Link Report for Games of Saturday, July 29th

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Saturday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Jared Fernandez at home vs. Salt Lake (Angels), 5:40 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: RHP Corey Thurman at home vs. Chattanooga (Reds), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime; by the way, it appears RHP Gerrit Simpson is going to get first crack at the 5th starter spot vacated by Jorge de la Rosa

 

Audio link:

www.espn1450radio.com/

 

Brevard County: TBD at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 6:00 gametime; sorry, no audio for this series

 

West Virginia: LHP Dave Welch at Savannah (Nationals), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower.

 

Helena: LHP Brandon Parillo at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 7:45 PM pre-game; 8:00 gametime; let the second half begin!

 

Audio (click on "Listen Live"):

www.helenabrewers.net/html2/index.php

 

Arizona: TBD at home in Maryvale vs. the rookie Giants' kids, 9:00 PM Central time, never any web audio for the Arizona League -- night play begins in the AZL League

[Mass Haas]

Follow Saturday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, choose "Log". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often.

 

Nashville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_dunafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_savafx_1

 

Helena:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

 

Arizona Rookie:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

[Mass Haas]

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated an hour or two prior to gametime:

 

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

 

Following Nashville's lead, Huntsville now makes its media notes available as well, nice:

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

[Mass Haas]

Standings through Friday's action:

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 58 49 .542 - 34-22 24-27 L2[/b] Iowa 54 52 .509 3.5 30-24 24-28 L1 Omaha 43 64 .402 15.0 26-26 17-38 L1 Memphis 42 64 .396 15.5 24-31 18-33 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 21 14 .600 - 13-7 8-7 W7 Chattanooga 20 15 .571 1.0 13-7 7-8 W1 West Tenn 18 17 .514 3.0 11-4 7-13 L1 [b]Huntsville 16 18 .471 4.5 9-10 7-8 W5[/b] Carolina 12 23 .343 9.0 8-7 4-16 L6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 22 12 .647 - 15-8 7-4 W2 St. Lucie 19 15 .559 3.0 10-9 9-6 W1 Vero Beach 15 20 .429 7.5 9-11 6-9 W4 Palm Beach 15 21 .417 8.0 7-8 8-13 L2 [b]Brevard County 14 20 .412 8.0 6-5 8-15 W1[/b] Jupiter 12 21 .364 9.5 8-12 4-9 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood 23 12 .657 - 11-5 12-7 W1 Lake County 19 14 .576 3.0 11-7 8-7 W2 Hickory 18 17 .514 5.0 8-12 10-5 L1 Greensboro 16 17 .485 6.0 8-9 8-8 W2 Hagerstown 15 19 .441 7.5 8-14 7-5 L2 [b]West Virginia 15 19 .441 7.5 7-6 8-13 L1[/b] Lexington 13 22 .371 10.0 7-9 6-13 L1 Delmarva 12 21 .364 10.0 7-10 5-11 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - Great Falls 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - [b]Helena 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 -[/b] Missoula 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Royals 2 0 1.000 - 1-0 1-0 W2 AZL Padres 1 0 1.000 0.5 1-0 0-0 W1 AZL Angels 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 W1 AZL Cubs 1 1 .500 1.0 0-0 1-1 W1 AZL Giants 1 1 .500 1.0 1-1 0-0 L1 AZL Mariners 1 1 .500 1.0 1-1 0-0 L1 AZL Rangers 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 W1 [b]AZL Brewers 0 1 .000 1.5 0-0 0-1 L1[/b] AZL Athletics 0 2 .000 2.0 0-0 0-2 L2

[Mass Haas]

Only ten pitchers in Huntsville since the JDLR trade -- something to watch...

[strawbossisevil]

Did Huntsville just change their name to Chattanooga? Maybe I'm just out of the loop and they changed it without me noticing.

[pogokat]

huh?

[Mass Haas]

RHP Luis Pena your Manatee TBD tonight.

