Link Report for Games of Saturday, August 9th

[battlekow]

A perfect inning with a strikeout for Nick Bucci in his pro debut.

[DHonks]

nice night on the farm tonight. Lou Palmisano with a triple tonight. I'd expect him back in AAA within a week. He just needs to catch a few games. The 2008 draftees (except Frederickson) have been holding their own in West Virginia.

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 17, Hickory (Pirates) 1
Amazingly, the Power remains only 1.5 games ahead of stubborn Lakewood (two games in the loss column)...

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

POWER OFFENSE EXPLODES

Eric Fryer hit for the cycle, five players turned in multi-hit games, and the West Virginia Power scored a season high 17 runs on Saturday night at Appalachian Power Park as they defeated the Hickory Crawdads 17-1.

The Power scored five times in the first inning. Steffan Wilson's first of four hits was a two-run single to put the Power on the board. Caleb Gindl doubled in the next run before Matt Cline walked with the bases loaded and Lee Haydel drove in the final run of the inning with a sacrifice fly. The Power doubled their lead with a five-run second inning. Wilson blasted a two-run homer, his 17th of the season, before Curt Rindal singled in the next two runs and scored on Eric Farris's two-out base hit.

West Virginia added four more runs in the third. Zelous Wheeler belted a three run homer, his third of the home stand and his 12th of the year. Haydel drove in the final run of the inning with a triple. The Crawdads scored their lone run on Austin McClune's sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. The Power also scored in the fourth on Fryer's solo home run, his ninth of the year. West Virginia plated their final two runs on Uly Snijders's two-run shot in the eighth inning.

Fryer singled in the second, doubled in the third, homered in the fourth inning and completed the cycle with a triple in the bottom of the eighth. He is the first Power player to hit for the cycle at Appalachian Power Park. He went 4-for-5 with four runs and an RBI.

Michael Bowman (2-1) allowed just an unearned run over five innings of work on three hits to earn the victory. Pedro Lambertus and Curtis Pasma combined to toss four scoreless innings of relief. Rafael De Los Santos (2-9) allowed five runs on two hits and walked three batters over a third of an inning and was tagged with the loss.

The Power improved to 65-52 on the year and 33-15 in the second half with the win. The Crawdads fell to 45-73 on the year and 15-33 in the second half with the loss. The 17-1 victory is the largest margin of victory this season for the Power. Wilson and Fryer paced the Power with four hits apiece. The four home runs tied a season high.

The Power will finish the four game series against Hickory Sunday night. The Power will start left hander Dan Merklinger (5-8, 5.54) and the Crawdads will counter with left hander Mike Felix (4-4, 4.52). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM (5:05 Central).

***

This MiLB.com article includes an audio link that has all four base hit calls from Andy "Bull" Barch on Eric Fryer's cycle. Text follows:

Fryer heats up, hits for cycle

By Steve Conley / Special to MLB.com

A night after watching a teammate barely miss hitting for the cycle, Eric Fryer made sure to cash in on his own opportunity.

Fryer tripled in the eighth inning Saturday to become the first player in team history to hit for the cycle as the West Virginia Power pounded the Hickory Crawdads, 17-1, at Appalachian Power Park.

Fryer was hit by a pitch in the first inning, then singled and scored in the second and stroked his 20th double and scored again in the third as the Power built a 10-0 lead. He slugged a solo homer, his ninth, in the fourth but grounded into a double play in the sixth.

He knew he'd get one more shot at making history, however.

"I was trying to do a little too much in that at-bat [in the sixth]," the Ohio State product said. "I knew I'd get another chance and I just thought if it happens, it happens."

The 22-year-old catcher/left fielder ripped a ball down the third base line in the eighth and got a friendly carom off the wall to give him a shot at reaching third.

"The ball kinda kicked away from the left fielder in the corner and got away from him," said Fryer. "I went into third standing up and it was a bang-bang play, I just barely got in there. I was pretty pumped. That doesn't happen too often."

