Link Report for Thurs. 8/7 - Power Pleased to Have Ramlow Back

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Thursday's Daily Menu:

 

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

 

Nashville: Idle

Huntsville: RHP Mike Jones at West Tenn (Mariners), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 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 Vero Beach (Rays), 6:00 PM gametime

 

Audio link via Vero Beach broadcast, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link):

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?cid=503&sid=t503

 

West Virginia: LHP Lucas Luetge at home vs. Hickory (Pirates), 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: LHP Daniel Meadows at Orem (Angels), 7:55 PM pre-game, 8:05 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: TBD vs. the mini-Mariners in Maryvale, 7:00 PM local Mountain Standard Time

 

Never any audio for the Maryvale Crew

[Mass Haas]

Follow Thursday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". 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.

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_07_hunaax_wtdaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_07_breafa_vbdafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_07_hicafx_wvaafx_1

 

Helena:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_07_helrok_orerok_1

 

Arizona:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_07_mrnrok_brrrok_1

[Mass Haas]

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 69 49 .585 - 42-22 27-27 W1 Memphis 64 54 .542 5.0 30-25 34-29 L1 Omaha 51 67 .432 18.0 24-35 27-32 L3 Nashville 48 70 .407 21.0 21-33 27-37 W4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 29 17 .630 - 15-6 14-11 W5 Tennessee 24 22 .522 5.0 11-14 13-8 W1 Huntsville 22 24 .478 7.0 11-14 11-10 W2 West Tenn 18 27 .400 10.5 6-14 12-13 L2 Chattanooga 18 28 .391 11.0 8-13 10-15 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 25 17 .595 - 15-6 10-11 L2 Jupiter 25 18 .581 0.5 12-9 13-9 W6 St. Lucie 22 19 .537 2.5 11-9 11-10 L2 Palm Beach 22 22 .500 4.0 14-9 8-13 W2 Brevard County 19 24 .442 6.5 9-12 10-12 W2 Vero Beach 14 31 .311 12.5 6-16 8-15 L8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 30 15 .667 - 16-6 14-9 L1 Lakewood 29 17 .630 1.5 14-8 15-9 W1 Delmarva 25 21 .543 5.5 10-12 15-9 L1 Hagerstown 20 26 .435 10.5 9-15 11-11 L2 Lake County 20 26 .435 10.5 11-13 9-13 W1 Lexington 18 26 .409 11.5 9-14 9-12 W2 Greensboro 17 28 .378 13.0 9-13 8-15 W1 Hickory 15 30 .333 15.0 4-17 11-13 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 8 1 .889 - 5-0 3-1 W2 Great Falls 4 5 .444 4.0 1-2 3-3 W1 Helena 3 6 .333 5.0 1-4 2-2 L2 Missoula 3 6 .333 5.0 3-2 0-4 L1 

[Mass Haas]

Arizona League Standings

 

As long as Billings (the first-half Pioneer North Division winner) remains in first place in the second half as well, then Helena just needs to finish ahead of Great Falls and Missoula to qualify for the post-season, which isn't overly difficult in the eight-team split-season league.

[bubblegum tate]

Nice, 6 shutout innings for Commander Cody - hopefully he won't be hanging around in Brevard much longer...

[Ando Calrissian]

Did we get Cody in the Capellan trade?

 

If so, I know it's still really early, but there's a chance here that we've "Villanueva-ed" the Tigers.

[Mass Haas]

West Virginia in the middle of a nine-run (and counting) 8th inning that has them up 13-2 -- it took over a half-hour for the Power to make their first out of the inning -- such a fun squad since early June...

[Mass Haas]

Cody Scarpetta strikes out his first Pioneer League batter -- still time to jump on the Helena audio here as of 9:25 PM Central, 1-1 in the 6th; Cutter Dykstra nails the runner at second trying to stretch a single as the next batter...

[TheCrew07]

He probably wouldn't like it, but how bout giving Gamel a day off?

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 6, Vero Beach (Rays) 3

Manatees sweep the three-game road series by a combined score of 13-4...

