Link Report for Games of Monday, July 4th

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Site Game Summary:

 

Link for Tony Zuniga photo, text follows:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1670

 

Sounds Win In Last At-Bat Again, 2-1

METAIRIE, La. ? The Nashville Sounds continued their last at-bat magic on Monday evening, scoring a run in the top of the ninth inning to record a 2-1 victory over the New Orleans Zephyrs at Zephyr Field in the opener of a four-game series.

 

The win was Nashville?s 16th last at-bat victory of the year and second in as many nights.

 

With the victory, Nashville (47-38) recorded its second straight victory and maintained its 4 ½ game lead over Memphis in the PCL American Conference Northern Division.

 

The Sounds took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth when Tony Zuniga led off with a single and later scored on a Steve Scarborough double-play grounder.

 

New Orleans catcher Craig Kuzmic evened the contest in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out solo homer to right-center off Sounds starter Justin Lehr. The blast was the backstop?s second of the season.

 

Neither team scored again until the decisive ninth. Nashville outfielder Nelson Cruz led off the frame with a double down the right field line against Zephyrs reliever C.J. Nitkowski, moved up a base on a Warren Morris sacrifice, and scored on Zuniga?s two-out RBI double to center.

 

Nashville outfielder Corey Hart extended his career-high hitting streak to 13 games with a 1-for-4 evening. Sounds infielder Chris Barnwell (1-for-3) upped his season-high hit streak to six games and Cruz (1-for-4) extended his streak to five games, each of his outings with Nashville.

 

Sounds reliever Jose Capellan (5-2) earned the victory after fanning two batters over two scoreless innings of work. The hard-throwing right-hander extended his scoreless streak to 14.0 innings since moving to the bullpen in mid-June. Nitkowski (1-1) was saddled with his first loss for New Orleans after allowing the game-winning run in his two frames.

 

Lehr took a no-decision despite posting his fifth consecutive quality start for Nashville, allowing one run on Kuzmic?s homer and striking out seven over seven solid frames of work.

 

The teams hook up in the second game of the series at 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday evening at Zephyr Field. Right-hander Gary Glover (1-0, 1.13) takes the hill for the Sounds to face New Orleans right-hander Chad Durbin (0-4, 7.26).

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.news-journalonline.co...070505.htm

 

Daytona Cubs lose 6th straight

By SEAN KERNAN

Daytona News-Journal Staff Writer

 

DAYTONA BEACH -- On a night when there were fireworks going off all around Jackie Robinson Ballpark, the Brevard County Manatees used the baseball equivalent of a sparkler to take the lead over the Daytona Cubs.

 

The Manatees used back-to-back bunt hits on attempted sacrifices to set up the go-ahead run in the sixth inning of an 8-3 victory Monday night.

 

"The one bunt was actually going foul and it hit Scott Moore's footprint he left charging the ball and went back fair," Cubs manager Richie Zisk said. "Two balls in that inning went 30 feet and caused a lot of problems for us."

 

With the score tied at 3, Brevard County's C.J. Medlin singled to lead off the seventh off Jordan Gerk (2-3). No. 9 batter Steve Sollmann bunted down third base. Daytona catcher Jake Fox and third baseman Scott Moore let the ball roll, as it appeared to be going foul.

 

But the ball hit a divot and stopped, giving Sollmann a hit and advancing Medlin to second. Travis Ezi followed with another bunt, this time beating the throw to first by Moore. The tie-breaking run came across on a double-play grounder by Ozzie Chavez.

 

It was an odd night to begin with as the game started an hour and 20 minutes late because of rain. Fog late in the game may have played a part in Brevard's four-run ninth inning as Daytona's Matt Creighton had trouble seeing a leadoff pop fly by Medlin and couldn't make the catch. The two-base error sparked a four-run rally highlighted by Drew Anderson's three-run triple that capped a five-RBI effort for the Manatees left fielder.

 

The Cubs slipped to 3-10 in the second half, losing for the sixth consecutive game. Daytona is 38-42 overall.

 

The Manatees, a Milwaukee Brewers affiliate, improved to 9-3 and remain in first place in the second half of Florida State League action. Brevard County is 35-45 overall.

 

The Cubs scored two runs in the first inning on RBI singles by Brian Dopirak and Creighton. Leadoff batter Chris Walker provided the spark with a leadoff walk before he stole second and third, giving him a league-high 34 stolen bases.

 

Dopirak moved into scoring position on a groundout by Moore before Creighton singled him home.

 

J.J. Johnson led off the Cubs' half of the fourth with a home run to left to counter Brevard's first run of the game in the top of the fourth. It was Johnson's sixth homer of the season.

