Link Report for Wed. 6/20 - Walk-Off HR Ends Nashville's Ten Games of Frustration vs. Oklahoma City

[Mass Haas]

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Wednesday's Daily Menu:

 

All times are Central

 

Nashville: RHP Seth McClung at home vs. Oklahoma City (Astros), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Jeff Hem is the new play-by-play voice of the Sounds; follow him on Twitter @jeffhempbp; we'll link to his blog updates at On the Air…and Off

 

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Nashville games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $39.99 season-long package ($9.99 to pay for a single month). We imagine the audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link.

 

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Huntsville: Idle until Thursday for the All-Star break

 

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Brevard County: RHP Brooks Hall at Lakeland (Tigers), 5:30 PM gametime

 

Sorry, no audio available for this series...

 

Once again this season, Brevard does not have its own audio coverage. It appears two teams in the Manatees North Division (within which the majority of games are played) have audio, and all six teams in the South Division have audio (at least for their home games), so there will be opportunities to listen to approx. 70% or Brevard's games this season, just all from the opponent's perspective. There are no Florida State League games on MiLB.TV this year.

 

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Wisconsin: Idle until Friday for the All-Star break

 

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Helena: RHP Eric Semmelhack out of UW-Milwaukee makes his professional debut at Great Falls (White Sox), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime

 

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

 

We're lucky to have Steve Wendt back on board for another H-Crew season.

 

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Arizona (Maryvale): The A-Crew's season begins Thursday

 

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DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Blue Jays, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest

[Mass Haas]

Follow Wednesday's action as it happens with box score / game log links:

 

Nashville

 

Brevard County

 

Helena

 

DSL Brewers

[Mass Haas]

STANDINGS:

 

AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division

 

AA - Southern League North Division

 

High-A - Florida State League North Division

 

A - Midwest League Western Division

 

Pioneer League North Division

 

DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris Division

[Mass Haas]

To see tweets as to when the Link Report has been technically "completed" with available links, as well as to know when the new day's Report has been posted, please follow @Mass_Haas on Twitter.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Media Notes

[Mass Haas]

MiLB.com isn't listing the Florida State League standings as "2nd half" yet.

 

As in past years, the technical end of the 1st half did not necessarily coincide with the FSL's All-Star break. That is good for the Manatees, who are 0-2 since the All-Star Game.

 

Just confirmed that Wednesday's game marks the end of the FSL's first half.

 

Go Manatees! But really start winning Thursday

[Mass Haas]

Wednesday's Brevard/Lakeland game cancelled

By Frank Longobardo / Brevard County Manatees

 

LAKELAND, Fla. - The scheduled game on Wednesday, June 20 between the Brevard County Manatees and Lakeland Flying Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland has been cancelled due to inclement weather.

 

Since Wednesday is the last day of the first half of the Florida State League season, the game will not be made up.

 

Brevard County finishes the first half with a 29-39 record. It marks the third consecutive season in which the Manatees have had a losing record in the first half of the season.

 

The Manatees will return home to Space Coast Stadium to open the second half of the season with a three-game series with the Dunedin Blue Jays, beginning on Thursday night at 6:35 PM (5:35 Central).

[Mass Haas]

22nd round LHP Taylor Wall out of Rice on his way to hook up with Helena in Great Falls (or "Gray" Falls) -- hey, as long as he gets there, congrats, young man...

[Mass Haas]

Audio from Nashville — A Brewers & Sounds Update from Dan O’Brien

 

Jeff Hem's note -- Tonight’s pregame interview is with Dan O’Brien, the former Reds GM who now works in the Brewers’ baseball operations department as a special assistant to GM Doug Melvin and is in town to see the Sounds for the second time this season. He was here in April and joined us on the pregame show then, too.

[Mass Haas]

Link Report Bonus:

 

Looking purely at the numbers, it was hard to fault the Brewers for releasing 2009 18th round LHP Caleb Thielbar after the 2010 season.

 

Thielbar, the Minnesota native and South Dakota State product, persevered via the indy ball route in St. Paul and was subsequently noticed by his home state Twins. Now, in less than one season in their system, Thielbar is just one step from the big leagues.

 

Awesome for Thielbar, his path thus far is remarkbaly similar to another released Brewer farmhand southpaw.

[TheCrew07]

Final: Nashville 3, Oklahoma City 2

 

Sounds Clip 'Hawks On Gonzalez Walkoff Homer

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Third baseman Andy Gonzalez led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run to power the Nashville Sounds to a 3-2 walkoff victory over Oklahoma City on Wednesday evening at Greer Stadium.

