Link Report for Games of Sunday, July 17th

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 8, Hagerstown (Mets) 5, 14 innings

Worth all four hours, 54 minutes, to get the Power over the .500 mark in the second half...

 

West Virginia Box Score:

RHP Justin Barnes with a bullpen-saving seven-inning stint for the win -- OK, we'll get dramatic and call it a heroic effort; Hasan Rashhed was hit by a pitch on the top of his batting helmet, but he's OK; apparently, catcher Carlos Corporan also had to leave early -- no word on his status; add two wild pitches and a HBP to Mark Rogers' five-walk outing, although, as noted above, no earned runs; Josh Murray reached base five times without getting a hit (three walks, two HBP's)...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

The Power stranded 16, the Suns 12; errors did sting early on, but defense was solid in the late going; a shout out to play-by-play man Andy "Bull" Barch for the yeoman solo evening; do you dare review 14 innings? Here you go...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Orem (Angels) 13, Helena 8

Owlz take out some frustration, scoring in every inning but the 2nd -- heck, the Brewerz scored in six different innings...

 

Helena Box Score:

Angel Salome hits two doubles and watches his avearge drop -- must stink to be that hot; 4th round third baseman Matt Gamel's four hits were a triple shy of the cycle -- expect Gamel to be on Ryan Braun's heels throughout their Brewer careers, and don't be surprised if Gamel posts the better numbers along the way, but seven errors at the hot corner already?!

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

Yes, RHP Robbie Wooley is having a tough season, but I dare you to read the game log and find fault with his work in this one until the final at-bat gopher ball -- talk about no support...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

[bullox]

Thank you very much iifan, that was well worth the read.

[shelmark]

Does anyone know what is going on at Nashville? After the first game of a DH on Friday(?) neither Fielder or Krynzel has started. I also believe Hart did not start in two of those games. Injuries, fatigue, discipline? I see both Prince and Hart PH, so they can't be hurt, can they?

[Mass Haas]

MLB.com:

 

Ned Yost said general manager Doug Melvin called Sunday morning and raved about Minor League outfielder Nelson Cruz, who was held finally hitless Saturday after batting .457 in his first 11 games with Triple-A Nashville. Melvin is on a nine-day tour of Brewers Minor League affiliates.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.helenair.com/articles...805_01.txt

 

Brewers unable to pick up win

By KEVIN SHIVELY - IR Sports Writer

 

It would have been a stretch to do it twice.

 

For the second time in their three-game home series with the Orem Owlz, the Helena Brewers found themselves in a deep hole. The only difference is that this time the first-place team wasn't able to dig itself out.

 

The Brewers were able to manage a comeback from a seven-run deficit to win on Friday, but lost to the Owlz 13-8 on Sunday.

 

There were a few players who didn't go quietly. With two outs in the ninth, Matt Gamel homered, doing his part at narrowing the lead. Then Agustin Septimo doubled, giving the Brewers fans a little more hope, but was stranded on second when out three came.

 

Gamel's home run wasn't the only trip to the plate he produced in. The third baseman was 4-for-5 in the game with a home run, a pair of doubles and a single. He tallied four RBI with the hits, all of which came with two outs.

 

The Brewers tried a comeback, getting a run in each of the last three innings, but for each run they scored, Orem did as well.

 

In fact, the Owlz scored in every inning but the second, collecting 17 hits on the way to their win with at least one from every player who stepped to the plate.

 

Helena didn't exactly slouch on offense. The Brewers put up 16 hits including seven doubles.

 

The game was tied at five apiece going into the fifth inning, but in the fifth, Billy Boyer sent a two-run shot over the fence and in the sixth Orem had four singles to drive in three more. Helena wasn't able to catch up.

 

Timothy Didjurgis got his second win of the season for the Owlz. He came in in the fourth inning and allowed only one run and two hits in three and a third innings.

 

Robbie Wooley (1-2) got his second loss on the mound for the Brewers.

 

Helena will go on a seven-game road trip beginning tonight in Ogden to square off with the Raptors.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=42931

 

?Topes topple Sounds again

By Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com

 

The pesky Albuquerque Isotopes won their third straight at Greer Stadium, downing the retreating Nashville Sounds 5-2 Sunday.