 

Brevard County Box Score

Soft-tossing but uber-effective lefty Chris Cody is pitching unconscious -- last seven starts: 45.1 IP, 29 H, 4 ER, 13 BB, 39 K, 0.79 ERA; newcomer Derrick Ellison made it interesting in the 9th, but closer Mike McClendon came in for the save, stranding the tying run; Taylor Green's three-run home run in the 3rd gave Cody all the cushion he'd need; Jonathan Lucroy added a solo blast in the 9th; both of those top prospects reached base three times, as did Chuck Caufield; Charlie Fermaint and Mel Stocker stole two bases apiece...

 

Brevard County Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Steve Wendt's Helena call (now a 4-4 game) is fantastic as always, but the ridiculous "hooting" by Orem Owls fans may be the most distracting fan noise I've ever encountered during a broadcast or while visiting a ballpark...

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 13, Hickory (Pirates) 2

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

POWER USE NINE RUN EIGHTH TO BEAT HICKORY

 

The West Virginia Power sent 13 batters to the plate in the eighth inning of Thursday night's game against the Hickory Crawdads at Appalachian Power Park and scored nine times on seven hits to pull away with a 13-2 victory.

 

Hickory scored the first two runs of the game. Tom Hagan hit a solo homer in the second inning and Matt Hague drove in their final run with an RBI single in the third.

 

Steffan Wilson began a two-out rally for the Power in the fourth inning with a base hit and Zelous Wheeler followed with a walk. Caleb Gindl knocked them both in with a game-tying triple and scored the go ahead run on Curt Rindal's base hit. Logan Schafer singled in West Virginia's fourth run in the seventh.

 

Gindl began the nine-run rally in the eighth inning with a walk. Rindal followed with a base hit before Matt Cline walked to load the bases. Lee Haydel, Eric Farris, Schafer, Eric Fryer and Wilson followed with five straight base hits. Haydel, Farris, Schafer and Wilson brought in a run apiece with their base knocks and Fryer drove in two. Rindal doubled in two more runs and Wheeler scored the final run of the inning on Cline's groundout. All nine batters reached and scored in the big frame.

 

Lucas Luetge (1-1) allowed just a pair of runs on five hits over six innings and fanned five to get the victory. Mike Ramlow (8) tossed three perfect innings of relief to get the save in his return to the Power. Duke Welker (3-10) was tagged for three runs on seven hits over five and two-thirds and got the loss.

 

The Power improved to 63-52 on the year and 31-15 in the second half with the win. The Crawdads fell to 45-71 on the year and 15-31 in the second half with the loss. Six Power players turned in multi-hit games including Fryer, Wilson and Rindal who had three hits apiece. Fryer extended his hitting streak to 12 games. The nine-run inning is the third inning this home stand in which the Power have scored nine or more runs.

 

The Power will continue the four-game series against Hickory Friday night. The Power will start right hander R.J. Seidel (7-4, 5.57) and the Crawdads will counter with right hander Rodolfo Aguirre (0-2, 7.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score

Lakewood won again, so for all the Power's fantastic play, they only lead by a game and a half with three weeks to go; Power fans thrilled to have Mike Ramlow back from Brevard; Logan Schafer only 3-of-8 in steal attempts with West Virginia; Eric Fryer is on his way to a South Atlantic League batting title, as the current league leader (the Pirates' Miles Durham) was promoted to high-A several weeks ago and will not qualify for the title -- you could not have made a more off-the-wall prediction at the start of the season, as Fryer was in extended spring without a "job" unil May 7th!

