Link Report for Father's Day, June 15th

[Mass Haas]

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Sunday's Daily Menu:

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

Nashville: LHP's Sam Narron and Lindsay Gulin in a doubleheader at Iowa (Cubs), 12:50 PM pre-game; 1:05 gametime

Audio link:
www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

Huntsville: RHP Donovan Hand at Jacksonville (Dodgers), 1:50 PM pre-game; 2:05 gametime -- huge game, if you've been reading us, you know the implications

Audio link via WUMP (game will also archive at this link):
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559

Brevard County: Idle

West Virginia: LHP Dan Merklinger at home vs. Greensboro (Marlins), 4:50 PM pre-game, 5:05 gametime; thus ends the first half for the Power

Audio link via WSWW, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link):
www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

[Mass Haas]

Nashville's doubleheader at Iowa is also available for subscription viewing at MiLB.TV.

[Mass Haas]

Follow Sunday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, choose "Log" or "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often.

 

Nashville Game One:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_15_nasaaa_iowaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Two:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_15_nasaaa_iowaaa_2

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_15_hunaax_jaxaax_1

 

West Virginia:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_15_gboafx_wvaafx_1

[Mass Haas]

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated several hours prior to gametime.

 

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

[Mass Haas]

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 38 29 .567 - 20-11 18-18 W1 Memphis 35 35 .500 4.5 15-17 20-18 W1 Omaha 33 34 .493 5.0 15-19 18-15 L1 Nashville 27 40 .403 11.0 15-16 12-24 L6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 41 28 .594 - 22-13 19-15 W1 West Tenn 41 28 .594 - 24-10 17-18 W2 Carolina 38 31 .551 3.0 20-14 18-17 W3 Chattanooga 36 33 .522 5.0 20-15 16-18 L2 Tennessee 26 43 .377 15.0 13-22 13-21 L8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 41 26 .612 - 26-11 15-15 L2 Brevard County 34 32 .515 6.5 21-14 13-18 L1 Daytona 33 34 .493 8.0 15-17 18-17 W2 Vero Beach 32 34 .485 8.5 20-12 12-22 L3 Jupiter 32 35 .478 9.0 18-12 14-23 L2 St. Lucie 18 49 .269 23.0 9-26 9-23 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 41 28 .594 - 19-18 22-10 W1 Delmarva 38 30 .559 2.5 22-12 16-18 W1 Greensboro 38 31 .551 3.0 17-18 21-13 L2 Lakewood 37 32 .536 4.0 19-15 18-17 L1 Hagerstown 33 35 .485 7.5 16-20 17-15 L1 West Virginia 31 37 .456 9.5 12-20 19-17 W2 Hickory 30 39 .435 11.0 14-20 16-19 W2 Lexington 21 47 .309 19.5 10-24 11-23 L2 

[Mass Haas]

The Nashville media notes:

 

TURNBOW RETURNS TO HILL, MAKES FOURTH START: Right-hander Derrick Turnbow -- who has not pitched since June 5th, a span of 10 days -- makes his fourth start of the year for the Sounds in today's nightcap. He is 0-0 with a 3.18 ERA (2 ER / 5.2 IP) in his initial three starts and has worked 5 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to his initial start on May 28 at Albuquerque.

 

The Sounds now list the upcoming rotation after today as follows:

 

Date Opponent Time (CT) Probable Pitching Matchup

Monday, June 16 at Iowa 11:05 AM LHP Lindsay Gulin (2-4, 3.12) vs LHP Rich Hill (2-3, 3.91)

at Iowa Game 2 LHP Zach Jackson (1-5, 7.63) vs TBA

Tuesday, June 17 Oklahoma 7:00 PM RHP Ben Howard (2-2, 3.92) vs TBA

Wednesday, June 18 Oklahoma 12:00 PM RHP Richie Gardner (5-2, 4.10) vs TBA

[TheCrew07]

Turnbow lit up again, 1.1IP 2H 4ER 4BB 2SO

[uwisfan]

W Tenn loses, Stars lose..rubbermatch

[battlekow]

Nice to see Eric Fryer taking some walks.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Jacksonville (Dodgers) 4, Huntsville 3

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

 

Stars Fall, Division Race Still Undecided

Issue To Be Decided Tuesday Night at Home

By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars

 

Jamie Hoffman's three-run home run and solid work from the bullpen were enough to lead Jacksonville to a 4-3 win over Huntsville Sunday evening in a game that was delayed three hours and 27 minutes at the start because of rain. The Stars dropped to 41-29 in the first half and will face West Tenn in a one-game playoff Tuesday night at Joe Davis Stadium in the opener of a six-game series that also begins the second half of the season. The Stars lost three of five in the series and have been defeated in 12 of their last 15 games in Jacksonville over the last three seasons.

