Link Report for Wed. 6/2 -- Pitchers Debut at New Levels (Rogers' promotion to be brief, Merklinger's?)

[chemist]

Wow. Very nice first inning by Rogers. 16 pitches and 12 for strikes. He seems to be throwing a lot of strikes in his past three outings. Maybe this is a sign of great things to come!

[chemist]

now it is 33 strikes in 44 pitches! He did walk one but he struck out the side. A lot of first pitch strikes. If he can keep this going this will be great. It is unfortunate that he has thrown so many pitches but it sounds like they are all quality ones. Hopefully be can get 5 or 6 innings in tonight.

[TheCrew07]

The Merk...wow. He gave up 4 unearned runs, Brett Lawrie with a huge 2 run error. However Merklinger had 3(!) errors of his own in the game, all throwing, and 2 on pick off attempts. I'm struggling to recall a box score where the pitcher had 3 errors in a game, this might be a first for me following the minors.

[battlekow]

Final: DSL Mariners 9, DSL Brewers 6

DSL Brewers box score

18-year-old RHP Jeffrey Saba had a nice pro debut, going six innings and allowing just one run one two hits and a walk, striking out three, an unusually clean outing in the woolly DSL for a pitcher of any age and experience. The debut of Joel Dicent, also 18 and recently touted as an arm to watch by Bruce Seid, did not go as well for the righty: five runs in 1.2 innings. Get 'em next time, Joel. 2B Yonki Hernandez stayed hot by going 2-3 with a double and a walk. SS Andres Martinez also had another nice game, 3-4 with a HBP. In five trips, OF Jose Pena singled, 1B Hitaniel Arias doubled, and OF Jose R. Garcia was hit by a pitch twice.

 

DSL Brewers play-by-play

[BoKnowsBall]

Good to see Kentrail Davis back in the lineup and would like to see him get hot for a stretch here but he has been getting on base alright for how he has been hitting.

[battlekow]

Final: Fort Wayne 4, Wisconsin 3

Caps clip Rattlers

Chris Mehring/Timber Rattlers

FORT WAYNE,

WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers had a 2-0 lead after 5-1/2 innings

Wednesday night against the Fort Wayne TinCaps at Parkview Field. But,

the TinCaps rallied to beat Wisconsin 4-3. Wisconsin committed two

crucial errors in the bottom of the seventh inning to allow Fort Wayne

to take

a lead they did not surrender.

 

 

 

 

 

Khris Davis

put the Timber Rattlers (19-34) in front with a two out, solo home run

in the

top of the first inning. The monstrous blast from the Rattlers’

left fielder cleared the ten-foot high centerfield wall 400’ away from

home

plate; ten-foot high batter’s eye that is set back at least 25’

beyond the fence, and a concession stand with a roof that is about three

feet

higher than the batter’s eye.

 

D’Vontrey

Richardson started the Wisconsin sixth inning with a double to

left-center. Scooter Gennett followed with a single to center.

Richardson sped home and just beat the throw to the plate for a 2-0

lead.

 

 

 

 

 

Wisconsin

starting pitcher Nick Bucci worked with runners on in every inning

except the

first, but kept the TinCaps off the scoreboard until the bottom of the

sixth. Juedy Valdez doubled to start the inning. Later in the

inning, Nate Freiman’s sacrifice fly to right scored Valdez.

 

In the

seventh, Jon Alia started the inning with a double. Dean Anna pinch ran

for Alia. Rymer Liriano bunted up the third base line. Bucci

fielded cleanly, but threw wildly to first base. That allowed Alia to

score the

tying run.

 

 

 

 

 

After a

single by Danny Payne put runners on first and second, the TinCaps

attempted a

double steal. Liriano was safe at third and he scored the go-ahead run

when catcher Cameron Garfield’s throw went into left field.

 

Fort Wayne

(28-26) added an insurance run in the eighth inning as Anna singled home

a run.

The TinCaps would need the run.

 

 

 

 

 

Davis

lined a triple off the wall in right field to start the inning against

Fort

Wayne closer Nick Schumacher. Davis scored on an RBI grounder by

Garfield. But, the Rattlers could not push the tying run across the

plate

and Schumacher picked up his eleventh save of the season.

 

The Rattlers

end their stay in Fort Wayne with a game on Thursday night. Maverick

Lasker (2-3, 4.67) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber

Rattlers. The TinCaps will counter with Mike Watt (2-3, 4.25).

