TooLiveBrew

Final: AZL Brewers 10, @AZL Indians 6 AZL Box Score The Brewers knocked out three home runs in support of soon-to-be 20 year old Jeffrey Saba (6'2, 152), who notched a win in his first start of the AZL season. Saba posted a 3.90 ERA over twelve starts for the 2011 DSL Cerveceritos to earn his way stateside. He allowed four hits, two runs (one earned), one walk, & two strikeouts over five innings en route to the win. Catcher Jimmie Pharr (I believe he was an UDFA) knocked out a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, Ruben Ozuna hit one in the second inning, & Steve Felix ('10 UDFA) added a third in the fifth. Pharr finished 2-3 with a walk, Ozuna 2-4 with a walk, & Felix 2-4 with three RBI. Second baseman Kevin Berard was 1-4 with a walk. 19th round pick Renaldo Jenkins, a shortstop out of Whitewater H.S. in Fayetteville, GA, went 1-1 with a walk & two runs scored. Andres Martinez, a 19-yo via the DSL, tripled in the 8th inning & drove in Pharr to give the Brewers the 10-6 final margin. UDFA Brandon Macias (Univ. of Kansas) hit third, played both shortstop & third base, and finished 2-5 with a triple & two runs scored. Ozuna has kicked his AZL season off with a .533 OBP & .846 SLG. He'll turn 20 in August, and has demonstrated solid contact ability & plate discipline since his debut in the DSL in 2010. The lefty-swinger, currently listed at 6'2", 180, certainly has room to grow & and is a solid prospect. Relievers Michael Francisco & Mitchell Conner combined to shut down the Indians over the final two innings. LH Francisco ('11 48th rounder) allowed one hit & struck out one; RH Conner ('11 36th rounder) whiffed two & also allowed one hit. AZL Play-by-Play Kicking the game off right: AZL Brewers Top of the 1st Ruben Ozuna called out on strikes. Kevin Berard reaches on missed catch error by first baseman Leonardo Castillo, assist to third baseman Robel Garcia. Brandon Macias singles on a fly ball to right fielder Juan Romero. Kevin Berard to 2nd. Steve Felix singles on a line drive to left fielder Henry Dunn. Kevin Berard scores. Brandon Macias to 2nd. Ronny Puello grounds into a force out, second baseman Jose Ramirez to shortstop Jorge Martinez. Brandon Macias scores. Steve Felix out at 2nd. Ronny Puello advances to 1st, on throwing error by shortstop Jorge Martinez. Jimmie Pharr homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Ronny Puello scores. Gerald Ogrinc strikes out swinging. Two more in the 5th increased the lead to 9-2, and the Brewers never looked back: AZL Brewers Top of the 5th Pitcher Change: Matt Curtis replaces Rafael Homblert. Brandon Macias triples (1) on a fly ball to left fielder Henry Dunn. Steve Felix homers (1) on a fly ball to right field. Brandon Macias scores. Ronny Puello strikes out swinging. Jimmie Pharr flies out to center fielder Mark Brown. Gerald Ogrinc grounds out, shortstop Jorge Martinez to first baseman Leonardo Castillo.

A rival official on Riggleman: "I wouldn't hire him for Double-A or Triple-A job. You can't walk away... when you're under contract." Yeah, he should've played out the string so the Nats could fire him in August!

Because we unloaded bad contracts for more bad contracts? Ah, I didn't realize. Like I said, very casual fan... and that's probably doing a disservice to the awareness of casual fans.

How is unloading the bad contracts an awful deal?

Hard to complain too much, we dropped 9 spots in the draft but with this draft, that's not really a big deal. We shedded a bunch of payroll and bad contracts, plus got the best player in the trade with Stephen Jackson. Now we'll see what happens at #19....or if we stay there for that matter. Given all the negative takes on this season's draft class, this appears to me (very casual fan) to be a huge win for the Bucks.

IF (that's a big if) Betancourt were to be DFA'd, is there any scenario in which the Brewers would be off the hook for his 2012 buyout?

That's basically comparing three turds and deciding which is the shiniest. Counsell's not good, but he's left-handed, so he stays. I'd try moving Wilson to AAA as insurance, and I doubt anyone claims him, so we could probably get him there. This is all true. I guess at this point I'm comfortable in thinking Wilson is a better fielder than Betancourt, and both are awful hitters. So my vote would be to keep the one that's marginally better on defense. No one would claim Betancourt either.

