Jim Goulart

Miller Park Prospects -- Wisconsin Photo Gallery, Monday's game

Final: @AZL Padres 10, AZL Brewers 3 Maryvale Box Score The mini-Padres scored in six of their eight trips to the plate. This was the first really rough outing for 24th round RHP Bubba Blau (22 years old next month). 33rd round LHP Chad Reeves saw his numbers skew poorly after this one three-run inning, so tough when opportunities are limited. Particularly for the late-round college guys, an escape to Helena and beyond is so key. First baseman (looks like we can call him that now) Tanner Norton had the A-Crew's lone extra-base hit, a double, among the team's six base knocks (six walks, eight K's). Steady and solid production for Carlos Belonis and Monte Harrison, both at the plate and on the basepaths. Since they are two very important names for future reference, steady and solid certainly works for now. Spectacular can wait... Maryvale Game Log

When Nick Ramirez turns 25 on August 1st, among Huntsville's active position players, only 22-year-old Yadiel Rivera will be 24 or younger. Mitch Haniger, 23, remains on the DL since June 14th with his elbow issue. So we love the 62-39 record, it just needs to be tempered with perspective.

Final: Huntsville 5, @Jackson 2 Stars win opener in Jackson Jackson, TN - The Huntsville Stars came through late with some clutch two-out hitting leading them past the Jackson Generals 5-2 Monday night at The Ballpark At Jackson. The Stars took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a Nick Ramirez groundout to shortstop scoring Josh Fellhauer. The Generals responded with two runs in the bottom of the first inning against Huntsville starter Drew Gagnon (7-4). Pat Kivlehan doubled down the left field line tying the game at 1-1. Jackson then took the lead when Julio Morban grounded out to the first baseman Ramirez scoring Ketel Marte to give Jackson a 2-1 lead. The Stars tied the game with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. Yadiel Rivera reached on an infield single. Rivera then took second base on a wild pitch from Matt Anderson. Rivera advanced to third when catcher Steve Baron tried to get Rivera at second and his throw sailed into center allowing Rivera to score and tying the game at 2-2. Anderson worked six innings and allowed four hits on two runs. Anderson, took a no-decision. The Generals turned things over to their bullpen and LHP Cam Hobson (5-8) in the seventh with the game tied at two. With two outs, Adam Weisenburger and Rivera produced back to back singles. Nick Shaw then delivered a two-run single past the second baseman giving the Stars a 4-2 lead. Erik Komatsu added to the Stars lead with a two-out RBI single off Hobson in the eighth making it 5-2. Hobson suffered the loss for the Generals. RHP Tim Dillard pitched two scoreless innings out of the Stars bullpen setting up a save chance for David Goforth. Goforth recorded a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record his Southern League best 21st save of the season. Gagnon, who earned the win for the Stars, turned in his 10th quality start of the season. He went six innings allowing two runs on five hits. The Stars (16-15, 62-39) lead the Generals (12-18, 43-56) 1-0 in their five-game series. Game two will be Tuesday night. RHP Jacob Barnes (2-4, 4.55) will start for Huntsville. Jackson will send LHP Tyler Olson (4-5, 4.62) to the hill. The game can be heard starting at 6:50 pm CDT on 92.9 FM, 1450 AM and wtkiradio.com. *** Timely hitting by Stars beats Jackson The Jackson Sun Two-out, situational hitting wins baseball games. Coming up with the timely hitting most of the time is the difference between a win and a loss. The Huntsville Stars put on a clinic Monday night in their 5-2 win over the Jackson Generals. All five runs scored by the Stars came with two gone, and nine of their 10 hits came with one left in the inning as well. Generals manager Jim Horner said the club has got to do a better job of getting off the field if they want to make a run at the postseason. "We had a hard time getting off the field with two outs," Horner said. "The two runs in the seventh, the one run in the eighth [and] the one run in the fifth all came with nobody on base. "Next thing you know we give up a two-out hit or a two-out walk. It's just one of those things. You've got to get off the field." The only hit with less than two gone came in the top of the first when Generals starting pitcher Matt Anderson gave up a one-out triple to Stars left fielder Josh Fellhauer. Fellhauer scored on an RBI ground-out on the next play to give Huntsville a 1-0 lead. Anderson gave up one more run over the next five innings when his two-out wild pitch led to a throwing error from catcher Steve Baron got past centerfielder Leon Landry and trickled back to the wall to score Yadiel Rivera from first base. "He really did a nice job," Horner said. "He didn't have a whole lot of help defensively in the fifth obviously. "He had to make a lot of pitches because it seemed like the strike zone was small. But it was small for both ways." After dropping back-to-back heartbreaking losses in Montgomery then having a five-hour bus ride home Sunday night, Horner said he gives his players the benefit of the doubt for the poor defensive performance Monday night. "It was a tough trip last night," Horner said. "But we've got to play better defense. "A guy can't score from first on a single to center, and a guy can't score from first on a wild pitch. Those are just two gifted runs that we gave them." Huntsville Box Score Huntsville Game Log

