Jim Goulart

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The kickoff of Sunday's Link Report will be a last-minute affair, but we're sure you diehards can navigate your way around MiLB.com's scoreboard and audio pages as need be in a pinch. Thanks for your understanding!

Link while active, text follows: Brewers stop Voyager winning streak By MIKE TOWNE, Great Falls Tribune Sports Writer It didn't take long Saturday night for the Helena Brewers to show they were in a mood to hit. Reggie Keen doubled to left field on the first pitch by Charles Delk, igniting a 21-hit attack that resulted in a 10-3 victory over the Great Falls Voyagers. Helena lashed out 14 hits — 13 fell for singles — in the first four innings to build a 7-3 lead. Two runs in the second broke a 2-2 deadlock and gave the Brewers the lead for good. A trio of Helena pitchers limited Great Falls to four hits, just one over the final five frames. The Voyagers had scored 27 runs on 49 hits in their previous four games, all wins. They collected 13 hits in a 10-4 victory over the Brewers in their home-opening game Friday night. The win before 3,134 fans at Centene Stadium boosted the Brewers to 5-1, good for a one-game lead over the Voyagers in the Northern Division of the Pioneer League. "We're going to lose some games, obviously," Great Falls manager Chris Cron said afterward. "You have to tip your hat to Helena. They put the ball in play and found a lot of holes. That's baseball. "We have to pick ourselves up and be ready to go tomorrow (Sunday)," he added. "We're going to be fine. It's just one game. We have to bounce back and win the series." All nine players in the Helena lineup had one or more hits. Greg Hopkins, batting in the No. 4 spot, led the onslaught with a 5-for-6 effort that included four singles and a ninth-inning double that plated Cody Hawn for his fourth RBI. Mike Walker, Shea Vucinich and Hawn finished with three hits apiece, and Keen and Franklin Romero had two each. Keen scored three runs and Vucinich had a pair of RBIs. "(The Brewers) were aggressive. They weren't shy about swinging the bats," Cron said. "They had their hitting shoes on from the git-go." Following his game-opening double, Keen scooted to third on a sacrifice bunt by Romero. He scored when Hopkins slapped a single to right. Walker singled up the middle and Vucinich followed with a run-scoring base hit to make it 2-0. Great Falls tied it up in its half of the first, taking advantage of back-to-back errors and a double by Juan Silverio. But Helena began to take control in the top of the second, scoring two runs on four hits, including RBI-singles by Keen and Hopkins. After the Voyagers pulled within a run in the third, on a Ryan Hamme sacrifice fly that plated Silverio, the Brewers pushed across three runs on five hits in their half of the fourth. Delk was relieved by Goldy Simmons following a run-scoring single by Hopkins. Helena starter Tyler Cravy went six complete innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out three and walking one. Both Robert Currie and Brian Garman, who pitched the ninth, were solid in relief. "We just couldn't get anything going. We had poor tempo," said Cron of the Voyager offense. "We couldn't find the holes. "Their pitchers threw strikes, and they fielded the ground balls and made the outfield catches." Great Falls' only hits were a pair of doubles by Silverio and singles by Leighton Pangilinan and Kyle Davis. The final game of the three-game series starts at 4:00 PM today (5:00 Central). NOTES: Five Voyagers were batting .300 or better entering Saturday's game: Ross Wilson (.444), Jeff Tezak (.333), Jose Ramos (.333), Dusty Harvard (.313) and Kyle Davis (.300). Hopkins led Helena with a .500 average, second best in the Pioneer League. ... As a team, Great Falls was batting .278, the fourth-best average in the league. Helena was one spot behind, at .268. The Voyagers had a league-best 54 hits after five games; Helena had 44. The Brewers, however, had 15 extra base hits, five more than Great Falls. ... The Voyagers' had a league-best ERA of 2.94 following Friday's win over the Brewers. Helena ranked sixth (5.93). Great Falls pitchers led the league in strikeouts (56), runs (21) and earned runs (16). Caption unavailable... http://cmsimg.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=G1&Date=20100627&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=6270323&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

June 24 - Stu's 2-Part Chat with Interim Pitching Coach Bill Castro Rich Gale is a way for a couple of days, no minor leaguers discussed -- for old-timers like me who loved Mike Caldwell...

