Andrew Barbosa puts the ball in play and the Sky Sox took the lead for good on this play in the fourth inning! Oh yeah, the southpaw also earned the win with 3.1 scoreless. (Paat Kelly)
One plate appearance. 11 pitches. Momentum swing. That’s all it was. 11 pitches seen by Ivan De Jesus in the fourth inning, seven foul balls and four out of the strike zone. He wore down Wilmer Font and drew a walk to put more stress on the dam and extend the inning. Yadiel Rivera and Rene Garcia followed with RBI knocks to tie the game and seven more unanswered runs later, the Sky Sox earned 9-3 win over Oklahoma City. The W increases the divisional lead to three games.
The Sky Sox trailed 2-0 thanks to a Bobby Wilson two-run blast in the second inning, but picked up three runs in the fourth, two more in the fifth and never looked back. It all hinged on that one trip to the plate by Ivan De Jesus. He sparked the rally to tie the game, but the Sox took the lead on a wild play.
Andrew Barbosa, the Sox pitcher, was at the plate with runners at the corners and one out and the Dodgers came up with a crazy defensive alignment that put the shortstop right next to the mound and an outfielder where the second baseman is slotted and the second baseman over around second. WILD STUFF, and it almost worked. Barbosa hacked at the pitch and hit a one-hopper stabbed by the shortstop who threw to third to get Rivera off the bag. Garcia was off from first on contact and heading for third when Wilson applied the tag on Rivera and threw to third for an attempt at the innings final out. BUT the throw went to left field which allowed the Sox to score Garcia and take a 3-2 lead.
RBI knocks by both Rivera and Garcia made it 5-2 in the fifth , then it was Garrett Cooper’s turn to join the party with a solo homer in the seventh. Brett Phillips followed with a triple and scored on a De Jesus single and a Ryan Cordell sac fly and Cooper RBI double in the eighth made it a 9-2 game. Trayce Thompson unloaded on a David Goforth pitch in the ninth to make it 9-3.
The Sky Sox used their starter Brent Suter for five outs before turning to Barbosa, Tim Dillard and Goforth to get the final 22 outs.
Hitting Notes –
The Sox picked up their nine runs on 10 hits and walked seven times en route to the win, six of which came against Wilmer Font. Four Sox batters had two-hit games and three had two RBI games.
Garrett Cooper was on base four times and went 2-for-3 with a double, homer, three runs scored, two walks and two RBI. I mean come on, night in and night out this kid does it. He’s now hitting .366, has an OBP of .427, and is Slugging .620 which tallies up to a 1.047 OPS. Yeah, he good.
Yadiel Rivera and Rene Garcia combined to go 4-for-9 with four RBI from the seven and eight spots in the lineup.
Kyle Wren set the table reaching base three times thanks to two hits and a walk. He scored a run.
Brett Phillips had a triple, a walk, and run scored.
Ivan De Jesus went 1-for-4 with an RBI single and walked.
Nate Orf and Ryan Cordell each walked and scored. Cordell picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
Pitching Notes –
Bret Suter started for the Sox, but was limited to just five outs due to some happenings with the big league team. He allowed two runs on three hits, walked one and fanned three on 42 pitches, 26 strikes. The one mistake was a home run allowed to Bobby Wilson.
Andrew Barbosa was first out of the bullpen and did nothing but earn the win with 3 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings. A walk was the only blemish on his resume for the evening.
Tim Dillard followed with the next 2 2/3 innings in scoreless fashion. He allowed a hit and a walk and fanned one.
David Goforth collected the last four outs, and allowed a run on a homer.
Play of the Game –
Pregame Interview with Dan Karcher and OKC PC Matt Herges –
The Sky Sox have taken two of the first three games in the series and sit at 8-3 through the first 11 games of the season series. A win tonight would mark the third time the Sox have taken 3 of 4 in a set with Oklahoma City…Let’s get to the pitching preview!
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (40-28) vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers (37-31) – 6:40 p.m.
Game Notes / Listen Live at 6:00 p.m.
Pitching Probables: RHP Taylor Jungmann (3-0, 1.27) vs. RHP Justin Masterson (5-3, 4.09)
Sky Sox Starter: Right-hander Taylor Jungmann gets the call in the finale of the four game series tonight at Security Service Field. In two relief appearances and two start with the Sox he’s accrued a 3-0 record and a 1.27 ERA, allowing three runs on twelve hits, walking ten and fanning 24. PCL opponents are hitting .158 against the 2011 first round pick. He opened the season with the Brewers and went two-thirds of an inning before being optioned to Double-A Biloxi. There he went 1-2 with a 4.36 ERA with the Shuckers in the Southern League. Jungmann’s first two appearances with the Sky Sox came on the road against Nashville and Oklahoma City, out of the ‘pen. He started against the Cubs on Saturday and at AutoZone Park on June 15. One of his three wins came in relief against OKC.
Drafted by the Brewers in the 1st round of the 2011 draft out of the University of Texas, Jungmann has made 125 MiLB appearances, 117 starts, and is 43-38 with a 4.11 ERA. He’s 9-13 with a 4.54 ERA in 30 MLB starts.
Last Time Out – June 15 – Win at Memphis –
Jungmann turned in another strong start in Memphis. He went seven innings and allowed a run on three hits, DID NOT WALK A BATTER, and struck out seven. He was in total control from start to finish and dotted the zone with 64 strikes on 94 pitches.
Dodgers Starting Arm: Righty Justin Masterson will oppose Jungmann and the Sox tonight in the series finale. The 32-year old is 5-3 with a 4.09 ERA, good enough for 11th in the PCL. He has logged 13 outings, 12 starts, and has allowed 37 runs, 32 earned, on 59 hits in 70 1/3 innings. Five of the hits have been homers, he’s hit eight batters, walked 33 and fanned 68 while keeping opponents at a .223 batting average against. He faced the Sox on June 4 and took the loss despite allowing one run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings. His last two outings have been subpar as he’s allowed 13 runs on 16 hits, 11 walks, and fanned 9 in 9 2/3 innings.
It has been quite the journey for Masterson who was originally drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2006 draft out of San Diego State University. He pitched with Boston’s organization from 2006 until he was traded to the Indians in 2009. He pitched with Cleveland until 2014, then the Cardinals, back to the Red Sox and spent last year in the Pirates minor league system. The Dodgers mark his fifth organization. Masterson became the first Jamaican born pitcher in MLB history when he made his debut for the Sox on April 24, 2008. In 98 minor league games, 60 starts, the righty is 25-20 with a 4.03 ERA and in 258 MLB games, 184 starts, he is 64-74 with a 4.31 ERA. He has not pitched in the bigs since 2015 with the Red Sox.
Last Time Out – June 15 – No Decison vs. Omaha –
Masterson got hit around a bit and allowed seven runs on eight hits in 4/23 innings. He hit a batter, walked six and struck out four on 99 pitches, 53 of which went for strikes.
Dan Karcher (@SkySoxKarch) continues his 28th season behind the mic for Sky Sox games, he and I will have the call of tonight’s game from Security Service Field beginning at 6:40 p.m. Sky Sox Warmup fires up at 6:00 p.m. MDT on XTRA Sports 1300.
Thanks for reading – See you on the radio,
Colorado Springs Sky Sox Official Team Blog 