Link Report for Games of Monday, April 21st

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis Media Notes:

 

TONIGHT: The end is in sight! The Indians open a three-game set with Louisville which wraps up a nine-game road trip - the longest road trip of the season. The Indians actually slept in their own beds last night, flying home from Charlotte after the afternoon contest. They bussed to Louisville this morning.

 

The Indians are 0-6 on the trip having dropped two at Durham and four at Charlotte. Overall the Indians have lost seven straight games. The Indians are meeting Louisville for the first time in 2003. Last year, the Indians were 7-9 against the Bats and 3-5 at Slugger Field.

 

STREAK(S) NOTES: The Tribe's seven-game losing streak matches the longest streak of last season when the Tribe had two seven-game losing stretches (April 21-28 and May 16-22). The Indians had a 10-game losing streak from Aug. 6 - Aug. 16, 1998.

 

The Indians have dropped eight straight road contests which hasn't happened since June 22-29, 1990. The last time the Indians lost nine consecutive road games was July 20-Aug. 12, 1988 - a year in which the Indians finished 89-53 and won the American Association championship.

 

SUNDAY: Charlotte completed the four-game sweep with a 6-3 win. Aaron Miles, Jorge Nunez and Ross Gload each hit their first home runs of the season for the Knights. The Tribe got a two-run homer from Mark Smith. Pete Zoccolillo was 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Starter Francisco Campos lasted just 1.2 innings as eight of the 12 batters he faced reached base safely.

 

ON THE MOUND: Righthander Ruben Quevedo takes the hill for his fourth start of 2003. He is coming off a 2-1 loss at Durham last Wednesday. Quevedo worked four scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the fifth. He is tied for the staff lead with 12 strikeouts.

 

HOT AT THE PLATE: Four Indians boast batting averages above .300. Mark Smith leads the bunch with a .342 mark. Smith has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games (.382, 13-for-34) and leads the team with seven RBI. Lee Stevens is hitting .324, Mark Budzinski .318 and Pete Zoccolillo .308.

 

NOW THAT'S RELIEF: The Indians bullpen continues to slam the door on the opposition. In 58.2 innings, the relief corps has recorded a 2.91 ERA. Three members of the 'pen, Jason Childers, Roberto Giron and Dan Kolb, have yet to allow an earned run.

 

A ROUGH 'ROAD' TO HOE: The Tribe opens the season with 14 of its first 19 games on the road. The Indians are on their longest road trip of the season, a nine-game trip to Durham (2), Charlotte (4) and Louisville (3). The Indians are 2-9 on the road. The Indians are hitting .170 in the 11 games and have scored just 26 runs (2.4 rpg). Eight of the Tribe's 12 position players are hitting below .200 on the road. On this trip, the Indians are hitting .174 (31-for-178) and have been outscored 43-11.

 

TROUBLE IN THE FIELD: The Indians have committed 18 errors. Sixteen of those have come on the road leading to 21 unearned runs.

 

UPCOMING PROBABLES:

Tuesday at Louisville - RHP Pascual Coco (1-2, 4.50) vs. RHP Scott Randall (1-0, 0.00)

Wednesday at Louisville - RHP David Manning (0-0, 3.52) vs. LHP Lance Davis (1-2, 3.94)

 

Friday's rainout and Saturday's doubleheader get Manning his first start of the season...

[edod]

Just tuned into the huntsville game. Luis Martinez went 7 with 1 unearned run, 2 hits and 3 walks. Unfortunately he stands to lose it. One hit was a bunt and according to the radio should have been an error on Hart...

[edod]

make that 6 innings.

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis 9, Louisville (Reds) 1

Indians take out their frustrations early and often with contributions throughout the lineup; seven extra-base hits include six doubles; Cecil Cooper moves Pete Zoccolillo (two walks) up to the #3 spot, as per our request http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ; Ruben Quevedo with an outstanding effort...

