Jim Goulart

As we've noted earlier this week, the Timber Rattler game will be televised on Time Warner Cable Sports 32.

Wednesday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Sam Narron at home vs. Memphis (Cardinals), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: LHP Dan Merklinger at Chattanooga (Dodgers), 6:15 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- It's the Lookouts' feed... Brevard County: RHP Tyler Thornburg at home vs. Clearwater (Phillies), 6:05 PM gametime Sorry, no audio available for this series... Wisconsin: LHP Del Howell at home vs. Kane County (Royals), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: RHP Kevin Shackelford at home vs. Missoula (Diamondbacks), 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 Dodgers' tykes; 9:00 PM gametime; never audio for games in this league DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Mariners, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest

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Chris' postgame thoughts, tells us, among many other things, that -- Note on T.J. Mittelstaedt…Say hello to your Midwest League leader in Batting Average!

This game is free for viewing to those out-of-market.

LATE REDEMPTION: Osprey's Pena knocks home winning run after costly miscue by Amber Kuehn, Helena Independent Record Fidel Pena let his frustration out when he threw the ball down in the dirt. With the Missoula Osprey just one strike away from putting a win in the books at Kindrick Legion Field, the catcher allowed a passed ball that just glanced off his glove to roll to the backstop and plate the tying run for Helena. The fans cheered as the Brewers pushed a game to extra frames for the fifth time this year. It wouldn’t take long for Pena to silence the crowd and redeem his mistake. After Missoula led off the 10th inning with three straight singles, Pena brought home the eventual winning run with an RBI fielder’s choice. The hosts managed just an infield single in the bottom half of the inning, giving the Osprey their first win at Kindrick this season, a 7-6 victory. “I think the pitcher (Matt Sample) missed location,” Missoula manager Hector De La Cruz said of the pivotal passed ball. “But he (Pena) didn’t keep his head down and he came out swinging and executed. It was a good win.” It was a wild Pioneer League game to say the least. What began as a heated slugfest — the teams combined for eight runs in the first inning alone, and both benches were warned after pitchers appeared to be intentionally plunking batsmen — turned into a strikeout affair. Missoula’s left-handed reliever Keith Hessler dazzled, mixing his pitches, filling the zone and keeping the Brewers off balance. He faced the minimum through three innings, fanning a season-high seven. Helena southpaw Alan Williams was equally effective, striking out five through 2 1/3. “The first two innings was crazy on both sides but after that things calmed down,” De La Cruz said. “In the end it was kind of rough, but we got the win.” The Osprey peppered starter Eric Arnett for five runs on four hits in the first frame, but Helena responded with four hits and three runs of their own off Robby Rowland. Brewers shortstop Yadiel Rivera hit a solo home run in the second to trim the visitors’ lead to one, and Adrian Williams’ sacrifice bunt brought home John Dishon to tie it at 5-all in the fourth. But the Brewers (8-8) would follow with four straight 1-2-3 innings, and Robbie Garvey’s two-out single that started the rally in the ninth was the first hit for the home team since the second inning. Missoula (8-8) had a chance to break the game open in the seventh, when Helena reliever Jacob Barnes intentionally walked the Osprey’s hot-hitting first baseman, John Griffin. That loaded the bases, but Barnes struck out the next batter for the second out before giving way to Williams, who worked out of the jam when Tom Belza popped out in foul territory. It’s positives like that one that Helena manager Joe Ayrault plans to take away from the loss. The Brewers have dropped five of their last seven games, but the skipper saw a lot of heart Tuesday night. “That’s exactly what I talked about with these guys in the team meeting,” Ayrault said. “The heart that they had — to be down five-nothing and then respond in the bottom of the first inning, then keep battling all game ... I liked the way these guys played, especially late.” In the ninth, after Rivera grounded out to third, Sample issued a one-out walk to Doug Elliot. Ruben Ozuna came in to pinch run, then sped all the way to third on Garvey’s single through the gap in right. Adrian Williams, after fouling off a couple of pitches, faced a full count. But the Brewers had their opportunity when what could have been a game-ending strike sailed past home plate. The defending Pioneer League champions are now 3-2 in extra-inning contests this season. The Brewers will try to snap a three-game skid when they go for the split of the short two-game set today. Right-hander Kevin Shackelford (0-0, 4.50) takes the mound for Helena, while Enrique Buros (1-1, 5.40) gets the nod for the Osprey. “We’ve got to come in tomorrow with a positive attitude, hit the reset button and play Brewer baseball,” Ayrault said. “There’s a lot of positives that came out of that loss.” NOTES: Missoula infielder Tom Belza kept his multi-hit streak alive, stretching it to five straight games with two hits or more. Belza, the DH on Tuesday, was 2 for 5 with a run scored ... The Brewers and Osprey are now in a tie for second in the North Division, one game behind first-place Billings ... Missoula outfielder Chris Ellison was walked twice Tuesday night, giving him a league-leading 13 free passes. All photos by Dylan Brown Independent Record - Helena Brewers' Adrian Williams, left, and Robbie Garvey celebrate their runs Tuesday night at Kindrick Legion Field. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/09/8096910a-a778-11e0-8f4f-001cc4c002e0/4e13c9c1a20eb.image.jpg Brewers catcher Doug Elliot attempts to tag out Missoula's John Griffin at home Tuesday night in the first period at Kindrick Legion Field. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/c3/cc32b486-a778-11e0-9edf-001cc4c002e0/4e13ca4080ae0.image.jpg Helena Brewers shortstop Yadiel Rivera throws the ball to first for the out Tuesday evening at Kindrick Legion Field. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/f2/ef2607d6-a778-11e0-85d6-001cc4c002e0/4e13ca7b255cd.image.jpg

