Link Report for Sat. 7/24 -- Heckathorn Wins Brevard Debut; Butler Excellent For Nashville

[Mass Haas]

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[Mass Haas]

Saturday's Daily Menu:

 

Times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Josh Butler at Albuquerque (Dodgers), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Huntsville: RHP Amaury Rivas at Jacksonville (Marlins), 5:50 PM pre-game; 6:05 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Brevard County: TBD squared (RHP Cody Scarpetta is likely) in a doubleheader at Fort Myers (Twins), 4:05 PM gametime; each contest slated for seven innings

Live Audio Link (Miracle's Feed)

Wisconsin: RHP Hiram Burgos at South Bend (Diamondbacks), 4:10 PM pre-game; 4:30 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Helena: LHP Evan Frederickson at Ogden (Dodgers), 7:45 PM pre-game; 8:00 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): Idle

 

DSL Brewers: at the DSL Mariners, 9:30 AM -- if the weather allows, the clubs will almost assuredly play two

[Mass Haas]

For Nashville diehards, the entire series in Albuquerque (through Monday) can be viewed via an MiLB.TV subscription.

[Mass Haas]

Follow Saturday'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)

 

Huntsville (Gameday also available)

 

Brevard County Game One

 

Brevard County Game Two

 

Wisconsin

 

Helena

 

DSL Brewers

[Mass Haas]

PCL American North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Iowa	55	45	.550	-	-	30-26	25-19	6-4	W1
	Nashville	53	46	.535	1.5	44	27-22	26-24	5-5	W2
	Memphis	52	47	.525	2.5	43	28-21	24-26	4-6	L1
	Omaha	51	47	.520	3.0	43	23-23	28-24	3-7	L1

SOU North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
*	Tennessee	16	12	.571	-	-	10-6	6-6	8-2	W4
	Carolina	15	13	.536	1.0	42	6-7	9-6	5-5	W2
	Huntsville	14	14	.500	2.0	41	6-7	8-7	5-5	W1
	Chattanooga	13	15	.464	3.0	40	8-7	5-8	3-7	W1
	West Tenn	12	16	.429	4.0	39	6-6	6-10	6-4	W5

FSL North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Tampa	18	8	.692	-	-	8-4	10-4	8-2	W2
	Daytona	18	10	.643	1.0	43	8-4	10-6	7-3	W6
	Brevard County	15	12	.556	3.5	41	10-5	5-7	6-4	L2
	Clearwater	12	17	.414	7.5	36	9-6	3-11	3-7	L2
*	Dunedin	11	16	.407	7.5	37	7-6	4-10	4-6	L2
	Lakeland	9	17	.346	9.0	36	6-7	3-10	4-6	W1

MID Western
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Quad Cities	16	9	.640	-	-	8-5	8-4	6-4	L1
*	Cedar Rapids	16	10	.615	0.5	-	9-5	7-5	7-3	W5
	Kane County	16	11	.593	1.0	44	12-3	4-8	7-3	L3
	Burlington	13	12	.520	3.0	42	10-4	3-8	5-5	W1
	Clinton	13	13	.500	3.5	42	9-6	4-7	4-6	L4
	Wisconsin	13	14	.481	4.0	41	9-6	4-8	5-5	L1
	Beloit	11	14	.440	5.0	39	8-7	3-7	4-6	L1
	Peoria	10	15	.400	6.0	40	7-7	3-8	6-4	L2

PIO North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Great Falls	18	14	.563	-	-	7-8	11-6	5-5	L1
	Billings	17	15	.531	1.0	6	10-5	7-10	6-4	W3
	Helena	16	16	.500	2.0	5	10-7	6-9	4-6	W1
	Missoula	12	20	.375	6.0	1	9-8	3-12	4-6	L4

AZL Central
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	AZL Brewers	18	9	.667	-	-	5-5	4-4	5-5	W2
	AZL Dodgers	13	14	.481	5.0	25	4-5	4-3	4-6	L1
	AZL Indians	13	14	.481	5.0	25	4-4	6-2	6-4	W1
	AZL Reds	12	15	.444	6.0	24	3-4	4-4	5-5	L2

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]

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.

Here's your overdue update.

