Link Report for Thurs. 5/8 - An Impressive Evening

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Thursday's Daily Menu:

 

All times are Central

 

Nashville: LHP Brad Mills at Colorado Springs (Rockies), 11:45 AM pre-game, 12:05 PM 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 $49.99 season-long package ($12.99 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: LHP Brent Suter at home vs. Jackson (Mariners), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:30 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Steve Jarnicki is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars - welcome aboard! Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveJarnicki. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast.

 

MiLB.TV - It appears seven of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games (not the Stars).

 

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Brevard County: LHP Jed Bradley at home vs. Daytona (Cubs), 5:05 PM pre-game, 5:35 gametime

 

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

 

Dave Walkovic returns as the play-by-play voice of the 'Tees; 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 (or not at all), we'll let you know that.

 

No Florida State League games are available via MiLB.TV.

 

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Wisconsin: RHP Barrett Astin at home vs. Cedar Rapids (Twins), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:35 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.

 

For the $49.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from seven Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games.

 

NOTE: Thirty-nine (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (30) will split duties. We'll let you know when and who, and remember to refer to the Rattlers' full TV schedule so you can coordinate your DVR activity.

[Mass Haas]

DVR ALERT: Tonight's Timber Rattlers game is available on local TV on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.

 

"Timber Rattlers Field Pass" airs at 6:00 PM, followed by the game at 6:30.

 

Great opportunity to watch with the big league Brewers idle today.

 

***

 

FYI, MyNew32 TV has Friday evening's game...

[Mass Haas]

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

 

Nashville

 

Huntsville

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

 

MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

[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 these just prior to the respective game times --

 

Nashville Media Notes - it's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Roster" banner on the Sounds' site.

 

Brevard County Media Notes - again, it's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Manatees' site.

 

Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog

 

***

 

And yes, today's Nashville notes are already online.

[Mass Haas]

STANDINGS:

 

AAA - Pacific Coast League American Southern Division

 

AA - Southern League North Division

 

High-A - Florida State League North Division

 

A - Midwest League Western Division

[Mass Haas]

Sortable individual stat pages:

 

Nashville

 

Huntsville

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

[Mass Haas]

Weather.com:

 

Colorado Springs, CO

 

Huntsville, AL

 

Viera, FL (Melbourne)

 

Grand Chute, WI (Appleton)

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO via Jeff Hem's blog --

 

Today’s interview is with Sounds outfielder Sean Halton, who discusses his and the team’s start to the season; how he views Triple-A ball now compared to his first experience at the level in 2012; and his appearance as a 4-year-old in a Little Debbie snack cakes commercial and his dad’s acting roles in movies like “Angels in the Outfield” and “Killer Klowns from Outer Space.”

 

(Side note: check out the who’s who of actors in “Angels in the Outfield”)

 

***

 

Wow!

[TheCrew07]

And yes, today's Nashville notes are already online.

 

BIG GAME HUNTER: First baseman Hunter Morris has recorded a hit in 16 of his last 20 games (.302, 23-for-76) with extra-base hits in nine of those tilts (seven doubles, four home runs), including two doubles on Monday.

[Mass Haas]

Seeing LHP Caleb Thielbar continue to pitch well with the Twins had me thinking who is left from the 2010 Timber Rattlers staff from which Thielbar was cut after the season.

 

The answer? Not much. Burgos, Heckathorn, and in a roundabout way, Jeffress (and the remnants of trading Odorizzi and the subsequent moves).

 

Kudos to Caleb and Minnesota, taking advantage of the indy league route/scouting.

[TooLiveBrew]

And yes, today's Nashville notes are already online.

 

BIG GAME HUNTER: First baseman Hunter Morris has recorded a hit in 16 of his last 20 games (.302, 23-for-76) with extra-base hits in nine of those tilts (seven doubles, four home runs), including two doubles on Monday.

Call him up already (or soon, if service time needs to be managed). Obviously Lyle's a great guy, but it's pretty clear that he can't hit enough anymore to be a viable MLB option at 1B.

 

Morris has been a fairly obvious platoon candidate for a while now, & I don't think it's a stretch to say that he'll out-hit the .700-ish OPS you'll get from Overbay. Plus, you can always use seniority as a reason to give Reynolds more than just the LHP side of the platoon if Morris hits a rough patch.

 

We'd actually have a power bat off the bench when Reynolds starts, too.

[TheCrew07]

You summed up the Theilbar situation in a much nice manner than I would have MH.

