Link Report for Fri. 6/9: Oh-so-close for Yo! 8 1/3 hitless!

[DHonks]

thanks Colby. For some reason I always figured he went with the Americanized pronunciation. My first experience working in schools in AZ was unique, as nearly every kid with a Hispanic last name would correct me if I pronounced it that way. They all seemed to go with the Americanized way.

[Trowekamp]

Quote:

---

Trowekamp is a witch!

---

 

Of course mentioning something in a minor league A game 3000 miles from where I am calls for a ban but personal attacks of course are fine..

 

Go back to your dungeon and dragons game...

[PeaveyFury]

Of course mentioning something in a minor league A game 3000 miles from where I am calls for a ban but personal attacks of course are fine..

 

You do realize that that was a joke, right? I don't think Dhonks actually thinks you're a witch. I don't think it was a personal attack at all.

 

That said, superstitions are big in baseball, especially regarding no-hitters.

[DHonks]

oops, should have put that in blue. Took me about 5 tries last night to put something in blue. I thought of the witch comment, cause for some reason the Family Guy where a girl does math popped into my head, and the teacher calls the girl a witch.

 

Yes, it was meant as a joke, seeing as there likely aren't any real witches out there. Aliens maybe. Witches, I think not.

 

I remember learning of the no-hitter jinx in 1992 when Navarro flirted with several no-no's, and Ueck had a hard time biting his tongue

[Trowekamp]

Alright.. hey I respect the fact that not mentioning it is kind of community challenge of wills which I obviously failed at.. it did not occur to me not to say anything because I was not playing.. if I had been playing then yes I would have been quiet but we are fans not players. The reason I come to Brewerfan.net is to find out things I do not know and discuss these things with sports fans. I also like somebody alerting me that something cool is in progress so I can follow it which was my intent. Of course after someone mentioned a jinx I took the ribbing in good nature until I thought it crossed the line. If that was not the intent of the last couple of posts then I rescind my previous.. one..

 

Onto more fun stuff... Nice to see the Power have the bats out tonight.

[Trowekamp]

By the way can we just ship Yo to Milwaukee tomorrow to take DLR's next turn?

 

Of course I am kidding.. but on second thought maybe not..

[PeaveyFury]

Yeah, the general rule of thumb is to not talk directly about it (ie don't say no-hitter, no-no, hasn't allowed a hit, etc), but subtle references are generally ok (see X ellence's post on the first page). But we're not actually going to start banning people for talking about it, so it was all in jest afterwards.

[DHonks]

But we're not actually going to start banning people for talking about it, so it was all in jest afterwards.

 

Yeah, it's all teasing. If someone wants to openly talk about it, be prepared to take a good ribbing from us. Afterall, it was all your fault.

[Trowekamp]

I take full responsibility...

 

Nice to see the cardinals rolling to an easy victory tonight..

 

Hopefully my powers are still in effect.

[bork]

2 guys catching tonight who haven't caught in quite a while. I know Rottino has caught a few innings this year, but is this his first start?

 

And has Eure caught since Beloit?

[DHonks]

Hendrickson pounding the Zone tonight. 3 walks, but about 65% strikes is solid for him

 

2 guys catching tonight who haven't caught in quite a while. I know Rottino has caught a few innings this year, but is this his first start?

 

good catch Bork. I wonder if it was just to get Rottino some innings back there. Or perhaps he's hitting well enough that they'll give it a try. Or maybe having Sorensen back means that they'll need to work harder to find Rottino some at bats. He's battling Krynzel, Gwynn, Barnwell, Sorensen, Abernathy, etc for playing time.

[MadScientist]

Fun fact on Yo's game: He struck out every batter he faced exactly once during the game. Just odd to see 11 K's for the pitcher with nobody getting more than one.

[pogokat]

Yo now at 100 k's in 73 innings with 18 walks...he's on pace for more than 300 in a 240 innings season...

