Link Report for Wed. 7/20 -- Day Baseball in Nashville

[jackellberry]

nice night for the system.

 

except for inman

[PeaveyFury]

Great win for Indy.

 

I'll give you a mulligan on that one, Peavey

 

Ack. Funny thing is I probably wouldn't have given that one a second thought.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Mobile (Padres) 2, Huntsville 1, 19 innings

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Long night for announcer Brett Pollock, thanks for writing this after the game this AM, Brett...

 

Jones Delivers Heartbreak to Stars

Kennard Jones singled home the game-winning run in the bottom half of the 19th inning to push Mobile past Hunstville 2-1 Wednesday night in the third game of a four-game set. The BayBears have won two in a row to improve to 7-15 in the second half, while the Stars slipped to 13-13 and two and a half games behind front-running West Tenn in the North Division after the Diamond Jaxx swept a doubleheader from Tennessee earlier in the day. The two teams still wound up four innings shy of the longest game in league history, played between the Stars and Greenville on August 6, 1998.

 

Stars? catcher Jeff Winchester opened the home 19th on the hill in his second mound appearance and surrendered a leadoff single to Ronnie Merrill, his third hit of the night. Jason Clements dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Merrill to second base and Brian Burgamy was intentionally walked to bring up the pitcher Paul Abraham. The strategy did not work as Abraham walked on five pitches to load the bases and Jones lined the first pitch he saw into left-center field to deliver Merrill with the decisive run.

 

Abraham worked four scoreless frames to earn his first win and was one of seven pitchers used by Mobile skipper Gary Jones. The Stars used eight pitchers and the six relievers in the bullpen, Andy Pratt, Jerome Gamble, Brian Wolfe in his Stars debut, Brett Evert, Alec Zumwalt and Keith Stamler combined for a dozen shutout frames.

 

The Stars best chance to score in the extra frames came in the 15th inning when Brandon Gemoll doubled with two outs, the Stars first hit since the sixth inning, and Enrique Cruz and Ben Van Iderstine walked to fill the bases. Rusty Tucker ended the threat by striking out Winchester on three pitches.

 

Mobile starter Travis Chick retired the first 11 hitters he faced before issuing a walk to Vinny Rottino but induced Brad Nelson to bounce into a fielder?s choice grounder to end the frame. Gemoll led off the fifth and drove a 1-0 offering over the wall in center field for his sixth home run of the season and second off of Chick in Mobile. The Stars? first baseman is 7-for-11 with five runs batted in against the BayBears right-hander, who remained winless since May 16. Chick matched his longest outing of the year, going seven frames and allowing the long ball and a bunt base hit by Tony Gwynn, Jr. in the sixth inning, along with two walks and four strikeouts.

 

Clements led off the home seventh with a double and moved to third base on a single to center field by Burgamy, who advanced to second base on Gwynn?s throw to the plate. Andy Pratt replaced starter Glenn Woolard and struck out pinch-hitter Corey Smith before Kennard Jones grounded out to second base to plate Clements and move Burgamy to third. Jerome Gamble took over for Pratt and retired Jesse Garcia on a ground ball back to the mound for the final out of the frame.

 

The series concludes Thursday night with right-hander Ty Taubenheim taking the hill for the Stars against BayBears? right-hander Jose Oyervidez. Coverage of the game gets underway at 6:50 p.m. central time on ESPN 1450 AM and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

A good night for ERA's, not for batting averages; Ty Taubenheim will have to eat some innings tonight...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_mobaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

Wow, this was a killer -- five hours, ten minutes -- we'll see how the boys respond...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_mobaax_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Helena 14, Ogden (Dodgers) 10

 

Weather: 99 degrees, clear (night game!)

Wind: 6 mph, Out to CF.

T: 3:07.

 

Like Killebrew, sluggers visit Ogden

By Aaron Morton

Ogden Standard-Examiner staff

 

OGDEN -- For one inning the Raptors were Harmon Killebrew.

 

It was all part of another wacky night at Lindquist Field, but in the end it all added up to a 14-10 loss to the Helena Brewers Wednesday night.

