Link Report Thurs. 6/28 - Big Boys Idle, So Pick A Game

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Thursday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Chris Oxspring at Albuquerque (Marlins), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: LHP Lindsay Gulin at home vs. Chattanooga (Reds), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.huntsvillestars.com/

 

Brevard County: RHP Vince Perkins at home vs. Clearwater (Phillies), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime; Perkins makes his first start this season after 21 relief appearances

 

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

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

 

West Virginia: RHP Alex Periard at Augusta (Giants), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime

 

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

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

 

Helena: RHP Donovan Hand at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime

 

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

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

 

Arizona: TBD vs. the mini-Mariners at home in Maryvale, 10:30 AM local time in Arizona, 11:30 Central; never any audio for Arizona Rookie League games; box score may not update "live"

[Mass Haas]

Follow Thursday's action as it happens:

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

 

Nashville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_albaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_augafx_1

 

Helena:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

 

Arizona:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

[Mass Haas]

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

 

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

 

Huntsville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

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

[Mass Haas]

Standings through Wednesday's action:

 

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 46 33 .582 - 26-12 20-21 W1 Iowa 45 33 .577 0.5 25-16 20-17 L1 Omaha 38 42 .475 8.5 25-12 13-30 W1 Memphis 34 46 .425 12.5 18-23 16-23 L5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 8 2 .800 - 5-1 3-1 W3 Tennessee 6 4 .600 2.0 4-2 2-2 W1 Huntsville 3 7 .300 5.0 1-3 2-4 L3 West Tenn 3 7 .300 5.0 3-3 0-4 L4 Carolina 2 8 .200 6.0 2-2 0-6 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 5 2 .714 - 4-2 1-0 W1 Brevard County 3 4 .429 2.0 1-1 2-3 L3 Jupiter 3 4 .429 2.0 1-0 2-4 W1 St. Lucie 3 4 .429 2.0 2-4 1-0 W1 Vero Beach 3 4 .429 2.0 1-3 2-1 L4 Daytona 1 6 .143 4.0 1-4 0-2 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 5 1 .833 - 5-1 0-0 W3 Lakewood 5 1 .833 - 5-1 0-0 W1 Hickory 3 3 .500 2.0 3-2 0-1 W1 West Virginia 3 4 .429 2.5 2-2 1-2 W1 Delmarva 2 4 .333 3.0 0-0 2-4 L1 Lexington 2 5 .286 3.5 2-2 0-3 L3 Greensboro 1 6 .143 4.5 1-3 0-3 L3 Hagerstown 0 6 .000 5.0 0-0 0-6 L6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 6 3 .667 - 4-2 2-1 W3 Great Falls 4 5 .444 2.0 1-2 3-3 L3 Helena 4 5 .444 2.0 2-4 2-1 L1 Missoula 4 5 .444 2.0 1-2 3-3 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Angels 4 1 .800 - 3-0 1-1 W4 AZL Mariners 4 1 .800 - 3-0 1-1 W3 AZL Cubs 3 2 .600 1.0 2-1 1-1 L1 AZL Rangers 3 2 .600 1.0 2-1 1-1 W1 AZL Brewers 2 2 .500 1.5 1-1 1-1 L2 AZL Athletics 2 3 .400 2.0 1-1 1-2 L1 AZL Padres 2 3 .400 2.0 0-2 2-1 W1 AZL Giants 1 4 .200 3.0 0-2 1-2 L4 AZL Royals 1 4 .200 3.0 1-1 0-3 L3

[Boy Jeenius]

Get all of the rest of your word play in now, as Mr. Drinkard has yet to get almost no one out. His ERA of 30.38 may just not earn him that promotion he's looking for.

[Never Outhustled]

Capt. Lou is hot again. Home Run #6, average up to 307. Stars up 3-0.

[Boy Jeenius]

Ford / Cain / Salome = Manatees win. Good for Darin Ford and Lorenzo Cain. Find a way to let those wheels go to work for you. Salome with the game winner. Nice.

[DHonks]

Let's try some cognitive testing

 

Caleb Gindl is to the Pioneer League, as ______ is to the ______

 

a) Angel Salome, every league

b) Hernan Irribaren, Arizona League

c) Steve Moss, Southern League

d) Cole Gillespie, Florida State League

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with All-Star Reliever Steve Bray:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...206-28.mp3

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 11, Albuquerque (Marlins) 6

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Laynce Nix photo, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2417

 

Sounds Use Big Inning To Rout Isotopes

 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. ? The Nashville Sounds used a six-run seventh inning to hang an 11-6 defeat on the Albuquerque Isotopes on Thursday evening at Isotopes Park.