 

With second-place Memphis set to invade Music City for a four-game set today, the Sounds find themselves in a good old-fashioned pennant race for the PCL American Northern Division.

 

Nashville?s lead is down to three games after a Memphis win Sunday.

 

When the Redbirds square off against Nashville tonight, they?ll be facing a team reverting to some of its nasty old habits. The Sounds, whose losing streak is at three games, did not display their best glove work Sunday. Two Sounds errors led to two unearned runs for starter Gary Glover.

 

Offensively, the team was no better. Nashville (52-43) left ten runners on base and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

 

Nashville didn?t get on the board until ninth inning, when Prince Fielder, who did not start the game, blasted a two-run homer.

 

An angry Sounds manager Frank Kremblas was especially upset about his team?s plate approach.

 

?We?ve got to do better than the (expletive) ninth inning when we?re down five to (expletive) nothing,? Kremblas said. ?I don?t know if we?re paying attention. Their [starting pitcher Jeff Fulchino] did the same sequence eight or nine times.

 

?You?d hope after [four] days off, you?d come back refreshed mentally. Other than not paying attention [i don?t know what we?re doing differently offensively].?

 

Derek Wathan continued to be a thorn in the side of Sounds pitchers. After hitting the game-winning home run Saturday night, Wathan homered in his first at-bat Sunday ? a two-run shot in the second.

 

The Isotopes (52-43) added a run in the third and two more in the sixth inning for the Sounds. After the sixth, Albuquerque had built its lead to 5-0.

 

Glover (2-1) didn?t pitch poorly for the Sounds. He went six innings, allowing five runs, three earned en route to his first loss of the season.

 

Glover?s counterpart, Fulchino (7-6), scattered six hits over 5.2 innings for Albuquerque.

 

Subbing in center field, Ryan Knox went 3-for-5 leading off for the Sounds. Fielder?s homer was his second since being back from Milwaukee two weeks ago.

[Mass Haas]

Fielder was not in the lineup yesterday either. Hopefully something minor. Is something wrong with Krynzel or is he catching a plane to St. Louis?

From the Tennessean:

 

Sick bay: Prince Fielder (right elbow contusion) and Sounds outfielder Dave Krynzel (right foot tendinitis) were held out of the starting lineup for the third consecutive game yesterday. Both are listed as day-to-day.

 

Nashville was also without reliever Jeff Bennett, who was ill and not at the park Sunday.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Sounds' skid at three as offense falls short

Only Fielder's HR prevents first shutout since early June

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

An uninspired effort left the Nashville Sounds on a three-game losing streak for the first time in more than a month following last night's 5-2 loss to visiting Albuquerque.

 

The Sounds, who had not dropped three in a row since they were swept by Omaha June 4-7 at Greer Stadium, committed a pair of errors last night. Despite outhitting the Isotopes, Nashville was hitless in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position before Prince Fielder's two-out, two-run home run in the ninth inning broke up the potential shutout.

 

"We're swinging at bad pitches in crucial counts," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said following the game. "We've got guys trying to hit home runs that aren't even going to tie the game up. We need to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out what kind of hitters we are."

 

Fielder's homer, his 17th of the season and his second since returning from a 22-day stay in the majors, helped Nashville avoid its first shutout since Omaha blanked the Sounds 4-0 June 5. After the home run, Ryan Knox reached base on a single before Steve Scarborough struck out to end the game.

 

"That's nice," Kremblas said of the late-game push. "But we've got to do better before the ninth inning when we're down 5-0. Our at-bats were horrible the whole series."

 

The series loss masked the consistently solid pitching the Sounds got over the four games. Starter Gary Glover struck out seven in six innings and allowed just three earned runs last night. Relievers Kane Davis and Mitch Stetter combined to throw three shutout innings.

 

With Memphis' 7-1 win over New Orleans, the Sounds' lead in the Pacific Coast League American Conference Northern Division is now three games over the Redbirds, who come to town for a four-game series beginning tonight.

 

Makin' moves: Former Brewers pitcher Tommy Phelps was added to the Sounds' active roster prior to yesterday's game. Phelps, a 31-year-old left-hander, was 0-2 with a 4.63 ERA and one save in 29 relief appearances with Milwaukee.

