NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Sky Sox Rally in Eighth to Even Series with Grizzlies

June 7, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox News Release


FRESNO, Cali. - The Sky Sox engaged in another tight pitching contest with the Fresno Grizzlies for the second night in a row Wednesday evening, this time coming away as the victors after rallying for four runs in the eighth inning to take game two 6-1.

After last night's pitching duel in game one, game two began in similar fashion. Eric Thames proved to be the only Sky Sox batter to collect a hit in the first two frames, with a two-out single in the first. The Grizzlies also had a quiet start to the game, going three up and three down in the bottom of the first. In the first at-bat of the bottom of the second inning however, AJ Reed hit a solo homer to straight center field to give the home team a 1-0 lead.  The Grizzlies collected two more singles in the inning, but Colorado Springs starter Adrian Houser was able to get out of the inning without further damage.

The Sky Sox struck back in the top of the next inning, with Dylan Moore leading off the third frame with a triple for Colorado Springs. With one out on the board, Kyle Wren hit a sacrifice fly to score Moore from third and tie the game at 1-1.

Both pitching staffs settled in for the next four innings, not allowing another run to cross the plate until the eighth. Nate Orf led off the inning with a walk, advancing to second with a stolen base, marking his twelfth steal of the 2018 campaign. With one out, Jett Bandy was hit in the upper back by a pitch, being replaced at first base by pinch-runner Keon Broxton. Wren, who up to that point was 0-for-2 on the night with the sacrifice fly in the third, hit a three-run homer to give the Sky Sox a 4-1 lead, with Wren being responsible for all four of Colorado Springs' RBI. Andres Blanco followed Wren's bases-clearing homer with a single, followed in turn by a single off the bat of Thames, advancing Blanco to third. Shane Opitz then came into the game to pinch-run for Thames for the Sky Sox second pinch-runner of the inning. With Jacob Nottingham at the plate, Opitz stole second, with the throw down to second dribbling into center field to allow Blanco to trot home from third to give Colorado Springs a 5-1 lead.

After a scoreless bottom of the eighth inning, the Sky Sox extended their lead in the top of the ninth, doing so with no hits in the frame. Tyrone Taylor reached on an error, and Orf reached on a hit-by-pitch. Moore grounded out to advance both runners, before Broxton was hit-by-pitch to load the bases for Colorado Springs' fourth hit batsmen of the game. Wren then hit yet another sacrifice fly for his fifth RBI of the evening to give the Sky Sox a 6-1 lead. That lead would hold, with the Sky Sox taking game two to even the series.

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 final game of the three-game set against the Fresno Grizzlies at Chukchansi Park, the Sky Sox are sending right-hander Corbin Burnes to the mound to face righty Cy Sneed.

Wren Rakes: Kyle Wren, who recently came off the disabled list, had five RBI Wednesday night against the Fresno Grizzlies, going 1-for-3 with a three-run homer and two sacrifice flies. Just four days earlier, on June 2 at home against the Iowa Cubs, Wren also had five RBI after going 2-for-4.  The two sacrifice flies by Kyle Wren ties the club record for sacrifice flies in a game. Wren's two sacrifice flies marks the 18th time a Sky Sox player had two sacrifice flies in a game (done twice in 2017 by Andrew Susan on April 18th, 2017 vs. Memphis, and by Garrett Cooper on June 20th, 2017 vs. Oklahoma City, both at home in Colorado Springs). The 5 RBI by Wren gives him 143 RBI in his Sky Sox career, closing in on joining the Top 25 in career RBI. Choo Freeman and Webster Garrison are tied for 25th place with 145 RBI.

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.

Decent Company: The 13 strikeouts by Fresno's Josh James Tuesday night marks the 8th time an opposing pitcher has struck out at least 13 Sky Sox batters in a game, all done on the road. The last time that it was accomplished was by Oklahoma City's Jose DeLeon on August 28th, 2016 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (13 K in 7 IP). Tuesday night wasn't even the single-game high for a Fresno pitcher against the Sky Sox, as Fresno's Tim Lincecum struck out 14 Sky Sox batters in 6 IP in a game in Fresno on April 29th, 2007.

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.

Seventh Series W: The Sky Sox won their seventh series of the 2018 season with a 3-2 series advantage over the Cubs last weekend. The series win marked the first since mid-May when they took three out of four games over Oklahoma City (game four postponed).

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.

Long Ball Relief: After collecting three homers last Wednesday against the Iowa Cubs, marking the most dingers in one game for the Sky Sox, Colorado Springs one-upped that stat with four total on Friday night in game three, which brought in six of the home team's 10 runs. On Saturday and Sunday, the Sky Sox tallied three more, bringing their total over the five games with Iowa to 10 home runs.

May 30, 2016: The last time the Sky Sox played at Chukchansi Park prior to Tuesday night was on May 30, 2016. On this day, the start time was moved up three hours to 11 a.m. PST with a 2:30 pm travel curfew due to a flight that was scheduled to fly out of San Francisco due to poor flight options out of Fresno the next day. The final game on May 30 was called after 10 innings at 2:31 pm, ending in a 6-6 tie.

Davis' Streak Done: After 12.1 scoreless innings by reliever Erik Davis, his streak ended Sunday afternoon after allowing two runs in the ninth inning. Over his last eight outings, the righty allowed just six hits, two walks, and totaled 12 strikeouts.

Swiping Bags: The seven stolen bases Saturday night by the Sky Sox ties the team record for stolen bases in a game. There were two other times where the Sky Sox stole seven bases in a game: May 24th, 1999 at Principal Park against the Iowa Cubs (10-inning game), and on July 4th, 2017 at Security Service Field against the Nashville Sounds. The three stolen bases tonight by Dylan Moore was one short of the individual record for stolen bases in a game. The record is four stolen bases, all done at Security Service Field, by Jeff Huson on August 30th, 1996 against Albuquerque, Luis Sardinas on May 1st, 2015 vs. Omaha, and by Kyle Wren on July 4th, 2017 against Nashville.

Wrapping Up Another Month: With the loss Thursday night, the Sky Sox finished the month of May with a 12-16 record. Colorado Springs had as many losses in May as they had wins in April, having gone 16-8 in the first month of the season.

This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox hit the road again for seven games to take on Pacific Conference teams, the Fresno Grizzlies, and Sacramento River Cats. This will be the first round of Pacific Coast conference games for the Sky Sox.

NEXT GAME: Thursday, June 6 @ Fresno - 8:05 p.m. MST @ Chukchansi Park

RHP Corbin Burnes (2-3, 4.97) -vs. RHP Cy Sneed (5-2, 3.55)- | Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300

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

COS TOP PERFORMERS

-   Kyle Wren (1-for-3, 1 R, 5 RBI, HR)

-   Dylan Moore (1-for-3, 3B, 1 R)

-   Bubba Derby (W, 4.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 4 SO)

FRE TOP PERFORMERS

-   Brock Dykxhoorn (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 6 SO)

-   Garrett Stubbs (3-for-3, 1 BB)

- AJ Reed (1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB)

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

Pacific Coast League Stories from June 7, 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