Link Report for Sat. 7/13

[Mass Haas]

Additional Timber Rattler highlights via the TV broadcast

[Mass Haas]

Raptors Take Bite Out of Brewers

Helena dropps third straight contest

By Zac Vierra / Helena Brewers

 

The Helena Brewers fell behind Ogden early on Saturday night and could not recover, falling to the Raptors 8-3.

 

Ogden smashed a pair of homers in the win and Jonathan Martinez picked up the victory after limiting the Brewers to two runs on five hits in six innings.

 

Things didn't look good for Helena early in this one as the Raptors took the lead when the second batter of the game, Gerson Nunez, crushed an absolute bomb to left for a solo home run off Tristan Archer.

 

Ogden would grab four more runs in the second inning when an error hurt the Brewers. With one out, Joey Curletta hit a grounder to short that Angel Ortega couldn't corral for his eighth miscue of the season. Curletta would score in the next at bat when Hank Yates smoked a double into the left-center gap.

 

After a groundout, Brandon Trinkwon would pull a double down the line in right that scored Yates. Nunez would then get hit with a pitch and after a wild pitch, Pat Stover would hit the third double of the inning to score a pair and make it a 5-0 game.

 

"We came out flat. We didn't perform well. We didn't do a lot of the little things that we usually do well. It was just one of those days," said Helena Manager Tony Diggs.

 

Archer would be replaced by Danny Keller (photo below) after allowing five runs (although only one was earned) on five hits in two innings.

 

It was Keller's first appearance since June 22nd and he pitched two shutout innings allowing just a single.

 

"It was a nice performance by Keller. Especially the time that he has had off, coming back from a little bit of a nagging back injury. He came out for two innings by design and did a good job," said Diggs.

 

The Brewers would chip away in the bottom of the third when Dionis Hinojosa hit a single to center and Renaldo Jenkins followed with a perfect bunt to third. After a sac bunt and a fly out, Michael Ratterree would pull a single that got through the hole between short and third as Hinojosa and Jenkins scored.

 

But Ogden would get two more runs in the top of the fifth off David Otterman when Pat Stover hit a solo homer to center and Justin Chigbogu hit a double and eventually scored on a double play.

 

Otterman would settle down and pitch till the eighth inning, keeping the Brewers in the game.

 

"It was one of those things where [Otterman] was part of that tandem to throw today. He had a little bit of a rough start but he kept his composure and went right out there so he did a good job tonight," said Diggs.

 

Helena would grab a run in the top of the ninth but it was too little too late as the Brewers lost their third game in a row.

 

Luckily Helena won't have much time to dwell on the loss as the teams are back at it for a matinee tomorrow. First pitch is at 1:05 PM (2:05 Central).

 

Danny Keller Photo via the Helena Site by Seth Eikomstead

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/9/0/53700390/cuts/44_Danny_Keller_g00bzpvz_mvkt7dqp.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Goforth, Homers Carry Stars to Victory

By Alex Cohen / Huntsville Stars

 

With their second two-hit shutout from their pitching staff in the last five days, the Huntsville Stars evened up their series against the Birmingham Barons at two games apiece with a 3-0 victory on Friday night at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

Much like his last start where he tossed a complete-game, seven-inning, two-hit shutout against the Tennessee Smokies, Stars starting pitcher David Goforth was the story of the night on Friday. The 24-year-old righty shut out the Barons through seven innings, giving up just two hits once again while striking out five batters and walking two. Righty Brooks Hall notched his first save of the season by blanking the Barons bats over the final two innings of the game to conserve the two-hit shutout.

 

For Goforth, the win improves his record to 3-1 in a Stars uniform in four outings at the Double-A level. The Ole Miss product has now not given up a run in his last 14 innings and has won his last three starts.

 

On offense, the Stars gave Goforth and the rest of the pitching staff all the run support they needed in the first inning. With two outs, outfielder Rene Tosoni launched a solo homer that tucked right inside the right-field foul pole off of Birmingham starting pitcher Michael Nix to put Huntsville on the board. The homer for Tosoni was his tenth of the season and second longball in his last three games.

 

For good measure, the Stars tacked on two more runs against Nix in the seventh inning. After a leadoff walk from outfielder Brock Kjeldgaard, first baseman Mike Walker hit a two-run blast to make the score 3-0. The homer for Walker was also his tenth of the season.

 

Third basemen Joey Paciorek also chipped in with two hits.

 

The two-hitter for the Stars was the second in their last five days, the first being the one from Goforth on July 8th against Tennessee. Despite ranking ninth in the league in earned run average and total runs given up, the Stars pitching staff has two two-hitters and three one-hitters this season.

 

On Sunday, The Stars will wrap up a five-game series at Joe Davis Stadium against the Birmingham Barons on Sunday. Huntsville will send RHP Andy Moye (4-9, 4.16 ERA) to the bump to try to win their first season in four tries against Birmingham. The Barons will counter with former Cy Young Award winning pitcher Jake Peavy (N/R) as he makes a rehab appearance as a member of the Chicago White Sox.

 

First pitch on Sunday is at a special 1:03 PM time.

 

The Stars will continue their second-half schedule on Thursday with the opener of a five-game set against the Pensacola BlueWahoos in Pensacaola.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville audio highlight's from Saturday's victory via Alex - SEE. YOU. LATER.

[Mass Haas]

Final: AZL Athletics 7, @AZL Brewers 5

 

AZL Brewers Box Score

 

Brewers scored three in the 8th to make things respectable. 3rd year pro LHP Will West made his 2013 debut, we're unaware of the specific injury he's been rehabbing, but he retired all six men he faced, nice. Unfortunately, 5th round UW-Milwaukee RHP Josh Uhen's night was poor, done in a bit by his club's defense but mostly by five walks. A-Crew pitchers threw five wild pitches, one by Uhen.

