Link Report for Tue. 7/29 - Power Win Saves The Day After Tough Bus Trip

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Tuesday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central except Arizona League; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Richie Gardner at home vs. Portland (Padres), 11:45 AM pre-game; 12:00 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: LHP Brae Wright and RHP Donovan Hand in a doubleheader at home vs. Montgomery (Rays), 5:50 PM pre-game; 6:05 gametime; each contest seven innings

 

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: RHP Jeremy Jeffress at home vs. St. Lucie (Mets), 6:00 gametime

 

Sorry, no audio for this series...

West Virginia: RHP Michael Bowman at Lakewood (Phillies), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 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: RHP Trey Watten at Great Falls (White Sox), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:00 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: TBD vs. the Giants' kids in Maryvale, 7:00 PM local Mountain Standard Time; Monday's victory was indeed the first game of the second half, standings-wise

 

Never any audio for the Maryvale Crew

[Mass Haas]

Follow Tuesday'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 "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_07_29_poraaa_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville Game One:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_29_monaax_hunaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Two:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_29_monaax_hunaax_2

 

Brevard County:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_29_sluafa_breafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_29_wvaafx_lwdafx_1

 

Helena:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_29_helrok_grfrok_1

 

Arizona:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_29_giarok_brrrok_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 64 45 .587 - 38-18 26-27 W1 Memphis 60 49 .550 4.0 30-24 30-25 W2 Omaha 49 60 .450 15.0 22-29 27-31 L1 Nashville 42 67 .385 22.0 21-32 21-35 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 21 16 .568 - 11-6 10-10 W4 Tennessee 20 17 .541 1.0 10-10 10-7 W1 Huntsville 18 18 .500 2.5 8-8 10-10 L3 Chattanooga 15 22 .405 6.0 8-12 7-10 L2 West Tenn 15 22 .405 6.0 5-12 10-10 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 20 13 .606 - 10-5 10-8 W2 St. Lucie 19 15 .559 1.5 9-7 10-8 L1 Jupiter 18 16 .529 2.5 9-7 9-9 L2 Palm Beach 17 18 .486 4.0 12-7 5-11 L1 Brevard County 15 21 .417 6.5 7-10 8-11 W1 Vero Beach 13 23 .361 8.5 6-14 7-9 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 26 11 .703 - 14-4 12-7 L2 Lakewood 24 13 .649 2.0 12-6 12-7 W3 Delmarva 20 17 .541 6.0 7-11 13-6 L1 Hagerstown 18 19 .486 8.0 8-11 10-8 W1 Greensboro 14 23 .378 12.0 7-11 7-12 L1 Hickory 14 23 .378 12.0 3-14 11-9 W3 Lake County 14 23 .378 12.0 7-12 7-11 W2 Lexington 13 23 .361 12.5 7-12 6-11 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 0-0 W1 Missoula 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 0-0 W1 Great Falls 0 1 .000 1.0 0-0 0-1 L1 Helena 0 1 .000 1.0 0-0 0-1 L1 

 [b][url=http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=l_sta&lid=121&period=h2]Arizona League Standings (for now, we need to link, not paste)[/url][/b] 

[Mass Haas]

Final: Portland (Padres) 12, Nashville 8

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Vinny Rottino photo, text follows --

 

Beavers Outlast Sounds In Slugfest, 12-8

 

NASHVILLE - The Portland Beavers outlasted the Nashville Sounds, 12-8, in a slugfest on Tuesday afternoon at Greer Stadium in the final contest of a four-game series and eight-game homestand.

 

The teams combined for 32 hits in the contest, including 13 extra-base knocks.

 

With the loss, Nashville (42-68) dropped three of four to Portland and finished its homestand with a 2-6 mark.

 

Beavers left fielder Paul McAnulty led the visitors with a 4-for-4, four-RBI afternoon that included a double and home run. Catcher Vinny Rottino homered, doubled, and drove in a team-best three runs to pace the Nashville attack.

 

Portland struck first, manufacturing a pair of first-inning runs against Sounds starter Richie Gardner. Craig Stansberry led off with a single and stole second before Peter Ciofrone drew a walk. Max Venable followed with a grounder to first and Brad Nelson tossed the ball behind Gardner as he covered first, allowing Stansberry to score the game's first run. The Beavers added an unearned run when McAnulty followed with a sacrifice fly.

