Link Report for Games of Friday, July 14th

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 6, Lakewood (Phillies) 1

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

POWER SNAP LAKEWOOD'S WINNING STREAK

 

The Lakewood BlueClaws entered Friday night?s contest against the West Virginia Power at First Energy Park looking for a four-game sweep and their seventh straight win. The Power spoiled the party and avoided the sweep with a 6-1 victory.

 

The Power scored three times in the third inning and never looked back. Hector Bernal and Darren Ford began the inning with back-to-back base hits and both scored on Lorenzo Cain?s double. Cain scored during the very next at-bat on Mat Gamel?s second of three singles.

 

Lakewood scored their only run of the contest on Michael Spidale?s RBI single in the bottom of the third. Cain struck again in the fourth inning with a two-run homer, his fourth of the year to give the Power a 5-1 edge. The Power scored their final run in the top of the sixth inning on Gamel?s RBI groundout.

 

Four Power players had multi-hit games and the top three hitters in the batting order accounted for eight of West Virginia?s eleven hits. Michael Brantley finished with a pair of singles, Gamel and Ford each finished with three singles and Cain went 2 for 5 with four runs batted in.

 

Steve Garrison (4-3) pitched six sensational innings, allowing only one run on six hits and struck out four to earn the victory, and Zac Cline (4-2) obtained the loss. The Power are 48-42 overall and 9-12 in the second half after the win while the BlueClaws fell to 53-38 overall and 16-6 in the second half after the loss.

 

The Power will begin a four-game series against the Lexington Legends at Appalachian Power Park on Saturday night. Left hander Ryan Owens (1-0, 2.35) will make the start for Lexington and the Power will counter with left hander Rafael Lluberes (4-4, 3.24). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score and Game Log Link:

Lefty Steve Garrison shines in his home state of New Jersey; Michael Brantley on base four times, as was Mat Gamel...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lwdafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Orem (Angels) 4, Helena 3, ten innings

 

Helena Game Summary from the Orem Site:

 

Brewer Propels Owlz Past Brewers

by Brandon Gaudin

 

July 14, 2006?Tadd Brewer knocked a two strike pitch into right field in the bottom of the tenth, scoring Scott Knazek from third and handing the Owlz a 4-3 victory.

 

Two costly Helena errors assisted the Owlz in the inning. With one out and nobody on, Knazek hit a slow roller to the right side. Second baseman David Parker bobbled the ball and then threw wide of his first basemen, allowing Knazek to reach.

 

Then, Helena pitcher Chris Toneguzzi made an errant pick-off throw wide of first advancing Knazek to second. P.J. Phillips then lifted a deep fly ball to right advancing the Owlz catcher up another ninety feet. Now there were two men down and the stage was set for Tadd Brewer's heroic single.

 

The Owlz got on the board in the first with a two-out RBI single by Tyler Johnson that give the Owlz an early 1-0 lead.

 

In the top of the third, Helena hit a pair of homers off Owlz starter Jeremy Haynes to take a two run advantage of their own. After Haynes issued a leadoff walk, shortstop Brad Miller smashed a pitch over the left-field wall. Two batters later, clean-up hitter Cole Gillespie went the other way off Haynes for a solo shot.

 

Haynes would leave after 2 2/3 innings pitched, and the Owlz bullpen would shut down Helena's offense the rest of the way, allowing just one hit over the remaining 7 1/3.

 

The Owlz, who out-hit the Brewers 13 to 4, could not send any more men across home plate until the bottom of the tenth.

 

Aaron Cook got the victory for the Owlz by pitching a scoreless tenth in relief of Jared Incinelli who worked a near flawless seventh, eighth, and ninth. And Incinelli relieved Barret Browning, who didn't give up a hit in 3 1/3 after coming in for Haynes.

 

With the win, the Owlz improve to 14-10 while Helena drops to 10-14. The same two teams square off tomorrow night in game two of the weekend set at 7:05 P.M (8:05 Central).

 

Helena Box Score and Game Log Link:

Brad Miller with three of the H-Crew's four hits...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_orerok_1

[mbwcl]

Congrats to Cole Gillespie on his first HR!

[1e Corbeau]

Quote:

---

I listened to the game tonite and the announcer said Gallardo was working with the Huntsville staff on commanding his fastball better.

---

 

Thanks, Plow; that's exactly the kind of insight I was hoping to read.

 

Regarding Jeffress: great outing for him, too, and while it was lost in the Sheets focus here, you can bet that it wasn't lost to those at the game.

[Rob]

It's nice to see Jeffress hitting high on the gun but can he pitch? Colt Griffin could get it up there but there wasn't much else. Is there any scouting report on his strengths and weaknesses?

[homer]

Rob,

Check the Draft Forum. There's tons of info on Jeffress there.

 

Also, great to see Sarfate keep his walks down. He's got electric stuff....it'd be a shame to see him put it all together for another organization.

