Link Report for Wed. 7/31 - Nickname-less Nelson and Ariel Speedwagon Go Tonight (Mark Rogers, too)

[DHonks]

not sure which is most shocking...to see Mark Rogers in a game, or to see he got 2k/ip and 0bb/ip

[brewmann04]

I hope this is a positive start and he can get to Miwaukee before the end of the Year. Hope he got the Velocity back to normal.

[DHonks]

agreed Gene. Mark back in Milwaukee could tease us and give us another arm for next year. If he can be healthy with velocity and a better training/throwing regimen going forward, then this was a good season to miss.

[battlekow]

Final: @Missoula 7, Helena 3

 

Helena box score

Eduard Reyes was hit hard again, allowing five runs in four innings. The Brewers managed only five hits, two by Adam Giacalone, who also walked. Omar Garcia walked twice and swiped his 16th bag.

 

Osprey DH Jose Queliz hit for the cycle. Steve noted that the last four cycles to occur in the Pioneer League have all come at the expense of Helena.

 

Helena play-by-play

[Minigoon]

Final: Jackson 7 Huntsville 3

 

The Huntsville Stars built a 3-0 lead after 2 innings, then watched as Jackson rattled off 7 unanswered runs to win 7-3 Wednesday night. Ariel Pena started and struggled again. It very similar to his struggles early in the season. He wasn't able to get through 5 innings tonight. His line is 4 2/3 innings, 3 runs, all earned, on 6 hits and 4 walks while striking out 2. For the year, Pena has now walked 64, to lead the Southern League. On the positive side, Pena has recorded 99 strike outs, good for 6th in the league. Tonight, he needed 92 pitches to cover 4 2/3 innings, 57 were strikes. He did have a sparkling 8-1 GO/FO ratio.

 

With Pena's short outing, the bullpen needed to cover 3 1/3 innings. Mark Williams came on and got the Stars out of the 5th. David Goforth was called on to work the 6th & 7th innings. David struggled with control tonight. Listening to the broadcast, he was missing inside when he missed. His control issues cost him as he was forced to throw strikes as the bases were loaded, and Ji-Man Choi made him pay, hitting a grand slam. Those 4 runs were the winning margin tonight. Goforth (4-2, 4.26) went 2 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. Goforth threw 46 pitches over those 2 innings, 25 for strikes. He posted a 3-0 GO/FO ratio. His fastball was in the low to mid 90's. Casey Medlen worked a scoreless 8th, allowing 2 hits.

 

Huntsville Box Score

 

The Stars had 9 hits and 3 walks, but none after the 5th, and really didn't threaten to score after the 2nd. Adam Weisenburger led the Stars tonight, reaching base 3 times, 2 singles and a hit by pitch. Adam also scored a run for the Stars. Center fielder Chadwin Stang was the other Stars hitter to record more than 1 hit, going 2-5 tonight with an RBI. Jason Rogers and Mike Walker each reached base twice, once on a single and once via base on balls. Walker also stole his 2nd base of the season. Brock Kjeldgaard singled and drove in a run, his 51st RBI on the season. Joey Paciorek and Hector Gomez each had a hit for the Stars. Rene Tosoni drove in a run with a ground out. Left fielder Shea Vucinich walked and scored a run for Huntsville.

 

Huntsville Play By Play

 

The first couple innings were good.

 

Huntsville Top of the 1st

 

Chadwin Stang grounds out, shortstop Chris Taylor to first baseman Daniel Paolini.

Shea Vucinich walks.

Rene Tosoni flies out to left fielder Leon Landry.

Jason Rogers singles on a sharp ground ball to left fielder Leon Landry. Shea Vucinich to 2nd.

Brock Kjeldgaard singles on a ground ball to left fielder Leon Landry. Shea Vucinich scores. Brock Kjeldgaard to 2nd. Jason Rogers advances to 3rd, on a fielding error by left fielder Leon Landry.

Joey Paciorek grounds out, second baseman Jack Marder to first baseman Daniel Paolini.

 

Huntsville Top of the 2nd

 

Adam Weisenburger singles on a sharp ground ball to center fielder James Jones.

Mike Walker singles on a ground ball to right fielder Julio Morban. Adam Weisenburger to 2nd.

Hector Gomez singles on a line drive to left fielder Leon Landry. Adam Weisenburger to 3rd. Mike Walker to 2nd.

Chadwin Stang singles on a line drive to right fielder Julio Morban. Adam Weisenburger scores. Mike Walker to 3rd. Hector Gomez to 2nd.

Shea Vucinich strikes out swinging.

Rene Tosoni grounds into a force out, shortstop Chris Taylor to second baseman Jack Marder. Mike Walker scores. Hector Gomez to 3rd. Chadwin Stang out at 2nd. Rene Tosoni to 1st.

Jason Rogers walks. Rene Tosoni to 2nd.

Brock Kjeldgaard grounds out softly to first baseman Daniel Paolini.