 

Even though the baseball Hall of Famer didn't arrive until the fifth inning, the Ogden batters did their best Killebrew impression as Raptors Rick Taloa, Justin Crist, Russ Mitchell and Juan Apodaca all hit home runs in the third inning -- just before the 573 career home run hitter came to the ballpark to sign autographs.

 

"That's a plus for us," Raptors manager Juan Bustabad said of the home runs. "We've been doing a lot of extra hitting (practice), and it's paying off."

 

Also in that inning, Ogden hit four singles, including two by Adam Godwin, who led off the inning.

 

After Godwin, Taloa crushed a ball over the wall in dead center for his second home run on the season -- his first at home. Helena starter Will Inman got the next two batters out, but the Raptors were just getting started.

 

Crist knocked one over the right field fence, in what was the first extra-base hit of his professional career.

 

First baseman David Sutherland kept the inning going with a single, followed by back-to-back shots by Mitchell and Apodaca. The duo now have combined to hit 18 out of the park this season.

 

Mitchell, who also crushed a two-run shot in the seventh inning, leads the Pioneer League with 10 dingers.

 

However, five homers -- which is an Ogden Raptors' franchise record -- couldn't come close to overcoming 12 walks that the first three pitchers, David Pfeiffer, Alvin Hayes and Matt Gomez de Segura, combined to give up.

 

Eight of those walked batters ended up scoring, costing the team dearly.

 

"It all starts with our starting pitching," Bustabad said. "We just didn't get the out."

 

Pfeiffer gave up two singles, a walk and a home run to Kenny Holmberg in the first inning. That put the home team in a hole -- something the Raptors have struggled to climb out of this season.

 

The Raptors (16-13) are just 5-10 on the season when the opponents score the first run and 11-3 when they take the lead first.

 

Even new arrival Jose Obispo started his first appearance as a Raptors' pitcher with -- what else -- a walk. Only Kristopher Krise avoided giving up a walk, striking out the side in the ninth inning.

 

In case you're wondering, the Pioneer League record for walks is 21 batters by Helena on Aug. 27, 1995, when Ogden beat the Brewers 33-15. So in a way, they were returning the favor for the Brewers.

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.helenair.com/articles...105_04.txt

 

Brewers blast past Raptors

By IR Staff

 

The Ogden Raptors staged another furious rally on Wednesday night, but the Helena Brewers were able to stem the tide and hold on for a 14-10 victory in front of 4,104 fans in Ogden.

 

The Brewers led 8-0 when the Raptors exploded for four home runs in a six-run third inning to cut the lead to 8-6, but Helena added runs in the next four innings to preserve the win.

 

The win keeps the Brewers (20-8) two games ahead of Billings in the Pioneer League's North Division. The Mustangs defeated Idaho Falls 11-0 Wednesday night for their sixth straight win.

 

Helena gave up a late lead Tuesday night, but got offensive production from throughout the lineup on Wednesday to win the three-game series 2-1.

 

All nine Brewers in the lineup scored at least one run and seven drove in a run in the win.

 

Kenny Holmberg hit a two-run home run, his fourth of the year, as part of a four-run first inning for the Brewers.

 

Helena drew three walks with two outs in the top of the third to set up a two-run single by Michael Bell and a two-run triple by Ned Yost to make it 8-0.

 

Ogden came back with its big third inning, but the Brewers got a three-run home run by Charlie Fermaint in the top of the fifth that made it 12-7 and Helena held on.

 

Helena Box Score:

Amazing power for 5'10", 170-lb. Charlie Fermaint, with HR # 7; Brendan Katin on base five times -- he's at .442/.519/.791 -- that's an OPS of 1.310 in 86 AB's; Kenny Holmberg and Ned Yost on base four times apiece...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_ogdrok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_ogdrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=43016

 

Sounds ground Redbirds again

By Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com

 

There?s no delicate way to say it. If Memphis can?t find a way to beat Nashville, the Sounds are going to run away with the PCL American North Division.

