Link Report for Saturday 6/13

[Mass Haas]

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[Mass Haas]

Saturday's Daily Menu:

 

All times are Central

 

Colorado Springs: TBD at Iowa (Cubs), 6:38 PM pre-game, 7:08 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: LHP Hobbs Johnson at Mississippi (Braves), 5:45 PM pre-game, 6:00 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 - Eight of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games, and Biloxi is among them!

 

NOTE: The Mississippi video/audio feed is available for this series to MiLB.TV subscribers.

 

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Brevard County: LHP Wei-Chung Wang and RHP Brandon Woodruff in a doubleheader at Clearwater (Phillies), 4:00 gametime; each contest is slated for seven innings

 

Free Live Audio Link (Clearwater Feed Only)

 

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

 

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Wisconsin: LHP Kodi Medeiros at Bowling Green (Rays), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 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 (scroll to bottom of link) 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.

 

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DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Pirates, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until later in the day

 

We'll link to this Dominican Summer League Brewers' thread as part of the Daily Menu all season to assist you with your familiarity with these young men.

[Mass Haas]

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

 

Colorado Springs

 

Biloxi

 

Brevard County Game One

 

Brevard County Game Two

 

Wisconsin

 

DSL Brewers

 

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 --

 

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:

 

Des Moines, IA

 

Pearl, MS

 

Clearwater, FL

 

Bowling Green, OH

 

San Pedro de Macoris, DR

[Mass Haas]

Colorado Springs' Logan Schafer legs out a triple in the Sky Sox's 2-0 loss to the Iowa Cubs

 

[Mass Haas]

Biloxi's Orlando Arcia smacks a double in the Shuckers' 10-2 Friday win over the Mississippi Braves

 

[Mass Haas]

Wisconsin's Mitch Meyer singles home a run as the Timber Rattlers beat Dayton, 5-3, on Friday

 

[WV Brew]

Cameron Garfield matches his season RBI total in game 1.

[Mass Haas]

Outdoor enthusiast Sneed looking to reel in victories for Rattlers

Tim Froberg, Post-Crescent Media

 

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Cy Sneed was the Timber Rattlers’ lone pitcher selected to play in the Midwest League All-Star Classic this season.

(Photo: Wm. Glasheen/Post-Crescent Media)

 

A full Q&A is included in this player profile at the above link.

 

This was also linked in our season-long Timber Rattlers feature thread...

[Mass Haas]

Tom Haudricourt's Sunday column an excellent read -- a very interesting Taylor Jungmann / Mark Rogers comparison included.

[bkrause2]

Final: DSL Pirates 5, DSL Brewers 6

 

This was a pretty low-scoring pitchers duel for most of the game with the Brewers scoring two in the seventh to take a 3-2 lead. The Pirates came right back with three in the top of the eighth, but the Brewers answered with three of their own in the bottom of the eighth, re-taking the lead on a Julio Mendez double, and held on for the 6-5 win.

 

DSL Brewers Box Score

 

20-year-old righty Junior Flores made his season debut, tossing one scoreless inning to start the game. 18-year-old Panamanian Carlos Luna followed with six strong innings, allowing two runs and striking out six. 6'6" Starling Duval got the final four outs to earn the win and the former Diamondbacks farmhand now has three of the four Brewers wins.

 

Mendez finished the game 2-for-5 with a double and knocked in two. Roosevert Chal also had a single and double in four at bats to raise his average to .471 through five games. Outfielder Anderson Jesus, formerly of the Rangers, had two hits and a walk while shortstop Ignacio Otano had two more hits out of the leadoff spot. Franly Mallen singled and walked in five plate appearances.

 

DSL Brewers Game Log

 

The Brewers three run eighth. Javier Castillo came on to pinch run for Otano after he singled. Hopefully not a n injury situation, but seems odd to pinch-run for your leadoff hitter so might be worth keeping an eye on Monday.

 

DSL Brewers Bottom of the 8th

Pitching Change: Raymond Rodriguez replaces Julian Villamar.

Anderson Jesus singles on a line drive to left fielder Eddy Vizcaino.

With Bismar Nunez batting, wild pitch by Raymond Rodriguez, Anderson Jesus to 2nd.

Bismar Nunez walks.

Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Ariel Estades replaces Bismar Nunez.

With Adolfo Morillo batting, wild pitch by Raymond Rodriguez, Anderson Jesus to 3rd. Ariel Estades to 2nd.

Adolfo Morillo strikes out swinging.

Roosevert Chal singles on a fly ball to center fielder Yondry Contreras. Anderson Jesus scores. Ariel Estades scores. Roosevert Chal to 2nd on the throw.

Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Dilson Fernandez replaces Henry Correa.

Dilson Fernandez grounds out, third baseman Jesus Ronco to first baseman Huascar Fuentes.

Ignacio Otano singles on a line drive to right fielder Jeremias Portorreal. Roosevert Chal to 3rd.

Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Javier Castillo replaces Ignacio Otano.

Julio Mendez doubles (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Yondry Contreras. Roosevert Chal scores. Javier Castillo to 3rd.

Franly Mallen called out on strikes.

[bkrause2]

Final: Biloxi 3, Mississippi 0

 

Johnson delivers magic number to two with brilliant outing

Shuckers can clinch first half title with a win on Sunday or Monday in Pearl

Biloxi Shuckers

 

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Hobbs Johnson tossed a season-high seven innings and posted a season-most eight strikes in the 3-0 shutout (Benton Reed Photography)

 

PEARL, MS - Hobbs Johnson tossed a season-high seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts and help move the Shuckers magic number to two to clinch the Southern League South Division after a 3-0 victory over the Mississippi Braves on Saturday night at Trustmark Park. The Shuckers have pulled ahead, 2-1, in the five-game series and have evened up the season matchup at four with the Braves. The division lead is at its largest this season, 5 ½ games, with only seven left to play in the first half. A win in either of the next two games of the series and the Shuckers will celebrate at Trustmark Park.

 

Johnson (W, 4-3) made easy work of the Braves all night, facing 24 batters on 91 pitches. The Southern League All-Star recorded his first quality start of the 2015 campaign, shutting out Mississippi in seven innings with three hits allowed and one walk with a season-high eight strikeouts. The eight strikeouts were his most since fanning nine May 10, 2014 while with A+ Brevard Co.

 

Biloxi (38-24) scored first for the third straight game to start the series on a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth inning off the bat of Nathan Orf (1x4, RBI, R) that brought in Parker Berberet (2x4, RBI).

 

Biloxi added insurance in the eighth on RBI singles from Michael Reed (1x4, RBI, R, 2 SB) and Tyrone Taylor (24, RBI). Orf reached second to start the inning on an error from shortstop Emerson Landoni and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Orlando Arcia (0x4) before Reed drove the runner home. The Shucker's right fielder stole second and third to set up Taylor's RBI single, two batters later. Taylor is riding a season-long five-game hit streak.

 

Mike Strong (SV, 3) earned his third save of the season by closing out Mississippi (32-29) in the final two innings. Johnson and Strong combined for Biloxi's fifth shutout of the season, holding the M-Braves to just four hits. Biloxi added four steals in the game, pushing their season total to 68.

 

Kyle Wren was 2-for-4 and has a multi-hit game in 11 of his last 18 played dating back to May 24. The Shuckers leadoff hitter has risen his batting average from .264 to .297 over that span and is batting .396 in 12 June affairs.

 

Biloxi will try to win the division on Sunday night against the Braves. RHP Brooks Hall (6-3, 3.47) will battle RHP Jason Hursh (2-4, 5.18). First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., with coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m. 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.

 

The Shuckers return to MGM Park on Wednesday, June 17 for a five-game series with the Montgomery Biscuits (TB). Game times each night are at 7:10 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by visiting http://www.biloxishuckers.com, http://www.ticketmaster.com, at the Shuckers Team Store or by calling 800-745-3000. Also fans can purchase season tickets, mini plans and group tickets by calling the Shuckers' administrative offices at (228) 233-3465.

 

Biloxi Box Score

 

Reading through the game notes that Chris put out before the game tonight I found it interesting that as good as Hobbs Johnson has pitched this season, he hadn't gone more than five and a third in any of his previous starts. He did a great job of getting ahead of hitters and was in control for pretty much the entire time he was on the mound. Tyrone Taylor and Kyle Wren both stayed hot with two hits each and Michael Reed had a single, then stole second and third in the eighth inning to help tack on an insurance run.

