Jim Goulart

Follow Sunday's action as it happens: Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin Helena

Sunday's Daily Menu: Nashville: RHP Josh Butler at Albuquerque (Dodgers), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: RHP Cody Scarpetta at home vs. Carolina (Reds), 6:43 PM gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Traditional Broadcast Live Audio Link -- Select the Carolina feed from the MiLB main audio page Brevard County: TBD (perhaps RHP Hiram Burgos) at home vs. Fort Myers (Twins), 4:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- Select the Fort Myers feed from the MiLB main audio page Wisconsin: RHP Jimmy Nelson at Quad Cities (Cardinals), 1:40 PM pre-game, 2:00 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: RHP Eric Arnett at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Live Audio Link -- Select the Helena feed from the MiLB main audio page Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): Idle DSL Brewers: Idle

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Bats don't get a break from MLB MLB works to cut down number of shattered bats by Austin Gwin,| The Tennessean Broken bats have always been a part of baseball, but in 2008 the numbers were growing to alarming rates. From July to September that year there were 2,232 bats broken in major-league games, and more than one-third of those broke into multiple pieces, according to Northwestern University. Major League Baseball joined with the U.S. Forest Service to work on the problem in the interest of player and fan safety. Since then, the number of shattered bats, called multiple-piece failures, has been cut in half in the majors and minors. “You don’t see a lot of the bats breaking like you used to,” Nashville Sounds Manager Don Money said. “I think something had to be done, and they had to correct it because someone was going to get hurt.” A big reason for the steep decline is in the grains of the wood. Before 2009, the grains in each bat might not have been straight, but now each bat is inspected to make sure it is suitable to use and is even marked by an ink dot to signify it has been checked. This inspection hasn’t come at a steeper price for the Sounds or for the players who purchase their own bats. “Those dots mean it has been approved,” Money said. “We don’t use a bat unless it has that dot on it.” Each bat is different, but players primarily use maple or ash. Maple is a strongerwood, harder to break and has few grains, which is why Sounds third baseman Taylor Green always uses a maple bat. “I’ve used maple for years,” Green said. “I break bats often, but with maple they just splinter and don’t break and go flying. I just like how the ball flies off of a maple bat.” Green said bats with wider grains are less likely to break while bats with tight grains flake or chip easily. Outfielder Brett Carroll like his grains wide as well, but he prefers his bat to be made of white ash. “With ash, the more you hit it on the sweet spot, the harder it gets,” Carroll said. “I just like sound of the ball hitting off the ash.” Sounds assistant clubhouse manager Thomas Miller said that most Sounds have bat contracts with various manufacturers but the team always has an assortment of “pro stock” bats on hand. It is just a basic bat that the Sounds order in bulk that is mostly used by pitchers. Sometimes a position player mired in a slump will grab one on his way to the plate. “It’s kind of a running joke that if you are going through a tough stretch hitting-wise, you grab a ‘pro stock,’ ” Carroll said. “I have seen the difference of the quality they are making now, and I have no problem picking up a ‘pro stock’ and swinging it.” Sounds players keep bats of different types of wood in the dugout. / Photo by Sanford Myers, The Tennessean http://cmsimg.tennessean.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DN&Date=20110709&Category=SPORTS04&ArtNo=307090060&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0

