SKY SOX FALL AS SOUNDS WIN 10TH STRAIGHT WITH 18 RUNS

POSTGAME NOTES
Thursday, August 9, 2018 vs. Nashville Sounds (OAK)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (60-53) | Nashville Sounds (60-55)
RED-HOT SOUNDS WIN TENTH STRAIGHT WITH 18 RUNS
 
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Sky Sox opened their third to last homestand of the season with a high-scoring contest against the red-hot Nashville Sounds, dropping the first game of a four-game set 18-9, as the Sounds collected their tenth win in a row.  The last time the Sounds lost was last month, on July 28th.
The Nashville Sounds, who boasted a nine-game winning streak coming into this series, opened Thursday night's contest with five runs scored in the very first frame, all off of Colorado Springs' starter Brandon Woodruff, who was pulled from the game after recording just two outs.  Boog Powell, Steve Lombardozzi Jr., and Dustin Fowler all drew back-to-back-to-back walks to start the game to load the bases.  Still with no outs on the board, Woodruff threw a wild pitch to allow everyone to move up to make it 1-0.  Franklin Barreto then hit a bases-clearing double to give the sounds a swift 3-0 lead.  Sheldon Neuse followed up with a double of his own to plate Barreto, before BJ Boyd singled to drive in Neuse to give Nashville a 5-0 lead, ending Woodruff's day in the process.
After a scoreless second, the visiting squad scored again in the third inning.  In the first at-bat of the inning and his second at-bat of the evening, Barreto hit a long solo homer-his dozenth of the season-to extend Nashville's lead to 6-0.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Sky Sox fired back with a home run of their own to cut the deficit in half.  Tyler Saladino drew a one-out walk and Christian Bethancourt singled to put two on for Domingo Santana, who crushed a three-run, two-out homer to make it a 6-3 ballgame.
For the third time in four innings, Nashville scored again in the fourth.  Lombardozzi Jr. drew his third walk of the night on four pitches, moving up to second on a Fowler single.  A wild pitch allowed both runners to move up 90 feet, with Anthony García singling home Lombardozzi Jr. to make it 7-3.  Beau Taylor then drew a walk, with Neuse knocking an RBI single to score Fowler and load the bases.  Boyd then hit a grand slam to clear the bases, making it a 12-3 affair.
In the bottom of the fifth frame Tyrone Taylor led off for Colorado Springs with a walk, advancing to third on a Saladino single to put runners on the corners for Bethancourt, who doubled both runners home to make it 12-5.  Santana then singled Bethancourt over to third, with a wild pitch allowing Bethancourt to trot the last 90 feet home.  Rymer Liriano then singled to put runners on the corners again, before Keon Broxton walked on four pitches to load the bases.  Eric Sogard followed suit with a walk of his own to force home Santana, with the bases remaining loaded for Nate Orf, who grounded into a force out for the second out of the inning, scoring Liriano to make it 12-8. 
Nashville scored once again in the seventh inning, on the back of three consecutive singles.  Powell, Lombardozzi Jr., and Fowler all singled, with Fowler's single bringing home Powell to make it a five-run game at 13-8.
In the bottom half of the inning Sogard singled with two outs on the board, coming home one batter later on an Orf RBI double to cut the lead down to just four runs.
In the top of the eighth the Sounds regained their five-run lead and then some, as Taylor reached on the Sky Sox first error of the evening, coming home on a Neuse double.  Boyd then singled home Neuse for his sixth RBI of the night to make it 15-9 Nashville.
In the ninth inning, Lombardozzi Jr. and Fowler hit back-to-back singles yet again, before Taylor homered them home to extend Nashville's lead to 18-9.  The score would hold, with Nashville securing their tenth win in a row.
The Sky Sox are home at Security Service Field to host the Nashville Sounds for a four-game series, beginning on Thursday and running through Sunday the 12th. Following the short homestand, the Sky Sox will go on the road for a brief three-game set versus the Iowa Cubs.  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: The Sky Sox head into game two of the four-game set against the Nashville Sounds, Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. MST.  Colorado Springs' righty Adrian Houser (1-2) is set to face the Sounds' righty Chris Bassitt (4-4).
Heavy Damage:  The 18 runs the Sky Sox surrendered on Thursday night marked the most runs they've given up in a game all season.  The previous high of 17 runs also came at home in Security Service Field, on 6/19 against the Salt Lake Bees.
Lengthy Evening: The three-hour and 55-minute contest on Thursday night was the longest game the Sky Sox have played all season, unseating the previous long of three-hours and 53-minutes, which came less than a month ago on the road in New Orleans against the Baby Cakes on 7/14.  The 3:55 time for the 18-9 game marks the longest nine-inning Sky Sox game (time) against the Nashville Sounds. The previous longest nine-inning game in time between the Sky Sox and Nashville was at 3:47, taking place on April 10th, 2015, where Nashville won that game, 12-8.