[Mass Haas]

RATTLERS POSTPONED IN SOUTH BEND

Chris Mehring, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

SOUTH BEND, IN - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers will have a day of rest in South Bend, Indiana. Their game, which had been scheduled for 4:30 PM CDT on Saturday night at Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium, against the South Bend Silver Hawks has been postponed due to wet grounds. The South Bend area was hit hard by a pair of severe thunderstorms on Friday night and early Saturday morning. The heavy rains made the field unplayable for Saturday's game.

 

The series will now start with a single game on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM CDT. Saturday's game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Monday evening. The first game will begin at 4:00 PM CDT and a second game will follow the conclusion of the first. Both games of the doubleheader are scheduled for seven innings.

[PrinceFielderx1]

How hard does Amaury Rivas throw and what pitches does he throw? I'm just curious..

[starsradionetwork]

Amaury will throw in the low 90s and the fastball is very good. Has some movement and a good slider. He works very very quickly on the mound and should be well-rested tonight since he had a rain shortened appearance Sunday, only being allowed to go 3 innings.

[Mass Haas]

PDF Documents:

 

Nashville Media Notes

 

Huntsville Media Notes

[Mass Haas]

Cool -- RHP Kyle Heckathorn is making his High-A debut in Game One of the Manatee doubleheader. That start time must have been delayed.

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game One: Brevard County 2, @Fort Myers (Twins) 1, seven innings as scheduled

 

Brevard County Game One Box Score

Welcome to the Florida State League, Kyle Heckathorn! Six innings, seven hits, one run, two walks, two K's; Erik Komatsu gave the big hurler an immediate lead to work with on a first-inning solo home run; Sean Halton, Mr. RBI, hit the first of his two doubles in the 3rd, this one a two-out fly to center that scored the game's eventual winning run, Matt Cline, who had walked; Heckathorn retired the first seven Miracle batters before allowing a walk, single, and run-scoring double in the 3rd, but also wriggled out of that mess to limit the damage and hold the lead; RHP Corey Frerichs survived a leadoff walk to garner the one-inning save...

 

Brevard County Game One Game Log

If you've never been a big "read the game log" guy, just peruse this one tonight and give it a try -- it's only seven innings. You'll see that Heckathorn had some help, with two outs made on the basepaths, including one at home. He stranded two in scoring position in the 5th, and then two more baserunners in the 6th. So while you can't say Kyle was dominant here, he was effective and showed the ability to bear down. Way to play defense behind him, the only error was Heckathorn's own on a pickoff attempt...

[Mass Haas]

Cody Scarpetta is indeed starting Game Two for the Sea Cows and is off to an OK start on his normal four days' rest --

 

Fort Myers Bottom 1st

• Estarlin De Los Santos called out on strikes.
  
• Chris Herrmann called out on strikes.
  
• Brian Dozier strikes out swinging.

Jeremy Jeffress last pitched on Tuesday and left with what was believed to be shoulder discomfort. It'll be interesting to see when his name next appears in a box score.

[battlekow]

Final: Huntsville 5, @Jacksonville 2

Stars beat Suns in back-and-forth battle

Aaron Morse/Huntsville Stars

 

Drew Anderson smacked a two-RBI double to give the Stars (15-14, 48-51) the lead for good and Huntsville’s pitching staff struck-out a season-high 16 batters on their way to a 5-2 victory Saturday night over the Jacksonville Suns (16-13, 56-43).

 

Jacksonville got to Stars’ starter Amaury Rivas in the second inning as Matt Dominguez started things with a lead-off walk. A grounder moved him to second, and with two away Tim Torres came through with a bloop single to left, scoring Dominguez and giving the Suns a 1-0 lead (audio).

 

Huntsville got some two-out lightning of their own in the top of the third. Caleb Gindl doubled to left and Zelous Wheeler followed with a double of his own to tie the game at one (audio).

 

The back-and-forth two-out offense continued in the bottom of the frame. Rivas retired the first two batters he faced and struck-out Osvaldo Martinez for what should have been out number three. Unfortunately the ball got away from Anderson De La Rosa, allowing Martinez to reach safely. Martinez took advantage by stealing second base and scoring on a Vinny Rottino single (audio).