 

The Sounds got a run back with a two-out rally in the bottom of the frame. After the first two batters were retired, Joe Dillon singled off Beavers starter Justin Germano before coming around to score on Nelson's RBI double into the right field corner, the slugger's fifth two-bagger in his last eight contests.

 

Rottino gave the home team a 3-2 lead in the second when he belted his first home run in 263 at-bats, a two-run shot to center off Germano that scored Adam Heether (single). The longball was Rottino's sixth of the year and first since April 30th against Colorado Springs.

 

AUDIO: Vinny Rottino Home Run

 

The Beavers reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth with a pair of roundtrippers of their own. Ciofrone tied the game at 3-3 when he led off the frame by mashing a 2-0 Gardner offering over the right field wall for his 11th home run of the year. The blast extended the longest hitting streak in the PCL in 2008 to 26 games. Two batters later, McAnulty hit his second homer in two games against the Sounds, belting a solo shot to right off Gardner to put the visitors in front by a 4-3 count.

 

Nashville rallied back in the bottom of the frame to keep the see-saw battle going, plating three runs to take a 6-4 lead. Dillon and Nelson opened the inning with consecutive singles off Germano before Laynce Nix ripped an RBI double off the batter's eye in center to plate Dillon with the tying run. After Heether put the Sounds back in front with a sacrifice fly that brought in Nelson, Rottino continued his solid day with a run-scoring double into the right field corner.

 

Portland jumped back in front in the fifth with a four-run inning, knocking Gardner out of the game in the process. With one out, the visitors loaded the bases with a pair of single and a Brett Dowdy walk to prompt Sounds skipper Frank Kremblas to replace Gardner with left-hander Randy Choate. The southpaw was greeted by a first-pitch, two-run single off the bat of Luke Carlin, which tied the game at 6-6. Matt Antonelli put the visitors back into the lead with an RBI groundout before pinch-hitter Shawn Wooten ripped a run-scoring single to center for a two-run cushion.

 

Sounds shortstop Ozzie Chavez made it a one-run game in the home half of the fifth, swatting a one-out home run to right-center off Beavers reliever Enrique Gonzalez. The blast, which made it an 8-7 game, was his second of the year and first since April 22nd.

 

Portland tacked on four insurance runs in the seventh against Choate to stretch the lead to 12-7, highlighted by McAnulty's two-out, two-run double.

 

The Sounds wrapped up the afternoon's scoring in the bottom of the eighth when Jay Gibbons produced his first RBI since joining the Sounds, driving in Hernan Iribarren with a single to center.

 

Gonzalez (5-5) picked up the win for Portland after allowing one run on one hit in his two innings of relief work behind Germano.

 

Gardner (6-5) was saddled with a loss for his third straight start after giving up seven runs (six earned) on seven hits over 4 1/3 frames of action.

 

The Sounds travel to the West Coast on Wednesday for an eight-game road swing that includes stops in Sacramento and Fresno. Left-hander Sam Narron (6-3, 4.52) will man the bump for Nashville in Wednesday evening's 9:05 p.m. CT opener of a four-game series in Sacramento against the defending PCL champion River Cats, who will counter with left-hander Dan Meyer (10-5, 4.58).

 

Baseball returns to Greer Stadium on Friday, August 8th, when the Sounds open an eight-game homestand that features visits from Omaha and Oklahoma.

 

Nashville Box Score

The longball was Rottino's sixth of the year and first since April 30th against Colorado Springs. Wow, who realized that? Five in the first month's cold air an none since? Talk about the catcher's gear wearing you down quickly. Richie Gardner is another guy who has done little with his opportunity this season; another clean inning for Tim Dillard...

 

Nashville Game Log

[fondybrewfan]

I didn't realize Nelson is having this good of a year. He's raised his OBP by 85 points and now over .400% I wish there was a spot for him on the MLB roster just so we could see what he could do. I likely September call up?

[EbbaStClaire]

Nelson also has more walks than strikeouts.

[twobrewers]

Glad to see the pitching is thriving in Nashville.

[Mass Haas]

Manatees game rained out tonight against St. Lucie Mets

 

Tonight's game between the St. Lucie Mets and the Brevard County Manatees has been postponed due to heavy rain and lightning in the area.

 

The game will be rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Wednesday, with the first game beginning at 5:00 PM (4:00 Central).

 

Jeremy Jeffress is scheduled to start the first game for Brevard County, with Chris Cody on the mound for the second game.

