Link Report for Tue. 5/6 -- The Key to Angel Salome's Recent Success

[homer]

I'm guessing our two entries to the futures game will be Gamel and LaPorta.

[Mass Haas]

Catching up on Huntsville audio:

Huntsville Pre-Game Audio Interview with Pitching Coach Chris Hook

Make sure you're pointing to the WUMP audio archive of May 5th, then go to the 17:00 minute mark -- good stuff...

 

That's from Monday's game -- for now anyway, there's a problem with Tuesday's audio archive...

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Press Release:

 

Huntsville Holds On in Wobbly Ninth, Again

By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars

Matt LaPorta's three-run home run capped a seven-run sixth inning surge and Huntsville survived a shaky ninth inning for a second straight night to down Mobile 10-6 Tuesday night in the second of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars improved to 22-10 and maintained their share of the lead, with West Tenn, in the North Division, while the BayBears dropped to 15-17 and fell two games behind Birmingham in the South Division. The Stars improved to 15-2 at home and scored at least 10 runs in a game for the eighth time.

 

E.J. Shanks opened the ninth on the hill for Huntsville inheriting a 10-3 lead and was one out away from victory before Rusty Ryal's bases loaded single plated two runs. Brendan Byrne then scored on a wild pitch to make it 10-6 prior to Shanks walking Frank Curreri and Brandon Burgess to re-load the bases. Patrick Ryan was summoned from the bullpen and induced John Hester to bounce into a force out at third base to end the game. Ryan earned his fourth save of the season and kept Hester from the triple he needed to hit for the cycle.

 

Hester's two-run home run in the fourth gave the BayBears a 2-0 lead and were the first earned runs allowed by Stars' starter Derek Miller this season at home in 18 1/3 innings. Mat Gamel's run-scoring single in the bottom of the fifth got the Stars on the board before Ryal's leadoff long ball, his second in as many nights, in the sixth gave the visitors a two-run cushion again. Miller wound up going six frames and earned his third win of the season, and first at home, after allowing three runs on nine hits.

 

Tony Barnette, who had worked out of a jam in the fourth and further trouble in the fifth, gave up a two-run double in the home sixth by Angel Salome that tied the game at three. Pinch-hitter Ryan Crew followed with a walk and Barnette was then lifted from the game and replaced by left-hander Forrest Cory. Michael Brantley greeted him with a base hit that plated Salome to give the home side its' first lead and Gamel followed one out later with another RBI single to score Crew to make it 5-3 Huntsville. LaPorta then launched his league-high tenth home run on a 3-2 pitch to finish off the Stars' highest scoring frame of the season. LaPorta has slugged four three-run home runs in the last 12 games. Barnette was charged with the loss after permitting five runs on nine hits and four walks.

 

Salome and Brantley delivered run-scoring singles in the seventh to push the Stars' lead to 10-3. Salome collected three hits, knocked in three and scored three times for a second straight night, while Brantley had three hits for a second night in a row and Gamel had his first four hit game of the season to pace a season-high 17-hit attack one night after the Stars had collected a then season-best 16 hits.

 

The series continues Wednesday morning with left-hander David Welch taking the mound against BayBears' right-hander Hector Ambriz. Coverage of the game begins at 10:20 AM central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score

Michael Brantley's OBP at .435; Mat Gamel's OBP even higher at .438 and an OPS of 1.065; Matt LaPorta getting on base at a near-dentical .436 clip with an other-worldly 1.157; Angel Salome with an .889 OPS -- these are pinball numbers, folks -- it's the Stars' world and we're just living in it; Derek Miller minimizes the damage, now with a 2.45 ERA; LaPorta nails a runner at the plate from right field in the 6th...

 

Huntsville Game Log

Wake up, Huntsville fans -- only 1,100 at the game, talk about not knowing when you're spoiled talent-wise, if not stadium-wise...

[Mass Haas]

From Monday's game, this was a very late online post by the Times -- we'll place it here for a wider viewing audience...

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

Shaky pen holds up for Hammond

By BRAD SHEPARD

For The Huntsville Times

 

With nobody warming up in the Huntsville bullpen and neck-deep in base runners, struggling Stars reliever Juan Sandoval needed bailing out.

 

The Stars' bullpen had squandered a six-run lead down to two, and the bases were loaded with one out in the ninth. That's when Huntsville shortstop Alcides Escobar delivered the game-saving play.

 

Mobile pinch-hitter Brandon Burgess hit a high-hopper to first base, and Chris Errecart threw to Escobar for the force at second. Escobar whirled to third without hesitation, catching a wandering runner napping too far off the base for a 3-6-5 game-ending double play.

 

The Stars (21-10) upped their home record to 14-2 with an 8-6 win over Mobile in front of an announced crowd of 1,401 at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

"I just tried to end the game," Escobar said. "I knew I could make that play. When we got the out, I turned and looked at third base. I knew I could catch him."

 

Despite a rickety effort from Sandoval and fellow reliever David Johnson - who allowed three runs in one inning - Huntsville made a strong effort from starter Steve Hammond and a four-run sixth inning stand up.