 

Laynce Nix went 3-for-5 with three extra-base hits and four runs scored, Brad Nelson recorded a season-best four RBIs to lead the club, and pitcher Tim Dillard belted a two-run homer to pace the 11-run, 12-hit Nashville offensive attack.

 

The Sounds (47-33) extended their lead to 1 ½ games in the PCL American Conference Northern Division with the victory.

 

Both teams jumped out of the gate quickly, scoring a pair of runs each in the first inning.

 

Nashville grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Isotopes southpaw Chris George when Callix Crabbe walked and scored one batter later on a Nix RBI double. Joe Dillon followed with a run-scoring single that extended his longest hitting streak of the season to eight games.

 

Albuquerque wasted no time battling back, plating two runs of its own in the bottom half of the frame against Sounds All-Star Chris Oxspring. Robert Andino led off with his league-leading ninth triple and scored on an Eric Reed sacrifice fly. John Gall singled to continue the rally and tied the game at 2-2 when he came around to score on a double off the bat of Isotopes All-Star Val Pascucci.

 

Nelson powered the Sounds to a 4-2 advantage with a two-out, two-run double in the top of the fourth inning.

 

The Isotopes again had an immediate answer, tying the game at 4-4 with a two-run outburst in the home half of the frame. Both runs scored on groundouts.

 

Nix gave Nashville its third lead of the night at 5-4 when he opened the fifth inning with a solo homer to left off George, his ninth roundtripper of the year and second in as many nights against Isotopes pitching.

 

For the third straight time, Albuquerque answered Nashville runs in the top of the frame with an equivalent number of their own in the bottom when PCL veteran and former Brewer farmhand Scott Seabol touched Oxspring for a two-out solo homer to left, his 17th blast of the year, to knot things at 5-5.

 

The Sounds blew the game open with a six-run seventh inning against the Albuquerque bullpen, an outburst that was capped off by a two-run home run off the bat of Dillard, who became the fourth different Nashville hurler to belt a longball in 2007.

 

AUDIO: Tim Dillard Goes Deep --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...206-28.mp3

 

Albuquerque closed out the evening?s scoring with an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth stemming from a Dillon throwing error.

 

Dillard (4-4) earned the victory for Nashville after allowing one unearned run on three hits over three innings in relief of Oxspring, who took a no-decision after allowing season highs of five runs on 10 hits over five innings.

 

Grant Balfour closed things out on the hill for the Sounds with a 1-2-3 ninth to extend his scoreless innings streak to 20 over his last 14 appearances.

 

Albuquerque reliever Chris Young (0-2) took the loss after failing to retire any of the three batters he faced during the start of the Sounds? six-run inning; all three runners came around to score.

 

The Sounds look to record a three-game sweep when the teams wrap up the series with an 8:05 p.m. CT finale on Friday evening. Left-hander Zach Jackson (8-3, 4.75), who co-leads the Pacific Coast League with eight victories, will take the hill for the Sounds to face Albuquerque right-hander Seth Etherton (0-1, 7.71).

 

Nashville Box Score:

The Isotopes' park helps, but still an impressive evening, particularly for Laynce Nix with one of the more impressive lines of the season; Vinny Rottino on base four times, now with an .841 OPS; veteran Jose Macias gets a start in left field, even with a 24-man roster, playing time can be hard to come by with this current group, particularly in non-designated hitter series...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_albaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

Grant Balfour's going to push his way to Milwaukee somehow...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_albaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 3, Chattanooga (Reds) 1

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1244

 

Gulin Gets Job Done in Stars' Win

 

Lindsay Gulin worked six solid innings and made a three-run first inning stand up in Huntsville?s 3-1 win Thursday night over Chattanooga at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars snapped a three-game slide and improved to 4-7 in the second half and 41-38 overall, while the Lookouts slipped to 8-3 in the second half and 37-44 overall. The Stars now lead the season series eight games to seven.

 

Hernan Iribarren walked, stole second base and scored on a one-out single by Steve Sollmann that gave the home team the lead three batters into the game. Lou Palmisano then launched a two-out, two-run home run to push the lead to 3-0. It was his sixth of the season and second of the series.

 

From there, Chattanooga starter Sam LeCure retired the next 19 hitters he faced and wound up going seven innings in his longest start of the season. He struck out eight and walked one and lost for the first time in 10 starts. Justin Mallett retired the side in order in the eighth inning, as the last 22 Huntsville hitters were set down. The Stars did not leave one runner on base.

