Link Report for Thursday 4/28

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Thursday's Daily Menu:

 

All times are Central

 

Colorado Springs: RHP Jorge Lopez at Iowa (Cubs), 6:00 PM pre-game, 6:38 gametime (yes, 6:38 PM)

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Dan Karcher, the longtime play-by-play voice of the Sky Sox is on Twitter @SkySoxKarch; joining him this season is Dan Acheson (@Dan_Acheson)

 

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 Adrian Houser at home vs. Tennessee (Cubs), 6:20 PM pre-game, 6:40 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Chris Harris is the play-by-play voice of the Shuckers. Follow Chris on Twitter @CHarris731. We'll be linking to his fantastic "Shuck Dynasty" blog. Thaddeus Krzus (@Shucks1stIntern) joins Chris often. 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.

 

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Brevard County: RHP Brandon Woodruff at home vs. Lakeland (Tigers), 5:35 PM gametime

 

Sorry folks, there is no audio available for this series.

 

Unfortunately, the Manatees have dropped their broadcast coverage for 2016.

 

No Florida State League games are available via MiLB.TV. Ten of the 12 Florida State League teams provide audio (some only for home games), we'll do our best to let you know when an opponent's audio is going to be available.

 

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Wisconsin: RHP Conor Harber at home vs. Great Lakes (Dodgers), 1:15 PM pre-game, 1:35 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

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.

 

MiLB.TV - Eight of the 16 Midwest League teams telecast their home games, and Wisconsin, once again, is among them. We'll let you know when a road TV feed is available.

 

NOTE: Thirty-nine (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on local TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (10) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (29) 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.

[Mass Haas]

DVR ALERTS!

 

Timber Rattlers Games

 

Friday, April 29th, 6:30 PM -- My New32 TV

 

Saturday, April 30th, 1:00 PM -- My New32 TV

[Mass Haas]

Follow Thursday'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 - Linked on the Sky Sox official blog

 

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

 

Biloxi, MS

 

Viera, FL

 

Grand Chute, WI

[Mass Haas]

Happy 34th Birthday to Colorado Springs veteran reliever Jim Miller

[TheCrew07]

Rattlers shutout Loons 1-0 to earn three-game sweep

Wisconsin wins its fifth straight game

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/8/2/4/175130824/cuts/4_28_PlayerOftheGameJakeDrossner_IMAGE_h2yefo4l_hoorsn0i.jpg

Jake Drossner tossed five scoreless innings out of the bullpen, struck out six, and earned his first win of the season for the Timber Rattlers on Thursday afternoon.

 

Wisconsin Boxscore

Work has been cramping my style all season and today was no different as I missed the game entirely. What an outing for Jake Drossner who had been struggling to start the season, if this jump starts Jake what a pitching staff this will be from a performance standpoint. This isn't a super projectable bunch, but they should be able to perform at a pretty high level for the league.

 

David Denson (2-4) had a nice day, he'd been struggling a bit lately, and Max McDowell added the only XBH for the Rattlers in today's game.

 

I realize Jake Gatewood is making a position change but he did have his 7th error in just 21 games, the transition hasn't been as smooth as I would have hoped. He's talked a couple of times about how different 3B is because the ball is on you so quickly, Tucker Neuhaus didn't do well with that either last year which is why I think 2B is a much better fit for him. It's too early to make a call like that with Jake, but when I get a chance to start watching some games I'll be interested to see how he's progressed.

 

 

Wisconsin Recap

[markedman5]

Another bad start for Lopez.....was really hoping he would follow up last season success to solidify his high prospect status.....so far not good

[dacbrewers]

Another bad start for Lopez.....was really hoping he would follow up last season success to solidify his high prospect status.....so far not good

random notes.

I've always said guys putting up great numbers at AA may not be as good as they are being hyped. While Colorado Springs may be a bad place to play...half of their games are on the road. I'm not sure anyone on this board realizes that the baseball's in AA are different than AAA, it has a serious effect on breaking balls.Hitters are way better at AAA and have a better understanding of the strike zone. Hopefully Lopez can make some adjustments.

