Link Report for Sun. 4/24 -- Sounds served another cold Soup of revenge; Komatsu stays hot for Stars

[Mass Haas]

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Sunday's Daily Menu:

Times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Zack Greinke at home vs. Omaha (Royals), 1:50 PM pre-game; 2:05 gametime

Live Audio Link

iPad/iPhone: Listen

 

Huntsville: LHP Dan Merklinger at home vs. Birmingham (White Sox), 6:43 PM gametime

Live Audio Link

iPad/iPhone: Listen

Traditional broadcast via the Barons' feed: Listen

 

Brevard County: Idle for the Easter holiday, series resumes in Lakeland Monday -- first day off after 17 game days in a row to open the season; and no rainouts!

 

Wisconsin: Idle, although the team, and particularly the bullpen, hardly needs another day off; back home on Monday

[Mass Haas]

Follow Sunday's action as it happens:

 

Nashville (Gameday also available)

Huntsville (Gameday also available)

[Mass Haas]

PCL American North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Omaha	10	7	.588	-	-	7-1	3-6	8-2	W6
	Iowa	9	7	.563	0.5	128	5-2	4-5	6-4	L1
	Nashville	8	9	.471	2.0	126	5-4	3-5	3-7	L1
	Memphis	5	11	.313	4.5	124	4-5	1-6	2-8	W1

SOU North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Huntsville	11	5	.688	-	-	6-0	5-5	7-3	W3
	Tennessee	11	5	.688	-	-	4-1	7-4	7-3	W2
	Chattanooga	10	6	.625	1.0	54	5-5	5-1	7-3	W1
	Jackson	7	9	.438	4.0	51	1-5	6-4	4-6	L1
	Carolina	3	13	.188	8.0	47	3-8	0-5	2-8	L2

FSL North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Daytona	12	5	.706	-	-	6-1	6-4	6-4	W5
	Clearwater	10	7	.588	2.0	52	4-4	6-3	5-5	W1
	Lakeland	9	8	.529	3.0	51	6-4	3-4	5-5	L4
	Brevard County	7	10	.412	5.0	49	2-6	5-4	5-5	W2
	Tampa	7	10	.412	5.0	49	2-7	5-3	4-6	L5
	Dunedin	6	11	.353	6.0	48	2-7	4-4	5-5	L1

MID Western
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Burlington	12	3	.800	-	-	5-1	7-2	8-2	W4
	Cedar Rapids	10	6	.625	2.5	-	4-3	6-3	8-2	L1
	Beloit	8	6	.571	3.5	55	4-2	4-4	6-4	L1
	Peoria	8	8	.500	4.5	53	4-3	4-5	5-5	W1
	Quad Cities	7	9	.438	5.5	52	3-6	4-3	3-7	W1
	Kane County	7	10	.412	6.0	51	4-6	3-4	5-5	L1
	Wisconsin	5	8	.385	6.0	53	3-4	2-4	3-7	L3
	Clinton	5	12	.294	8.0	49	3-7	2-5	4-6	W1

[Mass Haas]

Sounds players, fans to get glimpse of greatness in Greinke

2009 Cy Young winner will pitch in rehab start today

by Greg Sullivan, the Tennessean

 

When Zack Greinke makes his rehab appearance with the Sounds this afternoon, fans at Greer Stadium won't be the only ones in attendance getting their first in-person look at the 2009 Cy Young winner.

Greinke suffered a cracked left rib prior to spring training. The former Kansas City Royal joined the Brewers organization in the offseason, so most of the Sounds' players and coaches have seen him pitch only on television.

"He has outstanding command, and for a smaller guy, he has a really good, live fastball," Sounds pitching coach Rich Gale said. "I've watched him just painting the corners, just outstanding command."

Gale believes the right-hander can be a positive influence for his Nashville pitching staff.

"When he's healthy, he's one of the best pitchers in the game," Gale said. "Hopefully my guys will be paying attention and be able to pick up on some things."

Today's start against former Brewers pitcher Jeff Suppan (1-2, 6.91 ERA) will be Greinke's second rehab appearance and follows his first outing Tuesday night for Single-A Brevard County, where he threw three scoreless innings. He is scheduled to throw as many as 50 pitches today.

Greinke pitched at least 200 innings and made at least 32 starts in each of his past three seasons. His 70 quality starts and 10 complete games since 2008 are tied for fourth-most in the majors in that period.

"It's just him getting used to building up his innings," Gale said. "I'll have a conversation with (Brewers pitching coach) Rick Kranitz (this) morning about anything to watch or remind him about. He's got a pretty good feel for his own delivery."

Another major-leaguer on a rehab assignment, Brewers slugger Corey Hart, was 0-for-3 in Saturday night's 9-0 loss to Omaha.

"It's great to see how those guys go about their business and how eager they are to get back," Sounds outfielder Brendan Katin said. "I've heard some stories about Zack, and I'm eager to meet him. Hopefully he's healthy, and if he can get us the win it'll be great."