Manatees' pitcher small, but mighty Newly promoted Thornburg has won 10 pro games by Mark DeCotis, Florida Today For a guy considered on the smaller side, Tyler Thornburg is living large. And fans can get an up-close look at one of the top prospects in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization Wednesday night, when Thornburg takes the mound for the Brevard County Manatees against the Clearwater Threshers at Space Coast Stadium. Thornburg already has won his 10th game as a pro baseball player -- against no defeats -- and has moved up a level from the Brewers Class A team in Wisconsin to the Class A-Advanced Manatees. He was selected to play in Sunday's All-Star Futures Game, part of Major League Baseball's All-Star week festivities in Phoenix. And, on Tuesday he was named the Florida State League's Pitcher of the Week. Sitting in the Manatees' dugout following the daily pre-game workout in the 90-degree heat -- yes, even for pitchers -- Thornburg smiled when asked about his stellar 2011. "Yeah, it's pretty surreal," the 22-year-old Thornburg said. "Realizing all the things I wanted in life are hopefully going to be happening in the next couple of years or so. All I can really do is thank God for everything he's given me." What Thornburg has been given is a gift to throw a baseball effectively enough to record 130 total strikeouts in 103 total innings for Helena of the Pioneer rookie-level league and for Wisconsin -- both in 2010 -- and for the Manatees in two starts this season. His combined minor league earned run average is a stingy 1.57, allowing just 67 hits. Not bad for a 5-foot, 11-inch, 185-pound player some scouts are already pegging as a reliever instead of his current role as a starter, citing concerns about his durability due to his lack of physical size compared to many of his peers. That doesn't wash with Manatees pitching coach Fred Dabney especially when the name of San Francisco Giants Tim Lincecum, one of big league baseball's top pitchers at all of 5-11 and 165 pounds, comes up. "If you look at him (Thornburg), what is Lincecum doing differently than what he's doing?" Dabney said. "He's got a plus-fastball, a solid average to a plus-curveball and he's got a solid average to a plus-change up. "Lincecum isn't doing too many things differently than what he's doing. He's got the ability, he's got the stuff. Guys that are 5-11 or below six feet, they've got to bring special to the table and he's bringing something special to the table so size doesn't matter with him." Manatees catcher Sean McCraw, who has been behind the plate for Thornburg's starts against the Tampa Yankees on June 26 and at Clearwater on Friday -- when he struck out 10 batters in six innings -- can speak to what Thornburg brings to the game. "He's got an explosive fastball for a little guy, a little bit of deception the way he jumps off the mound and a real good put-away pitch with his curveball," McCraw said. "The thing that's been lacking is the consistency of the change-up and I think from the second outing compared to the first outing, he had better arm speed with it. He was a little underneath it and trying to push it the first time. The second time he was a little bit more aggressive with the arm speed." The soft-spoken Thornburg, who was born in Houston, lived on St. George Island off the coast of the Panhandle and attended college at Charleston Southern, considers his fastball his best pitch. He hopes it can continue to work for him as he strives to keep a clean sheet. "You're going to have to lose at some point, everyone knows that," he said. "I'm just trying to put that off for as long as possible. Every time I go out I'm trying to make sure I don't lose the game." He also wants to get inside the head of the hitters, who he said are both more patient and more aggressive in the FSL, and have the advantage from the moment the batter steps up. "(I want him thinking) 'I don't want to be in the batter's box right now,' " Thornburg said. "I definitely don't want them being too comfortable up there." And if he can improve by being more consistent with all his pitches, throwing strikes and avoiding walks, he believes he can continue keeping hitters off stride and continue to find success at whatever level he's playing. Since coming to Brevard County from Class-A Wisconsin, Tyler Thornburg is 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings. He has struck out 16 and a .056 batting average against him. / MiLB.com Photo for Florida Today http://cmsimg.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A9&Date=20110706&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=107060318&Ref=AR&MaxW=140&Border=0