Red Hot: The Sky Sox opened their third to last homestand of the season with a high-scoring contest against the red-hot Nashville Sounds, dropping the first game of a four-game set 18-9, as the Sounds collected their tenth win in a row.  The last time the Sounds lost was last month, on July 28th.
Dead Even: The Sky Sox and Rainiers completed their all-time series together dead even at a 174-174 record, with the Sky Sox going 103-67 at home and 71-107.
Six Spot: The Sky Sox marked their seventh six-run frame and second in five games, coming in the fourth inning on Tuesday afternoon in Tacoma. The last time the Sky Sox totaled six in a frame was in the second Inning on August 3 in Reno.
Power Trio: The Sky Sox powered three home runs in the final game of the series in Tacoma on Tuesday courtesy of Jett Bandy, Keon Broxton and Domingo Santana, who were also the five-six-seven batters in the matinee contest. The home run for Broxton marked his first since being back with the Sky Sox (last was on June 25 vs. MEM). For Bandy, it marked his eighth of the season with the Sky Sox and Santana's fourth.
Asher's 12th: Right-handed starter Alec Asher, who went one over the minimum through his first three frames of work on Tuesday, notched his sixth win and completed his 12th start with the Sky Sox after a solid six innings of work while allowing four runs on six hits with a walk and, for the first time in an outing, no strikeouts.
Pacific Conference History: The Sky Sox finish 457-617-1 all-time in games played in the Pacific Time Zone, which included road games in Tacoma, Sacramento, Fresno, Las Vegas, Reno, plus former PCL cities Vancouver and Portland along with Arizona teams Tucson and Phoenix, along with the first seven home games in 1988 in Yuma, AZ, and one Portland series played in Spokane.
Sweet Tally: With the Sky Sox win Tuesday afternoon, manager Rick Sweet marks his 269th regular season win with the Sky Sox. Sweet now trails Brad Mills by only two wins to tie Mills' club record 271 wins as Sky Sox manager. If you include postseason wins, Sweet is at 271 overall wins, trailing Mills by only five overall wins.
The Hunt For First: The Sky Sox continue the hunt for their second-consecutive playoff run, battling it out with other top contender of the American North - the Oklahoma City Dodgers. Last season, the Sky Sox broke one of the longest postseason droughts in professional sports - taking the American North division for the first time and breaking their 20-year absence. Currently, the Sky Sox trail the Dodgers in the standings.
Swipin' Bags: The 137 Sky Sox stolen bases this season is currently the fourth most in a single season. The team record is 169 stolen bases which was set in 2009. The next feat to reach is third-most 149 set in 2000 while the second-most of 151 is held by 2016 squad.
Davies Rehab: Right-handed pitcher and Brewers rehabber Zach Davies made his fourth rehab stint for the Sky Sox Monday night, tossing 4.2 innings, allowing just the one run on five hits with a pair of walks alongside a pair of strikeouts.  In his last rehab start, on Wednesday, August 1st, Davies threw two and two-thirds innings and allowing five runs on just four hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Overall, after four rehab starts with Colorado Springs, he has totaled 13.1 IP, 15 H, 8 ER, 7 BB, 11 K and is 0-2.
Hits Kept Coming: On Sunday night, the Sky Sox put up 12 hits including a hit and base runner in every single inning except for the ninth inning when they went down in order.
Brooks Earns Number Eight: Aaron Brooks dominated in his 12th start with the Sky Sox Sunday afternoon against Tacoma. In six and two-thirds innings, he delivered a four-hit outing while allowing just a solo run on a home run given up in the first. He surrendered one walk and struck out five.
Orf Alert: With his three hits on Sunday, Orf moved up to 326 regular season hits with the Sky Sox, moving him in a tie for 13th place all time with Ben Petrick at 326 hits. His four singles those two days had given him 221 total singles with the Sky Sox, moving him into a tie for 10th place all-time on the singles list with Luis Medina.
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox are back home to host the Nashville Sounds for four games plus one suspended game for five in total at Security Service Field, before heading out onto the road on Monday the 13th for a three-game set in Iowa versus the Cubs.
 
 
NEXT GAME: Friday, August 10 at 6:40 p.m. MT vs. Nashville Sounds @ Security Service Field
NOTE: A suspended game from earlier in the season (5/3) will be completed beforehand at 5:00 p.m. MT
RHP Adrian Houser (1-2, 5.74) vs. RHP Chris Bassitt (4-4, 4.82) - Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
PROMOTION: Friday Night Fireworks (Presented by Divine Roofing) w/ 2000s-era "Socko" style jerseys
 
COS TOP PERFORMERS
 Domingo Santana (3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)
 Christian Bethancourt (2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI)
 Nate Orf (1-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI)
 
 NAS TOP PERFORMERS
 Franklin Barreto (2-for-6, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)
 BJ Boyd (3-for-5, HR [GS], 1 R, 6 RBI)
 Sheldon Neuse (4-for-6, 2 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI)