Link Report for Games of Sunday, May 14th (Hi, Mom!)

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Sunday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Corey Thurman at Las Vegas (Dodgers), 1:45 PM pre-game, 2:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: RHP Tim Dillard at Tennessee (Diamondbacks), 12:45 PM pre-game, 1:00 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.espn1450.com/

 

Brevard County: Idle

 

West Virginia: Idle

[Mass Haas]

Follow Sunday'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_lvgaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_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 Saturday's action:

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 22 14 .611 - 11-5 11-9 W1[/b] Omaha 16 19 .457 5.5 10-9 6-10 L1 Iowa 13 21 .382 8.0 7-11 6-10 L2 Memphis 12 22 .353 9.0 8-8 4-14 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 25 12 .676 - 15-5 10-7 W1 West Tenn 23 14 .622 2.0 8-7 15-7 W5 [b]Huntsville 18 18 .500 6.5 9-10 9-8 W1[/b] Tennessee 17 20 .459 8.0 10-7 7-13 L1 Carolina 16 21 .432 9.0 9-8 7-13 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 22 13 .629 - 9-8 13-5 L1 Palm Beach 19 16 .543 3.0 7-7 12-9 L1 [b]Brevard County 18 17 .514 4.0 6-10 12-7 W1[/b] Daytona 16 20 .444 6.5 8-9 8-11 W2 Jupiter 15 21 .417 7.5 8-14 7-7 L1 Vero Beach 12 24 .333 10.5 8-13 4-11 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lexington 21 14 .600 - 12-5 9-9 W3 Delmarva 19 15 .559 1.5 9-9 10-6 W1 Lake County 18 17 .514 3.0 8-9 10-8 L1 Greensboro 17 17 .500 3.5 11-6 6-11 L2 [b]West Virginia 17 17 .500 3.5 7-8 10-9 L1[/b] Lakewood 17 18 .486 4.0 10-6 7-12 W2 Hagerstown 15 19 .441 5.5 9-8 6-11 L2 Hickory 13 20 .394 7.0 5-8 8-12 L1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Covering the bases (through Friday's games)

Paul Gattis, Huntsville Times

 

Huntsville manager Don Money's meeting with his hitters didn't pay off immediately. The Stars collected only six hits in Friday's 5-1 loss at Tennessee to start a 10-game road trip. Money spent about 45 minutes in a closed-door, postgame meeting with his position players following Thursday's 5-2 loss to Montgomery to discuss their hitting woes. The Stars are last in the Southern League with an alarming .218 team batting average. In fact, of the 30 Double-A teams in the minor leagues, only the Erie Seawolves have a lower average at .213. It's a mystery to Money as he watches his batters work the count into their favor, then not take advantage of the hittable pitches that follow. Money described his batters as "keyholing it," baseball jargon for looking for a pitch in a spot about the size of a keyhole. One example Money made last week was a batter who is ahead in the count 2-0 who then takes a fastball down the middle of the plate. The batter told Money he was looking for a pitch "on the inner third of the plate" and, therefore, didn't swing. That, of course, is just one problem plaguing the Stars on a team that has no shortage of problems.

 

Two regulars are hitting below .200. Third baseman Adam Heether is at .198 and has just one extra-base hit, a double, in 111 at-bats. He hit .306 last year in a season split between Single-A Brevard County and Huntsville. He also had five doubles among his 16 hits with the Stars last year. First baseman Greg Sain led the league with 28 home runs in 2004 while playing for Mobile and hit .273 in 56 games last year at Triple-A Portland. But this season, Sain is hitting .154 and is mired in a 3-for-44 slump. Left fielder Drew Anderson, however, appears to be warming up. He's five for his last seven with three doubles and two runs scored. Still, that spurt raised Anderson's average to just .248.

 

The Milwaukee Brewers hope they have found a diamond in the rough, acquiring pitcher Travis Phelps from Camden of the independent Atlantic League. Phelps joined the Stars on Friday in Sevierville, Tenn., for the series with Tennessee. He pitched in 75 games with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 2001-02 and appeared in four games for the Brewers in '04. Phelps will help bolster a pitching staff that lost starter Corey Thurman and reliever Alec Zumwalt to promotions to Triple-A Nashville last week. ... Money said that Joe Winkelsas will become the Stars' primary closer in the wake of Zumwalt's departure. Winkelsas is 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA and three saves. Winkelsas pitched in one game with the Atlanta Braves in 1999. ...

 

The next time pitcher Khalid Ballouli has success, he may just decline it. He was 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts in being named the league's pitcher of the week for May 1-8. But in his first start after receiving that honor, he lasted one-third of an inning in Thursday's strange wet-field-delayed game and was charged with four runs after reliever Stephen Bray surrendered a grand slam after Ballouli had put the three runners on base. And he came out of the game with a tight shoulder that could put him on the shelf for a couple of weeks.

 

Around the league

 

If the name of Tennessee pitcher Micah Owings sounds familiar to Alabama fans, it should. Owings led Tulane to two wins in eliminating the Crimson Tide in last year's NCAA Tournament. In the first Green Wave win, Owings hit two home runs and drove in five runs in a 10-4 triumph. In the second win, Owings pitched seven strong innings to get the win in a 7-4 victory. Owings won his team-high fourth game Friday over the Stars and is 4-1 with a 2.70 ERA in seven starts. Owings was selected in the third round of the amateur draft last year by the Arizona Diamondbacks. ... Another familiar name is Aaron Herr, son of former St. Louis Cardinals all-star Tommy Herr. Aaron leads the sizzling Lookouts with a .296 average and 30 RBIs. ... Former Star Noochie Varner is having a nice season with the Lookouts as well, hitting .286 with 12 RBIs.

 

Brewings

 

Triple-A Nashville Sounds (21-14, first place in Pacific Coast League American North): Former Star Dennis Sarfate is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in seven starts.

 

Single-A Brevard County (17-17, third place in Florida State League East): P Josh Alliston has a 0.82 ERA and five saves in 11 games.

 

Single-A West Virginia (17-16, tied for fourth place in South Atlantic League Northern): OF Lorenzo Cain is hitting .318 with three homers and 15 RBIs.

 

On deck

 

The Stars play at Tennessee through Tuesday before going to first-place Chattanooga for five games starting Wednesday. The Stars don't return to Joe Davis Stadium until May 23 to kick off a 10-game homestand with Jacksonville and West Tenn.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 6, Tennessee (Diamondbacks) 4, ten innings

Details from Stars' site shortly...

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Lou Palmisano's two-out two-run single in the 10th the difference; two bunt singles set up the four-run 4th, capped by Tim Dillard's RBI single -- the Stars love that 4th inning this year; Adam Heether three singles, still waiting for the extra-base hits, but he'll take the 3-for-5 day; Ron Acuna and Guilder Rodriguez each reach base three times; that's the ground-ball machine Dillard who won Organization Pitcher of the Year in 2005; until Steve Bray (1.88 ERA) walks someone, we'll continue to highlight this ratio: zero walks, 25 K's in 28.2 IP...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

Nice win, but in four innings the leadoff man reached and didn't score...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=830

 

Palmisano Delivers Clutch Hit in Extras

 

Lou Palmisano delivered a two-out, two-run single in the tenth inning to push Huntsville past Tennessee 6-4 Sunday afternoon at Smokies Park. The Stars won their second straight game after dropping the opener of the five-game set to improve to 19-18 on the season, 10-8 away from home and pick up their first win in four extra inning games, while the Smokies fell to 17-21. The six runs scored were the most for the Stars since an 8-0 win over the Smokies on May 1 and their 12 hits were the most since they collected a dozen in a 7-1 win over Montgomery on April 19.

 

Doug Slaten opened the tenth inning on the hill for the Smokies and gave up a one-out single to Ron Acuna, who had his second straight two-hit game of the series. Adam Heether singled up the middle with two outs and the ball caromed off the glove of shortstop Alberto Gonzalez into shallow right field to allow Acuna to advance to third base. Heether stole second base and both runners scored when Palmisano followed with a single into center field in his first at-bat of the day after replacing J.C. Boscan, who had been lifted for a pinch-runner in the ninth inning. Joe Winkelsas retired the side in order in the tenth to earn his fourth save of the season and the Stars? 11th in eleven chances.