Chattanooga Times Free Press: The Stars (8-5) got within one when Cody Scarpetta took Lookouts' starter Chris Withrow deep to straightaway center. “It was the pitcher,” Withrow said. “I guess that was his second one of the year, but I didn’t know that. I didn’t know that he could really hit. I left one right over the middle, and he put quite a bit of barrel on it.”

From the Chattanoogan: After the Zelous Wheeler homer, Withrow was pulled from the game in favor of reliever Cole St. Clair (1-2). The 2011 Southern League All-Star uncharacteristically walked the first batter he faced. After a force out at second, a controversial balk, and pop up, Matt Cline ripped a single to center, bringing home Martin Maldonado from second to give Huntsville the 3-2 lead. Manager Carlos Subero, who was still fuming over the balk call on St. Clair, was ejected from the dugout by homeplate umpire Justin Sassaman. Subero vented his frustration to crew chief Anthony Johnson, who had called the balk. To put it mildly, Subero was livid.

Nashville Audio Archive -- July 5 - Chat with reliever Mike McClendon Discusses video study to correct flaws...

Final: @Nashville 9, Memphis 8 Sounds Walk Off Against Redbirds Again Nashville Rebounds From Six-Run Deficit To Post 9-8 Victory Nashville SoundsNASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds recorded their second straight walkoff win over the division-rival Memphis Redbirds, coming back from an early six-run deficit to post a 9-8 victory on Tuesday evening at Greer Stadium. With the bases full of Sounds and one out, Brandon Boggs lined a game-ending RBI single to right off Memphis reliever Cory Rauschenberger to plate Erick Almonte with the winning run. It was Boggs' second big hit of the night. The outfielder's two-run double in the seventh capped off Nashville's comeback from an early 7-1 deficit. Almonte, who paced the Nashville offense with a 4-for-4 evening that included a homer, tied a Sounds single-game record by scoring five runs on the night. He became the second player in the franchise's 34-year history to accomplish the feat, joining Adrian Brown (May 12, 1999 at Tucson). The win was the seventh straight home victory for Nashville (39-46), which recorded its ninth last at-bat triumph of the season. The six-run comeback marked the Sounds' largest deficit overcome this year. Rehabbing Memphis first baseman Gerald Laird (2-for-4) staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when he ripped a two-out RBI double to the wall in center off Sounds starter Chase Wright. Tyler Greene, who drew a game-opening walk from Wright, scored on the two-bagger, which came in Laird's first plate appearance with the Redbirds. Later in the frame, Sounds right fielder Caleb Gindl threw out Laird by six steps at the plate to end the inning as he attempted to scored from second on an Aaron Luna single. Almonte evened the contest in the second when he led off the inning with a solo homer to left off Memphis starter Nick Additon. The blast, his second in his last two plate appearances, was Almonte's fourth of the year. The Redbirds pulled back in front comfortably, 7-1, with a six-run outburst against Wright in the third. Five of the six runs scored with two outs, including three on Adron Chambers' bases-loaded double to left-center. Memphis sent 12 men to the plate in the frame; right fielder Nick Stavinoha was responsible for all three outs. Sounds catcher Wil Nieves made it a 7-3 game in the fourth when he belted a two-run homer to left-center that struck the guitar-shaped scoreboard. The big fly, his first of the year, extended the backstop's season-best hit streak to six games. Nashville got another run back in the fifth as Edwin Maysonet led off with a single and later scored from second on a hustle play as he raced home on Gindl's infield single to first. Third baseman Taylor Green pulled the Sounds within a run at 7-6 in the sixth when he hammered Memphis reliever Bryan Augenstein's one-out offering onto Chestnut Street beyond the right field wall for a two-run homer. The infielder's 12th homer of the year also scored Almonte, who singled earlier in the frame. The Sounds completed their comeback from a six-run deficit in the seventh when Boggs lined a bases-loaded, two-run double to right with two outs against Redbirds reliever Pete Parise. The two-bagger gave Nashville its first lead of the night at 8-7. Memphis responded quickly, knotting the score at 8-8 in the eighth against Mike McClendon. Stavinoha greeted the right-hander with a one-out single, moved to second when Matt Carpenter drew a two-out walk, and scored just ahead of Carroll's throw from center as he raced home on Luna's single to center. McClendon (2-1) was the beneficiary of the Sounds' last at-bat heroics, picking up the win. He allowed one run on two hits while striking out four batters in his 1 2/3 innings. Rauschenberger (4-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing the game-deciding run in his 1 1/3 frames. Sounds second baseman Eric Farris went 0-for-5 to snap his season-best hitting streak at 10 games. The Sounds will look for a sweep of the three-game series when the teams hook up for the 7:05 p.m. finale on Wednesday evening. All-Star left-hander Sam Narron (4-3, 3.60) will man the bump for the Sounds to face Memphis right-hander Maikel Cleto (1-0, 2.19). Nashville Box ScoreSounds trailed 7-1 early, see big league Brewers, it could have been you -- guess not; you've got to give credit where it's due -- Erick Almonte does have bat skills, too bad we didn't see them with the parent club... Nashville Play-by-Play Hear Brandon Boggs' game-winning single via the link here.

Hunter Morris has committed 23 errors in 124 career games at first base, incliding 15 errors in just 66 games this year.

Early notes -- Nice start for Cody Scarpetta thus far in a wink, wink kind of way. T.J. Mittelstaedt with a triple in his first at-bat -- the Rattler is making it easier for us to spell his name with all the positive mentions.

Huntsville Media Notes *** Look for Chris' pre-game Wisconsin notes shortly before gametime, not quite up yet as of this post time.

The Manatees have adjusted their roster update with a follow-up press release. It is now Shawn Zarraga going on the DL, while Mike Roberts remains active. Hopefully just a precautionary 7-day move for Shawn.

Nashville has announced that Mark DiFelice's DL stint is backdated to June 30th.

Huntsville Press Release: FIERS NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK Right-Hander Allowed Just One Hit in Start HUNTSVILLE, AL – Huntsville starting pitcher Michael Fiers has been named the Southern League’s Pitcher of the Week for June 27 – July 3. Fiers allowed just one hit in his outing on June 29 against Mississippi. In six innings of work, Fiers struck out a total of nine batters and walked just two. None of the 22 batters he faced reached home plate again, as he kept the M-Braves scoreless. He allowed just one hit and kept batters to a .050 batting average. Fiers is currently 5-3 with a 2.64 ERA in 22 games (eight starts) for the Stars. He’s allowed just 14 walks and struck out 63 batters in 61.1 innings of work. Fiers was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Congratulations to RHP Andy Moye, the Pioneer League Pitcher of the Week.

Congratulations to RHP Tyler Thornburg, the FSL Pitcher of the Week.

Nashville Media Notes: CHECK OUT THE BIG BAT ON BRETT: Outfielder Brett Carroll (career stats) is heating up, batting .344 (56-for-163) with 34 RBIs in his last 45 games. He has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games. Along with supreme corner defense and arm. He deserves to be a 4th big league OF somewhere in these, his "prime" years (he's 28).

