Link Report for Games of Thursday, April 24th

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis Media Notes:

 

TONIGHT: The Indians return to Victory Field where they are 4-1. The Tribe is coming off the longest road trip of the season. The nine-game journey took the Tribe to Durham for two games, Charlotte for four and Louisville for three. The Tribe went 1-8 on the trip losing the first six games before taking the series opener against Louisville. The Tribe then dropped the next two.

 

The Indians welcome Toledo to Victory Field for the first time in 2003. The teams met at Fifth Third Field for one game earlier this month. The Hens won 9-1. The Indians went 9-7 against Toledo last year winning six of the eight meetings at Victory Field.

 

YESTERDAY: Louisville defeated the Indians 3-2 on Felipe Crespo's sixth-inning homer. Jason Conti was 2-for-5 for the Tribe. David Manning made his first start of the season. He needed 41 pitches to get through the first inning, but allowed just one run in the frame.

 

ON THE MOUND: Righthander Mark Guerra makes his third start and fourth appearance tonight. Guerra's relief appearance came against Toledo on April 8 in a 9-1 loss. Guerra tossed three shutout innings allowing just one baserunner on a walk. Guerra took the loss in his most recent start on April 19 at Charlotte. He sailed through the first five innings allowing just two runs, but ran into trouble in the sixth allowing three more runs in two-thirds of an inning.

 

HOT AT THE PLATE: Three Indians boast batting averages above .300. Lee Stevens tops the team with a .356 mark. Mark Smith is hitting .326. Smith has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games (.357, 15-for-42) and leads the team with nine RBI. Mark Budzinski is batting .344. He leads the team with five multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games. Over his last five games, Budzinski is hitting .600 (9-for-15).

 

EXTRA HITTING: The Indians .219 team batting average ranks last in the IL. Cecil Cooper has scheduled extra hitting sessions for Thursday and Friday afternoons before the regular batting practice and infield.

 

ON THE BOARD EARLY: The Indians have scored a team-best 16 runs in the first inning. The Tribe has plated a first-inning run in eight games this season, including four of the last five. The Indians are 4-5 when they score the game's first run. The Tribe's struggles have come in the third, fourth and fifth innings when they've been outscored 52-13.

 

NOW THAT'S RELIEF: The Indians bullpen continues to slam the door on the opposition. In 69.1 innings, the relief corps has recorded a 3.25 ERA.

 

A ROUGH 'ROAD' TO HOE: The Tribe opened the season with 14 of its first 19 games on the road. The Indians went 7-12 in that stretch including a 3-11 mark away from Victory Field. The Indians are hit .195 in the 14 road games and scored just 41 runs (2.9 rpg). Six of the Tribe's 12 position players are hitting below .200 on the road.

 

TROUBLE IN THE FIELD: The Indians have committed 21 errors which is third-most in the IL. Nineteen of those have come on the road leading to 26 unearned runs.

 

UPCOMING PROBABLES:

Friday vs. Toledo - RHP Shane Loux (2-0, 0.51) vs. RHP Francisco Campos (0-2, 9.18)

Saturday vs. Columbus - LHP Danny Borrell (1-1, 2.65) vs. RHP Ruben Quevedo (2-1, 2.61)

Sunday vs. Columbus - RHP Adrian Hernandez (1-2, 4.24) vs. RHP Pascual Coco (1-3, 5.30)

Monday - Off Day

[MassBrew]

In tonight's final portion of the Reid Nichols interview with Jim Powell on the Brewers' pre-game show, the focus was on the A-ball teams. Daryl Clark, Kade Johnson (defense looks fine), J.M. Gold, and the Beloit pitching staff (Nichols sees big similarities to the strong Huntsville staff) were all quick points of discussion. The strongest statement concerned Beloit's 19-year-old Steve Moss, who received rave reviews and is "major league ready" as a defensive CF. Of course, Moss has shown fine offensive skills as well, but Nichols admits they need to get and keep him healthy (apparently foot / leg issues persist, although no details were mentioned).

[Never Outhustled]

Nichols also mentioned he was impressed with Dennis Sarafate, Saying "he has a low 90s fastball and real nice curve". He mentioned Brian Foster is good working with pitchers and is always studying opposing hitters. Thats the kind of catcher Yost is looking for.

