Jim Goulart

30th round RHP Eric Marzec out of Youngstown State has been added to the Helena roster after three appearances with the Arizona Brewers. Also, LHP Tony Butler is now with Helena. He was with the AZL Brewers but is techinically on Wisconsin's roster and in Helena on a rehab assignment.

PDF Documents: Nashville Media Notes Huntsville Media Notes *** Rattler Radio: July 4, 2010: Game Notes July 4, 2010: Tonight's Starting Pitcher

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Memphis 45 37 .549 - - 24-16 21-21 7-3 W3 Omaha 43 37 .538 1.0 63 20-20 23-17 5-5 W1 Nashville 44 38 .537 1.0 62 23-18 21-20 5-5 L2 Iowa 43 38 .531 1.5 62 22-21 21-17 5-5 L1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Chattanooga 8 4 .667 - - 5-1 3-3 6-4 W1 * Tennessee 7 5 .583 1.0 58 4-2 3-3 5-5 W2 Carolina 6 6 .500 2.0 57 4-2 2-4 6-4 W1 Huntsville 5 7 .417 3.0 56 3-3 2-4 4-6 L1 West Tenn 5 7 .417 3.0 56 3-3 2-4 4-6 L2 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tampa 6 1 .857 - - 4-1 2-0 6-1 W5 Clearwater 6 4 .600 1.5 61 5-1 1-3 6-4 W4 Daytona 5 4 .556 2.0 61 2-0 3-4 5-4 L3 Brevard County 4 5 .444 3.0 60 3-2 1-3 4-5 L1 * Dunedin 4 5 .444 3.0 60 3-3 1-2 4-5 W1 Lakeland 1 7 .125 5.5 58 0-2 1-5 1-7 L7 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Quad Cities 6 3 .667 - - 2-1 4-2 6-3 L1 Burlington 5 4 .556 1.0 - 5-1 0-3 5-4 W5 * Cedar Rapids 5 4 .556 1.0 - 2-1 3-3 5-4 W2 Clinton 5 4 .556 1.0 - 4-2 1-2 5-4 L2 Beloit 4 5 .444 2.0 61 3-3 1-2 4-5 W1 Kane County 4 5 .444 2.0 61 2-1 2-4 4-5 W2 Wisconsin 4 5 .444 2.0 61 4-2 0-3 4-5 L3 Peoria 3 6 .333 3.0 60 1-2 2-4 3-6 L2 PIO North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Helena 9 4 .692 - - 6-1 3-3 6-4 L1 Great Falls 7 6 .538 2.0 24 2-4 5-2 5-5 L1 Billings 5 8 .385 4.0 22 2-4 3-4 4-6 W1 Missoula 5 8 .385 4.0 22 4-3 1-5 5-5 W1 AZL Central Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak AZL Brewers 9 2 .818 - - 0-0 0-0 0-0 W1 AZL Dodgers 6 5 .545 3.0 43 0-0 0-0 0-0 W1 AZL Reds 5 6 .455 4.0 42 0-0 0-0 0-0 L1 AZL Indians 3 8 .273 6.0 40 0-0 0-0 0-0 L2 DSL S.D. North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak DSL Cardinals 18 13 .581 - - 14-2 4-11 5-5 W1 DSL Mariners 16 15 .516 2.0 40 11-5 5-10 5-5 W2 DSL Athletics 14 16 .467 3.5 39 8-6 6-10 5-5 L4 DSL Brewers 13 17 .433 4.5 38 10-5 3-12 6-4 L1

Follow Sunday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Tab or New Window". Choose "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often. Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin Helena

Nashville diehards can view the entire series in Oklahoma City via a subscription to MiLB.TV.

Sunday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Sam Narron at Oklahoma City (Rangers), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link Huntsville: RHP Mark Rogers at Tennessee (Cubs), 6:00 PM pre-game; 6:15 gametime Live Audio Link Brevard County: TBD (likely RHP Wily Peralta) at home vs. Tampa (Yankees), 5:05 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this game... Wisconsin: RHP Maverick Lasker at Cedar Rapids (Angels), 4:50 PM pre-game; 5:05 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: RHP Matt Miller at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime; 2nd round University of Alabama RHP Jimmy Nelson set to make his pro debut in relief Live Audio Link Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): Idle DSL Brewers: Idle

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Good timing -- feature article on him this AM...

