Link Report for Friday 9/9 -- Sounds Lose, H-Crew Wins

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Friday's Daily Menu:

 

All starts Central Time --

 

Nashville: LHP Tommy Phelps at home vs. Oklahoma (Rangers), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime -- best-of-five series tied, 1-1

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Nashville Site Gamecast Feed:

www.nashvillesounds.com/live/xlive.htm

 

Helena: RHP Will Inman at Billings (Reds), 8:05 PM Central -- game one of a best-of-three series

 

Audio link (opponent's):

www.billingsmustangs.com/

[Mass Haas]

Follow Friday's action as it happens:

 

Nashville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Helena:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_bilrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Seems there's no reward to Helena for winning each half -- even though two-of-three are scheduled for Helena's park, it's tough to play the first of a three-game series on the road -- go Will Inman!

[Mass Haas]

MILB.com:

 

Helena vs. Billings

(Best 2-of-3)

 

REGULAR SEASON SERIES

 

Front-running Helena won 10-of-16 games, not dominating but clearly having an edge. Helena hit .286 as a team as opposed to Billings' .236. The Brewers also posted a 3.52 ERA, while the Ospreys posted a 5.94 ERA.

 

HEAD-TO-HEAD STATS

 

Helena

Angel Salome, who won the league's MVP award, hit .276 with two homers and seven RBIs at West Virginia and is back for the playoffs as is Mat Gamel (.395, two homers, 11 RBIs). Charlie Fermaint (.400, four homers, nine RBIs), who was also named to the postseason All-Star team, was not brought back for the postseason. Mike Bell hit .364 hit two homers and drove in 10. David Welch went 2-0 with a save and a 3.60 ERA in three appearances, while Robbie Wooley was 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA in five starts, striking out 24 in 22 2/3 innings.

 

Billings

Adam Rosales hit .355 in seven games with two homers and seven RBIs. Mayker Sandoval added a pair of homers and 10 RBIs. Michael DeJesus was 2-for-32 (0.63) with 12 strikeouts. Aaron garrison was 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA in three games (one start) while Lecure struck out 17 batters in 14 1/3 innings.

 

ON THE MOUND

 

Helena

Will Inman is 6-0 with a 2.00 in 13 games (five starts) and will get the call in Game 1. He's 3-0 as a starter with a 2.42 ERA. His ERA in his last four starts is 0.38. Over that stretch, he's struck out 30 and walked seven in 23 2/3 innings. Simon Beresford, who started the season in the bullpen with West Virginia in the Sally League, will start the second game. Overall, he's 2-2 with a 6.35 ERA in 26 games (four starts). He's 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA in seven games for Helena though his ERA in four starts is 1.72. Beresford has struck out 25 and walked only eight for Helena. Game 3, if needed, will be in the hands of Welch.

 

Billings

Jeff Stevens went 4-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 13 games (eight starts) and will get the call in the opener. He is 1-3 with a 2.88 ERA as a starter. Southpaw Travis Wood, the high school phenom who was Cincinnati's second-round pick this season, was 2-0 with a 1.82 ERA in six games (four starts) after coming up from the Gulf Coast Reds. He is 1-0 as a starter for Billings with a 2.04 ERA. Overall, he is 2-0 in 14 games (11 starts) with a 1.66 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings. Sam Lecure (5-1, 3.27) is slated to start the third game. He is 2-1 in six starts with a 2.28 ERA. He's allowed no earned runs in two of those starts and just one earned run in three others.

 

AT THE PLATE

 

Helena

The Brewers led the league in hitting and were the only team to crack the .300 barrier at .309. They had the most hits (851) by more than 100, runs (531) and the second-fewest strikeouts. Salome, who hit .254 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 29 games with West Virginia of the Sally League, is back, bringing his .415 Pioneer League average with him. Gamel only hit .174 with the Power and returns with his .327 Pioneer League average to go along with 37 RBIs. Kenneth Holmberg led the league in hitting (.372) and finished third in RBIs (51).

 

Billings

Brandon Roberts finished ninth in the league in hitting at .318 and third with 32 stolen bases. Otherwise, the league-leader board is void of Mustangs, proving how much of a team effort went into getting this squad into the postseason. They have four players with 30 or more RBIs and a fifth with 28. J.D. Roberts leads the pack with nine homers and 39 RBIs. Billings was one of four teams to steal 100 bases this season.

 

POINTS OF INTEREST

 

Billings has reached the championship round in three of the last four years, losing in the finals to Provo last year but winning titles in 2003 and '01. Overall, Billings has won 14 crowns (three straight from 1992-94), the first of which came in 1950. Helena, meanwhile, won back-to-back titles in '95-96.

 

SERIES COULD TURN ON

 

The Mustang starters. If Billings is able to quiet the Helena bats early, a tone could be set and an upset could be in the offing.

 

PREDICTION

 

Helena has been the team to beat all season and now that it has some of its big guns back, watch out. The Brewers in three.