[MassBrew]

Toledo (Tigers) 5, Indianapolis 1

Anemic ways continue; the Brewers had better promise Indy fans that most of this year's Huntsville squad will grace Victory Field full-time in 2004...

 

Indy Site Game Summary:

 

The Indianapolis Indians (7-13) suffered another setback on Thursday night in their return to Victory Field after a nine-game road trip, dropping the first of a two-game series 5-1 to the Toledo Mud Hens (10-9). The Indians' bats were held silent throughout the majority of the game as Mud Hens starter Nate Robertson (1-1) pitched seven solid innings for his first Triple-A victory.

 

Toledo jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning against Indians starting pitcher Mark Guerra (0-2). Leadoff batter Andres Torres got the ball rolling for the Mud Hens innocently enough with a bunt single down the third base line. Two batters later Kevin Witt, who entered the ballgame trailing Lou Collier for the International League RBI lead by one with 17, doubled to deep left-center field to score Torres. Witt later scored on an RBI single by Derek Nicholson.

 

Toledo tallied single runs in the second and third innings off of Guerra, who pitched six innings allowing six hits and four runs. Danny Klassen accounted for the single run in the third inning with a solo home run to left field for Toledo.

Robertson allowed only four hits in his seven innings of work, allowing the Tribe's only run to cross the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning when Keith Luuloa's double scored Scott Seabol from first base. Robertson notched a season-high seven strikeouts while walking just two Indians batters.

 

Toledo's final run came on Tom Evans' solo home run in the top of the ninth inning, ending reliever Dan Kolb's string of frames without allowing an earned run at 7.1 innings.

 

The two teams will finish off the series on Friday evening at 7 p.m. at Victory Field. Shane Loux (2-0, 0.51 ERA) will start for Toledo and Francisco Campos (0-2, 9.18 ERA) will start for the Tribe.

 

Indianapolis Box Score:

Jamey Wright with a couple of scoreless innings...

 GAME DATE: 4/24/03 TOLEDO 5 AT INDIANAPOLIS 1 YTD YTD TOLEDO AB R H BI AVG INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG A.Torres CF 4 1 1 0 .343 J.Conti CF 3 0 0 0 .231 W.Morris 2B 5 0 1 0 .219 J.Lawrence CAT 3 0 0 0 .196 K.Witt 1B 4 1 1 1 .358 M.Smith RF 4 0 0 0 .300 E.Young RF 3 0 0 0 .265 L.Stevens DH 4 0 0 0 .327 D.Nicholson DH 4 0 1 1 .196 S.Seabol 1B 4 1 2 0 .214 D.Klassen SS 3 1 2 1 .222 K.Luuloa 2B 3 0 1 1 .136 C.Ross LF 4 0 0 0 .188 P.Zoccolillo LF 3 0 0 0 .271 T.Evans 3B 3 2 1 1 .152 B.Hall SS 3 0 0 0 .164 A.Hinch CAT 4 0 1 1 .121 W.Veras 3B 3 0 2 0 .212 N.Robertson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Guerra PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Pearson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Wright PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Rodney PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Kolb PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 34 5 8 5 TOTALS 30 1 5 1 TOLEDO 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1- 5 8 0 INDIANAPOLIS 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0- 1 5 1 E--W.Veras. DP--TOLEDO 2, INDIANAPOLIS 0. LOB--TOLEDO 6, INDIANAPOLIS 4. 2B--K.Witt (5), A.Hinch (2), K.Luuloa (2). HR--D.Klassen (2), T.Evans (1). SB--A.Torres (12), W.Morris (1), E.Young (2), D.Klassen (2). CS-- A.Torres, E.Young, J.Conti. HBP--D.Klassen, T.Evans. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA TOLEDO N.Robertson (W,1-1) 7.0 4 1 1 2 7 0 2.16 T.Pearson 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 F.Rodney 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.86 INDIANAPOLIS M.Guerra (L,0-2) 6.0 6 4 4 1 0 1 5.03 J.Wright 2.0 1 0 0 1 3 0 7.29 D.Kolb 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1.08 HB--M.Guerra, J.Wright. PB--J.Lawrence. SO--A.Torres, D.Nicholson, C.Ross, L.Stevens 3, S.Seabol, P.Zoccolillo 2, B.Hall 2. BB--A.Torres, E.Young, J.Conti, J.Lawrence. T--2:12. A--4040

[squarepusher]

Huntsville 12, Mobile (Padres) 6

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Hardy the offensive star; Diggins hit a bit but we'll take the 7-to-1 K/BB ratio...

