Brent Suter has had himself a week, and the Sky Sox have had a month! Suter has a win and a save this week and Colorado Springs went 18-13 in 31 June games. (Bobby Stevens/MiLB.com)
The Sky Sox really didn’t want the month of June to come to a close. They picked up their first winning month as a franchise since 2013 by going 18-13. They won 9 of their last 15 home games in the month. And Will Middlebrooks hit .351 in 30 games during the month, while Kyle Wren hit a casual .426 in 22 June tilts. I’d say it was the best month in a long time for Colorado Springs and it came to a close with the 7-3, rain-lengthened win over the Zephyrs, Thursday night at Security Service Field.
The two teams got the first two innings in, before a thunderstorm rolled in and halted play in the top of the third. 1:47 minutes later we were back in action. New Orleans took the lead with a run in the top of the fourth inning, but the Sky Sox responded with a run of their own in the bottom half and we were even at 1-1 halfway through. Will Middlebrooks broke the tie with an RBI single in the fifth and sparked a two-run 7th with another RBI knock, which made it 3-1. Orlando Arcia hit a two-run single in the eighth and Andy Wilkins capped of Colorado Springs’ scoring with an RBI single in the 8th, making it 7-1. The Zephyrs wouldn’t go away quietly as they scored a pair in the top of the ninth.
Hitting Notes –
Who else, but Will Middlebrooks led the charge on the final day of June. The third baseman collected two hits in the four-game set against Round Rock, but returned home and picked up a 3-for-5 night with two RBI singles and a double. He finished the month 39-for-111 (.351) with 20 XBH, 29 RBI, and 23 runs scored. Have. A. Month.
Kyle Wren earned the only other multi-hit game for the Sky Sox as he went 2-for-2 with three walks and reached all five trips to the dish. He extended his hitting streak to 14-games, and tied Orlando Arcia for the longest Sky Sox hitting streak of the season. Over the stretch of 14 games he’s hitting .520 (26-for-50) with 5 XBHs, 7 RBI, and a .607 OBP. He also collected three stolen bases.
Orlando Arcia put the game out of hand with a two-run single in the 8th. It was his lone hit of the game, but he scored two runs in support of the 7-3 win.
Manny Pina returned to the lineup for the first time since 6/14 and made an immediate impact. He tallied a double, hit a sac fly and threw a base runner out trying to steal against him, his 20th of the season.
Pitching Notes –
Tyler Cravy was on a roll to start the game as he retired the first six men he faced in order to begin the game. The skies opened up and put an end to what looked to be a great night for the righty. He did not factor into the decision and went the to scoreless, walked one and struck out four.
Brent Suter has had himself a week. He was activated Tuesday and locked down a save that night and then was called upon after the rain delay to get the Sox through the middle innings of the delayed affair, and well, he did just that. Suter earned the win with four innings of relief, over which he gave up 1 run on 4 hits, and struck out 3. He also greeted New Orleans southpaw reliever with a first pitch double in the bottom of the third. He only threw 53 pitches, so he’ll probably be ready tonight…(Kidding…kinda…)
Sam Freeman tossed two scoreless and allowed 1 hit, 1 walks, and struck out 1.
Damien Magnifico was ready to come in for a save, but the three-run 8th put a halt to that situation. He gave up two runs in his inning on two hits, and a walk.
Pregame Interview with Dan Karcher and Manager Rick Sweet –
Thanks for reading – See you on the radio,
Dan
Colorado Springs Sky Sox Official Team Blog 