Link Report for Wed. 6/20 -- Inman and Huntsville for Brunch

[And That]

Steve Wendt on R.J. Seidel: "Either side of the plate, he can get tail."

 

I'm sure he's glad to know you think so highly of him, Steve. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[TheCrew07]

Haha I must have been in the bathroom and missed that.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Tennessee (Cubs) 4, Huntsville 2

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1231

 

Smokies Slow Down Stars

 

Carlos Rojas squeezed in what turned out to be the decisive run in Tennessee?s 4-2 win over Huntsville Wednesday afternoon in the second of a six-game series at Smokies Park to begin the second half of the season. The Smokies gained a split in the series and improved to 37-33 on the season, while the Stars dipped to 38-32.

 

Mel Stocker started the game with a walk, stole second base, moved to third on an errant throw by catcher Chris Robinson and scored on a Michael Brantley sacrifice fly. The Stars lost for only a fifth time in 23 games when scoring first.

 

Stars? starter Will Inman retired the first 10 batters he faced before Gary Cates singled with one out in the fourth and scored on a two-out home run by Matt Craig, his sixth of the season. The Stars tied the game in the top of the fifth on a Stocker sacrifice fly, his second of the season and first since the first game of the doubleheader here on April 12.

 

Jorge Cortes led off the fifth with a double, moved to third on a one-out wild pitch and scored the go-ahead run on the bunt by Rojas, who knocked in his seventh run. Inman stranded Sam Fuld at second after a leadoff double in the sixth and was replaced in the seventh by Jeff Housman, who allowed a two-out run on a pinch-hit single by Issmael Salas. Inman dropped to 0-2 after yielding three runs on four hits, while striking out six, including five in a row in the first and second innings.

 

Tennessee starter Kevin Hart went six innings, giving up two runs on five hits to earn his fifth win of the season and fourth at home. Billy Petrick struck out the side in a shutout seventh inning and Jerry Blevins fanned three in his two scoreless innings to earn his third save. The Stars have now been held to six hits or fewer in eight of their last 12 games.

 

The series continues with a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon, as right-hander Corey Thurman and southpaw Steve Hammond will take the hill for Huntsville against Smokies? right-hander Mark Holliman and a pitcher to be determined. Coverage of the game begins at 4:25 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Adam Heether on base three times...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1

[TheCrew07]

This Navarro guy for Missoula is amazing thus far, 6 for 6 on the year, and he's young.

[TheCrew07]

Seidel wasn't as bad as his line would suggest. He was grooving a lot of first pitches and Missoula was all over them. He through a ton of strikes though.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Iowa (Cubs) 3, Nashville 0

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2397

 

Win Streak Snapped With Shutout Loss To Cubs

 

NASHVILLE ? The Nashville Sounds had their six-game winning streak halted on Wednesday evening at Greer Stadium as two Iowa pitchers combined to post a three-hit, 3-0 shutout in the opener of a three-game series.

 

Nashville (42-30) maintains the best record in the Pacific Coast League but had its division lead cut to just a half-game over the I-Cubs. The shutout loss was the Sounds? third of the year.

 

Iowa starter John Webb (2-4) turned in an outstanding outing for the visitors, allowing three hits over eight-plus innings to notch his second win of the season. Clay Rapada worked the final inning in scoreless fashion to complete the shutout and notch his team-leading tenth save of the year.

 

Micah Hoffpauir gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning with a two-out solo home run to right off Nashville starter Manny Parra. The blast was his team-leading 13th of the year.

 

The Cubs doubled the lead in the sixth against Parra. With one out, Buck Coats singled then scored from first when Josh Kroeger followed with an RBI double to right-center. Kroeger went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs in his first contest with Iowa following a promotion from Double-A Tennessee.

 

Parra (0-1) took a loss in his career Triple-A debut despite working his 11th quality start in 14 outings this season. The left-hander allowed two runs on seven hits while walking four batters and striking out six over six innings.

