Link Report for Monday 6/18 -- Lunch with the Sounds

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Monday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: LHP Zach Jackson at home vs. Omaha (Royals), 11:50 AM pre-game; 12:05 PM gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: LHP Sam Narron at Tennessee (Cubs), 6:00 PM pre-game; 6:15 gametime -- first game of the second-half schedule

 

Audio link:

www.huntsvillestars.com/

 

Brevard County: TBD at home vs. Vero Beach (Devil Rays), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime -- this series counts toward the first-half standings

 

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

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

 

West Virginia: Idle for the All-Star Break until Thursday -- we'll provide details Tuesday by mid-day on Tuesday night's All-Star Game in Rome, Georgia...

[Mass Haas]

Follow Monday'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_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_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 Sunday's action:

Southern League stats anew tonight; South Atlantic League is final, but won't reset until Thursday...

 

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 41 29 .586 - 24-10 17-19 W5 Iowa 39 30 .565 1.5 21-14 18-16 L4 Omaha 33 37 .471 8.0 24-12 9-25 L3 Memphis 32 39 .451 9.5 18-18 14-21 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - Chattanooga 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - Huntsville 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - Tennessee 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - West Tenn 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 39 28 .582 - 22-11 17-17 W1 Palm Beach 34 33 .507 5.0 16-18 18-15 L1 Vero Beach 34 33 .507 5.0 24-12 10-21 W6 Daytona 31 35 .470 7.5 19-12 12-23 L1 St. Lucie 30 37 .448 9.0 17-17 13-20 L3 Jupiter 29 38 .433 10.0 14-19 15-19 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 48 20 .706 - 23-12 25-8 W1 Greensboro 38 32 .543 11.0 25-10 13-22 L2 Lakewood 33 32 .508 13.5 17-18 16-14 W3 Delmarva 34 33 .507 13.5 19-13 15-20 L3 Lake County 31 39 .443 18.0 17-18 14-21 L1 Lexington 31 39 .443 18.0 16-19 15-20 W1 Hagerstown 29 38 .433 18.5 17-16 12-22 L1 Hickory 27 40 .403 20.5 14-16 13-24 L2

[TheCrew07]

I didn't think Nashville would be any good with all the veteran AAA types there and few marquee names other than Yo. This is a fun group to follow, though I don't know how much beyond some relievers and Rottino these guys will ever contribute to the big club.

[JoeHova]

Nashville with another win.

 

 

Crew07, do you really think Rottino will contribute to the Brewers? I'd be a little bit surprised if he ever got any regular PT with the Brewers.

[DHonks]

I didn't think Nashville would be any good with all the veteran AAA types there and few marquee names other than Yo

 

to put it in perspective, Hopf has been DH'ing! yet they keep winning

[And That]

If the Brewers want to get something out of Sam Narron before he becomes a free agent, they might want to think about switching him to the pen in the second half of the season. He's been decent against lefties, but pretty bad overall, especially for the Southern League.

[TheCrew07]

Vinny could be a decent utility guy, he's not flashy, but he hits the ball.

[DHonks]

Ned Yost, iv...aka, the new Alcides Escobar. I know that's a tough park to hit in, but 1 of 17 hits has gone for extra bases.

[TheCrew07]

Pvt, Capt, Sgt.... whatever Lou is down under .300 and under the mendoza line in his last 10 games. I still find myself secretly rooting for him to become a player.

[TheCrew07]

Clean sweep again tonight for the minor league teams.

[1e Corbeau]

Lou may be tailing off, but Salome might force the issue in July if he can hold steady. An OPS of .825 in the FSL through 145 ABs is pretty darn good for a just-turned 21 year old catcher--especially with only 17 Ks. He sure can put the bat on the ball.

[Boy Jeenius]

I was thinking te same thing, but I wonder if Salome only playing part of the year due to injury may just signal all catchers move up after the season. Especially with Angel being only 21. Even if his bat stays hot, there's still a lot to learn about honing his craft behind the dish.

[pogokat]

i dont see salome moving up mid season...remember, one of the benefits of keeping him in BC is that he can DH when he's not catching...

[TuesdayWithRillo]

2 more errors for Gamel. Yuck!

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 7, Vero Beach (Devil Rays) 1

 

Vero Beach Site Game Summary:

 

Rays see win streak snapped

 

David Welch, Vince Perkins and Rafael Lluberes combined on a three-hitter as the Vero Beach Devil Rays saw their six-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Brevard County Manatees, 7-1.

 

The Manatees got an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning as with two outs, Angel Salome doubled home Freddy Parejo, who led off the inning reaching on an error.

 

The Rays got the run back in the top of the second as with one out, Rhyne Hughes drove a double to right-centerfield. Two batters later, Christian Lopez, lined a ball back through the middle to score Hughes and tie the game at 1-1.

 

Brevard County came right back in the bottom of the inning as the first three hitters in the inning singled leading to two Manatees runs and a 3-1 BC lead.

 

After Brevard County took the lead in the bottom of the second, the game belonged to Manatees pitchers for the next few innings as David Welch and Vince Perkins retired 14 Rays hitters in a row after the Lopez RBI single. Leading 3-1 into the seventh, the Manatees put the game away scoring four runs, three earned on six hits.

 

The second game of the series comes up on Tuesday at 7:00 PM (6:00 Central) when Matt Walker (2-6, 5.54) will get the ball for Vero Beach against Derek Miller (3-4, 3.09) for the Manatees.

 

Brevard County Box Score:

LHP David Welch consistently solid; Mike Bell, Chris Errecart, and Ned Yost on base three times each -- Yost would have a future if he could at least occasionally get behind the plate, but apparently those days are gone; Mat Gamel errors on two of his four chances, if it had been one error, we wouldn't bring it up, two brings his total to 33 at third base...

 

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

 

Brevard County Game Log:

Vince Perkins works around two errors in the 8th with a nice GIDP...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Pitching Coach Stan Kyles:

Lots of love for RHP Steve Bray and LHP Joe Thatcher, two Brewerfan faves...

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...206-18.mp3

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 6, Omaha (Royals) 2

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Zach Jackson photo, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2393

 

Sounds Sweep Away Royals With 6-2 Win

 

NASHVILLE ? Two rain delays totaling just over an hour couldn?t stop Nashville from winning its sixth straight game and completing a series sweep of division rival Omaha with a 6-2 victory on Monday afternoon at Greer Stadium.

 

Sounds starter Zach Jackson (8-3) pulled into a tie for the Pacific Coast League victories lead by earning his eighth win after throwing six innings, giving up two runs and striking out four.

 

Nashville (42-29), which evening up the season series against the Royals at 6-6 with the win, took an early lead in the bottom of the first with two runs and four hits off of Omaha starter Tyler Lumsden. It was the Pacific Coast League-leading 45th time they have scored first in a game this season.

 

Sounds leadoff batter Callix Crabbe started off the inning with a double to center field followed by a Chris Barnwell single. Sounds center fielder Charles Thomas then hit a blooper that fell for a base hit in shallow right allowing Crabbe to score. Vinny Rottino later singled to load the bases before Mike Rivera?s sacrifice fly allowed Barnwell to score, giving the Sounds a 2-0 lead.

 

Nashville added to its advantage in the bottom of the third inning after another Thomas single to left center was followed by Joe Dillon?s team leading 42nd RBI, a line-drive double to the left center field wall. Dillon advanced to third on a balk by Lumsden before Rottino added his 29th RBI of the year with a sacrifice fly.

 

AUDIO: Joe Dillon RBI Double --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...206-18.mp3

 

Omaha got on the board in the fourth inning when designated hitter Billy Butler led off with a double off of the batter?s eye, his second two-bagger of the game. Mike Aviles then moved him to third base with a single into left field before Butler scored thanks to a Jorge Padilla sacrifice fly.

 

Nashville struck again in the bottom of the fourth when Ozzie Chavez singled to center. Callix Crabbe then reached on a three-base fielding error by Omaha first baseman Craig Brazell that allowed Chavez to score and Crabbe to advance to third base. Chris Barnwell moved Crabbe home with a sacrifice fly to center field to make it a 6-1 contest.

 

The Royals added another run in the top of the sixth with the help of a leadoff walk to second baseman Richard Lewis, who then moved to second with his second stolen base of the year. Former American League Rookie-of-the-Year Angel Berroa then sent him home with an RBI single to left field, bringing the score to its final 6-2.

 

Lumsden (5-5, 5.40) took the loss for the Royals after surrendering six runs (four earned) on eight hits over four frames.

 

Dennis Sarfate followed Jackson on the hill and threw two scoreless innings of relief, striking out one, before Greg Aquino finished the game with a scoreless top of the ninth.

 

The Sounds enjoy an off day tomorrow and will resume their homestand on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. series opener against the division-rival Iowa Cubs. Southpaw Manny Parra will make his Sounds debut in the series opener against Cubs right-hander John Webb (1-4, 6.04).

 

Nashville Box Score:

The "other" Ryan Braun in relief for Omaha; somebody on this Nashville roster must be moved once Tony Gwynn arrives in a day or two...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 3, Tennessee (Cubs) 2

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1226

 

Stars Start Second Half With a Win

 

Sam Narron worked eight strong innings and Michael Brantley doubled in what turned out to be the decisive runs in Huntsville?s 3-2 win over Tennessee Monday night in the first game of the second half of the season at Smokies Park. The Stars won their third straight game to improve to 38-31 overall, while the Smokies dipped to 36-33 overall after their second straight loss and third in their last four games. Each of the Stars last four wins have been by a 3-2 margin, as they improved to 13-7 in one-run games.

 

Hernan Iribarren opened the game with a walk, moved to third base on a hit and run single by Brantley and scored when Steve Sollmann grounded into a double play. The lead did not last long, as Jake Fox clubbed a two-out, two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the inning to stake the Smokies to a 2-1 lead. Stars? starter Sam Narron has now been scored on in the first inning in four of his seven starts away from home and in eight of his 14 starts overall.

 

Alcides Escobar, in his double-A debut, led off the third with a single, stole second and daringly advanced to third base on a ground ball to shortstop off the bat of Iribarren, who reached on the fielder?s choice. Brantley then delivered his double into the left field corner to plate both runners to close the scoring on both sides.

 

Narron retired eleven in a row after a Matt Craig single in the fourth before Joe Simokaitis singled in the eighth. He worked out of the inning and finished off his third eight-inning performance of the year to earn his third win and first on the road in seven tries. Narron allowed four hits, walked one and struck out four and was followed by David Johnson, who retired the side in order in the ninth inning, including a game-ending fly ball to left by Fox that was caught in front of the wall by Brantley. The right-hander earned his first double-A save one day after picking up the win in the Stars? North Division clinching victory.

 

The series continues Tuesday night, as right-hander Corey Thurman will take the hill for Huntsville against Smokies? right-hander Kevin Hart. Coverage of the game begins at 6:00 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1

[bobskube]

Mass Haas...

 

Please tell these guys that Rottino is not suited for the Brewers this year.

 

I am sooo sick about hearing about him.

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

FOUR OF A KIND

ALCIDES ESCOBAR MAKES HIS STARS DEBUT

With a first half title out of the way, the Huntsville Stars now go about the business of preparation -- that is, staying sharp and keeping a momentum going for the Northern Division title series in September, and it all started tonight on the right foot.

 

Sam Narron (3-5) worked eight strong innings on just three days rest, owing to the fact that manager Don Money yanked him after just 1 2/3 innings last Friday in the 1st game of a double-header in that crucial final series against Birmingham........ As he did at Joe Davis Stadium, Narron couldn't avoid again getting into 1st inning trouble. Out of 14 starts this season, Narron has given up at least a run in eight of them, 22 in all on 33 hits and just four walks......... But once he gets past the 1st, and settles down, he's tougher to deal with -- a 2.81 ERA from the 2nd-4th inning before he hits a bump in the 5th (5.40 ERA in the 5th inning)...... Tonight, Narron made it to the 8th inning for just the 3rd time this season, and the first time since May 28 against Montgomery and he didn't have to wait around long to pick up the run that would give him his 1st victory since the 28th.

 

Alcides Escobar, making his Stars debut, led off the 3rd inning with a single to center, then stole 2nd after Narron failed to bunt him over........ Daringly, he advanced to 3rd on a grounder by Hernan Iribarren. Then Michael Brantley delivered what would be the deciding blow -- a double into the left field corner to score both runners, giving the Stars a 3-2 lead after the Smokies took a 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the 1st....... Jake Fox, hitting just .217 this month, smacked a two-out, two-run HR to give the Smokies the lead.

 

Oddly, the Stars' last four wins have been by a 3-2 margin as they improve to 13-7 in one-run games this year, their 6th this month, the most for June since 2001........ The oddity of consecutive victories by the same score has happened many times before, to be sure. It happened last year against Chattanooga by a 9-8 count, which kicked off a phenomenal August. But three days let alone four? I looked back in the records and it's never happened.

 

Narron managed to set down 11 straight after Matt Craig singled to right with one out in the 4th...... It wasn't until the 8th that Joe Simokaitis had the next hit, and then Narron worked out of the inning, before yielding to David Johnson, who picked up the save.

 

Tomorrow, Corey Thurman, who picked up where Narron left off in his last start, giving up just two hits in 5 1/3 innings, gets the start against Kevin Hart (4-5, 5.50) who will be seeing Stars for the first time........ Hart is 2-0, 3.15 in three starts this month. Lefties have hit the right-hander for a .319 average this season.

 

Fans have yet to see their new shortstop, Alcides Escobar, of course, but while he doesn't compare to Yohannis Perez, who was sent to Brevard County, on paper, he made two great plays at short tonight, the second coming in the 7th inning when Matt Craig hit a hard grounder up the middle. Escobar ranged over behind the bag at 2nd, spun around, and fired a strike to Sollmann for the out........ Perez, who hit .195 in 56 games, was 4-for-44 in June, and did not play in the Manatees' 7-1 win over Vero Beach tonight.

 

The Stars finished the 1st half with a 37-31 record -- their best 1st half since 2003, when they went to the Championship Series against Carolina...... The Stars also finished the 1st half with a 9-1 record on Sundays and 17-4 in daylight.

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.knoxnews.com/kns/smok...86,00.html

 

Stars' Escobar is Smokies' demise

Huntsville takes first game of second half

By BOB HODGE, hodge@knews.com

 

SEVIERVILLE - The Tennessee Smokies started the second half of the Southern League season the way they ended the first half: Just a little bit behind the Huntsville Stars.

A night after a one-run loss to West Tennessee cost the Smokies a first-half tie with Huntsville, the Stars came to Sevierville and won 3-2 Monday in the first game of a six-game series. The teams play again tonight at 7:15 (6:15 Central) at Smokies Park.

 

Tennessee manager Pat Listach didn't blame the loss on any lingering hangover from the close-but-no-cigar first-half finish. He pointed a finger at Stars' shortstop Alcides Escobar.

 

"The difference in the game was their shortstop," Listach said. "He made some big-league plays out there in the middle."

 

Escobar had a hand in eight putouts, the biggest running down a hard grounder by Gary Cates then throwing Cates out at first for the Smokies' first out of the ninth inning.

 

"That's a big play in the ninth if he wasn't there," Listach said.

 

Huntsville also got eight innings of starting pitching from Sam Narron, who earned the win. Narron (3-5) scattered four hits, two the final seven innings.

 

But highlight-reel shortstop play and good pitching were helped by a questionable call in the third inning.

 

With Escobar on second, Huntsville leadoff hitter Hernan Iribarren hit a hard grounder to Tennessee shortstop Joe Simokaitis. First base was open, but Escobar broke for third and Simokaitis flipped the ball to third baseman Issmael Salas.

 

Salas appeared to tag Escobar before he got to the bag, but third base umpire Darrell Arnold didn't see it that way.

 

That brought Listach out of the dugout.

 

"I thought the guy was out by quite a lot," said Listach, who thought Escobar should have been called out on principle. "He should have been out for dumb base running."