 

Kevin T. Czerwinski is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Media Notes for Friday (PDF format):

 

MAKE OR BREAK GAME: In their previous 10 trips to the postseason, the Sounds have split the first two games of a series on 10 occasions. Nashville has won the third game on five occasions and have gone on to win all five of those series. The Sounds have never won a series when trailing 2-1, losing all seven times that it has occurred.

 

HOME SWEET HOME?: Since June 1st, the Sounds finished just 19-25 when playing at Greer Stadium. Nashville logged a 28-18 record in road contests over that stretch. The Sounds held a 36-36 at home over the course of the regular season.

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

[pogokat]

Nashville loses 2-1...great pitching by nashville...greater pitching by the other guys...

[JoeHova]

Helena wins 8-4. Inman goes 5 1/3 and gives up 3 runs, but Ks 8. Salome goes 3-4 with a HBP in his return to Helena.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Helena 8, Billings (Reds) 4

Brewers lead best of three series 1-0; head home to Helena for Saturday night...

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.billingsgazette.com/i...stangs.inc

 

Ponies can't handle Helena's hot hitting

By MIKE SCHERTING

Of The Billings Gazette Staff

 

The Pioneer League's No. 1 offense rolled on Friday night, and now the Helena Brewers are one win away from rolling into the league's championship series.

 

The Brewers pounded 17 hits and scored in six of the nine innings, beating the Billings Mustangs 8-4 at Cobb Field in the first game of the North Division playoffs.

 

Over 2,600 fans, including a vocal pod of Brewers' fans, watched as the Mustangs simply couldn't keep pace with the prolific Helena hitters.

 

Eric Eymann's solo home run to dead center earned the Mustangs a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the third, but after that it was all Helena as the Brewers scored five times between the fifth and eighth innings to pull away.

 

The Brewers finished the regular season hitting .309 and averaged nearly seven runs and 11 hits per game, and they topped those numbers against six Mustangs pitchers. Four Helena hitters had at least three hits, including second baseman Kenny Holmberg, who finished 4-for-5 with two home runs and three RBIs. He also hit a double and scored three times.

 

And it could have been worse for the Mustangs. The Brewers stranded 11 base runners and had a runner reach at least second base in every inning but the ninth. Angel Salome, Mat Gamel and Michael Brantley all had three hits apiece for the Brewers, who finished with six extra-base hits.

 

The Mustangs, who entered the game with the league's worst batting average (.258), had their share of extra-base hits (4), too. But after the third inning three Helena pitchers scattered six hits the rest of the way.

 

Helena starter Will Inman, who went 6-0 in the regular season, appeared to be on the ropes in the third inning after Eymann led off with his homer and Brandon Roberts followed with a single and J.D. Reininger worked a walk. But Inman (1-0), a third-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers this spring, finished off the inning by striking out Jay Bruce and Adam Rosales and then getting J.D. Roberts to ground out to first base.

 

Dane Renkert and Ronny Malave worked the final 3 2/3 innings for the Brewers.

 

Bruce hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 2-2 after the Brewers struck in the top half of the inning on an RBI double by Holmberg, who later came around to score on a passed ball.

 

Darren Ford also drove in two runs for the Brewers, while Gamel and Ned Yost added one each. It was Gamel's RBI double to score Salome in the fifth inning that broke the 3-3 tie.

 

The win puts the Brewers in command of the best-of-three series, which now switches to Helena for Game 2 tonight. The Brewers are expected to start Simon Beresford (1-1, 2.55 ERA), while Billings is expected to throw Travis Wood (2-0, 1.82).

 

Game 3, if necessary, will be Sunday afternoon in Helena.

 

The winner of the North Division will play either Ogden or Orem for the league championship. Orem won 2-1 Friday night to take a 1-0 lead in that series.

 

Helena Box Score:

22-year-old Kenny Holmberg, the Brewers' 22nd round pick this year, with two HR's and falls a triple short of the cycle -- wow; RHP Dane Renkert's scoreless streak (well, one unearned run) is at least 17 innings (and more if we were to go back to his early-season Helena stint)...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_bilrok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_bilrok_1

 

The Kenny Holmberg File:

You would think that Kenny Holmberg would need to be pushed to high-A in 2006 -- does that push Hernan Iribarren to Huntsville? What about Steve Sollman? And you won't see Callix Crabbe / Guilder Rodriguez in AAA, so who and where? Nice problem to have. Here's a reminder about Holmberg's monster season coming off of Friday's monster game...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...pid=446803

[Mass Haas]

Final: Oklahoma (Rangers) 2, Nashville 1

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

 

Link for Warren Morris phhoto, text follows -

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1799

 

NASHVILLE ? The Nashville Sounds dropped their second straight game to the Oklahoma RedHawks on Friday evening at Greer Stadium, falling 2-1 in game three of the American Conference Finals.

 

Down by a run with the bases full in the bottom of the ninth, the never-say-die Sounds -- who won 22 games in their last at-bat during the regular season -- were unable to work their magic as Oklahoma closer Jose Veras caught Mike Rivera looking at a 3-2 breaking ball for a strikeout to end the contest.

