SKY SOX TURN LOOSE ON CHIHUAHUAS WITH 13-RUN VICTORY

POSTGAME NOTES
Tuesday, July 24, 2018 vs. El Paso Chihuahuas (SD)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (55-45) | El Paso Chihuahuas (54-48)
SKY SOX TURN LOOSE ON CHIHUAHUAS WITH 13-RUN VICTORY
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Sky Sox took game one by a dozen runs with a 13-1 victory over the El Paso Chihuahuas Tuesday night to kick off their seven-game homestand. Catcher Jett Bandy homered twice in the rout and finished a triple shy of the cycle on his 4-for-4 night. Right-hander Aaron Brooks set the tone in his 10th start with five and one-third strong innings. He allowed just one run on three hits with six strikeouts.
Colorado Springs lifted off quickly in the first game of the homestand, sending 10 batters to the plate and extending to a 6-0 lead. After a leadoff walk to Andrés Blanco, Orlando Arcia opened the scoring gates open with a double to bring the first run across. After Tyrone Taylor and Domingo Santana went down as the first two outs, Jett Bandy restarted the momentum with a two-run home run. With the 3-0 lead, Rymer Liriano singled and back-to-back doubles by Jake Hager and pitcher Aaron Brooks combined for the final three runs to make a six-run contest.
In the third, Hager knocked his second double of the night with one out in the frame. After a line out by Brooks to second, Blanco came in clutch with a two-out single to bring in the seventh Sky Sox run.
The Sky Sox continued the pile on in the fourth with two more runs thanks to solo home runs by Taylor and a second for Bandy. In the fifth, the Colorado Springs squad didn't stop, crossing four more on seven consecutive singles to extend to a commanding 13-0 advantage.
In the top of the sixth, the Chihuahuas strung together a solo run on two hits and a wild pitch to break the shutout bid and make it a 13-1 difference.
Brewers rehabbing right-hander Matt Albers made his first stint with the Sky Sox, tossing one and two-thirds scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth frames, striking out three and only allowing one hit.
The Sky Sox just missed a final run in the bottom of the eighth with two outs when Arcia knocked a long drive to the right field wall, which was caught on a stretched leap by El Paso's Forrestt Allday. The hit would have also marked the 21st of the night, setting a new season high in hits in a game for the Sky Sox.
The Sky Sox continue into game two against the El Paso Chihuahuas tomorrow with a 12:30 p.m. day game. Following this series, the Sky Sox will welcome into town the Albuquerque Isotopes for a four-game set at Security Service Field. It will be the first and only time this season Colorado Springs plays El Paso and Albuquerque. 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 enter into a game two of the seven-game homestand with a 12:30 p.m. game against the El Paso Chihuahuas. The Sky Sox are sending righty Paolo Espino to the mound to face off against righty Walker Lockett. Both arms are in search of their fourth win of the season.
Sweet Tally: Manager Rick Sweet is seven regular season wins away to pass Brad Mills for the regular season wins as Sky Sox manager and 10 wins away to pass him in overall wins with the Sky Sox.
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.
Multi-Hit Barrage: Seven of the Tuesday night's nine batters in the Sky Sox lineup collected two hits or more. Tyrone Taylor, Domingo Santana, and Aaron Brooks collected two apiece while Andres Blanco, Orlando Arcia, and Jake Hager knocked three total. Jett Bandy was the top performer with his four-hit performance.
Good For Two: Catcher Jett Bandy collected his first multi-home run game of the season with the Sky Sox on Tuesday night against El Paso, combining for three RBI; he now has five total on the season. So far, the Sky Sox have combined for five multi-homer games. It marks their second in eight days since Domingo Santana slugged two on July 17 at home against Round Rock,
10-Run Victory: The Sky Sox 13-1 victory Tuesday night against the Chihuahuas marked the fourth time the Colorado Springs squad has won by 10 runs or more in 2018. The last time the Sky Sox completed the feat was on June 15 against Las Vegas at home (15-2 score); the first time was on April 30 at home against Nashville (17-3). All four victories of 10 or more runs have happened at Security Service Field.
Brooks Comin' In Hot: Righty Aaron Brooks came in red hot on Tuesday in his 10th start with the Sky Sox. Brooks finished the night against El Paso after five and one-third innings while allowing just three hits, a solo run, a walk, and struck out six. Offensively, he helped his cause with two hits, including a double, a run, and an RBI.
RehAlbers: Brewers rehabbing right-hander Matt Albers made his first stint with the Sky Sox Tuesday night, tossing one and two-thirds scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth frames, striking out three and only allowing one hit.
