Link Report for Games of Thursday, August 21st

[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: RHP Nic Ungs at home vs. Round Rock (Astros), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime

 

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

http://web.minorleaguebas...jsp?sid=milb&cid=t556

 

Huntsville: LHP David Welch at Birmingham (White Sox), 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.minorleaguebas...imedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559

 

Brevard County: RHP Josh Butler at Jupiter (Blue Jays), 6:05 PM gametime

 

Audio link via the Hammerheads' call, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link):

http://www.minorleaguebas....jsp?cid=503&sid=t503

 

West Virginia: RHP Evan Anundsen at home vs. Asheville (Rockies), 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.minorleaguebas...jsp?sid=milb&cid=t525

 

Helena: Idle

 

Arizona: Idle

[Mass Haas]

The people demand boldfaced web links!

 

I'd love to oblige -- I'm bolding as always, but Yuku isn't cooperating.

[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". 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.minorleaguebas...008_08_21_rreaaa_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebas...008_08_21_hunaax_biraax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

http://web.minorleaguebas...008_08_21_breafa_jupafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

http://web.minorleaguebas...008_08_21_ashafx_wvaafx_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 77 54 .588 - 46-22 31-32 L2 Memphis 69 62 .527 8.0 33-30 36-32 L2 Omaha 57 75 .432 20.5 26-38 31-37 W3 Nashville 56 76 .424 21.5 26-38 30-38 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 36 21 .632 - 19-8 17-13 W1 Tennessee 29 29 .500 7.5 13-17 16-12 L1 Huntsville 27 31 .466 9.5 14-16 13-15 L2 West Tenn 25 32 .439 11.0 11-18 14-14 W1 Chattanooga 24 34 .414 12.5 12-16 12-18 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 31 22 .585 - 20-9 11-13 W2 Jupiter 33 24 .579 - 16-12 17-12 L1 St. Lucie 29 24 .547 2.0 12-11 17-13 W1 Palm Beach 28 27 .509 4.0 16-13 12-14 L1 Brevard County 27 31 .466 6.5 12-16 15-15 W1 Vero Beach 16 40 .286 16.5 6-22 10-18 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 39 20 .661 - 20-8 19-12 L2 Lakewood 37 21 .638 1.5 18-12 19-9 W2 Delmarva 33 24 .579 5.0 16-14 17-10 W6 Lake County 27 30 .474 11.0 12-15 15-15 L2 Greensboro 24 35 .407 15.0 11-17 13-18 W1 Hagerstown 21 37 .362 17.5 9-19 12-18 L7 Lexington 20 38 .345 18.5 10-19 10-19 W1 Hickory 18 41 .305 21.0 6-23 12-18 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 12 7 .632 - 9-3 3-4 L4 Great Falls 12 11 .522 2.0 6-4 6-7 W1 Helena 7 16 .304 7.0 2-10 5-6 L2 Missoula 5 17 .227 8.5 5-6 0-11 L1 

[Mass Haas]

Arizona League Standings

[Mass Haas]

Link Report Bonus:

 

First quoted indication that the fact Greer Stadium bites is actually a detriment to on-field success:

 

The Sounds shouldn't take the comment lightly. The one thing that everyone agrees on is that baseball in Nashville won't survive without a new park. Despite new clubhouses built this spring, Greer remains an eyesore. And it may be a sticking point when the Sounds contract with their parent club, the Milwaukee Brewers, expires in 2010.

"To be quite honest with you, it was a challenge signing six-year free agents this year," says Scott Martens, head of minor league operations for the Brewers. "Guys groan when they hear they'll be playing in Greer."

 

Full article

[And That]

I'm honestly a little flummoxed over how many innings Anundsen is throwing... he's been struggling a lot recently, but they keep throwing him out there. 135 IP now after another bad performance, from a guy who turned 20 three months ago in A ball for the first time. I like to assume the Brewers know what they're doing, so I assume there's a rational explanation for it.

[Postseason2006]

Brent Brewer is still on a roll.

