Jim Goulart

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Baseball America: N.C. State's Rodon Transforms Self Into A True Ace Wins 2012 Freshman of the Year Award

Thornburg victorious in Triple-A debut After big league start, Brewers prospect pitches five innings By Danny Wild / MLB.com Tyler Thornburg learned a few weeks ago that he was finally getting the promotion to Triple-A for which he'd been waiting. Then, unexpectedly, he took a brief detour -- to Milwaukee. Now he's sleeping on couches in Nashville. Thornburg finally made his Triple-A debut Wednesday, 15 days after getting a spot start in his Major League debut on June 19. The Brewers' No. 4 prospect was quickly optioned back to the Minors after a no-decision against Toronto and he saw his first action with Nashville on Wednesday, going five innings for the win. While it was a path most pitchers don't take, it was an opportunity Thornburg won't forget. "It's been a pretty hectic couple weeks or so, my car is still packed, I haven't unpacked my bags even," said Thornburg, who'd been on the Triple-A disabled list since June 25. "I haven't found a place to stay in Nashville yet, but I wouldn't trade it for anything." Against Memphis, the Cardinals' top affiliate, Thornburg (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits, throwing 49 of 66 pitches for strikes. He fanned six and did not walk a batter in his first outing since serving up four homers in 5 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays at Miller Park. So after crashing on teammates' couches and sampling Nashville-area motels, Thornburg finally felt at home. "It was good. I've been on the DL for a couple weeks, so this was good," he said. "I wish I could have gone deeper into the game, but I had a lowered pitch count." Thornburg's two mistakes Wednesday came, oddly enough, against Memphis starter Brandon Dickson. The Redbirds right-hander hit an RBI single in the third and a run-scoring double in the fifth. "I definitely felt good, didn't miss a beat," Thornburg said. "I was kind of wondering what to expect after such a layoff, but I felt good." Thornburg, a 2010 third-round pick, struck out four over the first two frames before Pete Kozma singled, stole second and scored in the third. He worked a 1-2-3 fourth, striking out Cardinals top third base prospect Zack Cox to end the inning. But Mark Hamilton's leadoff double in the fifth led to Dickson's second RBI of the night. "The pitcher got both RBIs," Thornburg said with a laugh. "That the first time I've given up a hit to a pitcher, and they both went for runs." Thornburg, who hit a double in his big league debut, went 8-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 13 starts at Double-A Huntsville. The plan was for him to attend the Southern League All-Star Game on June 19, then drive to Nashville. But when Shaun Marcum experienced tightness in his pitching elbow, the Brewers called on Thornburg to face Toronto. He cruised through five innings before allowing consecutive homers to Colby Rasmus, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. After the game, Milwaukee recalled right-hander Mike McClendon and sent Thornburg to Nashville. "I'm just hotel-hopping at the moment," the Houston native said. "A couple guys let me sleep on their couch, so I've been doing that." Such is the glamorous life of a Major Leaguer-turned-Triple-A ace. And Thornburg is soaking it up. "The Major League experience was awesome," he said. "I learned what you can and can't do, and that helped me mature a lot as far as knowing how to pitch at that level. It helped me a lot at the Triple-A level -- pitching here, it's a very similar way of pitching. "It's a little different in Triple-A, you have your young prospects and some older guys, former Major Leaguers that have been around a while, so it's a lot of different mixes." Thornburg is his own category in that regard, a 23-year-old at the top of Milwaukee's list of prospects when the need arises. He's not sure what the plan is moving forward. "I think they're just taking it start by start, the same way they would have before [going up]," he said. "I'm very fortunate with the situation, to get called up. I think they'll treat it like it never happened." It did happen, and Thornburg will be ready for the next time.

