Link Report for Sun. 5/11 - Stars Win 4th In A Row; Sounds Collapse

[Mass Haas]

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[Mass Haas]

Sunday's Daily Menu:

 

All times are Central

 

Nashville: RHP Alfredo Figaro at Iowa (Cubs), 12:45 PM pre-game, 1:05 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: RHP Drew gagnon at Chattanooga (Dodgers), 1:00 PM pre-game, 1:15 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). Unfortunately, Chattanooga also does not provide MiLB.TV coverage.

 

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Brevard County: Idle

 

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Wisconsin: Idle

 

DVR ALERT: Next televised game is this coming Monday, 5/12, MyNew32 TV, 6:00 pregame show.[/i]

[Mass Haas]

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

 

Nashville

 

Huntsville

 

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 this 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.

[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:

 

Des Moines, IA

 

Chattanooga, TN

[TheCrew07]

Nashville is still under rain delay, I really wanted to listen to the Sounds today but I'm rapidly running out of time. Regardless if they play I'll get the summary and story up late tonight when I get home.

[WV Brew]

D'Vo threw out a runner at the plate as the Stars are in a pitcher's duel.

[HiAndTight]

Can someone explain the reason for Figaro starting for the Sounds when there seems to be a bit of a logjam from A+ to AAA with our starters? Bradley's still down in BC because there isn't room on the Stars roster and yet Figaro is starting for the Sounds?

 

I'd understand normally not wanting to move guys up, but Bradley for example has spent 3 years(on his 3rd year) in HiA. Why not push him up and see if he can get it done at the next level.

[WV Brew]

Josh Prince after bunting for a base hit in his first at bat, hits a home run to tie the game. Probably players will be juggled after the draft. McFarland seems like he's ready to move up also. D'Vo just singled in the lead run off the Minors' ERA leader.

[homer]

Hunter Morris with another dinger. Be nice to see him keep his OPS above .800

[TheCrew07]

Sounds Blow Eight-Run Lead, Suffer Heartbreaking Loss In Iowa

Herrera Goes 4-for-5 With Four RBIs For Nashville In Losing Effort

Nashville Sounds

 

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Nashville Sounds squandered an early eight-run lead en route to suffering a heartbreaking 12-11 loss to the Iowa Cubs on Sunday afternoon at Principal Park.

 

Nashville (20-17) -- which has led in eight of its 12 road losses this season -- held leads of 8-0 and 11-4 in the game but did most of its damage early, scoring just once in the final six innings against the Iowa bullpen as the I-Cubs mounted their rally. Iowa scored five runs in the sixth and three in the eighth to complete its improbable comeback.

 

The Sounds plated a season-high run total for the third straight contest (nine on Friday, 10 on Saturday, 11 on Sunday). The club is batting a healthy .370 (44-for-119) over that three-game stretch.

 

Sounds batters pounded out 14 hits on the afternoon, led by the top of the order. The first three batters in the Nashville lineup (Irving Falu, Pete Orr, Elian Herrera) combined to go 9-for-15 with seven runs scored on the day. Herrera finished a team-best 4-for-5 with four RBIs in the losing effort.

 

With 10 runs on Saturday and 11 on Sunday, Nashville has scored a double-digit run total in consecutive games for the first time since August 2011.

 

The Sounds got out to a fast start against right-hander Dallas Beeler, sending 10 batters to the plate and taking advantage of three Iowa errors in the top of the first inning to grab a 5-0 lead.

 

Falu reached on an error and Orr singled to open the contest before Herrera dropped down a bunt single. Beeler misfired on the play to allow Falu to race home with the day's first run.

 

After Hunter Morris was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Jeremy Hermida hit a comebacker and Beeler committed his second throwing error of the inning to allow Orr to score for a 2-0 lead. Eugenio Velez doubled the Sounds' advantage to 4-0 when he followed with a two-run double to center and Kevin Mattison plated the fifth Nashville run with an RBI single.

 

With the bases loaded and still no outs, Beeler avoided further trouble by striking out Alfredo Figaro and inducing an inning-ending double play grounder from Falu to escape the jam.

 

The Nashville offense continued its early success in the second frame, extending the lead to 8-0 against Beeler. Orr led off with a double and raced home on a Herrera single before Morris blasted a two-run homer to right, the slugger's fifth longball of the season.

 

Iowa got onto the board in the home half of the second, halving the Nashville lead to 8-4. After loading the bases against Figaro with no outs on a pair of walks sandwiched around a single, Logan Watkins emptied the bags with a three-run double into the left field corner. Later in the frame, Beeler helped his own cause with an RBI single that cut the Sounds' lead to four.

 

After setting a season high with 10 runs last night, Nashville reached that total in the top of the third frame today as Herrera delivered a two-run single to bring in Falu (bunt single) and Orr (double) to stretch the visitors' lead to 10-4.

 

Following Beeler's departure in the fourth, Nashville scored only once in the final six frames, a fifth-inning unearned run following Iowa's fourth error of the afternoon. Herrera provided that score with a two-out RBI single against Cubs reliever Carlos Pimentel, his fourth hit of the day.

 

Iowa made it a two-run ballgame by plating five runs in the sixth inning against a pair of Nashville relievers to draw within 11-9.