 

The transaction was the 32nd of the season for Nashville ? still 42 less than the team made through the same date last season. Additionally, the move gets the Nashville roster back to the 24-man maximum for the first time since June 17. The Sounds lost both Kevin Orie and Chad Paronto following that night's game and have played with fewer than the limit since.

 

Game at a glance

 

? Losing pitcher: Glover (2-1).

 

? Big stick: Fielder, 1-for-2, HR.

 

? How they lost: The Sounds outhit Albuquerque 10-8, but went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Glover allowed a pair of unearned runs in his five-run total over six innings as the Nashville defense committed two errors.

 

? What they said: "I don't know if we're paying attention. You'd hope you'd have three days off and come back more fresh mentally." ? Kremblas referring to the All-Star break.

 

? Tonight's pitchers: Sounds ? LHP Jeff Housman (3-7, 5.28 ERA). Redbirds ? RHP Chris Gissell (7-5, 2.62).

 

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

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1

 

Missed opportunities doom Stars against Mudcats

Carolina claims 8-2 win to earn for 2nd straight victory

By MATT NASCONE

Times Staff Writer eintern@htimes.com

 

Deputy Barney Fife could not save the Stars from dropping their second straight game in as many days Sunday. As Barney and Opie lookalikes gathered for Mayberry Night at Joe Davis Stadium, the Stars lost to the Carolina Mudcats 8-2.

 

After a leadoff hit by Tony Gwynn Jr. in the first inning, it took the Stars four innings to muster another hit against Carolina starting pitcher Josh Johnson.

 

Johnson (8-4) pitched seven strong innings for the win. He allowed one run on five hits. He struck out five Stars and walked two.

 

The Stars' Josh Habel (1-2) took the loss, allowing six runs on nine hits in four innings. He walked four batters and struck out two.

 

Huntsville manager Don Money said missed scoring opportunities were the difference.

 

"When you are playing a good team with a good pitcher you can't let good opportunities to score pass," Money said

 

"When you let up two in the first, two in the second and two in the third and there is a good pitcher on the mound, that has a tendency to make the team go flat."

 

Michael Tucker opened the scoring for the Mudcats in the second inning with a home run over left field, scoring Chris Bass. Reggie Abercrombie stretched the Mudcats' lead to 3-0 in the third inning with a solo home run over left field.

 

Chris Bass followed with a double. Bass later scored on a single by Frank Moore.

 

Bass finished 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.

 

Carolina's Jeremy Hermida scored on a passed ball in the fourth inning and Bass hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Jason Hill to push the lead to 6-0.

 

Huntsville's Brandon Gemoll was stranded on second in the fifth inning as the three Stars following Gemoll were retired in order.

 

Huntsville broke through in the seventh inning. The Stars loaded the bases as Vinny Rottino walked and Brad Nelson and Gemoll singled.

 

Callix Crabbe singled to right field, plating Rottino for a 6-1 deficit. The Mudcats ended the threat as John Vanden Berg grounded into a double play.

 

In the eighth inning, the Mudcats scored two unearned runs.

 

After Crabbe booted a ground ball, Hermida and James Shanks scored on singles by Hill and Abercrombie.

 

"That error hurt because the score went from 6-1 to 8-1," Money said. "You can see 6-1, but 8-1 with two innings to go is not good."

 

Abercrombie went 2-for-4 at the plate, scored one run and drove in two.

 

The Stars made a final push in the ninth inning. Nelson led off the inning with single. Crabbe singled Nelson across the plate.

 

Crabbe knocked in both runs for the Stars in the game, batting 2-for-4.

 

Money said he is not worried about the losing streak.

 

"You can't worry about tonight, as long as you did your best that's all we ask," he said. "If you are 0-for-4 one night you will go 4-for-4 the next night, and that is the way you have to look at."

 

"If you carry your offense into tomorrow, before you know it you have a mini-streak and you're 0-for-20. So you just go eat dinner and get on the bus tomorrow ready to start all over."

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.herald-mail.com/?modu...ormat=html

 

Suns fall in 14

by DAN KAUFFMAN

kauffman@herald-mail.com

 

Errors on routine plays. Bonehead baserunning mistakes. Consecutive balks.

 

Willie Mays Bobblehead Day turned into Bobble The Game Away Day for the Hagerstown Suns.

