Link Report for Tue. 7/31

[TooLiveBrew]

Khrush (Love that btw,TLB) Davis strikes again. With our AAA/AA OF's, Corey Hart has never been so expendable in my book.

Thanks -- when I thought of it, I couldn't believe no one (at least on BF.net) had thought of it. I have to admit that it came from thinking, 'Hey, Khris Davis is a bit like Crash Davis'.

 

This was also compliment-worthy: The Sea Cows ran into big boat propeller named Jose Fernandez

 

 

Equal parts cruel & awesome!

 

Khris Davis... or shall I refer to him as "Krush" Davis

You'd better!

[Tedaldtada]

Missoula (D'Backs) 8 Helena 1

 

Box Score

 

Tyler Wagner was our 4th rounder this year and he is struggling. He, similarly to Johnny Hellweg, is a converted reliever with a big FB. Wagner also features a power slider that is absolutely nasty at times but that is about it. Look for Tyler to make strides going into next season as he polishes his repertoire. Wagner is still thin (195) for a 6'3" power pitcher, so perhaps there is a tick or two of velocity untapped yet? This is the kind of draft pick I can be on board with in the 4th round. Brent Suter grooved in too many hittable strikes but his control was good. He will certainly be in the running for a rotation spot in WI next season. Michael Shaub, who had not pitched in 9 days, finished with a scoreless inning. I suspect Shaub was just working the kinks out. Michael was the opening day starter for Helena making his season that much more disappointing.

 

The hitters were not their best, but Chris McFarland (2-4 2B) and Alfredo Rodriguez (3-4) just keep going. Ruben Ozuna has also been hot lately (1-2 BB) with an .882 OPS and 4 SB's over his last 10.

 

Game Log

[bkrause2]

Final: Burlington 3, Wisconsin 5

 

Rattlers swat Bees

Pierce K's eight; McMahan delivers two-run triple to break tie

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

GRAND CHUTE, WI - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitcher Chad Pierce is enjoying his time in the rotation. Pierce struck out eight Burlington Bees batters on Tuesday evening at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium and picked up his fifth win of the season. Wisconsin rallied from an early deficit with four runs in the fifth inning to defeat Burlington 5-3.

 

Burlington (52-54 overall, 20-17 second half) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Bobby Crocker doubled with one out, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Rashun Dixon.

 

Crocker and Dixon struck again in the third inning. Crocker singled with two outs. Dixon followed with a two-run homer to left and the Bees were up 3-0. That would be all the runs the Bees would get in the game.

 

Wisconsin (63-43, 19-18) got a run back in the bottom of the third. Both Yadiel Rivera and Chadwin Stang singled to start the inning. A sacrifice bunt by Lance Roenicke moved both runners into scoring position. Brandon Macias sent home Rivera with a sacrifice fly for the first Rattlers run.

 

The Rattlers charged in front with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Rafael Neda started the inning with a double and Rivera drew a walk. Roenicke drove in Neda with a one out single to left field. Macias followed with a single to center to send Rivera home with the tying run.

 

McMahan was next and his triple to the wall scored two for a 5-3 lead. The triple was the eighth of the season for McMahan.

 

Pierce took over from there. The right-hander kept the Bees off the scoreboard and carried that lead to the ninth. He matched his single game high for strikeouts as a professional with eight. He walked one and scattered seven hits to earn his fifth win of the season. Pierce is 3-1 in six games since joining the Rattlers starting rotation on June 28. He has struck out eight in each of his last two starts.

 

Michael Strong got the final three outs for his second save of the season.

 

Game two of the four game homestand is Wednesday night. David Goforth (8-5, 4.88) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Burlington has Drew Granier (11-6, 3.01) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 7:05pm.

