Sky Sox Put up Five Runs in the First En Route to a 10-3 Win

July 9, 2013 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox News Release


The Colorado Springs Sky Sox (49-42) scored five runs in the first inning en route to a 10-3 win over the Sacramento River Cats(48-44) in front of a sell-out crowd of 8,612 on a $2 Tuesday. Left-hander Jeff Francis (W, 1-2) was stellar tonight, earning his first home win in a Sky Sox uniform after only allowing one run in 5.2 innings. Francis' last win as a member of the Sky Sox came almost nine years ago against the Omaha Royals on August 14th, 2004 at Rosenblatt Stadium. The gap of 3,251 days between wins in a Sky Sox uniform is the longest in team history, breaking Jerry DiPoto's mark of 2,800 days which spanned from August 7, 1992 to April 7, 2000.

In the second game of his Major League rehab assignment Dexter Fowler led off the bottom of the first with a walk. NL All-Star Troy Tulowitzki then hit a single to right field to send Fowler streaking towards third, but the outfielder was thrown out on a rifle throw by Jeremy Barfield. Now with one out, Ryan Wheeler hit a single and was then plated on a double by Xavier Nady. Wheeler's single extends his hitting streak to 15-games. The Sky Sox added another run on a RBI single by Ben Paulsen and then increased their lead to five on a three-run homer by Tim Wheeler. The homer was the outfielder's second of the year and second against Sacramento.

Francis continued to plow through the River Cats' lineup in the second and third innings, striking out three batters in the third and getting a three quick outs in the fourth. The Sky Sox' offense would continue to support their starter when they scored three runs in the bottom of the third. Wheeler led off the inning with his second run of the day, and then Paulsen hit a double and Culberson hit a single to chase out starter Chris Resop (L, 1-1). Resop made the spot-start tonight in place of the PCL leader in strikeouts, Sonny Gray, and finished the night giving up eight runs in 2.1 innings. Colorado Springs capped off their three-run inning with a RBI triple by Greg Golson. The outfielder's triple was the team's 58th of the year which leads all of professional baseball.

During the sixth inning the River Cats finally got a run off of Jeff Francis and ended the shutout on a RBI single by Michael Choice. In the bottom of the inning the Sox added on more run on Ryan Wheeler's sixth homer of the season, a two-run blast, to make it 10-1.

Sacramento added two runs in the eighth, but they could not overcome the deficit and the Sky Sox even up the series up at one heading into tomorrow's rubber match. Right-hander Juan Nicasio (1-0, 0.87) will be making the start against righty Andrew Werner (7-11, 5.93) in the 12:35 PM MT matinee.



Pacific Coast League Stories from July 9, 2013


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