Link Report for Games of Tuesday, April 19th

[Mass Haas]

Final: Lexington (Astros) 10, West Virginia 5

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

The West Virginia Power sent eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning and scored four runs on the Lexington Legends, but it was not enough to beat their archrival, as the Legends went on to win 10-5.

 

Alcides Escobar scored the first run on an errant throw from Evan Englebrook. Jake Serfass drew a bases loaded walk a few batters later to give the Power a 2-0 lead. Grant Richardson grounded into a 4-6-3 double play but a run scored in the process to increase the Power lead to 3-0. Josh Murray knocked in the final run of the inning on an RBI single to give the Power a 4-0 advantage.

 

The Legends scored five times in the fourth inning to take the lead. Hunter Pence hit a two run homer to begin the rally in the fourth inning. Chris Clark brought the Legends within a run with an RBI double making it a 4-3 game. Jonny Ash?s sacrifice fly tied the game at 4-4 and Edgar Babilonia gave Lexington a 5-4 lead on an RBI single. The Legends broke the game open in the fifth inning, scoring five more times. Chris Clark drew a bases loaded walk to begin the scoring, and Jonny Ash hit a grand slam to make it 10-4 Lexington. The Power scored the final run of the game on Will Lewis?s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it 10-5.

 

Raymar Diaz (1-1) earned the victory for the Legends and Greg Kloosterman (0-3) obtained the loss for West Virginia. With the victory the Legends improve to 6-6 on the season and the Power drop to 2-10 with the loss.

 

The Power will host their first of three Grand Slam School Days on Wednesday Morning at Appalachian Power Park against the Legends. Righthander Yovani Gallardo (0-1, 2.00) will throw for the Power and the Legends will counter with lefthander Troy Patton (0-0, 1.13). The first pitch is scheduled for 10:35 AM (9:35 AM Central).

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.wvgazette.com/section...2005041933

 

Lexington homers sink Power 10-5

By Jim Workman

For The Charleston Gazette

 

West Virginia may be nicknamed the Power, but it was the Lexington Legends who displayed it Tuesday night.

 

Hunter Pence hit a two-run home run and teammate Jonny Ash banged a grand slam to lift the Legends to a 10-5 victory in a South Atlantic League contest at Appalachian Power Park.

 

Power manager Ramon Aviles said the problem wasn?t necessarily the homers his team gave up. It was what happened prior to them.

 

?When you walk people, there?s no defense for that,? he said. ?You saw the difference in the first three innings when they put the ball in play. We turned double plays and pitched out of jams. When you start putting people on base, you?re asking for trouble.??

 

Five of the baserunners who scored for Lexington reached on walks. One more was hit by a pitch.

 

?Those were gifts,? Aviles added. ?We have to pitch better than that.?

 

Power starter Greg Kloosterman (0-3) was the pitcher of record when the damage was done. Reliever Raymar Diaz was credited with the win for Lexington, a Houston Astros affiliate.

 

The Power (2-10) scored four runs in the bottom of the first to claim an early lead.

 

Agustin Septimo led off with a double and Alcides Escobar reached on an error, advancing Septimo to third. Lexington pitcher Evan Engelbrook attempted to pick off Escobar, but overthrew the first baseman, allowing Septimo to score. Hernan Iribarren singled and Carlos Corporan drew a walk to load the bases. Jake Serfass drew another walk to up the Power lead to 2-0.

 

Grant Richardson hit into a 4-6-3 double play, but the play allowed another run to cross. Josh Murray then singled in Corporan for a 4-0 reading.

 

Lexington (6-6) bested that offensive output with a five-run fourth. Pence smacked a two-run homer over the right-field fence to cut the lead to 4-2. Chris Clark hit a RBI double, Jonny Ash sacrificed in a run to tie it and Edgar Babilonia added an RBI single to give the Legends a 5-4 lead.

 

?We had the momentum but then we gave it back to them,? Aviles said. ?That?s when we lost the game.?

 

The Legends added to their lead in the fifth. Power reliever Brian Montalbo inherited a bases-loaded situation and promptly walked Chris Clark to increase the Lexington advantage to 6-4. Ash then swatted a grand slam home run that sailed over and just inside the right-field foul pole.

 

The crowd of 3,259 took great exception to the decision made by the home plate umpire on the close call and let him know it. For the remainder of the contest, every foul ball drew cries of ?Home run! Home run!? from the Power fans.

 

Aviles did not protest the call.

 

?From where I was, [Power hitting coach] Tony [Diggs] and I thought it was fair,? Aviles said. ?We lost the ball behind the [foul pole] screen. If it was foul, we would have seen it all the way. That?s why we didn?t argue the play.?

 

West Virginia got a run back in the sixth when William Lewis brought in Murray with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 10-5.

 

Lexington continued its mastery of the Power. The Legends swept West Virginia last week in a three-game series at Applebee?s Park. The Power continues its current three-game series with Lexington with a 10:35 a.m. (9:35 Central) contest today, part of its ?Grand Slam School Day? promotion.

 

West Virginia Box Score:

Let's get Simon Beresford in the rotation mix already...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

[Mass Haas]

So what's the knock on William Lewis? He hit the ball well, in part time action, last year. He got sent back to low A this year. He's still hitting the ball well, but still in part time action. I'm certainly not advocating less time for the Hurricane, but are the Brewers lower minors options at short too good to allow Lewis a full-time shot? Can he not play there?

 

Lewis has given no indication that he's capable of playing shortstop, and likely hasn't seen a single inning there. He's better off getting time in the outfield for now...

[homer]

Brutal line for Weeks. eek.

[shelmark]

Weeks is the most overrated Brewer prospect since Billy Jo Robidoux. The guy continues to get press for doing nothing.

[molitor fan]

Weeks will be fine. In spring training he was firing line shots all over the yard against major league pitching.....

 

I give Weeks a 95% chance of being an all-star at some point of his career. Bat speed, wrist strength, approach at the plate, and speed....he is the real deal....overrated? Whatever.

[deeswan]

Weeks is the most overrated Brewer prospect since Billy Jo Robidoux. The guy continues to get press for doing nothing.

 

You cannot possibly be serious.

[shelmark]

Ok...the Robidoux thing was a bit strong. I do believe that too much is made of Weeks. The future of the Brewers has everything to do with Eveland, Parra, Rogers, and Gallardo and nothing to do with Weeks.

[SoCalBrewfan]

I do believe that too much is made of Weeks. The future of the Brewers has everything to do with Eveland, Parra, Rogers, and Gallardo and nothing to do with Weeks.

 

So you think people are overstating their case? Maybe. "Nothing to do with Weeks"? Mr. Kettle, have you met Mr. Pot?

[shelmark]

That's right, nothing to do with Weeks. Unless you are the Yankees, pennants are won with pitching staffs, not 2B with high OBP. So what do you expect from Weeks? 30HR? 50 SB? Weeks will hit around .280, hit 15 HR, and maybe steal 20 if he someday learns how to do it. Sounds a lot like a really good year for Junior Spivey. I'm gonna stand with my OPINION, and that is that Weeks will be nothing special, and that if the Brewers are ever going to make the playoffs it will be Eveland, Rogers, Gallardo, and Parra that make it happen.