Jump to content
Brewer Fanatic

Link Report for Fri 9/16 - Sounds Win! PCL Champions!!

Mass Haas

By Mass Haas,
in Brewers Minor League Talk

Recommended Posts

Mass Haas GOAT

Mass Haas

Brewer Fanatic Staff
Posted
  • Author
Posted

Is tonight's Link Report the final one for 2005? Let's hope so! Go Sounds!

 

Friday's Daily Menu:

 

Nashville: RHP Gary Glover at Tacoma (Mariners), 8:45 PM Central Time pre-game, 9:05 gametime -- game three in the best-of-five series; Sounds lead, 2-0

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mass Haas GOAT

Mass Haas

Brewer Fanatic Staff
Posted
  • Author
Posted

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.tennessean.com/apps/p...328/SPORTS

 

Sounds hoping Glover can end series tonight

One win from title, turn to consistent starter

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

It may seem obvious, but the Nashville Sounds' best chance to win the Pacific Coast League postseason championship may come tonight.

 

As the series moves from Nashville ? where the Sounds won the first two games of the best-of-five series with Tacoma ? to the Pacific Northwest, Gary Glover is set to take the mound for tonight's Game 3.

 

The veteran right-hander was designated for assignment by Milwaukee on June 11, subsequently cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to the Sounds.

 

Opening with a five-inning, eight-strikeout performance in a June 14 win over Albuquerque, he's been the team's most reliable starter since moving into the rotation.

 

Glover was 6-2, including six no-decisions, with a 3.03 earned run average during the regular season. He got the team off to a good start in the American Conference playoffs with a five-inning, two-run outing in a 5-4 victory at Oklahoma.

 

He earned the decision in that game and in the series-clinching Game 5, throwing 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief.

 

"It's just another game," Glover said of tonight's start.

 

"I'm going to go out and throw the same way, and hopefully go out and win it. Hopefully we can keep the intensity going. If we can do that, (tonight) should be the last game."

 

While Glover has proven solid, the starting options for Games 4 and 5 have been less effective.

 

Dennis Sarfate, tomorrow's scheduled starter, made just one regular-season start for the Sounds after coming up from Double-A Huntsville on Aug. 29.

 

However, he did pick up the must-win in Game 4 against Oklahoma. In three Nashville appearances, Sarfate is 1-1 with a 2.12 earned run average.

 

Ben Hendrickson, scheduled to start Sunday's fifth and final game, opened the championship series with a win but allowed four runs on nine hits ? including a pair of home runs ? in five innings. He was 6-12 with a 4.97 ERA during the regular season and did not win his first start until May 30, and lost his last three regular-season decisions before taking a no-decision in the Sounds' Game 2 loss at Oklahoma.

 

"It's nice to be up 2-0 going out there, and we've got Glover going," Sounds shortstop Steve Scarborough said. "You'd think it's an advantage, but we're not looking ahead to anything. We're not sizing our (championship) rings yet."

 

Nashville has not won a league championship since the 1982 team won the Southern League.

 

The 1979 team also won the Southern League.

 

Maurice Patton covers the Sounds for The Tennessean. Reach him at mopatton@tennessean.com.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mass Haas GOAT

Mass Haas

Brewer Fanatic Staff
Posted
  • Author
Posted

Nashville Media Notes for Friday (PDF format):

Outfielder Nelson Cruz, who helped Sacramento win the PCL title a year ago, leads all PCL batters with eight RBIs this postseason and is tied for the lead with his three home runs and four extra-base hits....

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JoeHova First Round Pick

JoeHova

Verified Member
Posted
Posted

wow, what an ending. Congratulations to the 2005 Pacicfic Coast League Champions, the Nashville Sounds.

 

2 outs in the top of the 13th, Corey Hart reaches on an error by the SS. Zuniga draws a clutch 8 pitch walk to bring the best hitter on the team up, and Cruz comes through with a 3-run homer. 2nd straight year that Cruz has been on the PCL Championship winning team. CALL THIS MAN UP!

