Link Report for Tue. 6/25 - Nice Matinee Wins for Sounds, 'Tees; Goforth's AA Debut Goes Sour

[Mass Haas]

Helena Holds On to Complete Sweep

Things get interesting in 9th but Hillis shuts the door

By Zac Vierra / Helena Brewers

 

For the second straight night the Helena Brewers battled back from an early deficit for a comeback win against Great Falls. Helena held on, but just barely, for the 6-5 win over the Voyagers on Tuesday night.

 

In the top of the ninth inning with Helena leading 6-4 things got interesting. Chris Razo walked the leadoff man and was immediately replaced by Andy Hillis.

 

Hillis quickly got two outs on a fielder's choice and a strikeout but a single and a pair of walks later and Great Falls was trailing by one and looking to take the lead. With the bases juiced, Hillis didn't let the pressure get to him as he struck out Jacob Morris looking on a breaking ball to end the game and give Helena the series sweep.

 

"I got him on a slider. I think [catcher] Clint [Coulter] called that," said Hillis. "I feel like I pitch better under those situations."

 

The Voyagers jumped on Helena starter Zach Quintana in the second inning. Zach Fisher led off the inning by crushing a solo homer to straight away center field. After a strikeout, Quintana hit Jacob Morris with a pitch then Justin Jirschele pulled a single between first and second. With two on and one out, Jairo Kelly slapped a double down the left field line which plated Morris. Jirschele would eventually come home on a groundout as Great Falls took an early 3-0 lead.

 

Quintana would settle down allowing one more run the rest of the night. He picked up the no decision after allowing seven hits in six innings.

 

"[Zach] came into this start with more fire. He went after hitters a lot more, used his fastball a lot more. They got a few runs off him but he kept his composure and kept doing exactly what he was supposed to do," said Helena manager Tony Diggs.

 

As the Brewers did on Monday night, they didn't let an early deficit faze them. Trailing 3-0 Helena battled back in the bottom of the third off of Jose Bautista.

 

On the first pitch of the inning, Jalen Harris hit a double to center and Omar Garcia followed with a single to right. With Renaldo Jenkins batting, Garcia was picked off of but the throw by first baseman Alex Williams got away from the shortstop which allowed Harris to score on the error.

 

With Garcia on second, Jenkins ripped an RBI triple into the right center gap to bring Helena within one. Jenkins would come home to tie the game on a groundball off the bat of Angel Ortega.

 

"That's the resolve you want on any team. You want a team that fights all the way to the end of the game and so far they have been doing that," said Diggs. "These guys have done a really good job of [battling back] so hopefully it becomes a habit."

 

Great Falls would reclaim the lead in the top of the fourth when Jacob May came home on a one-out double by Tyler Shyrock.

 

The Brewers would tie the game at four in the bottom of the sixth when Michael Ratterree hit a leadoff single and after a fly out, Jose Pena hit a double down the third base line, and Coulter followed with an RBI single up the box.

 

Helena took its first lead of the game in the seventh inning. Once again Ratterree put the Brewers ahead against Great Falls. This time with Garcia on third and Jenkins on second and one out, Ratterree hit a ball deep enough to left to score Garcia on the sac fly.

 

"I feel good [at the plate]. The coaches have been working with me…They have been helping me be more aggressive to just get some rhythm at the plate," said Ratterree.

 

On the next pitch, Taylor Brennan hit a single up the middle and Jenkins beat the throw home to give the Brewers a 6-4 lead.

 

Razo would pick up the win in relief, his second of the year after allowing no hits in two innings.

 

For Helena the victory was the second straight, a feat that only happened once in 2012.

 

"It is nice to get off to a good start," said Diggs. "Back to back wins are pretty good. You look forward to winning more than just one game, more than just two games, you look to put something together, you win five, six, seven in row and hopefully we have the team to do that."

 

With a record of 3-3 Helena will hit the road for a six game road trip beginning Wednesday night in Billings. The team will return to Kindrick Legion Field on July 2nd for another two game set with Great Falls.