Timber Rattlers profile: No. 5 Greg Hopkins, infielder compiled by Mike Woods, Appleton Post-Crescent Quick hits - Age: 22. - Height, weight: 6-1, 195. - Position: Infielder. - Bats/throws: Right/right. - Residence: Mansfield, Mass. - Notes: Selected by the Brewers in the 24th round of the First-Year Player Draft. … Attended St. John's University. … Played for the Haymarket Senators in the Valley Baseball League in the summer of 2009 and was named the league's most valuable player. Favorites - MLB team growing up: "Boston Red Sox.'' - MLB player growing up: "Nomar Garciaparra growing up and now I'm a big fan of (Dustin) Pedroia, (Kevin) Youkilis and I like Josh Hamilton.'' - Sport other than baseball: "Basketball. I played in high school and it's definitely my next favorite sport.'' - Food: "I'm going to have to go with homemade pumpkin pie with chocolate chips. That's mom's creation.'' - Thing about Mansfield: "We have what they call the Tweeter Center. They play a bunch of concerts there and it's a town over from Foxborough where the Patriots play. That's our little claim to fame.'' - TV show: "I like 'That '70s Show.' Big 'SportsCenter' fan, 'Baseball Tonight' — pretty original, right? But that's just how it is.'' - Musical artist: "It depends on what I'm in the mood for. I like 'Gang Starr,' which is my walkout. I like Joe Budden and I'll leave it at that.'' - Possession: "I'd have to go with the iPod. It's pretty handy and I like music. It comes in pretty handy, pregame.'' - Thing to do in Appleton: "I like spending time with my host family. I have a great host family. We have a good time. We have a little pond in their front yard where we hang out. Their dog, Reagan, I play with him all the time. It's Dean and Val Vosters. I want to give them a shout-out.'' - NFL team: "Patriots.'' Q&A Q: So you're one of those die-hard Red Sox fans? A: "Yeah, I love it. I grew up watching it. I'm just a big Boston sports fan in general. I love the whole Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. My parents grew up in the Bronx, so they're Yankee fans. Well, actually, my dad is a Yankees fan and my mom's a Red Sox fan.'' Q: How's that play in the family? A: "Oh, it's all right. It's good for us.'' Q: How'd you end up at St. John's? A: "A scout saw me in Massachusetts at the Bay State Games and I visited there. I liked the guys on the team and it just felt like a good place. I have family in New York and New Jersey, too. So that kind of helped.'' Q: Do the people of New York know St. John's has a baseball team? A: "No, they really don't. We're kind of up and rising now. But whenever I tell somebody I went to St. John's they always say, 'Great basketball program.' '' Q: How much fun was it going to college in New York City? A: "It was fun. It was expensive, if you were going into Manhattan, but it was a good time. Manhattan was about 20 minutes away, so you had that to do. Queens was all right. It was a good school. I liked it.'' Q: What was it like to be drafted? A: "I was still at St. John's and we had just gotten back from a regional game so we're in the locker room unpacking all our stuff. Two guys (on the team) had already gotten drafted and then I got the call. It was an exciting time. It was great. It was just a combination of excitement and knowing that hard work had paid off." Q: How'd you celebrate? A: "Went and got some pizza, some New York pizza with another buddy of mine, my roommate, who had been drafted by the Yankees.'' Q: How'd you spend your first check? A: "I probably went and got some food with it because it wasn't much, I can tell you that.'' Q: What was it like going from New York to Helena, Mont.? A: "Helena was very relaxing compared to New York City. There's a lot of hustle and bustle in Queens and Helena is, obviously, the complete opposite of that. You had mountains. You're surrounded by farm animals. Way more low-key.'' Q: What's your most prized sports possession? A: "I'm going to have to go with my Big East Championship ring that we won in my last year, in Clearwater, Fla. We were Big East champions and we knocked off a couple of top teams in Louisville and UConn. We went through the losers' bracket and ended up winning the whole thing.'' Q: What's one thing you wish you could do over? A: "I don't like living with regrets. I don't think I have many regrets. I don't know. I really don't have any.'' Q: What's the hardest thing about minor-league baseball? A: "Can I say a bunch? The biggest thing is just getting used to the full season. The travel and the lack of sleep is the biggest thing. And also not eating as much as we need to. But it's just part of it. But you have to make a conscious effort of eating right, getting sleep when you can and just staying balanced.'' Q: Who's the most famous person you've met? A: "I'd have to go with (Mets third baseman) David Wright. He was our guest speaker at St. John's one time.'' Q: What's your favorite sports moment you've watched or been a part of? A: "I'm going to go back to the Big East championship. The whole dog pile on the field and just celebrating with teammates.'' Q: Best advice you've received? A: "I guess I'd have to say you never know who's watching. Go out there and play hard. There are too many guys with talent who play this game, and in life. Just try to keep a good attitude because if you don't, guys will just cross you right off the list because they don't need to deal with it.'' The Tool Box Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson: "Great versatility as far as the infield is concerned. He has played second and third base. He has played a great defensive third base for us in the first half. He can play the shortstop position; we haven't used him there. He's a gamer. He runs the bases hard. He runs them well. He struggled offensively early but he had a great month of June with the bat (when he hit .330) and so he has kind of solidified that four hole. "We'll see where we go with the new people we've got and where he hits into our lineup. You know what you're going to get with him. Every day you put him in the lineup, he's going to bust his butt. Nice guy in the clubhouse to have.''http://www.postcrescent.com/odygci/p7/factboxfade.png http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20110710&Category=APC020602&ArtNo=107100571&Ref=AR&MaxW=300&Border=0

