Link Report for Sun. 7/9 -- Power Overcome Eight-Run Deficit

[And That]

Don't look at the Baby Brewers' box score if you get nausiated by walks and errors. The Baby Giants scored in every inning (21 times in all), thanks to 12 walks and 7 errors (not to mention 20 hits and 2 HBP). 41 baserunners in 9 innings. Geesh.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Frank Kremblas:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%207-9.wma

[Mass Haas]

Final: Round Rock (Astros) 4, Nashville 3

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Graham Koonce photo, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2045

 

Sheets, Sounds Lose To Express, 4-3

 

ROUND ROCK, Texas ? The Nashville Sounds entered the All-Star break on a down note on Sunday evening at The Dell Diamond, dropping another one-run road decision in a 4-3 loss to the Round Rock Express in the finale of a three-game series.

 

With the defeat, Nashville (47-42) suffered its Pacific Coast League-leading 23rd one-run loss and fell to just 5-18 in one-run road games this season. The Sounds lost two of the three games against the Express in the series.

 

Nashville jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Round Rock starter Brandon Backe when Dave Krynzel, who led the Sounds with a 2-for-5 evening, singled home Tony Gwynn.

 

Express shortstop Cody Ransom evened the contest at 1-1 in the home half of the second with a one-out solo homer to left off Sounds starter Ben Sheets. The blast was the infielder?s ninth of the year.

 

The teams exchanged runs in the third as Nashville RBI leader Nelson Cruz plated Gwynn in the top half before Brooks Conrad plated Backe with an RBI two-bagger in the bottom of the inning.

 

Sheets (1-1), who made his first game appearance since May 2, was pulled in the top of the fourth inning after reaching his 65-pitch count on a leadoff walk to Ransom. The right-hander took the loss after working three-plus innings and allowing three runs on three hits while walking three batters and striking out two.

 

Backe (1-1) continued to help his own cause in the fourth when he gave the Express a 4-2 lead with a two-run double against Nashville reliever Justin Lehr. It was the pitcher's second two-bagger of the night.

 

The rehabbing Houston Astros right-hander earned his first victory for Round Rock after allowing two runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. He walked three batters and struck out five while throwing 93 pitches, 58 for strikes.

 

Nashville pulled within a run in the eighth when first baseman Graham Koonce led off the frame with a solo homer to right off Express hurler Ezequiel Astacio, his seventh roundtripper of the year. The Sounds missed a chance to tie the contest later in the frame when Brent Abernathy reached second with no outs but didn't advance further as the next three batters were retired in order by Astacio.

 

AUDIO: Graham Koonce's 8th-Inning HR --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%207-9.wma

 

The Sounds also put the potential tying run on in the ninth when Zach Sorensen drew a one-out walk from closer Roberto Giron but the Express reliever struck out Krynzel and Sorensen was thrown out attempting to steal second to end the game.

 

Giron earned his 10th save following his scoreless inning of work.

 

The Sounds join the rest of the 30 Triple-A teams for the All-Star break over the next three days before resuming their schedule on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium with the 7 p.m. opener of a four-game series against the division-rival Memphis Redbirds. Right-hander Jared Fernandez (4-2, 2.54) will make the start for Nashville in Thursday?s series opener.

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.statesman.com/sports/...press.html

 

Backe also a threat with bat

Houston pitcher making rehab start gets best of Milwaukee ace Sheets on mound, at plate

By William Wilkerson

AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN CORRESPONDENT

 

ROUND ROCK ? Brandon Backe was hot, literally.

 

"Man, it's hot in here isn't it," he said as he adjusted a fan toward himself in the Express clubhouse on Sunday.

 

The enormous ice bag that was covering his right elbow should have cooled him down a bit as he packed his equipment bag. But with the way the Express right-hander was swinging the bat against Nashville, it was understandable why he was still sweating 20 minutes after he left the mound.

 

Backe, who has been on Houston's disabled list since April 14 with a sprained right elbow, deflected the attention away from his pitching performance toward his plate appearances in a showdown with Milwaukee Brewers ace Ben Sheets, who was rehabbing his right shoulder.

 

He collected two doubles, drove in two and scored once in the Express' 4-3 victory.

 

"It was fun," Backe said. "I enjoy hitting. I take it very serious when I am up there. But the most important thing is how I perform on the mound."

 

Backe (1-1) threw 93 pitches ? 58 for strikes ? in 5 2/3 innings, while allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out two.