Link while active, text follows: Suns break out offensively in 8-7 marathon victory By Jeff Elliott, Jacksonville.com When power-hitting outfielder Mike Stanton was promoted to the Florida Marlins the first week in June, it changed the way the Jacksonville Suns approached games. Instead of winning games with a lot of offense, the Suns have relied on solid pitching and sound defense. Saturday they departed from that concept as they unleashed an 11-hit attack in edging the Huntsville Stars 8-7 in front of 4,446 at the Baseball Grounds. Most of the crowd had departed the ballpark by the time the Suns finished with their third win in five games against the Stars. With a rain delay of two hours before the first pitch and a game that took more than 3 ½ hours to complete, the Suns recorded the last out at 12:57 a.m. The game took on such a late feeling that in the last couple innings, neither team threw the ball around the infield after recording an out with no one on base. They simply threw the ball back to the pitcher with the intent of completing the inning as soon as possible. In the 54 games that Stanton was with Jacksonville this year, the Suns scored at least seven runs on 16 occasions, once every 3.4 games. But since Stanton's departure 20 games ago, Jacksonville has managed to record seven runs in a game just twice before Saturday. "We've had to change our approach and go for more small ball," Suns manager Tim Leiper said. "Our pitching has been outstanding lately and the guys are getting it done in the field as well. Mike drove in a lot of runs and hit a number of home runs [21] when he was here. We don't have anyone who can single-handedly take up that slack, so we've had to find other means to win games." What the Suns found Saturday was a balanced attack in which seven players had at least one hit and five drove in at least one run. Vinny Rottino, Lee Mitchell and Greg Burns all had a pair of hits. Rottino also drove in three runs. Even with the late finish, it wasn't the latest that Rottino had played in a minor league game. "When I was with the Nashville Sounds in Triple-A a couple years ago, we played a 22-inning game that was called at 2:30 in the morning because they wouldn't start another inning after that time," Rottino said. "We finished the game the next day. "I don't think this game tonight will take anything out of us. It only went nine innings; it just started later." Rottino, who appears to have locked down the cleanup spot in the batting order since Stanton's departure, said opponents have looked at the Suns in a different light now that their former teammate is wearing a Florida Marlins jersey. "With Mike being in our lineup, pitchers had a lot more pressure on them knowing that Mike was coming up in the order," Rottino said. "Mike put up some ridiculous numbers in the time he was here. Now we're going to be a team that takes the extra base. We've got to. We've got to play smart on the bases and steal bags when we can. "Whereas before, we played a little less like that because we knew Mike was coming up. You didn't want to make an out on the bases because then Mike would come up as quick. We're going to be a team now that bunts more, hit-and-runs and just takes more chances on the bases." After Huntsville (2-3 in the second half, 35-40 overall) scored four runs in one-third of an inning against Suns starter Jay Buente -- who was removed from the game because of an undisclosed injury -- the Suns (3-2, 42-32) responded by scoring the game's next eight runs over five innings. They broke it open with five runs in the fourth, with Rottino delivering the key hit, a two-run double to drive home the final two runs of the inning. Those two runs proved to be vital after the visitors scored single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to cut the deficit to a single run.They had the tying run on second in the ninth when new Suns closer Juan Marinex struck out Sean McCraw to end the game. Saturday night was the third time this season that the Suns had gone head-to-head with the Jacksonville Sharks across the street. The Sharks play their games at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum adjacent to the Baseball Grounds. The Suns were at a disadvantage this time as a heavy downpour hit the sports complex just after 7 p.m., the starting time for both games. While the Suns waited out a 2-hour, 15-minute delay to start the game at 9:20, Sharks fans started filing out of the arena when the Sharks fell behind the Arizona Rattlers by three touchdowns. (The Sharks lost for the first time at home this season, 66-50.) As they left, Suns front-office personnel and members of the Sun Beams -- the Suns dance team/marketing assistants -- urged them to come into the game at no cost. Several fans took advantage of the offer. Jacksonville and Huntsville wrap up their six-game series Sunday at 3:05 PM (2:05 Central). The starting pitchers from Game 1 in the series, Suns right-hander Elih Villanueva (6-4, 2.63) and Huntsville righty Michael Bowman (7-5, 5.51) - are scheduled to pitch.

