TooLiveBrew

I sure as heck hope so

Sounds Defeat RedHawks, 7-3 Halton Leads Nashville With 2-for-4, Three-RBI Night Nashville Sounds http://i.imgur.com/snkGTQ0.jpg Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City, OK (photo taken from http://activitypit.ning.com/profile/MikePaterno) OKLAHOMA CITY - Sean Halton ripped a pair of doubles and drove in three runs to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 7-3 victory over the Oklahoma City RedHawks on Saturday evening at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Sounds grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning against Oklahoma City starter Tommy Shirley. After Jeremy Hermida drew a leadoff walk, the red-hot Halton (2-for-4) plated him by driving an RBI double to left. Halton, who is hitting .400 (28-for-70) over his last 17 contests, later scored on a double play grounder. Oklahoma City halved the Nashville lead to 2-1 in the home half of the second against [Mike] Fiers when Preston Tucker scored on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Max Stassi. The Nashville right-hander avoided further damage in the frame as he fanned Jiovanni Mier to strand runners at second and third. Halton continued his solid night in the fourth when he ripped a two-run double to straightaway center to stretch the lead to 4-1. Jason Rogers and Jeremy Hermida, who each coaxed walks from Shirley, [both] scored on the two-bagger, the outfielder's second of the night and 18th on the year. Hector Gomez added to the rally and made it a 5-1 contest when he plated Halton with an RBI single. Nashville kept it going in the fifth against Shirley. Irving Falu reached on a bunt single and later scored on Jason Rogers' sacrifice fly to run the score to 6-1. RedHawks first baseman Matt Duffy led off the home half of the fifth with a solo homer to left-center off Fiers, the slugger's ninth big fly of the year. Oklahoma City later loaded the bases against the Sounds' right-hander and Fiers issued a two-out walk to Austin Wates to force home Miller to reduce the Nashville lead to 6-3. Preston Tucker followed with a first-pitch rocket off the right-hander that was right at Matt Clark, who snared the liner with a lunging grab for the final out of the frame. Fiers (7-5) picked up his first victory since May 10th, a span of eight outings for Nashville, after holding the 'Hawks to three runs on three hits over his five frames of action, walking four batters while striking out four during his 80-pitch effort. Kevin Mattison opened the Sounds' seventh with a bunt single and later scored from second on a one-out Eugenio Velez single to center, which chased Shirley from the contest. Shirley (0-1) drew the loss after surrendering seven runs on 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings. The damage could have been worse, but the southpaw induced four double-play groundouts from the Sounds on the night. Brewers reliever Jim Henderson made his first rehab appearance for Nashville in the contest and worked around a leadoff walk to toss a scoreless inning, throwing 16 pitches (10 strikes). Alfredo Figaro closed out the victory with a pair of scoreless relief innings for Nashville. The Sounds will look to secure only their third winning road series of the year when the teams wrap up the four-game set with a 6:05 p.m. finale on Sunday evening. Right-hander Taylor Jungmann (4-5, 5.66) will toe the slab for the Sounds and face Oklahoma City southpaw Rudy Owens (5-4, 5.16). Nasvhille Box Velez, Clark, & Mattison each joined Halton with a pair of hits/ Nashville Game Log The RedHawks went down a man after their first plate appearance: Okla. City Bottom of the 1st -Jonathan Villar called out on strikes. -Oklahoma City RedHawks shortstop Jonathan Villar ejected by HP umpire Adam Schwarz. -Ronald Torreyes pops out to first baseman Matt Clark. -Marc Krauss grounds out, second baseman Irving Falu to first baseman Matt Clark.

Dragons defeat Wisconsin 9-3 Rattlers drop third straight game By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/0/8/85371208/cuts/Out_at_Third_WEB_onvjhgg7_y5tbpl5b.jpg Taylor Brennan tags out Joe Hudson at third base for the final out of the fourth inning (Ann Mollica/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Dayton Dragons defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 9-3 on Saturday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Dragons had ten hits as they pulled away from the Rattlers with two runs in the sixth and four in the seventh. Dayton (50-46 overall, 14-14 second half) took the lead in the first inning. Jamodrick McGruder singled to start the game against Wisconsin starter Tristan Archer. Robert Ramirez hit a two-run homer that just stayed fair down the right field line with one out and the Dragons were up 2-0. Wisconsin (50-47, 14-14) scored a run without a hit in the bottom of the first. Chris McFarland reached on an error. Clint Coulter was hit by a pitch and David Denson drew a walk to loaded the bases. Taylor Brennan drew a second walk in the inning to force in McFarland and cut Dayton's lead to a single run. Phillip Ervin tripled to start the top of the fourth inning. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Gabriel Rosa scored Ervin and gave the Dragons a 3-1 lead. Michael Ratterree pulled the Timber Rattlers back to within a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ratterree launched a solo home run to left with two outs to make the score 3-2. The homer was the sixteenth of the season for Ratterree. Defensive lapses cost Wisconsin in the top of the sixth inning and the Dragons scored a pair of unearned runs off reliever Luke Curtis. Ramirez drew a one out walk and went to second when a pickoff throw to first was not caught. Then, Ervin sent a routine grounder to short that was missed for an error that put runners on the corners. Avain Rachal drove in Ramirez with another sacrifice fly. Joe Hudson followed with a triple to right-center to knock in Erin for a 5-2 lead. Dayton put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh against Zach Quintana as they sent ten men to the plate and scored four runs. Carlton Daal tripled with one out. McGruder singled to left for a 6-2 lead. A walk, a wild pitch, and an intentional walk loaded the bases. Ervin drew another walk to force in a run. Rachal had another sacrifice fly and Hudson drove in a run with a single to make it 9-2. Quintana walked Rosa to reload the bases and was relieved by Chris Razo, who got the final out of the seventh. Razo would toss a scoreless eighth and a scoreless ninth inning, too. Wisconsin loaded the bases for one more attempted rally in the bottom of the ninth. David Denson reached on an error, Brennan walked, and Rafael Neda singled with one out against Pedro Diaz, the third Dayton pitcher of the night. Angel Ortega singled to left to knock in Denson to pull the Rattlers to within 9-3. Nolan Becker took over for the Dragons and struck out the next two batters to finish the game. Game two of the series is Sunday afternoon. Clint Terry (2-2, 3.25) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Jackson Stephens (2-1, 3.98) is set to start for the Dragons. Game time is 1:05pm. Timber Rattlers Box Score Neda (2-3, BB) had the only multi-hit game for Matt Erickson's club. McFarland, Ratterree, Brennan, & Omar Garcia each notched one hit. Timber Rattlers PbP

Really nice piece by Adam McCalvy on Segura's return to the lineup VIDEO: Segura receives nice ovation from DC crowd

Nashville (Game Two) Sounds Slip Late In 9-7 Loss Nashville's Orr Contributes Three Hits; Gindl Homers Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/8/4/6/81836846/cuts/MPS_9394_Large_cobaalws_8c32hck7.jpg OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- The first-place Nashville Sounds (52-48) could not contain the resilient Oklahoma City RedHawks (51-50), as the Sounds blew two leads in a 9-7 loss in Game 2 of a doubleheader at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on Friday night. Trailing 7-6 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the RedHawks reeled three runs off of Sounds reliever Jose De La Torre, who was saddled with the loss. The Sounds have now held leads in 19 of their 29 road losses during the 2014 season, but still sport an impressive 6-2 mark in games played as a part of doubleheaders this season. It didn't take long for the Sounds to continue their hot hitting from Game 1, as Caleb Gindl smacked a two-run home run following a Pete Orr single to lead off the game to give Nashville an early 2-0 advantage. Gindl's blast gives Nashville homers in 14 of its last 18 games. The Sounds padded their lead by adding two more runs in the top of the third, as Nashville strung four straight hits off of RedHawks starter Asher Wojciechowski to begin the frame. After Kevin Mattison led the inning off with a double, Orr scored him on a bunt single and advanced on a throwing error. Jason Rogers then followed with an RBI single. Orr was an important part of Nashville's offense, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored in Game 2 while racking up four hits total across the doubleheader. Like in Game 1, the RedHawks struck back, but they were able to complete the comeback to avoid being swept in the twinbill. A two-run double by Jonathan Villar in the bottom of the third cut the Sounds lead to 3-2. Oklahoma City then had their breakthrough in the bottom of the fifth, as the RedHawks offense tagged starter Ariel Pena and reliever Arcenio Leon for four runs on three hits and three walks. Pena (6-6) was effective in his first four innings before struggling in the fifth. He ended up going 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on three hits while striking out four and walking up three. Nashville took the lead back from the RedHawks in the top of the sixth when Mattison knocked in two runs with his second double of the game, but the bullpen would not be able to hold on for the victory. The Sounds and RedHawks will resume the series tomorrow at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Sounds ace RHP Mike Fiers (6-5, 2.52) will make his first start after the All-Star break opposite Oklahoma City RHP Tommy Shirley (0-0, 6.00). Jeff Hem will have the call on 102.5 The GAME. Nashville Box Score (Game Two) Nashville PbP (Game Two)

Nashville (Game One) Sounds Fend Off RedHawks, 7-6 Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/8/4/6/81836846/cuts/MPS_9394_Large_cobaalws_8c32hck7.jpg OKLAHOMA CITY - The first-place Nashville Sounds (52-47) survived a late surge from the Oklahoma City RedHawks Friday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, holding on for a 7-6 victory in game one of the doubleheader. Leading by one run with one out in the 7th inning, the Sounds allowed Oklahoma City a pair of runners in scoring position; but closer Jeremy Jeffress settled in to fire a strikeout and induce a groundout to end the threat and pick up his fifth save of the season. Nashville took the early 2-0 lead with a pair of RBI singles in the first inning from designated hitter Jeremy Hermida and outfielder Sean Halton, 3-for-4. Hermida's knock scored Caleb Gindl, who drew a four-pitch walk, while Halton's plated Jason Rogers, 2-for-4. The RedHawks cut the Sounds' lead down to one in the home half of the third inning when outfielder Domingo Santana drove a sacrifice fly to right field to score Carlos Perez. The run came against Sounds pitcher Michael Blazek, who worked a four-inning start for Nashville to limit the RedHawks to three hits. The Sounds offense exploded for five runs in the 4th inning. Catcher Matt Pagnozzi drew a bases-loaded walk to score a run, which was followed by Pete Orr's bases-clearing RBI triple. Rogers added one more run by driving a single past the RedHawks' third baseman. Nashville hitters batted around in the inning while Halton recorded two of his three hits. Halton becomes the first Sounds player to record two hits in the same inning since Caleb Gindl did so on July 1, 2012 vs. Iowa. Oklahoma City mounted a rally in the 6th inning by starting the frame with five consecutive hits off Sounds reliever Dustin Molleken. Shortstop Jonathan Villar hit an RBI single, while Perez and Austin Wates drove RBI doubles. During Marc Krauss' at-bat, Molleken chucked a wild pitch to allow the runner from third to score and make it a 7-6 game. Sounds reliever Brent Leach (4-1) picked up the win after working a scoreless 5th inning with two strikeouts. Following the nightcap, the Sounds will play game three of the series on Saturday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. RHP Mike Fiers (6-5, 2.52) will make the start for Nashville opposite the RedHawks' RHP Tommy Shirley (0-0, 6.00). Nashville Box Score (Game One) Nashville PbP (Game One)

Bowling Green beats Rattlers 6-2 to take series Rattlers strike out 15 times in second straight loss By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/1/0/8/85194108/cuts/July_18_2014_WEB_ddce1oc2_6o4v7n6a.jpg GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Bowling Green Hot Rods rode a four-run third inning to a 6-2 victory over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Friday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Rattlers dropped their second straight game to the Hot Rods to drop the three game series to their Eastern Division opponents. Bowling Green (44-52 overall, 12-15 second half) loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the third inning against Wisconsin starting pitcher Victor Diaz. Julian Ridings doubled to left-center to drive in the first two runs of the game. Kean Wong followed with a sacrifice fly to left. Ty Young got the final run of the frame home with a two-out single to center to drive in Ridings for a 4-0 lead. Daryl George hit the first pitch of the top of the fourth inning over the wall for a home run and a 5-0 advantage. Wisconsin (50-46, 14-13) had trouble putting the ball in play against Bowling Green starter German Marquez. The right-hander struck out eight of the first nine Timber Rattlers batters he faced. Marquez faced the minimum through the first four innings despite allowing a single and a hit batsman thanks to a caught stealing and a double play. The Rattlers broke through in the bottom of the fifth. Clint Coulter extended his current hitting streak to seven games with a leadoff single. David Denson followed with a single and Taylor Brennan drew a walk to load the bases. Dustin DeMuth also drew a walk and that forced in a run. Marquez got Jose Pena to ground into a 6-4-3 double play that allowed Denson to score. The inning ended on a strikeout but the Rattlers had pulled to within 5-2. Bowling Green added an unearned run against reliever Tyler Spurlin in the top of the sixth. George drew a walk and went to second on a grounder. He scored on an error with two outs and the Hot Rods were up 6-2. Wisconsin tried to rally against Bradley Schreiber in the bottom of the seventh. Brennan singled with one out to extend his hitting streak to a season high eight games. DeMuth followed with a double to put runners on second and third. But, the strikeout bug bit the Rattlers again as Schreiber struck out the next two batters of the inning to end the last Wisconsin scoring opportunity of the game. Anthony Banda pitched three scoreless innings of relief for the Rattlers to give the offense a chance to rally, but it didn't happen. Schreiber worked a 1-2-3 eighth and Andrew Hanse pitched a perfect ninth to close out the Rattlers. Wisconsin hitter struck out fifteen times on Friday night. That's the most times they have struck out in a game this season. Marquez had nine punchouts in five innings. Schreiber collected five in three innings. Hanse got one in his lone inning of work. The homestand continues on Saturday night with a game against the Dayton Dragons. Tristan Archer (3-4, 4.12) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Dayton sends Nick Travieso (7-5, 4.05) to the mound. Game time is 6:35pm. Wisconsin Box Score Chris McFarland, Coulter, Denson, Brennan, & DeMuth had the only hits tonight for the T-Rats (one apiece). Wisconsin PbP The Hot Rods opened the scoring & got all the offense they'd need in the 3rd: Bowling Green Top of the 3rd -Spencer Edwards singles on a line drive to center fielder Johnny Davis. -With Alexander Simon batting, Spencer Edwards steals (6) 2nd base. -Alexander Simon walks. -Elias Torres hit by pitch. Spencer Edwards to 3rd. Alexander Simon to 2nd. -Julian Ridings doubles (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Johnny Davis. Spencer Edwards scores. Alexander Simon scores. Elias Torres to 3rd. -Kean Wong out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Jose Pena. Elias Torres scores. -Oscar Hernandez pops out to third baseman Dustin DeMuth. -Tyler Young singles on a line drive to center fielder Johnny Davis. Julian Ridings scores. Tyler Young to 2nd on the throw. -Armando Araiza flies out to left fielder Jose Pena.

Denson with Biggie for his walkup music I like him more the more I learn about him.

T-Rats with a strong lineup. I'm at this one... excited to see an in-form Coulter, along with Denson, DeMuth, & others. I think we're going to see some offense.

What a great matchup. This should be a really good one.

He has the arm strength for it, at least imho. I don't know if anyone knows much of anything else about his non-C defensive skills, since he hasn't really played anywhere else. 3B would certainly be my next hope, but if his bat is as good as it looks like it could be, I wouldn't even care if he wound up in an OF corner.

He just doesn't realistically look like a catcher, defensively. Not meaning physique, but skillset. Part of me hopes he proves the doubters of his defense wrong, but the other part of me wants to see that bat kept as healthy as possible over the course of his career.

Yep! Now for the Brewers to find him a defensive home...

I concur with every part of this post. We taligated right next to a truck that blasted Mexican music the whole time... really put a cherry on top of the whole tailgate experience.

Yadi Molina has also consistently been good at framing pitches, iirc. He's just a really really good defender in all facets.

It's pretty cool to see the individual feedback of what brings people to the Link Reports

Oh yeah!!!!

Agreed -- it was great to hear that!

LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUC!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That HR swing by Cabrera in the 1st was unreal. Wainwright put the 2-seamer right in on Miggy's hands, right where Luc set up the target, and Cabrera kept his hands in & smashed it out. Wow.

"Have a good one, & congratulations to you, alright?" -- Jeter, to Lucroy, prior to the first pitch in the bottom half of the 1st

Awesome!

Honestly I think one thing to keep in mind through all of this is that... it's all still just pitching. I think players are able to adapt much more easily than we'd imagine sometimes. The bullpen/rotation discussions remind me of discussions about position players switching positions. It's all still just baseball.

Even though I agree with Briggs's take, I'm guessing Coghlan doesn't have a no-trade clause, so if the Cubs agreed to trade him it wouldn't matter what his preference was. I also agree with you, Briggs, in that Coghlan would be a good 4th OF trade target. Career .340+ OBP & .750+ OPS against RHP. Plus, prior to this season all his home games were in the pitchers' paradise of Miami. I'm not sure how strong he is defensively in CF, but he has at least played there. He'd be a really nice piece to complement the Crew's three RH starting OFs.

TheCrew07 needs help covering tomorrow night. I'm covering for him on Friday & Saturday, but won't be able to get to it on Wednesday. Any takers?