Link Report for Tuesday 4/28

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Tuesday's Daily Menu:

 

All times are Central

 

Colorado Springs: LHP Nick Additon and RHP Drew Gagnon in a doubleheader at home vs. Iowa (Cubs), 5:00 PM pre-game, 5:30 gametime; each contest slated for seven innings

 

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: LHP Hobbs Johnson at Pensacola (Reds), 6:05 PM pre-game, 6:35 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: This series from Pensacola is airing on MiLB.TV, nice.

 

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Brevard County: Idle; game at Lakeland scheduled for this morning has been rained out; it will be made up as part of a doubleheader on the evening of Monday, June 22nd.

 

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Wisconsin: RHP David Burkhalter at Clinton (Mariners), 6:10 PM pre-game, 6:30 gametime

 

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.

 

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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. We'll let you know when a Wisconsin road series is available via MiLB.TV.

[Mass Haas]

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

 

Colorado Springs Game One

 

Colorado Springs Game Two

 

Biloxi

 

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

 

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:

 

Colorado Springs, CO

 

Pensacola, FL

 

Clinton, IA

[Mass Haas]

VIDEO: Colorado Springs' Shane Peterson leads off the fifth inning with a triple in a 7-0 win over Iowa -- this hit literally banged off the top of the CF wall, bouncing high up into the air

 

Peterson has put up good numbers against southpaws for a LH bat, off to a fine start this year as well

[Mass Haas]

Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog

 

Be sure to listen to two archived audio interviews via Chris:

 

Brewers Director of Player Development Reid Nichols - Arcia talk included...

 

RHP Tyler Wagner talking about his first career homer and fourth win

[TheCrew07]

I've been a tad forgetful lately so I'm going to mention this here, Brandon Diaz just left the game injuring his wrist or arm sliding back into the bag.

[homer]

A day without Orlando Arcia is a like a day without sunshine.

[TheCrew07]

LumberKings stop Rattlers winning streak

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

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Elvis Rubio had two hits and scored a run in Wisconsin's 7-2 loss at Clinton on Tuesday night.

 

CLINTON, IA - The Clinton LumberKings defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 7-2 Tuesday night at Ashford University Field. Arby Field homered and drove in three runs as the loss ended Wisconsin's longest winning streak of the season.

 

Wisconsin (6-13) grabbed the lead in the first inning. Monte Harrison's hard grounder to short skipped into short center and he hustled into second base for a double. Then, Brandon Diaz bunted out in front of the plate and the throw to first was wild. Harrison raced home with the run and the Rattlers were up 1-0.

 

Diaz was at second with one out in the first and dove back into the bag to beat a pickoff throw. He appeared to jam his right hand into the base and had to leave the game for pinch runner Mitch Meyer.

 

Clinton (8-11) took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Joe DeCarlo started the inning with a double and took third on a single by Wayne Taylor. Daniel Torres drove in DeCarlo with a single to tie the game.

 

Kristian Brito was next and his liner to third was dropped by Sthervin Matos. The runners on base had frozen where they were, but Matos rushed a throw to second and the ball sailed into right field to let Clinton load the bases. Arby Fields drew a bases loaded walk to force in Taylor with the go ahead run. Gianfranco Wawoe swung at the next pitch and hit a sacrifice fly to left that made it 3-1.

 

Fields struck again in the bottom of the fourth inning when he hit an 0-2 pitch from Wisconsin starting pitcher David Burkhalter for a two-run home run to right and the LumberKings were up 5-1.

 

Clinton starting pitcher Pat Peterson struck out ten Rattlers and allowed two hits over five innings before giving way to the LumberKing bullpen.

 

The Rattlers got to reliever Troy Scott for a run on the top of the seventh. Elvis Rubio, who had two hits in the game, singled with one out and went to third on an errant pickoff throw. Carlos Leal drove in Rubio with a groundout to make it 5-2.