 

Adam Godwin led off the home first with a single, stole second base and remained there when Ivan DeJesus, Jr. drew a walk. Hoffman then belted Donovan Hand's first pitch over the wall in left field for his fourth home run of the season, all of which have come in the last 15 days. Hoffman knocked in five runs in the series, all in the first inning. Gabriel Gutierrez's looping two-out single in the fourth scored Shane Justis to push the home team's lead to 4-0.

 

Alcides Escobar singled with one out in the sixth to end a stretch of 12 batters in a row retired by starter Jesus Castillo. The Huntsville shortstop stole second base and scored on a base hit off the right field wall by Angel Salome, who has knocked in a run in 13 of his last 21 games, with two outs. Matt LaPorta followed with a single to move Salome to third and Cole Gillespie drew a walk to load the bases. Freddy Parejo then bounced a bad-hop single past DeJesus at shortstop into left field for a two-run single that trimmed the lead to 4-3. A throwing error on the play by Matt Berezay in left field allowed Gillespie and Parejo to advance but they were stranded when Guilder Rodriguez flied out to end the inning.

 

Hand was lifed after six innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits, while walking two and striking out three. He retired the last seven batters he faced and was followed to the hill by Mike Jones, who walked Gutierrez with one out in the seventh before James Tomlin doubled to right to move the Suns' catcher to third base. Godwin bounced out to Jones on the first pitch for the second out before DeJesus walked to load the bases. Hoffman then grounded out to end the threat.

 

Castillo was removed after six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, while issuing one walk and fanning four. He grabbed the win to improve to 5-3 and was followed to the mound by Travis Schlichting, who set down the side in order in the seventh. Salome singled with one out in the eighth and LaPorta was hit by a pitch but Schlichting worked out of trouble by striking out Gillespie and Parejo to end the frame and finish off his third two scoreless inning stint of the series. Zach Hammes set down the Stars in turn in the ninth to earn his second save.

 

Steve Hammond will take the mound for Huntsville on Tuesday and will be opposed by fellow southpaw Ryan Ketchner of West Tenn. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 PM central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com.

 

***

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

Half not settled for Stars

Tuesday's series opener will break tie with West Tenn

By BRAD SHEPARD

For The Huntsville Times

 

The Huntsville Stars had an opportunity to end an up-and-down first half of the season in style and with a title Sunday.

 

Instead, they'll have to wait at least two more days.

 

The Stars lost 4-3 at Jacksonville after a lengthy rain delay, digging a four-run hole and never getting completely out of it. With West Tenn's 5-4 loss to Chattanooga, Huntsville blew a chance to clinch the Southern League North Division's first half.

 

Instead, Huntsville and West Tenn - which sport identical 41-29 records - will play a winner-take-all game Tuesday night at 7:05 at Joe Davis Stadium. The winner nabs the division, and the loser must set its sights on the second half.

 

West Tenn has beaten the Stars six out of 10 times this season. But Huntsville is 3-2 against West Tenn at home.

 

"One game is one game. You never know what happens," Stars manager Don Money said. "If they win, it'll be a big deal, and if they lose it, they'll remember it for a long time."

 

At least Huntsville will be back home, and it will have ace Steve Hammond (7-3, 3.25 ERA) on the mound against West Tenn's Ryan Ketchner (5-2, 3.57). Hammond has had mixed results against the Diamond Jaxx, getting roughed up back on April 9 in a 9-6 loss before evening the score in a 3-1 win June 5.

 

He has pitched brilliantly in his past two outings and is relishing the big stage.

 

"I'll be ready to go, I know that much," Hammond said. "I'm looking forward to a great game.