[Mass Haas]

Nice to see Alcides Escobar (finger) back in both games of the doubleheader tonight (designated hitter in each).

 

KHP Kristian Bueno starting in Maryvale tonight.

[tigerbrew]

KHP Kristian Bueno starting in Maryvale tonight.

KHP = strikeout handed pitcher?

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Loss keeps Sounds on pace for fewest wins ever

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

A couple of four-run innings were the Nashville Sounds' undoing Tuesday afternoon, as visiting Portland took a 12-8 decision in the finale of a four-game series.

 

The contest marked the sixth time the Sounds have allowed eight or more runs in their last 12 outings. Nashville has lost each of those six games, sliding to a season-worst 26 games below .500 (42-68).

 

With 33 games remaining, the Sounds are in danger of setting a franchise record for fewest victories. In 2000 and 2004, the Sounds finished 63-79. This year's team is on pace to finish 54-90.

 

"This season's been quite a learning experience for everybody involved," Nashville catcher Vinny Rottino said following the loss, the third of the four-game series and the sixth of the just-completed eight-game homestand. "We want to finish strong. We've got a month left, so there's an opportunity to turn this thing around and stay competitive."

 

For a team that hasn't won more than three straight games at any point this season, reversing their season-long trend over the final month would be a daunting task.

 

Tuesday's loss was a prime example of the tough year. Nashville pounded out 15 hits against four Portland pitchers, with six going for extra bases. But the Sounds were unable to limit Portland's offense.

 

"That's how the season's gone," Rottino said. "We scored, but we didn't execute with pitching and defense. Our pitching and defense had been keeping us in games lately, but we hadn't been scoring.

 

"The name of the game is executing. We've got to get back to that. Losing can snowball, just like winning can, as we showed the last three years."

 

Nashville fell behind 2-1 and 4-3, but rallied with a three-run third inning keyed by Rottino's RBI double. However, Portland took the lead for good with its four runs in the fifth inning off starter Richie Gardner and reliever Randy Choate.

 

"We just can't get our pitching and our hitting matched up," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "We did a good job offensively; we just didn't pitch well enough."

 

Shelved: Former Franklin High School standout Derrick Turnbow, who spent two months with the Sounds after struggling this spring with the Milwaukee Brewers, has sustained a partially torn right rotator cuff that has ended his season. Turnbow was placed on the disabled list on July 22 and was at the Brewers' spring training complex in Phoenix when he underwent an evaluation that revealed the injury. It is not known whether surgery will be necessary to repair the tear. Turnbow is in the final year of his contract with the Brewers and will be a free agent at the end of the year.

 

Long dry spell: Rottino snapped a string of 263 homerless at-bats when he drilled a two-run shot just to the left of the batter's eye in the second inning Tuesday.

 

It was the sixth home run of the season for Rottino, who hit all of his previous five in the opening month of the season. His last homer came April 30 against Colorado Springs.

 

Long dry spell, II: Nashville infielder Ozzie Chavez's solo homer in the fifth inning was his fifth in 178 at-bats, dating to his April 22 home run at Albuquerque.

 

Nix swings hot sticks: Nashville outfielder Laynce Nix entered Tuesday's play hitting .435 (10-for-23) over his previous six games. Among those 10 hits were five for extra bases - a pair of home runs and three doubles.

 

After grounding out to shortstop in his opening at-bat, he extended his hitting streak to seven games with a third-inning double, then added a single and another double before striking out in the eighth.

 

Through his last seven games, Nix is hitting .464 (13-for-28).

 

On the move: Prior to Tuesday's game, pitcher Ben Howard was activated from the Sounds' disabled list and reassigned to Class AA Huntsville. Howard was 2-6 with a 4.73 earned run average and a save in 31 appearances with Nashville, including two starts.

 

Streak stretched: Portland third baseman Peter Ciofrone's third-inning solo home run Tuesday extended his hitting streak to a Pacific Coast League season-high 26 games. The top mark for the year had been set at 24 games by Iowa's Andres Torres and later matched by Rottino.

[Mass Haas]

Power win, 6-5, in 12 innings; they didn't even arrive in Lakewood, New Jersey until after lunchtime today. 25 innings in 28 hours. And they'll play again in less than 12 hours with a matinee Wednesday. Another great call by Andy and a super effort from the guys. A fun listen, which took the tiniest of stings away from that bummer of a Miller Park game tonight.