STARS SNAP FOUR-GAME SKID HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – To open up a six-game home stand at Joe Davis Stadium, the Huntsville Stars snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory against the Chattanooga Lookouts on Wednesday night. Beginning the Independence Day affair, the Lookouts scored their only run of the game in the top half of the first inning. Following a lead-off triple by second baseman Rafael Ynoa off of Stars starting pitcher Hiram Burgos, a sacrifice fly by center fielder Nick Buss put Chattanooga on top early 1-0. Fortunately for the Stars, that would be the only scoring on the night for the Lookouts offense. Burgos shutdown the Chattanooga bats, improving to 4-1 on the season after giving up just one run and six hits in six innings of work while striking out seven. Stars relievers Darren Byrd, Mitch Stetter and Brandon Kintzler each pitched an inning of scoreless relief. In the bottom half of the second inning, the Stars took the lead for good. After third baseman Hainley Statia was hit by a pitch by Chattanooga starter Ethan Martin to begin the inning, a RBI double by Kentrail Davis scored Statia to tie up the game. The next at-bat, catcher Anderson De La Rosa singled home Davis to give the Stars a 2-1 lead. For insurance, Huntsville tacked on three runs in the eighth inning. With the bases loaded, Lookouts reliever Luis Vazquez hit both De La Rosa and right fielder Juan Sanchez with pitches to bring home runs. Center fielder Josh Prince also came through with a sacrifice fly. The win for the Stars snapped a four-game losing streak overall. The Stars will play game two of a three-game series against the Lookouts on Thursday at Joe Davis Stadium. First pitch is at 6:43 PM.

Mustangs catcher Wagner Gomez looks to tag Alfredo Rodriguez of Helena at home plate during play on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 at Dehler Park. Rodriguez was called safe and Mustangs manager Pat Kelly was ejected from the game after arguing the call. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/6b/86b705da-079e-54e5-a1f0-7de3a33d9493/4ff51d6e8793a.preview-620.jpg You really have to check out the final three photos in this Billings Gazette photo gallery by Paul Ruhter and view the final three photos of Kelly mocking the umpire, pretty hilarious. *** 3 NOT QUITE ENOUGH Helena edges Mustangs 8-7 despite Maddox's 3 homers by Greg Rachac, Billings Gazette Mustangs manager Pat Kelly says Robert Maddox is trying to show the Cincinnati Reds that they’re making a mistake by confining him to Rookie-level Billings. Maddox made a colossal statement to that effect Wednesday, belting three home runs in an 8-7 loss to Helena during a Fourth of July matinee at Dehler Park. It was a supreme power performance by Maddox, who in June was shipped back to Billings for the third straight season by parent club Cincinnati in the hopes he’d find a more all-around, disciplined swing. All Maddox has done in return is dominate Pioneer League pitching. And after Wednesday’s 3-for-4, five-RBI effort, Maddox is hitting .340 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 13 games. He’s slugging .740 and has an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.122. “He’s made the progress that we’ve asked,” Kelly said. “He’s tried to hit the ball the other way, and by doing that, when he gets those pitches on the inner half (of the plate) he can turn on them. He’s shown a much better approach. “And he’s got a mindset. He wants to prove the organization wrong. He believes he should be at (Single-A) Dayton, and he’s going to prove it by swinging the bat.” Maddox’s third home run came against Helena reliever Taylor Wall in the seventh inning. It was a towering three-run shot to right-center field that momentarily gave the Mustangs the lead. Billings’ bullpen eventually gave those runs back in the top half of the eighth to squander the game. It ended with Maddox, a middle-round draft pick in 2010 out of Ohio University, standing on-deck with the team trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth. “You always want that shot to either win the game or tie it up,” Maddox said. “I was anxious. I wanted to get up there. But that’s how the game is. “This was one of those freak games you can have. I saw the ball well today. It was one of those days where the power was there. Hopefully I can build off this and continue the rest of the season.” From start to finish, the game was the personification of minor league baseball. Aside from Maddox’s tape-measure home runs, there were plenty of hits, errors, walks, stolen bases and, yes, controversies to go around. It was 3 hours and 24 minutes of unadulterated fun for the 3,927 fans in the ballpark. The game had so many wild twists that the Mustangs even left the field in the top of the eighth thinking they’d gotten the required three outs to end the inning. Once they were informed only two outs had been recorded, all nine position players returned to the field from the dugout — the ultimate walk of shame. Kelly was ejected in the eighth for arguing a play at the plate in which Helena’s Alfredo Rodriguez was ruled safe on a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Chris McFarland. The throw from Dan Pigott clearly beat Rodriguez to the plate, but Rodriguez still appeared to sneak under the tag of Mustangs catcher Wagner Gomez. An irate Kelly stormed out of the dugout to argue the call with umpire Farris Pierson. Kelly was ejected when he spiked his helmet off the turf behind the plate. In three innings of work, Mustangs starter Robert Stephenson, a first-round draft choice by Cincinnati in the 2011 draft, wasn’t quite the same pitcher fans had seen previously. The right-hander quickly reached his pitch count due largely to four walks, which doubled his combined total from three earlier starts. In all, Billings’ pitching staff walked 12 and gave up seven hits. Kelly said Stephenson “was missing a little bit more than normal, and I thought at times he hurt himself with some pitch selection. He’s had some success throwing breaking balls late in some counts, but I thought today it hurt him. It led to some walks. “He burned up a lot of pitches in three innings, which was a shame because we had to go to the bullpen early.” Inside the series Neither Billings nor Helena took their usual pre-game drills after arriving to town from the road early Wednesday morning. But they’ll return to their normal batting practice schedules before Thursday’s game. … The teams will play the second game of their three-game series Thursday at Dehler Park. The Mustangs will send starter Ismael Guillon (0-1, 5.40 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is set for 7:00 PM (8:00 Central).

