Sports stats



Sky Sox Come out on Top in Game One's Pitching Duel

June 29, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox News Release


ROUND ROCK, Tex. - After just splitting a four-game series against the Memphis Redbirds at home in Colorado Springs, the Sky Sox took game one of this road trip and series with a 3-2 win over Round Rock on Friday night.

The story of tonight's game was Colorado Springs' phenomenal pitching, and the Express batters inability to do much of anything against it. Aaron Brooks, who started on the mound for the Sky Sox tonight, threw 5.2 shutout innings, allowing just one sole hit, one walk, and two strikeouts in one of his best outings of the 2018 campaign. The only hit Brooks gave up in his start came in the bottom of the fifth inning, off the bat of Willie Calhoun. With one out already in the inning, Calhoun hit a single to left, ultimately being stranded on first after Brooks collected two more quick outs on three more pitches to finish the inning.

In the very next half-inning, in the top of the sixth, the Sky Sox responded to Brooks' no-hit bid being broken up by scoring the first run of the series. Brett Phillips led off the inning with a pop out for out number one, before Tyrone Taylor clobbered a solo homer to give the Sky Sox a 1-0 lead. That proved to be the only run Round Rock's starter Richelson Pena would allow all night, as his start was nearly as polished as Brooks' was for Colorado Springs. In total, through six innings, Pena allowed just the one run on six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Express threatened to break up the shutout. Scott Heineman reached first after being hit by pitch to start the frame, advancing to second on a fly out. He moved up to third on another fly out to find himself 90 feet from home with two outs on the board, and Calhoun at the plate. Calhoun- still having the only Round Rock hit of the evening at that point after his one-out single in the fifth inning- grounded out to strand Heineman at third and send the game to the eighth.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Corbin Burnes was replaced on the mound by Nick Ramirez for Colorado Springs, who gave up a home run to the first batter he faced. Andy Ibanez hit a solo homer, his seventh of the season, to tie the game at 1-1 for Round Rock's first run and second hit of the evening. Heading into the ninth inning it was two solo homers- one from each squad- that comprised all the runs in the contest thus far.

The tie was short-lived however, with the Sky Sox retaking the lead right away in the top of the ninth. Christian Bethancourt led off with a single, scoring two at-bats later on a Dylan Moore triple. Jett Bandy then hit an RBI single to score Moore from third to make it a 3-1 ballgame.

In the bottom of the ninth, Drew Robinson led off with a double for the Express, scoring on a Heineman RBI single to reduce Colorado Springs' lead to just one run. The Sky Sox picked up two outs after that, before Calhoun singled for his second hit of the game to put two on for Ibanez. Ibanez grounded out to end the game, however, with the Sky Sox taking game one of this series with a tight 3-2 victory.

The Sky Sox are on the road in the midst of a five-game set against the Express in Round Rock, before returning home on Independence Day to host the New Orleans Baby Cakes for five games. 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 game two tomorrow, the Sky Sox are sending righty Alec Asher to the mound to square off against Round Rock's Tyler Wagner. Asher is searching for his fifth win of the season, whereas Wagner is still in search of his first.

Wheels: With Brett Phillips' RBI triple in the third inning Thursday night, that was Phillips' 7th triple this season, and his 17th career regular season triple with the Sky Sox. With that triple, Phillips passes Ben Paulsen into a tie for 8th place all-time in career regular season triples at 17, with Choo Freeman, and current teammate Nate Orf. (Next up at tied for 6th: Edgard Velasquez Clemente and Nelson Liriano, with 18 triples each.)

7-Run 7th: The 7-run 7th inning by Memphis on Thursday marks the first time that Memphis scored 7 runs in the 7th inning against the Sky Sox. It's the most runs scored in an inning against the Sky Sox since Memphis scored 10 runs in the top of the first inning, back on May 19th (Game 2 of DH). The last time an opponent scored at least 7 runs in the 7th inning against the Sky Sox was on May 11th, 2017, when Sacramento scored a whopping 13 runs in the top of the 7th against the Sky Sox. That 13 runs was the most runs scored by any opponent in a single inning against the Sky Sox in the modern team's history (since 1988). Sacramento won that game, 17-7.

Middle-of-the-Week Triumph: With the come-from-behind walkoff win on Wednesday afternoon, the Sky Sox improved to 9-1 through their first 10 Wednesday contests this season.

First Game, Last Game: With today being the final game for the Memphis Redbirds in Colorado Springs, here's a brief look back at the first Redbirds game here at Sky Sox Stadium: The first Memphis game here in Colorado Springs took place on June 4th, 1998. Placido Polanco went 3-for-5 with a RBI, and Juan Munoz went 2-for-5 with 2 RBI, as the Redbirds rallied from a 7-5 deficit, scoring 3 runs in the 7th and 2 runs in the 9th to beat the Sky Sox, 10-7. Matt Arrandale picked up the win, while Kerry Woodson took the loss.