 

Tim Dillard, who was shifted to the bullpen and replaced in the starting rotation by Nashville native R.A. Dickey, followed Parra to the hill and worked a perfect seventh frame before surrendering a run in the eighth as the I-Cubs stretched their lead to 3-0. Geovany Soto doubled to open the frame and scored on Kroeger?s one-out RBI single.

 

Nashville threatened in the ninth, putting the first two runners on base before Rapada induced a double-play grounder from Callix Crabbe and fanned Laynce Nix to end the contest.

 

Outfielder Tony Gwynn went 0-for-3 with a walk in his first game with the Sounds after being optioned from Milwaukee.

 

The teams continue the series with another 7 p.m. meeting on Thursday evening, when it will be Thirsty Thursday at Greer Stadium. Left-hander Adam Pettyjohn (2-1, 3.60), a winner in each of his last two starts, will toe the rubber for Nashville to face Iowa southpaw Ryan O?Malley (3-6, 7.03).

 

Nashville Box Score:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

In progress: Helena 5, Missoula (Diamondbacks) 5, after seven innings

It's 10:25 Central, listen in!

[TheCrew07]

Helena loses on a walkoff HR... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

[Mass Haas]

Final: Missoula (Diamondbacks) 6, Helena 5

 

Helena Box Score:

LHP Casey Baron with a super relief effort spoiled by the walkoff; R.J. Seidel and Baron didn't walk a batter, and Seidel got nine ground ball outs vs. one fly ball out -- in between were 11 base hits in Seidel's five innings (five for extra bases); hey, let's throw the team's only 18-year-old high schooler into the cleanup spot -- Caleb Gindl gets on base three times (double, single, walk)...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

Sorry, "And That", the Zealous Wheeler era begins with three K's...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.missoulian.com/articl...orts02.txt

 

Coughlin's walk-off homer lifts O's over Brewers

By NICK LOCKRIDGE of the Missoulian

 

This time the ninth inning heroics belonged to the Missoula Osprey.

 

Sean Coughlin belted a game-winning solo home run with the Osprey down to their final out in the bottom of the ninth to lift Missoula to a 6-5 victory over Helena on Wednesday.

 

Coughlin, a catcher that hits from the left, sent the ball high and deep over the steadily-rising fence in right field, giving the 2,518 fans at Ogren-Allegiance Park something to cheer about after dropping Tuesday's season opener.

 

?My first professional home run and it's a walk-off,? said Coughlin, a 13th-round draft choice out of the University of Kentucky. ?It's kind of unbearable right now.?

 

Coughlin was mobbed by his teammates at home plate. The first two batters of the inning grounded out before Coughlin's moonshot sent them into a frenzy.

 

?I just put a good swing on it,? Coughlin said, still catching his breath, ?and it stayed fair.?

 

Coughlin finished 2-for-4 and was one of six Osprey players with multiple hits in the game. The team finished with 14 base knocks for a two-game total of 26 hits.

 

Missoula (1-1) and Helena (1-1) wrap up their three-game season-opening series Thursday at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central). The two teams meet nine times in their first 12 games.

 

Wednesday's game, which featured three ties through the first five innings, was reminiscent of Tuesday's close game, which the Brewers won 4-3 after scoring twice in the top of the ninth to steal the thunder of the Osprey's season and new stadium debut. In that game, Missoula loaded the bases with none out in the ninth, but came away empty-handed.

 

?That wears on you, you have a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth,? Coughlin said. ?Everybody wants to perform in those situations, but that happens in baseball. I got my revenge (Wednesday).?

 

It was a hitter's game and the O's were once again led by teenage shortstop Reynaldo Navarro, who went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in. The 17-year-old Puerto Rican star went 4-for-4 in his pro debut Tuesday night and didn't disappoint in his second start.

 

Navarro tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth when he doubled down the left-field line to bring home Jimmy Principe, who tripled with two outs. Navarro was trailing 0-2 in the count when he connected on his sixth consecutive base hit of the season.

