Link Report for Games of Saturday, May 23rd

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Saturday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Link here for the live audio choices - audio will no longer archive.

 

Sorry, no audio for this Brevard County series.

Nashville: RHP Mike Burns at Portland (Padres), 8:40 PM pre-game; 9:05 gametime

 

Huntsville: LHP Bobby Bramhall at home vs. West Tenn (Mariners), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime

 

Brevard County: TBD at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 6:00 PM gametime

 

Wisconsin: RHP Trey Watten at Beloit (Twins), 6:10 PM pre-game, 6:30 gametime

[Mass Haas]

Follow Saturday's action as it happens:

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

 

MiLB.com now has Gameday available for AA as well as AAA this season.

 

Nashville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_05_23_nasaaa_poraaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_05_23_wtdaax_hunaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_05_23_breafa_dunafa_1

 

Wisconsin:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_05_23_wisafx_belafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572

[Mass Haas]

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated a few hours prior to gametime.

 

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

[Mass Haas]

Midwest League Standings

[Mass Haas]

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 24 18 .571 - 12-11 12-7 W1 Memphis 22 17 .564 0.5 13-8 9-9 W1 Iowa 22 18 .550 1.0 11-7 11-11 W1 Omaha 19 22 .463 4.5 8-10 11-12 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 19 18 .514 - 8-10 11-8 W3 Tennessee 18 21 .462 2.0 7-10 11-11 L3 Carolina 18 23 .439 3.0 9-11 9-12 W2 Chattanooga 18 23 .439 3.0 10-12 8-11 L3 West Tenn 16 24 .400 4.5 8-11 8-13 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 25 11 .694 - 11-5 14-6 W2 Clearwater 20 17 .541 5.5 8-11 12-6 L1 Daytona 19 19 .500 7.0 8-9 11-10 W2 Lakeland 17 19 .472 8.0 10-10 7-9 W2 Tampa 16 23 .410 10.5 8-13 8-10 W1 Dunedin 15 23 .395 11.0 5-14 10-9 L3 

[trwi7]

Could we get two games in a row in Brevard? Wouldn't that be something!

[Mass Haas]

Check in to the Rattler Radio blog a bit prior to Wisconsin's game tonight for Chris' media notes and such.

[battlekow]

Looks like the demotion didn't help Jeffress even out whatever is bothering him. His first Brevard appearance went much like recent his Huntsville ones, stretches of dominance--he fanned the last three hitters he faced, all swinging, and had six strikeouts overall in three innings--mixed with terrible control and a penchant for giving up extra-base hits with runners on base. At least Rogers and Braddock pitched well again, though Braddock only went one inning. He, Roque Mercedes, and Rob Wooten are really a murderous trio coming out of the pen for the Manatees.

 

Taylor Green had a big game for Huntsville, and Omar Aguilar pitched a perfect ninth for once.

[TheCrew07]

I would guess that with all the rain out they are just trying to get everyone work again, things should get back to normal with everyone going multiple innings here in BC pretty quick.

[DHonks]

The rainouts might be a blessing later in the year as the arms might be in AA and going strong in late August rather than fatigued. I assume this was a game just to get work in, as I would guess they weren't able to throw side sessions each day

[LouisEly]

On the positive side, Rogers, Mercedes, Braddock, and Wooten keep rolling on. And nice to see Errecart and Wilson go yard.

 

Nice outing from Aguilar too.

[brewmann04]

Quick question for the experts what type of Catching Prospect is Corey Kemp he seems to be putting up some decent Numbers down on the Farm as one of those college Draft picks.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 4, Dunedin (Blue Jays) 3

 

Game Summary from the Dunedin Site

 

Jays lose 4-3 as players help umpire contest

Jays lose fourth straight, but Barron gets a different experience in defeat

By Tim Livingston / Dunedin Blue Jays

 

For one night only at Dunedin Stadium, baseball was presented as socialism; a game that if it was witnessed by former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, he would have swelled up with pride.

