Link Report for Thurs. 5/26 -- Heckathorn bounces back for win; Nelson not so much as Rattlers swept in DH

[Mass Haas]

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[Mass Haas]

Thursday's Daily Menu:

Times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Amaury Rivas and LHP Sam Narron in a doubleheader at Tacoma (Mariners), 7:45 PM pre-game, 8:00 gametime; each contest slated for seven innings

Live Audio Link

iPad/iPhone: Listen

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers

Huntsville: LHP Dan Merklinger at Chattanooga (Dodgers), 6:15 PM gametime

Live Audio Link -- Lookouts' feed

Brevard County: RHP Kyle Heckathorn at home vs. Jupiter (Marlins), 6:05 PM gametime

Live Audio Link -- look for the Jupiter feed off the master MiLB.com audio list

 

Wisconsin: First, it's RHP Brooks Hall picking things up in the completion of Wednesday's suspended seven-inning game (Timber Rattlers trail, 5-1 after 2.5 innings), then RHP Jimmy Nelson in a seven-inning nightcap at Peoria (Cubs), 4:45 PM pre-game, 5:00 gametime

Live Audio Link

[Mass Haas]

Follow Thursday's action as it happens:

Nashville Game One (Gameday also available)
Nashville Game Two (Gameday also available)
Huntsville (Gameday also available)
Brevard County

Wisconsin Completion of Suspended Game
Wisconsin Regularly Scheduled Game

[Mass Haas]

PCL American North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Omaha	25	20	.556	-	-	13-9	12-11	6-4	W2
	Iowa	21	25	.457	4.5	95	11-11	10-14	6-4	W1
	Memphis	19	26	.422	6.0	94	12-11	7-15	6-4	L1
	Nashville	17	27	.386	7.5	93	11-11	6-16	5-5	L3

SOU North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Tennessee	31	16	.660	-	-	17-5	14-11	9-1	W9
	Jackson	25	20	.556	5.0	20	13-10	12-10	5-5	L4
	Chattanooga	24	22	.522	6.5	18	12-14	12-8	5-5	W3
	Huntsville	22	23	.489	8.0	17	13-6	9-17	3-7	L1
	Carolina	13	33	.283	17.5	7	9-17	4-16	3-7	L3

FSL North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Daytona	35	12	.745	-	-	17-6	18-6	9-1	W8
	Clearwater	29	18	.617	6.0	18	15-9	14-9	5-5	W1
	Dunedin	26	21	.553	9.0	15	9-13	17-8	7-3	W1
	Lakeland	24	23	.511	11.0	13	13-11	11-12	6-4	W1
	Tampa	20	27	.426	15.0	9	12-16	8-11	6-4	W1
	Brevard County	16	31	.340	19.0	5	8-18	8-13	3-7	W1

MID Western
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Burlington	32	14	.696	-	-	15-3	17-11	5-5	W2
	Wisconsin	26	19	.578	5.5	-	17-12	9-7	8-2	W3
	Peoria	25	20	.556	6.5	25	16-8	9-12	6-4	L1
	Quad Cities	25	20	.556	6.5	24	12-11	13-9	8-2	W1
	Cedar Rapids	23	23	.500	9.0	22	12-9	11-14	3-7	W1
	Beloit	21	25	.457	11.0	20	11-13	10-12	1-9	L8
	Kane County	19	27	.413	13.0	17	9-13	10-14	7-3	L1
	Clinton	12	35	.255	20.5	10	5-17	7-18	3-7	L1

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Media NotesRead, learn, enjoy the clever item headings...

[CheezWizHed]

D.H. DIGITS: The Sounds are just 6-15 when facing an American League affiliate in 2011. Nashville designated hitters are hitting .262 (22-for-

84) with four home runs and 10 RBIs in those contests.

 

Good thing we are building a NL team...

[battlekow]

Final (game one): @Peoria 6, Wisconsin 4 (7 innings)

Chiefs hold on for win over Rattlers

Chris Mehring/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

PEORIA, IL - The Peoria Chiefs scored six runs in the first three innings to take a 6-1 lead over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Peoria withstood a couple of late Wisconsin rallies and held on for a 6-4 win at O'Brien Field. The game, which started on Wednesday before being suspended due to severe weather, concluded on Thursday.

The Rattlers (26-20) grabbed the lead on Wednesday on an RBI infield single by Chris Dennis that drove in Reggie Keen from third base.

But, the Chiefs (26-20) responded in the bottom of the first against Wisconsin starting pitcher Charly Bashara. Cleanup batter Richard Jones doubled with runners on first and second to drive in a run and tie the game. Ryan Cuneo's flyball to left-center was dropped and allowed two runs to score.