[TheCrew07]

So as the Nashville game goes to the top of the 9th tied at 0s (now bottom of the 9th as I'm typing), I'd like to give Jeff Hem some love. Many will remember me regularly pimping Chris Mehring and Steve Wendt (I will miss Steve tremendously) over the years, but Hem has really grown on me the last 2 seasons. The only reason I don't listen to Hem more is the simple fact that we haven't had hardly any prospects in AAA for a while now, and I go where the prospects are, but that doesn't diminish Jeff's excellent interview and play-by-play by capabilities.

 

I even installed the tunein radio app so I could listen to the Nashville games on my smart phone this season.

 

Ooh, an interesting tidbit from Jeff, this is only the 3rd time the Sky Sox have gone to the bottom of the 9th in a tie 0-0 game in the history of the franchise. Colorado Springs' ballpark is actually a higher elevation than Denver and is very much a hitter's park.

[fondybrewfan]

Nashville is turning into a cheese sandwich game. Although I have my doubts Mills will ever turn into Ben Sheets

[TheCrew07]

Both Blazek and Jeffress have gotten out of bases loaded jams in the last 2 innings. Nashville has just 3 hits in the game, to the 12th we go.

 

edit. This is uncharted territory in Colorado Springs, no game has ever gone 0-0 to extra innings before so each successive inning extends the record.

[TheCrew07]

Sounds Edged 1-0 In Extended Pitchers' Duel

Nashville's Brad Mills Extends Streak with Seven Scoreless Innings

Nashville Sounds

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/4/3/4/74803434/cuts/Brad_Mills_418_57_Large_dy9o1ywu_6nofp1j2.jpg

(MIKE STRASINGER )

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After 12 1/2 scoreless innings, the Nashville Sounds allowed an RBI ground-rule double to Kyle Parker to give the Colorado Springs Sky Sox the 1-0 victory Thursday afternoon at Security Service Field.

 

With two outs in the home half of the 13th inning, Sounds reliever Jeremy Jeffress (0-1) surrendered a double to Sky Sox outfielder Jason Pridie before Parker's game-winner.

 

It is the Sounds' first extra-innings loss of the season, after winning their first two.

 

Sounds starting pitcher Brad Mills cruised through the team's first seven innings of scoreless baseball, holding the Sky Sox to four hits. He fanned three batters and walked none in his second consecutive no-decision quality start. The 29-year-old tossed 63 of his 87 pitches for strikes.

 

Mills' seven scoreless innings, combined with his six from his last start on May 1 vs. New Orleans, gives him 13 consecutive - which is 2/3 innings shy of the team's season-best, set by Mike Fiers from April 8-19.

 

Christian Bergman matched Mills blow for blow on the hill for the Sky Sox, holding Nashville to a pair of runs over eight innings of work. He struck out seven Sounds and walked one before giving way to his bullpen in the ninth.

 

Reliever Michael Blazek turned in a season-best three scoreless innings for the Sounds. He worked his way out of a no-outs bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the 10th inning by getting Sky Sox second baseman Paul Janish to ground into a big 1-2-3 double-play before closing out the frame with groundout.

 

Jeffress entered after Blazek and picked up two scoreless frames before the 13th. He too left the bases loaded for the Sky Sox in the 11th inning, as Angelys Nina hit a groundout back to the mound.

 

The Sounds recorded four hits in the contest: two from Jeremy Hermida, one from Pete Orr and another from Irving Falu.

 

Falu's infield single in the 12th inning extended his hit streak to nine games, which matches his season-best and the team's longest of the year.

 

Sky Sox reliever Dan Houston (2-2) picked up the win with a scoreless inning in the 13th.

 

The Sounds look to avoid the series sweep against the Sky Sox on Friday night at Security Service Field. Right-handed pitcher Ariel Pena (1-2, 4.30) will make the start for Nashville, opposite Colorado Springs' lefty Christian Friedrick (1-3, 6.61). Broadcaster Jeff Hem has the call on 102.5 The Game.

 

Nashville Boxscore

So what Jeff was kind enough not to put in the game story was that a botched defensive play turned the game. Eugenio Velez misplayed a ball which should have been a fairly routine catch but got knocked down by the wind. He ended up having to making a diving attempt at what would have been the 3rd out, but the ball got through him for a double.

 

Nashville Recap

 

Blazek and Jeffress came up with pitches when they had to in major jams, well prior to the double in the 13th.