[hsvstarsfan]

LEREW's MASTERY CONTINUES

4-0 vs. Stars since 2005

 

What looked like a real pitching duel, statistically seemed so one-sided when I looked at Anthony Lerew's success against the Stars........ Last year, Lerew beat the Stars three times in all three starts, allowing only 3 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits in 21 innings. Add his win tonight, and he's 4-0 against the Stars in 4 starts with a ridiculous 0.62 ERA, making him one of the toughest opponents in club history. Some day, I'm going back in the records and list the 10 toughest and I would bet he's among them........ Facing a virtually new lineup of Stars (only Callix Crabbe and Guilder Rodriguez had seen him last year, for a combined 0-for-8) , Lerew totally handcuffed the Stars. He relied on his fast ball, splitter, and slider, all of them wicked, with a deceptive motion to hold the Stars to just 3 hits. To date, he still has not given them more than 3 hits in any of his 4 starts going back to last year.

 

Lerew allowed the only unearned run ever charged to him in the 4th inning after striking out Crabbe. Drew Anderson hit Lerew's first pitch deep in the hole to short. Yunil Escobar caught up to it on the backhand, wheeled his body around and threw over the head of 1st baseman Barbaro Canizares. Occupying his time on Drew Anderson, who has 12 steals, with three throws over to first base, Lerew walked Brad Nelson on six pitches...... After a strikeout of Jeff Eure, Ron Acuna, on 0-and-2, hit a two-hop single to the right of the 2nd base bag into center to score Anderson, cutting the Braves' lead to 2-1.

 

After some raindrops descended on the stadium, a portend of what was to come later, the Stars muffed an excellent chance to score in the 6th with the Braves leading now 3-1....... Drew Anderson lined a one-out triple, his triple-of-the-month, down to the right field corner just after landing on the hop near the line in fair territory. Nelson received an unintentional intentional walk to put runners on the corners....... The situation worked for Mississippi as Eure hit into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning...... Eure has hit into 5 double plays this year. This was his first since June 14.

 

The Braves got on board in the 2nd on a 2-run home run by Ray Serrano off the Big Star advertising sign plugging my employer, WHNT, Channel 19. It was Serrano's 1st of the year, and first in 126 at-bats going back to last year as a member of the Braves. It came after a fielding error by Guilder Rodriguez put Canizares on base with one out....... In the 5th, a one-out walk to Onil Joseph led to another run. Dave Rozema singled him to 3rd on a hit-and-run play, then Yunil Escobar's fly to right-center scored Joseph.

 

The game finished in a downpour that slowly began as Drew Anderson stepped to the plate in the 9th. It built quickly, and when Brad Nelson stepped up, I had to cover and secure my scorebook on the arm of the seat next to me. By the time J.C. Boscan, came up, everyone had scattered and so did I, as a strong wind was blowing rain in every direction, as play continued. I'm sure the umpires were thankful Zach Schreiber, who walked Nelson and Eure, was able to strike out Boscan on four pitches to end it, for in less than five minutes, puddles were showing all over the infield.

 

Jorge de la Rosa will make his unprecedented 5th rehab start for the Stars on Wednesday in the Stars' first trip to Five County Stadium. I asked pitching coach Rich Sauveur if he knew what Milwaukee's plans for de la Rosa were, but he had no idea. For just a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, he would have been gone long ago, but I'm of the opinion at this point, Milwaukee's just going to leave him here through August and possibly till the end of the season....... Sauveur also didn't know whether Stars fans would see Ohka here either. Instead, the Stars picked up catcher Carlos Lee, who started the season with the Birmingham Barons. I know carrying three catchers sounds like it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. A lot of fans and observers think we're short one man in the bullpen after Steve Bray was promoted to Nashville, but Sauveur explained to me we're actually not......... The Stars are so deep with rotation pitchers, they could afford to move Travis Phelps to bullpen duty and carry an extra bat on the bench, which is what Lee is........ Lee played in two games for the Barons in April, went 1-for-7, then was released on the 28th....... Ryan Braun was a late scratch from the lineup Friday night with a mild groin strain. He's fine so there's no cause for alarm, and he'll be ready Saturday when Tim Dillard (6-5, 3.29) goes to the mound against Matt Harrison (0-2, 5.40)....... It starts getting interesting now to see Dillard at the plate. Dillard has 10 hits in 26 trips (.385) and is a couple of hits shy of tying the record for most hits by a pitcher in a season, held by Travis Smith with 12 in 2000.

 

Edit: accidental emoticons

[Mass Haas]

Jorge de la Rosa will make his unprecedented 5th rehab start for the Stars on Wednesday in the Stars' first trip to Five County Stadium. I asked pitching coach Rich Sauveur if he knew what Milwaukee's plans for de la Rosa were, but he had no idea. For just a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, he would have been gone long ago, but I'm of the opinion at this point, Milwaukee's just going to leave him here through August and possibly till the end of the season

 

Thanks David, as always, for your first-hand account and notes. The maximum JDLR's rehab stay can be is 30 days, and there was little doubt the Brewers planned to meet that maximum from the start. He'll either need to be in Milwaukee, outrighted and exposed to waivers, or traded within the next week and a half or so...

[pogokat]

or he could have a setback for a week..go to arizona...have a pina colada..and return to huntsville for another 30 days