Don't (Or Do) Call It a Comeback: Prior to Wednesday's come-from-behind win, the Sky Sox were 2-20 in games when trailing after six innings this season.

Not the First Time: The Sky Sox won game three against the Redbirds on Wednesday afternoon in wild fashion with a bases-loaded walkoff balk in the bottom of the ninth. On April 13th, 2005, in game one of a doubleheader against the Tucson Sidewinders, Jason Bulger balked in the winning run in the bottom of the 7th, with the Sky Sox winning 4-3 in seven innings.

In the Clutch: Jacob Nottingham (7) and Tyrone Taylor (8) collected home runs in the sixth and seventh innings to help bring the Sky Sox back from the seven-run deficit they faced against the Redbirds on Wednesday. In the sixth, Nottingham slugged a two-run home run to get the squad within two runs as Taylor launched a solo home run in the seventh to tie the game at seven each.

Got Hot: The Sky Sox collected nine hits from the sixth inning on in Wednesday afternoon's contest. Through the first five innings, Colorado Springs had only collected one single.

Comeback Kids: The seven-run comeback Wednesday was the biggest of the season for the Sky Sox this season, but not the largest comeback in Sky Sox history, which was 10 runs on April 30th, 1996 against Tacoma. Tacoma had a 10-0 lead after two-and-a-half innings, and rallied to win, 11-10. On May 1, 2001, the Sky Sox trailed Memphis 15-0 after seven-and-a-half innings on May 1st, 2001 and scored 10 runs in the eighth and four in the ninth, before falling short and Memphis winning 15-14.

Long Ball Downfall: After surrendering four home runs Tuesday night to the Redbirds, the Sky Sox allowed three more on Wednesday afternoon. Over the two days, the homers combined for 11 RBI.

Out of Ordinary: Righty Brandon Woodruff was not in usual fashion Wednesday afternoon. Woodruff, for the Sky Sox, allowed a season-high five earned runs on also season-high nine hits, including a high of three home runs surrendered, on Wednesday. It marked just the second time he allowed three or more earned runs in a start, fourth time he allowed five or more hits, and first time he allowed multiple home runs in a start this season. Coming into the game, he held a 1-0 record with a 1.69 ERA over two game starts in day game appearances. Overall, he has tossed 10 starts for the Sky Sox.

We See You, Q: In his sixth game played in June with the Sky Sox on 6/27, Quintin Berry collected his first multi-hit game of the season with a double and a single. He also nabbed his fourth stolen base and added his fourth RBI of the year.

Peralta Report: Sky Sox former ace Freddy Peralta made his Miller Park debut Tuesday night in Milwaukee. He tossed seven one-hit shutout innings while walking one and striking out 10. According to a report, Peralta is first pitcher since at least 1908 to allow three or fewer hits with five or more strikeouts in each of his first four career appearances. The 35 Ks through first four MLB games is record for Brewers.

Error Streak Over: With the three errors on Tuesday night, the Sky Sox ended their errorless streak they have been on, which began on June 19.

Burnes Outta' the Pen: Righty Corbin Burnes made his third appearance out of the pen on Tuesday night with a 1.1-inning performance. In 5.1 innings of relief, Burnes has allowed 10 hits, seven runs, walked two, and struck out seven.

Dillard's Outing: The relief appearance by Tim Dillard on Tuesday night was his 101st regular season relief appearance with the Sky Sox, tying him with Zach McClellan for 10th place on the Sky Sox games pitched list. McClellan made 101 appearances from 2005-2007 with the Sky Sox.

Pinch-HR: Keon Broxton came into the game in the eighth inning Monday night to pinch-hit, hitting a three-run homer for the Sky Sox FIRST pinch-hit home run of the 2018 season. He was recalled on Tuesday for the first time this season.

This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox are on the road in Round Rock to face the Express for five games, before returning home on Independence Day to host the New Orleans Baby Cakes for five games prior to the All-Star Break July 9-11.

NEXT GAME: Saturday, 6/30 at 6:05 p.m. MT vs. Round Rock Express @ Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX

RHP Alec Asher (4-2, 5.07) vs. RHP Tyler Wagner (0-3, 4.40) - Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300

Next Home Game: Wednesday, July 4 at 7:00 p.m. MT @ Security Service Field

COS TOP PERFORMERS

- Aaron Brooks (5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO)

- Tyrone Taylor (1-for-4, HR, 1 R, 1 RBI)

- Dylan Moore (3-for-4, 3B, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI)

RR TOP PERFORMERS

- Andy Ibanez (1-for-4, HR, 1 R, 1 RBI)

- Richelson Pena (6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 7 SO)

- Willie Calhoun (2-for-4)

• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board...

Pacific Coast League Stories from June 29, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Colorado Springs Sky Sox Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central