In the second, Peoria built their lead to 5-1 on a two-out, two-run home run to left by Pierre LePage.

Severe thunderstorms and a tornado warning halted the game after the Rattlers were retired by Graham Hicks, Peoria's starting pitcher, in the top of the third on Wednesday night.

The game resumed on Thursday with Brooks Hall taking over for Bashara to pitch the bottom of the third. An RBI single by Elliot Soto put the Chiefs up 6-1.

Wisconsin loaded the bases with two outs against Peoria reliever Cam Greathouse in the top of the fourth, but lefty escaped without allowing a run.

Nick Shaw pulled the Rattlers to within 6-3 on a two-run double. Dennis followed with a sharp single to right and Shaw rounded third to head for the plate. But, the throw home beat Shaw for the second out. Wisconsin did not score again in the fifth.

The Rattlers would score again in the sixth. Greg Hopkins drove in a run with an infield single to make the score 6-4 against reliever Robinson Lopez. A walk to the next batter put runners on the corners and brought the lead run to the plate. However, Lopez regrouped get the final out of the sixth and to set down the Rattlers in order in the top of the seventh to record his first save of the season.

Wednesday's game was scheduled for seven innings instead of nine because it was the first game of a doubleheader.

Wisconsin box score (game one)

Hall's final line: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 5/3 GO/FO. Not particularly dominant but at least he was effective. Hopkins joined Dennis with two hits, and Mike Walker singled and walked. Keen stole his 20th base.

Wisconsin play-by-play (game one)

[battlekow]

Hall threw 77 pitches and 48 strikes.

[battlekow]

Huntsville postponed.

[Never Outhustled]

Before the postponement, the Hunstesville lineup featured Hunter Morris at 3B. That's intriguing.

[Mass Haas]

Wisconsin Top of the 1st (Game Two)

• Reggie Keen strikes out swinging, catcher Micah Gibbs to first baseman Ryan Cuneo.
• Nick Shaw walks.
• T. J. Mittelstaedt singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Hayden Simpson. Nick Shaw to 2nd.
• Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Robert Garvey replaces T. J. Mittelstaedt.
• Wisconsin Timber Rattlers left fielder T. J. Mittelstaedt left the game due to an injured neck.
• Chris Dennis grounds into a force out, first baseman Ryan Cuneo to shortstop Arismendy Alcantara. Nick Shaw scores. Robert Garvey out at 2nd. Chris Dennis advances to 1st, on throwing error by shortstop Arismendy Alcantara.
• Michael Walker grounds out, second baseman Pierre LePage to first baseman Ryan Cuneo.

As Chris Mehring described things, the throw to first was high -- the first baseman leapt for the catch and came down with a swipe tag of sorts on the back of Mittelstaedt's head and neck. Mittelstaedt was knocked onto his backside, and stumbled as he regained his feet and was eventually walked off the field by staff.

The 23-year-old 5'10" Mittelstaedt, drafted in the 44th round last year, has posted a very solid .267 / .400 / .412 (.812 OPS) line thus far in 2011. He's also capable of playing infield, although most of his time this year has been in LF. Hopefully he'll be back soon.

[Mass Haas]

Chattanooga site for rescheduling info:

 

Thursday's game between the Chattanooga Lookouts and Huntsville Stars has been postponed due to rain. The game will be made-up as part of a double-header tomorrow, Friday, May 27th with the first game beginning at 5:15 PM (4:15 Central). The double-header will consist of two seven-inning games.

[Mass Haas]

Darn, I put MiLB.TV on five minutes too late to catch this in Tacoma --

 

George Kottaras triples (1) on a line drive to right fielder Johan Limonta. George Kottaras out at home, pitcher Blake Beavan to third baseman Alex Liddi.

Don Money sends Kottaras to try for an inside-the-park home run with only one out -- ugh. Should be able to catch it on the archive Friday and see just how it went down.

 

10:07 Eastern / Sounds doubleheader barely underway (top of the 3rd). Seven inning games be damned, it's still going to be a late night / early morning http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

[battlekow]

Final (game two): @Peoria 4, Wisconsin 1 (7 innings)

Chiefs cool off Rattlers

Chris Mehring/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

PEORIA, IL – The Peoria Chiefs used a four-run fifth inning to defeat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4-1 in the regularly scheduled game on Thursday night at O’Brien Field. Anthony Giansanti’s homer in the fourth put the Chiefs in front. Pitchers Hayden Simpson and Eric Jokisch made it stand up and the Chiefs moved past the Rattlers into second place in the Western Division of the Midwest League.