A full Helena photo gallery in the Helena I-R this AM... *** One Helena scorekeeper was once the team’s pitcher

Brevard County - AUDIO: INF Greg Hopkins joins Andrew Luftglass on the Manatees Pregame Show to talk about coming back to Brevard and his host family in Wisconsin AUDIO, Game Highlights: Fort Myers defeats Brevard County, 4-2

The Sounds finally broke onto the scoreboard in a big way in the seventh, blasting a pair of mammoth 400+ foot homers to open the inning and knot the score at 2-2. First baseman Matt Clark broke up (Chris) Capuano's shutout bid when he led off the Sounds' seventh by blasting the southpaw's first pitch for a massive 442-foot solo homer to right-center, the slugger's second longball of the year. Shortstop Hector Gomez (2-for-4) followed with a game-tying, 421-foot moon shot to left-center, his team-leading 12th roundtripper of the season. The homers were Nashville's third set of back-to-back big flies this season. The red-hot Gomez is batting a team-best .357 (25-for-70) with 13 RBIs and 10 extra-base hits in the month of July for the Sounds. AUDIO: Matt Clark Solo HR AUDIO: Hector Gomez Solo HR Great calls, Jeff...

Link includes video interview with David Denson (the audio of which was included in the Rattler Radio blog postgame entry linked earlier -- Denson flashes power stroke for Timber Rattlers Tim Froberg, Post-Crescent Media GRAND CHUTE - Rehabbing an injury can be a long, tedious and incredibly boring process. David Denson knows all about such drudgery and is thrilled to be playing ball again following a lengthy stay on the disabled list. His return to the diamond has been anything but dull. In just his third game back with the Timber Rattlers after spending most of the summer rehabbing a broken hand, the 19-year-old first baseman displayed his impressive raw power in a 5-4 win over Dayton on Monday by blasting one of the longest home runs hit at Fox Cities Stadium in recent years: a monstrous solo shot over the center-field wall that traveled over 450 feet. The Timber Rattlers won on Jose Pena's game-winning walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th, but Denson wasn't around to celebrate on the field. He had been ejected from the game in the eighth inning when benches and bullpens from both teams cleared after Wisconsin's Tyler Alexander hit Jonathan Reynoso with a pitch. The plunking came one pitch after Dayton's Gabriel Rosa had slammed a long three-run homer off Alexander to give the Dragons a 4-2 lead. Reynosa quickly approached the mound and Alexander tossed his glove, but Wisconsin catcher Rafael Neda got between the two. Dayton's Jose Ortiz wanted to get at Alexander, too, and exchanged words with Denson, who made sure that Ortiz never made it to the mound. No punches were thrown in the incident, which took several minutes to defuse, but Alexander, Ortiz and Reynoso were tossed out of the game along with Denson. "It wasn't anything too big. I was just trying to protect my teammate," said Denson, a Los Angeles native who was the Milwaukee Brewers' 15th-round pick out of South Hills High School in the 2013 first-year player draft. "There were no fists thrown or anything like that. I was just holding someone back who was trying to get to my teammate. It just goes with the game." The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Denson is a big man and no one to mess with, but has an easy-going demeanor and said it was the first time he had ever been ejected from a baseball game. "It was kind of a shock to me because I'm not the type of guy who wants confrontation," said Denson. "But at the same time, I'm not going to let someone attack my pitcher and my friend. I was just protecting one of my friends. I wasn't going to let that happen." Denson, a left-handed hitter, is an intriguing player because of his youth, size and power. His tape-measure homer off Dragons left-hander Amir Garrett in the second inning was an absolute bomb that landed just to the right of the extended batter's eye that sits atop the wall beyond the boardwalk in center field. It was Denson's fourth homer of the season in 120 at-bats. "It was a fastball, high and inside," said Denson. "I've been working on pulling the ball and keeping my hands in, but still going to the pull side. It was the perfect pitch to do it and I took advantage of the opportunity." Denson missed over six weeks of the 2014 season after suffering a hamate fracture in his right hand in late May which required surgery. He completed a rehab assignment in Arizona before rejoining the Rattlers on Friday. "It felt like a really long process for me," said Denson, who is hitting .242 with 18 RBI. "But I just took it in stride. I took it day by day and it's just great to be back in T-Rat nation." It was a good day at the plate for all Timber Rattlers first basemen. Denson's replacement at first base following the ejection, Steven Halcomb, slammed an RBI double off the left-field wall to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth before Pena eventually won it with his one-out, opposite-field single to right. It was the second game-winning, walk-off hit of the season for Pena, who isn't hitting for average (.229), but has knocked in 44 runs. "I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and he threw me a fastball in," said Pena. "I've been working on hitting the ball the other way. It's a really good feeling to be able to do this." Harvey Martin (3-5) pitched 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief to get the win. Wisconsin starter Taylor Williams provided a quality start on his 23rd birthday, allowing one run on just three hits with a career-high nine strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. "I was able to throw all four of my pitches for strikes and felt like I had good command," said Williams. "It's getting later in the season, but I feel like I'm getting stronger and I'm getting smarter, too. I'm trying to learn from each outing and to show improvement every time I go out there."

Some Huntsville Pre-Game Notes from Steve -- The Stars allowed ten runs to the Smokies Sunday. It was only the fifth time this season the Stars had allowed ten or more runs in a game. It was the first time they allowed ten or more since Birmingham scored 18 runs in an 18-9 loss to the Barons on May 19th in Huntsville. Four out of the five games where the Stars have allowed ten or more runs has come at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville…The Stars allowed three home runs in one game for the second time in the series to Tennessee. In both of Tennessee’s wins in the series they hit three homers. LHP Brent Suter has now given up the most home runs in the Southern League with 13. The Stars pitching staff still has given up the most home runs in the league with 85, ten more than Pensacola… Even though Suter allowed 6 ER in 4.2 IP yesterday, Huntsville starters have still been impressive in their last six starts. They are 3-2 with a 2.94 ERA (33.2 IP, 11 ER)… Joey Paciorek extended his hit streak to six straight with a single in the 6th inning. In 16 games in the second half of the season, Paciorek is batting .341 with 2 home runs and 9 RBI. In 11 games in the first half, Paciorek batted only .214 with 1 RBI. He also remains the best pinch hitter for the Stars with his .333 average (4-12, 4 RBI)…Yadiel Rivera went 2-3 with a double. He now has five doubles in his last nine games and all six of his doubles have come in the last 12 games. He has played a total of 22 games since being called up from High-A Brevard County… Since the Stars clinched the 1st half championship they’ve gone 22-20.

AUDIO via Jeff Hem's blog -- "First pitch tonight on 102.5 The Game is set for 7:05, and coverage begins at 6:50 with this week’s installment of “Mondays with the Manager” with Sounds skipper Rick Sweet. He discusses the Sounds’ four-game series in Oklahoma City, today’s roster move with the Brewers’ calling up Jeremy Jeffress and optioning Rob Wooten, the offense’s productivity lately and the team’s outlook as it sits in first place with 42 games remaining in the regular season."