06/23/10 - HSV @ JAX - Lorenzo Cain Interview 06/24/10 - HSV @ JAX - Brett Lawrie Interview 06/25/10 - HSV @ JAX - Caleb Gindl Interview Be sure to listen to each interview, but Chad's lengthy discussion with Brett Lawrie is a real home run -- they discuss his aggressiveness on the basepaths and at the plate, his time spent in the leadoff spot, the Futures Game, and much more.

Final: DSL Brewers 5, DSL Cardinals 3, seven-inning game DSL Brewers Box Score RHP Leonard Lorenzo walked three and hit a batter, but only two runs allowed over 5.2 innings will get the job done; LF Jose Garcia 2-for-3 to "lift" his average to .197; two-run double to cap off a key three-run 5th inning for 3B Allixon Cequea; SS Andres Martinez stole his sixth base in seven tries, but committed his 9th error (21 games)... DSL Brewers Game Log It appears that the teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader, with each acting as the home team once to make up for an earlier rainout, but MiLB.com only lists details for this game...

After being caught short a position player the other night, the Stars have received catcher Anderson De La Rosa from Brevard County.

Final: Arizona Brewers 4, Arizona Padres 3 Who dat say gonna beat dem Brewers? Arizona Box Score CF Kenny Allison singled with one out in the 7th, DH Jason Rogers belted a triple, and 3B Justin Parker followed with a sacrifice fly for what proved to be the key two-run sequence; Rogers was 3-for-4 with an earth-shaking stolen base mixed in; RHP Blake Billings and LHP Dane Amedee out of Louisiana-Eunice made season mound debuts, as did 18-year-old high schooler Kevin Berard, drafted as a catcher but playing second base here as Jhonatan Javier (one throwing error) made his defensive debut in the league behind the plate; RHP's Jose Oviedo and Seth Harvey combined to fan seven over the final six innings, each allowing only one unearned run with Harvey picking up his second save... Arizona Game Log Max Walla was 0-for-4 but this throw was big -- AZL Padres Top 6th Gunnar Terhune singles on a line drive to center fielder Kenneth Allison. Yair Lopez reaches on fielding error by shortstop Yadiel Rivera. Gunnar Terhune to 2nd. With Donavan Tate batting, Gunnar Terhune advances to 3rd on a balk. Yair Lopez advances to 2nd on a balk. Donavan Tate strikes out swinging. Cole Tyrell grounds out to first baseman Demetrius McKelvie. Paul Bingham singles on a ground ball to right fielder Maxwell Walla. Gunnar Terhune scores. Yair Lopez out at home on the throw, right fielder Maxwell Walla to catcher Jhonatan Javier.

Yours truly will be offline until the late night and BK is still fighting extradition (we've hired an outstanding legal team for him http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif), so should anyone stumble upon additional links, transaction news, etc., today, feel free to place the update in the appropriate thread on this forum. TC07 will handle the majority of the duties this evening -- until next time, go Crew (all of them)!