Walker keeps driving them home by Jim Oskola, Appleton Post-Crescent Mike Walker's run-scoring double against Kane County on Friday may not have helped the Timber Rattlers win a game but it did keep him near the top of the list in RBI leaders in the Midwest League. Walker is second in the league with 61, trailing only South Bend's Yazy Arbelo who has 66. "The numbers are there, somewhat, but there is always work to be done," Walker said. "You can never be satisfied and never be complacent. Shoot, we've got 60-some games left so hopefully, I can keep it up for the rest of the season." Walker said that it's nice to be doing well but he still sees himself as a player with plenty of work to do. "Defense," said Walker on what he wants to improve. "I want to play better defense. I don't know what I project as, if I project as a third baseman. I'd like to play third base but I know I've got to play better defense." Walker is batting .293 with 15 doubles and 14 home runs. Walker has drawn 49 walks and stolen seven bases but a negative is his 90 strikeouts in 283 at-bats. At the plate, Walker is just working on being consistent from day-to-day. "You're going to get three hits every game but you can't get down on yourself," Walker said. "Basically, what I try to do every day is I never try to go three-for-four. I try to go one-for-one on every single at-bat. It's taking the at-bats one at a time and just staying in the present. It's something that I'm always working on."

Brewers clobbered at home by Great Falls by Amber Kuehn, Helena Independent Record Bolstered by the addition of the Chicago White Sox’ top draft pick this year, Keenyn Walker, and the consistent hitting of David Herbek, the Great Falls Voyagers blistered the Helena Brewers 13-2 Saturday at Kindrick Legion Field. Making his pro debut, Walker — an outfielder out of Central Arizona Community College — went 2 for 6 with a pair of runs scored, two RBIs and a throw-out to third base. Herbek ran his hitting streak to 14 games with a single in a three-run fifth inning, and the Voyagers rode 15 hits to victory. Every Great Falls player in the lineup had a hit, and all but one scored a run. “We swung the bats really well last night and it carried over into today,” Voyagers manager Ryan Newman said. “We got an outstanding outing from all of our pitchers and played solid defense, and when you do that you’re going to have a game like this.” The 15 hits and 13 runs were the most allowed by Brewers pitchers this year. Helena fell to 9-11 and is now just 2-7 in July. “They had a good night, we had an off night,” Brewers skipper Joe Ayrault said. “You’re going to have those at some point. Hopefully it sparks something in us and we get it rolling.” Great Falls (9-11) led 7-2 after five innings but roughed up Helena reliever Seth Lintz in the seventh. Lintz was pulled after giving up two singles and a run-scoring double in favor of Seth Harvey. Harvey then needed 30 pitches before he’d record his first out, walking back-to-back batters before Walker stroked a two-run single past a diving Adrian Williams. After Harvey issued his third free pass of the inning to load the bases — and then gave up another two-run single, this time to Michael Earley — the Brewers turned to their third pitcher of the frame, Alan Williams. The southpaw, who has been a stellar closer for Helena this season and leads the Pioneer League in strikeouts with 24, quickly dealt a trio of strikes to get the third out. But the damage was already done as the Voyagers pushed six runs across to put the hosts in their largest hole of the year. Helena is now 0-4 in games decided by more than three runs. “Baseball is a roller coaster,” Ayrault said. “You just don’t want to get too high on your highs or too low on your lows.” Three errors were a low point for Helena, as the team was hurt by defensive miscues in the outfield. It was a shaky performance from left field to right as John Dishon misplayed two routine bouncing balls for two errors in the game, Ruben Ozuna struggled to barehand a ball resting in the grass in center and Max Walla couldn’t get to a one-hopper off Jimmy Jacquot’s bat. But the high point was Alan Williams, who struck out the side in the ninth to bring his total to six strikeouts in two innings. “Williams was definitely the bright spot tonight,” Ayrault said. The Voyagers know all about the sport’s ups and downs. Great Falls’ offense had been hot the previous night in Billings, getting eight runs on 15 hits, but it wasn’t enough as they were shaded by the Mustangs. “You have to battle every night,” Newman said after his team’s second straight 15-hit night. “Everybody in our division, we’re all clumped together. It’s going to be a grind.” With the win, Great Falls moved into a tie for third with Helena. Both trail Northern Division leaders Missoula and Billings (tied at 11-9) by two games. Mark Haddow led the Voyagers at the plate, going 3 for 4 with two RBIs. The Great Falls bullpen was brilliant, hurling a two-hit shutout over the final five innings. Austin Evans earned his first win of the year, fanning four and walking one through two innings in relief of Scott Snodgrass. Snodgrass made his first start after four appearances out of the bullpen this season, giving up just two runs on four hits. The Brewers have a quick turnaround, with an early afternoon contest today at 1:00 PM (2:00 Central). Eric Arnett (1-0, 4.57) heads to the mound for Helena, while the Brewers face lefty Blair Walters (1-0, 4.50). “It’s professional baseball,” Aryault said. “We have to turn the page.” TRANSACTIONS: Milwaukee came to terms with its 11th-round draft pick, Tommy Toledo out of Florida. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander was assigned to Helena on Saturday, after going 6-3 with a 3.99 ERA for the runner-up Gators this past season. Toledo was drafted twice previously — out of high school in 2007 by the San Diego Padres, and following his sophomore season at Florida by the Minnesota Twins.

