Link Report for Sun. 6/24 - Final Update: (Ramlow)

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Sunday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: LHP Zach Jackson at Round Rock (Astros), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: RHP Mark DiFelice at home vs. Chattanooga (Reds), 5:50 PM pre-game; 6:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.huntsvillestars.com/

 

Brevard County: LHP David Welch at Lakeland (Tigers), 4:50 PM pre-game, 5:00 gametime

 

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

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

 

West Virginia: LHP Mike Ramlow at home vs. Kannapolis (White Sox), 3:55 PM pre-game, 4:05 gametime

 

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

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

 

Helena: RHP Roque Mercedes at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 4:50 PM pre-game, 5:05 gametime

 

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

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

 

Arizona: TBD at the Padres complex in Peoria, 10:30 AM local time in Arizona, 11:30 Central; never any audio for Arizona Rookie League games; you'll also notice box scores and game log won't necessarily post "live"...

[Mass Haas]

Follow Sunday'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_rreaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_lakafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

Helena:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

 

Arizona:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_pdrrok_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 Saturday's action:

 

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 43 31 .581 - 23-14 20-17 W2 Nashville 43 32 .573 0.5 26-12 17-20 L2 Omaha 35 40 .467 8.5 24-12 11-28 L1 Memphis 34 42 .447 10.0 18-19 16-23 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 5 1 .833 - 5-1 0-0 W2 Tennessee 4 2 .667 1.0 4-2 0-0 W1 West Tenn 3 3 .500 2.0 3-3 0-0 W3 Huntsville 2 4 .333 3.0 0-0 2-4 L1 Carolina 0 6 .000 5.0 0-0 0-6 L6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vero Beach 3 0 1.000 - 1-0 2-0 W3 Brevard County 2 1 .667 1.0 1-0 1-1 L1 Palm Beach 2 1 .667 1.0 2-1 0-0 W2 Jupiter 1 2 .333 2.0 0-0 1-2 L2 St. Lucie 1 2 .333 2.0 1-2 0-0 W1 Daytona 0 3 .000 3.0 0-2 0-1 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood 3 0 1.000 - 3-0 0-0 W3 Lake County 2 1 .667 1.0 2-1 0-0 L1 West Virginia 2 1 .667 1.0 2-1 0-0 W1 Delmarva 1 2 .333 2.0 0-0 1-2 W1 Hickory 1 2 .333 2.0 1-2 0-0 L1 Lexington 1 2 .333 2.0 1-2 0-0 W1 Greensboro 0 3 .000 3.0 0-3 0-0 L3 Hagerstown 0 3 .000 3.0 0-0 0-3 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 3 2 .600 - 1-1 2-1 W1 Great Falls 3 2 .600 - 1-2 2-0 W2 Helena 2 3 .400 1.0 0-2 2-1 L2 Missoula 2 3 .400 1.0 1-2 1-1 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Rangers 2 0 1.000 - 1-0 1-0 W2 AZL Brewers 1 0 1.000 0.5 1-0 0-0 W1 AZL Angels 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 W1 AZL Cubs 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 L1 AZL Giants 1 1 .500 1.0 0-1 1-0 L1 AZL Mariners 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 L1 AZL Royals 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 W1 AZL Padres 0 1 .000 1.5 0-0 0-1 L1 AZL Athletics 0 2 .000 2.0 0-1 0-1 L2

[And That]

For those who don't follow the minor leagues very closely, be sure to check out AZL pitcher Santo Manzanillo's stats from last season. I really hope he makes it to the bigs one day just so his 2006 stats can be referenced.

[DHonks]

Heareaud at 2nd base? wasn't he drafted at either catcher or 3b?

[Boy Jeenius]

3B for Hereaud, I thought so too. 18 year old Edgar Trejo played 3rd today, getting 3 hits He's a big boy at 6'3''/200 lbs. 21 year old SS Miguel Vasquez with 2 more hits for your undefeated AZ Brewers.

