Link Report for 7/9 -- Housman Award, Ben Diggins Returns

[MassBrew]

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update:

 

STARS RIDE BOXCAR TO 1st PLACE

According to a Huntsville Times story, The Chicken ranked Huntsville 5th among his favorite places to entertain....... After 20 years, who's to doubt him, but of all the cities and all the baseball parks and arenas he's been to, I'm curious to know what makes this staunchly conservative, right-wing, yet diverse city so high among his favorites, when he's been to much larger cities. He's reknowned as the most famous sports mascot bar none, so that's quite a compliment to the city if that's the case........ But Huntsville seems to return the favor. Chicken nights have been one of the largest draws every season and he's brought 155,895 fans to the ballpark since his first visit in 1985. Although he hasn't drawn over 8,000 to the park since 1999, he's still averaged almost 7,800 through the years........ But all things --- good or not --- must come to an end and there's some question as to whether he'll be back next year or much longer if he does decide to return..... It appears he's slowing it down. From 250-300 dates a year for years, he's working fewer than 100 this year and the orange and yellow funny feathered freak may not be back. It would be a huge challenge to find a draw like that........ The Chicken had better luck with the weather this year, drawing 7,129 on a clear, but humid 87° night.

 

The Chicken hasn't been much of a lucky charm the past few years....... This was the first win for the Stars on Chicken Night in five years. In fact, the Stars were 3-7 in the last eight years coming in (he made two visits in 1997 and 1998), but the Stars have been playing so well this month, all forms of artificial help are no longer needed........ Weeks-Gwynn-Fielder have been a constant at the top of the lineup day after day and there's been little deviation since it was first used on May 7........ Manager Frank Kremblas said before the half started that this team's fortunes in the second half rode on them, and it's evident in the Stars' 10-6 record at the moment that their post-season chances rest largely on their contribution........ After seeing what happened when they hit around the Mendoza line during every Stars' game during a 9-18 June, it's hard to argue against his point........ Rickie Weeks and Tony Gwynn, Jr. are hitting .333 in July, both 12-for-36, .297 and .290 respectively in the second half of the season........ Prince Fielder is hitting .294 in July, .241 in the second half with two HRs and eight RBI........ This represents quite a reversal of their June participation in this game.

 

Tonight, the Stars batted around in the 2nd inning as they went "all in" as they say in poker with a six-run rally and hung the responsibility of keeping it on the arms of four relief pitchers........ The six runs matched the most in one inning for the Stars this year. They had a six-run 5th vs. Birmingham on May 20 in a 13-7 victory.

 

Jamie Gann and Chris Barnwell broke the ice with back-to-back first pitch doubles down opposite lines off starter Gabe Ribas --- Gann's to right and Barnwell's to left...... It looked like Ozzie Chavez would have a third when he hit a 1-0 pitch down the right field line, but he held up as Ben Johnson's throw came quickly in to hold him to a single as Barnwell scored to make it 2-0....... A walk on 3-and-1 to Joel Alvarado moved Chavez to second and after Glenn Woolard struck out on a bunt attempt, Weeks hit a sharp one-hopper to Marcus Nelltes in left. The throw in was cut off by Rico Washington, with no chance to get Chavez as he crossed the plate....... 3-0....... Ribas then walked Gwynn and Fielder to load the bases and force in a run........ 4-0......... Brad Nelson capped the scoring with a first-pitch double deep to left over the head of Nettles, though it looked to me it tipped his glove as he ran with his back to the plate....... Nelson's two-run double, his 22nd of the year, made it 6-0.........Nelson is now tied with Greenville's Kelly Johnson and WT's Richard Lewis for 2nd among SL leaders in doubles.

 

Woolard was given the start as a reward for his fine relief with the absence of Chris Saenz, who is in Arizona being treated for incessant forearm soreness........ Woolard was fine for the first three innings, giving up just a hit to right field by Ben Johnson in the 2nd, but he was removed on a strike 'em out-throw 'em out double play........ Joel Alvarado has now thrown out 15 of 31 runners trying to steal second, a remarkable 48.3% success rate........ The Stars kept Brian Moon for this reason for four seasons despite yearly batting averages under .200, until the Brewers released him last year after hitting .227 in six games. (Right now, Moonie, playing for the Mariners top farm club in the PCL at Tacoma, is hitting .333 after six games. He went 2-for-4 with a double Friday night against Fresno. Funny, isn't it?)..

 

Woolie threw 18 of 33 pitches for strikes in his first three innings, but after getting leadoff hitter Kennard Jones out on a grounder to Barnwell in the 4th, the Bay Bears started wearing him down....... Woolard had never pitched four complete innings for the Stars this season, although it was fairly common when he was pitching for High Desert at the start of the season........ Nettles hit Woolard's 0-1 pitch for a one-hop single to center. With Nettles going on the pitch, Josh Barfield lined a ball medium-deep to left-center and stretched a single into a double. Barfield, a .206 hitter against the Stars coming in, came a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Despite the hard luck at the plate, he's driven in 11 runs, more than any Bay Bear hitter against the Stars........ Rico Washington then hit Woolard's 2-2 pitch high over the WZDX sign in right field, the third tier of billboards out that way....... Woolard struck out Ben Johnson on a breaking ball for the second out, but gave up a walk to Greg Sain on four pitches and a single up the middle to Ronnie Merrill...... After 64 pitches on the night, 38 for strikes (59.4%), Woolie was done....... Saul Rivera got the last out of the inning on a great defensive play by Chris Barnwell, which I missed because I was in the concession line...... Rivera's 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief wasn't trouble-free, as he got himself out of a bases-loaded jam in the 5th, but he kept his ERA down to 1.04 after six relief appearances.........

