Link Report for Mon. 8/31 -- Walkoff Patterson Blast for 1st Place; Lasker a Dazzling Debut

[Mass Haas]

Brutal, just brutal.

 

Joe Koshansky a shallow pop-up to center in the killer at-bat of another scoreless strand-the-bases-loaded inning for Nashville.

 

On to the 10th as of 9:15 Central. Listen in here.

 

The winner of this game is alone in first place.

[trwi7]

Stern steals a base. Winning run now at 2nd for Patterson with two outs.

 

Edit: Patterson strikes out looking.

[Mass Haas]

In Game Two, Huntsville and Birmingham head to the 8th (scheduled for seven) tied at 1-1, despite the fact the Stars have out-hit the Barons 10-2.

 

In fact, the only Stars' run scored on a double play ball.

 

Brett Lawrie fanned with the go-ahead run on 3rd base and only one out in the 7th.

 

Lefty David Welch stranded the bases loaded in the Barons' 7th. He's deserved a better fate.

 

It's 9:40 Central, so you've got dueling extra-inning games to listen to -- Brett and the Stars are here.

 

It also helps to load the two Gameday's, available at the box score links.

[TheCrew07]

who says you're out of gas Mass... still going strong with 2 gamedays loaded.

[trwi7]

Okay, Hardy with the leadoff single. Come on Koshansky.

 

Edit: Koshansky to 1st on a fielder's choice. Hardy out at 2nd. Now Gamel.

 

Edit 2: Wild pitch, Koshansky to 2nd. 2-0 count on Gamel.

 

Edit 3: Gamel walks, another wild pitch. Runners now on 1st and 3rd with one out.

 

Edit 4: Tike Redman pops out on the first pitch. Ugh. Up to Iribarren to get a hit. They're walking Iribarren to get to Corporan.

 

Edit 5: Corporan flies out to deep right. On to the 12th.

[Mass Haas]

Sounds have stranded 15 through 11 innings -- they are wasting fabulous pitching after Mike Jones, in what can only be described, unfortunately, as a gag job in these late innings. How many times can you strand a runner at 3rd with only one out?

 

At least the Stars have grabbed a lead -- Rob Wooten now on to protect a 2-1 extra-inning lead.

[Mass Haas]

Unbelievably and painfully, the Stars found a way to lose. Details soon on a very ugly final inning for the Stars' defense and in turn, Rob Wooten's first blown AA save.

[trwi7]

Axford gets out of a 1st and 3rd, two out jam! Strikes out Mark Hamilton and Matt Pagnozzi.

 

Big trouble in Huntsville. Well, as I'm typing this the Stars lose.

 

First batter reaches on an error, sac bunt and an error puts two on with no one out, bunt single, pop out and a walkoff double.

[trwi7]

Sounds out of pinch hitters. Mike Burns pinch hitting.

[Mass Haas]

Walk-off Nashville HR, Corey Patterson!

[Mass Haas]

Final: Wisconsin 2, Kane County (Athletics) 0

 

Wisconsin Site Game Summary

 

MAVERICK!

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

GENEVA, IL - Maverick Lasker made his Midwest League debut memorable. The newest Timber Rattlers pitcher pitched seven scoreless innings and got just enough offense for the win in a 2-0 Wisconsin victory over the Kane County Cougars Monday night.

 

Brandon Ritchie pitched two scoreless frames for the save and to help the Rattlers snap a nine-game losing streak against the playoff-bound Cougars.

 

Wisconsin (58-75 overall, 24-39 second half) scored the first run of the game thanks to some sloppy fielding by the Cougars in the first inning. Josh Prince reached on an error to start the game. He moved to second on a wild pitch and took third on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Brownstein. Another error on a two-out grounder by Jose Duran allowed Prince to score for a 1-0 lead.

 

Michael Vass doubled the Wisconsin lead with a two-out, RBI single in the top of the seventh.

 

Lasker, a fifth round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008, allowed four hits over seven scoreless innings. He struck out three, walked two, and worked around a pair of defensive miscues to keep Kane County off the scoreboard.

 

Ritchie worked a scoreless eighth. Then, Kane County (73-61, 31-33) got a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth. But, Ritchie got a 4-6-3 double play and a strikeout to end the game.

 

The Rattlers are off on Tuesday before starting their final homestand of the season on Wednesday night. That's when Wisconsin will take on the Cedar Rapids Kernels in the first game of a three game series at Time Warner Cable Field.

