Link Report for Mon. 8/9 -- Rivas roughed up; Scarpetta stymied by storm; T-Rats' bats back Burgos

[Mass Haas]

Final: @DSL Athletics 3, DSL Brewers 0

 

DSL Brewers Box Score

Like their Arizona brethren, plenty of baserunners based on five singles, a double, a walk, an HBP, a safe on error -- ten stranded, and 1-for-13 with RISP (non run-producing hit); 18-year-old SS Andres Martinez reached three times and remains interesting in his 2nd season, but his nearly .100 point increase in OBP is based purely on more singles (it's an interesting time to compare his numbers to last year as the AB numbers nearly match -- stat page); CF Ruben Sanchez, the only standout position player performer this season, only recently returned to full-time action after a HBP situation -- sure enough, he was HBP in the 4th here -- Sanchez remained in the tight game, fanned in the 7th, and then was lifted...

 

Starting RHP Juan Francisco allowed seven hits and three walks in four innings, somehow limiting the damage to three runs (two earned); RHP's Joel Dicent (three innings) and Pedro Lambertus (one inning) pitched hitless, scoreless ball the rest of the way...

 

DSL Brewers Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Henderson's homecoming goes Smokies' way, 16-6

Former Tennessee Wesleyan pitcher has rough outing

BY ADAM GREENE. sports@knoxnews.com

 

SEVIERVILLE - It was a rough homecoming for Huntsville Stars right-hander Jim Henderson at Smokies Park on Monday night.

 

Henderson played his college ball at Tennessee Wesleyan College. Henderson's two seasons as a reliever with the Tennessee Smokies were so productive that he was named to the 10th Anniversary Team last year.

 

It didn't matter Monday night because Henderson was in a Huntsville jersey and in this series, the Smokies have been eating Stars pitchers alive. Tennessee blasted 21 hits to put a 16-6 beatdown on Huntsville.

 

"I don't think we've swung the bats this well all year," Smokies manager Bill Dancy said. "This is a thing where your hot, you want to stay hot. You want to stay steady, swing the bats well and carry this into the playoffs."

 

The Smokies (28-15) and the Stars (24-19) had a competitive race going into this five-game series. Now Tennessee has a four-game lead and has blown out Huntsville three consecutive nights.

 

Henderson has taken the hard road to stay in Class AA baseball. Drafted in the 26th round by the Montreal Expos in 2003, Henderson bounced around before finally being cut by Chicago in 2008. The Brewers picked up Henderson and after spending two seasons in Class A ball, has solidified himself as a late reliever for Huntsville.

 

"My junior year (at Tennessee Wesleyan) was actually my first full season pitching," Henderson said. "I've come a long way since then. I didn't know much about pitching back then. I just tried to throw the ball as hard as I could. Now I've learned how to command both sides to the plate and set up hitters and play with the scoreboard."

 

This is Henderson's first season as a closer. Though his outing Monday night against the Smokies was a disaster, he's 3-1 on the season with five saves. With the Brewers struggling with their middle relievers, that's where Henderson hopes he'll find a home in the major leagues.

 

"Starting for me is over," Henderson said. "I did it the first three years of my pro career. I think the Brewers are looking for guys to bridge the gap between starters and closers now. It's fun to close games and in the long term if that's where they need me, then that's where I'll be happy to pitch."

 

Monday night won't be one for Henderson's highlight reel. Henderson gave up eight hits, nine runs and a walk in 1 1/3 innings of work.

 

It wasn't just the Smokies bats that gave Huntsville trouble. Twice play had to be stopped because actual bats, the flying mammals, landed on the field and would not leave.

First baseman Blake Lalli was again in danger of having his consecutive games hitting streak end. Instead, in a monster eighth inning where the Smokies scored nine runs, Lalli hit a hard, broken-bat base hit that put his streak at 13 games.

 

Lead-off hitter Tony Campana, Morristown's Matt Spencer and Brandon Guyer each had three hits for the Smokies. Campana scored three runs. Guyer and Russ Canzler each drove in four.

[Mass Haas]

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Running from the rain

By MARK VINSON, Helena Independent Record

 

If the Helena Brewers are to build some momentum in the second half of the Pioneer League season, they will have to wait another day to begin.

 

Helena’s scheduled game against the Billings Mustangs at Kindrick Legion Field was suspended because of wet grounds with Billings leading 2-0 in the top half of the fourth inning.

 

“There were a couple of areas on the field that were really soft and our number one thing is the player’s safety,” Helena manager Joe Ayrault said.

 

The game will resume today beginning at 6:00 PM (7:00 Central) prior to the start of the regularly scheduled game. A rain check from Monday’s game is good for admission.

 

Rain began falling just after the first pitch Monday and —in the night’s ultimate irony — stopped not long after umpires Ramon Hernandez and Gavin Hanson decided to halt the game. But by that time the accumulation of moisture had rendered the field in such poor condition that the game was halted.

 

“The sod behind home plate and on the pitcher’s mound was pretty rough,” Hanson said. “It got too muddy and too soupy, so we had to call it.”

 

It’s the first time this season a Brewers game has been suspended or postponed. Both teams will enter today’s game with 4-5 records in the second half of the season.

 

The elements seemed to affect pitchers the most.

 

“It wasn’t so much the rain as it was the mud sticking to my spikes,” said Helena starter Even Frederickson, who allowed three hits and two runs in 3 2/3 innings.

 

Frederickson was coming off a masterful performance against the Mustangs last week, when he struck out a career-high 12 in six hitless innings.

 

On Monday, he allowed a base hit to the leadoff man, walked three in the first inning and was fortunate to allow just one run in the frame.

 

“I was looking forward to pitching no matter who the opponent was,” he said. “Obviously, it didn’t go how I wanted it to. Just the footing played a pretty big role in that, but I didn’t throw as good as I wanted to.”

 

Billings got a run in the first and added another in the fourth on a single by Oliver Santos and a double by Devin Lohmann. Lohmann reached third base on Frederickson’s second wild pitch of the inning and will be there when play resumes.

 

“In the first inning, I might have changed my gameplan a little bit because of that and then realized that was the wrong thing to do,” he said. “The rest of the game I went out and pitched as if the conditions were fine. Stuff just wasn’t as sharp as last outing.”

 

Just like last week’s 1-0 loss to the Mustangs, Helena failed to give Frederickson any run support, failing to get so much as a hit in three innings against Billings starter Daniel Tuttle.

 

“Sometimes, that’s just how baseball is,” Frederickson said. “The pitching staff of Billings is a real good staff and they’ve been throwing well, especially when I pitch against them.”

[homer]

Mass Haas wrote:

Dear Brewer broadcast production crew:

 

Please don't post a fan email question asking about the status of Jody Gerut during a game if you're not going to feed Brian and Bill the proper answer beforehand -- Gerut now has two full weeks of Maryvale action and over 30 AB's under his belt. He's not still "sitting at home", guys.

 

Not that it matters.

 

Thank you.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2010_08_09_brrrok_dodrok_1

Ha! That's too funny.