[Never Outhustled]

18 year old Edgar Trejo played 3rd today, getting 3 hits

 

Your right, he's an interesting guy. He actually won't turn 18 until later this summer. Considering they've had him batting cleanup both games, he's definately someone to watch. It would be nice to get even a little production from Latin America.

[Boy Jeenius]

Darren Ford getting settled in at Brevard. Ford and Cain at the top of the lineup again - that's comforting, peaceful.

[Never Outhustled]

It looked a week ago that Lou Palmasano had lost all the steam from his hot start, with his average dipping into the 280s. Well, he's back over 300 and hit his 5th homer tonight. Stars up 6-0.

 

He putting up very impressive numbers for the Southern League. Guys that hit this well there can hit enough for MLB.

[SheetsCyYoung04]

Whats with all the walks from Bray? I think he is an upgrade over Spurling right now, but he walked 11 last season and has already walked 18 this year.

[bork]

I recall Bray having almost a walk and inning early in the year. I think the walks have dropped quite a bit lately.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Starting Pitcher Manny Parra:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...206-24.mp3

 

Final: Nashville 9, Round Rock (Astros) 4

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Mike Rivera photo, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2406

 

Rivera Slam Keys Big Inning In 9-4 Sounds Win

 

ROUND ROCK, Texas ? Mike Rivera belted a grand slam to highlight a seven-run seventh inning as the Nashville Sounds came from behind to post a 9-4 victory over the Round Rock Express on Sunday evening at The Dell Diamond.

 

The victory snapped a two-game skid for the Sounds (44-32), who remain a half-game behind Iowa in the PCL American Conference Northern Division standings.

 

Round Rock grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning against Sounds starter Zach Jackson. Jason Lane led off the frame with a double to left and later scored on a Mark Saccamanno groundout.

 

Lane struck again in the fourth when he lifted a leadoff home run to left off Jackson for a 2-0 Express lead and his third roundtripper of the season.

 

Express starter Mark McLemore turned in a solid effort before being pulled due to a pitch count. The left-hander held the Sounds to one hit (a Jackson double) while striking out five batters over his four innings of work. He threw 72 pitches.

 

Round Rock extended the lead to 3-0 against Jackson in the fifth with three consecutive two-out singles, the last of which by Brooks Conrad plated Josh Anderson.

 

Joe Dillon put the Sounds on the board in the top of the sixth inning with a two-out, two-run home run to left, the veteran?s team-leading 14th roundtripper of the year. The blast, which came on a 3-2 pitch against Express reliever Jared Gothreaux and scored Callix Crabbe, made it a 3-2 contest and could have tied the game had Tony Gwynn not been picked off second base by Gothreaux earlier in the frame.

 

The Express got a run right back in the bottom of the frame. Lane and Cody Ransom opened with consecutive singles to put runners on the corners and chase Jackson from the contest. Saccomanno greeted Sounds reliever Steve Bray with an RBI single to left that plated Lane to extend the Round Rock lead to 4-2.

 

Nashville pulled ahead for the first time all evening with a season-best seven-run seventh inning against Round Rock reliever Jose Rodriguez, who blew his first save in three chances. Brad Nelson greeted the right-hander with a single and pulled the Sounds within a run at 4-3 when Drew Anderson followed with an RBI double to right. After Chris Barnwell drew a walk, pinch-hitter Jose Macias sacrificed the runners to second and third for Gwynn, who delivered a game-tying single to right to knot the score at 4-4.

 

After Crabbe fanned for the second out, Laynce Nix was intentionally walked to load the bases for Dillon, who drew a walk from Rodriguez to force home Barnwell with the go-ahead score. Rivera followed with his grand slam to left, the catcher?s 12th home run of the season and Nashville second grannie, to increase the visitors? lead to 9-4.