 

The Suns’ 2-1 lead didn’t last long as the Stars came back in the top of the fourth. Chris Nowak led off with a walk. That was the end of the day for Suns’ starter Jose Rosario as the Suns brought in Wade Korpi (0-3). Nowak proceeded to steal second base and advance to third on a Taylor Green ground-out. Lee Haydel smacked a sacrifice fly to knot things at two (audio).

 

Korpi’s control was his undoing in the fifth as he walked Rivas and Brett Lawrie to start the inning. It was the first time all year Rivas has reached base. Gindl bunted the runners over and Korpi walked Wheeler as well. With the bases full, Anderson came up large with a double to right, scoring Rivas and Lawrie to give the Stars a 4-2 advantage (audio).

 

Rivas (9-5) went five innings, giving up four hits and two runs, both earned. He walked one and struck-out six. Nick Green came in for Rivas and was dominant, tossing two scoreless innings and striking out five hitters.

 

Huntsville added an insurance run in the eighth thanks to a Wheeler solo homer (audio). Jim Henderson struck-out two on his way to a scoreless bottom half of the frame.

 

Robert Hinton nailed down his third save of the year and second in as many days with a 1-2-3 ninth as he struck out the side (final pitch).

 

With the win, the Stars pull to within 1.5 games of the Tennessee Smokies for the north division lead as Tennessee was rained out Saturday.

 

Huntsville looks to clinch the series victory Sunday afternoon as they’ll get started at 2:05 p.m. central time. The Stars’ starter is TBA, but he’ll be squaring off against Elih Villanueva (10-4, 2.39 ERA). Tune in beginning at 1:50 p.m. for the Window World Pre-Game Report on the Stars Radio Network.

 

Huntsville box score

Rivas's final line: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 7/2 GO/AO, 79 pitches, 53 strikes. That's Amaury! Great game from Wheeler, 3-3 with the double, homer, and walk. Lawrie was 1-4 with a walk, Gindl was 1-3 with a double and a sac bunt, and Taylor Green took the collar, 0-4. Lawrie and Green each committed an error. More good work from Hinton. Our buddy Vinny Rottino was 1-4.

 

Huntsville play-by-play

After Anderson's two-run double, the Stars went out with a bang:

 

Huntsville Top 5th

• Amaury Rivas walks.
  
• Brett Lawrie walks. Amaury Rivas to 2nd.
  
• Caleb Gindl out on a sacrifice bunt, catcher Vinny Rottino to first baseman Jason Delaney. Amaury Rivas to 3rd. Brett Lawrie to 2nd.
  
• Coaching visit to mound.
  
• Zelous Wheeler walks.
  
• Drew T. Anderson doubles (10) on a line drive to right fielder Tim Torres. Amaury Rivas scores. Brett Lawrie scores. Zelous Wheeler to 3rd.
  
• Chris Nowak flies into double play, right fielder Tim Torres to catcher Vinny Rottino. Zelous Wheeler out at home on the throw.

[battlekow]

Final: @Ogden 3, Helena 2

Relievers lead Raptors to win

Brandon Hart/Ogden Raptors

 

The Ogden Raptors defeated the Helena Brewers 3-2 Saturday night in front of a season-high 6,024 fans at Lindquist Field behind tremendous relief pitching.

 

Reliever Bret Montgomery got the win pitching three scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He allowed just one hit and struck out three.

 

Closer Shawn Tolleson earned his league-leading eighth save, pitching a perfect ninth, striking out the last two batters.

 

Tied 2-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, the Raptors took the lead. Nick Akins walked to lead off the inning. Then, Jonathan Garcia lined out to third base. Trying to double off Akins on first, third baseman Mike Walker threw the ball wide of first base, allowing Akins to take second. After a wild pitch on ball four to Blake Dean moved Akins to third, Jesse Bosnik singled home Akins on a hit to center field and giving the Raptors a 3-2 lead.

 

The Raptors struck first in the first inning. Leon Landry led off the game for the Raptors with a triple to right-center. Bobby Coyle brought him home with a groundout to short to give the Raptors a 1-0 lead.

 

Tony Pechek tied the game for the Brewers 1-1 with a solo homer in the second, his second of the season.

