Link Report for Games of Friday, August 10th

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF!

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: LHP Adam Pettyjohn at home vs. Albuquerque (Marlins), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

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

 

Audio link:

www.huntsvillestars.com/

 

Brevard County: TBD at Fort Myers (Twins), 4:50 pre-game, 5:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

http://miraclebaseball.com/

 

NOTE: This link is for the Miracle's broadcast team.

 

West Virginia: RHP Chris Toneguzzi at home vs. Savannah (Mets), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime

 

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

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

 

Helena: LHP Bobby Bramhall with RHP Robert Bryson scheduled to follow up in a tandem role, at Orem (Angels), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime

 

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

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

 

Arizona: TBD at home in Maryvale vs. the Rangers' newbies, 7:00 PM local time in Arizona, 9:00 Central; never any audio for Arizona Rookie League games

[Mass Haas]

Follow Friday'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:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_albaaa_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_biraax_hunaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_breafa_ftmafa_1&did=t503&sid=t503

 

West Virginia:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_savafx_wvaafx_1

 

Helena:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_helrok_orerok_1

 

Arizona:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_rngrok_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 Thursday's action:

Arizona League 2nd Half Standings:

Arizona Rookie is 11-27 overall...

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...;period=h2

 

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 71 47 .602 - 37-17 34-30 L1 Iowa 65 54 .546 6.5 39-25 26-29 W1 Omaha 59 60 .496 12.5 38-21 21-39 L1 Memphis 48 71 .403 23.5 26-34 22-37 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 30 17 .638 - 15-7 15-10 W8 Chattanooga 27 20 .574 3.0 14-11 13-9 W4 Tennessee 24 23 .511 6.0 17-10 7-13 L1 Carolina 22 25 .468 8.0 14-11 8-14 L2 West Tenn 19 28 .404 11.0 9-16 10-12 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 25 19 .568 - 15-9 10-10 L2 St. Lucie 22 23 .489 3.5 9-13 13-10 W1 Jupiter 19 24 .442 5.5 10-10 9-14 L2 Palm Beach 20 26 .435 6.0 11-15 9-11 L2 Daytona 19 28 .404 7.5 10-16 9-12 W1 Vero Beach 11 32 .256 13.5 6-16 5-16 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hickory 30 17 .638 - 17-9 13-8 W4 Lakewood 24 21 .533 5.0 13-10 11-11 W2 Lake County 22 23 .489 7.0 10-14 12-9 L1 Delmarva 22 24 .478 7.5 9-15 13-9 L1 Greensboro 22 25 .468 8.0 14-7 8-18 W2 Lexington 20 27 .426 10.0 13-11 7-16 W1 West Virginia 20 27 .426 10.0 11-10 9-17 L1 Hagerstown 14 32 .304 15.5 9-15 5-17 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Falls 7 3 .700 - 3-0 4-3 W1 Billings 6 4 .600 1.0 3-1 3-3 W4 Missoula 5 5 .500 2.0 4-2 1-3 L1 Helena 3 7 .300 4.0 2-5 1-2 W1 

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 5, Savannah (Mets) 2

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

LaPORTA HOMERS IN POWER VICTORY

Matt LaPorta's first home run in a Power uniform was a two-run shot in the fourth inning of Friday night's game at Appalachian Power Park. It gave the Power a 2-1 lead, and they never trailed again, defeating the Sand Gnats 5-2.

In the top of the second, Chris Toneguzzi walked Luis Rivera with the bases loaded to put the Sand Gnats on the board. LaPorta's shot put the Power on top 2-1. The Sand Gnats tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth inning when Joe Holden scored on D.J. Wabick's groundout.

The Power took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth on Chuckie Caufield's first of two sacrifice flies. Caufield's second sac fly plated Jimmy Mojica in the seventh inning, and Mojica tripled in the eighth to score Taylor Green.

Toneguzzi (5-3) got the win, allowing two runs, one earned, on seven hits with four strikeouts over five and a third. Omar Aguilar (9) got the save and Nelson Portillo (3-9) was tagged with the loss after surrendering three runs on six hits over six innings. D.J. Lidyard tossed two and two thirds scoreless innings or relief.

The Power improved to 69-46 overall and 21-26 in the second half, while the Sand Gnats fell to 35-81 overall and 15-31 in the second half with the loss. Andrew LeFave and Taylor Green both had two hits for the Power. Chuckie Caufield went 1-for-2 with a run and two RBI, leading off for the first time this season.

The Power will finish the four game series with Savannah Saturday night. The Power will start right hander Jeremy Jeffress (7-5, 3.49) and the Sand Gnats will counter with right hander Greg Mullens (4-3, 4.38). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

West Virginia Box Score:
Taylor Green doubles and reaches three times; as noted yesterday, when doesn't Andrew LeFave have two hits?

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_savafx_wvaafx_1

West Virginia Game Log:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_10_savafx_wvaafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Helena 3, Orem (Angels) 0

Helena Box Score:

Bobby Bramhall goes six innings and Robert Bryson three to combine on a seven-hitter, striking out 13 and walking only one; 2007 4th rounder Eric Farris starting to win us over, on base three times; Kurt Crowell jacks his 4th home run; Scotty McKnight just can't get the ball to drop, now 5-for-40 but with only six K's...

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_helrok_orerok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

Game log confirms the outstanding pitching lines were well-earned -- sweet...

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_10_helrok_orerok_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Fort Myers (Twins) 4, Brevard County 1

 

MiLB.com:

Miracle wins with three hits

Juan Portes' home run was one of only three hits for Fort Myers as the Miracle defeated Brevard County, 4-1, on Friday at William Hammond Stadium.

The second-consecutive three-run first for the Miracle began with a hit-by-pitch to Brian Dinkelman followed by a four pitch walk to Steve Tolleson. After a one-out walk to Dustin Martin loaded the bases, a groundball from Portes would bring in Dinkelman for a 1-0 lead.

 

On the same play, a throwing error by Mike Bell at second allowed Tolleson to score as well making it a two-run lead. Danny Valencia then came up and gave the Miracle a 3-0 lead with his RBI single to right. Two innings later, Portes connected for his eighth homer as he went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

Dustin Martin and Daniel Valencia had the other hits for Fort Myers, both singles.

Starter Kyle Waldrop (5-3) limited the Manatees to one run on four hits over seven innings, hitting a batter, walking another and striking out three. He was dominant early, retiring 15 of the first 16 batters he faced. Robert Delaney earned his third save after pitching a scoreless ninth.

The Manatees (25-20) broke up Waldrop's shutout bid in the sixth when Yohannis Perez singled up the middle with one out, scoring Nestor Corredor from second.

Starter Brae Wright (0-2) was the tough-luck loser, giving up four runs - three earned - on two hits, two walks, a wild pitch and a hit batter over seven innings.

 

The Miracle will look to make it a perfect week on Saturday night in game three against Brevard County. The Miracle will send right-hander Zach Ward (3-15, 3.21) against Manatees righty Mike McClendon (4-3, 3.90) at 7:05 PM (6:05 Central) -- Michael Echan/MLB.com

 

Brevard County Box Score:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_breafa_ftmafa_1

 

Brevard County Game Log:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_10_breafa_ftmafa_1

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Brewer Minor League Pitching Coordinator Jim Rooney (Part 1 of 2):

http://www.nashvillesounds.com/audio/2007/Interview%208-10.mp3

[Mass Haas]

Final: Albuquerque (Marlins) 7, Nashville 6

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Adam Pettyjohn photo, text follows --

 

http://www.nashvillesounds.com/news/news.asp?newsId=2499

 

Sounds Drop Homestand Opener To Isotopes

 

NASHVILLE - The Nashville Sounds dropped their series opener against the Albuquerque Isotopes, 7-6, on Friday evening at Greer Stadium in front of a Faith Night crowd of 7,862.

 

With the loss, Nashville's lead in the division drops to 5 1/2 games over the Iowa Cubs, who won their game earlier in the evening. The Sounds' last six losses have now been decided by one run.

 

Sounds outfielders Drew Anderson (1-for-3) and Gabe Gross (2-for-4) both extended their season-best hit streaks. Anderson has now hit safely in 12 straight contests and Gross has registered a hit in nine straight.

 

It was an evening of missed opportunities for the Sounds (71-48), who left 12 men on base and finished 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position.

 

Albuquerque (59-59) jumped on the board first in the top of the third. Josh Labandeira led off the inning by swinging at the third strike but reached when the wild pitch got past catcher Mike Rivera. Two batters later, Robert Andino drove a 1-0 pitch over the left-centerfield wall for his ninth home run of the season, giving Albuquerque a 2-0 advantage.

 

The Isotopes added another in the top of the fourth. Valentino Pascucci led off and reached on a Chris Barnwell throwing error. Pascucci moved to second on his third stolen bag of the year before scoring on Brett Carrroll's double to deep left-center, bringing the score to 3-0.

 

Nashville (71-48) got one back in the bottom of the frame. Rivera led off the inning with a double down the left field line and came around to score two batters later when Laynce Nix singled to right. It was Nix's 49th RBI of the year.

 

Albuquerque scored three more in the top of the fifth, partially thanks to Pascucci's two-run opposite field blast. The All-Star slugger now has 29 longballs on the year and is tied for second in the PCL.

 

Nashville put another run on the board in the fifth inning when Gross hit a one-out single up the middle before stealing his first base as a Sound. He scored thanks to Anderson's follow-up double.

 

Nix led off the next inning with a single to right and moved to second on a Brad Nelson infield single. After a double steal put men at second and third with no outs, Barnwell grounded to short, plating Nix. Jose Macias followed with an identical at-bat, grounding out to short and scoring Nelson to bring the score to 7-4.

 

The Sounds pulled one run closer in the eighth when Nelson scored on a throwing error by pitcher Nate Field before threatening in the bottom of the ninth. Nix walked with one out before Barnwell hit a line-drive single to center that was bobbled by Eric Reed. Nix scored on the error and Barnwell advanced to second, but the Sounds could not take advantage of the opportunity.

 

Sounds starter Adam Pettyjohn (9-3) took the loss after giving up five earned runs in six innings. The defeat snapped a six-start winning streak for the left-hander.

 

Starter Kenny Baugh (6-7) got the win for Albuquerque after throwing 5 1/3 innings and giving up four earned runs. Roy Corcoran earned his tenth save of the year by throwing 1 1/3 innings of relief.

 

Despite the loss, Nashville set a season high by stealing six bases, one shy of the franchise record. The club's previous high in 2007 was three.

 

The Sounds continue their series against Albuquerque tomorrow when right-hander Mark DiFelice (2-0, 2.83) takes the mound against former Sounds right-hander Wes Obermueller (0-1, 3.48) at 6:00 p.m.

 

Nashville Box Score:

Callix Crabbe 3-for-5; the 7th inning home run Steve Bray surrendered to former Brewer AAA farmhand Andrew Beattie proved costly...

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_albaaa_nasaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_10_albaaa_nasaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 6, Huntsville 2

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

http://www.huntsvillestars.com/news/news.asp?newsId=1315

 

Barons Bring Stars Win String To a Halt

 

David Cook continued his offensive assault on Southern League pitching and Ryan Wing was outstanding for 5 2/3 innings in Birmingham's 6-2 win over Huntsville Friday night in the middle contest of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars saw their eight-game win streak come to an end, as they dropped to 30-18 in the second half, but they were able to maintain their three-game lead over Chattanooga, which fell at Montgomery, in the North Division, while the Barons improved to 21-27 in the second half and 53-65 overall.

 

Stars' starter Lindsay Gulin and Wing threw four scoreless innings before Adam Shabala hit a one-out home run in the fifth to give the Barons the lead. Chris Getz then reached on an infield single and Cook followed with a home run to right-center field just beyond the reach of leaping center fielder Steve Moss to make it 3-0. Cook has collected six long balls, knocked in 14 and scored at least once in each of his eight games with the Barons. The visitors tacked on another run in the sixth when Gulin uncorked his third wild pitch of the night allowing Victor Merecedes to score from third base. The veteran southpaw was charged with four runs on seven hits over six innings and lost for the first time since June 11 at West Tenn to fall to 11-4, ending a personal seven-game win streak.

 

Wing retired 17 of the first 18 batters he faced before Moss doubled and scored on a Ryan Crew single with two outs in the sixth. Hernan Iribarren then reached on an infield single and Adam Heether walked to load the bases and chase Wing from the game. Adam Russell came on and got Lou Palmisano to ground into a force out at third to end the frame. Wing improved to 6-5 and has allowed one run in 10 2/3 innings over his two starts at the Joe this season.

 

The teams traded runs in the seventh inning and Mercedes' two-out single in the ninth off Vince Perkins plated Chris Kelly to account for the final margin. Oneli Perez tossed two shutout innings in relief of Russell to nail down his 13th save and help hold the Stars under ten hits for just a second time in the last eight games.

 

The series continues Saturday night with left-hander Steve Hammond taking the hill for Huntsville against Barons' right-hander Kyle McCulloch. 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:

Carlos Corporan the only Star to reach base twice (double, single)...

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_biraax_hunaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_10_biraax_hunaax_1

[Mass Haas]

Helena KCAP Pre-Game Audio Interview with 2007 35th round infielder Curt Rindal out of the University of Washington:

Be sure you're on the archive of the 10th, and go to the 8:30 minute mark -- good moustache talk...

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/multimedia/audio.jsp

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Rangers 6, Arizona Brewers 1

Arizona Box Score:

Bryan Crosby's 3rd inning ground single to right was the only Brewer hit; lefty Kristian Bueno with his best outing of the year by far (six IP, two ER); RHP Luis Guerrero, barely 17, has been very good, so his relief numbers here disappoint...

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_rngrok_brrrok_1

 

Arizona Game Log:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_rngrok_brrrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070811/SPORTS0401/708110371/1328/SPORTS

 

Home runs help end Pettyjohn's win streak

By MIKE ORGAN

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Even in the blazing heat Sounds ace Adam Pettyjohn cooled off Friday night in a 7-6 loss to Albuquerque.

 

The southpaw, who had earned victories in each of his last six games, gave up home runs in the third and fifth innings on the way to falling behind 6-4 before a Greer Stadium crowd of 7,862 in the first of an eight-game homestand for the Sounds.

 

It wasn't the first time Pettyjohn (9-3) had shown his vulnerability in giving up home runs. While he had won 11 of his previous 14 outings, Pettyjohn had given up home runs in eight of his nine Pacific Coast League wins.

 

Nashville remained in first place with a 5½-game lead over Iowa.

 

On Friday, it was Albuquerque center fielder Robert Andino who hit the first homer off Pettyjohn.

 

Andino's two-run shot over the left field wall was followed in the fifth by a two-run homer by Val Pascucci, which gave the Isotopes a 6-1 lead.

 

"The one to Pascucci wasn't a bad pitch, but he's just a big strong guy and he likes the ball over the outside of the plate,'' Pettyjohn said. "The one to Andino wasn't a bad pitch. It was a cutter down and in and he just got a good piece of the bat on the ball. It happens sometime.

 

"Control has always been my strong point. You throw enough strikes in the zone and you rely on contact, they're bound to pop a couple here and there."

 

Pettyjohn was pulled after the sixth and replaced by Steve Bray, who wasn't able to cool off Albuquerque's bats. The first batter Bray faced, former Sound Andrew Beattie, clubbed a home run.

 

In the eighth Brad Nelson scored on an error by Isotopes pitcher Nate Field to trim Albuquerque's lead to 7-5. The Sounds loaded the bases with two outs, but Roy Corcoran struck out Mike Rivera.

 

In the ninth, Laynce Nix scored from second on an error by Isotope center fielder Eric Reed, but Ozzie Chavez grounded out to end the game.

 

What they said: "We got 13 hits and they made some errors, too, that allowed us to get some guys on, move them around and score." - Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas.

 

***

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070811/SPORTS0401/708110372/1328/SPORTS

 

Macias returns to Sounds after battling knee injury

By MIKE ORGAN

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

In order to fill the roster spot left by Rickie Weeks, who was recalled by the Milwaukee Brewers to replace veteran infielder Tony Graffanino (knee injury), the Sounds activated utilityman Jose Macias.

 

Macias has recovered from patellar tendinitis in his left knee. He had missed 13 games after being deactivated on July 27.

 

Macias has two hits in his last 43 at-bats. He pinch-hit for pitcher Adam Pettyjohn in the sixth inning Friday and hit a ground ball that scored Brad Nelson, cutting Albuquerque's lead to 6-4.

 

Weeks batted .455 with three doubles, a triple, three RBIs and scored five runs in six games on Nashville's last road trip.

 

Nixing a slump: Laynce Nix, who entered Friday's game having just eight hits in his previous 72 at-bats (.111), hit a double to deep right field in the second inning. Nix added an RBI single in the fourth, scoring Mike Rivera, and hit a single in the sixth.

 

Season high: The Sounds recorded a season-high six stolen bases. The previous high this season was three in nine different games.

 

Streaking: Outfielder Drew Anderson doubled in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.

 

Outfielder Gabe Gross got Nashville's first hit Friday, a single to right field in the first inning, to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Gross has hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games.

 

Carroll update: Former Middle Tennessee State star Brett Carroll, the Isotopes' center fielder, reached in the second inning on an error committed by Nelson. Carroll added an RBI double to the center field warning track in the fourth, giving Albuquerque a 3-0 lead.

 

Smith in the house: Contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Michael W. Smith, on hand for the Sounds' weekly Faith Night, threw out the opening pitch. Smith also sang the national anthem.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

http://www.al.com/stars/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/sports/1186823716321080.xml&coll=1

 

Stars less than stellar

Barons halt Huntsville's roll with 6-2 win

By BRAD SHEPARD

For the Huntsville Times

 

For the better part of the past two months, Stars starting pitcher Lindsay Gulin has been brilliant at baffling hitters.

 

For the better part of the past week, the Stars' offense has looked like it could hit blindfolded.

 

For the better part of Friday night, then, the world must have tilted on its axis. Both of those things turned upside down.

 

Gulin finally looked human against Birmingham, allowing four runs in six innings as the Barons snapped Huntsville's eight-game winning streak with a 6-2 win in front of a crowd of 6,651 at Joe Davis Stadium. It was the largest home crowd since July 21.

 

"Unfortunately, it's part of the game," said Stars center fielder Steve Moss, who was 1-for-4 with the first run scored. "Obviously, you try to go out there and be on the other side.

 

"We'll just go out tomorrow and start a new streak."

 

Not only did Gulin lose for the first time since mid-June, going back seven decisions, but the Stars (30-18, 67-49) couldn't string together any hits, either. Birmingham starter Ryan Wing did his best Gulin impression, giving up only four hits and a run in 5 2/3 innings.

 

After Wing left, Huntsville managed only one other run.

 

"He was changing speeds very well," Stars manager Don Money said of Wing.

 

"He had our guys swinging early. He did a great job."

 

Added Moss: "He's obviously been watching us, because he did his best to exploit our weaknesses, and he got the best of us."

 

Both pitchers were cruising along until the fifth when Adam Shabala smacked his second home run of the series to give the Barons (21-27, 53-65) a 1-0 lead. Following an infield single by Chris Getz, David Cook belted a Gulin pitch over the right-center field wall for a two-run homer and a 3-0 lead.

 

Birmingham tacked on an insurance run the next inning when it got a couple of hits, and Victor Mercedes raced home on a Gulin wild pitch to make it 4-0. Neither David Johnson nor Vince Perkins was very effective in relief afterward.

 

Though Gulin was not at his sharpest to be sure, Money said he pitched pretty well other than a couple of bad choices. The manager specifically mentioned the home run pitch to Shabala.

 

"I think he just made a bad pitch selection there," Money said. "He wanted to come in, and to me, that's not the pitch to go in on because the wind - when there was a wind - was blowing out in the right-field corner."

 

Huntsville's bats finally awoke a little in the sixth when the Stars pushed across a run. Then, they loaded the bases with two outs, but Lou Palmisano grounded into a force play to end the inning.

 

That was where the rallies ended. Huntsville tacked on another run in the seventh, but the Stars never threatened to seriously tackle the Barons' lead.

 

"We just didn't do very many things well tonight," Money said.

 

The Stars and Barons will continue their series tonight at 7:05 as Kyle McCulloch will take the mound against Huntsville's resurgent Steve Hammond.

