Link Report for Thurs. 7/19 -- Taylor Green walks off the Sounds; nice wins for Stars and Manatees

[Mass Haas]

LINK BELOW INCLUDES VIDEO POST-GAME INTERVIEW WITH JONATHAN LUCROY

 

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Brewers' Lucroy has two hits in first game with Timber Rattlers

by Tim Froberg, Post-Crescent staff writer

 

GRAND CHUTE — Jonathan Lucroy did a double take when he scanned Thursday’s starting lineups and saw a familiar name listed as the starting pitcher for the opposing Great Lakes Loons.

 

In his first game as a temporary Timber Rattler, Lucroy would be hitting against an old friend, former University of Louisiana-Lafayette teammate Greg Wilborn.

 

Lucroy didn’t treat his college buddy so well. The Milwaukee Brewers catcher went two-for-three at the plate off Wilborn in the first of four games he will play with the Rattlers while on a rehab assignment.

 

Wearing No. 9 and batting third, Lucroy caught the first five innings of the Timber Rattlers’ 4-3 loss to the Loons.

 

“Greg (Wilborn) and I went to college together, so it was kind of weird he was out there throwing tonight,” said Lucroy. “He was actually at my wedding. I’ve caught him before so I kind of knew how he was going to pitch me. I knew he was going to try and throw me away and I tried to hit the ball where it was pitched.”

 

Lucroy, a right-handed batter, went opposite field and hit the ball to the right side on all three plate appearances against Wilborn, a lefty.

 

Lucroy got his off to a fast start as a Rattler, lining Wilborn’s 1-0 pitch into right field for a single in the first inning.

Lucroy hit the ball hard in his second at-bat, but the end result was a double play. With Brandon Macias on first base, Great Lakes second baseman Jesus Arredondo picked off Lucroy’s line drive and easily doubled off Macias.

 

Lucroy doubled down the right-field line in his third and final at-bat in the fifth.

 

“I felt a little rusty catching, but felt pretty good at the plate,” said Lucroy, who has been on the Brewers’ disabled list since breaking a bone in his right (throwing) hand in late May. “I missed a couple of pitches that I’m usually pretty comfortable with, but I haven’t seen live pitching in a few months.

 

“My timing is a little bit off. But it’s just a matter of seeing live pitching, which I did tonight. It’s a matter of getting your eyes to adjust to the speed of live pitching. It’s getting your eyes in shape, basically.”

 

Lucroy worked behind the plate with Wisconsin starting pitcher Matt Miller, who pitched five shutout innings with Lucroy. Overall, Miller went seven innings and allowed four runs, but only one was earned.

 

“When you have a wall back there, it’s pretty exciting,” said Miller. “We got into a rhythm early. I think there was only one time when I shook him off. He controlled the game and was everything you would expect from in a big-league catcher.”

 

Only one player, Great Lakes’ Scott Shebler, tried to steal off Lucroy. Shebler was successful when Lucroy’s throw to second arrived ahead of Greg Hopkins, who was covering the bag. The ball sailed into the outfield and Lucroy was charged with a throwing error, allowing Shebler to advance to third.

 

“I got it down there in pretty good time, about 1.96 seconds,” said Lucroy. “The throw beat the second baseman there, but those things happen. I hope they try and steal on me again Friday night, so I can continue to work on it. I need to get sharper every day.”

 

Lucroy says the hand has healed sufficiently and that he didn’t experience any major problems in his return to the field.

 

“The rehab I went through was about regaining mobility,” said Lucroy. “They would pin it back and massage the tendons that had stiffened up. It’s still a little tight, but if you’ve ever broken a bone, you know it takes awhile to get that looseness back.”

 

Lucroy was thrilled to be back on the diamond playing the game he loves.

 

“It’s just nice to get back in the game,” he said. “The last couple months have been tough, just sitting here watching our team. We’ve been struggling and have been kind of up and down, and it’s tough to watch when you can’t contribute.”

 

Lucroy injured the hand in a freak accident in his hotel room. Lucroy said he was reaching under the bed for a sock, while his wife, Sarah, shifted a suitcase that fell and struck his right hand, fracturing the fifth metacarpal.

Despite the consequences, Lucroy showed a sense of humor about the accident.

 

“Well, I still carry one (a suitcase) around, but it looks at me weird sometimes, so I have to watch it,” Lucroy joked. “I’m a good guy, so I forgave it.”

 

Lucroy was impressed with the facilities and atmosphere at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities stadium. A crowd of 4,126 attended Lucroy’s Timber Rattlers debut.

 

“There’s a good group of guys here and it’s a nice facility,” said Lucroy. “It’s a nice place to play ball. To be around minor league players, for the most part it’s pretty awesome. These guys aren’t playing for the money. They’re playing to get to the big leagues, and it’s a lot of fun to be around them.”

 

Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson thought Lucroy took a strong first step in his return to the major leagues.

 

“Lucroy looked pretty good,” said Erickson. “He’s real quiet back there (behind the plate) and gives a nice, low target. He gives the umpires great looks on pitches in the strike zone.

 

“I thought he looked real good at the plate. He stayed inside the ball and hit two line drives to right. Then he showed a great two-strike approach and dumped one down the right-field line for a double.”

 

Lucroy is expected to play at least seven innings in today’s 7:05 p.m. game against the Loons.

