Link Report for Fri. 7/20 - Brewer Kids 3 Wins Over Cub Kids

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

STARS SET BREWER-ERA RECORD

ONE WIN AWAY FROM TYING 1988 FRANCHISE MARK

Now it's 11, tying a Brewer-era record for consecutive victories...... One more will tie the franchise record set, ironically, in the Stars worst season ever -- 1988 -- when they finished with a 2nd half record of 22-50 and a season mark of 59-85........ That 12-game winning streak ended on May 13 with a 12-4 loss to Birmingham (which I have on videotape), marking the beginning of a crash in which they lost seven straight and 12 of their next 14. The plunge cost them a first-half title, for they actually finished 5½ in back of Chattanooga in the 1st half that year with a 37-35 record....... I say this not with the intention of jinxing us, of course. I really don't believe in such stuff, although I do adhere to the code of not mentioning a no-hitter while it is in progress.

 

The funny part is -- it's looking so easy, and it's surprising since the Stars are hitting just .257 during the streak, and had only one game in which they've had at least ten hits (July 7)....... The margin of only one of the victories has been by a single run (a 1-0 shutout victory that closed the Chattanooga series at AT&T Park), and two of them by a pair of runs....... In the entire streak, the Stars have found themselves behind in only four of the games -- three of them by no more than a run. Trailing 3-0 to Chattanooga on July 13, they scored four in the 6th to win. (In the three other games, they scored in the 7th or 8th innings, testifying to their amazing clutch ability)....... 43% of the Stars' 61 runs during the streak have come in the latter third of the game, while only four of their opponents 19 runs have come in the 7th, 8th, or 9th innings.

 

So the bullpen has been a major factor, running up a streak of 21 consecutive scoreless innings, 22 without allowing an earned run. (Adam Heether threw away a slow grounder by leadoff hitter Casey McGehee in the 9th tonight. McGehee, getting two bases out of it, scored on a double to left off Heether's glove by Ismael Salas.) ....... During the Stars' 13-3 July, the bullpen has saved six games. Their ERA is 3.40 for the month, but during the streak, the bullpen has been scored upon on only two occasions, including tonight, allowing three runs, two earned, on 19 hits and 12 walks in 31 innings for an ERA of 0.58.

 

A mostly cloudy, but comfortable 77° night at the ballpark........ The magenta-hued sunset may have made it a little difficult for outfielders, but it was a feast for the eyes of over 4,600 spectators who really came out for the fireworks, many probably oblivious of the streak........ It turned out, as expected, to be another pitchers' night........ Mark Holliman, who no-hit the Stars on June 21, and Steve Hammond, now 3-0 with a 0.53 ERA this month, and 3-1, 1.65 since June, are two of only four Southern League pitchers to author complete game shutouts this year. Hammond is one of only two with two complete games......... Hammond scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings, while Holliman held the Stars to just three hits over six innings.

 

The only mistake Holliman made until the 7th, was a 1-1 pitch Lou Palmisano lined under the star-shaped American Classifieds sign to the left of the scoreboard in left field in the 2nd inning for his 10th home run, but facing Palmisano with the bases loaded in the 3rd, he got even when he checked his swing on an 0-1 pitch and tapped the ball back to him. Holliman underhanded the ball to 1st baseman Matt Craig for the final out.

 

Holliman's one-pitch mistake was costly, as Hammond got sterling outfield defense when he needed it...... In the 2nd with two out, Mel Stocker made a running, over-the-shoulder catch against the wall on a long drive by Robinson Chirinos with a runner on 1st...... With two out in the 3rd, and catcher Chris Robinson on 3rd base, Michael Brantley, running opposite of home plate, made an over-the-shoulder catch of a Jemel Spearman liner....... Brantley made another nice inning-ending catch against the wall in left in the 5th, saving Hammond from an extra-base hit, and Adam Heether turned an inning-ending double play in the 1st and made a diving stop to his left for the 2nd out in the 7th.

 

The Stars finally got some crucial insurance in the 7th as they took advantage of Holliman's wildness (he walked five in the game)....... With one out, he walked two of the Stars' speediest hitters, Stocker and Alcides Escobar. A wild pitch to pinch-hitter Ryan Crew on a 1-1 count moved both runners into scoring position...... Crew failed to drive them in, striking out on an 80 mph change-up, but Hernan Iribarren, hitting a meek .245 since July 1, roped a triple into the right field corner, giving the Stars a 3-1 lead...... Brantley then singled up the middle on a 3-2 pitch from Holliman to make it 4-1.

 

Vince Perkins, making his Joe Davis Stadium debut, kept his ERA clean, but was scary to watch....... Facing nine batters, he went 3-and-0 on hitters four times and 3-and-2 four times. What saved him was a quick and smooth 4-6-3 double play to get the first two outs of the 8th, then after a walk to Matt Craig and a stolen base, he smoked a 93 mph fastball past Tyler Colvin, who swung past it for strike three, ending the inning........ In the 9th, Perkins went 3-and-0 on Casey McGehee, then got a full count on him before he tapped a slow grounder to Heether, who ran in on the ball, only to throw it past Steve Sollmann for a two-base error...... Issmael Salas followed with a sharply lined double over Heether's glove, ending a 25-inning scoring drought by the Smokies...... After Perkins struck out pinch-hitter Alan Rick, making his first appearance in this series, on a 3-and-2 89 mph fastball, he went 3-and-2 on Chris Robinson, and then walked him........ Don Money called David Johnson in to finish the game, getting Joe Simokaitis to line out to Escobar and Chris Walker to strike out on an 82 mph curve.

 

Sam Narron (5-6, 4.56) will face Ryan O'Malley, who pitched last season for the Cubs' affiliate at the time, the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, as the series wraps up Saturday night, a potentially historic one for the Stars....... Narron, after a 1-3, 4.82 June, is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in his last two starts. In three starts against the Smokies, he's 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA and has held batters to a .224 average....... O'Malley rejoined the club from Class AAA-Iowa (PCL) July 10, along with pitcher Geoff Jones, Friday.

 

Brendan Katin didn't get an RBI tonight, but he has a chance to take over the RBI lead in the Southern League. Mississippi's Brandon Jones, the leader with 74, has gone up to Class AAA-Richmond (Int'l.)..... Katin needs six.

 

Manny Parra made his major league debut, Friday night, in a mop-up role as the Brewers lost to San Francisco, 8-4....... Parra struck out three of the four hitters he faced in a clean inning-and-a-third. Guillermo Rodriguez, Dave Roberts, and Omar Vizquel all struck out swinging. Kevin Frandsen, the 2nd hitter to face Parra, grounded out to J.J. Hardy in the 9th........ Parra becomes the 168th former Huntsville Star to graduate to the majors.

 

Brad Nelson hit another homer Friday night, a three-run shot, to give the Sounds a 5-3 victory over Iowa....... A third Cub farm club, the Daytona Cubs, also lost as the Brevard County Manatees won in 11 innings on Michael Bell's two-run single in the 11th.

[Mass Haas]

Thanks to Brewer radio announcer Jim Powell for another mention of Brewerfan.net Friday night.