Link Report for Games of Tuesday, June 6th

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Tuesday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Justin Lehr at home vs. Albuquerque (Marlins), 6:40 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: LHP Jeff Housman at Birmingham (White Sox), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.espn1450.com/

 

Brevard County: LHP Manny Parra at Vero Beach (Dodgers), 6:00 PM

 

Audio link (opponent's):

www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

 

West Virginia: LHP Dave Welch at home vs. Hagerstown (Mets), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

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

[Mass Haas]

Follow Tuesday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Activate the Nashville Gameday. For the other links, 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. It's sweet!

 

Nashville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_biraax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_vbdafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_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 Monday's action:

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 33 25 .569 - 21-10 12-15 L1[/b] Iowa 24 32 .429 8.0 12-13 12-19 L1 Omaha 24 34 .414 9.0 16-15 8-19 W1 Memphis 21 36 .368 11.5 11-16 10-20 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 36 23 .610 - 23-11 13-12 L1 West Tenn 34 24 .586 1.5 14-15 20-9 L1 Tennessee 29 30 .492 7.0 18-12 11-18 W1 Carolina 27 32 .458 9.0 16-13 11-19 W1 [b]Huntsville 23 34 .404 12.0 9-19 14-15 L1[/b] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 33 24 .579 - 15-14 18-10 W4 [b]Brevard County 31 24 .564 1.0 16-11 15-13 W5[/b] Daytona 30 27 .526 3.0 18-11 12-16 W3 Palm Beach 29 28 .509 4.0 14-14 15-14 L1 Jupiter 24 32 .429 8.5 11-17 13-15 L2 Vero Beach 22 35 .386 11.0 12-16 10-19 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lexington 34 22 .607 - 19-11 15-11 L2 Delmarva 32 23 .582 1.5 17-12 15-11 L2 [b]West Virginia 31 24 .564 2.5 16-12 15-12 L1[/b] Greensboro 32 25 .561 2.5 21-9 11-16 L1 Lakewood 29 27 .518 5.0 17-11 12-16 W2 Hickory 25 30 .455 8.5 13-11 12-19 W1 Lake County 25 32 .439 9.5 12-17 13-15 W1 Hagerstown 20 36 .357 14.0 10-14 10-22 W2

[DHonks]

didn't realize how well Nashville was doing. Wow.

[Mass Haas]

RHP Kevin Roberts moved up in the West Virginia rotation tonight for LHP Dave Welch, who apparently experienced back pain earlier today. Roberts with only a single unearned run allowed through four innings thus far...

 

Ryan Braun out of the lineup again tonight; from a purely media perspective, the rumors of online audio for the Manatees next year need to come to fruition, should the affiliation continue...

 

Your corner outfielders in Nashville tonight are Brent Abernathy in left and Zach Sorensen in right, flanking Nelson Cruz in center. Yeah, that's how we drew it up at the beginning of the year -- night off (starting, anyway) for Tony Gwynn and Dave Krynzel (again for Dave)...

[1e Corbeau]

A nice five innings from Manny Parra so far. Will we see him in Huntsville after the break?

 

Was Ryan Braun out with hamstring issues earlier in the season? Too bad we can't find a local baseball fan, for whom we could all chip in for season Manatees tickets. Maybe then we could get a report... Whatever happened to the guy from MN who worked in the front office? Internship over?

 

And don't look now, but Angel Salome has been error-free for at least a week, maybe two.

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 6, Hagerstown (Mets) 4

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

Yost knocks in three in Power win

 

West Virginia Power first baseman Ned Yost drove in three of the Power?s six runs in Tuesday night?s game against the Hagerstown Suns as the Power went on to win 6-4 at Appalachian Power Park.

 

The Power scored the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the first inning on Mat Gamel?s RBI double and Yost?s RBI base hit. Hagerstown cut the lead in half in the top of the third inning on a fielder?s choice RBI from Joe Holden. The Power scored three times in the fifth inning and pulled away. Mike Bell singled into left field and brought in Lorenzo Cain for the first run and Yost knocked in the next two on a double.