 

Wednesday night is Salute to Toilet Paper Night. Products from Kimberly Clark will be on display near the main entrance and the first 1,000 fans to attend the game will receive travel packs of Kleenex. The Paper Discovery Center will also have a display on the main concourse that includes making origami and Papier-mâché baseballs. There will be a toilet paper theme to on-field promotions and contests throughout the game, too.

 

Wednesday night is also a 105.7 WAPL Bang for Your Buck Night with $1 Cher-Make hot dogs, $1 Pepsi Products, and $1 Miller Beers. The first 1,000 fans to attend the game will receive a baseball cap from 105.7 WAPL.

 

If you can't make it out to the game, you can catch the action several ways. Sports32 will broadcast the game to subscribers of Time Warner Cable. The radio broadcast can be heard on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:45pm. The game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV.

 

WP: Chad Pierce (5-3)

LP: Chris Lamb (0-1)

SAVE: Michael Strong (2)

 

TIME: 2:34

ATTN: 2,342

 

Wisconsin Box Score

 

Chad Pierce with another quality start for the Rattlers. He went 8 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, while striking out eight. Michael Strong pitched the ninth to earn his second save.

 

The Timber Rattlers offense racked up 10 hits on the night. Brandon Macias and Lance Roenicke each had 2-3 nights. Ben McMahan was 1-4 with a triple and drove in two. Michael Garza was on base two times with a single and a walk, and Yadiel Rivera went 1-2 with a walk and two runs scored.

 

Wisconsin Play By Play

 

Wisconsin Bottom of the 5th

Rafael Neda doubles (7) on a fly ball to center fielder Bobby Crocker.

Yadiel Rivera walks.

Chadwin Stang strikes out swinging.

Lance Roenicke singles on a sharp line drive to left fielder Royce Consigli. Rafael Neda scores. Yadiel Rivera to 2nd.

Brandon Macias singles on a line drive to center fielder Bobby Crocker. Yadiel Rivera scores. Lance Roenicke to 3rd.

Ben McMahan triples (8) on a fly ball to center fielder Bobby Crocker. Lance Roenicke scores. Brandon Macias scores.

Nick Ramirez lines out to first baseman Maxwell Muncy.

Pitching Change: Jose Macias replaces Chris Lamb.

Gregory Hopkins called out on strikes.

[TooLiveBrew]

Chattanooga 5, @Huntsville 3

 

Huntsville Box

After falling behind 4-1 in the 5th, The Stars pulled to 4-3 after scoring two runs in the 6th, but weren't able to rally all the way back to claim this one. They threatened in the 8th after a pair of singles from Jean Segura & Brock Kjeldgaard, but Segura was put out at home on a fielder's choice for the second out, and Huntsville didn't get the big hit it needed to pull even or go ahead. Chattanooga added another run in the 9th to help secure the win, but they wound up not needing it as the Stars were put down in order in their last ups.

 

It's a good thing I apologized in advance for jinxing starter Josh Stinson by praising his performance thus far in 2012 earlier today. Even though I don't believe at all in things like "jinxing" someone, that's apparently exactly what I did: Stinson allowed at least one hit in each of the five innings in which he pitched. He finished with a line of 4.2 IP, 10 H, 4 R/3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 WP... and an uncharacteristic 4:6 GO:AO ratio. Meanwhile, Lookouts starter Allen Webster -- rated the Dodgers' #3 prospect pre-2012 by MLB.com -- turned in a fine 7 IP/1 ER performance that was only marred by one Stars run in the 4th, and a throwing error by Chattanooga's SS in the 6th that allowed two runs to score.

 

Evan Anundsen worked 2.1 good IP in relief of Stinson. Darren Byrd allowed a one-out BB & two-out single in the 8th, but escaped unscathed. Brandon Kintzler's night didn't go as well -- he yielded three singles, a SB, and one WP en route to giving up a valuable tack-on run in the 9th to extend the Chattanooga lead to two.