 GAME DATE: 4/24/03 HUNTSVILLE 12 AT MOBILE 6 YTD YTD HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG MOBILE AB R H BI AVG R.Knox LF 4 2 2 0 .275 B.Scales 2B 5 1 3 0 .359 D.Krynzel CF 5 2 1 2 .278 V.Faison CF 4 1 3 2 .239 J.Hardy SS 5 2 3 2 .333 T.Donovan PH 1 0 0 0 .194 C.Hart 3B 4 0 0 0 .286 K.Greene SS 5 0 0 0 .231 B.Gemoll 1B 5 1 1 0 .250 R.Gomez LF 4 1 1 0 .294 C.Guerrero RF 5 1 2 2 .188 A.Fernandez RF 4 1 1 0 .309 M.Kremblas CAT 3 2 1 1 .143 J.Knott 1B 3 1 1 1 .211 C.Barnwell 2B 3 1 2 0 .200 R.Washington 3B 1 0 0 0 .286 B.Diggins PIT 2 1 1 0 .333 D.Bravo 1B 1 0 0 0 .250 R.Gripp PH 2 0 0 0 .184 D.Bravo 3B 2 1 0 0 .250 R.Miller PIT 1 0 0 0 .333 H.Quintero CAT 4 0 0 0 .224 M.Hammons PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Watkins PIT 2 0 0 1 .000 A.Webb PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 I.Harvey PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Gaal PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Johnson PH 1 0 0 0 .117 TOTALS 39 12 13 7 TOTALS 38 6 9 4 HUNTSVILLE 0 0 4 0 0 0 7 0 1-12 13 2 MOBILE 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0- 6 9 4 E--C.Barnwell, B.Diggins, J.Knott, D.Bravo, H.Quintero, A.Webb. DP--HUNTSVILLE 0, MOBILE 2. LOB--HUNTSVILLE 6, MOBILE 6. 2B--C.Guerrero (3), B.Scales (3), V.Faison (3), J.Knott (5). 3B--D.Krynzel (3). HR-- J.Hardy (4), M.Kremblas (1), V.Faison (1). SB--D.Krynzel (7), B.Scales (1). HBP--M.Kremblas, C.Barnwell. SH--C.Barnwell. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HUNTSVILLE B.Diggins (W,2-1) 6.0 7 5 3 1 7 0 2.05 R.Miller 2.0 1 1 1 0 2 1 0.63 M.Hammons 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 6.10 MOBILE S.Watkins 5.1 6 4 4 2 2 1 3.12 A.Webb (L,0-1) 1.1 3 7 0 1 2 0 2.63 I.Harvey 1.1 2 0 0 0 3 0 3.52 B.Gaal 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 1 4.15 HB--I.Harvey 2. WP--A.Webb. PB--H.Quintero. SO--R.Knox 2, C.Hart 3, B.Gemoll, R.Gripp, T.Donovan, K.Greene 2, R.Gomez, A.Fernandez, J.Knott, H.Quintero 2, S.Watkins, A.Webb, B.Johnson. BB--R.Knox, C.Hart, M.Kremblas, D.Bravo. T--2:55. A--1723

[MassBrew]

Beloit 9, Lansing (Cubs) 8

Prince Fielder lifts his average from .339 to .391 (25-for-64, 10 extra-base hits) and keys incredible comeback victory...

 

Game Summary From the Lugnuts' Site:

 

Snappers' seven-run inning dooms 'Nuts

LANSING - Beloit first baseman Prince Fielder, son of former Deroit Tiger Cecil Fielder, went 5-for-5 at Oldsmobile Park Thursday night, including two singles in a seven-run eighth inning that was just enough to give Beloit a 9-8 win over the Lansing Lugnuts.