Wait on these links until shortly before game times this evening, then check out the various media notes -- Nashville Media Notes Huntsville Media Notes Rattler Radio

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 40 33 .548 - - 19-19 21-14 6-4 W1 Iowa 40 35 .533 1.0 70 22-20 18-15 5-5 L1 Memphis 40 35 .533 1.0 70 21-16 19-19 4-6 W1 Nashville 40 35 .533 1.0 70 19-15 21-20 6-4 L1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Chattanooga 3 1 .750 - - 3-1 0-0 3-1 L1 * Tennessee 3 1 .750 - - 3-1 0-0 3-1 L1 Huntsville 2 2 .500 1.0 66 0-0 2-2 2-2 L1 West Tenn 2 2 .500 1.0 66 0-0 2-2 2-2 L1 Carolina 1 3 .250 2.0 65 0-0 1-3 1-3 W1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Brevard County 1 1 .500 - - 1-1 0-0 1-1 W1 Clearwater 1 1 .500 - - 0-0 1-1 1-1 W1 Daytona 1 1 .500 - - 0-0 1-1 1-1 L1 * Dunedin 1 1 .500 - - 1-1 0-0 1-1 W1 Lakeland 1 1 .500 - - 0-0 1-1 1-1 L1 Tampa 1 1 .500 - - 1-1 0-0 1-1 L1 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Beloit 1 0 1.000 - - 0-0 1-0 1-0 W3 Kane County 1 0 1.000 - - 0-0 1-0 1-0 W1 Peoria 1 0 1.000 - - 1-0 0-0 1-0 W2 Wisconsin 1 0 1.000 - - 1-0 0-0 1-0 W3 Burlington 0 1 .000 1.0 69 0-0 0-1 0-1 L3 * Cedar Rapids 0 1 .000 1.0 69 0-0 0-1 0-1 L1 Clinton 0 1 .000 1.0 69 0-1 0-0 0-1 L3 Quad Cities 0 1 .000 1.0 69 0-1 0-0 0-1 L2 PIO North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Great Falls 4 1 .800 - - 1-0 3-1 4-1 W4 Helena 4 1 .800 - - 4-0 0-1 4-1 L1 Billings 1 4 .200 3.0 31 1-3 0-1 1-4 L4 Missoula 1 4 .200 3.0 31 1-0 0-4 1-4 W1 AZL Central Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak AZL Brewers 4 0 1.000 - - 0-0 0-0 0-0 W4 AZL Reds 2 2 .500 2.0 51 0-0 0-0 0-0 W1 AZL Dodgers 1 3 .250 3.0 50 0-0 0-0 0-0 L2 AZL Indians 1 3 .250 3.0 50 0-0 0-0 0-0 L1 DSL S.D. North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak DSL Cardinals 13 9 .591 - - 10-2 3-7 6-4 L2 DSL Mariners 12 10 .545 1.0 50 7-4 5-6 8-2 W1 DSL Athletics 10 11 .476 2.5 49 6-4 4-7 3-7 W1 DSL Brewers 8 13 .381 4.5 47 6-4 2-9 3-7 W1

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

Locals can set their DVR's and/or turn to the Timber Rattlers game after the late afternoon Brewer game -- Minor League Baseball: Burlington Bees @ Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Saturday, June 26: 6:30-9:30 PM LIVE Sunday, June 27: 7-10 PM (replay)

Saturday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chuck Lofgren at home vs. Round Rock (Astros), 6:20 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime Live Audio Link Huntsville: LHP Chris Cody at Jacksonville (Marlins), 5:50 PM pre-game; 6:05 gametime Live Audio Link Brevard County: RHP Michael Fiers at home vs. Lakeland (Tigers), 6:05 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this game... Wisconsin: RHP Jake Odorizzi at home vs. Burlington (Royals), 6:20 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: TBD at Great Falls (White Sox), 7:45 PM pre-game; 8:00 gametime Live Audio Link Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at home vs. the mini-Padres; games begin at 7:00 local time in the desert; never audio for games in this league DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Cardinals, 9:30 AM

