Link Report for Fri. 8/29 -- Congrats to W.V., Playoff Bound! Sounds Season Ends

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF!

 

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

 

Nashville: LHP Sam Narron at New Orleans (Mets), 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.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t556

 

Huntsville: RHP Donovan Hand at Chattanooga (Reds), 6:00 PM pre-game; 6:15 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 and TBD in a twinbill at St. Lucie (Mets), 4:00 PM gametime

 

Sorry, no audio for this series...

 

West Virginia: LHP Lucas Luetge and RHP R.J. Seidel in a doubleheader at home vs. Kannapolis (White Sox), 4:55 PM pre-game, 5:05 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 Brandon Ritchie at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 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 at the mini-Angels complex in Tempe, 7:00 PM local Mountain Standard Time

 

Never any audio for the Maryvale Crew

[Mass Haas]

Follow Friday'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_08_29_nasaaa_nozaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_29_hunaax_cngaax_1

 

Brevard County Game One:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_29_breafa_sluafa_1

 

Brevard County Game Two:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&gid=2008_08_29_breafa_sluafa_2&cid=503&t=g_box

 

West Virginia Game One:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_29_kanafx_wvaafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Two:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&gid=2008_08_29_kanafx_wvaafx_2&cid=525&t=g_box

 

Helena:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_29_helrok_misrok_1

 

Arizona:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_29_brrrok_angrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Follow Lakewood's game here re: the Power playoff chace (magic number at two to begin the night)

[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 81 57 .587 - 46-22 35-35 W1 Memphis 73 65 .529 8.0 35-31 38-34 L1 Omaha 61 79 .436 21.0 30-42 31-37 L1 Nashville 59 80 .424 22.5 29-42 30-38 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 40 26 .606 - 21-10 19-16 W1 Tennessee 33 32 .508 6.5 15-19 18-13 L2 Huntsville 30 36 .455 10.0 17-18 13-18 L1 Chattanooga 28 37 .431 11.5 14-17 14-20 W2 West Tenn 28 37 .431 11.5 14-20 14-17 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 36 22 .621 - 24-9 12-13 W7 Jupiter 39 26 .600 0.5 19-14 20-12 W3 St. Lucie 32 29 .525 5.5 13-14 19-15 W2 Palm Beach 32 32 .500 7.0 18-15 14-17 L2 Brevard County 29 36 .446 10.5 14-19 15-17 L3 Vero Beach 18 45 .286 20.5 6-22 12-23 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 43 22 .662 - 21-9 22-13 W2 Lakewood 40 26 .606 3.5 20-14 20-12 W1 Delmarva 38 28 .576 5.5 17-14 21-14 W2 Lake County 33 33 .500 10.5 18-17 15-16 L1 Greensboro 26 38 .406 16.5 13-18 13-20 W1 Hagerstown 24 42 .364 19.5 12-20 12-22 L4 Lexington 22 43 .338 21.0 12-23 10-20 L3 Hickory 20 45 .308 23.0 7-24 13-21 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 16 12 .571 - 13-5 3-7 L1 Great Falls 15 15 .500 2.0 8-7 7-8 W2 Helena 11 19 .367 6.0 3-11 8-8 L2 Missoula 8 21 .276 8.5 6-6 2-15 W1 

[Mass Haas]

Arizona League Standings

[battlekow]

Granny for Lucroy.

[battlekow]

Looks like Logan Schafer left the game after getting hit by a pitch.

 

For BC, Bobby Bramball remains en fuego.

[battlekow]

So does anyone know why Lou Palmisano isn't catching somewhere?

[wvpowerblkwel]

When the lakewood game goes final will someone please post the score...I'm at the park and can't get the box on my phone. Thanks for any updates . Hopefully the Power take game 2 and clinch on their own!

[biedergb]

When the lakewood game goes final will someone please post the score...

 

Hagerstown 5, Lakewood 2, Final. Congrats to the West Virginia Power!

[wvpowerblkwel]

Thanks for the update! Looks like the Power can celebrate tonite!

[rotoherb]

So does anyone know why Lou Palmisano isn't catching somewhere?

Considering that he surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee back in March, I'm guessing that they'll take it easy on the squats for the rest of the season. It's possible that he's cleared to hit, but not to do 100 deep knee bends.

[twobrewers]

Since when does Mel Stocker play 2B?

I also assumed Captain Lou was going to take the rest of the year off from catching on account of recovering from his injury.

Pena might be the biggest disappointment in the farm system this year.

