Jim Goulart

Final, Game Two: Birmingham (White Sox) 3, Huntsville 2, eight innings (scheduled for seven) Huntsville Site Doubleheader Summary Barons Walk Off With Sweep in Double Dip Huntsville Haunted by Missed Opportunities in Twin Bill By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Robbie Hudson's two-run single drove in the tying and winning runs to push Birmingham to a 3-2 come from behind win in extra innings in the nightcap and a doubleheader sweep over Huntsville Monday night at Regions Park. The Barons have won the last three games, all by one run, to lift their record to 39-25 in the second half and 87-46 overall, while the Stars fell to 25-38 in the second half and 63-69 overall. The Barons, a 2-1 winner in the opener, have taken ten out of 14 from the Stars, including eight of ten in Birmingham. Rob Wooten took over for starter David Welch in the eighth trying to protect a 2-1 lead. Jared Price led off and reached on a fielding error (Michael Garciaparra at shortstop) before Javier Colina dropped down a sacrifice bunt and reached on a Wooten throwing error. Jordan Danks bunted for a base hit to fill the bases prior to C.J. Retherford fouling out for the first out of the frame. Hudson, behind in the count 0-2, then laced a line drive into right field to deliver Price and Colina to give the Barons their second walk-off win of the series and fourth of the season in Birmingham over the Stars. Wooten suffered his first loss after blowing his first save in 12 opportunities. Taylor Green's run-scoring hit in the top half of the eighth had given the Stars a 2-1 lead and knocked starter Matt Zaleski out of the game after he had yielded a dozen hits. The right-hander struck out two and did not walk a batter and was followed by Johnny Lujan, who recorded the last two outs to record his second win. Welch retired the first four hitters he faced before Dayan Viciedo blasted a home run in the second inning to give the Barons a 1-0 lead in the nightcap. Huntsville hit into inning-ending double plays in the second and fourth innings with two runners on before finally breaking through in the fifth to tie the game against Zaleski. Freddy Parejo doubled to start the frame, moved to third base on a Brett Lawrie single and came into score when Shane Justis grounded into a double play. The Stars then left Garciaparra stranded at third base with one out in the seventh after Lawrie fanned and Justis flied out. Welch retired 16 batters in a row after the long ball before David Cook ended the string with a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh. The southpaw then walked Viciedo and Jim Gallagher but emerged unscathed when Lee Cruz lined out to end the threat. Welch allowed two hits, walked two and struck out five. Huntsville Game Two Box Score Drew Anderson with four singles, he's 3rd in the Southern League in batting at .315; four of Taylor Green's last six games have been multi-hit... Huntsville Game Two Game Log Yohannis Perez singled with one out in the third in the opener, moved to second base on a Lawrie single and scored on a Justis double to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The Stars had runners at second and third base with one out but couldn't add to their lead, as Drew Anderson bounced back to the mound and Jonathan Lucroy flied out. Adam Ricks singled with one out in the fifth and scored the tying run on a two-out double by Danks that ended Brandon Kintzler's scoreless innings streak at 14 2/3. The Barons grabbed the lead when C.J. Retherford, the only unanimous post-season All Star selection announced Monday, followed with a single to plate Danks and knock in his 73rd run of the season. Barons' starter John Ely lasted five frames to pick up the win to improve to 13-2. He yielded five hits, walked two and fanned four. Justin Cassel took over and retired the Stars in order in the sixth before giving way to Clevelan Santeliz, who retired the side in turn in the seventh to earn his eighth save of the season. Kintzler suffered the loss to fall to 1-2 after giving up eight hits over five frames, walking two and striking out seven. The series wraps up Tuesday night with Stars' right-hander Mark Holliman taking the mound against Barons' right-hander Kyle McCulloch. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