 

"I felt good, no pain. I am pain free," said Backe, who will start his fourth and final rehab appearance on July 14 in New Orleans.

 

Sheets (1-1), who is heading to Phoenix for a workout on Thursday, threw his scheduled 65 pitches in three innings and gave up three runs on three hits, while walking three and striking out two.

 

"I just need to pitch, get some innings," said Sheets, who left to a heavy applause. "I felt good, better than I thought I would."

 

All-star center fielder Tony Gwynn did just what he is supposed to do as a leadoff hitter in the first inning by getting on base. After falling behind 0-2, the son and namesake of the San Diego Padres great received four straight balls from Backe, stole second base, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Zach Sorensen to put the Sounds in position to take an early lead.

 

"You can't mess around with a hitter like Tony Gwynn when he is leading off," Backe said.

 

Dave Krynzel hit a single to bring Gwynn home.

 

Facing an early 1-0 deficit against the Brewers' single-season strikeout record-holder (264 in 2004) didn't seem to faze Cody Ransom, who sent his 1-0 offering from Sheets to the upper deck in left field to tie the game.

 

After Nelson Cruz's RBI single gave the Sounds a 2-1 lead in the third, Backe, a career .246 hitter in the major leagues, laced a double off Sheets to put the Express in position to tie the game.

 

"I'm just glad he threw me a fastball," Backe said. "I didn't want to face that nasty breaking ball."

 

Backe was driven home on a double from Brooks Conrad.

 

With two on in the fourth, Backe hit his second double down the third-base line to put Round Rock up 4-2.

 

He received a standing ovation as he left the mound and headed for the dugout, where he was greeted with high fives from his teammates. But he was the one giving praise ? to Sheets ? after the game.

 

"I hope he feels as good as I do," Backe said. "I hope he gets back up to Milwaukee, their fans deserve to see him."

 

Nashville Box Score and Game Log Link:

Vinny Rottino behind the plate; Carlos Villanueva gets in an inning of work, his first at AAA...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_rreaaa_1

 

Photos by Ricardo B. Brazziell, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Round Rock's Brooks Conrad, left, slides into third base as Nashville's Zach Sorensen loses the ball during the third inning Sunday.

 

http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/04/09/83/image_4583094.jpg

 

Ben Sheets gave up three runs on three hits in three innings.

 

http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/02/09/83/image_4583092.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Final, Game One: Brevard County 3, Palm Beach (Cardinals) 1

 

Final, Game Two: Palm Beach (Cardinals) 5, Brevard County 1

 

Brevard County Site Doubleheader Summary:

Unfortunately, all we have from the pathetic media coverage provided in most locales in the Florida State League...

 

Cards gain split with Manatees

 

Nick Webber tossed five strong innings as Palm Beach beat visiting Brevard County, 5-1, in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader.

 

Webber (4-3) allowed one run on five hits, struck out two and issued four walks. The 6-foot-7 right-hander won his first start since beating Clearwater on May 6.

 

Matthew Scherer worked around a single and a walk in a scoreless sixth inning, and Troy Cate blanked the Manatees (6-9) in the seventh.

 

Juan Lucena and Colby Rasmus had two RBIs apiece for the Cardinals (7-9), and Joe Mather capped a three-run fifth with a sacrifice fly.

 

Manatees starter Luis Pena (2-3) gave up two runs on five hits in three innings, fanning four. Bo Hall surrendered three runs on two hits in 1 1/3 frames. He struck out two and issued a pair of walks.

 

Brendan Katin led off the fourth with his ninth homer for Brevard County, which beat Palm Springs, 3-1, in the earlier game. Hernan Iribarren went 3-for-3 with a walk to raise his batting average to 321. -- Christopher Heine/MLB.com

 

Brevard County Game One Box Score and Game Log Link:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_pbcafa_1

 

Brevard County Game Two Box Score and Game Log Link:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_pbcafa_2

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 12, Lexington (Astros) 9

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

POWER ERASE EIGHT RUN DEFICIT, SNAP THREE GAME SKID

 

The Lexington Legends sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs on six hits in the bottom of the first inning of Sunday night?s game against the West Virginia Power at Applebee?s Park. The West Virginia Power answered by scoring twelve straight runs and overcame their largest deficit of the season with a 12-9 victory over the Lexington Legends to snap their three-game losing streak.