[battlekow]

It looks like Stocked was drafted as a 2B back in 2001 by the Royals. He hadn't played it at all at least since 2003.

[wibadgers23]

Pretty good numbers recently for Omar Aguilar. 15.1 IP/23 SO/5 BB/1 ER in his last 10 games. Anybody see him in Milwaukee's bullpen next year?

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game One: West Virginia 8, Kannapolis (White Sox) 7

Final, Game Two: Kannapolis 2, West Virginia 1

 

West Virginia Site Doubleheader Summary:

 

POWER CLINCH DIVISION WITH DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT

 

The West Virginia Power scored a come from behind victory in the first game of their double header against the Kannapolis Intimidators at Appalachian Power Park on Friday night. Even though they lost the second game, the victory in game one, coupled with Lakewood's loss to Hagerstown, officially secured the second half Northern Division Crown for the Power, putting them in the postseason for the second year in a row.

 

The first game saw five lead changes, with West Virginia scoring twice with two outs in the ninth to win 8-7. Eduardo Escobar scored in the first inning on a wild pitch to put Kannapolis ahead. The Power scored three times in the second to take the lead. Zelous Wheeler ripped a solo shot, his 13th of the year, to tie the game and Eric Farris singled in two runs to give the Power their first lead. Jim Gallagher tied the game a half-inning later with his first two-run homer of the game. Mark Fleisher singled in a run in the fifth inning to give Kannapolis the lead again before Gallagher hit his second two-run shot later in the inning.

 

Wheeler knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth inning before Farris doubled in a pair of runs to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. In the ninth inning, Gallagher ripped a two-out single and moved to second base on a wild pitch before he scored the go-ahead run on Brent Morel's base hit. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Curt Rindal singled into right field to score Eric Fryer and Steffan Wilson to win the game.

 

West Virginia Game One Box Score

Not an especially impressive night on the mound, but what a win; as noted above, Logan Schafer leaves after the 2nd inning ends (HBP)...

 

West Virginia Game One Game Log

 

The second game didn't involve as much offense as the Power fell 2-1. Wilson began the second inning with a base hit and he scored West Virginia's only run of the game on Gordon Beckham's throwing error. A wild pitch allowed Jorge Castillo to score with two outs in the sixth inning to tie the game. Christian Marrero began the seventh with a single and he scored the go-ahead run on Farris's fielding error.

 

West Virginia Game Two Box Score

In his last five starts, R. J. Seidel has worked 26.1 innings while allowing only two earned runs -- fantastic...

 

West Virginia Game Two Game Log

In game one Mike Ramlow (6-3) retired the only batter he faced in the ninth inning to get the victory. Tyson Corley (0-4) allowed a pair of runs on three hits over three innings and was tagged with the loss. Leroy Hunt (3-5) earned the victory in the second game after tossing two and a third scoreless innings of relief. Corey Frerichs (6-9) allowed an unearned run on two hits over an inning and two-thirds and was tagged with the loss. R.J. Seidel started game two and went five and a third, allowing just a run on six hits, while fanning eight batters, a season high.

 

The Power are 76-60 on the year and 44-23 in the second half with the split. The Intimidators are 65-67 on the year and 34-28 in the second half with the split. Caleb Gindl hit safely in the first game, but went hitless in the second contest, snapping his hitting streak at 13 games. With the victory, West Virginia will make the postseason for the second year in a row, and for the third time in the last five years.

 

The Power will continue the five-game series against Kannapolis Saturday night. The Power will start right hander Wily Peralta (0-0, 7.36) and the Intimidators will counter with right hander Charlie Shirek (5-6, 3.69). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

[Mass Haas]

Power returning to Sally playoffs

By John Torenli / Special to MLB.com

The West Virginia Power are going back to the South Atlantic League playoffs for the second straight year. They just wish they could have done so with a victory.

Curt Rindal ripped a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday as the Power walked off with an 8-7 win over the Kannapolis Intimidators in the opener of a doubleheader at Appalachian Power Park.

However, it wasn't until the first few innings of its 2-1 loss in the nightcap that West Virginia found out it was playoff-bound as Hagerstown rallied for four runs in the top of the ninth to beat second-place Lakewood, 5-2.

"We walked off the field dejected because we didn't win that game," said first-year Power manager Jeff Isom. "We had some fun in the clubhouse, but our goal every game this year is to go out and give an effort to win.

"We won the first game in impressive fashion and the Lakewood game was still going on when we were on the field for Game 2, but we kept it hush-hush. We would have liked to have ended it with a win in that situation. Obviously, we wanted to win it on our own."