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Link while active, text follows: Redbirds get it right with 6 in 9th By Marlon W. Morgan, Memphis Commercial Appeal For eight innings, the Redbirds hit balls hard. Unfortunately, too many of them were hit at Nashville shortstop Luis Cruz, who promptly fielded seven ground balls and retired every batter. He was a big reason why the Redbirds had just two hits entering the ninth inning and were trailing 6-1. In the final inning, the Redbirds decided to go the opposite way, lining six hits to right field before Allen Craig lined a two-run, two-out single just past the outstretched Cruz that gave the Redbirds a thrilling 7-6 win in front of 6,470 at AutoZone Park on Friday night. The Redbirds won the series 3-2, as they head off today to Albuquerque. “I felt like we put good swings on the ball all day, but the shortstop is a heck of a player and he was making a lot of plays there,” Redbirds outfielder Jon Jay said. “I felt like in the last inning, we got some balls to fall. We capitalized on it. I just think it shows what kind of team we are. We’re never going to quit. We started off slow and we kept it going.” Craig started off the inning grounding out to Cruz. After a walk to Ruben Gotay, the Redbirds lined six consecutive singles to right field against Nashville closer Chris Smith, who came in with 17 saves in 19 opportunities this season. With the Redbirds pulling to 6-5, and Smith knocked from the game after walking pinch-hitter Bryan Anderson, it was up to Craig, who was batting with two outs. “I was trying to be aggressive,” Craig said. “I thought he (RHP Brandon Kintzler) would challenge me after walking (Bryan Anderson). I swung at a bad pitch that first pitch, then I calmed myself down. “I took two good pitches that were sliders for balls and worked him to 3-1. I knew he was going to have to come at me. He’s not going to walk me right there to tie the game and go to extras. It was going to be won or lost right there with that pitch. I just tried not to get beat.” Craig just barely got his hard-hit ball past Cruz. Charging left fielder Trent Oeltjen scooped up the ball and fired a one-hopper to catcher Patrick Arlis, but Tyler Greene managed to slide in safely, giving the Redbirds the victory. “That’s kind of how we are,” Craig said. “We like to make it interesting. I think the whole series we’ve been lining out a lot. That’s how the game is sometimes. It just evens out. It evened out in that last inning.”

Post-Crescent Blog: Rattlers off to good start; Ironman, not so much Nice photo gallery from the Post-Crescent Includes Hunter Morris, Jeremy Jeffress, and Iromnan (pre-ambulance) http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=U0&Date=20100625&Category=APC02&ArtNo=6250825&Ref=PH&Item=12&Maxw=542&Maxh=352&q=60

