Link Report for Games of Tuesday, May 18th

[MassBrew]

Final: High Desert 7, Inland Empire (Mariners) 6

Easily the most entertaining Maverick game of the season -- miraculous diving stab of a ground ball and spinning throw to first base by SS Ozzie Chavez ends the contest. There were runners on second and third base at the time. Rather than summarize Roxy Bernstein's great call here, we'll just say it was super fun and we'll look forward to the Mavs' site game summary and Daily Press game story in the AM.

 

Regardless of place in the standings or number of top-shelf prospects, there's still something wonderful about a well-played nailbiter -- it's a magical game, this baseball...

 

High Desert Site Game Summary:

 

MAVS TAKE ONE FROM THE EVIL EMPIRE

The High Desert Mavericks rode an offensive wave of seven unanswered runs to stave off the South Division?s first-place Inland Empire 66ers in a 7-6 victory, in front of 1,007 at Mavericks Stadium on Tuesday night.

 

The win, the Mavs? first over the 66ers in five games after getting swept in four last week in San Bernardino, pushes High Desert to within nine games of first place in the division. Callix Crabbe, who is now riding a seven-game hit streak, led the way for the Mavs, notching a 2-for-3 effort at the plate with a walk, RBI and two runs scored, including the final game-winning run.

 

The Mavs (15-24) got the winning tally in a four-run seventh. Inland Empire starter T.A. Fulmer, who frustrated the Mavs in a 9-0 High Desert loss last Wednesday, was lifted for reliever David Viane while the 66ers secured a 4-3 lead. High Desert cashed in.

 

The first five hitters of the inning reached base, with Ozzie Chavez tying the game on an RBI single to left. After Kennard Bibbs bunted safely on a fielder?s choice, Crabbe cashed in the winning runs on a two-run double to right, narrowly missing a homer by a foot. Right fielder T.J. Bohn?s wild throw into the dugout allowed Crabbe to score from second as well, putting the Mavs up 7-4.

 

T.J. Bohn?s eighth inning homer and an RBI single by Juan Gonzalez cut Inland Empire?s deficit to a nail-biting 7-6 margin, but Mavs closer Nick Slack finished off his fourth save of the season by getting Jesus Guzman to ground out to short, in which Chavez made an acrobatic diving save and throw-out, with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.

 

Down 4-0 going into the fourth, the Mavs got on the board with Froilan Villanueva?s team-leading fourth homer of the year, followed by two runs in the sixth to get back in the game.

 

David Nolasco (3-2) picked up the win with two innings of relief, aided by a solid no-decision effort from Eric Henderson, who struck out five in his six innings of work, his second-longest stint of the year. Viane (0-1) took the loss for the Sixers.

 

The Mavs and Sixers go head-to-head for game two of the series on Wednesday, with highly-touted Brewers prospect Manny Parra (0-1) getting the start for High Desert against Inland Empire?s Juan Sandoval (3-3).

 

High Desert Box Score:

Thanks for the earlier post, mls4!

 

 GAME DATE: 5/18/04 INL at HD INLAND EMPIRE 6 AT HIGH DESERT 7 YTD YTD INLAND EMPIRE AB R H BI AVG HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG J.Gonzalez SS 4 0 1 1 .320 K.Bibbs CF 4 2 1 0 .310 J.Guzman 3B 5 1 1 0 .300 C.Crabbe 2B 3 2 2 1 .271 G.Harris CF 4 0 0 0 .263 D.Boyd LF 4 0 0 1 .306 T.Bohn RF 2 2 1 1 .315 T.Hinton 1B 3 0 0 1 .313 P.Balet DH 4 1 1 1 .295 F.Villanueva CAT 3 1 1 1 .191 R.Rivera CAT 4 2 3 3 .324 S.Candelaria 3B 4 0 1 0 .234 C.Arroyo LF 4 0 2 0 .310 J.Frost DH 4 1 1 0 .261 M.Hagen 1B 4 0 0 0 .204 M.Mendez RF 3 0 1 0 .229 H.Cho 2B 3 0 0 0 .292 O.Chavez SS 3 1 2 1 .323 M.Rogelstad PH 1 0 0 0 .262 E.Henderson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Fulmer PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Nolasco PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Viane PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Slack PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 35 6 9 6 TOTALS 31 7 9 5 INLAND EMPIRE 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 1- 6 9 1 HIGH DESERT 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 0 X- 7 9 1 E--T.Bohn, C.Crabbe. DP--INLAND EMPIRE 0, HIGH DESERT 0. LOB--INLAND EMPIRE 5, HIGH DESERT 3. 2B--J.Gonzalez (5), J.Guzman (7), R.Rivera (11), C.Crabbe (5). HR--T.Bohn (5), R.Rivera (3), F.Villanueva (4). SB-- K.Bibbs (12), C.Crabbe (12). HBP--F.Villanueva. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INLAND EMPIRE T.Fulmer 6.0 5 3 3 2 4 1 3.94 D.Viane (L,0-2) 2.0 4 4 2 0 1 0 2.31 HIGH DESERT E.Henderson 6.0 4 4 4 3 5 1 6.49 D.Nolasco (W,2-3) 2.0 2 1 1 0 2 1 7.48 N.Slack (S,4) 1.0 3 1 1 0 1 0 6.32 HB--T.Fulmer. SO--J.Gonzalez, J.Guzman, G.Harris 3, T.Bohn, M.Hagen, M.Rogelstad, C.Crabbe, D.Boyd 3, S.Candelaria. BB--J.Gonzalez, T.Bohn 2, C.Crabbe, T.Hinton. T--2:29. A--1007

High Desert Game Log:

 

www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=17905

[MassBrew]

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 6, Huntsville 3, game called with Birmingham still batting in the bottom of the 8th, rain

 

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

 

BARONS END GAME BEFORE THE RAIN DOES

Huntsville's play-by-play voice Robert Portnoy told me it was the dullest one-run victory he's seen, but I had much to say about Monday's game against Greenville at the Joe, for one thing, it was the last time fans would see the Greenville Braves at this stadium (they're moving to Mississippi next year)........ I wanted to explore how this would affect league alignment next year...... I had a lot to say about Dennis Sarfate's pitching, and despite some weaknesses in his game, I think I've seen few pickoff moves that were better........ I had plenty to say about Chris Barnwell, and why he's become the Gary Cooper of the Huntsville Stars........ It was also Pete Zamora's debut for the Stars, but I simply had to get some much needed sleep....... My working hours don't mix well with the time I used to spend on this site. There's little time for research anymore, because I'm trying to get this done on a deadline now....... The need for some sleep gets too demanding some nights and last night was one of them.

 

As for Tuesday night, a light rain began falling at Hoover Met about fifteen minutes before the game....... There was some clearing in the distance, but only to tease the fans who came out, for it never really stopped. In the bottom of the 8th, it finally came down in buckets and the game was stopped and never restarted....... By then, though, with only three more outs for Huntsville to rally back, the Barons pretty well put an end to this with two runs in the 8th, after tying it in the 6th and going ahead in the 7th.

 

Birmingham fans were watching whether starter Arnie Munoz could win his 13th straight decision, which would break a Southern League record that was set by a former Baron, Luis Andujar in 1995........ Munoz had thrown in 196 games without a start in his five-year career. He was 6-0 in the pen for the Barons in 2002, and for reasons unknown, it was decided to put him in the rotation this year........ This was sheer genius, for he's 2nd among SL ERA leaders right now, 2nd only to Tennessee's bewildering Brad Thompson and his 43-inning scoreless string........ Tonight, he was in position to break a string of his own that would put him in the record books.