 

 

edit: forgot to mention that Evert (who pitched the 11th, 12th, and 13th!) struck out former minor league fan favorite Bucky Jacobsen to end the game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JoeHova First Round Pick

JoeHova

Verified Member
Posted
Posted
Quote:
I sure hope Nelson Cruz comes up.

 

 

me too. He should be starting in RF tomorrow for the Brewers. It would be nice to give Jenkins another couple days off, and Ned apparently feels that Corey is too bad defensively and Chris is too bad offensively to give Geoff any extended (2-3 day) rest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mass Haas GOAT

Mass Haas

Brewer Fanatic Staff
Posted
  • Author
Posted

Final: Nashville 5, Tacoma (Mariners) 2, 13 innings

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

 

Link, then text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1808

 

Cruz Homers Sounds To 2005 PCL Title!!

TACOMA ? Series MVP Nelson Cruz crushed a three-run homer on the first pitch he saw from Tacoma reliever Cha Seung Baek with two outs in the top of the thirteenth inning to give the Nashville Sounds a 5-2 victory and the 2005 Pacific Coast League championship on Friday evening at Cheney Stadium in Game 3 of the best-of-five series.

 

The homer, which scored Corey Hart and Tony Zuniga, was Cruz?s league-leading fourth of the postseason and third of the series against Rainiers pitching. The young outfielder also paced all PCL hitters with his 11 postseason RBIs.

 

The Sounds bullpen turned in an outstanding game, combining for 6 1/3 innings of scoreless relief behind starter Gary Glover ? including Brett Evert (1-0) working out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam unscathed in the bottom of the twelfth inning.

 

The league title is Nashville?s first in 23 years, dating back to the 1982 Southern League crown, and the third in the franchise?s 28-year history. The Sounds swept the 2005 PCL Championship Series, 3-0.

 

Shortstop Steve Scarborough gave the Sounds a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when he hammered an 0-1 offering from Damian Moss deep to left for his second home run of the postseason.

 

Nashville doubled the advantage in the sixth with an unearned run against Moss. Nelson Cruz reached second on a two-base fielding error when Tacoma second baseman Hunter Brown dropped a popup in short right. Catcher Mike Rivera followed with an RBI single to center.

 

Tacoma tied it in the bottom of the seventh when T.J. Bohn drove Glover?s 105th pitch of the ballgame to the wall in right-center for a two-out, two-run double that scored Wiki Gonzalez and Aaron Rifkin. Both players had singled earlier in the inning.

 

Evert earned the victory after tossing three scoreless frames. Andrew Lorraine (0-1) took the loss after being charged with two unearned runs on Cruz?s game-winning homer.

 

Glover, who took a no-decision, pitched magnificently through the first six frames before tiring in the seventh. The veteran allowed two runs on five hits while striking out six over his 6 2/3 innings of work.

 

Nashville Gameday Gamecast Link:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tacaaa_1

 

Nashville Box Score:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;did=milb

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tacaaa_1

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mass Haas GOAT

Mass Haas

Brewer Fanatic Staff
Posted
  • Author
Posted

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.thenewstribune.com/sp...3313c.html

 

Extra effort, but a sweep

COREY BROCK; The Tacoma News Tribune

 

After two games of offensive fireworks, there was no indication the Pacific Coast League championship series would be decided by pitching.

 

For the most part, it was.

 

Nashville showed its softer side Friday night in a 5-2, 13-inning victory over the Tacoma Rainiers that gave the Sounds a three-game sweep and their first league title.

 

In front of 5,233 at Cheney Stadium, the Sounds prevailed thanks in large part to the pitching of Gary Glover and relievers Alec Zumwalt, Mike Adams and Brett Evert.

 

Which isn?t to say the Sounds didn?t hit. Especially when it mattered most.

 

Nelson Cruz?s three-run home run in the 13th inning - all three runs were unearned because of a throwing error by Tacoma shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera - off Cha Seung Baek set off Nashville?s celebration.

 

The Sounds - who won a Class AA Southern League title in 1982 - lost the 2003 PCL championship series to Sacramento.

 

The Rainiers, co-champions of the PCL in 1978 and again in 2001, were trying to win their first outright title since 1969.

 

Tacoma had a chance to win it in the 12th, loading the bases with one out, but Evert worked out of the jam by getting Reñe Rivera to pop out in foul territory and Cabrera on a comebacker.

 

Glover and the three relievers tamed a Rainiers lineup that mashed six home runs in the first two games of the series. Tacoma had two runs on just six hits.

 

Glover - the lone PCL pitcher with more than one victory (he now has three) in the postseason - kept the Rainiers? attack grounded by mixing his pitches and hitting corners.

 

Glover allowed a single to catcher Rivera in the third and retired the next eight hitters before Rivera doubled with one out in the sixth.

 

Tacoma finally got to Glover in the seventh.

 

With one out, Wiki Gonzalez and Aaron Rifkin reached base on consecutive singles.

 

Glover then struck out Hunter Brown but allowed a two-run double by T.J. Bohn to the wall in right-center field.

 

Tacoma returned to Cheney Stadium after allowing a combined 19 runs in the first two games of the series. But pitching wasn?t so much to blame Friday.

 

Damian Moss entered the game with a 7.50 ERA in two postseason appearances but was in command against Nashville.

 

The 28-year-old Australian allowed one earned run on six hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out two.

 

Moss got some help from his teammates on several occasions.

 

After committing five errors in Wednesday?s 11-5 loss in Game 2, Tacoma?s defense came up with a big play in the second inning to thwart a possible scoring opportunity for the Sounds.

 

Nashville designated hitter Tony Zuniga lined a low shot off Moss, and Rainiers left fielder Shin Soo Choo tried to make a sliding catch. Instead, the ball scooted past Choo for a double.

 

Cruz then lifted a fly ball into center field that Bohn - who has an above-average arm - settled under. Seeing Zuniga tag up, Bohn then fired a one-hop strike to Justin Leone at third base to nab Zuniga by roughly five feet.

 

The Rainiers? defense came up big again in the fifth when the Sounds loaded the bases with one out. That?s when Moss uncorked a pitch that sailed high and wide to the backstop.

 

Nashville?s Ryan Knox - who reached on a walk to start the inning - took off for home and appeared to get a hand on the plate just before Moss, covering on the play, dropped a tag on him. But plate umpire Kevin Kelly saw it differently and called Knox out.

 

Dave Krynzel then grounded out to Brown at second to end the inning.

 

No amount of good defense could prevent the Sounds? first run from scoring in the third, though. Steve Scarborough, Nashville?s No. 9 hitter, got hold of a 0-1 fastball from Moss and sent it well over the fence in left field for a 1-0 Nashville lead.

 

Tacoma?s otherwise strong defense played a role in the Sounds? second run of the game in the sixth.

 

With two out and none on, Cruz sent a towering pop fly to short right field that Brown tracked all the way. But the ball seemed to drift on him at the last second, falling fair beyond his reach for an error.

 

Cruz alertly took second on the play and scored on Mike Rivera?s bloop single to center for a 2-0 lead.

 

Nashville's Trent Durrington, left, congratulates Steve Scarborough after Scarborough hit a two-run homer. The Sounds defeated Tacoma 5-2 in 13 innings to win the Pacific Coact League championship.

THE TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE

 

http://www.thenewstribune.com/images/unisys-images/20050917-images/spt0917_rainiers_p3.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mass Haas GOAT

Mass Haas

Brewer Fanatic Staff
Posted
  • Author
Posted

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Cruz, Sounds win PCL in 13

Sweep Tacoma for title with three-run homer

By JASON CHURCHILL

Special to The Tennessean

 

TACOMA, Wash. ? Nelson Cruz handed Nashville the Pacific Coast League Championship on a silver platter. Cruz?s three-run home run in the top of the 13th inning capped off a series sweep of the Tacoma Rainiers with a 5-2 win at Cheney Stadium last night, crowning Nashville a champion.

 

The marathon third game of the championship series lasted more than four hours and consisted of solid pitching on both sides. But the Sounds? bullpen lasted one batter longer than the Rainiers relief corps. That batter was Cruz, who finished the series with three home runs and 11 RBI.

 

"This team can do anything," Cruz said. "It's no surprise (winning late). We have done this all year, all of the guys."

