Jose De Leon will make his first appearance against Colorado Springs tonight in OKC. The righty is part of the 1-2 pitching prospect punch along with Julio Urias. (Jamie Harms/MiLB.com)

The Sky Sox have not fared well at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, dropping the first two of the series 7-2 and 6-5 in walkoff fashion. Last night the Sox scored first and then rallied back from a 5-1 deficit to tie the game at 5-5, while handing things over to their very capable bullpen. Sam Freeman and Corey Knebel combined for 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and Austin Ross retired the first two Dodgers in order in the ninth, before Zach Walters stepped in and ended the game with a solo shot down the line in left. Tyler Cravy started the game, but didn’t factor into the decision, allowing 5 runs on 9 hits over his 4 2/3 innings. Josmil Pinto collected the lone multi-hit game and Andy Wilkins had two RBI.

Before we dive into tonight’s tilt, the Brewers and Sky Sox have announced the following transactions:

ADD: RHP Zach Davies optioned from Milwaukee
RHP Tim Dillard reinstated from the temporary inactive list
DEL: INF Andy Wilkins recalled to Milwaukee

Congrats to Andy! He’ll rejoin his fellow Bash Brother Will Middlebrooks in The Show.

Tonight, the Sky Sox and Dodgers get ready to square off in the final game of the three-game series and road trip at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Sky Sox are back to .500 (41-41) and are now six games in back of the Dodgers for first place within the division. In hopes of getting back to their winning ways, the Sky Sox will send venerable righty Hiram Burgos to the hill against fellow right-hander Jose De Leon. Burgos is pitching really well and comes in winning his last three outings, while De Leon is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in 6 games started with Oklahoma City. The Sky Sox are 2-4 against OKC this season 65-89 all time against them and 25-52 on the road.

Tonight’s Game Notes / Listen Live at 5:30 MDT / Lineups 

Colorado Springs Sky Sox (41-41) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (48-36) – 6:05 p.m. – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Pitching Matchup: RHP Hiram Burgos (5-5, 4.78) at RHP Jose De Leon (1-0, 3.09)

Sky Sox Pitcher: RHP Hiram Burgos will make his 16th trip to the mound for the Sky Sox and 14th from the starting role tonight against the Dodgers. Through his first 15, the righty is 5-5 with a 4.78 ERA allowing 45 runs (40 earned) on 89 hits, 34 walks and 59 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings. He has not faced Oklahoma City yet this season. Over his last three outings the righty is 3-0, allowing 10 runs on 18 hits, while walking 5 and striking out 14. He’s gone at least five innings in each of his last ten outings covering nine starts and one relief appearance. Burgos is 4-3 with a 4.25 ERA allowing 26 earned runs over 55 innings during that stretch. Opponents are hitting .303 against Burgos. He went  innings against New Orleans his last time out and earned the win allowing 4 runs on 8 hits. Burgos was selected by the Brewers in the 6th round of the 2009 draft out of Bethune-Cookman University and has made 146 minor-league appearances to the tune of a 42-42 record with a 3.82 ERA and 6 MLB starts in which he has gone 1-2 with a 6.44 ERA. He has not pitched in the big leagues since 2013.

Last Time Out: 7/1/16 vs. New Orleans – Burgos earned his third straight victory with another five-strong innings. He allowed 4 runs on 8 hits, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts against the league’s worst offense. He threw 69 pitches, 46 for strikes in a game the Sky Sox took home 13-7.

Last 10 games with the Sky Sox:

Dodgers Pitcher: Young right-hander Jose De Leon is the other half of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 1-2 pitching prospect punch alongside lefty Julio Urias. De Leon will make just his 7th start of the season. Over his first six, the righty is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA allowing 8 runs on 17 hits, 3 homers, 8 walks, and 35 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings of work. Opponents in the PCL are hitting .198 against the young man from Isabela, Puerto Rico. He has yet to face the Sky Sox this season. He limited the Sounds to one run on four hits his last tip to the mound. De Leon was selected by the Dodgers in the 24th round of the 2013 draft out of Southern. In his three-plus professional seasons, De Leon is 17-12 with a 3.56 ERA in 57 outings, 54 of which have been starts. He spent from May 3 – June 7 on the disabled list.

Last Time Out: 6/30/16 at Nashville – De Leon took the hill in his sixth start of the season and was very good against a very good Nashville team. He earned the win over the Sounds with five innings, in which he allowed 1 run on 4 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He threw 86 pitches, 56 for strikes in a game Oklahoma City won 7-3.

2016 Game Log –

Dan Karcher (@SkySoxKarch) continues his 27^th season behind the mic for Sky Sox games, he will have the call of tonight’s game from Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark at 6:05 p.m. I will get Sky Sox Warmup off and running at 5:30 MDT on XTRA Sports 1300.

Thanks for reading – See you on the radio,

Dan

@Dan_Acheson