Link while active, text follows: Timber Rattlers Profile: Relief pitcher No. 30 Jon Pokorny Mike Woods, Appleton Post-Crescent Jon Pokorny file - Age: 22. - Position: Closer. - Bats/throws: Right/left. - Height, weight: 6-2, 225. - Residence: Seven Hills, Ohio. - Notes: Selected by Milwaukee in the ninth round of the 2009 June Draft. ... Attended Kent State University, which also produced Yankees catcher Thurman Munson and former AL Cy Young winner Steve Stone. ... Named second-team all-Mid-American Conference as a reliever in 2009. ... Was part of three straight MAC championship teams. Favorites - MLB team growing up: Cleveland Indians. - MLB player growing up: "C.C. Sabathia. He threw hard and he's a lefty and I always portrayed myself trying to be like him." - Can you hit like he can? "(Laughs) No." - Current Brewer: Prince Fielder. - Food: "Italian. I like Jonathan's Bistro." - Job as a kid: "I only had one. I worked at a grocery store for three years. Stock boy." - Way to spend an off day: "Usually go to the golf course, get a round of 18 in and then just relax the rest of the day. I've only played at Eagle Creek up here. It's real nice." - How good a golfer are you? "I'm horrible." - Baseball memory: "Probably two. My junior season, we won the MAC Tournament and I was the closer and I got dog-piled. Also, hearing my name over the radio during the draft." - What's it like to be at the bottom of a dog pile? "Well, you're getting trampled on but yet you're so happy. You don't feel the pain." - Thing about Appleton: "It's fan friendly. I really haven't played in front of big crowds like this before, occasion after occasion. I'm used to college and Helena (rookie ball) where it was 200 people max. That felt like a high school baseball game. Now, I'm actually taking it all in. So it's nice to play in front of a big crowd." Q&A Q: You were born and raised in Cleveland. So if LeBron James leaves, is it going to crush you and the rest of the city? A: Yeah. I always said, if he left, the city might burn down. I hope he stays. He's been good to Cleveland. I hope he stays. I think he is. If he goes anywhere, I'd probably say Chicago." Q: You live in a city known for its sports teams breaking their fans hearts. Which team has broken your heart the most? A: Browns, easily. Q: What's your most prized sports possession? A: All three years in college, we won championship rings, so I'd say one of those three. Q: What's the toughest thing about being a relief pitcher? A: Waiting for your time to get into games. You could pitch back-to-back days and then you'll have a week off. Just being mentally prepared. Q: You've been moved to the closer role, what's that like? A: I love it. It's an adrenaline rush. I just go out there and pound the strike zone. My goal is always to get the first guy out then you don't have to worry about any other situations or anything like that. Once I get that out of the way, it just kind of goes along. Q: What's the best way to kill time in the pen? A: We do a lot of things. We play mental games. We play basketball with a pitching bag — try to shoot a baseball in there. And, if there's a new guy that comes in and goes to the port-a-john, we'll stick the bench in front of it and make him stay there for a couple innings. Q: What's the hardest thing about minor-league baseball? A: Lot of traveling and being in hotels, but that's a given. Basically, being away from family and friends most of the time. Gone for eight months out of the year. Q: Why No. 30? A: Well, my number is 27, but Damon Krestalude had it so I just said, next one available from that. Q: What's the part of your game that needs the most work? A: The past few outings, I haven't been getting the first batter out. I've been giving up base hits to them. Probably bearing down and being more mentally focused when I come into the game. Q: Ever meet anyone famous? A: No, except for the players who've come around here on rehab. The tool box From Chris Hook, Rattlers pitching coach - Repertoire: "He's got a fastball, in the 88-89 mph range, which he throws with a good command. Has a cutter/slider, and then he's got a curveball and a changeup. So he's a four-pitch guy but mostly a two-pitch guy with his fastball and cutter." - Makeup: "He's a gutsy guy in the back end of the bullpen. He's shown resiliency. Guys get on and he shuts them down. He's a strikeout guy, so he does miss bats. The cutter is something that he has taken on here. At the beginning of the season, he had a really difficult time with his curveball, having a hard time throwing it for strikes. His cutter has been like a middle-count pitch for him, hitting the strike zone while he's learned to take it out of the zone as well. It's a good pitch for him. Very consistent." - Ability to close: "When the game's on the line, I don't think it's something you really develop. You either have it or you don't have it. I think Porky's one of those guys that has that intestinal fortitude. He likes it. He's done it in college. It takes a special person to get the most important out of the game, in my opinion." - Biggest need for improvement: "He tends to get three-ball counts a lot. If we can get some early count outs out of him … He tends to get in deep in counts. He does have the ability to miss bats, which is a benefit to him, but I'd like him to get some more early count outs. It would be helpful. I think sometimes his stuff has action and moves out of the zone early in the count and that's why he gets behind sometimes." Wisconsin's Jon Pokorny says being a closer is "an adrenaline rush." (Post-Crescent photo by Dan Powers) http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20100704&Category=APC021102&ArtNo=7040626&Ref=AR&Profile=1019&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

