Link Report for Fri. 5/24 - Can Ariel Pena continue his string of strong starts?

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF!

 

All times are Central

 

Nashville: RHP Frankie De La Cruz at home vs. Albuquerque (Dodgers), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Jeff Hem is the 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). The audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link.

 

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Huntsville: RHP Ariel Pena at Tennessee (Cubs), 6:00 PM pre-game, 6:15 gametime

 

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

 

Alex Cohen is the play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. It appears four Southern League teams air their home games on MiLB.TV, and we'll let you know when those dates pop up on the schedule

 

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Brevard County: RHP Drew Gagnon at home vs. Clearwater (Phillies), 5:05 PM pre-game, 5:35 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link -- Select the link based on listed schedule

 

Manatees audio, hooray! Dave Walkovic is the first play-by-play voice of the 'Tees since 2007, he's joined by Andy Towne; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio. All home games and many road games are scheduled to be broadcast. When road games are only available via the opponents' audio feed, we'll let you know that.

 

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Wisconsin: RHP Preston Gainey at Quad Cities (Astros), 6:40 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM WNAM

 

Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio.

 

So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from four Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games.

 

NOTE: 32 of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel has seventeen games scheduled and WACY-TV My NEW32 plans to show fifteen games. We'll let you know when, but won't be providing day-before DVR reminders, so regularly check for proper channel and time planning (scroll to the bottom of this link).

[Mass Haas]

Programming note: Tennessee has MiLB.TV coverage, so if you're a subscriber, you can watch this Stars' series (live and/or archived).

[Mass Haas]

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

 

Nashville

 

Huntsville

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

 

New MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, 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

[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]

Look for Nashville and Wisconsin media notes at the links just prior to their game times.

 

New this season: Brevard County has media notes; as of now, it's a unique link each day, but look for it just prior to game time each day within the "Stats and Scores" banner here.

[Mass Haas]

Weather.com:

 

Nashville

 

Kodak, TN

 

Viera (Melbourne)

 

Davenport, IA

[Mass Haas]

Good luck in big league debut tonight to Blue Jays LHP Sean Nolin (career numbers), drafted by the Brewers in the 50th round out of HS in '08 (did not sign).

[Mass Haas]

If you've been following us all week, you may have a nice educated guess as to who landed on the #2 spot on Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet today.

[Mass Haas]

Have a magnificent 22nd birthday, Damien Magnifico

[TheCrew07]

Mass noted the Hot Sheet earlier in the thread but I'm recreating my original post here. Stetson Allie continues his break out as a position prospect for the Pirates, Hunter Morris earns the #2 spot, and plenty of divisional mentions this week.

 

Prospect Hot Sheet (May 24): Stetson Allie Makes Pitcher-Hitter Switch Look Easy

 

1. Stetson Allie, 1b, Pirates

Team: low Class A West Virginia (South Atlantic)

Age: 22

Why He’s Here: .424/.486/1.030 (14-for-33), 5 HR, 3 2B, 1 3B, 10 R, 12 RBIs, 4 BB, 8 SO, 1-for-1 SB

 

The Scoop: Stetson Allie threw hard, but he could never find the strike zone. His first year in pro ball in 2011, he walked 28 batters in 26 innings. He looked so bad the next year that the Pirates barely even let him get on the mound for an official game. When he did, he recorded just two outs (split across two games) and walked eight batters. By the end of the year, Allie had converted to a position player, his pitching career finished. Just two years after signing for $2.25 million as a second-round pick, Allie had already become one of the bigger busts in recent draft history.

 

Or is he?

 

Allie may have drawn the most attention for a fastball that flirted with triple digits coming out of high school, but his raw power ranked among the best in the 2010 draft class. So while the Pirates paid Allie handsomely for his arm, it’s not completely dumb luck that he’s managed to quickly resurrect his prospect status as a hitter. He has hit 13 home runs, tying him for the minor league lead with Miguel Sano, George Springer and Ryan Rua. He’s hitting .329/.413/.636 through 45 games, and while the 57 strikeouts are a red flag, he’s relatively new in pro terms to the “batter” portion of the batter-pitcher matchup.

