Link Report for Games of Saturday, April 26th

[SquirrelMaster]

Indianapolis 6, Columbus (Yankees) 5

Lee Stevens hits a two-run dinger in win...

 

Indy Site Game Summary:

 

The Indianapolis Indians (8-13) improved to 5-2 at Victory Field with a 6-5 win over the Columbus Clippers (5-15) on Saturday night. The Indians bullpen held off a late inning surge from the Columbus offense to preserve the victory for Tribe starting pitcher Francisco Campos (1-2).

 

Lee Stevens' two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning off of Columbus starter Christian Parker (0-1), which put the score at 6-1, proved to be the deciding factor for the Indians. Saturday night's game marked Parker's second start of the season after having missed nearly two years rehabilitating an injured shoulder.

 

The Indians got on the board first in the second inning when Pete Zoccolillo reached base with a double to deep left and was driven home two batters later by a Cody McKay single.

 

Mark Smith continued his hot streak at the plate going 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBI. Smith drove home Jason Conti with a double in the third inning and later scored on a Scott Seabol (2-for-4) double to left-center.

 

Campos pitched 5.0 innings allowing only four hits and one run, a solo homer to Nate Rolison in the fourth, while striking out six before giving way to the Indians bullpen. After Leo Estrella held the Clippers to only one baserunner in the sixth and seventh innings, Jamey Wright started the eighth for Indianapolis. Wright allowed three hits including an RBI single to former Indian Bobby Smith in his one inning of work.

 

The Tribe then turned to Roberto Giron in the ninth inning leading 6-2 in a non-save situation. Giron struggled allowing five baserunners on two walks and three hits before being relieved by Danny Kolb with two outs and runners on first and second base. Kolb induced Smith into hitting a groundball to Tribe third baseman Seabol who tossed to Stevens for the final out. For Kolb, it was his first save since July 24th of last season for the Texas Rangers.

 

The two teams will complete the short two-game series on Sunday afternoon when the Tribe's Ruben Quevedo (2-1, 2.61) looks for his third victory of the season against Danny Borrell (1-1, 2.65) for Columbus. Gametime is set for 2:00 p.m. as the first 4,000 fans will receive an Indians logo baseball.

 

Indianapolis Star Game Story:

Sheds some light on Stevens' situation...

 

Lee Stevens and Mark Smith, two of the Indianapolis Indians with significant major-league experience, played major roles as the Indians defeated Columbus 6-5 Saturday night.

 

Stevens, who decided this week that it was time to retire from baseball, blasted a two-run homer.

 

The 35-year-old, who has played in the majors in 10 seasons, will leave the Indians after the team ends its homestand Wednesday.

 

"I got to do it the way I wanted to, and picked the day," said Stevens. "I'm walking away from the game and not getting pushed out. I'm ready to go on with the next phase of my life."

 

The victory was only the second in 12 games for the Indians (8-13).

 

Francisco Campos (1-2) struck out six in five innings and survived three early scoring threats, giving up four hits and one run.

 

Indianapolis built a 6-1 lead but then had to survive a ninth-inning uprising by the Clippers (5-15).

 

Smith, who has a .243 major-league average for 381 games, had three of the nine hits Indianapolis collected in the first five innings against Christian Parker (0-1), who was pitching for only the second time in nearly two years after having shoulder surgery.

 

Smith pounded two doubles and a single to drive in two runs, raising his team-high RBI total to 11.

 

Columbus scored three runs off Roberto Giron in the ninth inning and had the tying and potential winning run on base when Danny Kolb -- the fifth Indianapolis pitcher of the night -- came into the game. Kolb picked up the save by getting Bobby Smith to ground to third for the final out.

 

Indianapolis Box Score:

Estrella and Kolb continue their solid bullpen work...