 

AUDIO: Mike Rivera's Grand Slam --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...206-24.mp3

 

Bray (4-1) was the beneficiary of the Nashville rally and was awarded the victory after working one scoreless inning of relief.

 

Grant Balfour followed by striking out a season-high six batters over three hitless innings for the Sounds to nail down his third save of the year. With the solid outing, the Australian extended his scoreless streak to 19.0 consecutive innings out of the Nashville bullpen. Balfour has allowed only nine hits in those 19 frames over 13 appearances.

 

Rodriguez (0-3) took the loss after being tagged for seven runs on four hits and three walks in his lone frame of action.

 

The teams meet again at 7:05 p.m. CT on Monday night in the third game of the four-game set. Left-hander Manny Parra (0-1, 3.00) will make his second start for the Sounds in search of his first career Triple-A win. Round Rock will counter with right-hander Matt Albers (2-2, 4.11).

 

Nashville Box Score:

Grant Balfour must have Jose Capellan's attention...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_rreaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_rreaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 6, Chattanooga (Reds) 1

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1237

 

Stars Start Six-Game Home Stand With a Win

 

Lou Palmisano hit a home run and drove in three runs to pace a 13-hit attack in Huntsville?s 6-1 win over Chattanooga Sunday evening at Joe Davis Staduim. The Stars improved to 3-4 in the second half and 40-35 overall, while the Lookouts dropped to 5-2 in the second half and 34-43 overall.

 

Palmisano led off the second inning with his fifth long ball of the year and his first since May 9 at home against Mobile to give the Stars the early lead against Lookout?s starter Camilo Vazquez. Adam Heether?s two-out single in the fourth chased home Alcides Escobar to give the home side a 2-0 advantage.

 

Escobar and Steve Sollmann singled with two outs in the fifth before Ruben Mateo struck out but reached on a wild pitch to keep the inning going. Palmisano then followed with a two-run single to left field to extend the lead to 4-0. Mateo?s run-scoring single and a Brendan Katin run-scoring ground out in the seventh made it 6-0 Huntsville. The Stars had been held to three runs or fewer in 11 of their last 12 games and to six hits or fewer in ten of their last 15 before Sunday night's game.

 

Mark DiFelice threw four scoreless innings for the Stars in a spot start, allowing four singles and striking out five. He has now thrown 23 2/3 innings since last allowing a run May 23 at Mobile. Jeff Housman worked two scoreless innings to earn his third win of the year and Luis Pena nailed down his second save of the season with three innings of work. He allowed the Lookouts' only run in the ninth inning on a pinch-hit, run-scoring ground out by Jay Garthwaite.

 

The series continues Monday night, as Huntsville will send right-hander Will Inman to the hill against Lookouts? right-hander James Avery. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on Sports Radio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1

 

Stars' bullpen, bats shine

Huntsville hands Chattanooga 6-1 loss at Joe Davis

By SKIP VAUGHN

For The Huntsville Times skip.vaughn@htimes.com

 

Huntsville Stars manager Don Money wants his players to keep the same intensity they had in winning the first-half title in the Southern League North.

 

"You've got to keep going," he said before Sunday night's game against the Chattanooga Lookouts. "The season's a long season. It's 140 games, not 70.

 

"It (the first-half title) takes the pressure off, but the players have to keep playing. It's a long season. This is where they try to elevate their game to go to the next level."

 

The Stars overcame Chattanooga 6-1 before an announced crowd of 2,149 at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

"We hit a home run (by Lou Palmisano), we picked up 13 hits and got some good pitching from everybody," Money said. "It was all bullpen tonight."

 

Huntsville reliever Mark DiFelice made his first start for the Stars and pitched a solid four innings. He allowed four hits and had five strikeouts in extending his scoreless streak to 23 2/3 innings. He left after throwing 72 pitches, 53 for strikes.

 

"My curveball was really good today," said DiFelice, who got the opportunity to start because of an opening created by last week's doubleheader. "My cutter was my go-to pitch when I was down in the count."

