Jim Goulart

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

Sunday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: RHP Frankie De La Cruz at Salt Lake (Angels), 1:45 PM pre-game, 2:05 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 $39.99 season-long package ($9.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: RHP Taylor Jungmann at home vs. Montgomery (Braves), 3:48 PM pre-game, 4:03 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page Alex Cohen is the play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. It appears four Southern League teams air their home games on MiLB.TV, and we'll let you know when those dates pop up on the schedule ********** Brevard County: RHP Drew Gagnon at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 11:30 AM pre-game, 12:00 PM gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the link based on listed schedule Manatees audio, hooray! Dave Walkovic is the first play-by-play voice of the 'Tees since 2007, he's joined by Andy Towne; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio. All home games and many road games are scheduled to be broadcast. When road games are only available via the opponents' audio feed, we'll let you know that. ********** Wisconsin: RHP Tyler Wagner at Burlington (Angels), 1:40 PM pre-game, 2:00 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. MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; Wisconsin is one of four Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from four Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. NOTE: 32 of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel has seventeen games scheduled and WACY-TV My NEW32 plans to show fifteen games. We'll let you know when, but won't be providing day-before DVR reminders, so regularly check for proper channel and time planning (scroll to the bottom of this link).

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More audio! Brevard County game highlights Pre-game interview with SS Yadiel Rivera

Manatees double up Dunedin, 6-3 Brevard holds off late rally by Blue Jays By Dave Walkovic / Brevard County Manatees DUNEDIN, FLA. - The Brevard County Manatees held off a late rally attempt by the Dunedin Blue Jays in a 6-3 victory on Saturday night at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. After Kevin Shackelford allowed three straight hits and a run to start the bottom of the ninth inning, Tommy Toledo was called on to try and shut the door for the Manatees (22-19). Toledo entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with two men on and nobody out and the tying run at the plate. He induced a pop up by pinch hitter Matt Newman. Jon Berti, the next man up, hit a long drive to right field, but Lance Roenicke was able to track it down on the warning track for the second out. Jonathan Jones popped out to the first baseman Nick Ramirez to seal the win for the Manatees. Toledo earned his second save of the season. Brevard County jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. After Greg Hopkins reached on an infield single, Ramirez stepped up and launched a two-run homer to right field. For Ramirez, it was his sixth homer of the season, which ties him for the team lead. Dunedin (23-16) would respond with a run in the bottom half of the frame off of Manatees starting pitcher Jed Bradley. Andy Burns plated Jon Berti, who doubled, with an RBI groundout to second base. The Blue Jays tied the game at two in the bottom of the fourth. After Andy Burns singled and stole second, Marcus Knecht smacked a double to left field that Ben McMahan lost in the sun. Bradley (3-1, 3.82) would leave the game with an undisclosed injury with two outs in the fourth and a 2-0 count on Pierce Rankin. He allowed two runs on four hits, while walking two and striking out three. After Chad Pierce took over on the mound, the Manatees would take the lead back in the fifth. Roenicke started things off with a single up the middle. After Roenicke advanced on a wild pitch, Chadwin Stang followed with a roped RBI double to the left-center field gap. T.J. Mittelstaedt and Hopkins both walked to load the bases. Hopkins finished the night 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk. With the bases full, Ramirez grounded into a double play that scored Stang and gave Brevard County a 4-2 lead. The 'Tees would tack on two insurance runs in the seventh inning to extend the lead to four. Pierce was credited with the win, as he threw 3.1 innings of no-hit relief. Pierce walked five, but did not surrender a run. He also fanned three batters. The rubber match of the series will take place at 1:00 PM (12:00 Central) on Sunday afternoon. Drew Gagnon (3-3, 5.45) will take the mound for the Manatees. The Blue Jays will send Scott Copeland (3-1, 2.82) to the bump. Manatees relief pitcher Chad Pierce, seen here in a game from earlier this season, who despite five walks threw 3.1 shutout innings and earned the win in Brevard County's 6-3 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays on Saturday night at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. (Dennis Greenblatt/Hawk-Eye Sports Photography) http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/2/6/44496526/cuts/Pierce_4.7_huf9b9xl_7nrh2q0d.JPG

