Link Report for Games of Sunday, June 22nd

[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 Steve Hammond in his AAA debut at home vs. Memphis (Cardinals), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 PM gametime

Audio link via WNSR, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link):
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t556

Huntsville: RHP Mike Jones at home vs. West Tenn (Mariners), 4:50 PM pre-game; 5:05 gametime

Audio link via WUMP, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link):
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559

Brevard County: LHP Chris Cody at home vs. Dunedin (Blue Jays), 5:00 gametime

Sorry, no audio for this series...

West Virginia: LHP Dan Merklinger at Kannapolis (White Sox), 3:50 PM pre-game, 4:05 gametime

Audio link via WSWW, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link):
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t525

Helena: 19-year-old Dominican RHP Santo Manzanillo at home vs. Missoula (Diamondbacks), 4:50 PM pre-game, 5:05 gametime

Audio link via KCAP, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link):
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t433

Arizona: Season begins Monday, June 23rd

[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:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_22_mrbaaa_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_22_wtdaax_hunaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_22_dunafa_breafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_22_wvaafx_kanafx_1

 

Helena:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_22_misrok_helrok_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 43 33 .566 - 25-14 18-19 L2 Memphis 38 38 .500 5.0 17-18 21-20 L2 Omaha 36 38 .486 6.0 15-19 21-19 W3 Nashville 30 46 .395 13.0 17-19 13-27 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 3 2 .600 - 0-0 3-2 L2 Tennessee 3 2 .600 - 3-2 0-0 W1 West Tenn 3 2 .600 - 0-0 3-2 L1 Chattanooga 2 3 .400 1.0 2-3 0-0 W2 Huntsville 2 3 .400 1.0 2-3 0-0 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jupiter 2 0 1.000 - 1-0 1-0 W2 Daytona 2 1 .667 0.5 1-1 1-0 W2 St. Lucie 2 1 .667 0.5 0-0 2-1 L1 Brevard County 1 2 .333 1.5 0-1 1-1 L2 Vero Beach 1 2 .333 1.5 1-2 0-0 W1 Palm Beach 0 2 .000 2.0 0-1 0-1 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greensboro 3 0 1.000 - 0-0 3-0 W3 Hagerstown 2 1 .667 1.0 0-0 2-1 L1 Lakewood 2 1 .667 1.0 2-1 0-0 L1 Delmarva 1 2 .333 2.0 1-2 0-0 W1 Hickory 1 2 .333 2.0 0-0 1-2 W1 Lake County 1 2 .333 2.0 0-0 1-2 W1 West Virginia 1 2 .333 2.0 0-0 1-2 L2 Lexington 0 3 .000 3.0 0-3 0-0 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 4 1 .800 - 0-0 4-1 L1 Great Falls 4 1 .800 - 1-1 3-0 W1 Helena 1 4 .200 3.0 1-4 0-0 L1 Missoula 1 4 .200 3.0 0-3 1-1 W1 

[DHonks]

It seems to me that Jones has had a few decent outings lately. Also, didn't he have Tommy John surgery last July?

[hsvstarsfan]

With Matt LaPorta in Florida seeing after an ill grandfather and Chris Errecart out of the lineup, Don Money's benchwarmers had their chance to show what they could do....... All they did was help win this thrilling ballgame.

Carlos Corporan, 0-for-3 in the game, stepped up in the 8th with runners on the corners, and after a couple of throws to first, pulled a double straight down the left field line to score Angel Salome with the go-ahead run as the Stars came back from a 5-1 deficit, to beat the Diamond Jaxx, 7-6, before a crowd of over 6,300 -- the largest of the year -- on Bat Day....... Guilder Rodriguez, 0-for-13 since May 25, broke out with three straight hits -- a hard ground ball single through the right side in the 3rd, a bunt single in the 5th, and a double to left in the 7th, scoring a run that put them ahead 6-5 at the time.

