Link Report for Sat. 6/13 -- Hail the Sea Cows! Late Update -- DSL Game

[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.

 

For this Brevard County series, you can pick up the Cardinals' audio via this link.

Nashville: RHP Tim Dillard at home vs. Memphis (Cardinals), 5:35 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime

 

Huntsville: RHP Mike Jones at home vs. Jacksonville (Marlins), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime

 

Brevard County: TBD at Palm Beach (Cardinals), 5:05 PM gametime -- two doubleheaders this past week make this starting assignment a tossup

 

Wisconsin: RHP Trey Watten at home vs. Kane County (Athletics), 6:20 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime

 

Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: at home vs. the DSL Marlins (see this thread for some roster background) -- all games are 10:30 local time in the Dominican, and no need to ask about web audio; we usually won't see updated box scores until the overnight...

[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_06_13_mrbaaa_nasaaa_1

Huntsville:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_13_jaxaax_hunaax_1

Brevard County:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_13_breafa_pbcafa_1

Wisconsin:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_06_13_kccafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572

Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&gid=2009_06_13_dmlrok_dobrok_1&cid=3130&t=g_box

[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):



***

We're going to include the link to Kraig McNutt's Nashville blog in the same post as the Nashville media notes link going forward.

***

AAA All-Star voting is here with your MiLB.com online account.

[Mass Haas]

Midwest League Standings

 

Dominican Summer League Standings

[Mass Haas]

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 36 26 .581 - 19-14 17-12 W5 Iowa 31 30 .508 4.5 16-13 15-17 W3 Memphis 30 31 .492 5.5 18-13 12-18 L4 Omaha 24 36 .400 11.0 11-21 13-15 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 36 24 .600 - 13-14 23-10 W1 Carolina 34 27 .557 2.5 19-13 15-14 W1 Tennessee 27 35 .435 10.0 15-18 12-17 W1 Chattanooga 24 37 .393 12.5 13-17 11-20 L1 West Tenn 24 38 .387 13.0 12-18 12-20 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 37 18 .673 - 15-11 22-7 W3 Daytona 28 28 .500 9.5 13-10 15-18 W3 Clearwater 28 29 .491 10.0 14-15 14-14 L1 Tampa 27 31 .466 11.5 15-17 12-14 W1 Lakeland 25 29 .463 11.5 14-16 11-13 W3 Dunedin 26 32 .448 12.5 10-19 16-13 W1 

[Mass Haas]

Turns out just-turned 20-year-old RHP Damon Krestalude of nearby Port St. Lucie will make his first FSL start tonight at Palm Beach. No doubt he'll have a big family contingent on hand, nice.

[Mass Haas]

Oops - not quite there --

Tonight could be the night the 'Tees wrap up the 1st half FSL North Division. Game time is 6:05 PM (5:05 Central) at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. With the magic number of 1, the Sea Cows will clinch a playoff berth with a win or a Daytona loss.

[Mass Haas]

Look to the Rattler Radio Blog for game notes and such as game time approaches...

[Brily0204]

Wow. Nice start to the evening by Brent Brewer. A double, a homer, and three DP turns, all in the first five innings.

[DHonks]

Nice game for Brewer so far...he's at .230 and creeping up!

 

And is it just me, or does it seem like Mike Jones gives up an extremely high amount of unearned runs?

[Brily0204]

Brewer has some crazy, Billy Hall-esque splits: .293/.375/.463 against lefties, .195/.246/.246 against righties. Not too surprisingly, he got his hits tonight aginst a lefty.

[aintbize]

These guys are playing phenomenal...OK, can we finally either stretch Braddock out to see what this kid can do against better talent...this is ridiculous!

[trwi7]

And in his first ever AA inning, John Axford strikes out the side.

[And That]

Congrats to the Brevard County Manatees - Florida State League First Half North Division Champions!

[trwi7]

Trey Watten doesn't get nearly enough pub, but he has struck out nearly a batter per inning (8.75 per 9) and has been a ground ball machine with over 3.5 ground outs for every air out.