 

Zach Quintana fires a pitch on Tuesday night. Photo By Dylan Brown for the Independent Record

 

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[Mass Haas]

Stars Routed By Barons For Second Straight Game

By Alex Cohen / Huntsville Stars

 

After losing the opener of a five-game set at Regions Field by a score of 14-2 one evening earlier, the Huntsville Stars fell to the Birmingham Barons by a score of 12-2 on Tuesday night.

 

With Stars starting pitcher David Goforth making his Double-A Debut, the Birmingham bats started their offensive explosion early in the first inning. After walking both outfielder Keenyn Walker and first baseman Dan Black, Goforth gave up a two-out, two-run double to outfielder Michael Earley to put the Barons on the board.

 

In the third inning, it was Earley who would strike again. Following an error that allowed Walker to reach and another walk to Black, the Indiana University product duplicated his first inning output with another two-run double to make the score 4-0. A bases-loaded walk from shortstop Marcus Semien and an RBI single from second baseman Tyler Saladino ultimately put Birmingham up by six and led to Goforth's exit by the end of the third inning.

 

In his first start with the Stars, the Philadelphia, MS native fell to 0-1 on the year after giving up six runs (four earned) on six hits while walking four batters in 2.2 innings of work. The outing marked the third game in a row that a Stars starting pitcher was pulled before the fourth inning.

 

For Earley, he continued his hot hitting in the fourth inning with an RBI single off of Stars reliever Frankie De La Cruz, giving him three hits and five runs batted in on the game. De La Cruz gave up an RBI groundout to Saladino later in the frame to make the score 8-0.

 

One inning later, the hits just kept on coming for Birmingham as Semien led off the fifth against lefty Dan Meadows with a solo homer. As the inning went on, four walks issued by Meadows, the last to outfielder Jared Mitchell with the bases-loaded, allowed a run to score to put the Barons up by ten.

 

Birmingham tacked on one run in both the seventh and eighth innings off of Eric Marzec and Joey Paciorek respectively for good measure. Paciorek was the second position player for the Stars to end up on the mound this season. He walked four batters, including a runner home in his outing.

 

On offense, the Stars scored their first run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly from catcher Shawn Zarraga. Huntsville got their only other run in the eighth inning with a solo homer from outfielder Rene Tosoni. Third baseman Mike Walker paced the Huntsville offensive attack with two of the Stars five total hits.

 

From a pitching perspective, the 14 team walks was the most the Stars have given up this year.

 

In the last three games (all losses), the Stars have been outscored by a margin of 37-6. The loss also marks the 14th contest in a row that Huntsville has failed to score more than four runs in a game.

 

On Wednesday, the Stars and Barons will play game three of a five-game series at Regions Field. Huntsville will send RHP Taylor Jungmann (7-6, 3.76 ERA) to the bump to try to snap their four-game losing streak. Birmingham will counter with RHP Stephen McCray (7-5, 3.59 ERA). First pitch is at 11:00 AM.

[Mass Haas]

Rattler Radio Blog -- Post-Game Entry

[Mass Haas]

Manatees racking up wins with pitching, defense

Brevard completes sweep of Dunedin

by Michael Parsons, FLORIDA TODAY

 

The Brevard County Manatees have been practicing what the coaches have been preaching, and it is paying off on the field.

 

“Its one of the things we preach, the importance of defense,” Manatees manager Joe Ayrault said. “Pitching and defense, that is how you win ball games.”

 

And that is how they won again on Tuesday, defeating Dunedin 3-1.

 

Cody Scarpetta and Chad Pierce combined to allow just two hits and the team came up with big plays on defense to hold Dunedin to just the one run.

 

And the Manatees took advantage of their own chances, scoring two runs in the third inning. Two walks and a base hit with Brandon Macias loaded the bases. Greg Hopkins hit an infield single that scored the first run and then Cody Hawn drew a bases loaded walk to give the Manatees the lead.

 

“Business as usual for these guys,” Ayrault said of the win.

 

Yadiel Rivera had an RBI double in the seventh to tack on the third run. He has now hit safely in the past seven games and has scored five runs and drove in five during the streak.

 

“Early in the year he was chasing some pitches and now he is just locked in,” Ayrault said of his shortstop. “He is doing a real good job of laying off the pitchers pitch and getting good pitches to hit and driving them.”

 

It was all that the pitching staff needed as Scarpetta logged one of his best outings of the season. Despite four walks, he allowed just one run on one hit in four innings of work.