[Postseason2006]

Gindl with the salami tonight. Defense is atrocious though....

[battlekow]

Gindl's OPS has increased every month, and is now over 1000 for August. He's homered in three straight games and four of his last six.

 

Meanwhile, Brewer is hitting ..279/.323/.442 this month, which is damned impressive given the his early-season numbers and the effect Space Coast has on right-handed power.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Asheville (Rockies) 12, West Virginia 8
The Power lead down to just one-half game, and even in the loss column with Lakewood; the teams don't play each other again; the BlueClaws will play on the 27th, a day off for West Virginia; not sure what the tiebreaker criteria is (we'll ask Andy Barch), but Lakewood won the season series...

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

POWER COMEBACK FALLS SHORT

The West Virginia Power fell behind 9-0 on Thursday night at Appalachian Power Park and rallied to make it a one-run game through six innings, but the Asheville Tourists scored three times in the seventh to pull away with a 12-8 victory.

Asheville scored seven runs in the first inning. It was their second seven-run inning of the series. Jeff Cunningham walked with the bases loaded to score the first run and Helder Velazquez was hit by a pitch with the bases full to score the next run. The next batter, Brian Rike, hit a groundball to Steffan Wilson at first base. Wilson's throw to second base bounced off Velazquez's helmet and went into left field, allowing two runs to score. David Christensen knocked in the next run with a single, and scored on Caleb Gindl's errant throw. Asheville plated seven runs on just four hits while taking advantage of four errors.

Cunningham and Lars Davis both doubled in runs in the fourth inning to make it 9-0. The Power rallied for five in the fifth. Logan Schafer's run-scoring single scored the first run and Gindl hit a grand slam, his third homer of the series and his 12th this season, to bring the Power within four runs. Eric Fryer was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to plate a run in the sixth inning, Wilson grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to plate the next run and Zelous Wheeler brought the Power within a run on an RBI single to cap the sixth inning.

Asheville scored three big insurance runs in the seventh inning to pull away. Rike began the inning with a base hit and scored on a wild pitch. Michael Mitchell's base hit scored Christensen and Bo Bowman's groundout plated Mitchell to finish the inning.

Matt Reynolds (6-2) tossed four scoreless innings of one-hit ball in relief and was rewarded with the victory. Evan Anundsen (11-7) allowed nine runs, only five earned, on six hits over three and a third and was tagged with the loss.

The Power fell to 71-58 on the year and 39-21 in the second half with the loss. The Tourists improved to 80-50 on the year and 33-27 in the second half with the win. Eric Farris turned in the only multi-hit game for the Power with his 2-for-5 performance. Gindl's grand slam was the second of the series for the Power. Both grand slams were hit off Edgmer Escalona. Eric Fryer reached three times to bring his on-base streak to 30 games.

The Power will finish the four-game series against Asheville Friday night. The Power will start left hander Lucas Luetge (2-1, 2.63) and the Tourists will counter with right hander Cory Riordan (8-8, 3.49). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

West Virginia Box Score
Matt Cline 6-for-61 in August (.098) after hitting .296 in June and .316 in July -- send the sample police after me; Rob Wooten is still a fun relief prospect to follow, but he's been less indestructible as of late; catcher interference error on Eric Fryer -- we haven't seen that often anywhere this season...

West Virginia Game Log

[colbyjack]

The WV game may not have been pretty, but they did a good job roughing up first-round pick, LHP Christian Friedrich in the first 4 innings of that game, which I believe was his low-A debut since being bumped up from short season ball.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Jupiter (Marlins) 3, Brevard County 1

 

Hammerheads' Site:

Jupiter Takes Advantage of Fielding Error to Sink Brevard

JUPITER, FL- The Jupiter Hammerheads bounced back from a tough loss Wednesday to beat the Brevard County Manatees 3-1. The victory gives Jupiter a half-game lead over Daytona for first place in the Florida State League East Division .

2005 first-round draft pick Sean West was dominant on the mound this evening. Over his six innings of work, he allowed one-earned run on five hits and struck out eight. He factored in a no-decision.