Stars Sweep Biscuits in Doubleheader By Alex Cohen / Huntsville Stars Two nights after clinching their first series victory since their opening five-game set of the season, the Huntsville Stars rode that wave of confidence by sweeping the Montgomery Biscuits in a series-opening doubleheader at Joe Davis Stadium on Saturday night. In game one, the Stars started off quickly against Biscuits starting pitcher Jacob Thompson (L, 2-5). Starting in the second inning, the Stars got a solo homer from center fielder Rene Tosoni and an RBI single from catcher Robinzon Diaz to make the score 2-0. One inning later, Huntsville got another solo home run, this one from first baseman Jason Rogers to put them up three. However, Mongtomery would not go down without a fight. With a sacrifice fly from left fielder Todd Glaesmann in the third and then a solo homer from catcher Mayo Acosta in the fourth off of Stars starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson (W, 5-2), the Biscuits cut the Stars lead to one. Then, after a pair of two-run singles by Rogers and outfielder Brock Kjeldgaard put the Stars back up by a score of 7-2 in the fifth, the Biscuits counteracted and chased Nelson from the game in the top of the sixth. Nelson allowed the first five batters of the inning to reach base, walked and hit a batter with the bases loaded and gave up a sacrifice fly to bring Montgomery within two. Fortunately for the Stars, that's as close as the Biscuits would get. Lefty Thomas Keeling and righty Greg Holle (S, 3) combined to shut out Montgomery through the final 1.2 innings following the exit of Nelson to give Huntsville the victory. Here's the Game One full audio highlights. In game two, the story was Stars starting pitcher Ariel Pena. The 23-year-old righty baffled the Biscuits bats all night, throwing 6.1 frames while giving up just three hits and one unearned run in the seventh inning. Pena also struck out seven batters and only walked two while dropping his season ERA to under 3.00 (2.95) for the first time all season. On offense, the Stars gave Pena all the run support he needed in the first two innings. As the third batter of the game in the first inning, outfielder Kentrail Davis hit a solo homer off of Biscuits starting pitcher Matt Buschmann to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. One inning later, a two-run single from shortstop Ozzie Chavez gave Huntsville a run cushion that they would not relinquish (audio highlight). The Stars got an RBI single from Tosoni in the fifth inning and back-to-back sacrifice flies by second baseman Nick Shaw and Chavez in the sixth inning as their other insurance runs. With the doubleheader sweep, the Stars won two games in a row at home for just the second time this season. Overall, the Stars have won three games straight and four of their last five (final out audio). The Stars and Biscuits will play game three of their five-game series at Joe Davis Stadium on Sunday. Huntsville will send RHP Taylor Jungmann (3-4, 5.35 ERA) to the bump to square off against Montgomery RHP Merrill Kelly (2-4, 4.40 ERA). First pitch is at 4:03 PM.

Nashville video from Friday night: Khris Davis lines and RBI single Trent Oeltjen homers off Tyler Thornburg (launched to deep left? Not quite)

Morris rejoins Sounds, homers twice Brewers prospect comes off disabled list, drives in four runs By Jonathan Raymond / Special to MLB.com Professional athletes typically are not wired in a way that makes it easy to just shut down and relax for a few days. But that's what is required of a player who suffers a concussion. Unlike a blow to just about any other part of the body, a head injury necessitates that he just turn everything off, at least for a short period. That was the challenge facing Hunter Morris on Saturday as he returned a week after a concussion put him on the disabled list for the first time in his career. The results suggest he handled it well. The Brewers' No. 4 prospect homered twice for the second time this year, going 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and four RBIs, as Triple-A Nashville cruised past Salt Lake, 11-0. "You know, that was my first career stint on the DL, so there was a lot of anxiety, obviously, with a head injury. That's something I've never had before and I was a little nervous about how the outcome was gonna be," Morris said. "But I got past the anxiety, past the pressure I was putting on myself. "I guess I could have not struck out the first at-bat," he joked, "but overall, I'd say it was a very good day." The 2010 fourth-round draft pick admitted to getting antsy in the first few days after the concussion. "The doctor, he told me the less mental activity you do the faster it's going to heal. Like if you sprain your ankle, you're not gonna go out and run a 40-yard dash," Morris said. "So with an injury to the head, you're not gonna watch TV, be messing around on your phone, sending texts, reading, all that stuff. He basically told me to go and be bored. "I wanted to come back as quick as possible, so I listened. It's tough, even sitting in a dugout and watching, you're putting yourself in situations mentally, trying to visualize everything going on on both sides of the ball, so it's tough to shut that side down, for sure." The 24-year-old had a breakout season at the plate in 2012, hitting .303/.357/.563 with 28 homers, 40 doubles and 113 RBIs for Double-A Huntsville. He'd scuffled some in his first exposure to Triple-A this spring, posting a .220/.303/.390 line in 32 games before going on the DL. Following Saturday's outburst, he's brought those numbers up to .238/.321/.459 with six homers and 17 RBIs. And he hopes it will mark a turning point in his season. "I've had a couple other good games along the way. Obviously, this is the best to this point, but I think hopefully with a little bit of confidence, having the seven days off kind of got my legs back under me right now, I'm gonna try to continue to get the same feel I had at the plate tonight and carry it through the rest of the year," Morris said. A pair of other Brewers prospects shined on Saturday, with Caleb Gindl (No. 16) going 4-for-5 with four RBIs and falling a triple short of a cycle. Leadoff man Scooter Gennett (No. 6) reached safely three times, finishing 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs scored. "To get out there and see the production, one through nine, in the lineup makes [a big game] a lot more fun," Morris said, "when it's not just your own success but the guy in front of you, the guy behind you, the whole lineup just clicking." The Sounds also got solid pitching as Zach Kroenke (1-6) scattered six hits over 6 1/3 innings for his first win of the season. Hunter Morris is slugging .459 in 33 games with Nashville this year. (Archive photo by Mike Strasinger/Nashville Sounds) http://www.milb.com/assets/images/9/7/0/47972970/cuts/morris480_aknizzwn_sajx9nwx.jpg