Kernels, fans endure heat, tough 10-9 loss to Wisconsin Jeff Johnson, Cedar Rapids Gazette CEDAR RAPIDS – Jamie Burke is the smartest man in America. The Cedar Rapids Kernels manager was ejected in the second inning of Wednesday’s sweat-athon against Wisconsin at Veterans Memorial Stadium, his first career dump. There’s air conditioning in the Kernels clubhouse, so the skipper didn’t have to be out in the 98-degree heat, let alone watch his club blow a late lead and lose, 10-9. “I just felt like the strike zone was a little low,” explained Burke, who watched part of the game from the tunnel behind home plate. “It wasn’t like I said anything rude. That’s the first time I’ve ever been tossed out, and it wasn’t something I was looking forward to. I was just protecting my players.” Burke theorized the umpiring crew of Mike Huus and Luke Engen may have been carrying a grudge from last week, when the Kernels were in Quad Cities and had issues with some key calls that went against them. Everyone’s fuse is a little shorter in weather like this. “I’m kind of used to it, being from North Carolina,” shrugged Kernels catcher Zach Wright. “In the summers, the temperature on the field back home would get up to like 120 degrees. I mean, it’s hot out there, for sure. But I feel like it’s a dry heat.” Wright said he figures he lost “maybe three or four pounds” in water weight behind the plate. He had to change undershirts during the game. Kernels trainer Omar Uribe always makes sure there is plenty of Gatorade and water for his players in the dugout. Dipping faces in ammonia towels also is very popular and refreshing. “On our end, it’s just really (reminding them) in passing ‘Hey, get some water in you,’” he said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys here that are pretty responsible with stuff like that. A lot of guys are from areas that are like this already … A lot of our guys are a little older. We don’t have a bunch of high-school kids that you might have to worry about.” Kernels management dispersed 5,000 pounds of ice to fans Wednesday, scooping it into paper cups. Ice lines were long, as you’d imagine. Despite the hottest day of the year, the attendance was 4,114. “Ice was our best seller today,” Kernels General Manager Doug Nelson joked. “We ran out here and had to run across the street to the Ice Arena to get some more.” Cedar Rapids (35-48) dropped to 3-10 in the second half with another punch-in-the-stomach loss. The Kernels led after six innings, 6-3, but relief pitcher R.J. Alvarez was torched for two home runs and six runs in the seventh. Chadwin Stang hit a grand slam to put the Timber Rattlers (51-37 overall) up for good. Nick Ramirez added a mammoth two-run shot to right. The parent Angels’ top draft pick in June (114th overall), Alvarez has impressed with his mid-90s heat (pun intended) and had allowed just three hits and no runs over seven innings coming into the game. It’s been that kind of a second half thus far for the Kernels. “He’s not going to have outings like that,” Burke said. “He’s not going to have many of them, I’ll tell you that. Today was just his day.” Wright’s two-run homer with two outs in the ninth brought Cedar Rapids within a run, but Zach Borenstein popped to third to end it. Cedar Rapids Kernels General Manager Doug Nelson (green) and Kernels employee Ron "Roady" Plein pass out cups of ice to fans Wednesday. http://thegazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Ice-300x168.jpg

