Link Report for Sun 5/27 - Power's Ramlow Takes Shot on Knee

[SoCalBrewfan]

you know, those numbers aren't great for Brent, but i still think they are a lot better than many expected...

 

Given that he's still not a year past his high school graduation, surviving in a pitchers' environment in full season ball is an accomplishment. He's clearly got a lot to learn yet, but he's no Josh Murray.

[Kevbo74]

Quote:

---

thank you Mr. Thatcher. Pretty soon you can follow Mr. Gallardo into a game...in the big leagues

---

 

Drinks are on Yo tonite, Joe.

[DHonks]

Drinks are on Yo tonite, Joe.

 

when does Yo turn 21? Otherwise he gets off cheap buying cokes

[TheCrew07]

Thatcher and Balfour are far and my favorite 2 relief prospects. Though I guess Balfour isn't really a prospect, but you know what I mean. I root for guys like him to make it back and make another career out of it. He carried a pretty respectable and consistent mid 4 ERA in his MLB career before his issues, and I'd like to think he'd be better than that this time around. Without the benefit of seeing him pitch his only problem statistically is when he gives up runs, he gives up crooked numbers.

[Kevbo74]

Yo turned 21 on Feb. 27,

the same day I got him to autograph my Blue Refractors :-)

I said Happy Birthday, but he didn't say anything back...

[Mass Haas]

Final: Mobile (Diamondbacks) 5, Huntsville 4

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1183

 

Stars' Lose For First Time on Sunday

 

Justin Upton?s two-run double ignited a four-run third inning rally that carried Mobile to a 5-4 win over Huntsville Sunday night in the final game of a five-game set at Hank Aaron Stadium. The BayBears took three out of five to improve to 26-24 on the season and claimed six of the ten games between the teams, while the Stars dropped to 25-23 and fell one game behind victorious Tennessee in the North Division. Huntsville had been a perfect 6-0 in Sunday games before falling in the first Sunday night game of the season.

 

The Mobile bullpen retired eight in a row before Yohannis Perez singled with two outs in the ninth and scored on a pinch-hit double by Drew Anderson that sliced the Mobile lead to 5-4. However, the comeback attempt fizzled when Steve Moss grounded out to end the game.

 

Mobile posted the game?s first run, marking the fourth straight game in which the home side tallied first, in the second inning when starter Greg Smith singled to right field to chase home Josh Ford, who had singled after Chris Rahl had popped out into a double play. Mobile extended the lead to 5-0 in the third on Upton?s two-run double, his second two base hit of the game, that was followed by a run-scoring double by Rahl and a run-producing single by Ford that knocked starter Lindsay Gulin out of the game. Mark DiFelice took over and tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief in his second stint of that length in the series. Gulin suffered the loss after allowing eight hits, walking two and not recording a strikeout.

 

Smith blanked the Stars through three innings before the visitors struck for two runs in the fourth on a run-scoring double by Steve Sollmann and a ground ball out by Carlos Corporan that plated Sollmann. The Stars pulled to within 5-3 in the sixth when Brendan Katin doubled home Adam Heether with two outs. Heether finished with two singles in four at-bats to push his hitting streak to ten consecutive games.

 

The Stars return home to open a five-game set against Montgomery Monday night with Sam Narron taking the hill against Biscuits? southpaw Chris Seddon. 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:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_mobaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_mobaax_1

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

SUNDAY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

 

I guess Mobile was waiting for this chance.

 

For the first time this season, the Stars are playing a team they've already met this season, and the Bay Bears remember Lindsay Gulin....... Gulin, in a sure candidate for my Top 10 games of the year, spun five no-hit innings against this team and Greg Smith on May 11 -- a no-hit bid that ended with two out in the 9th when Mark Reynolds, who has since been promoted to the Diamondbacks, singled over Adam Heether's leaping glove.

 

Smith and the Bay Bears put an end to the Stars streak of six straight Sunday victories, and in the process, dropped the Stars (25-23) a game in back of the Smokies for 1st place in the North....... Smith blanked the Stars for the first three innings, while Mobile batted around in the 3rd, stretching a 1-0 lead to a 5-0 lead -- enough to take the game and the series, as they did at Joe Davis Stadium earlier this month.