 

As jjfanec noted earlier, Hunter Morris is on a mission: disregard doubters, acquire extra base hits. This season, he's displayed both the contact ability & the power potential that led to him getting drafted in the 2nd round (BOS) in 2007, & the 4th round in 2010. The double to lead off the 2nd inning boosted his Southern League-leading tally to 34 (two players tied at 29 for second place). Morris also drew a BB in the 6th; his career BB rate heading into '12 was 4.4%, but his rate this season so far is 6.7%... to go along with him hitting the cover off the ball. He continues to impress, especially in the second half, where his OPS is 1.114. He's all over the top of the SL batting leaderboard, and I know I've already said this numerous times, but he has to be the front-runner for SL MVP.

 

Segura had another two-hit night, finishing 2-4 with a pair of singles. He's hit to a .385 AVG (5-13) so far in three games as a member of the organization, with a 2B, 2 RBI, and gone 1/1 in SB attempts. Keep on hitting, Jean -- we'll see you in Milwaukee in September.

 

Kjeldgaard went 2-4 with two 1B in his return to Huntsville. Hainley Statia finished 1-4 with a 1B and one RBI. Scooter Gennett was 1-3 with a 1B and one BB. Josh Prince, Kentrail Davis, and Adam Weisenburger were all hitless (& walk-less) on the game.

 

 

Huntsville PbP

Statia came up with a timely single in the 4th for the Stars' first run; they pulled to 2-1 at that point:

 

Huntsville Bottom of the 4th

-Scooter Gennett singles on a line drive to left fielder Nick Buss.

-Brock Kjeldgaard singles on a soft line drive to right fielder Blake Smith. Scooter Gennett to 2nd.

-Hunter Morris grounds into a force out, first baseman J. T. Wise to shortstop Jake Lemmerman. Scooter Gennett to 3rd. ----Brock Kjeldgaard out at 2nd. Hunter Morris to 1st.

-Hainley Statia singles on a line drive to left fielder Nick Buss. Scooter Gennett scores. Hunter Morris to 2nd.

-Kentrail Davis grounds into a double play, shortstop Jake Lemmerman to second baseman Rafael Ynoa to first baseman J. T. Wise. Hainley Statia out at 2nd.

 

In the two-run 6th, a Chattanooga throwing error was the big 'hit', right on the heels of a WP. What should've/could've been the final out turned into a play that let the Stars right back in the game:

 

Huntsville Bottom of the 6th

-Jean Segura singles on a ground ball to center fielder Anthony Jackson.

-Scooter Gennett grounds out, shortstop Jake Lemmerman to first baseman J. T. Wise. Jean Segura to 2nd.

-Brock Kjeldgaard strikes out swinging, catcher Gorman Erickson to first baseman J. T. Wise.

-Hunter Morris walks.

-With Hainley Statia batting, wild pitch by Allen Webster, Jean Segura to 3rd. Hunter Morris to 2nd.

-Hainley Statia reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Jake Lemmerman. Jean Segura scores. Hunter Morris scores.

-Kentrail Davis grounds out, third baseman C. J. Retherford to first baseman J. T. Wise.

 

Finally, the 'almost' 8th inning, where the Stars finally chased Webster:

 

Huntsville Bottom of the 8th

-Jean Segura singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jake Lemmerman.

-Pitching Change: Geison Aguasviva replaces Allen Webster, batting 9th.

-Scooter Gennett grounds out softly, second baseman Rafael Ynoa to first baseman J. T. Wise. Jean Segura to 2nd.

-Brock Kjeldgaard singles on a ground ball to left fielder Nick Buss. Jean Segura to 3rd.

-Hunter Morris reaches on a fielder's choice out, first baseman J. T. Wise to catcher Gorman Erickson. Jean Segura out at home. Brock Kjeldgaard to 2nd.

-Hainley Statia grounds out, shortstop Jake Lemmerman to first baseman J. T. Wise.

 

 

Huntsville Gameday

[TheCrew07]

Gotta love minor league promotions, toilet paper night!