[TheCrew07]

I don't think I've seen Watten pitch yet? Hmm...

 

edit. Nope, no video on him, I'll have to catch his next start at home, I thought I had everyone now... darnit.

 

Aguilar has been pretty bad so far this year, yikes.

 

Other WI pitchers not getting enough love are Meadows and Ritchie, Ritchie is actually consistently over 90. Dennis 1 for 1 with a 3B and 2 BBs, the BBs are good to see, his ratios stink.

 

Escobar 2 for 3 with another 2B... who says he doesn't have gap power... haters.

 

Krestalude's peripherals stunk but can't argue with the results. Free Zach Braddock!

[BoKnowsBall]

June has been very kind to Watten so far:

 

17 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 19 K

[Mass Haas]

Brevard County first to clinch division

Minor League-best Manatees capture FSL North first-half crown

By John Torenli / Special to MLB.com

It should come as no surprise that the Brevard County Manatees became the first team to clinch a division title in the Minor Leagues this season.

 

Owners of the Minors' best winning percentage as well as the Florida State League's top team batting average, ERA and fielding percentage, the Manatees locked up the North Division first-half crown Saturday with a 4-0 blanking of the Palm Beach Cardinals.

 

"It feels pretty good," second-year skipper Mike Guerrero said. "We've been blessed to have a good group with a lot of ability and we've been able to execute. In 16 years of managing, this is the best chemistry I've seen in any ballclub."

 

Damon Krestalude tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his first start of the season and former second-round pick Brent Brewer homered, doubled, drove in two runs and scored twice as the Manatees returned to the postseason. In 2007, they won the first-half East Division title before losing to Clearwater in the Championship Series.

 

Needing a win over Palm Beach or a loss by Daytona to wrap up the division, the Manatees knew their fate was in their own hands after the Cubs' game with Fort Myers was rained out.

 

Krestalude, who allowed a run on one hit over two innings against Sarasota in his season debut on June 6, struck out three and walked four before turning the game over to the Brevard County bullpen.

 

"It was an emergency start and he did a good job," Guerrero said of Milwaukee's 18th-round pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. "Right now, he's probably going to be back in the bullpen."

 

Palm Beach threatened to spoil the clincher in the seventh, loading the bases with one out, before Zach Braddock struck out Jose Garcia and Thomas Pham to end the inning.

 

"That's one arm that can come out and strike out the side," Guerrero said of Braddock. "He's got Major League stuff and it's just a matter of time for him to get there."

 

Brandon Rapoza (1-0), Braddock and Roque Mercedes combined to allow three hits over the final 4 1/3 frames as the Manatees completed their Minor League-leading 11th shutout.

 

Brewer sparked a two-run third with an RBI double, then led off the fifth with his first homer of the year as the Manatees opened a 4-0 lead and never looked back.

 

Though his team already has locked up a playoff berth, Guerrero doesn't expect any drop-off in effort for the remainder of the season.

 

"I don't think this group is that type of group," he said. "This group is not going to go through the motions in the second half.

 

"Their main goal is not just to win one half. The main goal is to prepare to get to the next level and play the game the right away. That's why we accomplished this goal."

 

Mike Guerrero has led the Manatees to a Minor League-best 38-18 mark this year. (Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2009/06/13/5rIWwLMq.jpg

[packfan79]

Watten looked very good tonight touching 91-92 a couple of times. This was the first time that I had seen Brandon Ritchie who is a really good size lefty.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 4, Palm Beach (Cardinals) 0

Brevard County Box Score

In 20.1 innings, 21-year-old Zach Braddock has allowed 10 hits and two runs, with a 32-to-3 K-to-BB ratio -- that is not a typo; Braddock did hit two batters here -- ouch for them; just-turned 20-year-old Damon Krestalude looks to fit right in with the rest of those gaudy ERA's; as noted above, Brent Brewer a big game; catcher Anderson DeLaRosa two singles and a big throw-out of a baserunner in the 1st...