Betancourt. It's an obvious move, unless of course you're committed to seeing just how long McGehee can continue to drag down the middle of the lineup. Or you're committed to the notion that Betancourt does anything well enough to stick ahead of Counsell & Wilson. Here are Gomez's, Betancourt's, & McGehee's season OPS numbers right now. Can you tell which one is Casey's? .607, .601, .596 It's ironic to me. McGehee got his shot back in '09 when a supposedly 'established' MLB hitter in Bill Hall was starting to prove that his small sample of MLB success was a mirage. Now here we sit just two seasons later, with an almost identical situation, but Casey is now the proven commodity with a Track Record™. Bill Hall's 2009 OPS with the Brewers? .606. The sooner the Brewers say enough is enough with McGehee, & get Green up to play against RHP, the better off they'll be... especially if Betancourt or Kotsay winds up being the 25-man roster casualty.

Quoted from the Yuni thread: Blame? This isn't some sub 500 team with no chance of winning. It's one of the best teams in the NL. Usually the term "give credit" is warranted for teams in serious playoff contention. Imo, the main thing that could keep the Brewers out of the postseason is the lack of positional depth beyond Weeks, Hart, Braun, Fielder, & Lucroy. McGehee looks to be hot now, but his cold stretch was so long that it certainly carries weight, in terms of negative value. Hopefully his best baseball is still ahead of him this season. Betancourt & the bench as a whole have been complete disappointments in terms of offense thus far as well (I'm counting T.Plush as a starter at this point). Even if the Brewers are one of the best teams in the NL, there are clear areas in which the team can be improved. The point isn't to be one of the best, it's to be the best you can assemble. It's blatantly obvious to me, at least, that the Brewers could & should improve at multiple spots. Could this team, as presently constructed, win the NL Central? Sure. But facing a team like Boston reminds you of just how deep your team has to be to contend with the top dogs in MLB. Yes, I understand Boston is working with a vault & the Brewers are working with a piggy bank. But that doesn't change the fact that the Brewers have to contend with the likes of Boston & Philly. I'm not saying the Brewers need to add Jose Reyes & Heath Bell & Lebron James. But the longer the glaring weaknesses remain unaddressed, the worse off this team will be. The frustrating element here is precisely how obvious the problems are. For example, Mark Kotsay never was a good choice for a corner OF reserve & first lefty bat off the bench. The solution would be to acquire a real lefty bat for the bench, & DFA Kotsay... which we all know isn't going to happen. The team is willfully keeping itself weaker than it could & should be, and it's due to poor decisions from the management -- both RRR & Melvin. The Nieves fiasco is another example of the team willfully handcuffing itself. Just because I can't bring myself to believe that Melvin has suddenly turned completely incompetent, I'm going to assume the trade market for shortstops has been quite dried up thus far this season. Because Betancourt's almost unlimited leash has certainly cost the Brewers a lot of production, too. And, again, the solution is to DFA the guy & play Counsell & Wilson... but Betancourt has hardly even seen the bench. I can't share the blissful ignorance of the problems the 2011 Brewers have. The problems are very real, and imo very serious. Obviously I didn't even delve into the bullpen, which is another comedy (tragedy?) of errors in terms of management. At least the talent is there in the bullpen. Outside of Morgan & McGehee, the supporting cast of position players certainly can't make that claim.

“The problems there weren’t as much mental as it was footwork issues that I had,” Gamel said on Thursday. “I like it better over there (at first); it’s a lot less stressful.” ... “That kinda thing just shows me that they like me and want to keep me around,” Gamel said. “But in the same breath, a lot of it is out of my hands. All I can control is what I do on the field.” I'm going to try & remember this post the next time Gamel's supposedly bad attitude is brought up. Really good read, Milner got some good quotes out of Mat.