Helena's in a late dogfight with Wily Peralta trying to close things out, and Huntsville is trying to scrape any offense at all together this evening.

EDIT: Now Helena's just trying to hang on for possible extra innings.

[uwisfan]

Gamel has been in a free-fall the past 2 weeks... lost about 30 pts on his avg..

[TheCrew07]

For a college kid Cody Adams' lines aren't all that impressive.

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 6, Lakewood (Phillies) 5, 12 innings

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary / Charleston Gazette:

 

POWER BEAT BLUECLAWS IN 12

 

On a day that included a 12-hour bus ride from Eastlake, Ohio, the West Virginia Power went into extra innings for the second night in a row on Tuesday night at First Energy Park and used an RBI single from Lee Haydel in the 12th inning to take the first game of the series with a 6-5 victory over the Lakewood BlueClaws.

 

The victory gave the Power a 3 1/2-game lead over the second-place BlueClaws in the Northern Division's second-half title race.

On Monday night, the Power dropped a 6-5 decision at Lake County in 13 innings and, after boarding the team bus shortly after midnight and experiencing engine trouble three hours later, did not arrive in Lakewood until noon Tuesday.

The Monday and Tuesday games required exactly four hours and 11 minutes each.

The BlueClaws took their only lead of the game in the bottom of the second on Joel Naughton's RBI double. The Power scored three times in the fourth to take the lead. Caleb Gindl ripped an RBI triple to tie the game before he and Zelous Wheeler scored the go-ahead runs with two outs on a fly ball hit by Steffan Wilson to center field that was dropped by T.J. Warren.

 

Lakewood tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Warren doubled in the first run and Freddy Galvis reached on a fielder's choice to score Travis Mattair. Gindl and Wilson ripped RBI singles in the sixth inning to give the Power the lead once again until Mattair drove in a pair of runs on a two-out single in the seventh inning to tie it up.

 

West Virginia was held to just a base hit from the seventh through the eleventh. In the 12th, Anderson De La Rosa ripped a one-out single and moved to second on Matt Cline's base hit. They both advanced on a wild pitch and De La Rosa scored the winning run on Haydel's single.

 

Jose Garcia (2-2) pitched a scoreless bottom half of the 11th to get the victory. Rob Wooten (1) pitched a perfect 12th inning to get the save and Moises Melendez (3-2) was tagged with the loss. The Power bullpen allowed just two runs over eight and a third innings, as relievers Reed Dickert, Garcia and Wooten blanked the BlueClaws over the final 5 1/3 innings. Power pitching stranded 15 Lakewood runners.

 

The Power improved to 59-48 on the year and 27-11 in the second half with the win. The BlueClaws fell to 62-46 on the year and 24-14 in the second half with the loss. Fryer and Gindl paced the Power with two hits apiece. Steffan Wilson doubled in the fifth to extend his road hitting streak to 23 games. Matt Cline reached once to bring his on-base streak to 18 games and Caleb Gindl extended his on-base streak to 21 games. West Virginia has played 25 innings over their last two games. They improved their record in extra inning games to 5-5.

 

The Power will continue the four-game series against Lakewood Wednesday morning. The Power will start left hander Dan Merklinger (4-7, 5.94) and the BlueClaws will counter with right hander Julian Sampson (6-4, 4.63). The first pitch is scheduled for 11:05 AM (10:05 Central).

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

Bus problem lengthens Power trip

By Mike Whiteford

Charleston Gazette Staff writer

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It was bad enough that the West Virginia Power on Monday night suffered a 6-5 loss in 13 innings that required four hours, 11 minutes against the Lake County Captains.

 

The long night was just beginning. Shortly after the final out, the Power boarded the team bus in the Cleveland suburb of Eastlake, Ohio, bound for Lakewood, N.J., a trip that normally takes eight hours.

 

But on this occasion, the usually reliable bus encountered engine trouble and came to a halt at about 3 a.m. somewhere in Pennsylvania. The faulty engine forced a three-hour delay, giving the players the option of trying to sleep on the idled bus or stretching their legs along the highway.

 

Once the problem was corrected, the bus resumed its trip to Lakewood, a town of 30,000 about 60 miles northeast of Philadelphia. It arrived at the hotel at about noon Tuesday, leaving little time for sleep in preparation for a game with the BlueClaws at 7:05 in the evening.

 

"It's been a very adventurous 24 hours,'' Andy "Bull'' Barch, the team's play-by-play broadcaster, said Tuesday afternoon.