 

In the sixth inning Michael Brantley scored on Drew Butera?s throwing error to give the Power a 6-1 lead. Jonathan Sanchez hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning and the scoring stopped after Butera?s two-run homer in the ninth.

 

Kevin Roberts (3-6) pitched five innings of two-hit ball, allowed an unearned run and earned the victory while Waner Mateo (0-1) obtained the loss. The Power are 32-24 after the win and the Suns fell to 20-37 with the loss. Attendance for the game was 4,085.

 

The Power will continue the four game series against the Suns but the series moves to Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown, Maryland on Wednesday night. Hagerstown will start right hander Brandon Nall (0-2, 3.86) and the Power will counter with left hander Steve Garrison (1-0, 5.23). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score:

This club, unlike last season's Power, has carried over the Helena offensive production; four players reach base three times apiece; hard to miss Mike Bell's two errors in the box score -- sorry, Mike...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

Kevin Roberts induced ground outs -- Wil Laureano effective, but nary one grounder...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Vero Beach (Dodgers) 2, Brevard County 0

 

Brevard County Game Summary from the Vero Beach Site:

 

Three Dodger pitchers combined to shut out the Brevard County Manatees 2-0 Tuesday night at Holman Stadium. Jamie Hoffmann broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 8th with an RBI double. The rubber match of the series will be Wednesday night with a 7:00 PM game (6:00 Central) at Holman Stadium.

 

In a far contrast from Monday's 11-10 slugfest, Tuesday's game was notable for its pitching. Dodger starter Scott Elbert and Manatees starter Manny Parra each dealt five scoreless innings and neither figured in the decision. Elbert matched his season-high with seven strikeouts, while Parra gave up only one hit.

 

The Dodgers finally broke the tie in the bottom of the 8th. Chris Westervelt drew a leadoff walk and stole his first base of the season. Jamie Hoffmann then doubled to left-center to score Westervelt. One out later David Nicholson singled in Hoffmann for an insurance run.

 

Wesley Wright continued his stellar pitching with three scoreless relief innings to pick up the win. Wright struck out three and allowed just two hits. His record went to 3-2. Brian Akin pitched a perfect ninth and is 6-6 in save opportunities this year.

 

Brevard County Box Score:

Manatees lose despite out-hitting Vero 7-3; Manny Parra with another encouraging outing, allowing one hit and three walks in five shutout innings; Steve Sollman with two doubles...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_vbdafa_1

 

Brevard County Game Log:

Brevard strands the bases loaded in the 1st; Parra works a big GIDP in the 2nd; Sam Narron with two scoreless innings before faltering in the 8th...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_vbdafa_1

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with First Baseman Graham Koonce:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%206-6.wma

[Katuluu]

*ahem*

 

 

Steve Moss.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Albuquerque (Marlins) 4, Nashville 2

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Brent Abernathy photo, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1992

 

Sounds Drop Homestand Finale To Isotopes

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? The Nashville Sounds closed out their homestand with their second loss in a row on Tuesday evening as they fell to the Albuquerque Isotopes, 4-2, in front of 3,641 fans at Greer Stadium.

 

With the loss to Albuquerque (35-25), the Sounds (33-26) lose a game to the Iowa Cubs in the standings but still hold onto a comfortable seven-game cushion in the PCL American Northern Division. Nashville finished its eight-game homestand with a 5-3 record.

 

Brent Abernathy (2-for-4) and Jermaine Clark (2-for-4) both recorded a multiple-hit night for the Sounds.

 

The Isotopes jumped out to an early lead against Sounds starter Justin Lehr. Eric Reed opened the game with a bunt single but ended the play at second after Mike Rivera threw the ball away as he attempted to record the out at first. Reed advanced to third on the following play on a Roberto Andino single before Scott Seabol recorded his 41st RBI of the season on a sacrifice fly to center. Reed?s run was unearned because of Rivera?s throwing error.