[DHonks]

dacbrewers, the entire western portion of the PCL is known for offense. So it's not just Colorado Springs. Additionally, the Brewers rarely call players up from AA, but many other teams do without players skipping a beat. The talent between the 2 levels isn't all that different, it's just the age and experience of the players that is

[dacbrewers]

If I'm not mistaken, brewers called up 3 or 4 guys from AA last year...so it was rare until last year?

[TheCrew07]

Shuckers snap Smokies win streak with 6-5 victory

Adrian Houser wins first game of 2016 as Jaye Chapman secures MiLB-best ninth save

Biloxi Shuckers

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/7/1/2/175176712/cuts/DSC_0137_gji13nir_iklqu9vi.JPG

Chris McFarland blasted his first home run of the season in the third inning tonight (Cristina Coca)

 

Biloxi Boxscore

Beat the Cubs!

 

I'm digging these incredibly thorough Biloxi game stories... unfortunately Adrian Houser continues to struggle, he ends April with an ERA over 7 despite getting the win here. Jaye Chapman has fairly ridiculous numbers... 9.1 IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, and 15 SO.

 

When I was watching Victor Roache flail away at 3 straight breaking balls to strike out on 3 pitches in WI I would have never guessed he'd have a .300 AVE after 50 AA ABs. It took some time but he's made good progress making contact.

 

Biloxi Recap

[DHonks]

If I'm not mistaken, brewers called up 3 or 4 guys from AA last year...so it was rare until last year?

 

dacbrewers, yes, but that was an exception due to the Brewers' firesale. They called up a backup SS for infield depth, a starting pitcher in Lopez. Anyone else? Reality is that haven't done this much over the years.

[1992casey]

dacbrewers, the entire western portion of the PCL is known for offense. So it's not just Colorado Springs.

 

Yeah, teams are either in high altitudes, the desert, or both.

[Mass Haas]

Link includes VIDEO interview with LHP Jake Drossner, with some of those quotes detailed below

 

Timber Rattlers win 5th straight behind pitching

Tim Froberg, Appleton Post-Crescent

 

GRAND CHUTE - Mathematically, you get nothing when you add a string of zeroes.

 

When a baseball pitching staff is responsible for those zeroes, it’s different.

 

It adds up to a lot of production, and that’s what the Wisconsin Timber Ratttlers are getting from a much-improved pitching staff.

 

Three Timber Rattlers pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout Thursday afternoon to extend the Rattlers’ winning streak to five games with a 1-0 victory over the Great Lakes Loons at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

 

In sweeping a three-game series from the visiting Loons, Wisconsin overcame a rough game in the field (three errors) due primarily to its stellar work on the mound. Rattlers pitchers Conor Harber, Alex Farina and Jake Drossner combined for 11 strikeouts and issued just two walks.

 

Twenty-one games into the season, Wisconsin (10-11) has the second-lowest earned run average (2.82) in the 16-team Midwest League behind only Kane County (2.17).

 

“Our pitching has been outstanding,” said Wisconsin manager Matt Erickson. “Today was a prime example. We’ve been throwing a lot of strikes and attacking hitters. Walks create big innings and we haven’t been walking too many people.”

 

A Timber Rattlers staff guided by pitching coach Gary Lucas has issued just 53 walks, which ties them with the Cougars for the lowest number of free passes in the league. Wisconsin pitchers have racked up 179 strikeouts, the second-highest in the Midwest League, and allowed 155 hits, the fifth-fewest in the league.

 

“Our pitchers have also done a nice job of holding runners, so we’re not getting killed in the running game,” Erickson said. “We’ve been good in all aspects of pitching. It’s not just brain dead heaving it up there. We’ve done a nice job of getting ahead of hitters, containing the running game and making pitches with runners in scoring position.”