 

Opposing Munoz was a name Barons fans have been cursing probably during the off-season........ In game two of the Western Division Championship Series last year, Jeff Housman got the Stars back in the Series by pitching seven scoreless innings against the Barons, giving up two hits, and walking away with an important 3-0 victory........ Housman came in as this year's hard-luck pitcher. For the lack of run support, he is winless despite not allowing more than three runs per outing going back to April 24...... Trying to keep Housman's hard-luck reputation alive, Carlos Maldonado stepped in in the 1st inning with Ruddy Yan on 2nd and Rob Sasser, a former soldier in the Brewers' AAA organization, on 1st after a full-count walk. Maldonado hit a 2-1 pitch that nearly left the park near the foul pole in right, but instead came high off the wall close to the second level of billboards, driving in both runners for a 2-0 Birmingham lead.

 

The Stars got on the scoreboard to go ahead in the 3rd inning, starting with a one-out single by Enrique Cruz......... To this point, Munoz had not been to a three-ball count to any hitter until Cruz on a 3-2 pitch. Then Johnny Raburn ripped a 2-1 pitch to the deepest part of the park....... Centerfielder Nate Murphy took an all-or-nothing stab at it, but it went over his glove all the way to the wall near the 405 mark. Cruz walked in and Raburn was on third with his first triple of the season. He hit six at High Desert last year........ Rickie Weeks then walked on five pitches to put runners on the corners........ Tony Gwynn, Jr. was at the plate when manager Frank Kremblas decided to start Weeks in motion. The Barons had him picked off, but Raburn broke for home and was, by the understanding of every fan there, out at the plate, but 3rd base ump R.J. Thompson indicated a balk and called Weeks safe, tying the game......... At this point, I think "Kill the Ump" could have been a justified epithet if you were a Barons fan. There were more than a few boos, but the Stars wouldn't get many breaks tonight. In the 8th, after Prince Fielder was hit by a pitch, Brad Nelson lined a 2-0 pitch that was going through for a hit, but it hit Fielder on the leg, which of course is an out, and in that inning, it just so happened to have been the third out........ Earlier that inning, Tony Gwynn doubled to left-center and was thrown out at third on a good throw by Ruddy Yan, the cut-off man.

 

Anyway, back to the 3rd inning....... With Rickie Weeks on 2nd and the game even, Gwynn tried to drag a bunt, fouled one off, then got a 2-2 pitch back to Munoz. His errant throw on a cover play scored Weeks to give the Stars a 3-2 lead........ Fernando Rijo came on in the 6th after Jeff got behind on the last three hitters he faced..

 

The Barons tied the game in the 6th on a ground ball by Scott Bikowski, a veteran with the club the past two seasons, who was just sent down from Charlotte, scoring Nate Murphy, who doubled and advanced on an Aaron McNeal grounder........ They went ahead in the bottom of the 7th on a sacrifice fly and for good measure in the bottom of the 8th, while the rain poured, Nate Murphy homered to right center off Rijo to make it 6-3......... After Rijo walked McNeal, Reggie Rivard was called in from the bullpen, but the umps soon after called for the tarp.

 

The Stars are now 2½ back and in 3rd place in the West after losing their third straight game......... They will face Jim Bullard on Wednesday instead of Tetsu Yofu, who was just promoted to Class AAA Charlotte (IL). Chris Saenz (3-1, 4.02) will start for the Stars. Saenz has been hit this month, giving up eight earned runs on 12 hits in 17 innings, but striking out 19 and walking just two....... The Stars are hitting .227 in their last seven games, but carrying the weight, interestingly enough, is Anthony Gwynn......... Gwynn, .236 so far in May, is hitting .357 during that span....... Prince Fielder has not had a hit now in his last six games. He hit two balls hard in Monday night's game, and two more fly balls to the outfield tonight, but has been empty for his last 22 at-bats, dropping his batting mark from the mid-.310s to .273........ Brandon Gemoll is also trying to snap an oh-fer --- 0-for-15 with four strikeouts.......... Kade Johnson is also struggling and has been for a long time. He is 3-for-38 for the entire month........ Brad Nelson continues to have a hot May, hitting .333 with four HRs and 12 RBIs. He's on a six-game hitting streak, going 10-for-23.