Sunday, August 8th Brevard twinbill to make up for the rainout in Dunedin.

Link while active, text follows: Osprey outlast Brewers in 11 By BILL SPELTZ of the Missoulian A record-breaking crowd watched two forms of fireworks Saturday night at Ogren-Allegiance Park. The second involved pyrotechnics and complimentary 3-D glasses. The first produced the biggest win of the young season for the Missoula Osprey. Eric Groff singled and scored on an infield throwing error in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the O's a thrilling 7-6 win over the Helena Brewers in front of 4,076 fans. Closer Victor Lara (1-2) picked up his first win on the mound after working himself out of a jam in the top of the 11th. "The way we fought back just shows we have the heart," said Groff, whose team forced extra innings with a run in the bottom of the ninth. "We can go out any night and beat any team. "They (Helena) might be the top team in the league right now, but we're gunning for them." The Osprey boosted their record to 5-8 in Pioneer League action. The Brewers saw their league-best record fall to 9-4. Missoula looked well on its way to a comfortable win with a 6-1 lead heading into the top of the eighth inning. Osprey starter Kevin Eichhorn was impressive through six frames, holding the Brewers to just one run on five hits while striking out five. Missoula scored in each of the first three innings. Richie Rowland's solo home run in the third gave the O's a 4-0 advantage. The Brewers finally got on the board in the sixth inning, but Missoula answered with a run in the bottom half. Chris Jarrett legged out a leadoff triple and scored on a double steal with two outs. Helena did most of its offensive damage in the eighth and ninth innings against Osprey relievers Justin Albert and Will Harvil. Albert surrendered three runs in the eighth and Harvil two in the ninth as the Brewers took a 6-5 lead. Missoula knotted the score at 6-6 on a Groff run in the bottom of the ninth. He led off the inning with a double, advanced on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch with two outs. Lara came on in the top of the 11th and got in a jam when he walked two Helena hitters with two outs. But he regrouped, striking out John Bivens to end the threat. Groff led off the bottom of the 11th with a slow-rolling single up the middle. Bobby Stone followed with a base hit to give the O's runners on first and second. Richie Rowland then hit a ground ball to shortstop Shea Vucinich that appeared tailor-made for a double play. But Helena second baseman Connor Lind's throw hit the dirt on its way to first and skidded past first baseman Cody Hawn, enabling Groff to score easily. "We're starting to want it a lot more," Groff said. "Our pitching staff is doing well, fielding-wise we're coming around and we're hitting the ball." Groff paced the Osprey with three hits and two runs scored. Jarrett had a double, triple and two runs scored. The Osprey will play host to Helena again Sunday at 5:00 PM (6:00 Central).