[Mass Haas]

Chukars hold off late Brewers rally

by Amber Kuehn, Helena Independent Record

 

One ball in the dirt and a flip to home plate was all it took to stymie the Helena Brewers’ comeback hopes in Thursday’s 4-3 loss to Idaho Falls.

 

With the Chukars leading 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Brewers stroked back-to-back doubles — including Kevin Berard’s first hit of the season — to lead off the inning and trim the deficit to one run. The crowd of 1,018 at Kindrick Legion Field came to life moments later, when a wild pitch by Alec Mills advanced Andres Martinez to third, putting the tying run just 90 feet away.

 

Tyrone Taylor reached on a fielding error to put runners at the corners, raising hopes even higher, but the rally unraveled from there. Martinez tried to come home on a ball in the dirt that skipped past Jin-Ho Shin, but the catcher recovered and flipped the ball to Mills, who got the tag down just in time. Mills then struck out Chris McFarland to end the threat and preserve the win for Idaho Falls, which snapped a four-game skid with the victory.

 

Brewers manager Jeff Isom described the game as “frustrating” upon emerging from the clubhouse.

 

“We did a nice job of coming back and got ourselves in a pretty good situation to tie the ballgame up at least,” he said. “Then we end up getting thrown out at the plate on a dirt-ball read. That’s just a matter of being a little too aggressive in that situation.

 

“… We’ve just got to be a little smarter there, because we still only had one out and a couple good hitters up in the middle of our lineup. It didn’t work out, and it was a close play at the plate. We had them on the ropes and I thought we were gonna get a ‘W’ on that one.”

 

Chukars starter Sam Selman was able to get a win, improving to 3-0 on the season after twirling a gem. In his best outing as a pro, the Kansas City Royals’ second-round pick struck out a career-best 10 batters and allowed just one run on two hits through six innings of work — also a career-high.

 

“My fastball was on tonight, which really helped out, then I just went to my slider to complement my fastball and that really helped me with the strikeout count,” said the southpaw out of Vanderbilt, before quickly turning the praise over to his teammates. “We just played some really great defense tonight.”

 

The offense wasn’t bad, either. After struggling with the bats in their recent series against Great Falls, the Chukars came out swinging for the fences. Nick Cuckovich slammed a solo shot to straightaway center in the fourth to put the visitors up 1-0, then reached on a leadoff triple two innings later that set Shin up for his two-run blast.

 

“We went out there pretty free and easy tonight,” Selman said when asked about the team’s mentality aiming to get back on the winning track. “We put some good hits on the ball and scored enough runs to win the game.”

 

Michael Reed’s RBI double off Selman tied the game for the Brewers in the fourth after a shaky start to the inning by the Idaho Falls lefty. After facing the minimum through three and making quick work of the Brewers, Selman allowed his first base runner when he walked Taylor on four pitches. He appeared to have lost his command briefly, throwing six straight balls to start the frame before finally settling down. His defense turned an inning-ending double play to limit the damage and help him out of the jam.

 

“I probably just didn’t take as many warm-up pitches, I just tried to cruise through that a little bit,” he said. “That double play was huge.”

 

Reed was the only player in the Helena lineup to get a hit off the seemingly untouchable Selman, going 2-for-3 against him. The Brewers were happy to see a new face on the mound when Mills entered in relief in the seventh, and Raul Mondesi Jr. took advantage with a two-out, opposite field homer to shift the momentum.

 

Kevin Allen pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season. Helena starter Leonard Lorenzo took the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits through six innings.

 

“I thought on our part on the pitching side it was a well pitched game,” Isom said. “Lorenzo gives up the solo home run then leaves up the hanging breaking ball they hit out for a two-run homer. Take that pitch away, and we can live with a solo home run. You’ve just gotta learn from it, gotta execute your pitches.”

 

The series continues tonight at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central), with right-hander Tyler Wagner taking the mound for Helena against Idaho Falls starter Spencer Patton. Both pitchers are still searching for their first win.

 

After a week on the road, Isom said the team is happy to be home.

 

“It’s always fun to play at home, and it’s nice to get back here and be able to sleep in our own beds,” he said.

 

NOTES: McFarland saw his on-base streak come to an end. He had reached in all 28 games he’d played in, but went 0-4 Thursday … Thursday’s game marked the first meeting between the Mondesi brothers, after a swollen hamstring prevented Adalberto Mondesi from playing against Helena last week. The younger Mondesi, who at 16 years old is the youngest player in the Pioneer League and fourth youngest in all of Rookie ball, was 1-4 and was robbed of a hit by his older brother.

[Mass Haas]

Nice Leonard Lorenzo photos in the Helena Independent Record photo gallery

[Tedaldtada]

NOTES: McFarland saw his on-base streak come to an end. He had reached in all 28 games he’d played in, but went 0-4 Thursday … Thursday’s game marked the first meeting between the Mondesi brothers, after a swollen hamstring prevented Adalberto Mondesi from playing against Helena last week. The younger Mondesi, who at 16 years old is the youngest player in the Pioneer League and fourth youngest in all of Rookie ball, was 1-4 and was robbed of a hit by his older brother.

 

My bad for not realizing McFarland was streaking. Great streak!

 

Mondesi V Mondesi

 

http://desertpeace.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/spy-vs-spy.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Yikes with the lightning in Nashville