Donovan Hand, who had given up 3 home runs in 27 innings coming into this game, served up three bombs in 6 innings that put the Stars behind the eight ball, 5-1, after four innings........ Luis Valbuena's 3-run HR just cleared the first fence and Freddy Parejo's glove in right field to put the Stars in front, 3-1...... The next pitch by Hand was a high, arcing shot by Mike Wilson to left off the ballpark's iconic star-shaped ad....... Then in the 4th, Jon Nelson made it 5-1 with one almost to dead-center, squeezing through the open space to the left of the scoreboard.

Hand had given up 9 hits in 4 innings, so you knew he wasn't long for this game, but on the other hand, if you were a knowledgeable fan, you knew he was going to stay for at least six....... After two extra inning games, Don went to his pen for 6 innings on Thursday and 8 innings on Friday, and Juan Sandoval went three on Thursday........ Hand retired the side (for the first time in the game) in the 5th, and worked his way out of trouble with two on and two out in the 6th.

Nevertheless, Don called on Sandoval to close out this one-run ballgame........ Now Sandoval is on a roll. After a very inconsistent May (5 saves and a 7.59 ERA), Juan had given up just one run -- earned -- in 12 innings this month. Other than Joe Bateman (1 save, 1.15 ERA in June), who threw 4 innings of relief, Thursday, he was only one of two pitchers left who has been consistently reliable to go to on this occasion........ Jason Shiell, just back from Nashville, was available, but in picking from a bullpen that has been very inconsistent this year, you go with Sandoval.

Sandoval proceeds to throw five straight balls -- the last being a wild pitch that sent Luis Valbuena to second, but after fouling off three straight pitches, Sandoval caught the dangerous Mike Wilson (2, 11, .308 vs. Stars pitching) looking at a slider -- a pitch that was really off and on for him -- for the first out....... It's not over till it's over. Sandoval, behind 2-and-0 on Johan Limonta, nearly throws away ball four. (Brent Johnson, a position player who picked up the save for the Diamond Jaxx on Friday, ran for Limonta)....... Fans now have to sweat through Adam Moore, who has hit 4 HRs, driven in 14, and hit .364 vs. the Stars. Sandoval throws five pitches before he hits a harmless ground ball to G.Rod at first who trots in a few steps and steps on first for the second out, but now the runners have moved up....... The tying run is on third and the go-ahead run -- Johnson -- is on second....... The hitter is designated hitter Jon Nelson, who returned from the disabled list on June 11 after sitting out with a torn miniscus....... A .263 hitter in the series, Sandoval throws three straight strikes. Nelson hits nothing but air, ending the game.

The gray concrete walls that have divided the upper and lower levels of the stands since Day One in 1985 have been painted a deep blue within the week by the booster club, I'm told. The players rave about it, saying they can pick up the ball a lot better with the walls in the background........ From what I know, the next step will be some murals, possibly starting in October.

The forecast for Sunday's 5 pm game looks great. Clear skies, 86°, puffy white clouds...... Lefty Ryan Ketchner (6-2), who was 1-11 with Class AAA-Portland last year, but nonetheless silence the Stars on 4 hits over 7 1/3 innings in Tuesday's one-game playoff for the first-half title, will get the call for West Tennessee. Mike Jones (0-2, 7.90) will counter for the Stars. Could be interesting.

After going 0-for-4, Tuesday, Angel Salome is 9-for-19 in the last four games of this series. He's driven in 22 runs in June and at least one in 12 of this month's 18 games........ The Stars have had 9 games with 10 or more hits this month after having 13 in April and a record 21 in May. They are hitting .309 in their last 4 games after slumping at the plate to a tune of .200 in 8 games from June 8-17........ Freddy Parejo, who had a record .421 June, then hit just .230 in May, is hitting .238 this month........ Cole Gillespie has 9 HRs, but has not hit one since May 26 and has driven in just 6 runs in his last 16 games. He has scored only 4 times this month, compared to 17 in April and 20 in May. He's also hitting just .149 vs. the Diamond Jaxx, but he hit a big 2-run triple in the 6th inning contributing to the Stars' 7-6 victory....... Mat Gamel is just a .230 hitter vs. West Tennessee.