 

The Brevard County Manatees defeated the Dunedin Blue Jays, 4-3 on a Steffan Wilson 9th inning home run off Tim Collins, but the big story of the game was when two players, one from each side, took the field in place of injured home plate umpire Ross Nichel to officiate the contest.

 

With two outs in the bottom of the 1st inning, Moises Sierra broke his bat on a pitch from Manatees starter Mark Rogers, bouncing a ball to short for the final out of the inning, but the broken bat shard actually flew back and hit Nichel across the neck and shoulder area, causing him to fall to the ground almost immediately.

 

Trainers came out to check on Nichel and after a few minutes to check the injury, Nichel said he was okay to continue.

 

With the score 3-0 after three innings, Blue Jays trainer Bob Tarpey came out to check on Nichel's status, but after complaining of pain in his upper back, infield umpire Jordan Ferrell was summoned to the umpire's room to change into his plate gear.

 

The Florida State League runs two-man crews, and since the game would only be played with one umpire, Ferrell and Nichel asked both managers if they would allow a player from each side to umpire in the field in order to keep the game balanced on both sides and allow play to continue.

 

Both managers agreed to do so, and to start the top of the 4th inning, Ferrell took his new spot behind both plate. He was joined down the third base line by Blue Jays infielder Raul Barron and down the first base line by Manatees reliever Mark Willinsky.

 

As baseball tends to do when the silly meets the sublime, Barron was tested early, as Wilson led off the 4th with a line drive down the left field line that landed just foul. Barron showed good technique on the play, turning as the ball went over his head, straddling the line, and then pointing into foul territory, much like a veteran umpire would do.

 

There would be close plays with both rookie rule keepers, but both sides thought that the impromptu replacements handled the situation admirably. Both players switched spots every half inning, with the player affiliated with the team at the plate umpiring the first base side.

 

The Blue Jays had heard of something like this happening before, but never had experienced it themselves.

 

"We heard it happened already this year in Double-A," said Blue Jays pitching coach Darold Knowles, "But this is the first time I have seen it happen in a baseball game."

 

Nichel was diagnosed with a back contusion after being checked into a local hospital, and will most likely be out of tomorrow's series finale, which will take place at 1:00 PM (12:00 Central) at Dunedin Stadium.

 

The game itself seemed to drag along at a slow pace, but a three-run blast off the bat of Jesus Gonzalez in the fifth inning tied the game and made an already interesting game that much more appealing.

 

Both teams pitched splendidly throughout the contest, as the Blue Jays struck out a whopping 14 batters in the game, with every Manatees hitter striking out at least once. The Manatees pitching staff got 13 strikeouts of their own, but both Sierra and Kevin Ahrens avoided going down on strikes.

 

The big blow of the contest came on a 2-1 fastball from Collins (2-2) to Wilson that just cleared the tall fence in right to give the Manatees the lead for good. Rob Wooten needed only six pitches in the ninth to record his FSL-leading 15th save of the season, which in turn gave reliever Zach Braddock (1-1) his first win of the season. Wooten broke the team save record that was held by Doug Petit (1994) and Tim McClaskey (2001).

Wooten, a 13th-round pick in the 2008 Draft, has allowed just one earned run in 19 innings, leading to an ERA of 0.47. He has 26 strikeouts.

The Blue Jays managed only five hits in the contest, but drew six walks to give themselves plenty of chances to score, but the timely hitting of the Manatees once again sent them to a win over Dunedin, making them 8-0 against the Blue Jays this year.

 

The Manatees scored twice in the third when Zelous Wheeler grounded into a force out to second base and, coupled with a throwing error by the Jays' shortstop Justin Jackson, two runners scored. Chris Errecart had homered on a fly ball to left field in the 2nd.

 

The loss sealed the sixth consecutive series loss for the Blue Jays, and they are now in danger of being swept for their third consecutive series against the Manatees. They will send righty Vince Bongiovanni to the hill on Sunday to try and stop their four-game losing streak.

