Fresno Takes Game and Series on Throwback Thursday

Published on June 8, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox News Release


FRESNO, Cali. - The Sky Sox dropped the final game of their three-game set against the Fresno Grizzlies Thursday night 6-2.

After taking the field dressed as the Fresno Tacos on Tuesday to kick off this short three-game series, tonight the Grizzlies took the field dressed as the Fresno Raisin Eaters in honor of Throwback Thursday. The Raisin Eaters were Fresno's first PCL team back in 1906, 112 years ago, and named thus because of the raisin industry in Fresno.

Cy Sneed began the night off on the right note for the Raisin Eaters/Grizzlies, retiring three of four Sky Sox batters in the first inning. For the second game in a row, Eric Thames- who is currently on a rehab assignment with Colorado Springs- was the only Sky Sox batter to collect a hit in the top of the first, being stranded on first after hitting a single.

The Grizzlies didn't collect their first hit of the night until the second inning, when AJ Reed led off the inning with a single. J.D. Davis followed suit with a single of his own, and two outs later Jon Kemmer hit a third single to score Reed and advance Davis to third. Kemmer then stole second, and with Antonio Nunez batting, a wild pitch allowed Davis to score and Kemmer to move up to third base. Nunez then struck out for the third out of the inning, but not before Fresno had taken a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the next inning, the home team tacked on another pair of runs to extend their lead. Drew Ferguson drew his second walk of the evening after taking a free pass in the first inning as well, advancing to third on a Kyle Tucker ground-rule double. Tyler White then hit a sacrifice fly to score Ferguson for both the first out and first run of the inning. Reed followed up with a sacrifice fly of his own to score Tucker and give the Grizzlies a 4-0 lead.

Three scoreless innings later, the Sky Sox broke up the shutout with their first run of the game in the top of the seventh. Dylan Moore led off with a double for the Sky Sox, his eighth of the season. Keon Broxton then singled to push Moore over to third, before Shane Opitz grounded into a double play that allowed Moore to score to make it a 4-1 affair.

The Grizzlies responded right away in the bottom of the frame. Ferguson singled to put one on, and with one away White hit a two-run homer over the left field wall to give Fresno a 6-1 lead.

After a scoreless penultimate inning and with the Sky Sox down to their final out in the ninth, Moore hit his second double of the night to give Colorado Springs a little life. Broxton then drew a walk to put two on, and with two on and two out, Opitz hit a single to score Moore and make it 6-2. Jett Bandy then drew a walk to load the bases, bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of Kyle Wren, who hit a grand slam less than a week ago on June 2 at home against the Iowa Cubs. There would be no grand slam tonight, however, as the rally fell short after Wren struck out for the fifth time this evening, with Fresno taking both the game and the series, two games to one.

The Sky Sox are in the midst of a nine-day, seven-game road trip with two California stops in Fresno and Sacramento, for a three-game series and a four-game series, respectively. For all information on Sky Sox, follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and visit the team's website at www.skysox.com.

NOTES

Tomorrow's Preview: In the first game of the four-game series against the River Cats in Raley Field in Sacramento, the Sky Sox are sending righty Aaron Wilkerson to the mound to face fellow right-hander Casey Kelly.

Looking Back at Some Firsts: As Thursday night marked the final scheduled meeting between the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Fresno Grizzlies for some time to come, here's a look back at some first meetings between the two clubs:

-First Sky Sox game vs. Fresno Grizzlies: April 21st, 1998 at Security Service Field. The Fresno Grizzlies beat the Sky Sox, 7-3. Jeff Ball went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Doug Mirabelli went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI for Fresno in the win.

-First Sky Sox game in Fresno: August 15th, 1998 at Pete Beiden Field, Fresno Grizzlies beat the Sky Sox, 15-7. Armando Rios belted a grand slam homer, while Jalal Leach went 3-for-5 with a HR and 3 RBI for Fresno in the win.

-First Sky Sox game in Fresno (at Grizzlies Stadium, now Chukchansi Park): August 13th, 2002 at Chukchansi Park, Sky Sox beat the Grizzlies, 3-2. Jason Romano went 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored, and two stolen bases, with Adam Melhuse hitting a solo homer in the Sky Sox win.

