Link Report for Wed. 7/21

[Mass Haas]

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[Mass Haas]

Wednesday's Daily Menu:

 

Times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: LHP Chase Wright at home vs. Albuquerque (Dodgers), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Huntsville: Idle

 

Brevard County: TBD (likely RHP R.J. Seidel) at Palm Beach (Cardinals), 6:05 PM gametime

Live Audio Link (Select Palm Beach Cardinals for the opponents' feed)

Wisconsin: RHP Maverick Lasker at West Michigan (Tigers), 5:40 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Helena: TBD (likely RHP Stosh Wawrzasek) at Ogden (Dodgers), 7:45 PM pre-game; 8:00 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at home vs. the mighty morphin power Rangers; 9:00 PM; never audio for games in this league

 

DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Mariners, 9:30 AM -- if the weather system soon to be named "Bonnie" allows, the teams will most assuredly play twice

[Mass Haas]

Follow Wednesday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Tab or New Window". Choose "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often.

 

Nashville (Gameday also available)

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

 

Helena

 

Arizona Rookie (Maryvale)

 

DSL Brewers (If it is a twinbill, we'll link during the late night.)

[Mass Haas]

PCL American North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Iowa	53	44	.546	-	-	29-25	24-19	7-3	W2
	Nashville	51	45	.531	1.5	47	26-21	25-24	6-4	L2
	Omaha	50	45	.526	2.0	47	23-22	27-23	4-6	L1
	Memphis	51	46	.526	2.0	46	27-20	24-26	3-7	W1

SOU North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
*	Tennessee	14	12	.538	-	-	10-6	4-6	6-4	W2
	Carolina	13	13	.500	1.0	44	6-7	7-6	5-5	L2
	Huntsville	13	13	.500	1.0	44	6-7	7-6	5-5	L3
	Chattanooga	12	14	.462	2.0	43	7-6	5-8	3-7	W2
	West Tenn	10	16	.385	4.0	41	4-6	6-10	4-6	W3

FSL North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Tampa	16	7	.696	-	-	8-3	8-4	7-3	W3
	Brevard County	15	10	.600	2.0	45	10-5	5-5	7-3	W2
	Daytona	15	10	.600	2.0	45	8-4	7-6	5-5	W3
*	Dunedin	11	14	.440	6.0	41	7-5	4-9	5-5	W2
	Clearwater	11	15	.423	6.5	40	8-4	3-11	4-6	W1
	Lakeland	8	16	.333	8.5	39	5-7	3-9	4-6	L1

MID Western
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Kane County	16	8	.667	-	-	12-3	4-5	9-1	W7
	Quad Cities	14	8	.636	1.0	-	8-5	6-3	6-4	W1
*	Cedar Rapids	13	10	.565	2.5	47	9-5	4-5	6-4	W2
	Clinton	13	10	.565	2.5	47	9-6	4-4	5-5	L1
	Burlington	11	11	.500	4.0	45	10-4	1-7	4-6	L1
	Wisconsin	11	13	.458	5.0	44	9-6	2-7	5-5	W1
	Beloit	10	13	.435	5.5	43	8-7	2-6	4-6	W2
	Peoria	9	13	.409	6.0	44	7-7	2-6	5-5	L1

PIO North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Great Falls	17	12	.586	-	-	6-6	11-6	6-4	W1
	Helena	15	14	.517	2.0	8	10-7	5-7	3-7	W1
	Billings	14	15	.483	3.0	7	7-5	7-10	6-4	L1
	Missoula	12	17	.414	5.0	5	9-8	3-9	5-5	L1

AZL Central
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	AZL Brewers	16	8	.667	-	-	4-3	2-4	6-4	L2
	AZL Indians	12	12	.500	4.0	29	3-3	6-1	8-2	L1
	AZL Dodgers	11	13	.458	5.0	28	2-4	3-3	3-7	L2
	AZL Reds	11	13	.458	5.0	28	2-3	4-3	5-5	W4

DSL S.D. North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	DSL Mariners	24	17	.585	-	-	15-6	9-11	8-2	W5
	DSL Cardinals	23	18	.561	1.0	31	18-3	5-15	5-5	L3
	DSL Athletics	18	24	.429	6.5	25	10-11	8-13	4-6	W3
	DSL Brewers	17	23	.425	6.5	26	11-8	6-15	4-6	L5

[Mass Haas]

Mass Haas wrote:

Where will Josh Butler slot into the Wright - McLeary - Narron - Lofgren - Waters rotation? Shouldn't be difficult to find a spot -- we tend to think of Butler as a youngster, but he'll be 26 in December...