 

Col. Springs Bottom of the 10th

• Ben Paulsen singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jeremy Hermida.
  Angelys Nina walks. Ben Paulsen to 2nd.
  Dustin Garneau hits a sacrifice bunt. Ben Paulsen to 3rd. Angelys Nina to 2nd. Dustin Garneau to 1st.
  Paul Janish grounds into a double play, pitcher Michael Blazek to catcher Lucas May to first baseman Hunter Morris. Ben Paulsen out at home. Angelys Nina to 3rd. Dustin Garneau to 2nd.
  Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Evan Frey replaces Rob Scahill.
  Evan Frey grounds out, pitcher Michael Blazek to first baseman Hunter Morris.

 

Col. Springs Bottom of the 11th

• Pitching Change: Jeremy Jeffress replaces Michael Blazek, batting 7th, replacing Elian Herrera.
  Rafael Ynoa strikes out swinging.
  Tim Wheeler singles on a ground ball to center fielder Kevin Mattison.
  Jason Pridie singles on a ground ball to center fielder Kevin Mattison. Tim Wheeler to 3rd.
  Kyle Parker grounds out, second baseman Pete Orr to first baseman Hunter Morris. Jason Pridie to 2nd.
  Jeremy Jeffress intentionally walks Ben Paulsen.
  Angelys Nina grounds out, pitcher Jeremy Jeffress to first baseman Hunter Morris.

 

Nashville Gameday

[fondybrewfan]

Bradley with another fantastic start again; I am officialy excited about him again. He is a must follow on link reports from now on. Now to move him up to AA to test him.....

[igor67]

2 more hits already for Zarraga, I'm happy his worked on his catcher defense, but can he play first with his .463 batting average?

 

Taylor's SLG is now just under .500 putting him 6th in the FSL, which is pretty great given his age and position along with a solid command of the strikezone

 

Denson and Coulter have both gone yard already tonight, plenty of baseball to fill the Brewer less night.

[brewmann04]

Bradley with another fantastic start again; I am officialy excited about him again. He is a must follow on link reports from now on. Now to move him up to AA to test him.....

 

AGREED

[pogokat]

Taylor's got 20! Doubles. He's on pace for a million. He and Coulter are having true breakout seasons.

[TheCrew07]

FOUR! Rattlers crack four home runs in 11-7 win over Cedar Rapids

Wisconsin opens homestand with second straight win

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/8/2/74843582/cuts/Coulter_Homer_May_8_2014_WEB_5x15v7pd_3axwferk.jpg

Clint Coulter homers in the third inning of Thursday's game against Cedar Rapids. (Ann Mollica/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers)

 

GRAND CHUTE, WI - Jose Pena, Clint Coulter, David Denson, and Chris McFarland all homered as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers opened their homestand with an 11-7 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels Thursday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

 

Cedar Rapids (18-15) scored twice off Barrett Astin in the top of the second inning. Jason Kanzler singled and Bo Altobelli walked with one out. Joel Licon singled to score Kanzler. A single by JD Williams loaded the bases. Engleb Vielma's sacrifice fly to right was deep enough to drive in Altobelli and the Kernels were up 2-0.

 

Wisconsin (15-18) answered in the bottom of the second. Denson drew a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Taylor Brennan knocked in Denson with a single. Pena followed with a two-run homer and the Rattlers led 3-2.

 

Jason Kanzler hit a two-run homer with two outs in the top of the third inning off Wisconsin starter Barrett Astin to put the Kernels back up at 4-3.

 

Coulter stepped up in the bottom of the third inning after McFarland hit a leadoff double. Coulter hit a ball that left a vapor trail behind it as it cleared the left field wall for a two-run homer and the Rattlers were back in front 5-4. Coulter's home run was his seventh of the season. The two RBI gave him 26 in 2014. Coulter is tied with Eric Haase of Lake County for the Midwest League lead in homers. Coulter leads the lead in RBI.

 

Angel Ortega used his feet to score Wisconsin's sixth run. He was on third and McFarland was on first with Coulter at the plate in the fourth inning. Ball four to Coulter bounced a short distance away from Kernels catcher Bo Altobelli, who could not locate the ball. Ortega raced for home and just beat Altobelli to the plate. That run scoring wild pitch chased Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Felix Jorge from the game.

 

Denson greeted the left-handed Brandon Bixler with a home run to left-center. The three-run shot gave Wisconsin a 9-4 lead.