[TheCrew07]

some interesting quotes from Cole regarding those scary comebackers in June. Every athlete is different and I always wonder how they will handle coming back from that sort of thing

Cole's blazing fastball thrown Curve

Bucs' No. 2 prospect allows three hits, fans six in six frames

By Sam Dykstra / Special to MLB.com

 

http://www.milb.com/images/2012/07/31/SSMRtlsP.jpg

Gerrit Cole owns a 3.19 ERA between Altoona and Bradenton this season. (Will Bentzel/MiLB.com)

 

Unfortunately, the thing that stuck out the most about Gerrit Cole's first six starts for Double-A Altoona involved two scary comebackers. That was remedied Tuesday.

 

MLB.com's No. 8 prospect allowed three hits and one walk while striking out six over six shutout innings, but the Curve lost to Trenton, 2-1. The outing was his first scoreless start and his first six-inning affair since being promoted from Class A Advanced Bradenton on June 19.

 

That provided for the best outing of the 21-year-old right-hander's brief career in the Eastern League, after starting 2-4 with a 4.85 ERA. That wasn't lost upon the hurler.

 

"I would say it's the best I've participated, but not necessarily the best I've felt," he said. "Establishing the fastball was the biggest part of it for me. It was better today than it perhaps has been before, and just having a pitch that I could go to when I needed it really helped. That was the biggest thing."

 

Cole, who lowered his ERA to 3.94, only allowed one Thunder baserunner to reach scoring position -- Rob Segedin on a sixth-inning double -- before finishing his night after six innings and just 82 pitches (53 for strikes).

 

The numbers in Cole's pitching line were tight, but the digits that left people in Waterfront Park buzzing came from the stadium radar gun. The 2011 first overall pick hit 100 mph five times Tuesday, including three times in the sixth inning.

 

The increase in fastball velocity over time, reminiscent perhaps of the equally hard-throwing AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, is no mistake, according to Cole.

 

"In the start of the game, I'm just looking to apply my mechanics and get a gameplan down," said the Pirates' No. 2 prospect. "But as I get deeper into the game, I can become more aggressive because I've faced these guys a few times and crank it up a little. I almost never get tired too, so I've usually got something left in the tank even late."

 

Cole's hand was forced as he approached the later innings. No. 20 Yankees prospect Brett Marshall was equal to the task, allowing just one run on four hits in his six innings on the mound for the Thunder. Although he admitted he didn't pay much attention to Marshall's individual performance, Cole did acknowledge that he kept an eye on the scoreboard and tried to pitch accordingly.

 

"When it's tight like that, you don't want to do anything to let them hit it out or put a runner in scoring position," he said. "It just makes you more cautious about what you're doing out there."

 

The UCLA product was already being careful on the hill, ever since being plunked by two line drives June 26. A CT scan was negative, and the only resulting injury was a jaw contusion. He made his next start six days later on July 2. Although the physical effects were limited, the mental repercussions still linger a little.

 

"It was definitely something I was thinking about when I stepped on the mound again [in my next start]," Cole said. "I'm still pretty flinchy when a ball comes back at me though. It was more apprehension than anything, but for the most part, I've calmed my nerves."

 

Now that the scary event is officially behind him, the only thing Cole has on his mind is putting together more outings like Tuesday's and ending his first professional season on a high note.

 

"My fastball command can still get better," he said. "I can recognize individual hitters better and how to face them in each at-bat. But it's not about getting better at this point. It's just trying to repeat the success."

 

The Curve starter did not receive the win, though, after reliever Hunter Strickland allowed two runs (one earned) in the seventh. Zoilo Almonte's solo homer tied the ballgame, 1-1, and JR Murphy drove in the game-winner with a sacrifice fly.

[TheCrew07]

Ha, and here's a feature on Toilet Paper Night.

