Link Report for Friday 4/17

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF!

 

All times are Central

 

Colorado Springs: LHP Nick Additon at Nashville (Athletics), 6:35 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

We welcome Dan Karcher, who is the longtime play-by-play voice of the Sky Sox; follow him on Twitter @SkySoxKarch

 

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Colorado Springs 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. The video of each game is archived online, which is a nice feature. All MiLB.TV details available at the link.

 

NOTE: Notice that on MiLB.TV's page, you can click on "Filter", then "Milwaukee Brewers", and you'll see just the Crew's organizational TV lineup.

 

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Biloxi: RHP Tyler Wagner at Mobile (Diamondbacks), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

We also welcome Chris Harris as the very first play-by-play voice of the Shuckers! Follow Chris on Twitter @CHarris731. We'll be looking off to his very promising "Shuck Dynasty" blog. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be radio broadcast.

 

MiLB.TV - Seven of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games, and Biloxi staff indicates it is hopeful it will be eight when the new stadium opens.

 

NOTE: Mobile unfortunately, does not offer MiLB.TV as an option.

 

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Brevard County: RHP Javier Salas at home vs. Dunedin (Blue Jays), 5:05 PM pre-game, 5:35 gametime; don't be surprised if rehabbing RHP Jim Henderson gets the first inning

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Dave Walkovic returns as the play-by-play voice of the 'Tees; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio, as all games are scheduled to be broadcast in 2015.

 

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

 

**********

 

Wisconsin: RHP David Burkhalter at home vs. Burlington (Angels), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime; LHP Kodi Medeiros is expected to pitch in a tandem role

 

Free Live Audio Link - 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.

 

NOTE: Forty-two (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (34) 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.

 

***

 

So, for the $49.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sky Sox games, most Shuckers games, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games.

[Mass Haas]

NOTE: Forty-two (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (34) 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.

 

DVR ALERT!

 

Tonight's (Friday's) game is on MyNew32 TV. Plan accordingly.

[Mass Haas]

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

 

Colorado Springs

 

Biloxi

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

 

MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

[Mass Haas]

Look for these just prior to the respective game times --

 

Colorado Springs Media Notes - It's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Sky Sox' site.

 

Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog

 

Brevard County Media Notes - 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

 

***

 

STANDINGS:

 

AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division

 

AA - Southern League South Division

 

High-A - Florida State League North Division

 

A - Midwest League Western Division

 

***

 

Sortable individual stat pages:

 

Colorado Springs

 

Biloxi

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

 

***

 

Weather.com:

 

Nashville, TN

 

Mobile, AL

 

Viera, FL

 

Grand Chute, WI

[Mass Haas]

Miller Park Prospects: Latest Timber Rattlers photo gallery

[WV Brew]

Jim Henderson does get the 1st inning start for the Manatees.

 

Walked the leadoff man but then retired 3 straight including two strikeouts. Velo at 91-92 though so still doesn't have his full power yet.

[TheCrew07]

The Rattlers just gave up a little league HR on Medeiros first pitch... a ground out to the pitcher but 3 throwing errors later and the batter crosses home plate to tie the game.

[WV Brew]

Brevard County 4, Dunedin 0

 

Salas, 'Tees Soar Over Jays

Brevard County Shuts Out Dunedin

By Jerry Durney / Brevard County Manatees

04/18/2015 12:13 AM ET

 

http://brevardcounty.manatees.milb.com/assets/images/3/4/6/74367346/cuts/Roache_4.15_640x360_tlhvsmhy_gpksg11b.jpg

Brevard County left fielder Victor Roache - seen here in a game from earlier this season - homered in Brevard County's 4-0 win over Dunedin. (Dennis Greenblatt/Hawk-Eye Sports Photography)

 

 

 

Viera, Fla. - On a night where the Brevard County Manatees (4-4) were in need of good pitching, Jim Henderson and Javi Salas (1-1, 0.69) provided it in spades while the power portion of the Manatee lineup continued to awaken in a 4-0 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays (4-5) in the series opener on Friday night.