Regardless, West Virginia will be bidding for its first Sally championship since the Charleston Wheelers brought home the crown in 1990.

Isom has high expectations for his club after working with many of the players at Rookie-level Helena during last year's run to the Pioneer League playoffs.

"I was in Helena with this group last year and had a little bit of a playoff run," he said. "We're not going to do anything different [now that we clinched]. We want to get some guys some much-needed rest because we've been grinding it out in the second half. But we want to win these games and carry some momentum going into the playoffs."

Eric Farris went 2-for-5 with a double and four RBIs in the opener for the Power (44-23).

Mike Ramlow (6-3) got the final out in the top of the ninth to pick up the win after Rob Wooten surrendered a go-ahead RBI single to Brent Morel earlier in the frame.

Jim Gallagher went 3-for-5 with two homers, four RBIs and three runs scored for the Intimidators (34-28) in Game 1.

Tyson Corley (0-4) took the loss in the opener after surrendering two runs on three hits with three strikeouts in three frames.

R.J. Seidel started Game 2 for West Virginia and gave up a run on six hits and a walk with eight strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. Corey Frerichs (6-9) took the loss, yielding an unearned run on two hits with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 frames.

Curt Rindal's clutch two-run single paved the way for West Virginia's division clincher. (Photo by John M. Setzler Jr./MLB.com)

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2008/08/30/kVkkbpgy.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game One: Brevard County 10, St. Lucie (Mets) 1

Final, Game Two: Brevard County 5, St. Lucie 2

Brevard County Game One Box Score

Manatees score in five innings of the seven-inning contest, including four runs in the 6th on Jonathan Lucroy's grand slam; LHP Bobby Bramhall out of Rice continues to post impressive numbers, striking out six and walking none in five innings here; Yohannis Perez homered, singled, and walked; Mel Stocker reached base four times...

 

Brevard County Game One Game Log

Brevard County Game Two Box Score

All five 'Tee runs came in the 3rd with Lou Palmisano's three-run HR the key blow; LHP Derek Miller ends his season on a high note with four scoreless, and fellow southpaw Rafael Lluberes finished up nicely; Yohannis Perez tw singles to cap a nice evening...

 

Brevard County Game Two Game Log

 

Brevard County Top 3rd

• - Yohannis Perez singles on a line drive to right fielder D. J. Wabick.
• - Andy Bouchie walks. Yohannis Perez to 2nd.
• - Scott Houin out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Maikel Cleto to second baseman Greg Veloz. Yohannis Perez to 3rd. Andy Bouchie to 2nd.
• - Mel Stocker singles on a fly ball to center fielder Ezequiel Carrera. Yohannis Perez scores. Andy Bouchie to 3rd. Mel Stocker to 2nd on the throw.
• - Brent Brewer singles on a ground ball to left fielder Brahiam Maldonado. Andy Bouchie scores. Mel Stocker to 3rd.
• - Lou Palmisano homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. Mel Stocker scores. Brent Brewer scores.
• - J. R. Hopf pops out to catcher Luis Alen in foul territory.
• - Chuck Caufield singles on a ground ball to center fielder Ezequiel Carrera.
• - Charlie Fermaint pops out to second baseman Greg Veloz.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Missoula (Diamondbacks) 7, Helena 0

 

Helena Independent Record:

 

Osprey one-hit Brewers, soar to 7-0 victory

 

Missoula Osprey pitchers Taylor Sinclair and Bayron Zepeda combined to throw a one-hit shutout, beating the Helena Brewers 7-0 Friday in a Pioneer League game in the Garden City.

 

Sinclair started and took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. The Osprey hurler had allowed just three Brewer baserunners through the first seven frames, one on a walk and two by way of errors until Derrick Alfonso broke up the no-no with a leadoff groundball single back up the middle.

 

Sinclair, who was relieved by Zepeda with two outs in the seventh, improved his record to 5-1. He struck out eight batsmen in 7.2 stanzas.

 

The Osprey's Kyle Greene and Isaias Asencio belted solo home runs. Reynaldo Navarro aided the host's cause with a critical two-run single in the fourth inning. Missoula (19-50 overall) compiled 11 hits, led by Ascencio's 3-for-5 performance.

 

Brandon Ritchie started on the hill for Helena and was saddled with the defeat. He went 3 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits and five runs.

 

Ritchie dropped to 1-3 on the year.

 

The Brewers (31-38) fell to four games behind second-place Great Falls (35-34) in the Northern Division's overall standings.