Nashville Audio Archive -- July 9 - Chat with infielder Taylor Green Media savvy and very humble, team-oriented Green barely acknowledges his Player of the Month honor, and then when Stu Paul asks if he's received any prior honors, Green basically dismisses the question. Of course, Green was the Organization's Player of the Year in 2007.

Final: Nashville 3, @Albuquerque 1 Sounds Snap Skid With 3-1 Triumph In Albuquerque Fiers Earns Win In 1st Triple-A Start Nashville Sounds ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Brett Carroll belted a go-ahead, two-run homer and Mike Fiers turned in a solid outing in his first Triple-A start to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 3-1 victory over Albuquerque on Saturday evening at Isotopes Park. With the win, Nashville (40-49) snapped a three-game skid as well as its seven-game road losing streak. Fiers (1-0) earned a win in his first career Triple-A start. The right-hander held Albuquerque to one run on four hits over five innings, walking three batters and striking out five during his 88-pitch effort. Albuquerque broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning. With runners on the corners and one out, Jay Gibbons hit a bouncer to shortstop and the Sounds attempted to turn a double play. However, Gibbons beat Eric Farris' throw to first by a half-step to allow Dee Gordon to plate the game's first run. Carroll (2-for-4) propelled Nashville into the lead with one swing of the bat in the sixth, slugging a two-run homer to left off Isotopes starter Tim Sexton. Caleb Gindl (2-for-4), who preceded Carroll with a single, also scored on the outfielder's 14th roundtripper of the season. Listen to Stu's call of Carroll's home run via the lead link in this post. The Sounds plated an insurance run in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to 3-1. Brandon Boggs lined an opposite-field, two-out single to left-center off Albuquerque reliever Jon Link to bring home Taylor Green, who scored in unearned fashion after opening the frame by reaching on a two-base fielding error by Isotopes first baseman Corey Smith. Mike McClendon followed Fiers with two scoreless frames then turned things over to Tim Dillard, who worked around baserunners in the final two innings to keep Albuquerque off the scoreboard and earn his first save of the year. Sexton (3-2) took a tough-luck loss after working a quality start for the Isotopes. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits while fanning seven over seven frames of action. The teams wrap up the series with a 7:05 PM finale on Sunday evening. Right-hander Josh Butler (4-5, 5.31) will toe the rubber for the Sounds to face Albuquerque right-hander Ian Snell (1-1, 9.45). Nashville Box Score The Sounds avoid the losses that plagued the entire organization Saturday night; this was Mike Fiers' 3rd AAA appearance, but first start; just silly that Milwaukee has gone with just 11 pitchers for a couple of weeks now (and Takashi Saito can't pitch consecutive days), when Mike McClendon is so capable and waiting at AAA... Nashville Play-by-Play