Nashville Media Notes

BUTLER TO START SATURDAY; LOFGREN SHUFFLED TO BULLPEN: Right-hander Josh Butler, who was promoted to Nashville yesterday from Double-A Huntsville, will join the Sounds’ rotation and is scheduled to make his first start on Saturday in Albuquerque. Butler -- who made three starts for Nashville during his journey to Milwaukee by the end of last season -- will fill the rotation spot of Chuck Lofgren, who transitions to a relief role. Lofgren’s only previous bullpen experience during his eight-year pro career came in 2008 when he was pitching for Double-A Akron in the Indians organization (he went 1-2 with a 5.76 ERA in 13 relief outings).

[Mass Haas]

Link Report Bonus:

Please be sure to read this latest article (thanks for the heads-up, battlekow) on the exploits of the Canadian Junior National Team.

 

I had the very good fortune last week locally here in Massachusetts to see the team tune up for the World Tournament as they took on a collegiate wood-bat team as part of their tour of New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) squads.

 

Luckily, it was 7th round pick Joel Pierce's turn to start, and 19th round OF/C Rowan Wick was his batterymate. I had a wonderful evening talking things over with both young men during the pre- and post-game, and spent several quality minutes with a quality guy, the Brewers' Asst. Director of Amateur Scouting, Ray Montgomery, who was on-site.

 

I've been trying to squeeze together a detailed update all week, but Link Report and Power 50 duties (and oh yeah, real life) have gotten in the way a bit.

 

I plan on burning some midnight oil and typing up that update for you this evening, and we'll link to it for you here.

[Mass Haas]

Rattler Radio:

 

July 21, 2010: Game Notes

 

July 21, 2010: Tonight's Starter

 

July 21, 2010: Lineup

[Mass Haas]

What is up the last 48 hours with these blowout starting pitching efforts?

 

Nashville lefty Chase Wright, whose major league claim to fame is allowing four consecutive home runs to Red Sox batters while with the Yankees, allowed four home runs (not consecutively) in a disastrous nine-run 3rd inning tonight. Wright allowed eight hits overall in the inning (a double in addition to the four bombs), also walked two in the frame and didn't make it through the inning, as Donovan Hand stranded two of Wright's baserunners to finally end the pain. 9-1 Isotopes after three.

 

Albuquerque Top 3rd

• Justin Sellers homers (4) on a line drive to left field.
  
• Charlie Haeger walks.
  
• Trent Oeltjen homers (11) on a fly ball to right field. Charlie Haeger scores.
  
• Coaching visit to mound.
  
• Ivan De JesusJr. walks.
  
• Russ Mitchell homers (16) on a fly ball to left field. Ivan De JesusJr. scores.
  
• John Lindsey grounds out, second baseman Ray Olmedo to first baseman Joe Koshansky.
  
• Jay Gibbons homers (16) on a fly ball to right field.
  
• Jamie Hoffmann singles on a ground ball to center fielder Norris Hopper.
  
• JD Closser singles on a ground ball to center fielder Norris Hopper. Jamie Hoffmann to 2nd.
  
• Justin Sellers singles on a line drive to left fielder Adam Stern. Jamie Hoffmann to 3rd. JD Closser to 2nd.
  
• Charlie Haeger doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Adam Stern. Jamie Hoffmann scores. JD Closser scores. Justin Sellers to 3rd.
  
• Trent Oeltjen strikes out swinging.
  
• Ivan De JesusJr. singles on a ground ball to left fielder Adam Stern. Justin Sellers scores. Charlie Haeger to 3rd.
  
• Pitcher Change: Donovan Hand replaces Chase Wright, batting 9th.
  
• Russ Mitchell grounds into a force out, third baseman Mat Gamel to second baseman Ray Olmedo. Ivan De JesusJr. out at 2nd.