The Sounds' game story has been updated with audio highlights, check them out.

Nashville -- 1B Hunter Morris (concussion) activated from the 7-day DL. OF Cole Garner placed on the DL with an undisclosed injury.

Via Chris Mehring's blog -- Timber Rattlers Roster Moves: INF Mike Garza has been placed on the DL at Wisconsin, retroactive to 5/16. C Parker Berberet has been reinstated from the suspended list at Wisconsin. He will be active tonight at Burlington

Via Jeff Hem's blog -- Audio from Salt Lake — “Catching Up with Blake Lalli” Tonight’s interview is with Sounds catcher Blake Lalli, who rejoined the team Thursday after being optioned by the Brewers. Lalli discusses his time in the big leagues with the Brewers, his first-ever call-up last year when he was with the Cubs, the transition to feeling comfortable in the major leagues, his experiences in playing three consecutive full seasons at Double-A for the Cubs and his current role as both a catcher and first baseman.

LHP and new sidearmer Daniel Meadows gets a welcome and needed bump from Brevard County to Huntsville. INF Adrian Williams has been activated from the Manatee DL. The Stars will need to make a corresponding move, almost assuredly on the pitching side (currently with 13, they're not going to 14), but they may not have to make the move until Sunday. We'll see...

Weather.com: Salt Lake City Huntsville Dunedin Burlington, IA

Look for Nashville and Wisconsin media notes at the links just prior to their game times. New this season: Brevard County has media notes; as of now, it's a unique link each day, but look for it just prior to game time each day within the "Stats and Scores" banner here.

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.

STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League North Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division

Follow Saturday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Nashville Huntsville Game One Huntsville Game Two Brevard County Wisconsin New MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

Saturday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: LHP Zach Kroenke at Salt Lake (Angels), 7:15 PM pre-game, 7:35 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 $39.99 season-long package ($9.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: RHP's Jimmy Nelson and Ariel Pena in a doubleheader at home vs. Montgomery (Rays), 4:28 PM pre-game, 4:43 gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page Alex Cohen is the play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. It appears four Southern League teams air their home games on MiLB.TV, and we'll let you know when those dates pop up on the schedule ********** Brevard County: LHP Jed Bradley at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 5:00 PM pre-game, 5:30 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the link based on listed schedule Manatees audio, hooray! Dave Walkovic is the first play-by-play voice of the 'Tees since 2007, he's joined by Andy Towne; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio. All home games and many road games are scheduled to be broadcast. When road games are only available via the opponents' audio feed, we'll let you know that. ********** Wisconsin: RHP Eric Semmelhack at Burlington (Angels), 6:10 PM pre-game, 6:30 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. MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; Wisconsin is one of four Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from four Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. NOTE: 32 of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel has seventeen games scheduled and WACY-TV My NEW32 plans to show fifteen games. We'll let you know when, but won't be providing day-before DVR reminders, so regularly check for proper channel and time planning (scroll to the bottom of this link).

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

No, and none is planned. Just act as though the forum is our home page, and when you send your friends links or mention us to them, it's "forum.brewerfan.net".