 

Brennan kept the offense rolling with a leadoff triple in the bottom of the fifth. Pena singled through the drawn-in infield to knock in Brennan for a 10-4 lead.

 

The Kernels came back against reliever Chris Razo in the top of the seventh. A single and a hit batsman put the first two runners on base. Razo got the next two outs. Vielma singled with two outs to knock in the first run of the inning for Cedar Rapids. Razo hit the next batter to load the bases. Chad Christensen followed with a two-run single and the Kernels were within 10-7.

 

Trevor Seidenberger relieved Razo, but walked Ivory Thomas to load the bases to bring the go ahead run to the plate. Seidenberger got the final out of the seventh by getting Bryan Haar to pop out to left.

 

McFarland hit the fourth and final home run of the night for the Timber Rattlers when he went deep with a one out solo shot in the bottom of the sixth. Wisconsin has hit 28 home runs this season, the most by any team in the Midwest League.

 

Seidenberger tossed a perfect seventh and a perfect eighth to maintain the Wisconsin lead and extend his current scoreless streak to 9-2/3 innings. Mark Williams closed out the game with a scoreless ninth. A quartet of Wisconsin pitchers combined for thirteen strikeouts on Thursday.

 

The Timber Rattlers have won two straight games for the first time since their four-game winning streak of April 12 through April 16.

 

Game two of the series is Friday night. Zach Quintana (0-2, 6.14) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Cedar Rapids has named Aaron Slegers (3-0, 2.52) as their starting pitcher. Game time is 6:35pm.

 

There will be Trick-or-Treating, costumes, thrills, and chills for all during Halloween in May on Friday night. It's also a North Shore Bank Family night. Children 12 and under receive a free hot dog and soda. Plus, those 14 and under may participate in Kids Run the Bases thanks to Molina Healthcare after the game.

 

If you can't make it out to the ballpark, there are several ways to catch the action. MyNEW32's Sports Showdown will have the television broadcast beginning with their pregame show at 6:00pm. The radio broadcast will be available on AM1280, WNAM and IHeartRadio starting with the pregame show at 6:15pm. Subscribers to MiLB.TV may also watch the game.

 

HOME RUNS:

CR:

Jason Kanzler (2nd, 1 on in 3rd inning off Barrett Astin, 2 out)

 

WIS:

Jose Pena (4th, 1 on in 2nd inning off Felix Jorge, 1 out)

Clint Coulter (7th, 1 on in 3rd inning off Felix Jorge, 1 out)

David Denson (3rd, 2 on in 4th inning off Alex Muren, 2 out)

Chris McFarland (5th, 0 on in 6th inning off Alex Muren, 1 out)

 

WP: Trevor Seidenberger (2-0)

LP: Felix Jorge (2-3)

 

TIME: 3:16

ATTN: 2,944

 

Wisconsin Boxscore

You know me, I'm going to start with the pitching. This was my first extended look at Barrett Astin and unfortunately I'm not seeing it, at least in this outing. He slings the ball from a 3/4 arm slot, his velocity is nothing special, and he didn't locate well at all. The FBs he actually threw for strikes caught a ton of home plate, most were right down the middle and up. His slider was effective, he dropped a couple for strikes, and I believe all of his K's came on sliders away. I don't think he was within a foot of Neda's target on any pitch in the 1st inning, but somehow was effectively wild enough to get out of the inning unscathed. He started the 2nd inning a little better location wise, but it ultimately fell apart and he escaped having given up 2 runs, ditto for the 3rd. In the 4th he didn't locate any better but the batters weren't patient and swung at garbage out of the zone for strike outs.

 

Chris Razo was little bit more impressive than Astin, but not by much. I was really surprised at the K totals given the quality of the pitching so I went and looked at the leaderboards after the top of the 5th and sure enough Cedar Rapids just isn't a disciplined team. Lake County is awful with 370 strike outs already, almost 100 more than the rest of the pack, but Cedar Rapids came into the game with the 4th highest total at 271.

 

Trevor Seidenberger located much better than either of the 2 previous pitchers, but had the least amount of strike outs. He reminded a little bit of Dan Meadows when he was with the T-Rats. Nothing flashy, over the top delivery, throws strikes.

 

I didn't watch Mark Williams' return to action because I was watching the Packers' draft pick.