[Mass Haas]

Nine other DSL games, including a 15-inning and a 14-inning game, were played this morning, but the Brewers game was among a handful that were postponed.

 

The Brewers' kids play in the Santo Domingo area, which either is getting hit especially hard or simply has poorer drainage than other locales.

[Mass Haas]

RHP Trey Watten, pitching on two days' rest after a two-inning relief stint on the 18th, made the start today for the Manatees and managed to go five innings. RHP Darren Byrd, who made the six-inning start in that same game just three days ago, gave the club an inning in relief of Watten.

 

Why this was necessary, when R.J. Seidel would have started on normal rest tonight, is unknown.

 

Mix in Jeremy Jeffress' odd early departure last night, and plenty of uneven starting efforts up and down the chain recently, and these Brewer affiliate staffs are in various degrees of distress right now. You might even see emergency-type callups for some of the younger arms, similar to what Damon Krestalude and Nick Bucci did for Huntsville last year.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Palm Beach (Cardinals) 3, Brevard County 1

We'll get a brief game summary from the Palm Beach perspective a bit later on...

 

Brevard County Box Score

The pitching situation is reviewed in the post above -- Trey Watten recorded ten ground ball outs and none in the air in his five innings; Brevard's boys also killed worms tonight, 13 ground ball outs in the first seven innings -- Cards' starter Kevin Thomas is a severe ground-ball hurler; Sergio Miranda had half of Brevard's six hits, all singles...

 

Brevard County Game Log

Catcher Shawn Zarraga threw out a man at second base on an attempted steal and then this has failed suicide squeeze attempt written all over it...

Palm Beach Bottom 8th

• Alex Castellanos singles on a ground ball to second baseman Matt Cline. Alex Castellanos advances to 2nd, on throwing error by second baseman Matt Cline.
  
• Jarred Bogany out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Brandon Ritchie to first baseman Sergio Miranda. Alex Castellanos to 3rd.
  
• With Luis De La Cruz batting, Alex Castellanos caught stealing home, catcher Shawn Zarraga to third baseman Peter Fatse to pitcher Brandon Ritchie.
  
• Luis De La Cruz pops out to second baseman Matt Cline.

Miranda singled in Erik Komatsu, who had also singled and then advaced on a wild pitch, for the Sea Cows' only run, in the 3rd, and the Manatees had the tying run on base in the 9th --

 

Brevard County Top 9th

• Pitcher Change: David Carpenter replaces Ramon Delgado.
  
• Matt Cline walks.
  
• Erik Komatsu flies out to right fielder Alex Castellanos.
  
• Angel Salome called out on strikes.
  
• Sergio Miranda singles on a line drive to left fielder Jarred Bogany. Matt Cline to 2nd.
  
• Scott Krieger pops out to second baseman Domnit Bolivar.

[battlekow]

Final: Wisconsin 3, @West Michigan 1

Road trip starts on the right foot for Wisconsin

Chris Mehring/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMSTOCK

PARK, MI – Maverick Lasker and Nick Bucci kept a struggling West Michigan

Whitecaps team down on Wednesday night at Fifth Third Ballpark. The

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitching duo kept the Whitecaps to six hits and one

run in a 3-1 Rattlers victory. Wisconsin started their nine-game road

trip with a few clutch hits, some good pitching, and a couple of big defensive

plays.

 

Wisconsin (12-13

second half, 38-55 overall) grabbed the lead on a mistake by the Whitecaps in

the first inning. The Rattlers had Kentrail Davis at third and Khris

Davis at first with two outs. Hunter Morris swung and missed a pitch from

Victor Larez that should have been strike three. But, the ball skipped to

the backstop and by the time it was retrieved, Morris reached first, Khris

Davis made it to second, and Kentrail Davis scored the first run of the game.

 

 

 

 

 

The Rattlers

took advantage of another West Michigan miscue in the fourth inning to add to

their lead. Cutter Dykstra reached base on an error to start the

frame. He stole second. Cameron Garfield drove in Dykstra with a

single and took second on the throw to the plate. Moments later Michael

Marseco doubled in Garfield and the Rattlers led 3-0.