 

Daytona starter Yorkin Ferreras didn't figure in the decision. The left-hander fanned eight batters in 4 2/3 innings, but gave up a two-out, two-run single to Anderson that tied it at 3.

 

"He pitched well; we extended him as far as we could with his pitch limit," Zisk said. "He had second and third and two out, and he got beat with a two-strike pitch. It's one of those things where you're hoping to get five innings to get him a win. That one pitch cost him."

 

OF NOTE: Former Seabreeze, DBCC and UCF standout Bo Hall pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the Manatees.

 

Brevard County Manatees at Daytona Cubs

 

WHERE: Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

 

WHEN: 7:05 p.m. (6:05 Central)

 

OVERALL RECORDS: Brevard County 34-45, Daytona 38-42.

 

SECOND-HALF RECORDS: Brevard County 9-3, Daytona 3-10.

 

PROBABLE STARTERS: RHP Luis Pena (2-3, 4.50 ERA); Daytona, RHP Juan Mateo (5-3, 4.50).

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.greatfallstribune.com...50320/1006

 

Sox enjoy a happy holiday

By MIKE TOWNE

Great Falls Tribune Sports Writer

 

Brandon Allen was wearing a big smile as he signed autographs for young Great Falls White Sox fans Monday night at Centene Stadium ? and for good reason.

 

All Allen did was go 3-for-4 with a pair of booming two-run home runs, leading Great Falls to a 5-2 Pioneer League victory over the Helena Brewers.

 

Left-hander Boone Logan also helped to make it a joyous Fourth of July for a packed house of 4,405 fans, facing the minimum number of batters in three innings to earn his first victory of the season.

 

Allen, a 19-year-old first baseman who was a fifth-round pick in the 2004 draft, tied the game at 2-2 with a home run just inside the rightfield foul pole in the fourth inning.

 

He provided two insurance runs with a 380-foot blast over the right center-field fence in the eighth.

 

"It feels really good. It's good for us to get one over Helena," said Allen, who expanded his team RBI lead to 14 with his third and fourth homers of the young season. "Coach told us before the game it was time to step it up, time to start playing good ball and get Helena."

 

The victory snapped Helena's winning streak at four games and dropped the Brewers, the Pioneer League's hottest team, to 11-2. It was Great Falls' first win against the Northern Division leaders in five starts this summer.

 

"It was a great win at the right time. We needed it," White Sox manager John Orton said. "We battled back last night and came up a bit short (losing 6-5 to Helena after trailing 5-0), and we built off the momentum of that."

 

Allen's first home run came on a 3-0 pitch by Helena starter Steve Hammond, with one out and Garrett Guest resting on second following a double to left. He connected solidly on an inside pitch, he said.

 

Following two scoreless innings, Great Falls took the lead to stay. Manny Rodriguez was hit by a pitch from reliever Robbie Wooley, went all the way to third on a wild pitch and ensuing wild throw by catcher Angel Salome and scored on Javier Castillo's sharp single to left.

 

Guest led off Great Falls' half of the eighth inning with a single, and Allen followed with his second homer. "It was a fastball right down the middle," he said.

 

Allen, who was batting .366 in 41 at bats entering the game, refused to take all the credit. "We had great pitching and made some great defensive plays," he said. "My hat's off to the pitchers. They kept us in the game."

 

After committing five errors in Sunday's loss, the Sox didn't have a miscue on Monday night.

 

Starter Carlos Torres "didn't have his best stuff" Orton said, but the right-hander still worked five effective innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out one and walking four.

 

He gave way to Logan in the sixth inning, and the left-hander proceeded to retire nine of the 10 batters he faced. Ned Yost singled with one out in the sixth, but he was caught stealing. He struck out Agustin Septimo, who had singled in his two previous at bats, to end the inning.

 

Logan struck out both Charlie Fermaint and Salome to finish the seventh inning. He had a three-up-three-down inning in the eighth.

 

"He was lights out for three innings. Logan pitched great. He was focused," Orton said.

 

Southpaw Jay Marshall worked the ninth inning, retiring all three batters he faced to pick up his first save of the season.

 

Of Allen, the Great Falls skipper said, "He's had quality at bats all season. He's had a lot of big hits. He's been hitting righties and lefties.

 

"I can't say enough about his approach. It all starts with batting practice."

 

"It was good to put it all together. Everyone contributed," Allen said. "If we can continue to put it all together like we did tonight, we'll be all right."

 

Ortin agreed with that statement. "Helena is the hottest team in the league, and you have to play solid all the way through to beat them. We're capable of doing that.