 

Tennessee had tied the game in the eighth inning on a solo home run by Miguel Montero, the first batter faced by Huntsville reliever Russ Rohlicek. The Smokies had scored in the sixth inning on run-scoring ground outs by Montero and Jamie D?Antona to slice the Stars? lead to 4-3.

 

Huntsville posted four runs in the fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead and scored multiple runs in an inning for the first time since a four-run fourth against Montgomery seven days ago. Heether singled in the first run, Boscan was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the second run, Guilder Rodriguez bounced into a double play with the bases loaded to plate a third run and starting pitcher Tim Dillard capped the rally with a single to chase home Heether.

 

Dillard retired the first 11 hitters he faced, making it 36 out of 37 set down by he and Carlos Villanueva over two games, before giving up a two-out single to Montero in the fourth. He went a season-high seven innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Steve Bray picked up the win with a scoreless ninth inning and matched Villanueva for the team lead with four victories.

 

The series continues Monday night when the Stars send right-hander Travis Phelps to the mound against Smokies? southpaw Clint Goocher. Coverage of the game begins at 6:00 p.m. central time and can be heard on ESPN Radio 1450 AM locally and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Lou Palmisano photo courtesy of Ponderphoto.com via the Stars' site:

 

http://www.huntsvillestars.com/images/news/palmisanobt.JPG

[Mass Haas]

Final: Las Vegas (Dodgers) 15, Nashville 5

Details from Sounds site later on...

 

Nashville Box Score:

Corey Thurman's Nashville debut not quite as one would hope; Tony Gwynn on base three times -- 11-for-13 in SB attempts; Dave Krynzel on base three times; Nelson Cruz slumping just a bit; Brad Nelson on base four times -- much needed; Vinny Rottino finally sees some mop-up duty at catcher; Chris Barnwell ejected, likely for arguing balls and strikes (three K's)...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_lvgaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

RHP Alec Zumwalt always a threat with the bat, two-run single; only three half-innings in the game were 1-2-3...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_lvgaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1949

 

51s Pound Thurman, Sounds In 15-5 Rout

 

LAS VEGAS, Nev. ? The Nashville Sounds allowed a season-high 15 runs and suffered their biggest loss of the year on Sunday afternoon at Cashman Field, where they fell 15-5 to the host Las Vegas 51s in the second game of the teams? four-game series.

 

James Loney paced the Las Vegas offense with a season-best five RBIs. The 22-year-old slammed a three-run homer, his first blast of the season, in the seventh inning. He also delivered an RBI double in a two-run sixth and a sacrifice fly that sparked a four-run first.

 

After the Sounds grabbed an early 1-0 lead on Brad Nelson?s run-scoring single in the top of the first, Sergio Garcia hammered a three-run shot in the bottom of the frame for Las Vegas (23-14) and the home team held the lead the rest of the way.

 

AUDIO: Brad Nelson RBI Single --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...205-14.wma

 

The 20 hits and 15 runs were the most this year for the 51s.

 

51s starter Chad Billingsley (4-0) picked up the victory by throwing five innings and allowing one run on three hits with three walks, while matching his season high with nine strikeouts.

 

Reliever Alec Zumwalt drove in a team-best two runs, and Nelson, Nelson Cruz, and Brent Abernathy each picked up an RBI for the Sounds (22-15), who dropped their seventh contest in the their last 10.

 

Nashville starter Corey Thurman (0-1) took the loss in his first appearance for the club. He gave up nine runs on as many hits with two walks and a strikeout over three frames.

 

Chris Barnwell went 1-for-4 to extend his consecutive games on-base streak to 29 before being ejected by the home plate umpire in the eighth inning, the Sounds? first ejection of the season. As a result, Mike Rivera entered the game and played the final inning of defense at third base, his first career appearance at the position. He was not involved in any defensive plays at the hot corner.