2. Hunter Morris, 1b, Brewers

Team: Triple-A Nashville (Pacific Coast)

Age: 24

Why He’s Here: .409/.462/1.045 (9-for-22), 5 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBIs, 3 BB, 5 SO

 

The Scoop: Morris broke out last year in Double-A with 28 home runs and a Southern league MVP trophy. He’s still driving the ball with authority to all fields this year and is even showing a slightly more patient approach at the plate than he did last year, even if he’s not getting on base as much in 2013.

No. 5 Gregory Polanco, cf, Pirates

Team: high Class A Brandenton (Florida State)

Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .448/.484/.724 (13-for-29), 7 R, 5 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 2 BB, 4 SO, 6-for-6 SB

 

The Scoop: What makes Polanco a special prospect is his vast array of tools, the type of collection that suggests he’ll be at least a solid big leaguer. Worried about the power? Even if it doesn’t fully show up—and it’s already showing signs of arriving after he hit 16 home runs in low Class A last year—Polanco is a gazelle in center field with a plus arm who could be a top-of-the-order hitter with his selectivity and blazing speed (19 steals in 23 attempts this year). And if the power shows up? You’re talking about one of the best all-around prospects in baseball

No. 11 Jorge Soler, rf, Cubs

Team: high Class A Daytona (Florida State)

Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .438/.500/.594 (14-for-32), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 4 BB, 4 SO

 

The Scoop: Even with his early suspension, it’s been a great start to the season for Soler. He’s hitting for power, hitting for average and he’s drawing nearly as many walks as strikeouts. In comparison to the other massive rebuilding projects in Houston and Miami, the Cubs have a lot of advantages. For one, they have a number of potential cornerstones already in the big leagues in Anthony Rizzo, Jeff Samardzija and Starlin Castro. And just as importantly, they also have a number of potential cornerstones coming up through the minors in Soler, Albert Almora and Javier Baez.

No. 12 Javier Baez, ss, Cubs

Team: high Class A Daytona (Florida State)

Age: 20

Why He’s Here: .400/.455/.600 (12-for-30), 10 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBIs, 3 BB, 3 SO, 1-for-1 SB

 

The Scoop: Speaking of Baez, he matched Soler hit for hit this week. Unlike his fellow top prospect, Baez has some significant warts to burn off before he’s ready for the jump to Double-A. Baez’s three walks this week come after he walked five times in his first 36 games. His excellent hand-eye coordination and his impressive bat speed allow him to compensate to some extent for his overaggressiveness, but the strikeouts are becoming more of a problem as he climbs the ladder. A week like this where he works counts and lays off strike three is a positive sign.

 

In the Team Photo

 

Alen Hanson, ss, Pirates: Hanson had a quiet April at high Class A Bradenton, batting .255, but he’s started to catch on to Florida State League pitching now. The 20-year-old put his speed and gap power to good use this week, racking up three doubles and two triples while hitting .385 (10-for-26) and upping his season average to .286 through 175 at-bats.

 

Dilson Herrera, 2b, Pirates: Everywhere he goes, he hits. Another big week for the 19-year-old Herrera brought his slash line up to .314/.374/.487 through 39 games with low Class A West Virginia.

[TheCrew07]

Prospect Hot Sheet Chat With Jim Shonerd

 

Mike (Cincinnati): Jesse Winker is hitting .364/.460/.636 over his last 30 games but has somehow missed out each week on the Hot Sheet. How good can he be, in particular with his bat?

 

Jim Shonerd: Winker got a look this week but his .318/.444/.682 line wasn’t enough to make the cut. He has the look of a high on-base hitter with serviceable power, since you can envision him adding more muscle to his frame as he gets older.

Steve (Connecticut): What is Jorge Soler's upside and or MLB comp? Thanks

 

Jim Shonerd: Scouts do worry about his swing mechanics a bit, but overall he’s got plenty of power and blends it with a feel for hitting. His offense was in a bit of funk after he got back from his suspension, but now he’s hitting .324 in May and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him end the year in Double-A.