 

Gonzalez's blast, his sixth of the year, came on a 3-2 offering from RedHawks right-hander Adalberto Flores and gave Nashville (29-44) its 11th last at-bat victory of the year.

 

· AUDIO: Andy Gonzalez Walkoff HR

 

The walkoff blast made a winner out of Vinnie Chulk (3-0), who worked a scoreless top of the ninth for the Sounds. Flores (4-1) took the loss for Oklahoma City.

 

Nashville starting pitcher Seth McClung took a hard-luck no-decision after allowing only two hits over his six innings of work during his team co-leading fifth quality start of the year. The right-hander helped his own cause with an RBI double in the contest.

 

Sounds right fielder Jay Gibbons broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth when he slugged his fourth home run in his last eight games, a leadoff solo shot to right on a 2-0 offering from RedHawks starter Brian Bass.

 

· AUDIO: Jay Gibbons Solo HR

 

The Sounds doubled the lead to 2-0 later in the frame when Eric Farris drew a two-out walk from Bass, stole his team-leading 19th base to advance to second, and scored on McClung's opposite-field RBI double to left-center.

 

· AUDIO: Seth McClung RBI Double

 

McClung was dominant in the early going, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning and retiring 14 of his first 15 batters faced. The big right-hander ran into trouble in the sixth, however, as Oklahoma City rallied to knot the contest at 2-2.

 

RedHawks shortstop Angel Sanchez opened the frame and was drilled in the head by a McClung pitch, which shattered the infielder's batting helmet. He stayed in the game initially before departing mid-inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Jordan Kreke.

 

Landon Powell drew a five-pitch walk from McClung to put a pair of runners on base for Bass, who attempted to sacrifice. As the RedHawks hurler squared to bunt, McClung's first offering was up and in and struck Bass' hand while on the bat, which was ruled a foul ball by the home plate umpire. Following a lengthy argument at the plate by Oklahoma City manager Tony DeFrancesco, the skipper was ejected from the game, along with Bass and strength coach Gary McCoy.

 

After pinch-hitter Jake Goebbert, who replaced Bass, struck out, J.B. Shuck ripped a game-tying, two-run triple to the wall in right-center.

 

McClung escaped further damage and left Shuck standing at third by inducing a pair of grounders to end the inning.

 

Nashville missed an opportunity to reclaim the lead in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs against the Oklahoma City bullpen before pinch-hitter Jeff Bianchi lined out softly against Juan Abreu to end the threat.

 

Shortstop Cesar Izturis went 0-for-3 in his fourth rehab contest for Nashville and is just 1-for-12 in his time with the Sounds. First baseman Travis Ishikawa also played his fourth rehab game and went 1-for-3 with a double; he is 3-for-11 in his four contests with Nashville.

 

The teams continue the series with another 7:05 p.m. matchup on Thursday evening. Right-hander Marco Estrada (0-0, 0.00) will make his second rehabilitation start for Nashville as he recovers from a right quadriceps strain. Oklahoma City will send right-hander Armando Galarraga (1-0, 1.86) to the hill.

 

Nashville Box Score

Big Seth McClung had quite the outing going until he lost his control in the 6th, hopefully Sanchez is okay, I'm shocked the trainer actually let him try to continue. Donovan Hand, Mike McClendon, and Vinnie Chulk each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

 

Jay Gibbons went 2-4 with a double in addition to the HR covered above. Eric Farris stole his 19th base and the Sounds played clean defense.

 

Nashville Play By Play

Nothing much beyond the game story.

[TheCrew07]

No DSL box score, if I don't post then it wasn't up before I went to bed.

[TheCrew07]

Pirates' Cole wins Double-A debut

Top overall pick in 2010 Draft strikes out six over five innings

By Danny Wild / MLB.com

 

http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/21/2pYtD7Rd.jpg

Gerrit Cole delivers a pitch in the first inning of his Double-A debut. (Mark Olson/MiLB.com)

 

Gerrit Cole has garnered a lot of attention and hype, and at this point, he's turned the nerves that come along with the big moments into a positive.

 

"I felt pretty good, some butterflies beforehand, but they went away like they always do," Cole said after making his much-anticipated Double-A debut on Wednesday night. "It just happens every game, but that was kind of reassuring -- it was like any other start."

 

For a while, it looked like another of Cole's dominant starts in the Florida State League. He ended up holding New Britain to a pair of runs on five hits and struck out six over five innings as Altoona beat the Rock Cats, 9-4.

 

Cole (1-0) took a no-hitter into the fourth inning before Twins No. 2 prospect Aaron Hicks lined a leadoff double and scored on Chris Colabello's single. It was Hicks again an inning later who easily handled one of Cole's fastballs and turned it into an RBI single that trimmed Altoona's lead to 8-2.