 

The teams continue their series with a 9:05 p.m. CT meeting on Monday. Right-hander Dennis Sarfate (1-0, 2.70) mans the bump for the Sounds to face 51s right-hander D.J. Houlton (0-4, 5.65).

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.knoxnews.com/kns/smok...76,00.html

 

Stars finally finish what they start

Smokies' rally not enough in 6-4 loss

By BRAD GASKINS, Special to the Knoxville News Sentinel

 

SEVIERVILLE - Huntsville's Lou Palmisano wanted a good pitch to hit.

 

Tennessee's Doug Slaten gave him one in the top of the 10th inning Sunday afternoon at Smokies Park.

 

Slaten threw a changeup away, and Palmisano slapped it up the middle to score two runs as Huntsville beat the Smokies 6-4 in a Southern League game before a Mother's Day gathering of 1,973.

 

"These (close ones) are the games that add up in the end," Palmisano said. "It's good to win games like this."

 

Tennessee (17-21) trailed by four runs after the fourth inning, but tied the game at 4-4 in the eighth.

 

"We battled all the way back and tied the ballgame after being down," Tennessee manager Bill Plummer said. "Unfortunately, we just couldn't get ourselves in a situation to score a run late."

 

Huntsville (19-18) hadn't scored this many runs since beating the Smokies 8-0 on May 1. The Stars hadn't had at least 10 hits since April 27, manager Don Money said.

 

"We don't score a lot," he said.

 

The Smokies managed eight hits after having just one the previous night in a 4-0 loss to Huntsville.

 

Huntsville scored four runs off Tennessee starting pitcher Garrett Mock in the fourth inning for a 4-0 lead.

 

"We take that lead and start cruising along," Money said.

 

Tennessee's Alberto Gonzalez doubled in the fifth to score Jon Zeringue from first base. The Smokies added two runs in the sixth off RBIs from Miguel Montero and Jamie D'Antona to cut the deficit to 4-3.

 

Huntsville starting pitcher Tim Dillard left after seven innings in which he gave up five hits, three runs - one of those earned - and had five strikeouts.

 

"The last two outings now, he's been moving more aggressively and going after the hitters," Money said of Dillard. "He ended up not picking up the win, but he pitched well enough to win."

 

Left-handed reliever Russ Rohlicek came in to start the eighth, and Montero welcomed him with a homer to tie the game.

 

"I wasn't trying to hit a homer," Montero said, "just make good, solid contact. I hit it good."

 

Tony Pena pitched for Tennessee in the ninth, and got himself in a jam by giving up a double to the first batter he faced. Ozzie Chavez came in to pinch run for J.C. Boscan at second, and advanced to third with none out.

 

Pena took the next three batters to a full count and grounded out Steve Moss and Kennard Bibbs while striking out Callix Crabbe to end the threat.

 

"He did a great job getting out of a jam," Plummer. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to take that momentum and turn it around towards us and give us an opportunity to win.

 

"It's just one of those ballgames. You've got to come back Monday (for Game 3 of the four-game series)."

 

Slaten (0-3) took the mound for the 10th and gave up three hits and two runs.

 

Stephen Bray (4-1) got the win for Huntsville, and Joe Winkelsas secured his fourth save.

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

PALMISANO PULLS IT OUT

Down 0-and-2 in the count with two out in the 10th inning, Lou Palmisano delivered a two-run single to beat the Tennessee Smokies for the 2nd straight time, 6-4........ The Stars got off to a 4-1 start for Tim Dillard, coming up with the first honest-to-goodness rally since scoring four in the 4th, May 7, to beat Montgomery........ And for the fifth time this season, the Stars in their 36th game of the season, scraped out more than 10 hits. The 1991 team that finished with a batting average of .231, worst in Stars' history, didn't get their fifth ten-hit game until the 49th game of the season.

 

Mothers Day at Smokies Park........ Happy Mothers Day to all your mothers. My sister and I walked over with mine to a Japanese restaurant near her house....... Overcast skies made it feel like a crisp fall morning in eastern Tennessee. The weather has no respect, but the Smokies showed some by wearing the logo across their uniforms in pink, numbers on the back outlined in pink, and an embroidered pink ribbon on the cap in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Day.......

