Link Report for Thurs. 7/9 -- The Best Pitching Night of the Season Thus Far

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 5, Round Rock (Astros) 3

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Tim Dillard photo, text follows --

 

Dillard Grabs PCL Wins Lead In 5-3 Victory

NASHVILLE - Right-hander Tim Dillard earned his league-leading ninth victory of the season with a quality start in leading the Nashville Sounds to a 5-3 win over the Round Rock Express on Thursday evening in front of 7,617 fans at historic Greer Stadium.

 

Dillard (9-3) became the first Pacific Coast League hurler to reach nine wins as he worked his third quality start in his last four trips to the hill, allowing three runs on 11 hits in his 6 2/3 frames of action.

 

R.J. Swindle and Ryan Houston combined for 2 1/3 scoreless frames of relief behind Dillard, with Houston working a scoreless ninth to secure his fifth save of the year.

 

AUDIO: Swindle's Bugs Bunny Pitch K

 

Round Rock took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Reggie Abercrombie led off with an infield single, moved to third on a failed pickoff by Dillard, then scored on a Tommy Manzella groundout.

 

Sounds cleanup hitter Brendan Katin knotted the contest at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame with a two-out RBI double to right off Express starter Jeremy Johnson that plated Alcides Escobar (walk). The two-bagger was the outfielder's team-leading 24th of the year and resulted in his 72nd RBI, the 2nd-highest total in the PCL.

 

Dillard helped his own cause in the second by giving Nashville a 2-1 advantage with a two-out RBI single to center, scoring Cole Gillespie.

 

The Express evened the contest in the third when Abercrombie doubled to open the frame and later scored on a Brian Bogusevic groundout.

 

Nashville pulled back in front with a pair of runs off Johnson in the bottom of the third. Second baseman Hernan Iribarren singled to extend the Sounds' longest active hit streak to eight games and, after a Katin walk, scored on Joe Koshansky's double to right. Adam Heether followed with an RBI groundout to bring home Katin for a two-run lead.

 

Round Rock third baseman Chris Johnson pulled the visitors back within a run at 4-3 in the sixth when he led off the frame with a solo homer to dead center, his fourth longball of the year.

 

The Sounds added an insurance run in unearned fashion in the seventh thanks to a pair of throwing errors by Round Rock reliever Geoff Geary, increasing the lead to 5-3.

 

Johnson (5-7) was saddled with the loss for the Express after giving up four runs on seven hits in his five innings of work.

 

The teams continue the series with another 7:00 PM matchup on Friday evening at Greer. Left-hander Chris Cody (3-3, 3.53) will man the bump for the Sounds to face Round Rock southpaw Polin Trinidad (0-0, 2.70).

 

It will be another Purity Faith Night at the ballpark. Christian recording artist GRITS will perform a pre-game concert in the left field parking lot. A postgame fireworks show will follow the on-field action.

 

Nashville Box Score

Angel Salome a night off..

 

Nashville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Michigan (Tigers) 11, Wisconsin 2

The only pitching clunker of the evening...

 

Wisconsin Site Game Summary

 

Whitecaps swamp Rattlers

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

GRAND CHUTE, WI - The West Michigan Whitecaps were 0-4 against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers during the 2009 season heading into Thursday's game. They had scored a total of nine runs in those four losses. On Thursday at Time Warner Cable Field, they scored 11 runs on 17 hits and beat Wisconsin 11-2. Avisail Garcia led the way with four hits for the Whitecaps.

 

West Michigan (52-32 overall, 9-5 second half) got to Rattlers starting pitcher Trey Watten immediately. The first four batters reached on singles. Bryan Pounds and Jordan Lennerton had the last two singles of that sequence and each drove in runs. Watten did get Ben Guez to ground into a 6-4-3 double play ball, but Pounds scored on the play for a 3-0 lead.

 

Whitecap starter Casey Crosby set down the Rattlers in order in the bottom of the first and the West Michigan bats scored two more in the top of the second. An RBI single by Garcia knocked in the first run and a bases loaded walk to Lennerton forced in the run to make the score 5-0.

 

The Rattlers (42-41, 8-5) couldn't do much against Crosby. In four innings, the lefty allowed two hits, walked three, and struck out seven. But, he left one inning shy of qualifying for the win.

 

Meanwhile, the Whitecaps hitters got going again in the fourth inning against Rattler reliever Daniel Meadows. Garcia scored from second on a single to center by Pounds when he knocked the ball out of the mitt of Rattlers catcher Martin Maldonado. Later in the inning, Ben Guez tripled to drive in a pair of runs and he would score as the throw into third deflected off his shoulder into the Timber Rattlers bullpen. That play put the Whitecaps up 9-0.

