Link Report for Wed. 7/24 - Helena Nearing A First-Half Division Title

[Mass Haas]

More Wisconsin highlights -- these from the MyNew32 TV Broadcast

 

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TV postgame interview with starting pitcher Preston Gainey

[Mass Haas]

Additional Post-Game Interview with Preson Gainey can be found at the link below from the Post-Crescent -

 

Wisconsin routs Clinton

by Tim Froberg, Post-Crescent Media

 

GRAND CHUTE — He’s often the smallest and youngest player on the field, but Orlando Arcia has no problem getting noticed.

 

His superb defensive skills and potential for growth at the plate make Arcia a prospect who is being closely tracked by the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

Arcia’s skill set was on full display Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The 18-year-old shortstop from Anaco, Venezuela made two terrific defensive plays, cracked two hits and stole a base.

 

Arcia’s multiple contributions, combined with a terrific pitching performance from Preston Gainey, lifted the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to a 9-1 win over the Clinton LumberKings before a crowd of 5,153 in the opener of a six-game home stand.

 

Arcia is ranked by Baseball America as the 17th best prospect in the Brewers’ organization. As a shortstop, he has exceptional range and a strong arm.

 

Arcia’s first head-turning defensive play came in the second inning when he made a leaping grab of a line drive to rob Clinton’s Gaby Guerrero of a base hit.

 

“It was a little bit of a surprise that I came up with it,” said Arcia through teammate Mike Garza, who served as translator. “I had to wait and time my jump.”

 

An inning later, Arcia delivered another defensive gem. He ranged far to the right to scoop up Ketel Marte’s ground ball up the middle and gun Marte out with a difficult on-the-run throw.

 

“I think the ball up the middle was probably the tougher play,” said Arcia. “My arm is one of the best parts of my game. If I can get to a ball like that, I can still throw him out from deep short. I felt good about my play tonight. Anything I can do to help the team is a plus. Thanks to God, I was feeling really good out there.”

 

Arcia is hitting a modest .243 but has shown gradual improvement at the plate and excellent speed on the basepaths. The 5-foot-11, 160-pounder highlighted Wisconsin’s three-run third with an RBI triple down the first-base line. He added a single in the fifth and stole his 16th base of the season.

 

“He’s a young man who brings great energy,” said Wisconsin manager Matt Erickson. “He’s very passionate about the game and he’s one of those guys who wants to be the best player on the field on a nightly basis. That’s not always going to happen, but he has that kind of attitude.

 

“We knew all about his defensive skills coming in and he’s gotten better at the plate. He still chases some bad pitches. With a little more patience, I think his numbers will jump.”

 

Gainey had a major hand in the win, too. The 22-year-old right-hander limited the LumberKings to just one hit over seven shutout innings to raise his season record to 4-5.

 

Gainey was extremely effective and leaned on his infield defense, retiring 10 hitters on ground outs.

 

“It was my best outing of the year and probably of my pro career,” said Gainey. “I found a little bit of a rhythm and just went with it. I was living on my fastball most of the game and later on my slider really started working well. I just tried to attack hitters and locate my fastball. And my defense made some great plays behind me.”

 

Gainey departed after throwing 82 pitches, 44 for fastballs. Ryan Gibbard finished up for Wisconsin, allowing two hits and an unearned run in two innings.

 

“It was awesome to see that from Gainey,” said Erickson. “He’s been kind of inconsistent with his starts. In a way he was effectively wild, because he was getting to a lot of two and three-ball counts, but then he would make a pitch and find a way to get an out. He located his fastball pretty well down in the zone.”

 

Jamodrick McGruder of the LumberKings bobbles the ball as Orlando Arcia of the Timber Rattlers slides into second at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute on Wednesday. / Photo by Ron Page, Post-Crescent Media

 

http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20130724&Category=APC02060201&ArtNo=307240510&Ref=AR&MaxW=600&Border=0

[TooLiveBrew]

Sounds Fall To Isotopes, 9-1

Diaz Goes 3-for-4 To Continue Hot Hitting For Nashville

Nashville Sounds

 

http://i.imgur.com/3ouXZ3E.jpg

Robinzon Diaz (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds)

 

• AUDIO: Blake Davis RBI Triple

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Albuquerque Isotopes defeated the Nashville Sounds by a 9-1 margin on Wednesday evening at Greer Stadium.

 

Albuquerque right-hander Matt Magill (3-0) struck out 10 batters, including six in a row at one point, while holding the Sounds to one run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings of work to earn the win.

 

Eight different Isotopes batters drove in a run in the contest, the Sounds' eighth defeat in 10 games against Albuquerque on the year.

 

Third baseman Robinzon Diaz (3-for-4) recorded half of Nashville's six hits in the contest. He has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games at a .441 clip (15-for-34).

 

Albuquerque grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Sounds starter Aaron Laffey. Dee Gordon opened the contest by legging out an infield single, stole his league-leading 37th base of the year, advanced to third on a throwing error charged to catcher Blake Lalli, and scored the night's first run on an Elian Herrera groundout.

 

Sounds left fielder Blake Davis knotted the contest in the second when his two-out triple to the right-center gap brought in Hunter Morris, who had opened the frame with a single.

 

The visitors pulled back in front, 4-1, in the fourth with three runs against Laffey on a pair of RBI singles sandwiched around a bases-loaded walk issued to Magill. Laffey (4-5) took his second loss in three starts for Nashville after allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits over his four frames of action.

 

Buss added to the Isotopes' advantage when he led off the fifth by greeting Sounds reliever Johnnie Lowe with his 14th home run of the year, a shot to deep right-center that made it a 5-1 contest.

 

Albuquerque tacked on another run in the sixth against Lowe. Magill continued to help his own cause by doubling to open the inning and later scored on a Scott Van Slyke sacrifice fly.

 

The Isotopes closed out the night's scoring in the ninth with three runs against the Nashville bullpen to bring the score to its final 9-1 standing.

 

The teams wrap up the four-game series with a 7:05 p.m. finale on Thursday evening. Right-hander Johnny Hellweg (8-4, 2.61) will man the bump for the Sounds to face Albuquerque southpaw Rob Rasmussen (0-4, 5.74).

 

 

Nashville Box

 

 

Nashville PbP

 

 

Nashville Gameday

[Mass Haas]

Final: AZL Padres 10, @AZL Brewers 3

 

AZL Brewers Box Score

 

Really tough to take too many positives out of this game, looks like the bench was emptied late to get AB's for several. David Denson and Elvis Rubio both reached twice, and the team turned three double plays, so there you go.

 

Errors, caught stealings, poor with RISP, not an A-Game for the A-Crew.

 

5th round RHP Josh Uhen was used in late relief with UW-Milwaukee (only 21.1 innings), so that helps explain his assignment to Maryvale instead of Helena, but he's still struggling regardless.

 

AZL Brewers Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Positive gains for Rattlers' Gainey

Former Midshipman allows one hit in seven shutout innings

By Jake Seiner / MiLB.com

 

A little over a year ago, Preston Gainey was faced with a serious life decision. How are things going for him since?

 

"It's been a blessing," he said.

 

The Brewers' 2012 11th-round Draft pick chose a career in professional baseball over continuing his education at the United States Naval Academy last summer. He did it hoping for nights like Wednesday, when he tossed a career-best seven innings and held Clinton to one hit in Class A Wisconsin's 9-1 victory.

 

Gainey (4-5) struck out one and walked three in the scoreless effort, using a well-spotted fastball to induce 10 groundouts while trusting his defense to do the job behind him.

 

It was his first scoreless effort since tossing two innings out of the bullpen for Rookie-level on July 7, 2012. Wednesday's effort reduced his ERA to 6.28 in 18 appearances, including 10 starts, this season. He's struck out 43 batters, walked 37 and given up seven homers over 67 1/3 innings.

 

The 22-year-old right-hander said the big difference Wednesday was better focus from the rubber.

 

"I've been focusing a lot on my mental approach to pitching, just kind of relaxing," he said. "A lot of times, I catch myself trying to do too much. I overpitch, almost, and try to be too perfect. Tonight, I was relaxed and throwing the ball over the plate."

 

Gainey's tense tendencies aren't shocking, considering his history. While the grind of traveling and playing ball every day can wear on some new professionals, he's found the Minor League pace easy to adapt to after two years at Annapolis.

 

The Florida native was excellent as a Midshipman, earning a spot on the All-Patriot League Tournament Team as a freshman in 2011 before being named second-team all-conference as a sophomore. He went 3-3 with a 3.25 ERA and 54 strikeouts over 55 1/3 innings in 2012, attracting Milwaukee's attention.

 

When the Brewers drafted Gainey, he faced a stark choice. If he signed to play pro ball, there was no going back to the Naval Academy. Gainey's family has a history of military service, and while the chance to serve in the Navy was one of his goals, the chance to chase Major League dreams was too strong.

 

About 13 months after making the decision, the right-hander has no regrets.

 

"Absolutely," he said when asked if it was the right choice. "I kind of went back and forth on the decision of whether to leave. I prayed about it a lot.

 

"It really has been a blast. ... [The Naval Academy] was a tough lifestyle; this is just fun, playing baseball. It's awesome. It's a blessing and a fun ride. I've learned a lot along the way and I look forward to the rest of my career."

 

Among the hitters Gainey shut down Wednesday was 12th overall pick D.J. Peterson, who was making his Midwest League debut. The Mariners prospect went 0-for-4 with one strikeout.

 

For Wisconsin, shortstop Orlando Arcia was 2-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base, an RBI and two runs scored and made a nifty, leaping grab to rob Gabriel Guerrero of a base hit in the second inning.

 

Preston Gainey is 3-0 in eight outings since June 3. (Photo by Ann Mollica/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers)

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/0/0/6/54683006/cuts/480_Gainey_Ann_Mollica_Wisconsin_Timber_Rattlers_od5c9hsg_6yudhchx.jpg

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO: Starting pitcher Jacob Barnes joins Al Hernandez on the Manatees pregame show