 

Lansing squandered leads of 6-0 and 8-2, as three Lansing relievers were knocked around in the inning. Twelve Snappers batted in the inning, and Fielder drove the last nail in the coffin with a bases-loaded, two-run single through the middle of the infield off of Jason Wylie.

 

Lansing had constructed a 2-0 lead on a first-inning RBI single by Buck Coats and a solo home run in the second by Keith Butler (his first). Then they exploded for four runs in the third inning, sending 10 to the plate and scoring on a double by Donny Hood, a single by Butler and a two-run single by Robinson Chirinos.

 

Beloit starter Calvin Carpenter was chased from the ballgame in the third, having given up 10 hits and six runs in 2 2/3 innings.

 

The Lugnuts' last two runs came in the seventh, scoring on a groundout by Jose Reyes and a single by Chirinos.

 

Fielder, who had four singles, missed a home run by about a foot in the fourth inning, when he smacked a leadoff double off the top of the wall in left centerfield. He finished the night with three RBIs and a run scored.

 

The Beloit Snappers are the snappers of a six-game Lansing win streak. Lansing, now 10-5, trail Fort Wayne by a half-game in the Eastern Division.

 

Lansing tied a season high by smacking out 15 hits. Felix Pie, with a triple and a single, had two; Ryan Theriot had a single and a double, walking twice; Coats had two singles; Hood collected a single and a double; Chirinos singled twice and collected three RBIs; Butler led all hitters with two singles and the solo homer.

 

The four-game series continues Friday night at 6:05 p.m.

 R H E LOB Beloit (8-8) 9 16 1 8 LUGNUTS (10-5) 8 15 0 10

WP: Justin Gabriel (2-0)

LP: Federico Baez (1-2)

SAVE: Bo Hall (2)

HR: Keith Butler (1)

 

Time of Game: 3:17

Attendance: 2902

[DHonks]

Beloit Box Score:

It's nice to see Prince with a huge night, but perhaps even better is seeing the averages of more and more Snappers creeping up towards the .300-mark; LHP Jeff Housman has been a pleasant surprise in the early going...

 YTD YTD BELOIT AB R H BI AVG LANSING AB R H BI AVG K.Bibbs CF 5 1 1 2 .279 F.Pie CF 4 1 2 0 .333 C.Crabbe 2B 4 1 1 0 .274 R.Theriot 2B 3 0 2 0 .265 J.VandenBrg CAT 5 2 3 1 .349 B.Coats SS 4 1 2 1 .310 P.Fielder 1B 5 1 5 2 .391 J.Fransz RF 5 0 1 0 .222 T.Hinton DH 5 1 1 3 .175 D.Hood DH 5 2 2 1 .556 J.Eure 3B 5 0 2 0 .215 K.Butler LF 5 3 3 2 .314 N.Carter LF 4 1 0 0 .140 K.Collins 1B 3 1 0 0 .105 M.Mendez RF 4 1 2 0 .297 J.Reyes CAT 5 0 1 1 .211 C.Terni SS 3 1 1 0 .167 M.Creighton PR 0 0 0 0 .190 C.Carpenter PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Chirinos 3B 5 0 2 3 .172 J.Housman PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Tavarez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Gabriel PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.O'Malley PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Hall PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Baez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Wylie PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 40 9 16 8 TOTALS 39 8 15 8 BELOIT 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 0- 9 16 1 LANSING 1 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 0- 8 15 0 E--C.Carpenter. DP--BELOIT 0, LANSING 1. LOB--BELOIT 8, LANSING 10. 2B--J.VandenBrg (2), P.Fielder (5), T.Hinton (2), R.Theriot (3), D.Hood (2), J.Reyes (2). 3B--C.Crabbe (2), M.Mendez (1), F.Pie (2). HR--K.Butler (1). SB--K.Butler (3). CS--J.Eure, J.Fransz. SH--B.Coats. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BELOIT C.Carpenter 2.2 10 6 6 3 2 1 5.40 J.Housman 3.1 1 0 0 1 4 0 1.64 J.Gabriel (W,2-0) 1.1 3 2 2 1 0 0 7.62 B.Hall (S,2) 1.2 1 0 0 0 3 0 2.53 LANSING A.Tavarez 5.0 8 2 2 1 2 0 1.69 R.O'Malley 2.1 4 4 4 1 0 0 6.10 F.Baez (L,0-2) 0.0 2 3 3 1 0 0 12.00 J.Wylie 1.2 2 0 0 1 0 0 1.08 WP--C.Carpenter, A.Tavarez, R.O'Malley, F.Baez, J.Wylie. SO--N.Carter, C.Terni, F.Pie, R.Theriot, J.Fransz, D.Hood 2, K.Collins 2, R.Chirinos 2. BB--C.Crabbe, N.Carter, M.Mendez, C.Terni, F.Pie, R.Theriot 2, K.Collins 2. T--3:17. A--2902

[squarepusher]

Inland Empire 8, High Desert 1

 

High Desert Site Game Summary:

 

ADELANTO, CA ? Cha Seung Baek pitched five shutout innings as the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino dropped the Mavs for a second straight night, winning by a final score of 8-1 at Mavericks Stadium on Thursday night.

 

Baek (2-1), who worked five shutout innings in his last start against Rancho Cucamonga, allowed just two base runners, in winning his second straight decision. Scott Candelaria reached on an error by third baseman Hunter Brown in the second, and Johnny Raburn singled in the third. That was it off of Baek, who struck out two and didn?t walk a man.

 

The 66ers got more than they needed just three pitches into the game. After Shin-Soo Choo doubled on the game?s opening pitch, Evel Bastida went deep to right off Danny Kolb for a 2-0 lead. A home run by Luis Oliveros in the second, his second of the year, made it 3-0 after just two innings. Inland Empire added four more in the third highlighted by a Greg Jacobs home run, his second of the season. Kolb lasted just four innings, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits. Tony Stavros came on in the fifth and was outstanding, allowing just one run as he went the final five innings.

 

The Mavs, who have not been shut out at home since becoming a Brewer affiliate in 2001, broke up the potential shutout with a run in the eighth. Dan Boyd struck out, but reached first on a wild pitch. After Raburn collected his second hit of the night, Boyd scored on a Todd West ground out to make it 8-1. Glenn Bott, who allowed the run in the eighth, still collected his first save of the year, with four innings of work.

 

Raburn finished the night 3-3 as the Mavs finished with a season-low four hits, this coming two nights after collecting a season-best 17 hits.

 

Kade Johnson, who could have tied the Mavericks team record with a 19-game hitting streak, went 0-4, failing to extend his Minor League best 18-game hitting streak.

 

The Mavs travel to Lake Elsinore on Friday to battle the Storm as LHP Pete Smart (1-2) takes the hill for the Mavs at 7:05 (9:05 Central). The Mavs return home on Friday, May 2nd.

 

High Desert Box Score:

Nice bounce-back effort from RHP Tony Stavros...

