SKY SOX FALL LATE TO ISOTOPES IN FINAL GAME OF SERIES

POSTGAME NOTES
Monday, July 30, 2018 vs. Albuquerque Isotopes (COL)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (57-48) | Albuquerque Isotopes (51-57)
SKY SOX FALL LATE TO ISOTOPES IN FINAL GAME OF SERIES
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Sky Sox dropped the final game of the series to the Albuquerque Isotopes 11-5 at Security Service Field to finish in a series split. The Isotopes out-hit the Sky Sox 16-7.   
In the first inning, the Isotopes, who hadn't scored a run prior to the third inning all series, broke out the offense quickly with three runs. With two outs, Davis Dahl started the momentum with a double while Josh Fuentes singled to plate their first run. After Jordan Patterson singled and Daniel Castro walked to load the bases, Shawn O'Malley sent a line drive single to centerfield to make it a 3-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the second, Christian Bethancourt made it a one-run ballgame on his big fly to left field. After Jett Bandy drew a one-out walk, Bethancourt knocked the first pitch he saw, marking his 17th home run of the season and making it a 3-2 contest.
The Sky Sox continued into the bottom of the third with three more runs to take the 5-3 lead. Jonathan Villar started the inning with a line drive single and was followed by another single via Dylan Moore to place runners on the corners. In the next at-bat, Tyrone Taylor grounded a what-would-have-been double play ball to second base, but a wild throw by O'Malley wide of Castro's glove allowed both Villar and Moore to score. Domingo Santana allowed the third run to score on his single to right field.
The Isotopes rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a late lead. Raimel Tapia began the momentum with a one-out double and scored a batter later on Noel Cuevas' base hit. After Dahl struck out for the second out, Fuentes tripled to right field to tie the game while a wild pitch would give Albuquerque the 6-5 advantage.
Albuquerque extended the lead to 11-5, capping off the night, with a solo run in the eighth inning and four runs in the top of the ninth on three singles and a home run. Colorado Springs went down in order in the final three innings.
The Sky Sox hit the road for a seven-game road trip with their first stop in Reno beginning on Wednesday before heading to Tacoma for four games.
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__NOTES__
Wednesday's Preview: The Sky Sox enter into the first of the three-game set with the Reno Aces at Greater Nevada Field and first game of the seven-game road trip with an 8:05 p.m. MST first pitch at Security Service Field. The Sky Sox are sending righty Aaron Wilkerson to the mound to face off against southpaw Alex Young.
Bethancourt's 17th: On Monday night, Christian Bethancourt knocked the first pitch he saw in his first at bat, marking his 17th home run of the season. His home run count with the Sky Sox leads the way among all players who have been in Colorado Springs.
Lead Change: Coming into the night, the Sky Sox held a 46-9 record when leading in a game after six innings. Monday night marked the 10th loss for Colorado Springs when leading after six and giving up the lead.
The Hunt For First: The Sky Sox are on the hunt for the 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. After Monday night, the Sky Sox find themselves a game back in the standings.
Sweet Tally: Manager Rick Sweet is six regular season wins away to pass Brad Mills for the regular season wins as Sky Sox manager and nine wins away to pass him in overall wins with the Sky Sox.
Villar's Rehab: Brewers rehabbing second baseman Jonathan Villar, began his rehab stint with the Sky Sox on Saturday. Villar finished going 2-for-3 with a run before being replaced by Andrés Blanco when the game resumed Saturday after the rain delay. On Sunday, Villar went 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and a walk. On Monday night, he finished going 2-for-4 with a run.
Grand Salami: The first inning grand slam on Sunday by Andres Blanco marks the 2nd grand slam home run at Security Service Field for the Sky Sox this season, since Kyle Wren did it on June 2 against Iowa. It also marks the 11th time a Sky Sox player has hit a grand slam homer against an Albuquerque pitcher. It is the first time this has happened in the four seasons since the affiliation change with the Sky Sox as a Brewers affiliate and Albuquerque as a Rockies affiliate. The last Sky Sox player to hit a grand slam versus Albuquerque was Ben Paulsen on August 23rd, 2014 in bottom of third in Colorado Springs against Justin Germano (Sky Sox won 12-10).