 GAME DATE: 4/26/03 COLUMBUS 5 AT INDIANAPOLIS 6 YTD YTD COLUMBUS AB R H BI AVG INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG K.Reese CF 3 1 0 0 .217 M.Budzinski RF 3 1 1 0 .346 C.Wilson 2B 3 0 0 0 .167 J.Conti CF 4 1 0 0 .214 R.McGuire PH 1 0 0 0 .256 M.Smith DH 4 2 3 2 .333 J.Rivera LF 5 1 2 0 .333 L.Stevens 1B 3 1 1 2 .327 F.Seguignol DH 3 0 1 0 .304 S.Seabol 3B 4 0 2 1 .239 J.Rodriguez PR 0 1 0 0 .214 P.Zoccolillo LF 4 1 1 0 .269 J.Rodriguez DH 1 1 1 1 .214 W.Veras SS 3 0 0 0 .200 M.Thames RF 4 0 2 2 .317 C.McKay CAT 3 0 2 1 .155 N.Rolison 1B 4 1 2 1 .278 B.Hall 2B 3 0 0 0 .157 B.Smith SS 5 0 1 1 .219 F.Campos PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Henson 3B 4 0 0 0 .167 L.Estrella PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Hernandez CAT 3 0 1 0 .239 J.Wright PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Parker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Giron PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Hernandez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Kolb PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 36 5 10 5 TOTALS 31 6 10 6 COLUMBUS 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 3- 5 10 0 INDIANAPOLIS 0 1 2 0 3 0 0 0 X- 6 10 0 DP--COLUMBUS 1, INDIANAPOLIS 0. LOB--COLUMBUS 11, INDIANAPOLIS 3. 2B--N.Rolison (4), M.Smith 2 (3), P.Zoccolillo (3). 3B--S.Seabol (1). HR--N.Rolison (3), L.Stevens (2). SB--K.Reese (1), M.Budzinski (3). CS--M.Budzinski. HBP--C.Wilson, F.Seguignol. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA COLUMBUS C.Parker (L,0-1) 5.0 9 6 4 2 6 1 7.20 A.Hernandez 3.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.60 INDIANAPOLIS F.Campos (W,1-2) 5.0 4 1 1 2 6 1 7.48 L.Estrella 2.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.20 J.Wright 1.0 3 1 1 0 1 0 7.36 R.Giron 0.2 3 3 3 2 0 0 7.50 D.Kolb (S,1) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.04 HB--F.Campos 2. WP--C.Parker. PB--M.Hernandez. SO--C.Wilson 2, F.Seguignol, M.Thames, N.Rolison, B.Smith, D.Henson 2, M.Budzinski 2, J.Conti 3, M.Smith, W.Veras, B.Hall. BB--K.Reese 2, M.Thames, N.Rolison, M.Hernandez, M.Budzinski, L.Stevens. T--2:48. A--5951

[Highroller720]

Huntsville 4, Greenville (Braves) 3

Luis Martinez 2 Runs allowed (1 Earned) in 6 innings...

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Plenty of play-by-play detail here...

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...?newsid=47

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Night off for Hardy and Krynzel...