 

With the loss, Nashville trails the best-of-five series by a 2-1 margin, a deficit that the Sounds have never recovered from in seven previous tries over the club?s postseason history.

 

Warren Morris gave the Sounds a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with a one-out RBI single to right off Oklahoma starter Josh Rupe. Brad Nelson, who opened the frame with a single, scored on the knock.

 

AUDIO: Warren Morris' RBI Single --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%209-9.mp3

 

Ruddy Yan tied the contest in the third when the RedHawks outfielder smacked a solo homer to left-center off Sounds starter Tommy Phelps.

 

Oklahoma grabbed a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth when Esteban German reached on a fielder?s choice, stole second, then scored on Rashad Eldridge?s RBI single down the right field line.

 

The Sounds failed to capitalize on a solid scoring chance in the bottom of the sixth when Brad Nelson grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded against Rupe.

 

Rupe (1-0) limited the Sounds to one run on only four hits over his eight frames of work, striking out five along the way to earn the victory. Phelps (0-1) took the loss after allowing two runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings of work. He fanned a season-high eight batters in his outing, which was the southpaw?s longest of the season.

 

Veras tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up his second save in as many nights.

 

The Sounds look to stave off elimination on Saturday evening in the teams? 6 p.m. meeting at Greer Stadium. Righthander Dennis Sarfate (0-1, 2.25 in regular season) makes the start for Nashville to face Oklahoma righthander Kelvin Jimenez (4-6, 3.58 in regular season).

 

Nashville Box Score:

Shame to waste Tommy Phelps and Alec Zumwalt's stellar efforts...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Sounds facing elimination following loss to RedHawks

Trail Oklahoma 2-1 in best-of-5 playoff series

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Coming up empty in a pair of late-inning bases-loaded situations, the Nashville Sounds' chances for postseason success were injured severely with last night's 2-1 loss to Oklahoma in Game 3 of the PCL American Conference playoffs.

 

The Sounds trail 2-1 in the best-of-5 series after splitting the first two games at Oklahoma. In the franchise's 28-year history, the Sounds are 0-for-7 when trailing a postseason series 2-1.

 

"It's tough to come home and have that kind of game," said Nashville starter Tommy Phelps, who struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings but gave up both runs. "I made a couple of mistakes and they made me pay."

 

Down by a run, Nashville had a chance to break the game open in the sixth inning. Dave Krynzel and Tony Zuniga were hit by pitches from Oklahoma starter Josh Rupe, and Vinny Rottino singled up the middle.

 

However, with the bases loaded and one out, Brad Nelson grounded into the Sounds' third inning-ending double play.

 

In the ninth, Rottino hit a leadoff single off reliever Jose Veras, followed by a walk to Zuniga. Nelson flew out and Nelson Cruz struck out, but Rottino and pinch-runner Ryan Knox successfully executed a double steal. Warren Morris, who drove in the only Nashville run, was walked intentionally to bring Mike Rivera to the plate.

 

On a full count, Rivera took a low offspeed pitch from Veras for strike three to end the game.

 

"For him to throw a 3-2 curveball with the bases loaded and two outs, and make that pitch ? you just have to tip your hat to him," Rivera said. "He made a good pitch.

 

"We were too aggressive all night. We chased a lot of bad pitches, trying to do too much. I think that's why we struggled."

 

Nashville went ahead when Nelson led off the second with a single against Rupe, stole second and scored on a Morris base hit. The RedHawks tied the score with Ruddy Yan's solo home run in the third off Phelps.

 

Oklahoma took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth. After Morris misplayed Esteban German's one-out fly ball into a fielder's choice to force Jason Botts at second, the speedier German stole second and scored on Rashad Eldridge's base hit down the right-field line.

 

"I was trying to throw that pitch in the dirt," the right-handed Phelps said. "With a left-handed hitter on deck and two outs, I wanted to make (Eldridge) chase or for it to be ball four. I got a little under it and he got a piece of it."

 

What they said: "Our effort was great, but when you're hitting, you're not fighting. You've got to relax, get something to hit and put a good swing on it. We'll see what they're made of (tonight)." ? Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas.

 

Ex-skippers face off: The two most recent former Nashville Sounds managers ? Trent Jewett (1998-2000, 2003-04) and Marty Brown (2001-02) are in opposing dugouts for the opening round of the International League playoffs.

 

Brown, who took over the Buffalo helm after leaving Nashville, led the Indians' Triple-A affiliate to an 82-62 regular-season finish and the IL North Division title. Jewett moved to Indianapolis when the Pirates changed affiliations over the offseason and piloted his new team to a 78-66 record and the wild-card berth.

 

Buffalo has a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 series. It won the opener 5-1 in Indianapolis on Wednesday and came from behind against Sounds all-time saves leader Mark Corey for a 6-5 win in the second game.

 

Indianapolis won last night's game, 5-2.

 

Maurice Patton covers the Nashville Sounds for The Tennessean. He can be reached at mopatton@tennessean.com.