 

Justin Upton led things off for Mobile in the 2nd, lifting a double that didn't look like it would carry. But it did....... Left fielder Ruben Mateo tried to catch up to it, making a running, jumping effort at the ball, but it bounced off the wall for a double....... Upton was quickly erased on a pop-out by Chris Rahl to Guilder Rodriguez, who threw to Yohannis Perez for the 2nd out........ It seemed an easy task to end the inning now with the wind seemingly extinguished from Mobile's sails, even after Josh Ford singled and Jarred Ball walked...... But Greg Smith, who has one of the best pickoff moves in the minors, evidenced in part in the 1st inning, drove in Ford with a single through the right side. It was the 2nd time in this series a Mobile pitcher had knocked in a run, and the 9th run a Mobile pitcher had driven in this year. Stars pitchers, by comparison, have knocked in four.

 

The Stars put a runner in scoring position in the 2nd when Mateo, who snapped an 0-for-11 slump, singled to center and was moved to 2nd on a sac bunt by Carlos Corporan....... But Adam Heether, looking to extend his hitting streak, grounded out and Brendan Katin struck out for the 60th time this year.

 

In the bottom of the 3rd, Mobile plastered Gulin, sending nine men to the plate, and getting one hit after another...... After getting leadoff hitter Wilkin Castillo on a pop out to short, Javier Brito doubled to left, Cesar Nicolas walked and Justin Upton, the Diamondbacks' top prospect, drove in both runners to make it 3-0 with his 2nd double of the day, going deep to centerfield and off the wall....... Chris Rahl sent Gulin's 1-2 pitch to left, over the glove of Mateo to make it 4-0, and Josh Ford's line drive single made it 5-0....... Out came Don Money and in came the bullpen to the rescue once again, and it was hoped that once again, they didn't come too late....... The pen has been called upon to repair damage from a rotation that has logged a 5.13 ERA this month. (Last month, the rotation finished with a 4.65 ERA in 124 innings....... And like April, the pen has been very effective, posing a 2.73 ERA this month, not far from April's 2.67.

 

Jarred Ball reached base on a bunt single off Mark DiFelice, but DiFelice, who has held opposing hitters to a .216 average with runners on base, retired Smith on a strikeout and Emilio Bonifacio on a ground out to end the inning....... From thereon, Huntsville's relief corps allowed just four hits through the remaining five innings.

 

I'm not going to question manager Don Money's timing in calling for the pen, though........ The bats just came up short this night, and Mobile's relief corps, which held the Stars to just one run in 13 innings the first go-around, was tough........ The Stars were able to peck away at the lead........ An RBI double by Steve Sollmann in the 4th made it 5-1 and Sollmann advanced on a pair of ground outs to make it 5-2....... In the 6th, Brendan Katin's RBI double made it 5-3 and in the 9th, Drew Anderson doubled in his 5th consecutive game (one short of the club record) to drive in Yohannis Perez with the final run....... But Mobile's bullpen, led by Mark Rosen, retired eight in a row before Perez singled in the 9th....... With Anderson on 2nd, Steve Moss was beaten out on a grounder by a step to end the game.

 

Stars fans get a look at Montgomery for the first time this year at Joe Davis Stadium, as Chris Seddon (3-3, 4.65) faces Sam Narron (1-3, 4.72)....... Narron was hit on the leg by a Jarred Ball line drive in the first game of this recent series against Mobile, but apparently he's OK. He has a string of 11 scoreless innings over three starts....... Fans will also get to see if Drew Anderson can make it six straight games with a double. That hasn't been done since Mickey Lopez established the record, August 13-20, 2000, in the midst of his record 22-game hitting streak.

 

Steve Hammond's streak of nine straight starts with a decision ended Saturday with the Stars' 8th inning five-run rally to beat Mobile, 7-4...... No one had done that from the start of a season since Doug Johnston in 1999....... Adam Heether stretched his hitting streak to a new personal high of 10 games with a 4th inning two-out single. Heether has hit .368 during the streak (14-for-38) with seven RBIs, raising his average from .155 at its start to .226....... Streaky Steve Moss was 4-for-17 (.235) this series and is 5-for-31 (.161) for the season vs. the Bay Bears....... Yohannis Perez, for the first time this season, had a two-hit night for the 2nd consecutive game..... Guilder Rodriguez also had another consecutive two-hit performance to raise his average to .288. Rodriguez, who hit .167 in April, is hitting .372 this month in 43 at-bats....... Despite losing this series, the Stars hit .279, their 2nd best average for any five-gamer this year......... Mel Stocker is 8-for-16 in his last seven games with three doubles, a triple, and seven RBIs.

 

Friday, the Stars will don pink jerseys which will be auctioned off with a starting bid of $25 in honor of breast cancer awareness. Fans with winning bids can choose to have the shirt off the player's back or have it washed, and for an additional $10, have it autographed......... All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

 

The Corpus Christi Hooks, the Astros' AA affiliate in the Texas League, released pitcher Travis Phelps, May 22. Phelps had given up nine runs on 11 hits in five innings over as many appearances since coming down from Class AAA-Round Rock (PCL). Phelps was 5-8 for the Stars last year with five saves, four of them coming in August when he logged a 0.59 ERA in 15 1/3 innings.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 9, Albuquerque (Marlins) 7

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Mike Rivera photo, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2346

 

Rivera Homers Twice, Gallardo Earns 7th Victory

 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. ? Catcher Mike Rivera enjoyed his second two-homer game of the season and Yovani Gallardo picked up his PCL-leading seventh victory in the Nashville Sounds? 9-7 victory over the Albuquerque Isotopes on Sunday evening at Isotopes Park.

 

The win was the fourth in the last six games for Nashville (27-23).

 

Rivera (3-for-5) recorded five RBIs on the evening, matching the most by a Sound all season, and upped his longball total to eight, which ranks second on the club to the recently-promoted Ryan Braun.

 

Gallardo (7-1), who allowed three runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings, reclaimed the minor-league strikeout lead with eight punchouts on the evening, leapfrogging over fellow Brewers farmhand Will Inman. The 21-year-old has 84 strikeouts in his 10 starts this season.

 

The Isotopes grabbed a 1-0 lead against Gallardo in the bottom of the first inning. After Robert Andino and Eric Reed (3-for-5) opened the contest with singles then executed a double steal of second and third, Andino put the home team on the board by scoring on a groundout.

 

Nashville tied the contest at 1-1 with a two-out rally against Albuquerque starter Chris George in the fourth, the first of five consecutive innings in which the Sounds plated runs.

 

After the first two batters were retired, Joe Dillon reached on a throwing error by Andino, the Isotopes? shortstop. The red-hot Andy Abad following with a single to extend his hitting streak to eight games, matching his best effort of the season. Rivera evened things by plating Dillon in unearned fashion with an RBI single to center.

 

Dillon, who was hit safely in 13 of his last 15 contests, continued to haunt his former team in the fifth when he delivered a two-out, bases-loaded ground-rule double off George to left to give Nashville a 3-1 lead. Gallardo and Callix Crabbe, who had each drawn a walk, scored on the play.

 

Rivera struck again for the Sounds in the sixth when he opened the inning with his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to center off George. The blast increased the Nashville lead to 4-1.

 

After allowing a run in the first, Gallardo cruised through the next four innings before running into trouble in the bottom of the sixth. He walked in two runs in the frame, the second with two outs, before being removed by Sounds skipper Frank Kremblas after throwing his 102nd pitch of the night. Joe Thatcher replaced the prospect on the hill and retired former Sound Andrew Beattie on a flyout to escape the jam with Nashville?s 4-3 lead intact.

 

Rivera made Albuquerque pay for issuing a two-out intentional walk to Abad in front of him in the seventh. The Nashville backstop belted his second home run of the contest, a three-run shot to center off Isotopes reliever Harvey Garcia that extended the visitors? advantage to 7-3.

 

AUDIO: Mike Rivera's Second HR --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...205-27.mp3

 

The Isotopes rallied to get a run back in the bottom of the seventh when Andino scampered home from third to score on a Greg Aquino wild pitch.

 

Nashville added a pair of runs against Garcia in the eighth. Crabbe contributed a one-out RBI single to plate Charles Thomas before bringing the score to 9-4 when he came home on a Chris Barnwell triple to right one batter later. Barnwell (4-for-5) matched the Nashville season high for hits in a game and missed the cycle by a homer.

 

PCL home run leader Val Pascucci brought Albuquerque within two at 9-7 in the bottom of the ninth by belting a two-out, three-run homer to center off Sounds reliever R.A. Dickey. The blast, which scored Reed and former Sound Chad Hermansen, was the slugger?s 13th of the year.

 

George (3-4) took the loss after allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits over six innings of work.

 

The teams wrap up the series with a 2:35 p.m. CT Memorial Day finale on Monday afternoon. Left-hander Zach Jackson (5-3, 4.61) will toe the rubber for the Sounds to face Isotopes right-hander Jeff Fulchino (3-0, 4.75).

 

Nashville Box Score:

Given the current state of catching, particularly in the National League, it's still a surprise Mike Rivera cleared waivers at the end of spring training -- the Yankees went with AA-like Wil Nieves, for pete's sake...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_albaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

With nine different half-innings producing runs, are you up to the challenge here?