 

Brevard County Box Score

Jeremy Jeffress will note quickly the excellent work of his Manatee counterparts and will hopeully get the message soon; Caleb Gindl has hit a rough patch (.158, 6-for-38) to see his average dip below .300; Zelous Wheeler was the starting shortstop -- remember, Brent Brewer was removed from the previous game, so something is up with Brent; home run hero Steffan Wilson turns 23 today (Sunday)...

 

Brevard County Game Log

Wilson was thrown out at home on a throw by the Blue Jay center fielder to end the 2nd inning; Martin Maldonado picked off a runner at second base to end the Dunedin 3rd...

 

Here's Jeremy Jeffress' innings -- it's like switching between pleasure and pain every few moments --

 

Dunedin Bottom 4th

• Pitcher Change: Jeremy Jeffress replaces John Axford.
• John Tolisano singles on a ground ball to second baseman Eric Farris.
• Moises Sierra grounds into a force out, third baseman Sergio Miranda to second baseman Eric Farris. John Tolisano out at 2nd. Moises Sierra to 1st.
• With Manuel Rodriguez batting, passed ball by Martin Maldonado, Moises Sierra to 2nd.
• Manuel Rodriguez strikes out swinging.
• Kevin Ahrens grounds out, first baseman Steffan Wilson to pitcher Jeremy Jeffress.

Dunedin Bottom 5th

• Justin Jackson singles on a ground ball to center fielder Logan Schafer.
• Chris Emanuele walks. Justin Jackson to 2nd.
• Jesus Gonzalez homers (4) on a fly ball to left field. Justin Jackson scores. Chris Emanuele scores.
• C. J. Ebarb strikes out swinging.
• Darin Mastroianni strikes out swinging.
• John Tolisano walks.
• Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Adam Loewen replaces Moises Sierra.
• Adam Loewen pops out to third baseman Sergio Miranda.

Dunedin Bottom 6th

• Manuel Rodriguez walks.
• Kevin Ahrens walks. Manuel Rodriguez to 2nd.
• Justin Jackson strikes out swinging.
• Chris Emanuele strikes out swinging.
• Jesus Gonzalez strikes out swinging.

[trwi7]

The walks are still concerning, but at least it looks like two of the three hits he gave up were grounders and not line drives.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Wisconsin 9, Beloit (Twins) 1

 

Wisconsin Site Game Summary

 

Rattlers bash Beloit

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

BELOIT, WI -- The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers knocked out 12 hits and beat the Beloit Snappers 9-1 on Saturday night at Pohlman Field.

 

Corey Kemp had three hits, scored three runs, and drove in two runs to pace the offense. Timber Rattler starting pitcher Trey Watten snapped a personal four-game losing streak with six solid innings.

 

Erik Miller started the game with a double to right. Juan Sanchez moved Miller to third with a grounder to the right side of the infield. Jose Duran shot a single through the drawn-in infield to knock in Miller for a 1-0 lead.

 

Beloit (25-15) tied the game in the bottom of the second inning. Ramon Santana started the inning with a double. Angel Morales doubled to drive in Santana. Watten got out of the inning without any more damage.

 

The Rattler bats rewarded Watten with a four-run outburst in the top of the third. Miller and Sanchez started the inning with singles. Duran followed with another single to knock in Miller for a 2-1 lead. One out later, Kemp knocked in a pair with another single. After a walk and another single loaded the bases, John Delaney drew another walk to force in a run and make the score 5-1.

 

Wisconsin (19-23) padded their lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Kemp and Chris Dennis had back-to-back doubles to get the first run in. Dennis would score later in the inning on a wild pitch.

 

Watten would pitch through the sixth inning and turn that 7-1 lead over to the bullpen. Watten dodged a few issues as he walked five. But, he struck out four and did not allow a hit after the double by Morales in the second inning.