 

Albuquerque struck again in the visiting half of the fourth. Once again, they opened the inning with two hits. Seabol started the inning off with a double down the left field line and scored on the following play when Isotopes first baseman Tom Wilson hit his seventh longball of the season, a two-run shot over the left field fence that upped the Isotopes? lead to 3-0.

 

The Sounds bounced right back as they plated two runs in the home half of the fourth. Abernathy started the inning with a single off Albuquerque starter Chris George, who then issued consecutive walks to Nelson Cruz and Graham Koonce before exiting the contest. Albuquerque brought in reliever Matt Blank to face Rivera with the bases loaded and the catcher hit the first of two Sounds sacrifice flies of the inning, the other coming one batter later off the bat of Vinny Rottino. Abernathy and Cruz both scored in the frame and brought the Sounds within one at 3-2.

 

AUDIO: Vinny Rottino Sacrifice Fly --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%206-6.wma

 

With the Sounds? two sacrifice flies, they are now tied for the PCL lead with 27 sac flies on the year, sharing the lead with the Las Vegas 51s.

 

After Lehr allowed the first three Isotopes to reach base safely in the top of half of the fourth, he was able to shut down Albuquerque?s offense for a while. He retired 11 batters in a row from the fourth inning through the second out in the seventh.

 

Lehr?s streak was broken up by his pitching counterpart Blank, who singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a Reed RBI double that extended the Albuquerque lead to 4-2.

 

The Sounds threatened in the home half of the ninth as both Clark and Chris Barnwell had one-out singles off Isotopes closer Brad Clontz. Both runners advanced a base on a Tony Gwynn pinch-hit groundout. With runners on second and third, Clontz walked Zach Sorensen to load the bases with two outs. The Sounds were unable to capitalize, however, as the sidewinding hurler struck Abernathy out looking to earn his 10th save of the year.

 

With hits in the game, Barnwell, Abernathy, and Cruz all extended their current hitting streaks. Barnwell increased his streak to eight games, which is currently the longest active streak on the team. Abernathy jumped to five games and Cruz extended his streak to six games to match his longest run of the season.

 

Lehr (0-2) logged seven innings of work and recorded five strikeouts. He was credited with the loss after allowing four runners to cross home on eight hits. Only three of the Isotopes runs were earned.

 

Wilton Chavez threw two innings of one-hit baseball to close out the game for the Sounds.

 

George took a no-decision after he failed to go the required five innings to be eligible for the win. Blank (1-1) picked up his first win of the season by tossing 4 2/3 innings of scoreless one-hit baseball.

 

The Sounds and the entire PCL will take Wednesday off and resume play on Thursday. The Sounds will travel to New Orleans to face off against the Zephyrs in a four-game series, which begins with Thursday?s 7:00 p.m. CDT opener.

 

Southpaw Dana Eveland (3-1, 0.75) will get the starting nod for Nashville to face Zephyrs right-hander Nelson Figueroa (2-1, 5.02), who played for the Sounds in 2003 & 2004.

 

Nashville Box Score:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 5, Huntsville 4, ten innings

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

Blakely Belts Walk-Off Long Ball to Beat Stars

 

Darren Blakely belted a walk-off home run on the first pitch in the bottom half of the tenth inning to give Birmingham a 5-4 win over Huntsville Tuesday night in the final game of a five-game set at the Hoover Met. The Barons won the last two games to square the season series at five games apiece and improve to 26-34, while the Stars dropped to 23-35 overall and 14-16 on the road and failed in an attempt to win four games in a road series for the first time this season.

 

Brett Evert opened the tenth on the hill after Steve Bray had gone three innings in relief of starter Jeff Housman, and Evert suffered his second loss in four outings with the Stars. Blakely, who had entered the game in the eighth inning and scored as a pinch-runner to push the home team?s lead to 4-1, belted a fastball over the wall in right field for his third home run with the Barons and the first walk-off home run against Huntsville this year. The Stars fell to 1-5 in extra inning games, while the Barons improved to 4-4.