Transactions: Mike McClendon rejoined the Sounds as Milwaukee activated LaTroy Hawkins from the disabled list.

The Sounds added minor league free-agent infielder Luis Figueroa, and Brewers catcher George Kottaras joins the team today. The Sounds will need to free up a roster spot for Kottaras.

Attendance note: Saturday's attendance of 8,251 was a season-high.

[Invader3K]

If I'm not mistaken, it's Greinke vs Suppan today. The Brewers' past meets the Brewers' future!

[battlekow]

Yep, last time out Suppan got Mark Rogers; hopefully Greinke gives him a better run for his money today. With the bat, I mean. Greinke's gonna take him deep.

[ELCABALLO45]

Zack just left the game mid inning, Please someone tell me its a pitch count thing.

[hurricanecrush]

I would assume it is. He threw 54 pitches. BTW, Lo Cain was the lead off hitter for Omaha and tripled off Greinke.

[ELCABALLO45]

I probably should of read the actual game preview by Mass Haas http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

[battlekow]

Nice shot of Greinke and the famous guitar scoreboard at Historic Greer Stadium:

http://a.yfrog.com/img610/7946/jybgb.jpg

(Matt Dudley)

[battlekow]

Final: Omaha 7, @Nashville 3

Greinke, Sounds Can't Defeat Omaha In Easter Matinee

Nashville Sounds

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds lost an Easter Sunday matinee to the division-rival Omaha Storm Chasers, falling 7-3 at Greer Stadium.

Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Zack Greinke, currently on a rehabilitation assignment while recovering from a cracked left rib, made his first start for the Sounds after one rehab outing at Advanced-A Brevard County last Tuesday.

Greinke - who took a no-decision for Nashville - allowed two runs on three hits over 2 2/3 innings, throwing 54 pitches (32 strikes). He walked one batter and struck out two. He is expected to make another rehab start with the Sounds on Friday evening against Albuquerque at Greer Stadium, a 7:05 p.m. contest.

In the first inning, Greinke threw 12 pitches (7 strikes) and retired the Storm Chasers in order on three consecutive groundouts.

Sounds designated hitter Brendan Katin spotted the home team a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when he belted a two-out, two-run homer to deep left off Omaha starter Jeff Suppan. The blast was Katin's team-leading fifth longball of the year. Both runs scored unearned following a fielding error by Storm Chasers second baseman Irving Falu earlier in the frame.

Greinke had to work a little harder during a scoreless second, when he threw 31 pitches (19 strikes). He faced three consecutive long at-bats in the frame, a 10-pitch strikeout of Clint Robinson, a six-pitch at-bat against Lance Zawadzki that resulted in a double, and a seven-pitch walk to Gregor Blanco. He stranded both baserunners and recorded two of his three outs in the inning via strikeouts.

Omaha touched Greinke for a pair of runs in the third to tie the game at 2-2. Lorenzo Cain and David Lough smashed back-to-back, one-out, line-drive triples over the head of Sounds center fielder Caleb Gindl to plate the first score, then Eric Hosmer lifted a sacrifice fly to right to plate the tying run. Greinke was replaced after throwing 23 pitches in the inning (13 strikes) and 54 total in the contest.

Right-hander Tim Dillard took over on the Nashville hill and was greeted with a rough full first frame of action in the fourth, as Omaha sent eight runners to the plate to score three runs and take a 5-2 lead.

The Storm Chasers loaded the bases with one out on walks to Robinson and Blanco followed by a Falu single. Manny Pina followed with a go-ahead, two-run single to center and David Lough later added a two-out RBI double to stretch the visitors' advantage to three.

Suppan (2-2) settled down after Katin's homer, retiring 16 of the next 18 Sounds batters the final 11 in a row he faced from the third through the sixth frames.

The veteran tossed a quality-start victory against Nashville for the second time in seven days, allowing two unearned runs on three hits while striking out two over his six innings of work.

Dillard (2-1) took the loss for Nashville after giving up three runs on four hits in his 3 1/3 innings of work.

Omaha tacked on pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Blanco plated Robinson with a one-out double to left off Jim Henderson to push the lead to 6-2. Later in the inning, former Sound Lorenzo Cain greeted new reliever Mike McClendon with an RBI single to center to close out the Storm Chasers scoring.

Eric Farris singled for Nashville with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, ending a stretch of 16 straight Sounds batters retired by Omaha pitching.

The Sounds put the game's final run on the board with a two-out rally against Omaha reliever Kanekoa Texeira in the bottom of the ninth. After the first two batters were retired, new Sounds catcher George Kottaras drew a walk and moved to second on a Jeremy Reed single before plating the afternoon's final run on a Brett Carroll single. Texeira recovered to induce a game-ending groundout from Gindl.

The teams continue the series with a 7:05 p.m. matchup on Monday evening. Right-hander Frankie De La Cruz (0-1, 2.60) will toe the rubber for the Sounds to face Omaha southpaw Everett Teaford (1-1, 3.27).