 

Biloxi Game Log

 

The seventh inning was one of the best of the night for Johnson, who was lifted after 91 pitches, going K, K, comebacker to the mound to finish up his night.

 

Mississippi Bottom of the 7th

KD Kang strikes out swinging.

Rio Ruiz strikes out swinging.

Emerson Landoni grounds out, pitcher Hobbs Johnson to first baseman Nick Ramirez.

[TheCrew07]

Hot Rods slip past Rattlers

Wisconsin commits four errors in 5-2 loss

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

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Sthervin Matos homered and drove in a pair of runs for the Timber Rattlers at Bowling Green on Saturday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica)

 

BOWLING GREEN, KY - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers had an early lead, but they could not hold onto the lead or the ball in a 5-2 loss to the Bowling Green Hot Rods at Bowling Green Ballpark on Saturday night. The Timber Rattlers committed four errors in the game as three of the Hot Rods runs were unearned. The loss snapped Wisconsin's modest two-game winning streak.

 

Wisconsin (20-42) continued their trend of scoring early in games with a pair of runs in the second inning. Dustin DeMuth doubled with one out. Sthervin Matos followed with a line drive home run to left field for a 2-0 lead. The homer by Matos, his fifth of the season, allowed the Rattlers to score first for the fifth game in a row.

 

The Rattlers had a chance to add to their lead against Bowling Green starting pitcher Greg Harris in the top of the sixth inning. Harris issued three straight walks with two outs to load the bases, but got a grounder to end the inning.

 

The Hot Rods (36-26) took advantage of three Wisconsin errors in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game. The inning started with Christian Toribio reaching on an error. Thomas Milone was next and he sent a grounder to Gregory Munoz at short. Munoz raced to second for the force, but his throw to first was wild and that allowed Milone to take second base. Riley Unroe followed with a bunt single to put runners at the corners. Jace Conrad's slow chopper near second was fielded by Tucker Neuhaus, who stepped on the bag for the out, but the throw to first was just late to allow Milone to score.

 

Casey Gillaspie was next and he sent a slow roller out in front of the plate. Catcher Carlos Leal pounced on the ball, but his hurried throw was wild and the ball rolled down the line in right. Conrad scored all the way from first on the play and the game was tied.

 

Those two unearned runs were the only runs allowed by Wisconsin starter Zach Hirsch. The lefty out of Nebraska allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out two, but was not involved in the decision.

 

Bowling Green took the lead in the bottom of the seventh against reliever Zach Cooper. Bralin Jackson singled to start the inning. Hunter Lockwood stepped in with one out and tripled down the line in right to score Jackson with the go-ahead run. Cooper got the second out with a grounder that kept Lockwood at third base. However, a misplay on a grounder that would have been the third out of the inning allowed Lockwood to score and the Hot Rods were up 4-2.

 

Wisconsin loaded the bases again in the top of the eighth inning. Neuhaus singled to start the inning. Leal and DeMuth singled with two outs to put a Rattler on every base. But, another ground out ended the threat.

 

Gillaspie, the Midwest League leader in home runs, added to his total with two outs and none on in the eighth inning. The Bowling Green slugger lifted a fly to right that carried into the Wisconsin bullpen for his fifteenth home run of the season.

 

Meyer doubled with one out in the top of the ninth against Bowling Green reliever Edgar Gomez, but the Rattlers couldn't do anything with that hit.

 

The win by Bowling Green allowed them to move into a first-place tie with the Lansing Lugnuts in the Eastern Division. Lansing lost 3-1 at Cedar Rapids on Saturday and both the Hot Rods and Lugnuts 36-26 with eight games remaining in the first half of the Midwest League season,

 

Game two of the series is Sunday afternoon at Bowling Green Ballpark. Kodi Medeiros (2-2, 4.21) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. The Hot Rods have Hryum Formo (4-1, 3.91) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 2:05pm. Catch the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 1:45pm. The broadcast may also be heard on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio.