 

In the opening frame, it appeared as if the Manatees' early inning woes would continue for a third consecutive night. Roeman Fields led off with a walk against the rehabbing Henderson and then stole second with Emilio Guerrero at bat. Guerrero struck out, but Fields took third with Dawel Lugo up. Lugo grounded out to third with Taylor Brennan holding the ball briefly after a slick backhand stop to make sure Fields did not advance. When Matt Dean struck out, Henderson's night was over and zeroes were still on the board.

 

The Manatees took the lead in the second when Victor Roache hit his second home run of the season, an opposite field solo blast to right that left the yard quickly.

 

The Jays only true scoring threat against Salas came in the fourth inning. It started with a Matt Dean single to center; David Harris then bunted his way aboard to set up Derek Loveless. He would try to bunt his way on as well, but Cameron Garfield pounced on the ball immediately and threw to third to erase Dean. Moments later, Mitch Nay hit into a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

 

Clint Coulter made Dunedin immediately regret that missed opportunity in the bottom of the frame when he launched his second home run of the season. The solo shot was the definition of a big fly and landed beyond the berm in left field.

 

Brevard County tacked on the final two runs in the fifth inning. Johnny Davis reached on a one-out infield single when the ball ate up second baseman Christian Lopes. After a Chris McFarland fly out, Coulter made it 3-0 with an RBI triple that scored Davis. Following a walk to Brennan, Garrett Cooper legged out an infield single and allowed Coulter to score.

 

The dominant force of the night was Salas. After throwing one-hit ball over five innings on Sunday, but losing on a shutout, he made sure every bit of the run support stood up on this night. The originally scheduled starter for the evening threw the final eight innings after Henderson, shutting out the Blue Jays. He gave up just six hits, walked three and struck out three. Many of the balls that were put in play did not have much punch, as Salas induced 14 ground ball outs.

 

Dunedin's Luis Santos (0-1, 6.30) was tagged with the lost. He surrendered four runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.2 innings.

 

The 'Tees look to clinch a series win on Saturday as RHP Jorge Ortega (1-0, 1.50 ERA) attempts to follow up on his excellent outing from Monday. He'll be opposed by Dunedin left-hander Jairo Labourt (1-1, 4.76).

 

 

Fantastic game from Javi Salas after Jim Henderson pitched the 1st. Salas went the final 8 innings and gave up no runs.

He works quickly, throws strikes and gets a lot of ground balls. (15-2 ground out/fly out in this game).

 

IP 8, H 6, BB 3, K 3

 

As mentioned above, Henderson did not really have his velocity back in this game.

 

Clint Coulter and Victor Roache starred on offense in this game.

 

Clint Coulter: 2-3, 2 runs, 2 RBI's, HR, 3B, W (The triple may actually have been over the fence but called in by the umps).

Victor Roache: 2-4, HR, 1 run, 1 RBI

Kris Bryant: 0-4, 3 K (Just thought I'd throw that in)

 

Roache really hitting well right now. When he takes the fastball to right, he hits much better. HR was to right field.

 

Brevard County Box Score

 

Brevard County Game Log

[homer]

Medeiros has a nice K:IP ratio going. Nice to see him get off to a good start this year.

[And That]

Medeiros' GB:FB is even more impressive so far.

[SoupTown]

Michael Reed I hope can be our future Brantley. To my eye they are so similar skill sets. At 22 years old in AA, Reed may be destined soon to Milwaukee (mid 2016?). I recall each year Reed starts out really strong, but then fades. I sure hope he can have a breakthrough FULL year.

[TheCrew07]

Pena's blast propels Rattlers to victory

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/3/8/118986538/cuts/Luke_Curtis_Article_Photo_t3gbxxk6_5pbl9emt.jpg

Luke Curtis flips to first for the final out of Friday's win over the Burlington Bees. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica)

 

GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers played with fire all night Friday at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium against the Burlington Bees. But it was the Bees who were burned when Jose Pena hit an eighth inning home run to snap a 2-2 tie for the home team. Wisconsin would go on to defeat the Bees 5-2 in a game filled with missed opportunities, clutch pitching, and one unforgettable play.