 GAME DATE: 4/24/03 INLAND EMPIRE 8 AT HIGH DESERT 1 YTD YTD INLAND EMPIRE AB R H BI AVG HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG S.Choo LF 4 2 2 0 .241 C.Morris CF 4 0 0 0 .256 E.BstdaMrtnz 2B 5 1 2 2 .273 T.West SS 4 0 0 1 .267 G.Jacobs CF 5 1 4 2 .383 D.Clark LF 4 0 0 0 .422 H.Brown 3B 4 1 1 0 .273 K.Johnson CAT 4 0 0 0 .345 R.Pohle DH 5 1 2 1 .348 J.Belcher DH 4 0 1 0 .364 J.Castellano 1B 4 0 1 1 .250 S.Candelaria 1B 4 0 0 0 .264 J.Williamson RF 5 0 0 0 .172 R.Santana 2B 3 0 0 0 .269 L.Oliveros CAT 5 2 3 1 .370 D.Boyd RF 3 1 0 0 .222 E.Menchaca SS 4 0 1 1 .250 J.Raburn 3B 3 0 3 0 .306 C.Baek PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Kolb PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Bott PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Stavros PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 41 8 16 8 TOTALS 33 1 4 1 INLAND EMPIRE 2 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 0- 8 16 1 HIGH DESERT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0- 1 4 0 E--H.Brown. DP--INLAND EMPIRE 0, HIGH DESERT 2. LOB--INLAND EMPIRE 9, HIGH DESERT 5. 2B--S.Choo (3), G.Jacobs (6), H.Brown (3), R.Pohle 2 (4), L.Oliveros (2), J.Belcher (5). 3B--S.Choo (2). HR--E.BstdaMrtnz (1), G.Jacobs (2), L.Oliveros (2). SB--C.Morris (11). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INLAND EMPIRE C.Baek (W,2-1) 5.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.94 G.Bott (S,1) 4.0 3 1 1 0 2 0 1.80 HIGH DESERT D.Kolb (L,0-1) 4.0 9 7 7 2 2 3 8.10 T.Stavros 5.0 7 1 1 1 4 0 5.60 WP--G.Bott, D.Kolb, T.Stavros. SO--S.Choo, E.BstdaMrtnz 2, R.Pohle, J.Williamson, E.Menchaca, T.West, D.Clark, K.Johnson, D.Boyd. BB-- S.Choo, H.Brown, J.Castellano. T--2:22. A--1009 

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

One wild inning...

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...?newsid=45

 

David Weiser Chimes In From Huntsville:

Included is a Ben Hendrickson update...

 

FOR WHOM THE RAINS TOLL...

The skies were ominous as the game began. Mobile was on the edge of the same front that spawned tornadoes in Texas earlier in the day........ A double down the line by Jon Knott scored Alex Fernandez just as the rain picked up in the 3rd inning, bringing Mobile to within a run, 4-3........ Ben Diggins could have ended the inning on a ball hit back to him by Danny Bravo, but perhaps because the ball was wet, Diggins lost his grip on the little devil and threw it into right field for a 2-base error that scored two runs. That gave Mobile a 5-4 lead...... The lead stayed that way until the 7th inning....... Do not ask for whom the ominous clouds toll, it tolled for Mobile.

 

Now generosity is a word that usually applied to us this season, but of the 33 errors the Stars made, as many were made by our opponents, and out of the 17-15 unearned run edge by our opponents, the Stars still won 3 of 5 games where errors mattered in the outcome of a game....... Hank Aaron Stadium became the theatre of the absurd as Mobile made a club record four errors in the 7th inning, allowing seven unearned runs to score in the Stars' come-from-behind 12-6 victory over the Bay Bears. Wish I knew the Southern League record for most errors by one team in an inning, but the SL Media Guide does not list it........

 

In addition to those errors, there was a wild pitch and two hit batters. A pitch by Ian Harvey brushed the pants leg of Chris Barnwell, but Barnwell did not get the umpire's signal to take his base, but Harvey's next pitch left no doubt. He hit him in the butt and the rally went on........ The seven runs by the Stars is their biggest inning since scoring six runs in the 9th to beat the Tennessee Smokies last year, 10-7.

 

An Alan Webb error opened the floodgates on this inning, but it was first set up by an error at 3rd base by Danny Bravo and a walk to Mike Kremblas.......Barnwell then laid down a beautiful bunt to try to advance the runners. Webb threw the ball away, drawing 1st baseman Jon Knott into the baseline, and Barnwell collided with Knott as the ball sailed down the right field line. Cristian Guerrero scored easily with the first run....... That ties the game.........

 

Right fielder Alex Fernandez air-mailed the throw to home plate as Kremblas tried to score. The overthrown ball was backed up by Webb and he quickly flipped the ball to catcher Humberto Quintero, but Kremblas knocked it out of his glove and Quintero was charged with error number three....... At that point, the Stars had an 6-5 lead........ After pinch-hitter Ryan Gripp popped out, Ryan Knox singled Barnwell to second. Dave Krynzel hit a chopper to Knott at first. Trying to start a double play, Knott bounced his throw off Ryan's noggin (he was wearing a helmet, Stars fans) for the fourth error of the inning........ The ball rolls into left field. That scores Barnwell. 7-5........ Knox goes to third. A wild pitch sends him in. 8-5....... Fun at the ol' ballpark, huh?........