 

Pierce came in and tossed four shutout innings to pick up his third win of the season. Pierce gave up one hit and struck out three, also walking three.

 

It all added up to a sweep of Dunedin. The Manatees, riding a three-game winning streak, will hit the road for six games beginning tonight in Clearwater. The team is 7-2 since the All-Star break.

 

“It was disappointing to get beat out by a half-game in the first half. We lost a couple of close games in Tampa and this was a good way to bounce back,” Ayrault said.

 

Jacob Barnes will get the start for the Manatees tonight.

[Mass Haas]

Brewers hold on

By Amber Kuehn, Helena Independent Record

 

Right-handed reliever Andy Hillis said he relishes pressure-filled situations.

 

He certainly found himself in one Tuesday night.

 

The Brewers pitcher entered in the ninth with Helena clinging to a two-run lead over Great Falls and a runner on first. Following a fielder’s choice groundout by Tyler Shyrock, Hillis struck out Nick Basto using his mid-90s fastball to put the Brewers one out away from a sweep of the Voyagers.

 

Then the wheels began to come off. Alex Williams struck a bullet that ricocheted off the glove of a leaping Angel Ortega to give Great Falls new life, and an ensuing walk to Zach Fisher loaded the bases. Helena pitching coach Elvin Nina came to the mound for a conference, but Hillis walked in a run on the next at-bat, putting the potential tying run just 90 feet from home. Brewers catcher Clint Coulter went out to calm down Hillis, and the pitcher responded by getting Jacob Morris out on a called third strike to end the game.

 

“I got him on a slider,” Hillis said after Helena’s 6-5 victory over the Voyagers in front of a season-best 1,439 fans at Kindrick Legion Field. “I think Clint called that, but I’m not sure.

 

“I feel like I pitch better in those situations. I don’t like being in them, but I do feel like I pitch better.”

 

The win gave Helena back-to-back victories for the first time since July 7 and 8 of last year. It also brought the Brewers (3-3) back to .500 on the young season and extended the Voyagers’ three-game losing streak.

 

Hillis, the intimidating 6-foot-7, 235-pounder out of Lee University, was credited with his first professional save. He had nine saves this season for the NAIA school in Tennessee.

 

“He comes from a program where he came out of the bullpen, and he threw well for us in his first outing,” Brewers manager Tony Diggs said of Hillis. “He’s a guy who you kinda want the ball in his hands for that final out. It was a good job on his part.”

 

The Brewers trailed 3-0 early before tying the game in the third on a double, single and triple from the bottom third of their lineup. Great Falls regained the lead in the fourth on Shyrock’s RBI double, only to see Helena rally to knot things up again in the sixth.

 

The home team took its first lead in the seventh frame when Sean Hagan walked Omar Garcia and gave up a single to Renaldo Jenkins. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runners and paved the way for right fielder Michael Ratterree’s sac fly on an 0-1 fastball, low and away. It was the second night in a row where Ratterree was responsible for the go-ahead run.

 

“I feel good,” said Ratterree, who has only been in Helena since Saturday. “The coaches have been working with me ... helping me be more aggressive at the plate.”

 

Taylor Brennan’s RBI single in the next at-bat gave the Brewers a two-run cushion that would prove to be critical later in the dramatic final frame. It was the fourth hit of the season for Brennan, and the first that was something other than a home run.

 

Ratterree, Garcia and Jenkins all finished 2 for 3 for Helena. Jenkins smashed a run-scoring triple as part of the three-run third inning.

 

“I feel blessed, the Brewers is a great organization,” said Ratterree, who has only been in town since Saturday. “... I feel lucky playing out here on a professional baseball team.”

 

Diggs is happy to have the 10th-round draft pick in a Helena uniform and has already seen tremendous progress in the short time Ratterree has been here. He’s batting .500 over the last two games.

 

“He’s starting to find himself at the plate,” the skipper said. “... He’s starting to get his feet underneath him, and we’re looking for good things out of him.”

 

The Brewers finished with ten hits in the contest, one away from matching their season high. Still, Diggs said the team needs to work on running the bases a little better and being more patient at the plate.

