Link Report for Thurs. 6/26 -- Final Update: Power Pitchers Admonished

[Mass Haas]

Final: Helena 5, Billings (Reds) 4

 

Helena Site Game Summary:

 

Brewers Down Road-Weary Mustangs

 

The Helena Brewers defeated the Billings Mustangs Thursday night, 5-4. The Mustangs, who have been on the road for nine straight games, were unable to overcome the Brewers in a close, hard-fought battle. Helena jumped out to an early 4-0 lead thanks in part to RBI triples by both Logan Schafer and Michael Vass in the bottom of the third inning. Billings answered with two runs of their own in the fourth and sixth innings, but were unable to keep the game tied as Helena took the lead for good on an RBI groundout by Derrick Alfonso in the bottom of the sixth scoring Chris Dennis.

 

Garrett Sherrill earned his first professional save by striking out all three hitters in the top of the ninth, two of them looking. Cody Adams picks up his first win of the season, throwing three innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits. Trey Watten had a solid start for the Brewers, going five innings and giving up just two runs. Watten scattered five hits while striking out two and walking two. Brandon Rice suffered the loss for the Mustangs, allowing one run on three hits in two innings of work. The win improves the Brewers record to 4-6 on the season and Billings drops to 6-4. The two teams will play again Friday night at Kindrick Field.

 

Helena Box Score

Billings is opening the season with a 14-game road trip while their brand new ballpark is finalized; solid game all-around; amazingly, this squad continues to carry only one extra bat (the backup catcher), no extra infielders or outfielders on the bench -- for late-round picks like John Delaney and Mike Vass, the opportunity presented to establish themselves early on is a fantastic and surprising gift...

 

Helena Game Log

[Mass Haas]

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Recovering Gagne says he's ready

By Rick Cantu

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

 

ROUND ROCK - After being away from the Milwaukee Brewers for 34 days to rehabilitate his ailing right shoulder, Eric Gagne proclaimed himself ready to rejoin his teammates.

 

The former Cy Young Award winner was not overly concerned about giving up two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning against the Round Rock Express on Thursday night at Dell Diamond.

 

Gagne was upbeat, signing autographs as he approached the Nashville Sounds clubhouse in the top half of the second inning. After throwing 29 pitches - 17 for strikes - he said his arm felt fine, and that's all that really mattered.

 

As for the game, Nashville rallied with three runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth to pull away, beating the Express 8-5 before 8,920 fans.

 

Brewers officials are expected to recall Gagne, their 32-year-old closer, today. After making the second of two scheduled rehab starts, Gagne said he could be ready to pitch for Milwaukee as early as Saturday.

 

Gagne has been on the disabled list since May 21 with tendonitis in his right shoulder.

 

Gagne said he threw the baseball at about 90 percent of his usual velocity. A major-league scout holding a speed gun behind the backstop said his best fastball was 91 mph, which is down from his usual 95-96 mph.

 

"After having three surgeries in a year and a half, it's more important just to be healthy right now," the 240-pound right-hander said.

 

Gagne was on a 30-pitch maximum pitch count, and his control problems helped the Express gain a 2-0 edge in the bottom of the first. He allowed a sharp single to left by Express outfielder Nick Gorneault and a wind-aided bloop single to right by J.R. House, but a walk, a hit batter and a wild pitch cut his outing short.

 

Gagne signed a one-year, $10 million deal in December with Milwaukee. In 20 appearances this season for the Brewers, he was 1-2 with a 6.98 ERA. He recorded 10 saves in 15 chances.

 

The Express and the Sounds continue their series tonight at Dell Diamond.

[Mass Haas]

Only this Power loss kept it from being a clean sweep of victories on the farm --

 

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Power wastes clutch hits in 8-7 loss to Lexington

By Tommy R. Atkinson

Charleston Gazette Staff writer

 

The West Virginia Power displayed attributes of a team on the rise Thursday night.

 

The Power rallied on three occasions, but as the case has been all season - at least at home - couldn't sustain the momentum as the Lexington Legends took an 8-7 South Atlantic League win. A paid crowd of 6,897 attended at Appalachian Power Park.

 

West Virginia got three straight two-out, run-scoring hits in the bottom of the sixth to surge ahead 6-4. The Legends (2-6) knotted the game at 6-all in the top of the seventh on an error and RBI groundout, then parlayed a walk, sacrifice, hit batsman, single and sacrifice fly into two runs in the eighth to grab the lead for good at 8-6.

 

The Power (4-4), just 13-21 at home this season, still had several opportunities in the last two innings but couldn't come up with clutch hits.

 

Steffan Wilson (2-for-4) led off the eighth with a double and Eric Fryer (3-for-4, RBI) followed with a single to put runners at first and third base with none out. Curt Rindal hit into a double play and although Wilson scored to cut the deficit to 8-7, the window for a bigger inning had closed.

