sa国际传媒官网网页入口

It's part of the game. Just not a very fun part.

sa国际传媒官网网页入口's Triple-A baseball team has been hit hard by Minor League Baseball's cruel numbers game in recent weeks, particularly in the first two weeks of June.

Through 41 games (20 at home, 21 on the road), the Isotopes were sitting pretty atop the Pacific Coast League standings at 25-16 with a three-game lead over Sacramento. It鈥檚 particularly noteworthy because the PCL playoffs are determined by which team has the best first-half (75-game) record vs. the team with the best second-half (75-game) record.

Those first-place Isotopes had 47 player transactions (1.1 per game played), of which 26 were pitchers (55.3%).

Traditionally, minor league pitcher transactions are far more common than position players. That鈥檚 not new. But it is noteworthy that the Isotopes had relatively stable pitching up to that point in the season, a huge factor in their being in first place, especially considering the team's rather slow start in power hitting (which has picked up of late).

Fast forward to today.

The Isotopes are coming off a brutal 12-game, 13-day road trip that has them at 35-34, in fifth place in the PCL, and six games out of first place with six games left in the first-half race.

They鈥檝e gone 10-18 since May 13 (when they were 25-16), went 3-9 on the 12-game road trip and last week went 1-5 at Tacoma, a team that entered the series in last place in the PCL.

What happened?

In the past two weeks, the Isotopes鈥� parent club, the Colorado Rockies, has been forced to decimate the already thin Isotopes pitching staff. There have been 24 player transactions in the last 12 games (2.0 per game played), of which 22 were pitchers (91.7%), including the first time call-up of Sean Sullivan, the team鈥檚 best starting pitcher to date.

And while only two position players were involved in 鈥渢ransactions鈥� this June, those players were key contributors in 2B Adael Amador, one of five Isotopes with more than 200 at-bats this season, and OF Cole Carrigg, another 200-plus at-bat player who this season was hitting .338 with 15 doubles, 42 RBIs and a league-leading (by far) 30 stolen bases in Triple-A. Amador was placed on the injured list and Carrigg was called up to the Rockies.

To recap:

First 41 games:

• 25-16 record (.610)

• 47 player transactions (1.1/game played)

• 26 pitchers involved in transactions (55.3% of transactions)

Last 12 games:

• 3-9 record (.250)

• 24 player transactions (2.0/game played)

• 22 pitchers involved in transactions (91.7% of transactions)

Most of those recent transactions were the same pitchers going back and forth between the Rockies and Isotopes.

Is it unusual for a minor league team to have a high volume of back and forth with pitchers? Not entirely.

But if you鈥檙e looking for a reason for the one-month, and more specifically the recent two-week collapse of the Isotopes, the transaction log is a good place to start.

For those scoring at home

As of Sunday night, the Isotopes had 116 player transactions through 69 games.

The season's cumulative roster (players who have at any time been on the Isotopes roster) is 56 players:

• 35 pitchers

• 22 position players (10 infielders, six catchers, six outfielders)

Know the foe

The Isotopes return to Rio Grande Credit Union Field for a six-game home series, Tuesday through Sunday.

• Isotopes, Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, 35-34 overall, fifth place PCL

• Sugar Land Space Cowboys, Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, 30-38 overall, seventh place PCL

Three up, three down

Some things that have been looking good lately for the 鈥橳opes, some not so good.

Looking good:

1. OF Zac Veen continues his push back toward the majors. He went 1-for-4 in Sunday's loss with a double to extend his hit streak to 17 games, tied for the second longest active streak in MiLB. He has the most total bases (41) and doubles (nine) in Triple-A since June 3.

2. OF/1B Charlie Condon has played 60 games. In his first 41 games, he had four home runs and 18 RBIs. In his past 19 games, he鈥檚 hit 13 home runs and driven in 21 RBIs.

3. In Friday鈥檚 16-1 win at Tacoma, five Isotopes pitchers combined to allow two hits and two walks, just the 13th time in Triple-A (International League and PCL) that a team has held an opponent to two or fewer walks and hits in a nine-inning game.

Look away:

1. On the team's 12-game road trip (2-4 at Salt Lake, 1-5 at Tacoma), the Isotopes hit just .248 and had an 8.37 ERA.

2. The losses on the road trip were particularly bad. In the Isotopes鈥� nine losses, they were outscored 82-29.

3. sa国际传媒官网网页入口 dropping five games to Tacoma, a team that entered the series in last place in the PCL, marked the first time this season the Isotopes dropped five games in a six-game series.

Fast food

Much like the 鈥橳opes' first half-title chances, I鈥檓 afraid Taco is cooked. Maybe a strong second half is in store for our hard shelled hero?

2026 Season Standings (29 races):

13 wins 鈥� Salsa Jar

8 wins 鈥� Red Chile

5 wins 鈥� Green Chile

3 wins 鈥� Taco

Homestand highlights

Here鈥檚 what 鈥橳opes promotions are cooking up for this six-game homestand (start times vary, scheduled first pitch in parenthesis):

• Specialty food item: Meatball sub (available at the Bullpen Cart by section 109)

• Thursday (12:05 p.m.): Day baseball! Youth summer programs day.

• Friday (6:35 p.m.): Juneteenth celebration; flex water bottle give away to first 3,000 fans; pregame autographs on third base-side concourse

• Saturday (6:05 p.m.): Mariachis de Nuevo Mexico game; adult Mariachis f煤tbol jersey giveaway to first 3,000 fans; Mariachi bands and folkl贸rico dancers performing before and throughout game; postgame fireworks

• Sunday (6:05 p.m.): Pre-game Father鈥檚 Day catch on the field (5-5:30 p.m.); postgame fireworks

Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) .