 

During Wednesday?s matinee at Greer Stadium, Memphis let what seemed like a sure-fire victory slip away with an abysmal ninth inning. The result was a 7-6 Sounds? victory, their third of the four-game series.

 

Leading 6-4, Memphis reliever Ricky Stone allowed four consecutive singles to Nelson Cruz, Mike Rivera, Chris Barnwell and Steve Scarborough.

 

Scarborough?s hit plated Cruz and trimmed the Memphis lead to one. Then pinch hitter Tony Zuniga grounded a ball to third, which seemed like a double play. Instead, catcher Brad Cresse airmailed first base, allowing Scarborough and Barnwell to score the winning runs.

 

?It was luck,? Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said. ?Sometimes when you?re going to win a game like that, obviously it?s lucky. But we had [four] straight singles, that wasn?t luck.?

 

Memphis has not been able to figure out the Sounds this season. Nashville (55-43) is 6-1 against its cross-state rival and now owns a season-best six-game lead in the PCL American North Division.

 

Memphis seemed to have won the game in the top of the ninth inning, when second baseman Tim Hummel launched a two-run shot to left off Nashville reliever Mitch Stetter.

 

But, the Sounds fought back and registered their 20th final at-bat victory of the year.

 

?That?s a big thing, these guys aren?t quitting,? Kremblas said. ?[Milwaukee manager Ned Yost] preached that during spring training and we play hard for 27 outs.?

 

The game was back-and-forth before all afternoon. There were six ties or lead changes.

 

Memphis took the lead in the eighth inning when Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson wore down. Hendrickson had been stellar until that point, but surrendered three runs, which gave Memphis the lead.

 

The lead would have been more, were not for an amazing catch in right field by Nelson Cruz, which robbed Skip Schumacher of a three-run homer.

 

?That was a nice catch,? Kremblas said. ?It didn?t go as far as I thought, but it still was a home run and he jumped and caught it.?

 

The advantage did not last long, because Sounds left fielder Corey Hart, who has plagued the Redbirds all season, launched a two-out home run to left, which tied the game at 4-4.

 

The game had been tied 1-1 through five innings thanks to strong pitching from Nashville?s Hendrickson and the Redbirds? Anthony Reyes

 

The Sounds needed Hendrickson to pitch well, after using six pitchers the night before.

 

?They told me they needed me to go deep in the game,? Hendrickson said. ?I was able to keep my pitch count down and [then] I just hit a wall in the seventh and eighth innings.?

 

Corey Hart (10) and Mike Rivera (7) each hit homers for the Sounds. Hummel had two for Memphis.

[Mass Haas]

Link (for Prince Fielder photo) while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Sounds' 9th-inning rally sealed by Redbirds error

Nashville's 20th victory in final at-bat this season

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

"Better late than never" continues to be the rallying cry for the Nashville Sounds.

 

Trailing by a pair of runs going into the bottom of the ninth inning yesterday against visiting Memphis, the Sounds strung together four consecutive base hits and took advantage of a Redbirds throwing error for a 7-6 victory.

 

It was the Sounds' 20th victory in their final at-bat this season.

 

"Obviously, we got lucky," Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas said. "But sometimes, if you're going to win a game like that, it takes luck."

 

The Sounds led 1-0 and 3-1 but had to come back and tie the score at 4-all on Corey Hart's eighth-inning solo home run, his second in as many games.

 

Memphis, which now trails Nashville by six games in the Pacific Coast League American Conference Northern Division, took a 6-4 ninth-inning lead on Tim Hummel's second homer of the game.

 

"This team has the ability to make comebacks," said Sounds reliever Mitch Stetter, who came up from Class AA Huntsville on July 7. Stetter gave up the Hummel go-ahead homer and was in line to take his first Triple-A loss.

 

Consecutive singles by Nelson Cruz, Mike Rivera, Chris Barnwell and Steve Scarborough cut the margin to 6-5 and got pinch-hitter Tony Zuniga up to bat with the bases loaded.

 

Zuniga's grounder to third base resulted in Rivera being forced out at the plate, but catcher Brad Cresse's throw to first to complete the double play sailed up the right-field foul line, allowing Barnwell and Scarborough to score the tying and winning runs.