Final: @Helena 6, Missoula 5 Helena Box Score As MTBrew noted, the Helena Brewers won with a walk-off homer in the 12th from catcher Joey Paciorek. It was Joey P's second home run of the night; his first jack was a solo shot in the 6th inning. Catcher Paciorek & #2-hitter/shortstop Yadiel Rivera each had three hits. Rightfielder Max Walla went 1-5 with a single & a walk, and recorded the second out of a line-out double play in the top of the 9th with his arm. First baseman Parker Berberet went 2-5, with a double & a three-run homer. Nine-hitter Gant Elmore was 2-5. Eric Arnett's final line was 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Relievers Skyler Crawford, Jacob Barnes, & Alex Jones combined to allow zero earned runs over the final six innings. Jones had the most impressive stat line: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 5 K. Not sure what play MTBrew was talking about in the 12th inning with Dhanani... Helena Play-by-Play The bottom of the 6th inning, which saw two Helena runs score to pull within 4-2...: Helena Bottom of the 6th Yadiel Rivera singles on a line drive to left fielder Tyler Linton. With Max Walla batting, wild pitch by Robby Rowland, Yadiel Rivera to 2nd. Max Walla grounds out, second baseman Fidel Pena to first baseman Jonathan Griffin. Yadiel Rivera to 3rd. With Joseph Paciorek batting, wild pitch by Robby Rowland, Yadiel Rivera scores. Joseph Paciorek homers (1) on a fly ball to center field. Parker Berberet doubles (1) on a ground ball to left fielder Tyler Linton. Pitcher Change: Alex Capaul replaces Robby Rowland. Kyle Dhanani flies out to left fielder Tyler Linton. Kenneth Allison lines out to center fielder Justin Bianco. The baby Brewers also scored three more to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th: Helena Bottom of the 8th Pitcher Change: Seth Simmons replaces Alex Capaul. Max Walla singles on a line drive to pitcher Seth Simmons. With Joseph Paciorek batting, wild pitch by Seth Simmons, Max Walla to 2nd. Joseph Paciorek walks. Parker Berberet homers (1) on a fly ball to center field. Max Walla scores. Joseph Paciorek scores. Kyle Dhanani called out on strikes. Kenneth Allison strikes out swinging. John Dishon strikes out swinging. Helena seizes victory in the 12th: Helena Bottom of the 12th Max Walla pops out to third baseman Ryan Court in foul territory. Joseph Paciorek homers (2) on a fly ball to center field.

Walla - best rf to come thru Helena since Gindl. This is something I can get excited about

If this thread doesn't provide anything else, this post alone makes it worthwhile. Funny stuff.

He has far better command, but I wouldn't say he has better stuff. When Turnbow was on, he was operating the FB in the mid to upper 90s with wicked movement. And whatever that breaking ball was, man... when he could actually harness it, he was amazing. 'Good Turnbow' is still one of the best relievers I've seen pitch in person. Just nasty. I don't want to dump on Axford, it's just that his FB is a similar velocity but much straighter, and I would also say T-Bow's slider/slurve was nastier than Axford's curve. But obviously what the Axford/T-Bow comparison proves is that it doesn't ultimately matter how nasty your stuff is if you can't command & locate it. Oh, and on-topic for the thread, yes, Axford has been very good so far. I wish he could work some more clean innings, though.