Melissa (Washington): What do you think of Josh Bell's performance so far this year, now that he's healthy?

 

Jim Shonerd: He’s quietly holding his own (.278 with 6 homers in low A). Certainly could see him taking off in the second half as he feels more and more comfortable.

Andrew (Chicago): After a rough couple weeks for Jeimer Candelario has really started to turn it around, he has cut down his K rate and increased his already good bb rate, he seems to be hitting a lot of double with next to no home run power however. Do you see the Hrs starting to come as his body matures?

 

Jim Shonerd: Yeah, scouts can project him developing average power down the road. He’s got the frame and bat speed for it, just needs to get stronger.

Andrew (IL): Arisemendy Alcantara seems to have a decent bit of pop for such a slender frame, is this due to good bat speed or cheating on AA fastballs? How does his power and hit project at the major league level?

 

Jim Shonerd: Getting a lot of Cubs questions today. Alcantara does have some power. Nothing spectacular, but enough to believe his numbers aren’t a fluke. The key for him is improving his patience, and he has made some progress there. He’s still not exactly a beacon of selectivity, but his 16 walks in 45 games this year almost matches the 19 he drew in 85 games last year.

Greg T. (Chi-town): Rougned Odor and Dilson Herrera are pretty impressive youngsters, raking pretty well. Do they both stay at 2B long-term, and who might have the better hitting career? MLB regulars?

 

Jim Shonerd: There’s a strong chance both can stay at second. It’s not easy to separate them offensively, but I’ll give a slight edge to the lefty swinging Odor.

Jeff (Northern MA): Thank you for taking my question, Jim. Does Polanco project well enough to displace both McCutchen and Marte out of CF, or is he expected to shift to a corner OF spot?

 

Jim Shonerd: Polanco can stick as a center fielder. He’s likely a 2015 ETA, so there’s time before they have to cross that bridge of which guy needs to shift.

[bkrause2]

Drew Gagnon lifted after two innings after getting hit by a line drive.

[Minigoon]

Final: Huntsville 6 Tennessee 2

 

To answer the question in the thread title, yes, Ariel Pena can continue his string of strong starts! "Speedwagon" was tied up in a pitchers duel through his 6 innings of work. He gave up only 1 run, on a 2nd inning home run, on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6. Pena (4-3, 2.77) seemed to get stronger as the game went on as he struck out 4 in his last 2 innings of work. Of the 98 pitches Pena threw, 63 were for strikes. Pena also posted a 4-2 ground out to fly out ratio. Ariel won't be happy to turn the calendar to June. In May, he's 3-1 with a 1.03 ERA (3 earned runs over 26 1/3 innings), 10 walks and 31 strike outs.

 

Sidearmer Dan Meadows worked the 7th and despite a couple errors, worked a clean inning. Because of the errors, Meadows was credited with a 3-1 ground out to fly out ratio. 6'-8" righty Greg Holle pitched a scoreless 8th, allowing a hit and striking out 1. Lefty Brian Garman, who hadn't pitched in a game since May 15th, had things get a little interesting on him in the 9th, but was able to fight through to close out the game. Garman was touched up for a run on 3 hits.

 

Huntsville Box Score

 

Offensively for the Stars, the night belonged to Brock Kjeldgaard. Big Brock was 2-4 with both hits being monster 2 run home runs. One, the scoreboard got in the way of. Stars radio broadcaster Alex Cohen said the scoreboard was 397' out and Kjeldgaard's blast hit about 3 feet from the top! He also mentioned that Brock had family in attendance tonight. I say bring them with for the rest of the season! Kjeldgaard now is 1 behind Jason Rogers for both the team and Southern League lead in home runs with 8.

 

Centerfielder Rene Tosoni got the Stars on the board with a solo home run in the 2nd, his 4th of the year. Ozzie Chavez had the other extra base hit with his 1st inning double. Mike Walker, Shawn Zarraga, Jason Rogers, and Kentrail Davis each had 1 single tonight. Davis also stole his 11th base on the season and drew his 29th walk on the season. The 29 walks is good for 3rd overall in the Southern League.

