Link Report for Fri. 7/8

[Mass Haas]

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[Mass Haas]

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF!

Times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Frankie De la Cruz at Albuquerque (Dodgers), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime

Live Audio Link

iPad/iPhone: Listen

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers

Huntsville: RHP Michael Bowman at home vs. Carolina (Reds), 6:43 PM gametime

Live Audio LinkiPad/iPhone: Listen

Traditional Broadcast Live Audio Link -- Select the Carolina feed from the MiLB main audio page

Brevard County: RHP Austin Ross at home vs. Fort Myers (Twins), 6:05 PM gametime

Live Audio Link -- Select the Fort Myers feed from the MiLB main audio page

 

Wisconsin: RHP Maverick Lasker at home vs. Kane County (Royals), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Helena: RHP Andy Moye at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime

Live Audio Link -- Select the Helena feed from the MiLB main audio page

Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at the Cubs' complex in Mesa; 9:00 PM gametime; never audio for games in this league

 

DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Cardinals, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest; there's a chance they might also make up a road game vs. the Athletics rained out earlier this week...

[Mass Haas]

Follow Friday's action as it happens:

 

Nashville (Gameday also available)

 

Huntsville (Gameday also available)

 

Brevard County

Wisconsin

Helena

 

Arizona Rookie (Maryvale)

DSL Brewers

[Mass Haas]

PCL American North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Omaha	48	40	.545	-	-	26-18	22-22	6-4	L1
	Memphis	46	41	.529	1.5	56	27-16	19-25	6-4	L1
	Iowa	41	47	.466	7.0	50	24-20	17-27	5-5	L4
	Nashville	39	48	.448	8.5	49	27-19	12-29	4-6	L2

SOU North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Chattanooga	9	6	.600	-	-	5-4	4-2	5-5	L1
	Huntsville	9	6	.600	-	-	4-2	5-4	7-3	W1
*	Tennessee	8	7	.533	1.0	55	5-1	3-6	6-4	L2
	Carolina	5	9	.357	3.5	53	4-4	1-5	3-7	L1
	Jackson	5	10	.333	4.0	52	2-4	3-6	3-7	L1

FSL North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Dunedin	8	6	.571	-	-	3-2	5-4	6-4	L1
	Tampa	8	6	.571	-	-	5-3	3-3	6-4	W2
*	Daytona	7	7	.500	1.0	56	2-4	5-3	5-5	L2
	Brevard County	6	6	.500	1.0	57	4-3	2-3	4-6	L1
	Clearwater	6	8	.429	2.0	55	3-5	3-3	5-5	W1
	Lakeland	5	7	.417	2.0	56	3-3	2-4	4-6	W1

MID Western
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Kane County	9	5	.643	-	-	3-3	6-2	5-5	L1
	Beloit	8	6	.571	1.0	-	3-3	5-3	4-6	W1
	Clinton	8	6	.571	1.0	-	4-4	4-2	6-4	W1
	Wisconsin	8	6	.571	1.0	-	3-5	5-1	7-3	W1
*	Burlington	6	8	.429	3.0	55	4-4	2-4	5-5	L1
	Cedar Rapids	6	8	.429	3.0	55	3-3	3-5	6-4	L1
	Quad Cities	6	8	.429	3.0	55	2-4	4-4	3-7	W1
	Peoria	5	9	.357	4.0	54	2-6	3-3	4-6	L1

PIO North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	Billings	10	8	.556	-	-	5-5	5-3	6-4	L1
	Helena	9	9	.500	1.0	20	5-4	4-5	4-6	W1
	Missoula	9	9	.500	1.0	20	3-5	6-4	6-4	L1
	Great Falls	8	10	.444	2.0	19	4-5	4-5	4-6	W1

AZL Central
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	AZL Dodgers	10	4	.714	-	-	5-2	5-2	7-3	W2
	AZL Reds	7	7	.500	3.0	40	5-2	2-5	5-5	W1
	AZL Indians	6	7	.462	3.5	40	3-3	3-4	5-5	W1
	AZL Brewers	3	11	.214	7.0	36	1-6	2-5	1-9	L2

DSL S.D. North
	Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
	DSL Mariners	24	9	.727	-	-	12-4	12-5	6-4	W1
	DSL Brewers	21	12	.636	3.0	37	9-7	12-5	5-5	W1
	DSL Athletics	11	22	.333	13.0	27	7-9	4-13	4-6	L1
	DSL Cardinals	11	23	.324	13.5	26	7-11	4-12	5-5	L1

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Media Notes

RHP Mike Fiers now scheduled to start on Saturday.

