Lewis Brinson tallied three hits and three RBI in the Sky Sox 5-1 win over the OKC Dodgers in game one of the five game series. (Bobby Stevens/MiLB.com)
The season of must-wins continues for the Sky Sox and well, they won last night! Oklahoma City hosted Colorado Springs in the first of a five game series that ended 5-1 in favor of the Sox thanks to a great pitching performance by Johnny Wholestaff and hitting by Lewis Brinson. The Sox gave Drew Gagnon a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a sac fly and Drew Gagnon did the rest over his 3 2/3 innings. He did allow a run on Jack Murphy’s solo homer in the second, but Brinson delivered a two-run single in the third and the Sox never looked back. The star outfielder added an RBI single in the 5th and the Sox capped off the scoring with a sac fly in the seventh en route to the 5-1 win. Gagnon struck out 8 of the 11 outs he recorded, Austin Ross picked up the win and struck out five and Sam Freeman and Ben Rowen combined for three scoreless to round out the tilt.
With the win the Sox gained a game on the Dodgers and now sit 7.5 games back with 13 to play and they paused the tragic number at 5.
Hitting Notes –
Colorado Springs returned to double digits in the hit column with 10 and picked up multi-hit games from Brinson and Yadiel Rivera.
Lewis Brinson is as advertised, there is no doubt about that. The outfielder went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI in his second game back from being on the disabled list. His two-run double in the third gave the Sox the lead for good. In 14 games with the Sox he is hitting .407 (22-for-54) with 7 XBHs and 15 RBI and has a hit in all but three of those games.
Yadiel Rivera picked up a 2-for-4 night at the plate and also scored a run.
Nate Orf and Andy Wilkins went 1-for-3 with an RBI on a sac fly.
Drew Gagnon not only struck out hitters at the plate but he picked up a hit and run scored to help his own cause.
Kyle Wren didn’t get a hit, but reached twice via walks and scored two runs. His OBP with the Sox remains to be at the incredible mark of .434.
Eric Young, Jr. and Garrett Cooper had singles in pinch-hit roles.
Pitching Notes –
Drew Gagnon came out of the gate firing bullets and did more than was asked for in his second straight start. He went 3 2/3 innings and allowed the 1 run on 3 hits, walked 3 and struck out a remarkable 8 batters. Eight of the 11 men he retired were via the strikeout. He threw a season-high 79 pitches, 43 of which went for strikes. Due to the 3.2 frames he did not qualify for the win.
Austin Ross picked up right where Gagnon left off and earned the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and struck out five. The win brings his record to 6-2 and he lowered his ERA to 4.04.
Sam Freeman pitched two scoreless and limited the Dodgers to two hits while striking out two.
Ben Rowen pitched a scoreless ninth and walked one.
Play of the Game –
Lewis Brinson’s two-run double.
Pregame Interview with Dan Acheson and Andrew Emmick Part 2 –
Thanks for reading – See you on the radio,
Dan
Colorado Springs Sky Sox Official Team Blog 