 

Huntsville Play By Play

 

Rene Tosoni being a 1 man rally

 

Huntsville Top of the 2nd

 

Rene Tosoni homers (4) on a fly ball to right field.

Brock Kjeldgaard grounds out, pitcher Yeiper Castillo to first baseman Tim Torres.

Mike Walker strikes out swinging.

Shawn Zarraga grounds out, second baseman Ronald Torreyes to first baseman Tim Torres.

 

Brock hurts the scoreboard

 

Huntsville Top of the 7th

 

Pitching Change: Trey McNutt replaces Yeiper Castillo, batting 9th.

Kentrail Davis walks.

With Jason Rogers batting, Kentrail Davis steals (11) 2nd base.

Jason Rogers grounds out, third baseman Christian Villanueva to first baseman Tim Torres.

Rene Tosoni grounds out, shortstop Arismendy Alcantara to first baseman Tim Torres. Kentrail Davis to 3rd.

Brock Kjeldgaard homers (7) on a fly ball to left field. Kentrail Davis scores.

Mike Walker grounds out to first baseman Tim Torres.

 

Kjeldgaard's second blast of the game

 

Huntsville Top of the 9th

 

Pitching Change: Tony Zych replaces Kevin Rhoderick, batting 9th.

Jason Rogers singles on a line drive to center fielder Matt Szczur.

Rene Tosoni grounds into a force out, pitcher Tony Zych to second baseman Ronald Torreyes to shortstop Arismendy Alcantara. Jason Rogers out at 2nd. Rene Tosoni to 1st.

Brock Kjeldgaard homers (8) on a fly ball to left field. Rene Tosoni scores.

Mike Walker singles on a ground ball to right fielder Rubi Silva.

Shawn Zarraga strikes out swinging.

Hector Gomez grounds out to first baseman Tim Torres.

 

Game 3 will be tomorrow evening. Taylor Jungmann, the # 2 prospect in the Brewers organization, will be on the mound for Huntsville. Game time is an hour earlier, 5:15 Central. Alex Cohen will be on at 5:00 with the pregame show. Don't forget, these games against Tennessee are available on Milb TV.

[Mass Haas]

Homer Parade Leads Stars To Victory

By Alex Cohen / Huntsville Stars

 

After being shutout on Thursday, the Huntsville Stars hit three homers en route to a 6-2 victory against the Tennessee Smokies.

 

For the Stars the homer parade began in the second inning, as Rene Tosoni launched a fastball from Smokies starter Yeiper Castillo well over the right-field wall to put Huntsville up 1-0 (audio).

 

After Stars starting pitcher Ariel Pena gave up a solo homer of his own to Smokies outfielder Rubi Silva, the game remained tied until the seventh inning where Tennessee reliever Trey McNutt (L, 2-4) came into the game to relieve Castillo.

 

To begin the inning, Stars outfielder Kentrail Davis drew a leadoff walk off McNutt. After Davis stole second and then advanced to third on a groundout from Tosoni, outfielder Brock Kjeldgaard launched a two-run homer off the Smokies Park scoreboard in deep left field put the Huntsville up by two (audio).

 

Once the Stars tacked on an insurance run in the eighth, Kjeldgaard was then put in position to strike again in the top of the ninth. With Tosoni aboard, the 27-year-old crushed his second two-run homer in as many at-bats off of Smokies righty Tony Zych to make the score 6-1 (audio).

 

The multi-homer game was the second for Kjeldgaard of the season. He and first baseman Jason Rogers have both done it twice in 2013.

 

On the pitching side, Pena improved to 4-3 on the year with the win after giving up just one run and four hits through six innings. The Brewers 20th ranked prospect per MLB.com struck out six batters in the process and dropped his ERA on the year to 2.77. Pena has now given up just three earned runs in his last 26.2 innings pitched (five starts).

 

Aside from the 23-year-old hurler, relievers Dan Meadows and Greg Holle each pitched a scoreless inning of relief while lefty Brian Garman gave up a meaningless run in the ninth.

 

On offense, the three homers on the game for the Stars offense ties a season-high for them as a team this season.