Wisconsin (26-21) took the lead with an unearned run in the top of the first inning. The Rattlers had Nick Shaw at second and Robbie Garvey at first with one out and Chris Dennis at the plate. Dennis sent a grounder wide of first base and Chiefs first baseman Ryan Cuneo fielded the ball and fired to second to force Garvey. But, the return throw from shortstop Arismendy Alcantara to try and get Dennis for the inning ending double play was wild. That allowed Dennis to reach and Shaw score.

Nelson retired the first 11 batters he faced in the game. Greg Rohan singled to right on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the fourth, but Nelson retired the next batter to end the inning with the Rattlers still up 1-0.

Peoria starting pitcher Hayden Simpson allowed the one run on two hits and struck out seven through five innings.

The Chiefs (27-20) rallied in the bottom of the fifth. Micah Gibbs reached on an error on Greg Hopkins to start the inning. One out later, Giansanti lined a 1-0 pitch from Nelson to the grass seats in left field for a two-run homer and a 2-1 lead.

Nelson walked the next batter on four pitches, but got the second out. However, the third out proved elusive. Matt Szczur doubled in a run. Then, a grounder off the bat of Pierre LePage went through the legs of shortstop Yadiel Rivera. Szczur scored on the play and the Chiefs were up 4-1.

Jokisch came on in relief of Simpson and worked around a pair of walks and a pair of hits over the final two innings to pick up the save.

The Rattlers continue their road trip by starting a four game series with the Kane County Cougars at Elfstrom Stadium on Friday night in Geneva, Illinois. Jameson Dunn (0-0, 3.00) is the scheduled starter for the Rattlers. Kane County has Yordano Ventura (0-0, 13.50) as their scheduled starting pitcher.

Game time on Friday is 7:00pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm.

Wisconsin box score (game two)

Nelson's final line: 6 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 BB, 1 HR, 8/7 GO/FO. Obviously starting an inning of with an error did him no favors, but I think it's reasonable to expect your pitcher to four outs without allowing four runs. In any case, we're still not seeing any real dominance from Nelson. Shaw, with an hit and a walk, was the only Rattler on more than once. Rivera went 1-3 to raise his average to .158; the error was his 4th. As MH detailed above, TJ Mittelstaedt left with a scary-sounding injury; hope he's okay.

Wisconsin play-by-play (game two)

[battlekow]

Final: @Brevard County 4, Jupiter 1

Manatees take series opener against Jupiter

Frank Longobardo/Brevard County Manatees

VIERA, Fla. -- Led by seven shutout innings by starting pitcher Kyle Heckathorn, the Brevard County Manatees made it two wins in a row with a 4-1 victory over the Jupiter Hammerheads on Thursday night at Space Coast Stadium.

Heckathorn - who went just five innings and allowed six runs in his last start - scattered six hits, struck out three and didn't walk a batter, to earn his fourth win of the season.

Brevard County's bats provided run support early as back-to-back RBI doubles by Brock Kjeldgaard and Scott Krieger in the second, made it 2-0 Manatees.

The Manatees (17-31) plated another run in the fourth on a double steal after a Shea Vucinich strikeout that saw Krieger take second and Khris Davis steal home to make it 3-0.

The 'Tees tacked on one more run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Vucinich that scored Kentrail Davis.

Jupiter (24-24) scored its only run in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk given up by Rolando Pascual. Evan Anundsen would get the last out of the eighth and Corey Frerichs shut the door in the ninth for his second save of the season.

Kjeldgaard continued his hot hitting as he went 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored. Khris Davis went 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and two runs scored and has reached base in 19 straight games.

Brevard County will look to make it three wins in a row on Friday night beginning at 7:05 p.m. against Jupiter. Nick Bucci (3-2, 2.42) will take the mound for the Manatees, while the Hammerheads will send Edgar Olmos (2-3, 4.56) to the hill.

Brevard County box score

Nice to see Heckathorn get his mojo back after a string of lackluster starts. He rang up a sterling 13/4 GO/FO and threw 96 pitches and 65 strikes to hit the magic 2/3 ratio. Khris Davis is now hitting .314/.397/.516, very close to last year's line for Wisconsin. It's very impressive that as a righty in Space Coast Stadium and the FSL, Davis hasn't slowed down at all. A slumping Scooter Gennett went 0-4 to drop his line to .272/.311/.304; he has one hit in his last five games. Logan Schafer was 1-4. Shawn Zarraga hasn't played since the 20th.