 

The Brewers took the lead with a run in the top of the third. Robbie Garvey led off with a single up the middle and was sacrificed over to second on a bunt by Franklin Romero Jr. Cody Hawn then singled home Garvey to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead.

 

The Raptors tied the game 2-2 with a run in the bottom of the third. Jake Lemmerman reached first on a fielder's choice, which forced out Bobby Coyle at second base. Two wild pitches moved Lemmerman to third and Akins had an RBI groundout to short to bring him home.

 

Both starting pitchers left the game with no decisions. Raptors starter Garrett Gould went five innings and allowed two runs on six hits and a walk. The right-hander struck out five. Brewers starter Evan Fredrickson worked four innings and gave up two runs on three hits and three walks, striking out three.

 

The Raptors will welcome the Missoula Osprey into Ogden for a three-game series starting Sunday. Antonio Castillo will throw for the Raptors against J.R. Bradley for the Osprey. The Raptors and Osprey split a four-game series last week. The game starts at 4:00 and can be heard on 1280 The Zone.

 

Helena box score

Well, so much for that beating-Ogden thing. Frederickson also uncorked four wild pitches and hit a batter. Seth Lintz allowed a run in two innings on a hit and three walks, striking out two; he also hit a batter and let loose a wild pitch. I guess Pechek enjoyed his first pro homer so much yesterday that he decided to make it a daily occurrence. Hawn was 2-4 and Walker was 2-3. Shea Vucinich was 0-4 and struck out three times for the third time in four days.

 

Helena play-by-play

Frederickson really does just lose it in spurts. His first two wild pitches came during the same plate appearance in the 1st inning (predictably, the batter walked). Then this:

 

Ogden Bottom 3rd

• Robert Coyle singles on a line drive to center fielder Franklin Romero.
• Jake
  Lemmerman grounds into a force out, second baseman Gregory Hopkins to
  shortstop Carlos George. Robert Coyle out at 2nd. Jake Lemmerman
  to 1st.
• With Michael Pericht batting, wild pitch by Evan Frederickson, Jake Lemmerman to 2nd.
• Michael Pericht hit by pitch.
• With Nick Akins batting, wild pitch by Evan Frederickson, Jake Lemmerman to 3rd. Michael Pericht to 2nd.
• Nick
  Akins grounds out, shortstop Carlos George to first baseman Cody Hawn.
  Jake Lemmerman scores. Michael Pericht to 3rd.
• Jonathan Garcia walks.
• Blake Dean flies out to center fielder Franklin Romero.

It's like the other team gets a bunch of free sac bunts every time Frederickson pitches.

[battlekow]

Final: Nashville 8, @Albuquerque 5

Butler solid in first start, Sounds win 8-5

Nashville Sounds

 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Right-hander Josh Butler turned in an outstanding effort in his first Triple-A start of the season and outfielder Adam Stern continued his red-hot hitting with a 3-for-4, three-RBI effort to lead the Nashville Sounds to an 8-5 victory on Saturday evening at Isotopes Park.

 

Butler (1-0) held Albuquerque to two runs on five hits over 7 1/3 innings of work in his quality start victory. He walked two batters and struck out four in his fourth career Triple-A outing.

 

Stern, whose three hits and three RBIs matched his season high, is batting .384 (33-for-86) over his last 27 contests for Nashville.

 

Sounds second baseman Eric Farris went 2-for-4 with a triple and double in his first appearance for the club since late April. The infielder missed nearly three months while on the D.L. with a knee injury.

 

The win was Nashville's third in a row against Albuquerque after the Sounds (54-46) had dropped their previous five meetings with the 'Topes.

 

The Sounds jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead against Albuquerque starter Seth Etherton, getting some assistance from a former teammate in the process.

 

Nashville loaded the bases with two outs when Lorenzo Cain and Mat Gamel singled and Luis Cruz was hit by a pitch. Left fielder Stern continued his red-hot hitting for the visitors when he followed with a two-run to right to plate Cain and Gamel. Isotopes right fielder Trent Oeltjen, who spent the first three months of the year in a Sounds uniform, then mishandled Farris' fly ball, allowing two more runs to reach the plate.