 

Also, the victory gives Huntsville just their second win against Tennessee in seven games played this season.

 

The Stars and Smokies will play game three of their five-game series at Smokies Park on Saturday. Huntsville will send RHP Taylor Jungmann (3-5, 5.06 ERA) to the bump to square off against Tennessee RHP Alberto Cabrera (4-1, 3.69 ERA). First pitch is at 6:15 PM (5:15 Central).

[Mass Haas]

Fun audio clips from Alex in that last post.

 

Only one pitch from Jimmy Nelson in this video clip from Thursday, but great movement

[TooLiveBrew]

Hunter Morris was taken out of tonight's game in a 6th inning double switch. Not sure of the circumstances, but that's not exactly good news.

[Mass Haas]

Hunter Morris was taken out of tonight's game in a 6th inning double switch. Not sure of the circumstances, but that's not exactly good news.

 

Enjoy this one, then - watch how far Morris sends this bomb from the final game of the road trip Thursday

[Mass Haas]

Brad's Mailbag via MillerParkProspects.com

[bkrause2]

Final: Clearwater (Phillies) 4, Brevard County 5

 

No game story yet for BC. I'm calling it a night. I'll get to it tomorrow morning unless someone sees it yet later tonight and wants to post it up.

 

Brevard County Box Score

 

Every player in the BC lineup was on base at least once, and all but Lance Roenicke recorded at least one hit. Greg Hopkins had a big night for the Manatees, going 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles. It's been a rough month of May for Hopkins, so it's nice to see him start to swing it again. Nick Ramirez had a walk and his team leading eighth home run. Brandon Macias also hit a home run. He's hit in four straight games now. Mitch Haniger was 1 for 3 with a walk. Yadiel Rivera singled and walked. He's had a hit in 8 of his last 10 games. Drew Gagnon started but only went two innings after getting hit by a line drive. He stayed in the game and finished the second inning, but then was replaced by Stephen Peterson in the third. Peterson pitched three innings and gave up one run. Tommy Toledo recorded the increasingly rare two inning save. It was his fifth of the year.

 

Brevard County Play-By-Play

 

Brevard used a three run seventh to take the lead and then held on from there.

 

Brevard County Bottom of the 7th

 

Pitching Change: Chris Nichols replaces Hoby Milner.

Rafael Neda flies out to center fielder Kyrell Hudson.

Lance Roenicke strikes out swinging.

Brandon Macias homers (2) on a fly ball to center field.

Gregory Hopkins singles on a line drive to shortstop Jonathan Roof.

With Mitch Haniger batting, missed catch error by Chris Serritella on the pickoff attempt, assist to pitcher Chris Nichols, Gregory Hopkins to 2nd.

Mitch Haniger doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Aaron Altherr. Gregory Hopkins scores.

Cameron Garfield singles on a line drive to left fielder Aaron Altherr. Mitch Haniger scores.

Nick Ramirez strikes out swinging.

[TooLiveBrew]

No note in Jeff's game story on Morris getting pulled in the 6th. No news is good news... right?

 

Sounds Topped By 'Topes, 10-7

Nashville's Prince Goes Yard For Second Straight Night

Nashville Sounds

 

http://i.imgur.com/vVgGZaI.jpg

Josh Prince (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds)

 

AUDIO: Josh Prince's Three-Run Bomb

AUDIO: Blake Davis' Third RBI

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds allowed a season-high 16 hits to the Albuquerque Isotopes Friday night at Greer Stadium to lose the homestand opener 10-7.

 

The Sounds never recovered from Albuquerque's early jump on Sounds starting pitcher, Frankie De La Cruz (1-6), who allowed four runs in the first inning, one in the second, and two in the third. The right-hander took the loss, his sixth, with two walks and one strikeout.

 

Reliever Johnnie Lowe entered in the fourth and held Albuquerque scoreless through 2.1 innings of work, allowing three hits and walking none. Tim Dillard, Michael Olmsted and Jesus Sanchez also saw work out of the pen and did not surrender a run.