Delayed: In game 105 of the 2018 season, the Sky Sox met with their longest game delay at home which was two hours and 20 minutes long due to a storm passing over Security Service Field. Last night, in game 104, the Sky Sox set a previous high of two hours and 10 minutes also due to a passing storm.
Blanco From Both Sides: Andres Blanco finished going 2-for-4 with four RBI on Sunday afternoon. From the left side of the plate, he knocked a grand slam in the first inning. From the right side, he knocked a sixth-inning double off the centerfield wall.
Two Starts Cut Short: On Sunday afternoon, Brandon Woodruff's start was stopped after one inning, one-hit, two-strikeout inning due to a passing storm. Last night, starter Adrian Houser tossed five shutout innings while allowing just three hits with four strikeouts, but was cut short as rain piled onto the field during the bottom of the fifth inning.
First Sky Sox Hall-of-Famer: MLB slugger and former Colorado Springs Sky Sox third baseman, Jim Thome, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday, marking the first ever Sky Sox player to be featured in the Hall. The induction comes in his first year of eligibility alongside other inductees Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman. Thome played in parts of two seasons with the Sky Sox in 1991 and 1992 when the team was affiliated with the Indians, compiling a .291 batting average in 53 regular season games. He played in all eight postseason games during the 1992 Pacific Coast League playoffs where the Sky Sox would overcome a 2-1 series deficit to Las Vegas in a best-of-five set before sweeping Vancouver 3-0 in the Championship series for their first PCL title.
Mr. and Mr. Clutch: Christian Bethancourt and Rymer Liriano proved to be the heroes of Saturday night after coming up in the bottom of the eighth inning with back-to-back home runs to break the 3-3 tie and seal the 5-3 victory in game two over the Isotopes. Bethancourt totaled his 16th of the season while Liriano marked his 18th of 2018 and second with the Sky Sox in as many nights.
Back-to-Back Tally: The late back-to-back homers by Christian Bethancourt and Rymer Liriano marked the sixth time a pair of Sky Sox have met the feat this season. It is Bethancourt's second time being a part of a back-to-back pair in 2018. The first time came on July 1 at Round Rock with Jacob Nottingham.
No Extras: Five arms through Sky Sox pitching did not give up an extra-base hit Saturday night. Albuquerque tallied three runs on nine singles throughout the rainy affair.
Five-Hit, Again: The Sky Sox were five-hit for a second time this week, once by El Paso, and the other in game one against the Isotopes, with both games adding the fifth hit in the bottom of the ninth. Before the homestand, Colorado Springs was four-hit consecutive times on the road in Memphis.
Liriano's Launch: After launching 16 home runs with Salt Lake over 65 games this season, Rymer Liriano, who was acquired by the Brewers on July 20 as a free agent, launched his first home run with the Sky Sox in big-time fashion - sending it over the mountain-scape above the videoboard in left-center field. His home run broke the Isotopes six-inning shutout and marked the 57th solo home run of the year for Colorado Springs this season.
Game One Record: The Sky Sox now hold an 18-9 record in game one's in a series. Despite the loss, the Sky Sox still hold the best winning percentage in the first game of a series with a .667 percentage.
20 Hits: The Sky Sox tied for most hits in a game this season with 20 against El Paso on Tuesday. The Sky Sox set the milestone of 20 on April 30 against Nashville at home. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Orlando Arcia just missed marking the 21st of the night with a long drive to the right field wall, which was caught on a stretched leap by El Paso's Forrestt Allday.
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox hit the road for a nine-day, seven-game road trip, with a three-game set in Reno against the Aces, followed by a four-game series in Tacoma versus the Rainiers, with off days bookending the road trip.
NEXT GAME: Wednesday, August 1 at 8:05 p.m. MT vs. Reno Aces @ Greater Nevada Field
RHP Aaron Wilkerson (3-3, 2.22) vs. LHP Alex Young (4-3, 6.39) - Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
NEXT HOME GAME: Thursday, August 9 vs. Nashville Sounds - 6:40 p.m. first pitch
COS TOP PERFORMERS
 Christian Bethancourt (1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI)
 Jonathan Villar (2-for-4, R)
 Tyrone Taylor (1-for-4, R, RBI)
ABQ TOP PERFORMERS
 Noel Cuevas (4-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI)
 Josh Fuentes (4-for-5, 3B, 3 R, 2 RBI)
 Shawn O'Malley (3-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI)