Link Report for Games of Thursday, April 14th

[Mass Haas]

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Thursday's Daily Menu -- three dinner entrees while the big boys take yet another day off...

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- we'll be confirming pitcher info in the AM at the lower levels...

 

Nashville: LHP Jeff Housman at home vs. Oklahoma (Rangers), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: Idle, heading home

 

Brevard County: TBD at home vs. Jupiter (Marlins), 6:00 PM

 

Audio link (opponent's feed):

 

www.live365.com/cgi-bin/m...2747300015

 

West Virginia: RHP Derek DeCarlo at home vs. undefeated (7-0) Hagerstown (Mets), 6:45 PM -- the Suns have already defeated the Power four times; have fun in the $23 million ballpark, kids...

 

Audio link (opponent's feed):

streaming0.ctinetworks.co...uns-wa.pls

 

Edit: Updated West Virginia pitcher and start time info...

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...005041430/

 

Ex-WVU star hopes to spoil Power opener

Matt Lockhart

Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter

 

This whole thing is news to Grant Psomas.

 

The former West Virginia University shortstop had no clue his Hagerstown Suns would be opening Charleston's $23 million Appalachian Power Park tonight at 7:45 PM (6:45 PM Central).

 

Then again, why should he? Psomas is zoned in where it matters for minor league baseball players -- at the plate. Just ask Manager Ramon Aviles' winless West Virginia Power club.

 

Power pitchers served up two homers to Psomas on the South Atlantic League's opening night last week in Hagerstown. One went over a deep centerfield fence that's three stories high.

 

"I hit it pretty good," said the 22-year-old Psomas, who is nicknamed Gungie. "I'm not sure how far it went."

 

Truth is, Psomas has been hitting everything pretty good this year. A 15th-round selection by the New York Mets, Psomas is batting .385 with 2 home runs and 7 runs batted in.

 

It's a big jump from last year's two homers and .233 average and in 65 games on the Mets' short-season Class A New York-Penn League team in Brooklyn. Still, Psomas claims he hasn't changed much.

 

"I've just tried to take the same approach to the plate," said Psomas, who batted .317 with 21 homers and 110 RBI in his three-year Mountaineer career. "I try to find good pitches to hit; that's what I've been trying to do all season."

 

Instead, Psomas directs a lot of his early success to his team's pitching staff. In the four-game sweep over the Power last week, Hagerstown pitchers allowed only four runs and 15 hits in 118 at-bats.

 

"Whenever you get good pitching, it takes a lot of pressure off the offense," said Psomas, who is from Carnegie, Pa., a Pittsburgh suburb. "That has happened so far."

 

Hagerstown comes to Charleston (0-7) atop the South Atlantic League's Northern Division with a 7-0 mark. The Suns are the SAL's only unbeaten club, and their start includes a four-game, season-opening sweep of the Power.

 

Of the pitchers Psomas has faced in his team's seven games, he said West Virginia's rotation leader Mark Rogers stood out the most -- despite the former first-round pick giving up five earned runs in three innings one week ago.

 

"He was really bringing it," said Psomas. "He really impressed me."

 

Tonight, Psomas' Suns will go against West Virginia right-hander Derek DeCarlo (0-0, 4.50 ERA).

 

The 22-year-old, ninth-round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2004 gave up one run and three hits in two innings of relief in Saturday's 2-1 loss at Hagerstown.

 

The Suns will counter with Jeff Landing (1-0), a right-hander who pitched five shutout innings against the Power in the third game of the season.

 

Gates open at 6 p.m., but the first pitch isn't until 7:45 p.m. because of ceremonies to open the new ballpark.

 

Game four of the series Sunday matches two of the top prospects in the SAL in Rogers (0-1) and Hagerstown's Gabriel Hernandez (0-0).

[Mass Haas]

Charleston Daily Mail Series Preview with projected rotation through the weekend series:

 

www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...format=prn

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Notes (PDF format):

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

[Mass Haas]

You can use these links to get your always updating box scores and game logs while tonight's action takes place. In Nashville's case, it's their nice gamecast feature:

 

Nashville:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/live/xlive.htm

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Don't think I've mentioned it yet, but Mass, I love the new handle.

 

Kudos.

 

http://www.simsclassicsports.net/photos/8688327.jpg

[Brewer Fever]

6 IP, 1 H, 10 Ks pitching tonight for Brevard County

[squarepusher]

That would be sinkerballer Tim Dillard spinning the gem for Brevard Co.

 

Also, Nashville up 1-0 on an RBI 2B by Kevin Orie.

[Brewer Fever]

And Costelo comes in to pitch the 7th and promptly gives up a run to end Dillard's bid for a W.

 

BC tied up 1-1

[DHonks]

I for one was thrilled to see they'd be trying Dillard as a starter. Good to see some early results, too

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 3, Jupiter (Marlins) 1

 

Brevard County Box Score:

We may not see a finer pitching line all season than Tim Dillard's here; combined with Ryan Costello, the two combined to K 15 with no walks...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1

 

Brevard County Game Log:

Jeff Eure with a two-out, two-run HR in the bottom of the 8th -- five of Jeff's six hits are for extra bases thus far...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1

[batman]

Hey, they finally fixed the "IP" bug!

 

Fantastic outing by Dillard... WOW.

 

~Bill

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 8, Hagerstown (Mets) 3

Power wins! Power wins!

 

West Virginia Box Score:

Nice to see William Lewis in the lineup wherever they can find a spot -- LF tonight -- his two-out, three-run double in the first was huge...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

Like Dillard / Costello in Brevard County, impressive BB/K numbers from Derek DeCarlo / Yovani Gallardo tonight; we'll have to run an analysis in coming days, but it does seem, organization-wide, that important indicator has been excellent...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Oklahoma (Rangers) 5, Nashville 2

Top Ranger prospects Kinsler and Nix homer back-to-back in th 9th...

 

Nashville Site Gamecast:

Valid for review until next game begins...

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/live/xlive.htm

 

Nashville Box Score:

Virtually no offense, particularly from the young top of the order...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

RHP Mike Meyers shouldn't have been expected to get through three scoreless...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

[DHonks]

Mass, how about keeping somewhere a list (maybe pinned to the top) where we nominate best offensive and pitching performances of the year. Either that, or it at least would highlight the outstanding performances.

[madbad2000]

Looks like Hurricane had 3 sb's...one of them stealing home.

[Mass Haas]

Looks like Hurricane had 3 sb's...one of them stealing home.

 

Yup, I was listening in -- part of an exciting double-steal. The Hurricane was everywhere tonight...

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Site Game Summary:

 

The Nashville Sounds completed their season-opening eight-game homestand on the short end of a 5-2 loss to the Oklahoma RedHawks, giving the visitors a split of the four-game series. The RedHawks (3-5) plated three runs in the ninth on two home runs.

 

Oklahoma second baseman Ian Kinsler delivered the decisive blow, crushing a two-out, two-run homer off the guitar-shaped scoreboard in left-center. The blast, off Sounds reliever Mike Meyers, was the infielder?s first of the season. RedHawks centerfielder Laynce Nix followed with a solo shot of his own on the very next pitch from Meyers, clearing the 16-foot double wall in right-center for his second tater of the year.

 

The Sounds (5-3) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on an unearned run when Corey Hart reached on a fielding error by Kinsler, stole second, and scored on a Kevin Orie RBI double off RedHawks starter Ricardo Rodriguez.

 

Nashville doubled the lead to 2-0 in the fourth. With one out, Hart and Orie drew back-to-back walks before Trent Durrington delivered an RBI single to right. Rodriguez avoided further damage later in the frame when he induced a double-play lineout from Julio Mosquera to escape the inning.

 

The visiting RedHawks evened the score in the top of the fifth, plating a pair of runs on Jason Botts? two-out RBI single to second coupled with a throwing error by Sounds second baseman Rickie Weeks.

 

Dave Krynzel extended his season-opening hitting streak to eight games with a first-inning single.

 

Rodriguez (1-1) earned his first 2005 victory with a solid outing, limiting the Sounds to two runs (one earned) on only three hits while fanning six over eight innings. The right-hander did not allow a hit after Durrington?s fourth-inning single. Meyers (1-1) took the loss after surrendering the game-deciding longballs in his 2 2/3 innings of work. Vladimir Nunez worked a scoreless ninth to record his first save of the season for Oklahoma.

 

The Sounds open their first road trip of the 2005 season on Friday evening in New Orleans, where they take on the Zephyrs in a 7:05 p.m. contest at Zephyr Field. Right-hander Rick Helling (0-0, 4.76) takes the hill for Nashville to face rehabbing New Orleans right-hander Tony Armas, Jr. (NR) in the Zephyrs? home opener.

 

Audio link -- Kevin Orie puts the Sounds up 1-0:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-14.mp3

[Mass Haas]

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

The West Virginia Power scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning in the first ever ball game at Appalachian Power Park on Thursday night, and never looked back, beating the previously unbeaten Hagerstown Suns 8-3.

 

Dante Brinkley began the scoring, hitting the first homerun at Appalachian Power Park, a solo shot in the top of the first inning to give the Suns a 1-0 lead. The Power tied the game at 1-1 when Carlos Corporan knocked in Hernan Iribarren on an RBI single on the bottom of the first inning. Later in the inning, William Lewis hit a clutch, two-out, three-run double and gave the Power a 4-1 lead.

 

The Suns cut the lead in half in the top of the third inning on Wilson Batista?s solo shot to make it a 4-2 game. In the fifth inning Alcides Escobar scored on a groundball hit by Freddy Parejo to make it 5-2 Power. Grant Psomas made it a 5-3 ball game with an RBI double in the top of the sixth inning to pull the Suns back within two runs. Dallas Bates knocked in Josh Murray on an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving the Power a 6-3 advantage. The Power pulled off a double steal in the eighth inning with runners on first and third. Suns catcher Aaron Hathaway threw the ball to second and allowed Iribarren to score and give the Power a 7-3 lead. Escobar scored the final run of the game later in the inning, when Grant Richardson reached first base on a dropped third strike.

 

Derek DeCarlo (1-0) pitched five innings and surrendered two runs with six strikeouts to get the victory for the Power, Jeff Landing (1-1) obtained the loss and Yovani Gallardo earned his first save of the season, throwing four innings, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts. With the victory the Power improve to 1-7 on the season, and the Suns drop to 7-1 with the loss.

 

The Power will continue the series against the Suns on Friday night at Appalachian Power Park. Right Hander Forrest Martin (0-1, 2.45) will throw for the Power and the Suns will counter with Right Hander Jose Sanchez (1-0, 0.00). The First Pitch will be delivered at 7:05 PM.

[DHonks]

Escobar scored the final run of the game later in the inning, when Grant Richardson reached first base on a dropped third strike

 

how does this happen? Alert baserunning or simply oblivious defenders?

[homer]

Seems like Hernan was a little upset at going 0-5 for the first time.

[950opsLHcatcher]

Holy Dillard. That will be one of the 5-8 best starts we'll see all year from a Brewers minor leaguer.

 

And Corey Hart and Prince, seriously. Just because the big team is kicking butt, doesn't mean ya'll can slack off.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

tennessean.com/sports/bas...D=68267529

 

Oklahoma pair trumps Sounds

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Back-to-back home runs by Ian Kinsler and Laynce Nix with two outs in the ninth inning left the Nashville Sounds with a split of their four-game series against visiting Oklahoma, as the RedHawks took a 5-2 decision last night.

 

The two homers keyed a three-run rally against Nashville reliever Mike Meyers, snapping a 2-2 tie and capping the comeback after Oklahoma scored a pair of runs in the fifth to tie the contest.

 

Following the game, Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas second-guessed himself for allowing Meyers to face Kinsler after he had struck out Gerald Laird with a runner at third for the second out of the inning.

 

''He may have let down a little there. It was his third inning of work,'' Kremblas said. ''I thought about getting Jeff (Bennett) ready for that situation. I'll take the blame for that one.''

 

The Sounds, who went 5-3 in their season-opening homestand, went up 1-0 on Kevin Orie's second-inning RBI double and then doubled the margin with Trent Durrington's run-scoring base hit.

 

From there, though, it was all Oklahoma. Starter Ricardo Rodriguez allowed just three hits over eight innings and overcame three errors by the RedHawk defense. Vladimir Nunez pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season.

 

''We had some (offensive) opportunities earlier in the game, but we didn't do a lot,'' Kremblas said. ''Their pitcher did a good job, even though they made some mistakes behind him. He made good pitches at the right times.''

 

Quick start: The Sounds scored the first run of the game last night, marking the first time in eight contests they've done so. Each of their five wins have been of the comeback variety. However, Tuesday's 11-2 loss marked the only game in which Nashville has not led at any point.

 

Krynzel stays hot: Nashville outfielder Dave Krynzel had his hitting streak extended to eight games -- after last night's loss.

 

Krynzel's first-inning ground ball to Oklahoma first baseman Greg Colbrunn was originally ruled an error. Colbrunn bobbled it twice and couldn't beat Krynzel to the base. However, the play was reviewed after the game and changed to a hit ? the only one in four at-bats for Krynzel.

 

Been caught stealing: Krynzel's unsuccessful basestealing attempt in the first inning last night marked the eighth consecutive time the Sounds have been thrown out ? after opening the season with four stolen bases in as many tries.

 

Ready to roll: Jose Capellan, who was scratched from Tuesday's start because of a blister on his right middle finger, threw a side session prior to yesterday's game and is expected to make his next scheduled start Sunday at New Orleans.

 

Back to work: Greer Stadium usher John Harmon, who collapsed late in Wednesday's game, was back last night. Harmon was transported to Baptist Hospital and underwent a series of tests, all of which came back negative. He also took stitches over his left eye to close a gash sustained in the fall.

 

What they said: ''You're going to have those days; it's obviously part of the game. I'm sure everyone's a little frustrated, feeling like there were certain at-bats they could have done something to win the game. I know that's what I'm thinking.'' ? Orie.

 

Maurice Patton covers the Nashville Sounds for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 259-8018 or mopatton@tennessean.com.

 

Nashville's Rickie Weeks, left, falls down after tagging Oklahoma RedHawks' Greg Colbrunn in the fourth. Colbrunn was called safe.

JAE S. LEE / TENNESSEAN STAFF

 

http://tennessean.com/sports/baseball/archives/05/03/68267531.jpg

[shelmark]

Could Housman be a Davis type and help us out this year at #5 if needed?