 

"Obviously, they've got a good team, a solid hitting team. They're patient, and they wait for good pitches. I'm sure it won't be a blowout."

 

On Sunday, Huntsville starter Donovan Hand was too shaky in the early going, and the bats couldn't come up with any clutch hits late.

 

Hand put the first two runners on in the first before Jacksonville's Jamie Hoffmann hit a three-run homer to put Huntsville in an early hole. The Suns added another run in the fourth to make it 4-0.

 

The Stars rallied in the sixth when Angel Salome's RBI single plated Alcides Escobar and Freddy Parejo added a two-run single later to cut the lead to one. But Jacksonville's bullpen turned in three scoreless innings to end it.

 

Huntsville had two on and one out in the eighth but struck out twice to end the threat. Huntsville left seven runners on base.

 

"I'm not excited about bring a tie home," Money said. "We had plenty of chances and couldn't come up with them at all."

 

Now, it's back home for a big one.

 

"Right after the game, everybody was obviously pretty disappointed because we couldn't get it done down here," Hammond said. "But now that we've settled down, we realize we get to bring it back home, and everybody's excited."

 

***

 

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com

 

It's Down to One Game

 

It looked like rain would wash out Sunday's game. As it happened, it started almost three hours late in Jacksonville. The outfield was already dotted with puddles and the Jacksonville dugout was attracting boaters, but both teams wanted to play, but especially the league because the first-half title was on the line and the Stars........ If the game couldn't be played, the Stars would have to forego their off-day and play the Suns on Monday, then travel 10 hours after the game back to Huntsville for Tuesday's game against, of all teams, the Diamond Jaxx....... The Stars did not want to be in the position of arriving tired for a game that would decide who would win the first half title........ Chattanooga and West Tennessee started ahead at Pringles Park in Jackson with the Lookouts taking an early 2-0 lead after two innings.

 

From Day One, hitting carried the Stars to this shot at another 1st half title. It should have been a done deal already. The Stars were 29-11 at one point and five games in front in the North Division........ The 1986 Stars, the team I think I could best compare the current one to, hit .303 at the end of the 1st half. They won the division over Birmingham by 3½ games...... The Stars are bringing a .298 mark to the final game of the first half, even after a recent slump (the Stars had a .203 average in their last six games.) Still, they've hit .291 since May 15....... But the Stars were also 12-17 since May 15, oddly enough, the day after Don Money became the winningest manager in Stars history....... The ball and chain has been the bullpen.

 

[align=center]

STARS BULLPEN SINCE MAY 15
	W-L	ERA	IP	H	R	ER
Omar Aguilar	0-1	4.50	8	6	6	4
Joe Bateman	2 saves	1.88	14 1/3	17	4	3
Donovan Hand	0-0	3.60	5	4	2	2
Robert Hinton	1-2	7.41	17	16	15	14
David Johnson	0-1	3.86	9 1/3	8	5	4
Mike Jones	0-1	9..52	5 2/3	10	6	6
Patrick Ryan	1-3	6.08	13 1/3	21	13	9
Juan Sandoval	1-2	5.68	12 2/3	16	8	8
E.J. Shanks	0-0	9.81	3 2/3	6	4	4
Jason Shiell	0-1	3.38	5 1/3	3	3	2
Josh Wahpepah	0-0	21.60	1 2/3	5	4	4
TOTALS	3-11	5.57	97	112	70	60

[/align]

In addition, to seven saves, there have been eight blown saves..... Since May 15, the Stars have been ahead in more innings than they've actually been behind -- except the 9th. They were ahead in the 7th 16 times and behind 12 times in the 7th, ahead 14 times and behind 12 times in the 8th, but by the end of the 9th --- they were ahead only 11 times and behind 14 times. Of the three occasions they were tied in the 9th, all three games were lost.

Where are the Stars falling behind and losing games?