Osprey get walk-off win over Brewers By Ben Catley / Missoula Osprey MISSOULA, MT - The Missoula Osprey have a flair for the dramatic on 4th of July Fireworks Extravaganza Nights, and went all sorts of dramatic on the largest crowd to ever watch an Osprey baseball game on Saturday at Ogren Park Allegiance Field. After letting a four-run lead slip away, the Osprey scored the tying run with two out in the bottom of the ninth, and scored the game-winner in the 11th, to beat the Helena Brewers, 7-6, in front of an Osprey-record 4,076 fans. Eric Groff scored both of the key runs for the Osprey (5-8), dashing home from third on a wild pitch with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, then scoring from second when a throw to first from Helena second baseman Connor Lind went wide of the bag on a potential double-play ball with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning. Groff - who went 3-for-6 on the night - singled off of Brewers reliever Brian Garman (1-1) to lead off the home half of the 11th, then moved to second on a Bobby Stone single. Robby Rowland, who earlier in the game had extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a solo home run, then hit a ground ball to short. Helena shortstop Shea Vucinich took the slow roller and threw to second to force Stone, who slid hard into the bag and forced Lind into the wild throw. Groff scored on the play and the Osprey had a walk-off win. The Brewers (9-4) appeared as if they were going to rally once again against the Osprey - they won three of four games in their sweep of the season-opening series between the two teams by rallying for a win from the seventh inning on, including two walk-off wins. Down 5-1, the Brewers scored three times in the top of the eighth, and twice more in the top of the ninth, to take a 6-5 lead. Groff, however, would help spoil the party, leading off the home half of the ninth with a double and then moving to third on a Stone groundout. With two out, and pinch-hitter Zac Varnell at the plate, Garman threw a wild pitch, scoring Groff to tie the game. Victor Lara (1-2), the fourth pitcher used by the Osprey, pitched the 11th, allowing two walks but getting a big strikeout to end the threat and pick up the win on the mound. The Osprey will host the Brewers in the second of a four-game series on Sunday beginning at 5:00 PM (6:00 Central) at Ogren Park Allegiance Field. Right-hander J.R. Bradley will get the start for Missoula, while right-hander Matt Miller gets the call for Helena.

July 3rd - Stu's Nashville Chat with new Sounds OF Lorenzo Cain

We've adjusted tonight's menu. Seth Lintz goes tonight for Helena, Matt Miller is Sunday.

Brian Bruney signs a minor league deal with the Mets; Jason Bourgeois back to AAA after going 5-for-17 with the Astros.

PDF Document: Nashville Media Notes

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Memphis 44 37 .543 - - 23-16 21-21 7-3 W2 Nashville 44 37 .543 - - 23-17 21-20 5-5 L1 Iowa 43 37 .538 0.5 64 22-21 21-16 5-5 W1 Omaha 42 37 .532 1.0 64 19-20 23-17 4-6 L1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Chattanooga 7 4 .636 - - 5-1 2-3 6-4 L1 * Tennessee 6 5 .545 1.0 59 4-2 2-3 5-5 W1 Carolina 5 6 .455 2.0 58 3-2 2-4 5-5 L1 Huntsville 5 6 .455 2.0 58 3-2 2-4 4-6 W1 West Tenn 5 6 .455 2.0 58 3-2 2-4 5-5 L1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tampa 6 1 .857 - - 4-1 2-0 6-1 W5 Clearwater 5 4 .556 2.0 61 4-1 1-3 5-4 W3 Daytona 5 4 .556 2.0 61 2-0 3-4 5-4 L3 Brevard County 4 5 .444 3.0 60 3-2 1-3 4-5 L1 * Dunedin 4 5 .444 3.0 60 3-3 1-2 4-5 W1 Lakeland 1 6 .143 5.0 59 0-2 1-4 1-6 L6 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Quad Cities 6 2 .750 - - 2-1 4-1 6-2 W2 Clinton 5 3 .625 1.0 - 4-2 1-1 5-3 L1 Burlington 4 4 .500 2.0 62 4-1 0-3 4-4 W4 * Cedar Rapids 4 4 .500 2.0 62 1-1 3-3 4-4 W1 Wisconsin 4 4 .500 2.0 62 4-2 0-2 4-4 L2 Beloit 3 5 .375 3.0 61 2-3 1-2 3-5 L3 Kane County 3 5 .375 3.0 61 1-1 2-4 3-5 W1 Peoria 3 5 .375 3.0 61 1-2 2-3 3-5 L1 PIO North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Helena 9 3 .750 - - 6-1 3-2 7-3 W1 Great Falls 7 5 .583 2.0 25 2-3 5-2 6-4 W1 Billings 4 8 .333 5.0 22 2-4 2-4 3-7 L1 Missoula 4 8 .333 5.0 22 3-3 1-5 4-6 L1 AZL Central Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak AZL Brewers 8 2 .800 - - 0-0 0-0 0-0 L2 AZL Dodgers 5 5 .500 3.0 44 0-0 0-0 0-0 L1 AZL Reds 5 5 .500 3.0 44 0-0 1-0 1-0 W1 AZL Indians 3 7 .300 5.0 42 0-0 0-0 0-0 L1 DSL S.D. North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak DSL Cardinals 17 13 .567 - - 13-2 4-11 4-6 L1 DSL Mariners 15 15 .500 2.0 41 10-5 5-10 4-6 W1 DSL Athletics 14 15 .483 2.5 41 8-6 6-9 5-5 L3 DSL Brewers 13 16 .448 3.5 40 10-5 3-11 6-4 W3