 

Brief ESPN Game Recap:

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Ticker) -- Keith Luuloa had three RBI and Ruben Quevedo pitched six-plus strong innings to lead the Indianapolis Indians past the Louisville Bats, 9-1. Luuloa ripped a two-run double as part of a five-run first inning before hitting an RBI single in the eighth. Quevedo (2-1) allowed just one run, five hits and struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings to earn the win. Lee Stevens finished with four hits, including a run-scoring double, and Jason Conti led off the second inning with his first home run of the year for Indianapolis, which snapped a seven-game losing streak. Corky Miller, who had two of the six Louisville hits, drove in a run with a double in the seventh inning. Seth Etherton (2-2) surrendered six runs and six hits in just two innings to take the loss for the Bats, who have dropped five of their last six games.

 

Indianapolis Box Score:

 GAME DATE: 4/21/03 INDIANAPOLIS 9 AT LOUISVILLE 1 YTD YTD INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG LOUISVILLE AB R H BI AVG J.Conti CF 5 2 2 1 .231 W.Guerrero 2B 4 0 2 0 .317 J.Lawrence 2B 5 0 1 0 .186 E.Brown CF 4 0 0 0 .250 P.Zoccolillo LF 3 1 0 0 .286 F.Crespo LF 4 0 0 0 .231 M.Smith RF 4 2 1 1 .333 R.Branyan 1B 4 1 1 0 .389 L.Stevens 1B 5 2 4 1 .381 J.Cruz RF 3 0 0 0 .341 K.Luuloa 3B 5 1 2 3 .143 J.Maxwell 3B 3 0 0 0 .346 C.McKay CAT 3 1 2 1 .140 C.Miller CAT 4 0 2 1 .259 B.Hall SS 5 0 2 2 .179 K.Dransfeldt SS 3 0 1 0 .269 R.Quevedo PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 S.Etherton PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Kieschnick PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 T.Adkins PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 D.Kolb PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 W.Caceres PH 1 0 0 0 .000 S.DePaula PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Darula PH 1 0 0 0 .222 C.Almanzar PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 38 9 14 9 TOTALS 32 1 6 1 INDIANAPOLIS 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2- 9 LOUISVILLE 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0- 1 E--K.Dransfeldt. DP--INDIANAPOLIS 0, LOUISVILLE 1. LOB--INDIANAPOLIS 8, LOUISVILLE 6. 2B--J.Conti (1), J.Lawrence (2), L.Stevens (2), K.Luuloa (1), C.McKay (2), B.Hall (2), C.Miller (5). HR--J.Conti (1). CS--K.Dransfeldt. HBP--C.McKay. SF--M.Smith. SH--R.Quevedo. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INDIANAPOLIS R.Quevedo (W,2-1) 6.1 5 1 1 0 7 0 2.61 B.Kieschnick 1.2 1 0 0 0 2 0 8.38 D.Kolb 1.0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0.00 LOUISVILLE S.Etherton (L,2-2) 2.0 6 6 6 2 0 1 5.89 T.Adkins 4.0 2 0 0 1 4 0 2.51 S.DePaula 2.0 2 1 0 0 3 0 6.23 C.Almanzar 1.0 4 2 2 0 1 0 22.50 HB--S.Etherton. PB--C.Miller. SO--J.Conti 2, M.Smith, C.McKay, B.Hall 2, R.Quevedo, B.Kieschnick, W.Guerrero, E.Brown 3, F.Crespo, R.Branyan 2, J.Cruz, T.Adkins, B.Darula. BB--P.Zoccolillo 2, C.McKay, J.Cruz, J.Maxwell. T--2:34. A--6117

[MassBrew]

Birmingham (White Sox) 2, Huntsville 0

LHP Luis Martinez yet to give up an earned run - 23 IP, 7 H, 11 BB, 33 K's; Stars put nine men on base, steal three bases, but cannot score...

 

Huntsville Box Score:

 GAME DATE: 4/21/03 BIRMINGHAM 2 AT HUNTSVILLE 0 YTD YTD BIRMINGHAM AB R H BI AVG HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG C.Durham CF 2 0 0 0 .143 R.Knox LF 4 0 1 0 .265 J.Piniella LF 4 0 0 0 .170 D.Krynzel CF 3 0 1 0 .283 R.Hankins 3B 1 0 0 0 .250 J.Hardy SS 3 0 1 0 .343 D.Ingram RF 4 0 0 0 .100 C.Hart 3B 4 0 1 0 .268 C.Maldonado CAT 4 1 1 0 .326 B.Gemoll 1B 3 0 0 0 .246 G.Alvarez DH 3 0 1 0 .262 R.Gripp DH 4 0 0 0 .206 E.Battersby 1B 3 0 0 0 .217 C.Guerrero RF 4 0 0 0 .181 G.Reyes SS 4 1 1 0 .210 J.Alvarado CAT 3 0 1 0 .043 D.Sandoval 2B 4 0 1 1 .197 C.Barnwell 2B 3 0 0 0 .152 N.Cotts PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 L.Martinez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Smith PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Miller PIT 0 0 0 0 .500 R.Ring PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Hammons PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 29 2 4 1 TOTALS 31 0 5 0 BIRMINGHAM 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1- 2 HUNTSVILLE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 0 E--C.Hart. DP--BIRMINGHAM 1, HUNTSVILLE 0. LOB--BIRMINGHAM 7, HUNTSVILLE 8. 2B--G.Alvarez (5), J.Hardy (8). SB--C.Durham 3 (4), E.Battersby (2), G.Reyes (5), R.Knox 2 (7), D.Krynzel (4). SH--G.Alvarez. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BIRMINGHAM N.Cotts (W,4-0) 6.0 4 0 0 3 5 0 0.86 M.Smith 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.86 R.Ring (S,3) 2.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0.90 HUNTSVILLE L.Martinez (L,2-1) 6.0 2 1 0 3 8 0 0.00 R.Miller 2.0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0.00 M.Hammons 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 6.75 WP--R.Ring, M.Hammons. PB--J.Alvarado. SO--C.Durham, J.Piniella, R.Hankins, D.Ingram 2, C.Maldonado 2, G.Alvarez, G.Reyes 2, D.Sandoval, R.Knox, D.Krynzel, B.Gemoll 2, R.Gripp 3, C.Guerrero. BB--C.Durham 2, R.Hankins 3, E.Battersby, D.Krynzel, J.Hardy, B.Gemoll, J.Alvarado. T--2:33. A--947

[MassBrew]

Beloit 4, Fort Wayne (Padres) 2

Snappers get three in the ninth, with some help from the Wizard defense...

 

Fort Wayne Game Summary:

www.wizardsbaseball.com/n...?newsId=37

 

Beloit Box Score:

RHP Dennis Sarfate follows Tom Wilhelmsen's start flashing some K stuff himself; super effort from LHP Justin Gabriel; Callix Crabbe with eight errors in 15 games at 2B; in 2002, he made 21 errors in 67 games there...

 GAME DATE: 4/21/03 BELOIT 4 AT FORT WAYNE 2 YTD YTD BELOIT AB R H BI AVG FORT WAYNE AB R H BI AVG K.Bibbs CF 4 1 1 0 .324 K.Jones CF 3 1 1 0 .290 C.Crabbe 2B 3 0 1 0 .278 B.Burgamy 2B 4 0 2 0 .222 J.VandenBrg CAT 3 0 1 0 .353 L.Biernbaum LF 5 0 0 1 .277 P.Fielder 1B 2 1 1 1 .345 J.Tranum DH 4 0 0 0 .208 T.Hinton DH 2 0 0 0 .176 S.Baker RF 4 1 2 0 .293 K.Bohanan PH 1 0 0 0 .000 P.McAnulty 1B 4 0 1 0 .180 J.Eure 3B 4 0 0 0 .200 L.Cruz SS 4 0 1 0 .278 N.Carter LF 4 1 1 1 .163 J.Dibetta 3B 4 0 1 0 .143 M.Mendez RF 4 1 1 0 .273 A.Pagan CAT 4 0 1 0 .233 C.Terni SS 4 0 0 0 .125 G.Ribas PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Sarfate PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Beavers PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Gabriel PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 E.Morel PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Alliston PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Thayer PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 31 4 6 2 TOTALS 36 2 9 1 BELOIT 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3- 4 FORT WAYNE 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0- 2 E--C.Crabbe, D.Sarfate, L.Cruz, J.Dibetta. DP--BELOIT 0, FORT WAYNE 1. LOB--BELOIT 6, FORT WAYNE 10. 2B--C.Crabbe (7), P.Fielder (4), B.Burgamy (3), L.Cruz (3). SB--K.Bibbs (8), N.Carter (4), B.Burgamy (2), S.Baker (3). SH--J.VandenBrg, K.Bohanan, K.Jones. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BELOIT D.Sarfate 4.1 5 2 1 2 8 0 1.93 J.Gabriel 3.0 1 0 0 0 4 0 6.94 J.Alliston (W,2-1) 1.2 3 0 0 0 1 0 0.96 FORT WAYNE G.Ribas 5.0 2 1 1 4 6 0 3.72 K.Beavers 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 E.Morel 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.66 D.Thayer (L,0-1) 1.0 2 3 1 0 2 0 1.04 WP--D.Sarfate, D.Thayer. SO--K.Bibbs 2, C.Crabbe 2, J.VandenBrg, T.Hinton, J.Eure 3, C.Terni, K.Jones 2, B.Burgamy, L.Biernbaum, J.Tranum 2, P.McAnulty 2, L.Cruz 2, J.Dibetta, A.Pagan 2. BB--K.Bibbs, C.Crabbe, P.Fielder 2, K.Jones, B.Burgamy. T--2:41. A--1208

