike which was turned into ball four). Bouchard provided his third clutch moment of the last three innings with a two-run double. Beck followed with his third clutch moment of the final three innings with a two-run home run to drive in Bouchard.

Two outs, no one on, down by one.

The Chihuahuas went to the bullpen again. On a 3-2 pitch, Davis got Hilliard to foul tip into Kevin Plawecki’s mitt.

The game was finally over. It’s game three of the season, but it will be hard for either team to play a crazier game all year.

But maybe the most amazing stat? A game with 31 runs was played in 3:12.