 

Huntsville (17-21 second half, 46-60 overall) and Jackson will play the rubber game of this 5 game series. Righty Brooks Hall (0-4, 5.88) will be on the mound for the Stars. Game time is set for 7:05 Central with Stars Radio Broadcaster Alex Cohen taking the air at 6:50 for the pregame show. This game will be available on MiLB TV for those with a subscription.

[TooLiveBrew]

Sounds Walk Off Against Vegas, 3-2

Velez RBI Single Gives Nashville Its Season-Best Third Straight Win

Nashville Sounds

 

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

The Sounds celebrate their walk-off win (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds)

 

• AUDIO: Kentrail Davis Scores On Wild Pitch
  
• AUDIO: Robinzon Diaz RBI Fielder's Choice
  
• AUDIO: Eugenio Velez Walk-Off RBI Single

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Eugenio Velez laced a one-out RBI single to center in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Nashville Sounds a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Las Vegas 51s on Wednesday evening at Greer Stadium.

 

With their fourth last at-bat win of the year, the Sounds (41-71) matched their longest winning streak of the season with their third straight victory.

 

In the decisive frame, Hainley Statia led off with an infield single and was sacrificed to second by Kentrail Davis before racing home on Velez's line-drive game-winner over the center fielder's head. Velez has hit safely in his last four games at a .538 clip (7-for-13), including three extra-base knocks.

 

Nashville had held a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth before a blown save necessitated the walk-off heroics.

 

Starter Jimmy Nelson worked five scoreless innings for Nashville, striking out seven batters while scattering three hits during his season-high 108-pitch outing. He departed in line for the victory but was left with a no-decision following a late blown save by the Sounds' bullpen. With the effort, the 24-year-old lowered his Triple-A ERA to 3.47 in nine starts.

 

The Sounds took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Kentrail Davis (2-for-3) led off with a single, was sacrificed to second by Velez, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored when Las Vegas starter Chris Schwinden uncorked a wild pitch.

 

Nashville doubled its advantage to 2-0 in the fifth. Blake Davis (2-for-3) led off with a single and later scored on a Robinzon Diaz RBI fielder's choice.

 

Las Vegas halved the lead to 2-1 in the seventh when pinch-hitter Jamie Hoffmann belted a leadoff solo homer to left off Sounds reliever Travis Webb, his fifth longball of the year.

 

Hoffmann, who remained in the game in left field, continued to torment the Sounds in the bottom of the eighth, when he threw out Statia at the plate as he attempted to score from second on Kentrail Davis' two-out single

 

Hoffmann struck again for the 51s in the ninth, tying the contest at 2-2 with his second roundtripper of the night. The veteran belted a leadoff solo shot to left-center that careened off the guitar-shaped scoreboard.

 

Right fielder Sean Halton ripped a one-out double to left in the fourth inning to extend the Sounds' longest hitting streak to eight games (9-for-29, .310).

 

The teams continue the series with another 7:05 p.m. meeting on Thursday night. Left-hander Chris Narveson (2-6, 6.15) will make the start for the Sounds and face Albuquerque right-hander Giancarlo Alvarado (4-0, 2.08).

 

 

Nashville Box

 

Nashville PbP

 

Nashville Gameday

[Mass Haas]

Left-hander Chris Narveson (2-6, 6.15) will make the start for the Sounds and face Albuquerque right-hander Giancarlo Alvarado (4-0, 2.08).

 

Carlo Alvarado, the 35-year-old Puerto Rico native and independent league, Mexican League, and Japan League vetearn, is one of the more obscure Brewer system alumni. He made 17 relief appearances for High-A High Desert back in 2002, joining the Brewers after seven seasons in the Pirates system.

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO highlights embedded below:

 

***

 

Stars Drop Second Straight to Generals

By Alex Cohen / Huntsville Stars

 

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Huntsville Stars fell on the wrong side of a Jackson Generals rally as they took a loss by a score of 7-3 on Wednesday night.

 

To begin their early surge, the Stars got to Generals starting pitcher Anthony Vasquez in the top of the first inning. After left fielder Shea Vucinich drew a one-out walk and a single from first baseman Jason Rogers, an RBI fielders choice from Rene Tosoni scored Vucinich to put the Stars on the board. One batter later, an RBI single from designated hitter Brock Kjeldgaard made the score 2-0 (audio).

 

One inning later, four straight singles capped off by one from outfielder Chadwin Stang that scored catcher Adam Weisenburger put Huntsville up by three (audio).

 

Unfortunately, the Generals scoring seven unanswered runs en route to a victory over the course of the rest of the game.

 

In the third inning, Jackson worked a pair of walks and a pair of singles by outfielder James Jones and catcher John Hicks into two separate RBI fielders choices from outfielder Julio Morban and third baseman Ramon Morla to cut the Stars lead to one.