[950opsLHcatcher]

LHP Luis Martinez yet to give up an earned run

 

What did I tell you about jinxing it??? He's a goner next time, for sure.

 

23 IP, 7 H, 11 BB, 33 K's;

 

Geesh. You'd expect those kind of numbers from a dominating kid in rookie ball, but in AA, that is almost unheard of to begin a season, especially the 7 hits in 23 IP. The 11 walks kind of mitigate the very few hits allowed, but it is still otherworldly impressive. We may or may not have a monster on our hands.

[MassBrew]

High Desert 11, Inland Empire (Mariners) 7

Listened to this one as the Mavs built an 11-0 lead after seven innings; Kade Johnson and D.J. Clark with back-to-back HR's in the 4th; Jason Belcher with a big game including the first Maverick HR this year by someone other than Johnson, Clark, or Brian Foster. Mark Ernster had a huge game at the plate as well.

 

Five shutout innings from Chris Saenz and two from Greg Schaub; the normally top-notch Tony Stavros, getting some work in, had his roughest pro outing, surrendering three runs in the eighth and four more in the ninth. Justin Gordon came on with the tying run on deck and retired the only man he faced to end the game.

 

 INLAND EMPIRE 7 AT HIGH DESERT 11 YTD YTD INLAND EMPIRE AB R H BI AVG HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG S.Fulse CF 3 0 1 0 .259 C.Morris CF 5 0 1 0 .250 J.Williamson RF 1 1 1 0 .118 T.West SS 5 1 1 0 .280 E.BstdaMrtnz 2B 5 1 2 1 .265 K.Johnson DH 5 1 1 2 .356 G.Jacobs CF 2 2 2 2 .348 D.Clark LF 4 3 3 1 .414 G.Jacobs RF 2 0 1 0 .348 B.Foster CAT 3 2 0 0 .313 H.Brown 3B 3 2 1 0 .355 J.Belcher RF 4 2 2 4 .348 R.Pohle DH 5 1 3 1 .324 M.Ernster 3B 3 2 3 2 .571 J.VanMeetren 1B 3 0 0 0 .259 J.Raburn 2B 4 0 1 0 .244 P.Willingham LF 5 0 2 1 .214 S.Candelaria 1B 3 0 1 1 .273 L.Oliveros CAT 3 0 1 1 .341 C.Saenz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 E.Menchaca SS 4 0 0 0 .217 G.Schaub PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Pagan PH 1 0 0 0 .000 T.Stavros PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Cate PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Gordon PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Wear PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Ketchner PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 37 7 14 6 TOTALS 36 11 13 10 INLAND EMPIRE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4- 7 HIGH DESERT 0 0 0 3 0 4 4 0 X-11 E--E.BstdaMrtnz, H.Brown, J.Belcher. DP--INLAND EMPIRE 0, HIGH DESERT 1. LOB--INLAND EMPIRE 11, HIGH DESERT 6. 2B--S.Fulse (6), E.BstdaMrtnz (1), G.Jacobs (6), R.Pohle (2), D.Clark (3), J.Belcher (3), M.Ernster (1). 3B--M.Ernster (1). HR--G.Jacobs (1), K.Johnson (6), D.Clark (8) , J.Belcher (1). SB--S.Fulse (6), R.Pohle (1), C.Morris (9). CS-- E.BstdaMrtnz, G.Jacobs. HBP--L.Oliveros, B.Foster. SF--L.Oliveros, S.Candelaria. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INLAND EMPIRE T.Cate (L,0-2) 4.0 5 3 3 1 6 2 4.80 G.Wear 1.0 4 4 4 1 1 0 36.00 R.Ketchner 3.0 4 4 3 1 5 1 4.40 HIGH DESERT C.Saenz (W,1-2) 5.0 3 0 0 2 8 0 7.88 G.Schaub 2.0 1 0 0 3 2 0 2.03 T.Stavros 1.2 10 7 7 1 2 1 7.11 J.Gordon (S,1) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9.00 HB--G.Wear, C.Saenz. WP--T.Cate, G.Wear, R.Ketchner, T.Stavros. SO--S.Fulse, G.Jacobs, H.Brown, R.Pohle, J.VanMeetren 2, P.Willingham 2, E.Menchaca 4, C.Morris 3, T.West 2, K.Johnson, D.Clark, B.Foster 2, J.Belcher, S.Candelaria 2. BB--S.Fulse, G.Jacobs, H.Brown 2, J.VanMeetren 2, D.Clark, B.Foster, M.Ernster. T--3:13. A--1005 