 

The Sounds tacked on another run in the fifth when Norris Hopper (3-for-5) led off with a single and Gamel followed with an RBI double to left, although the Sounds' third baseman was thrown out attempting to reach third on the play.

 

Nashville increased its advantage to 7-0 in the sixth, plating a pair of runs with hits by the first three batters of the frame. Stern singled and scored on Farris' RBI triple to center before catcher Martin Maldonado extended Nashville's longest hitting streak of the season to 12 games with a run-scoring single to right.

 

Albuquerque finally broke through against Butler in the home half of the sixth, scoring a pair of runs to make it a 7-2 contest. Oeltjen led off with a single and raced around the bases to register the first Isotopes run on Ivan DeJesus, Jr.'s triple to center. The second run scored later in the frame on a Jay Gibbons sacrifice fly.

 

Stern plated the final Nashville run of the night in the eight when his double to center off Albuquerque reliever Cory Wade plated Ray Olmedo, who had opened the inning with a single.

 

The Isotopes plated two more runs in the bottom of the eight against the Sounds' bullpen. After loading the bases against Tim Dillard with a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk, John Lindsey hit an RBI comebacker to the hill to make it an 8-3 contest. Jamie Hoffmann followed with a sacrifice fly to center that was misplayed by Cain, but he recovered to throw out Hoffmann at second on the play, which reduced the Nashville lead to 8-4.

 

After Dillard walked the next two batters to reload the bases, Mike McClendon was summoned from the bullpen and issued a four-pitch walk to Elian Herrera to force in Gibbons before striking out Oeltjen with the bags full to escape the frame with an 8-5 lead intact.

 

Nashville closer Chris Smith retired the side in order on eight pitches in the bottom of the ninth to notch his league-leading 20th save of the year.

 

Etherton (3-3) took the loss for Albuquerque after giving up seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits over his six innings of action.

 

The teams continue the series with 7:05 p.m. CT contest on Sunday evening. Left-hander Chris Waters (5-7, 4.00) looks to rebound from his shortest start of the season when he takes the hill for the Sounds to face Albuquerque right-hander John Ely (3-1, 3.24).

 

Nashville box score

Nice first start for Butler. He posted a 6/8 GO/AO and threw 64 strikes in 102 pitches. Gamel finished 2-5 and struck out twice; Cain was 1-5. Quality return for Farris too, who had only four extra-base hits in his first 20 games with the Sounds this year. Stern's really liking this new-dad thing, eh?

 

Nashville play-by-play

[battlekow]

Final (game one): DSL Brewers 4, @DSL Mariners 0 (7 innings)

DSL Brewers box score

Just the second time the Brewers have been able to play since 7/15. I wonder what teenage ballplayers with a ton of free time on their hands do in Santo Domingo. My buddy Osmel Perez made his first start and went five shutout innings, striking out two, walking one, and allowing three hits. Manny Ruiz struck out the side in the 6th but walked the first two batters in the 7th before giving way to Rigoberto Almonte, who earned the save. Yonki Hernandez was 2-3 with a double and a walk, Ruben Sanchez was 2-3 with a HBP, and Hitaniel Arias was also 2-3. Jose Pena was 0-2 with a walk, and Carlos Pena was 0-3.

 

DSL Brewers play-by-play

The Brewers got all the runs they'd need right away:

 

DSL Brewers Top 1st

• Yonki Hernandez walks.
• Ruben Sanchez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Janelfry Zorrilla. Yonki Hernandez to 3rd.
• Ronny Puello called out on strikes.
• Hitaniel Arias singles on a soft ground ball to third baseman Jordy Lara. Ruben Sanchez to 2nd.
• Jose Pena walks. Yonki Hernandez scores. Ruben Sanchez to 3rd. Hitaniel Arias to 2nd.
• Juan De Leon strikes out swinging.
• With Jose R. Garcia batting, wild pitch by Ambioris Hidalgo, Ruben Sanchez scores.
• Jose R. Garcia pops out to shortstop Noe Berro.