 

Wisconsin reliever Gian Rizzo pitched an 1-1/3 of scoreless relief and struck out three LumberKings before turning the game over to Kodi Medeiros to start the sixth.

 

Medeiros pitched an uneventful sixth, but loaded the bases with one out in the seventh on a single, a walk, and a hit batsman. Medeiros got the second out on a strikeout, but allowed a two-run single to Estarlyn Morales that gave Clinton a 7-2 lead.

 

The loss ended Wisconsin's three game winning streak. The win ended Clinton's three-game losing streak.

 

Game two of the series is Wednesday afternoon. Milton Gomez (0-1, 12.27) is the scheduled pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Clinton will counter with Lukas Schiraldi (1-1, 5.27). Game time is noon. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 11:40am. Wednesday's game is also available on the internet through TuneIn Radio.

 

 

HOME RUN:

CLN:

Arby Fields (1st, 1 on in 4th inning off David Burkhalter, 1 out)

 

WP: Pat Peterson (3-1)

LP: David Burkhalter (0-2)

 

Wisconsin Boxscore

Positives... well as mentioned in the game story Elvis Rubio had a nice night at the plate and Gian Rizzo struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced.

 

Arby Fields, the #9 batter who was walked with the bases loaded and then hit a HR (on an 0-2 pitch as mentioned above) had exactly 2 hits on the year coming into today's game. David Burkhalter just doesn't have much consistency in his game yet.

 

I was thinking as yet another starting pitcher racked up an enormous amount of strike outs what the Midwest League record is for SOs in a season? I went searching and found out it was the 2004 Dayton Dragons with 1381 which featured none other than Joey Votto. The team finished 48-92 so their 1381 strike outs over 140 games is a rate of 9.864 strike outs per game. In Wisconsin's 19 games they have 209 strike outs, a rate of 10.842 per game, 140 games at the current pace would be 1,518 strike outs, obliterating the record.

 

Wisconsin Recap

[Mass Haas]

I was thinking as yet another starting pitcher racked up an enormous amount of strike outs what the Midwest League record is for SOs in a season? I went searching and found out it was the 2004 Dayton Dragons with 1381 which featured none other than Joey Votto. The team finished 48-92 so their 1381 strike outs over 140 games is a rate of 9.864 strike outs per game. In Wisconsin's 19 games they have 209 strike outs, a rate of 10.842 per game, 140 games at the current pace would be 1,518 strike outs, obliterating the record.

 

In Tuesday's game, David Denson (golden sombrero, 0-for-4) and Jake Gatewood (0-for-3) combined to strike out all seven times up.

 

Season thus far:

 

Monte Harrison: 30 K's in 57 AB's (52.6% of AB's)

Gatewood: 24K's in 52 AB's (46.2%)

Denson: 25 K's in 60 AB's (41.7%)

 

Timber Rattler individual stats here, but Denson (20 years old), and the two 19-year-old's, lead the way.

 

Do the Brewers see if confidence can be gained in Helena once that season begins if those rates don't improve? As noted, historic paces...

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO: Wisconsin Pregame Interview with RHP Cy Sneed via the Rattlers Radio postgame entry

[Mass Haas]

Final: Biloxi 6, Pensacola 2

 

Five-run second sends Shuckers past Wahoos, take series

Biloxi hands Pensacola a 6-2 loss and up division lead to two games

Biloxi Shuckers

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/9/3/6/121162936/cuts/DSC07672_kakzs92k_k5pfygqu.JPG

 

Nick Shaw was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI's on Tuesday night at Pensacola. (Photo by John Shadrick)

 

PENSACOLA, FLA. - The red-hot Biloxi Shuckers used a five-run second inning and rolled to a 6-2 victory over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Tuesday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. The win was a league-best 13th and secured a series victory, Biloxi's third of the season in four tries. Mobile and Mississippi were suspended on Tuesday, so Biloxi picked up a ½ game in the division and lead the BayBears by two full games. The Shuckers have won nine of their last 12 and also seven of eight.