 

Two walks and two balks by Suns reliever Jose Gomez helped West Virginia score three runs in the 14th inning, and the Power came away with a close but ugly 8-5 victory Sunday.

 

Marcelo Perez relieved Gomez and gave up Alcides Escobar's RBI single and Ryan Braun's two-run single.

 

The Suns and Power combined for five errors - all in the first three innings.

 

West Virginia took a 1-0 lead in the first on Hernan Iribarren's home run to right-center field against Suns starter Brandon Nall, who was making his first professional appearance.

 

The homer came one pitch after Nall, a submarine-style right-hander who signed with the New York Mets as a free agent out of LSU, threw what looked to be strike three on the outside corner, but was called a ball.

 

The Power made it 3-0 in the second, through no fault of Nall's. The Suns turned two rather routine plays into errors, as shortstop Ryan Coultas booted William Lewis' leadoff grounder and Carlos Gomez dropped a fly ball to deep center.

 

However, the Suns rallied to tie the game at 3-3 in the third when West Virginia's defense went in the toilet. First baseman Grant Richardson dropped an easy throw which would have retired Corey Coles for the second out, third baseman Josh Murray got eaten up by a tough hop on Gomez's grounder, and catcher Carlos Corporan had a pitch squirt away from him to his right, then threw the ball away trying to throw out Coles at third, leading to a run.

 

Mike Carp made it hurt real good with a monstrous two-run homer onto the parking lot beyond the right-field wall.

 

The Power added runs in the fifth, when Braun doubled off Nall and later scored on Nall's wild pitch, and the eighth on Adam Mannon's solo homer off reliever Kevin Mannix, who was otherwise sharp in his 3 2/3 innings of relief, allowing two hits and striking out four.

 

The Suns scored a run in the seventh on singles by Carlos Gomez (on a bunt), Concepcion and Psomas, and added another in the eighth when Derran Watts blooped a single leading off, Russ Triplett walked, Coultas' sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base and Coles grounded to short to score Watts.

 

Though the Suns' aggressiveness paid off in the third when it led to Corporan's throwing error, too much aggressiveness burned them twice. In the fifth, Carlos Gomez got caught too far off second on a line drive that was caught in left field, and in the seventh, Coles rounded second too far on Gomez's bunt single and got caught in a rundown.

 

Nall went 4 1/3 innings in his pro debut, allowing four hits, three walks and four runs (two earned) while striking out four. In a scary moment, Nall hit Hasan Rasheed in the head with a pitch in the fifth. Rasheed was able to walk off on his own power.

 

Nall hit two batters and threw three wild pitches.

 

***

Charleston Daily Mail:

 

Surging Power returns home

 

It took a while -- in more ways than one -- but the West Virginia Power is coming home after a couple of firsts in its 2005 South Atlantic League baseball season.

 

The Power, which begins a seven-game homestand at Appalachian Power Park tonight at 7:05 (6:05 Central), outlasted Hagerstown 8-5 in 14 innings Sunday in Maryland. That lifted West Virginia (12-11 in the SAL second half) over .500 for the first time this season.

 

It also brought the Power's winning streak to four games, a season best. Manager Ramon Aviles' club has won six of its last seven, as the Suns return the visit for a two-game stand at APP. Lakewood then visits Charleston's new ballpark for a five-game series.

 

The Power began the first half 0-6 and finished 20 games below .500. Getting to the four-game winning streak took almost five hours Sunday, and came in unusual fashion on the mound. Justin Barnes went the final seven innings in relief, allowing one run and three hits, and raising his record to 6-1.

 

The Power had 10 hits, including two apiece by Alcides Escobar and Ryan Braun. Hernan Iribarren went only 1-for-8 for West Virginia, but the hit was a first-inning solo homer. Adam Mannon also homered for the Power.

 

Hagerstown pitchers walked 12 Power hitters, but West Virginia made winning difficult, stranding 16 runners.

 

The Suns (8-15), who took the SAL's first-half Northern Division title, send right-hander mike Devaney (5-1) to the mound tonight against Power lefty Greg Kloosterman (3-12).

 

The Power is home for 15 of its next 18 games. Following the homestand opening tonight, West Virginia goes to Lexington for a three-game series, then comes back home for four-game sets against Hickory and Asheville.