 

West Virginia Game Log

 

West Virginia Bottom 8th

• - Pitcher Change: Francisco Ortiz replaces Wanell Macia.
• - Caleb Gindl walks.
• - Curt Rindal singles on a line drive to center fielder Austin McClune. Caleb Gindl to 3rd. Curt Rindal to 2nd on the throw.
• - Matt Cline walks.
• - Lee Haydel singles on a line drive to left fielder Joe Munoz. Caleb Gindl scores. Curt Rindal to 3rd. Matt Cline to 2nd.
• - Eric Farris singles on a line drive to right fielder Erik Huber. Curt Rindal scores. Matt Cline to 3rd. Lee Haydel to 2nd.
• - Logan Schafer singles on a line drive to center fielder Austin McClune. Matt Cline scores. Lee Haydel to 3rd. Eric Farris to 2nd.
• - Eric Fryer singles on a ground ball to center fielder Austin McClune. Lee Haydel scores. Eric Farris scores. Logan Schafer to 2nd.
• - Steffan Wilson singles on a line drive to center fielder Austin McClune. Logan Schafer scores. Eric Fryer to 2nd.
• - Pitcher Change: Charles Benoit replaces Francisco Ortiz.
• - Zelous Wheeler walks. Eric Fryer to 3rd. Steffan Wilson to 2nd.
• - Caleb Gindl called out on strikes.
• - Curt Rindal doubles (18) on a ground ball to left fielder Joe Munoz. Eric Fryer scores. Steffan Wilson scores. Zelous Wheeler to 3rd.
• - Matt Cline grounds out, shortstop Jordy Mercer to first baseman Tom Hagan. Zelous Wheeler scores.
• - Lee Haydel grounds out to first baseman Tom Hagan.

 

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Tenn (Mariners) 6, Huntsville 3

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

 

Diamond Jaxx Down Stars

Huntsville's Offensive Struggles Continue

By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars

Justin Thomas tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to help pitch West Tenn past Huntsville 6-3 Thursday night in the second of a five-game set at Pringles Park. The Stars dropped to 22-25 in the second half, while the Diamond Jaxx improved to 19-27. The Jaxx have won ten of the 18 games between the teams, including five of seven at home.

 

Angel Salome, the league's leading hitter entering the game, led off the second inning with a triple and scored on a Cole Gillespie sacrifice fly to give the Stars a 1-0 lead, marking the fourth straight game in which they have scored first. West Tenn answered in the bottom half of the frame with run-scoring hits by Adam Moore and Erick Monzon, who then crossed the plate on a Matt Mangini scoring fly ball to complete the three-run rally.

 

Lorenzo Cain opened the fifth inning with a walk, stole second and scored on a double by Michael Brantley that cut the lead to 3-2 and chased starter Tracy Thorpe from the game. Thomas took over and walked Alcides Escobar on four pitches before Mat Gamel fanned for the second out. Thomas then committed a balk that advanced the runners but Salome grounded out to end the threat. Thorpe was charged with two runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings, while walking two and fanning five. Thomas grabbed the win to move to 7-6, giving up one hit, walking one and striking out one.

 

Huntsville starter Mike Jones was lifted after four innings, allowing three runs on three hits and suffered the loss to fall to 1-5. He walked two and struck out a pair before reaching his prescribed 75-pitch limit. Donovan Hand took over and retired the side in order in the fifth before yielding an unearned run in the sixth that gave the Jaxx a 4-2 lead. Hand went two frames, giving up one hit, walking one and striking out two in his first appearance in two weeks after being sidelined with a strained oblique muscle.

 

Brent Johnson belted a two-run home run off of Omar Aguilar in the seventh to push the West Tenn lead to 6-2. Gillespie's base hit with two outs in the eighth plated Escobar to trim the lead to 6-3 before Shawn Kelley threw a scoreless ninth inning to end the game. Kelley went two innings and has now yielded only run in 7 1/3 innings over five outings against the Stars. Huntsville was held to three runs or less for a 15th time in the last 18 games.

 

The series continues on Friday night with left-hander Brae Wright taking the hill for Huntsville against West Tenn right-hander Gaby Hernandez. Coverage begins at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard live locally on Sports Radio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.730ump.com and www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score

That lineup, with Freddy Parejo at DH, is the same lineup we marveled at all season, swapping Lorenzo Cain for Matt LaPorta -- the offensive struggles sure seem to wrap around Mat Gamel (0-for-4, two K's); two unearned runs didn't help -- 1B Chris Errecart (two) and 2B Mike Bell with errors...