 

The Stars seized a golden opportunity in the top of the 4th by loading the bases with no one out. Drew Anderson pushed a bunt on the first base side for a hit, followed by a walk to Ron Acuna....... Jeff Eure, in again at first base for the Stars, dropped a perfect bunt on the 3rd base side to load the bases. James D'Antona could do nothing but hold the ball in his bare hand....... Adam Heether, with just two RBIs in his last 18 games, on a two-strike pitch shot a ground ball through the right side for a hit, scoring Anderson and loading the bases again. Heether, coming in with a .150 average this month, had his first three-hit day of the season to raise his average to .208....... Garrett Mock, trying to keep from becoming the league's first five-game loser, hit Jean Boscan with his first pitch too far inside. That forced in Acuna, and it was 2-0......... Guilder Rodriguez hit into a double play, but it brought in another run making it 3-0....... With Heether on 3rd, Dillard, who was a good hitter before his conversion from catching to pitching according to his grandparents, helped his own cause by lining a single to center......... And so, for the first time in ten days, the Stars came up with their first honest-to-goodness rally since a four-run 4th vs. Montgomery in the first game of the last series.

 

Alberto Gonzalez drove in the Smokies' 1st run in the bottom of the 4th on a two-out double, but Dillard had what I thought was a comfortable enough lead to give him his 3rd victory.

 

Not so....... The Smokies scored two more in the 5th resulting from a throwing error on what should have been a double-play grounder off the bat of Jerry Gil. Ground outs by Miguel Montero and James D'Antona made the score 4-3....... Would the bullpen, with a 2.50 ERA, hold this lead for three innings? Dillard had just finished his longest outing of the year, and had done a fine job, throwing 51 pitches through the first four innings in contrast to the 80 pitches he needed to get through at home vs. Tennessee on April 28th.

 

Russ Rohlicek, the tough left-hander with a 1.35 ERA, seemed the man to set up Joe Winkelsas for the save, but Miguel Montero, who stood between Carlos Villanueva's no-hitter last night, hammered a home run, his 5th of the year, the 2nd off a left-hand pitcher to tie the game........ Steve Bray held the Smokies to one hit in the 9th, after the Stars failed in the top of the inning despite a lead-off double by Boscan. Ozzie Chavez, pinch-running for Boscan, was left stranded on third with one out after Steve Moss and Kennard Bibbs both grounded out.

 

In the 10th with two out, Heether came up with Acuna on first after his one-out single to center........ Heether, on a 2-0 pitch from reliever Doug Slaten, bounced a ball up the middle off the glove of shortstop Gonzalez for his 3rd hit to keep the inning alive. That sent Acuna to third....... Palmisano had already won a ballgame May 2 against West Tennessee on a two-out homer. Since then, he was 4-for-19 (.211)....... Heether stole 2nd on an 0-2 pitch to Palmisano. Montero faked a throw, but left the job to get out of the inning to Slaten, who had been holding right-handed hitters to just above a .210 average so far this season....... Palmisano had only one hit in 10 trips with runners in scoring position and two out, but throw away the stats, they don't mean a thing. Palmisano bounced a ground ball back through the middle for the big 2-out hit to give the Stars a 6-4 lead. Winkelsas retired the Smokies in order in the 10th and the Stars were back above .500.

 

Monday night, the Stars will send Travis Phelps in his debut with the Stars against Clint Goocher. Goocher, a favorite target for Stars hitters in the past, has given up nine runs in his last 13 innings and is 3-2, 5.16 overall.

 

Jeff Housman will come off the disabled list Wednesday. He threw 55 pitches in a bullpen session and felt fine, but he will start out in the bullpen for the time being........ In Sunday's pre-game show, pitching coach Rich Sauveur said Winkelsas will now be the Stars' primary closer. he had been sharing the role with Alec Zumwalt, who left for Nashville with five saves. No surprise here......... Newly-acquired Matt Smith will go in as the set-up guy after a start on Tuesday in the final game of the series with Tennessee....... Drew Anderson extended his hitting streak to nine games with his leadoff bunt single in the 4th.