 

The Timber Rattlers (2-7) scored in the first inning to take the lead. Gregory Munoz walked, went to second on a passed ball, and took third on a groundout. Dustin DeMuth continued his hot hitting with a single to right to drive in Munoz for a 1-0 lead. The run was the first scored by the Rattlers in the first inning this season.

 

DeMuth, who had three hits in the game, was caught stealing for the second out of the inning. Then, Keynan Middleton, the Bees starter, retired 16 of the next 17 batters he faced before leaving after six innings.

 

Wisconsin starting pitcher David Burkhalter allowed two baserunners in each of the first three innings, but the sixth round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2014 draft did not allow a run before he left with 56 pitches after three frames.

 

Kodi Medeiros, the #1 pick of the Brewers in last year's draft, came in to start the fourth and took over on the mound for the first time since he tossed six no-hit innings on Sunday against the Peoria Chiefs. Then,

 

Burlington (5-4) tied the game on a play that won't easily forgotten by those who saw it.

 

Ryan Seiz, the leadoff batter for Burlington to start the fourth inning, sent a slow roller to the third base side of the mound on the first pitch Medeiros threw on Friday. The Rattlers pitcher fielded the ball cleanly, but hurried his throw and stepped on the upslope of the mound to toss to first. The throw went wild and Seiz took off for second. Munoz, the second baseman, fielded the ball as it caromed off the side wall behind first base and threw wildly to second. Seiz went for third as the ball rolled to left field. Seiz was almost at third base when Brandon Diaz made an ill-advised throw to third. The throw was wild and wound up in the camera pit at the home plate end of the Wisconsin dugout to allow Seiz to trot home with the tying run.

 

The Bees would have runners at the corners with one out in the fifth inning, but Medeiros got out of the inning by getting Zach Houchins to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. In the sixth, Seiz doubled with one out, but was left stranded.

 

Burlington threatened again in the seventh inning. Michael Hermosillo reached on an error to start the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Medeiros walked the next two batters and the Bees had the bases loaded with one out. Medeiros escaped by striking out Houchins and getting Fran Whitten to ground out to first.

 

The Rattlers moved back in front in the bottom of the seventh against the Bees bullpen. Dustin DeMuth's high pop down the right field line dropped in for a double. David Denson struck out on a pitch in the dirt and DeMuth raced for third as the Bees had to throw to first to retire Denson. Elvis Rubio swung at the first pitch from Alex Klonowski and sent a fly ball to medium right. DeMuth tagged and beat the slightly off-target throw with a head first slide to the back of the plate to score the go-ahead run.

 

Medeiros walked Seiz to start the top of the eighth, but struck out the next batter to turn the game over to Luke Curtis. The Wisconsin reliever gave up a single to the first batter he faced, got the second out, and walked the next batter to load the bases. Curtis quickly got two strikes on Caleb Adams but committed a balk as he went to his stretch position to allow Seiz to score the tying run. Curtis escaped the inning with no more damage.

 

Pena, who hit nine homers for the Timber Rattlers in 2014, stepped in with one out in the bottom of the eighth and crushed an offering from Klonowski off the top of the video board in left-center for his first home run of the season to put the Rattlers back in front by a 3-2 score.

 

Gregory Munoz added to the lead in the inning when he reached on a single with two outs. Munoz stole second went to third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch.

 

Wisconsin kept the inning going on a walk to Diaz and a single by DeMuth. Denson followed with another single to knock in Diaz for a 5-2 lead.

 

Curtis went back out for the ninth and closed the game out for the Rattlers.

 

The win gave the Rattlers their first series win of the season as they took two of three from the Bees at home.