Golden sombrero (0-for-4, 4 K's) for former DSL and now Maryvale outfielder Ronny Puello, now 1-for-29 stateside with three walks and 13 K's. The 6'6" 21-year-old had shown some offensive chops on the island.

From the Nashville Media Notes: GREEN HONORED AS BREWERS PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Infielder Taylor Green was recently named the Milwaukee Brewers’ Minor League Player of the Month for June, during which the 24-year-old tied for 3rd in the PCL with a .398 average (37-for-93).

Nashville Media Notes Wisconsin Media Notes (and something for baseball historians)

Our Wisconsin friend Brad Krause attended Wednesday's game, but let's not bury his thoughts (check the link) in an older Link Report: - Maybe I just missed the announcement of the last name, but I'm pretty sure that Stosh Wawrzasek was introduced simply as Stosh. That's pretty awesome! - And speaking of awesome, check out the Mittelstaedt Mohawk! More From Brad: Here are my photos from the game. I'll be back out at Fox Cities Stadium next Wednesday. I'm not missing a chance to see West Michigan hitting coach and one of my favorite former Brewers, Ben Oglivie! After that I'm heading out on a nice little week long road trip to check out some other Midwest League teams and stadiums including Beloit, Clinton, Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids. Then three games in Des Moines as ex-Rattlers Michael Fiers, Daniel Meadows, Taylor Green and the Nashville Sounds take on the Iowa Cubs. If anyone's interested in seeing pics from the trip let me know and maybe I'll put a post up on here when I get back. Brad, consider us interested, thanks!

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 48 41 .539 - - 26-18 22-23 6-4 L2 Memphis 47 41 .534 0.5 56 27-16 20-25 6-4 W1 Iowa 41 48 .461 7.0 49 24-20 17-28 4-6 L5 Nashville 39 49 .443 8.5 48 27-19 12-30 3-7 L3 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Chattanooga 9 6 .600 - - 5-4 4-2 5-5 L1 Huntsville 9 6 .600 - - 4-2 5-4 7-3 W1 * Tennessee 8 7 .533 1.0 55 5-1 3-6 6-4 L2 Carolina 5 9 .357 3.5 53 4-4 1-5 3-7 L1 Jackson 5 11 .313 4.5 51 2-5 3-6 3-7 L2 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Dunedin 8 6 .571 - - 3-2 5-4 6-4 L1 Tampa 8 6 .571 - - 5-3 3-3 6-4 W2 * Daytona 7 8 .467 1.5 55 2-5 5-3 4-6 L3 Brevard County 6 7 .462 1.5 56 4-4 2-3 4-6 L2 Clearwater 6 8 .429 2.0 55 3-5 3-3 5-5 W1 Lakeland 5 7 .417 2.0 56 3-3 2-4 4-6 W1 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Kane County 10 5 .667 - - 3-3 7-2 5-5 W1 Beloit 9 6 .600 1.0 - 3-3 6-3 5-5 W2 Clinton 9 6 .600 1.0 - 5-4 4-2 6-4 W2 Wisconsin 8 7 .533 2.0 55 3-6 5-1 7-3 L1 Quad Cities 7 8 .467 3.0 54 2-4 5-4 4-6 W2 * Burlington 6 9 .400 4.0 53 4-5 2-4 5-5 L2 Cedar Rapids 6 9 .400 4.0 53 3-3 3-6 5-5 L2 Peoria 5 10 .333 5.0 52 2-7 3-3 3-7 L2 PIO North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Billings 11 8 .579 - - 5-5 6-3 6-4 W1 Missoula 10 9 .526 1.0 19 4-5 6-4 7-3 W1 Helena 9 10 .474 2.0 18 5-4 4-6 3-7 L1 Great Falls 8 11 .421 3.0 17 4-6 4-5 4-6 L1 AZL Central Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak AZL Dodgers 10 5 .667 - - 5-2 5-3 7-3 L1 AZL Reds 8 7 .533 2.0 40 6-2 2-5 6-4 W2 AZL Indians 7 7 .500 2.5 40 3-3 4-4 5-5 W2 AZL Brewers 3 12 .200 7.0 35 1-6 2-6 1-9 L3 DSL S.D. North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak DSL Mariners 25 9 .735 - - 13-4 12-5 7-3 W2 DSL Brewers 21 12 .636 3.5 36 9-7 12-5 5-5 W1 DSL Athletics 11 23 .324 14.0 25 7-9 4-14 4-6 L2 DSL Cardinals 11 23 .324 14.0 25 7-11 4-12 5-5 L1