Final: @Cerveceritos 7, DSL Cardinals 4 Cerveceritos Box Score 17-year-old starter Milton Gomez (6'1", 172) was solid through five innings today, striking out eight and allowing four hits, two earned runs, & a walk. Listed at 6'6"& 236 pounds, 18-y-o reliever Carlos Sosa entered the game in a bases-loaded jam. Sosa slammed the door, striking out the side in order to earn the save in style. Sosa sports a nifty 12/2 strikeout to walk ratio through his first 6.1 IP on the season. He's allowed three hits, & no runs (earned or unearned). Yonki Hernandez went 0-2, but walked twice & scored two runs. He also stole second & third during one plate appearance in the 8th. Shortstop Francisco Castillo (5'11", 170), age 18, had a two-RBI triple in the third inning. Today's DH, Orlando Arcia, went 1-1 and walked four times -- once intentionally. Rightfielder Joan Pena was 1-4 with one RBI & one walk. Dionis Hinojosa was 0-2 with two walks, but no stolen bases. Second baseman Alejandro Mendoza was 1-3 with a walk. Deivi Mejia, Carlos Pena, & Jorge De La Cruz each added a single. Cerveceritos Play-by-Play The Cerveceritos scored in only two innings, but both numbers were crooked enough to get the job done: DSL Brewers Bottom of the 3rd Carlos Pena grounds out, shortstop Leobaldo Pina to first baseman Domingo Diaz. Jorge De La Cruz grounds out, third baseman Rafael Medina to first baseman Domingo Diaz. Alejandro Mendoza walks. Yonki Hernandez walks. Alejandro Mendoza to 2nd. Francisco Castillo triples (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Jhohan Acevedo. Alejandro Mendoza scores. Yonki Hernandez scores. Orlando Arcia walks. Jose Pena singles on a fly ball to center fielder Jhohan Acevedo. Francisco Castillo scores. Orlando Arcia to 2nd. Deivi Mejia flies out to right fielder Amaury Capellan. Three in the third was good enough to take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the 7th, where the DSL crew tacked on in a big way, with four more runs: DSL Brewers Bottom of the 7th Defensive Substitution: Junior Agustin replaces third baseman Rafael Medina, batting 5th, playing third base. Yonki Hernandez hit by pitch. Francisco Castillo out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Hector Salazar to first baseman Domingo Diaz. Yonki Hernandez to 2nd. Hector Salazar intentionally walks Orlando Arcia. Jose Pena walks. Yonki Hernandez to 3rd. Orlando Arcia to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Douglas Planchart replaces Hector Salazar. Deivi Mejia singles on a ground ball to third baseman Junior Agustin. Yonki Hernandez scores. Orlando Arcia scores. Jose Pena scores. Deivi Mejia to 2nd. Throwing error by third baseman Junior Agustin. Dionis Hinojosa grounds out, second baseman Robelys Reyes to first baseman Domingo Diaz. Deivi Mejia to 3rd. Carlos Pena reaches on fielding error by shortstop Leobaldo Pina. Deivi Mejia scores. Jorge De La Cruz pops out to first baseman Domingo Diaz. After the first four Cardinals batters had reached safely & one run had scored to open the top of the 9th, the game was turned over to Sosa, and did he ever deliver: DSL Cardinals Top of the 9th Carlos Torres singles on a fly ball to center fielder Yonki Hernandez. Amaury Capellan walks. Carlos Torres to 2nd. Jhohan Acevedo singles on a fly ball to center fielder Yonki Hernandez. Carlos Torres to 3rd. Amaury Capellan to 2nd. Robelys Reyes walks. Carlos Torres scores. Amaury Capellan to 3rd. Jhohan Acevedo to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Carlos Sosa replaces Elvis Mora. Leobaldo Pina called out on strikes. Luis Cruz strikes out swinging. Fernando Baez strikes out swinging.

Final: @Huntsville 6, Birmingham 2 Huntsville Box Score Cody Scarpetta turned in another strong performance, and boasts a 1.80 ERA over his past three starts. Tonight his final line was 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 9 K. Both walks (unintentional) occurred in the 4th inning. Lucas Luetge closed down the rest of the game, going two impressive innings, allowing just two baserunners, & striking out three. One runner reached against Luetge via a throwing error, the other on a "soft ground ball" (per MiLB.com) infield hit. Logan Schafer fired back up the hitting machine, going 2-5 out of the leadoff spot with a double. Erik Komatsu was 2-5, with a two-run home run in the third inning. Sean Halton went 2-3, with two doubles, two RBI, a walk, and his third stolen base of the season. Angel Gonzalez was 1-3 with a double, & Lee Haydel added two singles. Martin Maldonado was 1-3 with a walk; Sergio Miranda was 1-3 with a double. Huntsville Play-by-Play The Stars used five doubles & the home run to scatter 6 runs throughout the game. Here's Komatsu's homer in the 3rd, & Halton's first double immediately after: Huntsville Bottom of the 3rd Sergio Miranda doubles (5) on a fly ball to right fielder Kenneth Williams. Logan Schafer lines out to right fielder Kenneth Williams. Erik Komatsu homers (4) on a fly ball to right center field. Sergio Miranda scores. Sean Halton doubles (17) on a fly ball to center fielder Justin Greene. Steffan Wilson flies out to left fielder Brandon Short. Brandon Jones pops out to third baseman Greg Paiml. Here's Halton's other double, which plated one of his two RBI in the game: Huntsville Bottom of the 5th Logan Schafer singles on a soft ground ball to pitcher Terry Doyle. Erik Komatsu singles on a ground ball to shortstop Tyler Kuhn. Logan Schafer to 2nd. Sean Halton doubles (18) on a line drive to left fielder Brandon Short. Logan Schafer scores. Erik Komatsu to 3rd. Steffan Wilson hit by pitch. Brandon Jones strikes out swinging. Angel Gonzalez grounds into a force out, third baseman Greg Paiml to second baseman Alden Carrithers. Erik Komatsu scores. Sean Halton to 3rd. Steffan Wilson out at 2nd. Angel Gonzalez to 1st. Martin Maldonado strikes out swinging. Huntsville Gameday