 

Lasker

cruised through the first six innings and allowed just two hits. But, the

Whitecaps (7-18, 33-61) got to him in the seventh. Cory Jones started the

inning with a ground rule double. One out later Tony Plagman singled in

Jones to cut the Wisconsin lead to 3-1. The next batter was Avisail

Garcia, who had a pair of hits off Lasker in two trips to the plate.

Garcia lined an offering to the gap in left-center, but Wisconsin center

fielder D’Vontrey Richardson ran down the ball for a catch and the second

out.

 

 

 

 

 

Bucci

relieved Lasker in the bottom of the eighth inning and promptly got the first

two outs. But, a single and two straight walks loaded the bases for West

Michigan. Cleanup batter Wade Gaynor sent a fly ball deep to left, but

Khris Davis ran it down on the warning track for the final out.

 

Bucci worked

around a one out single in the bottom of the ninth to nail down the

victory. By working those two scoreless innings, Bucci picked up his

first professional save.

 

 

 

Game two of

the series is Thursday night at Fifth Third Ballpark. Wisconsin sends Del

Howell (2-4, 5.09) to the mound. West Michigan’s scheduled starting

pitcher is Luis Angel Sanz (1-4, 6.45). Game time is 6:00pm CDT.

Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame

Show at 5:40pm.

Wisconsin box score

Lasker only struck out two, but he didn't walk anyone, and Mehring specifically pointed out how quickly he was working. Sounds like he was in a nice rhythm. Fairly quiet night offensively, as Garfield and Scooter Gennett were the only Rattlers with more than one hit. Richardson was 1-5 with three strikeouts but did make that nice running catch.

 

Wisconsin play-by-play

[battlekow]

Final: AZL Rangers 4, @AZL Brewers 3

AZL Brewers box score

The Brewers came close, climbing to within one in the 7th, falling back in the 8th, then getting back to within one in the bottom of the 9th. Bobby Bramhall started but didn't make it out of the first, presumably hitting his pitch count after getting two outs and allowing a run on three hits and a walk. Dane Amedee followed and took the loss, surrendering two runs in 2.2 innings on four hits, fanning two and walking none. Max Walla and Kenny Allison were each 2-4, and John Bivens was 1-3 with a walk and a double, his first hit since being demoted. Tyler Roberts was 1-4 with a double, but committed two more passed balls, ten now. Walla tallied another outfield assist.

 

AZL Brewers play-by-play

The tying run was thrown out at the plate in the 7th:

 

AZL Brewers Bottom 7th

• Demetrius McKelvie walks.
• Thomas
  Mittelstaedt out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Andres Perez-Lobo to
  first baseman Jhonny Gomez. Demetrius McKelvie to 2nd.
• John Bivens doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Braxton Lane. Demetrius McKelvie scores.
• Defensive Substitution: Carson Vitale replaces catcher Alison Perez, batting 7th, playing catcher.
• With Eric Farris batting, passed ball by Carson Vitale, John Bivens to 3rd.
• Eric Farris reaches on a fielder's choice out, shortstop Drew Robinson to catcher Carson Vitale. John Bivens out at home.
• Yadiel Rivera flies out to center fielder Teodoro Martinez.

Seems like McKelvie might have taken out the catcher there. The Brewers got the tying run to second base with one out in the 9th but couldn't plate it:

 

AZL Brewers Bottom 9th

• Maxwell Walla singles on a ground ball to left fielder Braxton Lane.
• With Demetrius McKelvie batting, passed ball by Carson Vitale, Maxwell Walla to 2nd.
• Demetrius McKelvie flies out to right fielder Travis Meiners.
• Thomas Mittelstaedt walks.
• John Bivens walks. Maxwell Walla to 3rd. Thomas Mittelstaedt to 2nd.
• Pitcher Change: Jose Monegro replaces Jonathan Rojas.
• Eric Farris out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Braxton Lane. Maxwell Walla scores.
• Yadiel Rivera called out on strikes.

[And That]

Good to see Watten's GO/AO rate up to 2.40 after the 10 groundouts today. His peripherals look bad, but once he starts getting some better defenses behind him, he'll start turning heads.

 

On my drive home today, I thought to myself, "I haven't seen Bramhall's name in a box score recently." Sure enough tonight...