 

The Timber Rattlers begin a short three-game road trip to Peoria on Saturday. Wisconsin has Milton Gomez (0-0, 0.00) as their scheduled starting pitcher. Fernando Baez (1-1, 0.00) is set to start for the Chiefs. Game time is 6:00pm at Dozer Park. The broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 5:40pm. Saturday's game is also available on TuneIn Radio.

 

 

HOME RUN:

WIS:

Jose Pena (1st, 0 on in 8th inning off Alex Klonowski, 1 out)

 

WP: Luke Curtis (1-1)

LP: Alex Klonowski (0-1)

 

TIME: 2:49

ATTN: 2,854

 

Postgame comments and highlights – April 17, 2015

The usual, plus Chris is busting out some analytics!

 

Wisconsin Boxscore

The Brewers are doing something with Kodi Medeiros that you usually only see in High School and lower level games. The catcher sets the target knee high down the middle on every single pitch, and then the ball just goes where it's going to go. Kodi isn't hitting spots, in fact he's all over the place, but it's highly effective and I was intrigued by the psychological nature of what was happening. The batters were so overly aggressive it was mesmerizing... and they were swinging at pretty much everything. Was it because they were always expecting a strike based on the simple plan? Is Kodi's ball just that deceptive? He wasn't throwing all that many quality pitches but the avalanche of poor contact and swinging strikes early was impressive. The hitters got more patient as the game went on and he ended up walking some guys, but the plan was extremely simple, especially for professional ball, but executed masterfully. He was working low 90s and featured the slider and change for his secondary pitches. His FB has quite a bit of sink so even though he left a lot of balls up hitters still were off *just* enough to hit over the top of those pitches and smack them into the ground.

 

David Burkhalter has a nice arm but needs quite a bit of refinement yet, I do like him much more than Zach Quintana from last year though. His FB has decent horizontal arm side run but his curve is very long and loopy, and it was hit very hard a couple of times. He also throws a change. David just doesn't have much consistency, he's one of those guys who closes himself off as he throws the ball stepping across his body towards 1B, so he has that rounded out finish and falls towards first like KRod for example, but without the short arming and all of the extra movement KRod throws in at the end. I'm as interested in following his progression as I am Medeiros.

 

Teams are attacking David Denson with low breaking balls middle in, he's saw a steady diet of them all week. When he keeps it simple and swings at good pitches he's hit the ball hard, if not he is swinging over the top of that pitch consistently.

 

Monte Harrison looked visibly frustrated by the end of the game with himself at the plate, his pitch selection hasn't been the greatest and he's swung through some nice hitters' pitches the last couple of days as well. Relax young man!

 

Carlos Leal has come back down to earth, hitless in his last 2 games, hopefully at some MiLB.com will fix his player card so I can look at his stats real time. For some reason his 2015 stats aren't updating because he's no longer pitching. Even after going hitless recently his AVE still sits a very robust .440.

 

Jake Gatewood stung the ball twice today but the first one was right at a defender, he's jumped his AVE all the way up to .296.

 

I spent most of last year trying to figure out Jose Pena and didn't get anywhere so I won't analyze him here, however his HR was an absolute bomb and it's worth it to watch the highlights just for that. Truthfully the groans from the crowd on the little league HR is humorous enough in hindsight that it's also worth watching.

 

Wisconsin Recap

[Mass Haas]

Second set of Wisconsin highlights (in addition to Chris' linked above), this one from the MyNew32 TV broadcast

[Mass Haas]

Coulter leads Brevard County to 4-0 win over Dunedin

Don Rieber Jr., Brevard County Manatees Examiner

 

http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/a3/0c/a30ca03ef084c050b16dd3aaad5e6ba6.jpg?itok=6Tg2tWL5

 

Javi Salas pitched eight shutout innings Friday night, leading the Brevard County Manatees to a 4-0 home win over Dunedin (Photo by Don Rieber Jr.)

 

The Brevard County Manatees suffered two lopsided losses on the road on Wednesday and Thursday night, but looked to right the ship on Friday when they returned home to Space Coast Stadium, to take on the Dunedin Blue Jays in the first game of a three-game weekend series.

 

Home runs by Victor Roache and Clint Coulter combined with eight strong innings from pitcher Javi Salas were just what the doctor ordered, as the Manatees rolled to a 4-0 victory, sending 2,945 fans home happy. Coulter hit his home run in the fourth inning and added an RBI triple in the fifth. He drove in two of the Manatees four runs on the night.

 

Jim Henderson, who is down on an MLB rehab assignment, pitched the first inning of the game for Brevard County. He walked Roman Fields to start the game, but came back to strike out two of the next three hitters. “Henderson had a runner in scoring position, but (he) shut ‘em down and put up a zero,” said Manatees manager Joe Ayrault. “Salas cruised the rest of the way, it was a nice outing from him.”

 

This was the second start of the year for Salas. He was on the short-end of a 2-0 loss to Daytona, back on April 12. He pitched well in that game, allowing only one earned run.

 

On Friday, he was in command for much of the night and when he did get into trouble, his defense bailed him out. He scattered six hits over eight innings of work, walking three and striking out three. He dropped his ERA from 1.80 to 0.69.

 

“He did a real good job”, said Ayrault. “He filled the zone, was very aggressive and had real good sink on his fastball. He got a lot of ground ball outs and our infielders had a heck of a game. (Angel) Ortega played a solid shortstop, (Garrett) Cooper had a couple nice plays at first, and it was an outstanding ballgame in the field.

 

The Manatees (4-4) offense did their part against Blue Jays starter Luis Santos. Leadoff man Johnny Davis had two singles and showed off his speed in the fifth, beating out a ball on the infield.

 

Roache got the scoring started with a line drive home run over the right field wall, one of his two hits. That made it 1-0. “Vic smoked that ball to right,” Ayrault said of the Roache long ball. “That was an impressive swing.”

 

Coulter added a solo shot in the fourth to make it 2-0 and had another ball that just missed going out in the fifth, which was good enough for an RBI triple.

 

“His first AB was phenomenal,” said Ayrault. “I don’t know how many pitches it was, but he fouled off numerous pitches and finally got the pitch he liked and drove it out of the ballpark.”

 

Despite the fact that the homerun was measured at 448 feet and seemed like a no-doubter when it left the bat, Coulter was taking no chances. “You never know if it is going in this park, especially to left field,” he said. “So I was making sure I was running around the bases. It felt good though, yeah.”

 

In the bottom of the fifth Davis hit a one-out single and after Chris McFarland was retired, Coulter came up again. He hit another fly ball deep to center that just missed going out of the yard. “I thought he was gonna catch that one,” said Coulter. It was a curve ball so I didn’t get everything into it. I was running on that one too.”

 

Coulter ended up with a triple, giving the Manatees a 3-0 lead. They would add one more in the inning when Taylor Brennan scored on a Garrett Cooper single, making it 4-0. Brennan had walked following the Coulter triple, thus ending the night for Blue Jays starter Luis Santos. Brennan got into scoring position with a steal of second base.

 

“It’s always nice when you can crank the music in the clubhouse,” said Coulter. You definitely don’t do that after a loss, so it’s nice to get that W. Look forward to getting here tomorrow and getting back out there.”

 

Game two of the series is Saturday night at Space Coast Stadium. Lefty Jairo Labourt will start for Dunedin (4-5). He’ll be opposed by Jorge Ortega, who will make his second start for Brevard County. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM (5:35 Central).

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 3, Colorado Springs 2, ten innings

 

Strong Pitching Leads To Sounds' Walk-Off Over Sox

Dazzling Bullpen Performances Result in 3-2 Extra-Inning Loss

By Ed Pearsall / Colorado Springs Sky Sox

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/0/6/119007306/cuts/04_11_013_pk_2ibzn2m6_hjtlg1zc.jpg

 

Nick Additon pitched 5 innings, allowing just two runs in a no decision on Friday night. (Photo by Paat Kelly)

 

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - The Sky Sox first trip to Nashville as the top minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers ended in nail biting fashion as they would take the Sounds into extra innings before falling 3-2 in the inaugural game at First Tennessee Park in front of a sold out crowd of 10,459.