[Mass Haas]

Suspended by rain: West Virginia 4, Savannah (Nationals) 0, after 2 1/2 innings in Savannah

 

The two teams will play a double header on Sunday at 12:05 PM (11:05 AM Central). The first game will be a continuation of Saturday's contest. The teams will pick up the action in the bottom of the third inning with the Power ahead 4-0, and they will play nine innings. The second game will be a seven inning contest.

 

Mike Bell, Ned Yost, and Michael Brantley with doubles; actually, only nine of Brantley's 72 base hits have gone for extra bases; another "Yost", Gene, pitching for the Sand Gnats -- and yes, it is fun typing "Sand Gnats"...

[biedergb]

Quote:

---

Did Huntsville just change their name to Chattanooga? Maybe I'm just out of the loop and they changed it without me noticing.

---

 

Quote:

---

huh?

---

 

Before it was fixed, Mass had inadvertantly bold -typed Chattanooga's record instead of Huntsville.

Now we proceed on to posts about the games tonight...http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 3, Dunedin (Blue Jays) 1

 

Brevard County Box Score and Game Log Link:

Shout out for Dave Johnson, retires all 13 men he faces in his relief stint -- we've said it before, but those Manatee middle relievers have succeeded for the most part in piggy-backing all the short-inning rehabbing starters; multi-hit games for the Hurricane, Brendan Katin, and Ryan Phillips...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_dunafa_1

[pogokat]

actually, i fixed...it was just fun to say "huh"

[wibadgers23]

Braun has lifted his batting average over .300 and also hit a homerun tonight. Iribarren continues to hit and is now at .335. I know its way early, but I wonder if we'll ever see Iribarren and Braun manning 2nd and 3rd for the Crew in the future.

[pogokat]

helena killing the other team tonight...andy bouchie's got an absolutely fantastic walk rate...roque mercedes with good stuff so far..

[pogokat]

Final: Huntsville 5, Chattanooga (Reds) 4

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/news/news.asp?newsId=944

 

Surging Stars Win Again

 

Corey Thurman worked through early struggles to pitch seven solid innings and Steve Moss doubled home the tying and winning runs in the fourth inning of Huntsville's 5-4 win over Chattanooga in the opener of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars won their season-high sixth straight game to improve to 17-18 in the second half and moved to within three and a half games of front-running Tennessee, which lost on a ninth inning single by West Tenn's Gary Cates, while the Lookouts dropped to 20-16 in the second half and remained a game behind the Smokies. Huntsville has also won a season-high five straight games at home and improved to 20-34 at the Joe.

 

Rick Asadoorian belted Thurman's first pitch of the night over the wall in left field for a home run to stake the visitors to the early lead. Drew Anderson singled to center and eventually came in to score on a bases loaded walk to Chris Dickerson to make it 2-0. Huntsville countered with a pair of runs in its half of the inning on a two-out double by Brad Nelson that scored Moss and a single by Ryan Braun that plated Nelson.

 

Joey Votto led off the third inning with a walk, moved to third on a Noochie Varner double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Hanigan that also moved Varner to third base. Dickerson followed with another scoring fly ball that pushed the Lookouts' lead to 4-2. Thurman retired the next five hitters before Varner and Hanigan singled with two outs in the fifth and then set down the next seven batters he faced to close his outing. The veteran right-hander walked three, fanned seven and won for the first time at home since April 23 and for the first time since June 2 at Birmingham.

 

Braun led off the home fourth with a majestic home run to left-center field, his fifth with the Stars. Thurman's sacrifice bunt moved Ron Acuna to third base and Ozzie Chavez to second with two outs before Moss belted his second two-bagger of the night to chase home both runners to give the Stars the lead they would not relinquish. Travis Phelps retired all three hitters he faced in the eighth inning and Joe Valentine got Asadoorian to foul out to first and Anderson to pop up to shallow left with runners at first and second in the ninth to end the game and register his third save with Huntsville.