 

***

 

Huntsville Media Notes

 

RHP Kyle Heckathorn's first AA start is also Saturday.

[Mass Haas]

FYI -- Recently relesed RH reliever Corey Frerichs found an independent league home with the Rockford (Illinois) Riverhaks of the Frontier League.

[Mass Haas]

Not quite yet (as of this post time), but look for the Wisconsin media notes here before Rattler game time.

[Tedaldtada]

Wisco facing a tough SP tonight in Billo. Stang moves up to the two hole.

Kentrail Davis really isn't having that bad of a year. A two week hot stretch would make his .251/.334/.366 line look a lot better. D'Vontrey is in the 5 hole tonight. He is hitting a cool .400 over his last 10. Another hot week and his line will look really good (current .701 OPS). Ft. Meyers isn't loaded with hitters, so Austin Ross should have a good game tonight. 2 scoreless so far.

[battlekow]

Suspended game: @DSL Brewers 1, DSL Cardinals 1 (7.5 innings)

DSL Brewers box score

Just-18 RHP Jorge Ortega pitched well, giving up a run in five innings on four hits and a walk with a strikeout, and Elvis Mora shut out the Cardenalitos for the next three innings before the game was halted. The Cerveceritos have only two hits, but they've drawn five walks. Champion of the People Orlando Arcia is 0-3, as is Mighty Challenger, Esthervin Matos. Each team has a Jose Pena, but ours is doing better (0-2, BB) than theirs (0-3).

DSL Brewers play-by-play

The 'Ritos' one rune:

DSL Brewers Bottom of the 4th

• Deivi Mejia walks.
• Jose Pena walks. Deivi Mejia to 2nd.
• Juan De Leon singles on a line drive to left fielder George Araujo. Deivi Mejia to 3rd. Jose Pena to 2nd.
• Raul Mondesi called out on strikes.
• Sthervin Matos pops out to catcher Fernando Baez on the infield fly rule.
• Raphachel Colatosti walks. Deivi Mejia scores. Jose Pena to 3rd. Juan De Leon to 2nd.
• Yonki Hernandez pops out to shortstop Daniel Barbuena.

[battlekow]

Stars postponed.

[battlekow]

Final: Fort Myers 5, @Brevard County 4

Brevard County box score

A three-run 8th inning off of Mark Willinsky provided the losing margin. Austin Ross pitched effectively, albeit with uninspiring peripherals: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 9/6 GO/FO. Hunter Morris was the offensive star with his 13th homer plus a triple and a sac fly. Scooter Gennett and Kentrail Davis also had two hits, with one of Scooter's going for two bases. Khris Davis was on twice with a single and a HBP, D'Vontrey Richardson walked again, and Chris Dennis was 0-4 in his return. Kentrail was caught stealing twice (one technically a pickoff), in start contrast to his previous success rate of 23/26. D'Vo's eighth CS is less surprising, given that he has only five successful thefts on the year.

Brevard County play-by-play

Ross was removed after two consecutive walks in the 7th, leading to the Miracle's second run:

Fort Myers Top of the 7th

• Steven Liddle flies out to left fielder Khristopher Davis.
• Jamaal Hawkins walks.
• Jonathan Goncalves walks. Jamaal Hawkins to 2nd.
• Pitcher Change: Efrain Nieves replaces Austin Ross.
• James Beresford walks. Jamaal Hawkins to 3rd. Jonathan Goncalves to 2nd.
• Reggie Williams grounds out, shortstop Josh Prince to first baseman Hunter Morris. Jamaal Hawkins scores. Jonathan Goncalves to 3rd. James Beresford to 2nd.
• Pitcher Change: Mark Willinsky replaces Efrain Nieves.
• Aaron Hicks walks.
• Oswaldo Arcia grounds out to first baseman Hunter Morris.