 

Two frames later, an RBI single from Morla tied the game of at three apiece and chased Stars starter Ariel Pena from the ballgame. Pena earned a no-decision after giving up those three runs in 4.1 innings of work while striking out two and walking four batters.

 

However, the score would not remain that way for long. With David Goforth (L, 4-2) in the game, the Generals drew a pair of one-out walks and got a single from shortstop Chris Taylor to load up the bases. During the next at-bat, the bags were cleared on a grand slam from designated hitter Ji-Man Choi that gave Jackson the lead for good. For Choi, he now has ten runs batted in over the first four games of the series.

 

To clinch the victory, Jackson relievers Steven Kohlscheen (W, 4-3) and Tyler Burgoon each tossed two scoreless innings.

 

On offense, the Stars were paced from two hits apiece by Stang and Weisenburger. Also, the first inning single from Rogers extended his season-high hitting streak to 12 games. The hit streak is the longest for any Stars player this season.

 

The Stars will play the rubbermatch of a five-game series at The Ballpark at Jackson against the Jackson Generals on Thursday. Huntsville will send RHP Brooks Hall (0-4, 5.88 ERA) to the bump to try to earn a series victory while Jackson will counter with RHP Trevor Miller (0-1, 8.10 ERA). First pitch is 7:05 CT.

[Mass Haas]

Report from the Missoulian on the cycle vs. Helena

 

***

 

And the MiLB.com cover story

 

***

 

Watch the triple from the cycle -- was the dude out?

[Mass Haas]

Final: @AZL Indians 5, AZL Brewers 4

 

AZL Brewers Box Score

 

Up 4-0 headed to the bottom of the 8th, the bottom fell out. To be fair, RHP Milton Gomez had pitched well up to this point in the game:

 

AZL Indians Bottom of the 8th

 

Juan De La Cruz singles on a ground ball to left fielder Brandon Diaz.

Ivan Castillo doubles (6) on a fly ball to left fielder Brandon Diaz. Juan De La Cruz to 3rd.

Garrett Smith grounds out, second baseman Francisco Castillo to first baseman David Denson. Juan De La Cruz scores. Ivan Castillo to 3rd.

Silento Sayles walks.

D'vone McClure doubles (6) on a line drive to left fielder Brandon Diaz. Ivan Castillo scores. Silento Sayles scores.

Pitching Change: Jorge Ortega replaces Milton Gomez.

Clint Frazier doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Brandon Diaz. D'vone McClure scores.

Jorge Ortega intentionally walks Matt LaPorta.

Grant Fink strikes out swinging.

Francisco Mejia singles on a ground ball to second baseman Francisco Castillo. Clint Frazier scores. Matt LaPorta to 3rd.

Juan De La Cruz grounds out to first baseman David Denson.

 

So an infield single scored what proved to be the winning run. The Indians' top pick, 18-year-old OF Clint Frazier, is doing just fine for the most part (.937 OPS, big slugging, big K's).

 

AZL Brewers Game Log

 

Micah Owings tossed two scoreless behind Mark Rogers (see earlier post in thread).

 

Brandon Diaz (LF in this one) reached base three times (two singles, walk, 1-for-2 in SB attempts, now 10-for-14 in that regard).

 

1B David Denson singled twice, fanned twice.

 

The A-Crew 2-for-9 with RISP, but that doesn't account properly for two sacrifice flies and an RBI fielder's choice, just to show how that stat can sometimes (yes, even by me) be overstated.

[fondybrewfan]

Until we get some word on Rogers velocity I am just not going to get my hopes up. I hope he can be a September call up and a bullpen guy next year. His arm at full strength would be a tremendous asset in the bullpen.

 

I like Neuhas, Williams, and Denson more and more each day and I have no idea why. They are doing OK but not setting the world on fire. I guess it is a little exciting to watch high upside high schoolers develop.

[brewmann04]

Fondy Think Rogers Starter days are Over i wonder if he has Potential closer stuff ?

[DHonks]

fondy, I'm with you on Rogers. I'm treating him like I did Mike Jones...loved seeing his name in boxscores. Hopefully this year is a learning year and he can be a part of us next year. He needs to be throwing 94+ though.

 

As for the young guys, I agree. I don't mind taking college bats, but our track record with college pitching has always been poor. Plus, when was the last time we had a pitcher (besides Fiers) have an awesome debut?

[CheezWizHed]

Plus, when was the last time we had a pitcher (besides Fiers) have an awesome debut?

 

Cal Eldred?

[And That]

Plus, when was the last time we had a pitcher (besides Fiers) have an awesome debut?

 

Cal Eldred?

 

Steve Woodard!

[CheezWizHed]

Woodard is a pretty low bar for "Awesome".

 

Don August was inbetween them (both in time and rookie year results). My first MLB game was Don August beating Roger Clemens. My memory says it was August's rookie year. Baseball references says it was his sophmore season. I'm pretty sure I'm right...