Results tagged ‘ Matt Murton ’

Perfection & All-Stars

Last night was one of the most amazing baseball experiences that you’ll ever have the good fortune to be witness to. Brandon Hynick’s Perfect Game was truly special to watch and anyone who was there will remember it as just amazing. I’ve seen quite a few special baseball achievements including several cycles (Joe Koshansky’s two in 2009 and Barry Wesson of New Orleans in Nashville in 2002) and the combined no-hitter for the Sky Sox last year (Franklin Morales, Chris George, Matt Daley & Steven Register) but Hynick’s perfecto is by far the best of the best.

Down on the field after the game, Hynick was mobbed by his teammates and inundated by media and fans wanting autographs. Through it all he had the biggest smile on his face that I’ve ever seen. Even though it probably hadn’t sunken in for him yet, he seemed like he was on cloud nine the entire time.

The perfecto was the first ever in the history of Sky Sox baseball and just the ninth in the entire history of the Pacific Coast League’s 100+ years.

For an encore, the Sky Sox welcome into town the Salt Lake Bees for a heated conference battle. Here’s Stu Cole’s lineup for tonight’s game:

Eric Young Jr. – 2B

Mike McCoy – SS

Matt Miller – LF

Matt Murton – RF

Jeff Baker – DH

Dan Ortmeier – 1B

Christian Colonel – 3B

Edwin Bellorin – C

Chris Frey – CF

Jason Hirsh – SP

Three of the top four players in the lineup tonight were name to the PCL’s mid-season All-Star team today. Young Jr., Miller and Murton were all elected as starters to the PCL team with the three elections being the most of any team. A few other teams have three players in the game but not all as starters. McCoy must have been one of the last guys left off the roster but when you’ve only got a limited number of spots to spill someone’s bound to be left off that is more than deserving. McCoy could still be added before the game takes place because there are always injuries and call-ups that could open a spot up for him. For the record, McCoy is ranked among the PCL leaders in average (5th, .340), stolen bases (4th, 26), on-base percentage (2nd, .439) and runs scored (2nd, 64). Those are All-Star numbers.

Life After CarGo

After last night’s 16-8 win over Fresno, everyone learned that Carlos Gonzalez had been called up by the Rockies. A call-up has rarely been more deserved. At the time of his promotion, Gonzalez was leading all of professional baseball with 59 RBIs and was leading the Sox in homers (10), triples (7), extra base hits (29) and slugging (.630). He’s been hot all season long for the most part and turned in two, six-RBI games, the Sky Sox season-high.

His dynamic play will certainly be missed in the lineup but with his promotion came news that Matt Murton would be returning to the Sky Sox to make room for Gonzalez on the Rockies 25-man roster. Murton started the season in Colorado Springs and was called up on April 29. Before he left though, Murton was leading the Sox with a .411 average, four homers and 19 RBIs so his return will help cover the loss of Gonzalez.

Here’s tonights CarGo-less lineup filled out by Stu Cole:

Eric Young Jr. – 2B

Mike McCoy – RF

Matt Miller – LF

Kenny Perez – 3B

Dan Ortmeier – 1B

Chris Frey – CF

Austin Rauch – C

Jonathan Herrera – SS

Franklin Morales – SP

Missing from the lineup is Murton but that is only because his travel plans from Houston, where the Rockies were last night, would not allow him to make it here in time for tonight’s game.

Morales will be making his second rehab start tonight as he recovers from a left shoulder strain suffered in his start against Arizona on April 21. In his first rehab start, Morales looked pretty good over his four innings of work. He gave up two runs on five hits while walking one and striking out five as the Sox went on to defeat Tacoma 12-4.

 

Saturday Sox Notes

Our apologize for missing last weeks entry for the Saturday Sox Notes. We’ll make up for it this week by including some notes from last weeks as well.

Saturday, April 25

WHAT A START:With their win last night, the Sky Sox have now matched the best start in team history. Their 10-5 record to begin the season equals the 10-5 start by the 1997 squad that finished that year with a 76-64 record. The ’97 team is also the last Sky Sox team to make the playoffs.

MURTON MASHING: Sky Sox rightfielder Matt Murton has been on a tear. Through the first 15 games of the season, Murton is hitting .413 (26-for-63) with three homers, five doubles, 15 RBIs, 16 runs scored and five stolen bases. He is tied for the Minor League lead with his 26 hits and leads the Sky Sox in hitting, hits, homers and runs scored. Murton has also recorded 10 multi-hit games this.

THICK AS THIEVES:Second baseman Eric Young Jr. is off to a thieving start. Young Jr. has played in 11 games thus far swiping 11 bases to lead all of Minor League Baseball. The Sky Sox record for stolen bases in a single season was set by Wayne Kirby in 1992 with 51. As a team, the Sox have stolen a league-high 26 bags. The team record for stolen bases in a season is 149 set in 2000.

Friday, April 24

TRIPLE TIME: Aces centerfielder Alex Romero had a big game last night going 4-for-5 with two triples, two runs scored and two RBIs to lead Reno past Colorado Springs 8-5. His two triples tied the most ever by an opposing player in Sky Sox history and marked the 13th time an opponent knocked out two, three-baggers. The last player to accomplish the feat was Jon Knott for Portland on June 30, 2006 at Security Service Field.

Thursday, April 23

GONZALEZ GOES OFF:Centerfielder Carlos Gonzalez was an RBI machine in yesterday’s 16-8 thrashing as he finished the game going 2-for-5 with six runs driven in. It was the most RBIs in a single game for the Sox this season and the most since Matt Miller plated six runs on August 12, 2008 against Tucson at Security Service Field.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION:That same August 12th game against Tucson last year also featured the last time the Sky Sox scored at least 16 runs and knocked out at least 20 hits as they did yesterday. In the game last year, the Sox outscored the Sidewinders 21-5 runs and registered 24 hits.

Tuesday, April 21

DALEY DOMINANCE: Through his first five outings of the seaons, Sox middle reliever has been very impressive. In five games, the right-hander has tossed 8.0 innings and given up just one run (1.13 ERA) while striking out a team-high 15 batters which ranks third in the PCL. He has also inherited seven runners and not allowed any of them to score.

Sunday, April 19

ORTMEIER ON HIS GAME: Sky Sox first baseman Dan Ortmeier is off to a hot start in 2009. In each of his first seven games, Ortmeier has recorded at least one hit and turned in five two-hit games for a .429 batting average (T-4th in the PCL). He also has two doubles and a triple as well as seven RBIs. Dating back to the end of last season, Ortmeier has put together a nine-game hitting-streak.

Friday, April 17

DOUBLE OUTBREAK:Yesterday, the Sox batters knocked out a season-high seven doubles off Reno pitchers. Despite that high number, the seven doubles fell short of the Sky Sox record of nine that was recorded at home on September 4, 2005 vs. Fresno.

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