That's Orlando's brother grounding out to end the inning.

[battlekow]

Final: Kane County 6, @Wisconsin 1

Rattler drop 6-1 decision to Kane County

Chris Mehring/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Kane County Cougars continue to confound the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Kane County beat the Timber Rattlers 6-1 on Friday night at Time Warner Cable Field to move to 7-4 in the season series between the teams. Greg Billo pitched six shutout innings for Kane County. Cheslor Cuthbert drove in three runs and made a key defensive play early in the game.

Kane County (38-46 overall, 10-5 second half) broke the scoreless tie with four runs in the top of the fourth inning off Rattlers starting pitcher Maverick Lasker. Alex Llanos started the inning with a double. He went to second on a grounder and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cuthbert.

Jake Kuebler followed with a double. An RBI single by Kevin David was next and the Cougars went up 2-0. After a walk put runners at first and second. Geulin Beltre singled in a run. An error let the next batter reach and the final run of the inning to score.

Cuthbert saved at least one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Wisconsin (46-59, 8-7) had runners at first and third with two outs and Greg Hopkins at the plate. Hopkins hit a grounder down the third base line. Cuthbert made a diving stop and his momentum carried him into foul territory. But, he got up and made a strong throw to first for the final out.

The Cougars tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth. Lasker allowed a single to the leadoff batter and hit the next batter to put two runners on base. Wisconsin reliever Adrian Rosario replaced Lasker at that point.

Rosario’s first pitch went to the backstop for a wild pitch that moved both runners into scoring position. The next pitch to Cuthbert was lined back through the middle for a two-run single and a 6-0 Kane County lead.

Kane County starting pitcher Greg Billo worked six shutout innings and allowed three hits. He struck out seven and walked one to put himself in line for his seventh win of the season.

Chase Boruff was one out away from concluding the shutout. Wisconsin had TJ Mittelstaedt at second with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mike Walker cracked a double to right-center to send Mittelstaedt home with the run.

But, the Rattlers would get no more and Kane County would take two of the three games played in the series.

Wisconsin is 3-6 in nine home games in the second half. But, they hit the road – where they are 5-1 in the second half – on Saturday night.

That is when the Timber Rattlers begin a brief three-game road trip to Quad Cities. Brooks Hall (4-1, 3.91) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. The River Bandits have Zach Russell (4-7, 3.80) as their scheduled starter. Game time at Modern Woodmen Park 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

Lasker's allowed at least four runs in each of his three starts for the Rattlers since being demoted BC. It's been an awful year for him. Rosario, on the other hand, pitched quite well, posting a 5/0 K/BB in three innings. Not much going on on offense. Chad Stang got in on the outfield assist fun, gunning down a runner at home.

Wisconsin play-by-play

[battlekow]

Final: @Albuquerque 7, Nashville 1

Sounds Lose Again In Albuquerque, 7-1

Nashville Sounds

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Nashville Sounds dropped their second straight game in Albuquerque on Friday evening, falling 7-1 at Isotopes Park.

The defeat was the seventh straight road loss for Nashville (39-49), which is just 1-5 in Albuquerque this season.

Isotopes starter John Ely (6-5) turned in a quality outing, picking up the win by holding the Sounds to one run on six hits over seven strong innings.

The Sounds missed out on an early scoring chance against Ely. With the bases loaded and one out, the right-hander induced an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play from Nashville third baseman Andy Gonzalez to escape the jam unscathed.

Albuquerque took a 4-0 lead in the third inning with four two-out runs against Sounds starter Frankie De La Cruz.

Justin Sellers - who led all hitters with a 3-for-5 night - plated the contest's first run when he ripped an opposite-field, RBI double off the right field wall to plate Dee Gordon, who had preceded him with a two-out single. After Jerry Sands drew a walk, John Lindsey belted a two-run double to deep center to up the home team's lead to 3-0. Trayvon Robinson closed out the four-run rally with an RBI single to left.

The Sounds got onto the board in the fourth when Brett Carroll led off with a single, moved to third on Taylor Green's ground-rule double to right, and scored on a Wil Nieves groundout. Nieves finished 0-for-3 on the night to snap his season-best hitting streak at seven games.