 

Nashville started off the scoring in the third when shortstop Steve Scarborough hit a solo home run off Tacoma starter Damian Moss and added a second in the sixth on a single by Mike Rivera.

 

The lead stood until the seventh inning when Tacoma?s T.J. Bohn doubled in a pair to tie the score at two, eventually sending the game into extra innings.

 

Sounds starter Gary Glover tamed the Rainiers for six innings until Bohn?s two-out double. Glover allowed five hits in 6-2/3 innings, walking just one and striking out six.

 

"Our pitching was terrific tonight," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "We didn't end the year with the same club, but these guys battled every day."

 

Cruz?s heroics may never have been if not for a throwing error by Cabrera, the Rainiers? shortstop, with two outs. Corey Hart reached after Cabrera?s throw was low and wide of first baseman Aaron Rifkin.

 

Tacoma Manager Dan Rohn replaced southpaw Andrew Lorraine with right-hander Cha Seung Baek, specifically to face Cruz.

 

Cruz sent Baek?s 1-0 pitch deep into the left-field night, enticing an eruption from the Sounds dugout as Cruz rounded the bases.

 

"I knew it was gone," Cruz said.

 

Nashville?s bullpen tossed 6-2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits with Evert, a former Tacoma Rainier, striking out Bucky Jacobsen for the final out of the ballgame.

 

Strike three was delayed due to Jacobsen?s check swing, but as soon as home plate umpire Kevin Kelley raised his right arm, Rivera raced to the mound to leap into the arms of Evert, starting the celebration.

 

"I was just relieved. I sighed in relief," Evert said. "This is great. To do it here with this team, it couldn't get any better."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ralph Wiggum College Ball

Ralph Wiggum

Verified Member
Posted
Posted

This is really awesome. This team, even after being pillage (arg, matey!) by the Brewers, had enough dillegence to win the whole thing. Good for them!

 

And you know what...the championship wasn't won by a team full of AAAA players (like the one that Indy won a few years ago). Legit prospects like Nelson Cruz, Mike Adams, Jeff Bennett, Brett Evert, Ben Hendrickson, Jeff Housman, Dave Krynzel, John Novinsky, Vinny Rottino, Dennis Sarfate, Mitch Stetter and Alec Zumwalt contributed to this win. Career minor leaguer Tony Zuniga (30 yrs old) hit .323 for the Sounds after scuffling at AA! I would say that all of these players (besides maybe Zuniga) have legit opportunities to play in the majors at some point.

 

I wouldn't bee surprised to see Cruz, Adams, Bennett, Sarfate and Stetter break camp with the big club next year, with hopefully Evert, Hendrickson, Krynzel and Rottino waiting in the wings. Alec Zumwalt has proven that Capellan wasn't the only pitcher with upside we got for Dan Kolb. There is a heck of a lot of talent in this organization, and the credit should be going to our front office personnel. Go future Brewers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mass Haas GOAT

Mass Haas

Brewer Fanatic Staff
Posted
  • Author
Posted

Plenty of new quotes in this article:

 

Link while active, text follows --

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp

 

Sounds capture PCL championship

By Tim Leonard / MLB.com

 

The waiting is over. After 23 years, the Nashville Sounds are champions again.

 

Nelson Cruz launched a three-run homer off Cha Seung Baek with two outs in the 13th inning that sent the Sounds to a 5-2 victory over the Tacoma Rainiers on Friday and a sweep of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series.

 

"I needed something to drive. I'd been looking all game," said Cruz, who also won the PCL title last season with Sacramento. "I looked for a fastball and I got it, a little bit away. I knew it was going."

 

The championship drought ended in Nashville's first season as an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Nashville was a Southern League affiliate of the New York Yankees the last time the Sounds won a title in 1982. Among the players on that team were Buck Showalter, Otis Nixon, Rex Hudler, Wayne Garland and Brian Dayett. The manager was Johnny Oates.

 

"I'm happy for Nashville," Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said. "It's our first year with them down there. I'm sure they're very happy that someone finally got them a title. It's a good start."