Inning-by-inning, these are the number of times the Stars have been ahead, behind, or even since May 15

		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
AHEAD		6	7	11	15	14	15	16	14	11
BEHIND		7	8	7	9	9	11	12	12	14
TIED		1	4	6	3	5	4	2	2	3
NO SCORE		12	9	4	2	1	0	0	0	0

The Stars lost all three of the games that were tied in the 9th

The pressure was on Town Creek's Donovan Hand with all of four Double-A games on his resumé. As a fifth starter, he had a 3.96 ERA and was still looking for his first decision ...... Jesus Castillo (3-2, 3.55 in May) faced the Stars last April 27, giving up four runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

 

With a wet field, and rain continuing to fall and a 60% chance for more rain and a lot at stake, the game got underway more than three hours late...... Hand had the Stars in a hole almost immediately. After three batters, the Stars were behind 3-0 after Adam Godwin started with a single to center and a stolen base with a high throw by Salome, a walk to Ivan DeJesus, and a home run to left on the first pitch to Jamie Hoffmann, a .375 hitter against the Stars....... Gabriel Gutierrez singled in a run in the 4th to make it 4-0 Jacksonville.

 

Saturday, Brae Wright kept the Stars alive with a clutch seven-inning, three-hit performance....... Joe Bateman registered his 4th save, his first since April 16. A June 9 save after Bateman came in with a 7-3 lead to protect, was removed by a scorer's decision....... Suns' starter Mario Alvarez, just off the disabled list, was removed after one inning. Alcides Escobar singled, moved to third on a Mat Gamel single, and scored on a fielders choice...... Former Star Mark Bellhorn evened the score in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single with two out....... Wright, now 4-1 with a 2.10 ERA in his last five starts, allowed only a one-out single to Lucas May after that and was helped by inning-ending double plays in the 4th and 7th innings.

 

Just like a horse race where one horse gets out of the gate quick to take what looks to be an insurmountable lead, it's destined for that horse to lose a little gas coming around the final pole toward the stretch....... That seems to be what the Stars have done....... They haven't had so much as a three-game winning streak since May 24 when Carolina stopped a six-game winning streak. Before that, the Stars had four streaks of three games or more, including an eight-game streak turning into May....... From a .295 average in April, and .305 in May, the Stars were hitting a comparatively modest .279 in June going into the final game....... While the Stars continued to hit, though, a five-game lead on May 14 had been whittled down as the bullpen collapsed.

 

Jesus Castillo stubbornly retired 12 in a row at one point before the Stars rallied....... Escobar hit a one-out single in the 6th. Gamel, 8-for-18 in his last five games, struck out on a 2-2 pitch, but Angel Salome ripped a long single off the wall to score Escobar from first and put the Stars on the board...... Just when the Stars could use a Matt LaPorta long ball, he rips a 3-2 pitch for a line drive single sending Salome to second........ Meanwhile, at Pringles Park, Chattanooga is leading West Tennessee, 5-2 in the 7th........Cole Gillespie, 4th in the league in RBIs and 2nd on the team in strikeouts, picked the right time to be selective. He walked on a 3-2 pitch, loading the bases for Freddie Parejo...... Parejo, 2-for-6 in thses situations, came through with a bad hop single to score LaPorta. A bad throw to the plate scored Salome to make it a 4-3 game before Guilder Rodriguez ended the inning on a fly ball to left.

 

In the 7th, the rain had finally stopped....... Mike Jones was now in the game in relief of Donovan Hand in a desperate situation for the Stars. Maybe not the best choice to come out of the pen at the moment. Jones, the former #1 draft choice of the Brewers, had a 9.23 ERA, 16 hits given up in 9 2/3 innings, eight walks and seven strikeouts........ The former Shining Star of 2003, who was 7-2 with a 2.40 ERA in 17 starts, has struggled after coming off multiple arm injuries........ The Diamond Jaxx had scored twice and were now in the 9th at Pringles, down by a run...... With two out, Jones walked DeJesus to load the bases. Jamie Hoffmann, .385 in the series, 3-for-9 with the bases loaded and eight RBIs, was at the plate, but Jones got out of it, as Hoffmann hit sharply to Gamel, who threw to first for the final out of the 7th, the Suns still in front, 4-3.