Follow Saturday's action as it happens: Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville Game One (Gameday also available) Huntsville Game Two (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin Helena Arizona Rookie (Maryvale) DSL Brewers

Saturday's Daily Menu: Nashville: RHP Mike Fiers at Albuquerque (Dodgers), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: RHP's Michael Bowman and Kyle Heckathorn in a doubleheader at home vs. Carolina (Reds), 4:43 PM gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Traditional Broadcast Live Audio Link -- Select the Carolina feed from the MiLB main audio page Brevard County: RHP Nick Bucci at home vs. Fort Myers (Twins), 6:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- Select the Fort Myers feed from the MiLB main audio page Wisconsin: RHP Brooks Hall at Quad Cities (Cardinals), 6:40 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: RHP Tyler Cravy at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Live Audio Link -- Select the Helena feed from the MiLB main audio page Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at home vs. the baby Angels; 9:00 PM gametime; never audio for games in this league DSL Brewers: at the DSL Red Sox, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest

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Osprey power past Brewers by Nick Lockridge of the Missoulian For the record, Jon Griffin, the wind was blowing 20 mph on Friday night. Baseballs were flying out of the stadium and falling out of fielders’ gloves at a surprising clip as the Missoula Osprey held off the Helena Brewers 6-5 on a windy night at Ogren-Allegiance Park. The two teams combined for five home runs and a half dozen botched pop ups in front of 2,321 bewildered fans. The gusts certainly helped the Osprey more than the Brewers. Just ask Griffin, who went yard with one out in the seventh inning to break a 5-5 tie. “The wind was definitely a factor. What was it blowing, 25 mph?” Griffin asked. “On days like this if you get it up there it’s gonna go out, and we had a couple of guys do that.” Griffin went 3 for 4 to lead Missoula at the plate, but the team finished with four home runs on the night, including three against Helena starter Andy Moye, the reigning Pioneer League pitcher of the week. Thanks to their sudden power surge the Osprey (10-9) moved back above .500 and evened their season series with the Brewers (9-10) at 4-4. Helena snapped Missoula’s four-game win streak the night before with a one-run win in extra innings. It was the fourth extra-inning game of the season between the two sides. “Every time we played them it was extra innings it seems,” Griffin said. “It’s nice to get a ‘W’ more than anything.” Osprey catcher Roidany Aguila hit a solo home run in the fourth that gave Missoula a 4-2 advantage. Teammates Chris Ellison and Fidel Pena hit home runs to give the Birds a 3-0 lead after two frames. Ellison’s blast, in the first inning, was also a solo shot. Pena followed with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field in the O’s next at-bat. The Brewers battled their way back, despite two fielding errors, to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch by Missoula reliever Keith Hessler. Helena’s Adrian Williams led off the inning with a triple. O’s third baseman Ryan Court made a handful of nice plays to help Hessler get out of the seventh without further damage. The Brewers loaded the bases with one out on an infield single by Tyler Roberts. The next batter grounded to Court, who fielded the ball to his left, spun and threw the runner out at home. Court then caught a pop up near the O’s bullpen for the final out of the inning. Hessler got the win, his first as a pro, and Matt Sample got the save after retiring three of the four Brewers he faced in the ninth. Sample plunked Roberts, who was 4 for 4 until his last at-bat, before getting Yadiel Rivera on a strikeout. Roberts had a solo home run in the fourth that closed the margin on Missoula’s lead to 4-3. Osprey starter Conrad Flynn and his replacement Taylor Siemens, who switched their order of appearance, combined for nine strikeouts in six innings of work.

Rattler Radio Post-Game Thoughts

Timber Rattlers can't hit Cougars' starter Billo in Midwest League loss by Jim Oskola, Appleton Post-Crescent GRAND CHUTE — After scoring 50 runs in their last seven games, sooner or later you knew the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers would run into a game in which runs would be hard to come by. Friday night at Fox Cities Stadium, that game popped up as Kane County defeated the Timber Rattlers 6-1 to take two-of-three in the series. The cause of the Rattlers' hitting problems against the Cougars was Greg Billo. The 6-foot-4 right-hander limited the Rattlers to three hits and one walk over six innings. He also struck out six. "He made some good pitches and came out on top tonight," Rattlers third baseman Mike Walker said. "That's baseball. You're not going to win every day. We'll just come back tomorrow." Billo, who improved to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.37, kept the Wisconsin batters guessing with a ridiculously slow curveball that made his fastball seem faster. "His delivery and the way he was throwing kept us off balance," Rattlers designated hitter Jason Rogers said. "He mixed it up real good with fastballs and curveballs and we just couldn't hit it." Billo's delivery, which had him throwing across his body, also made it tough on the Rattlers. "That's tough for righties (to pick up)," Rogers said. "Especially me and Reggie (Keen). All of us had trouble. Lefties, I guess, had trouble, too." Billo limited the Timber Rattlers' scoring chances, with only Rogers advancing as far as third base. Rogers reached third in the second inning when he doubled to left and advanced to third one out later on a wild pitch. He was stranded there as Billo got Cody Hawn to pop out and Greg Hopkins to strike out. In the fourth, Rogers drew a one-out walk, went to third one out later on a single by Hawn and an error on the Cougars but was left standing there when Hopkins grounded out. "His curveball was slow and it was real tough for me to see," Walker said. "I was talking to T.J. (Mittelstaedt) and he was having a tough time picking him up tonight. Maybe it was something about his release point or his arm angle. It was like a 90 that jumped on you those last 15 feet. It seemed like it sped up a little bit." The Rattlers' lone run came in the ninth when Mittelstaedt singled and Walker hammered a run-scoring double to center. "We've been swinging bats well," Walker said. "That's baseball. You can't let the losses get you down. You've just got to keep grinding." One bright spot for the Rattlers was the relief work of Adrian Rosario. Rosario came on for Maverick Lasker with two on and none out in the fifth winning and pitched three innings. He gave up two hits and struck out five although he did allow the two runners he inherited from Lasker to score.

Not quite yet (as of this post time), but look for the Wisconsin media notes here before Rattler game time.

RHP Wily Peralta landed on Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet -- click to see where -- Team: Double-A Huntsville (Southern) Age: 22 Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 13.2 IP, 9 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 11 SO The Scoop: Peralta has steadily improved each season since Tommy John surgery knocked him out for all of 2007. After posting a 3.61 ERA and a 29-24 K-BB mark in eight starts last year with Double-A Huntsville, Peralta's ERA (3.95) is up slightly this year, but scouts have been more impressed. He throws a low-90s fastball that reaches the mid-90s, and he has improved his strikeout-to-walk numbers, with 86 whiffs and 36 walks in 87 innings. He's also the rare pitcher who gets both strikeouts and groundballs. If he can stay healthy, Peralta has the potential to be a solid mid-rotation starter.

FYI -- Recently relesed RH reliever Corey Frerichs found an independent league home with the Rockford (Illinois) Riverhaks of the Frontier League.

Nashville Media Notes RHP Mike Fiers now scheduled to start on Saturday. *** Huntsville Media Notes RHP Kyle Heckathorn's first AA start is also Saturday.