 

HOME RUNS:

WIS:

Sthervin Matos (5th, 1 on in 2nd inning off Greg Harris, 1 out)

 

BG:

Casey Gillaspie (15th, 0 on in 8th inning off Zach Cooper, 2 out)

 

WP: Edgar Gomez (4-3)

LP: Zach Cooper (0-1)

 

TIME: 2:12

ATTN: 3,991

 

Wisconsin Boxscore

Zach Hirsch has 2 blow up outings this year but otherwise he's been steady, he's not going to blow anyone away with his FB or stuff, but he knows how to pitch. I haven't seen his A pick-off move yet so I'm not sure of the quality, but he picked off a guy tonight.

 

I'm not feeling this Zach Cooper acquisition, maybe he'll figure it out but any pitcher dropping from AA to A ball should dominate out of the gate. I we'll see how it turns out, as it stands he's not really taking a roster spot from a more deserving prospect so it's probably an experiment worth pursuing.

 

Last week in one of the televised games the opposing 3B had 3 errors in 2 innings and I remember thinking at the time how nice it was that the for the most part the Rattlers have capable defenders on this year's squad. That wasn't the case tonight as Gregory Munoz had a real tough day and as noted in the game story Carlos Leal made a rare defensive miscue. This is the first game in quite a while I felt the Rattlers let slip away.

 

Dustin DeMuth and Mitch Meyer each went 2-4 with a 2B.

 

Chris mentioned during the broadcast with the realignment of the rotation Kodi Medeiros will get the start at Miller Park on the 19th. Mehring also spent some time praising Elvis Rubio's new approach but jinxed him since he came up empty in tonight's game.

 

Wisconsin Recap

[WV Brew]

Dugan Homers, Threshers Split Double Dip

Clearwater Drops Opener 6-5, Bests Manatees 8-2 in Nightcap

By Kirsten Karbach / Clearwater Threshers

06/13/2015 10:12 PM ET

 

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Kelly Dugan launched a solo shot against the wind in his first game of the 2015 season, and the Clearwater Threshers split a twin bill against the Brevard County Manatees on Saturday night at Bright House Field.

 

Clearwater (31-31) fell short in a 6-5 loss in the opener, but a six-run third inning launched the Threshers to an 8-2 victory over the Manatees (27-34) in game two.

 

The Threshers dropped game one despite connecting for three home runs against starter Wei-Chung Wang (4-2).

 

Down 3-0, Mitch Walding got Clearwater on the board in the second inning. With two out, Walding shot an opposite-field homer out to left, his second of the season.

 

Dugan followed suit in the third frame. The 24-year old outfielder launched the first offering from Wang out to the berm in right for his first hit and first homer of the season. Dugan was activated from Reading's disabled list on Thursday and assigned to Clearwater after being sidelined with a stress reaction in his right foot to begin the year.

 

After the Manatees later regained the advantage on a Cameron Garfield two-run homer against Cody Forsythe (2-1) in the sixth inning, Chace Numata went yard in the bottom half for his first blast of the year, making it a 6-5 deficit.

 

Clearwater fell behind early in game two, but exploded for six runs on seven hits in the third inning.

 

Trailing 2-0, Andrew Pullin got the rally started with a one-out single to center.

 

Dugan followed by lining a 1-2 pitch into left, and Dylan Cozens crushed a double to right field to plate Pullin with the Threshers first run.

 

Andrew Knapp gave Clearwater the lead, sending a two-run single up the middle to make it 3-2 Threshers. Aaron Brown split the left-centerfield gap with a double to score Knapp, and one out later Walding sent a liner into left for a base hit to bring across Brown.

 

Angelo Mora walked, and Drew Stankiewicz worked a seven-pitch at-bat before blooping a single to left that allowed Walding to score before Mora was thrown out at third to end the inning. By then, the Threshers had brought home six to grab the 6-2 advantage.

 

David Whitehead (4-6) turned in five innings of two-run ball to get the win, the only real blemish coming on Clint Coulter's 10th homer of the season in the third. Whitehead allowed just four hits but walked four, and struck out three.

 

Pullin gave Clearwater some extra cushion in the sixth by grounding a two-run single up the middle to make it 8-2, and Ulises Joaquin took it the rest of the way by tossing two shutout frames in relief.