 

Steve Hammond will get the nod Tuesday........ If there is one guy you want for this situation, it's him for the first half tie-breaker. He was called on last year for Game 5 of the Southern League Championship Series and performed admirably well, giving up four hits in seven innings and striking out nine. He left with a 3-1 lead that I think Sam Narron should have finished. Those nine Ks were the most he had all season....... The strikeout pace carried over into 2008, establishing a new club record for strikeouts in April with 39, but Hammond, who has now lost the strikeout lead in the Southern League to Rich Dorman of the Diamond Jaxx hasn't had more than five in a game since striking out 10 vs. the Smokies on May 10....... Tuesday's game, no doubt, is the biggest game of the year.

 

Saturday, Brae Wright, who has had the worst run support among Huntsville's starters since the start of the season, got a 2-1 lead to work when Escobar, who had reached first on a fielder's choice and third on a single by Mat Gamel, scored from third on a wild pitch. Three Jacksonville pitchers had four wild pitches in that game, the most since Montgomery pitchers uncorked four on May 28 of last year....... Needing insurance, the Stars got it from their leading home run hitter Matt LaPorta, who rammed a two-out, two-run homer into the first row of the right-centerfield bleacher seats, extending the Stars' lead to a safe 4-1 in the 9th....... Brendan Katin didn't get his 19th last year until August 3. Mike Coolbaugh, who led the 1997 Stars with 30 HRs, didn't get his 20th until July 6. Rob Nelson, who still holds the club record of 32 for the 1985 Stars, didn't get his 20th until June 24 and Jose Canseco, who hit a record 11 HRs in April that year, got his 20th on June 21.

 

Back to Sunday, as Carlos Fisher was now pitching to the Diamond Jaxx in the bottom of the 9th as the Stars came to bat in the top of the 8th....... Mat Gamel was retired for the first out as the Diamond Jaxx were down to their final out -- Brett Johnson....... Salome ripped a base hit up the middle. One on for the Stars...... The game was now over in Jackson with Johnson flying out to 2nd baseman Michael DeJesus...... As that happened, LaPorta was hit in the back by a pitch from Travis Schlichting, putting the tying run - Salome -- in scoring position...... But Schlichting struck out Cole Gillespie on a slider, and Freddy Parejo, whose line drive foul on an 0-and-2 pitch just missed extra bases that would have tied the game.

 

Juan Sandoval retired the side in the 9th. Zachary Hammes did the same for the Suns in the bottom half to end the game........ Back in 1999, the Stars faced this same kind of situation against the Diamond Jaxx, both with identical 38-32 records, but the Stars had to wait until July 15 to decide the first half winner, calling upon their ace, Allan Levrault, who was 8-2 with a 3.24 ERA........ The Stars, who had eight hits, three for extra-bases, lost 7-6, when they broke a 5-5 tie in the 8th with an RBI triple by Julio Zuleta and an insurance run on a double by Angelo Encarnacion. Levrault lasted 4 2/3 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and a pair of walks.

 

Huntsville Box Score

Don Money rests Chris Errecart and Michael Bell, but they'll be ready for Tuesday in a series that will make use of the designated hitter...

 

Huntsville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Later this morning, we'll have the updates on Nashville getting swept (badly) and West Virginia winning to end the first half.

 

Also, we have the official Helena roster as it stood Saturday night, and we'll post that.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Pre-Game Audio Interview with Matt LaPorta

Click on the WUMP audio archive of June 15th -- then go to the 3:45 minute mark; Matt discusses his 13 HBP's among other things...

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game One: Iowa (Cubs) 7, Nashville 0

Final, Game Two: Iowa 7, Nashville 1

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Vinny Rottino photo, text follows --

 

Sounds Swept By Cubs In Doubleheader

DES MOINES - The first-place Iowa Cubs swept a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Principal Park, extending the Sounds' losing streak to eight as Nashville managed four total hits on the day.

 

Iowa left-hander J.R. Mathes worked a two-hit, seven-inning shutout in the opener in a 7-0 victory as the Sounds failed to advance a runner to second base in the contest. The Cubs hung a 7-1 defeat on Nashville in the nightcap.

 

One of Nashville's two hits in the opening contest came off the bat of Sounds catcher Vinny Rottino, who extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a first-inning single. The streak is one short of the best effort in the Pacific Coast League all season. Rottino did not appear in the clubs' second contest.

