On Tuesday, the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes made a play worthy of their namesakes from The Simpsons.
The sequence began innocently enough. With two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning of the Isotopes' game against the El Paso Chihuahuas, Albuquerque shortstop Ryan Ritter walked. Catcher Austin Nola trotted home with the go-ahead run—and then, mayhem.
While Chihuahuas catcher Luis Campusano threw the ball back to pitcher Omar Cruz, Isotopes second baseman Aaron Schunk alertly tore home. His steal forced an errant throw to third, and left fielder Jordan Beck tacked on another run to make it 5–2 Albuquerque.
THE ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES SCORED THREE RUNS ON A BASES-LOADED WALK AND THERE IS VIDEO pic.twitter.com/HhVkCwc5F5
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 16, 2025
The Isotopes went on to a 7–2 victory, fueled by one of the strangest baseball sequences of the year anywhere. It created statistical oddities like this one: Cruz, the losing pitcher, has an 0.00 ERA for the season because he techinically didn't allow any earned runs.
Albuquerque improved to 7-9 on the season with the victory, and if the team goes on to Pacific Coast League glory, they can pinpoint this odd play as the beginning of something magical.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes Somehow Parlay Bases-Loaded Walk Into Three Runs.