The hottest hitter this month has actually been Alcides Escobar. He's hit .345 with 4 doubles, 2 triples, and 9 RBIs. He's riding an 8-game hitting streak at the moment and has hit safely in 17 of 19 games. Alcides picked up his 100th hit of the season on Thursday. That makes him the second player behind Mat Gamel to get his milestone hit ahead of D.T. Cromer's former record pace of 1997. ...... Chris Errecart, who did not play in Saturday's game, is 1-for-16 in this series and .174 vs. Diamond Jaxx pitching....... Gamel and Angel Salome remain 1-2 on top of the league's leaderboard in hitting with .366 and .357 averages respectively. The Stars are hitting .296 as a team, tops in the league......... Birmingham pitcher Carlos Torres won his 8th game, Saturday, blanking Jacksonville 2-0 over 8 innings, tying him with David Welch for the league lead in wins.

[foamboy1]

From my recollection, Jones has been hit hard more often than not lately. I could be wrong....actually, I'd be excited to be wrong.

[Mass Haas]

Another very rough outing for 2007 6th round LHP Dan Merklinger with the Power. The offense (and a big assist to LH reliever Curtis Pasma) has taken him off the hook for the night. 6-5 Power in the 4th...

[molitor fan]

I was going to make this a separate thread but I want to tread carefully here with my criticism. Namely, I am not impressed with what I have seen from Rene Gonzales, and am a little worried that he is, or will be, hampering the development of some of our prospects at Helena. His lineups are very weird, with a transitioning pitcher batting cleanup, a polished college hitter in Komatsu batting 8th, and Duran batting 7th. His commentary so far has also been odd (his Dykstra comments are 180 degrees opposite of what we have heard from the Brewers), and his post-game comments have been riddled with endless apologies so far. His track record, as limited as it is, is the third strike for me, as his managing of the Arizona Brewers last year also seemed lacking, and he ended up with a 19-37 record. The first hand accounts of the Helena team seeming listless and poorly coached also make me nervous. With the influx of pitching talent and a truly mismached roster I am not sure this guy is the right person for the job.

[Minigoon]

And to add to the Helena slow start, Missoula just turned a triple play on them. I believe that is the 2nd triple play Missoula has turned this season.

 

I usually try to catch Helena games, but have not had too much chance before today. It is still the 1st week of the season and I believe this is Rene Gonzales's 1st year with Helena. I'll have to pay attention to how things are being played out a little more closely.

 

Also, Cutter Dykstra left the game early. Not sure why just yet. Steve Wendt was hinting at a possible injury. He also mentioned no confirmed word on Edgar Trejo but "whispers" of ACL. No mention of Brett Whiteside's injury.

[dadofandrew]

He can pick the batting order out of a hat for all I care. Keep the pitch counts low, all i care about.

[brewmann04]

Good Start by Jones but the best news is that he healthy.

[And That]

He can pick the batting order out of a hat for all I care. Keep the pitch counts low, all i care about.

Because that's all that matters when you're teaching impressionable young pro ballplayers.

 

[molitor fan]

Well, in the last 15 minutes, Helena has added Ned Yost the 12th as a coach, so maybe Rene will have a little added help, though Rene clearly has a vote of confidence from Al.

[Minigoon]

A walk off 2 run single by Erik Komatsu in the 9th to give the H-Brew a much needed win. Great pitching performances by Santo Manzanillo and Efrain Nieves do not go to waste tonight.

[And That]

Santo pitched the game of his life this afternoon. Hopefully the days of walking three batters per inning are over. Long live Santo!

 

Steve Hammond is acquitting himself well in his first taste of AAA. 6 hits (all singles), no runs or walks and 3 K's through 5 innings.

[TheCrew07]

If I wasn't so excited about some of the young pitching in WV, I'm not sure I'd ever check a box score... they are playing much better ball over the last month and they still have position players that intrigue me (Haydel, Gindl, Wheeler) but for some reason I'm pretty much feeling the same way about them as I do Nashville, I'm indifferent.