 

Now I just realized that we haven't seen Brae Wright's name pop up yet. He was in spring training box scores after undergoing Tommy John surgery early last year. By this point, I think it's safe to assume he's had some sort of setback.

[battlekow]

Final: @Ogden 7, Helena 3

Helena box score

Stosh Wawrzasek struck out six and walked only one in 5.1 innings, but fell victim to a couple long balls (and some bad luck) and eventually allowed five runs on eight hits. 8th-rounder Austin Ross followed, making his second pro appearance, and struggled similarly with balls in play; he struck out three and walked none in 2.1 innings but allowed two runs on five hits. Cody "Cheetah" Hawn had another good night, smacking his league-leading 15th double as part of his 2-4 night; he also walked. Shea Vucinich was 2-5 with a double; though he struck out three times, Steve Wendt observed that is rarely embarrassed at the plate. Carlos George was 2-3 with a walk, and Mike Walker, playing first base for only the 4th time, was 2-4 with a walk. Each side threw a runner out at home. Trivia: Four of the five LSU players that have signed from the 2010 draft took part in this game: Ross and Johnny Dishon for the Brewers and Blake Dean and Leon Landry for the Raptors (the other is the Cubs' Micah Gibbs).

 

Helena play-by-play

The Brewers had just tied it in the top of the 6th when Stosh ran into a little bad luck:

 

Ogden Bottom 6th

• Jake Lemmerman doubles (11) on a fly ball to right fielder John Dishon.
• Michael Pericht strikes out swinging.
• Jonathan
  Garcia singles on a line drive to left fielder Brandon Sizemore.
  Jake Lemmerman to 3rd. Jonathan Garcia to 2nd on the throw.
• Nick Akins homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. Jake Lemmerman scores. Jonathan Garcia scores.
• Pitcher Change: Austin Ross replaces Stosh Wawrzasek.
• Blake Dean doubles (5) on a ground ball to right fielder John Dishon.
• Jesse
  Bosnik singles on a fly ball to left fielder Brandon Sizemore. Blake
  Dean out at home on the throw, left fielder Brandon Sizemore to catcher
  Gerald Ogrinc. Jesse Bosnik to 2nd on the throw.
• Pedro Guerrero grounds out, pitcher Austin Ross to first baseman Michael Walker.

Lemmerman's double was a fluke; Wendt said that Wawrzasek got it "right in his kitchen". On Garcia's single, Dishon made a good throw back in, and the Brewers should have easily gotten Garcia recklessly advancing to second, but no one cut it off.

[battlekow]

Raptors continue dominance over Brewers

Brandon Hart/Ogden Raptors

 

The Ogden Raptors answered every run that the Helena Brewers scored Wednesday night with at least two of their own as the Raptors won 7-3 at Lindquist Field.

 

The Brewers struck first in the top of the third. With one out, Carlos George doubled down the left-field line, and Robbie Garvey singled him home with a hit to left, giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead.

 

The Raptors answered with two in the bottom of the inning. Pedro Guerrero led off the inning with a double to left. After a groundout moved Guerrero to third, Bobby Coyle hit a two-run homer to right field. The home run was Coyle's second of the season and gave the Raptors a 2-1 lead.

 

The Brewers tied the game in the sixth with a run in the top of the inning. With one out, Greg Hopkins singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. After consecutive walks loaded the bases, Hopkins came home on a passed ball to tie the game 2-2.

 

The Raptors answered in the bottom of the inning, this time with three runs. Jake Lemmerman led off the inning with a double off the bag at first base. Two batters later, Jonathan Garcia singled and moved up to second on the throw home that kept Lemmerman at third. Nick Akins then delivered a towering home run to left, a three-run shot, giving the Raptors the lead, 5-2.

 

The Brewers scored again in the eighth. Mike Walker reached base on a high throw by Lemmerman to begin the inning. A single by Brandon Sizemore and a groundout by Gerald Ogrinc moved Walker to third. Walker then scored an unearned run on a wild pitch by Jimo Lee to cut the Raptors' lead to 5-3.

 

The Raptors answered again in the home half of the inning with two runs. This time Mike Pericht doubled down the left-field line to start the inning. Garcia singled home Pericht for the first run of the inning. Two batters later, Blake Dean doubled home Garcia to give the Raptors a 7-3 lead.