Mittelstaedt ready to wear many hats for Stars By Bill Bryant, The Huntsville Times HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- For T.J. Mittelstaedt, it's like he's a teenager all over again. One day he's at third base. The next, left field. He might fill in at second base if necessary, and right field won't be a problem, either. He's played there plenty, too. "When I was 13 and playing travel ball, the coaches wanted me to play everywhere because I could play everywhere," Mittelstaedt said. "We had a bunch of good guys in the infield, so instead of sitting someone who was hot, I'd go in the outfield. "Fifty percent outfield and 50 percent infield. That's pretty much how I've been since high school." It's also how the former Long Beach State standout has been able to work his way to Double-A since being a 44th-round draft pick by the Brewers in 2010. The 24-year-old made his debut with the Huntsville Stars on Tuesday night in Birmingham, poking a double and scoring their lone run in a 5-1 loss. He played third in his Stars' debut. He moved to left Wednesday -- going 0-for-4 with a walk -- as Huntsville beat Chattanooga 5-1 in the first of a six-game homestand at Joe Davis Stadium. "He's a good player, a heads-up player," Stars manager Darnell Coles said. "He can play a number of places. It's never a bad thing to be versatile." Some players make their way up the minor league food chain based on sheer numbers. Mittelstaedt has held his own on that count, but the number of positions he can play has given him added credibility. Before being called up from Brevard County, he'd played 39 games in the outfield and 37 in the infield. Last year at Wisconsin in the Midwest League, he even pitched in a couple of games. "That was strictly a saving the bullpen kind of thing," laughed Mittelstaedt, who still works on his knuckleball occasionally in the outfield. Because he plays in so many spots, time management is essential in Mittelstaedt's day-to-day preparation. He makes sure he never goes two straight days without getting work in the infield, just in case he's needed. Mittelstaedt would just as soon stay in the outfield or play second base, though he said "the ability to change the game at third with a big play can get me going." Regardless of what number is beside his name on the lineup card, the 5-foot-10, 185-pounder has shown an inclination to hit, often with surprising power, and steal bases. Last year, the left-handed batter hit .293 with 12 homers and 28 steals in 113 games. In 76 games at Brevard County, he poked nine homers, 17 doubles and seven triples to go along with 14 steals. "He finds a way to get his at-bats," Coles said. "If you get locked into a certain position (in an organization), and there's someone in front of you who can really play, it can be tough. But he's able to keep his options open, which not everyone can do." Having watched his team struggle to score runs in recent games, Coles can appreciate what Mittelstaedt brings to the plate. "He's got a good idea of what to do as a hitter," Coles said. "He takes pitches, he's not afraid to hit with two strikes. He's a welcome addition to our team." Mittelstaedt, for his part, is happy to be here. "It's the next step, and it came a little sooner than expected," he said. "It's a real good chance for me to prove what I can do." T.J. Mittelstaedt had nine homers and 17 doubles in only 76 games at Brevard County. (Huntsville Times Photo/Dave Dieter) http://media.al.com/sports_impact/photo/11269515-small.jpg

RHP Johnnie Lowe gets sent to Huntsville from Nashville, swapping spots with Jesus Sanchez. For the most part, Lowe did a nice job in his first AAA stint, but the Brewers need to start giving long looks to Sanchez and a deserving Jim Henderson at AAA.

Self-indulgent toot of my own horn -- I scored the second-best nationwide Tuesday in MLB.com's Million Dollar Pick 'Em by correctly picking 13 of the 15 Tuesday games. (If you pick all games correctly on a Tuesday-Friday combo, you win $1 million.) So now I'm in the running for the best weekly combined score, and that's $1,000 (not quite $1 million), wish me luck.

It really has been a fantastic year for Hunter Morris, on the field and off -- MiLB.com feature article

Thanks for the heads up, that would be Huntsville closer Jesus Sanchez, the one-time Phillies catching farmhand (converted to pitcher in 2009), who has thrown so well for the Stars this year.

Make sure you see this post in our Helena/Maryvale thread -- catching up on 13 pre-game audio interviews!

Helena broadcaster Steve Wendt has always been an excellent interviewer, we've enjoyed his work for years, but the interviews weren't archived until now (thanks to our prodding !). There were some technical difficulties archiving them since the start of this season, but Steve and staff held on to much of the audio and have now posted thirteen of the interviews from the season thus far. So it may take you a while to catch up, but bookmark and keep coming back to this post until you've done so, and we'll begin linking the new interviews in each day's Link Report going forward. No newspaper feature article, not even a detailed Q&A, can introduce us to the new young men in the system as much as these rookie-level interviews, so if you're a diehard, I strongly suggest you invest your audio time here over the next few days. Thanks again to Steve! *** LHP Taylor Wall (2012 22nd round, Rice) LHP Connor Whalen (2011 undrafted free agent) Head Athletic Trainer Jimmy Gentry 1B Mike Nemeth (2011 21st round, UConn) 2B Chris McFarland (2011 18th round, Texas high schooler) RHP Mike Schaub (2010 38th round, California high schooler) Helena Brewers President and GM Paul Fetz Roving Outfield and Baserunning Instructor Reggie Williams -- the day after Raul Mondesi Jr.'s "teachable moment" RHP Martin Viramontes (2012 28th round, USC) Roving Hitting Instructor Sandy Guerrero 3B Mike Garza (2012 20th round, Georgetown) Helena Pitching Coach Elvin Nina Minor League Business Manager (one title among many) Scott Martens