 

Iowa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the afternoon's opener in the bottom of the first inning when Andres Torres singled, stole second, and scored on a Felix Pie single off Nashville starter Sam Narron. The Cubs doubled the lead in the fourth on ex-Sound Luis Figueroa's one-out run-scoring single.

 

The I-Cubs put the contest out of reach with five two-out scores against Narron in the bottom of the sixth to increase the advantage to 7-0.

 

Andres Blanco got things started with a run-scoring knock and Mathes helped his own cause with an RBI single in the frame before Torres drilled a two-out, two-run double to right to chase Narron from the contest. Pie greeted Mitch Stetter with an RBI single of his own to wrap up the five-run inning for the Cubs.

 

Mathes (4-3) lowered his ERA to 2.48 on the year with his two-hit shutout for the Cubs, walking two batters and striking out two during his 88-pitch effort.

 

Narron (3-2) took a loss for his second consecutive start after going 10 straight outings without a defeat. The left-hander gave up a season-high seven runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 frames of work, marking the first time he allowed more than four runs in a single contest.

 

Nashville Game One Box Score

Nashville Game One Game Log

 

In the nightcap, the Cubs jumped ahead by a 1-0 count in the first inning when Jason Dubois plated Torres with a two-out RBI single off Sounds starter Derrick Turnbow. Nashville tied it in the next half-inning when Brad Nelson doubled to snap out of a season-high 19 at-bat hitless stretch then scored three batters later on Woodward's two-out RBI double to right off Mike Burns.

 

Iowa retook a 6-1 lead in the second with a five-spot using only one hit against a pair of Sounds hurlers, who issued five walks and hit a batter in the frame.

 

After Turnbow walked the bases loaded with only one out before being replaced on the hill by Chris Narveson, who was greeted by a go-ahead RBI groundout off the bat of Matt Murton. After walking Josh Kroeger to reload the bags with two outs, Narveson hit Dubois with a pitch to force home Burns for a 3-1 Cubs lead then walked Casey McGehee to force in another run before Bobby Scales delivered a two-run single to right to stretch the lead to five.

 

Scales struck again in the fifth, hammering a leadoff solo homer to left. The infielder's eighth longball of the year extended the Cubs' lead to 7-1.

 

Burns (5-4) earned the victory after allowing one run on two hits over five innings of work for the Cubs. Carmen Pigniatello and Andy Cavazos closed out the win with a scoreless inning each.

 

Turnbow (1-1), who entered the day having worked 5 1/3 straight scoreless innings over his previous three outings to rebound from a rough start with the Sounds, was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on two hits while walking four batters and fanning two in his 1 1/3 innings.

 

The teams wrap up the five-game series with another doubleheader beginning at 11:05 a.m. on Monday morning. Left-handers Lindsay Gulin (2-4, 3.12) and Zach Jackson (1-5, 7.63) will man the bump for Nashville to face Iowa left-hander Rich Hill (2-3, 3.91) and a yet-to-be-determined nightcap pitcher.

 

Nashville Game Two Box Score

Wow, talk about free-fall, although free-falling from a season-long last place position is hard to do -- at least the Sounds were in shouting distance earlier; no split season to save them, either, talk about a long summer...

 

Nashville Game Two Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 10, Greensboro (Marlins) 6

 

West Virginia Press Release:

POWER FINISH FIRST HALF WITH A WIN

 

Charleston, WV - The West Virginia Power used five strong innings from Dan Merklinger and ten two-out hits to finish the first half of the 2008 season with a 10-6 victory over the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Sunday night at Appalachian Power Park.

 

West Virginia snapped a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third on Steffan Wilson's two-run single which was the first of many run-scoring hits with two outs. Ryan Curry singled in Emilio Ontiveros to cut that lead in half during the top of the fourth. West Virginia used four consecutive two-out RBI base hits in the fourth inning to pull away. Lee Haydel, Eric Farris, Zelous Wheeler and Caleb Gindl all singled in runs with two outs. The Power added three more runs in the seventh inning on Curt Rindal's RBI double and Haydel's two-run single.

 

The Grasshoppers closed the gap with a big five-run eighth inning. Ontiveros singled in the first two runs of the inning before Justin Jacobs's two-out single plated two more. Jacobs scored the final run of the inning on Ryan Anetsberger's base hit. The Power added one final insurance run in the eighth inning on Eric Fryer's RBI double.