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_albaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.wvgazette.com/section...2007052715

 

Timely hitting propels Power

West Virginia rallies from four-run deficit to defeat Greenville 5-4 Sunday

By Mike Whiteford

Charleston Gazette Staff Writer

 

After nearly two months of the season, the Power still leads the league in hitting and, most notably, has demonstrated a knack for producing in the clutch.

 

Thus, the Power?s ability to erase ? slowly but surely ? a four-run deficit and collect a 5-4 victory over the Greenville Drive Sunday afternoon was hardly a surprise. A crowd of 2,480 attended at Appalachian Power Park.

 

?We put a couple of clutch hits together,?? said Power left fielder Michael Brantley. ?We were lucky to come back.??

 

Brantley played a major role in the comeback activity. With his team trailing 4-3 in the eighth inning, he lined a one-out double to right center that brought home Darren Ford, who had opened the inning with an infield single and advanced on Brent Brewer?s sacrifice.

 

Living dangerously, Brantley promptly stole third. ?I had a green light if I had a good jump,?? he said with a smile. And with two out, he trotted home with the go-ahead run when Jimmy Mojica poked an opposite-field single past a diving Kris Negron, the Drive?s second baseman.

 

The Power, who hold a 4 1/2-game lead over Greensboro in the Northern Division, owns a .295 batting average that easily leads the 16-team league, and the team is hitting .320 with runners in scoring position.

 

In addition, the Power ranks second in runs, averaging 6.2 a game.

 

?We swing the bats very well,?? said Brantley. ?We can get seven or eight runs in an inning.??

 

After the Drive scored four runs in the third for a 4-0 lead, the Power began chipping away, though Greenville right-hander Travis Beazley presented problems with his pinpoint control and off-speed pitches.

 

Brantley doubled in the fourth and eventually scored on Chuckie Caufield?s sacrifice fly. In the sixth, Caufield singled with two out and came home on Andrew Lefave?s home run to right, cutting the Greenville lead to 4-3.

 

Three Power relievers ? Travis Wendte, J.T. King and E.J. Shanks ? blanked the Drive on three hits through the final 4 2/3 innings. King picked up the win, his fifth in six decisions, and Shanks earned his seventh save.

 

The Power?s two-run, game-winning rally came against Josh Papelbon, who entered the game with a 1.04 ERA, a 2-0 record and eight saves. Papelbon is the brother of Red Sox closer Jonathan.

 

POWER POINTS: The Power will conclude the homestand with a 1:05 PM (12:05 Central) game today against the Drive. ... The Power will travel to Kannapolis to begin a six-game road trip to Tuesday. The trip includes two games in Greensboro. ... Yolanda Jeffress, mother of Power pitcher Jeremy Jeffress, sang the national anthem at Sunday?s game. Jeffress, Milwaukee?s No. 1 draft pick in 2006, joined the team on Friday and is scheduled to make his South Atlantic League debut Tuesday against Kannapolis. ... Brewer entered Sunday?s game with eight hits in his previous three games, which raised his average to .289 after a slow start. Brewer was hitless Sunday but contributed a key sacrifice bunt in the eighth. ... Despite a cold, snowy start to the season, the Power is averaging 3,415 fans a game and is a good bet to surpass last season?s total of 239,722, which is a Charleston record. The team averaged nearly 3,500 a game last year.

 

Charleston Gazette Photographer: Kenny Kemp

West Virginia?s Chuckie Caufield (20) steals second base as Greenville?s Kris Negron lunges to catch the throw from the catcher during Sunday?s game.

 

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/images/stories/SLIDE1.jpg

[rotoherb]

This is the fourth straight start in which Yo has needed to throw 100 or more pitches to get through six or fewer innnings. I know I'm being nit-picky here, but I'm not sure thats really going to fly in the majors. If he's dominating a game, the Brewers would be tempted to push him to the seventh inning even if it means 115 to 120 pitches.

[DHonks]

If he's dominating a game, the Brewers would be tempted to push him to the seventh inning even if it means 115 to 120 pitches

 

they've rarely pushed Ben Sheets, Davis, or Cappy to that many pitches over the past years, and those are older, 200 IP pitchers. They won't do it to Yo

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/story/S...r-rallies/

 

First-place Power rallies

Jacob Messer

Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter

 

Like its injured starting pitcher, who last was seen limping off the field and into the clubhouse, the West Virginia Power absorbed but survived the Greenville Drive's best shot Sunday.

 

Greenville tagged West Virginia starter Mike Ramlow for four runs in the third inning, then forced him from the mound in the fifth when a line drive caromed off his right knee.