 

The series continues Sunday afternoon with left-hander Steve Hammond starting for Huntsville against Lookouts right-hander Eddy Valdez. Coverage of the game begins at 1:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on ESPN Radio 1450 AM and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score and Game Log Link:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.com..._hunaax_1

[pogokat]

Final: Salt Lake (Angels) 7, Nashville 4

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link, Text to follow: (includes Graham Koonce photo)

 

Link:[/b]www.nashvillesounds.com...newsId=2084

 

Bees Come Back To Defeat Sounds, 7-4

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? The Salt Lake Bees scored seven unanswered runs to hang a 7-4 loss on the Nashville Sounds on Saturday evening in front of 10,014 fans at Greer Stadium in the opener of a four-game series.

 

The loss ? the third in a row for Nashville (58-50) ? ended the Sounds? seven-game win streak against Salt Lake, which dated back to the 2004 season.

 

The Bees pounded out 14 hits against Sounds pitching, the most surrendered by Nashville in 26 games, dating back to June 30 at Round Rock (14).

 

First baseman Graham Koonce (3-for-4), who matched a season high with three hits on the evening, gave the Sounds an early 1-0 lead when he plated Brent Abernathy with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first inning off Salt Lake starter Jonathon Rouwenhorst.

 

Koonce continued his solid night in the third when he slammed a two-run homer to deep center off Rouwenhorst to score Abernathy and extend the Nashville lead to 3-0. The one-out longball was his tenth of the season.

 

The Sounds increased the lead to 4-0 in the fourth on Zach Sorensen?s two-out RBI double that plated Chris Barnwell.

 

Salt Lake jumped on the board in the fifth when Jason Aspito scored on Darren Blakely?s sacrifice fly to left, making it a 4-1 contest.

 

The Bees took the lead an inning later with five runs off Sounds starter Jared Fernandez. The visitors opened the frame with four consecutive hits off the knuckleballer to knot the score at 4-4. Casey Smith doubled to right and move to third on Eric Aybar?s single. Kendry Morales and Mike Eylward followed with consecutive RBI two-baggers to even the score.

 

Salt Lake grabbed its first lead when Eylward came home on an Aspito sac fly and upped the advantage to 6-4 later in the frame on a Blakely RBI single, which chased Fernandez from the game.

 

The Sounds? best chance at climbing back into the game came in the bottom of the seventh when they placed runners on second and third with one out against Bees reliever Matt Wilhite. The right-hander used a fake-to-third, throw-to-second pickoff move to catch Sorensen off second and Barnwell was ultimately thrown out while trying to advance home on the play. Wilhite induced a flyout from Dave Krynzel to escape the jam without damage.

 

Entering the game in the top of the ninth, Dennis Sarfate made his first relief appearance of the year for the Sounds after making 21 starts to open the season. Blakely blasted his second pitch over the wall in center for his third homer of the season and a 7-4 Salt Lake lead.

 

Wilhite (6-2), a native of nearby Franklin, Kentucky who attended Western Kentucky University, earned the victory after tossing three scoreless frames of relief for Salt Lake.

 

Chris Bootcheck worked a scoreless bottom of the ninth to notch his first save of the year for the Bees.

 

Fernandez (6-4) took the loss for the Sounds after giving up six runs on 12 hits over his 5 2/3 frames. The totals both match season highs for the right-hander; the 12 hits equal the most allowed by a Nashville hurler in a single game this season (Fernandez, May 28 at Iowa).

 

Rouwenhorst took a no-decision after allowing four runs on six hits in four innings during his spot start for the Bees.

 

The teams continue the series with another 6 p.m. meeting on Sunday evening at Greer. The Sounds send southpaw Zach Jackson (2-3, 3.63) to the hill to face Salt Lake lefty Nathan Bland (3-3, 4.81).

 

Nashville Box Score and Game Log

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app..._nasaaa_1

[OglivieHomePerm]

Bit of a rough outing for Jeremy Jeffress today. 4 hits and 4 walks in 2 innings. Still struck out 3 batters, so I guess it wasn't a total wash.

