Michael Reed hit the Sox third grand slam of the series in the five-run fifth yesterday against Fresno. The game would end in a 6-6 tie marking just the second time in franchise history a Colorado Springs game has finished in a draw. (Bobby Stevens/MiLB.com)
As it turns out, there are ties in baseball…The Sky Sox found that out first hand yesterday as their game against the Fresno Grizzlies ended in a 6-6 tie after 10 innings due to the travel-day curfew enacted by the PCL. The curfew was 2:30 p.m. in California, 3:30 locally here in Colorado and the 10th inning had just been completed when the clock struck 2:30 p.m. and the game ended. The stats do indeed count, but the game will not appear in the standings which means that the Sox will now have a win-loss record that totals 141 games instead of the 144 games that the PCL schedule is comprised of. The tie was the second in franchise history (8/29/1996 vs. Calgary the other) and, if you can believe this, the SECOND tie of the day in the league as Mother Nature stepped in and ended the Tacoma/New Orleans game 2-2 after 5.5 innings. It marks the first ties in the league since the Sky Sox/Calgary draw back in 1996.
Jorge Lopez started the game for Colorado Springs and began the game with two scoreless innings before engaging in some trouble in the third. Jack Mayfield set the table with a leadoff double and Andrew Aplin plated him with a single two batters later. A Danny Worth walk and singles by A.J. Reed and Jon Kemmer tallied two more runs in the inning and the Grizzlies went up 3-0 in the frame. No big deal for Colorado Springs, though…Two innings later they took the lead with a five spot in the fifth — all with two outs.
Cesar Valdez gave up singles to Rivera, Pina, and Cecchini and hit Will Middlebrooks which brought Michael Reed to the plate with a run already home and the bases loaded. Reed took a 1-1 pitch high and deep to left center, out of Chukchansi Park for a grand slam and put the Sox in front 5-3. Fresno tied the game with two in the 7th against Drew Gagnon, but the Sox came back with a run in the 8th to take the 6-5 lead before Fresno’s Eury Perez capped off the scoring and tied the game with a solo shot against Jaye Chapman in the eighth.
Hitting Notes
Both teams had line scores of 6R-13H-0E-10LOB in Monday’s draw.
The Sox picked up four multiple hit games including two three-hit tilts from Manny Pina and Garin Cecchini.
Manny Pina was up to his old tricks and tallied another three-hit game in the tie. He went 3-for-5 with a double and run scored for the Sox. He’s now hitting .352 (6th in the PCL) and is riding a 10-game hitting streak during which he’s 16-for-44 (.364) with two homers and eight RBI.
Garin Cecchini also went 3-for-5 with a double and run scored, he tallied his 17th RBI of the season in the draw. It was Ceech’s second three-hit game of the season and first since April 26th against Omaha.
Will Middlebrooks strung together back-to-back multi-hit games with a 2-for-4 night and got himself back above the Mendoza Line to .205. He now has seven hits in his last four games.
Yadiel Rivera extended his hitting streak to a modest four games with a 2-for-5 night at the plate. He picked up an RBI and scored a run. He has 8 hits over his last four games and has his average back up to .295 after it dipped to .250 earlier in the road trip.
Michael Reed capped off a five-run fifth inning with a grand slam and earned his first four-RBI game of the season. It was his first career grand slam and the third of the series for the Sky Sox, a road record.
Pitching Notes
Jorge Lopez fell one out shy of five innings and had to depart with two outs in the fourth. He did well and allowed just 3 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 6.20 and threw 95 pitches, 58 of which were for strikes.
Michael Kirkman turned in four scoreless outs and allowed one hit while striking out a pair of bears.
Drew Gagnon was tagged with a blown loss as he allowed the game to be tied with two runs in the seventh. He gave up the pair of runs on three hits while striking out two in his inning of work.
Jaye Chapman pitched the eighth with a 6-5 lead and gave up the game-tying homer to Eury Perez. He finished two innings and allowed two hits and struck out two.
Jacob Barnes finished the game on the bump with a scoreless 10th.
Play of the Game
Michael Reed’s Grand Slam in the five-run fifth inning –
Pregame Interview with Dan Karcher and Fresno Pitching Coach Dyar Miller – Part 2 –
Thanks for reading – See you on the radio,
Dan
Colorado Springs Sky Sox Official Team Blog 