-Final Sky Sox game vs. Fresno Grizzlies, at Security Service Field: May 9th, 2017 at Security Service Field, Sky Sox beat the Grizzlies, 8-5. Kyle Wren and Eric Sogard both went 3-for-4 with 2 SB in the Sky Sox win.

The Platinum Sombrero: The five strikeout game by Kyle Wren Thursday night marks the seventh time in Sky Sox history where a Sky Sox player struck out five times in a game. The other six instances: Luis Medina, September 4th, 1991, home vs. Tucson (Postseason), Billy White, April 22nd, 1996, at Albuquerque, Ben Petrick, June 21st, 2002, home vs. Tucson (F/14), Jason Dewey, July 30th, 2002, home vs. Salt Lake, Brian Buchanan, July 16th, 2005, at Sacramento (F/13), Andrew Susac, June 15th, 2017 at Memphis. The five strikeout game by Wren gives him 202 regular season strikeouts in his career, passing Jim Tatum and Eric Young, Jr. and moving into a tie for 17th place at 201 strikeouts with Derrick Gibson.

Orf Snags Another: Nate Orf's stolen base Wednesday night gives him 25 career stolen bases with the Sky Sox (regular season), moving into the Top 25, in a four-way tie for 24th place, joining Neifi Perez, Jeff Salazar, and Juan Sosa. Next at tied for 22nd place with 26 SB: Craig Counsell and Derrick Gibson.

Strong Rehab: Eric Thames, who joined the Sky Sox on a rehab assignment Wednesday night, went 2-for-4 with two singles against the Grizzlies.

Nail-biters:  Tuesday night was only the second time that the Sky Sox and Fresno Grizzlies completed in a game with a final score of 1-0. The other instance came on May 26th, 2012 in Fresno, with the Grizzlies also winning that game, 1-0.

Guess Who's Back: Tuesday night marked Jacob Nottingham's first game back with the Sky Sox since May 11, and his first hit since May 10 after an extended stay on the disabled list. Nottingham went 2-for-4 in the game, while also stealing a base.

Extras: On Sunday afternoon, the Sky Sox played their fourth extra-innings contest of 2018. With the loss to the Cubs in the tenth, Colorado Springs is now 1-3 in extra-inning contests.

Slam Knowledge: During the last Sky Sox visit to Fresno in 2016, Colorado Springs hit three grand slams in the series, marking the first time they ever met the feat. Both Will Middlebrooks and Andy Wilkins hit grand slams in a 17-4 win on May 27, 2016, and Michael Reed hit the third of the series on May 30, 2016 in a game which ended in a 6-6 tie. On Saturday night, Kyle Wren knocked the first grand slam for the Sky Sox in 2018 in the 8th inning. It marked only the fourth time a Sky Sox batter hit a grand slam home run against an Iowa pitcher and the first time in 14 years. The last time it happened was on April 25th, 2004 at Principal Park (Game 2) when Brad Hawpe hit a 4th inning grand slam off of Jon Leicester. The Sky Sox won 6-4.

This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox hit the road for five more days and four more games to take on the second of two Pacific Conference teams on this road trip, the Sacramento River Cats. This will be the first round of Pacific Coast conference games for the Sky Sox.

NEXT GAME: Friday, June 8 @ Sacramento - 8:05 p.m. MST @ Raley Field

RHP Aaron Wilkerson (0-1, 3.86)-vs. RHP Casey Kelly (5-5, 5.54)-| Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300

Next Home Game: Wednesday, June 13 vs. Las Vegas - 6:40 p.m.

COS TOP PERFORMERS

-   Dylan Moore (3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R)

-   Shane Opitz (2-for-4, 1 RBI)

-   Aaron Brooks (1.0 IP, 1 H, 3 SO)

FRE TOP PERFORMERS

-   Cy Sneed (W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 SO)

-   Tyler White (1-for-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI)

- Kyle Tucker (2-for-4, 1 R, 2B, 1 SB)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 8, 2018


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