Albuquerque's seven-run fifth sinks El Paso in 13-8 loss

Albuquerque turned a tense, high-scoring night into a one-inning collapse for El Paso, erupting for seven runs and three homers in the fifth on the way to a 13-8 win Friday night at Rio Grande Credit Union Field.

That inning changed everything. El Paso had stayed within reach long enough to keep the crowd of 8,301 watching, but the Isotopes’ barrage pushed the Chihuahuas into a steep climb they never fully overcame. The loss dropped El Paso to 24-31, while Albuquerque moved to 31-24 and took three of the first four games in the series.

Even in defeat, El Paso had plenty of offensive life, and Nick Schnell was again at the center of it. The right fielder finished 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, a double and a walk, and his homer cleared the center-field fence in Albuquerque for the second time in three games. For a club that has spent much of the series chasing a game that keeps slipping out of frame, Schnell’s recent stretch is becoming a more meaningful storyline than the final score. His power has given El Paso a real middle-order presence, and it has come against the same opponent in the same ballpark.

Pablo Reyes added another bright spot at the top of the order, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and three RBIs. Will Wagner also reached safely three times, finishing 2-for-5 with a double and a walk, helping keep pressure on Albuquerque’s pitching even after the fifth-inning damage.

The Chihuahuas also got useful work from the bullpen. Michael Flynn, newly arrived from Double-A San Antonio, worked two scoreless innings in his third appearance with El Paso, and Ethan Routzahn turned in a scoreless bottom of the eighth for his third straight scoreless outing. Neither team challenged a ball or strike call, a small sign that the game’s tension came from the bats, not the umpires.

Juarez earned the win for Albuquerque and moved to 1-0, while Gillaspie took the loss and fell to 2-4. The game lasted 2:59, but the decisive moment was only a few minutes of fifth-inning damage that drowned out the rest. One week after Albuquerque set a new team runs record in a 26-8 win over El Paso, this series has already become a case study in volatility, and Schnell’s power surge may be the most important thing El Paso has to carry forward.