 

Merklinger (1-5) allowed just a run on three hits with a pair of strikeouts over five strong innings to get his first victory of the season. Kyle Kaminska (4-3) was tagged with the loss after allowing six runs on ten hits over three and two-thirds. Pedro Lambertus, Jose Garcia and Corey Frerichs all tossed a scoreless inning of relief.

 

The Power improved to 32-37 with the win and the Grasshoppers fell to 38-32 with the loss. Eight Power players hit safely and six Power players turned in multi-hit games. Wheeler paced the Power with a 4-for-5 performance, increasing his on-base streak to 17 games. 10 of West Virginia's 17 hits came with two outs. The victory puts the Power on a three game winning streak heading into the second half.

 

The Power will take three days off for the All Star break and will begin the second half of the season with a five-game series against the Kannapolis Intimidators at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium in Kannapolis, North Carolina on Thursday night. Right hander Evan Anundsen (5-4, 3.76) will get the start for the Power. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

***

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

Power closes half on high note

By Michael Polak, Charleston Gazette

Two-out RBI hits - a hallmark of good baseball - helped the Power to a 10-6 victory over the Greensboro Grasshoppers Sunday evening at Appalachian Power Park.

 

The Power scored nine runs with two outs - two in the third, four in the fourth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth - to close out the South Atlantic League's first half with a 32-37 record and sixth place in the eight-team Northern Division. The paid crowd was 2,653.

 

"The two-out hitting was great today," said Power manager Jeff Isom said. "We got nine of our 10 runs that way and had five straight hits in the fourth."

 

In addition, the Power won seven of eight games against the Grasshoppers.

 

"The key has been getting to their starting pitching early,'' said Isom. "They have one of the best bullpens in the league, if not the best. If we don't get to them early, we're in trouble."

 

The Power collected 10 hits against Grasshopper starter Kyle Kaminska (4-3), who went 3 2/3 innings.

 

Third baseman Stefan Wilson hit a two-run single in the third to put the Power up 2-0. The team rallied for four runs in the fourth, led by an RBI double by Caleb Gindl and RBI singles by Lee Haydel, Eric Farris and Zelous Wheeler, giving the Power a 6-1 lead.

 

The victory gives the Power a 9-5 record in June.

 

"It's been our focus in June to get something rolling for the second half of the season," the Power manager added. "Greensboro was in the playoff race, and we did not want to let them celebrate on our home field."

 

Greensboro (38-32), which was eliminated from first-half contention on Saturday, dropped to third in the league's Northern Division, three games behind first-half winner Lake County.

 

The Power's Zelous Wheeler, who has reached base in 16 consecutive games, went 4-for-5 with two stolen bases, two runs and an RBI.

 

Wheeler, who played shortstop Sunday and was voted to the all-star team as a utility player, has been the Power's most versatile player.

 

"He's better than average at every position we've had him in this year,'' said Isom. "He's played in the outfield, second, shortstop and third. We've relied on his bat also. He's going to be one of the keys to a successful second half of the season."

 

The Power added three runs in the seventh to go up 9-1. Curt Rindal had an RBI double, and he and Eric Fryer scored on Haydel's two-run, two-out single. The Grasshoppers scored five runs in the eighth.

 

Fryer's two-out RBI double in the eighth completed the scoring.

 

POWER POINTS: SAL teams will be off the next three days to make way for the league's all-star game, which will be played Tuesday night in Greensboro. ... Power starter Dan Merklinger went five innings Sunday, allowing one run and three hits, for his first victory in six decisions this season. "He's gotten a lot better lately commanding the strike zone,'' said Isom. "We're going to rely on him a lot in the second half." ... Isom said he expects catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who will be the Northern Division's starting catcher, to be promoted soon (and we believe we know that to be the case -- Brevard on Thursday - Jim).

 

West Virginia Box Score

17 hits as the top of the order in particular had a fantastic day; not mentioned above was a disastrous outing for Nick Tyson, really puzzling for the Power 50 member (# 33) -- he's finding the plate (no walks in this one), but batters continue to find his pitches -- big time (.377 batting average against in 33.1 innings -- ouch)...

