Link Report for Sat. 5/5 - Rattlers Come Home On No-Hit High

[Mass Haas]

Tonight’s Nashville pregame interview is with Sounds reliever Jim Henderson, a former Expos and Cubs farmhand who discusses myriad topics, including his game-winning hit this year as a relief pitcher, his Canadian roots and why Isotopes Park in Albuquerque is so hitter friendly.

 

Audio from Albuquerque — “Hanging with Henderson”

[Mass Haas]

As for Jeff Bianchi / Andy Gonzalez, I'm sure there are lots of direct flights between Huntsville, Alabama and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

Even for Juan Sanchez to get to Jackson, Tennessee from Palm Beach, Florida.

 

Another aspect of minor league life we take for granted; Brewers have staff to coordinate such things...

[Mass Haas]

Isotopes Score Late To Sink Sounds, 4-2

Nashville Sounds

 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Albuquerque Isotopes scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to hang a 4-2 defeat on the Nashville Sounds on Saturday evening at Isotopes Park in the second game of a four-game series.

 

The loss was Nashville's third in a row on the heels of the club's season-best four-game winning streak earlier in the week. The defeat dropped the Sounds to 8-20 on the year, the worst start in club history.

 

Nashville out-hit Albuquerque, 9-5, in the game but left nine runners on base on the evening.

 

Left fielder Scott Van Slyke, who recorded both of Albuquerque's go-ahead RBIs on the night, staked the Isotopes to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when he led off the frame with his PCL-leading eighth home run of the year, a solo shot to left off Sounds starter Mark Rogers.

 

Albuquerque doubled its lead to 2-0 in the sixth with a two-out rally against Rogers. After the first two batters of the frame were retired, Elian Herrera and Ivan DeJesus, Jr. recorded back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. With Josh Fields at the plate, Rogers uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Herrera to scamper home from third to give the Isotopes a two-run cushion.

 

After putting runners on base in each of the first six innings but failing to score, Nashville finally got onto the scoreboard in the top of the seventh, plating two runs to knot the contest at 2-2 and came close to taking the lead, if not for a spectacular inning-ending catch by Herrera in center field.

 

Logan Schafer got things started as he drew a one-out walk from 'Topes starter John Ely and moved to third on Eric Farris' single to center. Left-hander Cole St. Clair was summoned from the Albuquerque bullpen and was quickly greeted by Taylor Green's RBI double to right that plated Schafer to put the visitors on the board (audio). Farris, who moved to third on Green's team-leading eighth two-bagger of the year, raced home with the tying run when Sean Halton followed with a groundout to short (audio).

 

Caleb Gindl followed with a well-struck ball to center that was snagged by Herrera with a run-saving sliding catch at the base of the center field wall that ended the frame and kept Nashville from pulling in front.

 

In the bottom of the seventh , Sounds reliever Mike McClendon got some help from the Nashville defense to work out of an inherited two-on, no-out jam. With runners on first and second, ex-Sound Trent Oeltjen dropped a two-strike bunt up the third-base line which catcher Paul Phillips pounced on and fired to third to retire the lead runner by a hair for the first out. After McClendon induced a flyout from another former Sound, Luis Cruz, for the second out, shortstop Hainley Statia made a diving catch of a Josh Bard liner between shortstop and third base to end the inning and keep the Isotopes off the board.

 

McClendon (1-1) didn't fare as well in the following frame, walking in the go-ahead run with one out in the bottom of the eighth as Albuquerque re-claimed the lead. After the Isotopes loaded the bags on a Matt Angle double followed by a pair of walks, Van Slyke drew an RBI free pass from McClendon on a 3-1 count to put the home team back in front.

 

Jeff Baisley upped the lead to two when he followed with a sharp single to left before Sounds first baseman Erick Almonte ended the bases-loaded threat with an unassisted, inning-ending double play after making a tremendous diving snag of an Oeltjen liner near the first-base bag.

 

Both starting pitchers turned in quality starts but took no-decisions in the contest.

 

Rogers worked his longest outing of the season for the Sounds, holding the Isotopes to two runs and only three hits in his six-plus frames in his first quality start of the year. He struck out four batters while walking only one during his 84-pitch effort. Ely allowed two runs on eight hits over his 6 1/3 innings of work for Albuquerque, fanning six.

 

Reliever Wil Ledezma (1-2) was credited with his first victory of the year for Albuquerque after retiring the Sounds in order in the eighth inning. Josh Wall closed out the game with a perfect ninth to notch his seventh save of the year.

 

The teams continue the series with a 2:35 p.m. matinee on Sunday afternoon. Top Brewers prospect Wily Peralta (1-2, 3.72) toes the rubber for the Sounds. The right-hander will square off against Albuquerque southpaw Michael Antonini (1-0, 4.88).

[Mass Haas]

The Huntsville Times doesn't give us photos often, so we take what we can get. From earlier in the Chattanooga series...

[Mass Haas]

Catching up with Nashville video -- Friday's game, an 8-1 Sounds loss:

 

Logan Schafer ropes a leadoff triple in the eighth

 

Wow, deep!

 

The Nashville Sounds' Eric Farris hits RBI sacrifice fly to center, breaking up the Albuquerque Isotopes' shutout in the 8th inning

 

Check out the Houston-like CF hill in those two clips -- stupid, would love to lose my top CF prospect to injury...

 

Martin Maldonado entertains the Isotopes fans with fancy bat work after a foul ball

 

Sweet! And all with a deadpan face...

[Mass Haas]

Wow, that earlier Brevard County game summary is just painful to read. All five 9th inning runs scored after two were out.

 

The Manatees will look to get back on track as they square off again with the Cardinals on Sunday evening at 5:05 PM (4:05 Central). 2011 first round draft pick Taylor Jungmann (2-3, 2.72) will take the mound for Brevard County, while the Cardinals' Palm Beach squad will send Carlos Martinez (1-1, 2.45) to the hill. Martinez played in the 2011 All-Star Futures Game.

 

That is one juicy matchup of pitching prospects right there.

 

***

 

As for Nick Shaw's on-base streak, perhaps it wasn't Shaw's, but didn't we read that one such streak was kept alive last week via a "reached by error"? Should that not be included? Was never a big fan of "reached" streaks vs. "hitting" streaks, but regardless, kudos to Nick.

[TooLiveBrew]

Really nice to see that Rogers had a good start & an efficient start. Here's hoping he can keep building on that success.