Much like most every Sunday, I won't be available when the various media notes come out, so this reminder: *** Look for Nashville and Wisconsin media notes at the links just prior to their game times. Huntsville is posting theirs more consistently. Rest your pointer under the "Roster" banner on the Stars' home page to see the link.

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 Rookie Advanced - Pioneer League North Division Rookie - Arizona Summer League DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris Division *** NOTE: AAA Nashville does not play a split schedule. The other leagues, including the rookie leagues, do. When you click on a standings link for Huntsville, Brevard County or Wisconsin, you'll then be able to choose 1st half and/or overall standings in addition to the current 2nd half standings.

Hopefully all those links are correct, every team begins a new series opponent today -- guaranteed that's the first Wednesday that's ever happened here. #MoreWorkForMe

Follow Tuesday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Nashville Huntsville Brevard County Wisconsin Helena Maryvale DSL Brewers

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: RHP Tyler Thornburg at Memphis (Cardinals), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Jeff Hem is the new 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). We imagine the audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: RHP Hiram Burgos at home vs. Chattanooga (Dodgers), 6:28 PM pre-game, 6:43 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page Alex Cohen is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. It's fantastic that Huntsville is returning to what will be a traditional broadcast format this year. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. MiLB.TV subsciption note: Huntsville road games in four locales (Mississippi, Tennessee, Jacksonville and Pensacola) will be broadcast. ********** Brevard County: RHP Andy Moye at home vs. Tampa (Yankees), 5:35 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this series... Once again this season, Brevard does not have its own audio coverage. It appears two teams in the Manatees North Division (within which the majority of games are played) have audio, and all six teams in the South Division have audio (at least for their home games), so there will be opportunities to listen to approx. 70% or Brevard's games this season, just all from the opponent's perspective. There are no Florida State League games on MiLB.TV this year. ********** Wisconsin: RHP David Goforth at Cedar Rapids (Angels), 4:45 PM pre-game, 5:05 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 only two (Great Lakes) Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV; Chris' call provides the audio. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, all Timber Rattlers home games, and 24 Stars' road games (one Helena series this summer, too). ********** Helena: RHP Michael Schaub at Billings (Reds), 4:50 PM pre-game, 5:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Helena feed from the MiLB main audio page We're lucky to have Steve Wendt back on board for another H-Crew season. ********** Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at home vs. the Indians' kids; 12:00 PM gametime; never audio for games in this league ********** DSL Brewers: at the DSL Angels, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest

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Brewers suffer fourth consecutive loss by Trent Makela, Helena Independent Record A herky-jerky wind gusting into left field helped the visiting Great Falls Voyagers break open a back-and-forth tied game with five runs in the top of the ninth inning, and the Helena Brewers dropped their fourth straight Pioneer League contest 10-5 at Kindrick Legion Field on Tuesday evening. “(The ninth inning) didn’t work out so well. We played a good game up until that,” Helena manager Jeff Isom said. “We ended up making a costly error and it snowballed from there. We’ve been talking about how we can’t make mistakes with this club because, when we make them, they get magnified. That’s just one of those instances. “It was a frustrating ninth inning to say the least.” With one out in the top of the ninth in a 5-5 game and Voyagers runners on first and second bases, Great Falls leadoff hitter and center fielder Adam Heisler lifted the first pitch of the game from Helena lefty reliever Connor Whalen high on a routine-looking fly towards left-center. The wind pushed the ball hard, though, and forced left fielder Ruben Ozuna to fade further into left where he rammed, stomach-first, into the Lewis and Clark Brewing sign and collapsed, stunned, as the ball one-hopped off the wall a foot away. Both runners scored easily before center fielder Michael Reed was able to get a relay throw in to stop Heisler at third on the error. “That was just a fly ball, but the wind flipped the ball back and I run hard. When I look back the wall was too close to me. I can’t stop,” said Ozuna, a native of Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic, who is still getting the hang of English. “I just see the ball, the wall surprised me.” Great Falls went on to push another run across on Kyle Robinson’s double and two more on another error when a routine hopper to Helena second baseman Chris McFarland appeared to get another fortuitous shove by the wind, but the requisite damage was already done for the Voyagers to win their fourth straight and take the two-game series sweep. “It was a big inning absolutely,” Great Falls manager Ryan Newman said. “To put a five-spot up there in a tie game tells you a lot about this team. We got down and battled back and ended up winning the game — like we should.” The victory puts the Voyagers into a tie for second place with Missoula in a tight race atop the league’s North division at 9-7. Both teams are just a game back from first-place Billings, while Helena remains in last at 4-12. Ozuna led off the bottom of the ninth by drawing a walk for the Brewers, but reliever Brett Merkley struck out Alfredo Rodriguez and McFarland before getting Reid to ground out to close out his only inning of work in impressive style. Helena starter Will West settled down after allowing three doubles in a rough second inning that put Great Falls up 3-0. He lasted six innings while giving up six hits, three walks and three runs (all earned). He also struck out five for the no-decision. Chris Beck (1-0), the White Sox’s 2012 second-round pick, picked up the win by tossing two innings of two-hit, one-walk, one-strikeout ball. Martin Viramontes (2-1) took the loss for Helena after allowing two hits, four runs (three earned) and a walk in 2.1 innings. The Brewers’ offense had runners reach third with less than two outs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but had repeated trouble capitalizing on the early scoring opportunities to reward West’s steadiness. “We had four opportunities altogether with a runner at third with less than two outs,” Isom said. “If we can just get a ground ball in play, we score a run there. We were 0 for 4 there with those runners on third. We were getting them over there, it’s just so frustrating not getting them home.” Helena scored a run apiece in the third and fourth to chip away at the deficit and went up 5-3 after their own three-run inning in the fifth. Michael Turay finally scored from third in that frame on a wild pitch, while Reed and Michael Garza added RBI singles. Great Falls knotted the score 5-5 in the seventh after Thomas McCarthy led off with a walk and Daurys Mercedes followed with his first home run of the season, a two-run line drive that hit the net 20 feet over the wall in left. Wasted for the Brewers was a perfect 4-for-4 outing by Garza that included an RBI and jumped his average on the season to .418. Turay finished 3 for 4 and scored a pair of runs. Mercedes was 2 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored to lead Great Falls. McCarthy was 2 for 3 with and RBI and two runs scored as well.

Final: Maryvale 8, Cublets 7 Box Score Game Log Pretty amazing game -- shortstop Renaldo Jenkins was charged with an error in the top of the 9th that led to an unearned blown save against Carlos Sosa, yet Jenkins came back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out walk-off base hit, classic goat-to-hero. Must have been for these guys. 2012 10th round LHP Anthony Banda tossed three scoreless innings to bridge to Sosa's 9th. Soon-to-be 21-year-old former DSL RHP Joel Dicent started, but saw a 4-0 1st inning Brewer lead evaporate (six walks in his 2.2 innings didn't help). Teenage 2012 2nd round CF Tyrone Taylor doubled twice in a 3-for-4 day (with a walk) from the leadoff spot. 19-year-old cleanup RF Jose Pena continues his remarkable early-season blossoming - triple, single, walk, three RBI, and a 1.083 OPS after 46 early AB's. Khris Davis continues his rehab, playing another full game in LF. Catcher Dustin Houle was hit by a pitch to lead off the 2nd inning. He went out and caught the 3rd inning (if the game log is accurate), but then Jose Garcia replaced him in the 4th -- something to watch. *** Like Tuesday, Maryvale has a day game Wednesday. I've sent brewerfan17 a private message asking if he'll be around -- when I know, I'll indicate whether one of our other Link Reporters should grab their game early this evening.

Jason Rogers' college, Columbus State (GA), is keeping an eye on him. Forgot that Brian Baker was honored earlier this season by the school - classic video of them at the link.

Audio from Nashville — “Edwin (Maysonet) Explains” Jeff Hem's note -- Tonight’s pregame interview is with Sounds infielder Edwin Maysonet, who discusses his season so far, the Sounds’ recent surge, his thrilling grand slam for the Brewers in mid-May off Chris Volstad of the Cubs, his ability to play several different positions and the grind of a Triple-A season.

Timber Rattlers June Players of the Month