 

Josh Barfield slammed Brian Adams' 81 mph change-up for a two-run HR that brought the Bay Bears within one, 6-5, but after that HR, Adams, Roberto Giron, and John Novinsky retired seven straight hitters......... Novinsky picked up his 10th save with a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th. Novinsky gave the Stars 24 saves in 28 opportunities.

 

Rickie Weeks was hit twice tonight....... The first was rather frightening as Ribas' 1-2 mid-80's breaking ball in the 4th inning soared up in his face. Weeks brought his forearm up in front to deflect it, and it appeared to hit near his wrist. After walking Prince Fielder intentionally, Mike Bumstead came in to relieve RIbas........ Weeks was hit again in the back in the 6th inning by Jack Cassel between the numbers. Weeks came in a few steps toward the mound, but catcher Nick Trzesniak got in front of Weeks and Weeks decided to leave Cassel with a glare. He was removed from the basepaths by a double play hit by Gwynn.

 

The pitch speed display on the scoreboard seemed to be working for the first time that I could see, though it was displayed sporadically......... The funniest moment in the game, outside of The Chicken's Schtick, came when the Bay Bears' Joe Gerber fouled a 1-0 pitch behind the plate on the third base side. It lodged in one of the skybox vents over the head of a fan who was trying to catch it. Fortunately, the skybox was occupied and a gent reached up somehow and pried it loose. The ball fell in the hands of the fan on the top row.

 

Ryan Costello (3-1, 4.31) will start Saturday for the Stars against Clay Hensley (5-7, 4.38)...... Hensley beat Jeff Housman, 9-3, on May 29 and held the Stars to one run over seven innings in his last start against the Stars on June 30 --- a 3-1 victory for Mobile in 10 innings --- the last Mobile win against the Stars......... Housman is the latest recipient of the BC Powder Southern League Pitcher of the Week. Housman went 2-0 for the week of July 2-8, giving up just six hits and one earned run in 12 innings of work, and limiting opponents to a .136 batting average....... Housman is the # 20 prospect in the Brewers organization.

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Times Game Story:

 

Stars almost lay an egg

Huntsville takes over West Division lead with 6-5 win

By BRUCE McLELLAN

Times Sports Staff brucem@htimes.com

 

When The Famous Chicken's show started, the Huntsville Stars' stopped Friday night.

 

Fortunately for the Stars, they built a nest egg early, overcame failing to score after The Chicken's introduction in the third inning and beat the Mobile BayBears 6-5 in front of an announced crowd of 7,129.

 

The victory allowed the Stars (10-6 second half) to take over sole possession of first place in the Southern League West when Birmingham lost 2-1 to Chattanooga in 11 innings to drop into second.

 

The Stars appeared ready to enjoy a fun night after taking a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning and bringing The Chicken onto the field a half-inning later.

 

But the BayBears came back with a pair of home runs. Rico Washington smacked a three-run homer off Stars starter Glenn Woolard in the top of the fourth inning. Josh Barfield hit a two-run shot to the left-field corner with two outs against Brian Adams in the seventh.

 

Huntsville third baseman Chris Barnwell may have played the most critical role in helping Huntsville avoid completely blowing a six-run lead. With runners on first and third with two out in the fourth, he dove to catch Nick Trzesniak's sharply hit grounder off reliever Saul Rivera and scrambled to his feet in time to throw out the Mobile catcher at first.

 

"It was huge at that point," Stars manager Frank Kremblas said. "Anytime you're saving runs, you're doing well."

 

An inning later, Barnwell made a leaping catch of Kennard Jones' line drive with one runner on base. That out became even more significant when the BayBears loaded the bases later in the inning.

 

Of the nine outs Stars fielders recorded from the fourth through sixth innings, Barnwell had a hand in five of them.

 

Rivera (1-0) earned the victory after pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Woolard, making his first start with the Stars after going 2-0 as a reliever, faced the minimum number of batters in the first three innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth when he gave up three successive hits, the last Washington's homer. He struck out four batters, walked one and gave up five hits in 3 2/3 innings.

 

The Stars did all their damage in the second inning when eight of their first nine batters reached base against Mobile starter Gabe Ribas (0-2). Brad Nelson had a bases-loaded double to drive in two runs in the inning. Jamie Gann led off the inning with a double down the right-field line, and Barnwell followed with a double down the left-field line to score Gann. Ozzie Chavez and Rickie Weeks had run-scoring singles in the inning, and Prince Fielder drew a bases-loaded walk.