 

Helena baseball has been a yearly tradition for me, I'm always very interested in our latest draftees, but that being said they've been a tough listen so far this year. (I missed tonight's game due to a parents meeting) Most people know I'll usually side with the coaches (managers), as things just aren't as black and white as many arm chair managers think they are. However, as others have noted, I'm uneasy with this slow start. It's probably just because the H Crew usually flies out of the gate and playes very well, but this crop hasn't hit the ground running, and it's taken me back some. It's still early, so there's time for the team to come together and make a good run, but Helena hasn't been known for playing sloppy ball as the more polished products usually end up there so I can definately understand where MTBrew's frustrations are coming from.

 

edit. only 1 more day till the "full" link report is back!

[colbyjack]

While I'm ready to jump off the Dan Merklinger fanclub, I would like to once again express my support of the Efrain Nieves fanclub http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif. Lots of lefties to follow today, including a tough AAA debut loss for Steve Hammond, and of course Manny Parra's interesting day at the big-league level.

 

I agree, Erik Komatsu has no business batting any lower than 4th in the Helena lineup. Fortunately they've only been playing for a few days now and have plenty of time to turn things around to make things more interesting.

[Mass Haas]

Look for all the updates to be posted throughout the mid-morning. Thanks for your patience.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Reliever Tim Dillard

[Mass Haas]

Final: Memphis (Cardinals) 4, Nashville 1

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for new Steve Hammond photo, text follows --

 

Hammond's Debut Spoiled By Redbirds Win

 

NASHVILLE - The Memphis Redbirds defeated the Nashville Sounds by a 4-1 count on Sunday evening at Greer Stadium, evening the teams' series at one game apiece.

 

Left-hander Steve Hammond (0-1) took a hard-luck loss after he worked a quality start in his Triple-A debut for the Sounds. He allowed one run on seven hits while striking out four batters and walking none over six innings of work.

 

The Sounds missed a chance to break a scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the fifth but failed to capitalize after loading the bases with only one out. Ex-Sound John Wasdin came on in relief of Memphis starter P.J. Walters and induced a fielder's choice groundout from Vinny Rottino that forced Hernan Iribarren at home before fanning Brendan Katin to escape the jam unscathed.

 

Memphis third baseman David Freese spotted the visitors a 1-0 lead when he slugged a one-out solo homer to center in the top of the sixth inning off Hammond. The blast was his 11th of the year.

 

The Redbirds extended the lead to 3-0 in the seventh when Josh Phelps delivered a two-out, two-run single to center off Nashville reliever Steve Bray. Mark Johnson and Shane Robinson, who had each drawn a walk earlier in the frame, scored on the knock.

 

Brad Nelson put the Sounds on the board in the home half of the seventh with an opposite-field RBI double to left-center off Wasdin. The slugger's team-leading 19th two-bagger of the year plated Tony Gwynn, who had singled earlier in the frame.

 

AUDIO: Brad Nelson RBI Double

 

Memphis got that run back in the top of the eighth against Bray to make it a 4-1 contest. Robinson delivered a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to right to plate D'Angelo Jimenez and record his first career Triple-A RBI.

 

Wasdin (5-6) picked up the win after allowing one run on two hits over 2 2/3 relief innings. Kelvin Jimenez recorded the final five outs in hitless fashion to notch his second save of the year.

 

Nashville shortstop Chris Woodward doubled in the fourth inning to extend his season-best hitting streak to seven games. Iribarren singled in the fifth to run his Nashville hitting streak to eight contests; he had hit safely in his final seven games with the Sounds in early June prior to his call-up to Milwaukee.

 

Third baseman Adam Heether went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks for the Sounds to snap his season-best hit streak at seven games.

 

The teams continue the series with a 7 p.m. meeting on Monday night at Greer. Right-hander Derrick Turnbow (1-1, 10.95) will man the bump for the Sounds and is scheduled to face Memphis right-hander Clayton Mortensen (1-1, 5.06).

 

Nashville Box Score

Steve Hammond helped his cause by picking two men off first base; Vinny Rottino threw out two other baserunners trying to steal, so Memphis won despite a hideous day on the basepaths for the Redbirds; Tony Gwynn has two doubles and 34 singles this year at Nashville -- if you include Milwaukee, it's three doubles and 40 singles; Ozzie Chavez role has really diminshed with Chris Woodward's arrival -- Ozzie has had a long run in the system, but production just hasn't been there as of late; Steve Bray had been on a nice roll, but his disastrous recent spot start was followed up by this sub-par effort...