 

unreal...i don't think any of the brewers other pitching prospect (including sheets) ever put up numbers like this...insane

 

edit: yup...checked it out...when sheets was in AA in 2000, he k'd 60 in 72..which was his best rate in the minors

[DHonks]

pogo, I would speculate based on Ben's first years that the Brewers stressed that he throw 2-seamers and learn a changeup. I say that, because other than the allstar game in 2001, Ben rarely threw above 93 mph until his 4th season. I think Ben really was just a thrower and needed to learn to pitch.

 

It sounds like Gallardo is more advanced as a pitcher. He's working deep into games, walking few, and striking out a lot, getting groundouts when not striking guys out. With Ben they likely taught him to pitch. With Gallardo, he probably is learning how to set guys up and finish them.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 5, Jupiter (Marlins) 1

 

Brevard County Site Game Summary:

 

Gallardo flirts with no-hitter

 

Yovani Gallardo took a no-hitter into the ninth inning as Brevard County defeated visiting Jupiter, 5-1, on Friday.

 

Gallardo (6-3) was two outs away from throwing Brevard County's first nine-inning no-hitter since May 28, 1995, when Clemente Nunez accomplished the feat against West Palm Beach. But after striking out Steve Gendron to start the ninth, he allowed a triple to Dante Brinkley.

 

Jeremy Lewis replaced Gallardo and gave up a sacrifice fly to Carlos Piste before retiring Grant Psomas on a flyout as the Manatees (33-26) won for the seventh time in their last nine games.

 

"I was kind of upset about losing the no-hitter," Gallardo said. "But I looked up on the board and knew that getting the team the win was what's important."

 

The 20-year-old Mexican native retired the first nine batters he faced before walking Brinkley to start the fourth. He then walked Piste, but retired the next three batters. Gallardo walked three and struck out 11 in lowering his ERA to 1.97.

 

"Not allowing a hit gave me more energy in the later innings," added Gallardo, who leads the Florida State League with 101 strikeouts. "I started locking in my pitches better as the game went on."

 

Freddy Parejo had two hits and scored two runs to lead the Manatees. Brevard County gave Gallardo an early lead as Ryan Braun singled home Alcides Escobar in the first.

 

Hernan Iribarren hit an RBI single in the sixth and a two-run single in the eighth.

 

Jacob Marceaux (0-6) allowed an unearned run on four hits in 3 2/3 innings for the Hammerheads (27-33), who had a three-game winning streak snapped. He walked three and struck out one.

 

The Manatees remained three games out of first place in the Eastern Division of the Florida State League, behind red-hot St. Lucie (Mets), winners of their last eight. Saturday night's game is the finale against the Hammerheads before Vero Beach visits Space Coast Stadium for a three-game set beginning on Sunday followed by Daytona stopping in for two before the All-Star break. -- Max Lance/MLB.com

 

***

Three games back with nine before the break, the final three against St. Lucie -- too bad the Manatees had that awful stretch of baseball there for a while...

 

From pre-game Friday:

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.floridatoday.com/apps...90335/1002

 

Manatees in hunt for first-half title

BY SCOTT BROWN,

FLORIDA TODAY

 

VIERA - The weather isn't the only thing that has heated up the last couple of weeks.

 

Brevard County had won eight of its previous 10 games before losing 4-2 to visiting Jupiter Thursday night at Space Coast Stadium.

 

The Manatees' recent hot streak has thrust them into contention for the first-half title of the Florida State League's East Division. It also has prompted the higher ups in the Milwaukee Brewers organization to tell Manatees manager Ramon Aviles to make winning the top priority for the next couple of weeks.

 

If Brevard County can overtake St. Lucie --- the Mets lead the Manatees by three games -- it will earn an automatic berth in the FSL playoffs.

 

The rest of the first-half schedule sets up nicely for the Manatees, a high Class-A affiliate of the Brewers.

