Quick Scribbles: Sky Sox Win Historic Opener in 18, Set for Sunday Matinee vs. Bees

Hiram Burgos gets the nod in this afternoon’s tilt against Salt Lake. The first game of the series saw the two teams play the longest game in Sky Sox franchise history, 18-innings and 5:29 (Bobby Stevens/MiLB.com)

Note: Usually Quick Scribbles begins with the pitching matchup for today’s game, but with the historic event of last night, today’s matchup has been pushed to the bottom of the blog. Thanks!

The Sky Sox and Bees opened up their four-game series with a historic 18-inning affair that ended 2-1 in favor of Colorado Springs, Saturday night at Security Service Field. Salt Lake plated a run in the fourth, Andy Wilkins hit an RBI double to the wall in center to tie it in the sixth, and 12 innings later he knocked in Keon Broxton from third with an RBI single to the track in left-center field which gave the Sky Sox the 2-1 marathon victory. Quintin Berry came in from center field to the mound in the 18th inning and took the loss, recording one out and walking a pair before Wilkins’ heroics.The win extended the Sky Sox streak to a season-high four games and ended the Bees’ 7 game winning streak.

Full Recap Here

Below are all of the Sky Sox records that were set or tied in the game last night according to Sky Sox historian Chris Moyer:

5:29 – Longest home game in time and tied for longest overall game in time (5:29 also on August 16th, 2013 at Tacoma (F/14).)

18 – Longest game in innings

65 – At Bats in a game, opponent for Salt Lake (tied with Edmonton on August 4th, 1988 [F/17])

21 – Strikeouts by Sky Sox batters in an extra-inning game (tied with 21 K game at Sacramento on July 16th, 2005 [F/13] (Mirror stat with most strikeouts by opponents pitching staff against Sky Sox.)

20 – Strikeouts by opposing batters in an extra-inning game (Mirror stat with most strikeouts by Sky Sox pitching staff against opponent.)

41 – Most strikeouts in a game, combined

7 – Tied for most pitchers used by an opponent (Done six other times, last done by Tucson on June 5th, 2005 [F/12])

Hitting Notes:

The Sky Sox and Bees combined for just three runs on 24 hits and went a combined 2-for-26 with runners in scoring position and left 30 runners on base in the 18-inning game.

Andy Wilkins led the charge offensively for Colorado Springs as he collected two doubles, a single, and two RBI in his 3-for-7 performance. Wilkins now has his average up to .236 and is riding a 4-game hitting streak with 8 knocks over the last four tilts. Without Andy we still may be playing the series opener…

Nate Orf had the other multiple-hit game for the Sox as he too went 3-for-7 at the plate, he added a walk to his resume against Quintin Berry in the 18th.

Keon Broxton took home an 0-for-7 night and saw his 12-game hitting streak come to an end last night. Although he did not get a knock, Broxton led off the 18th with a walk, stole second and third before scoring the winning run on Wilkins’ game-winning, warning-track single.

Orlando Arcia, Will Middlebrooks, Manny Pina, and Yadiel Rivera all picked up a hit in the win.

Pitching Notes

The two pitching staffs gave up just three runs on 24 hits in what amounts to two full games last night. They combined for 41 strikeouts with Salt Lake picking up 21 on the mound and the Sky Sox 20.

Jorge Lopez was phenomenal in his start last night. The righty put it all together for the first time this season to the tune of 1 run allowed on 4 hits, 2 walks and 1 strikeout over a season-high 6 innings of work. He threw 80 pitches, 46 for strikes and had his fastball command in order and was snapping off curves with ease. Hopefully the length and result of the game doesn’t take away from what Lopez did, because he was excellent last night.

Now…The Bullpen…What a night for that crew. Lopez gave up the lone run in the 4th inning, so he along with the four relievers used combined to throw the final 14 innings in scoreless fashion. WOW!!

Austin Ross was called upon first and all he did was throw three scoreless innings allowing 2 hits, a walk, while striking out seven Bees in the process.