 

Huntsville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Pitching duel in Maryvale tonight, Rolando Pascual is pitching in relief; Helena now in the 10th...

Final "official" updates in the AM -- good night...

[Minigoon]

18 year old Allixon Cequea left the game after the 1st inning. He had singled and was out at 2nd when Lou Palmisano grounded into a double play. Cequea was hitting .343 in his last 10 games going into tonight. I doubt the game plan going in was to have Cequea play 1 inning and take the rest of the night off so lets hope for the best.

AZL Brewers Bottom 1st

• Carlos George strikes out swinging.
• Allixon Cequea singles on a soft fly ball to left fielder Terry Serrano.
• Lou Palmisano grounds into double play, shortstop Cesar Fuentes to second baseman Fred Bello to first baseman Alfredo Mateo. Allixon Cequea out at 2nd.

AZL Mariners Top 2nd

• Defensive Substitution: Joseph Paciorek replaces third baseman Allixon Cequea, batting 2nd, playing third base.
• Alfredo Mateo singles on a fly ball to center fielder Jose Rangel.

[Boy Jeenius]

I was at the AZ game tonight. Cequa flared a Texas league type hit down the left field line a voice came out of the dugout wondering why he wasn't standing on 2nd. After the inning ended, Mgr walks up to him and the kid's eyes roll as has was taken out of the game. Apparently message sent. Robulak smoked the ball 3 times and might have had 3 hits, except he thought the ball he hit in the hole was through and was rounding towards 1st instead of heading straght for the bag, when the 2nd baseman hopped up from his dive with the ball and threw him out. Carlos George made a truly spectacular double play on a high bounder that reached 2nd the same time he and the base runner got there. Guererro really was dealing, in control all the time.

[Mass Haas]

Boy Jeenius, very cool with a first-hand report from Maryvale!

 

Final: Arizona Brewers 6, Arizona Mariners 0, six innings, rain

 

Arizona Box Score

18-year-old RHP Luis Guerrero with sweet innings; six Brewers had base hits, Cam Robulack with two; Hitaniel Arias singled, walked, and sacrificed...

 

Arizona Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Final: Orem (Angels) 5, Helena 4, ten innings

 

Jimenez spurs Owlz to extra-innings win

By Ryan Comer

For the Deseret News

 

OREM - With the Orem Owlz and the Helena Brewers tied 4-4 in the bottom of the tenth and runners on second and third with just one out, the Brewers had a decision to make.

 

Face the league hits leader or the league RBI leader.

 

The Brewers chose the latter - and lost.

 

The Brewers intentionally walked Roberto Lopez, who entered Thursday night's contest leading the Pioneer League with 70 hits, and chose instead to pitch to Luis Jimenez, who entered the game leading the league with 39 RBIs.

 

The Brewers almost got lucky, inducing a grounder to short. But Jimenez beat the double-play attempt and the Owlz won 5-4.

 

"Ground ball, I think I hit it good," said a smiling Jimenez afterward. "We won."

 

Beau Brooks led off the bottom of the tenth with a seven-pitch walk before being lifted for pinch-runner Rian Kiniry. Darwin Perez was then hit by Garrett Sherrill's first pitch to him. Kiniry and Perez pulled off a double-steal, but Ivan Contreras grounded out to short, bringing up Lopez.

 

Owlz manager Tom Kotchman agreed with the decision to walk Lopez.

 

"Pick your poison," Kotchman said. "Jimenez is a lot more pitchable. I wouldn't pitch to Lopez either."

 

The Owlz jumped ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth on Jimenez's 10th home run of the season.

 

Despite being shut down by Owlz starter Jayson Miller most of the evening, the Brewers finally got a run across in the top of the sixth to tie the score. With one out, John Delaney ripped a double into left field. One out later, Chris Dennis smacked an RBI triple into the right-center field gap that ended up bouncing all the way to the wall.