 

Nashville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Another Nashville Photo Gallery from the Ttennessean

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Teammates spoil Hammond's debut with Sounds

Sounds score one, lose to Redbirds

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Making the first Triple-A start of his professional career, Steve Hammond did much of what he had done previously.

 

Hammond, who led the Milwaukee Brewers organization in strikeouts when he was reassigned to the Nashville Sounds last week, added four to that total in six innings Sunday against Memphis.

 

The only run Hammond allowed, however, was enough to cost him the loss as the Sounds sputtered offensively in an eventual 4-1 loss.

 

"I feel good about the way I threw," said Hammond, who struck out 78 in 88 2/3 innings at Double-A Huntsville and posted a 7-4 record before his promotion last Wednesday. "I was just trying to keep us in the game. I tried to wait it out till we scored some runs, but it wasn't our night."

 

Hammond took a shutout into the sixth while his teammates were suffering the same fate at the plate. The Redbirds finally broke through on David Freese's one-out solo homer in Hammond's final inning.

 

"He did a good job attacking hitters," catcher Vinny Rottino said. "He was sharp. He basically pitched with two pitches. He had some life to his fastball and he threw his changeup for strikes. He threw a few sliders in there."

 

One of the sliders was to Freese.

 

"That was a mistake," Hammond said. "It was over the middle of the plate. He handled it pretty well.

 

"I tried to continue what I was doing in Double-A - be aggressive and get ahead. I thought I did a pretty good job of that. I was a little nervous at the beginning of the game, but after the first inning I settled in."

 

"It's the same game; you try to make good pitches."

 

Nashville squandered a second-and-third, no-out situation in the second inning and left the bases loaded in the fifth, eventually stranding 12 baserunners.

 

What they said: "It's just a matter of us executing and battling - battling for wins." - Sounds catcher Vinny Rottino.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Former Sound flourishes in majors

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Franklin resident Russell Branyan has enjoyed a Major League revival since leaving the Nashville Sounds.

 

Branyan, whose contract was purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers on May 25, has had some of the best offensive numbers in the majors over the past month. His 10 home runs, .812 slugging percentage and 1.207 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) all lead the National League during that time.

 

Heading into a series at Atlanta starting today, Branyan has an eight-game hitting streak, during which he's hit .360 with four homers and 10 RBIs.

 

When he left the Sounds, Branyan had hit 12 home runs, which still leads the team. His .359 batting average was also among the top marks in the Pacific Coast League.

 

Double debuts: The first pitch of Sunday's game featured a pair of players making their first Triple-A appearances.

 

In addition to Nashville left-hander Steve Hammond - just called up last week from Double-A Huntsville - Memphis centerfielder Shane Robinson was promoted from Springfield (Texas League) in time to lead off the game.

 

Back to work: Hernan Iribarren returned to Nashville in time for Sunday's game, as the Brewers optioned him down to clear a roster spot for second baseman Rickie Weeks.

 

In his third at-bat of the evening, Iribarren singled to lead off the fifth inning, increasing a hitting streak that was at seven games before his June 10 callup.

 

Nix sits: Sounds outfielder Laynce Nix was held out for the second straight game, a move that Manager Frank Kremblas acknowledged was related to Nix's DUI charge early Saturday morning.

 

Effectively wild: Nashville pitcher Lindsay Gulin is listed among the PCL leaders in a couple of categories - earned run average and walks.

 

Gulin has allowed 23 earned runs in 69 1/3 innings for a 2.99 ERA, fourth-best in the PCL entering Sunday's play. On the flip side, he has issued 44 walks to tie for the third-most in the league.

 

Gulin (3-4) has also posted 54 strikeouts.

 

No drama: The Sounds have won 27 of 28 games that they led after seven innings.

 

Nashville is 1-43 in games that it trailed after seven.