 

"We just need to keep building confidence."

 

Yost doubled home Matt Gamel to give Helena a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Gamel had led off the inning with a single to right-center.

 

Yost scored on a single up the middle by Septimo to give the Brewers a 2-0 advantage.

 

Gamel, Yost and Septimo each had two hits to lead Helena's eight-hit attack.

 

Great Falls right-hander Paul Moviel (1-0, 3.27 ERA) is scheduled to open against Helena left-hander Rafael Lluberes (1-0, 9.39) in tonight's game at Kindrick Legion Field. ... The Brewers swept a two-game set against Great Falls on June 25-26 in Helena, winning 6-4 and 10-4.

[clancyphile]

Justin Lehr... could he be an option as a bottom-of-the-rotation starter?

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/news/Sports/200507057/

 

West Virginia bats come alive on Independence Day

Matt Lockhart

Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter

 

It finally happened.

 

It was late in the eighth inning. The West Virginia Power was losing -- again. Not a single hitter was taking the cuts Manager Ramon Aviles desired.

 

Then, something clicked.

 

Alcides Escobar led off with a slow roller down the line. Hernan Iribarren followed with a bunt single. Before the 6,744 fans attendance knew it, eight consecutive batters reached.

 

Three two-run hits later, the Power had scored enough for an 8-2 victory over Lexington.

 

"Hitting is contagious," said Power utility man Josh Brady, who delivered a two-run double in the eighth.

 

Now, the Power hopefuls want winning to be contagious.

 

After a dismal 25-45 first half to the South Atlantic League season, West Virginia has started the final 70-game stretch 4-7, including a recent four-game losing skid.

 

That has come while the SAL first-half cellar-dwellers Delmarva, Lakewood and Hickory have climbed to the top of the second-half standings.

 

West Virginia, on the other hand, hasn't found much winning. Perhaps, until now.

 

"That win was huge for us," said Brady. "It felt good to get back to the potential we know we have."

 

Aviles maintains that the Power potential only goes as far as its bats will take them.

 

"Early in the game we had chances but we kept not swinging the bat and not being aggressive," said Aviles, a former Philadelphia Phillies middle infielder. "I hope that the late inning (helped) the guys realize when you swing the bat you got a shot."

 

Starting pitcher Josh Wahpepah (4-3) kept Lexington's hitters off balance much of his 5 2/3 scoreless innings, except for five hits. Wahpepah, a third-round draft pick in 2004, has held opponents scoreless in his last 10 2/3 innings of work.

 

West Virginia hosts Lexington again tonight at 7:05 (6:05 Central).

 

* * *

 

GOLF anyone?

 

To hear Power General Manager Andy Milovich talk about the South Atlantic League All-Star golf tournament, America's Favorite Home Videos should've been there.

 

The Venezuelan middle infield tandem of Alcides Escobar and Hernan Iribarren got to swing clubs for the first time -- and it was an experience.

 

Escobar's slice was so bad that he turned the opposite direction to swing. And Iribarren, a left-hander, had to use right-handed clubs.

 

Needless to say, their first two balls went into the water.

 

They even taped each other's swings, Milovich said. "And they must've had 15 calls each on their cell phones from friends."

 

Both stayed on the phone talking to friends about their golf games. They even played hacky sack with golf balls.

 

* * *

 

ESCOBAR injured his left leg when he was involved in a three-person collision at first base. After the training staff checked him out, Escobar tried to return but was led off the field.

 

* * *

 

THE Milwaukee Brewers' first-round pick, Ryan Braun, was batting .323 with a homer and eight RBI after seven games in Rookie League Helena.

 

By all reports, Braun should be moved to either low-A West Virginia or high-A Brevard County in the near future.

 

* * *

 

JULY 4th pre-game activities included a B.E Taylor concert and a visit -- via motorcycle -- from Gov. Joe Manchin. ... A crowd of 6,744 showed up for the game to raise the season total to 135,512 -- an average of 3,662 per game ... The players wore camouflage jerseys in honor of the 130th Airlift Wing ... A new four-row covering of awning has been installed behind home plate.

 

Contact sportswriter Matt Lockhart at mattlockhart@dailymail.com.

 

West Virginia catcher Clay Blevins, left, tags out Lexington?s Brandon Barganier at home in the top of the first inning. Barganier tried to score on a Hunter Pence grounder, but was thrown out at home by third baseman Josh Murray.