 

The Brewers took advantage of a strange series of plays in the top of the seventh to jump ahead 4-1.

 

Cutter Dykstra, son of former major leaguer and three-time all-star Lenny Dykstra, led off the inning with a single to center. Mike Roberts came up next and grounded one to Perez at short. Perez, who charged in to make the play, couldn't get a firm grip on the ball and both Dykstra and Roberts were safe. After Derrick Alfanso laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up 90 feet, Steve Braun rolled one to Jimenez at third. Jimenez, who appeared to want to throw home on the play to try and get Dykstra, bobbled the ball. Miraculously, Jimenez was able to see Roberts heading to third and regroup in time to throw to Perez, who scampered over from short on the play.

 

After a bloop single by Erik Miller moved Braun to third, Delaney came up, setting up another strange play. On a 2-1 pitch, Miller took off for second. When the throw to second got there, Miller froze. Perez, who was covering second on the play, looked at third to make sure Braun didn't try to score and then dove to try and tag Miller. Once he dove, Braun came racing home. Perez ended up being late on the tag to Miller, who dove into the second-base bag at the same time. Perez's throw home was late and Braun scored.

 

Five pitches later, Delaney dunked one into right-center field, allowing Miller to score and bringing Kotchman out of the dugout to make a pitching change.

 

Steven Geltz came in and walked Miguel Vasquez before getting the final out.

 

"Miller's the type of guy you've got to play defense behind and we didn't do that," Kotchman said. "He did his normal job tonight. One earned run."

 

The Owlz tied the game back up in the bottom of the seventh on a three-run drive deep to right-center field by Tyson Auer. It was the first homer of the season for Auer, who went 4-for-11 in the Owlz' recent three-game sweep at Casper.

 

"I was just trying to stay consistent in my approach," Auer said. "I was just hoping it would fall over the outfielder's head."

 

The game remained tied until the bottom of the tenth.

 

The Owlz have now won four straight since losing four of six to open the second half. The Owlz and Brewers will meet again tonight for the second of a three-game series at Brent Brown Ballpark.

 

***

 

Orem beats Brewers in 10th inning

Helena Independent Record

 

Orem's Rian Kiniry scored the winning run on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the 10th inning and the Owlz defeated the Helena Brewers 5-4 Thursday night before 2,727 fans.

 

It was a rough start to the Brewers' (3-7) journey to the Pioneer League's Southern Division. Helena will be on the road six more games before returning to the friendly confines of Kindrick Legion Field on Aug. 14.

 

Helena was able to pick up 10 hits in the contest, two more than their opponents, but couldn't make them when they counted most.

 

Orem's (6-4) final run came when Luis Jimenez grounded to Helena's Miguel Vasquez at shortstop. He was able to throw out Roberto Lopez at second but Kiniry slipped home.

 

Though no Orem player had more than one hit, both Jimenez and Tyson Auer hit home runs for the Owlz that would prove costly for the Brewers.

 

Jimenez's solo blast in the fourth gave them an early lead, but after Helena tied it up in the sixth when Chris Dennis tripled to bring in John Delaney then took a 4-1 lead in the seventh, Auer's three-run blast gave them life in the bottom of the inning.

 

Helena's Cutter Dykstra, Steven Braun and Erik Miller all scored in the top of the seventh. Braun's came on a double steal that also advanced Miller to second.

 

Delaney and Dykstra both went 3-for-5 with a run. Delaney also picked up an RBI.

 

Helena's Garrett Sherrill (1-6) picked up the loss after giving up one earned run over the final 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two and walked two.

 

Orem's Chris Scholl (3-1) closed out the game with one batter left to pick up the win.

 

Helena Box Score

John Delaney 3-for-5, two doubles; Cutter Dykstra singled three times in five AB's; starter Daniel Meadows pitched well; Cody Scarpetta was the victim of that key three-run Orem home run...

 

Helena Game Log

[Team Canada]

Did we get Cody in the Capellan trade?

 

If so, I know it's still really early, but there's a chance here that we've "Villanueva-ed" the Tigers.