 

The Rattlers added two more runs without the benefit of a hit in the seventh. Beloit reliever Michael Tarsi walked three in the frame. An RBI fielder's choice by Michael Marseco and a run-scoring wild pitch put the Rattlers up 9-1.

 

Brandon Ritchie worked a scoreless seventh and Nick Tyson finished the game with two scoreless frames out of the bullpen.

 

Game two of the three game series is Sunday afternoon. Wily Peralta (0-0, 3.90) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Brad Tippett (3-1, 3,47) is set to start for the Snappers. Game time is 2:00 PM.

 

Wisconsin Box Score

Jose Duran and Edgar Trejo each have a seven-game hit streak going; Duran has been a welcome addition to the lineup; to answer brewmann04's question above, Corey Kemp is a 23 1/2-year-old who had a fine college career, finishing up with two seasons at East Carolina -- he sure has raked from Day One with the Rattlers (OPS of .867), so we'll enjoy the ride, but he'll always have the age issue to deal with until he's skipped a level; six of Chris Dennis' 12 hits have been for extra bases -- whatever reason he was held back this spring, it hasn't hurt him here; Trejo at first base -- John Delaney's going to be a useful part of the organization for several years, but Edgar needs to see his playing time at third base; Brett Lawrie still nursing the broken nose -- it's no fun, I can vouch...

 

Wisconsin Game Log

Michael Marseco struggling -- his GIDP with the bases loaded ended the four-run third inning...

 

Check out LHP Brandon Ritchie's eventful inning --

 

Beloit Bottom 7th

• Pitcher Change: Brandon Ritchie replaces Trey Watten.
• Dropped foul pop error by first baseman Edgar Trejo.
• Alexander Soto walks.
• Nathan Hanson walks. Alexander Soto to 2nd.
• Dominic De La Osa strikes out swinging.
• James Beresford strikes out swinging.
• Jon Waltenbury called out on strikes.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 10, West Tenn (Mariners) 7

Huntsville Site Game Summary

 

Stars Success Against Jaxx Continues

Bullpen, Timely Hitting Help Huntsville in Comeback Win

By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars

 

Taylor Green drove in three runs, including the eventual game-winner in the eighth inning, to power Huntsville past West Tenn 10-7 Saturday night in the middle of a five-game set at Davis Stadium. The Stars improved to 20-18 with their fourth win in a row to maintain their two-game lead in the North Division over Tennessee, while the Diamond Jaxx fell to 16-25 and five and a half games behind in the division. The Stars have won all seven games between the teams and have scored 53 runs on 83 hits in so doing.

 

Erick Monzon's two-run home run in the sixth inning got the game tied at seven and knocked Huntsville starter Bobby Bramhall out of the game. The left-hander went 5 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs, five earned, on seven hits, while walking two and fanning a season-high six. Mike McClendon came on to finish off the inning and worked out of a jam in the seventh by striking out Yamid Haad and getting Brent Johnson to fly out with runners at first and second.

 

Marwin Vega opened the seventh inning on the hill for the visitors and retired the first two batters before Vinny Rottino walked and stole second base. Green then ripped a line drive past the barehanded reach of Vega into center field for a hit to deliver Rottino with the go-ahead run. The Stars tacked on two runs in the eighth against Vega, including one on a Shane Justis sacrifice fly, before Omar Aguilar came on in the ninth to slam the door. He struck out the first two hitters and got Johnson to line out to end the game and earn his second save.

 

Greg Halman's solo home run in the third and a Johnson run-scoring infield hit later in the frame gave West Tenn a 4-1 lead before a Kevin Melillo fielding error in the fourth allowed another run to score to make it 5-1 Jaxx. Melillo atoned for the miscue by belting a two-out, two-run home run, his first of the year, in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead in half.