 

Raptors starter Red Patterson received a no decision as the righty worked 5 1/3 innings and gave up two runs, one earned, on eight hits and five strikeouts.

 

The Raptors and Brewers will continue their four-game series Thursday. Ogden's Greg Wilborn will face off against Helena's Tyler Cravy. The game starts at 7:00 and can be heard on 1280 The Zone.

[Mass Haas]

This story is from the West Michigan perspective, but gives you a sense of how much the Rattlers' opponent this week has been struggling --

 

Whitecaps come up short against Timber Rattlers in homestand opener

Steve Vedder | The Grand Rapids Press

 

COMSTOCK PARK -- A precious few more feet on a couple long fly balls, and at least some of the sting from another long frustrating road trip by the West Michigan Whitecaps would have been eased.

 

Instead, the Whitecaps' 3-1 loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday at Fifth Third Ballpark was just another step in what has become a countdown to the worst offensive season in club history.

 

The Whitecaps, who went 1-5 and were outscored 40-24 during a road trip that ended Monday, once again had chances to win the game but couldn't come up with the key hit with runners on base.

 

This time, however, those chances didn't result in strikeouts, weak grounders or pop ups.

 

This time, two long fly balls, each of which approached nearly 400 feet in distance and came with a total of four Whitecaps on base, were run down by Timber Rattler outfielders to finish off the win.

 

The toughest of the two balls came with the Whitecaps trailing 3-1 and the bases loaded in the eighth inning. Wade Gaynor's drive to the warning track in deep left center was caught within feet of becoming a game-winning grand slam.

 

"I thought I got it, definitely," said Gaynor, who is hitting .381 with 11 RBIs over his past 10 games.

 

"But it's part of the game. Some fields are just big, like Comerica Park. But in this situation, it's frustrating."

 

Joining Gaynor in that frustration was the Whitecaps' Avisail Garcia, who collected two singles and a double but likely will remember his other at-bat the best.

 

After an RBI single by Tony Plagman in the seventh cut Wisconsin's lead to 3-1, Garcia hit a ball up the gap in left center that would have driven in a run and put Garcia at least at second with one out. Instead, center fielder D'Vontrey Richardson, who was shaded to the gap in right center, ran down the ball for the second out.

 

The Whitecaps could have used the momentum provided by a comeback win, manager Joe DePastino said.

 

Instead, it's just another frustrating game in a long season that has seen the Whitecaps become a lock to smash the club record of scoring just 570 runs in 2003.

 

West Michigan would have to average more than five runs over its remaining 45 games to keep from breaking the record.

 

"I thought, no way were they going to get Gaynor's ball," DePastino said. "But when you're struggling like we are, those things are going to happen."

 

Despite losing five of six games on the road by at least four runs, DePastino said he continues to see improvement by the offense. The Whitecaps scored 16 runs in three games against a Clinton pitching staff that ranks second in the Midwest League in ERA (3.34) before being swept by Western Division leader Kane County.

 

"We're starting to hit the ball," DePastino said. "We just need to get guys in scoring position."

 

To the hitters' credit, DePastino said he rarely hears complaints about the ball not carrying in mid-summer night games at Fifth Third Ballpark.

 

"They've talked about it, but you can't let it bother you," he said. "Everyone knows the ball doesn't fly out of this park."

[Mass Haas]

Castellanos, Thomas Lead Cardinals To 3-1 Win

Alex Castellanos and the Cardinals jumped on Brevard County early, and then let Kevin Thomas continue his run of dominating starts as Palm Beach took the final game of the series 3-1.

 

Castellanos went 4-for-4 on the night, starting with a 1st inning single to drive in what would prove to be the game's deciding run. D'Marcus Ingram and Charlie Cutler led the game off with a single and a double, respectively, to put both in scoring position. Ingram put Palm Beach on the board on Niko Vasquez's RBI groundout, while Castellanos plated Cutler. Castellanos would drive a double to left field in the 6th inning, giving him 26 on the year and a share of the Florida State League lead.

 

With two runs in the 1st inning, Palm Beach starter Kevin Thomas (6-0) had all the offense he needed. The righty has not allowed more than one earned run in a start since June 7th, a streak that continues with his seven innings of one-run ball against the Manatees. Thomas gave up just five hits while striking out five and allowing a walk.

