Link Report for Mon. 7/12

[marty22]

Probably not the best spot for this, but thought some would find this interesting...sorry for the poor formatting:

 

 

Player Name Stat Type Bavg Obp Slg OPS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO

Lorenzo Cain Minor .286 .359 .412 771 500 1928 299 552 117 21 28 221 97 32 187 404

Austin Jackson Minor .288 .355 .410 765 564 2200 350 633 122 28 30 254 123 35 221 520

[battlekow]

Final: AZL Indians 6, @AZL Brewers 5 (11 innings)

AZL Brewers box score

The Brewers blew a 5-2 lead in the 8th and lost in the 11th. Kevin Shackelford started and allowed a run in three innings, but the main attraction was Brooks Hall, who posted the following line: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 3 K. Eric Farris started at second base, his first appearance since 6/25; he went 1-2 before taking what I hope was a planned early exit. Robbie Garvey and Joey Paciorek were each 2-5 with a triple. Tyler Roberts was 0-1 after entering the game as a defensive replacement for Steve Felix, who was 0-2 with a walk in his pro debut. Max Walla was 1-5 with three

strikeouts.

 

AZL Brewers play-by-play

Farris did leave immediately after some baserunning, so he might have aggravated his knee injury:

 

AZL Brewers Bottom 3rd

• Steve Felix flies out to center
  fielder Henry Dunn.
• Derrick Shaw grounds out, third baseman
  Nicholas Bartolone to first baseman Jesus Aguilar.
• Robert
  Garvey triples (2) on a fly ball to right fielder Anthony Gallas.
• Eric
  Farris singles on a line drive to right fielder Anthony Gallas.
  Robert Garvey scores.
• Jason Rogers singles on a line drive to
  center fielder Henry Dunn. Eric Farris to 3rd.
• Joseph
  Paciorek triples (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Anthony Gallas.
  Eric Farris scores. Jason Rogers scores.
• Maxwell Walla
  strikes out swinging, catcher Alex Monsalve to first baseman Jesus
  Aguilar.

AZL Indians Top 4th

• Defensive

  Substitution: Justin Parker replaces second baseman Eric Farris,

  batting 2nd, playing third base.

• Defensive switch from third

  base to second base for Joseph Paciorek.

[battlekow]

Smokies fuel North in Southern League All-Star Game win

Brad Shepard/Huntsville Times

 

Matt Dominguez may have seized the Southern League All-Star spotlight, but the Tennessee Smokies stole the show.

 

The Jacksonville Suns third baseman belted two long solo home runs that provided Kodak moments for the loud crowd of 7,782 fans taking in Huntsville's first SL All-Star Game in 24 years. But it was three players who play their baseball in Kodak, Tenn., who provided the difference for the North in a 3-2 win.

 

The trio of Smokies in the North Division starting lineup - Robinson Chirinos, Blake Lalli and Tony Campana - put their hand prints on every run scored by their team and led the North to its sixth consecutive victory. Since the league split into those divisions in 2005, the South has never won a midseason classic.

 

"It was great to get the win tonight, and that's kind of the way we've done it all year," said Lalli, who was 1-for-3 with an RBI. "We played a team game to win the game, and we all (the Smokies) had a piece of it. It was nice."

 

Chirinos drove in the game's first run with a second-inning single, followed by Lalli's RBI. Then in the fifth, Campana scored what proved to be the North's decisive run after a two-out single.

 

Chattanooga relief pitcher Kenley Jansen made things interesting in the ninth when he hit Orlando Mercado and allowed an infield single by Dominguez to put two on with one out. But he struck out Willie Cabrera and got Mauro Gomez to ground out to end the game.

 

"I wasn't nervous at all," Jansen said. "I had the ball; I controlled the game. I was trying to be aggressive with Dominguez."

 

As was the case all night, Dominguez got the best of the North, but this time it was only by legging out a harmless infield single.

 

Still, in a game of individual stars, Dominguez - rated the Marlins' No. 4 prospect overall by Baseball America after being picked in the first round of 2007 draft - shone the brightest, going 3-for-4 with two homers and both RBIs. He earned the MVP honors, a Tag Heuer watch and a pie in the face for his banner night.

 

"I just came in here to have fun, enjoying it," he said. "But winning that watch and being MVP is a great honor. It's fun being here.

 

"It's a process, and I've got to learn a lot of stuff mentally and mature physically, and it's starting to happen. It's starting to go my way this year."

 

The only other player who contested Dominguez for MVP honors was Mobile's Josh Collmenter.