 GAME DATE: 4/26/03 GREENVILLE 3 AT HUNTSVILLE 4 YTD YTD GREENVILLE AB R H BI AVG HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG R.Langerhans CF 5 0 0 0 .287 R.Knox CF 4 0 1 0 .274 R.Lewis 2B 4 0 0 0 .235 C.Cosbey LF 3 1 0 0 .360 A.LaRoche 1B 4 1 1 0 .293 C.Hart 3B 4 0 2 1 .295 B.McCarthy LF 3 0 1 1 .263 B.Gemoll 1B 3 0 0 0 .241 C.Aldridge RF 3 0 1 0 .243 C.Guerrero RF 3 1 2 0 .205 L.Evans CAT 4 0 1 0 .283 R.Paz 2B 3 1 1 0 .240 K.Johnson SS 4 2 2 1 .242 M.Kremblas CAT 3 1 0 0 .132 J.Jurries 3B 4 0 0 0 .170 C.Barnwell SS 3 0 1 2 .208 M.Belisle PIT 2 0 1 1 .167 L.Martinez PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 K.De Renne PH 1 0 0 0 .094 M.Adams PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Winkelsas PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.McConnell PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Fitzgerald PH 1 0 0 0 .200 TOTALS 35 3 7 3 TOTALS 28 4 7 3 GREENVILLE 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1- 3 7 1 HUNTSVILLE 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 X- 4 7 2 E--J.Jurries, B.Gemoll, C.Barnwell. DP--GREENVILLE 2, HUNTSVILLE 1. LOB--GREENVILLE 7, HUNTSVILLE 5. 2B--B.McCarthy (6), C.Aldridge (5). 3B--A.LaRoche (1). HR--K.Johnson (1). SB--R.Lewis (2), C.Cosbey (4), C.Guerrero (2), R.Paz (1), M.Kremblas (1). CS--B.Gemoll. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA GREENVILLE M.Belisle (L,1-3) 5.0 5 4 4 3 5 0 4.74 J.Winkelsas 2.0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0.00 S.McConnell 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 HUNTSVILLE L.Martinez (W,3-1) 6.0 6 2 1 2 5 0 0.31 M.Adams (S,2) 3.0 1 1 1 0 2 1 2.76 BALKS--S.McConnell. PB--M.Kremblas. SO--R.Langerhans 3, R.Lewis, A.LaRoche, K.Johnson, J.Jurries, R.Knox 2, C.Cosbey, B.Gemoll 2, C.Guerrero, L.Martinez 2. BB--B.McCarthy, C.Aldridge, C.Cosbey, B.Gemoll, C.Guerrero, R.Paz, M.Adams. T--2:25. A--6813

[Highroller720]

Beloit 2, Lansing (Cubs) 1

Snappers win despite drawing no walks and striking out 15 times -- that's baseball for ya'

 

Game Summary from Lugnuts' Site:

2B Callix Crabbe huge defensively, which is nice to see...

 

LANSING - The Lansing Lugnuts tried and tried, but they couldn't come back from a 2-0 deficit against the Beloit Snappers Saturday night at Oldsmobile Park.

 

Before 5,380 fans, Lansing lefthander Justin Jones started for the first time since collaborating on a no-hitter on Easter Sunday. The very first batter, Beloit second baseman Callix Crabbe, doubled to left against him, stole second and scored on a single by designated hitter John Vanden Berg.

 

After Venden Berg, Jones retired the next 12 Snappers. An error by second baseman Ryan Theriot ended the streak led to a run in the fifth inning.

 

Meanwhile, Beloit righthander Tom Wilhelmsen, making his fourth professional start, pitched six innings of scoreless baseball. He was not overpowering, but he was effective. Lansing missed a scoring opportunity by inches in the third when Jose Reyes attempted to score from first on a double to left field by Robinson Chirinos. He was tagged out by catcher Pedro Esparragoza after a relay throw by shortstop Chas Terni.

 

Facing Beloit reliever Josh Alliston in the seventh, the Lugnuts looked poised to take the lead. They had loaded the bases on a single by J.J. Johnson, a walk by Kevin Collins and an inside pitch that hit Reyes. Chirinos hit a ground ball through the middle of the infield that looked like a two-run single. But Crabbe made an outstanding diving stop to grab the ball and start a double play. One scored on the play, and the inning ended when the next Batter, Pie, was also retired on a diving stop by Crabbe.

 

Lansing came up empty the rest of the way.

 

Jones set a Lugnut season high by striking out nine; reliever Dan Foli added four more in two innings and Weston O'Brien fanned two in one inning for a season-high 15 staff strikeouts.

 

The Lugnuts go for the series split Sunday afternoon at 2:05.

 

Beloit Box Score:

Wilhelmsen strong in 6 innings, no runs allowed; Fielder 0 for 3 with 3 strikeouts, HBP.