 

"I tried to establish the fastball early and then went to the changeup. It was feeling good," said Cole, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 Draft out of UCLA. He mentioned the change as a key complement to a fastball that's been known to reach triple digits. "I have confidence in it. I'll throw it with two strikes or early in the count."

 

Cole, who was reached for three hits in his final inning, popped up Chris Herrmann to end his night after 72 pitches. Scouts reportedly clocked Cole's fastball as high as 98 mph, although the radar gun at Peoples Natural Gas Field had him maxing out at 96.

 

That, however, isn't as important. The Pirates No. 2 prospect knows he's facing better, more patient hitters in the Eastern League. Pure heat won't get the job done all the time, as Hicks reminded him.

 

"It's not about velocity anymore, it's about location and changing speed," he said. "You're trying to force contact and get quick outs and get your guys back in the dugout."

 

But Cole more or less resembled the ace he was with Class A Advanced Bradenton. He's held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in 10 of his last 11 starts. He said he took Wednesday's outing, one that came less than 100 miles from the parent club in Pittsburgh, the same way he's approached any other start.

 

"[i'm] staying the same, controlling what you can control, just going out there and pitching," he said.

 

Cole said his first-pitch fastball was big early in the game.

 

"It's a huge part of anybody's game, to get quick outs, so you can always get better at it," he said. "It was pretty good tonight, but again, you gotta stay on top of it."

 

The start had a few other memorable moments, including a 15-minute delay following a power failure. Cole took the break to stay focused.

 

"It was actually nice to get some warmup pitches in before [the lights] went out," he said. "Just came in, threw on a jacket and tried to keep rolling."

 

He also had Curve fans excited in the fifth when a strikeout of a pre-selected Rock Cat would have gotten free hamburgers for everyone in attendance. Cole said he didn't even hear the chants on the mound -- and no burgers were given away.

 

As far as making adjustments from the free-swinging FSL, Cole said there's room for improvements next time.

 

"They might have been a little more aggressive early, but the second time, that was expected. I need to make better pitches," he said.

 

The 21-year-old right-hander also spoke about the ability to handle big games after going through the Draft twice (he didn't sign with the Yankees after they selected him in the first round in 2008) and making debuts in the FSL and Arizona Fall League.

 

"It's gotten a lot simpler, I'm more comfortable with the routine. It's just a matter of going out there and treating it like another start," he said. "[it's about] getting comfortable with your surroundings and all the situations that pro ball throws at you. You just tuck 'em under your belt and move on." Altoona cruised to the win, thanks to homers from Robbie Grossman -- the Pirates' No. 7 prospect -- and Quincy Latimore.

[Tedaldtada]

Great Falls (White Sox) 11 Helena 7

 

Box Score

 

Early damage, followed by a Joel Pierce implosion, were too much for the Helena Brewers tonight. UW-Milwaukee alum, Eric Semmelhack, got the start and was pretty decent in his pro debut. 3 IP 5 H 3 R 1 ER 1 BB 3 K 1 WP 1:2 GO:FO. 2010 7th rounder Joel Pierce was next on the mound and he had a forgettable night. I know Steve was pretty perturbed after Pierce gave up a booming HR on an 0-2 FB down the middle. Manny Ruiz finished the game in style holding the Great Falls vaunted O to zero runs of 2.1 IP (2 H 2 BB 1 K). Steve mentioned that the H-Crew is in a bit of a pitcher crunch. Lingering injuries (?) and waiting on a work visa (David Otterman) are leaving the Brewers active roster a little short.

 

The hitters never gave up as they attempted a big time comeback. 2B Chris McFarland (3-5), LF Lance Roenicke (3-5 2B) and DH Mike Nemeth (3-5) led the way on offense. SS Alfredo Rodriguez was bumped up to the 7-hole on went 1-4 with a BB. Ruben Ozuna (1-4) boomed out a 2B. 24th rounder C Michael Turay (1-3) also made his pro debut.

 

Raul Mondesi Jr. (1-4) made an error when he air mailed an attempted throw home. Wasn't even close. Michael Garza (0-5) made his first error at 3B.

 

Game Log

 

Giacalone still hitless through 3 G.

 

Helena Top of the 2nd

Lance Roenicke singles on a line drive to left fielder Daurys Mercedes.

Adam Giacalone grounds into double play, second baseman Micah Johnson to first baseman Abe Ruiz. Lance Roenicke out at 2nd.

Michael Nemeth flies out to center fielder Adam Heisler.

 

Big doubles.

