Link Report for Sun. 6/26 -- Thornburg doesn't miss a beat after promotion; big days for Gennett & Maldonado; Gamel homers again

[Mass Haas]

Howell can't keep hot starts going

by Jim Oskola, Appleton Post-Crescent

GRAND CHUTE — Sunday's Midwest League baseball game against the Quad Cities River Bandits started well for Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitcher Del Howell.

No runs, two walks and a single was all the River Bandits got in the first three innings in what eventually became a 10-inning 8-3 win for Quad Cities.

The bump in the road came in the fourth inning.

A leadoff double by Nick Longmire, a home run to straightaway center field by Jonathan Rodriguez and a double by Chris Edmondson all came before the next three batters were retired.

"I think, the first three innings, he did a nice job of mixing and staying down in the zone," Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson said. "Then, in that one inning they put some good swings on him. He was about belt high. Every one of those pitches was up in the zone. He's got to be a guy who mixes speeds and stays down in the zone or stuff like that is going to happen."

Howell's inning-by-inning statistics show those bumps in the road.

He has pitched only 40 innings this season but batting averages against him are .160 in the first inning, .181 in the second, .307 in the third, .280 in the fourth and .350 in the fifth.

"That's one of my problems," Howell said. "I'll be cruising for a while and they'll get two hits back-to-back. I left that one up and they hit a home run."

Tyler Roberts, who caught Howell on Sunday, said the southpaw is a great pitcher.

"He gets in trouble sometimes when he's not getting the ball down," Roberts said. "The pop-up double off the left-field wall, the batter made a good swing on the ball. It was a great pitch, a good swing and it just got caught up into the wind and it kept carrying. The dude who hit the home run, he just left a fastball up. That's all it was.

"He's got good stuff. When he commands the ball down, he's unhittable or they're going to roll over a groundball every time. When he starts leaving it up, he doesn't have stuff like (Tyler) Thornburg or other people. He just can't blow it right by you. He has to craft his stuff kind of like a Greg Maddux or Tom Glavine. They didn't overpower people but they could pitch to both sides of the plate."

Howell also has to build his pitch count back up.

His last start on was May 10. Since then, Howell made only three relief appearances and, due to the Midwest League all-star break, had not pitched in a game since June 19.

"He did what we asked him to do today," Erickson said. "Obviously, with that rough stretch, we try to stay away from that but we didn't help him much with the bats early in the game, either."

Working on smoothing out those bumps in the road in the Midwest League can turn out well.

When current Chicago White Sox reliever Matt Thornton was with the Timber Rattlers, he, too, would have some lights-out innings and then struggle for an inning.

That 2010 American League all-star has carved out a nice career for himself in the majors.

[Mass Haas]

Why you never give up

by Jim Oskola on PostCrescent.com

 

Here's a lesson for all athletes on how good things happen if you just keep working at.

 

And in Tyler Roberts' case Sunday afternoon, working and working and working some more.

 

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers trailed the Quad Cities River Bandits 3-1 heading into the home half of ninth inning at Fox Cities Stadium on Sunday.

 

T.J. Mittelstaedt leads off the ninth for the Rattlers with a home run to make it 3-2. One out later Roberts hits a home run to nearly the same spot over the left field wall to tie the game.

 

"Man, a big confidence booster," Roberts said after the game. "Momentum went back to our side. It's big when you can come through in the clutch like that. That's what we're all here for. That's the difference between us and big league players in a way. When they come through in the clutch, it's all the time."

 

What was Roberts looking for as he faced River Bandits reliever Hector Corpas?

 

"I was looking for a specific pitch or location early in the count," Roberts said. "But I swung through that pitch when I got it. A first-ball fastball. After that, I was just trying to see-the-ball, hit-the-ball. Just dumb it down. Relax and put a good swing on it."

 

What Roberts through patience and hard work at the plate turned that appearance into was a classic battle between a pitcher and a hitter.

 

Roberts' home run - his fourth of the season - came on the ninth pitch from Corpas to him.

 

Yes, things didn't go well for the Rattlers in the 10th inning as they went on to lose 8-3 but in the Midwest League, you learn your lessons as they come your way.

[And That]

Toby watched the game and reports that Rivas threw more breaking balls than in the past but that the quality of them hasn't improved much.

His change isn't an out pitch?

 

edit. Or am I reading too much into that tweet?

I think thath is change IS an out pitch. But a change isn't a breaking ball, so I'm not totally sure what you're driving at here.

I haven't been overly impressed with his change-up the half-dozen times I've seen him pitch this year. Don't get me wrong... it's a good pitch for him, just nothing that will strike batters out in the bigs (or in AAA, for that matter). His arm action for it is good. It's possible tinkering with the grip this offseason could yield some extra movement that results in more swings and misses.

 

He was throwing lots more curves/sliders, and I think 4-seam fastballs last night. A lot is made of the desire for pitchers to induce ground balls, and his 2-seamer does have pretty good dip when it's on. However, he seems to locate his 4-seamer a lot better and especially when paired with his changeup, it's the better pitch. I'd like to see him spot up the 4-seam a little more and work off of the change-up. His breaking stuff is ok, occasionally has depth, and are serviceable big league pitches. They could be more effective, again, off the harder fastball.