 

To make matters even more challenging, the Power faced a short night Tuesday - the team is scheduled to play a morning game today at Lakewood.

 

Sleep or no sleep, the Power is in Lakewood this week for an important four-game series that likely will affect the Northern Division's second-half championship chase. The Power entered Tuesday's play with a 2 1/2-game lead over the second-place BlueClaws in a battle for a postseason berth that comes with the second-half title.

 

Despite losses on Sunday and Monday nights, the Power began play Tuesday with a 26-11 second-half record and had won 31 of its previous 43 games. In addition, the Power led the league with a .274 batting average and in runs with 556.

 

The Power also led the league in batting and runs at .281 and 804, respectively, last year and led in hitting in 2006 at .277 and placed fourth in runs with 691.

 

POWER POINTS: The bus breakdown was the Power's first of the year and ended a streak of carefree riding that dated back to 2004 when mechanical problems were common. The Power in 2005 switched to Park Tours bus company. ... After today's 11:05 AM game (10:05 Central), the Power and BlueClaws will play Thursday and Friday evenings. The Power returns to Appalachian Power Park Saturday to open an eight-game homestand against Delmarva and Hickory. ... Power infielder Eric Farris went 0-for-7 Monday night against the Captains, snapping a 12-game hitting streak. Farris, who missed April and part of May because of a hamstring injury, has been on a steady offensive climb. He batted .197 in May, .269 in June and, despite a 1-for-11 stretch in his last two games, entered Tuesday's play at .333 (36-for-108) in July. ... Eric Fryer ranks second in the South Atlantic League with a .337 average and outfielder Lee Haydel is 12th at .298. First baseman Steffan Wilson is third in RBIs with 72 and owns a 22-game road hitting streak. Infielder Zelous Wheeler is fifth in RBIs with 65.

 

West Virginia Box Score

Encouraging relief outing for LHP Evan Frederickson; Zelous Wheeler drew the Power's only walk...

 

West Virginia Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game One: Montgomery (Rays) 2, Huntsville 1

Final, Game Two: Montgomery 4, Huntsville 2

 

Huntsville Site Doubleheader Summary:

 

Biscuits Sweep Twin Bill

Huntsville Offense Still Stuck in Low Gear

 

By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars

 

Josh Asanovich's two-run single keyed a four-run rally in the fifth inning that led Montgomery to a 4-2 win in the nightcap and a doubleheader sweep of Huntsville Tuesday night in the middle of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Biscuits won for a seventh time in eight games to improve to 21-16 in the second half, while the Stars suffered a season-high fifth straight loss and eighth defeat in nine games to drop to 18-20 in the half and four games behind first place Carolina in the North Division. The Stars have been held to three runs or less in each of their last nine games.

 

David Johnson, making his first start since May 28, 2005 after 139 consecutive relief appearances, threw four scoreless innings for the Stars, allowing one hit, walking one and fanning five. Ben Howard, making his first appearance for the Stars after 31 at triple-A Nashville, walked J.T. Hall and Sergio Pedroza to open the fifth before Matt Spring singled to load the bases. Howard uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Hall to score to break up a scoreless game and advanced the other two runners, who came into score when Asanovich singled into center field. Rashad Eldridge doubled with one out and came around to score on a base hit by Ronnie Merrill to finish the uprising. Howard was lifted with two outs and two on and took the loss.

 

Steve Andrade, making his first career start after 283 outings in relief, blanked the Stars over three innings on one hit, while walking two and fanning one. Eddie Morlan retired the side in order in the fourth before giving up a two-run home run to Lorenzo Cain, his first at the double-A level, in the bottom of the fifth that cut the lead to 4-2. Roger Deago threw a scoreless sixth inning and Colter Bean a shutout seventh to nail down the win and record his ninth save.

 

Huntsville Game Two Box Score

David Johnson, Omar Aguilar, and Juan Sandoval pitched very well -- a demoted Ben Howard did not, as noted above; Lorenzo Cain with two of Huntsville's three hits, plus a walk...

 

Huntsville Game Two Game Log

 

Jeremy Hellickson started the opener for Montgomery and retired the first five batters he faced before Mike Bell blasted a home run to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. All five runs the Stars have scored in the series have come on home runs. Merrill's two-out, infield hit in the third scored Johnny Rayburn to tie the game. Hellickson went six innings, allowing three hits, walking one and striking out nine in his seventh double-A start.