 

Gulin tossed five scoreless frames before Drew Anderson?s one-out double in the sixth chased home Luis Bolivar to cut the lead to 3-1. The southpaw walked Jay Bruce with two outs before retiring Enrique Cruz to end the threat. Gulin earned his sixth win after giving up a lone run on four hits, walking two and fanning six. He has allowed only five runs on 18 hits over 29 innings in his last four turns. Bo Hall worked three shutout innings to earn his first save of the season.

 

The series wraps up Friday night, as Huntsville will send right-hander Mark DiFelice to the mound against Lookouts? southpaw Camilo Vazquez. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Thank goodness for a little first-inning rally, huh? The box score illustrates just how accurately the always well-written Stars' summary reflects the nature of this contest...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

Mel Stocker in late as a defensive replacement for Ruben Mateo -- hamstring still a bit of an issue or simply a defensive liability?

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 2, Clearwater (Phillies) 1

 

MiLB.com:

 

Manatees edge Threshers

 

Angel Salome ripped an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Brevard County a 2-1 win over Clearwater on Thursday.

 

In the decisive frame, Darren Ford drew a leadoff walk and advanced on Lorenzo Cain's bunt single. One out later, Salome laced a single to plate Ford.

 

Yohannis Perez had an RBI single in the sixth and Chris Errecart went 2-for-3 for the Manatees (4-4).

 

Brevard County reliever Rafael Lluberes (5-4) allowed four hits and one walk with five strikeouts in five scoreless frames. Starter Vince Perkins gave up one unearned run on two hits while striking out three and walking one in four innings.

 

Threshers starter Ben Pfinsgraff surrendered an unearned run on four hits with four strikeouts over seven frames. Ronald Hill (3-2) yielded one run on two hits while fanning two and walking one in 1 1/3 innings.

 

Brian Burgamy scored on Clay Harris' double in the first for Clearwater (5-3). -- Steve Conley/MLB.com

 

Brevard County Box Score:

26-game hit streak for Mat Gamel; at some point, you can't just say it's the ballpark or the Florida air and you just tip your hat to the pitchers, in this case Vince Perkins and the tantalizing 22-year-old lefty Rafael Lluberes; Cole Gillespie lined out twice, which doesn't reflect his 0-for-3, but we understand fans' growing impatience with some of his numbers; hopefully Yohannis Perez is building some confidence; just me, or when young catcher Anderson de la Rosa gets a chance behind the plate, Manatee pitchers always seem to shine...

 

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

 

Brevard County Game Log:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

[Mass Haas]

Audio archive if you want to catch the Manatees' 9th inning rally:

Go the 2 hour, 57 minute mark of the June 28th game, includes brief on-field post-game comments from Angel Salome...

 

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

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 3, Augusta (Giants) 2

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

POWER SPLIT SERIES WITH AUGUSTA

 

The West Virginia Power were outscored 11-0 in the first two games of the series against the Augusta GreenJackets, and one night after winning their first game of the series in 12 innings, they split the series with a 3-2 victory over Augusta in the series finale on Thursday night.

 

Taylor Green ripped an RBI double down the left field line in the top of the second to put the Power on the board. Augusta answered quickly in the bottom of the inning when Dayton Buller?s groundout plated Brett Pill to tie the game.

 

The Power took the lead again in the fourth inning on Kenny Holmberg?s run-scoring single, but Augusta tied the game a half inning later when Buller reached on Green?s throwing error which allowed Bobby Felmy to score.

 

With runners on second and third and nobody out in the seventh inning, Andrew Lefave grounded out to the shortstop Manny Burriss which plated Charlie Fermaint for the eventual game winner. In the eighth inning Felmy singled into center field with Burriss on second base. Burriss tried to score but was thrown out at home plate by Fermaint. In the ninth inning Augusta had runners on first and second with one out when Marcus Sanders was picked off at second base and on the next pitch Travis Wendte struck out Mike McBryde to end the game.

 

Wendte (6-0) pitched five scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowed four hits and struck out seven to get the win while Ryan Shaver (0-3) was tagged with the loss. Alex Periard started the game for the Power and allowed just two runs on three hits over four innings.

 

The Power improved to 52-24 overall and 4-4 in the second half, while the GreenJackets fell to 55-23 overall and 5-3 in the second half with the loss. Kenny Holmberg and Steve Chapman paced the Power with two hits apiece. The 3-2 victory was West Virginia?s 17th in one-run games this season.