 YTD YTD BELOIT AB R H BI AVG LANSING AB R H BI AVG C.Crabbe 2B 4 1 2 1 .275 F.Pie CF 4 0 0 0 .306 N.Carter LF 4 0 0 0 .125 R.Theriot 2B 4 0 0 0 .250 J.VandenBrg DH 4 0 1 1 .333 B.Coats SS 4 0 1 0 .299 P.Fielder 1B 3 0 0 0 .366 J.Fransz LF 2 0 1 0 .238 J.Eure 3B 3 0 0 0 .197 D.Hood DH 4 0 1 0 .500 M.Mendez RF 4 0 0 0 .250 J.Johnson RF 4 1 1 0 .152 K.Bibbs CF 4 1 0 0 .235 K.Collins 1B 2 0 0 0 .100 C.Terni SS 4 0 2 0 .189 M.Creighton PR 0 0 0 0 .154 P.Esparragz CAT 4 0 1 0 .333 M.Creighton 1B 1 0 0 0 .154 T.Wilhelmsen PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Reyes CAT 2 0 1 0 .250 J.Alliston PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Chirinos 3B 2 0 1 0 .194 B.Hall PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Jones PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Foli PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 W.O'Brien PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 34 2 6 2 TOTALS 29 1 6 0 BELOIT 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0- 2 6 0 LANSING 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0- 1 6 2 E--R.Theriot 2. DP--BELOIT 3, LANSING 0. LOB--BELOIT 7, LANSING 7. 2B--C.Crabbe (8), B.Coats (5), R.Chirinos (2). SB--C.Crabbe (3). HBP--P.Fielder, J.Eure, J.Fransz, J.Reyes. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BELOIT T.Wilhelmsen (W,2-0) 6.0 5 0 0 3 3 0 1.93 J.Alliston 2.0 1 1 1 1 3 0 2.31 B.Hall (S,3) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.31 LANSING J.Jones (L,1-2) 6.0 4 2 1 0 9 0 2.12 D.Foli 2.0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0.00 W.O'Brien 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 HB--J.Alliston 2, J.Jones, D.Foli. WP--J.Alliston. SO--C.Crabbe, N.Carter 2, J.VandenBrg, P.Fielder 3, J.Eure, M.Mendez 3, C.Terni, P.Esparragz 3, F.Pie, R.Theriot 2, B.Coats, D.Hood, J.Johnson, K.Collins, J.Reyes. BB--J.Fransz, K.Collins, J.Reyes, R.Chirinos. T--2:16. A--5380

[MassBrew]

Thanks to the late-night guys for kicking off the "Report" Saturday...

 

Lake Elsinore (Padres) 5, High Desert 4, 12 innings

Road woes continue...

 

High Desert Site Game Summary:

Mavs outhit 13-5 as Lake Elsinore couldn't give it away enough..

 

LAKE ELSINORE, CA ? The Lake Elsinore Storm pulled out another come-from-behind win over the High Desert Mavericks, with a 5-4, 12-inning victory on Saturday night at the Diamond in Lake Elsinore.

 

Joe Gerber's second home run of the season, a shot down the left field line off Mavs reliever Justin Backsmeyer, gave the Storm their third straight win, and keeps them in the top spot in the South Division.

 

With the loss, the Mavs have now dropped a season-worst four in a row overall, and seven straight on the road.

 

The Mavs took the early lead thanks to the first of four Lake Elsinore errors on the night. Mark Ernster reached on an error and scored when Daryl Clark tripled and knocked in his league-leading 25th RBI of the year. Clark would score on a Kade Johnson ground out as the Mavs took a 2-0 first inning lead. They went up 3-0 in the third, as Chris Morris reached on an error, then scored on a throwing error by catcher Nick Trzesniak, as he tried to throw out Morris stealing third.

 

The Storm answered with two runs in the bottom of the third off starter Chris Saenz. Marcus Nettles and Josh Barfield each collected RBI hits to cut the lead to one, at 3-2.

 

The Mavs got a run back in the fifth, as Todd West reached on the fourth Lake Elsinore error, and scored on an Ernster RBI double. All told, the Mavs four runs were all unearned off of Storm starter Tom Lipari, who went five innings.

 

The Storm rallied after Saenz was pulled after five innings. Greg Schaub walked the leadoff man, Joe Gerber, in the sixth, and allowed him to score on a two-out hit by Jason Clements.

 

After the Mavs couldn't produce an insurance run with runners at first and third and no outs in the top of the eighth inning, Bobby Bystrowski came on and allowed the game-tying base hit in the bottom of the inning. Again, it was Clements with a two-out, RBI single, to tie the game at 4-4.

 

Each team had the chance to win it but neither club produced until the 12th. Backsmeyer (0-1), who worked a scoreless 11th, gave up the line drive homer to Gerber, which barely stayed fair, just clearing the fence. It was the first run that Backsmeyer had allowed in his four appearances so far this year. Robert Garvin (2-1) got the win with two innings of scoreless relief.

 

Dan Hall (3-0) looks to become the Cal League's first four-game winner as he goes to the mound on Sunday for High Desert. Lake Elsinore will counter with Justin Germano (1-1) at 2:05 in the final game of the series.

 

The Mavs return home on Friday, May 2nd.

 

High Desert Box Score:

We miss you, Brad...

 GAME DATE: 4/26/03 HIGH DESERT 4 AT LAKE ELSINORE 5 (EXTRA INNINGS) YTD YTD HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG LAKE ELSINORE AB R H BI AVG C.Morris CF 5 1 1 0 .242 M.Nettles CF 6 1 1 1 .183 M.Ernster 3B 4 1 2 1 .500 J.Furmaniak DH 5 0 0 0 .342 D.Clark LF 5 1 1 1 .391 J.Barfield 2B 5 0 3 1 .398 K.Johnson CAT 5 0 1 1 .351 G.Sain 3B 6 0 2 0 .286 J.Belcher RF 5 0 0 0 .354 J.Gerber LF 4 2 2 1 .341 B.Foster DH 4 0 0 0 .275 J.Carter RF 5 0 1 0 .296 J.Raburn PR 0 0 0 0 .291 J.Hastings 1B 4 0 2 0 .259 J.Raburn DH 1 0 0 0 .291 F.Guzman PR 0 1 0 0 .354 R.Santana 2B 5 0 0 0 .279 J.Benick 1B 1 0 0 0 .342 S.Candelaria 1B 5 0 0 0 .226 N.Trzesniak CAT 5 0 0 0 .298 T.West SS 4 1 0 0 .250 J.Clements SS 3 1 2 2 .667 C.Saenz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Lipari PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Schaub PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Kozol PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Bystrowski PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Cassel PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Backsmeyer PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Wodnicki PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Garvin PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 43 4 5 3 TOTALS 44 5 13 5 HIGH DESERT 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 4 5 2 LAKE ELSINORE 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1- 5 13 4 E--M.Ernster, K.Johnson, G.Sain 2, J.Clements, T.Lipari. DP--HIGH DESERT 1, LAKE ELSINORE 2. LOB--HIGH DESERT 4, LAKE ELSINORE 11. 2B--C.Morris (7), M.Ernster (3), M.Nettles (2), J.Gerber (6), J.Carter (3), J.Hastings (4). 3B--D.Clark (4), J.Barfield (2). HR--J.Gerber (2). SB--C.Morris (13), M.Ernster (1), T.West 2 (4), J.Barfield (6), J.Clements (1). CS-- J.Furmaniak, J.Clements. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HIGH DESERT C.Saenz 5.0 5 2 2 4 8 0 6.86 G.Schaub 2.0 3 1 1 2 2 0 2.35 B.Bystrowski 3.0 4 1 1 0 0 0 3.77 J.Backsmeyer (L,0-1) 1.1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1.69 LAKE ELSINORE T.Lipari 5.0 2 4 0 1 6 0 0.00 A.Kozol 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.25 J.Cassel 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.42 M.Wodnicki 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.98 R.Garvin (W,2-1) 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.05 PB--N.Trzesniak. SO--C.Morris 3, D.Clark 2, J.Belcher, B.Foster, S.Candelaria 2, T.West, M.Nettles, G.Sain 3, J.Carter 3, J.Hastings, N.Trzesniak 2. BB--M.Ernster, J.Furmaniak, J.Barfield, J.Gerber 2, J.Clements 2. T--3:13. A--5674

[MassBrew]

Sunday's Daily Menu :

 

All listed times Central, pitchers subject to change, pre-game audio approx. 15 minutes prior to game time where available...

 

INDIANAPOLIS: RHP Ruben Quevedo vs. Columbus (Yankees) at home, 2:00 PM

 

HUNTSVILLE: RHP Mike Jones vs. Greenville (Braves) at home, 2:05 PM

 

HIGH DESERT: RHP Dan Hall looks to right the Mavs' ship at Lake Elsinore (Padres), 5:05 PM -- flip over to the audio after the Brewer game, as Hall has earned Maverick "ace" status with his performances thus far...

 

BELOIT: It should be RHP Dennis Sarfate on the hill when the Snappers coninue their stay in Lansing (Cubs), 2:00 PM -- isn't it interesting how Sarfate and Tom Wilhelmsen have outshone Manny Parra, Calvin Carpenter and Khalid Ballouli in the early going? Still, a strong rotation top-to-bottom and easy to compare with Huntsville's current crew...

[MassBrew]

David Weiser's Huntsville Update:

 

Looks like Luis Martinez didn't have his best stuff tonight, but even though his fastball wasn't humming and his curve and slider weren't fooling anyone the way we've seen --- even though he retired the side in order only once through five innings, manager Frank Kremblas's aggressive brand of ball saved the day.

 

The 2003 Stars may not be the fastest (the 1985 team, with Luis Polonia and Stan Javier out front was far speedier), but they are one of the most aggressive teams in the Stars' 19-year history......... After 21 games, the Stars have stolen at least 29 bases. (I don't know how many were stolen in Friday's suspended game).......... In games in which the Stars have at least one steal, they are 11-3. It's paid off.

 

That record is pretty much indicative of the type of aggression Stars fans have seen in four of five years of the Brewer era.......... The 1999 team stole 31 bases after 21 games, and were also 11-3 in games in which they stole at least one base....... This is not to say that stealing bases is the be all and end all that will win you games. The 1989 and 1991 teams stole 28 and 29 bases respectively at that early stage, and had 5-8 and 6-7 records when they did......... You have to have pitching, hitting, hitting for power, and defense --- in other words, the other four tools scouts look at.........

 

The Stars as we know, so far, have plenty of the former and not enough of the latter. Mix it up, and the Stars remain in 1st place in the Western Division with a 13-9 record....... The D'Jaxx keep rolling along. They beat slumping Carolina, tonight, 11-3.

 

Martinez was looking invincible after two batters, using 8 pitches to get swinging strikeouts on Ryan Langerhans and Richard Lewis, but he got behind on Adam LaRoche, the son of former reliever Dave........ On a 2-0 pitch, LaRoche pulled one off the right field wall, that was close to going out........ Now up to this point in the season, Luis had never given up a hit with a runner in scoring position. That streak ended when left fielder Bill McCarthy lined a 2-1 pitch into the left field corner for a double......... It's quite obvious both hitters were expecting to see a fastball, which leads me to stop for a moment to clue you neophytes on a simple corollary in baseball......... It's statistically been proven that if you get behind the count on a hitter, chances are much better he'll get what he wants and whack it for a hit somewhere........ LaRoche scored, and Luis' streak of 23 innings without allowing an earned run came to an end........ He'll likely not get another start this month, so he finishes April with a ridiculous 0.31 ERA --- the 3rd lowest by a Huntsville pitcher in their history after the first month, but the best by a starting pitcher.