 

Catcher Eli Whiteside smacked a two-run homer off Lowe to get the rally started. Later in the frame, Sounds right-hander Jeremy Jeffress gave up a two-out, two-run single to Lars Anderson. Chris Valaika followed with a run-scoring knock of his own to cut the lead to 11-9, but the Cubs left fielder was thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double by a Jeremy Hermida/Sean Halton relay to bring the inning to a close.

 

The I-Cubs completed their comeback in the eighth, when they scored three times without getting the ball out of the infield to pull in front for the first time all afternoon.

 

After Iowa put runners on second and third with one out against Dustin Molleken, closer Donovan Hand was summoned from the bullpen and opened his outing by issuing two straight walks, the second of which, to Lars Anderson, forced home Jonathan Mota to reduce the Nashville lead to one. After Hand fanned Valaika for the second out, the right-hander uncorked a wild pitch that allowed both the tying and go-ahead runs to score when the hurler failed to cover home on the play.

 

Iowa reliever Blake Parker worked around a Matt Pagnozzi single in the top of the ninth to close out the improbable I-Cubs victory, earning his sixth save of the year in the process.

 

Hand (0-1) took the loss for the Sounds after suffering his second blown save in his last three trips to the hill.

 

The team continue the series with a 6:35 p.m. matchup on Monday evening that will feature an excellent pitching matchup. Brewers top prospect Jimmy Nelson (4-1, 2.00), who ranks 5th in the PCL in ERA, will man the bump for the Sounds to face Iowa left-hander and PCL ERA leader Tsuyoshi Wada (2-1, 1.21).

 

Nashville Boxscore

I was following the game with the updated MiLB App (which now covers all levels down to Helena) and could not believe what I was seeing. The pitching was just awful with a huge cushion, Donovan Hand's rough stretch continues...

 

Not much else to say.

 

Nashville Recap

 

Nashville Gameday

[gregmag]

Very weird to see Medlen blow a save with 2.0 hitless innings of work. I get how it happened; it's just unusual.

 

Speaking of unusual, Josh Prince is putting up one of the weirdest season lines I've seen in a while. A .230 BA and a .400 secondary average? Not routine, but it happens. It rarely happens, however, when a guy has virtually no power (today notwithstanding).

 

Nick Ramirez and Hunter Morris are having shockingly similar years. Only way Nick transcends Hunter to give us something useful is if he can keep inching up the walk rate while holding onto the BA and power. I don't see that happening. At least David Denson won't be as old as Hunter Morris is now for, like, 35 years.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 4, @Chattanooga 2

 

Shaw's Three Hit Day Leads Stars To Win

 

Chattanooga, TN - Nick Shaw produced three hits as the Huntsville Stars came back from an early 1-0 deficit to defeat the Chattanooga Lookouts (14-22) 4-2 Sunday at AT&T Field. The Stars won their fourth straight game and improved to a Southern League best 25-12.

 

In the bottom of the fourth, Chattanooga grabbed their first lead of the series on a sacrifice fly from Chris O'Brien against Huntsville starter Drew Gagnon.

 

The Stars tied it in the fifth when Josh Prince led off with a solo home run to left field against Lookouts starter Tyson Brummmett (3-3). The Stars took the lead in the same frame. Shaw tripled with two outs. D'Vontrey Richardson produced an RBI double scoring Shaw and giving the Stars a 2-1 lead.

 

Chattanooga tied the game in the 6th on the second sacrifice fly from O'Brien.

 

The Stars took the lead for good in the seventh. Greg Hopkins led off by reaching on a critical fielding error by third baseman Ozzie Martinez. With one out, Shaw singled. Richardson then hit a sacrifice fly scoring Hopkins giving the Stars a 3-2 lead.

 

The Stars scored their fourth and final run in the ninth. Shaw doubled down the left field line scoring Jason Rogers all the way from first base.

 

David Goforth earned his second save in as many days as he worked a 1-2-3 ninth. Goforth leads the Southern League with nine saves.

 

Gagnon, who took the no decision, went five innings allowing two runs on seven hits.

 

Casey Medlen (3-0) earned the victory out of the Stars bullpen by pitching two scoreless innings while striking out two.

 

The Stars bullpen combination of Medlen, Tim Dillard and Goforth combined for four scoreless innings.

 

Shaw went 3-5 with an RBI. Prince was 2-3 with an RBI, while Richardson finished 1-4 with 2 RBI.

 

The Stars lead the Lookouts 2-0 in the series and can claim the series with a win Monday night. RHP Taylor Jungmann (2-4, 3.55) will start for the Stars. Chattanooga will go with LHP Chris Reed (3-1, 1.88) on the mound. The game can be heard starting at 6:00 PM CT with Steve Jarnicki on 92.9 FM, 1450 AM, and wtkiradio.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score

 

Was surprised to see that even at 25-12, the Stars' record was only 8th best in all of MiLB (or maybe 7th, lost track on a busy morning). Regardless, it's been an impressive 37-game start to the season. It's still not a star-laden group, and some of the key names (Richardson, Haniger, Rogers, Davis) have had tough starts, but overall we give credit where it's due.

 

Huntsville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Hoping Voice of the Sounds Jeff Hem is feeling better.

 

Mother's Day audio in Nashville was the Iowa feed as Jeff was too ill to broadcast.

 

Hopefully he didn't watch the epic collapse, that couldn't have helped his health at all.

 

The Des Moines Register has more on the game, including the "not covering home plate" debacle.

[Mass Haas]

VIDEO: Nashville's Elian Herrera adds his fourth single of the day in a 12-11 road loss at Iowa