Slug fest: Sean Bouchard has reached base in nearly every Isotopes game he's played in this year

Jul. 10—When you play for the Isotopes, there's a good chance you're going to get on base plenty playing in the hitter-friendly thin air of Albuquerque.

For right fielder Sean Bouchard, who reached base three times, including a monster home run, in Wednesday afternoon's 14-12 slugfest win over the Tacoma Rainiers, he's now reached base in 17 consecutive games and in 24 of the 25 he's played for the Triple-A club this season.

"(I have) just (been) trying to find good pitches, have some good swings and ... the elevation, (you) really don't have to swing too hard or do too much to get rewarded," said Bouchard.

A 6-foot-3, 215-pound former major leaguer trying to work his way back to Denver with the Colorado Rockies, Bouchard lined an RBI single into left field off of Rainiers' starter Casey Lawrence in the third inning to extend the streak. In his next at bat, Bouchard crushed a 458-foot, two-run homer over the left field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Isotopes their first lead of the day at 8-6. The homer capped a six-run inning for Albuquerque.

The 28-year-old San Diego native ended the game collecting two hits in four at-bats, recording three RBIs with a walk and a stolen base.

During his 17-game on-base stretch, Bouchard has maintained a stellar .356 batting average along with eight extra-base hits, 16 RBIs and 13 walks.

The heavy hitter didn't only contribute offensively on Wednesday, he also showcased his defensive prowess in the outfield.

In the top half of the third inning, Rainiers second baseman Jake Slaughter skied a ball that carried to the warning track of right field.

Bouchard dropped back and leaped to snatch the ball against the outfield wall for the third out.

Five batters later, in the top of the fourth, Jason Vosler, the Rainiers designated hitter, lofted a fly ball to the edge of the right-field warning track. Bouchard made an almost identical play, again timing his jump to snag the ball against the right-field wall to end the half-inning.

"Playing in Albuquerque, the elevation, balls carry a little bit further then they probably should sometimes, but knowing that and being here for a couple of years now, I just knew that some of those balls that go up, they are going to go further than you expect, so I try to get back to the wall as fast as possible," he said.

Colorado took Bouchard, a UCLA alum, in the ninth round of the 2017 draft and he rose through the Rockies' minor-league system until landing in Albuquerque in 2022.

Bouchard, who played 29 games at first base and outfield for Colorado earlier this season, has bounced between the Isotopes and Rockies the past two years.

He said he's focused on improving his control at the plate while at the Triple-A level.

"(I) don't want to chase (bad pitches), want to hit the ball hard, want to swing at strikes," he said.

Bouchard's 17-game on-base streak is the fifth-longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League. He'll look to extend his streak in Thursday's game, the third in a six-game series against Tacoma.

Isotopes' designated hitter Jimmy Herron earlier this season recorded a 23-game on-base streak, the longest on the team this season.