 

The decisive inning started when Corey D. Hart reached on shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera's two-out throwing error. Tony Zuniga worked the count full before drawing a walk from reliever Andrew Lorraine. Baek came in to face Cruz, who drove a 1-0 pitch well over the left-center field fence.

 

"We were the only people cheering at that point," Kremblas said. "The guys just battled, just like they've done all year. They kept battling and battling and got things done when they needed to."

 

The go-ahead blast came an inning after Sounds reliever Brett Evert escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam. Wiki Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk and pinch-runner Michael Garciaparra raced to third on Hunter Brown's one-out single. Evert intentionally walked T.J. Bohn Jr. to load the bases before getting Rene Rivera on a foul popout. Cabrera ended the inning on a comebacker.

 

"That gave us a big lift mentally," Kremblas said.

 

Evert (1-0) struck out five and allowed two hits over three innings for the win. Nashville's bullpen yielded two hits and three walks over the final 6 1/3 innings. Evert fanned Bucky Jacobsen to set off the celebration.

 

"After the third out, I was standing there in right field and saying, 'Thank God,'" Cruz said. "Then I ran to the mound and celebrated. I knew I was going to get the game if we got somebody on base."

 

Nashville took the lead when Steve Scarborough led off the third with a homer off Tacoma starter Damian Moss. The Sounds made it 2-0 in the sixth as Cruz took second on a two-out error by Brown at second base and scored on a single by Mike Rivera.

 

Scarborough and Rivera each had two of Nashville's eight hits.

 

"I have a set lineup for when a left-handed pitcher starts and when a right-handed pitcher starts," explained Kremblas, who said members of the left-hander lineup refer to themselves as "The Grunts."

 

"The Grunts, those guys won two of the three games," the manager added. "They were also in for two of the three when we won the first series, too. They did a great job."

 

Nashville starter Gary Glover was nearly untouchable through six shutout innings, retiring 16 of the first 17 batters he faced. The right-hander allowed only a one-out single in the third to Rene Rivera, who also doubled in the sixth.

 

The Rainiers showed signs of life in the seventh, when Gonzalez and Aaron Rifkin hit consecutive one-out singles. After Brown struck out, Bohn ripped a two-run double that tied the score.

 

Alec Zumwalt replaced Glover and walked Rene Rivera before getting Cabrera to ground out. Cabrera was the first of seven straight batters Zumwalt set down. Mike Adams retired all three Rainiers in the 10th.

 

Moss gave up two runs -- one earned -- in six innings. The Rainiers bullpen was outstanding as Emiliano Fruto, Jeff Heaverlo and Sean Green combined to allow one hit and three walks in 6 1/3 frames. Lorraine (0-1) was charged with two unearned runs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mass Haas GOAT

Mass Haas

Brewer Fanatic Staff
Posted
  • Author
Posted

More quotes:

 

By Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com

Portions of story listed here to avoid some duplication...

 

The Sounds had 22 come-from-behind wins in the regular season, so it was fitting the team won with a last-breath blast from Nelson Cruz.

 

?There?s no question that what defines this team in my mind is the late-inning comebacks,? Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said.

 

Players came and went this season, but the one constant for the Sounds was Kremblas, whose aggressive managerial style also defined the team.

 

Even though his team won the league title, the 38-year-old Kremblas said he didn?t ace the season.

 

?I?d give myself probably a ?B,?? Kremblas said.

 

It?s hard to imagine what more the Brewers could have asked of Kremblas. Besides winning, he helped various players like Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, Kane Davis, Jose Capellan, Rickie Weeks and Justin Lehr make the leap to the big leagues.

 

Kremblas said he?ll be back next season, but he expects the above-mentioned prospects to remain in Milwaukee.

 

?This was a weird year for Triple-A teams, you had all these guys that could play who were young,? Kremblas said. ?All those guys are going to be up there next year for the most part. [We are] probably going to have a team of older players.?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
The Twins Daily Caretaker Fund
The Brewer Fanatic Caretaker Fund

You all care about this site. The next step is caring for it. We’re asking you to caretake this site so it can remain the premier Brewers community on the internet. Included with caretaking is ad-free browsing of Brewer Fanatic.

Become a Caretaker
×
×
  • Create New...