Final: @Memphis 7, Sounds 6 (10 innings) Sounds Suffer Extra-Inning Loss In Memphis For Second Straight Night Gamel goes 3-for-5 with team-leading 14th home run Nashville Sounds MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Shortstop Donovan Solano hit a game-winning double in the bottom of the 10th inning to propel the state-rival Memphis Redbirds over the Nashville Sounds, 7-6, on Saturday night at AutoZone Park. The loss was the second consecutive extra-inning defeat to the Redbirds. With the game knotted at 6-6 in the bottom of the 10th, Sounds reliever Zack Segovia (2-3) allowed two singles in the frame before giving up the game-winning double off of the centerfield wall. Nashville (30-38) has played in a PCL-high 32 one-run games this season, going 12-20 in those contests. Each of the Sounds' last six games have been one-run affairs. Nashville's 20 one-run losses are most in the PCL and account for more than half of the club's total defeats. Mat Gamel went 3-for-5 with his team-leading 14th home run of the season in the loss. Brett Carroll and Eric Farris each had two hits with a double and run scored. The Sounds quickly plated two runs in the opening frame to take a 2-0 lead. Leadoff hitter Brandon Boggs doubled to centerfield and scored when Carroll belted a two-bagger. Carroll advanced to third base on a throwing error and came home to make it 2-0 on a wild pitch from starter Adam Ottavino. Memphis knotted the contest at 2-2 in the bottom of the second inning. The first run came from a towering solo home run to center field from Adam Luna, his fifth of the year. After Bryan Anderson singled and moved to third on a double from Jose Garcia, the Memphis catcher scored the tying run on a wild pitch from Josh Butler. The Redbirds tacked on runs in the fourth and fifth innings to go ahead 4-2. Ottavino helped his own cause with an RBI single for the first run, while Freddie Bynum singled home Daryl Jones for the club's other run. The Sounds tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the sixth inning. After Farris laced a two-out double to center, pinch-hitter Jordan Brown tattooed a two-run homer down the right field line to tie the game. The long ball was Brown's second of the season and first since May 15 against Sacramento. Gamel's solo shot in the eighth gave the Sounds a 5-4 lead. Leading off the frame, the slugger powered the second pitch from Raul Valdes over the wall in right center. Nashville tacked on its final run in the ninth inning for a 6-4 advantage. Zelous Wheeler hit a leadoff base hit, advanced to third on a walk, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a Mike Rivera single. Memphis scored two late runs in the ninth to tie the game at 6-6. Solano hit a double and was driven home by Jones. After a sacrifice bunt, Luna singled home Jones to tie the game and send it to extras. Butler surrendered four runs on seven hits and four walks in five innings pitched. The right-hander fanned two for a no-decision. Reliever Donovan Hand fanned one in two scoreless frames. After pitching a shutout eighth frame, Mike McClendon was charged with the blown save with his two runs given up in the ninth. Ottavino scattered 10 hits for four runs in six innings. Victor Marte (2-3) struck out one in a scoreless frame for the win. The Sounds and Redbirds will continue their series at 6:05 pm CT on Sunday at AutoZone Park. Left-hander Chase Wright (3-4, 5.87) will start for Nashville against Memphis left-hander Nick Additon (1-3, 3.08). Nashville Box Score Boggs played leftfield & added three walks out of the leadoff spot. Caleb Gindl manned centerfield, but was hitless in five at-bats. Josh Butler helped himself with a single in the second inning. Taylor Green went 0-4; Edwin Maysonet & Mike Rivera were both 1-5, with Rivera adding one RBI. Wheeler went 1-2 after coming on as part of a double-switch in the bottom half of the 8th inning. Butler's final line: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R/ER, 4 BB, 2 K, with 67 of 106 pitches thrown for strikes. Nashville Play-by-Play I'm a little surprised that McClendon was left out there to finish the 9th inning: Memphis Bottom of the 9th Donovan Solano doubles (15) on a ground ball to left fielder Brandon Boggs. Daryl Jones singles on a fly ball to left fielder Brandon Boggs. Donovan Solano scores. Matt Carpenter out on a sacrifice bunt, first baseman Mat Gamel to second baseman Taylor Green. Daryl Jones to 2nd. Aaron Luna singles on a ground ball to center fielder Caleb Gindl. Daryl Jones scores. Freddie Bynum strikes out swinging. With Bryan Anderson batting, Aaron Luna steals (4) 2nd base. Bryan Anderson strikes out swinging. Nashville Gameday

Sorry, I'm not on his case. I just didn't think he looked good in that one start. I don't claim to know much at all about him. His track record on the mound speaks for itself.

I think Greinke is going to go on a ridiculously long run of good starts, personally. I don't know if it's going to happen before or after the ASB, but he's just pitched so incredibly well, peripherally, that I think it's bound to happen. Counting stats at this point in the season can be doubled for conservative 'projections', but admittedly it's very unscientific. Greinke's projected to finish with 167.2 IP, which means the rate he's whiffed batters thus far is equivalent to 220 over that many innings. Even though he probably won't finish with 200 IP this season, his current K rate would produce around 260 strikeouts. Said K rate is approximately what Pedro Martinez did in his unbelievable 2000 season. Greinke's BB rate is remarkably similar to Pedro's that year as well. I don't mean to say I expect that kind of season from Greinke, but his skillset at this point compares well to contemporary elite pitchers. He's healthy, but physically & perhaps mentally he may still feel like he's just getting into the grind of a regular season. He's lined up to face Tampa Bay, the Yankees, the Twins, & then the Reds. That's not an easy stretch, so I'll guess post-ASB is when he really heats up. But at the same time it wouldn't surprise me to see Greinke fire on all cylinders next time out, or even against the Yanks. Whether or not anyone thinks luck has been a factor for Zack so far, clearly if he does get lucky in terms of results, he has the chance to go 7 or 8 strong innings any given night.

Seems like Herrera getting DFA'd won't even be hard for Chris Carpenter to explain to his son

He didn't even return a phone call from Brewers general manager Doug Melvin for two days after Milwaukee drafted him. Uh, really? You don't have 5 minutes to talk to your new boss? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif

The Brewers are the Cerveceros... shouldn't the DSL Brewers be the Cerveceritos?Works for me. I only ever studied German, which has come in so useful in my life beyond school. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eyes.gif

I have to tap out. I'm dead tired right now, so apologies but Nashville's link report will be up in the morning.