 

?I'm very happy, I'm hitting good for my first year in pro ball,? said Navarro through his teammate Gerardo Bustamante, who was interpreting. ?I just want to keep working.?

 

Navarro's bloop single - his fifth in a row - landed just over the head of Helena shortstop David Fonseca to tie the game at 2-2 in the second.

 

Connor Janes and Derrick Walker each singled in a run as Missoula knotted the score at 5-5 in the fifth. Janes had two hits, while Walker led all hitters with a 3-for-4, two-RBI effort. Principe also finished with two hits.

 

Eric Newton, who hit the game-tying homer on Tuesday, was 3-for-5 with two RBIs to lead the Brewers. Newton and Caleb Gindl had RBI singles in the fifth as Helena went up 5-3. Gindl was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. The Brewers jumped out to a 2-0 lead on David Fonseca's two-RBI double in the second.

 

Ty Davis pitched the final two innings to get the win for Missoula. Davis allowed just one hit and struck out two. He followed Yonata Ortega and starter Santo Baez, who gave up all five runs to Helena. Baez got off to a rough start. He committed an error on the first batter he faced, snapping the O's error-less streak from Tuesday. Navarro turned a double play to thwart the threat.

 

Notes: The Silvertip Skydivers, known for landing in Washington-Grizzly Stadium among other things, made their first jump into Ogren-Allegiance Park. Janes' double in the second inning was the O's first extra-base hit of the season.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=56795

 

Gwynn returns, Parra makes Sounds debut

By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent

 

Before Tony Gwynn Sr. turned 25-years old, he had amassed 361 hits, a National League batting title and helped the San Diego Padres reach the World Series.

 

It was the beginning of a Hall of Fame career by which, fairly or unfairly, his son will always be measured against. His son, Tony Gwynn Jr., was demoted, most assuredly unfairly, on Monday by the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

Gwynn made his 2007 Sounds debut Wednesday evening against Iowa at Greer Stadium. While his resume might not feature as many accomplishments as his father?s did at the same age, Gwynn is every bit as kind and gracious as his dad was regarded to be.

 

Following the Sounds 3-0 loss to the Cubs, Gwynn didn?t complain about the demotion by Milwaukee. This is despite the fact Gwynn was generally out-playing fellow outfielder Gabe Gross and outhitting him by over 100 batting average points (.301 to .191 at the time he was optioned).

 

?I started off so well up there,? Gwynn said. ?It?s a little disappointing. Although I can?t say I was happy about it, I was prepared for it.?

 

Gwynn went 0-for-3 with a walk for the Sounds, who had their six-game winning streak snapped. Following the game, he talked openly about being sent down after spending all season in the big leagues.

 

?I was just trying to get my feet under me,? said Gwynn, who was sparsely used in Milwaukee. ?It felt a little awkward to be on a baseball field again.?

 

The Brewers optioned down Gwynn not because he had earned a demotion, but because there simply wasn?t enough room on their roster for all the players who deserve to be there. Manager Ned Yost told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Gwynn would be best-served to get extra at-bats with Nashville than to be a substitute for the Brewers.

 

?I did understand the logic behind it,? Gwynn said. ?Do I agree with it? Not necessarily. But this is an opportunity for me to come down here and join another good team and hopefully help them win.?

 

The other subplot was Manny Parra?s Triple A debut. Parra is the left-handed pitching prospect who has battled shoulder problems the last two-plus years. Finally advancing to the Sounds, he had a mixed first start.

 

Parra went six innings and fanned six, but surrendered seven hits, four walks and two earned runs.

 

?I battled, but obviously it was not the game I was wanting because I fell behind too many guys,? Parra said.

 

At the plate, the Sounds couldn?t figure out Iowa starter John Webb, who faced just one batter over the minimum through eight innings. Clay Rapada pitched the ninth to earn the save.

 

?The credit goes to their guy, he did a good job,? Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said of Webb.