 

The Power will begin a four game series against the Greenville Drive at West End Field on Friday night. The Power will start left hander Mike Ramlow (3-2, 7.18) and Greenville will start left hander Felix Doubront (2-4, 8.06). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score:

It would be only fitting for these two powerhouses to meet in the league finals, even if rosters do evolve over the course of a long season; RHP Travis Wendte's season much like Patrick Ryan's with the Power in 2006; nice to see Alex Periard back, too; no walks and nine K's for Power batters...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_augafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

Kenny Holmberg was picked off 2nd base in the 8th, just like the GrrenJacket runner in the 9th...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_augafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1

 

One swing, Gulin are all Stars need

Palmisano homer, lefty's pitching lead to win over Lookouts

By BRAD SHEPARD

For the Huntsville Times

 

One swing of Lou Palmisano's bat stopped one slump and started another for the Stars on Thursday night.

 

But that one swing - a first-inning, two-run homer - was all Lindsay Gulin needed to beat the Lookouts 3-1 in front of 2,166 fans at Joe Davis Stadium. The victory snapped an ugly three-game losing streak to their North Division foes where they'd been outscored 26-4.

 

After Palmisano's prodigious hit, Gulin (6-3) turned on cruise control while Huntsville's bats went on snooze patrol. The Stars (4-7, 41-38) were held hitless by Sam Lecure and Justin Mallett the rest of the way. Not only did they fail to get a hit, they didn't get a single runner on base.

 

"We did just enough to win tonight," Palmisano said. "It's weird sometimes that it works out that way.

 

"You've just got to credit the pitching staff. Lindsay was strong, and Bo (Hall) stuck to his pitches and threw well."

 

The game started 15 minutes late, but the Stars started hitting early. They stopped early, too, but that didn't matter. They made the most of their opportunities, leaving nobody on base.

 

Never mind they didn't have many on base.

 

Hernan Iribarren began the game with a walk, and after stealing second, he came home on Steve Sollmann's one-out single. Palmisano then waited on a Lecure breaking ball and hammered it over the left-field wall.

 

"Just a little 1-1 slider, but I was looking fastball," Palmisano said. "He left it middle-in, and I put enough on it to get it out."

 

The Stars needed Gulin to perform well to rest the bullpen, and he did. The left-hander went six strong innings, baffling the Lookouts like he has many teams this season.

 

Of his 102 pitches, only 21 were more than 80 miles per hour. That didn't matter a bit.

 

"I thought Lou and I did a great job changing speeds and trying to keep guys off-balance," Gulin said. "I thought we got in a really good rhythm tonight, and that's about it."

 

Because of Wednesday's rain delay and subpar outings by Will Inman and Corey Thurman, the bullpen had thrown 18 innings in the past three games. They needed a break.

 

"The guys have been working their tails off this year," Gulin said. "You to want to pick them up as much as you can, and Bo Hall came in and did a fantastic job the last three innings to close it down."

 

Hall got the save, but he did allow a long, scary fly ball to center field by Caonabo Cosme with a runner on in the ninth. He regrouped to strike out Adam Rosales to end the game.

 

He still did his job perfectly, saving the rest of the bullpen with one-hit pitching.

 

"We had one guy left," Stars manager Don Money said. "That's why Bo came out there for the ninth. Now, we're OK for (tonight), though."

 

Lecure was far from OK, meanwhile. He must have felt robbed, allowing two hits in seven innings and finishing on the losing end.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.wvgazette.com/section...2007062856

 

Power's Jeffress learning as he goes

By Mike Whiteford

Charleston Gazette Staff Writer

 

It?s difficult enough to predict the goings-on in Class A baseball. Adding a 19-year-old pitcher to the mix compounds the difficulty.

 

When Power right-hander Jeremy Jeffress arrived a month ago and reeled off four straight dominant victories, it seemed the South Atlantic League would not be much of a challenge.

 

After all, Jeffress was the Milwaukee Brewers? No. 1 pick in the 2006 amateur draft and possessed a fastball that approached 100 mph, despite a modest 6-foot, 175-pound frame.

 

But pitching is never easy. In Tuesday?s outing in Augusta, Jeffress did not survive the first inning, allowing five earned runs, four hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning in suffering his first loss of the season.

 

?When you?re 19,?? said Power manager Mike Guerrero, ?that?s going to happen sometimes.??