 

Helena Top of the 7th

Pitcher Change: Cal Bowling replaces Jonathan Casey.

Ruben Ozuna strikes out swinging.

Michael Turay hit by pitch.

Raul Mondesi hit by pitch. Michael Turay to 2nd.

Christopher McFarland singles on a line drive to left fielder Daurys Mercedes. Michael Turay to 3rd. Raul Mondesi to 2nd.

Mike Garza called out on strikes.

Lance Roenicke doubles (1) on a fly ball to left fielder Daurys Mercedes. Michael Turay scores. Raul Mondesi scores. Christopher McFarland to 3rd.

Adam Giacalone grounds out, second baseman Micah Johnson to first baseman Abe Ruiz.

 

Helena Top of the 8th

Pitcher Change: Joe Dvorsky replaces Cal Bowling.

Michael Nemeth singles on a line drive to right fielder Kyle Robinson.

Alfredo Rodriguez singles on a line drive to right fielder Kyle Robinson. Michael Nemeth to 2nd.

Ruben Ozuna doubles (2) on a line drive to right fielder Kyle Robinson. Michael Nemeth scores. Alfredo Rodriguez to 3rd.

Michael Turay strikes out swinging.

Raul Mondesi lines out to first baseman Abe Ruiz. Alfredo Rodriguez scores. Throwing error by first baseman Abe Ruiz.

Christopher McFarland singles on a line drive to right fielder Kyle Robinson. Ruben Ozuna scores.

Mike Garza pops out to second baseman Micah Johnson.

[TheCrew07]

Final: DSL Blue Jays 3, DSL Brewers 2

 

DSL Brewers Box Score

Our favorite man of mystery Gian Rizzo dominated the competition again this morning going 7 incredibly strong innings allowing a paltry 2 hits and 2 walks against 7 strike outs. He did allow an unearned run and his ERA currently sits at a miniscule .39. I'll beat the drum one more time since he did already dominate the DSL in 2011, it's pretty safe to say he's ready for a higher challenge. Hopefully he jumps right to Helena next season... Angel Ventura continues to struggle in short relief allowing both runs in the 9th on a game winning home run, he's yet to post a scoreless appearance in 2012. Junior Flores replaced Ventura and managed to record the final 2 outs without allowing a run.

 

No Brewers had a multi-hit game but Raphachel Colatosti did hit what was the go ahead HR in the bottom of the 8th and finished 1-3 with a walk. Colatosti also stole his 5th of the base of the season in the middle of a Blue Jay defensive collapse in the 4th which allowed the first Brewer run. Carlos Belonis had another good day on the bases stealing 2 and pushing his season total to 10 already.

 

DSL Brewers Play By Play

The Brewers were gifted this run in the 4th.

DSL Brewers Bottom of the 4th

• Raphachel Colatosti walks.
  Carlos Belonis reaches on fielding error by third baseman Gustavo Perinan. Raphachel Colatosti to 2nd.
  Elvis Rubio flies out to left fielder Ronniel Demorizi.
  Juan Ortiz strikes out swinging. Raphachel Colatosti steals (5) 3rd base.
  Yunior De La Cruz reaches on fielding error by third baseman Gustavo Perinan. Raphachel Colatosti scores. Carlos Belonis to 2nd.
  Pitcher Change: Jonathan Torres replaces Carlos Rodriguez.
  Carlos Pena grounds out, pitcher Jonathan Torres to first baseman Angel Rojas.

 

Missed a chance here to tack on more, must have been a good play in RF.

DSL Brewers Bottom of the 8th

• Raphachel Colatosti homers (1) on a fly ball to center field.
  Carlos Belonis strikes out swinging. Wild pitch by pitcher Manuel Lopez. Carlos Belonis to 1st.
  With Elvis Rubio batting, Carlos Belonis steals (10) 2nd base.
  Manuel Lopez intentionally walks Elvis Rubio.
  Juan Ortiz strikes out swinging.
  Yunior De La Cruz flies out to right fielder Cesar Barazarte. Carlos Belonis out at 2nd. Carlos Belonis out at 2nd, right fielder Cesar Barazarte to second baseman Ronniel Demorizi.
  

 

Angel Ventura has put up one of these frames in every game.

DSL Blue Jays Top of the 9th

• Angel Rojas flies out to left fielder Juan Ortiz.
  Edwin Fuentes singles on a fly ball to center fielder Francisco Castillo.
  With Luis Martin batting, wild pitch by Angel Ventura, Edwin Fuentes to 2nd.
  Luis Martin homers (1) on a fly ball to center field. Edwin Fuentes scores.
  Cesar Barazarte singles on a fly ball to center fielder Francisco Castillo.
  Pitcher Change: Junior Flores replaces Angel Ventura.
  With Juan Tejada batting, Cesar Barazarte steals (2) 2nd base.
  Juan Tejada strikes out swinging.
  Ronniel Demorizi hit by pitch.
  Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Juan Kelly replaces Andres De Aza.
  Juan Kelly grounds out to first baseman Yunior De La Cruz.
  