[Mass Haas]

Link for Chris Barnwell photo while active, text follows:

 

tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS

 

Shutout loss ends Sounds' winning streak

Key hits ruin pitcher's debut

By TYLER BLANK

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Three opportune hits were the difference in Nashville's 3-0 loss to Iowa Wednesday at Greer Stadium that ended the Sounds' six-game winning streak.

 

Iowa moved within one-half game of Nashville in the Pacific Coast League's American Conference Northern Division.

 

Sounds starting pitcher Manny Parra, in his Triple-A debut, gave up a solo home run to Cubs first baseman Micah Hoffpauir in the third inning.

 

"I just left it up and out over the middle of the plate," Parra said.

 

"If I keep that ball on the outside corner, I don't think that (the home run) happens there."

 

Parra gave up another run in the sixth inning on an RBI double by Josh Kroeger, which knocked in Cubs center fielder Buck Coats.

 

Parra pitched six innings, and finished with six strikeouts and four walks.

 

"I felt fine," said Parra, "I didn't command the ball like I wanted to and walked too many guys."

 

"I think he did OK," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said of Parra. "He held him to two runs and kept us in the game."

 

The Sounds fell to 7-11 in series openers. The loss is only Nashville's seventh in its past 31 home games.

 

Nashville's bats never really got going. The Sounds managed only three hits all night.

 

"(Cubs pitcher John) Webb did a good job," Kremblas said. "He threw the ball well and was able to throw a bunch of pitches for strikes."

 

This marks the third occasion that the Sounds have been shut out this season. The Cubs got some insurance in the eighth inning when Kroeger knocked in his second run of the game, brining catcher Geovany Soto home with a one-out single.

 

What they said: "I was supposed to get it outside and left it over the middle. I faced Micah back in 2004 and 2005 and he's a pretty good hitter." ? Parra, on giving up a third inning home run to Iowa's Micah Hoffpauir.

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS

 

Dickey resumes role as starter

By TYLER BLANK

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Former MBA and UT pitcher R.A. Dickey will move into the starting rotation Friday against Iowa. The knuckleballer has been in the bullpen since May 13.

 

Dickey made a spot start Sunday in Nashville's 5-2 win over Omaha, going seven innings, allowing four hits and one earned run while striking out six. Dickey started because Yovani Gallardo was called up to Milwaukee.

 

Dickey will replace Tim Dillard, who is 3-4 with a 4.61 ERA.

 

Since moving to the bullpen, Dickey is 3-0 with a 4.95 ERA in eight games. Dickey opened the season with a 1-4 record and 6.17 ERA in seven starts.

 

The move is nothing new to Dillard. He was drafted out of college as a closer and spent his first two years in pro ball as a reliever.

 

Dillard came into Wednesday's game in the seventh inning, going 2 2/3 innings, giving up three hits and one run.

 

Back again: Center fielder Tony Gwynn made his first start of the year with Nashville. The former Sound was sent down to make room for another former Nashville player, Rickie Weeks, who was recently activated from the disabled list.

 

Gwynn finished 0-for-3 with a walk.

 

"It's going to take a few games for him to get back in the swing of things," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said.

 

Gwynn played in 49 games for the Brewers this season, hitting .301 with eight RBIs after making the club in spring training.

 

Gwynn played in 112 games with Nashville in the 2006 season. He hit .300 and led the Sounds in hits, runs, triples and at-bats.

 

Sounds catcher J.R. Hopf will go to the disabled list to make room for Gwynn with a hand injury.

 

Long ball: Nashville has hit 81 home runs, ranking second among PCL teams. The Sounds have hit a home run in 31 of their past 37 games.

 

You're out: Nashville pitchers lead the PCL in strikeouts with 563. The Sounds have struck out 91 batters in the last eight games.

 

Beginning and end: Nashville has outscored its opponent 51-28 in the first inning and has scored the game's first run on a PCL-leading 45 occasions. The Sounds have gone 30-15 in those games, while going 27-6 when scoring the game's final run.

[JJ Hardy Har Har]

Bummer, I was hoping for Tony to come out red hot.