Brad Nelson Update:

 

Brad will be flying to San Francisco Tuesday and is scheduled to have surgery on his hand Wednesday. The goal is for Brad to be starting for the Mavericks again by the Major League All-Star Break in mid-July, so the initial estimate of time that we had heard (4-5 weeks) was incorrect.

 

The initial X-rays were negative. The actual break wasn't discovered until a CT scan later in the week. An MRI confirmed that it was just the bone, not surrounding tissues that were involved. The injury was caused by the knob of the bat striking the hand wrong, a common occurance among power hitters, apparently. Nelson couldn't hold a bat after the injury, so there was never a question of insisting he was fine, etc., as speculated by posters earlier in the week.

[pogokat]

Luis Martinez... even with the walks..whip at .78

 

anyone else notice his professional stats look eerily like loewen's college stats from this year?

 

Loewen: 52.1 IP, 19 H, 9 ER, 20 BB, 66 K, 1.55 ERA

 

Martinez: 23 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 11 BB, 33 K, 0 ERA

 

(just for comparison sake, heres what Martinez's stats would look like if he kept this pace till 52 innings): 52.1 IP, 16 H, 25 BB 74! K

 

For me, at least, that pits Luis Martinez incredible start in perspective..

 

AND NOW...I'd like to take the credit for his start...since i questioned Toby's high ranking of Luis on the power 50, he has suddenly exploded...therefore my questioning must be the reason for the explosion...

 

along those line...Toby, why the heck is Bill Hall still on the power 50?

 

edit: fixed typo

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis Star Game Summary:

Brief details on this road game...

 

www.indystar.com/print/ar...8-036.html

[MassBrew]

David Weiser's Huntsville Site Update:

Not sure what we'd do without David...

 

STILL 0.00, BUT...

Memo to self: leave the broom at home. Bad luck........ I should have listened to usher Diane. I hope Lyn is not reading this cause I'll get a reminder, Saturday.

 

First the good news....... Pedro --- er, Luis Martinez was awesome again, sharp on his assortment of pitches, his ERA remaining at 0.00 after 23 innings........ He pitched consistently well through the bad news --- a 5th inning error that put him in the loss column........ More bad news: The Stars could have easily won it for him on two occasions.

 

In the 1st inning, the Stars loaded the bases with no one out and came up empty......... With Ryan Knox on 3rd, Dave Krynzel on 2nd, and J.J. Hardy on 1st, Corey Hart lined his first pitch to Ryan Hankins, but no one was caught off guard........ Brandon Gemoll then hit a shallow fly ball to left that Guillermo Reyes chased after on the outfield grass.... ...... Knox, who's "not afraid of taking chances" should learn the value of discretion. He tried to score and was a dead duck at the plate.