The cycle came a night after outfielder Caleb Gindl went 4-for-4 and fell a double shy of the rare feat. His teammates had some fun with it.

"They were all giving me lots of praise," said Fryer, Milwaukee's 10th-round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft. "Gindl almost had one last night, so they were giving him a lot of crap, saying, 'That's how it's done.'"

Fryer raised his batting average to a South Atlantic League-leading .345 and has hit safely in 16 of his last 19 games. He was named the SAL Player of the Week on July 7 after a four-game stretch in which he went 12-for-16 with eight RBIs, including a 5-for-5, six-RBI performance on July 6. He is hitting .380 with 40 RBIs since the All-Star break.

"I haven't changed my approach a whole lot," he said. "I'm just waiting for good pitches to hit and using the whole field. It helps on a night like tonight, when everyone's hitting. It kinda lights a fire in you and you feel like you can hit anything up there."

Steffan Wilson went 4-for-5 with a homer, four RBIs and three runs scored, Zelous Wheeler hit a three-run shot and Uly Snijders contributed a two-run blast as West Virginia tied a season high with four homers. Curt Rindal went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored to help the Power (33-15) post their third straight win.

West Virginia starter Michael Bowman (2-1) was the beneficiary of the 19-hit assault, yielding an unearned run on three hits and a walk with one strikeout over five innings. Pedro Lambertus fanned two over three hitless frames.

Hickory starter Rafael De Los Santos (2-9) recorded just one out and was charged with five runs on two hits and three walks.

Austin McClune's sacrifice fly in the fourth produced the lone run for the Crawdads (15-33), who have lost four straight and 10 of their last 11 games.

West Virginia Box Score
Eric Fryer spent the bulk of the game behind the plate, making his feat even more impressive; continue to keep an eye on very young RHP Pedro Lambertus -- when young Latin pitchers earn a spot in full season ball, the Brewer coaches know they're on to something; OK, we'll overlook the four West Virginia errors -- this time...

West Virginia Game Log
Drink up!

[Mass Haas]

Andy Barch provides eight minutes plus of detailed team analysis as he opens his pre-game show "Bull on Baseball" --

Click on the WSWW archive of August 9th, it's right off the top...

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 5, Daytona (Cubs) 2

 

Game Summary from the Cubs' Site / Daytona News-Journal:

Manatees Down Cubs

Daytona Wins Season Series, but Came Up Short in Finale

 

[DAYTONA BEACH, FL] Following the I-95 trophy presentation, Brevard County came into Saturday's ballgame eager to make the Cubs pay for snatching that trophy. The Manatees did just that behind timely hitting and good pitching. The Cubs lost 5-2.

 

Mel Stocker singled to begin the ballgame for the Manatees and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. A pickoff play gone wrong saw a two-base error by Daytona shortstop Darwin Barney that scored Stocker. The Cubs bounced back quickly. Daytona scored a run in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by Ty Wright. Wright's drive to center fell under the glove of a diving Charlie Fermaint, allowing Jonathan Mota -- who had led off with a single -- to score from first. Steve Clevenger followed with a single to right field, but Wright -- trying to score from second -- was thrown out at the plate by Brevard right fielder Chuck Caufield. Cubs manager Jody Davis gave Wright a signal to hold at third, but he said he was late with the sign and took the blame.

Daytona didn't score again until the bottom of the ninth when Canzler led off with a double over Fermaint's head and advanced around on two groundouts.

 

The game swung in favor of Brevard County when Taylor Green belted a solo shot home run to right field to lead off the fourth inning. This turned out to be the game winning run in the ballgame. Amaury Rivas, the starter for the Manatees, shut down the Cubs offense for five, and the bullpen was equally effective. Rivas came into the game with a 7.20 earned run average and lasted just two innings in his previous start, an 8-1 loss to the Cubs on Monday.