 

After the play and argument, Huntsville's Michael Brantley hit a two-run double into the left-field corner for what turned out to be the winning runs.

 

Justin Berg (3-5) took the loss for Tennessee despite allowing only four hits through six innings.

 

Berg allowed the first two Huntsville batters to reach base in the first, but got out of the inning allowing one run when Steve Sollmann hit into a double play and Lou Palmisano struck out.

 

Jake Fox gave Tennessee a 2-1 lead in the first inning with a towering two-run home run that bounced off the bottom of the scoreboard.

 

Fox came within a few feet of forcing extra innings, but another towering shot with two out in the bottom of the ninth was caught on the warning track.

 

"Before the game, I told them they had no reason to hold their heads down," Listach said. "We did some good things in the first half and I told them to build on it."

[Mass Haas]

MiLB.com Notes:

 

Manatees sting Devil Rays

 

David Welch and two relievers combined on a three-hitter as host Brevard County defeated Vero Beach, 7-1, on Monday.

 

Welch (3-2) allowed one run on two hits while fanning one over five frames for the win. Vince Perkins yielded one hit over three shutout innings and Rafael Lluberes gave up a walk and struck out two in a hitless ninth inning.

 

Ned Yost went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Manatees (40-28). The 24-year-old first baseman ripped an RBI single in a two-run second, lined a base hit in the sixth and cracked a run-scoring single in a four-run seventh to raise his average to .315.

 

Mat Gamel went 1-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 17 games for Brevard County.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=56740

 

Streaking Sounds gain Gwynn

By Nate Rau, Sports Correspondent

 

Just as the Nashville Sounds continued to hit their stride by winning their sixth consecutive game, the team received word that Tony Gwynn would soon be re-joining the team.

 

The Sounds washed away the Omaha Royals 6-2 on a thunderstorm-filled Monday afternoon game at Greer Stadium featuring two rain delays.

 

The win is the sixth in a row for Nashville and culminates a four-game sweep of the Royals.

 

The first-place Sounds (42-29) own the best record in the Pacific Coast League. And adding Gwynn to the roster surely won?t hurt. Gwynn was optioned by Milwaukee to Nashville on Monday to make room for second baseman Rickie Weeks, who is returning from the disabled list.

 

Gwynn got the demotion instead of teammate Gabe Gross, despite having better numbers this season. Gwynn is hitting .301 with six stolen bases, while Gross has a batting average of just .191.

 

Being forced to send a talented outfielder like Gwynn, who might be the Brewers? best stolen base threat, to the minors speaks to how talented the Brewers? roster has become.

 

?I guess he?s just a victim of the situation,? Sounds shortstop Chris Barnwell, a teammate of Gwynn?s last season, said. ?He?s doing great up there. Any time someone?s doing good, you never want to see them come down. Just like there are a lot of guys here who could go up there and do good.

 

?There?s more to it than just who?s the best player. I wish Tony never got back down because he?s a big league quality player. But the good thing is, he?ll come down and get better. He knows he?s got a long career ahead of him and it?s just a learning opportunity.?

 

As for the game itself, the Sounds were never seriously threatened. There were two separate rain delays totaling 68 minutes, neither of which took away from the Sounds? momentum.

 

It was a full team effort. The offense pounded out six runs on 10 hits, with virtually everybody chipping in. The Sounds got on the scoreboard in two-run intervals ? putting up two in the first, third and fourth. Charles Thomas, Joe Dillon and Vinny Rottino each had two-hit games for Nashville.

 

Zach Jackson (8-3) did his part on the mound, scattering seven hits for two earned runs.

 

Dennis Sarfate and Greg Aquino threw three scoreless innings in relief of Jackson.

 

?We?ve got some good stuff going right now,? Barnwell said. ?Same thing as always, good hitting, good fielding, good pitching, good baserunning and we capitalized on their mistakes.?

 

The Sounds are off today, before welcoming second-place Iowa to Greer for a four-game set.

 

The Brewers will have to clear a spot on the Sounds roster in order to make room for Gwynn, but no transaction was made Monday.