Link Report for Tue. 7/3 -- Maryvale Walk-Off Salvages the Day on the Farm; Rogers' Walks Frustrate Again

[TheCrew07]

Sounds Fall To I-Cubs In Series Finale, 3-2

Nashville Ends Season-Best Four-Game Winning Streak With Defeat

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds snapped a four-game winning streak by falling to the division-rival Iowa Cubs, 3-2, in the finale of a four-game set at Greer Stadium.

 

It was a pretty good crowd for a Tuesday, as 7,881 fans took in the loss then watched the Sounds' Independence Day fireworks spectacular following the on-field action.

 

With the loss, the Sounds (36-40) took three of four from the Cubs in the series, while three of the four contests were decided by one run.

 

Nashville was held to five hits on the evening and went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

 

Outfielder Corey Patterson went 3-for-4 with a homer, double, and both of Nashville's RBIs. Outfielder Caleb Gindl had a hit to extend his hitting streak to a season-best seven games while first baseman Jordan Brown went hitless to snap his six-game streak.

 

In his first start with Iowa since being designated for assignment by Chicago, Iowa starter Randy Wells (3-2) allowed one early run on three hits with four strikeouts in five innings for the victory.

 

Nashville took an early 1-0 lead in the home half of the first as outfielder Logan Schafer led off the game with a triple off the left field wall, his second contest in a row with a three-bagger. Schafer then came home on the first pitch to Patterson, who blasted an RBI double over the Iowa right fielder.

 

· AUDIO: Patterson RBI Double

 

The Cubs went ahead at 2-1 in the top of the third after loading the bases with no outs to begin the frame. Josh Vitters brought home the tying run on a sacrifice fly while Alfredo Amezaga scored the go-ahead run on a Blake DeWitt groundout.

 

Iowa tacked on their final run in the fifth for a 3-1 advantage. Amezaga led off with a walk, stole second base, advanced to third on a fly out, and scored on Vitters' line drive base hit to center.

 

After giving up consecutive hits in the first inning, Wells retired 13 of the next 16 and didn't allow a hit until the fifth. With Gindl on second base, Patterson smoked another base hit to right, but Iowa right fielder Dave Sappelt gunned down Gindl at the plate to end the inning.

 

Nashville trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning after Patterson went yard off reliever Jay Jackson. The opposite field homer was Patterson's fifth of the year.

 

· AUDIO: Patterson Solo Homer

 

Later in the frame with runners on second and third, Jackson delivered a wild pitch to plate. Shortstop Jeff Bianchi tried to advance and score the tying run, but was tagged out at home.

 

The Sounds stranded Jay Gibbons on first base as Schafer was struck out by Michael Bowden in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.

 

Nashville starter Mark Rogers (3-6) came away with the loss, giving up three runs on five hits and five walks in five innings. He struck out four with 101 pitches (56 for strikes).

 

Johnnie Lowe tossed two shutout innings in relief of Rogers. Donovan Hand tossed a perfect frame to extend his scoreless streak to 17.0 straight innings over his last 10 outings. Mike McClendon fanned one in an inning to end the game.

 

The Sounds bus to Memphis to take on the cross-state rival Redbirds (AAA-Cardinals) in a five-game series at AutoZone Park that will take the teams to the Triple-A All-Star break. Sounds right-hander Tyler Thornburg (NR) will make his Triple-A debut against Memphis righty Brandon Dickson (4-7, 3.39) in the opener.

 

Baseball returns to Music City on Thursday, July 12, when the Sounds welcome the Albuquerque Isotopes and Round Rock Express to town for an eight-game homestand.

 

Nashville Box Score

Everything was covered in the game story as usual.

 

Regardless of injury, the one constant in Mark's career has been his insanely high BB rates at each level, which prior to tonight stood at 5.8, but he's always covered that rate stat up by missing bats and limiting hitters to a sub .250 average, barely above .200 in 2009 and 2010. Edwin Jackson is the only the starting pitcher whom I recall pitching for an entire season with a BB rate which was higher. I just went through the last 10 years of starting pitching stats for the Brewers and no starting pitcher who got regular appearances posted a BB rate higher than 5. Manny Parra was dead on it in 2009 at a 5.0 even, surprisingly the next closest pitcher was actually Gallardo with a 4.6 in 2009, which was higher than anything Wayne Franklin and Doug Davis put up for a full season.