 

Brewer batters failed to draw a single walk, never like to see that at the lower levels, where you're always looking for glimpses of overall plate discipline. (The team is faring OK in that regard, currently 5th in the 13-team league.)

 

We need to start paying more attention to 8th round Florida high school pick OF Brandon Diaz, looks like he's got a real solid head start on his pro career at .300/.391/.433, three singles and two RBI here. Catcher Tanner Norton and first baseman Alan Sharkey each had two singles, and 22-year-old (23 in August) non-drafted free agent SS Steven Halcomb out of Gonzaga made his pro debut, singling twice and scoring a run.

 

1B David Denson missed a 2nd consecutive game since exiting early Thursday.

 

AZL Brewers Game Log

 

Josh Uhen's night --

 

AZL Athletics Top of the 3rd

 

Pitching Change: Josh Uhen replaces Will West.

Piikea-Jiro Kitamura grounds out, second baseman Francisco Castillo to first baseman Alan Sharkey.

Scott Masik reaches on a throwing error by third baseman Luis Aviles.

With Yairo Munoz batting, passed ball by Tanner Norton, Scott Masik to 2nd.

Yairo Munoz walks.

Justin Higley walks. Scott Masik to 3rd. Yairo Munoz to 2nd.

Billy McKinney out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Eric Williams. Scott Masik scores.

Ryon Healy walks. Yairo Munoz to 3rd. Justin Higley to 2nd.

Diomedes Lopez grounds into a force out, shortstop Steven Halcomb to second baseman Francisco Castillo. Ryon Healy out at 2nd.

 

AZL Athletics Top of the 4th

 

Gabriel Santana bunt grounds out, pitcher Josh Uhen to first baseman Alan Sharkey.

Jonesy Zarraga grounds out, first baseman Alan Sharkey to pitcher Josh Uhen.

Piikea-Jiro Kitamura walks.

With Scott Masik batting, wild pitch by Josh Uhen, Piikea-Jiro Kitamura to 2nd.

Scott Masik walks.

Yairo Munoz homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Piikea-Jiro Kitamura scores. Scott Masik scores.

Justin Higley grounds out, second baseman Francisco Castillo to first baseman Alan Sharkey.

 

Not happening for the A-Crew here, stranding three --

 

AZL Brewers Bottom of the 7th

 

Tanner Norton singles on a ground ball to pitcher Travis Pitcher.

Alan Sharkey singles on a ground ball to center fielder Billy McKinney. Tanner Norton to 2nd.

Luis Aviles strikes out swinging.

Steven Halcomb singles on a ground ball to left fielder Scott Masik. Tanner Norton to 3rd. Alan Sharkey to 2nd.

Francisco Castillo lines out to third baseman A. J. Kubala.

Johnny Davis called out on strikes.

[Mass Haas]

Brief Huntsville video highlights, too.

 

Goforth! Mike Walker's blast! Line dancing!

[Mass Haas]

The Nashville site game story now includes game audio highlight links.

[TheCrew07]

Reds' Robert Stephenson healthy again.

 

Dragons' Stephenson healthy, dominant

[TheCrew07]

Ten first-half climbers: Southern League

 

1. Arismendy Alcantara, SS (Tennessee Smokies) — 2008 international signing, Cubs No. 20

 

What he did: .281/.355/.480, 13 HR, 23 2B, 45 RBIs, 22 steals in 25 tries in 89 games. One of the youngest regulars in the league, who will spend the entire season as a 21-year-old, Alcantara managed to rank sixth on the circuit in OPS. The Dominican Republic native broke out a bit last year with a .302/.339/.447 line in 85 games with Class A Advanced Daytona, but has shown improved patience and power this year while being a very efficient base stealer.

 

Where he might rank now: He seems very likely to at least have worked his way up to near 10th.

 

http://milbprospective.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/alcantara555.jpg?w=555&h=312

 

5. Kyle Hendricks, SP (Tennessee) — 2011 Draft, 8th round, Cubs unranked

 

What he did: 8-3, 2.13 ERA, 81 K/24 BB in 101 1/3 innings. Hendricks’ development into a quality prospect just adds to the bounty Chicago reaped when it dealt Ryan Dempster to Texas for the 23-year-old and Christian Villanueva in 2012. With a better than 3.00 K/BB and a league-leading ERA, he’s shown his numbers between Myrtle Beach and Daytona last year (2.99 ERA, 123 strikeouts, 18 walks, 147 2/3 innings) are no fluke.

 

Where he might rank now: The Cubs have had more than a few nice years out of their system, so not likely to get much higher than 15th, at least for now.

 

http://milbprospective.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/hendricks555.jpg?w=555&h=312

 

8. Alberto Cabrera, SP (Tennessee) — 2005 international signing, Cubs No. 18

 

What he did: 9-3, 3.20 ERA, 107 K/39 BB in 112 2/3 innings. The Dominican Republic native has already been around forever and seen everything, it seems, but lost in tough stints at Triple-A and even the Major Leagues, and a switch last year to the bullpen, it’s easy to forget that 24 years old is still plenty young. This is the most time he’s been given at any one level in his entire career, and the stability has served him well — the 8.55 K/9 and the 3.20 ERA are some of the bests he’s ever produced as a starter.

 

Where he might rank now: A modest jump to something like 15th could be in line. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares as a full-time starter again when he gets another full shot at Triple-A.

 

http://milbprospective.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/cabrera555.jpg?w=555&h=312