Daron Roberts knocked in the go-ahead run in the seventh after his sacrifice bunt led to a throwing error by pitcher Josh Wahpepah that scored Kevin Randel.

Hammerheads third baseman Vasili Spanos finished the evening two for four with two doubles. He has 22 for the season.

The two teams conclude their four-game series tomorrow at Roger Dean Stadium. Derell McCall will take the mound for Jupiter, and will look to keep the Hammerheads on track for a 2008 Florida State League East Division title. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

Brevard County Box Score

Josh Butler's line is decent because LHP Rafael Lluberes bailed him out with a bases-loaded double-play ball upon relieving him in the 4th; Lluberes retired all seven men he faced (eight outs); Manatees scored just one run despite having ten hits, three of them doubles, with two off the bat of the resurgent Brent Brewer -- kudos to hitting coach Corey Hart for any part he's played in Brent's coming-out party; we miss you, Taylor Green -- the question is, will it be a permanent "Brewer" absence?

 

Brevard County Game Log

Manatee out at the plate in the 7th, same situation as the Mike Cameron Milwaukee out at the plate play this week; not sure what Kenny Holmberg was thinking here to end the game --

 

Brevard County Top 9th

• - Pitcher Change: Adalberto Mendez replaces Corey Madden.
• - J. R. Hopf strikes out swinging.
• - Kenny Holmberg hits a ground-rule double (7) on a fly ball to left-center field.
• - Yohannis Perez grounds into double play, third baseman Vasili Spanos to first baseman Logan Morrison. Kenny Holmberg out at 3rd.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 7, Huntsville 4

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

 

Barons Win By Day and By Long Ball, Again

Huntsville Comeback Bid Falls Short in Ninth

By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars

Dewon Day spun five solid frames and was supported with two more home runs in Birmingham's 7-4 victory over Huntsville Thursday night in the fourth of a five-game set at Regions Park. The Barons improved to 30-28 in the second half, while the Stars fell to 27-32 in the second half and 68-61 overall. The Barons have won three straight, and have totaled 22 runs on 41 hits in so doing, to take a nine to four lead in the season series.

 

Miguel Negron opened the home first with a double and scored when C.J. Lang followed with a two-base hit. Victor Mercedes singled Lang to third and both scored when Javier Castillo tripled into right field for his ninth three-base hit of the season, good for second in the league. Stars' starter David Welch worked out of further trouble by retiring Brandon Allen on a shallow fly to left field and striking out Stefan Gartrell.

 

The Stars got on the board in the second inning on a leadoff long ball by Lorenzo Cain, his fourth, and just the second allowed by Day in 38 2/3 innings. Michael Brantley led off the third with a triple and scored on an Alcides Escobar groundout to trim the lead to 3-2 before Brandon Allen crushed a two-run home run in the third inning to push the Barons lead to 5-2. It was his second home run in as many nights, his ninth with the Barons and 24th overall this season. The long ball was also the 20th allowed by Welch and the 13th hit off the southpaw by a left-hand swinger.

 

Victor Mercedes belted a home run with two outs in the fourth to extend the Barons' lead to 6-2. It was his second home run of the series, third against the Stars this year and 12th of the season to establish a career-high. Welch was lifted after four frames, matching his shortest outing of the year, and suffered the loss to drop to 11-3. He allowed a season-high ten hits, walked two and fanned four.

 

Day retired the last nine batters he faced to close out his performance to earn his first win of the season after 22 relief outings and a dozen starts between triple-A Charlotte and the Barons. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out four. John Lujan took over and retired each of the nine batters he faced before Fernando Hernandez, who gave up a one-out double to Escobar that ended a stretch of 19 consecutive batters retired. Mat Gamel pushed his hitting streak to eight games with a single that scored Escobar before coming into score on a base hit by Cole Gillespie that sliced the lead to 7-4. Hernandez was replaced by Jon Link, who struck out Chris Errecart to end the game with two runners on base. Link earned his league-high and minor league best 34th save.

