Link Report for Tue 6/17 - Awesome Pitching, Perfect Night

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Tuesday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Elmer Dessens in a rehab start at New Orleans (Mets), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: RHP Will Inman at home vs. Tennessee (Cubs), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.huntsvillestars.com/

 

Brevard County: LHP Steve Garrison at home vs. Dunedin (Blue Jays), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime

 

Audio link (game will also archive at this link):

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503

 

West Virginia: RHP Jeremy Jeffress at Lakewood (Phillies), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime

 

Audio link (game will also archive at this link):

www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

 

Helena: RHP Evan Anundsen at Casper (Rockies), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime

 

Audio link (game will also archive at this link):

www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

 

Arizona: Idle

[Mass Haas]

Follow Tuesday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, choose "Log". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often.

 

Nashville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lwdafx_1

 

Helena:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_casrok_1

[Mass Haas]

These links will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally they are updated an hour or two prior to gametime, with Nashville's usually earlier:

 

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

 

Huntsville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

[Mass Haas]

Standings through Monday's action:

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 58 37 .611 - 32-14 26-23 L1 Iowa 52 43 .547 6.0 30-19 22-24 W2 Omaha 45 51 .469 13.5 30-17 15-34 L2 Memphis 41 55 .427 17.5 22-27 19-28 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 14 11 .560 - 5-5 9-6 W7 Tennessee 13 12 .520 1.0 10-5 3-7 W2 Carolina 12 13 .480 2.0 5-5 7-8 W4 Chattanooga 12 13 .480 2.0 6-9 6-4 L6 West Tenn 8 17 .320 6.0 6-9 2-8 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 14 11 .560 - 6-4 8-7 W1 Palm Beach 12 12 .500 1.5 6-9 6-3 L1 Jupiter 11 12 .478 2.0 5-4 6-8 W1 Daytona 11 14 .440 3.0 6-7 5-7 W1 St. Lucie 10 14 .417 3.5 4-9 6-5 W1 Vero Beach 6 18 .250 7.5 3-8 3-10 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood 15 9 .625 - 8-4 7-5 L2 West Virginia 14 11 .560 1.5 7-4 7-7 W1 Lake County 13 11 .542 2.0 6-6 7-5 W1 Hickory 13 12 .520 2.5 9-7 4-5 L1 Delmarva 12 12 .500 3.0 5-7 7-5 W2 Lexington 11 14 .440 4.5 8-6 3-8 W1 Hagerstown 8 16 .333 7.0 4-8 4-8 L1 Greensboro 8 17 .320 7.5 5-6 3-11 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Falls 19 8 .704 - 13-3 6-5 W8 Helena 17 10 .630 2.0 5-6 12-4 W3 Billings 13 14 .481 6.0 9-6 4-8 W4 Missoula 12 15 .444 7.0 5-7 7-8 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Angels 14 6 .700 - 12-3 2-3 W1 AZL Mariners 14 6 .700 - 8-2 6-4 W1 AZL Padres 13 7 .650 1.0 7-2 6-5 W1 AZL Cubs 11 9 .550 3.0 6-3 5-6 L1 AZL Giants 10 10 .500 4.0 6-4 4-6 W1 AZL Royals 9 11 .450 5.0 4-5 5-6 W2 AZL Rangers 8 12 .400 6.0 4-5 4-7 L1 AZL Athletics 6 14 .300 8.0 3-6 3-8 L2 AZL Brewers 5 15 .250 9.0 2-8 3-7 W1

[bullox]

Hmmm... I'm in Murfreesboro TN right now for work. Huntsville game starts in 2 hrs, and it is 2 hrs away from here. I think I'll go check it out.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1

 

Stars riding one-year wave of wins

Team best in Southern League since ending tailspin last July

By MARK McCARTER

Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com

 

This time a year ago, the Huntsville Stars were still a struggling, listless team, in the middle of a five-game losing streak that would soon make the brakes-screechingest U-turn you ever heard.

 

Since the end of that losing streak, the Stars have been the winningest team in the Southern League - and they're the league's hottest team right now.

 

The Stars have won seven in a row, their longest win streak of the season. Huntsville has a one-game lead over Tennessee, which opens a five-game series against the Stars tonight at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars were off on Monday.

 

Nearly as hot as the Stars themselves is third baseman Adam Heether, who was named the Southern League Hitter of the Week on Monday.

 

Heether was 10-for-15 for the week, with two homers, six RBIs and seven runs scored. He came out of the All-Star break on a tear, going 3-for-3 in the first game back, driving in four runs. He followed with a double the next night and a homer on Friday, then doubled to lead off the seventh on Sunday, scoring on Brendan Katin's single for the 1-0 win.

 

The Stars have gone 88-56 since July 16, 2006, the best record in the league and 5 1/2 games better than Jacksonville, a franchise often considered the league's best on and off the field.

 

The record has enabled Huntsville to win the second-half North division title last year and the first-half division championship this season; if the Stars can clinch the second half, they'd host four of the five (if needed) games in the best-of-three division playoffs in September.

 

Two pitchers who began the season with Huntsville were called up to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday. Manny Parra, who was 7-3 this year with the Stars, then pitched a perfect game on June 25 in Triple-A, and reliever Grant Balfour were promoted. Ben Sheets went on the disabled list and Chris Spurling on the bereavement list, making room for Parra and Balfour. Twelve of the 25 players on Milwaukee's active roster played for the Stars.

[gregmag]

The Power game is in the second inning, and already every WV hitter except the keystone combo of Brewer and Miller has already reached base. I mention this because the Power rock and also because I had forgotten about Miller, and being able to say "the keystone combo of Brewer and Miller" about a couple of Milwaukee minor leaguers is pretty cool.

 

Greg.

[DHonks]

nice outing for Will. A quick look at his game log shows that if you eliminate his two bad starts, his ERA is around 3. So it's heavily inflated from those 2 outings when he was sick.

[molitor fan]

So far, quite the day organizationally, with some very nice pitching performance.

 

Brantley with an excellent game today - now hitting respectably with a great eye and speed - all the while as a 20 year old at AA.

[TheCrew07]

Shaping up to be an organizational clean sweep.

 

Here's hoping that Salome steadily improves his defense, cause the kid is a masher at the plate. If he takes off next year when he opens at AA I hope they promote him agressively if he deserves it. I'm actually looking forward to a Cpt Lou and Salome duo behind the plate in the future.

 

Gindl stinks, he's no longer batting .500 on the season, how disappointing is that?!

 

Quite the pitching performances tonight, good night to be a Brewer fan.

[gregmag]

Molitorfan beat me to the Brantley love while I was crunching his AA numbers (Brantley's, not molitorfan's):

 

117 PA

 

.247 BA

.309 SLG

 

But . . .

 

.373 OBP

.316 SEC, which results from

12/1 SB/CS

20/13 BB/K.

 

Again, he just turned 20 in May, and after an awful start with the bat at AA, he has started to improve while walking and stealing bases like a highly efficient madman. I said a while back that we should evaluate him after 150 PA, so let's check back in a week.

 

Greg.

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 9, Lakewood (Phillies) 4

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

POWER POUND BLUECLAWS

 

The West Virginia Power scored nine runs on 12 hits Tuesday night, including four runs on three hits in the first inning, as they took the first game of the series with a 9-4 victory over the Lakewood BlueClaws at First Energy Park.

 

The Power scored all four of their runs in the first with two outs. The rally began with Taylor Green?s RBI double. Steve Chapman walked with the bases loaded to plate the second run and Andy Bouchie knocked in the final two with a base hit. Andrew Lefave?s first of three hits was an RBI double in the second inning to give the Power a 5-0 lead.

 

Quintin Berry?s sacrifice fly scored Fidel Hernandez in the third to put Lakewood on the board. Green knocked in his second run with an RBI single in the fourth inning. Lefave and Brad Miller ripped RBI singles in the fifth inning to give the Power an 8-1 lead.

 

The BlueClaws knocked Jeremy Jeffress out of the game in the sixth inning. After he issued back-to-back walks to Berry and Doug Morales, Adrian Cardenas tripled off the wall in left-center field to plate two runs, and he scored later in the inning on a wild pitch. The Power added one more run in the top of the ninth on Brad Miller?s second run-scoring single of the game.

 

Jeffress (6-3) allowed four runs on three hits and struck out six to get the win and Darren Byrd (5-7) was tagged with the loss after surrendering eight runs on ten hits over four and two thirds. Omar Aguilar and Shawn Ferguson combined to toss four scoreless innings of relief.

 

The Power improved to 63-31 overall and 15-11 in the second half, while the BlueClaws fell to 48-42 overall and 15-10 in the second half with the loss. Lefave, Green, Bouchie and Miller all drove in two runs for the Power. Five Power players had multi-hit games, including Lefave who led the team with three hits.

 

The Power will continue the four game series against Lakewood Wednesday morning. The Power will start left hander Brae Wright (6-4, 5.45) and the BlueClaws will counter with right hander Andrew Cruse (3-6, 4.54). The first pitch is scheduled for 11:05 AM (10:05 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score:

Wow again to Andrew Lefave; the fact 20-year-old Taylor Green is keeping up his tremendous season, now hitting in the middle of the order, is just huge -- what a wonderful bonus his 2007 has been; Omar Aguilar's scoreless relief stint was three innings long, sweet...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lwdafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lwdafx_1

[DHonks]

It'll be interesting to see if Brantley starts playing some CF now. Good speed and defense, and it'd be nice to start working him at all 3 OF spots, in addition to an occasional day at 1b.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 8, Tennessee (Cubs) 2

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1274

 

Crew Comes Through to Ignite Stars

 

Ryan Crew?s pinch-hit single knocked in the go-ahead run and keyed a decisive six-run rally in Huntsville?s 8-2 victory over Tennessee Tuesday night in the opener of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars improved to 15-11 in the second half after their season-high eighth consecutive win, while the Smokies dropped to 13-13 and two games behind the North Division front-runners. The Stars have taken four of the last five meetings between the teams after dropping four out of six at Smokies Park to open the second half.

 

Grant Johnson took over for starter Justin Berg to open the home seventh and hit Brendan Katin, the first batter he faced, and walked Alcides Escobar with one out before Crew delivered his third pinch-hit run batted in of the season to give the Stars a 3-2 lead. Michael Brantley doubled home two runs to make it 5-2 before Johnson hit his former Notre Dame teammate Steve Sollmann to reload the bases. He was then taken out of the game and replaced by Adalberto Mendez, who uncorked two wild pitches that plated two runs to push the home team?s advantage to 7-2. Adam Heether, the Southern League Hitter of the Week, delivered a double that scored Sollmann to complete the rally.

 

Bo Hall picked up the win in relief, his fourth, with a scoreless seventh inning and Jeff Housman worked two shutout frames to extend the bullpen?s run of consecutive scoreless frames to 16 since the ninth inning on Wednesday night in Chattanooga. Stars? starter Will Inman went six innings, giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out seven in his third start against the visitors.

 

Berg allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits, while fanning five in his six innings of work. Sollmann finished with three hits after entering the game without one in his last 16 at-bats, while Brantley scored three times and stole two bases.

 

The series continues Wednesday night with Stars? left-hander Derek Miller taking the hill against Smokies? southpaw Paul Schappert. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Will Inman now with 37 K's and 14 BB's at the AA level -- he's fine...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

[rotoherb]

In 12 July games Brantley is hitting .368/.520/.474 with a 9/0 SB/CS ratio, 12/3 BB/K ratio. Even as a small sample size, that's pretty amazing for a 20 year old in the Southern League. Maybe the Brewers knew what they were doing when they promoted him.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 3, New Orleans (Mets) 1

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Steve Bray photo, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2458

 

Sounds Even Series With 3-1 Win Over Zephyrs

 

METAIRIE, La. ? The Nashville Sounds bounced back to even their series against the New Orleans Zephyrs with a 3-1 victory on Tuesday evening at Zephyr Field.

 

Nashville (59-37), a winner in eight of its last 10 contests, earned its PCL-leading 27th road victory despite being out-hit 6-3 in the game.

 

Sounds starting pitcher Elmer Dessens helped his own cause in the top of the second inning by giving the visitors a 3-0 lead with a two-out, three-run double to right off New Orleans starter Mike Pelfrey. After Joe Dillon led off the frame with a double, Ozzie Chavez drew a two-out walk before Chris Barnwell was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Dessens.

 

AUDIO: Dessens Three-Run Double --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...207-17.mp3

 

Dessens worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings in his first rehab start before being removed due to a pitch count. The veteran threw 49 pitches, 31 for strikes, and allowed two hits while striking out two batters.

 

New Orleans plated a run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Mike DiFelice scored from third on a Joe Thatcher wild pitch, making it a 3-1 contest. Thatcher avoided further damage in the frame by recording the final two outs with Zephyrs runners standing on second and third.

 

The New Orleans pitching staff held the Nashville offense in check for most of the night and retired the final 19 Sounds batters in order.

 

Sounds leftfielder Drew Anderson extended his hitting streak to 10 games, matching his longest this season, with a third-inning infield single.

 

A pair of Sounds hitting streaks came to a close in the contest. Brad Nelson went 0-for-3 to snap Nashville?s longest streak of the year at 15 games. Catcher Vinny Rottino finished 0-for-3 to end his nine-game hit streak.

 

Steve Bray (5-1) followed Dessens with 3 1/3 innings of relief work and was awarded the victory after allowing one run on two hits in his outing.

 

Greg Aquino worked a scoreless ninth to notch his second save of the year for the Sounds.

 

Pelfrey (2-3) took the loss for New Orleans after allowing three runs on three hits while walking three batters and striking out seven over his six frames.

 

The teams continue the series with another 7 p.m. meeting on Wednesday night. Nashville left-hander Zach Jackson (9-4, 4.72) will man the bump to face New Orleans southpaw Jason Vargas (6-5, 5.65).

 

Nashville Box Score:

Steve Bray extremely economical and thus able to go 3 1/3 innings -- only 39 pitches...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 3, Dunedin (Blue Jays) 1

 

MiLB.com:

 

Garrison stifles Blue Jays

 

Steve Garrison hurled seven strong innings as Brevard County defeated visiting Dunedin, 3-1, on Tuesday.

 

Garrison (7-4) allowed one run on five hits, striking out four and walking one to pick up the win for the Manatees (15-11).

 

E.J. Shanks worked around a hit batsman in a scoreless ninth inning for his ninth save.

 

Angel Salome went 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the fourth and an RBI double in the sixth for Brevard County.

 

Jacob Butler singled in a run in the sixth for the Blue Jays (16-10).

 

Dunedin starter A.J. Wideman (7-3) surrendered two runs on six hits, fanning one without issuing a walk in seven frames. -- Alan Friedman/MLB.com

 

Brevard County Box Score:

Steve Garrison with seven superb innings -- while not gaudy, what the New Jersey lefty has done through 19 starts at high-A as a 20-year-old has been especially solid, way to go, kid...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503

 

Brevard County Game Log:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503

[wibadgers23]

Wow, Robert Bryson with great numbers so far. 7 K's in 3 innings tonight. 30 K's and 3 walks on the season with a 1.45 ERA.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Helena 4, Casper (Rockies) 1

Brewers now 13-4 on the road; how about just-turned 19-year-old RHP Evan Anundsen, a 10-to-1 ground ball ratio tonight, improving a ridiculous 4.36 ratio on the season. Anundsen walked zero and struck out seven -- honestly, after a shaky opening outing, the 2006 4th rounder has been all that fans could have hoped for in 2007...

 

Helena Box Score:

OK, now super pitcher # 2 -- 2006 DFE Rob Bryson strikes out seven in three scoreless innings, he now owns a 30-to-3 K/BB ratio in 18.2 IP; Lee Haydel now 7-for-9 in SB attempts; Steffan Wilson left the game with a "leg tweak", hopefully OK...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_casrok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_casrok_1

[uwisfan]

solid wins everywhere. Thats what you like to see

[Mass Haas]

Kudos to the organization again tonight -- what a pleasure to "report" on those mound efforts. For all the good that's taking place on the big league level, there are some very exciting things still happening on the farm.

 

Scouting and player development, congrats. Season's far from over, but there's been plenty of progress made, new stars being born, major injuries (for the most part) being avoided, all the while winning up and down the chain to keep the affiliate fans happy as well.

 

All due to Brewerfan.net, no doubt http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif .

[pogokat]

Jim---

 

Thanks to you maan, you do an amazing job on the link report...it's a helluva work load, bu you carry it well....we all owe you one...or 7

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1

 

Inman pitches in for Stars

Starter strikes out seven and Hall gets win in relief for hot Huntsville

By MARK McCARTER

Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com

 

Timely hitting. Solid pitching. Opportunistic play. Exceptional hustle.

 

And, ho-hum, just another Huntsville win.

 

The Stars rolled past Tennessee 8-2 Tuesday night, extending their win streak to a season-high eight games and padding their Southern League North lead over the Smokies to two games.

 

Inside the Stars' clubhouse, though, nothing ho-hum about it.

 

"You never get bored with it," said manager Don Money. "You just take them one day at a time, do the best you can every day and ride it as long as the roll will go."

 

"We're pitching well, playing good defense and hitting in clutch situations," said first baseman Steve Sollmann. "You do that, more often than not you're going to win games."

 

Will Inman pitched six innings, striking out seven, then Bo Hall got the win in his scoreless inning of relief. Jeff Housman closed things out.

 

Perhaps the evening's signature play was actually a Huntsville out, a failed attempt to take the lead in the sixth.

 

Sollmann, who had singled with two out, was trying to score from second on an Adam Heether single. The ball arrived at home plate moments before Sollmann. He was dead meat. So he lowered his shoulder on catcher Casey McGehee in a 5.4-on-the-Richter-scale collision. Instead of a meek slide, it was a nifty bit of old-school baseball.

 

"I just feel like that's the way to play the game," Sollmann said. "I feel like if the situation was reversed and I was catching, I'd expect the guy to come around and try to knock the ball loose from me."

 

After the game, trainer David Yeager was double-checking his ice chest, to see if the supply was enough. Not only might Sollmann be a little sore from the crash, he also was hit by a pitch. So, too, was Brendan Katin. And Hernan Iribarren, innocently hustling home from third on a wild pitch, was inadvertently hit by a McGehee throw to the pitcher two steps after Iribarren scored.

 

The Stars broke the game open with a six-run seventh, though it was a crack in the dam for the Smokies in the sixth that might have set it up. Tennessee starter Justin Berg had nearly survived a pair of two-out hits when shortstop Joe Simokaitis committed a throwing error on a routine Lou Palmisano grounder. It enabled Michael Brantley to score the tying run.

 

Two relievers, Grant Johnson and Adalberto Mendez, slogged through the seventh. Johnson hit a pair of batters and Mendez threw two run-scoring wild pitches. Pinch-hitter Ryan Crew singled in one run and Brantley doubled home two. Adam Heether, the reigning Southern League Hitter of the Week, doubled home the sixth run of the inning.

 

Both teams had to do the Welcome Wagon bit for new players on Tuesday.

 

Mitch Stetter, who pitched in 32 games for the Stars in 2005, joined the Huntsville pitching staff, replacing Marino Salas, who was promoted to Triple-A Nashville. Salas was second in the league with 17 saves. Stetter has been on Nashville's disabled list since April 30 with shoulder tendinitis.

 

Tennessee added four new players, with outfielder Jorge Cortes and infielder Carlos Rojas moving to Triple-A. The Smokies' newcomers are infielders Robinson Chirinos and Nate Spears, catcher Alan Rick and outfielder Chris Walker, all up from Single-A Daytona.

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

SALAS SAYS SO LONG

STARS LOSE CLOSER, BUT WIN 8th IN A ROW

One year ago, the Stars were in the middle of a five-game losing streak, and on their way to Carolina, 10-15, in 4th place, with Steve Hammond (2-1, 0.69) ready to start the road opener........ They had just acquired the closer that would make a huge difference in their miraculous turnaround, former Birmingham reliever Joe Valentine. Yovani Gallardo had only won one game after five starts, Ryan Braun was as hot as the month of July, hitting .278, but 14-for-39 since the 1st of the month, Lou Palmisano was hitting just .244, Adam Heether was hitting .243 -- at Brevard County, and Brendan Katin would not come along until mid-August.

 

The Stars were just five days from the start of a turnaround unlike any in their history, from a 24-45 1st half start -- the worst in their history -- to a division title and a shot at the league championship........ The phenomenal streak that started on July 22, 2006, when they survived a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the 10th to win, at Five County Stadium, 3-2, has never abated......... They have gone 87-53 since then, as pointed out by Mark McCarter of the Huntsville Times....... They have already won a first half championship, never falling more than two games in back of the lead, and they have won eight in a row, and after a slow start to the 2nd half, are 15-11, two games in front of the Tennessee Smokies, whom they beat out for the 1st half title.

 

Despite the loss of two of the Stars' best relievers, Mark DiFelice, and Marino Salas, today, they seem to be stronger than ever........ The rotation is the strongest it's been all year (6-1, 3.85 in July), and the pen has kept the Stars on the winning path (4-2, 3.89, five saves). Of course, the full effect of losing DiFelice a week ago and Salas today, has yet to be measured, but the offense has continued to be strong, and able to come through in the clutch....... Despite a modest .253 average, 6th in the league, and a slugging mark (.368) that ranks 8th, they've scored 449 runs -- six fewer than Montgomery, which ranks 2nd in that category in the league....... There may be more talented teams in the leaegue, but under Don Money's leadership, the Stars have learned how to win, and not slide into complacency.

 

Different heroes emerge from day to day when a club is able to win without a central figure, such as Ryan Braun was last year........ That's how we won the whole shebang in 1994 (A's organization)........ Tonight, it was Ryan Crew (0, 5, .333), a somewhat unheralded bench player, who came through in the botton of the 7th with a clutch pinch-hit to center that unlocked a 2-2 tie, and sparked a six-run rally that turned an early pitchers' duel into a rout.