 

Steve Moss got the Stars on the board with a one-out home run in the seventh, his third of the season and the visitors first of the series to cut the Barons? lead to 3-1. Huntsville tallied three times in the ninth inning to tie the game at four on an Ehren Wasserman wild pitch that scored Travis Ezi and a two-run single by Adam Heether, who knocked in more than one run in a game for the first time this season.

 

Housman struck out Rob Sasser with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning but gave up the game?s first run in the third when Michael Myers led off with a double and scored on a base hit by Nanita, who hit safely in all five games in the series. Myers walked with one out in the fifth, moved to third base on a hit and run single by Chris Getz and scored on a Nanita fly ball.

 

Thomas Collaro?s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning extended the home team?s lead to 3-1. Housman was taken out after six frames after allowing three runs on seven hits for a second straight start against the Barons. The southpaw issued a season-high three walks, struck out two and left trailing 3-0 in his fourth start on the road. He has received one run of support over his last three starts over a stretch of 17 innings while he has been on the mound.

 

The Stars travel to Jacksonville to open a five-game series Wednesday night.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Brad Nelson just 4-for-26 since joining Huntsville; Lou Palmisano's average back down to .227; Steve Bray's 37-to-2 K/BB ratio in 42.1 innings still impressive...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_biraax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

Such a shame three-run 9th inning rally was wasted...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_biraax_1

[Mass Haas]

Charleston Gazette Photographer: Kenny Kemp

Power first baseman Ned Yost takes a throw from the catcher in a futile effort to pick off Hagerstown?s Nick Evans Tuesday at Appalachian Power Park.

 

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/images/stories/SAFE1.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...006060724/

 

Lum knows how to hit

Michael Dailey

Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter

 

After completing his 15th season as the minor league hitting coordinator for the Chicago White Sox last season, Mike Lum suddenly and unexpectedly found himself looking for a new job.

 

After a decade and a half of service, and on the heels of a World Series championship, the White Sox decided to take its farm system hitting instruction in a different direction.

 

"Maybe I just got stupid over the winter," Lum said jokingly in regards to his departure from the White Sox organization.

 

"This game is a crazy game and it's a business. I understand that there are politics involved in the game. They brought in their own people and that's just a part of the business."

 

Fortunately for Lum, past successes and networking are also big parts of the baseball business. That's why it didn't take him long to land on his feet in the Milwaukee farm system.

 

Nor did it take Lum, a 15-year Major League veteran, to make an impression within the Brewers' system.

 

Almost halfway through his first season as the hitting instructor for the West Virginia Power, Lum's bunch leads the South Atlantic League in hitting with a .280 batting average.

 

For his work with Power hitters, Lum, 60, was chosen Tuesday as the hitting instructor for the SAL Northern Division All-Star team.

 

Lum, along with catcher Angel Salome, third baseman Mat Gamel and right fielder Lorenzo Cain, will represent West Virginia in the 47th Annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game, to be played June 20, at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio.

 

For Lum, the announcement was unexpected but appreciated.

 

"I never expected it," Lum said Tuesday night at Appalachian Power Park.

 

"In fact, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do during the three days off, but now I know what I'm going to do. It's nice to be recognized as one of the coaches.

 

"For the last three weeks, we've swung the bats very well, but the credit goes to the kids. They're good players and what they've done is not try to do too much at the plate. They understand their capabilities and they're executing."

 

Power hitters continued to swing the bats well Tuesday night, pounding out 13 hits in a 6-4 win over the Hagerstown Suns. West Virginia is hitting a strong .315 in its home park this season.

 

The win, in front of 4,085 fans, helped the Power (32-24) remain 2 1/2 games behind division leader Lexington with 13 games to play in the SAL first-half season.

 

All three newly named All-Stars had hits against the Suns (24-37), with Gamel collecting a team-high three hits.

 

Cain added a pair of hits, and Salome had a first-inning single.

 

Speedy outfielder Darren Ford added a pair of hits, while first baseman Ned Yost continued to swing a hot bat with a pair of hits and three RBI.