 

The Voyagers beat the league-leading Billings Mustangs 6-5 on Friday. Helena and Great Falls begin a two-games series at Kindrick Field, starting tonight at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central).

 

Helena Box Score

Twenty straight innings for the H-Crew without a run -- yikes; it is not easy to miss the playoffs in an eight-team split-season league, but the Brewers are on the verge of doing just that; this is a Missoula team on the very lowest rung of the Diamondback chain, and they completely shut down the Milwaukee kids...

 

Helena Game Log

 

MiLB.com's report on the one-hitter

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Angels 6, Arizona Brewers 0

 

Arizona Box Score

Lost in Carlos George's fast offensive start and continued defensive woes is that he's stumbled all the way down to a .560 OPS with a .249 OBP (four walks in 167 AB's)...

 

Arizona Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 6, Chattanooga (Reds) 2

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Native Son Hand Finishes Season on Strong Note

By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars

Ozzie Chavez hit a home run, drove in three runs and wound up a double shy of hitting for the cycle in Huntsville's 6-2 win Friday night in the second game of the last regular season five-game set at AT&T Field. The Stars improved to 31-36 in the second half and 72-65 overall, while the Lookouts dipped to 28-38 in the half and 65-71 overall. The Stars lead the season series 13-9 and have won seven of 12 in Chattanooga.

Chavez belted a two-run home run in the second inning to give the Stars the lead for a second straight night. It was his first long ball with the Stars since May 18, 2006 against the Lookouts. The home side tied the game in the bottom half of the frame on a scoring fly ball by Michael DeJesus and a two-out infield hit by Chris Heisey that plated Eric Eymann, who had doubled earlier in the frame.

 

Angel Salome opened the seventh inning with a single, moved to second base on a Michael Garciaparra sacrifice bunt and to third base on a single by Chavez that knocked starter James Avery out of the game. Joe Valentine came on and hit Freddy Parejo to load the bases before Brent Krause dumped a soft line drive into shallow right field just inside the line for a double to deliver Salome and Chavez to break the tie. Valentine escaped further trouble by retiring pinch-hitter Mike Bell and Michael Brantley to end the inning. Avery suffered the loss to drop to 7-8 on the season, and 0-3 in four turns against Huntsville. He allowed seven hits and struck out four.

 

Garciaparra's run-scoring fielder's choice grounder and a run-scoring triple by Chavez in the eighth against Lee Tabor pushed the visitors' edge to 6-2. Donovan Hand grabbed the win after six innings of work, giving up seven hits, while walking two and fanning four. He finished the season 3-4 at the double-A level and was followed to the hill by Omar Aguilar, who tossed three scoreless, hitless innings, while striking out five, to earn his fourth save of the season and first since June 18.

 

The series continues Saturday night with left-hander Brae Wright taking the hill for the Stars against Lookouts' southpaw Travis Wood. Coverage begins at 6:00 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

Angel Salome on base three more times -- unrelentant; Omar Aguilar once again has fans excited -- kudos to pitching coach Chris Hook...

 

Huntsville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

In this audio interview while in New Orleans, Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas reveals the names of eight Sounds who have been told they will be called up September 1st -- there could be others, including outfielder / speedster Mel Stocker, now playing in high-A. Kremblas only discusses the Sounds players here. I believe that other than this audio link on the Sounds site, we're the first source to bring this to your attention -- yay for us http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif. More importantly, here's hoping each player contributes even a tad down the stretch, even to rest players in perhaps meaningless games in the final week. Special congrats to Mat Gamel and in particular longtme farmhand Brad Nelson.

RHP Tim Dillard, LHP Mitch Stetter, RHP Mark DiFelice, UT Joe Dillon, OF Tony Gwynn, C Vinny Rottino, 3B Mat Gamel, and 1B/OF Brad Nelson

Mat Gamel will need to be added to the 40-man roster, and in turn, look for the formal addition of Michael Brantley to the Arizona Fall league team to replace Mat.

To discuss this, please refer to this thread in our Major League Forum. This post is repeated in post # 127 in that thread.

[Mass Haas]

Final: New Orleans (Mets) 11, Nashville 10, 11 innings

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Brendan Katin photo, text follows --

 

Sounds Season Ends With 11-10, 11-Inning Loss

 

METAIRIE, La. - The Nashville Sounds closed out their season on a sour note on Friday evening, blowing a pair of late leads before suffering an 11-10, 11-inning loss to the New Orleans Zephyrs at Zephyr Field in the teams' 2008 finale.