Here's Almonte working out of the jam:

 

DSL Mariners Bottom 7th

• Luis Matias walks.
• George Drullard walks. Luis Matias to 2nd.
• Pitcher Change: Rigoberto Almonte replaces Manuel Ruiz.
• Randy Perez pops out to shortstop Andres Martinez on the infield fly rule.
• George Soto called out on strikes.
• Jordy Lara lines out to shortstop Andres Martinez.

[battlekow]

Final (game two): DSL Mariners 7, @DSL Brewers 6 (7 innings)

DSL Brewers box score

The Brewers let this one slip away, giving up single runs in the 5th and 6th innings to waste a big four-run 4th. Rolando Pascual let in all but one of the runs, walking five and hitting two batters in 4.1 innings, though Juan Francisco got hung with the loss. Ruben Sanchez was 1-2 with two walks, and Raul Mondesi was 2-3 with a walk. Jose Pena entered late as a defensive replacement but didn't bat. The Brewers were picked off twice, caught stealing once, and committed three errors.

 

DSL Brewers play-by-play

The Mariners were caught stealing home twice to end innings. Don't see that every day (well, you actually might in the DSL). Sanchez grounded out to end the 6th and then was replaced by Pena. I guess we'll see (unless it starts raining again) if he injured himself. The Brewers had a chance in the 7th to tie, putting a runner on second with no outs and 4-5-6 coming up, but could do nothing:

 

DSL Brewers Bottom 7th

• Raul MondesiJr. singles on a ground ball to center fielder Randy Perez.
• With Juan De Leon batting, wild pitch by Yunior De Jesus, Raul MondesiJr. to 2nd.
• Juan De Leon pops out to second baseman George Soto.
• Hitaniel Arias flies out to right fielder Janelfry Zorrilla.
• Jose R. Garcia strikes out swinging.

[battlekow]

Brewers drop close one to Ogden

Helena Independent Record

 

OGDEN, Utah — Jesse Bosnik’s RBI single to center field Saturday in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the dagger, as the Ogden Raptors beat the Helena Brewers for the sixth time this season.

 

Bosnik’s grounder scored Nick Akins to break a 2-2 tie in front of a season-best crowd of 6,024 at Lindquist Field, giving the Raptors the 3-2 victory.

 

Helena was led at the plate by third baseman Mike Walker, who was 2 for 3 Saturday and finished with eight hits in the four-game series. Walker reached in the seventh on a base hit, giving the Brewers their first base runner since the third inning. But Helena catcher Tony Pechek would hit into a 3-6-3 double play to end the tying threat.

 

Ogden closer Shawn Tolleson, the Pioneer League leader in saves, picked up his eighth save of the season by shutting down the Brewers in the ninth, including setting down Greg Hopkins and Shea Vucinich both down on strikes. Cody Hawn, who was 2 for 4 in the contest, led off the inning with a flyout to center fielder Leon Landry.

 

Brent Montgomery earned the win for Ogden (20-13), throwing three innings of one-hit ball. He struck out three Brewers after relieving Garrett Gould, who gave up six hits over the first five frames.

 

Evan Frederickson struggled on the mound for Helena. The Brewers starter threw four wild pitches through four innings and gave up two earned runs on three hits. He also walked three batters.

 

None of the usually hot-hitting Raptors had multiple hits, and Landry had the only extra-base hit for the home team, a triple off Frederickson.

 

Pechek had his second home run in as many days when he hit a two-out solo shot off Gould in the second inning.

 

Helena (16-17) now heads to Orem to take on the defending league champion Owlz in a three-game set.

[battlekow]

Southern League Notebook: Suns, Stars managers exchange words before game

Jeff Elliott/Florida Times-Union

Huntsville Stars manager Mike Guerrero

said he has control of his team, that Jacksonville skipper Tim Leiper

should worry about his own team and that he doesn't really care what

Leiper says or thinks about the way he handles his club.

 

That was

Guerrero's response to Leiper's comments on Friday night when Leiper

questioned whether the Stars manager had control of his team. In the

first two games of the series, five players have been hit by a pitch.

 

In

Thursday's game, the dugouts emptied and words were exchanged when Suns

relief pitcher Dan Jennings threw behind Huntsville batter Michael Bowman. Jennings was ejected and a day later was fined and suspended for three games.