 

Explore the other areas of brewerfan.net. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Yep, we did.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Power happy to have Ramlow back from Brevard

Tall southpaw works three hitless innings in romp past Hickory

by Christopher Wade

For the Charleston Daily Mail

 

In sports and all aspects of life, getting a demotion is never a good thing and can sometimes cause a negative reaction and backlash.

 

When pitcher Mike Ramlow was sent by the parent Milwaukee Brewers back to the West Virginia Power from high Class A Brevard County in the Florida State League, some would consider that a demotion.

 

It clearly isn't the case.

 

Ramlow pitched the majority of the season for the Power and did so very effectively before getting called up to the Manatees due to some of their pitchers going on the disabled list.

 

Just as he did with the Power, Ramlow was solid on the mound for Brevard, but when the injured pitchers returned, a crowded roster ensued.

 

Add to that fact that the Power is in a stretch run for a possible South Atlantic League playoff berth and needed pitching help ... it all led to Ramlow being sent back to Charleston on Wednesday night.

 

Power Manager Jeff Isom and pitching coach John Curtis are certainly glad to have Ramlow back and wasted little time in getting the Toledo, Ohio, native back on the mound less than one day later against Hickory.

 

If Ramlow's performance against the Crawdads on Thursday night was any indication of things to come, then his return to the Power might be pivotal to the team's hopes of making the playoffs for a second straight season.

 

Ramlow pitched three shutout innings to earn his eighth save of the season without even allowing a hit in leading the Power to a 13-2 win over Hickory (15-31) at Appalachian Power Park in the opener of a four-game series.

 

"He did a lot of great things for us and the organization felt the way he was pitching, he deserved an opportunity," Isom said. "They had some openings where they needed a pitcher up there so they moved him up."

 

"It's definitely not a demotion for him by any means. It ends up being where they (Brevard County) had some guys become healthy and come off the disabled list."

 

Added Curtis, "After some of their pitchers returned from the disabled list, they got a little crowded there in Brevard and we needed some pitching help here."

 

With the win, the Power moved to 31-15 in the second half (63-52 overall), with just a 1½-game lead over second-place Lakewood in the SAL Northern Division.

 

"All of a sudden, we are in the middle of a playoff run," Isom said. "He pitched very well up in Brevard but they just felt with us in the playoff hunt, we could use a little bit of extra help."

 

"It's a chance for him to come pitch for a club he was a big part of our success and he's going to be a big key to our success the rest of the way through the season with this final stretch run."

 

Ramlow is very versatile on the mound, serving both as a starter and reliever for both the Power and Brevard County this season.

 

He is 4-3 this season with the Power with a 2.96 earned run average in 24 games, including six starts, and was 2-2 with a 3.29 ERA with Brevard County in five games (two starts).

 

While Ramlow would rather be in Brevard, he realizes why he is back with the Power and is ready to do whatever is needed to try and help the team make a return visit to the playoffs.

 

"I was pretty excited to get to move up and I wish I was still up there, but they told me they needed some help down here," Ramlow said. "Whatever I can do to make the team better, I'll do."

 

"As long as I can put a jersey on, I don't care. It's tough to go through but you just try to do whatever you can for the team. Whatever they ask you to do, you just try to go out and do it."

 

The Power pitching staff vacancy came when Milwaukee announced that West Virginia reliever Wes Etheridge had been placed on the temporary inactive list.

 

The Power had been playing one man short, so outfielder Mike Vass was moved up from Helena of the Pioneer League.

 

Vass was hitting .242 with seven homers and 28 RBI in 43 games with Helena. Etheridge, a right-hander, is 0-1 with four saves and a 5.14 ERA for the Power.

 

The Power plans to keep Ramlow in the bullpen for the rest of the season but whatever way they decide to use him, Isom is very excited to have the 6-foot-6 left-hander back.

 

"When the game is on the line, there's not a guy better suited to have the ball in his hand than Mike Ramlow," Isom said. "We see this as a very good thing for our club and we couldn't be happier."