Sky Sox Take Series Opener in Loud Fashion

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


NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Sky Sox opened their four-game series against the Sounds with a 9-3 win on Tuesday night to improve to 4-0 against Nashville this season.

Nate Orf came into tonight with a 17-game hitting streak and in the very first at-bat of the game he upped that to 18 with a line drive single to left. James Naile followed the single by recording two quick outs and a walk, before giving up another single to Jacob Nottingham that scored Orf to give the Sky Sox an early 1-0 lead.

The Sounds responded right away, and in loud fashion. BJ Boyd tripled in Nashville's first at-bat of the contest, scoring two at-bats later on a Dustin Fowler home run to make it 2-1 Nashville.

Both pitchers settled in for a scoreless second frame, but in the top of the third Colorado Springs struck again. Orf doubled to lead off for his second hit of the night, scoring once more on a Tyrone Taylor single. With two outs on the board Christian Bethancourt singled to score Taylor and retake the lead at 3-2.

After two more scoreless frames the Sky Sox extended their lead by a few more runs in the sixth inning. Ji-Man Choi led off with a single for his first hit of the night, scoring on the next at-bat via a Nottingham RBI double. Bethancourt singled to put two on for Tyler Saladino, who cleared the bases with a three-run blast over the left-center field fence to make it 7-2.  With zero outs still on the board, that proved to be enough to chase Naile from the game, as he was replaced on the mound by Nashville reliever Jake Sanchez who pitched out of the inning without any further damage allowed.

Taylor doubled to kick off the seventh inning, advancing to third on a Choi ground out. Nottingham reached after being hit-by-pitch, with a Bethancourt single scoring Taylor and advancing Nottingham 90 feet. Saladino singled to load the bases, and a Keon Broxton sacrifice fly scored Nottingham to make it 9-2 Sky Sox.

The Sounds tried to battle back in the bottom of the ninth, with Anthony Garcia doubling to start the inning for his second double of the game. Two groundouts proved enough to plate Garcia and cut the deficit to six runs, but the Nashville rally fell short for a final of 9-3 in tonight's series opener.

Tomorrow's second game against the Nashville Sounds is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. MST at First Tennessee Park. The Sky Sox return to Security Service Field for an eight-game, nine-day homestand on May 12 where they will host the Oklahoma City Dodgers and Memphis Redbirds. 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 Expectation: In the second game of the four-game series against the Nashville Sounds the Sky Sox are sending righty Bubba Derby to the mound to face fellow righty Frankie Montas for Nashville.

R-I-S-P-E-C-T: After struggling with runners in scoring position in the previous series against the OKC Dodgers, the Sky Sox went 7-for-11 with RISP Tuesday night.

Orf Trending: Nate Orf currently boasts an active 18-game hitting streak, which was continued Tuesday night with a single in the very first at-bat of the game. In 18 games, Orf has gone 32-for-69 with 16 runs, 13 RBI, and four stolen bases. His longest streak last season was nine games.

Undefeated: With a win Tuesday night the Sky Sox improve to 4-0 against the Sounds this season, after having gone 3-0 against Nashville at home in Security Service Field last week (with game four being suspended due to travel curfew).

K's for Days: Alec Asher struck out seven batters on Tuesday night, continuing the trend of high strikeout counts for Colorado Springs starters lately. Freddy Peralta struck out eight batters through four innings on Monday, the day after Corbin Burnes struck out 13 batters through seven innings. That's 28 strikeouts through 16.1 innings between Asher's, Peralta's, and Burnes' back-to-back-to-back starts.

Burnes' Baker's Dozen: After striking out 13 on Sunday, Corbin Burnes becomes only the fourth Sky Sox pitcher in team history to record 13 or more strikeouts in a game. Burnes ties Edwar Cabrera and the late Mark Brownson as the other two pitchers with 13 strikeouts in a game. The single game record is held by John Thomson, with 14 strikeouts. The Sky Sox home record is 12 K, by Nate Minchey, vs. Tucson Sidewinders, June 4th, 1997 (12 K in 9 IP) [CG], and by Mike Saipe, vs. Vancouver Canadians, May 15th, 1998 (12 K in 9 IP) [CG].)

Low Hits: The Sky Sox tied for a season low in hits (4) on Saturday, which was set on April 7 in game two of a doubleheader in Omaha. The four hits were totaled throughout the third, fifth, and sixth innings. The only multi-hit inning for the Sky Sox came in the third inning with back-to-back two-out singles to load the bases.

This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox are currently in the midst of an eight-game road trip. After playing four games in Oklahoma City against the Dodgers and going 1-3, the Sky Sox are set for another four-game series against the Nashville Sounds before returning home on the 12th for an eight-game, nine-day homestand that will see them host the Dodgers for four games followed by the Memphis Redbirds for four games.

NEXT GAME: Wednesday, May 9 @ Nashville Sounds - 5:35 p.m. MDT @ First Tennessee Park

RHP Bubba Derby (1-1, 2.84) vs. RHP Frankie Montas (1-3, 4.91) | Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300

  COS TOP PERFORMERS

- Nate Orf (3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, 1 BB)

- Jacob Nottingham (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB)

- Tyler Saladino (2-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR)

- Christian Bethancourt (3-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI)

  NAS TOP PERFORMERS

- Dustin Fowler (2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR)

- Anthony Garcia (2-for-4, 1 R, 2 2B)

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