Finger pushing
loader-image
weather icon 75°F


Murton’s hit, and a little help, and Sky Sox win in 11

Matt Murton plans to track down Corey Patterson some time to thank him – or at least ask his former teammate what the heck he was thinking.

Patterson seemed to momentarily give up on Murton’s fly ball to the right-field corner that turned into the game-winning two-run double in a 6-5 come-from-behind, 11th-inning win for the Sky Sox on Saturday night at Security Service Field.

“Maybe because it was hit in that corner back there he thought he could play it off the wall and it would ricochet back to him and keep that runner from scoring” said Murton, a teammate of Patterson’s with the Cubs. “I’m not sure, I’ll ask him. I’ll say, ‘Hey man, were you trying to help me out there or what?’ ”

With Eric Young Jr. on third and one out, there was no way Patterson could have held Nashville’s lead even if he had caught the ball. But with Matt Miller on first, Patterson likely could have at least prolonged the game by getting the ball back to the infield in a hurry.

It looked like Patterson momentarily thought Young’s run was the game-winner and he didn’t bother going after it.

“That’s the only thing I can think of,” Sky Sox manager Stu Cole said. “He must have figured the fly ball was going to score him. It was kind of weird the way he went after that fly ball, but it was a good thing for us. When I saw him I thought maybe the ball was going foul, but it was fair by a lot.”

Murton’s double capped a 3-for-6, three-RBI night as he paced a 15-hit attack.

Nashville had taken the lead in the top half of the 11th when backup catcher Carlos Corporan – homerless this season in 41 Triple-A games, 13 Single-A games and one with Milwaukee – sent a shot well over the wall in straight-away center field.

Sky Sox starter Brandon Hynick found trouble in a three-run third inning that included three straight two-out singles, but he was able to bounce back with three scoreless innings and left after six with the score tied.

Hynick has been great at times this year, leaving 10 starts with one or fewer runs on the scoreboard. His trouble has been limiting the damage when he’s not as sharp, posting a 6.94 ERA in those other 11 starts. So it was a victory of sort that he was able to overcome a rough stretch and hand the bullpen a tied game.

The Sky Sox pecked away with single runs in the second, fourth and fifth before a trio of hits, highlighted by an RBI single late-inning replacement Dan Ortmeier, tied the score in the eighth.

Note: The Sky Sox expect to welcome their five-millionth fan today. The club was 3,724 short of the number after Saturday night and presale estimates make reaching the number a virtual certainty. The club plans to electronically track the number of spectators entering the stadium today and, with a little estimating, identify and greet the milestone fan with a special presentation.

Photo by



Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests