Link Report for Wed. 5/23 -- Finally, An Organizational Victory Sweep!

[Mass Haas]

Introducing the Chaos Meter!

 

Don't go anywhere until you're read Chris' Rattler Radio Nine After Nine

[Mass Haas]

In the last five games (contests 41-45 this season), the Manatees have raised their team batting average 17 points, from .219 to .236.

 

You math-heady fans must realize how crazy difficult that is to do.

 

Keep it up, men!

[Mass Haas]

Nice mention of Jimmy Nelson at BP here.

[Mass Haas]

Sounds Use 'Extra' Effort To Defeat Las Vegas, 5-3

Conrad Extends Hit Streak To 13 Games With Another Homer For Nashville

Nashville Sounds

 

LAS VEGAS - Sean Halton and Brooks Conrad homered and Jordan Brown drove in a pair of runs to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 5-3 victory over the Las Vegas 51s on Wednesday evening at Cashman Field.

 

Six of Nashville's seven hits in the game went for extra bases as the Sounds (17-28) snapped a two-game skid and brought an end to the 51s' four-game winning streak.

 

Las Vegas took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Left fielder Danny Perales led off with a double to center off Sounds starter Claudio Vargas, was sacrificed to third by Chris Woodward, and scored the night's first run on a Ruben Gotay sacrifice fly.

 

Halton evened the contest at 1-1 when he belted the first pitch of the fourth inning over the center field wall for his third home run of the season (audio). The solo blast came against 51s starter Robert Coello.

 

The 51s pulled back in front in the fifth against Nashville reliever Donovan Hand. Adeiny Hechavarria singled with one out and moved to second when Adam Lind walked before giving the home team a 2-1 lead when he raced to the plate on Moises Sierra's two-out double to right. Lind was thrown out at the plate on the play following a relay from Corey Patterson to Hainley Statia to catcher Martin Maldonado to keep it to a one-run deficit.

 

Nashville grabbed its first lead of the night in the top of the sixth with a two-out rally against 51s reliever Tim Redding, using three straight doubles to pulled ahead by a 3-2 margin.

 

After Halton grounded into a double play to erase Conrad, who had drawn a leadoff walk in the frame, Patterson worked a nine-pitch at-bat against Redding and fouled off three two-strike offerings before doubling to right to get things started. Brown followed with a game-tying two-bagger to left before scoring the go-ahead run on the very next pitch as Eric Farris also ripped an RBI double to left (audio).

 

The Sounds extended the lead to 5-2 in the top of the eighth inning. Conrad extended his hitting streak to 13 games when he greeted new Las Vegas reliever Bobby Korecky with a homer, crushing the right-hander's 1-0 offering over the left-center wall for his team-leading seventh roundtripper of the year (audio). Conrad has homered in five of his last six contests and recorded an extra-base knock in seven straight games for Nashville.

 

Nashville tacked on a second run in the frame when Patterson tripled to center and scored on Jordan Brown's one-out RBI single.

 

Lind got a run back for the 51s in the bottom of the frame as he greeted Sounds reliever Vinnie Chulk with his second longball in two nights against the Sounds, a solo shot to right that brought the score to its final 5-3 count.

 

Hand (1-0) picked up his first win of the year for Nashville with a solid relief effort behind Vargas. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits while fanning three batters in four innings of work, matching the longest outing by a Sounds reliever this season.

 

In his second start for the Sounds, Vargas worked three-plus innings, allowing one run on four hits while walking two batters and striking out three. He tossed 62 pitches in the outing.

 

Mike McClendon worked around a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth to close out the contest with a scoreless frame and earn his fourth save of the campaign.

 

Redding (0-4) was saddled with the loss for Las Vegas after allowing two runs in his lone frame of work and being charged with a blown save.

 

The teams conclude the series with a 9:05 p.m. CT finale on Thursday night. Right-hander Mike Fiers (1-3, 4.13) will make the start for Nashville to face Las Vegas left-hander Aaron Laffey (2-5, 5.04).

[Mass Haas]

STARS ROLL TO SECOND STRAIGHT WIN

 

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.- A night after snapping a three-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory, the Huntsville Stars beat the Birmingham Barons for the second straight game by a score of 4-2 at Joe Davis Stadium on Wednesday night.

 

The game was a pitchers duel between Stars starter Evan Anundsen and Barons starter Cameron Bayne until the fourth inning. With the game scoreless and Bayne sending down the first 10 straight he faced to begin the game, shortstop Tommy Manzella and second basemen Scooter Gennett both singled to bring up Hunter Morris. Fortunately for the Stars, the Brewers Minor League Player of the Month for April changed the game with one swing of the bat, crushing a three-run home run well over the left field wall to give Huntsville a 3-0 lead.

 

Neither team added to the score until the eighth inning when the Barons were able to make the game a bit interesting. A double by first baseman Corey Smith and a single by designated hitter Seth Loman off of Stars reliever Dan Meadows began the inning. Catcher Damaso Espino followed up with a RBI single to put the Barons on the board. A RBI groundout off the bat of third baseman Erik Morrison off of Stars RHP Darren Byrd cut the Stars lead to 3-2.

 

The Stars were able to tack on an insurance run in the eighth as the Barons center fielder dropped a fly ball to allow Huntsville right fielder Kentrail Davis to score from third base. Byrd was able to shut the Barons down in order in the ninth for his third save of the season.

 

On the pitching side, Anundsen improved to 3-1 on the season as he shut out the Barons bats through five innings, giving up just five hits while striking out two. For Byrd, the save was his second in as many games. The 25-year-old also hasn’t given up an earned run in his last six appearances.

 

Game three of a five-game series will begin on Thursday as the Stars will send RHP Tyler Thornburg (5-0, 2.21 ERA) to the mound to face off against Barons RHP Nestor Molina (3-3, 4.96 ERA). First pitch is at 6:43 CT.

[Mass Haas]

VIDEO: Hunter Morris' HR