Follow Saturday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Tab or New Window". Choose "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often. Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin Helena Arizona Rookie (Maryvale) DSL Brewers

Saturday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chase Wright at home vs. New Orleans (Marlins), 6:20 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime Live Audio Link Huntsville: RHP Michael Bowman at home vs. Chattanooga (Dodgers), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime Live Audio Link Brevard County: TBD (likely RHP Wily Peralta) at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 3:30 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this game... Wisconsin: RHP Nick Bucci at Burlington (Royals), 6:15 PM pre-game; 6:30 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: RHP Seth Lintz at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Live Audio Link Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at the Indians' complex in Goodyear; 9:00 PM; never audio for games in this league DSL Brewers: at the DSL Mariners, 9:30 AM

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Cleveland's Rob Bryson (and his ridiculous strikeout numbers -- 55 in 31.1 innings) was placed on the disabled list Monday with a right shoulder strain. His manager said he might return to action in five to six days. *** NOTE: No pitcher ever is allowed to return that quickly from a shoulder strain.

The Independent Record does more to analyze a road game than Nashville, Huntsville, and Brevard online newspaper staffs do on home games. ***Link while active, text follows: Burgos shines on mound as Brewers beat Billings By The Helena Independent Record BILLINGS – Hiram Burgos allowed one run in seven innings while striking out eight and the first-place Helena Brewers defeated the Billings Mustangs 4-1 in a Pioneer League baseball game on Friday night at Dehler Field. Burgos (2-0) scattered four hits and did not walk anyone. Helena (9-3) took the lead in the first inning when Greg Hopkins’ double scored Franklin Romero. The Brewers increased their lead to 3-0 in the second when Connor Lind singled, Romero tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Shea Vucinich. Billings (4-8) got its only run in the bottom of the second when Oliver Santos led off with a double and eventually scored on an infield groundout by Juan Duran. Burgos retired 14 of the next 16 batters he faced, allowing only Devin Lohman’s one-out single in the fifth in addition to a hit batsman. Helena added an insurance run in the seventh when John Bivens led off with a walk and eventually scored on Romero’s single to center. Romero finished 3 for 3, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs for the Brewers, who ended a two-game losing streak. Robert Currie allowed just one hit in the final two innings for the save. Daniel Corcino (0-1) was the losing pitcher for Billings, allowing three runs (two earned) and three hits in four innings. Helena travels to Missoula to open a four-game series tonight. The Brewers swept four games from the Osprey in Helena to open the season last week.

