Link Report for Games of Tuesday, August 26th

[Mass Haas]

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Isotopes take advantage of Sounds pitcher's struggles

By STEVE SILVER

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Sounds starting pitcher Chris Narveson can't even blame his worst performance of the season on the rain.

 

With rainbows replacing the recent stormy weather at Greer Stadium, Narveson struggled to throw strikes Tuesday night as the Albuquerque Isotopes shelled the 26-year-old lefty for a season-high eight runs en route to a 9-8 victory in front of 2,084 fans.

 

Narveson, who now owns the worst record (6-13) on the Sounds' roster, allowed the runs - seven unearned - on four hits in 4 2/3 innings.

 

"He was doing fine but got a little bit wild there," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "Maybe he got a little tired there. The pitches were just missing."

 

Although Narveson put the Sounds in an early two-run hole thanks to two consecutive walks in the first inning, his teammates bailed him out with a four-run effort in the bottom of the first. Brendan Katin blasted a three-run shot to right field.

 

But Narveson could not hold onto that lead as he allowed five more runs in the fifth inning, including a three-run home run by Isotopes' left fielder Michael Ryan.

 

One mean Heether: Adam Heether went 3-for-4 Tuesday and is batting .417 (35-for-84) over his past 20 games.

 

Washed away: Monday's rain out against the Isotopes was officially canceled and will not be made up.

 

Warm welcome: Third baseman Mat Gamel notched his first career hit at the Triple-A level in his first trip to the plate Tuesday with a single to left-center field. Gamel finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs. He was 0-for-4 Sunday against Round Rock.

 

"Oh yeah, he was hitting the ball well tonight, much better than the last game," Kremblas said.

 

Baseball America named Gamel the Southern League's "best batting prospect" after he hit .329 with 19 home runs and a league-high 96 RBIs in 127 games with the Stars this year.

[Mass Haas]

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Brewers win 4th straight

By CURT SYNNESS - Helena Independent Record

 

The Helena Brewers won their fourth straight game Tuesday, beating the Great Falls Voyagers 5-3 at Kindrick Legion Field and moving to within one game of second place for the overall standings in the Pioneer League's Northern Division.

 

Starting pitcher Cody Adams of Helena went seven innings for the win. He allowed eight hits and one run, the lone tally being a home run by the Voyagers' Johnny Celis. Adams, who is now 4-4 on the season, struck out six batsmen and gave up two bases on balls.

 

"He (Adams) pitched a darn good game," said Brewers manager Rene Gonzales. "He was able to stay out in front by consistently getting strike one. Adams was using three pitches tonight, his off-speed stuff was there. He only made one mistake all night, on a high change-up."

 

The local hurler worked himself out of a tough jam in the sixth frame, when with runners on second and third and only one out, Adams bowed his neck and struck out Mike Grace and Kyle Shelton to end the inning.

 

The Voyagers outhit the home team, 9-6, but Helena took advantage of their base knocks, while the local defense twisted three double plays to kill Electric City rallies.

 

Brock Kjeldgaard put the Brew Crew out in front in the opening stanza, scalding a two-run dinger on an 0-0 pitch over the left field fence.

 

They added two more in the third, when left-handed hitting Erik Komatzu drilled a ball to deep right-center, which reached the wall on one bounce for an RBI triple. He then sprinted home on Kjeldgaard's infield grounder to third.

 

The hosts closed out their scoring on a John Delaney solo bomb in the seventh, putting them up by a score of 5-1.

 

The Voyagers threatened in the top of the ninth, tallying a pair of runs, before reliever Adam Arnold ended the contest with a whiff to collect his fifth save. The Brewers also used relievers Brandon Rapoza and Santo Manzanillo. Joshua Balleaud was hung with the loss.

 

Helena's John Delaney went 2-for-2, while the Voyagers' Jesus Avila was 2-for-4 with a double.

 

The Capital City group did not commit an error, as Kjeldgaard and centerfielder Cutter Dykstra flashed the best leather. Kjeldgaard dug several balls out of the dirt at first for outs, and Dykstra made a spectacular diving catch after a long run on a sinking line drive in the right-center gap.

 

Helena is now 31-35 on the year, just one game back of Great Falls, at 32-34. The two teams meet again tonight at Kindrick at 7:05 (8:05 Central), and the Brewers can move into a second-place tie in the overall standings with a win.

 

Photos by Lisa Kunkel, IR staff photographer - Helena Brewer Brock Kjeldgaard makes contact with the ball for a home run hit during the first inning to bring in John Delaney Tuesday night in their game against Great Falls at Kindrick Legion Field.

 

http://www.helenair.com/content/articles/2008/08/27/sports/local/100spl_080827_brewers.jpg

 

Helena Brewers' David Fonseca hurdles over Great Falls' Kent Gerst while turning the double play during Tuesday night's game at Kindrick Legion Field.

 

http://images.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/articles/2008/08/27/sports/local/100spl_080827_brewers-2.jpg

[battlekow]

Erik Komatzu? Haha, he's an insidious exotic species of baseball player that's overgrowing the Pioneer League!

[battlekow]

Gamel named BA's PCL Prospect of the Day:

Nashville third baseman Mat Gamel (Brewers) rebounded from a brutal Triple-A debut on Sunday (0-for-4, four strikeouts, error) to go 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored yesterday. The Sounds, who lost 9-8 to Albuquerque, reside in last place, meaning that the 23-year-old Gamel won't be playing in a minor league playoff series. Instead, he may simply be getting a tune-up before a September callup to Milwaukee.

And Caleb Gindl takes Sally League honors:

We don't usually POTD honors to the same player two days in a row, but rain thinned out the Sally League's schedule yesterday, so we'll again give the nod to West Virginia (Brewers) right fielder Caleb Gindl for going 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI as the Power took another step towards clinching the Northern Division title with a 7-3 win over Lexington (Astros).