 

And all yielding fewer ground balls. But better results.

 

That's my .02 on Rivas after watching him again last night.

[TheCrew07]

But a change isn't a breaking ball, so I'm not totally sure what you're driving at here.

Why not just let Toby answer the question instead of stating the obvious? He posted on twitter where he doesn't have room to elaborate, and I read the statement as he didn't have an out pitch period.

[Tedaldtada]

Schafer has ZERO extra base hits this season before tonight's double.

I think you're looking at his BC line. That was his fourth double at Huntsville, plus two triples. Not much power (or patience--only seven walks), to be sure.

(Sheepishly signing up for a reading comprehension course) http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[TooLiveBrew]

Awesome to see Thornburg's dominance continue without missing a beat.

Shocking. Nobody that reads the MiLB forum could've seen that coming!

 

I'm just glad he finally got promoted.

[Mass Haas]

You Know, And That blog -- A few thoughts from last night’s Sounds game

[Mass Haas]

Brewers suffer first home loss this season

by Amber Kuehn, Helena Independent Record

 

When Stalin Gerson gets into a rhythm, the right-hander is practically unshakeable.

The Helena Brewers found that out the hard way Sunday afternoon at Kindrick Legion Field, as the Billings starter dazzled in a dominating performance. Gerson twirled a three-hitter, and has given up just one run through 12 innings of work this season. The Mustangs (3-4) beat the Brewers 7-1 to avoid the series sweep and put a dent in Helena’s perfect home record.

The 6-foot-4, 175-pound Gerson was pitching for Single-A Dayton earlier this season, where he had allowed just two runs in a dozen innings. But a lack of open roster spots sent the 2007 free agent signee back to Billings, where he pitched a year ago.

“He’s got a good fastball, slider and changeup, and when he can get two out of three of those over the plate he’s really tough to hit,” said Mustangs pitching coach Bob Forsch, who knows a good arm when he sees one. Forsch threw a pair of no-hitters when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1978 and ’83.

The only times Gerson got into trouble were in the fourth and fifth innings. He issued back-to-back walks to Mike Nemeth and Joey Paciorek but was able to work out of the jam, then an inning later gave up a two-out single to Adrian Williams and then an RBI single to Yadiel Rivera that ended his shutout bid. That prompted a visit to the mound from Forsch, but the coach said Gerson isn’t the type who needs advice.

“Every once in awhile he’ll get out of sync,” Forsch said. “But he knows if he’s throwing a pitch a certain way what’s causing it and can correct things on his own.”

Carlos Contreras and Brooks Pinckard hurled three innings of scoreless — and hitless— relief, putting to rest any concerns Billings had about its bullpen in the first few games of the season.

“Our bullpen’s gonna be good,” Forsch said. “It’s just getting them on the mound and learning ... it’s a matter of everbody trying to find their way. But our bullpen was phenomenal last year and I expect this season to be no different.”

Gerson picked up his second win of the season, aided by plenty of run support from his teammates. The Mustangs scored in six different innings, had the leadoff man reach base in the first seven frames and pounded out a dozen hits — seven of which went for extra bases. Billings got five doubles to go along with a leadoff triple from Kurtis Muller to start the game and a home run by Drew Poulk to lead off the fourth. By comparison, the Brewers (5-2) had just one extra-base hit, a two-out double by Jason Rogers in the first.

Brandon Williamson suffered his first loss of the season, after being peppered for seven hits and four earned runs through five frames. The Mustangs scored three more against reliever Seth Lintz to blow open the game in the seventh.

Dayne Read led Billings at the plate, going 3 for 5 with a double, a run scored and three RBIs.

But a night after Helena went on a hit parade with 13, the Brewers simply ran into a buzzsaw in Gerson.

“He’s one of the better pitchers we’ve seen so far,” said Helena manager Joe Ayrault, who had the opportunity to see the Billings hurler in extended spring training. “He pounded the strike zone and worked his way out of a couple of jams.”

The Brewers had their chances. With two out and two on in the fourth, Max Walla stroked a scorcher to left field but Read was able to make a play on the ball that was held up a bit by the wind. The Brewers left just six on base, half their total from two nights earlier, but that was largely because of five 1-2-3 innings.

Ayrault isn’t the least bit concerned.

“Guys are gonna keep going about their business the same way,” he said. “That’s the thing we ask of champions, is how do they respond. But they’ll bounce back just fine, and we’re going to focus on the positives — we won a series today.”

It was the second series victory of the season for the Brewers, who also split a two-game set in Missoula. Their homestand continues today, when they welcome Great Falls. First pitch is slated for 7:05 (8:05 Central).

Right-hander Chad Pierce, who was lit up in his only appearance and now owns a 108.00 ERA, takes the mound for Helena. Southpaw Jarrett Casey (1-0) gets the nod for the Voyagers.

 

Three photos of Brewers' interest in the Independent Record photo gallery at the article link, including intimidating 1B / LF Jason Rogers