Link Report for Mon. 6/11 -- Relentless Rattlers win matinee; Stars eliminated as skid reaches seven

[Mass Haas]

Great job with the DSL, TLB, thanks!

 

18-year-old Marcos Padilla made his 2012 debut last night, and reached four times -- two singles, two walks, in five trips as the designated hitter.

 

Last year Padilla made 11 relief appearances as a LHP, walking 17 and striking out eight in 21.2 IP.

 

As a LH arm, he'll land in the OF eventually, although listed at 6'2", 175, he may see time at first base as well.

[Mass Haas]

More on Shelby Miller's rough night against the Sounds

 

***

 

The Stars were eliminated from the first-half playoff chase -- ugly seven-game losing streak.

 

STARS SWEPT IN DOUBLEHEADER, SERIES BY BAYBEARS

 

MOBILE, Ala. - Following being swept in a doubleheader on Saturday, the Huntsville Stars (33-32) lost both games of a doubleheader to the Mobile BayBears (38-27) to cap off their series at Hank Aaron Stadium on Monday night.

 

In a game one, it was the Stars that broke out to the early lead. In the second inning, Huntsville was able to get to BayBears starting pitcher, David Holmberg, who was making his Double-A debut.

 

After an RBI double by catcher Adam Weisenburger plated right fielder Kentrail Davis, Stars starting pitcher Kyle Heckathorn helped out his own cause with an RBI single to make the score 2-0. In the next at-bat, Josh Prince crushed his third home run of the season over the left field wall to give the Stars a 4-0 lead.

 

To the dismay of the Stars, the lead would not last. Following another RBI single from Weisenburger that made the score 5-0, Mobile came through with five runs in the sixth inning off of Stars relievers Brandon Kintzler and Jesus Sanchez to tie up the ballgame.

 

Then, in the seventh inning, after Mobile right fielder Alfredo Marte doubled off of Sanchez to begin the inning, Marte was able to score the game-winning run without a ball being put in play. Stars reliever Mitch Stetter threw one wild pitch to advance Marte to third, and then threw another wild pitch to allow Marte to score to give Mobile the victory.

 

In game two, it was Mobile that had a 1-0 lead despite being held to one hit over six innings by Stars starter Hiram Burgos going into the seventh inning.

 

However, in the bottom of the seventh, following a lead-off single by first baseman Hunter Morris and a walk by Davis, left fielder Juan Sanchez came through with a two-out RBI single to drive in Morris and tie the game at one.

 

Unfortunately for Huntsville, in the bottom of the eighth, a two-out, bases loaded RBI infield single by BayBears left fielder Dan Kaczrowski off of Stars LHP Dan Merklinger gave Mobile their second walk-off win of the night and the series sweep.

 

For the Stars, the losses put them on the wrong side of a series sweep for the first time all season. Also, Huntsville has now lost a season-high seven consecutive games. This also puts the Stars out of playoff contention for a first-half championship.

 

The Stars will return to Joe Davis Stadium on Wednesday to complete the first half of their Southern League schedule by welcoming the Montgomery Biscuits to town. First pitch is at 6:43 PM.

[X-TAI]

Hiram Burgos pitched a gem, the only problem was that he walked in a run in the 1st or he gets the win in regulation. Hiram topped out at 90 MPH tonight on the stadium gun so his velocity hasn't significantly improved. He went 6IP allowing 1H, 1R, 1WP, 2HBP, and 4BB against 4SO while throwing 47 of 82 pitches for strikes and posting an 8:3 ratio. Burgos did pick off 1 runner at first and nearly had another.

 

Great job for Burgos..I do believe that he threw a 92 in the 6th.

[Mass Haas]

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers edge Beloit Snappers on Yadiel Rivera's game winner

by Tim Froberg, Post-Crescent staff writer

 

GRAND CHUTE — Yadiel Rivera was a little disappointed that his teammates didn’t douse him with water or shaving cream to celebrate his walk-off home run Sunday.

 

They didn’t miss that opportunity, or Rivera’s face, when he became the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers’ hitting hero for the second consecutive day.

 

Less than 24 hours after beating Beloit with a three-run blast in the bottom of the 10th, Rivera delivered another game-winning hit Monday afternoon. The slick-fielding shortstop drilled a one-out walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Timber Rattlers to a dramatic 8-7 Midwest League Western Division win over the visiting Snappers.

 

His reward? A traditional shaving cream pie shoved in his face by teammate Carlos George.

 

“I was kind of looking over my shoulder for water or something like that Sunday and it never happened,” said Rivera in a postgame interview with shaving cream still in his hair. “Feels great. That’s the first time that’s ever happened to me. Carlos and the guys got me pretty good.”

 

And Rivera got the Snappers pretty good. He collected three hits, including an RBI triple earlier in the game, to lead a 12-hit Wisconsin attack and help Wisconsin sweep the series from Beloit.