Nashville box score

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uj_QeQVH3-g/TKYWGgnF_fI/AAAAAAAAArc/FMnPh0VFIN8/s1600/kirk_screams_khan.jpg

SUPPAAAAAAAAAAAN!

You can listen to Katin's homer here. Between Kottaras, McClendon, Reed, Dillard, Suppan, Cain, and Mat Gamel there was quite a collection of former Brewers in the game, and that's not even counting Greinke (or Texeira, who was drafted by the Brewers in 2004 but did not sign). Gamel was 0-4; Gindl and Taylor Green each had a single.

Nashville play-by-play

The sac fly by Hosmer was the only out Greinke got in the air; the other seven came via five groundouts and two strikeouts.

[battlekow]

 

 

"I just really wanna play baseball, really." I feel you, Zack. I really want you to play baseball, too.

[craigharmann]

Nashville box score

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uj_QeQVH3-g/TKYWGgnF_fI/AAAAAAAAArc/FMnPh0VFIN8/s1600/kirk_screams_khan.jpg

SUPPAAAAAAAAAAAN!

This right here......is AMAZING!! And quite fitting!

[battlekow]

Some nice photos from the Sounds game in this album by Gage Matthews.

Zack Greinke makes a nice play:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5029/5651065637_e5506b5e54_z.jpg

George Kottaras thrilled to be in Nashville:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5268/5651057371_8acdb6cd06_z.jpg

[battlekow]

Final: @Huntsville 11, Birmingham 6

Huntsville box score

The Stars put up a five-run third and tacked on runs here and there after that, enough to weather a minor bullpen conflagration in the 8th that saw the Barons close to within 10-6. Dan Merklinger started and, while wild, kept Birmingham off the board until the 6th inning; his final line: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, 89 pitches, 49 strikes. Robert Hinton and Donovan Hand got battered in relief, allowing eight hits between them in 2.2 innings. Michael Fiers finished the game with a perfect frame, including two strikeouts. Just-demoted Martin Maldonado took out his frustration about getting sent down, going 3-4 with a homer and two doubles. Erik Komatsu was also sharp, with four singles in five trips; he's hitting .412/.524/.559 since being activated 12 games ago. Lee Haydel, Sean Halton, and Steffan Wilson each had two hits. Haydel (.327/.422/.345) and Halton (.329/.333/.457) are also off to hot starts, though each has obvious warts: Haydel has just one extra-base hit on the year and Halton just one walk.

Huntsville play-by-play

The Stars' big inning:

Huntsville Bottom of the 3rd

• Chuck Caufield grounds out, shortstop Andrew Garcia to first baseman Christian Marrero.
• Matt Cline singles on a ground ball to right fielder Justin Greene.
• Martin Maldonado homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Matt Cline scores.
• Lee Haydel singles on a ground ball to center fielder Brandon Short.
• Sergio Miranda walks. Lee Haydel to 2nd.
• Sean Halton singles on a fly ball to right fielder Justin Greene. Lee Haydel scores. Sergio Miranda to 3rd.
• Brandon Jones singles on a fly ball to center fielder Brandon Short. Sergio Miranda scores. Sean Halton to 2nd.
• Steffan Wilson grounds into a force out, shortstop Andrew Garcia to second baseman Greg Paiml. Sean Halton to 3rd. Brandon Jones out at 2nd. Steffan Wilson to 1st.
• Erik Komatsu singles on a fly ball to left fielder Tyler Kuhn. Sean Halton scores. Steffan Wilson to 2nd.
• Chuck Caufield hit by pitch. Steffan Wilson to 3rd. Erik Komatsu to 2nd.
• Matt Cline lines out to third baseman Christian Colonel.

Hinton and Hand getting into trouble in the 8th:

Birmingham Top of the 8th

• Tyler Kuhn triples (3) on a fly ball to center fielder Erik Komatsu.
• Greg Paiml homers (1) on a fly ball to left center field. Tyler Kuhn scores.
• Pitcher Change: Donovan Hand replaces Robert Hinton.
• Justin Greene singles on a ground ball to shortstop Matt Cline.
• Brandon Short doubles (5) on a fly ball to left fielder Brandon Jones. Justin Greene scores.
• Andrew Garcia flies out to left fielder Brandon Jones.
• Christian Marrero singles on a fly ball to center fielder Erik Komatsu. Brandon Short scores.
• Josh Phegley flies out to center fielder Erik Komatsu.
• Christian Colonel strikes out swinging.

[YoungGeezy]

Holy Maldondo!!! 2 2B and a HR is Huntsville debut. Have to be impressed so far this season with his offense which is good news as a guy known for excellect defense. Won't be a an everyday superstar but could be a nice Neives type back-up (hopefully a lil more lumber)

[Mass Haas]

This report from the Tennessean places in print most of the quotes you heard from Zack Greinke directly in the video link above. There is also a nice Sounds photo gallery accompanying the article.