 

In the first inning Josh Flores led off with a single, and two Power errors followed to load the bases for Mark Ori who knocked in the first run of the game on a single. Mitch Einertson brought in the second run with a bases loaded walk. Koby Clemens and Pedro Espinoza both hit two-run doubles and the scoring stopped in the eight-run first on back-to-back RBI singles from Flores and Wladimir Sutil.

 

The Power started their comeback in the third inning. Mat Gamel ripped a single into right field with two runners on base. Darren Ford scored easily on the base hit and Eli Iorg bobbled the ball in right allowing Angel Salome to score as well. The Power pulled within two scoring four times in the fifth inning. Mike Bell ripped a two-out RBI single and Tony Festa hit his second home run of the season, a three-run shot, to complete the four-run fifth.

 

In the sixth inning Gamel tied the game with a two-run homer, his tenth of the season and his first since May 30th. Festa and Ned Yost began the seventh inning with back-to-back singles. With runners on first and third, Michael Brantley reached on a fielder?s choice and knocked in the go-ahead run.

 

The Power continued their offensive onslaught in the eighth inning, plating three more runs. Salome and Yost both crossed the plate on wild pitches and Brantley ripped his third single of the game to knock in Festa. Lexington scored the final run of the game in the ninth inning on Tommy Manzella?s sacrifice fly.

 

Josh Louis (1-0) pitched four scoreless innings of one hit ball out of the bullpen to earn the victory while Chris Campos (1-4) obtained the loss. The Power are 47-39 overall and 8-9 in the second half after the win and the Legends fell to 51-36 overall and 7-11 in the second half after the loss.

 

The Power are off on Monday but will begin a four-game series against the Lakewood BlueClaws at First Energy Park on Tuesday night. Big Leaguer Randy Wolf will make a rehab start for Lakewood, the left hander has a career 65-60 record and a 4.14 career ERA over seven seasons with the Phillies. The Power will start right hander Will Inman (4-1, 1.37). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.kentucky.com/mld/kent...003653.htm

 

Lexington blows huge early lead

LEGENDS LOSE MOMENTUM AFTER 8-RUN FIRST

By Mark Maloney

LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

 

Too bad Jack Lind couldn't call for help from the Applebee's Park stands to have someone put out a fire or handcuff the opposition.

 

Local police and firemen were on hand for the annual Guns and Hoses softball game yesterday, but not available for the Lexington Legends manager to use.

 

What unfolded was a maddening 12-9 loss to the West Virginia Power.

 

And the Legends led 8-0 after sending 13 batters to the plate in the first inning.

 

"Sunday afternoons, there's always something going to be weird," Lind said. "Very few Sunday afternoon games in Low A ball are going to produce clean, sane games. There's something insane going to happen."

 

Why is that?

 

"I think it's the phenomenon of day game after night game," Lind said. "They haven't learned how to adjust their mental concentration, their emotion."

 

West Virginia snapped a three-game losing streak and gained a split of the two-game series.

 

Lexington had a four-game winning streak halted.

 

The Power piled up 15 hits, including three each by Ned Yost and Michael Brantley. Tony Festa was among four others with two hits, also scoring three times and driving in three with a homer.

 

"We fell behind Hickory 5-0 (and won), and we've been on the other end where we jumped out ahead and given it back," Festa said. "It's hard in baseball. You've got to keep your focus every single inning within each game. A lot of times it's easy to let down when you get a lead.

 

"We were able to build some momentum, whereas their momentum kind of stopped after the first inning. We fed off each other. The pitching was phenomenal."

 

Lefty Rafael Lluberes survived the first -- only one run was earned -- to fire three no-hit innings before giving way to Josh Louis (1-0).

 

Louis added three more no-hit innings before yielding an eighth-inning single to Mitch Einertson.

 

By then, West Virginia was sitting on a 12-8 lead.

 

The Legends' big first was helped by two errors. Koby Clemens and Pedro Espinoza each lined two-run doubles. Mark Ori, Josh Flores and Wladimir Sutil had run-scoring singles. Einertson drew a bases-loaded walk.

 

Lexington's Sean Walker left after 4 2/3 innings, leading 8-3 with two men aboard. Garrett Murdy was tagged with Festa's homer.

 

"He was not aggressive at all," Lind said of Walker. "He had an eight-run lead, and he was out there trying to fiddle around and get them to swing at balls instead of making them swing at strikes. So he paid the price. He ran out of pitches. He didn't get a chance at the win because he couldn't throw strikes."

 

West Virginia tied it on Mat Gamel's two-run homer off Murdy in the sixth.