 

"I

know I have control of my team," Leiper said. "You've got to control

your team, you've got to manage your players. And when you're

irresponsible and you don't pay attention to the small stuff and you act

like nothing's going on, then I think it's completely irresponsible.

 

"Some

of the things they [stars] do, it just makes me shake my head. I just

don't think he [Guerrero] has control of his team. Irresponsible play

puts all your teammates in bad positions and that's where they're at."

 

Guerrero,

in his 16th season as a coach in he Milwaukee Brewers farm system and

first as manager of the Stars, shrugged off Leiper's comments when asked

prior to Saturday's game. The comments stemmed from Thursday night's

game when Bowman hit Suns catcher John Otness with a pitch. The previous

time Bowman faced the Suns, on June 27, he hit two batters.

 

"Leiper

was after my pitcher, Bowman. He made comments [about him] that first

night," Guerrero said. "Whatever he thinks, I don't mind. He needs to

take care of his club. I don't really care what he thinks and I don't

care how he runs his team."

 

The feud between the two managers

carried over to Saturday night's game when the two brought their lineup

cards to the umpires. They did not shake hands and crew chief umpire

Tripp Gibson had to step between the two managers when the exchange

became heated.

 

http://jacksonville.com/sites/default/files/editorial/images/images/mdControlled/cms/2010/07/25/682582574.jpg

Suns' manager Tim Leiper (left) and Huntsville manager Mike Guerrero exchange

words as officials keep the two apart prior to the start of Saturday's game.

(Bob Self/Florida Times-Union)

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game Two: Brevard County 8, @Fort Myers (Twins) 3, seven innings as scheduled

 

Brevard County Sweeps Doubleheader

By Alex Margulies, Fort Myers Miracle

FORT MYERS, FL (July 24th, 2010) - The Fort Myers Miracle dropped both games of a doubleheader on Saturday to Brevard County, falling 2-1 in game one, and 8-3 in the nightcap. With a loss from the Mets earlier today, Fort Myers (14-14) had an opportunity to be tied atop of the FSL South Division with St. Lucie if they took both games of the doubleheader. Instead they were swept by the Manatees to remain two games back.

Brevard County outfielders Erik Komatsu and Brock Kjeldgaard provided most of the offense for the Manatees. Komatsu had a solo home run in game one, and two RBI's in game two. Kjeldgaard hit two home runs against Miracle reliever Shooter Hunt in game two, with a solo shot in the sixth and a three-run home run in the seventh.

 

For the Miracle, Estarlin De Los Santos finished the doubleheader 3-for-6 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI's. Angel Morales was 4-for-6 with an RBI triple.

 

In the nightcap, the Manatees scored two first inning runs against Miracle starter Santos Arias (2-3), and never looked back. Arias gave up two more runs in the fifth, as he took the loss. He lasted five innings, giving up the four runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out one.

 

Manatees starter Cody Scarpetta (5-8) was excellent, striking out nine batters in five innings for the win. The righty allowed his only run of the night in the third inning, on an RBI infield hit by Brian Dozier. He gave up just three hits, but walked five.

 

In game one, the Miracle outhit the Manatees 7-4, but left seven men on the bases, including six in scoring position. Drew Thompson squandered the most opportunities, leaving five men in scoring position, including Chris Herrmann who was left at third with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Corey Frerichs struck out Thompson to end the game, earning his third save of the year.

 

Miracle starter Matt Williams (2-1) took the loss, giving up both runs to Brevard County in five innings of work. He gave up a two-out solo home run to Komatsu in the first, and a two-out double to Sean Halton in the third. He allowed just one more hit on the night, walked three, and struck out two.

 

Kyle Heckathorn (1-0), who made his debut in the FSL as the starter for the Manatees, picked up the win. He lasted six innings, giving up seven hits, but allowed just one earned run.

 

The Miracle will try and split the four-game series on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:05 PM (12:05 Central).