 

The series wraps up Friday night with right-hander Alex Periard taking the hill for Huntsville against Barons' right-hander Lucas Harrell. Coverage 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 Box Score

Chris Errecart 13-for-89 (.146), things not going well post-hand injury; Lorenzo Cain left the game after grounding out in the 7th, keep an eye on that...

 

Huntsville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Final: Round Rock (Astros) 9, Nashville 4

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Joe Dillon photo, text follows --

 

Sounds Take 9-4 Loss Against Express

NASHVILLE - After winning four of the last five games against the Round Rock Express, the Nashville Sounds took a 9-4 loss on Thursday night at Greer Stadium.

 

The Sounds were on the receiving end of an offensive onslaught from the Express after outscoring them 48-24 in their last five games. Nashville attempted a late comeback after being down 4-0, but Round Rock put the game away with a five-run rally in the eighth inning.

 

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Sounds, which was just one game short of their longest streak of the season.

 

The Express posted a three-run rally in the top of the third inning off the help of a pair of run-scoring doubles and a two-out single. Danny Klassen led the inning off with a single and scored on the next at-bat on a double from Yordany Ramirez, who later scored on a double from Edwin Maysonet. J.R. Towles then knocked a two-out single to score Maysonet from third, but Ray Sadler was thrown out trying to score from second base by Sounds left fielder Hernan Iribarren.

 

Round Rock added another run in the top of the sixth inning after Tommy Manzella tripled then scored on a single in the next at-bat from Klassen. The run was the last scored against Nic Ungs (2-3), who took the loss as the starter for the Sounds after giving up four earned runs in six innings of work.

 

The Sounds cut the lead in half in the bottom of the sixth inning when Joe Dillon knocked a two-run single off Round Rock starter Alberto Arias to score Carlos Corporan and Ozzie Chavez. Nashville then added another run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Chris Woodward singled to score Adam Heether from second base off Round Rock reliever Dave Borkowski. Woodward ended up with two RBIs on the night to add to his team-leading 22 in the month of August.

 

Chris Woodward RBI single

 

After narrowing the deficit to one run, the wheels fell off for the Sounds in the top of the eighth inning. Round Rock mounted a five-run rally that included four unearned runs on just two hits off Nashville relievers Luis Pena and Tim Dillard. The first run of the inning scored on a fielding error by Woodward that kept the inning alive for Val Majewski to cap the rally with a three-run blast to left field off Dillard. The longball was Majewski's fifth of the year.

 

The Sounds did manage to add one, last offensive highlight in the bottom of the ninth inning when Woodward belted the first home run off the scoreboard for Nashville this season. The longball was Woodward's third of the year, and he raised his batting average to .375 over the last 18 games with a 2-for-4 night.

 

Arias (4-4) picked up his first win as a starter for the Express this season after making a spot start for the injured Ron Chiavacci. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and only gave up two earned runs before handing the ball over to the bullpen, who gave up one run in 2 2/3 innings of work.

 

Mitch Stetter and Joe Bateman turned in the lone scoreless innings for the Sounds pitching staff, but Pena gave up the only earned run out of the bullpen in his 1/3 of an inning.

 

The teams continue the series at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night at Greer Stadium. Left-hander Troy Cate (2-2, 4.91) will make a spot start for the Sounds against lefty Josh Muecke (7-11, 4.95) for the Express.

 

Nashville Box Score

One step forward, two steps back for Luis Pena; Long-ago Brewer draft pick (2nd round, 1993) Danny Klassen still kicking around, amazing -- he was an expansion draft pick of the D-Backs prior to the '98 season...

 

Nashville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with First Baseman Brad Nelson

Always one of the classiest guys we listen to all season; Brad discusses his hopes for a September call-up among other topics...

[Mass Haas]

An 0-4 night for the organization.

 

And certainly not to single out David Welch and Evan Anundsen, two of the top pitchers this season who happened to falter tonight, but one of the big things I'll take out of the 2008 minor league season was that pitching was poor to at best mediocre up and down the chain all season.