 

The Power (32-15) made sure the Drive (20-29) didn't add insult to injury by rallying for a 5-4 South Atlantic League victory at Appalachian Power Park, where a crowd of 2,480 watched the afternoon affair.

 

"These guys have a lot of fight in them," West Virginia hitting coach Corey Hart said.

 

Power relievers Travis Wendte, J.T. King and E.J. Shanks combined to shut out Greenville over the final 4 2/3 innings.

 

King (5-1) recorded the win. Shanks, who induced a game-ending double play, earned his seventh save.

 

"The bullpen gave us an opportunity to rally it out," West Virginia Manager Mike Guerrero said.

 

Ramlow allowed four runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings, with all of those runs and six of those hits coming in the third.

 

However, it appeared he had recovered from that abysmal inning. After he pitched a scoreless fourth, Ramlow retired Manny Arambarris to start the fifth.

 

But Lars Anderson followed with a line drive that struck Ramlow so hard the ball bounced all of the way to the bag at third base.

 

"I won't know until (today)," West Virginia pitching coach John Curtis said of Ramlow's status. "We'll see if he has any soreness or any fluid on the knee. It was a pretty good shot. He has it wrapped up because there is some swelling."

 

The Power surge featured a one-run fourth, two-run sixth and two-run eighth.

 

Michael Brantley scored West Virginia's first run on Chuckie Caufield's sacrifice fly in the fourth.

 

With Caufield on second after a two-out single and stolen base in the sixth, Andrew LeFave smashed a 3-2 changeup over the right-field fence for a two-run homer off Greenville starter Travis Beazley.

 

Darren Ford started the eighth with an infield single that bounced off the glove of Greenville closer Josh Papelbon, who argued with scorekeeper Michael Hutchinson after the game that the play should have been ruled an error instead of a hit.

 

Brent Brewer followed Ford with a sacrifice bunt. Brantley delivered an RBI double to score Ford, then stole third to set up Caufield for another sacrifice fly.

 

However, Greenville center fielder Jason Place made an outstanding play on Caufield's shallow popup behind second base, catching the ball on the run and at his feet.

 

In the end, it didn't matter.

 

Jimmy Mojica capped the comeback with a two-out single that barely scooted under the glove of diving Greenville second baseman Kris Negron, allowing Brantley to score the game-winning run.

 

Blowing a save opportunity for the second time this season, Papelbohn (2-1) took the loss.

 

Coming through in the clutch is nothing new for Mojica, who has five hits and six RBI in 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position and two outs this season.

 

"I'm happy we won," Mojica said. "I'm happy I had the game-winning RBI, but I would have been happy if somebody else did it, too."

 

Brantley, LeFave and Mojica each had two hits to pace the Power, which had only one hit in the first three innings.

 

"He was doing a pretty good job of spotting the ball on the outside corner," LeFave said of Beazley, who allowed three runs on six hits in seven innings. "We were an inch or two off because he kept hitting it.

 

"As the game wore on, he started leaving more balls over the plate. The second and third time around, we started getting used to it. It was just a matter of time until we had some big innings."

 

Power plugs -- The teams will conclude their four-game series today at 1:05 PM (12:05 Central). West Virginia will start right-hander Mike McClendon (4-1, 2.08). Greenville will throw left-hander Felix Doubront (0-1, 11.25) ... In arguably the best rendition this season, Yolanda Jeffress wowed the crowd with her performance of the National Anthem. She is the mother of Jeremy Jeffress, the Milwaukee Brewers' 2006 first-round draft pick who was promoted to West Virginia on Thursday and arrived Friday in Charleston ... Brewers third baseman Ryan Braun became the first Power player to make the Major Leagues when Milwaukee promoted him from Class AAA Nashville (Tenn.) on Thursday. He is 4-for-11 (.364) with one double, one homer, one stolen base, two runs and three RBI in three games (all losses to San Diego).

[rotoherb]

the difference is that those guys are getting to the seventh and eighth innings on 100 pitches. It's easy to pull a guy when you only need two innings from your bullpen to win, it's not so easy to do it when you need four. It would be really hard for Yost to pull him after six innings in a 1-0 game during a pennant race.

[TheCrew07]

Which is why if he comes up, I believe he's ticketed for the pen. He has to be more economical with his pitches.

[DHonks]

but rotoherb, Vargas is struggling to get through 4 innings, let alone 5. Bush is struggling to get through 6 innings. Can't Yo do the same as Vargas? I mean, I can't imagine Yo will allow as many baserunners and walk as many.