 

"We loaded the bases on three hits. We didn't get lucky there," Kremblas said. "Unfortunately for them, they threw high to first on a pretty sure double-play ball.

 

"These guys don't quit. (Milwaukee Manager) Ned Yost preaches that in spring training ? we're going to play 27 outs, see where we are and go from there. These guys do a good job of that."

 

Only Iowa has been victimized by the Sounds' late-game heroics more than Memphis, which has lost four times to Nashville in the Sounds' final at-bat.

 

The Sounds hold a 6-1 advantage in games against Memphis.

 

With the late rally, Stetter earned his first Class AAA victory in his first decision.

 

Nashville starter Ben Hendrickson received the no-decision despite his longest outing of the season, going 7-2/3 innings. Giving up an RBI single to John Gall just before being lifted, he was in line for the loss before Hart's homer.

 

"We needed him to go as long as he could," Kremblas said. "We knew he was tired, but we wanted to give him a chance to get around it."

 

High-water mark: Yesterday's win improved the Sounds' record to 55-43, getting them 12 games over .500 for the second time this season.

 

New arrival: With Justin Lehr going to Milwaukee and Wes Obermuller not set to join the Sounds until tomorrow, ex-Nashville reliever Mike Meyers rejoined the team yesterday from Class AA Huntsville. Meyers had a 1.71 earned run average and a save in 11 appearances at Huntsville. In 22 relief appearances with Nashville before he was reassigned on June 11, Meyers was 3-3 with a 6.17 ERA.

 

Meyers is slated to start in Lehr's spot tonight against Memphis.

 

Game at a glance

 

? Winning pitcher: Mitch Stetter (1-0).

 

? Big stick: Mike Rivera, 2-for-4, solo home run.

 

? How they won: The Sounds had four consecutive singles to open the ninth inning, cutting a two-run deficit in half before Memphis catcher Brad Cresse threw the relay on Tony Zuniga's potential double-play grounder into right field. Chris Barnwell and Steve Scarborough scored on the errant throw.

 

? What they said: "This team likes to battle. I think it all starts with the head guy. He's got a lot of fire in him. He likes to win games. Whether we're down one in the ninth or five in the ninth ? he's trying to score six." ? Stetter, referring to Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas.

 

? Tonight's pitchers: Sounds ? RHP Mike Meyers (3-3, 6.17 ERA). Redbirds ? RHP Mark Nussbeck (3-4, 2.57).

 

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

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=43018

 

Major relief in sight for Sounds bullpen

By Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com

 

The Milwaukee Brewers are blessed with a pleasant dilemma as the July 31 trade deadline approaches. The organization has more quality relief pitchers than it has spots in its big-league bullpen. Relief pitching is always put at a premium this time of year.

 

Led by emerging star closer and Franklin High alum Derrick Turnbow (2.23 ERA, 19 saves in 21 chances) and stellar setup man Matt Wise (2.83 ERA, 34 games), the Brewers bullpen has turned in impressive numbers this year. The Brewers have the fifth-best bullpen ERA in the National League.

 

But as often happens, the unit is wearing down, specifically late relievers Wise, Ricky Bottalico and Julio Santana. The trio has logged more than 100 appearances and 120 total innings. That fact, coupled with the presence of other relievers who have yet to cement themselves at the big-league level like Dana Eveland and Jorge De La Rosa, means the Brewers may soon turn to Nashville for relief pitching reinforcements.

 

The Sounds have a number of viable options, thanks to a bullpen that?s thrown quite well this season. Sounds pitching coach Stan Kyles gave his bullpen a first-half grade of B-plus and said his unit has been pitching ?according to plan.? For the year, the Nashville bullpen has an ERA of 3.77.

 

The Brewers have made two roster moves with their bullpen this week ? further evidence the team is not happy with its relief work. Milwaukee demoted long reliever Wes Obermueller Wednesday and promoted Nashville starter Justin Lehr.

 

Last week when the Brewers sent down Tommy Phelps, they passed over Sounds relievers Jose Capellan and Jeff Bennett to promote Eveland from Double-A Huntsville.