 

Hopefully, Matt Ford will be back soon....... He says his arm feels the best it has ever felt. He threw 55 pitches in a bullpen session Tuesday without any ill effects...... The Stars currently have an open roster spot and possibly he'll be ready to fill it before the Stars return home this weekend to play Jacksonville.

 

Mike Adams made his major league debut Tuesday night vs. Montreal, coming on to pitch the 7th inning of a 3-2 loss.......He threw 12 pitches, half of them for strikes and struck out Termell Sledge for his first major league strikeout......... Following Chris Saenz, he's the 143rd Huntsville Star to make his major league debut, not counting those, of course, who had major league experience prior.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

 GAME DATE: 5/18/04 HVL at BIR HUNTSVILLE 3 AT BIRMINGHAM 6 YTD YTD HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG BIRMINGHAM AB R H BI AVG R.Weeks 2B 2 1 0 0 .279 M.Spidale LF 3 0 0 0 .303 A.Gwynn CF 4 0 1 0 .239 R.Yan 2B 3 1 2 0 .274 P.Fielder 1B 3 0 0 0 .273 R.Sasser 3B 1 1 0 1 .242 B.Nelson LF 4 0 2 0 .287 C.Maldonado DH 4 1 2 2 .258 B.Gemoll DH 3 0 0 0 .222 N.Murphy CF 4 2 3 2 .286 C.Barnwell 3B 2 0 0 0 .216 A.McNeal 1B 3 0 0 0 .238 K.Johnson CAT 3 0 0 0 .224 S.Bikowski RF 3 0 0 1 .182 E.Cruz SS 3 1 1 0 .181 C.Stewart CAT 3 0 0 0 .242 J.Raburn RF 3 1 1 1 .234 G.Reyes SS 3 1 2 0 .235 J.Housman PIT 0 0 0 0 .333 A.Munoz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Rijo PIT 0 0 0 0 .333 J.Fields PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Rivard PIT 0 0 0 0 .500 M.Smith PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 27 3 5 1 TOTALS 27 6 9 6 HUNTSVILLE 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0- 3 5 2 BIRMINGHAM 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 2- 6 9 1 E--C.Barnwell, E.Cruz, A.Munoz. DP--HUNTSVILLE 0, BIRMINGHAM 0. LOB--HUNTSVILLE 4, BIRMINGHAM 6. 2B--A.Gwynn (6), C.Maldonado 2 (7), N.Murphy (4). 3B--J.Raburn (1). HR--N.Murphy (6). CS--C.Barnwell, C.Stewart. HBP--P.Fielder. SF--R.Sasser. SH--M.Spidale. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HUNTSVILLE J.Housman 5.0 5 2 2 2 5 0 3.35 F.Rijo (L,0-2) 2.0 4 4 4 2 1 1 4.50 R.Rivard 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.79 BIRMINGHAM A.Munoz 6.0 3 3 2 3 5 0 1.51 J.Fields (W,2-0) 1.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.20 M.Smith (S,2) 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.25 HB--M.Smith. WP--F.Rijo. BALKS--A.Munoz. SO--R.Weeks, A.Gwynn, B.Nelson, B.Gemoll, E.Cruz, M.Spidale 2, A.McNeal, S.Bikowski, C.Stewart 2. BB--R.Weeks 2, C.Barnwell, R.Yan, R.Sasser 2, A.McNeal. T--2:48. A--3354

Huntsville Game Log:

Top of the 8th was ultra-frustrating for the Stars. Down 4-3, Tony Gwynn, Jr. was out at third trying to stretch a double -- it was the second out of the inning, so it wasn't a cardinal sin, but with Prince Fielder due next, you had better be sure about advancing. Prince was then immediately HBP (leg, he wasn't happy), and then, for good measure, was hit a second time -- this time by the batted ball on Brad Nelson's single, ending the inning.