 

Kevin Roberts (3-6) picked up the win in tossing five innings of one-run, two-hit baseball, before giving way to relievers Wilfredo Laureano and Joe Thatcher.

 

Lum, who played for the Braves, Reds and Cubs during his Major League career, has already left an impression on the Power's young hitters, not only physically, but mentally as well.

 

"He's helped me out a lot," Salome said of Lum. "He's helped me out with everything about my hitting. He's one of the best hitting coaches out there.

 

"I can see a difference at the plate. My plan and my approach at the plate are better now."

 

Gamel concurred.

 

"I've learned a lot from him," Gamel said. "I have a plan when I go to the plate and I try to stick with the plan and not get away from it.

 

"His work on my mechanics has also helped."

 

Lum's belief in the mental approach to hitting was developed and honed as one of the game's best pinch hitters, often considered the toughest job in the game.

 

Lum, who batted .247 with 90 home runs and 431 RBI in 1,517 career games, ranks 11th all-time with 103 career pinch hits.

 

"As a pinch hitter, or at least in that role, you really have to be in the game," Lum said. "You have an idea about when you might be used, but you really don't know when you'll hit.

 

"You have to pay attention to what the pitchers are doing to the hitters."

 

Lum's experiences as a hitter and his mental approach to hitting developed as a pinch hitter, has helped him adjust to life in Class A baseball.

 

"I've never worked at the Class A level," Lum said. "I've always worked as the coordinator or the big league hitting coach. It's big change working with the younger kids, but I'm really loving it.

 

"We're working on more fundamentals at this level. In the Major Leagues, you're working, not so much on their approach, because they're pretty good, but you really work on their mental approach.

 

"It's the same game. It doesn't matter what level you play, amateur, A ball, the Major Leagues ... it's the same game. If you can just get the players to think the right thoughts at the plate, they have a chance."

 

The crowd of 4,085 pushed the Power past 100,000 in attendance for the season. To date, 100,414 fans have gone through Power Park's gates in 28 dates, an average of 3,586.

 

* * *

If the future of the Power is to remain as a Milwaukee Brewers' farm club, then Charleston's Class A baseball club figures to be well-armed.

 

On the first day of the annual June amateur draft, the Brewers loaded up on pitching, selecting 10 hurlers among their 18 picks.

 

Their first-round pick (No. 16 overall) was right-hander Jeremy Jeffress of Halifax County High in South Boston, Va.

 

Jeffress hails from a baseball-strong area in southside Virginia, about a half-hour from the home of current Power right-hander Will Inman, who was a third-round pick in last year's draft. Jeffress' pitching style has been compared to that of former star Dwight Gooden.

 

Jeffress, 18, went 5-1 with a 0.19 ERA this past season at Halifax, striking out 71 in 37 innings. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder was ranked second in the nation in 2006 Best Tools for high school pitchers by Baseball America. He consistently has thrown 95 mph.

 

The Brewers' first-day picks included nine right-handed pitchers, one lefty, a first baseman, two catchers, two shortstops and three left fielders. Nine of the picks are high school products, with seven from four-year colleges and two from junior colleges.

 

Their No. 2 selection was high school shortstop Brent Brewer of Tyrone, Ga. The No. 60 overall choice has made a college football commitment to Florida State as a wide receiver, and may project as an outfielder in the pros.

 

Milwaukee's No. 3 pick was Oregon State outfielder Cole Gillespie, the Pacific 10 Conference player of the year who has led the Beavers into the NCAA's Super Regional round.

 

The Brewers' affiliation with the Power is up for renegotiation, with the clubs' original two-year agreement ending this season.

 

The draft continued today through 50 rounds.

 

Charleston Daily Mail Photo: Tom Hindman

West Virginia Power base runner Michael Brantley safely slides into the bag on a pickoff attempt Tuesday, beating the tag by Hagerstown Suns first baseman Nick Evans. The Power beat the Suns, 6-4, at Appalachian Power Park.