 

Brevard County Game Two Box Score

Cody Scarpetta now with 107 K's in 91.1 innings, 52 walks as well -- hard to like the five free passes here, but tough to dislike the rest of his gaudy line; the teams combined to go 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts, Shawn Zarraga behind the plate for the 'Tees, Erik Komatsu and his fantastic .400 OBP now 20-for-26 in swipes -- Komo is hitting .471 (16-for-34) in his last nine games; Pete Fatse doubled and walked three times after an 0-for-4 doubleheader opener; Brock Kjeldgaard has 12 RBI in his last ten games -- that has included his four RBI here and his monster seven-RBI game on the 16th -- each contest featured two home runs; Ryan's 25-year-old brother Steve Braun is batting .113 (8-for-71, .377 OPS) -- his very limited playing time isn't taking that many at-bats from the Matt Cline's and such, I suppose...

 

Brevard County Game Two Game Log

Tight game through four, 2-1 Brevard; Scarpetta induced an inning-ending pop-up with the bases loaded to end the Fort Myers one-run 3rd, Buddy Flores allowed back-to-back triples in the 6th to make the score 5-3, Mark Willinsky had to bail him out and finish up through the 7th for the save...

[Mass Haas]

For those that read it earlier, audio highlights have been added to the Huntsville game summary.

[Mass Haas]

My buddy Osmel Perez made his first start and went five shutout innings, striking out two, walking one, and allowing three hits.

Pitched while still four days shy of his 17th birthday! Early kudos here for scouting and signing 6'3" 16-year-old Venezuelan RHP's to your Dominican complex.

 

There are seven clubs who formally maintain a Venezuelan complex and field teams in the VSL. Good to see the Crew is not overlooking that country.

 

 

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Suns swing and miss in 5-2 loss to Stars

By Jeff Elliott, Jacksonville.com

 

It was just baseball Saturday night between Huntsville and Jacksonville, with the Stars shutting down the Suns 5-2 in front of 6,681 at the Baseball Grounds.

 

The first two games of the series featured five hit batters, a pitcher ejected and a bench-clearing scuffle. Saturday night there were no confrontations between the players, but there was an exchange of words between Suns manager Tim Leiper and Huntsville manager Mike Guerrero when the two brought their lineup cards to the umpires.

 

Crew chief Tripp Gibson quickly stepped between the two managers, who did not shake hands. Gibson warned both that a pitcher throwing at a batter would result in the ejection of the manager.

 

On Friday, Leiper said he felt Guerrero did not have control of his team. Before Saturday's game, Guerrero told the Times-Union that he had control of his team and he didn't care what Leiper said or thought about his squad.

 

Suns outfielder Tim Torres who's back from a three-week stint at Triple-A New Orleans, said that the Suns didn't particularly like the Huntsville squad.

 

"A lot of players on their team rub us the wrong way," Torres said. "They start hitting people and we start hitting people and it's just going to get messy."

 

Suns pitchers didn't hit anyone in this game and Suns batters had little success hitting the ball. Jacksonville (56-43 overall, 16-13 in the second half) struck out 16 times, including four by Greg Burns and three by Jason Delaney. The Suns have hit opposing relief pitchers with good success the last two weeks, but not so in this game. Every Suns starter except Jeff Corsaletti and Matt Dominguez struck out at least once.

 

Three Huntsville relievers combined for 10 strikeouts over the final four innings.

 

"Their pitchers were throwing good and utilizing the umpire's big, sporadic strike zone," Torres said. "It's tough to hit a baseball anyway and when someone is doing that and the umpire has a big zone, it makes it tough. It showed tonight."

 

Torres turned in the defensive play of the game. He made a long run to track down a drive by Huntsville's Chris Nowak to the rightfield foul line, did a 360 degree turn and fired a one-hop strike to catcher Vinny Rottino, who tagged out the Stars' Zelous Wheeler trying to score from third after the catch.

 

Starter Jose Rosario was pulled after three innings after giving up a pair of runs. Wade Korpi took the loss after allowing the Stars (48-51, 15-14) two runs in two innings.

 

Suns RH Elih Villanueva (10-4, 2.39) will face Huntsville at 3:05 Pm (2:05 Central) Sunday. The Stars did not name their starter for the game. Villanueva made a rare pinch-hitting appearance in the first game of the series, drawing a bases-loaded walk to force in the winning run in the 12th inning of the Suns' 7-6 win on Thursday night.

[Mass Haas]

Jacksonville staff and players aren't shy with their quotes, are they?