Damien Magnifico pitched the 10th, recorded the first out with ease, but was struck on the right foot on a hot shot off the bat of the next hitter Rafael Ortega. Magnifico stayed in the game and committed a two-base throwing error and gave up a walk to put two in scoring position. However, Magnifico was magnificent and struck out the final two batters of the inning.

Brent Suter backed up Magnifico with a casual four scoreless inning performance in which he struck out six. His quick pace helped the game feel like it was moving quickly late into the evening.

Tim. Dillard. Again. Dillard was the fifth and final pitcher of the night for the Sky Sox as he came on in the 15th inning after Suter hit the showers. Dillard scattered four hits across his four-inning outing, walked, one and struck out four. He improved to 3-0 with the victory and won his second straight appearance.

Play of the Game:

Andy Wilkins stepped in with two on and one out in the 11th inning and delivered a walk-off single to the track in left-center.

Pregame Interview – Part two of my conversation with Brewers hitting coordinator Jeremy Reed:

Today’s game is the second in a four-game set between the Brewers and Angels top affiliates here in the Pacific Coast League. I’m not sure how the two teams will be able to top the events from last night, but it will be fun to find out. RHP Hiram Burgos gets the start for the Sky Sox, he’ll go toe to toe with RHP Zach Nuding of the Bees. You can check out all of the great promotions and happenings for the remaining 7 home games on this stand HERE.

Today’s Game Notes / Listen Live at 1:00 MDT / Lineups

Colorado Springs Sky Sox (16-18) vs. Salt Lake Bees (22-14) – 1:35 p.m. – Security Service Field – Colorado Springs, Colorado

Pitching Matchup: RHP Hiram Burgos (1-3, 5.00) vs. RHP Zach Nuding (1-2, 7.04)

Sky Sox Pitcher: RHP Hiram Burgos gets the call for the 7th time this season and will make his 6th start of the season. The native of Puerto Rico is 1-3 with a 5.00 ERA. In 27 innings this season Burgos has yielded 17 runs (15 earned) on 30 hits, 14 walks and 27 strikeouts. The righty has turned in three solid performances in a row totaling 16 innings, in which he’s allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, on 12 hits, 10 walks and 17 strikeouts. He’s brought his ERA down from 10.64 to 5.00 during that three game stretch. Burgos will make his 138th MiLB appearance today. He’s 1-2 with a 6.44 ERA in 6 career big-league outings.

Last Time Out: 5/10/16 at New Orleans – Burgos recorded two outs in the seventh inning against the Zephyrs in the opener of the four game series on Tuesday. He allowed one run on five hits, walked two and struck out seven Zs. He threw 84 pitches, 58 strikes and just couldn’t get the final out of the 7th. He wasn’t backed by any run support as the Sky Sox were blanked 1-0.

2016 Game Log:

Bees Pitcher: RHP Zach Nuding takes the place of lefty Nate Smith who was originally slated to get the start today. Nuding is 1-2 with a 7.04 ERA in 6 starts with Salt Lake this season. In 30 2/3 innings he’s allowed 24 runs on 39 hits, 14 walks, and 11 strikeouts. The righty last pitched against Albuquerque on the 10th. Originally selected by the Yankees in the 30th round of the 2010 draft, Nuding spent until 2014 with the Yankees, then 2015 with the Indians, and finds himself within the Halos organization here in 2016. Nuding has yet to make his MLB debut and is 33-32 with a 4.08 ERA in 135 career MiLB outings, 96 of which have been starts.

Last Time Out: 5/10/16 vs. Albuquerque – Nuding did not record a decision, but went a season-high six innings against the Isotopes on Tuesday night. The righty allowed 3 runs on 8 hits, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. He threw 89 pitches, 53 in the strike zone. The Bees won the game 5-3 scoring four runs across innings 6-8.

2016 Game Log:

Dan Karcher (@SkySoxKarch) continues his 27^th season behind the mic for Sky Sox games, he and I will have the call of the first pitch of today’s matinee from Security Service Field at 1:35 p.m. Sky Sox Warmup will get going at 1:00 MDT on XTRA Sports 1300.

Thanks for reading – See you on the radio,

Dan

@Dan_Acheson