Link while active, text follows: Heckathorn an ironman for Timber Rattlers as Wisconsin opens second half with win over Burlington By Mike Woods, Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE — On a night when Ironman couldn't make it past the third inning because the heat got to him, Rattlers starter Kyle Heckathorn found himself in much the same position. But unlike the movie hero who had to be taken away by ambulance during a guest appearance, Heckathorn didn't melt. Score one for the underdog. Heckathorn won his sixth straight game Friday, grinding out six tough innings, and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers began the second half of the Midwest League season with a 9-3 victory over Burlington at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. "Those are the guys you want on the mound, every night," said Rattlers manager Jeff Isom. "Unfortunately, he's going to be out there every fifth day. But you hope that every pitcher is like that and has that mentality that 'I don't have my best stuff, I'm going to find a way.' It's a credit to him. "He's pitching with confidence right now and throwing the ball well. You hate to see a pitcher not have his best stuff but it's kind of good to see that he goes out there without his best stuff and still has the ability to get guys out." Heckathorn was roughed up in the third when he gave up three runs and suddenly found himself down a run. "You have days like that. Every pitcher is going to have them," Heckathorn said. "They're tough and you just have to go out there and compete. You know you don't have your best stuff, but you've got to give your team a chance. I just gave whatever I had and I got lucky and kept my team in the game. And the offense picked me up." Heckathorn made it through three more innings before being replaced by Jeremy Jeffress, who threw two scoreless innings and in four appearances has now struck out 12 in six innings and has yet to allow a hit. For Heckathorn, it marked his eighth straight quality start, where he has pitched at least six innings and allowed three or fewer runs. In that span, Heckathorn has a 1.56 ERA. "It's good to overcome some adversity," said Heckathorn. "Like I said, you're not going to have it everyday, have your best stuff. To get a win, when you don't have your best stuff, it just makes you appreciate the good outings even more.'' Khris Davis, the Midwest League all-star home run champion, drilled one over the right-field wall in his first at-bat Friday. He finished two-for-four with a pair of RBI and boosted his batting average to .296. "Luckily I got a good pitch to hit," Davis said of his ninth homer of the year. "It was a 3-1 count and I was just sitting dead red fastball and it was a mistake so I happened to hit it out. I put a good swing on it. "I wouldn't say I'm locked in or in a groove, but I'm not feeling bad.'' Neither are the Rattlers, who have won four of their last five and are hoping to rebound from a dismal first half. "It's a new season,'' said Davis. "We're 1-0 right now, as long as we keep playing hard I know the game will reward us.'' Kyle Heckathorn pitches the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers past the Burlington Bees on Friday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. (Post-Crescent photo by Wm. Glasheen) http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20100626&Category=APC021102&ArtNo=6260575&Ref=AR&Profile=1019&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

Jacksonville.com photos -- Lorenzo Cain Lorenzo Cain 2 Lorenzo Cain 3 Josh Butler Steffan Wilson Steffan Wilson 2 Dayton Buller Zelous Wheeler, Brett Lawrie Caleb Gindl (nice shot)

17 DSL games were scheduled, four were postponed, and yes, the Brewers game was one of them...so we're still waiting for our first full seven-pack of Brewer minor league action for 2010...

Final: Arizona Brewers 8, Arizona Mariners 2 We are definitely not used to seeing winning baseball in Maryvale -- perhaps because the most raw of rookies are now playing in the Dominican? Arizona Box Score As noted earlier, welcome back to Nashville's Eric Farris, rehabbing an injured knee ligament, who led off the game with a groundout to short to open the contest, and then left the game; only one of the four Mariner pitchers was ineffective, and the A-Crew got to him for three in the 4th and five more in the 6th; huge 1B Jason Rogers doubled, singled, and walked twice; three other Brewers reached twice, including 3B T.J. Mittelstaedt, the only Brewer besides Rogers with a multi-hit game; on the mound, it was the pro debut of just-turned 18-year-old RH starter Michael Schaub, the California high schooler drafted in the 38th round -- it's not often we see late round high school picks sign, and we know virtually nothing about Schaub, so we don't know if he spurned any four-year college or juco offers; after Schaub's two impresive innings, RHP Francisco Rivero went four frames (two runs) to get the win; 6'9" LHP Marques Kyles tossed a scoreless 7th in his pro debut, and another southpaw, Dexter Bobo, finished up nicely; still no catcher "splits" as in past years -- Tyler Roberts went the distance in the triple-digit temperature... Arizona Game Log Speedy Robbie Garvery was pinch-run for after an 8th inning single, may be something to watch or nothing at all; yay for crooked numbers -- AZL Brewers Top 4th Pitcher Change: Michael Aviles replaces Nathan Reed. Jason Rogers walks. Thomas Mittelstaedt singles on a line drive to center fielder Alfredo Morales. Jason Rogers to 2nd. Demetrius McKelvie reaches on throwing error by pitcher Michael Aviles. Jason Rogers scores. Thomas Mittelstaedt to 3rd. Demetrius McKelvie to 2nd. Maxwell Walla grounds out, second baseman Danny Lopez to first baseman Jose Flores. Thomas Mittelstaedt scores. Demetrius McKelvie to 3rd. Robert Garvey reaches on fielding error by second baseman Danny Lopez. Demetrius McKelvie scores. With Nick Shaw batting, Robert Garvey caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Ji-Man Choi to shortstop Bryan Brito. Nick Shaw flies out to left fielder Robert Rodriguez. AZL Brewers Top 6th Jason Rogers doubles (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Alfredo Morales. Thomas Mittelstaedt singles on a ground ball to right fielder Rigoberto Rangel. Jason Rogers to 3rd. Demetrius McKelvie walks. Thomas Mittelstaedt to 2nd. Maxwell Walla strikes out swinging. Robert Garvey walks. Jason Rogers scores. Thomas Mittelstaedt to 3rd. Demetrius McKelvie to 2nd. Nick Shaw doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Alfredo Morales. Thomas Mittelstaedt scores. Demetrius McKelvie scores. Robert Garvey to 3rd. Yadiel Rivera singles on a ground ball to right fielder Rigoberto Rangel. Robert Garvey scores. Nick Shaw scores. Yadiel Rivera to 2nd on the throw. Kenneth Allison grounds out, pitcher Michael Aviles to first baseman Jose Flores. Yadiel Rivera to 3rd. Tyler Roberts strikes out swinging.