 

Wisconsin got on the board in the fifth inning against Whitecaps reliever Anthony Shawler. Pete Fatse tripled in Juan Sanchez with two outs.

But, West Michigan scored two more runs in the top of the seventh inning on a two-out single by Gustavo Nunez.

 

The Rattlers scored their last run late in the game. A two-out double by Derrick McPhearson drove in Michael Marseco from first base. But, that was it for the Rattlers offense.

 

The final game of the series is Friday night. Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Dave Bush will make the start for the Timber Rattlers on a rehab start. West Michigan will send Brandon Hamilton (3-3, 6.90) to the mound. Game time is 7:05 PM.

 

Wisconsin Box Score

Unusually weak outings for RHP's Trey Watten and Nick Tyson...

 

Wisconsin Game Log

[DHonks]

I didn't realize Bucci was still only 18 (for another week). Great outing for the kid.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Whitecaps make going rough for Timber Rattlers

By Cory Jennerjohn

Post-Crescent staff writer

 

GRAND CHUTE - A day after holding West Michigan scoreless, the Timber Rattlers were offensively starved as the Whitecaps beat Wisconsin 11-2.

 

The Whitecaps surpassed their hit total from Wednesday after the first three batters all tallied singles. West Michigan ended up with five hits in the opening frame to open up a 3-0 lead.

 

"(Gustavo Nunez) makes things difficult for a pitcher," said Timber Rattlers manager Jeff Isom, on the Whitecaps leadoff hitter that went three-for-four with a pair of RBI. "He got on in the first and all of a sudden they ended up with the first four hits in a row to start the game."

 

Casey Crosby kept the Rattlers bats in check by striking out eight while allowing just a pair of singles to Brett Lawrie and Martin Maldonado. And the seventh-round draft choice in 2007 also allowed no runs.

 

"He's a guy when he gets ahead and he puts hitters away, he's hard to hit," said West Michigan manager Joe DePastino. "He throws 95-98 miles an hour from the left side, a big tall boy, too."

 

The only thing the 6-foot-5, 200-pound lefty missed out on was getting the win because his pitch count was 75 pitches, which lasted just four innings - not enough to register a decision.

 

"You know, it's the first time that a pitch count has denied me of a victory," said Crosby, who has only allowed one run in his last three starts. "Every time I've gone less than five innings, it hasn't been a very good outing. So, this was my first outing where I did fairly decent, but I just threw too many pitches."

 

The lone bright spot for the Timber Rattlers was Peter Fatse. After striking out in his first two at-bats, the No. 2 batter laced an RBI triple to right center. Ever since joining the Timber Rattlers June 30, Fatse has gotten a hit in all nine completed games.

 

"Yeah it feels good, especially with those two strikeouts," Fatse said, who is now batting .286. "But I was looking for something hard to drive somewhere and I got the pitch up and I hit into right center."

 

The offense never stopped for the Whitecaps, which poured in four straight hits in the second en route to 17 for the game. Four West Michigan players tallied multiple hits.

 

"When you come out and get five runs in the first couple innings, that helps your pitcher relax a little bit," said DePastnio. "But against a good team like Wisconsin, if you can jump out early, that helps."

[Mass Haas]

Chattanoogan Photo of Mike Jones by Tim Evearitt

 

http://images.chattanoogan.com/photo_images/photo_13390_large.jpg

[homer]

I'm probably getting way ahead of myself, but is there even a remote possibility that the Brewers let Wooten close for the big league club next year? His peripherals are amazing over two levels (44K/13BB in 30 IP). At the very least he has to be in the conversation for a late inning role of some sort.

 

Same goes for Braddock - (53K 7BB in 34 IP).

[LouisEly]

I doubt they let w00ten close right away, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's a setup man next year and groomed as a setup man for a year or two before given a shot at closing. I'd be surprised if he breaks camp with the club next year, but if he continues to pitch the way he has I would be surprised if he's not on the big league club by July 1st of next year.

 

Don't know if they still plan on trying Braddock as a starter, but he certainly could close in the future and could be a bigger Billy Wagner who could go multiple innings. Again, I doubt they let a rookie close but after a year or two as a setup man they could definitely give that role to w00ten or Braddock. Or both.

[homer]

Yeah, seems a stretch to put a rookie in that role but Papelbon did it (exception to the rule for the most part). I'm just excited to see some possibilities internally for the role rather than banking on a one year stop gap.