 

25 people in attendance for the Baby Brewers....must have been a bobble-head giveaway game.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Giants 6, Arizona Brewers 3

 

Arizona Brewer Box Score and Game Log Link:

Credit due -- Brent Brewer hitless, but started three double plays in the field; catcher Bernie Dennis had been nursing some sort of injury -- he makes his 2006 debut in this one...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.helenair.com/articles...006_01.txt

 

Brewers shut out White Sox

By TOM COTTON - Independent Record Sports Editor

 

The Sooner Schooner rolled through the Great Falls White Sox Saturday night.

 

University of Oklahoma product Chuckie Caufield, was a double short of the cycle, scored two runs and drove in three as he paced the Helena Brewers to a 10-0 rout of Great Falls, in the first game of the second-half of the Pioneer League regular season.

 

?Johnny (hitting coach Johnny Narron) talked about getting deep,? Caufield said. ?I have been getting ahead of pitches and the plan has helped me.?

 

Caufield, who hit in the leadoff spot for Helena, started the game with a triple, a rope that went off the left field wall. He would score one batter later on a fielders? choice by Taylor Green.

 

?I got the ball up in the zone and happened to hit it well,? Caufield said about the three bagger.

 

Caufield?s biggest hit, however, came in the fifth inning when he cracked a change up by Great Falls starter Ramon Sanchez over the left-field wall for a three-run home run. It was his first of the season.

 

The blow was part of an eight-run eruption in the fifth that turned a pitcher?s duel into an easy win.

 

The Brewers sent 12 men to the plate in the frame. Bill Rowe, Fredy De La Cruz each had RBI doubles and Chris Errecart also had an RBI single in the inning.

 

Rowe had three hits on the night and drove in two runs.

 

Up to that point, both Sanchez and Brewers starter Brandon Parillo had been in control of the contest.

 

Sanchez allowed only one run through the first four innings. He wriggled out of trouble in the third. The Brewers loaded the bases, but Sanchez induced two ground balls to end the inning.

 

Parillo mixed his fast ball and off speed pitches well and kept Great Falls off balance all night long. The biggest Great Falls threat came in the third. With two outs and runners on second and third, he fanned Michael Grace to keep the White Sox from scoring. Parillo struck out three in five innings of work.

 

Parillo notched the win, moving his record to 3-2.

 

Roque Mercedes and Brian Logan worked well in relief, not allowing a run.

 

The win continued the Brewers recent mastery of the Electric City club. Helena has claimed six straight wins against the White Sox. The Brewers also have won four games in a row.

 

The Brewers remain at home tonight when they begin a three-game set with the Billings Mustangs. First pitch will be at 4 PM (5:00 PM Central).

[Mass Haas]

Link for Brent Abernathy photo, text follows:

 

tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS

 

Bees end drought against Sounds

Salt Lake rallies to send Nashville to third loss in a row

By MIKE ORGAN

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

The Sounds' domination of Salt Lake came to an end Saturday night when the Bees came to life in the fifth inning.

 

A near-capacity Greer Stadium crowd of 10,014 watched Salt Lake start a rally after falling behind by four runs after four innings, then hold on for a 7-4 victory.

 

The Bees, who had just four hits before the fifth inning, collected eight over the next two innings, along with six unanswered runs.

 

Nashville had won its last seven games against the Bees dating to the 2004 season. Saturday night marked Salt Lake's first win over Nashville since a 2-1 victory at Greer Stadium on July 27, 2004.

 

Graham Koonce had given Nashville a 3-0 lead in the third inning with a two-run homer over the center-field wall.

 

"It was still early in the game at that point, we still had a long way to go,'' said Koonce, who has 10 home runs. "I don't think any of us settled at that point. They battled back and took the lead. They got on a roll a little bit, they got some momentum and rode it as long as they could.''

 

It was Nashville's third consecutive loss and sixth in the last eight games.

 

Franklin, Ky., native Matt Wilhite, who played at Western Kentucky, picked up the win for Salt Lake. He pitched three innings, allowed two hits, no runs and struck out two on 38 pitches.