 

A salute to toilet paper in Wisconsin

[TheCrew07]

Southern league notes and who else would they talk about? Khrush Davis gets a mention at the bottom. More video of Hamilton at the link, he's still very fast.

 

Southern notes: Hamilton a quick hit

Speedster pleasing fans, skipper since Pensacola promotion

By Guy Curtright / Special to MLB.com

 

http://www.milb.com/images/2012/07/30/HuTs2aGX.jpg

Billy Hamilton is batting .321 with 11 steals in 16 Double-A games. (Pensacola Blue Wahoos)

 

The piled-high sandwich, with nine pieces of ham and six pieces of cheese, would seem more fitting for a husky slugger than a skinny speedster. But Billy Hamilton may be the only one able to actually burn off all the calories.

 

The Billy Ham and Cheese -- sold with sweet potato fries for $8 -- is flying out of the Port Side Grill at the new Pensacola ballpark, and Hamilton is speeding toward a challenge of the Minor League stolen base mark.

 

The shortstop's pace has slowed a bit since he was promoted from the Class A Advanced California League to the Double-A Southern League, but the mark of 145 set by Vince Coleman in 1983 while with Macon of the Class A South Atlantic League remains within reach.

 

"I'm not thinking about the record," the top-ranked Reds prospect said. "I'm just trying to get on base and then make something happen. But I know the record is out there, and it would be fun to go for if I got close."

 

After stealing 104 bases in 82 games with Bakersfield, Hamilton had 11 in his first 16 games with the Blue Wahoos. He had been caught 25 times, four with Pensacola, and needed 30 steals over the final 34 games to tie Coleman's record.

 

"This is a real good test for him," Pensacola manager Jim Riggleman said of the move to Double-A. "Teams are doing everything they can to stop him. Pitchers have been very quick to the plate, and catchers have made some good throws against him."

 

Still, the 21-year-old is winning most of the battles.

 

"He's a game changer every time he gets on," said Huntsville manager Darnell Coles, who saw Hamilton steal second and third before coming around to score in the first inning of a game Saturday. "You don't see someone with that kind of speed very often. He's special."

 

"Some players are fast and some are quick," Riggleman said. "Billy is both. He gets in top speed in a step or two."

 

Hamilton was a football recruit for Mississippi State as a wide receiver and remembers being timed in the 40-yard dash at 4.5 seconds as a high school sophomore at Taylorsville, Miss. But he says that he wasn't much of a base stealer.

 

That quickly changed after the Reds took him in the second round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft and wooed him away from football with a bonus of $623,600.

 

In 2010, Billings manager Delino DeShields laid down a challenge to Hamilton.

 

"He said I could be the greatest base stealer in baseball," the switch-hitter recalled.

 

Hamilton swiped 48 bases in 69 games to lead the Rookie-level Pioneer League and, after moving to Class A Daytona of the Midwest League with DeShields for 2011, stole 103 in 135 games.

 

Hamilton was the first Minor Leaguer to steal 100 bases since 2001, and his total was five more than the previous record for the Reds organization.

 

Not completely comfortable yet as a switch-hitter, Hamilton was hitting just .195 in late May last season, but rebounded to hit .316 the rest of the way for Daytona and has hit over .300 this season.

 

Hamilton, No. 26 on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list, batted .323 for Bakersfield and was hitting .321 for Pensacola through the weekend. He had also drawn 62 walks, giving him a combined .418 on-base percentage.

 

The leadoff hitter has just two homers among is 31 extra-base hits, but his one homer with Pensacola was a crowd-pleaser. He scored standing up on the inside-the-park shot, circling the bases in 14 seconds.

 

Hamilton's defense remains a work in progress. He had three errors for Pensacola after committing 25 with Bakersfield and may eventually be a candidate for a position switch.

 

Riggleman, though, doesn't think that is necessary.

 

"I haven't seen anything that tells me he can't play shortstop," the former Major League manager said.