 

Stars' starter Brae Wright went seven frames, yielding six hits, walking two and fanning seven but remains winless at home since May 24. In his five starts this month, Wright has thrown 35 innings and allowed 10 earned runs but the Stars have scored only seven times while he has been on the hill. Patrick Ryan took over in the eighth and gave up a home run to Chris Nowak with one out that turned out to be the decisive blow in a 2-1 Biscuits' victory. Neal Frontz threw a scoreless eighth inning to earn the save and protect the win for Ryan Reid, who worked a scoreless seventh. The Stars slipped to 2-8 in extra innings.

 

The series continues Wednesday night with left-hander David Welch taking the mound for Huntsville against Biscuits' southpaw Jino Gonzalez. Coverage of the twin bill 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.

 

Huntsville Game One Box Score

Not sure why Angel Salome was replaced in the top of the 5th after grounding out in the 4th -- something to keep an eye on -- as scheduled, he was not in the Game Two lineup...

 

Huntsville Game One Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Times:

 

Stars lose doubleheader

Brae Wright's tough luck continued during a 2-1 loss to the Montgomery Biscuits on Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader. The Stars dropped the second game 4-2 in seven innings.

Though Wright lowered his ERA to 3.32, he got a no-decision and his record stayed at 6-9 despite pitching seven innings and allowing just six hits and one earned run. Patrick Ryan gave up a long home run to Chris Nowak in the top of the eighth to get the loss in relief.

In his past five starts, Wright has gotten seven runs of support. The only help he got against Montgomery was a solo home run by Mike Bell, who made his return from a three-game suspension for his part in the brawl against Chattanooga.

"Brae has been great, and part of his success is he's not that guy who gets (ticked) off and talks about how the offense is not scoring," Bell said. "He's done a great job all year, and I just wish we could go out there and get some more runs for him."

[Mass Haas]

Helena Pre-Game Audio Interview with Catcher Mike Roberts

Click on the KCAP archive of July 29th, then browse to the 14:30 minute mark; interesting talk about his days at Virginia Military Institute...

[Mass Haas]

Final: Great Falls (White Sox) 7, Helena 6

Helena Independent Record:

 

Voyagers beat Helena 7-6 off walk-off triple

 

Great Falls' Tyler Kuhn hit a walk-off triple in the 10th inning and the Voyagers defeated the Helena Brewers 7-6 Tuesday night.

 

The Brewers - 0-2 to start the second half of the Pioneer League season - are one more loss away from matching their 0-3 start to the first half of the summer season.

 

The Brewers held a 6-5 lead over Great Falls (1-1) heading into the bottom of the ninth after Michael Vass homered and Derrick Alfonso scored on a single by Erik Miller in the top of the eighth.

 

However, the Voyagers got the lift they needed when Johny Celis singles on a fly ball to left field, scoring Jordan Cheatham for the tie, sending the game into extra innings.

 

Helena's Jose Duran grounded into a double play to end the top of the 10th and Great Falls took advantage.

 

Jesus Avila singled on a ground ball to third base and Kuhn brought him home for the winning run when he hit a line drive down the first-base line.

 

Helena led 3-0 after the first inning, but had to rally back after Great Falls scored four in the third.

 

Brock Kjeldgaard's double scored Erik Komatsu in the fifth to tie it up 4-4. Great Falls' Jordan Cheatham gave the home team a one-run advantage in the seventh, hitting a solo home run.

 

Kuhn led the Voyagers at the plate, hitting 3-of-5 for a run and an RBI. Alfonso's 3-for-4 performance led the Brewers.

 

Helena's Wily Peralta (0-1) took the loss and a blown save though he gave up just two runs, one of them earned, on four hits while striking out five over 2 1/3 innings.

 

Great Falls' Stephen Sauer (2-1) closed the game for the win giving up a hit and striking out one in 2 1/3 innings.

 

Helena Box Score

Wily Peralta apparently is throwing smoke and a nasty breaking pitch, but takes the loss, as noted; not sure to what extent he's still hurting, but it's been a bust of a season for 6th round second baseman Jose Duran; a strong outing here, but an earlier poster alludes to the fact 2nd round RHP Cody Adams has allowed 24 hits in 18.2 IP, striking out only 10 (only four walks)...