 

Brevard County officially broke the game open in the seventh inning, where three runs came across to score, highlighted by a two-run triple for Yohannis Perez. Perez also had a triple against the Cubs on Friday in a 7-3 loss. The Cubs continue to reach base and leave runners stranded.

 

Local Embry-Riddle product Kenny Homlberg went 1-for-4 with a base hit up the middle in the second. The infielder came into the game with a .223 average.

 

Brevard County Box Score

Fifteen HR's for Taylor Green -- by the way, we're hearing rumblings that the Cleveland Indians may make their selection on the PTBNL this coming week; Brent Brewer singled three times; Jonathan Lucroy doubled and singled; Zach Braddock continued his return with a scoreless inning of relief...

 

Brevard County Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Starting Pitcher Nic Ungs

 

Final, Game One: Nashville 5, Omaha (Royals) 3

Final, Game Two: Nashville 2, Omaha 1

Nashville Site Doubleheader Summary:

Link for Joe Dillon photo, text follows --

 

Sounds Sweep Royals in Doubleheader

NASHVILLE - The Nashville Sounds posted their first doubleheader sweep since August 2005 with two wins over the Omaha Royals on Saturday night at Greer Stadium.

 

With the wins, the Sounds (50-71) stayed hot as winners of six of their last seven contests.

 

Two-out RBIs were the key to game one of the doubleheader, with the Sounds recording four of their five runs with two outs in their 5-3 victory over the Royals.

 

Sounds starter Sam Narron (7-3) gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings pitched to pick up his team-leading seventh win of the year for the Sounds, and both Joe Dillon and Brad Nelson contributed two RBIs each to pace the offensive attack for Nashville.

 

Game two was a low-scoring affair, with the Sounds pulling out a 2-1 victory over Omaha. Jay Gibbons had a solo home run and Hernan Iribarren recorded the go-ahead RBI on an infield single in the bottom of the fifth inning. Sounds pitchers Troy Cate, Mitch Stetter (2-3), and Tim Dillard combined to throw seven innings of one-run ball to keep the Royals off the board after the third inning. Nashville relievers have now only given up one run over their last 16 2/3 innings.

 

The Sounds scored the first run of game one in the bottom of the first inning when Dillon scored from second base on a two-out single from Nelson off Omaha starter Carlos Rosa. Dillon singled and moved to second on a fielding error from right fielder Brayan Pena in the previous at-bat.

 

Omaha responded with a run of its own in the top of the second inning to tie the game. Angel Sanchez doubled to center field off Narron and scored when Chris Lubanski singled in the next at-bat.

 

Nashville then mounted a three-run rally in the bottom of the inning off three hits and two walks. Adam Heether started the inning with a double, and Dillon contributed a two-run single to cap the rally for the Sounds. Nashville added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning off a pair of doubles from Gibbons and Nelson, who picked up his second two-out RBI of the night.

 

The Royals cut the deficit to two in the top of the sixth inning when Kila Ka'aihue belted a two-run home run to right field off Narron. The longball was his sixth of the year in just 10 games for the Royals since being promoted from Double-A Arkansas.

 

Joe Bateman contributed 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to pick up his second save of the year for the Sounds.

 

Nashville Game One Box Score

Sam Narron is now 13-4 between Huntsville and Nashville this season -- he walked three, hit two, and surrendered a home run here, but survived; Joe Bateman stranded two and continues his fine work -- he was an astute pick by the Crew in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft out of the Giants' system...

 

Nashville Game One Game Log

Narron induced two double plays to help out...

 

The Royals scored first in game two in the top of the third inning off Cate. Damon Hollins and Matt Tupman led off the inning with back-to-back singles before Josh Labandeira knocked another single to score Hollins from second and give the Royals the lead.

 

Nashville evened things up in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run from Gibbons to right field. The longball was his second on the year for the Sounds.