 

West Virginia Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Power finishes strong in first half of season

by Jacob Messer

Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter

 

Even without its best player and top hitter in its first-half finale against the Greensboro (N.C.) Grasshoppers, the West Virginia Power showed why it could be a second-half contender.

 

With All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy watching his final South Atlantic League game from the bench, West Virginia hitters knocked around Greensboro pitchers for 17 hits in a 10-6 victory Sunday evening in front of a Father's Day crowd of 2,653 at Appalachian Power Park.

 

Two of Lucroy's fellow All-Stars, utility infielder Zelous Wheeler (4-for-5) and center fielder Lee Haydel (3-for-5), combined for seven of those hits. Haydel knocked in three runs and scored one. Wheeler scored two and drove in one.

 

The Power also received multi-hit games from Eric Farris (2-for-5), Caleb Gindl (2-for-4), Eric Fryer (2-for-3) and Curt Rindal (2-for-5). Those four also added one run and one RBI apiece.

 

West Virginia won 13 of its last 18 games to finish the first half with a 32-37 record.

 

"We're excited about the way we finished in the first half," said Power Manager Jeff Isom, whose team has won three in a row. "We feel like we have a pretty good team right now."

 

"There's nothing we can do about the first half," Rindal added. "Our goal is to take the second half."

 

West Virginia went 19-17 on the road and 13-20 at home. However, the Power was 5-2 in its final home stand.

 

"We'll take a win at home any way we can get it," Isom said. "This was a much better performance by us. We got outstanding pitching during this entire home stand. We got some timely hitting as well. That's what we have to do and that's what we have to build on in the second half."

 

The league began its three-day all-star break today. Lucroy, Wheeler, Haydel and pitcher Amaury Rivas will play in the SAL All-Star Game on Tuesday at 7:00 PM (6:00 Central) at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro.

 

Lucroy will report to high Class A Brevard County (Fla.) after that.

 

"It's a pretty good opportunity for me to go up to the next level and see how I stack up against a little bit better competition," said Lucroy, who had a team-high .310 batting average with 10 home runs, 16 doubles, 33 RBI, 45 runs and 74 hits in 65 games. "I'm not going to sit here and say this wasn't a tough league because it was. I didn't do as well as I thought I should, of course, but I'm happy to move on and see what I can do at the next level.

 

"The guys up there are going to be older and more experienced. Hopefully, I can go up there and compete. That's all I want to do. The toughest part is having to leave these guys. They are the only team I have ever been on. All of these guys ... I came (into professional baseball) with them last year. So, it's kind of tough to move on."

 

It was an uneventful exit for Lucroy, who watched the game from the home dugout.

 

"I wanted to come out and do something (in my final game)," Lucroy said. "But our team is hitting. You know, let other guys play. I'm moving on. I don't need to go out there and play today. We beat them without me. There's nothing they can't do without me here."

 

Indeed, it was good practice for West Virginia, which will begin the second half without Lucroy on Thursday at 7:05 PM (6:05 Central) with the first of a five-game road series against Kannapolis (N.C.) at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium. Right-hander Evan Anundsen (5-4, 3.76) will start for the Power.

 

"You're taking your best bat out of the lineup when that happens," Isom said of Lucroy's promotion. "You just have to have more production from somebody else in the lineup."

 

Wheeler started the third inning with a single and advanced to third base on Gindl's ground-rule double. Steffan Wilson followed with a two-out, two-run double.

 

The Power added four more runs in the fourth with a two-out rally. David Fonseca started the surge with a one-out single. Haydel, Harris, Wheeler and Gindl all delivered two-out, run-scoring hits. Gindl's double was the only extra-base hit during the inning.

 

West Virginia tacked on three runs in the seventh. Wilson reached on a fielder's choice, then scored on Rindal's double. Fonseca walked and scored on Haydel's two-out, two-run double along with Rindal.

 

Greensboro scored five off West Virginia reliever Nick Tyson in the eighth to pull within 9-6.

 

Wilson scored the Power's final run in the home half of the same frame when Fryer smacked an 0-2 pitch down the third-base line for an RBI double.

 

Dan Merklinger (1-5) allowed one run on three hits in five innings to earn his first victory.