 

I'd like say it's just a flukey thing with after effects from his surgery, but his BB rate actually got worse with each level he moved up as hitters get themselves out less. His rate this year which was 4.9 coming to today's game but will be worse is actually an improvement over his AA rate in 2010 of 5.6, he's actually been slightly better with his walk rate in 2012. It's like he either commands the zone really well, or doesn't command it at all, he's the pitcher of 2 extremes, sometimes in the same game. He didn't pitch a single clean frame in this game even though he did strike out the side in the 4th. Just too many walks and grooved pitches when he gets behind in the count, coming into today's action hitters were hitting over .280 against him on the season.

 

Nashville Play By Play

We've seen this plenty of times before... A single and 2 walks load the bases for the opposing team to get easy runs off of Mark.

Iowa Top of the 3rd

Brett Jackson singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jeff Bianchi.

With Alfredo Amezaga batting, Brett Jackson steals (18) 2nd base.

Alfredo Amezaga walks.

Adrian Cardenas walks. Brett Jackson to 3rd. Alfredo Amezaga to 2nd.

Josh Vitters out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Logan Schafer. Brett Jackson scores. Alfredo Amezaga to 3rd. Adrian Cardenas to 2nd.

Blake DeWitt grounds out, second baseman Eric Farris to first baseman Jordan Brown. Alfredo Amezaga scores. Adrian Cardenas to 3rd.

Blake Lalli grounds out to first baseman Jordan Brown.

[Mass Haas]

Jason Rogers' college, Columbus State (GA), is keeping an eye on him. Forgot that Brian Baker was honored earlier this season by the school - classic video of them at the link.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Maryvale 8, Cublets 7

 

Box Score

 

Game Log

 

Pretty amazing game -- shortstop Renaldo Jenkins was charged with an error in the top of the 9th that led to an unearned blown save against Carlos Sosa, yet Jenkins came back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out walk-off base hit, classic goat-to-hero. Must have been for these guys.

 

2012 10th round LHP Anthony Banda tossed three scoreless innings to bridge to Sosa's 9th. Soon-to-be 21-year-old former DSL RHP Joel Dicent started, but saw a 4-0 1st inning Brewer lead evaporate (six walks in his 2.2 innings didn't help).

 

Teenage 2012 2nd round CF Tyrone Taylor doubled twice in a 3-for-4 day (with a walk) from the leadoff spot. 19-year-old cleanup RF Jose Pena continues his remarkable early-season blossoming - triple, single, walk, three RBI, and a 1.083 OPS after 46 early AB's. Khris Davis continues his rehab, playing another full game in LF.

 

Catcher Dustin Houle was hit by a pitch to lead off the 2nd inning. He went out and caught the 3rd inning (if the game log is accurate), but then Jose Garcia replaced him in the 4th -- something to watch.

 

***

 

Like Tuesday, Maryvale has a day game Wednesday. I've sent brewerfan17 a private message asking if he'll be around -- when I know, I'll indicate whether one of our other Link Reporters should grab their game early this evening.

[Mass Haas]

Brewers suffer fourth consecutive loss

by Trent Makela, Helena Independent Record

 

A herky-jerky wind gusting into left field helped the visiting Great Falls Voyagers break open a back-and-forth tied game with five runs in the top of the ninth inning, and the Helena Brewers dropped their fourth straight Pioneer League contest 10-5 at Kindrick Legion Field on Tuesday evening.

 

“(The ninth inning) didn’t work out so well. We played a good game up until that,” Helena manager Jeff Isom said. “We ended up making a costly error and it snowballed from there. We’ve been talking about how we can’t make mistakes with this club because, when we make them, they get magnified. That’s just one of those instances.

 

“It was a frustrating ninth inning to say the least.”

 

With one out in the top of the ninth in a 5-5 game and Voyagers runners on first and second bases, Great Falls leadoff hitter and center fielder Adam Heisler lifted the first pitch of the game from Helena lefty reliever Connor Whalen high on a routine-looking fly towards left-center. The wind pushed the ball hard, though, and forced left fielder Ruben Ozuna to fade further into left where he rammed, stomach-first, into the Lewis and Clark Brewing sign and collapsed, stunned, as the ball one-hopped off the wall a foot away. Both runners scored easily before center fielder Michael Reed was able to get a relay throw in to stop Heisler at third on the error.