The Isotopes increased their lead to 7-1 in the fifth. With two on and one out, Sellers worked an outstanding at-bat against De La Cruz, fouling off five two-strike pitches before dumping a bloop single into center. Carroll's throw to the infield ended up in the third-base dugout, allowing Ely to score on the play. Sands followed with a two-run single to right.

De La Cruz (3-5) took the loss for the Sounds after giving up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits over four innings of work.

Daniel Herrera turned in an outstanding relief outing behind De La Cruz, working three hitless innings with three strikeouts.

Albuquerque hurlers combined to retire the final 10 Sounds batters in order to close out the victory.

The teams continue the series on Saturday with another 8:05 p.m. CT meeting. Right-hander Mike Fiers (0-0, 0.00) will man the bump for the Sounds to make his first career Triple-A start. Albuquerque will counter with right-hander Tim Sexton (3-1, 5.10).

Nashville box score

Green had two hits, as did Erick Almonte, and Caleb Gindl was 1-3. Green started at 2B and Eric Farris at SS; Farris committed a throwing error, his fifth in 17 games there. I can't remember when Doug Melvin said he was going to be checking out the Sounds, but I hope he catches de la Cruz on a good day, because I'd like to see FDLC in the bullpen at some point this year, bad outing today notwithstanding.

Nashville play-by-play

[TooLiveBrew]

Final: @Missoula 6, Helena 5

 

Helena Box Score

The Osprey had just enough in the tank to outlast the Brewers tonight. After the 4th inning, Missoula was up 5-3. Helena plated one run in the tops of the 6th & 7th innings to tie the score, only to give up a run in the bottom of the 7th to fall back behind. Matt Sample pitched a perfect 9th inning, striking out two Brewers, to record the save & nail down the win for Missoula.

 

2011 15th-rounder Andrew Moye had a rough start, allowing at least one run in each of his four innings. '11 7th-rounder David Goforth worked three innings in relief, allowing three hits, one run, & striking out three. Alex Jones worked the 8th, & allowed one hit while striking out one batter.

 

Catcher Tyler Roberts was the offensive star, going 4-4 with a solo home run. Max Walla & Yadiel Rivera each went 1-5 with a double. John Dishon had a good night: 2-2 with two singles, two walks; he was also credited with a theft of second base, and one of home plate. Mike Nemeth added an RBI single & a walk. Adrian Williams & Nick Ramirez singled once. Parker Berberet & Robby Garvey went hitless but each drew a walk.

 

 

Helena Play-by-Play

If I had to guess from the game log, I'd say Dishon's steal of home probably came after the Missoula catcher tried to throw out Adrian Williams stealing second. But if that were true, wouldn't you list the theft of second base before that of home plate? Helena definitely could've scored more than twice this inning, after three consecutive walks to start the inning:

 

Helena Top of the 3rd

• Michael Nemeth walks.
• John Dishon walks. Michael Nemeth to 2nd.
• Robert Garvey walks. Michael Nemeth to 3rd. John Dishon to 2nd.
• Adrian
  Williams grounds into a force out, second baseman Fidel Pena to
  shortstop Josh Parr. Michael Nemeth scores. John Dishon to 3rd.
  Robert Garvey out at 2nd. Adrian Williams to 1st.
• With Nick Ramirez batting, John Dishon steals (2) home. Adrian Williams steals (6) 2nd base.
• Nick Ramirez grounds out, second baseman Fidel Pena to first baseman Jonathan Griffin. Adrian Williams to 3rd.
• Parker Berberet strikes out swinging.

Even though they tied the game in the 6th, the Brewers had another shot at a crooked number & couldn't cash in:

Helena Top of the 6th

• Max Walla doubles (4) on a line drive to right fielder Chris Ellison.
• With Tyler Roberts batting, wild pitch by Taylor Siemens, Max Walla to 3rd.
• Tyler Roberts singles on a ground ball to first baseman Jonathan Griffin.
• Yadiel Rivera strikes out swinging.
• Michael
  Nemeth grounds into a force out, second baseman Fidel Pena to shortstop
  Josh Parr. Max Walla scores. Tyler Roberts out at 2nd. Michael
  Nemeth to 1st.
• John Dishon singles on a ground ball to third baseman Ryan Court. Michael Nemeth to 2nd.
• Robert Garvey grounds out, pitcher Taylor Siemens to first baseman Jonathan Griffin.
   