Brevard County play-by-play

Heckathorn got out of two of the first three innings in unusual fashion:

Jupiter Top of the 1st

• Jose Duarte grounds out, third baseman Shea Vucinich to first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard.
• Jeff Dominguez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Logan Schafer.
• Ernesto Manzanillo flies into double play, right fielder Kentrail Davis to first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard. Jeff Dominguez doubled off 1st.

Jupiter Top of the 3rd

• Miguel Fermin grounds out, shortstop Mike Brownstein to first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard.
• Chase Austin grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard.
• Jose Duarte singles on a line drive to center fielder Logan Schafer.
• With Jeff Dominguez batting, Kyle Heckathorn picks off Jose Duarte at 1st on throw to Brock Kjeldgaard.

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game One: @Tacoma 4, Nashville 1, seven innings

 

Sounds Drop Twinbill Opener In Tacoma, 4-1

Nashville Sounds

TACOMA, Wash. - The Nashville Sounds came up on the short end of a 4-1 loss to the Tacoma Rainiers on Thursday evening in the first game of a doubleheader at Cheney Stadium.

 

Tacoma recorded its fourth straight victory while the Sounds (17-28) suffered their fourth consecutive defeat.

 

The Rainiers took an early 1-0 lead against Sounds starter Amaury Rivas. After the first three batters reached to load the bases on a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk, Mike Carp followed with a fielder's choice grounder to short, which allowed Dustin Ackley to score the game's first run. Rivas limited the damage, however, striking out Luis Jimenez and Johan Limonta in succession to strand two runners and escape the jam.

 

Sounds center fielder Brett Carroll evened the contest with one swing of the bat to lead off the second, fouling off four straight 3-2 offerings from Tacoma right-hander Blake Beavan before drilling the 10th pitch of the at-bat of the wall in left for his fifth home run of the season (audio is available via the lead link in this post).

 

A baserunning gaffe cost Nashville a chance to grab a lead later in the frame. With one out, George Kottaras tripled off the top of the wall in right, extending his season-best hitting streak to seven, but took a wide turn past the bag as the throw skipped past the third baseman. Beavan backed up the play, caught the ball, and threw back to third, where Kottaras was tagged out as he scrambled back to the base.

 

Nashville squandered another scoring opportunity in the third, when it had the bases loaded with one out and came up empty. After the Sounds filled the bags against Beavan on a Jeremy Reed single, a Caleb Gindl double, and a walk to Eric Farris, Jordan Brown hit a bouncer to first that forced Reed at the plate for the second out. Carroll followed with a grounder to third that ended the frame as the Tacoma right-hander escaped the jam unscathed.

 

The Sounds finished the opener 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

 

Tacoma pulled back ahead in the fifth, plating three runs off Rivas for a 4-1 advantage.

 

Ackley (3-for-4) led off with a bloop single to shallow right-center that glanced off the glove of a diving Gindl for a single then scored one batter later when Matt Tuiasosopo (2-for-2) smashed an RBI triple off the base of the batter's eye in center.

 

After issuing a walk to put runners on the corners with no outs, Rivas was lifted in favor of left-hander Daniel Ray Herrera, who made his Brewers organization debut after being claimed off waiver from the Reds earlier in the week. The southpaw was greeted by a seeing-eye RBI single through the right side of the infield off the bat of Carp. Jimenez followed with a sacrifice fly to right that brought in Alex Liddi.

 

Beavan (2-1) picked up the win with a solid start for Tacoma, holding the Sounds to one run on five hits over five frames of action.

 

Left-hander Royce Ring closed out the game with two hitless innings for the Rainiers to secure the victory and nail down his second save of the year.

 

Rivas (3-4) took the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in his four-plus innings of work. It marked his sixth consecutive start without a victory.

 

Herrera finished with a pair of scoreless innings in his Sounds debut, although he allowed both of his inherited runners to reach home in the contest.

 

Farris finished 0-for-2 with a walk in the opener to snap his season-best hitting streak at nine games.

 

Nashville Game One Box Score

So now we know what happened with George Kottaras on that triple; via MiLB.TV, Amaury Rivas looks the part of a starting pitcher -- wide body, works quickly; that three run-fifth was soft line single, crushed triple (Tuiasosopo) and walk before departing. Of course, 102 pitches to get 12 outs isn't a solid night's work. Kottaras doubled in addition to that wayward three-bagger; Taylor Green's crouch is even more pronounced than Caleb Gindl's, Green's legs spread wider -- either way, it makes their sub-6' statures even more noticeable, although a tighter striker zone, I'd imagine; either way, Gindl rests his post-game soda on Daniel Ray Herrera's head, as we're familiar with his build -- I'm Gindl-sized myself, so I appreciate all their efforts. Mat Gamel was your DH, perhaps preparing for work at New York, Boston, and Minnesota, although I fear we'll be seeing just way too much of Mark Kotsay during that stretch instead.