 

They play their next seven games at Space Coast Stadium and eight of their final 10 in the first half of the season at home.

 

The East Division title could very well come down to the end as St. Lucie and Brevard meet in the final three games of the half season.

 

It would be an exaggeration to say pennant fever has gripped Brevard County's clubhouse. The Manatees, however, are well aware that they are playing for something the next two weeks.

 

"If you're any kind of competitor, you want to win," said starting pitcher Josh Wahpepah, one of six Manatees who made the FSL All-Star team.

 

Winning takes precedence over player development until June 21 -- the Manatees host the Mets that night in the first-half finale for each team -- but it does not come at all costs, Aviles said.

 

(The FSL's schedule is a bit odd in that the first three games after All-Star weekend, ironically against St. Lucie, count towards the first-half standings -- Mass Haas.)

 

The veteran skipper is still bound by some organization rules, such as the one that prohibits minor-league pitchers from throwing more than 200 pitches over consecutive starts.

 

That is why Aviles had to take starting pitcher Steve Hammond out of Wednesday's game at Vero Beach even though the left-hander had scattered three hits and struck out seven batters in six innings.

 

After throwing 112 pitches in his previous start, Hammond had reached 85 pitches by the seventh inning. Hence his removal from the eventual 6-4 Manatees win.

 

Aviles has been told to do what he can within reason to win a division that is still there for the taking. Apparently, player development and success in the win-loss column are related to some degree in minor league baseball.

 

"Winning's a big part of development," said third baseman Ryan Braun, the fifth overall pick of last June's draft. "You want to develop a winning attitude and a winning approach."

 

Brevard County Box Score:

Hernan Iribarren on base three times...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

 

Brevard County Game Log:

Six called strike outs, five swinging for Yo...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.floridatoday.com/apps...002/sports

 

Manatees' Gallardo flirts with no-hitter

BY JIM CAWLEY

FLORIDA TODAY

 

VIERA - Two more outs, and Yovani Gallardo would have had the first no-hitter of his life Friday night for the Brevard County Manatees.

 

Gallardo took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before Jupiter outfielder Dante Brinkley banged a one-out triple off the right-field fence, then scored on a sacrifice fly as the Manatees settled for a 5-1 victory over the Hammerheads.

 

Gallardo, a 20-year-old native of Fort Worth, Texas, had cruised through the first 8 1/3 innings, giving up only three walks with 11 strikeouts, giving him 100 for the season. He struck out the side in the eighth, still throwing as hard -- in the 90s -- as he had at the start of the warm night at Space Coast Stadium.

 

"Ever since the game started I felt real good," Gallardo said. "Late in the game I got a little bit tired, but I found some energy. Just thinking about it pumped me up a little bit."

 

Gallardo rolled through three innings to start the night, facing the minimum nine batters. He hit a bump in the fourth, walking the first two batters before settling down and retiring the next three hitters.

 

From there, he mowed down the Hammerheads, giving up one more walk in the sixth -- but that was erased by a double play. He had thrown 114 pitches going into the ninth, and he struck out the first batter of the final inning before Brinkley connected on a 1-2 pitch and spoiled the no-hitter.

 

"Once he got that base hit I felt kinda down for a little bit," Gallardo said. "But hey, we got a win and that's more important."

 

Gallardo then was taken out of the game, and Jeremy Lewis gave up a sacrifice fly that scored Brinkley before getting the final out.

 

Now 6-3, Gallardo lowered his ERA to 1.97 in 70-plus innings.

 

"Lately I've been mixing up my pitches -- today I used my curveball a bunch," Gallardo said. "I used my fastball and mixed everything up and I guess that's what helped me out."

 

Unfortunately for the Manatees, the victory only allowed them to keep pace in their division race against St. Lucie. The first-place Mets won their eighth in a row, 9-4 against Daytona, and maintained their three-game division lead over Brevard.