 

Jeffress, a South Boston, Va., native, entered Tuesday?s game with a 4-0 record and a 1.14 earned run average in five starts. He had yielded just 16 hits in 23 2/3 innings and had compiled a streak of 18 2/3 scoreless innings.

 

Even with Tuesday?s poor outing, Jeffress is 4-1 with a 2.96 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 241/3 innings. He?s walked too many hitters, 13, but that?s hardly surprising for a 19-year-old.

 

?He?s working on his command,?? said Guerrero, ?but he has one of the best fastballs in this league. He has some really good power stuff.??

 

No word on LaPorta

 

Another Brewer first-round pick, left fielder-first baseman Matt LaPorta, is expected to join the Power, although the organization has not made an official announcement.

 

?There?s no word on LaPorta,?? said Guerrero.

 

The No. 7 overall draft pick earlier this month, LaPorta was the Southeastern Conference player of the year at Florida this season and ranked among the best collegiate hitters in the nation but has been slowed by a hamstring injury. He?s currently rehabbing in the Arizona League.

 

Guerrero seems to think LaPorta eventually will join the Power.

 

?When he gets here,?? said the Power manager, ?we?ll take care of it. Right now, I?ve got to take care of my guys. I?m not worried about anything else.??

 

Playing for the Gators in the spring, LaPorta batted .402 with 20 home runs and 52 RBIs. He has drawn comparisons to third baseman Ryan Braun, the Brewers? No. 1 pick in 2005, who joined the Power that season and batted .335 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 37 games.

 

Braun now bats No. 3 in the Brewers? lineup.

 

Braddock update

 

Although he was just an 18th-round selection last year, Power left-hander Zach Braddock has emerged as one of the South Atlantic League?s best pitchers and has posted extraordinary numbers.

 

Unfortunately, he?s on the disabled list for the second time this season.

 

The 19-year-old Braddock, a Southampton, N.J., native, is 3-1 with a 1.15 earned run average in 10 games, including nine starts. What?s more impressive is that he?s surrendered just 28 hits and struck out 68 in 47 innings.

 

Against Greensboro on April 20, he fanned 12 and did not allow a run in 5 2/3 innings. Against Asheville on May 19, he struck out 11 in seven innings and allowed only two hits and no runs.

 

Guerrero expects him back in the rotation soon.

 

Briefly

 

Despite having its opening homestand plagued by snow and sub-freezing temperatures, the Power looks like a good bet to set a Charleston attendance record for the third straight season. Paid attendance after 37 openings is 138,995 for an average of 3,756 to rank seventh in the 16-team South Atlantic League. Average attendance last year was slightly less than 3,500 a game. August crowds, however, traditionally drop as families take vacations and students return to college.

 

The Power will announce the second selection for its Wall of Fame on Friday July 6. The first selection, announced two weeks ago, was Rod ?The Toastman?? Blackstone. By season?s end, the team expects to have inducted a first-year Wall of Fame class of six and will conduct fan voting in the offseason for the 2008 class.

 

If the Power, which won the Northern Division?s first-half title, finishes first in the season?s second half, it will open the playoffs against the division team with the second-best overall record. Normally, the first- and second-half winners in each division square off in the first round of the playoffs. The two division winners then play for the league championship.

[Mass Haas]

Helena KCAP Audio Pre-Game Interview with 2007 4th round pick, 2B Eric Farris:

Be sure youre on the June 28th archive, then go to the 12:30 minute mark --

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

[Mass Haas]

Final: Missoula (Diamondbacks) 4, Helena 3

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.missoulian.com/articl...orts01.txt

 

Birds hang on: Osprey back to .500 ball with win over Helena

By FRITZ NEIGHBOR of the Missoulian

 

The Missoula Osprey put together their first winning streak of the Pioneer League season Thursday. They're still waiting for their first laugher.

 

Taylor Harbin hit a two-run homer, Sean Coughlin rapped a two-run single and Josh Ellis survived a rocky ninth inning as the Osprey downed Helena 4-3 before 2,514 fans at Ogren-Allegiance Park.

 

Their second straight win evened the Osprey's record at 5-5. In a schedule front-loaded with the Brewers, they improved to 3-4 against Helena.

 

It wasn't easy, since Helena (4-6) scratched together two hits and a hit batter against Ellis, ahead of Caleb Gindl's two-run single in the ninth. The good news is timely hitting gave the Osprey a 4-1 lead that held up for Missoula starter Cristian Beltre (1-0).

