The Sky Sox are 0-5 to start the second half and send Hiram Burgos to the hill in hopes of righting the ship tonight in Reno. (Bobby Stevens/MiLB.com)

The Sky Sox continued their second-half slide with a 10-1 loss to Reno in the opener of the four-game series last night at Greater Nevada Field. Kyle Wren began the game with a bang in the form of a solo home run on the third pitch from Reno righty Braden Shipley and it looked like the Sox were well on their way…That however, was short-lived. Lefty Josh Hader retired the first two men he faced to open the game, but allowed the next two to reach and big Kyle Jensen followed with a three run homer and the Aces never looked back. Hader was roughed up to the tune of 6 runs on 6 hits over 3 2/3 innings and was tagged with his third loss of the season. Shipley went seven innings and allowed the one run while striking out seven. Jensen stepped in later in the game and belted a grand slam capping off his big night.

Tonight, the Sky Sox and Aces get set to tee it up in the second of four at Greater Nevada Field. This is the final series of the road trip before the Sky Sox return home to host the Round Rock Express in the first of four on Friday.  The Sky Sox fell for the fifth time in the second half with a 10-1 loss at the hands of Braden Shipley and the Aces and dropped back to four games below .500 at 44-48.  Hoping to get on the board in the second half with a win in the sixth game of the road trip, the Sky Sox will send righty workhorse Hiram Burgos to the hill for the 10th time on the road and the Aces will counter with right-hander Shelby Miller. Burgos is 5-6 with a 4.69 ERA in 17 games, while Miller was optioned down from the big leagues following a 2-9 start with a 7.14 ERA in 14 starts. The Sky Sox are 0-1 against Reno this season, 39-48 all-time against them and 17-26 on the road.

Today’s Game Notes / Listen Live at 7:30 MDT / Lineups 

Colorado Springs Sky Sox (44-48) at Reno Aces (50-45) – 8:05 p.m. – Greater Nevada Field – Reno, Nevada

Pitching Matchup: RHP Hiram Burgos (5-6, 4.69) at RHP Shelby Miller (2-9, 7.14 w/ARI)

Sky Sox Pitcher: RHP Hiram Burgos will make his 18th trip to the mound for the Sky Sox and 16th from the starting role tonight against the Aces. Through his first 17, the righty is 5-6 with a 4.69 ERA allowing 50 runs (45 earned) on 104 hits, 37 walks and 66 strikeouts in 86 1/3 innings. He has not faced Reno in his career. Over his last five outings the righty is 3-1, allowing 15 runs on 33 hits, while walking 8 and striking out 21. He’s gone at least five innings in each of his last 12 outings covering 11 starts and one relief appearance. Burgos is 4-4 with a 4.23 ERA allowing 31 earned runs over 66 innings during that stretch. Opponents are hitting .307 against Burgos. Burgos was selected by the Brewers in the 6th round of the 2009 draft out of Bethune-Cookman University and has made 148 minor-league appearances to the tune of a 42-43 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: 7/14/16 at Tacoma – Burgos climbed the hill at Cheney Stadium and took the loss against the Rainiers in the opener of the second half. He allowed 3 runs on 9 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts in five innings of work. He threw 96 pitches, 61 for strikes in a game the Sky Sox lost 3-1.

Last 10 games:

Aces Pitcher: Right-hander Shelby Miller gets his first start since being optioned downed from Arizona on July 14. In 14 starts with the big-league club, the righty went 2-9 with a 7.14 ERA, allowing 55 runs, all earned, on 87 hits, 13 homers, 34 walks, and 50 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings. Opponents hit .312 against Miller who joins a Triple-A staff for the first time since 2012 when he was with the Memphis Redbirds. He sprained his right index finger and was placed on the DL on May 27th and went on to make two rehab appearances with the Visalia Rawhide and went 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA allowing 1 earned run in 12 innings. Miller is in his first year with the D-backs after being traded from the Braves with LHP Gabe Speier for OF Ender Enciarte, RHP Aaron Blair, and top pick from the 2015 draft shortstop Dansby Swanson. He was originally selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2009 draft and traded to the Braves in exchange for Jason Heyward and RHP Jordan Walden in November of 2014. In 7-plus professional seasons, Miller is 31-21 with a 3.64 ERA in 80 minor league games and 34-44 with a 3.64 ERA in 116 big-league games.

Last Time Out: 7/6/16 vs. San Diego – Miller took the hill for the 14th time and squared off against the Padres at Chase Field. He took his third straight loss and allowed 6 runs on 7 hits, 1 walks and 5 strikeouts across five innings. He threw 69 pitches, 44 for strikes in a game Arizona lost 13-6.

Last 10 games with Arizona –

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 Greater Nevada Field at 8:05 p.m. I will get Sky Sox Warmup fired up and running at 7:30 MDT on XTRA Sports 1300.

Thanks for reading – See you on the radio,

Dan

@Dan_Acheson