 

The Sounds took the lead in the next frame when Ozzie Chavez reached on a fielding error by Royals first baseman Kila Ka'aihue with two outs, and then stole second and scored on an infield single by Iribarren. Labandeira, the Omaha second baseman, made a diving stop on the groundball to keep the ball in the infield but was unable to throw Chavez out at home.

 

Cate pitched four innings and gave up only one run in his first spot start for the Sounds. Dillard picked up his second save of the season after pitching out of two jams, striking out Labandeira with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh to end the contest. He worked two scoreless innings.

 

The teams continue the series tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. at Greer Stadium. Left-hander Chris Narveson (4-12, 5.10) will start for the Sounds against right-hander and ex-Sound Jose Capellan (4-1, 3.56) for Omaha.

 

Nashville Game Two Box Score

Adam Heether settling in as the everyday shortstop...

 

Nashville Game Two Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Sounds sweep doubleheader

By STEVE SILVER

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

The Sounds swept their first doubleheader in more than three years Saturday night at Greer Stadium.

 

They scored five runs on 10 hits to beat the Omaha Royals 5-3 in the first game.

 

Nashville then overcame an early one-run deficit in the nightcap to pull out a 2-1 win.

 

The Sounds' most recent doubleheader sweep was Aug. 5, 2005, over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Nashville is now 3-7 in five doubleheaders this season.

 

"Any win is a good win and to get a doubleheader win is even nicer," Manager Frank Kremblas said.

 

In the first game, designated hitter Brad Nelson drove in Joe Dillon with a first-inning single to put the Sounds on top 1-0.

 

The Sounds scored four more runs to topple the Royals. Both Nelson and Dillon went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the first game.

 

Despite falling into a 1-0 hole in the third inning of the second game, the Sounds rebounded when Jay Gibbons homered to right field to tie the score. Hernan Iribarren drove in the game-winning run with a fifth inning single.

 

Pitcher's journey: Left-hander Troy Cate became the 18th pitcher to start a game for the Sounds in 2008 when he took the mound in the second game.

 

He gave up three hits and one run in four innings. Nashville used 15 starting pitchers last season.

 

Interleague woes: The Sounds are 14-23 when facing an American League affiliate this season. Nashville's designated hitters are batting .287 (37-for-129) with five home runs and 20 RBIs in those games.

[Mass Haas]

Helena Pre-Game Audio Interview with RHP Cody Scarpetta

Click on the KCAP archive of August 9th, then browse to the 12:30 minute mark; good stuff about his dad as well...

[Mass Haas]

Final: Orem (Angels) 3, Helena 2

Walkoff loss...

 

Helena Independent Record:

 

Orem inches past Brewers

Helena Independent Record

 

The Helena Brewers suffered another loss at the hands of the Orem Owlz Saturday, falling 3-2 thanks to five errors and poor hitting in clutch spots.

 

Tied at 2-2, Orem's Donato Giovanatto singled on a ground ball to right field, scoring Tyson Auer in the bottom of the ninth for the winning run.

 

The Brewers (3-9) are searching for their first win after losing the last five straight, and have fallen to the bottom of the Pioneer League North Division, tied for third with the Missoula Osprey.

 

Orem (8-4) are the South Division's first-half champions and remain in second behind Ogden (9-3), Helena's opponent today on the road. The Brewers will meet the Raptors at 4:05 PM (5:05 Central).

 

Giovanatto brought in Auer on an RBI single in the first inning to get the scoring started. In the fourth, Helena starter Cody Adams ran into trouble after a leadoff double by Giovanatto, who was driven in by the next batter. Orem then loaded the bases before Adams was relieved. Trey Watten came on to get the last out of the inning.

 

Down 2-0, the Brewers scored once each in the fifth and sixth innings to tie game.

 

Derrick Alfonso hit his first triple of the season on a line drive to right field to lead off the fifth. After back-to-back strikeouts, Erik Miller pushed Alfonso across the plate with a single and the Brewers were on the board.