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

http://www.starsboxscore.com/

 

BARONS WING IT

GULIN's TO WAIT TILL THURSDAY FOR WIN #12

 

Birmingham didn't need a wing and a prayer Friday night to contain a Stars offense that was bashing the ball at a .331 clip over the last seven games. Just a Wing...... Ryan Wing (1-1, 3.38 vs. the Stars in two previous starts), retired 17 of 18 hitters until he ran out of gas in the 6th, but got a pair of home runs in the 5th for support as the Barons snapped two winning streaks -- Huntsville's eight-game win streak, and Lindsay Gulin's seven-gamer......... Gulin had not lost since June 11 when West Tennessee beat the Stars, 1-0, on a Matt Tuiasosopo HR.

 

A good crowd of over 6,600, eager for fireworks, and perhaps lured in by a Redstone Federal Credit Union buyout, braved the continuing heat wave, which seems to be growing worse by the day........ The temperature an hour before game-time was 99º. It cooled off maybe by a degree or two by the time it started (other sources will vary), but to my memory, it was the hottest temperature I've sat through in my 22 years of coming to this stadium....... As bad as it sounds, though, the Arizona-like heat was mitigated by an occasional breeze blowing in, and a 26% relative humidity, which made watching this game more tolerable, certainly than Thursday.

 

Brendan Katin entered the game as the Southern League's active HR and RBI leader after West Tennessee's Charlton Jimerson was promoted to Tacoma....... That's good news for the Stars who play the Diamond Jaxx at Pringles Park starting Tuesday...... Jimerson was the backbone of their offense, hitting .276 with 23 HRs and 73 RBIs and 30 stolen bases and was leading the league in slugging........ Katin, unfortunately, isn't the offensive threat Jimerson was in this league for one reason --- he's struck out 137 times this season, and is just nine away from tying Brad Nelson's club strikeout record, which stood for almost 20 years until he broke it in 2004...... Katin, who has struck out at a .349 rate, is certain to smash it to pieces.

 

In contrast to the hitting parade we saw the last two nights, Wing and Gulin were dueling each other for four innings...... While all the Stars could muster was Carlos Corporan's two-out double to left in the 3rd, the Barons were getting on base, although not in bunches -- at least until the 5th....... Gulin, who rarely throws in the mid-80s, is successful because he keeps hitters off-balance and can locate his pitches well. And, it's worth emphasizing, no one can really hit a ball that's thrown in the low 70s well........ Remember a game last year -- August 25th, in fact, when the Stars and Mississippi Braves battled to 14 innings at the Joe. Jeff Blauser's bullpen was so depleted that he was forced to use coach David Williams and catcher Ray Serrano on the mound in the last 3 2/3 innings........ In the 7th, 8th, and 9th, the Stars banged out eight hits, but could only score three runs to force the game into extra innings. Now it seems the Stars should have taken target practice on the Braves' two emergency subs, but Williams and Serrano lollipopped their way to four scoreless innings of one-hit ball....... Huntsville hitters, overanxious perhaps, and cutting the ball underneath, were popping everything up. They couldn't drive the ball deep at the speed they were being thrown...... The point to this is, part of Gulin's effectiveness lies in that it's hard for opposing hitters to drive a ball far when it is thrown at such a low velocity.

 

Early on, Gulin used the fast ball to set up the change, then relied on the change and curve more as the game progressed...... He struck out five -- all of them on change-ups....... He threw 13 of his first 19 pitches for strikes but wore down in the 6th, throwing only 14 of 27 for strikes. In the end, he threw 104 pitches, 66 for strikes (63.4%)........ With his soft stuff, he's also been able to avoid the long ball, giving up just nine home runs in 95 innings into tonight. But in the space of three batters in the 5th, Andy Shabala and David Cook went deep on him, giving the Barons a game-deciding 3-0 lead........ Shabala's home run, his 2nd in as many days (his only ones with Birmingham) flew over the Hardees sign, which makes up the top wall in right field, about 375' away...... After Chris Getz singled through the legs of Hernan Iribarren, which was originally ruled an error, Cook planted one over the wall, almost to dead-center, about 410'......