 

Dugan finished 2-for-7 on the day, including the home run, a walk, and two runs scored. Walding turned in two multi-hit games, going 4-for-6 with two RBI's and three runs across the two contests.

 

The Threshers will conclude the three-game set with the Manatees on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch. The pitching match-up will feature a pair of FSL North All-Stars, as Mark Leiter, Jr. (3-1) takes the hill against Jorge Ortega (5-4). The call can be heard live on the Threshers Broadcast Network starting at 12:45 p.m.

 

Brevard County Box Score Game 1

 

Wei-Chung Wang not effective again. He pitched all or part of six innings, none of them clean. The only two innings that he failed to give up runs, he got double plays to help get out of the jam. Mark Williams worked a 4 out save for the Manatees. Wang gave up 8 hits and 3 walks. The Threshers had hit 17 home runs on the season as a team. They hit 3 off of Wang in less than 6 innings here. Cameron Garfield was the main offensive star going 3 for 3 with 2 runs and 3 RBI's.

 

Game 1 Game Log

 

Game 2 Box Score

 

Brandon Woodruff was also hit hard in the nightcap. Final line: 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 5/5 GO/AO. He is not generally effective unless he gets more ground balls than that. A two run homer by Clint Coulter provided the only runs for the Manatees in this game. Garrett Cooper continues to hit well. He went 2 for 3 in the second game with his 17th double of the season.

 

Game 2 Game Log

 

Sorry for the Clearwater write-up. Manatees not available yet.

[WV Brew]

Threshers thump Manatees in game two, 8-2

Donald Rieber, Jr., Examiner.com

 

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Clint Coulter's 2-run homer accounted for the Manatees only runs in game two of Saturday's doubleheader

Dennis Greenblatt/Hawk-Eye Sports Photography (used with permission)

 

After the Brevard County Manatees took game one of Saturday’s doubleheader by the score of 6-5, the Clearwater Threshers came back with a 12-hit outburst in game two, leading them to an 8-2 victory and a split of the doubleheader.

 

Brevard County (27-34) started well, with Clint Coulter hitting his 10th home run of the season in the top of the third, pulling the Manatees out to a 2-0 lead. The long ball pulled Coulter into a tie for the league lead in that category, with teammate Victor Roache.

 

The lead would be short-lived, as the Threshers would put six on the board in the bottom of the third against Manatees’ starter Brandon Woodruff. With one out, the Threshers reeled off five consecutive hits, including RBI doubles by Dylan Cozens and Aaron Brown. Andrew Knapp, Mitch Walding and Drew Stankiewicz added RBI singles in the inning.

 

After giving up the home run to Coulter, Threshers starter David Whitehead (4-6) settled in, allowing only four hits overall, in five innings of work. He walked four and struck out three. Woodruff (1-4) would make it through the fifth inning as well, but the damage done was insurmountable.

 

Clearwater (31-31) would tack on two more runs in the sixth inning against Brevard County reliever Kaleb Earls. Angelo Mora and Stankiewicz hit back-to-back singles with one out. The Stankiewicz hit was bobbled in left field by Roache, allowing both runners to advance. Andrew Pullin followed with a single to center, chasing both guys home and widening the lead to 8-2.

 

The error by Roache made one of the runs unearned for Earls. The gaffe was unfortunate, because Roache had played good defense in both games to that point. Earls ended up giving up three hits and the one earned run, in his one inning of work.

 

Garrett Cooper, who went 2-for-3 in game one, backed it up with another 2-for-3 performance in game two. He was the only Manatee with two hits. As a team, they only managed five. Stankiewicz led the Threshers with three hits, Pullin and Walding each had two.

[Mass Haas]

Shuckers' Johnson shuts down M-Braves

Brewers' No. 23 prospect fans eight, pitches seven three-hit innings

By Kelsie Heneghan / MiLB.com

 

After ten starts on the road, Hobbs Johnson was happy to finally play at home this week. Although he was back on the road Saturday night, he ended up just as happy.

 

The Brewers' No. 23 prospect spun seven three-hit innings, recording a season-high eight strikeouts, as Double-A Biloxi blanked Mississippi, 3-0, at Trustmark Park.