Charleston Gazette Photo: Tom Hindman

 

http://www.dailymail.com/images/tag0705.jpg

[hsvstarsfan]

So close, but so far away

From 9,000 to 1,200...... Actually there wasn't even that many. You knew that. Counting heads, you wouldn't find 200. Two reasons: Although it didn't rain a drop during the game, the skies threatened to the extent that I thought we'd be lucky to get five innings in. Secondly, after nights where a large crowd comes out as expected, there is a big drop. After a then-record 13,074 showed up to see Michael Jordan and the Birmingham Barons beat Huntsville 6-5 on a Saturday, April 30, 1994, 894 came to see the next game against Jacksonville. On July 5, an overflow crowd (and the existing record) of 13,875 came to see Charlie Poe hit a grand-slam HR in the 9th to beat Birmingham, 7-4. The next day, a considerably more modest crowd of 4,732 came out on a perfect night to see the final game of that series....... That record crowd, by the way, could have been more, but they were turned away by either the city police or the fire department citing capacity laws or safety reasons or both.
So close, but so far away....... This was the dullest, most one-sided 3-1 game I have seen in a long, long time....... Given two grand opportunities to erase a 2-0 deficit, the Stars failed miserably, scoring just one run in the 5th and 6th innings combined, despite six hits, leaving a total of six runners behind.

Nelson Castro, behind 0-and-2, started the 5th inning rally with a two-out single hit hard on the ground to right. Jeff Winchester followed with a single lined hard to right, moving Castro over a base...... Tony Gwynn, Jr., a .250 hitter with runners on base and two out, then drove in the Stars only run with a bloop hit into shallow right-center. Castro beat the throw home...... Callix Crabbe ended the inning by flying out on a 1-1 pitch...... Gwynn's hit was his 2nd of the day after snapping an 0-for-19 slump, his longest 0-fer in his 2nd season with the Stars.

The squandered opportunity was nothing compared to the 6th inning........ The Stars almost instantly loaded the bases after Vinny Rottino, a .317 leadoff hitter, singled on a soft 2-2 liner to center. They then got eager. Brad Nelson, Enrique Cruz, Brandon Gemoll each went after the first pitch wih mixed results........ Nelson hit back to the box, where Heath Phillips turned it into a force out at second base, erasing Rottino....... Enrique lined his to center, moving Nelson to second and Gemoll hit a hard grounder through to short left to load the bases with one out....... The Stars, however, have been simply wasteful this year in these kind of situations, hitting just .216 (compared to .246 for the Barons)....... Ben Van Iderstine, 1-for-5 this season with the bases full, hit a 1-2 pitch sharply to shortstop Pedro Lopez for the 6-4-3 double play to end the inning........ The rest of the game, the Stars were 0-for-9 at the plate, Phillips setting down the Stars in order....... It was the 2nd complete game pitched against the Stars this season. (Anthony Lerew of the Braves had the other on June 6)........ Phillips is now 2-3 against the Stars going back to last year.

Filling in for Manny Parra, sidelined with a sore shoulder, the Barons scored all they would need in the 3rd inning off Glenn Woolard, who threw 88 pitches, 50 (57.8%) for strikes....... With one out, Cipriano Garcia, making his debut for the Barons with the promotion of Jon Acevas to Charlotte, singled to left, moved to second on a walk to leadoff man Jerry Owens...... Those runners moved up on a wild pitch on the first pitch to the next hitter, Andy Gonzalez. Gonzalez then doubled them in with a ground balll that barely stayed just inside the first base line, rolling all the way to the right field corner........ A ground ball by Casey Rogowski to short moved Gonzalez to third after Enrique's throw there was high. Rottino landed on the bag, but the runner slid under him........ Gonzalez would be called out on a comebacker to Woolard by Chris Young, as he ventured way inside the baseline, almost halfway between the infield grass and the mound to avoid a tag by Vinny Rottino.

Despite the two losses, lopsided only in terms of the lack of energy displayed by the Stars, Huntsville pitchers have kept Birmingham's offense, 4th best in the league, under control....... Wednesday, the Stars will send All-Star (that's right, All-Star) David Bradley to the mound against lefty Daniel Haigwood, making his first Double-A start after being promoted from Winston-Salem last Saturday. Bradley, named to the Southern League All-Star team to replace Talley Haines, who was promoted to the Cubs' Triple-A farm in Iowa, is 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA. He was acquired by the Brewers in October 2003 when he was purchased out of the independent Frontier League. Bradley has been simply the unsung hero of the pitching staff, going 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his three spot starts. He had a 3.08 ERA in June

Tony Gwynn, Jr. was also named to the Southern League All-Star team, joining Dana Eveland and Mitch Stetter, replacing Diamond Jaxx outfielder Felix Pie, who is on the DL.