 

The Stars had one more opportunity in the 6th inning........ With two out, they loaded the bases on a double against the wall by Hardy, his league-leading 8th of the year. Hart hit a ball to the left side that Hankins made a fine stop on from the outfield grass, too late to get Hart, but J.J. went around third, thinking that it was going down the line for a double. I wouldn't blame him for thinking along those lines. Birmingham's defense at 3rd has been leaky all through this series........ Hankins threw to catcher Carlos Maldonado and we have a rundown. Maldonado chased J.J. back to third, but NO ONE WAS COVERING THE BAG!. Hankins was too far down the line, away from the bag. Shortstop Guillermo Reyes should have been there, backing up the play, like they do in instructional league, but, well he wasn't there and so, Hardy was safe at third........ A walk to Brandon Gemoll loaded the bases......... Ryan Gripp worked the count full, then chased a 3-and-2 fastball inside from Neal Cotts, ending the inning....... Gripp, frustrated at himself, threw the bat to the ground so hard I could hear it........ Wasn't hard tonight. The official attendance, once again, was under 1,000, and we all know there were far less in actual bodies........ The Stars had Hardy on 3rd in the 8th, but Gemoll struck out on a 1-and-2 pitch from Birmingham closer Royce Ring, who struck out two of three batters in the 9th to end the game.

 

Martinez deserved better....... He gave up just 2 hits and the only run scored was the result of a passed ball and an error on Hart (I spoke too soon last night)........ In the 5th inning with one out, Guillermo Reyes laid down a bunt hit on the 3rd base side. A passed ball with Danny Sandoval at the plate moved Reyes to 2nd, but Martinez got Sandoval on a 1-2 breaking ball.......... Now up to this point in the season, Luis had never allowed a runner in scoring position to come in and was one out from keeping this clean......... Chad Durham walked on a 3-and-1 pitch, putting runners on 1st and 2nd........ With the count 2-and-0 on Juan Piniella, Durham broke and the double steal was on, but Joel Alvarado's throw to Hart skipped off the tip of his glove and Reyes scored. Piniella would strike out, but after a club record start of 21 2/3 shutout innings, Little Latin Lupe Looie was behind, 1-0........ Luis left the game after throwing 12 pitches in the 6th inning to get the side out, striking out Hankins and Darron Ingram in the process. The final count: of his 95 pitches, 62 were for strikes (65%). He threw first-pitch strikes to seven of the first nine batters to face him, and five more through the remaining five innings.

 

Tim Crabtree packed his bags today after announcing his retirement from baseball, saying his shoulder hasn't come around from shoulder surgery the way he would like, to still pitch professionally. He gave up two hits and a walk in Sunday's game, then made his announcement later that night....... Crabtree pitched in the major leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers for seven seasons, finishing with a 21-22 record and a 4.95 ERA....... No roster move was made tonight.

 

Ryan Gripp turned 25 Sunday....... He celebrated today by striking out in three of his four at-bats....... Mike Jones' birthday is, I believe, Wednesday. He'll start tomorrow as the Stars head to Mobile. Chris Rojas (1-0, 2.87) will get the start for Mobile......... Hold on, Kade! Joel Alvarado got a hit! Singles to left past the diving Ryan Hankins in the 2nd inning, breaking up an 0-for-20 start! Kade, who needs you! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif By the way, Kade hit a 2-run HR for the High Desert Mavericks tonight, stretching his hit streak to 16 games in the California League. Just kidding, you know........ All kidding aside, Alvarado, I'm told, has done an excellent job calling pitches and handling pitchers. He's Luis' "personal" catcher.

 

There's still one other scoreless streak alive....... Ryan Miller pitched two scoreless innings running that string to 12 1/3 IP --- and with 13 Ks........ Gemoll's 7-game hit streak came to an end. He is now hitting .246. He's among the SL leaders (behind J.J.) in doubles, but he has also struck out 9 times in his last 30 ABs...... Gripp has struck out 5 times in his last 8 ABs....... Cristian Guerrero has hit a slew of infield singles and one double......... Knox is taking a 10-game hit streak to Mobile and a .264 average. WAY TO GO!........ Krynzel is hitting .414 on a 7-game hit streak........ The Stars have now made 30 errors through 18 games. Only two of them were errorless.