Alumni FYI (via Portland, ME): Reliever Michael Olmsted was released by Boston, ending his second stint in the Red Sox organization. Olmsted broke out in 2012, ending the season with a 0.00 ERA in AA Portland (12 games). A free agent, he signed with Milwaukee and was added to the Brewers’ 40-man roster. Milwaukee released him in spring training and Boston invited him back. Olmsted, 27, had a 0.93 ERA with the Sea Dogs (Portland, AA) in April, but it climbed to 4.45 by July and the Red Sox decided to move on, releasing Olmsted and promoting Dayan Dyaz, 25, another minor league free agent, from Class A Salem.

To see tweets as to when the Link Report has been technically "completed" with available links, as well as to know when the new day's Report has been posted, please follow @Mass_Haas on Twitter. *** Look for these just prior to the respective game times -- Nashville Media Notes - it's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Roster" banner on the Sounds' site. Brevard County Media Notes - again, it's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Manatees' site. Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog *** STANDINGS: (For split-season leagues, 2nd half standings are shown as the default, although overall standings are also available at the link.) AAA - Pacific Coast League American Southern Division AA - Southern League North Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division Rookie Advanced - Pioneer League North Division Rookie - Arizona Summer League Central Division DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris *** Sortable individual stat pages: Nashville Huntsville Brevard County Wisconsin Helena Maryvale Dominican Summer League Brewers *** Weather.com: Nashville, TN Jackson, TN Fort Myers, FL Grand Chute, WI (Appleton) Helena, MT Peoria, AZ Santo Domingo, DR

Follow Monday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Nashville Huntsville Brevard County Wisconsin Helena Maryvale DSL Brewers MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

That Rangers' club is 22-20. The Rangers #1 club is 35-7. Yikes!

Monday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: RHP Donovan Hand at home vs. Colorado Springs (Rockies), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Jeff Hem is the play-by-play voice of the Sounds; follow him on Twitter @jeffhempbp; we'll link to his blog updates at On the Air…and Off MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Nashville games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $49.99 season-long package ($12.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: RHP Drew Gagnon at Jackson (Mariners), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Steve Jarnicki is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars - welcome aboard! Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveJarnicki. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. MiLB.TV - It appears seven of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games (not the Stars). NOTE: This series in Jackson is available via MiLB.TV. ********** Brevard County: RHP Austin Ross at Fort Myers (Twins), 5:35 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the proper link based on listed schedule Dave Walkovic returns as the play-by-play voice of the 'Tees; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio, as all games are scheduled to be broadcast in 2014. No Florida State League games are available via MiLB.TV. ********** Wisconsin: RHP Taylor Williams at home vs. Dayton (Reds), 11:45 AM pre-game, 12:05 PM gametime Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM WNAM Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio. For the $49.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from seven Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. NOTE: Thirty-nine (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (30) will split duties. We'll let you know when and who, and remember to refer to the Rattlers' full TV schedule so you can coordinate your DVR activity. ********** Helena: RHP Jorge Ortega at home vs. Grand Junction (Rockies), 7:45 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link There's a new Voice of the Helena Brewers in 2014, as Dustin Daniel (@dustin__daniel on Twitter) takes over for legendary Steve Wendt. We look forward to Dustin building his own legacy moving forward. ********** Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at the Padres' complex in Peoria, 9:00 PM gametime; never audio for games in this league Miller Park Prospects - Arizona League Primer ********** DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Rangers #2 squad, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until later in the day We're also going to lock in the link to Brad Krause's fantastic Miller Park Prospects - Dominican Summer League primer right here, at least for the first couple of months of the DSL campaign, for your easy review. Brad will also be adding DSL Link Report duties to his Brevard coverage for us here. Thanks, Brad!

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The Manatees report that RHP Tyler Spurlin (stats) of the Timber Rattlers has been promoted to Brevard County, but has also been placed on their disabled list, retroactive to 7/19.

So for now, he meant Jeffress up, Wooten down as just announced by Brewers.