 

John Novinsky picked up his ninth save with one shutout inning, striking out one with no hits or walks.

 

On TV: The Stars and BayBears play again tonight at 7:05, and it will be telecast as part of the Southern League package by Comcast Channel 67. The game will also be replayed Monday at 11:30 a.m.

 

Ryan Costello (3-1) is scheduled to start for Huntsville against Mobile's Clay Hensley (5-7).

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

 

Mavs lose a heartbreaker to Lake Elsinore

Queen ejected for first time this season

By KRIS REILLY/Staff Writer

 

ADELANTO ? A seasoned and normally reserved manager, Mel Queen doesn't fly off the handle too often.

 

But the combination of some questionable calls, a close loss and a frustrating season can push anybody over the edge.

 

Queen was ejected for the first time this season as High Desert lost 8-7 to the Lake Elsinore Storm at Mavericks Stadium on Friday night.

 

Queen got in the face of home plate umpire Jeffrey Macias in the ninth inning and voiced his displeasure with Macias' strike zone.

 

"I just told him that it's a shame that the outcome of a ballgame is not decided on the ability of the players, but by a third party," Queen said. "They have a tough job to do and I don't get on them too often. They're going to miss calls; they're humans. But it was just to a point where I had to say something tonight."

 

Trailing 8-4 before Queen was tossed, High Desert put together a furious rally attempt in the bottom of the ninth. Callix Crabbe singled to right with one out, and third baseman Jeff Eure followed with an infield single.

 

Crabbe scored off a double by Travis Hinton, and both Eure and Hinton scored on a double by Froilan Villanueva, pulling the Mavs to within a run. The game ended when Ben Van Iderstine smacked a pitch into deep right field and Storm right fielder Casey Baker made a lunging grab near the warning track for the final out.

 

High Desert starter Jesse Harper gave up three home runs but was solid otherwise, allowing four earned runs on seven hits in seven innings of work.

 

High Desert took a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning on an RBI single by outfielder Kennard Bibbs, a sharp grounder up the middle that scored shortstop Enrique Cruz, who got on board with a walk and stole second.

 

Lake Elsinore fired back in the seventh with a solo home run by catcher Andres Pagan, then took the lead in the eighth without a single hit.

 

Mavs reliever Dan Kolb entered the game in the eighth and walked the lead-off batter, then hit the next batter with a pitch.

 

A sacrifice bunt by Josh Carter put both runners in scoring position, then Jesse Roman hit a high chopper directly to High Desert second baseman Crabbe. Crabbe made the catch and fired to home, but the high throw pulled Villanueva off the plate and allowed the Storm's Paul McAnulty to score the go-ahead run.

 

Lake Elsinore scored three runs on three hits off Kolb (2-3) in the ninth inning to take an 8-4 lead, and Kolb got the loss.

 

In his second game back from a broken hamate (wrist) bone, Eure showed no ill effects, going 3-for-5 with a stolen base and two runs scored, including a run in the fifth where he plowed over Pagan at the plate. Pagan lost the ball during the collision, allowing Eure to score.

[MassBrew]

Helena Independent Republic Game Story:

 

Brewers muster three hits, blanked by Great Falls

By KEVIN SHIVELY - IR Sports Writer

 

The Great Falls White Sox held Helena to its lowest hit total of the season Friday night.

 

The Brewers managed three hits against the Great Falls club, which won the last game of their series 5-0 at Kindrick Legion Field.

 

The White Sox's win gave the teams a 2-2 series split.

 

Garry Bakker picked up the shutout win for Great Falls. He threw five innings, allowing only two hits and striking out five.

 

The Brewers managed to move only two runners into scoring position in the game.

 

The first came when catcher Clay Blevins reached on an error in the fifth.

 

Agustin Septimo singled past second baseman Boomer Berry to move Blevins to second, but the White Sox got out of the inning on the next batter.

 

Adam Mannon was walked by Adam Russell in the seventh inning and moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt from the Great Falls pitcher.

 

The White Sox didn't have the trouble Helena did putting numbers on the board.

 

Chris Kelly homered with two outs in the first, giving Great Falls a 1-0 lead, and Tom Collaro sent a two-run shot over the center-field fence in the third, upping the Sox lead to three.

 

The White Sox scored once more in the inning and again in the seventh.

 

Jhonny Rivera made it to first when a ball got past Helena shortstop Alcides Escobar, and rounded to second when Charlie Fermaint bobbled the ball in the outfield.

 

Berry singled to center to bring him home. Berry was moved to third on a single from Fernie Alvarez, but the Brewer defense turned a double play to get out of the inning.

 

Alvaro Martinez got the loss for the Brewers, dropping to 2-2.

 

The Helena pitcher struck out four and only allowed four hits in as many innings, but he also gave up four earned runs.

 

Despite the loss, the Brewers still remain on top in the Pioneer League North Division with a 13-8 record.

 

The Brewers will host Billings at 7:05 tonight. Helena is expected to start Josh Wahpepah (2-0) on the mound.