 

The Jacksonville Suns put an end to an amazing 9-game win streak by the Carolina Mudcats, Monday night....... First in the East, last in average attendance...... Jeff Deardorff was 3-for-3 with a run scored for Rochester, Saturday night, as they beat Pawtucket, 3-2. The opposing pitcher was Paul Stewart (0-1, 3.38 )....... Deardorff is hitting .409.......The Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League have signed former Huntsville Stars Wellington Sanchez and Orestes Marrero. Marrero was part of the Stars opening day roster in 1999. Sanchez was part of the 2000-2001 Stars team........ Other Atlantic League signings: Scott Forster (2001 Stars) with the Nashua Pride, Elvis Pena, who had visa problems this spring, with the Long Island Ducks......... The Los Angeles Dodgers sold Brian Mallette to the Osaka Buffaloes. Brian was our #1 closer, probably our best in years to that time, in 2001. He picked up the save against the Diamond Jaxx in the clincher that gave us the first half Western Title........ Mallette was the player-to-be-named later in the deal that sent Ben Diggins to the Stars a year ago. He pitched in 5 games for the Milwaukee Brewers last year.

[MassBrew]

High Desert Site Game Summary:

 

ADELANTO, CA ? The High Desert Mavericks got out to an eleven run lead, then held on for an exciting 11-7 win over the Inland Empire 66ers on Monday night at Mavericks Stadium.

 

Kade Johnson and Daryl Clark hit back-to-back homers in the third off 66ers? starter Troy Cate (0-2) for a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. The Mavs added four in the sixth and four more in the seventh to take a commanding 11-0 lead heading into the eighth.

 

Mavs reliever Tony Stavros, who had been solid all year long, gave up three runs in the top of the eighth, and got roughed up for four more in the ninth inning. Mavs lefty Justin Gordon got pinch-hitter Carlos Pagan to fly out to the track in right field with the tying run on deck to end the game.

 

Johnson?s sixth homer of the year gave the Mavs a 2-0 fourth inning lead, and extended his hitting streak to 16-straight games, a league high. Clark followed on the very next pitch for his league-leading eighth home run of the year. Clark finished the night with three hits and three runs scored. Jason Belcher hit his first homer of the season, a three-run blast that gave the Mavs a 10-0 lead in the seventh. Belcher finished with two hits, and a season-high four RBIs.

 

Mavs starter Chris Saenz (1-2) was spectacular, allowing just three hits over five shutout innings, including a season-high eight strikeouts. Greg Schaub worked two scoreless innings before the 66ers finally got to Stavros.

 

Greg Jacobs got them on the board with a solo home run to make it 11-1, leading off the eighth. Trailing 11-3 in the ninth, Stavros allowed the first five hitters to reach safely as the 66ers closed the gap. With two on and two away, Gordon threw just three pitches to Carlos Pagan to earn his first save of the year.

 

The two clubs meet again on Tuesday as Dan Hall of the Mavs faces Juan Done (0-0) at 7:05 (9:05 Central) at Mavericks Stadium.

[MassBrew]

The Daily Menu includes dual opportunities for audio action while in the office today:

 

All times Central, pitchers subject to change, tune in approx. 15 minutes early for pre-game audio...

 

INDIANAPOLIS: RHP Pascual Coco at Louisville (Reds), 10:15 AM

 

HUNTSVILLE: RHP Mike Jones at Mobile (Padres), 7:05 PM

 

HIGH DESERT: RHP Dan Hall home vs. Inland Empire (Mariners), 9:05 PM

 

BELOIT: RHP Khalid Ballouli at Fort Wayne (Padres), 11:00 AM; Wizards' audio with former Ogden announcer Terry Byrom available at:

 

www.wizardsbaseball.com/

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

 

www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...930,44599,

[MassBrew]

Sportsticker / BA Minor League Monday Highlights:

On the Southern League pitchers' duel and the rampaging Kade Johnson...