Final: @Huntsville 6, Birmingham 5 Huntsville game notes (pdf) Huntsville Box Score Michael Bowman allowed five runs over six innings. Robert Hinton allowed four hits, but struck out two & walked none in his two innings of work. Jim Henderson pitched a scoreless 9th inning & registered the win. Logan Schafer's hitting streak was snapped at 13; he went 0-4 & didn't reach base. His defense apparently didn't slump, though, as he recorded an outfield assist at third base to end the top half of the third inning. Erik Komatsu, Sean Halton, Steffan Wilson, & Anderson De La Rosa each had two hits with one double. Angel Gonzales & Lee Haydel each added singles. De La Rosa had the big night as RBI-man, with three. Komatsu had the walkoff (bloop?) single in the bottom of the 9th -- Cool Breeze, indeed. Huntsville Play-by-Play 1st inning, go up 4-0 at home. Looking good: Huntsville Bottom of the 1st Logan Schafer flies out to center fielder Justin Greene. Erik Komatsu doubles (11) on a line drive to right fielder Kenneth Williams. Sean Halton singles on a soft ground ball to third baseman Tyler Kuhn. Erik Komatsu to 3rd. Steffan Wilson doubles (14) on a line drive to center fielder Justin Greene. Erik Komatsu scores. Sean Halton to 3rd. Angel Gonzalez singles on a ground ball to third baseman Tyler Kuhn. Sean Halton scores. Steffan Wilson to 3rd. Hainley Statia grounds out softly, pitcher Justin Edwards to first baseman Christian Marrero. Angel Gonzalez to 2nd. Anderson De La Rosa singles on a ground ball to left fielder Brandon Short. Steffan Wilson scores. Angel Gonzalez scores. Lee Haydel grounds out, shortstop Greg Paiml to first baseman Christian Marrero. But after 7, Birmingham had rallied back to take the lead at 6-5. De La Rosa plated the tying run with a clutch two-out double: Huntsville Bottom of the 8th Steffan Wilson called out on strikes. Angel Gonzalez strikes out swinging. Wild pitch by pitcher Nathan Jones. Angel Gonzalez to 1st. Hainley Statia grounds into a force out, pitcher Nathan Jones to shortstop Greg Paiml. Angel Gonzalez out at 2nd. Hainley Statia to 1st. Anderson De La Rosa doubles (6) on a ground ball to left fielder Brandon Short. Hainley Statia scores. Anderson De La Rosa to 3rd on the throw. Lee Haydel called out on strikes. The walk-off just gets posted, I think that's obligatory: Huntsville Bottom of the 9th Pitcher Change: Brian Omogrosso replaces Nathan Jones. Sergio Miranda hit by pitch. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Matt Cline replaces Sergio Miranda. Logan Schafer out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Brian Omogrosso to second baseman Alden Carrithers. Matt Cline to 2nd. Erik Komatsu singles on a soft fly ball to left fielder Brandon Short. Matt Cline scores. Huntsville Gameday