 

Drossner, a 21-year-old left-hander who was Wisconsin’s opening-day starter, was especially effective pitching with runners in scoring position. With runners on second and third in the top of the eighth following back-to-back Wisconsin errors, Drossner choked off a potential Loons rally by striking out Ariel Sandoval and Omar Estevez for the final two outs to keep the game scoreless. Sandoval and Estevez were the No. 2 and No. 3 hitters in the Loons’ lineup.

 

“We gave them two extra outs that inning, but Drossner was outstanding,” said Erickson. “He earned the opportunity to go back out there in the ninth.”

 

It was the best outing of the year for Drossner, who picked up his first win as a Timber Rattler by allowing just one hit and striking out six with no walks in five innings. Harber was the starter and was also sharp, allowing one hit and fanning five in 2 2/3 innings before departing due to pitch-count issues.

 

Drossner had been struggling and the five shutout innings lowered his ERA from 7.24 to 5.30.

 

“I took the mentality that the past is the past and just went out there and tried to be myself,” said Drossner. “The last couple starts, I had been putting too much pressure on myself. So I just tried to relax. I didn’t try and do too much and just went out and competed. That’s the type of pitcher I can be when I just try to be myself out there.”

 

The Rattlers like to use pitchers in tandems early in the season, and it was the first time that Drossner has been used in the late innings as the second half of the tandem. He had been a starting pitcher in his four previous appearances.

 

“It was kind of a role change for me and I don’t think I’ve been in a late-inning situation like that since high school,” said Drossner, a 10th-round selection by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2015 draft. “I felt real confident going out there for the ninth inning.”

[Mass Haas]

[Mass Haas]

Rattler Radio Blog Postgame Entry - Includes multiple postgame AUDIO interviews

[Mass Haas]

McFarland's 3-run bomb lifts Shuckers to 6-5 win over Tennessee

Patrick Magee, Biloxi Sun-Herald

 

BILOXI - The Shuckers rallied from down 3-0 to top the Tennessee Smokies 6-5 Thursday night in game one of a five-game series at MGM Park.

 

The big hit of the game came off the bat of Biloxi second baseman Chris McFarland, who ripped a three-run home run off the left field scoreboard to give the Shuckers a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth.

 

Jaye Chapman entered the game in the ninth, gave up just his second hit in 9 1/3 innings this season, but finished the game with a scoreless inning to record a Southern League-leading ninth save.

 

Chapman struck out the side to give him 15 K's on the season and an ERA of 0.00.

 

"Awesome, he's been awesome," Biloxi manager Mike Guerrero said. "There's nothing else I can say about it."

 

The Shuckers are 15-5 with a 3 1/2-game lead on second-place Pensacola in the Southern League South.

 

Brett Phillips had a nice night at the plate for the Shuckers, going 2-for-4 with a pair of important RBIs before a crowd of 1,570.

 

Tennessee jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Shuckers starting pitcher Adrian Houser in the top of the third. Smokies second baseman Chesny Young had an RBI single in the inning and Billy McKinney capped the scoring with a two-run single to center field.

 

Houser (1-2) recovered from his struggles in the third to earn his first victory of the season. He allowed four runs on five hits, striking out three and walking two.

 

"That's the way this game goes," Guerrero said of Houser's recovery Thursday. "You've got to be able to compete."

 

Rob Zastryzny (2-1) took his first loss of the season. He gave up five runs on seven hits in six innings, striking out three and walking two.

 

The Shuckers got to Zastryzny in the the fourth with Jacob Nottingham singling to start the inning and later scoring on a double to left by Javier Betancourt.

 

With two men on and two out, McFarland stepped to the plate and cleared the left fence for his first homer of the season for the 4-3 lead.

 

"The first two swings, I was a little bit out in front. I was trying to do too much," McFarland said. "The next pitch, I was always sitting fastball. He gave me the fastball and I got a hold of it."

 

Phillips provided a pair of insurance runs with RBI singles in the fifth and seventh innings.

 

Tristan Archer, Jed Bradley, Stephen Kohlscheen and Chapman combined to hold Tennessee to one run on four hits in the final four innings to close out the win.