 

The Isotopes found their final runs against Travis Webb in the sixth with a two-run homer from Chili Buss. Webb added a bases-loaded walk later in the frame to give the visitors a 10-3 lead. He finished with four walks, a hit by pitch, and two strikeouts through 1 1/3 innings.

 

Offensively, the Sounds plated three runs in the second inning, started by catcher Anderson De La Rosa's leadoff single. The catcher moved to second on a fielder's choice and third on Elian Herrara's throwing error. Cole Garner hit an infield single to score De La Rosa and later scored on Blake Davis' single to center.

 

Hunter Morris scored for the home team in the second inning on an Angel Castro wild pitch and extended his hit streak to a season-best five games with his single in the third.

 

Centerfielder Josh Prince extended his hit streak to nine games, the longest active streak by a Sound, with a three-run homer off the top wall in left field. The bomb was his second in his last two games and pulled the Sounds to within four.

 

Blake Davis drove in the Sounds' final run in the seventh with a single through the gap at second. Davis and Caleb Gindl each had three of the Sounds' 13 hits.

 

Angel Castro (4-2) picked up the win for Albuquerque, limiting Nashville to three runs, two earned, on six hits across six innings. He fanned four Sounds and walked two. Peter Moylan picked up the save, his second.

 

Half of the Isotopes' hits went for extra bases. Short stop Justin Sellers led the way, going four-for-five with two runs and three RBIs.

 

The Sounds play game two against the Isotopes on Saturday night at Greer Stadium and will wear giraffe-style jerseys to benefit the Nashville Zoo as a part of the Sounds CARE Program. RHP R.J. Seidel (0-1, 5.14) gets the start for Nashville against Albuquerque's RHP Matt Magill (0-0, 2.84).

 

 

Nashville Box

Scooter Gennett: 1-5

Gindl: 3-4, BB

Prince: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB

Stephen Parker: 0-4, BB

De La Rosa: 2-5

Morris: 1-3

Khris Davis: 1-2

Cole Garner: 1-4, RBI, E (fielding)

Davis: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI

 

 

Nashville PbP

I'll focus on the positive, so here are the Sounds' two scoring innings. Three in the 2nd:

 

Nashville Bottom of the 2nd

-Anderson De La Rosa singles on a ground ball to right fielder Alex Castellanos.

-Hunter Morris reaches on a force attempt, throwing error by second baseman Elian Herrera. Anderson De La Rosa to 3rd. Hunter Morris to 2nd.

-Cole Garner singles on a ground ball to shortstop Justin Sellers. Anderson De La Rosa scores. Hunter Morris to 3rd.

-With Blake Davis batting, wild pitch by Angel Castro, Hunter Morris scores. Cole Garner to 2nd.

-Blake Davis singles on a ground ball to center fielder Tony Gwynn. Cole Garner scores.

-Frankie De La Cruz reaches on a force attempt, throwing error by third baseman Alfredo Amezaga. Blake Davis to 2nd.

-Scooter Gennett pops out to second baseman Elian Herrera on the infield fly rule.

-Caleb Gindl grounds into a double play, second baseman Elian Herrera to first baseman Brian Barden. Frankie De La Cruz out at 2nd.

 

Four more in the 7th:

 

Nashville Bottom of the 7th

-Pitching Change: Kelvin De La Cruz replaces Angel Castro, batting 7th, replacing third baseman Alfredo Amezaga.

-Defensive switch from first base to third base for Brian Barden.

-Defensive Substitution: Rusty Ryal replaces pitcher Angel Castro, batting 9th, playing first base.

-Scooter Gennett doubles (7) on a ground ball to left fielder Nick Buss.

-Caleb Gindl singles on a line drive to left fielder Nick Buss. Scooter Gennett to 3rd.

-Josh Prince homers (3) on a line drive to left field. Scooter Gennett scores. Caleb Gindl scores.

-Stephen Parker walks.

-Anderson De La Rosa singles on a line drive to left fielder Nick Buss. Stephen Parker to 2nd.

-Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Khris Davis replaces Tim Dillard.

-Khris Davis pops out to shortstop Justin Sellers on the infield fly rule.