 

Salt Lake's rally came with Jared Fernandez on the mound for Nashville. Fernandez picked up the loss, and the 12 hits he gave up matched the most this season allowed by a Sounds pitcher. Fernandez allowed the same number of hits on May 12 in an 8-7 loss to Iowa.

 

Salt Lake's six runs matched the most Fernandez has allowed this season. He also gave up six runs in the loss to Iowa. Fernandez was pulled after Salt Lake took a 6-4 lead on an RBI single by Darren Blakely.

 

While Salt Lake got hot at the plate Nashville went cold. The Sounds were retired in order in both the fifth and sixth innings.

 

Nashville got two hits and two men on base in the seventh when Chris Barnwell reached on a single to leftfield and Zach Sorensen on a bunt. Sorensen got to third, but the inning was blown when Dave Krynzel popped up for the final out.

 

The Bees padded their lead in the eighth when Blakely, the leadoff batter, hit a homer off Dennis Sarfate, who made his first appearance as a reliever.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Brewers Broadcaster Jim Powell (Part 2):

Nice "beer in the fridge" analogy by Chuck Valenches to start...

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...207-29.mp3

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1

 

Looking like a playoff team

Stars defeat Lookouts 5-4 for sixth straight win

By BRAD SHEPARD

For The Huntsville Times

 

As if it wasn't confusing enough for Stars fans to distinguish between two Drew Andersons Saturday night - one in each lineup - they had to figure out which team was which as well.

 

Not only were the Stars and first-half North Division champion Chattanooga Lookouts both confusingly wearing red uniforms, they apparently switched roles, too.

 

After two Huntsville comebacks resulted in a 5-4 win, the 2,120 Joe Davis Stadium patrons probably had a hard time telling which team was already playoff-bound and which was the league's first-half cellar-dweller.

 

The win was the season-high sixth straight for the surprising Stars (17-18) who are getting timely hits, scoring runs and playing better than they have all season.

 

They're also still very much alive in the second-half playoff chase, climbing to 3 1/2 games back of Tennessee after the Smokies fell to West Tenn on Saturday.

 

"I'd like to think so," said third baseman Ryan Braun, who was 3-for-3 with a towering home run and two RBIs. "We're trying to go about every game the same way, but obviously, if you keep playing well against a team of this caliber, it may be a statement to the rest of the league."

 

Lately, the Stars certainly appear to be in the second-half race to stay despite still being 22 games under .500 overall.

 

They came up with two crucial, two-out hits that essentially won the game for hard-luck pitcher Corey Thurman. Despite not having his best game statistically, Thurman earned his first win since June 2 and just his third overall.

 

"Every year, it seems like one guy on the staff has things not go his way," Thurman said. "It's good to win. The way I've been pitching, it doesn't bother me."

 

A pair of two-run deficits didn't bother his teammates, either. Immediately after the Lookouts broke through for a pair of runs in the top of the first, Huntsville's Brad Nelson answered in the bottom half with a two-out double to left.

 

Again, Chattanooga (64-42, 20-16) took the lead in the third, but the Stars fought back again in the fourth. Braun led off with a no-doubt solo shot to close the gap to 4-3.

 

Then, after a single by Ron Acuna and an Ozzie Chavez walk, Thurman successfully sacrificed them into scoring position for Steve Moss.

 

The Stars center fielder promptly smacked a double off the center field wall to put Huntsville ahead to stay.

 

It doesn't seem out of the question anymore with the way Huntsville is playing. From pitching to fielding to hitting, the Stars have at least temporarily turned their fortunes.

 

"We've got different faces on the team than we had earlier," Stars manager Don Money said. "We're starting to do the small things right and coming out with W's.

 

"Playoff run? We need to come out tomorrow and get it to 18-18."