 

Wednesday is the first of three Bonus Bang For Your Buck Nights featuring soda, beer, and hotdogs for $1. Wednesday is also the first of three 2010 Timber Rattlers magnet schedule giveaway from Fast Signs of Appleton to the first 1,000 fans. In addition, there is a Josh Prince poster giveaway from Express Convenience to the first 1,000 fans into the stadium.

 

Wisconsin will send Evan Frederickson (3-7, 5.20) to the mound as the scheduled starting pitcher. The Kernels have announced Kyle Hurst (1-2, 4.64) as their scheduled starting pitcher.

 

Game time is 6:35 PM and tickets are available in person at the Time Warner Cable Field box office, on the internet at www.timberrattlers.com, and over the phone at 800-WI-TIMBER.

 

Wisconsin Box Score

Eleven fly ball outs for Maverick Lasker; this lineup managed to do just enough here, as constituted, not sure they're capable of a breakout offensive game...

 

Wisconsin Game Log

[trwi7]

First place Sounds!

[Mass Haas]

No Huntsville players on the Southern League Post-Season All-Star Team -- you could make a mild argument or two...

[Mass Haas]

How the Stars took the lead and then literally gave it away in the extra inning --

 

Huntsville Top 8th

• Drew T. Anderson singles on a ground ball to second baseman C. J. Retherford.
• With Jonathan Lucroy batting, wild pitch by Matt Zaleski, Drew T. Anderson to 2nd.
• Jonathan Lucroy flies out to center fielder Jordan Danks. Drew T. Anderson to 3rd.
• Taylor Green singles on a soft line drive to right fielder Jim Gallagher. Drew T. Anderson scores.
• Pitcher Change: John Lujan replaces Matt Zaleski.
• Coaching visit to mound.
• Chuck Caufield grounds into a force out, shortstop Robert Hudson to second baseman C. J. Retherford. Taylor Green out at 2nd. Chuck Caufield to 1st.
• J. R. Hopf grounds out, second baseman C. Retherford to first baseman Javier Colina.

Birmingham Bottom 8th

• Pitcher Change: Robert Wooten replaces David Welch.
• Jared Price reaches on fielding error by shortstop Michael Garciaparra.
• Javier Colina hits a sacrifice bunt. Throwing error by pitcher Robert Wooten. Jared Price to 2nd. Javier Colina to 1st.
• Jordan Danks singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Robert Wooten. Jared Price to 3rd. Javier Colina to 2nd.
• C. J. Retherford pops out to catcher J. Hopf in foul territory.
• Robert Hudson doubles (6) on a line drive to right fielder Chuck Caufield. Jared Price scores. Javier Colina scores. Jordan Danks to 3rd.

[MLS1965]

Well... just home after an OUTSTANDING win....... Way to go Corey..!! Great extra innings pitching from Chris Smith and John Axford and the entire team for never giving up.

[LouisEly]

Welch! In his last 10 games he has a 2.85 ERA; only 26 K but fewer hits (49) than innings pitched (53.2) and reasonably low walks (13). Even better is his last four starts - 26 IP, 18 H, 4 ER, 7 BB (only 10 K). K totals are a little concerning, but this finish might get him the #5 spot in Nashville next year. (Don't pee on my parade.)

 

Nice outings by Smith and Axford to keep the Sounds alive in extras.

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game Two: Birmingham (White Sox) 3, Huntsville 2, eight innings (scheduled for seven)

 

Huntsville Site Doubleheader Summary

 

Barons Walk Off With Sweep in Double Dip

Huntsville Haunted by Missed Opportunities in Twin Bill

By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars

 

Robbie Hudson's two-run single drove in the tying and winning runs to push Birmingham to a 3-2 come from behind win in extra innings in the nightcap and a doubleheader sweep over Huntsville Monday night at Regions Park. The Barons have won the last three games, all by one run, to lift their record to 39-25 in the second half and 87-46 overall, while the Stars fell to 25-38 in the second half and 63-69 overall. The Barons, a 2-1 winner in the opener, have taken ten out of 14 from the Stars, including eight of ten in Birmingham.

 

Rob Wooten took over for starter David Welch in the eighth trying to protect a 2-1 lead. Jared Price led off and reached on a fielding error (Michael Garciaparra at shortstop) before Javier Colina dropped down a sacrifice bunt and reached on a Wooten throwing error. Jordan Danks bunted for a base hit to fill the bases prior to C.J. Retherford fouling out for the first out of the frame. Hudson, behind in the count 0-2, then laced a line drive into right field to deliver Price and Colina to give the Barons their second walk-off win of the series and fourth of the season in Birmingham over the Stars. Wooten suffered his first loss after blowing his first save in 12 opportunities.