 

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=milb-south/scores/final/finallog.aspx?GAMEID=15639

[MassBrew]

 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (MILWAUKEE) 21 15 .583[/b] COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (NEW YORK YANKEES) 18 18 .500 3.0 TOLEDO MUD HENS (DETROIT) 19 20 .487 3.5 LOUISVILLE BATS (CINCINNATI) 18 20 .474 4.0

 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 22 16 .579 BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 21 17 .553 1.0 MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 20 19 .513 2.5 [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 20 19 .513 2.5[/b] MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 15 24 .385 7.5

 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 24 15 .615 LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 22 15 .595 1.0 LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 20 17 .541 3.0 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 19 18 .514 4.0 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 15 24 .385 9.0[/b]

 WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 24 15 .615 CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 23 16 .590 1.0 PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 22 17 .564 2.0 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 22 17 .564 2.0 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 21 18 .538 3.0[/b] QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 18 20 .474 5.5 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 17 22 .436 7.0 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 13 26 .333 11.0

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

Just an excellent account of the game, with quotes, a bit of Callix Crabbe trivia, and all the injury updates...

 

www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...921,18727,

[tlpc4]

As Brad Nelson streaks and Prince slumps, the numbers are begining to look pretty similar.

 

AA *Fielder, Prince - 39g 6doubles 0triples 9hr 30rbi 18bb 30so 2sb 0cs .273avg .365obp .503slg

 

AA *Nelson, Brad - 38g 10doubles 1triples 8hr 25rbi 14bb 42so 4sb 4cs .287avg .362obp .551slg

 

The 1.5 year age difference definately tilts in Prince's favor, but who know what Brad would be doing today without the wrist injury.

[RyDogg66]

With Corey Hart's hot start in AAA, and Prince mashing for a few weeks at AA, tossed in with the praise that Weeks and Hardy have gotten from national minor league publications, Brad Nelson has been severely over looked. He has to be considered a bonified top 5 prospect for us, and like someone else said I believe, he would be #1 prospect on about 20 of the 29 other teams.

[lend d money]

I have been thinking that it might be wise for the organization to flip flop Ozzie and Enrique. Ozzie is doing well, and given his "power," he shouldn't have very inflated HD numbers. Cruz, on the other hand, needs to experience some success to regain confidence. Anyone else feel the same way?

[igor67]

I think some of it was timing, Brad started out slow and slowly improved before taking it up a notch about halfway through Prince's streak. Since Prince has cooled off he's continued to plug along. His BB/K line could improve some, but that's nitpicking, and between our 4 firstbasemen do we have lot's of extra base power.

[xisxisxis]

Brad Nelson has been severely over looked.

 

I'm sure it's because he doesn't take enough walks. Really who needs a decent average and high SLG when we only need players that can take walks (note: that was sarcasm).

 

Good to see Brad earning the love again considering his injury and the expectations that he should have been performing at a higher level last year even though he wasn't fully recovered.

[tlpc4]

If you take a look at the pool of players AA and above at each position (ignoring injury) things could definately be worse.

 

1B

Overbay, Hart, Fielder, Nelson

 

2B

Spivey, Ginter, Counsell, Hall, Weeks

 

SS

Counsell, Hall, Ginter, Hardy

 

3B

Helms, Ginter, Hall

 

C

Moeller

 

OF

Jenkins, Pods, Grieve, Hart, Krynzel, Nelson

[Kraft4a3]

C

Moeller

 

Even with his recent slump I think the Kade door to the bigs needs to be kept open a crack.

[tlpc4]

I tried not to include question marks. If Gwynn did not make the list, Kade doesn't.

 

I feel Krynzel is the longest shot of the guys not already at MLB and I would put his chances at 80% - 90% that he will get a chance to be an everyday player at some point in his career.