 

Photo by Jerry Hale/MLB.com

 

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2006/06/10/XI6vAuFT.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 9, Hickory (Pirates) 8

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

Power rally for five in the eighth

 

The West Virginia Power were down 8-4 going into the eighth inning of Friday night?s game against the Hickory Crawdads at L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina. The Power scored five runs in the eighth inning and came back to beat the Crawdads 9-8.

 

The Power scored first in the second inning on a solo shot from Mike Bell, his sixth of the year, and Darren Ford drove in Scotty McKnight on an RBI single to give the Power a 2-0 lead.

 

Hickory answered in a big way with five runs in the bottom of the second. Brad Corley knocked in the first run on a single and he scored during the next at bat on Jason Delaney?s double. Steve Lerud capped the five-run frame with a three-run homer.

 

The Power came within a run in the third inning on back-to-back RBI doubles from Tony Festa and Ned Yost. Hickory answered again in the third scoring on a sacrifice fly from Tony Mansolino. In the fourth inning the Crawdads added to their lead on Andrew McCutchen?s RBI single and Brent Lillibridge scored on Angel Salome?s throwing error.

 

The Power came back and scored five times in the eighth inning to win the game. The eighth inning started with Ned Yost?s triple off the wall in right center field. Festa brought Yost in with his second RBI double of the game and Festa scored along with Mike Bell on a two-run double from Scotty McKnight. Darren Ford followed McKnight with a game-tying RBI double. Angel Salome stepped in with a runner on first base and two outs and he ripped a single into left center field. The ball got past the left fielder Jason Delaney and went all the way to the wall allowing Lorenzo Cain to score the eventual game-winning run.

 

Patrick Ryan (2-0) extended his consecutive scoreless innings streak to fourteen and a third to earn the victory, Joe Thatcher (9) pitched two scoreless innings and earned the save and Matt Swanson (3-3) obtained the loss. The Power are 33-27 after the win and the Crawdads fell to 28-31 with the loss.

 

The Power will continue the three game series against the Crawdads on Saturday night. Hickory will start right hander Kyle Pearson (3-1, 4.50) and the Power will counter with right hander Matt Kretzschmar (0-2, 7.23). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score:

Stellar relief work; nine of the aptly-named Power's 13 base hits went for extra bases; Ned Yost's April long-forgotten, now at .302 and hitting fifth...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hicafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

Hickory hits for the cycle in the 2nd against Derek Miller, who was long overdue for a rough night...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hicafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: New Orleans (Nationals) 3, Nashville 2

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Hendrickson goes distance but loses

Sounds drop second in row to New Orleans

Tennessean Staff Reports

 

METAIRIE, La. ? The New Orleans Zephyrs defeated the visiting Nashville Sounds on Friday 3-2, giving the Z's their sixth-straight victory.

 

Starting pitcher Steve Watkins (2-0) got the win for New Orleans, as he allowed two runs on four hits in 5-1/3 innings of play.

 

Relief pitcher Roy Corcoran got his fifth save of the season after striking out two batters and allowing no hits over the final inning.

 

Zephyrs first baseman Larry Broadway had his 43rd RBI of the season after knocking in another run.

 

Broadway went 1-for-4 overall to lead the Zephyrs offensively.

 

Sounds starting pitcher Ben Hendrickson (3-2) went the distance (116 pitches) but took the loss after allowing all three runs on five hits. Only two of the runs were earned.

 

The Sounds scored both runs in the fifth inning. Vinny Rottino scored on a wild pitch and Hendrickson singled in Zach Sorenson.

 

Chris Barnwell was thrown out at home attempting to score the tying run on Hendrickson's hit.

 

The two teams will play again tonight at 6 p.m.