 

The Shuckers improved to 7-2 against the Wahoos in 2015, and Biloxi also improved to an amazing 10-0 in nine-inning games.

 

Biloxi (13-6) got to Pensacola starter Josh Smith (L, 1-1) with a five-run second inning which set the tone on Tuesday night. Nick Ramirez started the frame with a leadoff single, but was erased on a fielder's choice by Michael Reed (0x4, R) to second. Taylor Green (1x4, R) singled to put two on for the Shuckers, and Adam Weisenburger (1x3, 2 R) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Nick Shaw, who tallied his first multi-hit game of the season (2x4, 2 RBI, R, 2B, 3B) doubled in Reed and Green to give the Shuckers a 2-0 lead.

 

After a Hobbs Johnson strikeout, Kyle Wren (0x3, RBI, R, SB) reached on an error to plate Weisenburger and move Shaw to third, giving Biloxi a three-run edge. Wren then stole second to give Biloxi two more runners in scoring position. Wren has six steals which is tied for second in the league. Yadiel Rivera (2x4, 2 RBI) broke the game open with a single to center, bringing in Shaw and Wren, to give the Shuckers a 5-0 advantage.

 

The five-run second frame is the largest of the inaugural season, besting last night's four-run fourth and ninth.

 

Rivera continued his on-base streak with a bunt-single in the first. The 22-year-old has now reached in all 18 games he's appeared in.

 

Biloxi tacked on another run in the seventh on a Wren sacrifice fly to center to bring in Weisenburger.

 

Johnson (W, 2-0) allowed three Blue Wahoos to reach base through the first four innings, but struggled in the fifth, surrendering two runs on two hits. Beau Amaral singled home Juan Perez, who led off the inning with a triple, and Jesse Winker's sacrifice fly brought in Chris Berset to cut Biloxi's lead to three.

 

The North Carolina native finished the night having allowed just the two runs on three hits, three walks and two strikeouts. The win was the 10th for the starting rotation.

 

Jaye Chapman (IP, H, 2 SO), Damien Magnifico (2 IP, 2 H, 2 SO) and Wirfin Obispo (IP, SO) held Pensacola (5-13) at bay through the final four frames to secure the Shuckers' win. The Biloxi bullpen has allowed just one run over its last 25.1 innings pitched, a 0.36 ERA.

 

The first place Shuckers will have RHP Jorge Lopez (1-2, 5.25) toe the rubber in game six against the Blue Wahoos on Wednesday. Pensacola will look to end a two-game skid and send out LHP Wandy Peralta (1-1, 2.30). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM and can be heard starting at 6:20 with the Beau Rivage Biloxi Shuckers Pregame Show on 1240-AM WGCM, 1580-AM WPMO and the Biloxi Shuckers Radio Network. Fans can also listen to the game using the TuneIn Radio app or by going to www.biloxishuckers.com.

 

Biloxi Box Score

 

For me, Yadiel Rivera's performance is the biggest April bonus in the system all April - .367/.415/.550 with only 9 K's in 60 AB's, wow! Kyle Wren is ready to get to May soon, his .494 OPS atop the lineup has been somewhat unnoticed given all the positive Shuckers news; also lost in the fantastic Biloxi start has been the very good work of this bullpen, only because the starters have gone so deep, and there have been several seven-inning games.

 

Biloxi Game Log

 

Sleep in Wednesday AM, Hobbs Johnson, knowing you're waking up on your 24th birthday with a win in your back pocket from this game...

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO: Highlights from the five-run Shuckers 2nd inning

 

***

 

Chris Harris Tweet: Reliever Damien Magnifico touching 95-98 on the gun in the outing tonight.

[Mass Haas]

With a new parent club, Sky Sox adjusting to life in chilly Colorado Springs

By Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette

 

Bryan Petersen never needs to seek out a weather forecast. It finds him.

 

"In a minor league clubhouse you usually have about 25 weathermen," said Petersen, the Sky Sox left fielder. "Word gets around."