First, much speculation on my part: Here's MLB Trade Rumors on Steve Cishek. Then take a peek at my Twitter timeline from Monday AM to see where I'm going with this. BrewCrewBall responded -- Of note: Kusnick represents Jeremy Jeffress. Which "Mission Accomplished" would mean getting Jeffress back to the big leagues.

Latest from Tim Dillard

As noted above, the Rattlers have a noon matinee today, look for Monday's Link Report prior to that.

The Huntsville Times' Mark McCarter caught up with Jose Canseco (article). Of course, Canseco's PED run began in a Huntsville gym.

Make sure you read the latest feature posted in the Manatees thread, focused on RHP Tyler Wagner and his fantastic progression - you'll be reminded of his un-pretty 2012 Helena numbers.

Something major may be brewin' for Manatees' Wagner Michael Parsons, Florida Today Josh Beckett and Yovani Gallardo went from Space Coast Stadium to becoming major league baseball All-Stars. If the numbers are any indication, Brevard County Manatees starting pitcher Tyler Wagner could be next. Beckett was 6-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 12 starts with the Manatees in 2001. Gallardo went 6-4 with a 2.09 ERA in 13 starts in 2006 for the Manatees. So far this season, Wagner is 9-4 with a 1.71 ERA in 17 starts. He is scheduled to take the hill on Tuesday night in Fort Myers. The 1.71 ERA is tops in the Florida State League this season and he is tied for the top spot in wins with nine. What is the secret? Consistency. That and hating to give up a hit, not alone a run. "I go out there every time like I am going to give up no runs, no hits," Wagner said before Saturday evening's game with St. Lucie. "As soon as they get that first hit, every time I say, 'There goes the no-no.' I truly believe, every time, that I am going to go out and throw a no-hitter. But like I said, you can only control so much." Lately, the 23-year-old from Las Vegas has been controlling most everything. In the past five starts, he has given up just two runs in 34 1/3 innings, striking out 30 and walking seven. Wagner is still getting comfortable as a starting pitcher, something he really did not do throughout high school and college. As a matter of fact, you can probably count the number of starts he made on your fingers. In high school, he was a shortstop but pitched some. Then he was a closer, and a very good one, at the University of Utah. He holds the career saves mark there. But the Milwaukee Brewers saw his potential as a starting pitcher, drafted him in the fourth round in 2012 and converted him. At first he struggled, posting a 1-4 record with a 7.77 ERA at Helena in 13 starts. Since then, he's been getting better each season, compiling a 10-8 record with a 3.21 ERA last season in Wisconsin. "I think when I was closing, I would go out and blow it out every time. Throw as hard as you can because you only have one inning or two. Now it is more learning how to pitch, seeing the lineup three or four times through," Wagner said. "Realizing that you (don't) have a pitch in the beginning of the game and then slowly start to work it back and have that pitch in the fourth, fifth or sixth inning. Knowing in the back of your mind that you don't have to worry about that inning because you can develop it throughout the game." Wagner credits the improvement to taking things day by day. "I think it is just breaking it down to every day, getting the most out of every day, doing the most you can every day and being consistent," Wagner said. "I let the now effect the now and not let the past affect anything that happens in the now. But I think it is being consistent with the work ethic and trusting what (pitching coach) Dave Chavarria and the manager are doing with me and the work that I am putting in." It's that thinking that has the Florida State League All-Star looking like maybe, just maybe, he will be a major addition to the Milwaukee Brewers' rotation in the near future. Just like Beckett and Gallardo before him. (Dennis Greenblatt/Hawk-Eye Sports Photography) http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/5ff275b00b1eb14722cd09f8f08c10ff45422250/c=280-0-4873-3453&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/Brevard/2014/07/20/-brebrd04-26-2014daily1c00120140425img-tylerwagner1.jpg2011rh7.jpg

Brevard County - AUDIO: LHP Mike Strong joins Andrew Luftglass on the Manatees Pregame Show AUDIO, Game Highlights: The Miracle defeat the 'Tees, 7-4