Three-Homer Game: Tyler O'Neill becomes the ninth opponent to hit three homers in a game against the Sky Sox (five in Colorado Springs, four in opponent's park). It is the first time in over 21 years that an opponent has hit three homers against the Sky Sox in the opponent's park, last done by Paul Konerko on May 12th, 1997. List of the other three-homer games against the Sky Sox: Stan Holmes (Edmonton), June 1st, 1988 in Edmonton, Shane Dugas (Albuquerque), August 12th, 1988 in Colorado Springs, Mark Davis (Edmonton), August 15th, 1990 in Colorado Springs, Craig Paquette (Tacoma), May 24th, 1994 in Colorado Springs, Rich Aude (Calgary), June 14th, 1996 in Calgary, Paul Konerko (Albuquerque), May 12th, 1997 in Albuquerque, Felipe Crespo (Fresno), May 14th, 1999 in Colorado Springs, Nate Gold (Oklahoma), July 28th, 2008 in Colorado Springs.
Century Mark: The Sky Sox played their 100th game of the 2018 season Sunday afternoon and hold a 54-45 record. At this time last season, the Sky Sox held first place position in the American Northern division with their 61-39 record.
Back-to-Back x2: Saturday marked only the third time in Sky Sox history where an opponent had back-to-back homers in two different innings in the same game. The other instances: June 25th, 1993 in Colorado Springs - Las Vegas' Dan Walters and Paul Gonzalez hit back-to-back homers in the 2nd inning off Lance Painter, then repeated the back-to-back homers in the 8th inning off Marcus Moore, as Las Vegas won 7-5. June 30th, 2000 in Tacoma - Tacoma's Brian Lesher, Chad Alexander, and Anthony Sanders hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the 3rd inning off Mike Saipe, then Chris Snopek and Mike Neill hit back-to-back homers in the 4th inning, also off Mike Saipe, as Tacoma won 15-3.
Walk Rhythm: Sky Sox pitching surrendered nine more walks Saturday night in Memphis. Just four nights ago, Sky Sox arms set a new high in walks this season with 11 total.
Burnes First W: Former Sky Sox arm Corbin Burnes (1-0) picked up his first major league win with two scoreless innings, bailing starter Chase Anderson out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the fifth. Kershaw was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch before Burnes struck out All-Star Matt Kemp and got cleanup hitter Max Muncy to fly out.
Bethancourt Leads:  Christian Bethancourt-who went into Friday night's contest against Memphis leading all Colorado Springs batters in home runs with 14-hit his 15th of the season with two outs and no one on in the sixth inning for the first run of the series, giving the Sky Sox a slim 1-0 advantage in doing so. The next closest Sky Sox batter in the homers category prior to Friday night's game was Tyrone Taylor, with a dozen longballs in the 2018 campaign at the onset of the three-game set versus the Redbirds.
Shut 'em Out:  The Sky Sox shut out the Memphis Redbirds on Friday night to kick off their three-game series in Tennessee, marking the second time in as many nights the Redbirds had been shut out. It was Colorado Springs' seventh shutout of the season, with their last coming on 6/24 in Iowa against the Cubs (2-0). All seven of the Sky Sox shutouts have come on the road, and all three times the Sky Sox have been shut out this year have also come on the road.
1-0:  Friday night's 1-0 Sky Sox win at Autozone Park marks the first time the Sky Sox have won a 1-0 game in Memphis. The Sky Sox were winless in five previous 1-0 games in Memphis: April 16th, 1998 at Tim McCarver Stadium, loss 1-0, April 22nd, 2003 at Autozone Park, Memphis 1-0 in 10 innings, June 19th, 2014 at Autozone Park, Memphis 1-0 in Game 1 of DH, June 29th, 2015 at Autozone Park, Memphis 1-0, and June 16th, 2017 at Autozone Park, Memphis 1-0. The Sky Sox have won both 1-0 games in Colorado Springs at Security Service Field: May 3rd, 2014 at Security Service Field, Sky Sox 1-0, and May 19th, 2014 at Security Service Field, Sky Sox 1-0 in 10 innings. The last 1-0 win for the Sky Sox with the lone run scoring on a homer was on June 24th, 2017, when Kyle Wren hit a lead-off homer to start the game at the Shrine on Airline, as the Sky Sox blanked the New Orleans Baby Cakes, 1-0.
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox are in the midst of a seven-game homestand to host the El Paso Chihuahuas for three games, followed by a four-game set against the Albuquerque Isotopes. It will be the first and only time this season Colorado Springs plays El Paso and Albuquerque.
NEXT GAME: Wednesday, July 25 at 12:30 p.m. MT vs. El Paso Chihuahuas (SD) @ Security Service Field
RHP Paolo Espino (3-2, 3.38) vs. RHP Walker Lockett (3-9, 5.16) - Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
Promotion: NOVA Home Loans Community Ticket Day
COS TOP PERFORMERS
 Jett Bandy (4-for-4, 2 HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI)
 Aaron Brooks (W, 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 6 K)
 Tyrone Taylor (2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)
ELP TOP PERFORMERS
 Shane Peterson (2-for-4, RBI)
 Francisco Mejía (1-for-4, R)
 Brett Nicholas (1-for-4)