 

?Every win's a good win,? said Missoula manager Damon Mashore. ?You know, that's the learning curve part of what we do - trying to hold it together for all three outs, trust your stuff and pitch down (in the strike zone).?

 

Ellis did that for the first two hitters in both the eighth and ninth innings. Then he struggled. In the eighth, Gindl doubled with two out, and two walks loaded the bases before Ellis fanned pinch-hitter Eric Newton to end the threat.

 

After Gindl's two-run single in the ninth, Ellis struck out Jonathon Lucroy to end the game.

 

?I talked to him after the game. He's doing a little bit of trying to be too fine, and overthrowing a little bit,? Mashore said of Ellis, who earned his second save. ?The combination of those gets you in trouble.?

 

It may be a product of facing the same lineup for the seventh time in 10 games. Missoula continues its six-game home stand with two more games against Helena Friday and Saturday.

 

?It's just not fair to have to face the same pitchers, the same hitters, to start out the year,? said Mashore. ?You start running out of things to do pitching-wise and hitting-wise. They start trying to over throw or make pitchers they're not capable and it gets them in trouble. It's not healthy for what we're trying to do. But, it is what it is.?

 

The Osprey scored four runs for the third straight game. They scratched out two in the first, with Pete Clifford reaching on an error and taking third on Derrick Walker's one-out single. Walker stole second ahead of Coughlin's base hit to right.

 

Eric Fryer got Helena on the board with a one-out, opposite-field homer to right off Beltre in the fifth inning. Beltre left in the sixth after Lucroy hit his second double and Steffan Wilson was hit by a pitch with two out. Missoula reliever Ty Davis closed the door on that inning.

 

In the bottom of the fifth, Harbin's first professional homer, over The Trail sign in left-center, came after Renaldo Navarro reached on a fielder's choice. Harbin hadn't faced Brewers' reliever Nick Tyson before Thursday, but knew the drill.

 

?We just pretty much knew from the times we faced him before, that he had a fastball and tries to throw that slider away,? said the Osprey second baseman, an eighth-round pick out of Clemson. ?It (the slider) hung right up in there.?

 

Then it was a matter of closing out Helena for Beltre, who fanned five in 5 2-3 innings. Relievers Ty Davis and Ellis got it done.

 

?He (Ellis) has been doing great for us, just like all our pitchers,? said Harbin. ?They've been coming out and throwing strikes and keeping us in ball games. A couple games, we just haven't swung the bats as well as we needed to. Tonight we finally got a couple runs to help them out.?

 

NOTES: Helena's Lucroy has five doubles on the season. Starter Donovan Hand (0-1) took the loss for Helena. Missoula's Ariel Urena reached on a bunt single in the fifth and stole second, only to get picked off by Tyson. ... Gindl came into Thursday's game hitting .471.

 

Helena Box Score:

It's still the Caleb show for now...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Mariners 21, Arizona Brewers 8

 

Arizona Box Score:

Kudos to RHP Luis Jimenez, the one youngster on the mound who pereformed well -- Jimenez, who will be 19 in September, had previously been identified in the performance enhancing substance abuse program, but we're not going to mention that each time he throws, it's over; starting pitcher Pedro Lambertus is a just-turned 19-year-old Dominican in his second pro game -- you'd rather see that he was hit hard instead of walking the ballpark, just the one walk in this rough outing; things got so bad late catcher Matt Czimskey came in with the bases loaded in the 9th (two inherited runners scored, but his ERA's at 0.00); catcher Ulrich Snijders just a triple shy of a cycle; infielder Carlos Hereaud three singles; Joey Paciorek with a .538 OBP after his first three pro games...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

 

Arizona Game Log:

Do you dare? Really, do you?

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

[lexi881]

I looked up some stuff on hitting streaks. It is kind of interesting. You all might already know this but here goes:

 

There have been 46 occurrences in Major League Baseball where a player had a hitting streak of at least 30 games.

 

Record Streaks:

 

Major League

Rank Player Team Games Year(s)

1 Joe DiMaggio New York Yankees 56 1941

 

Minor League

Rank Player League Games Year(s)

1 Joe Wilhoit Western League 69 1919

 

The longest in the Florida State League:

Casey Blake Florida State League 31 1998

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitting_streak

[molitor fan]

Thanks Lexi, you saved me the legwork, as I was going to find out what the FSL record was. Gamel, who has been one of my favorites, may become a somewhat similar player to Blake, the man whose record he is chasing, just 5 games away.

[LouisEly]

Dare I say...

 

... Mat Gamel, Professional Hitter