In the sixth, Brock Kjeldgaard drove in Erik Komatsu on a fielder's choice grounder.

 

Komatsu and John Delaney were both 2-for-4 and Miller 2-for-3 to lead Helena.

 

Giovanatto went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run to lead Orem.

 

Garrett Sherrill (1-7) gave up the final run one hit and one walk, finishing with the loss. He struck out two.

 

Orem's Andrew Taylor (2-1) picked up the win, going two innings and giving up one hit while striking out two.

 

***

 

Giovanatto gives Owlz a dramatic victory

By Ryan Comer, Deseret News

 

OREM - For the last five days, Donato Giovanatto has been wondering why nobody in the media seems to want to interview him.

 

All he needed to do was collect the game-winning hit.

 

Giovanatto went 3-for-5 and knocked home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday as the Orem Owlz defeated the Helena Brewers 3-2 at Brent Brown Ballpark.

 

The victory completed a three-game sweep of the Brewers and extended the Owlz' winning streak to six games.

 

"I'm still bitter," Giovanatto said with a small smile about not being interviewed before Saturday.

 

With the score tied at 2-2 and two out in the bottom of the ninth, Tyson Auer walked. Roberto Lopez then grounded one to short, but the feed by David Fonseca was dropped by second baseman Jose Duran, allowing both runners to reach safely. Giovanatto came up next and slashed a 1-1 fastball into right field to bring Auer home.

 

"The wind was blowing in, so I just wanted to hit it on the ground," Giovanatto said.

 

Wind, lightning and two rain delays made the game more interesting than Giovanatto or any of the Owlz would have liked.

 

"I was getting hungry," Giovanatto said.

 

The game was delayed for seven minutes in the top of the first as intense showers rolled over the ballpark. Then, with one out in the bottom of the first, the umpires had to call the game again, this time for 57 minutes, as another system rolled through.

 

Fortunately for the Owlz, the delays didn't last any longer.

 

"If that had gone another 15 minutes, (Will) Smith wouldn't have been out there," Owlz manager Tom Kotchman said.

 

Smith started for the Owlz and allowed one run and five hits in five innings of work. He walked none and struck out seven.

 

"They're never fun," Smith said of the delays. "You can't let your arm get tight. (Pitching coach) Zeke (Zimmerman) told me what to do and what not to do."

 

The Owlz wasted little time getting on the scoreboard with a run in the bottom of the first. With one out, Auer walked. Auer stole second and then moved to third after the attempt to throw him out skipped into center field. The game was called for the second time after Lopez walked to put runners on the corners.

 

After the delay, the game resumed with Giovanatto at the plate. Giovanatto blooped a single to right to score Auer, but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.

 

The Owlz got another run in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 2-0. Giovanatto led off with a double down the left-field line and then scored on an infield single to second by Ryan Groth. The throw to first went past first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard, allowing Groth to reach safely. The Owlz had a chance to do even more damage in the inning, but Darwin Perez struck out with the bases loaded.

 

The Brewers scored one in the fifth and one in the sixth to even the score.

 

The Owlz loaded the bases again in the bottom of the eighth, but Dwayne Bailey grounded out to first.

 

Helena Box Score

Trey Watten bailed out Cody Adams in a bases-loaded situation, then Garrett Sherrill did the same for Watten; starter Adams allowed ten baserunners in 3.2 innings (six hits, three walks, one HBP), but only two runs (one earned) -- hopefully the 2008 2nd round pick will show us more before the month is out; Sherrill hasn't been great, but he's thrown better than his 1-7 mark would indicate, and didn't deserve the loss here; 20-year-old Erik Komatsu with a .975 OPS and has walked (20) more often he's struck out (18) in 176 AB's -- the lefty bat (and arm)played right field in this one and stole two bases, now 8-for-11 in that category for the season...