 

If Hamilton becomes an impact player in the Majors, though, it will be because of the way he can change games offensively. The stolen base has been a dying art -- Hamilton is reviving it.

 

In brief

 

Happy marriage: Cincinnati owner Bob Castellini visited Pensacola along with general manager Walt Jocketty and other team officials as the Reds and Blue Wahoos announced an extension of their affiliation agreement of four more years. The first-year franchise leads the Southern League in attendance, averaging 4,684 per game, and has sold out 34 of 54 games at its new bayfront ballpark.

 

Red-hot hitter: Huntsville outfielder Khris Davis had his homer streak end at five games in the series finale at Pensacola on Saturday but was 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. He had another three-hit game Sunday at home against Chattanooga and was batting .490 (25-for-51) during a 13-game hitting streak that pushed his season average with the Stars to .383 in 44 games. He won Southern League Offensive Player of the Week.

 

Record setter: Hak-Ju Lee, who already had set two Montgomery records, tied Desmond Jennings for the Biscuits' season mark with his 37th stolen base. After earlier hitting safely in a record 21 straight games, the shortstop pushed his record on-base streak to 41 games Sunday against Mississippi. Evan Longoria had the old on-base mark at 37 games.

 

Brawl ball: A hard slide at the plate by Mobile's Rossmel Perez touched off a benches-clearing brawl in the ninth inning as Mississippi completed a five-game series sweep with a 7-3 victory Saturday. Seven players had earlier been hit by pitches, with Mississippi's Cory Rasmus ejected for plunking Perez. Mobile manager Turner Ward was ejected along with Perez after the melee. Kicked out for Mississippi were Christian Bethancourt and Alden Carrithers.

[And That]

Mobile manager Turner Ward

 

WHOA, flashback.

[TheCrew07]

If you're interested in trade deadline analysis BA has a ton of links on the main page here.

 

MiLB/MLB also covers the trades here and here.

 

BA's stuff has the better prospect analysis, but there is a ton of reading between the 3 sites.

[Mass Haas]

VIDEO: Helena non-highlights

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO: Helena Hitting Coach Don Money

 

Unfortunately, the audio cuts out rather quickly on this one -- we do here SS Alfredo Rodriguez referred to as "Freddy", so he'd be F-Rod more than A-Rod.

[Mass Haas]

Rattler Radio Blog: Video Highlights

 

***

 

Post-Crescent VIDEO PLAYER INTERVIEW: Timber Rattlers pitcher Chad Pierce on his strong mound performance Tuesday night

 

***

 

Post-Crescent Photo Gallery

[Mass Haas]

McMahan sparks Timbers Rattlers' rally against Bees

by Tim Froberg, Post-Crescent staff writer

 

GRAND CHUTE — Gators are dangerous and the one wearing No. 15 inflicted some serious damage on the Burlington Bees.

 

University of Florida product Ben McMahan drilled a two-run triple to highlight a four-run Wisconsin fifth inning and the ex-Gator also made his presence felt in the outfield with a terrific diving catch.

 

With McMahan providing clutch hitting and the defensive play of the game, Fond du Lac’s Chad Pierce took care of the rest with a solid mound performance in Wisconsin’s 5-3 win over visiting Burlington Tuesday night.

 

Wisconsin (63-43) outhit Burlington 10-7 and the Timber Rattlers delivered four of them in a pivotal fifth inning which saw them erase a 3-1 deficit and take a 5-3 lead.

 

Following run-scoring singles by Lance Roenicke and Brandon Macias, McMahan drilled a fastball by Burlington southpaw Chris Lamb into the left-center gap to give the Rattlers the lead for good.

 

“He gave me a fastball in the middle of the plate, a little up in the zone, and just put a good swing on it,” said McMahan.

 

McMahan, a 23rd-round selection by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2011 first-year player draft, has moved into the cleanup spot and is hitting .298 with nine homers and 50 RBI.