Why Franklin Romero wasn't in the starting lineup: NOTES: Romero was 3 for 3 with two RBIs on a night he wasn’t even supposed to play. Romero was a scratch from the original lineup after tweaking a shoulder in batting practice, but he was forced into the game when Helena leadoff batter Carlos George was hit near his left elbow on the third pitch of the game and had to leave. *** Billy Hamilton of the Mustangs makes a diving catch near center field before getting up and making a throw to third base for an out against Helena on Friday, July 2, 2010. Helena won the game 4-1. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/e/a8/1ed/ea81edda-c444-56a0-bfb0-196f0041a560-revisions/4c2ebf3a730cd.image.jpg Here's a video report from the Billings Gazette on the game. It shows both remarkable plays by Mustangs' second baseman Billy Hamilton as detailed above. The opening play ranging behind the bag on the ground ball was indeed superb, it's hard to believe he could nip the runner. Then the catch in center field is just insane, because immediately after the dive, catch, and pop back to his feet, he's wise enough to look immediately all the way to third base for the double play on a laser throw. Be sure to watch it all in full-screen view. Almost as impressive as all that is the quality of the Gazette's video post-game reports. Don't know if they are produced by the team in conjunction with the newspaper or not, but you've got captions, the manager's post-game office interview quotes, player interview snippets, pretty amazing. Kudos. Meanwhile, we have non-existent coverage in Nashville (embarrassing), articles when they feel like posting it at the Huntsville Times (which had decent reports for years up until this spring), and of course, the black hole that is Florida Today. Thank goodness for reports from Appleton and Helena. Oh yeah, the two horseshoes forming an "M" for Mustangs is sweet... Photos by PAUL RUHTER / Billings Gazette Staff Sorry about the reverse chronological order here.... Devin Lohman of the Mustangs tags John Dishon of Helena at second base http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/b/f9/39b/bf939bb9-958d-5323-958b-8134228113c6-revisions/4c2ebf3da1aac.image.jpg Franklin Romero of Helena is called safe at third base, after hitting his second triple, before Oliver Santos of the Mustangs can make a tag. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/b/f1/adc/bf1adc1c-43e1-502b-b323-9bc72c9a01ab-revisions/4c2ebf3733581.image.jpg Mustangs catcher Chris Berset tags Helena runner Cody Hawn during the first inning http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/6/06/bd1/606bd156-0753-50e3-9da7-8acbbbfde90e-revisions/4c2ebf2ab5868.image.jpg Franklin Romero of Helena hits his first triple http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/2/4e/d41/24ed415b-f30d-58ce-ba7c-e1a74ac259e6-revisions/4c2ebf27cb445.image.jpg

Link while active, text follows: Hamilton provides highlights, but offense sputters in Mustangs’ loss MIKE SCHERTING Of The Billings Gazette Staff That Billy Hamilton, he can play some second base. The defensive efforts of the 19-year old Hamilton weren’t enough to save the day for the Billings Mustangs, but they were enough to send a buzz through the 3,783 on hand at Dehler Park and give his teammates something to talk about after the Helena Brewers skipped town with a 4-1 win and a split of the brief two-game series. Hamilton saved at least two runs with spectacular plays in the first and fifth innings, the second of which drew the highest of praise from Mustangs manager Delino DeShields, who was an infielder for 13 big league seasons. “That’s one of the best plays I’ve seen in baseball,” DeShields said. “I mean, that was a big-league play.” The play came after Franklin Romero, Jr. led off the fifth inning with his second triple of the game. Shea Vucinich then lofted a high looping pop fly into no-man’s land beyond second base and as shortstop Devin Lohman and center fielder Jefry Sierra converged on the play, Hamilton belly-flopped fully extended into short center to make the catch. Hamilton then popped up and threw to third baseman Oliver Santos to double up Romero, who had wandered too far off the bag. “No one thought he was going to get it,” Lohman said with a chuckle. “But he made a good play.” Second base is new terrain for Hamilton. The second-year pro — he was drafted in the second round of last year’s First-Year Player Draft by the Cincinnati Reds — said he’s been playing shortstop exclusively since his sophomore year in high school. But with the arrival of Lohman, whom the Reds drafted in the third round this year, the Reds are giving Hamilton a shot at second where he’s been for five games. “Ah, man, second base is like a new home,” said Hamilton, who nailed Connor Lind in the first inning on a high chopper that he fielded behind the bag and eventually threw from the shortstop side of second. “It’s a good start for me. I really like it.” Unfortunately for the Mustangs, their defensive heroics — Hamilton almost made a third outstanding play but Lind beat out his throw in the seventh inning — didn’t extend to the offensive side. Helena’s Hiram Burgos and Robert Currie limited the Mustangs to five hits and neither pitcher allowed more than one hit in an inning. Burgos (2-0), the Pioneer League leader in strikeouts, went seven innings and struck out eight, giving him 23 punch outs in 17 1/3 innings. Currie got the last six outs for his second save. “(Burgos) pitched a hell of a game tonight,” DeShields said. “That was basically the difference in the game tonight. Whenever we tried to get something going, he made quality pitches and he did it all night.” Friday’s crowd in Billings of 3,783 was the biggest of the season.

Nashville LH starter Chris Waters in a two-part interview at the July 2nd audio link Home is in Idaho, where wife and daughters await; discusses why he works quickly, keeping the ball on the ground, working with younger AAA catchers, and his unique and extensive music collection...