   
  

[TooLiveBrew]

Final: @AZL Cubs 5, AZL Brewers 2

 

AZL Box Score

The Brewers were able to tie the game with a two-run 5th inning, but allowed three runs in the bottom of the 7th & went on to lose. 2011 UDFA Will West allowed two runs over four innings in his start. West didn't walk a batter, but also didn't strike one out. Greg Davis, another '11 UDFA, worked two scoreless innings of relief. Mike Francisco ('11 48th-rd.) went 1.2 IP without allowing a hit; he struck out three batters. Jeffrey Saba (first name is actually spelled "Yefri", but pronounced "Jeffrey") had a terrible outing. He allowed a double, two triples, & three runs; he only recorded one out.

 

The lone run-scoring play for the Brewers was a two-run blast in the fifth from 9-hitter Andres Martinez ('08 UDFA via Dominican Republic). Hitaniel Arias & Renaldo Jenkins ('11 19th-rd.) had the only other hits in the game, both singles. Catcher Jimmie Pharr & rightfielder Ronny Puello ('09 UDFA via D.R.) each had one walk. Brandon Macias, Steve Felix, & Jalen Harris all went 0-4.

 

 

AZL Play-by-Play

The scoring offense in its entirety:

AZL Brewers Top of the 5th

• Jimmie Pharr strikes out swinging.
• Ronny Puello walks.
• Jose R. Garcia flies out to center fielder Taiwan Easterling.
• With Andres Martinez batting, wild pitch by Jean Sandoval, Ronny Puello to 2nd.
• Andres Martinez homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. Ronny Puello scores.
• Renaldo Jenkins strikes out swinging.

The ugly inning that was the undoing:

 

AZL Cubs Bottom of the 7th

• Pitcher Change: Jeffrey Saba replaces Greg Davis.
• Oliver Zapata hits a ground-rule double (3) on a fly ball to right field.
• Johan De Jesus strikes out swinging.
• With Gregori Gonzalez batting, throwing error by Jimmie Pharr on the pickoff attempt, Oliver Zapata to 3rd.
• Gregori
  Gonzalez strikes out swinging. Passed ball by catcher Jimmie Pharr.
  Oliver Zapata scores. Gregori Gonzalez to 1st.
• With Taiwan Easterling batting, Gregori Gonzalez steals (3) 2nd base.
• Taiwan Easterling triples (2) on a line drive to right fielder Ronny Puello. Gregori Gonzalez scores.
• Gioskar Amaya triples (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Jose R. Garcia. Taiwan Easterling scores.
• Dustin Geiger walks.
• Pitcher Change: Michael Francisco replaces Jeffrey Saba.
• Ryan Durrence strikes out swinging.
• With
  Eduardo Gonzalez batting, Gioskar Amaya caught stealing home, pitcher
  Michael Francisco to first baseman Hitaniel Arias to catcher Jimmie
  Pharr.

[Mass Haas]

Timber Rattlers can't hit Cougars' starter Billo in Midwest League loss

by Jim Oskola, Appleton Post-Crescent

 

GRAND CHUTE — After scoring 50 runs in their last seven games, sooner or later you knew the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers would run into a game in which runs would be hard to come by.

Friday night at Fox Cities Stadium, that game popped up as Kane County defeated the Timber Rattlers 6-1 to take two-of-three in the series.

The cause of the Rattlers' hitting problems against the Cougars was Greg Billo.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander limited the Rattlers to three hits and one walk over six innings. He also struck out six.

"He made some good pitches and came out on top tonight," Rattlers third baseman Mike Walker said. "That's baseball. You're not going to win every day. We'll just come back tomorrow."

Billo, who improved to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.37, kept the Wisconsin batters guessing with a ridiculously slow curveball that made his fastball seem faster.

"His delivery and the way he was throwing kept us off balance," Rattlers designated hitter Jason Rogers said. "He mixed it up real good with fastballs and curveballs and we just couldn't hit it."