 

Taylor Green's run-scoring hit in the top half of the eighth had given the Stars a 2-1 lead and knocked starter Matt Zaleski out of the game after he had yielded a dozen hits. The right-hander struck out two and did not walk a batter and was followed by Johnny Lujan, who recorded the last two outs to record his second win.

 

Welch retired the first four hitters he faced before Dayan Viciedo blasted a home run in the second inning to give the Barons a 1-0 lead in the nightcap. Huntsville hit into inning-ending double plays in the second and fourth innings with two runners on before finally breaking through in the fifth to tie the game against Zaleski.

 

Freddy Parejo doubled to start the frame, moved to third base on a Brett Lawrie single and came into score when Shane Justis grounded into a double play. The Stars then left Garciaparra stranded at third base with one out in the seventh after Lawrie fanned and Justis flied out.

 

Welch retired 16 batters in a row after the long ball before David Cook ended the string with a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh. The southpaw then walked Viciedo and Jim Gallagher but emerged unscathed when Lee Cruz lined out to end the threat. Welch allowed two hits, walked two and struck out five.

 

Huntsville Game Two Box Score

Drew Anderson with four singles, he's 3rd in the Southern League in batting at .315; four of Taylor Green's last six games have been multi-hit...

 

Huntsville Game Two Game Log

 

Yohannis Perez singled with one out in the third in the opener, moved to second base on a Lawrie single and scored on a Justis double to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The Stars had runners at second and third base with one out but couldn't add to their lead, as Drew Anderson bounced back to the mound and Jonathan Lucroy flied out.

 

Adam Ricks singled with one out in the fifth and scored the tying run on a two-out double by Danks that ended Brandon Kintzler's scoreless innings streak at 14 2/3. The Barons grabbed the lead when C.J. Retherford, the only unanimous post-season All Star selection announced Monday, followed with a single to plate Danks and knock in his 73rd run of the season.

 

Barons' starter John Ely lasted five frames to pick up the win to improve to 13-2. He yielded five hits, walked two and fanned four. Justin Cassel took over and retired the Stars in order in the sixth before giving way to Clevelan Santeliz, who retired the side in turn in the seventh to earn his eighth save of the season. Kintzler suffered the loss to fall to 1-2 after giving up eight hits over five frames, walking two and striking out seven.

 

The series wraps up Tuesday night with Stars' right-hander Mark Holliman taking the mound against Barons' right-hander Kyle McCulloch. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 6, Memphis (Cardinals) 5, 12 innings

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for big celebration photo, text follows --

 

12th-Inning Patterson Blast Puts Sounds In First

 

NASHVILLE - Corey Patterson belted a two-out home run in the bottom of the twelfth inning to power the Nashville Sounds back into first place with a 6-5 victory over the Memphis Redbirds on Monday evening at historic Greer Stadium in the opener of a four-game series.

 

With the win, Nashville (72-65) leapfrogged the Redbirds in the PCL American Conference Northern Division standings to take a half-game lead over Memphis and a one-game lead over Iowa.

 

Patterson (3-for-6) drove Memphis reliever Matthew Scherer's 2-1 offering well over the wall in right field for his fifth longball of the season to give Nashville its 12th last at-bat victory of the year. The Sounds improved to 7-4 in extra-inning action this season.

 

AUDIO: Corey Patterson Game-Ending HR

 

Nashville finally broke through to record the win after missing multiple opportunities to break the tie in the late innings, leaving the bases loaded three times: in the eighth, ninth, and eleventh frames.

 

Memphis got started quickly, grabbing a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Sounds starter Mike Jones. Jon Jay led off with a single and Tyler Greene walked before both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch. Allen Craig put the visitors on the board with an RBI infield single and David Freese added a sacrifice fly.

 

Right fielder Tike Redman and second baseman Hernan Iribarren combined to stifle the Redbirds' attempt to do further damage in the frame, throwing out Craig at the plate as he attempted to score from first on a Mark Hamilton double.

 

Nashville rallied against rehabbing Memphis right-hander Todd Wellemeyer in the bottom of the frame, plating four runs to take a 4-2 lead.

 

Sounds shortstop J.J. Hardy evened the contest when he belted a two-run homer to left off Wellemeyer. The blast, which scored Patterson (walk), was the infielder's fourth of the year.