 

"I was able to command both sides of the plate, especially in. Being able to go in the majority of the night opened up soft stuff away and gave me some not really hard-hit balls and one broken bat," he said. "Felt really good. Pitch count got up to about 90, so that's the longest I've been so far this year and, hopefully, I try to go longer next time."

 

Johnson (4-3) allowed a two-out single to David Rohm in the first, then faced the minimum over the next four frames. The 24-year-old left-hander said he executed the plan that pitching coach Chris Hook and catcher Parker Berberet came up with before the game.

 

The University of North Carolina product ran into some trouble in the sixth, when Braves No. 15 prospect Mallex Smith knocked a two-out single and stole second and Levi Hyams worked the only walk against the Shuckers starter. Johnson got Rohm to ground out and covered first to snuff the rally.

 

 

Johnson said he makes sure to get off the mound during his starts. And he fielded the first and last outs on Saturday.

 

"As a pitcher, you got to be able to field your position and you have to be able to throw to bases, otherwise guys can just go up and bunt on you all the time," he said. "So being able to get to balls quick and get those fast guys trying to drag on you, it's huge because it makes guys swing instead of looking to do that."

 

In his longest outing of the season, innings-wise, Johnson registered his first quality start at the Double-A level. After posting a 1.65 ERA in four April starts, the 2013 14th-round pick saw his ERA climb to 3.46. Correcting a change in his mechanics helped bring it down on Saturday.

 

"I had gotten into a habit this year of not having the same arm swing as I've always had my whole life," he explained. "I just worked and got it back to normal, I got it back to where it feels normal for me. And tonight, it felt great."

 

Nice video because it covers the full at-bat --

 

 

In his last start, Johnson made his debut at Biloxi's MGM Park after the Shuckers started the season with a 54-game road trip.

 

"It was awesome, it was an incredible place to play. The stadium is unbelievable and the fans came out and definitely made us feel welcome," he said. "It's definitely hard traveling like that as far as how your body feels and staying focused all the time, but I think it actually helped us a lot as a team because you're around the guys more than you normally would be, so you create more of that team camaraderie.

 

"And it made it so basically everyone is really close and trusts that we're going to go out there and do our jobs night in and night out. And we were able to play very good baseball during that time."

 

Mike Strong worked around a hit and struck out two over the final two frames to earn his third save of the season.

 

The Shuckers have brought their magic number down to two to clinch the Southern League Eastern Division first-half title. Brewers No. 2 prospect Tyrone Taylor, Michael Reed (No. 17) and Nathan Orf each plated a run against the M-Braves.

 

Mississippi starter Victor Mateo (3-3) allowed a run on seven hits and a walk while fanning three over seven innings.

[Mass Haas]

Garfield’s Heroics Give Manatees Game One Win

By Jerry Durney, Brevard County Manatees

 

Cameron Garfield’s best game of the 2015 season to date proved to be the difference as the Brevard County Manatees (27-33) took game one of a doubleheader with the Clearwater Threshers (30-31), 6-5 Saturday at Bright House Field.

 

The Manatees would take the early lead in the top of the second, which started with a one-out by double by Garrett Cooper. Taylor Brennan then reached base when he was hit by a Victor Arano pitch. Garfield’s standout day would begin with a single to right to load the bases. Angel Ortega would bring across the first Brevard County run the hard way as he would also be hit by a pitch to score Cooper. Omar Garcia then was able to reach on a fielding error by Threshers shortstop Emmanuel Marrero, allowing Brennan to score. Chris McFarland’s speed down the first base line prevented a would-be inning ending double play and allowed Garfield to cross the plate as well. The inning would come to a close when McFarland was thrown out at second.

 

The theme of the game would be established in the bottom of the inning as the Threshers got one back on a two-out solo homer by Mitch Walding. They would continue to hack away at the lead the following inning when Kelly Dugan, in his second at-bat of the season, launched a solo home run to right with two out.

 

The ‘Tees immediately padded the lead in the top of the fourth, with the inning being ignited by a leadoff infield single by Cooper. After a walk to Brennan, Garfield ripped a base hit to right, scoring Cooper in the process. The momentum would go no further as Ortega bunted into a force out, Garcia grounded out and McFarland flew out.