 

And put that cellar-dweller status even further behind them.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1

 

Stars notebook

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

Huntsville has suffered the third-worst drop in attendance in all of minor league baseball from 2005 to 2006. That in mind, rainy weather this weekend is the last thing the Stars needed at the box office, considering Fridays and Saturdays lure the largest crowds.

 

Baseball America reported in its latest edition that minor league attendance overall is on a record pace, but listed the biggest losers. Its figures, through July 11, noted the Stars were fifth-worst.

 

Updating those through Friday, though, Huntsville trailed only Ottawa in the International League and Dunedin in the Florida State League for biggest per-game drop. The Stars drew 3,216 last year, compared to 2,483 this season - a 22.8 percent decrease. Team owner Miles Prentice was unavailable for comment on the matter. ...

 

Overall, the Stars are ninth in the 10-team Southern League, with West Tenn again bringing up the rear, averaging 1,521 per game. ... The Stars have something of an unbalanced roster, with only 10 pitchers and 13 position players. There was a luxury with Jorge de la Rosa here on a big-league rehab assignment that didn't count against the roster numbers, but with his departure it leaves the staff a bit thin. ... Outfielder Drew Anderson and catcher Lou Palmisano were sidelined much of the week with minor injuries, but with a deeper bench of position players little impact was felt. ...

 

Milwaukee's major trade with Texas, sending Carlos Lee to the Rangers for Kevin Mench and others, has a slight Huntsville touch to it. Lee's brother, also named Carlos, is currently a Stars catcher. Nelson Cruz, part of the package Milwaukee sent to Texas, was sensational in Huntsville last year. ... Trading Lee, with whom the Brewers couldn't agree on a contract, was less of a surprise than including Cruz, who has the best outfield arm in the organization and, despite the occasional weakness for the curveball, was batting .302 with 20 homers and 73 RBIs at Nashville. ...

 

Stars pitcher Yovani Gallardo is in line for an inaugural award for minor league pitchers, the Most Spectacular Pitcher Award, to be presented to the pitcher with the lowest ERA in the minors. He has a 1.64 ERA for the season, which places him among the top half-dozen candidates for the trophy and $7,500 prize.

 

Around the league

 

If the Lookouts' Joey Votto doesn't win the Southern League Triple Crown, it could be his team's pitchers who share the blame, points out David Paschal of the Chattanooga Times-Free Press. Going into Saturday's play, Votto led the league in homers (19) and average (.321) but trailed Jacksonville's Craig Brazell 66-61 in RBIs, with Brazell having hit a pair of grand slams off Chattanooga pitching recently. ... Ex-Star Noochie Varner, in Huntsville now for a five-game set against the Stars, was No. 3 in RBIs with 59, and is hitting .290. ...

 

Atlanta starter John Thomson pitched a rehab start for Mississippi Friday night at Mobile, but left after 28 pitches because of a stiff shoulder. ... Are the frayed tempers between Birmingham and Huntsville on Thursday and a benches-clearing episode in Mobile on Friday in the fifth game of the Mobile-Mississippi series familiarity-breeds-contempt arguments against the five-game series scheduling system installed this year? ... Jacksonville's Jimmy Rohan hit four doubles Thursday at Mobile, tying a league record set by Carolina's Mike Brown in 1994. ... The Tennessee Smokies took a seven-game winning streak into Saturday's play, a hot streak that enabled them to vault the Lookouts in the SL North race.

 

Brewings (through Friday)

 

Triple-A Nashville Sounds (58-49 before Saturday's play, first place in Pacific Coast League American Division): 3B Vinny Rottino .288, six HRs, 37 RBIs. The Sounds have extended their working agreement with Milwaukee through 2010.

 

Single-A Brevard County Manatees (14-20, fourth in Florida State East Division this half): P Manny Parra 2.96 ERA, 1-3, 61 Ks in 15 starts.

 

Single-A West Virginia Power (15-19, fifth in South Atlantic League Northern Division this half): OF Lorenzo Cain 24 SBs, .302, 43 RBIs.

 

Single-A Helena Brewers (15-23, fourth as Pioneer League North first half ends ) OF Chris Errecart 6 HRs, 28 RBIs, .288.