 

Iribarren, who leads Nashville with a .402 average with runners in scoring position, came through in the clutch again when he put the home team in the lead with a two-out, two-run double to right that chased Wellemeyer.

 

Memphis shortstop Tyler Greene got into the longball act in the third, pulling the Redbirds with a run at 4-3 with a leadoff solo shot to left off Jones.

 

The Redbirds re-claimed the lead an inning later. Jay tied the contest when he slugged his tenth homer of the year, a one-out solo shot to right-center off Jones. Memphis moved ahead 5-4 later in the frame on a Craig RBI single.

 

The Sounds tied the contest once again at 5-5 in the bottom of the fourth when Iribarren scored on Adam Stern's two-out RBI double down the left field line. Carlos Corporan was thrown out at home on the play to end the inning.

 

Neither team scored over the next seven frames. The Nashville bullpen was particularly impressive, combining for 8 2/3 innings of two-hit scoreless ball to close out the contest.

 

John Axford (4-0) picked up the win for the Sounds after fanning three batters over two scoreless frames. Scherer (3-4) took the loss after allowing the game-winning homer to cap off his 1 2/3 innings of work.

 

The teams continue the series with another 6:00 PM meeting on Tuesday night. Left-hander Lindsay Gulin (6-9, 4.59) will man the bump for Nashville to face Memphis southpaw Evan MacLane (6-11, 4.27).

 

Nashville Box Score

Mike Jones' outing the only bummer here; relievers Robert Hinton, Dave Johnson, Chris Smith, and John Axford just fantastic, striking out 13 over the 8.2 scoreless innings of work; Sounds were intentionally walked five times (all successful strategically) in the later innings...

 

Nashville Game Log

Lots to digest here and in the very full box score...

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Sounds return to division lead with HR in 12th

By Maurice Patton

THE TENNESSEAN

 

Corey Patterson's solo home run with two outs in the 12th inning not only gave the Nashville Sounds a 6-5 win Monday night over visiting Memphis, but also the division lead.

 

The Sounds moved into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Coast League's American Northern Division. Memphis and Iowa - which lost 3-1 at Omaha - are tied one-half game behind Nashville.

 

"We were fortunate to come out of it with the win," Sounds Manager Don Money said after his team left the bases loaded in the eighth, ninth and 11th innings. The Sounds also stranded 15 runners while hitting just 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

 

For Patterson, the late longball made up for a baserunning blunder that prevented the Sounds from winning three innings earlier.

 

Following his leadoff double and an infield groundout, Patterson was at third base when Joe Koshansky lifted a flyball into medium center field. However, Patterson came down the third-base line and wasn't able to tag up. After back-to-back intentional walks, Hernan Iribarren grounded out.

 

"I think even if I had tagged - if (Memphis centerfielder Shane Robinson) makes a good throw, he's got me," Patterson said. "If the ball drops, I've got to score. But that's not what happened."

 

The Sounds rallied from an early two-run deficit, scoring four in the first on J.J. Hardy's two-run homer and Iribarren's two-run double, then tied the game at 5-5 with Adam Stern's RBI double.

 

After the game, Hardy and reliever Chris Smith were both called up by the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

"I'm excited to go back up there," said Hardy, who was optioned down on Aug. 14 and has hit .254 with four homers and 12 RBIs in 18 games. "This team's in a race for the playoffs and it was nice to be able to help, but I came to work on some things. I feel like I got better, and hopefully I can keep moving forward."

[Mass Haas]

Post-Crescent:

 

It's official: Sunday's loss officially knocked the Rattlers out of the playoff picture. Wisconsin trails wild-card leading Burlington by eight games with six games to play. This is the fourth straight season in which the Rattlers have missed the playoffs.

[Mass Haas]

Helena Independent Record:

 

Lightning postpones Brewers' game

 

Monday's Pioneer League game between the Helena Brewers and the Great Falls Voyagers was suspended in the bottom of the first inning due to local lightning activity and a malfunctioning bank of lights in Centene Stadium in Great Falls.

 

The teams will make up the contest over nine innings on Tuesday, Sept. 8 in Great Falls at 6:00 PM local time. That day's originally scheduled game will immediately follow and will be played over seven innings.

 

The bank of lights above the stadium was not damaged by the inclement weather, but failed to illuminate prior to the game.

 

Helena hosts Missoula Tuesday at Kindrick Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (8:05 Central).