 

“That was just a fly ball, but the wind flipped the ball back and I run hard. When I look back the wall was too close to me. I can’t stop,” said Ozuna, a native of Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic, who is still getting the hang of English. “I just see the ball, the wall surprised me.”

 

Great Falls went on to push another run across on Kyle Robinson’s double and two more on another error when a routine hopper to Helena second baseman Chris McFarland appeared to get another fortuitous shove by the wind, but the requisite damage was already done for the Voyagers to win their fourth straight and take the two-game series sweep.

 

“It was a big inning absolutely,” Great Falls manager Ryan Newman said. “To put a five-spot up there in a tie game tells you a lot about this team. We got down and battled back and ended up winning the game — like we should.”

 

The victory puts the Voyagers into a tie for second place with Missoula in a tight race atop the league’s North division at 9-7. Both teams are just a game back from first-place Billings, while Helena remains in last at 4-12.

 

Ozuna led off the bottom of the ninth by drawing a walk for the Brewers, but reliever Brett Merkley struck out Alfredo Rodriguez and McFarland before getting Reid to ground out to close out his only inning of work in impressive style.

 

Helena starter Will West settled down after allowing three doubles in a rough second inning that put Great Falls up 3-0. He lasted six innings while giving up six hits, three walks and three runs (all earned). He also struck out five for the no-decision.

 

Chris Beck (1-0), the White Sox’s 2012 second-round pick, picked up the win by tossing two innings of two-hit, one-walk, one-strikeout ball.

 

Martin Viramontes (2-1) took the loss for Helena after allowing two hits, four runs (three earned) and a walk in 2.1 innings.

 

The Brewers’ offense had runners reach third with less than two outs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but had repeated trouble capitalizing on the early scoring opportunities to reward West’s steadiness.

 

“We had four opportunities altogether with a runner at third with less than two outs,” Isom said. “If we can just get a ground ball in play, we score a run there. We were 0 for 4 there with those runners on third. We were getting them over there, it’s just so frustrating not getting them home.”

 

Helena scored a run apiece in the third and fourth to chip away at the deficit and went up 5-3 after their own three-run inning in the fifth. Michael Turay finally scored from third in that frame on a wild pitch, while Reed and Michael Garza added RBI singles.

 

Great Falls knotted the score 5-5 in the seventh after Thomas McCarthy led off with a walk and Daurys Mercedes followed with his first home run of the season, a two-run line drive that hit the net 20 feet over the wall in left.

 

Wasted for the Brewers was a perfect 4-for-4 outing by Garza that included an RBI and jumped his average on the season to .418. Turay finished 3 for 4 and scored a pair of runs.

 

Mercedes was 2 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored to lead Great Falls. McCarthy was 2 for 3 with and RBI and two runs scored as well.

[gregmag]

I myself had a particularly rotten day yesterday, so I empathize with the Brewers' farm system. You know it's a bad day when the whole high minors in the organization has like eight hits, and Corey Patterson has three of them.

 

I've never understood why anybody had confidence that Mark Rogers would turn into anything. I didn't get it on the day he was drafted, I didn't get it a week or two ago when people were talking up his recent bright spots, and I guess I'm never going to get it. I think TC07 nails it in his summary above.

 

Good thing about the other Rogers, though!

[battlekow]

Jason Rogers (2-3 2 2B BB) is just mashing FSL pitching right now. Space Coast Stadium, home of the BC Manatees, is particularly tough on left-handers so the right-handed Rogers may be able to use that to his advantage, or something.

Other way around, actually, or at least it used to be.

[Tedaldtada]

Jason Rogers (2-3 2 2B BB) is just mashing FSL pitching right now. Space Coast Stadium, home of the BC Manatees, is particularly tough on left-handers so the right-handed Rogers may be able to use that to his advantage, or something.

Other way around, actually, or at least it used to be.

 

Hey, thanks for the link. I was mixed up.

[igor67]

Too Bad for Jason Rogers that Morris is at 1st in AA. Rogers rate stats suggest A+ isn't too much of a challenge and you'd love to see him even higher since he is 24. Morris could argue a promotion, but he strikes me a someone who would benefit by continuing to refine the approach at a level he can really put up numbers.