 

Before being greeted with sunny skies and mild temperatures Tuesday - with 70s in the forecast for the next few days - the weather report had largely been a downer for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at home this season. The average starting temperature for the nine home games entering Tuesday had been 56 degrees - or 19 degrees colder than the eight road contests.

 

And that just measures the temperature at first pitch. It obviously cools as the hour grows later.

 

In addition, the Sky Sox have had three games postponed - two for rain, one for cold.

 

This is nothing new for the Sky Sox fan base, but this is an adjustment for the club now that it is an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

Milwaukee's previous Triple-A team had been in Nashville, which is about 12 degrees - on average - warmer than Colorado Springs in April.

 

Sky Sox manager Rick Sweet said there's a trade-off with that.

 

"When it gets to be July and August in Nashville, you can't get outside and spend time. You walk outside and you start dripping. And you can't stay outside and work too long because it just sucks it out of you," Sweet said. "We're going to be able to do that. The weather here doesn't get that extreme heat, it stays pretty decent. I think overall, the weather is probably better here than it was last year."

 

Sweet said the Colorado Springs cold hasn't been anything worse than he's seen at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Fenway Park in Boston or in the minor leagues at places like Erie, Pa., where the cold is made more extreme by breezes off the nearby Great Lake.

 

Players aren't going to be able to hide from this in their careers, so they might as well get used to it, he reasons.

 

Sweet doesn't spend a lot of time worrying about weather or using it as an excuse, but he's very much aware of it. He keeps a weather app on the front page of his phone and loads it with cities he's going to be visiting. It still has Round Rock and Nashville programmed from the recent road trip and he said he'll soon be adding Memphis and Des Moines for a trip that runs from May 4-11.

 

He doesn't obsess over it, but he wants to know what to expect in terms of available time to get pregame work in on the field or when to anticipate the occasional day off because of weather.

 

Those days, like Sunday with an early rainout, are welcomed events. The Sky Sox have only eight days off in their five-month season, so Sunday brought a chance to not only rest bullpen arms and get regular players off their feet, but also eat a nice meal and go out to the movies (which much of the team did).

 

"You get a night off, that's a huge event for us," Sweet said.

 

Petersen said players suffer a bit from the lost time on the field when it rains, but he said it happens here far less frequently than it did in New Orleans, where he played for parts of four seasons. He said playing in the cold has been an adjustment, but the extremes (the Sky Sox have started two games in temperatures in the 40s) haven't been bad enough to alter the game.

 

"It does become a little bit of a mental battle when you have to deal with it day after day," he said. "But that's part of the fairness of baseball. Both teams have to deal with it."

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game One: Iowa 7, Colorado Springs 1

Final, Game Two: Iowa 6, Colorado Springs 3

 

Sky Sox Drop Twin-Bill to I-Cubs, Split Series

Iowa Turned the Tables On the Sox Tuesday, Securing Back-to-Back 7-Inning Wins

By Ed Pearsall / Colorado Springs Sky Sox

 

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - 3,464 fans were treated to a long day of baseball at Security Service Field on Tuesday evening as the Sky Sox and Iowa Cubs played two after two consecutive poor weather days in Colorado Springs. A full day of baseball is almost always a great thing, however, the Sox long day would end in bittersweet fashion as they dropped consecutive hard-fought games to Iowa: 7-1 in game one and 6-3 in game two.

 

Coming off a strong 6.2 scoreless innings performance in his last time out against Round Rock, game one starter Nick Additon (1-2, 6.30) would not experience the same success this time around. After a 1-2-3 first, the left-hander would hit a wall in the second giving up five runs in the frame on six hits, a walk, an error and a wild pitch. While the second was certainly the toughest inning of his night, Additon would give up two more runs before his night was through, allowing a total of seven earned runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out three.

 

Conversely, Iowa game one starter Donn Roach (2-0, 2.31) would go a strong six innings, allowing just one run on seven hits and three walks while striking out one.

