Link Report for Mon. 4/19 -- Brewers off, so listen to Sounds, Stars audio tonight; Rattlers win 9-5

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's starsboxscore.com

Lawrie Joins the Party

Amaury holds D'Jaxx to two hits in six IP, but...

 

Brett Lawrie snapped a 2-for-23 slump with a 4-for-6 performance and Caleb Gindl drove in four runs as Amaury Rivas and two relievers handled the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, 9-2 on a cool Monday night before a sparse crowd at Pringles Park......... The Stars (7-4) remain two games in back of the Smokies.

What always grabbed me about Pringles Park, and I've been there a handful of times, is that it's right off I-40. You can see the trucks and cars go by beyond the outfield wall. But the route to the ballpark from I-40 is rather circuitous and -- well, you better have your map handy. It's easier - and shorter - for me just to take U.S. 72 west to Corinth, then north on Highway 45 to Jackson, then right at Taco Bell where the Holiday Inn is across the street. That's as many turns altogether as the exit off I-40.

 

Back to the game.

 

Rivas looked good on paper, giving up just two hits in six innings, but he walked three and had a little trouble with his control (53.5% of his pitches were for strikes). He hit a couple of batters in the 3rd and tossed up a wild pitch in the 4th that allowed a run. But Rivas was saved by the Stars' Jekyll-and-Hyde defense......... Jonathan Lucroy picked off a couple of hitters and another runner was forced out in a lengthy 3rd inning. Also, the Diamond Jaxx convenienced Rivas by leaving four on base and going hitless with runners in scoring position.

 

In their first ten games, the Stars made 18 errors, the most in seven seasons. It was the other side's turn to make all the mistakes. The Diamond Jaxx made four errors, and while none of the runs five Diamond Jaxx pitchers allowed were unearned, it did cost them in a couple of innings, starting with the 3rd......... Lorenzo Cain led off with a single on a fly that dropped into the gap in left-center. That stretched his hitting streak to 11 games, three short of Justin Bowles 1998 record for the start of a season....... On a pickoff attempt, with the count 1-and-0 on Lawrie, Cain advanced to second on a bad throw. A walk to Gindl and a wild pitch later, runners were on 2nd and 3rd. Southern League batting leader Lucroy, who stretched his own hitting streak to ten games in the 1st inning, lined a one-out single sharply to left, scoring Cain. Taylor Green then smashed a double on a 1-1 pitch to the right-center field gap, bringing in Gindl for a 2-0 lead.

 

The winning runs for the Stars came in the next inning........ With one out, Lee Haydel beat out a bunt down the 3rd base line and advanced to 2nd on a throwing error by 3rd baseman Alex Liddi. After starting pitcher Dan Cortes walked Cain, old nemesis Mamba Rivera came in from the bullpen and retired Lawrie on a grounder to 2nd, advancing Cain 90 feet......... In 19 appearances over the last three years, Rivera was 3-2 with one save and a 1.82 ERA against the Stars....... With no respect for Rivera's numbers, Gindl then drove in the game-winner with a two-out single to left to score both runners and give the Stars a 4-0 lead.......... Gindl singled in another run in the 6th, giving him his 11th RBI of the year, his 3rd of four on the night, and the league RBI lead.

 

Tuesday night, Alexandre Periard will look for his 1st victory after a couple of losses. Luis Munoz (0-0), who was sent down from Class AAA-Tacoma (PCL) on Sunday, will start for the D'Jaxx.

 

If Brett Lawrie has truly snapped his slump, there's no telling how far the Stars will go if Cain, Gindl, Lucroy, and Green stay hot. Together, those four players are hitting .380 with 29 RBIs, accounting for 59% of the team total......... Steffan Wilson remains mired in a horrendous slump. You gotta feel for the guy and wonder what you do if you're Mike Guerrero. Wilson was 0-for-5 with nine men left on base, six of them in scoring position. In 33 at-bats, he's fanned 12 times (36.3%) and is 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position....... Not to neglect the pitching staff in this early going, the Stars are a distant 2nd in ERA (2.78), 6th in strikeouts, and WHIP. Rivas is 7th in ERA and 5th in lowest opposition batting average (.154)......... The starters are 6-3 with a 3.02 ERA and the bullpen , 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA.

 

The Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League have signed former Stars pitcher Joe Valentine. Valentine saved 13 games for the 2006 Stars and finished with a 2.97 ERA and was unscored upon in three innings in the Southern League championship vs. Montgomery..........