 

He throws his fastball 88-89 mph, his cutter 83-85 mph and his curveball 75-76 mph. He expects to make another start Friday.

 

"He did a very nice job," Stars pitching coach Rich Sauveur said. "He's done a nice job all year, throws strikes, changes speeds, knows how to pitch. Just goes out and does a nice job. This kid is probably going to get one more start and he's going back to the pen. I don't expect for him to be here much longer."

 

Palmisano went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.

 

"Just had a good night at the plate," Palmisano said. "Just one of those nights where you're getting good pitches to hit and squaring them up."

 

He opened the scoring in the second with his fifth homer of the season, a towering drive to left. It came on a 3-1 fastball from Chattanooga starter Camilo Vazquez (4-7).

 

"Just looking for a good pitch to hit and it just happened to go out," Palmisano said. "Bad days you roll those over and good days you hit them well."

 

Huntsville (3-4) upped its lead to 2-0 in the fourth on Adam Heether's two-out RBI single. Steve Sollmann and Ruben Mateo singled to start the inning and Sollmann scored on Heether's hit to right.

 

Stars reliever Jeff Housman (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings and got the win while Luis Pena earned his second save. Pena allowed one run and three hits in three innings.

 

Palmisano delivered a two-out, two-run single in the fifth for a 4-0 cushion. With two outs, Alcides Escobar and Sollmann singled. Mateo struck out but reached first on a wild pitch by Vazquez. Palmisano singled to left to score Escobar and Sollmann.

 

Mateo hit an RBI single in the seventh to make it 5-0. Escobar had a leadoff hit, stole second and scored on Mateo's one-out hit to left. Pinch runner Mel Stocker stole second, advanced to third on Palmisano's hit and scored on Brendan Katin's groundout.

 

Chattanooga (5-2) scored its lone run in the ninth on Jay Garthwaite's RBI groundout off Pena.

 

The second game of the six-game series is tonight at 7:05 at Joe Davis Stadium. Scheduled starters are Chattanooga's James Avery (6-7, 5.29) and Huntsville's Will Inman (0-2, 9.35).

 

Huntsville Box Score:

We'll see how Michael Brantley's AB's are affected by Ruben Mateo's return...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 9, Lakeland (Tigers) 3

 

MiLB.com:

 

Welch, 'pen lead Manatees

 

David Welch and two relievers combined on a five-hitter as visiting Brevard County cruised past Lakeland, 9-3, on Sunday.

 

Welch (4-2) surrendered two runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts in five innings. The 24-year-old lefty is 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA over his last four starts.

 

Josh Baker gave up a run on three walks and a wild pitch in two hitless innings before Kevin Roberts walked two and fanned one in two scoreless frames.

 

Chris Errecart went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in the fourth for the Manatees (3-1). Darren Ford added three hits, Cole Gillespie collected two RBIs and Lorenzo Cain, Mat Gamel, Angel Salome and Yohannis Perez each drove in a run. Gamel's single in the fifth extended his streak to 22 games, tops in the Florida State League this season.

 

Wilkin Ramirez smacked a solo homer, his 10th, and William Rhymes ripped a run-scoring single in the third for the Flying Tigers (1-2). Maxwell Leon added a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

 

Lakeland starter Kyle Sleeth (0-1) yielded four runs -- three earned -- on six hits and two walks with one strikeout in four innings. -- Ryan McConnell/MLB.com.

 

Brevard County Box Score:

Three stolen bases for Darren Ford, now 40-for-52 on the season...

 

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

 

Brevard County Game Log:

You'll see in the 3rd inning that Anderson Delarosa replaces an apparently injured Nestor Corredor at catcher...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_lakafa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Kannapolis (White Sox) 6, West Virginia 4

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

RAMLOW STRONG THROUGH SIX IN POWER LOSS

 

Mike Ramlow allowed just a run on four hits through six innings of Sunday evening?s game at Appalachian Power Park. Ramlow left with a 4-1 lead, but the Kannapolis Intimidators outscored the Power 5-0 in the last three innings and split the series with a 6-4 victory.