 

Brewers manager Ned Yost recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the team didn?t want to ?rush? Capellan to the big leagues, since the 24-year-old just assumed the closer?s role earlier this year.

 

Capellan has pitched well since becoming the closer, registering five saves and lowering his dwindling ERA to 4.32.

 

?That?s normal,? Capellan said of the Brewers? decision to not rush him. ?I feel good. I [have taken] time to work on my pitches. I feel good in bullpen.?

 

Kyles said Capellan needs to work on the mental aspect of a reliever?s role more than his stuff. This means developing a short-term memory and learning to deal with the pressure of having to pitch several times per week.

 

?I don?t know if it?s a matter of rushing him,? Kyles said. ?As a club, our job is to get him as ready as possible. Part of that is learning to control his emotions. It?s about making pitches, not just stuff.?

 

Kyles said Bennett, who has missed this week with viral meningitis, has been the team?s best reliever so far this year. In 35 games, Bennett has a 3.13 ERA.

 

?He needs to do exactly what he?s been doing ? become more consistent, keep throwing how he?s been throwing,? Kyles said.

 

A long shot, but still legitimate, option to give the Brewers bullpen quality innings is Kane Davis. He isn?t a member of the team?s 40-man roster, but Davis has excelled this year in Nashville.

 

Davis said this is the best he?s ever felt health-wise, after recovering from two injuries to his right elbow. Davis has a team-best 2.87 ERA in 36 games of work and has struck out an impressive 67 batters in just 47 innings.

 

?This is the best bullpen I?ve ever been on in the minor leagues,? Davis said. ?Other teams say, ?Every guy that comes in throws hard.? We all try to do the same thing out there.

 

?I feel great, this is the best I?ve ever felt. Guys here are just looking for the right situation to get up.?

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.wvgazette.com/section...2005072048

 

Killer B?s carry Power

Baker, Brady key victory over Lakewood

By Tommy R. Atkinson

Charleston Gazette Staff Writer

 

Both had been in prolonged slumps, but Wednesday night Josh Baker and Josh Brady found the path to consistency together and provided the West Virginia Power with a 1-2 knockout punch.

 

Baker provided the steady arm and Brady the muscle in the Power?s 5-2 victory against the Lakewood (N.J.) BlueClaws. A paid crowd of 2,752 attended the South Atlantic League game at Appalachian Power Park.

 

Baker, who was limited to four innings and wasn?t eligible for the win, shut out the BlueClaws. He allowed just three singles, struck out three and didn?t issue a walk.

 

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander who resides in Houston was held to just 2 2/3 innings in his last start but yielded just a run. Last year?s fourth-round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers had missed his previous four starts because of a dead arm. Baker entered Wednesday?s game with a 1-4 record and 6.79 ERA.

 

?The last two times he?s pitched he?s thrown the ball well,?? said Power manager Ramon Aviles. ?He?s starting to come back. He?s not injured. His arm is tired. He was overused in college and his fastball isn?t what it used to be.??

 

?It?s felt great,?? said the 22-year-old Baker of his pitching arm. ?They gave me a lot of time off. We?ve got a great trainer [and] a great strength coach. We?ve been playing some pretty good baseball so to just be a part of continuing that it felt good to keep this momentum going.??

 

Brady, who entered the game with a .107 batting average with no home runs and an RBI in his last 10 games, provided the charge the Power needed from the seventh spot in the batting order.

 

The 5-10, 195-pound left fielder from Pleasant Grove, Utah, went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs. Brady?s three-run blast, his first since June 4 and fifth of the season, gave West Virginia (13-12) a comfortable 4-0 lead in the fourth inning.

 

?He?s been in kind of a slump and finally he came through,?? Aviles said.

 

?They threw me a lot of fastballs and that one happened to be inside and that?s what I was looking for,?? added the 24-year-old Brady, the Brewers? 19th-round draft selection last year. ?This is a game you?re going to struggle and have ups and downs. Every day you have to have a consistent approach and I?ve tried to come up with the same thing.??