 

So remember when Matt Erickson said this team wouldn't hit for much power and would have to win with speed and stringing hits together? I was confused at the time, wondering if that was your typical coach speak trying to psych out the competition in the press or if he really meant it because I expected Coulter, Ratterree, Brennan, and Denson to hit a fair amount of HRs. I thought they'd be much better from a power perspective than the were in 2013. I didn't say anything for 2 reasons, the first being I really like Erickson and the second was that it's really no fun running counter to the organization as much as I do.

 

This team has certainly met my expectations to this point, even exceeding them as I didn't see the power outburst from Chris McFarland or Jose Pena coming. In Pena's case I definitely should have, he hit 10 HRs last year in short season ball, that was a serious oversight. Right now they have league's leading HR hitter in Clint Coulter and are leading the league in HRs, I'm a pretty happy camper.

 

So I promised myself I wasn't going to post about David Denson again for awhile, but tonight he gave me more talk about. His opposite field 3R HR to left center was as easy a HR swing as you will see. All the rest of the guys really ripped through and smoked line drive HRs, Coulter's almost made it to the woods beyond the stadium, but Denson's swing looked like he was just trying to make contact. David did strike out 3 times but all were on check/half swings, I think as his confidence continues to grow you'll see that SO total start to come down. He recognized they were bad pitches and just couldn't hold up.

 

The TWC broadcast crew discussed the fact that they haven't had a chance to see Clint Coulter catch yet and were somewhat disappointed but they also understood Erickson trying to keep him healthy. They also talked about a possible position change for Clint but it wasn't anything we haven't already said on this forum.

 

Wisconsin Recap

 

This post is already way too long, it's a fun game log if you are so inclined.

 

Wisconsin Gameday

[bkrause2]

Final: Daytona 0, Brevard County 7

 

Manatees blank Cubs, 7-0

Bradley fans seven to earn fourth win

By Andrew Luftglass / Brevard County Manatees

 

VIERA, Fla. - Jed Bradley's last few starts have been stellar, but his performance on Thursday night at Space Coast Stadium may have been his best of the season, as he pitched 6.2 innings of two-hit baseball to lift the Brevard County Manatees to a 7-0 win over the Daytona Cubs.

 

The Manatees' southpaw looked good from the start. He retired the first two batters of the game on groundouts and would have recorded a perfect first inning if not for an error. Unfazed by the fielding miscue, Bradley (4-1, 2.77 ERA) picked Albert Almora off of first to end the inning.

 

Things only got better for Bradley as he worked one-two-three frames in the second, fourth and sixth innings. Only three men reached scoring position against the left-hander all night.

 

Bradley only got into serious trouble at the end of his outing. He retired the first two men he faced in the seventh, but then walked Dan Vogelbach.

 

Jeimer Candelario was up next and he hit a tapper down the third base line. Bradley fielded the ball cleanly, but threw low to first and the ball skipped past first baseman Mike Garza for an error on Bradley. That errant throw put an end to Bradley's night, but Greg Holle struck out Tim Saunders to end the inning.

 

Bradley picked up his team-leading fourth win of the season, as he struck out seven and walked a pair in a two-hit, scoreless performance.

 

Bradley had been hurting for run support in his previous starts, but that was not the case on Thursday. Brevard (18-15) broke out for four runs in the fourth inning.

 

Nathan Orf was hit by a pitch for a league-leading eighth time to start the rally. He then proceeded to steal second and advanced to third base when Saunders could not catch the throw from catcher Chadd Krist.

 

Then, Orlando Arcia almost gave Brevard County the lead as he scorched a line drive, but it was right at Candelario. However with one out, Tyrone Taylor did what he has done all season. He drilled his 17th double of the year down the left field line to score Orf with the game's first run.

 

Michael Reed kept the rally going with a walk and Cameron Garfield hit his second double in as many days to score Taylor and put the 'Tees up, 2-0. Brevard scored two more in the inning on an RBI groundout by Victor Roache and a single by Brandon Macias.

 

The home side kept the offense coming in the seventh. Brevard County loaded the bases on singles by Macias, Yadiel Rivera and Garza. Orf grounded into a double play, but that still brought Macias home. Arcia followed the double play with an RBI single to give Brevard County a 6-0 advantage.

 

Taylor narrowly missed adding to Brevard's lead later in the inning, but he did add to his doubles total. He ripped a ground ball to third that took a bad hop past Candelario and went into left field. Arcia tried to score, but was thrown out at the plate on a relay throw that went from Saunders to Candelario to Krist.

 

Though Taylor did not gain a RBI, he was rewarded with his 18th double of the season, which is still tops in all of Minor League Baseball.