-Cole Garner strikes out swinging.

-Blake Davis singles on a line drive to center fielder Tony Gwynn. Stephen Parker scores. Anderson De La Rosa to 2nd.

-With Blake Lalli batting, wild pitch by Kelvin De La Cruz, Anderson De La Rosa to 3rd. Blake Davis to 2nd.

-Blake Lalli called out on strikes.

 

 

Nashville Gameday

[Mass Haas]

'Tees rally to top Threshers in seesaw battle

Brevard scores three in the seventh, holds on to win 5-4

By Andy Towne / Brevard County Manatees

 

VIERA, Fla. - Another long night for the Brevard County Manatees' bullpen was backed up by timely offense in a 5-4 victory over the Clearwater Threshers on Friday night at Space Coast Stadium.

 

Starting pitcher Drew Gagnon was forced to leave the game after being hit by a line drive as he used his right forearm to protect his head.

 

Gagnon was able to pick the ball up and toss it to first for the out and then struck out the final batter of the inning, but did not return for the third. Preliminary tests came up negative for fractures, though X-rays will be taken. He went just two innings and allowed two hits, while recording one strikeout.

 

Nick Ramirez picked the 'Tees (26-21) up in the bottom of the inning after Gagnon's injury as he led off with his team-high eighth homer of the year.

 

Ben McMahan followed him with a single and then a pair of walks loaded the bases with nobody out. Lance Roenicke then grounded into a double play to plate McMahan to make it a 2-0 lead.

 

Clearwater (23-24) scored one run in both the fifth and sixth innings, with extra-base hits leading off each inning, to tie the game up.

 

Logan Moore's second home run of the season off of Stephen Peterson cut the deficit in half in the fifth and then Maikel Franco opened the sixth with a double off of Tyler Cravy and later scored on Cameron Perkins' single up the middle.

 

Yet another run in the seventh off of Cravy gave the Threshers their first lead of the night, with Moore taking a leadoff walk and stealing a base before Aaron Altherr knocked an RBI single to center.

 

Three runs in the bottom half of that frame put Brevard County up for good, with all three runs coming with two outs.

 

Brandon Macias started the rally with his second long ball of the year, a solo shot to tie the game. Behind him, Greg Hopkins singled and moved to second on a throwing error as he would have been picked off the base paths. Hopkins was 3-for-4 on the night with two doubles.

 

Mitch Haniger's double sent him across the plate and then Haniger would score on a Cameron Garfield single to give the Manatees a 5-3 lead.

 

In the top of the eighth, Clearwater used back-to-back two-out hits off of Tommy Toledo to Brevard's lead to 5-4, with Chris Serritella smacking a double and then scoring on Jonathan Roof's bloop single to right field.

 

Toledo though would set the Threshers down in order in the ninth to earn his fifth save of the season and his first save of more than three outs this season.

 

The win for the Manatees, coupled with Dunedin's loss to Tampa, moves Brevard County just one game back of the Blue Jays for first place in the Florida State League North Division.

 

Game two of the series is set for 6:35 PM on Saturday (5:35 Central), with Brevard's David Goforth (4-4, 2.79) looking for his fourth straight win. He will be opposed by left-hander Mario Hollands (2-0, 2.45) for the Threshers.

 

Manatees first baseman Nick Ramirez, seen here in a game from earlier this season, hit his team-high eighth home run of the season as Brevard County defeated the Clearwater Threshers, 5-4 on Friday night at Space Coast Stadium in Viera. (Dennis Greenblatt/Hawk-Eye Sports Photography)

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/2/8/45535528/cuts/Ramirez_4.14_rfvs8qq0_ab7gfnpw.JPG

[TheCrew07]

Bandits score late and hold on to beat Rattlers

Wisconsin denied a three-game sweep at Quad Cities by a 4-3 loss

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

DAVENPORT, IA - The Quad Cities River Bandits broke a 3-3 tie with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning and held off the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the top of the ninth for a 4-3 victory at Modern Woodmen Park on Friday night.