 

Kenny Holmberg hit a two-run bomb, his eighth of the year, in the bottom of the second to snap a scoreless tie. The Power scored their final two runs in the third inning. Brent Brewer?s sacrifice fly plated Jimmy Mojica and Andrew Lefave laced an RBI single through the left side of the infield.

 

Chris Carter began the Kannapolis comeback in the fourth inning with a solo home run, his 17th of the season. Kannapolis scored four runs in the seventh to take the lead. Lee Cruz batted in the first run on a base hit and Archie Gilbert?s two-run double tied the game. Gilbert scored the go-ahead run later in the inning on Scotty Madsen?s groundout and Brandon Allen scored the game?s final run on a wild pitch in the eighth inning.

 

Faustino De Los Santos (5-2) struck out eight Power batters over six innings and got the victory, Noe Rodriguez (1) got the save and J.T. King (5-2) was tagged with the loss. Ramlow issued no free passes and struck out four through six innings.

 

The Power fell to 50-22 overall and 2-2 in the second half, and the Intimidators improved to 34-40 overall and 2-2 in the second half with the win.

 

The Power will start a four game series against the Augusta GreenJackets at Lake Olmstead Stadium on Monday night. The Power starting pitcher has not been announced and Augusta will start right hander Dan Griffin (4-3, 3.08). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Great Falls (White Sox) 10, Helena 2

 

Helena Site Game Summary:

 

White Sox Complete Series Sweep

 

HELENA--The Helena Brewers recorded a season-high ten hits, but the Great Falls White Sox offense proved too much as the White Sox swept the Brewers on their opening weekend. Great Falls scored during each of its at-bats between the third and sixth innings en route to a 10-2 victory.

 

The White Sox jumped ahead 6-0 until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Brewers finally put three hits together to get on the board. Mike Goetz provided the RBI single to make it a 6-1 game.

 

Helena starter Roque Mercedes exited after four innings and he gave up five runs taking the loss in his first decision of the year. Reliever Craig Langille also allowed five runs, but pitcher Rob Bryson tossed three and one-thirds innings of shutout baseball.

 

Caleb Gindl led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a triple for the Brewers and Jonanthan Lucroy followed with a sacrifice fly for a 10-2 White Sox advantage. Helena loaded the bases with two outs, but could not muster any more runs.

 

Zealous Wheeler had a 2-for-4 performance, the only multi-hit game for the Brewers. Juan Moreno got the win to even his record at 1-1 going seven innings and allowing just one run.

 

Helena now drops to 2-4 while Great Falls improves to 4-2. The Brewers will try for their first home win of the season when they play host to the Missoula Osprey at 7:05 PM Monday (8:05 Central).

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.helenair.com/articles...507_01.txt

 

Brewers lose three to give Sox a sweep

By JASON SCOTT, Helena Independent Record Sports Writer

 

?When you?re hitting like we are, you need good pitching and good defense.?

 

That?s what Helena Brewers manager Jeff Isom had to say after Sunday?s game at Kindrick Legion Field.

 

Unfortunately, that?s not what the Brewers had as they dropped their third straight game to the Great Falls White Sox, 10-2.

 

The Helena defense committed five errors in the game and the Brewer pitching wasn?t much better. An imposing Great Falls lineup pounded the ball against starter Roque Mercedes, getting six extra base hits, including three home runs. Brewers coaches made five trips to the mound in four innings.

 

White Sox slugger Salvador Sanchez went 4-for-5 with a double and two homers. Danny Jordan also went deep for Great Falls.

 

White Sox starter Juan Moreno went seven strong innings, scattering six hits with no walks and allowing just one run. He located the ball well against the Brewer offense, and got out of two jams with ground ball double plays.