Final: Great Falls (White Sox) 10, Helena 4 No game summary from the Voyagers site yet, so we just go off the box and log... Helena Box Score The H-Crew finally tastes defeat; starter Stosh Wawrzasek was actually pretty impressive in his first Helena outing after two summers in the Maryvale desert; RHP Ryan Bernal's 2nd pro outing did not go well, as he allowed one run in the 5th, and then five more in the 6th, three of which scored after RHP Chad Robinson, who was equally ineffective, took over with the bases loaded and one out and promptly watched a grand slam fly out; Brewer batters fanned 13 times and drew only one walk; Greg Hopkins, the DH tonight, doubled, singled and walked -- he's hitting .500 after his first four pro games; 1B Cody Hawn 3-for-5 with three singles; 2B Shea Vucinich singled twice and added a sacrifice bunt; LF John Bivens got his first base knock, now 1-for-16; 3B Michael Walker (also 1-for-16) collected his only hit with the Opening Night gamewinner; this is a "commuter" road series for Helena -- they head back to their own homes each night... Helena Game Log The game was tied 2-2 after four; here's to clean defense on the bright side; inning logs as lengthy as the one below are never good if it belongs to the opponent's half-inning... Great Falls Bottom 6th Leighton Pangilinan singles on a ground ball to center fielder Franklin Romero. Michael Blanke singles on a ground ball to left fielder John Bivens. Leighton Pangilinan to 2nd. Ryan Hamme singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Michael Walker. Leighton Pangilinan to 3rd. Michael Blanke to 2nd. Michael Earley singles on a ground ball to left fielder John Bivens. Leighton Pangilinan scores. Michael Blanke scores. Ryan Hamme to 2nd. Jared McDonald out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Ryan Bernal to second baseman Shea Vucinich. Ryan Hamme to 3rd. Michael Earley to 2nd. Ryan Bernal intentionally walks Kyle Davis. Pitcher Change: Chad Robinson replaces Ryan Bernal. Dusty Harvard hits a grand slam (1) to right center field. Ryan Hamme scores. Michael Earley scores. Kyle Davis scores. Ross Wilson singles on a line drive to left fielder John Bivens. With Juan Silverio batting, wild pitch by Chad Robinson, Ross Wilson to 2nd. With Juan Silverio batting, wild pitch by Chad Robinson, Ross Wilson to 3rd. Juan Silverio grounds out, third baseman Michael Walker to first baseman Cody Hawn. Ross Wilson scores. Leighton Pangilinan flies out to center fielder Franklin Romero.

By the way, how impressive does this rotation look? It just has to be the Rattlers time, just has to be...