 

Tyrone Taylor was at first base with two outs and a full count on Victor Roache. Taylor took off on the 3-2 pitch to Roache, who smacked a single to right that rolled to a stop in thick grass. Quad Cities right fielder Ariel Ovando was playing well off the line against the right-handed Roache and it took him awhile to get to the baseball. Taylor just kept running and easily scored the first run of the game.

 

Quad Cities (24-22) tied the game in the bottom of the first. Carlos Correa was at second and Terrell Joyce was at first with two outs and a full count on Rio Ruiz. Both runners took off on the 3-2 pitch to Ruiz, who smacked a hard grounder to the backhand of Timber Rattlers second baseman Chris McFarland. McFarland knocked the ball down, but had no play as Correa scored from second on the infield single to tie the game.

 

Wisconsin (21-22) took advantage of a pair of Quad Cities errors in the top of the second to take a 3-1 lead. A throwing error allowed Parker Berberet to reach at the start of the inning. Max Walla sent a grounder fair inside the third base line to left field. The throw went into second with first baseman Miles Hamblin covering and he couldn't handle the throw. That allowed Berberet to score. Chris McFarland was next and his double to left drove in Walla for a 3-1 lead.

 

Rattlers starting pitcher Preston Gainey got into trouble in the second and third innings, but escaped each time. He could not get out of trouble in the fourth. Jordan Scott and Austin Elkins had consecutive singles with one out. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Correa tripled to right to drive in both runs and tie the game 3-3.

 

The game stayed tied until the bottom of the eighth inning. Ariel Ovando drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch from Eric Semmelhack. Roberto Peña dropped a sacrifice bunt with two strikes to get pinch runner Teoscar Hernandez into scoring position. Semmelhack got the second out with a grounder to first that moved Hernandez to third base.

 

Semmelhack got ahead of Elkins 0-2 and looked like he might get out of the inning. But, the 0-2 pitch glanced off the glove of Berberet for a passed ball to let Hernandez in with the go ahead run.

 

Wisconsin tried to rally in the top of the ninth against Daniel Minor. Adam Giacalone singled to start the inning and was replaced by pinch runner Jose Sermo. Minor got a strikeout and a grounder to first for two outs as Sermo reached second base. McFarland got ahead in the count 2-0 and sent a deep fly ball to right center. Hernandez, who took over in center for the top of the ninth inning after his pinch running duty in the bottom of the eighth, raced back and made an over the shoulder catch to deny McFarland a game-tying extra base hit and end the game.

 

The Timber Rattlers had won the first two games of the series, but missed on the chance at a sweep and to go over the .500 mark. The River Bandits snapped a six game losing streak with the win.

 

The Timber Rattlers continue on their road swing through the Western Division with the start of a three-game series in Peoria, Illinois on Saturday night. The Timber Rattlers have Tyler Wagner (4-2, 3.16) as the scheduled starting pitcher. The Peoria Chiefs plan to send Kyle Helisek (3-1, 4.23) to the mound. Game time at Dozer Park is 6:30pm.

 

Tune in for the Miller Lite Pregame Show on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting at 6:10pm.

 

WP: Daniel Minor (3-1)

LP: Eric Semmelhack (1-1)

 

TIME: 2:48

ATTN: 3,790

 

Chris hits on Max Walla's return, the opposing manager's ejection,the Strike Out that wasn't, and the curious play that perhaps should have been a Balk.

Wait. What? Postgame post for May 24, 2013

 

Wisconsin Boxscore

Well this T-Rats bunch just doesn't like .500... gah! Mehring was extremely excited when Chris McFarland got a hold of that ball in the 9th that became the final out, then he sounded absolutely dumbfounded when the ball was caught to end the game. You can always tell when Chris is puzzled or stumped because he goes eerily silent.

 

Parker Berberet is a better defensive C than Clint Coulter, well marginally anyway, but my goodness what a horrible spot for a PB. Speaking of Clint, he got the night off as Erickson continues to rotate players around for equal playing time.

 

Wisconsin Recap

[Mass Haas]

Manatees Audio Game Highlights

 

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Brevard County Pre-Game Audio Interview with RHP Chad Pierce