 

Power left-handed reliever Steve Hammond (2-0) picked up the win with three solid innings. He allowed an earned run on three hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Right-hander Ben Stanczyk closed out the win for his seventh save with two-thirds of an inning of hitless ball.

 

Lakewood?s Jason Jaramillo went 4-for-4 and drove in a run.

 

West Virginia took a 1-0 lead in the first as Grant Richardson continued his hot streak with a two-out, run-scoring single. The first baseman entered Wednesday?s game batting .345 in July with three homers and leads the team with 20 hits so far this month.

 

The Power squandered a scoring opportunity in the second with runners on first and third and none out, but Brady?s shot more than made up for the gaffes. Richardson led off the fourth with a walk and, after a Carlos Corporan strikeout, Will Lewis singled to put runners at first and third again. Brady hit the first pitch he saw over the Embassy Suites sign in left field.

 

Lakewood (11-15) threatened in the eighth, loading the bases with none out against Power reliever Eric Thomas. After allowing a run-scoring single, Thomas fanned the next batter then induced a double-play grounder. The BlueClaws had men on first and second with one out in the ninth, but Stanczyk forced a flyout and a fielder?s choice grounder to seal the win.

 

Power points

 

The Power turned three double plays. ... West Virginia holds a 10-3 edge against Lakewood in the season series. ... Brewers general manager Doug Melvin attended the game. ... Power pitchers stranded 10 BlueClaws? baserunners. ... The Power will play host to the BlueClaws at 7:05 tonight (6:05 Central). West Virginia will start right-hander Josh Wahpepah (5-4, 3.21 ERA) while Lakewood will counter with southpaw Derek Griffith (5-8, 4.07). ... Heritage Week continues with German Night featuring $1 reserved tickets, hot dogs and beverages.

 

Alcides Escobar of the Power dives back into first base ahead of Lakewood first baseman Doug Gredvig.

Charleston Gazette Photographer: Kenny Kemp

 

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

[Brian the Automator]

Katin 2-3 with a double, and rbi, 3 walks, and a steal of home?

 

I hear he also rescued a cat out of a tree.

[clancyphile]

Katuluu

 

A typical Dillard inning:

Change-up, sinker, sinker - inning over.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...005072118/

 

Power players are Brewers' future

Matt Lockhart

Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter

 

Milwaukee's Brewer future is right here.

 

That's why Doug Melvin, the Brewers' general manager, wasn't in some cozy Milwaukee executive chair Wednesday. He picked an Appalachian Power Park chairback instead.

 

It's true, Milwaukee isn't the Yankees or the Red Sox. The Brewers can't just go around flinging millions at so-so free agents.

 

So, this, right here in low Class A South Atlantic League baseball, is where big league dreams start.

 

Melvin realizes the organization must turn to the minors in hopes that it feeds the Major League team.

 

"It's evident we have to," said Melvin, minutes before the West Virginia Power beat Lakewood 5-2. "We can't go out and spend $5 or $10 million on five or six players. We can pick and chose a couple guys we can put money into and we have to surround those guys with good minor league players."

 

Sure, West Virginia's 38-57 regular season mark doesn't exactly have playoffs written on it. But, there's no mistaking the potential.

 

"You don't like to categorize the guys," Melvin said, when asked which prospects impress him. "I don't like to get into who I like and who I don't like. That's not fair to some of the players."

 

Then Melvin pointed out middle infielders Hernan Iribarren and Alcides Escobar.

 

"It's evident with Iribarren and Escobar that their performance shows what they can do," he said. "You have your first-round pick here too."

 

There are two of them in Charleston -- Milwaukee's 2004 No. 1 in pitcher Mark Rogers and this year's top draft pick, third baseman Ryan Braun.

 

Melvin said much of his player evaluation occurs in spring training. He leaves the rest to Reid Nichols, the Brewers' director of player development.

 

"The one thing I didn't get to see was Rogers and (Josh) Wahpepah and (Yovani) Gallardo -- the higher draft picks," Melvin said of last year's No. 1, 3 and 2 selections, respectively. "It's unfortunate."