 

Nashville Game One Play-by-Play

Summing up the Sounds season, the wasted 3rd --

 

Nashville Top of the 3rd

• Jeremy Reed singles on a line drive to center fielder Ryan Langerhans.
  
• Taylor Green called out on strikes.
  
• Caleb Gindl doubles (5) on a line drive to left fielder Mike Carp. Jeremy Reed to 3rd.
  
• Eric Farris walks.
  
• Jordan Brown grounds into a force out, first baseman Matt Tuiasosopo to catcher Josh Bard. Jeremy Reed out at home. Caleb Gindl to 3rd. Eric Farris to 2nd. Jordan Brown to 1st.
  
• Brett Carroll grounds into a force out, fielded by third baseman Alex Liddi. Eric Farris out at 3rd.

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game Two: Nashville 3, @Tacoma 2, seven innings

Sounds Win 3-2 To Split Twinbill With Tacoma

Nashville finishes 4-4 on eight-game road trip

Nashville Sounds

 

TACOMA, Wash. - The Nashville Sounds split a doubleheader with the Tacoma Rainiers with a 3-2 victory in the twinbill finale on Thursday evening at Cheney Stadium.

 

Nashville (18-28) avoided a series sweep with the victory in the doubleheader finale, and finished 4-4 on the eight-game road trip.

 

Sounds starter Sam Narron (3-1) continued his strong pitching in the nightcap for the victory. The left-hander tossed his third consecutive quality start, giving up two runs on five hits with six strikeouts over six innings pitched.

 

Nashville took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the nightcap on knuckleballer Charlie Haeger. Caleb Gindl singled to lead off the contest, followed by Eric Farris being hit and Brett Carroll taking a walk. Mat Gamel would later record his team-leading 26th RBI with a softly hit infield-grounder to score Gindl from third.

 

Tacoma went ahead in the next frame, 2-1. After striking out the first Tacoma batter, Narron walked Matt Tuiasosopo and gave up three straight singles, highlighted by a Mike Carp two-run base hit.

 

Nashville knotted the contest at 2-2 in the top of the fifth inning. Carroll reached on a fielding error, moved to third on a Gamel single, and scored on an RBI base knock by Jeremy Reed.

 

Nashville took a 3-2 lead in the next inning. Taylor Green drew his third walk of the contest to reach base, moved to second on Gindl's base hit, and scored on the next play as Farris singled up the middle.

 

Sounds reliever Sean Green worked around a Nashville fielding error in the seventh inning, stranding the tying run on second base to earn his first save of the season.

 

Haeger's game-opening Caleb Gindl single was the only hit allowed by the knuckleballer, as he walked six while giving up one run on in four innings for Tacoma. Josh Lueke (1-3) took the loss.

 

The Sounds travel back to Music City on Friday, when they'll begin an eight-game homestand with the 7:05 PM opener of a four-game series against the Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA-Astros). Right-hander Frankie De La Cruz (0-3, 4.47) will man the bump for Nashville to face Oklahoma City left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith (2-3, 5.23).

 

Nashville Game Two Box Score

Nice salvage of a road trip for a better flight home, didn't stay awake for this one, sorry; despite hitting .240 thus far in 121 AAA at bats, 24-year-old Taylor Green's .347 / .413 line gives him a respectable .760 OPS; at some point here, Zelous Wheeler will return from his badly sprained right knee injury, it'll be interesting to see what roster shuffle manifests; Caleb Gindl in CF for this one, Mat Gamel back at first base (error # 6); Sam Narron doing what he can to build upon his one and only big league appearance, a start with Texas seven seasons ago -- it would be nearly an Erick Almonte-sized gap in time should he return to the bigs this year; Sean Green's save was only the 8th save all season for the Sounds -- yikes; a lovely 52 drizzly degrees in the great Northwest...

 

Nashville Game Two Play-by-Play

We should be enjoying the win, but it was a fortunate W. Each of the three innings in which the Sounds scored a single run (the 1st, 5th, and 6th) should have been much more fruiful...

[Mass Haas]

Despite last night's twinbill loss, here's a news video report (from Monday) on the Rattlers' turnaround in May.

[Mass Haas]

Chris' postgame(s) thoughts, Rattler-style as always

[battlekow]

Brandon Revels reports that Kyle Heckathorn's fastball perked up to around 92 from the high-80s it was during his last start.