 

With another dominating performance, Hammond (4-1) had six strikeouts and moved into the Southern League lead with 45 for the season.

 

"It's not something I'm used to," Hammond said. "I'm just trying to make some good pitches with two strikes.

 

"My goal is to go six innings and come out with the lead."

 

Thanks to some potent offense behind him, Hammond exited with a 7-1 lead, but it took all Huntsville had to make it stand.

 

The Stars' offense didn't disappoint against one of the Diamondbacks' top prospects, 2006 first-round selection out of the University of Georgia, Brooks Brown.

 

Every Huntsville starter except third baseman and .367 hitter Mat Gamel had a hit. Leadoff hitter Michael Brantley went 3-for-5 with a run scored and three RBIs, and catcher Angel Salome finished 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Escobar and Errecart added three more hits apiece, and Matt LaPorta - the league's hitter of the week for the second time in three weeks - provided an RBI.

 

Despite the ulcer-inducing finish, it still goes down as another win for the Stars, who continued their best start in franchise history.

 

"That's a team effort right there," Brantley said. "(Mobile) made a good run at it in the ninth, but we were able to get out of it. That was a heads-up play by Escy."

[Mass Haas]

Now the coverage of Tuesday's game...

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

Still swinging away

Huntsville keeps piling up wins, thanks to offense

By BRAD SHEPARD

For The Huntsville Times

 

Mobile pitcher Hector Ambriz must feel like he's getting ready to walk down death row.

 

The BayBears pitcher starts Wednesday morning's game, and the way the Huntsville Stars have been swinging the bats lately, nobody wants to face their lineup.

 

Between right fielder Matt LaPorta and third baseman Mat Gamel, the last three Southern League hitters of the week are wearing Huntsville uniforms.

 

And the way catcher Angel Salome has been going, the Stars may have another one this week.

 

On Tuesday night, the trio didn't disappoint the 1,107 fans at Joe Davis Stadium, leading the Stars to a 10-6 win.

 

Huntsville (22-10) is 15-2 at home, and Tuesday marked the eighth time the Stars have scored in double digits.

 

"Whew," Gamel said. "That's pretty impressive. We've just got a scary lineup. Anybody who comes up can do some damage."

 

Tuesday's offensive firepower was even noteworthy to a team used to gaudy statistics. The Stars had 17 hits against the BayBears.

 

Gamel entered the game hitting .355, and he raised his average 17 points with a 4-for-5 night. The third baseman also had two RBIs and a run scored.

 

"You're not relying on one guy to drive in runs," Stars manager Don Money said. "Everybody's swinging the bats. It just seems like there's no letup in the lineup."

 

LaPorta - the league's reigning hitter of the week after holding the honor three weeks ago - added another three hits and a three-run homer in a seven-run sixth.

 

Even Gamel and LaPorta probably aren't as hot as Huntsville catcher and eight-hole hitter Salome.

 

On April 21, Salome was slumping along at .185. Since then, he has started to see the fruits of his work with Huntsville hitting coach Sandy Guerrero, who had him separate his hands on the bat and also open up his stance to see breaking balls better.

 

From that point, the catcher is hitting .500 (16-for-32) with a home run, nine RBIs and 11 runs scored. He has really heated up against the BayBears, going 7-for-8 with six RBIs and six runs scored during the first two games of the homestand.

 

"Early in the season, I was getting down my timing and had to get used to the league a little more," Salome said. "Now, I'm just seeing the ball better.

 

"When the team is hitting like this, thank God, it makes me a lot more comfortable."

 

After cutting Mobile's lead to 2-1 in the fifth, Huntsville's Derek Miller allowed a long home run to Rusty Ryal to push the lead back to two runs. But the Stars roared back in the bottom half, stringing together five hits and a couple of walks.

 

Salome tied the game with a two-run double, and Michael Brantley knocked him in for the go-ahead run with a single. After an RBI single by Gamel, LaPorta's three-run blast turned the game into an 8-3 Stars lead.

 

Miller (3-1), who didn't have his best stuff, was the beneficiary of the offensive onslaught.

 

Huntsville entered the ninth with a seven-run lead, but E.J. Shanks allowed three runs and actually brought the game-tying run to the plate before getting pulled in favor of Patrick Ryan, who ended the threat.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Clearwater (Phillies) 3, Brevard County 2

Brevard County Box Score

Newcomer Josh Butler's line in three Brevard starts -- 15 IP, 13 H, 4 R (2.40 ERA), 4 BB, 11 K -- it'd be nice to see hime stretch out a sixth inning of work next time out; Lorenzo Cain and Charlie Fermaint with two doubles each, Cain added a single; Stephen Chapman back at first base, Jimmy Mojica with a start at second in a fluid lineup; Darren Ford with his second HR in four games...

 

Brevard County Game Log

Cain thrown at the plate to end the 5th; Fermaint responded with an outfield assist at home in the bottom half of the same inning; leadoff Cain double wasted in the 8th...