 

The Sky Sox offense put plenty of traffic on the bases but was unable to produce the same big hits that lead to success in their 7-0 win against the Cubs on Monday evening.

 

Matt Clark collected two base hits, beating the shift each time to continue his recent string of success at the plate, while Donnie Murphy collected the team's only RBI (his first of the season) on an RBI single in the sixth.

 

David Goforth and Tim Dillard would toss three combined scoreless innings in relief of Additon before Cubs lefty Joseph Perez closed the door on the ballgame with a scoreless seventh inning to secure the 7-1 Iowa win.

 

Colorado Springs Game One Box Score

 

Hard-fought game? Not so sure here in Game One; RHP David Goforth with more walks (six) than K's (five) in 9.2 innings - his ratio has never been strong, I suppose his 40-man roster placement hasn't cost the Brewers another player yet, at least; given some thought, RHP Tim Dillard's run of 13 consecutive seasons in the Brewers' organization, having never pitched within another affiliated organization's chain, is quite remarkable in this day and age...

 

Colorado Springs Game One Game Log

 

***

 

Game two would be a tight one throughout as both team's starters allowed three runs in their respective outings before leaving the game's fate in the hands of the bullpens.

 

Drew Gagnon got the nod for Colorado Springs in game two, ultimately outpitching his opposing starter, lefty-hander Eric Jokisch. Gagnon would toss 4.2 innings of three-run ball on six hits and two walks while striking out two. Jokisch would last just 3.2 innings before being pulled in the fourth with the Sox threatening to add to their 3-1 lead.

 

The Sky Sox runs would be scored thanks to the production of the top of the order, plating two in the third inning on singles from Matt Long and Luis Sardinas and a booming double to right-center by Pete Orr.

 

Gagnon seemed to be in somewhat of a groove heading into the fifth inning with a two-run advantage until a leadoff triple by speedy Cubs right fielder John Andreoli set Iowa up with a chance to chip away. Andreoli would wind up scoring on the very next play as a routine groundout by Jonathan Mota would cut the lead to one. Already with a home run in game one of the double-header, Arismendy Alcantara would drill a mammoth blast (travelling an estimated 445 feet) over the right field wall to tie the ballgame at three.

 

Iowa would use four relievers to finish out the ballgame as they mixed and matched to keep the Sky Sox off the board the rest of the way. Brandon Kintzler would toss 1.1 scoreless innings before turning the ball over to Corey Knebel (1-1, 4.50). The tall right-hander would not fare as well, allowing three runs on two hits and two walks while striking out two in the top of the seventh. The three runs would cement the win for the I-Cubs and allow them to escape town with a series split.

 

The Sky Sox are back at it on Thursday night at Security Service Field as they open a four-game set against the Omaha Storm Chasers. Tyler Cravy (1-2, 5.06) leads the way against left-hander John Lamb (0-0, 3.86) with first pitch slated for 6:35 PM MDT (7:35 Central).

 

Colorado Springs Game Two Box Score

 

Luis Sardinas finally stole a base (3rd attempt) -- click his page to see how 2014 represented a big dropoff in attempts from the prior two seasons...

 

Colorado Springs Game Two Game Log

 

Col. Springs Bottom of the 2nd

 

Nevin Ashley called out on strikes.

Colorado Springs Sky Sox catcher Nevin Ashley ejected by HP umpire Billy Cunha.

Shane Peterson grounds out, shortstop Chris Valaika to first baseman Mike Baxter.

Ben Guez singles on a line drive to left fielder Adron Chambers.

Brandon Macias grounds into a force out, shortstop Chris Valaika to second baseman Arismendy Alcantara. Ben Guez out at 2nd.

 

Umpire can't do that in a doubleheader (Ashley can't, either, for that matter). Robinzon Diaz forced into double duty, and Diaz is now 0-for-10 in limited action thus far.

 

***

 

Sky Sox fall to 6-13...