 

Clearwater would counterpunch once again in the bottom half of the inning and as they had in each of the prior two frames, with two out. It would start with a base hit to left by Chace Numata, who then advanced to third on a single by Mitch Walding. Emmanuel Marrero would bring the Threshers back within one on a base hit to right, plating Numata. Drew Stankiewicz then tied it on a double down the left field line. Manatees starter Wei-Chung Wang avoided further damage when he induced a flyout from Willians Astudillo.

 

The deciding blow would come in the top of the sixth as Garfield clubbed his first home run of the season, a two-run shot into the bullpen in left, scoring Brennan to make it 6-4.

 

Clearwater made one last stand in the bottom of the inning as Numata hit his first home run of the season on a solo blast with one out to slash the lead in half once again. However, he would end up being the final Thresher baserunner of the game as Wang would get a groundout from Walding and then Mark Williams would come in from the bullpen to get the game’s final four outs for his first save of the season.

 

Garfield for the game went three-for-three with three RBI and two runs scored.

 

Wang picked up his fourth victory of the season by going five and two-thirds innings, giving up five runs on eight hits, striking out four and walking three.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Colorado Springs 4, Iowa 1

 

Cravy, Key Sox Hits Fuel 4-1 Win Over Iowa

Right-hander Allows One Run Over 6.2 Innings for Fifth Straight Win With Sox

By Ed Pearsall / Colorado Springs Sky Sox

 

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Elian Herrera collected three hits to lead the offense in the Sox 4-1 win over the Iowa Cubs on Saturday. (File Photo from prior game by Paat Kelly)

 

The Sky Sox put a tough night behind them with relative ease during Saturday's contest in Iowa, besting the I-Cubs 4-1 before a crowd of 11,826 at Principal Park.

 

Colorado Springs was led by another strong Tyler Cravy (7-4, 3.36) start as the right-hander allowed just one run on five hits and one walk while striking out six over 6.2 innings of work. Cravy gave up his lone run on a Taylor Davis one out double in the bottom of the second that provided Iowa with their only lead of the ballgame.

 

The Sky Sox added a run in each of the next two innings with Pete Orr scoring on a double play groundout to tie the game in the third before Matt Clark's fourth inning solo shot against I-Cubs starter Donn Roach (6-1, 2.14) gave Colorado Springs a lead they would not lose.

 

The Sox added two more in the home sixth as Luis Sardinas crossed the plate on a Jonathan Mota throwing error before Logan Schafer's RBI groundout scored Elian Herrera, giving Colorado Springs a 4-1 lead. Roach would finish his night having allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out three over six innings of work.

 

The Sky Sox bullpen kept Iowa off the scoreboard the rest of the way, securing the win for Cravy after a strong road start. Lefty Michael Kirkman bridged the gap to Jaye Chapman with a scoreless 0.2 of an inning before the new Sox closer slammed the door with 1.2 innings of shutout ball to hold on to the Sky Sox 4-1 win.

 

Colorado Springs will look to split the series in game four with the I-Cubs on Sunday afternoon. Josh Roenicke (4-2, 4.38) is expected to lead the way against Iowa starter Dallas Beeler (1-5, 8.31) with first pitch set for 12:08 PM MDT (1:08 Central) at Principal Park.

 

Colorado Springs Box Score

 

How much confidence is Tyler Cravy pitching with right now?

 

Colorado Springs Game Log

 

Col. Springs Top of the 9th

 

Pitching Change: Yoervis Medina replaces Yoanner Negrin, batting 9th.

Chris Nelson flies out to right fielder John Andreoli.

Matt Long singles on a sharp ground ball to first baseman Taylor Davis.

Luis Sardinas called out on strikes.

Colorado Springs Sky Sox shortstop Luis Sardinas ejected by HP umpire Jeff Morrow.

Elian Herrera singles on a fly ball to center fielder Matt Szczur. Matt Long to 2nd.

Matt Clark lines out to second baseman Arismendy Alcantara.

[Mass Haas]

VIDEO via WLOX: A few highlights from the Biloxi game

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO via the Shuck Dynasty Blog -- Highlights of Friday's 10-2 Shuckers win