 

Festa scored the go-ahead run in the seventh, off Chris Campos (1-4), on a fielder's choice.

 

Jamie Gant gave up three runs in the eighth.

 

West Virginia Box Score and Game Log Link:

Unheralded RHP Josh Louis now unscored upon in 7 1/3 West Virginia innings (two hits, three walks, five K's)...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1

 

Kentucky.com Photo by Brian Tietz

Lexington?s Pedro Espinoza slid home safely as West Virginia?s Angel Salome tried to catch the ball in the first inning yesterday.

 

http://www.kentucky.com/images/kentucky/kentucky/15002/225073714828.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Giants 21, Arizona Brewers 8

 

Arizona Brewer Box Score and Game Log Link:

As "And That" indicated above, deserves your scrutiny, but be forewarned -- it's as ugly as can be...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Covering the bases

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

Stars newcomers Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo participated in the Futures Game in Pittsburgh.

 

Brett Evert, now on the Stars' staff, played in 2002. Former Stars chosen for the game include Prince Fielder, Bill Hall, J.J. Hardy, Corey Hart, David Krynzel, Jackson Melian, Nick Neugebauer, Ben Sheets and Rickie Weeks. ...

 

Bon voyage to Joe Winkelsas, the former Stars' reliever. After being promoted from Huntsville to Milwaukee, then ultimately demoted to Nashville, Winkelsas announced his retirement last week. "Wink" endured a troubled personal life through much of his career, including a battle with drugs about which he has been very open but recently gained much peace through his faith. Here's hoping for the best. ...

 

Stephen Bray was promoted from Huntsville to fill his spot. He was 5-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 27 appearances. ... Likely the Stars will fish from the Brevard County roster to fill Bray's spot. A choice could be Manny Parra, who already has Double-A experience, and who could be used as a starter. ... Big leaguer Tomo Ohka is tentatively scheduled to pitch a rehab start at Huntsville this week. ... It's tough to keep track of the Milwaukee-Nashville shuttle, especially with pitchers, but Dana Eveland is back in the big leagues. Surely reliever Alec Zumwalt (seven saves) has to be a candidate soon. ... Gallardo has yet to allow an earned run in three starts in Huntsville. ... Ex-Star Sheets is making a rehab start today in Round Rock for Triple-A Nashville.

 

Baltimore's Miguel Tejada is the lone former Huntsville player selected for the Major League All-Star Game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. He was the game's MVP last year. Huntsville has been represented by at least one player in every All-Star Game since 1985 - either by a former Star or by Huntsville native Jimmy Key.

 

Around the league

 

The Southern League was nicely represented in the Futures Game. Besides Huntsville's Braun and Gallardo, other from the league include Homer Bailey of Chattanooga, Eric Patterson of West Tenn, George Kottaras and Luis Cruz of Mobile, Yunel Escobar of Mississippi, Ching Lung Hu of Jacksonville and Joey Votto of Chattanooga. ... Former Stars pitching coach Stan Kyles is on the U.S.A. coaching staff, working with manager Gary Carter and Chattanooga's Jayhawk Owens. Jacksonville's John Shoemaker will assist World manager Ferguson Jenkins. ... Jeffrey Latter and Ria Cortesio, a pair of Southern League umps, will work the game. ... The broadcast of the Southern League All-Star Game will be available on Gameday, through mlb.com. ... Doug Segrest of The Birmingham News relates a lovely story this week about White Sox star Joe Crede buying a World Series championship watch with 20 diamonds and sending to Barons manager Chris Cron for his help in Crede's development.

 

Brewings (through Friday's games)

 

Triple-A Nashville Sounds (46-41 before Saturday's play, first place in Pacific Coast League American Division): P Ben Hendrickson, OFs Nelson Cruz and Tony Gwynn Jr. selected to PCL All-Star team for Wednesday's Triple-A All-Star Game.

 

Single-A Brevard County Manatees (5-8, fourth in Florida State East Division this half): OF Brendan Katin 8 HRs, 51 RBIs, .285.

 

Single-A West Virginia Power (7-8, fourth in South Atlantic League Northern Division this half): 3B Mat Gamel 9 HRs, 49 RBIs, .278.

 

On deck

 

The Stars are on a three-day All-Star break, returning to action on Wednesday with the first visit of the year by the Mississippi Braves.

 

Watch for

 

Mississippi shortstop Yunel Escobar, a slick-fielder with a .282 average rated as Atlanta's third-best prospect.