 

BIRMINGHAM (SOU) LHP NEAL COTTS combined with two relievers on a five-hitter as the Barons blanked the Huntsville Stars, 2-0. Cotts, who was traded to the Chicago White Sox from the Oakland Athletics on December 3, 2002 as part of the Billy Koch-Keith Foulke deal, hurled six strong innings, scattering four hits and striking out five batters en route to his fourth straight win. The 23-year-old southpaw retired 12 straight batters between the second and six innings and, with his third scoreless start, has now allowed just two runs over his first 21 innings in the Class AA Southern League. Cotts, who finished second in the high level Class A California league with 178 strikeouts in 2002, has fanned 30 batters this season, good for third in the league.

 

Reigning Southern League Pitcher-of-the-Week LHP LUIS MARTINEZ struck out eight batters, allowed two hits and was charged for an unearned run to suffer his first loss of the season for Huntsville. The 6-6, 200-pounder, who has not yielded an earned run over his first 23 innings and ranks second in the league with 33 strikeouts, struck out four of the final six batters he faced and allowed his first run of the season on an error by 3B COREY HART.

 

HIGH DESERT (CAL) C KADE JOHNSON extended his hitting streak to a minor-league best 16 games in the Mavericks' 11-7 triumph over the Inland Empire 66ers. Johnson, who entered the contest hitting .368 after going 0-for-3 on the opening day of the season, drilled a two-run homer in the fourth inning and finished 1-for-5. The 24-year-old, who is tied for the league lead with 17 RBI, has now homered in four of his last eight games.

[clancyphile]

Sounds like Luis Martinez is pretty firmly making the case to remain a starting pitcher.

[950opsLHcatcher]

along those line...Toby, why the heck is Bill Hall still on the power 50?

 

The same reason Brian Foster is.

[igor67]

Oddly enough I agree with Clancy why talk about making Martinez a reliever until he has demonstrated he can't hack it as a starter. That may be the case with his high BB rate that he has difficulty going deep, but he might make some more strides yet. Billy Wagner is nice, but RJ is better. And of course let's see if he can actually keep this up for awhile, and keep in mind he's a AA repeater and he's never really shown this type of control and K rate before.

 

I looked at his stats from last year and I think he might have had some shaky D last year that jacked his hit totals up a bit and this year he's also gotten some luck with only allowing those 5 hits.

[clancyphile]

RJ? No, I don't think Luis Martinez will be that good.

 

But he'll be a pretty good #3 starter.

[SoCalBrewfan]

Wow, Igor..do you realize what just happened? You out-optimist-ed clancy http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ...I've liked Luis Martinez for a while, and am glad to see his hot start...but Randy Johnson? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

(Or were you comparing him to Rick James, the original SuperFreak?)

[filthyfrog]

And yet even the "moderate" claim that "he'll be a pretty good #3 starter" is a bit overzealous in my mind.

 

He's had three good starts. Let's not get carried away. After all, he's only once in his professional career had an ERA under 5. I hope, as everyone here does, that he can remain healthy and productive, but to assume he'll be a pretty good #3 starter after three games defines "jumping the gun."

 

By the way, the SportsTicker blurb that MassBrew posted (as well as the Huntsville web site) list Martinez at 6'6", while his player profile page here lists him at 6'1". Which is it?

[MassBrew]

Beloit Daily News Game Story:

A few more Snapper details here than we got from the Fort Wayne site...

 

www.beloitdailynews.com/403/snap22.htm

[MassBrew]

By the way, the SportsTicker blurb that MassBrew posted (as well as the Huntsville web site) list Martinez at 6'6", while his player profile page here lists him at 6'1". Which is it?

 

Yikes. He's 6'6"; I'll update that. Nice catch.

[filthyfrog]

Yikes. He's 6'6"; I'll update that. Nice catch.

 

Well, I must say this drastically improves my opinion of him. I'd always thought he was 6'1". But I don't care if he's 3'8" if he keeps throwing goose eggs.

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Times Game Story:

Includes quotes; nice to see Manager Frank Kremblas take the blame for a late baserunning mistake...

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...222500.xml