 

Melvin, who watched his second and final Power game of the year Wednesday, would have seen Wahpepah if not for Tuesday's rainout.

 

The rain is nothing new to his travel plans, however. He's already been rained out in Class AAA Nashville once and Class AA Huntsville twice.

 

Regardless, Melvin left Charleston impressed.

 

"I like to come in and see the parks and the area they are in," Melvin said of his minor leaguers.

 

"The kids are fortunate they have a place like this to play in at this level."

 

Now Melvin goes to Milwaukee in preparation for the July 31 trade deadline, before which he doesn't figure the Brewers will be too busy.

 

* * *

Josh Brady did a little showing off Wednesday night for the Brewers' GM by belting a three-run homer in the 5-2 win.

 

"You want to play good in front of him and leave him with a good impression," Power Manager Ramon Aviles said after the game.

 

One person who did just that was starting pitcher Josh Baker. The 2004 fourth-round pick from Rice scattered three hits over four shutout innings.

 

"It's hard to say you don't know (Melvin) is there," said Baker, who has given up just one run in his last two outings. "You always know who is there, but you want to do your best for whoever is out there."

 

Until just last week, Baker had been shut down for nearly a month with what pitchers call "dead arm" -- an aliment that can result from overuse.

 

Aviles said Baker was "abused" in college and had lost velocity on his fastball. The hope is that it has been corrected.

 

The Power, which improved to 13-12 in the SAL second half, will host Lakewood at 7:05 tonight (6:05 Central).

 

Wahpepah (5-4, 3.21 earned run average) is scheduled to pitch against Lakewood's Derek Griffith (5-8, 4.07).

 

In his last four starts, Wahpepah has given up just two runs over 23 2/3 innings.

[Mass Haas]

Brevard County Game Summary (Daytona Site):

 

MANATEES SQUEAK PAST CUBS IN 3-1 OPENER

Brevard County Scored Three Runs in the First Two Frames And Both Pitching Staffs Dominated The Rest Of The Way

by: Bo Fulginiti

 

VIERA, Fla?Anyone at Space Coast Stadium on Wednesday who decided to blink most likely missed most of Game 1 between the Daytona Cubs and Brevard County Manatees.

 

In the first of four games between the two Eastern Division rivals, pitching took center stage in a contest that lasted just two hours and five minutes as Brevard County jumped out early and later hung on to win by a final of 3-1.

 

Cubs starter Anderson Tavarez (3-9) was sharp, as he gave up just three runs (one earned) in six innings and struck out a season-high nine Brevard County batters despite taking his ninth loss of the season.

 

Brevard County ensued their carnage right away when they scored a run in the first after Tavarez walked third baseman Adam Heether with the bases loaded to plate right fielder Travis Ezi and give the Manatees the 1-0 lead.

 

Brevard then added to their one run cushion in the second as a throwing error from third baseman Scott Moore and a wild pitch from Tavarez led to two runs and gave the Manatees a 3-0 lead after two full frames.

 

Daytona jumped on the scoreboard in the fourth, as centerfielder Chris Walker doubled to right-centerfield and eventually scored on two groundouts to give the Cubs their lone run in the series-opening loss.

 

Manatees starter Tim Dillard (8-7) was stellar in eight full innings as he gave up just one run on five hits while he struck out three to notch his eighth victory of the season. With the victory, Dillard is now 2-1, 1.29 ERA in three starts against the Cubs this season.

 

The real story of the night however was the Manatees unique ability to get on base with ?small-ball.? Brevard County registered an unheard of eight infield hits in the game, as a third inning single to right field from Heether and a fourth inning double from second baseman Steve Sollman accounted for the only two hits that reached the outfield.

 

With the loss the Cubs dropped to 8-17 as the Manatees regained sole possession of first place over the St. Lucie Mets as they improved to 16-9.

 

The two teams will meet back in Viera on Thursday for Game 2 as Daytona sends righty Randy Wells (5-1, 3.56 ERA) to the mound to make his third start of the season.

 

First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (6:00 Central).