 

Pitching was the true story of this game as both starters turned in solid performances before giving way to strong bullpens in the ten-inning affair.

 

Making his second start of the season, both against the Sky Sox, Arnold Leon struck out five batters through three innings of work, allowing just two singles over that span.

 

Sky Sox starter Nick Additon would match zeros with Leon through those first three innings, albeit with a little more traffic on the bases. After a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, Additon would find himself in the bottom of the second with runners on the corners and one out. Additon avoided any damage, striking out Sounds designated hitter Alden Carrithers swinging before Sox catcher Juan Centeno caught Jason Pridie stealing to end the second on a "strike 'em out, throw 'em out" double play.

 

Scoreless through three, the Sky Sox would open the scoring with two runs off of Leon in the top of the fourth. Luis Sardinas led off the inning with a line drive single to left, extending his season-starting hitting streak to eight games. Elian Herrera followed with a walk, leaving runners one first and second with no outs and slugging first baseman Matt Clark coming to the plate. Clark would single to centerfield, scoring Sardinas and moving Herrera to second. After strike outs by Shane Peterson and Bryan Petersen, Ben Guez stepped up with a chance to provide his team some two-out thunder. Guez wouldn't miss his opportunity, lining Leon's offering to left field for an RBI single that scored Herrera and gave the Sox a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the fourth.

 

Additon would suffer a similar fate in the fourth inning as Nashville would answer with two runs of their own. Back-to-back walks to Joey Wendle and Max Muncy opened the inning before Additon got Bryan Anderson on a deep fly ball to left fielder Matt Long, allowing the runners to advance 90 feet apiece, and Kent Matthes on a line out to Sardinas at short. Pridie then came up with a clutch two-out, two-run single to centerfield, tying the ballgame.

 

Additon would finish his day with two runs allowed over 5 IP, a significant improvement on his season debut that saw him pitch 4.1 innings of five run ball against these same Sounds on April 11th at Security Service Field.

 

The ballgame would remain tied until the bottom of the tenth inning as both teams' bullpens put forth lights out performances for the next five and a half frames. The Sounds deployed a bullpen combination of the switch-pitching Pat Venditte, right-hander Chad Smith and former A's set-up man Ryan Cook (2-0, 0.00). The trio gave Nashville six scoreless innings of two-hit baseball while striking out six.

 

The Sky Sox 'pen was equally impressive after Additon's departure. Ariel Peńa was first in line, tossing two perfect innings with two strikeouts before handing the ball to Corey Knebel for the 8th. Knebel would strike out two of his own batters in his lone inning of work, maintaining the tie for Colorado Springs heading into the ninth.

 

David Goforth (0-1, 7.20) returned for the bottom of the tenth after his scoreless ninth led the Sky Sox to extras. Goforth would not be able to prolong the ballgame as a leadoff single by speedster Billy Burns would eventually lead to a Max Muncy double to right field. Burns crossed the plate representing the game's winning run, giving Nashville the walk-off win in their new ballpark's inaugural game.

 

The Sky Sox will look to create some of their own magic at First Tennessee Park on Saturday as Drew Gagnon (0-0, 7.20) will take the mound in his second start of the season against Sounds right-hander Chris Bassitt (0-1, 4.76). First pitch is scheduled for 5:35 PM MDT.

 

Colorado Springs Box Score

 

Luis Sardinas moved up to the two-spot in the order; Elian Herrera got the start at third base; all seven Sky Sox hits were singles, three walks, 13 K's; my goodness, we should all be legitimately excited about now-reliever Ariel Pena -- should he ever be added to the Brewers' 25-man roster, he needs to stick, no minor league options left.

