Link Report for Mon. 6/16 - Jorge Lopez Excels Again; Helena Falls in Wet Opener

[Eye Black]

Helena's Greg McCall goes deep for the Brewers in his organizational debut to cut the Osprey lead to 8-5 in the bottom of the 7th. Helena has turned what appeared to be a blowout in the top of the 7th back into a ballgame.

 

Helena Bottom of the 7th

- Gregory Munoz walks.

- With Brandon Diaz batting, Gregory Munoz steals (1) 2nd base, . Gregory Munoz advances to 2nd, on a missed catch error by second baseman Fernery Ozuna.

- Brandon Diaz walks.

- Tucker Neuhaus strikes out swinging. Wild pitch by pitcher Derek Cape. Gregory Munoz to 3rd. Brandon Diaz to 2nd.

- With Elvis Rubio batting, wild pitch by Derek Cape, Gregory Munoz scores. Brandon Diaz to 3rd.

- Elvis Rubio strikes out swinging.

- Greg McCall homers (1) on a fly ball to center field. Brandon Diaz scores.

- Jack Cleary singles on a ground ball to left fielder Justin Williams.

- Alan Sharkey flies out to right fielder Dane McFarland.

[Eye Black]

Final (Rain Shortened in 9th Inn.): Missoula 8, Helena 5

 

The Helena game was stopped in the 9th inning and after an approximately 25 minute stoppage the game was called. I will add the game story here in the early AM. Below is where they stood through 8 complete.

 

EDIT: Game Story Added...

Osprey take season opener 8-5

Helena Brewers

 

The Missoula Osprey (1-0) stormed into Kindrick Field and took game one of the 2014 Pioneer League season, hitting their way to a victory in the opener 8-5 over the Brewers (0-1) in a rain-shortened 8-inning contest.

 

The visitors jumped out to a lead early, blasting two homeruns in the top of the first. Fernery Ozuna led off the scoring by screaming a two-run homer over the right field wall. He was immediately followed up by an opposite field solo shot by Justin Williams. Williams would go 3-for-4 in the game with two RBI and two runs scored.

 

Chad Thompson (0-1) was roughed up early by the Osprey offense, but found his groove in his final two innings of work, tossing six strikeouts in his first start since 2012. Thompson sat out the 2013 season following shoulder surgery.

 

The Brewers would respond with a late rally of their own, posting three runs in the seventh to draw the score to 8-5. Greg McCall pounded a two-run homerun to right-center off of Derek Cape for his first hit of his professional career. McCall's homer would be the only extra-base hit for the Brew Crew in the contest.

 

Gabriel Moya (1-0) picked up the win on five innings of four-hit baseball. He would strike out seven batters and walk just two.

 

The two teams will face off again Tuesday in game two of their three-game series at 7:05 p.m.

 

Helena Box Score

 

3B Tucker Neuhaus was hitless (0-4) with 3 K's and a groundout.

RF Elvis Rubio and SS Luis Aviles each with two singles.

The only extra base hit for the Brewers was a HR that came off the bat of DH Greg McCall.

Starting Pitcher Chad Thompson gave up 4 earned runs in 4.0 IP, and Brandon Moore came on for the next 3.0 IP giving up 3 earned runs.

 

 

Helena Play-By-Play

[MTBrew]

Mass, the Helena game was broadcast on KBLL-AM 1240 tonight. Caught me off guard too.

Dustin Daniels claimed on-air that the games were being aired on both KCAP and KBLL

(they are sister stations), apparently not?

I sure hope the internet feed isn't lost for you folks from out of the area.

There are a lot of loose ends floating around the Helena front office, not just the radio side of things.

I am very surprised that they even started this game, it has been raining almost none stop in Helena for the past 24 hours. It rained continually throughout the game, abet lightly at the start. The infield was playable but the pitchers mound and batters box were awful. But in true baseball fashion, Play Ball! It was opening night so all was good.

[Mass Haas]

His tweet --

 

Huntsville's Nick Ramirez competing in the HR Derby in Chattanooga tonight.

 

Nice showing, Nick!

 

Right-handed hitters had an advantage. There was a light wind to left and a shorter fence was just in front of the wall running toward left-center. The top left-handed batter was Huntsville first baseman Nick Ramirez, who blasted eight homers, including four in a row in the first round, to just miss advancing to the finals.

 

Take one guess as to who won the derby. What a monster. The Astros taking RHP Mark Appel over this guy will prove to be an epic blunder.

[Mass Haas]

Four HR's in his first four games of the season for unsigned 19th round 2010 draft pick, Canadian catcher Rowan Wick, now a Cardinals farmhand (ugh). This will be the age 21 season for the left-handed bat.

 

Story

[TooLiveBrew]

His tweet --

 

Huntsville's Nick Ramirez competing in the HR Derby in Chattanooga tonight.

 

Nice showing, Nick!

 

Right-handed hitters had an advantage. There was a light wind to left and a shorter fence was just in front of the wall running toward left-center. The top left-handed batter was Huntsville first baseman Nick Ramirez, who blasted eight homers, including four in a row in the first round, to just miss advancing to the finals.

 

Take one guess as to who won the derby. What a monster. The Astros taking RHP Mark Appel over this guy will prove to be an epic blunder.

...

 

After a quick adjustment, however, Bryant made the fences that concurred future Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew nearly 70 years ago seem not so daunting after all.

Concurred?! Seriously? Not close to "conquered" in either spelling or meaning.