 

Corey Hart made a nice off-balance throw on a hard 2-hopper hit near the 3rd base bag to get leadoff hitter Lee Evans in the 2nd inning, but once again, porous defense led to another unearned run........ After Kelly Johnson singled to right on a 3-1 pitch, 3rd baseman James Jurries hit an easy grounder to Chris Barnwell that would have been a double play ball for J.J. Hardy. Barnwell overcharged the ball and in the process, mistimed his approach and let the ball go through him. That put runners on the corners....... Matt Belisle then hit a little blooper that fell in for a hit in back of the second base bag, scoring Johnson to make it 2-0, Greenville........ Luis settled down to retire 10 of the next 13 hitters, getting four ground outs and a pair of strikeouts in the process......... Meanwhile the Stars went to work.

 

With one out in the 2nd, Cristian Guerrero hit his first pitch to right for a single and Richard Paz walked....... Mike Kremblas hit into a force play at third, erasing Guerrero........ With the count 1-and-2 on Barnwell, the unlikely duo of Paz and Kremblas pulled off a double steal........ Barnwell then lined a 2-2 pitch into right field that easily scored both runners to tie the game......... The Stars tried another double steal in the 6th with Brandon Gemoll and Guerrero on base, but it was only half successful.

 

Once more in the 3rd, a stolen base leads to another run....... After Ryan Knox struck out, Chris Cosbey walked on 3-and-1 and stole 2nd........ Hart, moved up to 3rd in the lineup (there was some major lineup mixing tonight), singled up the middle and the Stars were in the lead, 3-2. That put Corey in 2nd place among SL RBI leaders........ In the 4th, Guerrero drew a walk, only his 3rd this season in the 21 games he's played....... He then stole 2nd to set up the 4th run on a stolen base...... Paz got just enough of a 2-2 pitch to dribble it in front of the plate......... Pitcher Matt Belisle pounced on it, but slipped while fielding it, advancing Guerrero to third........ Kremblas grounded into a double play, scoring Guerrero to put the Stars up, 4-2.

 

After two spotless innings of relief, Kelly Johnson hit a 3-1 slider to right as Guerrero watched the ball lift over the 3rd level of billboards for his 1st home run of the season, but Mike Adams picked up his 2nd save of the season, striking out Jim Jurries, getting pinch-hitter Jason Fitzgerald to fly out to center, and Ryan Langerhans to spank a ball to Barnwell to end the game......... Martinez threw 93 pitches, 54 for strikes (58%). At least 12 were first-pitch strikes to 26 batters.

 

Ben Hendrickson had a throwing session in the bullpen....... Dave Krynzel has an 11-game hit streak, even though Friday night's hit technically is not in the books until it's completed sometime at the end of May......... Knox's hit streak was kept alive at 14 games thanks to the benevolence of Larry Smith, the home scorer. Knox hit a first pitch to James Jurries who charged in and threw wide of Adam LaRoche's outstretched glove. It looked surely like a two-base error, but Ryan was gifted with a hit on a ball that wasn't that tough to field....... Gemoll committed the Stars' 35th error in the 6th inning on an attempted double play......... Greenville, by comparison, came into the game with 19, spread pretty evenly......... Greenville reliver Joe Winkesas, a former Bay Bear, threw a pair of scoreless innings to run his streak to 12 1/3 on the season.

 

Mike Jones (2-1, 4.58) gets the ball for the Stars, tomorrow........ The skies are expected to clear up and get much warmer for the 2 pm game........ Adam Wainwright (1-1, 3.68), almost guaranteed to be in Atlanta's starting rotation someday. He's their #1 minor league prospect, as rated by Baseball America..........He led the Sally League in strikeouts in 2001 while setting a Macon record with 184 Ks......... He reached 96 mph in last year's Futures Game......... The Braves aren't rushing him.

 

The Stars will not fill their open roster spot, left vacant by the retirement of Tim Crabtree. The roster must be trimmed to 23 next week.........

 

Updated MLB.com NL Central Prospect Report:

Krynzel, Hardy, Nelson, Cruz...

 

mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ml...&fext=.jsp

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Times Game Story:

Insights and quotes on closer Mike Adams' season...

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...311090.xml