 

Krinkles then steals third....... J.J. Hardy rips a single to left and in comes Dave. .......9-5........ Corey Hart, who sadly failed to join in the night's fun, struck out...... Brandon Gemoll singled Hardy to second, setting the table for Cristian Guerrero, up for the second time in the inning. He rips a double off reliever Ian Harvey to left-center field, scoring Gemoll and Hardy to make it 11-5.

 

Kremblas made it 12-6 in the 9th inning on a first pitch breaking ball hit well out of the park to the hillside in left for his first home run since he was a member of the Tennessee Smokies in 2000.

 

Krynzel extended his hit streak to 10 games....... Knox extended his to 13, but it was only his second 2-hit game of the streak....... Ryan Miller's string of scoreless innings, which was second only to Luis Martinez' record best in April, came to an end after 12 1/3 innings, when Vince Faison homered in the bottom of the 7th.

 

Both teams conclude their series at the Hank, Friday night, 7 pm....... Mobile sends Brad Baker (0-2, 5.74) against Derek Lee (2-0, 2.50), making his third start....... Ben Hendrickson's tight forearm is sounding more and more suspiciously like the elbow problem that at least one reliable source has attested to......... In any case, Hendrickson is on a schedule where he throws a simulated game every other day....... According to the voice of the Stars, Robert Portnoy, Derek could wind up making at least three more starts while Hendrickson slowly comes back, first throwing 20-25 pitches from the bullpen with increasing counts until he's ready to go back into the rotation.

 

With a roster spot open, the Stars nearly wound up with Mobile reliever Mike Nicolas, #8 on the list of the Padres' top prospects........ Nicolas, who pitched two scoreless innings against the Stars, Tuesday, was acquired on waivers, Thursday....... No sooner did Nicolas move his stuff from one dugout to the other before he found out the Brewers had traded him to the Red Sox.

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis Star Game Story:

Apparently Cecil Cooper's feeling the pressure...

 

www.indystar.com/print/ar...5-036.html

 

That's pretty weak; the team's first game back after the longest road trip of the season, and you refuse to talk to the media?

[clancyphile]

Almost looks like it would be a waste to put Diggins in the bullpen if he keeps going 6-7 innings a start and racking up a 7:1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio.

 

Seriously folks, I think we ought to keep Diggins in the rotation until he hits the wall as a starter. No different from how the Brewers ought to handle Luis Martinez.

[MassBrew]

Today's Menu features quite a bit of southpaw seasoning:

 

All Times Central...

 

INDIANAPOLIS: RHP Francisco Campos vs. Toledo (Tigers) at home, 7:00 PM

 

HUNTSVILLE: LHP Derek Lee at Mobile (Padres), 7:05 PM

 

HIGH DESERT: LHP Pete Smart at Lake Elsinore (Padres), 9:05 PM

 

BELOIT: LHP Manny Parra at Lansing (Cubs), 5:05 PM

[clancyphile]

I've liked Lee for a while and hope he gets his chance soon.

 

Parra's gonna be a fun one to watch as he moves up the system.

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

Lots of good Kade Johnson analysis; Mark Ernster day-to-day...

 

www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...5428,8290,

 

Beloit Daily News Game Story:

Just an additional detail or two about Thursday's game...

 

www.beloitdailynews.com/403/snap25.htm

 

From SportsTicker's Daily Minor League Highlights:

 

BELOIT (MID) 1B PRINCE FIELDER went 5-for-5 with a pair of RBI in the Snappers' 9-8 win over the Lansing Lugnuts. Fielder singled in the first inning, doubled in the fourth and singled again in the sixth. During a seven-run rally in the eighth, the 18-year-old singled and scored on a two-run double by OF TRAVIS HINTON. In his second at-bat of the frame, Fielder capped the outburst with a two-run single, giving his club its first lead of the contest. On the season, the Milwaukee Brewers' slugger ranks second in the Midwest League in batting (.391), on-base percentage (.480) and slugging percentage (.703) and is tied for the lead in homers with five.