 

Biloxi will go with Jorge Ortega (0-1, 1.53) as the starting pitcher in Friday's 7:10 p.m. game at MGM Park. Tennessee (11-10) has yet to name a starter for the contest.

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO: Biloxi game highlights; check out the comments timing on the Chris McFarland home run

 

***

 

[Mass Haas]

[Mass Haas]

Many of you may be aware of the devastating flooding in portions of Biloxi, yet as Chris Harris tweeted --

 

After all the rain in the last 12 hrs, grounds crew is having to put water on the infield. Surface is incredible.

 

 

Couldn't believe they played last night after seeing the earlier reports...

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 5, Lakeland 4

 

Sweet!

 

Manatees snap nine-game losing streak with wild win over Lakeland

Donald Rieber Jr., Manatees Examiner

 

Nice photo of RHP Kender Villegas at the link...

 

Manager Joe Ayrault's quotes sprinkled into the excellent detailed write-up...

 

***

 

Brevard County Box Score

 

HBP: Stewart (by Woodruff); Reaves (by Woodruff); Iskenderian (by Briceno, E); DeMuth (by Briceno, E); Iskenderian (by Briceno, E); Iskenderian (by Paredes).

 

No brawls, no ejections, but three bruises for George Iskenderian, who had not been hit by a pitch in 80 plate appearances entering this game; tough reading about the Clint Coulter error in the game story, but that was his first charged error on the season...

 

Brevard County Game Log

 

The go-ahead three-run rally!

 

Brevard County Bottom of the 8th

 

George Iskenderian hit by pitch.

With Dustin DeMuth batting, George Iskenderian steals (3) 2nd base.

Dustin DeMuth walks.

Pitching Change: Edgar De La Rosa replaces Willy Paredes.

Fidel Pena singles on a ground ball to pitcher Edgar De La Rosa. George Iskenderian scores. Dustin DeMuth scores. Fidel Pena to 2nd. Throwing error by pitcher Edgar De La Rosa.

Taylor Brennan strikes out swinging.

Greg McCall strikes out swinging, catcher Kade Scivicque to first baseman Wade Hinkle. Fidel Pena to 3rd on the throw.

With Omar Garcia batting, wild pitch by Edgar De La Rosa, Fidel Pena scores.

Omar Garcia flies out to right fielder Ben Verlander.

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO: Sky Sox Warmup with Manager Rick Sweet

 

Explains how Drew Gagnon made it to Iowa from Biloxi, but Nate Orf did not...

 

Also discusses Jorge Lopez's difficulties (remember, this was before another disappointing start), and Shane Peterson's injury status...

[Mass Haas]

Final: Iowa 10, Colorado Springs 5

 

Iowa Claims Series Opener 10-5 Over Sox

Despite home runs from Weisenburger and Cecchini, Iowa outlasts Colorado Springs on Thursday

By Aaron Cheris / Colorado Springs Sky Sox

 

***

 

Colorado Springs Box Score

 

Andy Wilkins played in RF, only his 10th appearance as a pro in the outfield, and only his second career game in right; Garin Cecchini played first base; Michael Reed did not play, Ben Guez was the right-handed pinch-hitter in the 9th, the Sky Sox need to make a roster move Friday, hmmm, let the wondering begin...

 

Colorado Springs Game Log

 

So you want to send Taylor Jungmann down to work on things? Junior Guerra would have to be the choice, his 1.11 WHIP stands out among the starters' awful numbers, and he's on the 40-man.

 

Gee, Jorge Lopez, your manager did not sound impressed in the audio linked above, throw strikes, young man. Two of your four starts have been in Memphis and Iowa, not exactly hitter havens, especially in April.

[dacbrewers]

If I'm not mistaken, brewers called up 3 or 4 guys from AA last year...so it was rare until last year?

 

dacbrewers, yes, but that was an exception due to the Brewers' firesale. They called up a backup SS for infield depth, a starting pitcher in Lopez. Anyone else? Reality is that haven't done this much over the years.

Add Wagner and Houser to the list.