 

The closest the Stars came to the long ball was a shot by Steve Moss in the 6th -- one of the last batters Wing faced. Moss hit an 0-1 pitch deep to left-center that bounced off the top of the railing on the wall to the left of the scoreboard, and bounced back in. Moss got a double out of that, and scored on Ryan Crew's single on a 2-2 pitch right up the middle........ Crew (.320 in August) has now hit safely in five of his last six games and driven in six runs.

 

Saturday, the Barons will trot out an unknown -- right-hander Kyle McCulloch (7-7, 3.64 at Winston-Salem), making just his 2nd appearance. The Stars counter with Steve Hammond, 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA in his last 13 appearances, three of them out of the bullpen.

 

The Sollmanns are proud new parents of a baby girl. Mother and baby are doing fine. Let's hope this starts a nice long hitting streak for Steve, who is 5-for-29 (.172) in August.

 

Released in June by the Los Angeles Angels' farm club at Arkansas, Chris Saenz has joined the independent ranks, signing with Reno of the Golden League.

[Mass Haas]

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Owlz handed shutout by Brewers

By Jason Adkins

For the Deseret Morning News

 

OREM - Twenty-five games are left in the Pioneer League season for the Orem Owlz, and they aren't out of contention yet. But they need to get it together quickly to secure a playoff berth for the seventh straight year.

 

A 3-0 loss by Orem (5-6, 22-27 overall) to the Helena Brewers (4-7, 30-19) Friday didn't help their cause heading into the final weeks of the season.

 

Helena lefty Bobby Bramhall (2-0, 2.70 ERA) got the win, striking out eight and lasting six innings in his second start of the season. Robert Bryson earned his eighth save in three innings of relief.

 

"He had us discombobulated," Orem manager Tom Kotchman said of Bramhall's performance.

 

Instead of scoring runs as he did in Thursday's game, Helena's Curt Rindal used his bat to give his team their first run in the top of the first by smacking an RBI single down the third-base line. Two straight leadoff hits by the Brewers set up the scoring situation.

 

Not to be outdone by the Brewers staff, Orem starter Jordan Walden (1-1) settled down and notched seven strikeouts in five innings of work after his issues early on. His relief staff couldn't follow his lead as Helena increased their margin.

 

Kurt Crowell put the Brewers' lead to three runs in the seventh with a two-run blast over the shallow right-field fence. Rindal led off the inning with a double that got past the diving glove of Jay Brossman at third.

 

"He (Derek Schlecker) gave up a home run that is not a home run in most ballparks," said Kotchman.

 

Orem's best chance for a run came in their turn of the fifth. Hector Estrella singled, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball that put him in position for the tying score. Two outs didn't give Orem's batters many options to bring him home, and Bramhall used his slider to almost perfection in getting the final out of the frame.

 

Another chance for Orem to score was for naught as they couldn't break through in the seventh. Brossman started off the inning with a double, but was stranded at second after two strikeouts and a flyout ended their hopes of putting something on the board.

 

Orem continues its series against Helena tonight at 7:00 PM (6:00 Central) at Brown Ballpark.

 

***

Bramhall and Brewers shut down Orem

Helena Independent Record

OREM, Utah-The Helena Brewers got a quality start from their pitcher Friday night, and cashed in, winning 3-0 over the Orem Owlz.

Brewer starter Bobby Bramhall pitched well, allowing no runs on three hits across six innings. He struck out eight while walking just one.

Right fielder Kurt Crowell homered for the Brewers, who won their second game in a row.

In the first, Helena first baseman Curt Rindal brought home left fielder Mike Goetz with the third Brewer single of the inning.

In the seventh, Rindal doubled to left center to lead off the inning. After a sacrifice bunt that sent Rindal to third, Crowell hit his fourth homer of the season, a shot to right that brought the score to 3-0.

Goetz and Eric Farris each collected two hits on the evening.

Brewer reliever Robert Bryson came on to close the game down, working three innings and allowing four hits while striking out five, two of which were in the ninth inning. That was enough for Bryson to claim his eighth save of the season.

With the win, Helena stayed four games behind Northern-Division leading Great Falls.

The Brewers face off against the Owlz again tonight, the second game of their four-game series.

 

Photo by Tom Smart, Deseret Morning News

Brewers' Eric Ferris tags out the Owlz Jerry Gonzalez at second base during Friday night's contest in Orem. The Brewers won.

 

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