Final: @Cedar Rapids 8, Wisconsin 7, ten innings Game slips away in Cedar Rapids; Playoff chances take huge hit By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers could not hold a 7-0 lead on Friday night and it cost them a lot in the chase for their first playoff spot since 2005. The Cedar Rapids Kernels rallied to beat Wisconsin 8-7 in ten innings at Perfect Game Field. Reggie Keen got the Rattlers (37-31) off to a great start with a double to begin the game. He would score after a sacrifice bunt by Nick Shaw and an RBI grounder by Cody Hawn. Wisconsin got back-to-back- home runs from Chris Dennis and TJ Mittelstaedt in the top of the second. Greg Hopkins hit a leadoff home run in the top of the third. Later in the third, Keen drew a bases loaded walk to give the Rattlers a 5-0 lead. The Rattlers tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Mike Walker and an RBI single by Mittelstaedt. However, Wisconsin collected just one more hit in the game after that single by Mittelstaedt. Jimmy Nelson, the starting pitcher for the Rattlers, ran into trouble right away in the bottom of the fourth. He hit Ricky Alvarez to start the inning. Justin Bass followed with an RBI double. Brandon Decker tripled in Bass and would score moments later on a sacrifice fly by Wes Hatton to make the score 7-3. Nelson got the second out of the inning, but Carlos Lugo singled, Travis Witherspoon reached on catcher's interference, and Rolando Gomez reached on an infield single. An error on the play allowed Lugo to score and Witherspoon to take third. A wild pitch by Nelson let Witherspoon score and the Kernels had pulled to within 7-5 after four innings. Charly Bashara took over for Nelson in the fifth inning and allowed one hit over 3-2/3 innings. He left with a runner at second and one out in the eighth. Tyler Cravy entered the game and struck out both batters he faced to send the game to the ninth with the Rattlers still up by two runs. Wisconsin closer Greg Holle entered the game in the bottom of the ninth. Holle was 15-for-15 in save opportunities coming into Friday's game. He allowed a leadoff single to Jean Almanzar. Holle got ahead of pinch-hitter Marcus Nidiffer 0-2, but hit him with an off speed pitch to put the tying run on base. Then, Witherspoon singled to load the bases with no outs. Gomez knocked in the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to right, but Nidiffer held at second base. Holle got the second out on a high chopper to first, but both runners moved up a base. That brought Alvarez to the plate and Holle missed away on an 0-1 pitch. The ball got to the backstop and Nidiffer scored the tying run. The Rattlers were lucky to get the game to extra innings as Alvarez scalded the next pitch to left, but it was hit right at Mittelstaedt for the final out. Wisconsin went down in order in the top of the tenth. The Kernels got started immediately in the bottom of the tenth against Stosh Wawrzasek. Bass singled. He went to second on a wild pitch. A grounder to the right side moved Bass to third with the winning run. Wisconsin decided to walk Hatton intentionally to set up the double play. But, a pitch to Jesus Campos bounced well in front of home plate and rolled to the backstop. Bass scored the winning run easily. The Rattlers playoff chances may have rolled to the backstop with the baseball on the final pitch of Friday's game. The Quad Cities River Bandits, the team the Rattlers trail in the first half Western Division Wild Card race, defeated Peoria 4-1 at home. Wisconsin's loss and the win by Quad Cities reduced the River Bandits magic number to clinch the wild card to one. Both teams have two games remaining in the half. The Rattlers and Kernels play again on Saturday night at Perfect Game Field. Game time is 6:35pm. Wisconsin sends Jameson Dunn (2-0,, 1.59) out as their starting pitcher. The Kernels will counter with AJ Schugel (2-2, 3.41). Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattler.com with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. HOME RUNS: WIS: Chris Dennis (7th, 0 on in 2nd inning, off Baudilio Lopez, 0 out) TJ Mittelstaedt (5th, 0 on in 2nd inning, off Baudilio Lopez, 0 out) Greg Hopkins (2nd, 0 on in 3rd inning, off Baudilio Lopez, 0 out) WP: Daniel Tillman (4-1) LP: Stosh Wawrzasek (1-2) TIME: 3:49 ATTN: 3,427 Wisconsin Box Score Thank you, Chris Mehring, for an outstanding game recap. Firing on all cylinders tonight in spite of the disappointing outcome. Possible translation: I'm going to get lazy on this one, & speed up. Mittelstaedt went 3-4 with a walk; Dennis was 2-4 with the homer. Mike Walker's double was his only hit, and Mike Brownstein added a single. Nelson's final line was 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, & 4 K. Relievers Bashara & Cravy were effective: Bashara struck out three in his inning & one-third of action, with a 6:1 groundout:airout ratio. Cravy's two punchouts were as clutch as it gets. Wisconsin Play-by-Play The T-Rats pulled ahead 7-0 in the top half of the 4th: Wisconsin Top of the 4th Cody Hawn walks. Gregory Hopkins grounds into a force out, third baseman Ricky Alvarez to second baseman Wes Hatton. Cody Hawn out at 2nd. Gregory Hopkins to 1st. With Michael Walker batting, wild pitch by Seth Fowler, Gregory Hopkins to 2nd. Michael Walker doubles (12) on a fly ball to right fielder Jeremy Cruz. Gregory Hopkins scores. Chris Dennis called out on strikes. T. J. Mittelstaedt singles on a ground ball to center fielder Travis Witherspoon. Michael Walker scores. Tyler Roberts grounds out, second baseman Wes Hatton to first baseman Brandon Decker. ... before Jimmy Nelson self-destructed in the bottom half: Cedar Rapids Bottom of the 4th Ricky Alvarez hit by pitch. Justin Bass doubles (1) on a fly ball to left fielder Chris Dennis. Ricky Alvarez scores. Brandon Decker triples (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Reggie Keen. Justin Bass scores. Wes Hatton out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder T. J. Mittelstaedt. Brandon Decker scores. Jean Almanzar strikes out swinging. Carlos Lugo singles on a ground ball to left fielder Chris Dennis. Travis Witherspoon reaches on catcher interference by Tyler Roberts. Carlos Lugo to 2nd. Travis Witherspoon to 1st. Rolando Gomez singles on a ground ball to shortstop Mike Brownstein. Carlos Lugo scores. Travis Witherspoon to 3rd. Throwing error by shortstop Mike Brownstein. With Jeremy Cruz batting, wild pitch by Jimmy Nelson, Travis Witherspoon scores. Rolando Gomez to 2nd. Jeremy Cruz strikes out swinging. Hard for me not to show the bottom of the 8th inning. Bashara is chased after 3.1 innings of solid relief, and Cravy slams the door: Cedar Rapids Bottom of the 8th Ricky Alvarez doubles (14) on a fly ball to left fielder Chris Dennis. Justin Bass flies out to center fielder Reggie Keen. Pitcher Change: Tyler Cravy replaces Charly Bashara. Brandon Decker strikes out swinging. Wes Hatton strikes out swinging.