 

The only real trouble he faced was in the fifth inning, when designated hitter Jonathan Lucroy got a single followed by a Zealous Wheeler double. Two outs later, Mike Goetz singled in the first run of the game for the Brewers.

 

The Brewers mounted a rally against White Sox reliever Joey Doehn in the bottom of the ninth that started with a leadoff triple from Caleb Gindl.

 

A sacrifice fly from Lucroy brought Gindl home and Wheeler grounded to second for the second out. Then catcher Eric Fryer and first baseman Curt Rindal hit consecutive singles.

 

After Goetz walked to load the bases, Matt Cline struck out swinging to end the game. Though Helena only scored two runs, Isom said he was happy to see his players get 10 hits.

 

?It takes some time to adjust to professional pitching,? he said. ?Some of the guys have sat out a little since college. Every day I see something better and better.?

 

One highlight for the Brewers was relief pitcher Robert Bryson, who came in to clean up the sixth inning after the White Sox had scored four runs off reliever Craig Langille. Bryson retired the first seven batters he faced and closed out the contest after allowing one hit.

 

?(Bryson) has a good arm. He comes at you,? said Isom. He said it?s possible that Bryson will get a chance to start on the road.

 

The Brewers dropped to 2-4 on the season. They host the Missoula Osprey for three games starting Monday before traveling back to Missoula for three more against the O?s.

 

Helena Box Score:

RHP Craig Langille of Nova Scotia, 2004's 7th round pick, has struggled since his debut in Arizona Rookie, although he made some strides last season; Five errors? This squad has some work to do to right the ship...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Brewers 8, Arizona Padres 6

 

Arizona Box Score:

As was alluded to above, RHP Santo Manzanillo walked an amazing 47 batters in 16.1 innings in 2006 as a 17-year-old -- nice to see a slightly more controlled outing Sunday...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_pdrrok_1

 

Arizona Game Log:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_pdrrok_1

[JohnBriggs12]

"Bray...is an upgrade over Spurling."

 

I'm not sure about Bray, but Balfour is the guy who should take Spurling's spot while Capuano takes Capellan's.

 

Balfour's last 10 appearences:

 

14 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 20 K.

 

Why is this guy not in Milwaukee?

 

Free Grant Balfour.

[TheCrew07]

Well Balfour is coming back from severe injury and started the year in AA, so he's come a long way in a short time.

 

Capellan can just go away for all I care, but the walks are the reason that I currently want nothing to do with Sarfate. In my opinion his WHIP is just too high to be an effective reliever at this point in his career.

 

I would like to see some combination of Yo, Balfour, and Thatcher in the bullpen in place of Capellan and Spurling... and now that I think about it Shouse for that matter.

[DHonks]

Capellan can just go away for all I care

 

I wish he had a strikeout pitch. It hurts that he pitches to contact by default

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/story/S...ow+shines/

 

Power loses; Ramlow shines

Michael Dailey

Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter

 

The West Virginia Power has feasted on late-inning rallies in winning 50 of its first 71 games this season.

 

In fact, the Power is unmatched in the South Atlantic League with six wins in games in which it trailed after eight innings.

 

The latest Power rally was against the Kannapolis Intimidators on Saturday evening when it plated three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game and walked off with a 9-8 win after scoring a pair of runs in the home half of the 13th.

 

On Sunday, however, there was no magical comeback for the Power as it jumped to a 4-0 lead before falling 6-4 to the Intimidators at Appalachian Power Park.

 

A Little League Day crowd of 4,732 looked on as the Power dropped to 50-22 overall and 2-2 in the Sally League's second half, while Kannapolis improved to 34-40 and 2-2.

 

While the home crowd ultimately was disappointed with the game's outcome, Power southpaw Mike Ramlow made sure the crowd was treated to a superb starting pitching performance.