 

Brevard County Game Log

Palm Beach left 11 runners on base tonight, twice with the bases loaded. Krestalude got the Cards to ground in to three double plays...

[Mass Haas]

Manatee Press Release:

 

Manatees Clinch First Half Championship

(Jupiter, FL) With tonight's win, the Brevard County Manatees have clinched the first half championship in the Florida State League North Division. By winning the first half, the Manatees have clinched a berth in the FSL playoffs in September. In all three of the previous three Manatees' playoff appearances, they went on to win their first round series for the FSL East Championship.

 

Brevard County's run to the playoffs has been fueled by the best pitching staff in all of baseball. The Manatees have posted a team ERA of 2.57, easily the best of all professional teams. Their staff has been led by Josh Butler (now with AAA Nashville) and Evan Anundsen, who are tied for second in the FSL with six wins apiece. Anundsen pitched a no-hitter at Daytona on April 28, and is second in the FSL with a 1.95 ERA. The Manatees bullpen has been nearly automatic this season, led by closer Rob Wooten, who has set a Manatees' single-season record with 17 saves this season.

 

Although the theory of momentum would seem to favor the second half champion, FSL first half champions are a respectable 15-17 in the first round of the FSL playoffs. As first half champions, the Manatees will have the choice of hosting either Game 1, or Games 2-3 of the FSL East Championship Series.

 

Tyler L. Stover

Director of Media Relations

Brevard County Manatees

[Mass Haas]

Final: Wisconsin 3, Kane County (Athletics) 1

 

Wisconsin Site Game Summary

 

Wisconsin wraps homestand with a win

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeated the Kane County Cougars 3-1 Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Field.

Brock Kjeldgaard and Corey Kemp each had key RBI for the Rattlers. Jim Henderson moved up the team's single season save list with a scoreless ninth inning. The game ended a 12-game homestand for the Timber Rattlers and the team went 6-6 during over those twelve games.

 

Jason Christian just missed giving Kane County (37-25) the lead in the third inning. Carlos Arrieche was at first with two outs and Christian hit a fly ball deep to right-center. The ball hit on the track as Arrieche rounded third, but the ball then bounced over the wall for a ground rule double and Arrieche had to hold on at third. Rattler starting pitcher Trey Watten got out of the inning with the game still scoreless.

 

Christian took the ground rules out of play with one out in the top of the fifth inning. He lined a 2-1 pitch from Watten over the wall in right for a solo homer and a 1-0 Cougars lead. That run ended Watten's scoreless streak at 15-1/3 innings. Watten would allow that one run on five hits and match his career high for strikeouts in a game with eight. But, the Texan would get a no decision.

 

Kane County starting pitcher Kenny Smalley was cruising through the first four innings as he had allowed one hit. In the fifth, he walked Jose Duran with one out. Smalley got the second out of the inning. Then, he tried to pick Duran off first. The throw was wild and Duran raced for third base. Cougars first baseman Steve Kleen tracked the ball down and threw wildly to third allowing Duran to score the tying run.

 

Wisconsin (30-32) grabbed the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Chris Dennis tripled to start the frame. Kjeldgaard sent him home with a sacrifice fly. Kemp gave the Rattlers a little insurance with a two-out, RBI double in the bottom of the eighth for a 3-1 lead.

 

Brandon Ritchie relieved Watten to start the seventh and worked two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts.

 

Henderson allowed a two-out double and struck out three in the top of the ninth for his fifteenth save to wrap up the Wisconsin win. The Rattler closer is all alone in fifth place on the Wisconsin single season saves list. John Thompson of the 1995 Timber Rattlers holds the record with 19.

 

The Timber Rattlers begin an eight game road trip to end the first half of the Midwest League season on Sunday. Game one of the trip is at Community Field in Burlington, Iowa as the Rattlers face the Burlington Bees. Wisconsin has Wily Peralta (0-1, 3.88) as the scheduled starting pitcher. The Bees send Bryan Casey (4-5, 3.53) to the hill. Game time is 4:00 PM.

