BACK-TO-BACK HOMERS SEAL SKY SOX 5-3 WIN ON RAIN-STRICKEN NIGHT

POSTGAME NOTES
Saturday, July 28, 2018 vs. Albuquerque Isotopes (COL)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (56-47) | Albuquerque Isotopes (50-56)
BACK-TO-BACK HOMERS SEAL SKY SOX 5-3 WIN ON RAIN-STRICKEN NIGHT
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Sky Sox evened the series with a 5-3 victory over the Albuquerque Isotopes on a wet and rainy Saturday night at Security Service Field. On a night which saw an over two-hour delay due to a passing storm, the Sky Sox came through with 10 hits on the night, including back-to-back home runs by Christian Bethancourt and Rymer Liriano to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning and seal their 56th win of 2018. Colorado Springs 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.  
After a scoreless two-and-a-half frames traded with the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, the Sky Sox broke out in the bottom of the third to take a 2-0 lead. After Brewers rehabber Jonathan Villar singled to start the half and Dylan Moore drew a walk behind him, Tyrone Taylor traded places with Moore, grounding into a fielder's choice out and went on to steal second. With one out, Domingo Santana struck a line drive off the right-field wall to plate both runs.
In the bottom of the fifth, after the Sky Sox put runners on the corners with no outs, a storm brewed over Security Service Field, which forced a field tarp and sent the game into a delay.
Following a two-hour and 10-minute delay to assess conditions and prepare the field, the game was resumed at the point of delay in the bottom of the fifth. Fresh Isotopes arm Scott McGough with no outs to work with runners on the corners was able to get out of a tough jam and set down the Sky Sox down in order to avoid any damage. Rockies rehabber Chad Bettis completed his start after four innings of two-run, six-hit ball with one walk and two strikeouts.
In the bottom of the sixth, Jett Bandy sparked another run on the board for the Sky Sox on a leadoff solo home run to extend the lead to 3-0.
In the seventh, the Isotopes found a rhythm, getting within a run of the Sky Sox. Back-to-back singles by Josh Fuentes and Ryan McMahon put runners on the corners while Elliot Soto's sacrifice fly ball to right field plated their first run. One batter later, Ryan Metzler singled to bring home the second run.
After the Sky Sox stranded two runs in the bottom of the seventh, Albuquerque took advantage and tied the game at 3-3 thanks to McMahon's two-out single to right field to score David Dahl who led the inning off with a single.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Sky Sox turned the momentum in their favor and took a final 5-3 lead supported by back-to-back solo home runs by Christian Bethancourt and Rymer Liriano to call it a night after a four-hour and fifty-six minute night.
The Sky Sox continue into the third game against the Albuquerque Isotopes tomorrow with a 1:30 p.m. first pitch. This marks the first and only time this season Colorado Springs plays Albuquerque. The Sky Sox will "Paint the Park Pink" tomorrow afternoon to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation while the team where special pink jerseys to honor the cause. The jerseys will be auctioned during the game. The Sunday matinee will also feature 50-cent hot dog Sunday presented by Safeway.
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__NOTES__
Tomorrow's Preview: The Sky Sox enter into the third of the four-game set with Albuquerque and fifth game of the seven-game homestand with a 1:30 p.m. first pitch at Security Service Field. The Sky Sox are sending righty Brandon Woodruff to the mound to face off against righty Jeff Hoffman.
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.
Villar Begins 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.
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.
Delayed: In their 104th game of the 2018 season, the Sky Sox met with their longest game delay at home - two hours and 10 minutes - due to a passing storm. The previous longest delay this season came on May 3 versus Nashville which lasted one hour and 50 minutes.
Houser Cut Short: Starter Adrian Houser, in his eighth start, 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.  
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.
Blanco Extends to Five: Andres Blanco extended his streak to five games with his first-inning leadoff single. Over the last five games, he has gone 7-for-11 with one home run, four RBI, and three runs scored.
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.
Errors Turn Costly: The Sky Sox three errors on Friday night in game one against the Isotopes turned costly as each where an error was made resulted in runs scoring. The highest amount of errors the Sky Sox have made as a team this season is four, which was marked on April 26 against Omaha.
Rainout: Thursday night's rubber match between the Sky Sox and Chihuahuas was cancelled due to wet grounds, for Colorado Springs' first cancelled game of the 2018 season. Back in 2016, on August 19, the final game of a four-game set against El Paso was also cancelled due to wet grounds, making Thursday the second occurence of a game cancelled at home versus El Paso in 11 scheduled home games all-time versus the Chihuahuas. Last year there were three postponed games and one cancelled game at home in July, when the games on the 13th, 14th, and 15th were all postponed in a row, with one of two games of a doubleheader on the 15th being cancelled.
Craig-Train: Veteran Allen Craig, who was signed by the Padres as a free agent in January 2018, knocked home runs 11 and 12 - marking his first multi-home run game of the season - while leading the team's offensive drive over the Sky Sox with five of the eight runs scoring off of his bat.
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-home 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.
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox are home to host the Albuquerque Isotopes for a four-game set, for the first and only time this season Colorado Springs will play Albuquerque. The Sky Sox will then hit the road for a nine-day, seven-game roadtrip, 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: Sunday, July 29 at 1:30 p.m. MT vs. Albuquerque Isotopes @ Security Service Field
RHP Brandon Woodruff (2-1, 3.02) vs. RHP Jeff Hoffman (4-5, 3.86) - Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
Promotion: Paint the Park Pink to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation,
50 cent hot dog Sunday presented by Safeway
COS TOP PERFORMERS
 Christian Bethancourt (1-for-4, HR, RBI, R)
 Rymer Liriano (1-for-4, HR, RBI, R)
 Jett Bandy (1-for-4, HR, RBI, R)
ABQ TOP PERFORMERS
 Ryan McMahon (2-for-4, R, RBI)
 Ryan Metzler (1-for-4, RBI)
Raimel Tapia (2-for-4)