 

Helena Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Giants 3, Arizona Brewers 2

Arizona Box Score

Night games cooler? Actually, that's never been the case -- 105 degrees, probably why you'll see catchers removed mid-way, as Shawn Zarraga was here in the 7th -- not sure if his pitchers are helping him at all, but runners still going wild on Zarraga; Jake Odorizzi takes the loss in relief, but via an unearned run; Kristian Bueno tired late, pitching 5 2/3...

 

Arizona Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Kuhn's RBI single lifts Voyagers in 10th inning

By GEORGE GEISE

Great Falls Tribune Sports Editor

 

The first time Tyler Kuhn faced ace Helena reliever Wily Peralta Tuesday night, he struck out on three straight pitches in the eighth inning, and he admittedly was fooled when he took a called third strike.

 

But two innings later, with the game on the line, the Great Falls Voyagers' best hitter made a key adjustment. He pulled Perata's slider into right field for a game-winning triple as the Voyagers nipped the Brewers 7-6 before 1,867 fans at Centene Stadium.

 

The victory left Great Falls 1-1 in the Northern Division in the second half of the Pioneer League schedule, while Helena - which barely edged the Voyagers for second place in the first half - slipped to 0-2.

 

"Yeah, he (Peralta) is definitely an excellent pitcher," said Kuhn, who entered the game with a .369 average (second-best in the league) and improved that with a 3-for-5 performance.

 

"He got me my first at-bat on three straight pitches, but he actually went to a completely different sequence (in the 10th). I ran into a slider there and it allowed Avila to score."

 

Helena manager Rene Gonzales was shading his outfielders to the opposite field, betting that the Voyagers couldn't pull the ball against the hard-throwing Peralta, a 19-year-old righthander from the Dominican Republic. And until Kuhn unloaded his line drive to right, no Great Falls player made made solid contact against him.

 

"I wasn't trying to pull anything because he made me look bad," said Kuhn. "I just tried to hit it hard, put it in play. We were fortunate they had that shift on."

 

Peralta struck out five batters in two-plus innings, but he also gave up two hits that kept the Voyagers in the game.

 

In the ninth, Great Falls pinch-hitter Johny Celis got just enough wood on the ball to slice a single down the third-base line to drive in Jordan Cheatham with the tying run.

 

Then in the 10th, Jesus Avila topped a ball weakly down the third-base line and it stopped - barely fair - about 45 feet from home plate. Avila scored the winning run easily on Kuhn's winning hit.

 

"We got a break there when Avila's swinging bunt stayed in the divot," said Great Falls manager Chris Cron.

 

"We haven't been getting many of those breaks lately."

 

Cron admitted his players appeared overmatched at times against Peralta, who's regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the league.

 

"The guy's only throwing 95, 96 miles an hour, and he's proven he can pitch well. Helena overplayed (on defense) a little bit, and they got burned a little tonight," said Cron.

 

The Brewers scored three runs in the first inning on four hits, with Corey Kemp's two-run double against starter Kevin Skogley the key blow.

 

The Voyagers overcame that deficit with four runs in the third against Helena starter Trey Watten. Avila knocked in Danny Jordan and Kent Gerst with a two-run single, then Mike Grace blasted a long two-run homer to left field to give his team the lead.

 

The Brewers tied the score in the fifth on a run-scoring double by Brock Kjeldgaard, one of five two-baggers by the Capital City club.

 

Great Falls regained the lead at 6-5 in the seventh on a solo homer by Jordan Cheatham, his first HR of the season.

 

Helena then took the lead at 7-6 with two runs in the eighth, the first on a solo homer by Mike Vass, the second on a bloop single to left by Erik Miller that Cheatham couldn't reach.

 

An infield error and a groundout allowed Cheatham to reach second base with two outs in the ninth, and Celis poked an outside pitch to left to send the game into extra innings.

 

Stephen Sauer (2-1) gained the pitching victory for Great Falls, hurling 2 1/3 solid innings of relief, yielding just one hit. Peralta (0-1) took the loss.

 

The Brewers and Voyagers meet again tonight at Centene Stadium with Josh Billeaud getting his first start for Great Falls, replacing Frank Rosario, who has an arm injury. Fans can pick up free tickets at 2J's Fresh Market.

 

The Northern Division rivals play again here Thursday night before the diamond is turned over to the Electrics and Stallions for the Montana-Alberta Legion baseball tournament.

 

"Helena is the team we need to beat," said Kuhn. "It looks like it will be us and them battling it out for a second-half playoff spot, so it was double nice to beat those guys."