Salt Lake blanks Albuquerque 6-0 to even series at two games each

Salt Lake turned a tense pitcher’s duel into a 6-0 road win on June 26, breaking loose for six runs over the final three innings to pull the six-game series with Albuquerque back to even at two games apiece. The Bees answered an 11-3 loss in the opener, and Houston Harding earned the win while Eiberson Castellano took the loss.

The breakthrough came after the game had stayed tight deep into the night. Yolmer Sanchez finished with two hits and an RBI, Nelson Rada drove in two runs and scored, and Ryan Nicholson added a double and an RBI as Salt Lake slowly separated from Albuquerque. The sixth and final run scored when a wild throw to the plate let Omar Martinez come home, closing out a game that had looked destined to stay close for much longer.

Salt Lake’s pitching and defense held the lead together once the bats finally cracked through. Jared Southard worked 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen with four strikeouts, extending his scoreless streak to nine straight outings dating back to June 2 against Albuquerque. The Isotopes finally snapped a run of 10 straight retired with a two-out single in the seventh, but Southard ended the threat with a strikeout and kept the shutout intact.

Rada also covered 89 feet to run down an extra-base hit while crashing into the center-field wall.

The shutout was Salt Lake’s third of the 2026 season and its second against Albuquerque, after a 1-0 blanking on June 5. In the June 2-7 home series between the clubs, Salt Lake went 4-2.