 

Could we have imagined Luis Pena wouldn't even be a September call-up back in April? The Huntsville bullpen collapsed time and again, the big reason the Stars couldn't take advantage of their awesome first-half lineup. Who broke out? Wily Peralta at rookie ball? Is that the pitcher we hang our hat on coming off this season -- a rookie baller? Aguilar, Bray, Tyson, Braddock, how many others took steps back? First impressions of Evan Frederickson -- huge project on their hands.

 

Several of the soft-tossing lefties (Narron, Cody, Bramhall) had the numbers but not the projectability. And for the most part, Brewer pitchers were healthy, just not overly effective.

 

Please continue the progression, Jeremy Jeffress. Because in some ways, Jeremy, "tag, you're it".

 

OK, rip me a new one and tell me why I'm wrong.

[battlekow]

Well, Peralta's an A-baller now, and I think there's a lot to get excited about when you have a 19-year-old throwing mid-90s gas with a hard, late-breaking mid-80s slider. But yeah, overall a very disappointing pitching year for the organization, though if you're only going to have one real pitching prospect, I'd want him to a look a lot like Jeremy Jeffress. Hopefully Odorizzi, Lintz, and others are the next generation and really emerge next year.

[LouisEly]

one of the big things I'll take out of the 2008 minor league season was that pitching was poor to at best mediocre up and down the chain all season.

 

And that doesn't really surprise me, given how few of their top picks they have spent on pitching recently. 2007 - none of their top 5 picks were pitchers. 2006 - two of their top five, the aforementioned Anundsen and Jeffress. 2005 - only one in the top four rounds and he was traded (Inman).

 

If you want to go further than that, 2004 - all top four rounds, with three busts and one gold strike who is already in the majors (Gallardo). 2003 - none of the top five rounds. Hard to expect greatness in pitching when so few top picks are spent there.

 

Like the 'kow said, Odorizzi, Frederickson, Lintz, Adams, Romanski, Lasker, and Bowman should help boost the pitching in the next few years.

[dadofandrew]

Dillard and Stetter both look to have futures, albeit in middle relief. I'm giddy with that.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Power's lead continues to shrink

By Rick Ryan

Charleston Gazette Assistant Sports Editor

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- That first-place cushion the Power was enjoying a few days ago is now acting like a pin cushion.

 

For the second straight night, West Virginia allowed an early seven-run inning Thursday and, despite a spirited comeback, wound up a 12-8 loser to the Asheville Tourists in front of a Buck Night crowd of 4,596 at Appalachian Power Park.

 

The loss shaved the Power's lead to a half-game over Lakewood in the Northern Division of the South Atlantic League with 10 games remaining in the season's second half. Lakewood won 5-1 at Lake County Thursday night.

 

West Virginia began its current four-game home series against the Tourists with a three-game lead and appeared ready to coast into the playoffs - the Power had won 20 of its first 26 home games in the second half. But after giving up 29 runs to Asheville in the first three games - all losses - the Power's lead has shrunk considerably.

 

Worse yet, Power starters aren't giving their team the chance to compete. On Wednesday, Dan Merklinger was raked for seven runs in the third inning of a 7-2 loss. On Thursday, right-hander Evan Anundsen was hit for a seven-spot in the first.

 

"One thing we've talked about as a team is we have to go out and have good starting pitching,'' said Power manager Jeff Isom. "If we have good starting pitching and we give ourselves the opportunity to score early ... we're a different ballclub when we have the lead. That's not the case tonight, last night ... we just have to do a better job with starting pitching at this point.''

 

Anundsen (11-7) wasn't entirely to blame for the Tourists' onslaught in the first.

 

The Power committed four of its five errors in the top of the first inning, leading to four unearned runs for Asheville. Darin Holcomb reached on catcher's interference against Eric Fryer, Steffan Wilson hit baserunner Helder Velazquez in the back trying for a 3-6-3 double play and, in the ugliest sequence, a Warren Schaeffer ground ball ate up second baseman Eric Farris for one error and right fielder Caleb Gindl, trying to nail a runner at third, air-mailed the ball into the stands.