 

 

 

Listen to the

broadcast on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at

5:45pm

CDT. Game time is 6:05pm.

Wisconsin box score

Bucci's final line: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. Nice to see solid peripherals through six innings for him. Richardson also has to be pleased with his 2-3 + HBP night after getting a day off, seemingly to clear his head. Chris Dennis was apparently injured on a collision at first base (see TheCrew07's post above) and did indeed come out of the game; hope he's okay. Dennis, Gennett, Garfield, and Cutter Dykstra had a single apiece.

Wisconsin play-by-play

[TheCrew07]

Rogers takes his hacks, I like that from my pitchers, he just singled for his 1st AAA hit.

[TheCrew07]

After I give Rogers some love he walks the pitcher, he's out now with 1 out in the 5th and a runner on 1st. He did throw a ton of strikes until the 4th.

[packfan79]

Pretty nice AAA debut for Rogers against what looks like a pretty solid hitting team.

[BoKnowsBall]

Cain desperately needs to get to AAA

[battlekow]

Final: Jupiter 3, Brevard County 0

Brevard County play-by-play

Cody Scarpetta continues to scuffle, allowing two runs on six hits, two walks, and a hit batter in four innings, striking out four. The Manatees had only three hits, one each from Kentrail Davis (nice to see him back), Sean Halton (who also walked twice), and Juan Sanchez. Erik Komatsu drew a walk, Shawn Zarraga was hit by a pitch, and Josh Prince was 0-4.

 

Brevard County box score

This was the Manatees' best chance to score:

 

Brevard County Top 3rd

• Brock Kjeldgaard grounds
  out, third baseman Jake Smolinski to first baseman Ben Lasater.
• Scott
  Krieger walks.
• Juan Sanchez singles on a ground ball to left
  fielder Seth Fortenberry. Scott Krieger to 2nd.
• With
  Kentrail Davis batting, wild pitch by Johnny Dorn, Scott Krieger to 3rd.
  Juan Sanchez to 2nd.
• Kentrail Davis strikes out swinging.
  
• Josh Prince grounds out, pitcher Johnny Dorn to first baseman
  Ben Lasater.

[Bnowell4evr]

Does anyone know how hard Bucci is throwing these days?

[battlekow]

Final: Mobile 5, Huntsville 4

BayBears 5, Stars 4

Huntsville Stars

 

HUNTSVILLE, ALA. – Back-to-back home runs weren’t enough to lift the Huntsville Stars to victory over the Mobile BayBears Wednesday night at Joe Davis Stadium.

A double and a sac-fly put the BayBears (26-25) on the board right away, 1-0. The Stars (25-28) followed up with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning off a triple and a sac-fly to tie things up.

 

A fielding error by Brett Lawrie in the top of the third scored two more runs for Mobile. They added another run on in the fifth when Evan Frey doubled to right field. A throwing error by Stars starter Dan Merklinger (0-1) advanced Frey to third. He later scored on a sac-fly by catcher Konrad Schmidt. A lead-off single, hit-by-pitch and a walk loaded the bases for the BayBears in the top of the next inning. Reliever Jim Henderson got the next batter to pop out and managed to get out of the jam only surrendering one run.

 

The Stars’ Lorenzo Cain got on base in the bottom of the sixth with a single to right field. He scored when Mat Gamel hit a dinger to right. Zelous Wheeler got in on the fun with a solo shot of his own, making it 5-4 Mobile. Drew Anderson grounded out on the next at-bat to end the inning.

 

Neither team managed to score another run in the final three innings, keeping the final 5-4 in favor of the BayBears.

 

Merklinger, making his Double-A debut, threw 4.1 innings, giving up four runs (zero earned) on five hits. He walked a batter and struck out four. Reliever Henderson pitched 1.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits. Robert Hinton and Eddie Morlan each threw an inning, now allowing a hit or run. Closer Brandon Kintzler was lights-out as usual, retiring the side and only allowing one hit.

 

The Stars are now 6.5 games back of the first-place Tennessee Smokies. They’ll face the BayBears again tomorrow for game four of the five-game series and game nine of the ten-game home stand. It’s Bud Light’s Thirst-Aid Thursday, with all 20-ounce Bud products (Bud, Bud Light, Amberbock) just $2! First pitch is at 7 p.m.; gates open at 6 p.m. Visit www.huntsvillestars.com for more information.