 

http://www.dailymail.com/images/wvapower0607.jpg

[Mass Haas]

FloridaToday.com:

 

Manatees hanging tough in FSL standings

 

Here are five reasons why the Brevard County Manatees are just two games out of first place in the Florida State League standings:

 

1. Batting average. The Manatees are second in the league with a .273 team batting average.

 

2. Starting off. Yovani Gallardo leads the league with 89 strikeouts, while Josh Wahpepah also has been solid. Both starters are heading to the All-Star game.

 

3. Most stars. Brevard County is sending six players -- the most in the league -- to the All-Star Game in Lakeland on June 17.

 

4. They're quick. Brevard County is second in the FSL with 77 stolen bases.

 

5. On a roll. The Manatees had a five-game unbeaten streak broken Tuesday, but have still won seven of their past 11 games.

[DHonks]

Also, while Mark Rogers has been aweful in some starts, he's been very good in 3-5 starts, meaning the team should win those.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Lehr rested but bested; Sounds fall

Isotopes tag starter for three early runs

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Perhaps rest is over-rated.

 

Justin Lehr, the first Nashville Sounds pitcher to work on his scheduled day during the four-game series with visiting Albuquerque, allowed four runs in seven innings Tuesday night as the Isotopes won 4-2 and earned a split.

 

The previous three starters each worked on short rest. Ben Hendrickson and Dennis Sarfate each pitched a day earlier than they usually would, and knuckleballer Jared Fernandez went two days sooner than he typically would.

 

"I think there are advantages to short rest," Nashville pitching coach Stan Kyles said. "Your timing is better; your command of your pitches is much better, particularly for a big, strong guy like Sarfate. His timing (Sunday) was as good as it's been all year."

 

The three combined for a 3.06 earned run average (six earned runs in 17+ innings), allowing 11 hits and walking six while striking out 17, and Hendrickson and Sarfate posted wins while Fernandez got a no-decision after leaving Monday's eventual loss with a 1-1 tie.

 

Tuesday, Lehr ? in just his second start of the season after 16 relief appearances before the Brewers outrighted him to Nashville on May 25 ? gave up three early runs, and after the Sounds cut it to 3-2 in the fourth, Albuquerque picked up a big run in the seventh.

 

"He hasn't had a chance to build up his pitch count," Kyles said. "His command is getting better. He's not quite where he was last year when he was throwing the ball well as a starter."

 

Trailing by two in the final inning, the Sounds managed two baserunners as Jermaine Clark and Chris Barnwell had back-to-back one-out singles ? with Barnwell extending his hitting streak to eight games. The two were stranded at second and third to end the game.

 

"We didn't do a whole lot (offensively)," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said.

 

What they said: "I've just got to get my repetitions and get my fastball in order. When I throw it well, my pitch counts are down. I didn't throw it well in the big leagues. I think this was a step in the right direction to where I want to be." ? Lehr.

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Cruz at best when he's clean-up man

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

As the Nashville Sounds began their four-game series with visiting Albuquerque, outfielder Nelson Cruz had batted fourth in all 51 Sounds games in which he had started, and his numbers ? .290, 13 home runs and 43 RBI, with the latter two among the league leaders ? warranted that cleanup role.

 

With the recent arrival of Graham Koonce and his ensuing insertion into the '4' hole, Cruz has taken a snooze offensively. He was 1-for-5 from the No. 3 spot Saturday and was 1-for-4 hitting fifth Monday. Batting third again Tuesday, Cruz was 1-for-3 ? giving him a .250 average with one RBI and four strikeouts when not hitting cleanup.

 

"It's more a matter of when we face left-handers than anything," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said of the batting order adjustment. "We're just trying to do a little more right/left matchup than anything. But he'll be back in the '4' hole, though you may see him more at '5' behind Koonce; opponents are scared to death of Cruz."

 

Cruz's eighth-inning infield single did extend his hitting streak to six games, matching a season high.

 

"As long as you're in the lineup," Cruz said. "I don't care; it's fine with me."

 

Making the sacrifice: With a rare pair of sacrifice flies in the fourth inning Tuesday, the Sounds moved into a tie for the league lead in that category with Las Vegas. Each now has 27 sacrifice flies.