Collmenter - who throws for a South Division team - began the game as the North's starting pitcher because of a pitching shortage on that side. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder worked two scoreless innings for the win.

 

He left to a nice applause from the Joe Davis fans, who were in turn appreciated by the players and managers.

 

"Every time you have this type of fan support, it's big," said North manager Mike Guerrero of the Stars. "That just motivates the players, and it was an awesome night. They were really in the game."

[Mass Haas]

The MiLB.com Southern League All-Star Game story has more on the unique pitching arrangement --

 

Having the MVP on the losing team hardly seemed out of place in a game in which who played for whom was blurred. Because the North was short of available pitchers, Mobile's Josh Collmenter switched sides and got the victory with two scoreless innings as the North starter.

 

"I felt a little bit like Benedict Arnold," Collmenter said. "It was definitely different."

 

After completing his assignment for the North, the right-hander high-fived his temporary teammates and then headed back to the South dugout, stopping in the clubhouse to change into gray pants from white.

 

"They told us to bring both sets of uniforms, so I could have pitched in my home jersey," said Collmenter, who is 6-2 with a 1.59 ERA for Mobile. "But I didn't want to do that. I wanted everyone to see which team I really belonged to."

 

Collmenter faced three of his Bears teammates in the first inning -- Evan Frey, Collin Cowgill and Konrad Schmidt, retiring the first two and walking Schmidt. He allowed two hits and a walk and struck out a batter in his outing.

 

"It felt almost like a Spring Training exhibition game," Collmenter said. "But I knew this game was important and I didn't want any of my teammates to get a hit off me."

[Mass Haas]

It's something that the DSL boys lost only 8-7; they committed seven errors to the Athletics' zero -- tough day at third base...

 

FIELDING

E: Hernandez, Y (4, fielding), Martinez, An (13, fielding), De Leon, J 4 (10, throw, throw, throw, fielding), Arias, H (6, fielding).

[Mass Haas]

In this video feature, we hear Billings manager and players discuss how tough Hiram Burgos is to face, and we see the Connor Lind error at second base that helped open the 8th inning floodgates...

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Mustangs score 8 runs in wild 8th inning to beat Helena, 8-4

GREG RACHAC Of The Billings Gazette Staff

 

Tie game. Bases loaded. Nobody out.

 

The Billings Mustangs have had trouble taking advantage of those situations this season.

 

But that didn’t matter to Cristobal Rodriguez, who delivered a three-run double in a wild eighth inning to help the Mustangs take a wild 8-4 victory over Helena Monday night at Dehler Park.

 

Thanks to a Helena bullpen that completely imploded, the Mustangs scored eight runs in the eighth to snuff out a great effort by Brewers starter Hiram Burgos.

 

Billings batted around the order in the eighth without the benefit of a hit — a rarity in manager Delino DeShields’ eyes.

 

“I don’t think I’ve seen that before,” said DeShields, the former Major Leaguer whose team has now won five straight and remains two games back of first place in the Pioneer League’s North division. “But I’m seeing a lot of firsts at this level.”

 

The Mustangs were 2 for 22 with 11 strikeouts in their previous bases-loaded situations prior to Rodriguez’s heroics. And that included stranding them loaded in the fifth inning.

 

But it was Helena’s inability to throw strikes that gave Billings its opportunity.

 

Rodriguez was hit by an Alex Jones pitch to open the eighth inning, and Theo Bowe then reached on an error by Brewers left fielder Brandon Sizemore. Jones, a submarine thrower, then walked Billy Hamilton and plunked Jonathan Kaskow to give the Mustangs their first run.

 

Eric Marzec didn’t fare much better in relief. Marzec struck out Donald Lutz, but the Brewers allowed Devin Lohman to reach on a two-out error and two more runs came across.

 

Marzec (0-2) then walked Sean Conner and Oliver Santos to tie the game before giving way to Robert Currie, who allowed Rodriguez’s double off the left field wall.

 

That collective meltdown put a damper on Burgos’ performance. Burgos left the game with a 4-0 lead after seven innings and had allowed three hits while striking out 10 and walking just two.

 

“Luck was on our side,” said Lohman, who returned to the lineup after missing two games with an ankle injury. “We had a game plan and our hitters did a great job in the end to make the adjustment of laying off those off-speed pitches.”

 

“They gave us a chance to get back in the game,” DeShields said. “I was hoping the guys would keep grinding and get into that bullpen to make something happen.”

 

Rodriguez capped the scoring in the eighth inning when he came around on Bowe’s two-out single. But he injured his hamstring in the process and was not available for comment afterward.