[TheCrew07]

Helena falls behind early, can’t complete rally in Great Falls

 

 

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/c1/9c1683fc-bb65-11e1-ba55-001a4bcf887a/4fe2b75f63bd1.preview-300.jpg

Rion Sanders Great Falls Tribune - Helena pitcher Erik Semmelhack delivers a pitch to a Great Falls Voyagers batter during Wednesday evening’s game at Centene Stadium in Great Falls. Helena lost 11-7.

 

The Helena Brewers fell into an early hole against the Great Falls Voyagers on Wednesday night in the Electric City and couldn’t muster up enough offense to complete a rally in an 11-7 loss.

 

The Voyagers scored one run in the first inning and two in the second inning to jump out to a 3-0 lead, but the Brewers bounced back with two runs of their own in the third. Great Falls, however, created too much breathing room over the next three innings and took a 11-2 lead into the seventh.

 

The Brewers scored two in the seventh and three in the eighth to trim Great Falls’ advantage to four runs, but that’s where the offense stopped for both teams.

 

Five Voyagers finished with multi-hit games, led by shortstop D.J. Jarrad’s 4-for-5 performance with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored. First baseman Abe Ruiz and designated hitter Steven Nikorak each had three hits for Great Falls. Nikorak finished with four runs and four RBIs — three on a sixth-inning home run.

 

Jonathan Casey pitched six innings, allowing five hits and two runs — one earned — to pick up the victory.

 

Eric Semmelback pitched three innings and took the loss for Helena, allowing five hits and three runs — one earned.

 

Second baseman Chris McFarland, left fielder Lance Roenicke and designated hitter Michael Nemeth led the Brewers’ offense with three hits apiece. McFarland and Roenicke each added two RBIs.

 

The Brewers, who split a home series with the Voyagers on Monday and Tuesday, slip to 1-2. Great Falls improves to 2-1.

 

The teams meet again at 7 tonight in Great Falls.

[TheCrew07]

A very handy resource to quickly follow this year's draft picks, the rest of the data at the link

Track the top 2012 Draft picks

Check here to see when picks sign and where they're headed

http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/12/oypsiOKl.jpg

Houston selected prep shortstop Carlos Correa with the first pick of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

 

Looking for information on Draft picks? Here's a grid displaying information on top picks and notable players, including where they came from, when they signed and where they've made their debut.

[Mass Haas]

VIDEO, Darnell Coles quote: Stars Focus On Second Half

[Mass Haas]

From the Tennessean, he's facing the Sounds tonight:

 

Pitcher Armando Galarraga fights to return to major leagues

Galarraga struggles to return to bigs after infamous bad call two years ago

[Mass Haas]

Realities of life on the road, Pioneer League-style

[Mass Haas]

Tyler Thornburg audio interview with Joe Block on the Brewers' pre-game Wednesday

[heresrobin]

Thanks for that Top Draft Picks link Crew07. I find it interesting when all of these guys sign, how much, where they get assigned - and comparing them to the Brewers picks. Just a suggestion, but could we maybe throw that somewhere in the Draft Forum rather than it getting buried in a daily link report? I bet a bunch of the posters who follow the draft would like that link as well.

[Tedaldtada]

Top pick Clint Coulter makes his debut tonight (Thursday) for the Maryvale Brewers. I imagine he will be hitting. 3rd or 4th but the position is the thing to watch. We are assuming he'll be the C.

 

Pretty sure I read that Clint's PacNW HS team only played 20 or so games this year because of inclement weather. He will push past that by mid-July. Should be quite the adjustment for the slugger.

[TheCrew07]

Thanks for that Top Draft Picks link Crew07. I find it interesting when all of these guys sign, how much, where they get assigned - and comparing them to the Brewers picks. Just a suggestion, but could we maybe throw that somewhere in the Draft Forum rather than it getting buried in a daily link report? I bet a bunch of the posters who follow the draft would like that link as well.

 

My intention was that other readers bookmark it as I don't have the ability to pin it (I bookmarked it myself). Maybe one of Mass or one of the other mods will move and pin? Excellent suggestion though.

 

Edit. Just occurred to me that I should post this as well, here's BA's Draft Database, another excellent resource for those that don't frequent BA or aren't familiar with the site.