 

On deck

 

The Stars continue their home stand with Chattanooga today, ending the series Wednesday.

 

Watch out for

 

P Homer Bailey, the Reds' No. 1 prospect, 4-0, 0.74 ERA in six Southern League starts for Chattanooga.

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

It wasn't the prettiest of games for Corey Thurman, who came into Saturday night's game with a 2.66 ERA, 4th best in the league. He gave up four runs for only the 2nd time in two months, raising his ERA modestly to 2.83, but for the first time since June 2, he got more than three runs of support, and combined with fine relief from Travis Phelps and Joe Valentine, he got his first win since June 2.

 

Corey's starts have sometimes been shaky. Nearly two weeks ago, he gave up a two-run HR to Brandon Jones of the Mississippi Braves in an 8-4 loss..... Of his 26 pitches in the 1st inning, just 14 crossed the plate for a strike........ His very first pitch of the evening, was in fact a strike, but Rick Asadoorian sliced it just inside the left field foul pole for a home run........ Fans got two Drew Andersons for the price of one, and neither did very well tonight. The only hit either one got went to the Lookouts' Drew, who dropped a hit to shallow center in front of Steve Moss. Thurman got the dangerous Joey Votto to fly out to right-center, but a walk to Noochie Varner followed, and a well-placed infield single to the left side by Ryan Hanigan loaded the bases....... Chris Dickerson then walked in Anderson to make it 2-0 with one out and the bases still loaded........ Fortunately, the game for Thurman reached a turning point, as Luis Bolivar hit Thurman's second pitch to the infield for an easy pop out, and Anderson Machado struck out looking on four pitches.

 

Even though Corey had retired the side in the 2nd and the 4th innings, he had expended 60 pitches, and he was behind, 4-2........ But what looked like another night at the office, turned in the Stars' and Thurman's favor in the bottom half of the 4th, as Josh Hall wound up facing seven batters and losing the lead.

 

Just as Rick Asadoorian sent Thurman an ominous tone in the 1st inning, Ryan Braun did to Josh Hall....... His first pitch, a fast ball waist-high and "medium-in" according to hitting coach Sandy Guerrero, was knocked so far out that left fielder Noochie Varner didn't even bother to turn around........ The ball sailed high into the night sky and over the large star-shaped ad sign to the left of the scoreboard, landing an estimated 430 feet away on the hill behind the fence........ Ron Acuna then hit Hall's second pitch hard on the ground to right for a single........ After Lou Palmisano popped out, Ozzie Chavez walked on four pitches. Corey laid a bunt down to the left side of the infield grass for a successful sacrifice, moving the runners into scoring position......... Steve Moss then delivered the winning blow on a 2-0 pitch, a double all the way to the wall in center, scoring Acuna and Chavez for a 5-4 lead.......

 

Thurman retired nine of the next 11 batters, giving up back-to-back two-out singles in the 5th inning. He threw 107 pitches, 67 for strikes (62.7%)....... Travis Phelps retired the side in the 8th on 11 pitches........ Joe Valentine, who had left five runners on base in his last two saves, picked up his 3rd save in as many appearances, but as usual, it was suspenseful....... He gave up a leadoff single to Bolivar, who got to second when pinch-hitter Javier Colina walked on eight pitches, but Asadoorian took a swing at Valentine's first pitch and sent Brad Nelson scrambling towards the Chattanooga dugout. The ball managed to stay within Nelson's reach, and he caught the ball leaning on their railing......... Finally, Chattanooga Drew ended the game, sending a 1-2 pitch beyond the infield on the left side, where Ozzie Chavez called off Steve Moss to make the catch, giving the Stars their 6th straight victory.

 

2:05 game tomorrow. Steve Hammond goes against Edward Valdez....... The Stars then head to the bowling alley for the annual "Bowling with the Stars" sponsored by the Huntsville Stars Booster Club. Interest is said this year to be very high among the players.