Link Report for Games of Sunday, April 23rd

[pogokat]

Greg Sain is 2TO

 

Seriously, is this guy actually Joaquin Phoenix's charcter from Signs?

 

He has k'd or hit a homer in about half his ab's...awesome...

 

too bad he absolutely can't do anything else..

 

somebody in huntsville..does this guy look like the cleanup hitter on a slowpitch softball team?

[Athens Badger]

Well you guys are harder on him than I am. I definitely see the ability and the potential. I just don't understand how a guy who throws as hard as he does with good decent offspeed stuff gets hit so hard. Add in the fact that he is wild, which should help reduce hits, and I just bewildered.

[huntsvillefan]

Hey he walked today!!!!

2TO is exactly how I described him to Brian last week.

I remember him destroying us a couple of years ago and even when he was playing against us, there was a peculiar fascination in watching him come to the plate.

He really doesn't look like a slugger, physically in some ways he actually reminds me of Pick. He doesn't seem to have a favorite pitch to hit and he doesn't even seem to hit it particuarily hard. Its a totally random event but when you hear the connection you know its going. I've seen him hit them to extreme left field and extreme right field. Today's was the Greg Sain equivalent of a bloop single only it blooped right over the wall in center field.

Hes not a bad glove at 1B. Every team should have one.

[Mass Haas]

OKLAHOMA CITY ? A play at the plate helped the Oklahoma RedHawks beat the Nashville Sounds 6-5 yesterday at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.

 

Nashville catcher Mark Johnson was thrown out at the plate on a throw from right fielder Will Smith for the last out in the eighth inning to prevent the Sounds from tying the game.

 

Earlier in the inning, Nashville's Nelson Cruz hit his second home run of the game to cut the deficit to one. Chris Barnwell's fly ball was dropped by Smith, but Smith then threw out Johnson trying to score from first base.

 

The game had three ties and two lead changes. The last lead change came in the seventh inning when Oklahoma scored three runs on four consecutive singles off reliever Wilton Chavez (1-1). Sounds left fielder Corey Hart committed a fielding error on Laynce Nix's single, allowing two runs to score. Jason Burke singled Nix home on the next play to give the RedHawks a 6-4 lead.

 

Reliever Erasmo Ramirez (1-0) picked up his first win of the season for Oklahoma and Scott Feldman pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save.

 

Nashville starter Ben Hendrickson pitched six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits.

 

Sounds center fielder Tony Gwynn extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI double.

 

What they said: "Ben made quality pitches, but I also thought he had an opportunity to limit the damage and didn't. It was a quality start, but the game within a game he could have done better." ? Nashville pitching coach Stan Kyles on starter Ben Hendrickson.

 

-- The Tennessean

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Stars back in swing of things

Extra batting practice, strong pitching pays off

By SKIP VAUGHN

For The Huntsville Times skipv@htimes.com

 

The Huntsville Stars have been struggling offensively so they had batting practice at 10 a.m. Sunday, unusual for a day game.

 

That afternoon they responded by beating the Mobile BayBears 3-1 and 6-1 for a doubleheader sweep before an announced crowd of 1,458 at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

"Both games started out the same way. We give up a couple of runs in the first," Stars manager Don Money said. "After that any jams they got into, the pitchers got out."

 

Starting pitcher Corey Thurman benefited from the run production in game two. The former major leaguer went 5 2/3 innings and allowed six hits, one unearned run, one walk and struck out four. Thurman (1-1) notched his first Southern League win and dropped his earned run average to 0.42 after 21 2/3 innings with only one earned run.

 

"When you come off of surgery, it's just a blessing to be able to go out there," said Thurman, who pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002. "I would give myself a 'B' (for Sunday's performance) because I really couldn't find my curveball today."

 

"He didn't have his best stuff today," Stars pitching coach Rich Sauveur said. "But he's a battler and he got through it today by being aggressive with his fastball and changeup. His curveball and slider just didn't show up today."

 

The Stars offense showed up, particularly in game two. Jeff Eure slammed a three-run homer and Greg Sain had a solo shot for Huntsville (10-8).

 

Eure's third homer of the season came on a slider up in the strike zone from Mobile starter Bubba Nelson (1-2) during a four-run fourth inning.

 

"We haven't been scoring a lot of runs," Eure said. "Our pitching staff's been doing a great job. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come, for us to score runs in bunches like that."

 

Drew Anderson led off the fourth with a single and went 2-for-3 with two hits and scored two runs. "I think hitting's contagious," he said.

 

In game one, Ozzie Chavez had two hits with a triple, an RBI, scored a run and stole a base. Andy Pratt (1-0) got the win with 1 1/3 innings in relief of starter Tim Dillard. Joe Winkelsas earned his third save.

 

"Overall we've been playing pretty solid defense," Money said.

 

His midmorning batting practice seemed to awaken the Stars' bats, too. They had five hits in the first game and seven in the second against Mobile (7-11).

 

"It (the batting practice) just made sure you're not lackadaisical," Anderson said. "We were more ready to go, more prepared."

[Mass Haas]

It wasn't the HBP that knocked Koby Clemens out of the West Virginia game in Lexington, but what happened right after:

 

Designated hitter Koby Clemens suffered a dislocated left pinkie finger. Clemens was on base during the second inning when he was hurt, diving back to first on an attempted pickoff play.

 

"The finger just popped out of the joint, probably tore some tendons and broke the skin," Legends Manager Jack Lind said. "He could be out awhile."

 

After a trip to the hospital, Clemens was scheduled to fly last night to Houston for further evaluation.

 

The Legends? Tommy Manzella chased down West Virginia?s Lorenzo Cain before Cain could make it back to first in the fifth inning.

Photos by Joseph Rey Au - Kentucky.com

 

http://www.kentucky.com/images/kentucky/kentucky/14413/207744671513.jpg

 

Lexington?s Mike Thompson was picked off in the fourth by catcher Angel Salome (throw to Kenny Holmberg). Said Manager Jack Lind: ?It was kind of a Twilight Zone, beer league baseball game.?

 

http://www.kentucky.com/images/kentucky/kentucky/14413/207744628274.jpg