ISOTOPES HOLD SKY SOX TO FIVE HITS IN 9-1 GAME ONE

POSTGAME NOTES
Friday, July 27, 2018 vs. Albuquerque Isotopes (COL)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (55-47) | Albuquerque Isotopes (50-55)
ISOTOPES HOLD SKY SOX TO FIVE HITS IN 9-1 GAME ONE
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - After a rainout cancellation last night, the Sky Sox kicked off their four-game set against the Albuquerque Isotopes under cloudy skies Friday night with a 9-1 loss.
Shawn O'Malley led off with a single for Albuquerque in the first at-bat of the game.  Sky Sox starter Aaron Wilkerson then retired the next two batters, before Ryan McMahon banged his eleventh homer of the season to give the 'Topes an early 2-0 lead.  Albuquerque would go on to score in each of the first three innings.
In the top of the second, Stephen Cardullo hit a double on the first pitch he saw.  Ryan Metzler then laid down a sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error from Wilkerson allowed Cardullo to score to make it 3-0.
In the top of the third, Elliot Soto singled to lead off the inning, scoring two pitches later on a Josh Fuentes RBI double to extend the Isotopes lead to 4-0.
After a pair of scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth, the Isotopes scored again in the sixth.  Cardullo singled for the first hit of the frame, moving up to third on a Metzler single.  Metzler advanced to second on the play on the Sky Sox second error of the evening.  With Jan Vázquez at the plate, a wild pitch allowed Cardullo to score and Metzler to move up to third, before Vazquez lined out for the second out of the inning.  Albuquerque's starting pitcher David Holmberg then helped his own cause with an RBI double, scoring Metzler to make it a 6-0 ballgame.
In the bottom of the seventh inning the Sky Sox broke up the shutout, scoring their first run of the evening.  In the first at-bat after the stretch, Rymer Liriano hit a mammoth home run over the scoreboard (measured at 473 feet) to make it a 6-1 affair.  The long ball marked Liriano's 17th homer of the season, and his first in a Sky Sox uniform.
Both squads posted quick and quiet half-innings in the eighth frame, sending it to the ninth with the Sky Sox still trailing by five runs.  Jerry Vasto-an Albuquerque reliever-led off the ninth with a walk, before O'Malley forced him out at second to put one on with one out.  Soto then singled to put two on for Fuentes, who belted a homer to make it 9-1 'Topes.  9-1 would be the final, as Colorado Springs failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, giving Albuquerque a 1-0 series lead.
The Sky Sox continue into the second game against the Albuquerque Isotopes tomorrow with a 6:00 p.m. first pitch. This marks the first and only time this season Colorado Springs plays 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 the second of the four-game set with Albuquerque and fourth game of the seven-game homestand with a 6:00 p.m. first pitch at Security Service Field. The Sky Sox are sending righty Adrian Houser to the mound to face off against lefty Brett Oberholtzer.
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: Andrés 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.
The Roster Grows: With the recent additions of Richie Shaffer and pitcher Matt Albers on a rehab assignment, that puts the Sky Sox overall roster this season at 59 players (29 position players, 30 pitchers), which equals the entire total last season, through the postseason (27 position players, 32 pitchers). The 59 players are the most players used in a season during Brewers affiliation. The most players used in a season during Indians affiliation was 58 players in 1991 (31 position players, 27 pitchers). The most players used in a season during Rockies affiliation was 67 players in 2005 (34 position players, 33 pitchers). There were four other players that were called up that season, but did not appear in a game, or the total could have been 71. Based on current totals, there have been 1,088 players to have played in one game for the Sky Sox (since 1988), now 514 position players, 574 pitchers. Of that group of 1,088 players, 825 have played in at least one game in the majors (75.8%), 382 position players, and 443 pitchers.
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.
Espino's Eighth Go: Right-hander Paolo Espino made his eighth start for the Sky Sox this season, allowing a season-high in earned runs (3) as well as marking a season-high in hits allowed (7). He also tied for a season-high in strikeouts with seven, which he marked in his previous start against Round Rock on July 19.
Davis Is Dialed: Reliever Erik Davis tossed his third consecutive hitless, shutout outing on Wednesday afternoon. He has now combined for four innings while allowing no hits, no runs with one walk and four strikeouts.
Sweet Tally: Manager Rick Sweet is eight regular season wins away to pass Brad Mills for the regular season wins as Sky Sox manager and 11 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-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.
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.
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.
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.
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: Saturday, July 28 at 6:00 p.m. MT vs. Albuquerque Isotopes @ Security Service Field
RHP Adrian Houser (1-1, 5.64) vs. LHP Brett Oberholtzer (4-9, 6.60) - Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
Promotion: Cyber & A.I. Nintendo Night with post-game fireworks presented by LeaderQuest
COS TOP PERFORMERS
 Rymer Liriano (1-for-4, HR, 1 R, 1 RBI)
 Jett Bandy (1-for-4, 2B)
 Jake Hager (1-for-3, 2B)
 ABQ TOP PERFORMERS
 David Holmberg (W, 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 7 SO)
 Ryan McMahon (2-for-5, HR, 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI)
 Josh Fuentes (3-for-5, HR, 2 2B, R, 4 RBI)