 

Wisconsin Box Score

In his first ten appearances, Trey Watten had struck out 27 and walked 18 in 32.2 innings, but in his last three starts, he's sporting a positive 19-to-5 ratio in 17 innings; Brandon Ritchie leads the team in holds with five; catcher Corey Kemp, who got a late start to his season, among the league leaders in doubles with 16; Chris Dennis still managing to keep his OPS above 1.000 (1.017) through 97 AB's...

 

Wisconsin Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Rattlers set first half attendance record

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 4, Memphis (Cardinals) 3, ten innings

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for new Erick Almonte photo, text follows --

 

Packed House Watches Sounds Edge Redbirds

NASHVILLE - Pinch-hitter Erick Almonte delivered a bases-loaded RBI infield single with one out in the bottom of the tenth inning to give the Nashville Sounds an exciting 4-3 victory over the cross-state rival Memphis Redbirds in front of a season-high 8,176 fans on Saturday night at historic Greer Stadium.

 

The first-place Sounds (37-26) extended their longest winning streak of the year to six games with the triumph, their fourth last at-bat win of the year.

 

The contest was the fourth extra-inning affair for the Sounds (3-1) and the seventh of the year for the Redbirds (5-2).

 

Hernan Iribarren, who extended his longest hit streak of the year to 11 games with a 1-for-3 evening, opened the Nashville tenth by drawing a walk from Memphis reliever Josh Kinney.

 

Joe Koshansky followed with a single to right that put runners on the corners and Adam Heether was hit by a one-out pitch to load the bases for Almonte, who improved to 8-for-18 (.444) as a pinch-hitter with his game-winning knock.

 

AUDIO: Erick Almonte Game-Winning Hit

 

Sounds reliever Ryan Houston (3-1) picked up the victory after working a pair of scoreless frames, while Kinney (1-1) was dealt the loss after allowing the game-winning run in his 1 1/3 innings.

 

Sounds right fielder Brendan Katin got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning when he slugged his team-leading 14th homer of the year, a leadoff solo shot to right off Redbirds starter Clayton Mortensen.

 

The visitors evened the contest at 1-1 in the top of the third with a longball of their own as Shane Robinson drilled a line drive solo shot to left off Tim Dillard to open the frame.

 

Nashville pulled back in front in the bottom of the inning when Iribarren delivered a one-out RBI single that brought in Alcides Escobar, who preceded him with a double to left.

 

The Sounds increased the lead to 3-1 in the fifth when Dillard drew an inning-opening walk and later scored on an Iribarren groundout.

 

Memphis rallied to tie the contest in the eighth as the Sounds' bullpen suffered a rare letdown. Robinson continued his big night for the Redbirds by roping a two-out, two-run single up the middle off David Johnson, who suffered his first blown save of the year.

 

Prior to that two-run outburst, Sounds relievers had given up only three earned runs in their previous 42 2/3 innings of work over a 17-game span.

 

Center fielder Jason Bourgeois went 3-for-5 in the contest, his fifth consecutive multi-hit effort, to extend his season-best hit streak to seven games for Nashville.

 

Dillard took a no-decision for the Sounds after he worked his fourth quality start of the year, allowing one run on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings of work. He left in line for his PCL-leading eighth victory of the year.

 

The Sounds look to complete the sweep when the teams wrap up the series with a 6:00 PM finale on Sunday evening. Right-hander Mike Burns (6-2, 2.98) will man the bump for Nashville in his first outing since returning from a week-long stint with Milwaukee. Memphis will counter with a yet-to-be-determined hurler.

 

The ZOOperstars, a traveling entertainment act, will rock the house throughout the game with routines that fans of all ages will love.

 

Nashville Box Score

Angel Salome doubled and singled, and R.J. Swindle stranded the bases loaded for Tim Dillard, otherwsie all the game's stars were highlighted in the (as usual) excellent Sounds' site recap above; boy, it's so easy to just picture some of these hot AAA bats spicing up the big league lineup, but we know things don't work that easily...

 

Nashville Game Log