Unsigned high school picks CF Mallex Smith (CF) and C Mario Amaral saw action in tournament play this past weekend as this Tallahassee newspaper briefly reports. Amaral's time in play came on the mound. Our official draft pick / signing thread indicates the Brewers still have plenty of work to do.

RHP Hiram Burgos has been activated from the Brevard DL and gets the start Tuesday night. To make room, C Mike Roberts goes back to the DL; it's pretty apparent Roberts was activated for a day or so while the 'Tees made sure Shawn Zarraga was OK after leaving Sunday's game with what was described as a "head injury". What's also apparent is that MiLB is allowing the Brewers (and likely other clubs) to carry spare catchers (Patrick Arlis, Dayton Buller, Roberts) and store them on the DL. Buller may be out with an actual injury, but circumstances point to him being held on to as an 'as needed' guy as well.

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 46 39 .541 - - 26-18 20-21 5-5 L2 Memphis 45 39 .536 0.5 60 27-16 18-23 6-4 L1 Iowa 41 44 .482 5.0 55 24-20 17-24 8-2 L1 Nashville 38 46 .452 7.5 53 26-18 12-28 6-4 W1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Chattanooga 8 4 .667 - - 4-2 4-2 7-3 L2 Huntsville 7 5 .583 1.0 58 4-2 3-3 6-4 W1 * Tennessee 7 5 .583 1.0 58 5-1 2-4 6-4 L1 Carolina 4 7 .364 3.5 56 3-2 1-5 3-7 L2 Jackson 4 8 .333 4.0 55 2-4 2-4 3-7 L1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak * Daytona 7 5 .583 - - 2-2 5-3 6-4 W1 Dunedin 7 5 .583 - - 3-2 4-3 6-4 W2 Tampa 6 6 .500 1.0 58 5-3 1-3 5-5 L1 Brevard County 5 5 .500 1.0 59 3-2 2-3 5-5 L3 Clearwater 5 7 .417 2.0 57 3-5 2-2 4-6 W2 Lakeland 4 6 .400 2.0 58 2-2 2-4 4-6 L2 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Kane County 8 3 .727 - - 3-2 5-1 7-3 W2 Beloit 7 4 .636 1.0 - 3-2 4-2 6-4 L2 Clinton 6 5 .545 2.0 59 3-3 3-2 5-5 L1 Wisconsin 6 5 .545 2.0 59 2-4 4-1 5-5 W3 * Burlington 5 6 .455 3.0 58 3-3 2-3 5-5 L1 Cedar Rapids 4 7 .364 4.0 57 2-3 2-4 4-6 W1 Peoria 4 7 .364 4.0 57 1-4 3-3 4-6 W1 Quad Cities 4 7 .364 4.0 57 2-4 2-3 4-6 L2 PIO North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Billings 8 7 .533 - - 5-5 3-2 6-4 L2 Helena 8 7 .533 - - 5-2 3-5 4-6 L1 Great Falls 7 8 .467 1.0 23 3-3 4-5 5-5 W1 Missoula 7 8 .467 1.0 23 3-4 4-4 5-5 W2 AZL Central Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak AZL Dodgers 8 4 .667 - - 4-2 4-2 6-4 L2 AZL Reds 6 6 .500 2.0 43 5-2 1-4 5-5 W1 AZL Indians 5 7 .417 3.0 42 3-3 2-4 4-6 L3 AZL Brewers 3 9 .250 5.0 40 1-5 2-4 2-8 W1 DSL S.D. North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak DSL Mariners 22 8 .733 - - 11-4 11-4 7-3 W4 DSL Brewers 20 11 .645 2.5 40 9-6 11-5 5-5 L4 DSL Athletics 10 21 .323 12.5 30 6-8 4-13 3-7 L2 DSL Cardinals 10 21 .323 12.5 30 6-11 4-10 4-6 W2

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

DVR Alert -- once again, with more than 24 hours' notice: Wednesday night's Timber Rattlers' home game vs. Kane County will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable Sports 32. The big league Brewers have a matinee Wednesday. LHP Del Howell is scheduled to start.