Billo's delivery, which had him throwing across his body, also made it tough on the Rattlers.

"That's tough for righties (to pick up)," Rogers said. "Especially me and Reggie (Keen). All of us had trouble. Lefties, I guess, had trouble, too."

Billo limited the Timber Rattlers' scoring chances, with only Rogers advancing as far as third base.

Rogers reached third in the second inning when he doubled to left and advanced to third one out later on a wild pitch. He was stranded there as Billo got Cody Hawn to pop out and Greg Hopkins to strike out.

In the fourth, Rogers drew a one-out walk, went to third one out later on a single by Hawn and an error on the Cougars but was left standing there when Hopkins grounded out.

"His curveball was slow and it was real tough for me to see," Walker said. "I was talking to T.J. (Mittelstaedt) and he was having a tough time picking him up tonight. Maybe it was something about his release point or his arm angle. It was like a 90 that jumped on you those last 15 feet. It seemed like it sped up a little bit."

The Rattlers' lone run came in the ninth when Mittelstaedt singled and Walker hammered a run-scoring double to center.

"We've been swinging bats well," Walker said. "That's baseball. You can't let the losses get you down. You've just got to keep grinding."

One bright spot for the Rattlers was the relief work of Adrian Rosario.

Rosario came on for Maverick Lasker with two on and none out in the fifth winning and pitched three innings. He gave up two hits and struck out five although he did allow the two runners he inherited from Lasker to score.

[Mass Haas]

Rattler Radio Post-Game Thoughts

[Mass Haas]

[Mass Haas]

Osprey power past Brewers

by Nick Lockridge of the Missoulian

For the record, Jon Griffin, the wind was blowing 20 mph on Friday night.

Baseballs were flying out of the stadium and falling out of fielders’ gloves at a surprising clip as the Missoula Osprey held off the Helena Brewers 6-5 on a windy night at Ogren-Allegiance Park.

The two teams combined for five home runs and a half dozen botched pop ups in front of 2,321 bewildered fans. The gusts certainly helped the Osprey more than the Brewers.

Just ask Griffin, who went yard with one out in the seventh inning to break a 5-5 tie.

“The wind was definitely a factor. What was it blowing, 25 mph?” Griffin asked.

“On days like this if you get it up there it’s gonna go out, and we had a couple of guys do that.”

Griffin went 3 for 4 to lead Missoula at the plate, but the team finished with four home runs on the night, including three against Helena starter Andy Moye, the reigning Pioneer League pitcher of the week.

Thanks to their sudden power surge the Osprey (10-9) moved back above .500 and evened their season series with the Brewers (9-10) at 4-4. Helena snapped Missoula’s four-game win streak the night before with a one-run win in extra innings. It was the fourth extra-inning game of the season between the two sides.

“Every time we played them it was extra innings it seems,” Griffin said. “It’s nice to get a ‘W’ more than anything.”

Osprey catcher Roidany Aguila hit a solo home run in the fourth that gave Missoula a 4-2 advantage. Teammates Chris Ellison and Fidel Pena hit home runs to give the Birds a 3-0 lead after two frames. Ellison’s blast, in the first inning, was also a solo shot. Pena followed with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field in the O’s next at-bat.

The Brewers battled their way back, despite two fielding errors, to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch by Missoula reliever Keith Hessler. Helena’s Adrian Williams led off the inning with a triple.

O’s third baseman Ryan Court made a handful of nice plays to help Hessler get out of the seventh without further damage. The Brewers loaded the bases with one out on an infield single by Tyler Roberts. The next batter grounded to Court, who fielded the ball to his left, spun and threw the runner out at home. Court then caught a pop up near the O’s bullpen for the final out of the inning.

Hessler got the win, his first as a pro, and Matt Sample got the save after retiring three of the four Brewers he faced in the ninth. Sample plunked Roberts, who was 4 for 4 until his last at-bat, before getting Yadiel Rivera on a strikeout. Roberts had a solo home run in the fourth that closed the margin on Missoula’s lead to 4-3.

Osprey starter Conrad Flynn and his replacement Taylor Siemens, who switched their order of appearance, combined for nine strikeouts in six innings of work.