 

Were it not for a wild pitch, the Cardinals might have shutout the Manatees. Thomas allowed only singles, but pitch to the backstop in the 4th inning allowed Brevard's Erik Komatsu to reach second. He would score on Sergio Miranda's single.

 

The Cardinals came right back and answered in the bottom of the frame, with Xavier Scruggs and Castellanos leading off with singles. Jarred Bogany's grounder put both in scoring position, while Luis De La Cruz brought Scruggs home on Palm Beach's second RBI groundout of the night.

[Mass Haas]

Raptors continue to feast on Helena Brewers
Tony Reyna, Ogden Standard-Examiner correspondent

OGDEN -- Scheduling more games with the Helena Brewers isn't going to happen, but you can't blame the Ogden Raptors for wishing so.

The Raptors made it a perfect 4-for-4 against the Brewers this year--including a three-game sweep in Helena last week--with a come-from-behind 7-3 victory Wednesday night at Lindquist Field.

Playing its first game at home after a successful 5-2 road trip, Ogden roughed up Helena pitching for 13 hits, but in the end it was the long ball that made the difference.

More particularly it was Nick Akins' long ball that put Ogden in front and ignited the victory.

With the game knotted at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Akins sent Helena starter Stosh Wawrzasek to the showers with a monster shot over the left-field wall with Jake Lemmerman and Jonathan Garcia aboard.

Helena broke into the scoring column first in the third inning on a Robbie Garvey RBI single that plated Carlos George who doubled down the left-field line with one out. The lead was short-lived however as Ogden jumped in front in its share of the inning on Bobby Coyle's two-run blast over the right-field wall with Pedro Guerrero on second.

It was Coyle's second home run of the year.

Things remained relatively quiet until the top of the sixth when the Brewers tied the game at 2-2, setting the stage for Akins' third round tripper of the season.

The Brewers got to Ogden pitching for 12 hits and six walks, but stellar plays by the Raptors defense squelched threats that could have turned the game around.

The first came in the fourth inning when the Brewers had a chance to tie the game on a double by Gerald Ogrinc to the base of the right-centerfield wall with Mike Walker aboard and two outs. Walker tried to score on the play, but Garcia, playing right field, made a perfect relay throw to second baseman Pedro Guerrero who threw out Walker at the plate.

The Brewers put together another threat in the eighth inning, but an outstanding inning-ending double play started by Lemmerman at short, put an end to the rally.

Lemmerman fielded a slow roller, tagged second for the force and threw a laser to Blake Dean at first to complete the twin killing.

Ogden picked up two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to ice the game. Mike Pericht, who leads the Pioneer league with nine home runs--three more than his nearest competitor--led off the inning with a line-drive double to left, and scored the first run of the frame on Garcia's single to right. Garcia scored later in the inning when Dean doubled to left-centerfield.

The Brewers failed to go away quietly by putting three runners on in their last at bat. But another double play put an end to the rally. Ogden finished the contest with three crucial double plays.

Ogden starter Red Patterson did not factor in the decision and remains perfect at 3-0. Logan Bawcom picked up the victory in relief.

The Raptors improved to a league best 18-12 and maintained their lead over Casper and Orem in the South Division.

Raptors Notes: Every position player for the Raptors had at least one hit. Leon Landry, Pericht, Garcia and Dean had a pair of hits each.... In addition to the two home runs, Ogden had five doubles, two by Dean....The Raptors, who lead the Pioneer League in attendance, drew 3,620 to the park Wednesday night....Ogden reduced its magic number to win the first half title to six.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Albuquerque (Dodgers) 14, Nashville 5

 

Isotopes Power Past Sounds, 14-5, On Wednesday

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Albuquerque Isotopes roughed up the Nashville Sounds, 14-5, on Wednesday night at historic Greer Stadium in the third game of a four-game set.

 

Having dropped the last five games in a row to Albuquerque this year, Nashville (51-46) matched a season-high for hits allowed (18) while setting the mark for runs given up in an inning (9), team home runs allowed (6), and most home runs surrendered by a pitcher in a game.