[Mass Haas]

Via Amber Keuhn of the Helena Independent Record --

 

Elvis Rubio now 2-for-2 after single to left. Manager Tony Diggs says he's a player to watch

 

Had a blast covering Rubio last summer in Maryvale, as his numbers will remind you. Still a teenager for two more weeks. The Dominican native finished 2-for-4 with a stolen base tonight.

[Mass Haas]

With Eric Williams playing 1B tonight (all 5'10 of him), the Brewers have five 19 year old starters in the lineup (also Neuhaus, Aviles, Rubio, and Diaz). That's pretty young, even by Pioneer League standards, and especially for the Brewers.

 

Saw Williams in the original box score starting lineup as well, although it was an early typo of sorts as the lone true first baseman on the roster, Alan Sharkey, did indeed get the start.

[Mass Haas]

Brevard County --

 

AUDIO: Andrew Luftglass is joined by FSL All-Stars Cameron Garfield and Tyler Wagner on the Manatees Pregame Show

 

AUDIO, Game Highlights: Jorge Lopez throws seven shutout innings in a 1-0 Brevard County victory

 

Yes, audio includes this:

 

The defensive gem of the game came one play later as Gustavo Pierre ripped a line drive into right field. Michael Reed sprinted in and dove to make a gorgeous head-first grab to rob Pierre of a base-hit. Reed then staggered to his feet and made a strong throw on to shortstop Yadiel Rivera, who stepped on the second base bag to retire Baligod and end the threat.

[Mass Haas]

Photo(s) by Eliza Wiley, Independent Record - Greg McCall knocks one out of the park late Monday night as the rain begins to pick up speed Monday night in the Brewers season opener against Missoula.

 

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/5c/55c63fd0-f5da-11e3-806e-001a4bcf887a/539fc82124bb3.preview-620.jpg

 

More photos at the game story link --

 

Osprey top Brewers in opener shortened by rain

By Amber Kuehn, Helena Independent Record

 

Just three pitches into the top of the ninth inning on Opening Day, the steady rainfall that had defined much of the evening gave way to a heavy downpour.

 

With the Helena Brewers trailing the Missoula Osprey 8-5 Monday at Kindrick Legion Field in the season opener, the tarp was pulled over the infield at 10:10 p.m. After a 30-minute weather delay – after the contest’s scheduled start time had already been pushed back 10 minutes due to showers earlier in the afternoon – the game was called.

 

Players and fans had about an hour reprieve from the rain before another system moved in, but the game went on. Puddles formed in front of both dugouts, but the grounds crew kept the infield playable as long as possible. The die-hard fans still braving the weather cheered from beneath umbrellas, coming to life as Helena designated hitter Greg McCall sent a two-run blast sailing over the right-center field wall in the seventh, his first hit as a pro.

 

But Mother Nature couldn’t rain on the Osprey’s parade. Missoula pounded out 10 hits and held on for a rain-shortened Pioneer League North Division victory.

 

“You’re going to have times when everything’s not going the way you want it to go, but at the same time you need to continue to plug away and our guys did that tonight,” said Brewers skipper Tony Diggs, the league’s reigning Manager of the Year. “It was 5-1 after two and it could have continued to blow up.”

 

Justin Williams led the Osprey at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a home run, two RBIs and a stolen base. He followed teammate Fernery Ozuna’s two-run homer in the first inning with an opposite-field solo shot of his own in the very next at-bat, as Missoula got to Brewers starter Chad Thompson early.

 

“When he hit the home run, that just made me focus even more,” Williams said.

 

“He’s bringing it first at-bat so I need to bring it too.”

 

Thompson, making his first appearance since 2012 after having shoulder surgery last year, showed some rust early on. The right-hander struggled to find his command, and Missoula took a 5-1 lead after just two innings. But Thompson began to settle in by the third frame. After giving up a leadoff single to Jacob Mayers, he posted his first shutout inning and wouldn’t give up another hit.

 

Thompson finished with six strikeouts and three walks, giving up five runs on five hits through four innings of work. He was tagged with the loss, while Missoula starter Gabriel Moya earned the win. Moya, a southpaw, gave up just four hits and a pair of earned runs while fanning seven through five frames.

 

Osprey manager Audo Vicente gave the players credit for staying focused, despite less-than-ideal conditions.

 

“The weather was not an excuse to stop playing,” he said.

 

Despite the loss, Helena’s pitching staff struck out a dozen Osprey batters, including whiffing DH Maik Ehmcke four times. The Brewers also saw some early star power, as right fielder Elvis Rubio went 2 for 4 with a run scored and a stolen base, and shortstop Luis Aviles finished with a pair of singles and showcased some speed.

 

The three-game set continues tonight at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central), with right-hander Brad Keller taking the mound for Missoula. Helena righty Devin Williams, Milwaukee’s second-round draft selection a year ago, is scheduled to start for the Brewers.

 

Rain is once again in the forecast.

 

“It’s weather. You can’t predict it, you can only survive it and deal with it,” Diggs said.

[fondybrewfan]

Neuhaus not exactly off to a roaring start in the first game of the year.

 

Looking forward to Williams tonight; it would be great if we can get his high upside potential to match with what we just drafted. Lots of high upside guys; albeit all in the low minors.

[MTBrew]

I am excited seeing Neuhaus in Helena.

Despite a poor box score last night, he did not look over-matched at the plate and is a very good athlete. Good frame, with a build that he can add muscle to as he matures. Definitely a lot of upside.

Looking forward to D Williams tonight too.