The Sky Sox were blanked for the first time this season 4-0 as Memphis starter Dakota Hudson (6-1) and reliever Edward Mujica combined for a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts. Sky Sox starter Paolo Espino (1-2), despite taking the loss, made a strong start after five, four-hit, one-run innings with no walks and two strikeouts. Opposite to last night, two home runs by Rangel Ravelo and Patrick Wisdom within Memphis’ six hits made the difference in the game. Although the Sky Sox added another loss to the overall record, the dropped game’s blow was lessened with Nashville’s 1-0 win over Oklahoma City to hold Colorado Springs’ two-and-a-half game deficit in the American North.
The first five and a half innings of the third game in Memphis went scoreless. Colorado Springs bats recorded its first hit of the night in the first – a leadoff single by Keon Broxton. In the third, starter Espino led off the frame with a single followed by Broxton’s second single of the night to put the pressure on. After Orlando Arcia went down swinging for the first out, Ji-Man Choi drew a walk to load the bases, but the Sky Sox were unable to produce as Christian Bethancourt and Brett Phillips recorded the remaining outs.
After three perfect innings delivered by Espino, Memphis joined the party after Oscar Mercado singled to leadoff the inning and Patrick Wisdom added a second hit with another single, but no runs would be produced.
In the bottom of the sixth, Espino exited the game after allowing a leadoff single to Mercado. Reliever Jon Perrin stepped in for his place on the mound, where his first batter faced, Rangel Ravelo, broke the tie with a two-run home run to left-center field, giving Memphis the 2-0 advantage. Wisdom restarted the frame with a walk and stole second to get into scoring position. He would score and make it a 3-0 Memphis lead on third-baseman Andres Blanco’s overthrow error to first base, which was batted by Alex Mejia.
Memphis would plate a final run in the bottom of the eighth on Wisdom’s solo home run to make it a final 4-0 game as the Sky Sox would bat through the minimum in the final four innings of the contest.
The Sky Sox head into the third of five games against the Memphis Redbirds tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 5:35 p.m. at AutoZone Park. The Sky Sox head back home for a five-game homestand beginning May 30 against the Iowa Cubs. For all information on Sky Sox, follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and visit the team’s website at www.skysox.com.