 

The final three contests of the teams' scheduled four-game series were cancelled due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Gustav.

 

Outfielder Brendan Katin was set to wear the hero's star for Nashville after he belted a go-ahead three-run homer, his second longball of the evening, to give the visitors a 9-6 lead in the top of the ninth inning, but the Sounds' bullpen relinquished the lead in the bottom of the frame.

 

AUDIO: Katin's Go-Ahead 3-Run HR

 

The Sounds again took a 10-9 lead in the top of the eleventh but Zephyrs outfielder Chris Aguila answered in the bottom of the frame with a two-run homer to left off Erasmo Ramirez to propel the home team to a dramatic, season-ending victory. The roundtripper, which also scored Val Pascucci (single), was Aguila's second of the night and 29th of the year.

 

In the top of the eleventh, the Sounds had posted the go-ahead run without the benefit of a hit. Mat Gamel drew a walk from Zephyrs reliever Ivan Maldonado and moved to second when Adam Heether was hit by a pitch before scoring from second using aggressive baserunning on Carlos Corporan's fielder's choice grounder that forced Heether at second.

 

Maldonado (4-5) backed into the victory for the Zephyrs despite giving up a run in his lone inning of work. Ramirez (3-5) took the loss for Nashville after surrendering the game-winning homer.

 

With the loss, the Sounds finished the 2008 campaign at 59-81, the worst record in the franchise's 31-year history.

 

Katin's 3-for-5 night for Nashville included his second two-homer game of the year as well as a season-best five RBIs and three runs scored as he upped his longball total to 19 on the season.

 

The Zephyrs grabbed a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning against Sounds starter Sam Narron. Trot Nixon got things started with a leadoff home run to right, his 14th longball of the year. After Pascucci reached on a fielding error by Gamel at third base, Michel Abreu delivered an RBI double before scoring on Aguila's two-run home run, the outfielder's 28th blast of the year.

 

The teams traded two-spots in the sixth. Katin belted a two-out homer off Z's reliever Brandon Knight in the top of the frame before Knight helped his own cause in the home half with a two-out, two-run double off Randy Choate that extended the New Orleans lead to 6-2. Knight came to the plate after Choate intentionally walked Ramon Martinez ahead of him to load the bases.

 

The Sounds pulled with 6-4 in the seventh with a pair of runs off Knight. Corporan belted a one-out solo homer to right, his third tater of the year, and Chris Woodward later added a two-out RBI single. Woodward finished the 2008 campaign on fire, hitting safely in 11 of his final 12 games at a blazing .404 clip (19-for-47) to finish the year with a .291 average.

 

Nashville evened the contest in the eighth by plating two runs against Zephyrs reliever Bobby Parnell. Katin led off with a double to right and scored two batters later on Heether's RBI double to left, the infielder's 31st two-bagger of the season. Callix Crabbe plated Heether with an RBI single to knot the contest at 6-6.

 

Pinch-hitter Vinny Rottino led off the Sounds' ninth with his career-best 30th double and was joined on the basepaths when Brad Nelson drew a walk from Z's reliever Carlos Muniz before both players scored on Katin's go-ahead three-run homer off the center field scoreboard, which gave Nashville what turned out to be a short-liver 9-6 cushion.

 

The Z's fought right back in the bottom of the ninth against Nashville reliever Luis Pena. Twelve of the right-hander's first 13 pitches of the inning were balls as he issued three consecutive free passes to Anderson Machado, Argenis Reyes, and Andy Green to load the bases with no outs before Sounds skipper Frank Kremblas summoned Richie Gardner to the mound.

 

Nixon greeted the right-hander by smacking his 1-2 offering deep to center for a bases-clearing, game-tying three-run double, knotting the score at 9-9. After Gardner retired the next two batters, he issued back-to-back walks to re-load the bases before inducing an inning-ending comebacker from pinch-hitter Jesus Feliciano to send the game to extra innings.

 

Nashville Box Score

Reliever Joe Bateman made a final push for a September callup with two scoreless innings -- he's a minor league free agent-to-be, so the Brewers will need to add him to the 40-man roster or sign him to a minor league deal with a non-roster spring training invite and then hope he passes through the Rule 5 draft; Luis Pena finished with 47 walks in in 49.1 innings and a .284 batting average against -- almost unthinkable in April, he won't get and does not deserve a September callup...

 

Nashville Game Log

Until next year, Nashville; now it's back to offseason stories on moribund Greer Stadium...