POSTGAME NOTES
Saturday, June 9, 2018 @ Sacramento River Cats
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (32-28) | Sacramento River Cats (30-33)
THAMES LIFTS OFF, SKY SOX EVEN SERIES WITH RIVER CATS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sky Sox claimed the 7-2 win over the Sacramento River Cats on Saturday night at Raley Field to even the series as Eric Thames led the twelve-hit night for Colorado Springs after going 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and three runs scored. Right-handed starter Alec Asher (3-2) would put together a stellar seven-inning, no-walk performance, walking away with his third win of the season.
For the first time on the California road trip, the Sky Sox initiated the game's scoring. In the top of the second, Tyrone Taylor knocked a one-out single and advanced to second base on Steven Duggar's throwing error from centerfield. After Andrés Blanco grounded out for the second out of the inning, Dylan Moore came in clutch with his RBI single up the middle to make it a 1-0 Sky Sox lead.
In the third, Colorado Springs continued the offensive attack they started. Following consecutive singles by Nate Orf and Keon Broxton to start the inning, Thames slugged a three-run home run, his first on his rehab assignment, to extend the Sky Sox lead to 4-0.
In each of the fifth and seventh innings, Thames would cross the plate two more times after each of the innings were sparked on his singles to bring the Sky Sox advantage to 6-0.
The River Cats finally struck come the bottom of the seventh following back-to-back extra-base hits by Austin Slater (double) and Ryder Jones (triple) to start the frame, minimizing the deficit to 6-2 through seven frames.
Colorado Springs would score a seventh and final run in the top of the ninth on Brett Phillips sacrifice fly ball with the bases loaded to bring the final to 7-2.
The Sky Sox are in the midst of a nine-day, seven-game road trip and continue into game three of the four-game series against the Sacramento River Cats. 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 third game of the four-game series against the River Cats at Raley Field in Sacramento, the Sky Sox are sending righty 21-year-old Freddy Peralta to the mound while seeking his seventh victory to face southpaw Daniel Camarena. This season, the Sky Sox hold a 10-3 record when facing a lefty-starting pitcher.
Big Game Thames: Brewers rehabber Eric Thames put on a show Saturday night at Raley Field. In the second inning in game two against Sacramento, he slugged a three-run home run while sparking each of the next two scoring frames on singles by Thames. Out of the seven Sky Sox runs, Thames plated three of them.  
Strong Rehab: Eric Thames, who joined the Sky Sox on an MLB rehab assignment Wednesday night, has gone 6-for-12 over three games on the road trip. In his first game in Fresno, he went 2-for-4 with two singles against the Grizzlies. In game two, he collected one single. On Saturday night, he broke out with three hits, including a home run.
Asher's Groove: Starter Alec Asher set a new season-high in innings pitched with seven strong tossed Saturday night in route to his third win of the season and first since May 8. The right-hander has only allowed five earned runs in his last 16.1 innings pitched.
Back to Double Digits: The Sky Sox entered into double-digits on the board in the hits column Saturday night with 12 total. It was the first time Colorado Springs met the feat since June 2 at Security Service Field against Iowa with 15 hits collected.
Taylor's Assistance: Tyrone Taylor came away with two assists Saturday night from the outfield when Chase d'Arnaud was caught stretching a triple in the second inning and when Ryan Hanigan was caught stretching a double on his single in the fifth inning.
Sacrifice: Brett Phillips' two sacrifice flies Saturday night tied the club record for sacrifice flies in a game, marking the 19th time where a Sky Sox player has had two sacrifice flies in a game. The last occurrence took place earlier on this road trip on Wednesday night in Fresno by Kyle Wren.
Errors Costing: Two errors made by the Sky Sox in the sixth inning Friday night made the difference in the late go-ahead scoring by Sacramento. The Sky Sox hold a 13-17 record when committing an error in a game. Oppositely, the Sky Sox squad is 18-11 when committing no errors in a game.
June So Far: The Sky Sox as a team are batting .253 over eight games so far in June with 11 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 37 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. The team is 14-for-71 with runners in scoring position.
Road Stats: Colorado Springs is now 4-10 over their last 14 road games. Over nine games in Tennessee, the Sky Sox only nabbed a single win in each of the series. So far on their California road trip, the Sky Sox are 2-3.
Looking at Fresno Firsts:  Thursday night marked the final scheduled meeting between the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Fresno Grizzlies. The first Sky Sox game against the Fresno Grizzlies came on April 21, 1998, at Security Service Field. The Fresno Grizzlies beat the Sky Sox, 7-3. Jeff Ball went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Doug Mirabelli went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI for Fresno in the win. The first Sky Sox game in Fresno was on August 15, 1998, at Pete Beiden Field, Fresno Grizzlies beat the Sky Sox, 15-7. Armando Rios belted a grand slam homer, while Jalal Leach went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBI for Fresno in the win.
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.
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.
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox are on the road until Wednesday for their first round of Pacific Coast conference games. The team returns home on Tuesday and starts a seven-game homestand at Security Service Field on Wednesday, June 13.
NEXT GAME: Sunday, June 10 @ Sacramento - 2:05 p.m. MT @ Raley Field
RHP Freddy Peralta (6-2, 2.88) vs. LHP Daniel Camarena (0-0, 0.51) | Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
Next Home Game: Wednesday, June 13 vs. Las Vegas - 6:40 p.m.
COS TOP PERFORMERS

• Eric Thames (3-for-4, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI)
• Keon Broxton (3-for-5, 2 R)
• Alec Asher (7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 K)

SAC TOP PERFORMERS

• Austin Slater (2-for-4, R)
• Ryder Jones (2-for-4, R, RBI, 3B)
• Chase d'Arnaud (1-for-4, RBI, 2B)