 

After Taylor's double, Roache expanded the Manatees' edge. In the eighth inning, Roache went deep over the right field wall to give Brevard County its final insurance run.

 

Holle and Stephen Peterson finished the ballgame for Brevard. Holle pitched a perfect eighth inning after finishing the seventh. Peterson walked one in the ninth, but would shut the door on the Cubs (10-21) to nail down the Manatees win.

 

With the win, Brevard County has tied the I-95 Rivalry at five games apiece, at the halfway point of the 20-game season series. The Manatees and Cubs face off again on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. at Space Coast Stadium.

 

Jorge Lopez (3-2, 5.14) will take the hill for the Manatees against Daytona's Felix Pena (1-3, 1.29).

 

Brevard County Box Score

 

Brevard County Play-By-Play

[Mass Haas]

Final: @Huntsville 7, Jackson 3

 

STARS CLAIM SERIES WITH WIN OVER JACKSON

 

Huntsville, AL - The Huntsville Stars claimed their sixth series victory in their first seven series of the year with a 7-3 win Thursday night over the Jackson Generals, the Double-A Affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

 

Brent Suter started for Huntsville, and the lefty improved to 5-1 after he threw five innings giving up two earned runs on four hits. The only runs he allowed were on a Patrick Brady two-run home run in the fifth.

 

The Stars took a 4-0 lead in the third inning off the reigning Southern League pitcher of the week, Cam Hobson. Josh Prince reached on a throwing error by the shortstop Brady with one out. After D’Vontrey Richardson walked, Nick Ramirez gave the Stars a 1-0 lead on an RBI single.

 

Shawn Zarraga, Mitch Haniger and Chadwin Stang also gave the Stars RBI singles in the third.

 

With the Stars leading 4-2, they added two more runs in the seventh. Haniger doubled home Ramirez and Stang reached on a fielder’s choice RBI increasing the lead to 6-2.

 

The Stars scored their final run in the eighth inning when Prince scored on a wild pitch.

 

Haniger led the Stars with a 3-4 performance with 2 RBI. Prince went 2-3 and reached base four times. He also stole his 17th base of the season, which is tops in the Southern League.

 

The Stars lead Jackson 3-1 in their series as it wraps up Friday night in Huntsville at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars will have RHP Jacob Barnes (0-0, 5.00) starting. Jackson will turn to LHP Tyler Olson (0-1, 13.50). The game can be heard starting at 6:15 PM CT with Steve Jarnicki on 92.9 FM, 1450 AM, and wtkiradio.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score

 

LHP Brent Suter walked four for the first time in seven starts, so he reached 85 pitches after five innings and was lifted - his 0.82 WHIP still shines. RHP's Tim Dillard and David Goforth (one run) tossed two frames apiece.

 

Twelve base hits (11 singles, a Mitch Haniger double) plus seven walks makes Link Report readers happy, no?

 

Catcher Adam Weisenburger reached base four times (three walks), like Josh Prince (two singles, two walks).

 

Haniger and Shawn Zarraga each reached three times. Haniger's hitting .407 in seven May games.

 

Zarraga's line in 68 AB's -- .456/.529/.515. That bubble hasn't burst yet. Both his singles today were described as line drives in the game log.

 

Huntsville Game Log

 

Four-run 3rd --

 

Huntsville Bottom of the 3rd

 

Shea Vucinich lines out to right fielder Nathan Melendres.

Josh Prince reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Patrick Brady. Josh Prince to 2nd.

With D' Vontrey Richardson batting, Josh Prince steals (17) 3rd base.

D' Vontrey Richardson walks.

Nick Ramirez singles on a line drive to right fielder Nathan Melendres. Josh Prince scores. D' Vontrey Richardson to 2nd.

Jason Rogers flies out to center fielder Jamal Austin.

Shawn Zarraga singles on a line drive to right fielder Nathan Melendres. D' Vontrey Richardson scores. Nick Ramirez to 3rd.

Mitch Haniger singles on a ground ball to left fielder Leon Landry. Nick Ramirez scores. Shawn Zarraga to 2nd.

Adam Weisenburger walks. Shawn Zarraga to 3rd. Mitch Haniger to 2nd.

Chadwin Stang singles on a ground ball to third baseman Ramon Morla. Shawn Zarraga scores. Mitch Haniger to 3rd. Adam Weisenburger to 2nd.

Shea Vucinich flies out to right fielder Nathan Melendres.