 

It all started in the 1st inning....... Justin Berg got into early control trouble after striking out leadoff hitter Hernan Iribarren on a 1-2 pitch....... He went 3-and-0 on Michael Brantley, then walked him -- the wrong player to walk....... Brantley stole 2nd on a 2-and-0 pitch, then stole 3rd on the next pitch........ Steve Sollmann then finally ended his 0-for-16 slump with a 30-foot dribbler in front of the plate to the third base side, which he barely beat out for a hit, scoring Brantley with the first run.

 

The Smokies tied it up on a Jason Simokaitis home run (his first since Apirl 20) that just managed to stay within the left field foul pole, 345 feet from home plate, then went ahead, 2-1 when Simokaitis drove Will Inman's first pitch into the center field gap, scoring Issmael Salas. Brantley and center fielder Steve Moss both chased the ball to the wall, allowing Salas, who singled after fouling off three pitches with a 2-2 count, to tie the game.

 

Inman went full on hitters several times in his last three innings, running up his pitch count, which was only 37 after his first three innings, but his breaking ball was really sharp tonight, and he got Matt Craig and Tyler Colvin out swinging in the 4th, and retired four of the last five hitters he faced on strikeouts....... He left a the Stars in a 2-2 tie after throwing 93 pitches, 58 for strikes (62.4%)......... Bo Hall gave up a two-out single to Salas, and left the game when Crew hit for him in the 7th.

 

Grant Johnson (0-1, 6.38), who held the Stars to one hit over three scoreless innings on July 5, came on in the 7th, and hit Brendan Katin, the first batter he faced. Then after Steve Moss laid down his first sacrifice bunt since May 15 to move Katin to 2nd, he went 3-0 on Alcides Escobar, then walked him on 3-and-1....... Crew singled in Katin and Escobar moved to 3rd on the throw home from Colvin....... Hernan Iribarren then walked on 3-and-0 to load the bases........ Brantley, on 1-and-0, then doubled to left-center, scoring Escobar and Crew to make it 5-2....... The wildness continued as Johnson hit Steve Sollmann on the forearm to load the bases again, and Adalberto Mendez, now in relief, uncorked a wild pitch on his first toss to Lou Palmisano, scoring Iribarren, and moving Brantley and Sollmann into scoring position........ With the count 2-and-1 on Adam Heether, another wild pitch by Mendez scored Brantley, and Heether capped off the inning with his 2nd hit, a hooking line drive into the corner in left for two bases, scoring Sollmann to make it 8-2........ Jeff Housman worked two scoreless innings, although he left the bases loaded before striking out Simokaitis on an 89-mph fast ball to end the game. That extended the bullpen's scoreless string to 16 innings since last Wednesday night against Chattanooga.

 

The Stars are now 10-3 in July. They've hit .263 this month, supported by a 3.80 ERA from the pitching staff -- 3rd best among Southern League teams this month........ Heether's single to right in the 6th inning wasn't deep enough to score Steve Sollmann, who was thrown out at the plate by Nate Fuld, but it did stretch his hitting streak to eight games. (He holds the season's best at 15.)......... Heether was named Southern League Player-of-the-Week, Monday. He went 10-for-15, helping the Stars sweep Chattanooga, with two HRs and six RBIs....... In July, Heether's hit .478......... Heether's now moved into 9th place, ahead of Montgomery's Evan Longoria, in the Southern League batting race.

 

Derek Miller will make his 3rd start for Huntsville, Wednesday night, as he faces Paul Schappert, who is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two starts against the Stars this season.

 

Brent Gates' California League-record hitting streak of 35 games was tied Tuesday night by Chris Davis of the Bakersfield Blaze....... Gates hit .333 in 12 games for the 1993 Stars....... Davis delivered a 4th inning RBI-double to help Bakersfield beat Stockton, 15-3........ With Marino Salas going up to Nashville, Luis Pena has been designated as the Stars' new closer. Pena and Bo Hall combined for four no-hit innigs of relief last Thursday. That was Pena's last appearance, for which he earned his 3rd save........ Filling the spot on the roster, Mitch Stetter was moved up from the Arizona Summer League, where he was rehabbing his elbow. Stetter started five of his seven games for the rookie-level Brewers and finished with a 1.50 ERA........ Stetter was 2-3 with eight saves and a 2.61 ERA for the Stars in 32 games in 2005.