 

Seems like old times: Nelson Figueroa, who ranks seventh in Sounds all-time pitching victories with 24 (2003-04), is the slated starter for New Orleans when the Zephyrs open a four-game series against visiting Nashville tonight.

 

Figueroa opened the season with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, before the Washington Nationals purchased his contract and assigned him to New Orleans earlier this spring.

 

Eight is great: The Sounds opened play Tuesday with an eight-game lead over second-place Iowa in the PCL American Northern Division, a season high. Last season, the Sounds held a lead of eight games or more on just six dates all season and did not take their first eight-game lead until July 26.

 

Making this team's accomplishment more impressive is the fact that the other three division leaders were only a combined five games ahead of the second-place team as play began Tuesday.

 

Winning tradition: Tuesday night's Sounds roster featured 16 players who have won at least one Class AAA league championship over the previous three seasons.

 

In addition to the 11 players that returned from Nashville's 2005 PCL title team, six current Sounds ? Koonce, Justin Lehr, Mark Johnson, Cruz, Chris Mabeus and Mike Rivera were members of one or both of the Sacramento teams that won back-to-back league crowns in 2003 and '04 (Lehr, Cruz and Rivera were with last year's Sounds).

 

Also, infielders Brent Abernathy and Zach Sorensen both played for Buffalo during that team's 2004 International League championship run.

[Mass Haas]

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Sounds fall short against Isotopes

By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent

 

The Nashville Sounds gave a close-but-no-cigar performance on Tuesday, falling to the Albuquerque Isotopes 4-2 in front of 3,641 fans at Greer Stadium.

 

The Sounds had the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth inning when left fielder Brent Abernathy lost a game-deciding battle with Isotopes closer Brad Clontz. Abernathy battled Clontz to a 2-2 count and fouled off three pitches before he struck out looking at a fastball up in the zone.

 

?Most of the time if you get a pitch to hit, you can?t miss it,? Abernathy said. ?I got a good pitch to hit early in the at-bat and fouled it off. I just tried to battle and put something in play and obviously got beat.?

 

The last two nights, Nashville (33-26) has managed just three runs against the Isotopes. Abernathy said credit was due to Albuquerque pitchers for their role in Nashville?s lackluster offensive effort the past two games. He added the Sounds aren?t concerned about the offense, as the team heads to New Orleans for a four-game stretch starting Thursday.

 

?Their pitchers the last couple nights have done a good job,? Abernathy said. ?Sometimes you?ve got to tip your hat to the other team. It?s not like we?re doing anything differently.?

 

Still, Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said the team missed some opportunities. In the eighth inning, Nashville stranded the tying runs on first and second. In the fourth, when Nashville got both its runs, the team had the bases loaded with no outs but settled for a pair of sacrifice RBIs from Mike Rivera and Vinny Rottino.

 

?They pitched well,? Kremblas said. ?I thought we had some pitches to hit. I didn?t think we swung the bats very well as a whole.

 

?We did a good job with the two sac flies [in the fourth],? Kremblas said. ?In the ninth, you?re looking for a two-out hit. Those aren?t easy to come by and if we get it, we probably win the game.?

 

Albuquerque took advantage of its scoring opportunities. In the first inning, the Isotopes capitalized on an error by Rivera to get on the board. In the fourth, James Shanks launched a two-run homer, his second in as many games. The Isotopes added an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI double from Eric Reed.

 

Nashville starter Justin Lehr allowed all four runs, only three of which were earned. Lehr (0-2) went seven innings, surrendering eight hits en route to the loss.

 

?I thought he threw well,? Kremblas said. ?He made some mistakes and they took advantage.?

 

Nashville City Paper Photo by Mike Strasinger

Eric Reed of the Isotopes scores ahead of the tag of Sounds catcher Mike Rivera as Sounds pitcher Justin Lehr backs up the play during the victory by the Isotopes.

 

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/uploaded/060706sounds.jpg