 

Frank Catalanotto's two-run double in the fifth tied the game at five and chased Diamond Jaxx' starter Luis Munoz from the game after 4 1/3 frames of work, during which he was charged with six runs on seven hits. Mumba Rivera took over and hit Drew Anderson and then gave up a two-out, two-run double to Green that put the home team in the lead for the first time. Rivera threw a scoreless sixth inning and gave way to Vega, while McClendon tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, striking out four, including Halman with the bases loaded to end the eighth, to earn his third win of the year.

 

The series continues Sunday afternoon with right-hander Mark Holliman starting for Huntsville against West Tenn southpaw Danny Christensen. Coverage of the game begins at 12:45 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score

Mike McClendon excelling in his bullpen role; Taylor Green's return to action has been terribly exciting thus far; Adam Stern on base three times, and is now 20-for-22 in SB attempts; seems like the infamous Mumbo Rivera has been facing the Stars for a decade now...

 

Huntsville Game Log

 

Odd scoring play in the 1st --

 

• Thomas Hubbard grounds out, first baseman Kevin Melillo to pitcher Bobby Bramhall. Ezequiel Carrera scores. Greg Halman to 3rd.
• Yamid Haad strikes out swinging, catcher J. R. Hopf to first baseman Kevin Melillo. Greg Halman scores on the throw.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Portland (Padres) 6, Nashville 4

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Brendan Katin photo, text follows --

 

Beavers Beat Sounds, 6-4

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Nashville Sounds lost 6-4 to the Portland Beavers on Saturday evening at PGE Park in Portland in the third game of a four-game series.

 

Portland leadoff hitter Brett Dowdy lead the charge for the Beavers, going 3-5 with a home run and four RBIs.

Portland was able to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a Matt Antonelli single that scored pitcher Cesar Ramos.

 

Alcides Escobar tied the game at 1 in the next frame on a single to centerfield that bounced past Beavers' centerfielder Will Venable. Escobar rounded the bases to score after the ball rolled to the wall.

 

AUDIO: Escobar Single and Three-Base Error

 

Dowdy put the Beavers back on top 3-1 with a two-run home run off Mike Burns in the bottom of the fifth inning, his first home run of the season.

 

After an Adam Heether walk in the sixth, Brendan Katin tripled to center field, scoring Heether to trim the Beavers' lead to 3-2.

 

Portland outfielder Kyle Blanks added a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth off Burns to extend the Beavers' lead to 4-2.

 

Katin brought the Sounds within one run again with a solo shot to left field in the top of the eighth inning, his second straight game with a home run.

 

Dowdy's third hit of the game added insurance to the Beavers' lead in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases loaded. Dowdy singled off Chris Narveson that brought home Kyle Blanks and Vince Sinisi for a 6-3 lead.

 

Pinch hitter Hernan Iribarren hit a leadoff single to begin the Sounds rally in the ninth, followed by Jason Bourgeois grounding into a fielder's choice. Next, Escobar added a single off of Portland's Scott Patterson to advance Bourgeois to third base.

 

Eulogio De La Cruz came into the game to face Adam Heether with runners on the corners. During Heether's at-bat, Escobar stole second base and caused Jose Lobaton to make a throwing error, allowing Bourgeois to score, narrowing the Beavers lead to 6-4.

 

After Heether drew the walk, De La Cruz struck out Katin and Angel Salome to end the game for the Beavers.

 

Beavers starter Cesar Ramos (3-3) earned the win, allowing one earned run on four hits over six innings. De La Cruz picked up his first save of the season.

 

Burns (6-1) earned his first loss of the season, surrendering four runs on seven hits over six innings, while striking out three.

 

The Sounds and Beavers wrap of their four-game series tomorrow afternoon at 4:05 CT in Portland. Lefty Chase Wright (2-4, 4.85) takes the hill to face southpaw Wade LeBlanc (0-2, 5.29).

 

Nashville Box Score

Nashville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Starting Pitcher Sam Narron

Narron says Angel Salome has made great strides defensively and handling pitchers...