 

For the second consecutive night, Albuquerque did damage early to Nashville starting pitching, as starter Chase Wright's nine runs on four long balls in 2 2/3 innings were the most given up by the southpaw since July 27, 2007 as a member of the Double-A Trenton Thunder. It also marked the second time in his ten-year career that Wright allowed four homers in a contest, as four straight homers in a span of 10 pitches were hit by Boston's Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek on April 22 earlier that season.

 

Wright (6-6) had been impressive for Nashville over the his previous six start span, tossing quality starts in four of the last six outings while allowing 10 total runs in his last 37 2/3 innings pitched.

 

The Sounds jumped on the board in the opening frame to take a 1-0 lead. Leadoff hitter Adam Stern walked to begin the game, stole second base during the Norris Hopper at-bat, and then came home on a Mat Gamel RBI single to left field (audio available at the link above).

 

Leadoff hitter Justin Sellers hit his fourth long ball of the year down the left field line for the first run, with Trent Oeltjen hitting a two-run homer down the right field line, his 11th of the season. After the next batter Ivan De Jesus walked, Russ Mitchell smacked his 16th home run, followed by Jay Gibbons 16th homer for a 6-1 lead.

 

The Isotopes scored the next three runs later in the frame after loading the bases with three consecutive singles, followed by a two-run double by starting pitcher Charlie Haeger for his first hit and RBI of the season. Wright was removed from the contest after allowing De Jesus Jr. to bring home Sellers for the final run of the inning.

 

The Isotopes tacked on another run in the inning, as former Sound J.D. Closser hit an RBI base knock to right field to score Lindsay for a 10-1 lead.

 

The Sounds plated three runs in the Nashville fifth to reduce the lead to 10-4, as catcher Martin Maldonado extended his season-long hitting streak to 10 games with a leadoff single. Stern doubled Maldonado to third, with Hopper doubling down the right field line to score both runners. Hopper scored the final run in the inning on a Gamel groundout.

 

Albuquerque extended the lead to 12-4 in the next frame as Lindsay and Gibbons crushed back-to-back jacks off reliever Mitch Stetter.

Memphis' Tyler Greene and Daniel Descalso achieved the feat on June 23 earlier this season, marking the second time this season two hitters have gone yard in consecutive at-bats against the Sounds.

 

The Isotopes tacked on two more runs in the next inning thanks to a two-run double by Gibbons.

 

Johnny Raburn entered the contest in bottom of the seventh inning as a pinch hitter and remained in the contest to pitch for Sounds, marking the first time a position player has pitched for Nashville since Adam Heether did so on April 16, 2009 against Oklahoma City. In two shutout innings on the night, Raburn extended his career innings pitched to 10 scoreless frames in 10 pitching outings.

 

Nashville scored their final run in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Brendan Katin doubled and later scored on a Ray Olmedo RBI single.

 

Haeger (2-1) picked up the win after the knuckleballer allowed four runs on eight hits with six strikeouts over seven innings thrown.

 

Donovan Hand gave up one run in 2 1/3 innings while Stetter was touched for four runs on five hits in two innings pitched.

 

Hopper went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored while Stern added two hits and two runs in the contest.

 

Nashville Box Score

Maybe Johnny Raburn missed his calling -- that's a remarkable stat; just as Chase Wright was starting to get positive ink, that was quite the implosion; no way Mitch Stetter could have forseen such a disastrous 2010 -- talk about being totally off the radar right now; Trent Oeltjen is hitting .353 with an OPS of 1.107 in 51 AB's since joining the Dodgers' organization...

 

Nashville Game Log

[Outlander]

That was a rather disappointing outing by Chase Wright as he was having a solid year and may have even been called up eventually if he continued to progress.

[CheezWizHed]

That was a rather disappointing outing by Chase Wright as he was having a solid year and may have even been called up eventually if he continued to progress.

 

That was highly doubtful. He is 27 now. Been a 4+ ERA pitcher in fours seasons at AAA. Maybe as a lefty out of the pen, but I would imagine several pitchers would be called up before he would (Stetter, Smith, Dillard, Butler, Rivas, Rogers).

[brewmann04]

That the Problem no one at the 3 A level is much better than what being hrown out at the Major league level,

We need to hope there some light at the lower levels that will be filtering up the ladder.