 

“We also need to be able to drive the ball the other way, we get in the habit of wanting to pull a little bit,” he said.

 

Chris Razo picked up his second win of the season for Helena after giving up just one run on no hits in two innings of relief. Zach Quintana made his second start for Helena and went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking four.

 

“This is a lot better start than his last one; he came into this start with more fire,” Diggs said, referring to Quintana’s opening-night appearance. “He went right after hitters, used his fastball a lot more. They got a few runs off of him, but he kept his composure and kept doing exactly what he was supposed to do.”

 

Voyagers starter Jose Bautista rebounded from his rough outing on opening night — he went just 2/3 of an inning in that one and gave up three earned runs. Bautista was practically untouchable Tuesday, giving up just two earned runs on five hits, walking none and fanning six through five frames. He finished with a no-decision, while Joey Wagman got the blown save and Hagan suffered the loss.

 

Fisher led Great Falls at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a solo shot that started the scoring for the Voyagers (2-4).

 

Helena heads to Billings (4-1) for a three-game set, hoping to continue the current streak and looking for its first win against the Pioneer League North Division-leading Mustangs. Southpaw Anthony Banda is scheduled to start tonight for the Brewers at Dehler Park.

 

“It is nice to get off to a good start,” Diggs said. “Back-to-back wins are pretty good and you look forward to winning more than just one game, more than just two, but look forward to trying to win five, six, seven in a row. Hopefully we have the team to do that.”

[Mass Haas]

All photos by Dylan Brown, Helena Independent Record

 

Helena Brewers catcher Clint Coulter completes a double play to first base, after forcing an out at home Tuesday. The Brewers were playing the Great Falls Voyagers at Kindrick Legion Field.

 

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Taylor Brennan watches a pop-fly land in the crowd Tuesday.

 

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Second baseman Renaldo Jenkins taps the bag Tuesday, forcing an out on Great Falls' Jacob Morris.

 

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Shortstop Angel Ortega gathers the ball Tuesday night.

 

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Jose Pena makes contact with the ball.

 

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Pitcher Zach Quintana delivers the ball.

 

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[Mass Haas]

Final: @Helena 6, Great Falls 5

 

The box score stopped updating in the top of the 7th with the game knotted at 4--can whoever reads this first after it's completed post some notes?

 

When I tuned in it was the top of the 9th with one on and two outs and the H-Crew up by two. Andy Hillis immediately proceeded to give up a single and two walks to force in a run before snapping off a curveball for strike three and the final out of the game, leaving the bases loaded.

 

As usual, plenty of details on home game action from the Helena site and the Record, so we're good here, Game Log link for you as well.

 

Like Sessile, I was tuned in for that last stand, Clint Coulter almost let a pitch get away for a passed ball on the pitch just prior to the final called strike. That would have been a bummer, but it wasn't. Go H-Crew!

 

For Helena the victory was the second straight, a feat that only happened once in 2012.

 

Wow, a real reminder of just how ridiculously awful last year's Helena campaign was...

[Mass Haas]

Final: @AZL Brewers 17, AZL Indians 5

 

AZL Brewers Box Score

This team's going to be fun to follow, no? Have a game, Eric Williams! The 23rd round Texas high school pick was 4-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, double. Five other Brewers had two hits, including the first pro hit (RBI double) for another high schooler, 30th round Miami-area product Luis Aviles.

 

Leadoff 2B Francisco Castillo maintains his 1.000+ OPS, on base four times (double, single, two walks). OF Elvis Rubio, DH'ing here, had hit three HR's in 304 DSL AB's over the last two seasons. He has two HR's in his first 15 AZL at-bats.

 

Love the patience! Ten walks along with the 16 hits, and although cleanup first baseman David Denson was 0-for-3, he drew three free passes. Sure, let the Prince Fielder comparisons begin -- no pressure, young man.

 

RHP Austin Ross made his 2nd rehab start post-Tommy John, extending to a second inning. Three RHP's, including just-turned 20-year-old Venezuelan Jorge Ortega, did not allow an earned run over the final seven frames, combining to walk only one and fan six.

 

AZL Brewers Game Log

Enjoy!

[Eye Black]

PRE-GAME AUDIO: Manatees pitcher Kevin Shackelford talks about his recent success on the mound