 

“I hit lower in the order at Florida because we had some pretty big names,” said McMahan. “It’s definitely a fun spot to hit in because you get a lot of opportunities to drive in runs.”

 

McMahan also stole an extra-base hit away from the Bees’ Royce Consigli in the seventh, fully extending his body in right field to snag a low line drive for the third out. Umpires originally ruled it to be a catch, then changed their minds and called it a double, before eventually going back to the original call.

 

“I definitely caught it,” said McMahan. “It was a tough call for both umpires. I had a pretty good read on it and laid out and came up with it.”

 

Pierce overcame a shaky start to go eight competitive innings and raise his season record to 5-3, while lowering his ERA to 3.35. The right-hander from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee scattered seven hits and struck out eight. He threw 115 pitches, 78 for strikes.

 

Pierce allowed all three Burlington runs in the first two innings, yielding a long two-run homer in the second to Rashun Dixon. But he settled down after that with six shutout innings before Michael Strong tossed a scoreless ninth.

 

“It was a battle,” said Pierce. “I couldn’t throw my off-speed stuff for strikes. But you don’t always have your best stuff and (catcher Rafael) Neda helped me through it.”

 

Posters of Pierce were given away Tuesday to fans entering the gates at Fox Cities Stadium and Pierce proved to be worthy of the honor.

 

“To pitch on the night they were giving posters of me, that was pretty special,” said Pierce. “I didn’t really know about it until my dad called me this morning and told me about it. I had some high school buddies from Fond du Lac in the stands cheering me on. I think they were a little disappointed I didn’t go out for the ninth, but I had thrown a lot of pitches.”

[Mass Haas]

STARS LOSE SECOND STRAIGHT AGAINST LOOKOUTS

 

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – In a game where they gave up sixteen hits, the Huntsville Stars fell to the Chattanooga Lookouts by a score of 5-3 on Tuesday night at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

The Lookouts’ hit barrage began translating into runs in the third inning. Left fielder Nick Buss led off the frame with a single and then advanced to second on a wild pitch by Stars starting pitcher Josh Stinson. After a walk to first baseman J.T Wise, an RBI single by third baseman C.J. Retherford scored to give Chattanooga their first run. A RBI single by Buss in the fourth inning then made the score 2-0.

 

In the bottom half the fourth, the Stars cut the Lookouts deficit in half. The inning started with back-to-back singles by second baseman Scooter Gennett and left fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Gennett later scored on an RBI single by Hainley Statia to make it a 2-1 game.

 

After Chattanooga came right back with two runs in the fifth inning, the Stars answered with two runs of their own in the sixth. Shortstop Jean Segura led off the inning with a single and was joined on the base paths by first baseman Hunter Morris after a two-out walk. The next-at bat, a throwing error by Lookouts shortstop Jake Lemmerman on a Statia grounder allowed both Segura and Morris to score to cut the Chatanooga lead to 4-3.

 

Unfortunately, that was the final run that Huntsville would score. Chattanooga starting pitcher Allen Webster silenced the Stars bats, improving to 5-8 on the year after giving up just three runs (one earned) on six hits over seven innings. Reliever Steve Ames notched his second save in as many games and 13th on the season with a scoreless ninth.

 

For Huntsville, Stinson took the loss, falling to 11-6 on the season after giving up four runs on ten hits in 4.1 innings of work. The loss was the Stars fourth in their last five games.

 

On offense, both Segura and Kjeldgaard went 2-for-4 at the plate. Morris also hit his league-leading 34th double on the year in the second inning.

 

Game four of a five game series will take place on Wednesday. Newly acquired starting pitcher Johnny Hellweg (5-10, 3.41 ERA with AA-Angels in 2012) is slated to make his Huntsville Stars debut on the mound. First pitch is at 6:43 PM.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Media Notes

[TheCrew07]

Surveying The Landscape After The Trade Deadline

[Mass Haas]

Video highlights from Tuesday's Huntsville loss