 

The 20-year-old Rivera is the top-rated Milwaukee Brewers prospect (15th by Baseball America) on the Timber Rattlers roster. He is an outstanding defensive shortstop with good range and a strong, accurate arm.

 

Rivera’s future in the Brewers organization will likely be determined by how well he handles the bat. Even with his two consecutive walk-off hits, Rivera is hitting only .239 after batting just .194 in 103 at-bats with the Rattlers last season.

 

However, the 6-foot-3, 186-pound Rivera has clearly made progress at the plate and shown impressive power. He is second on the team in homers (seven) and third in RBI (30).

 

“There’s some obvious development going on with him,” said Wisconsin manager Matt Erickson. “He’s a talented kid and we’re just trying to put him in as many situations as possible so he can learn and get better. He’s been in some tough situations the last two days and has come through with the big hit.

 

“A lot of this game is played between the ears. And when you’re confident and talented, a lot of good things happen. He’s a confident kid right now.”

 

Rivera is an aggressive hitter, and Erickson and hitting coaching Dusty Rhodes have been urging him to be more patient at the plate. He has walked just seven times — second-lowest among Wisconsin regulars — and struck out 53 times, the second highest on the team.

 

“There’s been some times this season when he’s swinging at everything out of the pitcher’s hand,” said Erickson. “The last few days, he’s been laying off on some pitches. He had one at-bat where he took four pitches in a row and I don’t know if he’s done that all season.

 

“He’s got some power, but sometimes he has to fight that because he’ll hit a home run and then try and yank and pull everything.”

 

A native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Rivera was the Brewers’ ninth-round pick in the 2010 major league draft. In 2011, Baseball America rated him as the best defensive infielder in the Brewers organization and the player with the best throwing arm. He has just seven errors this season and a fielding percentage of .971.

 

“He’s got a really good internal clock,” said Erickson. “That’s something you can’t really teach. He understands the pace of the game. He knows when he has to be quick and when he has to be under control. What I’m impressed about him is that he used to rely a lot on his hands and not always get himself in good fielding position with his feet. This year, he’s working better with his feet and that really helps in making the routine plays.

 

“I’m happy with his progression. He’s a happy-go-lucky kid and I enjoy his personality, You need to get on him sometimes, because there’s certain parts of the game he really likes and others he doesn’t like. But that’s my job.”

 

Rivera was one of seven Timber Rattlers named to the Western Division team that will play in the Midwest League All-Star Game on June 19.

 

“I feel a big difference right now at the plate,” said Rivera. “The routine I’m following every day is really working out.”

 

With catcher Cameron Garfield socking a long two-run homer and third baseman Brandon Macias hitting a three-run blast, Wisconsin rallied from deficits of 6-2 and 7-4 to treat a home crowd of 2,228 to another rousing comeback win.

 

If the Timber Rattlers win any of their final six games or Beloit (36-28) drops another contest, Wisconsin (41-23) will win the Western Division title. Wisconsin clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2005 on Sunday.

 

“Our pitching has been very good over the course of the season and one of the biggest things is this team takes care of the ball,” said Erickson. “We’ve gone seven or eight games now without an error. What I really liked today is that there was no sense of panic. Even when we were down 6-2, everyone knew we had a chance to get right back into this game.”

[TooLiveBrew]

Great job with the DSL, TLB, thanks!

 

18-year-old Marcos Padilla made his 2012 debut last night, and reached four times -- two singles, two walks, in five trips as the designated hitter.

 

Last year Padilla made 11 relief appearances as a LHP, walking 17 and striking out eight in 21.2 IP.

 

As a LH arm, he'll land in the OF eventually, although listed at 6'2", 175, he may see time at first base as well.

Thanks Mass... always fun to write up a dominating win like yesterday's. Thank you for catching the note on Padilla, that's definitely cool to see.

 

I wanted to note in my recap, but forgot, that Carlos Belonis extended his hitting streak to 6 games yesterday with his 9th-inning triple. He's only posted a .250 (7-28) AVG over this stretch, but he's tallied three doubles and the triple. He's driven in 5 RBI and stolen bases at a 6/6 clip during the streak.

 

At least in peering through the looking glass of DSL boxscores, Belonis appears to be a speed merchant who looks to drive the ball at the plate. Listed at 6'3" and 175 lbs. at just 17 years old (he'll turn 18 in mid-August), there should be plenty of projectability in his frame. With the speed implied by his SB success rate, you have to imagine he's also covering a lot of ground at short. I realize it's a little early to get excited about the young man, but this isn't your stereotypical 5'10"/150 lb. DSL shortstop here. It'll be interesting to see if this short hitting streak is the start of a special season from the youngster, or if he's in for some struggles in his age-17 season.

 

Did you know? -- Belonis was born in New York City