 

The Power put the tying run on second in the bottom of the ninth when Lee Haydel (2-for-5) singled with one out and moved to second on Eric Farris' groundout to shortstop. Zelous Wheeler got behind in the count 0-2, then bounced out to short to end the game.

 

West Virginia returned home Thursday after opening the season's second half on the road. The Power turned in a 4-3 mark on the trip and is 23-20 on the road overall this season, but hasn't been able to find the consistency at home.

 

"You run into games like this where it's back and forth and you have a couple of tough breaks,'' said Fryer. "We just came out on the wrong end of it.

 

"We're playing good ball right now. We've put together I don't know how many 10-hit games and the pitchers are keeping us in the game. Our approach at the plate has been a lot better. We're getting good pitches and not missing as much.''

 

The Power did plenty of good things Thursday. West Virginia rapped out 14 hits, including seven with two outs, and battled back several times.

 

After West Virginia fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first, Rindal belted a two-out, two-run home run to knot the game at 2 in the second. Matt Cline's leadoff round-tripper on the first pitch in the third handed the Power a 3-2 edge.

 

Lexington wrested the lead back in the sixth on Brian Pelligrini's second two-run homer for a 4-3 advantage. Fryer tied it at 4-all on a two-out, RBI single and Rindal and Ulrich Snijders each drove in a run with two-out hits to go-ahead 6-4 in the bottom half.

 

Power relievers couldn't hold the lead and the Legends knotted the game at 6 on Eric Taylor's run-scoring grounder in the seventh. Lexington plated two runs in the eighth to take control.

 

Briefly

 

The lead changed hands five times Thursday. ...West Virginia's Haydel (12 games) and Wilson (11 games) each extended hitting streaks. ...The Power had won seven of its last 10 games entering Thursday. ...The Power will play host to the Legends at 7:05 tonight (6:05 Central) in the second game of the four-game series. West Virginia will send Dan Merklinger (1-5, 7.50 ERA) to the mound, and Lexington will counter with lefty Anthony Bello (2-3, 3.26).

[Mass Haas]

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Brewers outlast Mustangs

By JEFF WINDMUELLER - Helena Independent Record

 

The Helena Brewers' closer didn't miss a beat.

 

Coming in to start the ninth with a one-run Brewers lead, Garrett Sherrill struck out three straight as the home team picked up a 5-4 win over Billings Thursday night before 1,251 fans.

 

It was Sherrill's first save of the year.

 

"He's capable of doing that, that's not surprising," said Brewers manager Rene Gonzales. "That's the kind of pitcher he's going to be. He's been the closer, he's pitched different spots in the games. It's awesome, three strike outs is great."

 

The pitcher faced off with the top of the order and struck out David Sappelt, Neffali Soto and Brett Bartles each on a 1-2 pitch. Sappelt and Bartles were both caught looking while Soto went down swinging.

 

The Brewers (4-6) never trailed in the matchup with Billings (6-4), taking a 4-0 lead after scoring three runs in the third, thanks to RBI triples by Logan Schafer and Michael Vass. Brock Kjeldgaard also brought in a run when he hit a grounder to left field.

 

The Mustangs evened it up with two-run innings in the fourth and sixth. Tyler Stovall and Jose Gauldron both scored on Jordan Wideman's double to left field to tie it up.

 

However, Brewers reliever Cody Adams pitched his way out of the jam, forcing Miguel Rojas out on a fly to center and Sappelt to a groundout at first.

 

That gave Helena the chance to take the lead, and in the bottom of the inning Derrick Alfonso hit an RBI groundout to third base, scoring Chris Dennis for the gamewinner.

 

"Even when they tied it up, I felt comfortable, I thought that we were still OK," Gonzales said. "Though, we haven't played that well with a lead to this point, I thought the game was still going to be ours.

 

"We had some clutch hitting, and it was a clean game. It was well-played, defensively, for us."

 

The Brewers recorded 10 hits on the evening as they put together a complete package. The defense walked away without an error and saw a few spactacular plays, including a diving catch by right fielder Erik Komatsu to put away the top of the fifth and great infield work by shortstop Michael Marseco.

 

The Brewers were led by Jose Duran, Vass and Kjeldgaard at the plate. Duran went 2-for-3 with the RBI while Kjeldgaard finished 2-for-4, scoring two runs at the clean-up spot. Vass finished 2-for-4 with the RBI as well.

 

Gualdron did much of the scoring for Billings, finishing the game 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs. Wideman, meanwhile, went 2-for-3 with a game-high three RBI.

 

Adams (1-1) finished with a blown save, but also the win after giving up two earned runs on four hits over three innings. He had one strike out and one walk.

 

Trey Watten started for the Brewers, giving up two runs on five hits over five solid innings. He also struck out two and walked two.

 

Billings' Branden Rice (0-1) was given the loss.

 

The Brewers play host to Billings again tonight. Left hander Efrain Nieves is expected to start on the mound for Helena while Leonardo Astorga is scheduled for Billings.