 

The Tourists managed four hits in the first - all singles, none of them with a lot of authority. At one point, eight straight batters reached on a hit, error, walk or hit batsman.

 

It was hardly the way the Power wanted to shake the doldrums from Tuesday's game, when Asheville strung together eight straight hits in the third. Isom doesn't think playoff pressure is the cause for the recent slow starts.

 

"I don't know,'' he said. "We're just concerned about winning ballgames right now. Yes, the playoffs would be nice, but the bottom line is we've got to start winning ballgames.

 

"It comes down to us getting on the board first if we can. And if we don't give ourselves an opportunity, it's tough to win ballgames. Our guys did a great job tonight of coming back, but that takes a lot of energy and a lot of work to do that. And you can't do this on a nightly basis.''

 

The Power's deficit grew as large as 9-0 in the fourth before it nearly made it all the way back.

 

Gindl parked a grand slam to center field in the fifth - his second straight game with a homer - cutting the lead to 9-5. Logan Schafer had donated an RBI single earlier in the inning.

 

That rally chased right-hander Christian Friedrich, a first-round draft pick by the Colorado Rockies in June, who was making his debut for Asheville.

 

Three more runs in the sixth brought the Power within 9-8. One scored when Fryer was struck by a pitch with the bases loaded, another crossed when Wilson hit a double-play grounder and the final one came on Zelous Wheeler's RBI single.

 

But that was it for the Power rally. Over the final three innings, Tourists relievers Matthew Reynolds and Ethan Katz permitted no hits and just one runner on a walk.

 

Michael Mitchell and Lars Davis led the offense for Asheville with three hits apiece.

 

The teams finish their series tonight at 7:05 (6:05 Central), with left-hander Lucas Luetge (2-1, 2.63 ERA) starting for the Power against righty Cory Riordan (8-8, 3.49).

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Sounds suffer loss on late-inning surge

By GREG SULLIVAN

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

A five-run eighth inning helped Round Rock pull away from the Sounds and win 9-4 on Thursday night at Greer Stadium, snapping the Sounds' three-game winning streak.

 

A win would have matched the team's season-high, a four-game streak earlier this month. Despite the loss, Nashville has won five of its past seven games overall and five of its past seven against Round Rock.

 

The Sounds were down 4-3 going into the eighth, but the Express pushed their lead to 9-3 behind a two-out three-run homer by Val Majewski off Tim Dillard. A costly error by Nashville second baseman Chris Woodward had kept the inning going, allowing Majewski to come to the plate.

 

"I thought we did some damage control early," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "Then we had the error (in the eighth). Unfortunately, they hit the three-run home run. It kind of put the fork in us."

 

Nashville added one more run with a solo homer from Woodward in the bottom of the ninth that hit the bottom of Greer's guitar scoreboard, the first homer to do so this season.

 

Joe Dillon had a bases-loaded two-RBI single for the Sounds in the bottom of the sixth. Woodward added another RBI single in the seventh.

Starter Nic Ungs (2-3) took the loss for Nashville, allowing four earned runs in six innings of work.

 

The Sounds had played well against Round Rock of late, despite Thursday's loss. Kremblas said he hopes to see things turn back around with today's game.

 

"(We need to) do the same as what we've been doing," Kremblas said. "We'll be ready."

[jjfanec]

I agree the pitching has been disappointing, but one guy who has shown something this year and has not been mentioned is Cody Scarpetta. I know he is in rookie ball, but he has put up really good numbers in his first season pitching. Put him with Ordorizzi and Lintz and that is a fun group to watch next year. Wooten and Luetge have also started out well. Throw Peralta in there along with some guys who will guys who will be looking to bounce back like Braddock and Aguilar and this group could be really good in a year or two.

But like you said Maas all these guys are young so our hopes rest on Jeffress as the only guy above A-ball with top-end stuff, unless I am missing someone.