 

Huntsville box score
Merklinger, remarkably, committed three errors. Cain was 2-3 with a triple, a walk, and his 12th steal. Lawrie also tripled, his ninth of the year. Caleb Gindl was 0-3, Lee Haydel 0-4, and Taylor Green did not play.

 

Huntsville play-by-play

The Stars put the tying run on second base with one out in both the 8th and 9th but couldn't plate it.

[battlekow]

Nashville 6, Albuquerque 2

Heether homers twice in Sounds 6-2 win

Nashville Sounds

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds topped the Albuquerque Isotopes, 6-2, on Wednesday night thanks to two home runs by third baseman Adam Heether at historic Greer Stadium in the second game of a four-game series.

Heether went 3-for-4 on the night, belting his team-leading ninth and tenth home runs while recording three runs and three RBIs. It was the second time in 2010 that a Sounds player posted a multi-home run performance, after Brendan Katin did so on April 8 in Iowa.

Sounds right-hander Mark Rogers gave up one run on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings in his Triple-A debut.

Nashville jumped on the board in the opening frame, scoring two runs off Isotopes starting pitcher Brent Leach. Sounds centerfielder Norris Hopper led off the contest with a line drive to center, followed by a single by Heether. After a double steal that put both runners in scoring position, shortstop Luis Cruz elevated his RBI total to 30 by plating both runners with a single to left field for Sounds 2-0 lead, tying him with Joe Koshansky for the team-lead.

The Sounds tried to do further damage with no outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning, but were unable to do so. After Hopper led off with the inning with another hit, followed by walks by Ray Olmedo and Heether, Leach struck out the next three batters to escape the jam.

After Albuquerque pitcher Hyang-Nam Choi was walked in the top of the fifth, Jay Gibbons tied the contest at 2-2 with his ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot over the right field wall.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Heether crushed Jesus Rodriguez's first pitch of the at-bat off the left field scoreboard for the 3-2 Nashville lead. After an Erick Almonte walk and another single by Cruz, Trent Oeltjen crushed a long single to deep center that scored Almonte for a 4-2 advantage.

Heether smacked his second homer of the contest in the bottom of the eighth, another two-run shot to left for a 6-2 Nashville lead, his ninth of the season.

Reliever David Johnson surrendered one earned run on the homer in the fifth, striking out three while walking none in 1 2/3 innings. Tim Dillard (1-2) earned the win, fanning one batter in two scoreless frames. Chris Smith stuck out two over a perfect ninth inning.

In his second start of the season, Leach allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts in three innings pitched. Rodriguez (0-1) took the loss, giving up two runs with a walk and a strikeout in two innings in relief.

The Sounds and Isotopes continue with the third game of a four-game series at 7:05 pm CT on Taco Bell Throwback Thursday at historic Greer Stadium. Left-hander Chris Waters (4-2, 3.48) takes the hill for Nashville against Albuquerque southpaw Scott Elbert (1-1, 5.40).

Nashville box score

You can listen to one of Heether's homers here. Rogers threw 85 pitches, 55 for strikes.

 

Nashville play-by-play

[wibadgers23]

TheCrew07[/b]]Lo Cain triples in the 1st... My feeling is that the organization has been waiting for Schafer to come back before bumping up Cain but he's gotten in over 400 ABs in AA now, he stats have been amazingly consistent between April and May. Bite the bullet and promote the young man, he's earned it.

Yeah, from everything we've heard about Schafer's injury, it just doesn't seem like he's close to coming back. Cain should be in Nashville now. He obviously has nothing left to prove in AA.

 

 

[Mass Haas]

Here are some additional details on the Rattlers game from the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. Notice it also notes there is Comcast Cable 82 TV coverage if you're in that local Indiana area. Pretty impressive, actually each Fort Wayne home game is telecast on that outlet, yet the club still averages nearly 4,900 per game thus far this season, with summer yet to arrive.

 

Curious about Brewer affiliate attendance ranks?

 

Nashville

Huntsville

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

 

[pete]

“I had the slider going for me, (Wisconsin) is a club that struggles with the breaking pitches a little bit, so we tried to keep them off-balance. We got some big outs in big situations.” -pitcher Jerry Sullivan

 

“He had two mistakes (a solo home run to Khris Davis and an RBI single to Gennett) that he threw, both fastballs." - Tincap manager

 

Probably not much different than any other club, but has a deja vu all over again feel when I read it.