 

The 6-foot-6, 185-pound Ramlow bounced back from a shaky first half with his best pitching performance to date.

 

Ramlow, who entered the game with a 3-2 record and a 7.78 earned run average, tossed six innings of four-hit, one-run baseball before reaching his allotted pitch count.

 

The lanky Ohio native struck out four and allowed no walks during his 81-pitch performance.

 

He left the game with a 4-1 lead but watched helplessly as the Intimidators tagged right-handed reliever J.T. King (5-2) for four hits and five earned runs in two innings.

 

"Definitely," Ramlow said when asked if Sunday's performance was his best this season. "I've been working in the bullpen on my secondary pitches, and, finally, today I got them to work."

 

After struggling with inconsistency during the first half, Ramlow has spent a lot of time with Power pitching coach John Curtis in an attempt to improve his changeup and breaking ball since his last outing.

 

"I've been failing to get my curveball to work, so I've been working real hard on it in the bullpen," Ramlow said. "It's a great feeling to finally have things clicking and to be able to throw pitches you want to throw in situations that you want to throw them in."

 

Finally putting together a quality outing not only pleased Ramlow but also gave him something to show for his extra bullpen work.

 

"Coach Curtis has been working a lot with me in the bullpen," Ramlow said. "My curveball hasn't been working at all. I've been keeping it up in the zone, and it's just been floating. Today was the best that it's worked.

 

"I'm getting the ball out of my glove earlier so that I can get more over the top with it. That keeps it down in the zone."

 

Curtis was pleased with his young left-hander's performance.

 

"We've been trying to stress and work on getting his secondary pitches over the plate," Curtis said. "He did that beautifully today. His change and curve were outstanding.

 

"He went from a one-pitch pitcher to a three-pitch pitcher today. It was just a great job."

 

Now Curtis will help Ramlow work on continuing to improve as the season progresses.

 

"I couldn't be more pleased with him," Curtis said. "But now he needs to string a few of these together. I told him not to get all flighty now. He needs to continue to work to improve because we need him."

 

Power second baseman Kenny Holmberg got things rolling for the Power with a two-run blast in the second off Kannapolis starter Fautino DeLosSantos (5-2).

 

Holmberg ended the day 1-for-4, but he is 14-for-32 with eight runs and 11 RBI against the Intimidators this season.

 

The Power stretched the lead to 4-0 in the third on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Brent Brewer and an RBI single by Andrew Lefave.

 

Ramlow's only downer was a two-seam fastball to Kannapolis slugger Chris Carter, who smashed a solo shot into the right-field bleachers.

 

"It was an outside pitch, and he just hit it," Ramlow said. "He's a pretty good hitter."

 

* * *

Two former Charleston minor league baseball stars will play for the World team Sunday in the 2007 Futures All-Star Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

 

Robinzon Diaz, who starred at catcher for the 2004 Charleston Alley Cats, and 2005 West Virginia Power shortstop Alcides Escobar will play against a native United States team in the 4 p.m. start (ESPN2 telecast) that is part of the All-Star Game festivities in San Francisco.

 

Both are playing in Class AA. Diaz, 23 and a Toronto farmhand, ranks fifth in Eastern League hitting (.320). He has been a postseason All-Star selection each of his last three years in the minors (2004 South Atlantic League, 2005 and '06, Florida State League).

 

Escobar, 20 and in the Milwaukee system, was promoted last week to Double A Huntsville in the Southern League, where he's batting .190 in six games.

 

Escobar hit .325 in the high Class A Florida State League for Brevard County (with 87 hits and 18 stolen bases) and was an FSL all-Star Game pick before his midseason promotion.

 

Charleston Daily Mail Photo: Craig Cunningham

Although the West Virginia Power fell to Kannapolis, 6-4, on Sunday at Appalachian Power Park, starter Mike Ramlow pitched well, allowing four hits in six innings of work.

 

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