 

Helena Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Pre-Game Audio Interview with Shortstop Alcides Escobar

Click on the WUMP archive of August 9th, interview is right off the top; great strides in speaking English, very proud of the kid in that regard -- those of us who know learning a second language beyond childhood isn't easy...

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Tenn (Mariners) 4, Huntsville 3

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

West Tenn Edges Stars, Again

Missed Opportunities Costly for Huntsville

By Brett Pollock / MLB.com

Adam Moore doubled in the winning run in the seventh inning to lead West Tenn to a 4-3 victory over Huntsville Saturday night in the fourth of a five-game series at Pringles Park. The Diamond Jaxx won their third straight to raise their record to 21-27 in the second half, while the Stars dipped to 22-27 in the half. West Tenn has won 12 of the 20 games in the season series, including seven of nine at home.

 

Greg Halman singled with one out in the home first, stole second and scored the game's first run on a two-out single by Johan Limonta that also moved Mike Wilson to third base. Stars' starter David Welch then picked off Limonta, who stayed in the rundown long enough to allow Wilson to score to give the home side a 2-0 edge.

 

Mat Gamel, batting in the fifth spot in the order for a first time this season, led off the second inning and blasted the first pitch from Luis Munoz for a home run to right field to cut the lead the lead to 2-1. Lorenzo Cain then smashed a home run over all three tiers of signage in left field on an 0-1 offering for his third long ball to knot the score at two. It marked the second time, and the first since Freddy Parejo and Carlos Corporan did it on May 17, that the Stars hit back-to-back home runs.

 

Use the same audio link as the Alcides Escobar interview above, then browse to the 35:30 minute mark, to hear Brett Pollock's calls of the back-to-back blasts.

 

Brent Johnson put the Jaxx back on top with a home run in the third, his fifth of the season and second of the series. The Stars stranded Cain at third with one out in the fourth but tied the game in the fifth when Michael Brantley walked and advanced on a Guilder Rodriguez sacrifice bunt that also spelled the end of the night for Munoz, who reached his pitch limit. Roman Martinez took over and uncorked a wild pitch that moved Brantley to third before he scored on a fly ball by Alcides Escobar. Munoz was charged with three runs on six hits, while walking one and fanning three.

 

Welch was removed after six innings, giving up three runs on four hits, walking one and fanning five. Steve Bray took over and gave up a leadoff double to Limonta that was followed by Moore's two-base hit to give West Tenn its third lead of the night. Moore has knocked in 16 of his 61 runs this season against the Stars. Bray dropped to 1-2 after allowing the decisive run in his lone inning of work.

 

Cain legged out an infield hit and Cole Gillespie walked with one out in the eighth inning, as Jason Kershner was replaced by Shawn Kelley after an inning and a third of scoreless relief. A Moore passed ball allowed the runners to advance but Kelley squashed the threat by striking out Chris Errecart and Parejo. The right-hander then set down the side in order to earn his seventh save and keep the Stars to three runs or less for a 16th time in their last 20 games.

 

The series finishes Sunday afternoon with right-hander Alex Periard taking the mound against West Tenn right-hander Brodie Downs. Coverage of the game begins at 4:20 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 Box Score

Lorenzo Cain reached four times, stole two bases, sporting an .841 OPS in 107 AA at-bats...

 

Huntsville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Royals 5, Arizona Brewers 0

 

Arizona Box Score

Joey Paciorek's struggles coming off his 2007 .805 OPS are puzzling -- he did reach by HBP here; Lou Palmisano on base four times, not sure when (or if) he'll be behind the plate in '08..

 

Arizona Game Log

[wvpowerblkwel]

Just in case anyone is interested follow the link to view the reason why the Power scored so many runs last nite!

[battlekow]

Just in case anyone is interested follow the link to view the reason why the Power scored so many runs last nite!

Great picture of Caleb Gindl:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procsrserv/47b8d628b3127cce985488daa37300000050008SaOGrlszo/cC/rx=500/ry=286/cr=0.0,0.09309309,1,0.951952