Final: Wisconsin 9, Burlington (Royals) 3 Rattlers start second half with big win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers began the second half of the Midwest League season with a 9-3 win over the Burlington Bees Friday Night at Time Warner Cable Field. Khris Davis hit his ninth home run of the season and drove in a pair of runs and Kyle Heckathorn made another solid start to the lead the Rattlers to the win. The reigning Midwest League Home Run Derby Champion got the Rattlers (27-42 overall, 1-0 second half) off to a fast start. Davis lined a leadoff homer to right field on a 3-1 pitch in the bottom of the second inning. Hunter Morris was next and he doubled. Cameron Garfield followed with an infield single and Morris scored on the play on a wild throw to first for a 2-0 lead. Burlington (22-48, 0-1) answered in the top of the third by scoring three two-out runs off Heckathorn. Wil Myers singled in the first run. Joey Lewis followed with a two-run single for a 3-2 lead. Wisconsin rallied in the bottom of the fourth inning with a lot of help from the Burlington defense. The Bees committed four errors in the inning that led to a pair of unearned runs. Michael Marseco's two-out single to center was booted for an error to allow Cutter Dykstra to take third and Marseco to move to second. D'Vontrey Richardson sent a grounder to second that was kicked for an error by Gerard Hall, who compounded his error by throwing wildly to first. By the time the ball was corralled, both Dykstra and Marseco scored to give the Rattlers a 4-3 lead. Heckathorn settled down after the third inning and did not allow another run. He pitched six innings, walked two, and struck out three to qualify for the win. Friday was the eighth consecutive quality start for Heckathorn. Since May 16, he has pitched at least six innings and allowed three or fewer earned runs in his eight starts. Heckathorn is 5-1 during that span with an ERA of 1.56. The Rattlers tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Marseco doubled in a pair of runs. Richardson singled home Marseco. Later in the frame, Davis struck again with a double to center. Jeremy Jeffress pitched two more scoreless and hitless innings of relief and added four strikeouts. Since joining the Timber Rattlers, Jeffress has pitched eight innings without allowing a hit or a run. He has struck out 12 in those eight innings. Wisconsin added another run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Kentrail Davis. Santo Manzanillo tossed a scoreless ninth inning to close out the Bees. Wisconsin and Burlington meet in game two of the series on a busy Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Field. Windell Middlebrooks, the Miller High Life Deliveryman, is making an appearance. He will throw out a first pitch and meet fans for pictures and autographs during the game. Additionally, the Miller High Life Home Run Porch will be reserved at a special price for veterans and their families. The usual ticket price of $21 has been cut to just $10 for the first 200 to contact the Timber Rattlers ticket office. Plus, on the way into the stadium, the first 500 fans will receive a picture magnet of former Rattler (and current Cleveland Indian) Shin-soo Choo courtesy of Lamers Bus Lines. This player magnet is the first in a series of four that will be given away this season. Postgame fireworks are sponsored by FOX 11. On the way out of Time Warner Cable Field, fans aged 13 and up will receive a free sample of Fruit Roll-Ups as part of Fruit Roll-Ups Fun Night! There will also be baseball. Jake Odorizzi (3-1, 3.68) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Keaton Hyenga (1-5, 8.56) is set to start for the Bees. Game time is 6:35 PM. If you cannot make it to the ballpark, you may tune into the broadcast at AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15 PM. Wisconsin Box Score Kyle Heckathorn rocks; let us dream, Jeremy Jeffress, of what may be to come, let us dream; Santo Manzanillo's gas probably compared nicely to Jeffress' heat, poor Bees; Khris Davis and Cutter Dykstra each reached three times; four Rattlers with multi-hit games; that awful 22-49 Burlington record is unusually bad -- the Royals are one of a few teams to field two short-season rookie league teams, so you'd think they'd have more player options to choose from their 2009 squads to make this 2010 team competitive... Wisconsin Game Log