Link Report for Games of Saturday May 5th

[Mass Haas]

Brevard County Game Notes from MiLB.com:

 

Slayden steers Threshers

 

Jeremy Slayden homered and drove in five runs to power Clearwater to a 9-5 victory over visiting Brevard County on Saturday.

 

Slayden, who fell a triple short of the cycle, went 3-for-4 with two runs scored as the Threshers (19-10) won for the eighth time in 10 games. He hit a two-run double and scored in the first inning, singled in the third and slugged a three-run homer, his fifth, in the fifth.

 

The 24-year-old right fielder had two chances at the cycle, but walked in the seventh and struck out in the eighth. He leads Clearwater with a .321 batting average, five homers and 28 RBIs.

 

Gregory Golson had two hits and scored twice, while Michael Garciaparra also scored twice and drove in a pair of runs for the Threshers. Welinson Baez smacked a two-run homer, his third of the year, in the fourth.

 

Starter Daniel Brauer (4-1) yielded three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings for the win. The Northwestern product struck out six and won his second straight start.

 

Cole Gillespie went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Alcides Escobar had two hits and two RBIs for the Manatees (16-13).

 

Steve Garrison (1-2) was tagged for season highs of eight runs and nine hits with one walk and a strikeout over four-plus innings in his sixth start for Brevard County. -- Peter Spadora.MLB.com

[Mass Haas]

Link for photo while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Sounds split with Express

Game 2 loss ends home win streak

By MIKE ORGAN

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

The Sounds weren't half bad Saturday.

 

They came back to win in the second half of a suspended game 2-1 over Round Rock.

 

But in the regularly scheduled game shortened to seven innings, Nashville allowed the lead to slip away in the final inning and lost 5-4.

 

A season-high Greer Stadium crowd of 10,698 saw the Sounds extend their home winning streak to seven in the first game. That game began Friday but was halted by rain in the fifth inning.

 

The Sounds appeared on their way to keeping their win streak alive in the sixth inning of the second game after pinch hitter Andy Abad's bases-loaded single scored Mike Rivera and Callix Crabbe. That gave Nashville a 4-3 lead.

 

But Round Rock, which had only one hit in the first four innings, heated up in the sixth when Cody Ransom smashed a three-run homer.

 

And the Express stayed hot against Sounds reliever Dennis Sarfate in the seventh.

 

Josh Anderson scored from third and tied the score at 4 on catcher Vinny Rottino's throwing error to second.

 

Then Eric Munson's single sent Josh Anderson home for the go-ahead run.

 

"The problem came in the sixth when we had a 2-0 lead,'' Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "We got two outs and we leave the ball up with two strikes and (Ransom) hits it out. But we're able to come back from that. Unfortunately Dennis just didn't have good command tonight."

 

Abad said he felt particularly good about his RBI single, not only because it gave the Sounds the lead, but also because it came against his old nemesis, lefty Scott Sauerbeck.

 

"I've faced (Sauerbeck) a lot in my career ? probably back when he was with the Mets in the mid-90s,'' Abad said. "He's always had my number."

 

What they said: "Our pitching has been there the whole year. That's the reason we are where we're at right now. Give a power pitcher like Sarfate the ball like that, you always have a chance at winning. It just didn't happen today.''

? Abad.

 

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Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Newest Sounds waste no time in contributing

Thomas singles; Villarreal perfect

By MIKE ORGAN

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Center fielder Charles Thomas and pitcher Luis Villarreal made their debuts Saturday with the Sounds.

 

Thomas, 28, was traded Friday from Sacramento for catcher for J.D. Closser and reported Saturday to Nashville.

 

Thomas reached on an error in the game continued from Friday. He scored Nashville's first run on a sacrifice fly by Andy Abad.

 

In the second game, Thomas got his first hit, a single. He scored on a single by Callix Crabbe, giving the Sounds a 2-0 lead.

 

Thomas, 28, was drafted by Atlanta and spent the first five years in the Braves system. He was traded in 2004 to Oakland in a deal that sent All-Star pitcher Tim Hudson to Atlanta.

 

Villarreal was promoted from Class AA Huntsville on Friday and replaced Tim Dillard at the start of Saturday's first game. Dillard had pitched the first four innings and given up five hits on Friday.

 

It also was Villarreal's Class AAA debut. The left-hander pitched only one inning. He forced Round Rock's first two batters to pop out and then struck out catcher Eric Munson.

 

Streak snapped: Sounds left fielder Vinny Rottino went 0-for-2 in the first game, which snapped his five-game hit streak. It was Rottino's longest hitting streak of the season. Rottino bounced back with a single in the second inning of the second game.

 

Abad extended his hit streak to five games.

 

Pitching down under: The Sounds used two pitchers from Australia in the second game. Right-hander Chris Oxspring, who is from Rouse Hill, was the starter and was relieved by Grant Balfour, who is from Glenwood. Oxspring pitched five shutout innings, and his ERA dropped to 2.01, which kept him in the top five in the PCL.

 

Pinch hit pitcher: Zach Jackson pinch hit for fellow pitcher Steve Bray in the eighth inning of the first game. Jackson singled, making him 3-for-10 on the year.