 

Colorado Springs Game Log

 

Love the game-log notes for Pat Venditte --

 

Col. Springs Top of the 7th

 

Bryan Petersen singles on a line drive to right fielder Kent Matthes.

Pat Venditte is now pitching right-handed.

Ben Guez out on a sacrifice bunt, first baseman Max Muncy to second baseman Joey Wendle. Bryan Petersen to 2nd.

Pat Venditte is now pitching left-handed.

Juan Centeno grounds out, shortstop Andy Parrino to first baseman Max Muncy. Bryan Petersen to 3rd.

Pete Orr pops out to second baseman Joey Wendle.

[Mass Haas]

Congratulations to the Nashville community, especially their fans, on their new ballpark, regardless of their new affiliation with the A's.

 

You can learn about and see the new ballpark in the Tennessean's coverage.

 

Nashville resident Tim Dillard's tweet works for us.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Biloxi 4, Mobile 2

 

Shuckers blast by BayBears on Friday 4-2

Michael Reed and Nick Ramirez homer, helping snap 3-game slide

Biloxi Shuckers

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/7/8/2/118986782/cuts/DSC_0178_uh8i36my_wdiee5dd.JPG

 

Michael Reed blasted his first home run of the season on Friday night (Photo by Cristina Coca)

 

MOBILE, ALA. - The Biloxi Shuckers used two homers and six extra-base hits to snap a three-game losing streak on Friday night, downing the Mobile BayBears, 4-2, at Hank Aaron Stadium. The win puts the Shuckers back over the .500 mark and within a game of the first-place Jacksonville Suns. Starter Tyler Wagner became the first two-game winner on the mound, earning the victory in his second start of 2015.

 

Biloxi fell behind early after Mobile pushed two runs across in the first inning. Three straight batters reached with one out before Raul Navarro drove in Brandon Drury on a single and Alex Glenn plated Socrates Brito on a fielder's choice to third giving the BayBears an early 2-0 advantage.

 

The Shuckers got a run back in the third after Kyle Wren (1x4, 2B, R) roped one off the third-base bag and legged out a double and was followed by a walk to Orlando Arcia (0x3, BB) put two on with one out. A passed ball with Nathan Orf (0x1, 2 BB, RBI) at the plate advanced the runners and the third baseman promptly lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in Wren, making the score 2-1.

 

Biloxi scored again in the fourth when Michael Reed (2x3, HR, 2 R, SB) launched his first long ball of the season onto BayBear Mountain in left field tying the game at 2-2.

 

Wagner (W, 2-0, 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SO) worked out of jams in the fourth and fifth to keep the game tied and managed to force the BayBears to strand five runners over the course of his outing.

 

The right-handed pitcher had a runner at third with one out in the fourth, but picked up his first strike out of the game against Mark Thomas and induced a grounder to third by Ryan Gebhardt to hold the score.

 

The No. 9 prospect in the Brewers' organization (Baseball America) got Rudy Flores to ground out to Nick Ramirez on a ball that glanced off the glove of the first baseman, but was recovered quickly with Wagner covering the bag in time to record the out.

 

Ramirez broke the tie (1x4, HR, R, RBI) and showed his power stroke at the plate the next half inning when he led off the frame with a solo blast to right, his third home run of the season to lead the Southern League.

 

Biloxi added insurance later in the sixth when Yadiel Rivera (2x4, 2 2B, RBI) doubled home Reed from second to give the Shuckers a 4-2 advantage. The 13th-ranked prospect in the Brewers' organization (Baseball America) now has a team-high, season-long hitting streak at five games.

 

Austin Ross (3 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 SO) took over to start the sixth inning for Wagner and loaded the bases with two outs before getting Tom Belza to ground out to second to keep the Shuckers ahead by two.

 

The 6'2" right-hander worked a clean eighth to ensure the Shuckers would have a chance at snapping their losing streak.