 

DeShields said he would “miss some time,” making him the second Rodriguez in Billings’ lineup to go down with an injury. Outfielder Yorman Rodriguez missed his 13th consecutive game with a rib injury and remains day-to-day.

 

Though Burgos was dominant, Mustangs starter Daniel Tuttle threw well in his own right.

 

Tuttle gave up one earned run on seven hits in five innings. He nearly pulled off what is known as an “immaculate inning” in the top of the first — three strikeouts on nine pitches — but Cody Hawn grounded out on Tuttle’s ninth pitch of the frame.

 

The Mustangs have an off-day today, their first since the season began on June 21. They’ll then travel to Idaho Falls to begin a seven-game road trip on Wednesday.

NOTES: Ryan Smith (1-0) earned the victory in relief, throwing one scoreless inning. …. The Mustangs (11-11) evened their record for the first time since the second game of the season. … Conner nearly hit a game-tying, two-run homer in the seventh, but the wind pushed the ball behind the right-field foul pole. … Helena OF Reggie Keen did not play. Keen suffered a broken hand after being hit by a pitch on Sunday. He is out six weeks.

[Mass Haas]

All photos by PAUL RUHTER/Gazette Staff

Oliver Santos of the Mustangs rolls past Helena catcher Brent Dean after Cristobal Rodriguez hit a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Mustangs a 7-4 lead. The Mustangs scored eight runs in the inning to win the game 8-4, their fifth consecutive victory.

 

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/3/60/f52/360f527a-cb0a-5d2f-a279-f3e129693032-revisions/4c3bfd6ac0e0c.image.jpg

 

Helena Brewers pitcher Hiram Burgos pitches against the Mustangs on Monday, July 12, 2010 at Dehler Park. Burgos struck out 10 Mustangs batters.

 

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/6/62/a19/662a19d9-7706-51bf-b54c-3c006d883669-revisions/4c3bfd675c0ff.image.jpg

 

Hiram Burgos pitches in the rain

 

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/5/4f/db3/54fdb3d6-2bc3-52fb-8291-8089edfc1aeb-revisions/4c3bfd87be8da.image.jpg

 

Hiram Burgos steps to the mound

 

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/0/2a/513/02a5136d-142c-5285-ace2-46ba8e57c1eb-revisions/4c3bfd8ae4de6.image.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Rattlers Report: Wisconsin 15, Burlington 12

By Cory Jennerjohn, Appleton Post-Crescent

The Timber Rattlers had a couple of unlikely heroes on Monday.

 

Austin Stockfisch and Michael Marseco came into the game batting .169 and .197, respectively, and the No. 7 and 8 batters gave them a needed lift at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

 

After the Timber Rattlers got four straight walks in the seventh, Marseco laced a two-RBI double to left center and Stockfisch followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 12. The Rattlers tallied five runs.

 

"They were busting me in all day," said Marseco, who was two-for-four with three RBI. "And I just had a feeling that they were going to go away with two strikes because you don't want to repeat the same pitch too many times."

 

Stockfisch matched his season RBI total of four by going two-for-five with a pair of singles, raising his average 17 points.

 

"Anytime I get a hit it's going up," Stockfisch said. "It's tough to get hits in the beginning of the game but when you have your best at-bats in your last two, is really sweet."

 

They both struck again in the eighth. With the bases loaded, Marseco was hit by an 0-2 pitch on the left foot to bring in the go-ahead run and Stockfisch added more insurance with a two-run single to left center.

 

Defensively, the Rattlers were happy to hold on. They committed six errors, which put the Timber Rattlers in last place in the Midwest League with 127 miscues.

 

"I was telling the coaching staff it's like taking a Greyhound to Hawaii, you're just happy when you get there," said Timber Rattlers manager Jeff Isom. "You'll take the win any way you can get it."

 

Today's game: The Rattlers are off Tuesday.

 

Next game: The Rattlers host the Lansing Lugnuts on Wednesday at 7:05 PM.

 

Up and throwing: TBA, Lansing vs. Del Howell, Wisconsin (1-4, 5.37 ERA).

 

Attendance: 2,534.

 

Average through 40 dates: 3,343.

[Mass Haas]

Brad Krause with commentary and photos from the 15-12 Rattler extravaganza Monday.

[Mass Haas]

Kudos to the charitable workings of the Nashville Sounds front office staff -- this has been in the works for some time now, but we'll give a one-time shout-out and congrats for their efforrts as the plan starts to come to fruition.

[Tedaldtada]

Those pictures of Hiram Burgos look really cool. Wow.