Bees’ bats break out against Sounds Team gets off to hot start, scoring 10 runs in first three innings By Kyle Goon, The Salt Lake Tribune In the sixth inning, when the rain finally broke, the fans took shelter under coats and umbrellas. Many receded into the back rows, safely beneath the cover of the upper tier. But most of the crowd stayed at Spring Mobile Ballpark on Friday night, treated to a blowout win for the hometown Bees. The rain was a temporary hindrance, but Salt Lake showered runs on the Nashville Sounds in a 12-6 victory. In 42 games this year, the Bees have scored in double digits only one other time. On the heels of a disappointing defeat Thursday, manager Keith Johnson was relieved to see his team be more assertive in its at-bats. “We got ourselves in some hitting counts and didn’t consistently swing at balls, which is something we’ve been doing,” he said. “We made him throw strikes, and then when we got deep into counts, we either got good at-bats or took the walks and let the guys behind us drive us in.” The Bees pounded out runs as quickly as they could get them in the first three innings, gorging on Nashville starter Tyler Thornburg. He gave up six hits and five walks, and nine times the Bees circled the bags with him on the bump, gaining 10 runs before the third inning had ended. It came in part because the Bees were so effective with runners in scoring position, going 7 for 13. Andrew Romine and Efren Navarro each had a team-high 3 RBIs, but outfielder Trent Oeltjen had the highlight of the night with a towering right-side homer, his fifth of the year. “We battled, and I’d seen a lot of pitches,” Oeltjen said of his first-inning dinger. “The more you see, the better timing you get. I squared it up, and it felt nice. … But it’s awesome, because, one through nine, everyone contributed, and that’s one of the things to get a team going.” It would’ve been a runaway game if not for a shaky start from A.J. Schugel. The Sounds seemed to have his number, slamming the young right-hander for 11 hits in his five innings of work. But after Schugel spotted Nashville six runs in his appearance, the bullpen came in and zipped it up. The Bees didn’t allow another score with Rob Delaney, Mitch Stetter and Chad Cordero on the mound. Two runs in the bottom of the seventh all but assured a win. In all, eight Bees had at least one hit, and six batted in at least one run. “I’ve seen some crazy games in the PCL,” Romine said. “Nobody relaxed, and we all were getting after it even with a lead. All those guys who came in from the bullpen were getting after it.” The Sounds didn’t relax either, but it didn’t do them much good. Nashville pitching coach Fred Dabney had Nashville’s most stirring moment of the late innings when he covered up home plate with dirt after being ejected for arguing over the strike zone.

Manatees' pitching staff way up in arms Hurlers rank among best in FSL this season by Michael Parsons, FLORIDA TODAY The Brevard County Manatees have produced its share of major league pitchers. Yovani Gallardo, LaTroy Hawkins, Ryan Dempster, Josh Beckett to name a few. Just in the past season, Hiram Burgos went from the Manatees’ rotation to the Brewers’ starting rotation this year. And this season could see more names added if they continue to throw the way they have this season. “All around, our pitching staff has been solid. Our guys have the ability to control the baseball, command the ball and mix their pitches,” Manatees manager Joe Ayrault said. “Stuff-wise, I would take them, challenge them against anybody in the league.” And it is probably a winning proposition. Brooks Hall is among the top 10 in ERA in the Florida State League and induced 10 groundball outs in a solid outing Thursday night. Drew Gagnon already has tossed seven innings of perfect baseball this season and struck out 44 hitters in 38 innings. And first-round draft pick Jed Bradley is sporting a 3-1 record in seven starts. Jacob Barnes also has had a few starts, but is in the bullpen since he had to sit out with an oblique injury. But he came into Thursday’s game and was overpowering, tossing three innings of one-hit baseball. He struck out four and did not walk a batter, hitting 94 mph consistently on the gun. “He was very sharp, threw the ball really well for us,” Ayrault said of Barnes. “He lost a little time with a strained oblique, but he looked good.” And the addition will make a very good bullpen even stronger. The Manatees have given up just two earned runs in the past 19 2⁄3 innings heading into Friday night’s game with Dunedin. The bullpen took a hit Friday when closer Seth Harvey went on the disabled list. Harvey leads the Florida State League in saves with 10 this season. But the way this team has been pitching, they have some options. Four players have saves this season besides Harvey.

Via Jeff Hem's blog -- Audio from Salt Lake — “Hear It from (Johnny) Hellweg” Tonight’s interview is with Sounds right-hander Johnny Hellweg, who discusses his and the team’s victory last night, his continuing work in repeating his delivery after growing to 6’9″ after being drafted at 6’4″, how playing soccer in high school helped his baseball career and where he was last year when he found out he’d been traded from the Angels to the Brewers in the Zack Greinke deal.

Stars rained out, doubleheader at 4:43 Saturday afternoon.