 

Wirfin Obispo (SV, 1) picked up his first save of the season and first save in Shuckers' history by working a scoreless ninth and collecting a strike out. Yoan Lopez (L, 0-2) allowed four runs - three earned - on six hits and three walks, while striking out six.

 

The two teams will meet again on Friday night, for game four of the series at Hank Aaron Stadium. LHP Hobbs Johnson (0-0, 3.86) will take the mound for the Shuckers against RHP Gabriel Arias (1-0, 3.00). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM, with coverage beginning at 6:50 on 1240-AM WGCM and the Biloxi Shuckers Radio Network. Fans can also listen to the game using the TuneIn Radio app or by going to http://www.biloxishuckers.com.

 

Biloxi Box Score

 

Extra-base hits accomplish this -- your team wins despite being 1-for-10 with RISP; RHP Austin Ross is about as quality as you can get as a AA long reliver, biding his time for a rotation spot to open up; still way too early to worry about Tyrone Taylor's slow start...

 

Biloxi Game Log

[DHonks]

Having only seen a little video of Medeiros (and plenty of scouting reports), I still can't help but think of a young Randy Johnson. It's easy to forget how in his early 20s, the Big Unit was critiqued for his weird almost side-arm angle. He really only had two pitches early in his career--fastball and slider. He had little control, but still generated few his, lots of groundouts, and plenty of K's. I'm not saying Medeiros will end up having that kind of career. But I like the low-arm angle as it's easier on the arm. At least, I think it is. I remember when I'd play catch in my teens/20s, and if my arm was stiff I would just warm up using a side-arm motion and it helped me loosen up without much effort.

[TheCrew07]

But I like the low-arm angle as it's easier on the arm.

 

In my experience that statement isn't true at all and I've never read or been told anything to that effect either.

[DHonks]

The anecdotal evidence from broadcasts used to be that side-arm relievers can pitch almost every day. In my experience based on baseball broadcasters saying that, when my arm didn't want to loosen up, I would drop down a bit and it would come out much easier. Maybe I was weird though.

[colbyjack]

The Brewers are doing something with Kodi Medeiros that you usually only see in High School and lower level games. The catcher sets the target knee high down the middle on every single pitch, and then the ball just goes where it's going to go. Kodi isn't hitting spots, in fact he's all over the place, but it's highly effective and I was intrigued by the psychological nature of what was happening. The batters were so overly aggressive it was mesmerizing... and they were swinging at pretty much everything. Was it because they were always expecting a strike based on the simple plan? Is Kodi's ball just that deceptive? He wasn't throwing all that many quality pitches but the avalanche of poor contact and swinging strikes early was impressive. The hitters got more patient as the game went on and he ended up walking some guys, but the plan was extremely simple, especially for professional ball, but executed masterfully. He was working low 90s and featured the slider and change for his secondary pitches. His FB has quite a bit of sink so even though he left a lot of balls up hitters still were off *just* enough to hit over the top of those pitches and smack them into the ground.

 

I'm not sure if you remember my comments on Medeiros prior to last year's draft (and after), but his stuff is so unique I truly believed his success early in his professional career would have a lot, if not everything, to do with how the organization handles him in regards to catching. I don't think I've ever seen a young pitcher with so much movement on three distinct pitches, and his slider, when at it's best, is really an 80-grade pitch. So, hearing you type what you did makes me optimistic about his development this season, especially since he was skipped past Helena, which worried me (for all of the early high school draftees on the T-Rats roster actually). Medeiros is an incredible talent, but it's also important not to shatter his confidence by not only pushing him up too fast, but by pairing him with a catcher that has no clue how to handle his unique stuff. And maybe it's not so much about the catch but the catching approach/philosophy as noted.

 

And TheCrew is right, lower arm angles usually do not bode well for pitchers. However, as long as the pitcher is loose and athletic enough, like Medeiros is, it's nowhere near the concern. However, I do agree with you DHonks in that his delivery is very reminiscent of Randy Johnson's.