 

Nashville Box Score:

No errors, passed balls for Vinny Rottino behind the plate, three stolen bases against he and Ben Hendrickson...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

Killer play in the 6th -- looks like Tony Gwynn out at third base trying to advance on a ball that got away from the catcher; two sacrifice bunts for Dave Krynzel; Frank Kremblas ejected in the 8th -- regular umps are back Saturday, I believe -- if not, Monday the 12th...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Jacksonville (Dodgers) 4, Huntsville 2

Ho-hum, wake us when the first-half season ends...

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=872

 

Suns Rally for Late Win

 

Chin-Lung Hu doubled home the tie-breaking run and then scored an insurance marker in the seventh inning to push Jacksonville past Huntsville 4-2 Friday night in the third game of a five-game set at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The Suns have won the first three games of the set and all eight games against the Stars this season to improve to 42-20, while the Stars lost their fifth straight to fall to 23-38 overall and 14-19 away from home. The Suns scored the winning runs in the seventh inning for a second straight night.

 

Drew Anderson walked with two outs in the first inning, stole second base and scored on a single to left field by Brad Nelson, who knocked in his third run with Huntsville. Jeff Eure led off the top of the second inning with a home run, his fourth of the year and his first since April 23, to stake the visitors to a 2-0 lead. Jacksonville starter Heath Totten settled down and retired 13 in a row through the sixth inning and 15 of the last 16 he faced before departing after seven innings. The veteran right-hander picked up the win after allowing two runs on five hits and striking out six.

 

Huntsville starter Travis Phelps gave up a first inning single to Andy LaRoche and then proceeded to retire 15 of the next 16 hitters he faced, including 11 in a row before Tony Abreu hit a home run to right field with one out in the sixth to trim the Stars lead to 2-1. One out later, Tydus Meadows homered to right field to tie the game and mark the second time that Phelps had allowed two long balls in the same inning.

 

Craig Brazell drew a two-out walk as a pinch-hitter for Totten in the seventh and scored the go-ahead run when center fielder Steve Moss misplayed what looked to be a routine fly ball hit by Hu into a double. Callix Crabbe took the throw from Moss in the outfield and his relay throw to the plate got past the catcher Eure and allowed Hu to move to third. Abreu walked and LaRoche was hit by a pitch to load the bases and spell the end of the night for Phelps, who suffered his third loss. Gerrit Simpson came on and walked Meadows on a 3-2 pitch to force in Hu to make it 4-2.

 

Ben Kozlowski retired the Stars in order in the eighth and Mark Alexander struck out Nelson, Adam Heether and Eure in the ninth after a leadoff single by Anderson to end the game and nail down his 14th save of the season and fifth in as many tries against the Stars. The Suns have registered a save in all eight wins over Huntsville.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Steve Moss has struck out 58 times in 198 AB's...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_jaxaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

Stars never sniffed a rally over the final seven innings...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_jaxaax_1

[dadofandrew]

I'm seriously wondering about the amount of time wasted on the "jinx" topic, and lots of it by the staff.

 

Oof.

[huntsvillefan]

Nice to see Vinnie being given a chance to catch and on a positive note, no WP or PB. On the other side of the coin, out of 7 guys who stood on first base against him, 3 successfully stole second, two of those guys had a previous grand total of 2 stolen bases between them. This against a reasonably conservative team who generally get caught once in every three attempts.

I think his arm strength is good enough to eventually overcome this, but he needs regular practice. I hope this is the start of him getting some.

[Team Canada]

I'm seriously wondering about the amount of time wasted on the "jinx" topic, and lots of it by the staff.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't realize staff couldn't spend time how they wanted.

 

I wonder about all the time you spend making snide, "look how smart I am" comments.

[PeaveyFury]

I'm seriously wondering about the amount of time wasted on the "jinx" topic, and lots of it by the staff.

 

I'm seriously wondering why someone who doesn't care about jinx topics would waste time reading them and even more time commenting on how they were a waste of time. Seems pretty ironic, doesn't it?

[DHonks]

Maybe Al was at fault for the blown no-hitter, too. He's just not admitting he jinxed them