 

The first pitch is at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central).

 

Photos by Lisa Kunkel Helena IR staff photographer - Brewers closing pitcher Garrett Sherrill throws in a pitch during the ninth inning of Thursday's game at Kindrick Legion Field. Sherrill retired the side striking out three Billings players, sealing the 5-4 win for Helena.

 

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Helena Brewers right fielder Eric Komatsu reaches for the popup during Pioneer League action Thursday night at Kindrick Legion Field.

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[Mass Haas]

Four West Virginia Photos in a Charleston Daily Mail Photo Gallery

 

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Power pitching staff crashes to start long homestand

Lexington takes series opener Thursday nightbehind two Pellegrini homers

by Jacob Messer

Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia Power postgame meetings are held behind closed doors, off limits to anyone who isn't affiliated with the organization or its Milwaukee Brewers' parent club.

 

One only can wonder what Manager Jeff Isom had to say to his pitchers Thursday night, when they let a lead -- and a win -- slip away in an 8-7 loss to the lowly Lexington Legends.

 

Considering his comments immediately after the disappointing defeat, the frustrated skipper probably had an earful for his hurlers after an Appalachian Power Park crowd of 6,897 watched a South Atlantic League game that featured four lead changes and two ties.

 

."It was (a poor pitching performance), especially after last night," said Isom, who watched Greensboro (N.C.) turn a 7-4 deficit into an 8-7 victory with an eighth-inning grand slam on Wednesday. "We had another lead last night and lost it.

 

"You just don't want it to become a recurring theme."

 

West Virginia starter Amaury Rivas served up a pair of two-run home runs to Lexington's Brian Pellegrini in the first and sixth innings.

Pellegrini's first clout gave the Legends a 2-0 lead; his second gave them a 4-3 lead.

 

"Those were fastballs right down the middle," Power catcher Uly Snijders said. "(Rivas) missed it. I asked for an inside pitch, but the ball came right down the middle.

 

"(Pellegrini) is a strong guy and a good player. You have to throw him sliders away and bust him inside with fastballs. When you make a mistake, he is going to hit the ball out."

 

Pellegrini was 2-for-5 with two runs and four RBI for the Legends, who are 2-6 in the SAL second half and 31 games under .500 for the season.

 

Isom replaced Rivas with Roque Mercedes, who allowed Lexington to tie the score at 6-6 with two unearned runs in the seventh.

 

Mercedes surrendered back-to-back singles to start the inning, then committed a throwing error after he fielded a sacrifice bunt. The Legends scored one run on that play and added another run on the next play, a groundout.

 

Pedro Lambertus took the mound for the Power in the eighth. Lambertus issued a leadoff walk to Steve Brown, who moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Lambertus hit Brandon Barnes and gave up a single to Cat Everett, allowing Brown to score. Matt Cusick plated Barnes with a sacrifice fly to give the Legends an 8-6 advantage.

 

West Virginia dropped to 4-4 in the second half (36-41 this season).

 

"We have to do a much better job with our pitching staff," said Isom, whose team lost the lead twice against the Legends. "When we get the lead, we have to hold on to it."

 

West Virginia's Curt Rindal hit a two-run home run in the second to tie the score at 2-2. Matt Cline gave the Power a 3-2 lead in the third with a first-pitch, leadoff home run.

 

West Virginia's Eric Fryer tied the score at 4-4 in the sixth with an RBI single that plated Steffan Wilson, who started the Power rally with a two-out double. Rindal and Snijders followed with an RBI double and single, respectively, to give West Virginia a 6-4 lead.

 

Wilson started the home half of the eighth with a double off Lexington reliever Reid Kelly. Fryer followed with a single to move Wilson to third.

 

Lexington Manager Gregg Langbehn took out Kelly and put in Jordan Powell, who got Rindal to hit into a 6-4-3 double play that scored Wilson. Powell then struck out Snijders to end the inning and thwart the threat.

 

The Power had Lee Haydel on second with two outs in the ninth but couldn't get him home.

 

Kelly (2-1) got the win. He allowed one run on four hits in 1 1/3 innings. Powell threw two scoreless innings to earn his third save.

 

Lambertus (0-2) took the loss. He surrendered two runs on two hits and two walks in one inning.

 

Fryer (3-for-4 with one run and one RBI) was one of five Power players with multiple hits. The others were Cline (2-for-4 with one run and one RBI), Haydel (2-for-5), Rindal (2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI) and Wilson (2-for-4 with two runs).

 

Haydel and Wilson extended their hitting streaks to 12 and 11 games, respectively.

 

"The whole team is swinging the bats very well right now," Isom said. "It just comes down to the pitching."

 

The teams will play the second of their four-game series at 7:05 tonight (6:05 Central). Left-handers Dan Merklinger (1-5) for the Power and Anthony Bello (2-3) for the Legends will get the mound starts.