How the Stars took the lead and then literally gave it away in the extra inning -- Huntsville Top 8th Drew T. Anderson singles on a ground ball to second baseman C. J. Retherford. With Jonathan Lucroy batting, wild pitch by Matt Zaleski, Drew T. Anderson to 2nd. Jonathan Lucroy flies out to center fielder Jordan Danks. Drew T. Anderson to 3rd. Taylor Green singles on a soft line drive to right fielder Jim Gallagher. Drew T. Anderson scores. Pitcher Change: John Lujan replaces Matt Zaleski. Coaching visit to mound. Chuck Caufield grounds into a force out, shortstop Robert Hudson to second baseman C. J. Retherford. Taylor Green out at 2nd. Chuck Caufield to 1st. J. R. Hopf grounds out, second baseman C. Retherford to first baseman Javier Colina. Birmingham Bottom 8th Pitcher Change: Robert Wooten replaces David Welch. Jared Price reaches on fielding error by shortstop Michael Garciaparra. Javier Colina hits a sacrifice bunt. Throwing error by pitcher Robert Wooten. Jared Price to 2nd. Javier Colina to 1st. Jordan Danks singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Robert Wooten. Jared Price to 3rd. Javier Colina to 2nd. C. J. Retherford pops out to catcher J. Hopf in foul territory. Robert Hudson doubles (6) on a line drive to right fielder Chuck Caufield. Jared Price scores. Javier Colina scores. Jordan Danks to 3rd.

No Huntsville players on the Southern League Post-Season All-Star Team -- you could make a mild argument or two...

Final: Wisconsin 2, Kane County (Athletics) 0 Wisconsin Site Game Summary MAVERICK! By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GENEVA, IL - Maverick Lasker made his Midwest League debut memorable. The newest Timber Rattlers pitcher pitched seven scoreless innings and got just enough offense for the win in a 2-0 Wisconsin victory over the Kane County Cougars Monday night. Brandon Ritchie pitched two scoreless frames for the save and to help the Rattlers snap a nine-game losing streak against the playoff-bound Cougars. Wisconsin (58-75 overall, 24-39 second half) scored the first run of the game thanks to some sloppy fielding by the Cougars in the first inning. Josh Prince reached on an error to start the game. He moved to second on a wild pitch and took third on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Brownstein. Another error on a two-out grounder by Jose Duran allowed Prince to score for a 1-0 lead. Michael Vass doubled the Wisconsin lead with a two-out, RBI single in the top of the seventh. Lasker, a fifth round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008, allowed four hits over seven scoreless innings. He struck out three, walked two, and worked around a pair of defensive miscues to keep Kane County off the scoreboard. Ritchie worked a scoreless eighth. Then, Kane County (73-61, 31-33) got a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth. But, Ritchie got a 4-6-3 double play and a strikeout to end the game. The Rattlers are off on Tuesday before starting their final homestand of the season on Wednesday night. That's when Wisconsin will take on the Cedar Rapids Kernels in the first game of a three game series at Time Warner Cable Field. Wednesday is the first of three Bonus Bang For Your Buck Nights featuring soda, beer, and hotdogs for $1. Wednesday is also the first of three 2010 Timber Rattlers magnet schedule giveaway from Fast Signs of Appleton to the first 1,000 fans. In addition, there is a Josh Prince poster giveaway from Express Convenience to the first 1,000 fans into the stadium. Wisconsin will send Evan Frederickson (3-7, 5.20) to the mound as the scheduled starting pitcher. The Kernels have announced Kyle Hurst (1-2, 4.64) as their scheduled starting pitcher. Game time is 6:35 PM and tickets are available in person at the Time Warner Cable Field box office, on the internet at www.timberrattlers.com, and over the phone at 800-WI-TIMBER. Wisconsin Box Score Eleven fly ball outs for Maverick Lasker; this lineup managed to do just enough here, as constituted, not sure they're capable of a breakout offensive game... Wisconsin Game Log

Walk-off Nashville HR, Corey Patterson!

Unbelievably and painfully, the Stars found a way to lose. Details soon on a very ugly final inning for the Stars' defense and in turn, Rob Wooten's first blown AA save.

Sounds have stranded 15 through 11 innings -- they are wasting fabulous pitching after Mike Jones, in what can only be described, unfortunately, as a gag job in these late innings. How many times can you strand a runner at 3rd with only one out? At least the Stars have grabbed a lead -- Rob Wooten now on to protect a 2-1 extra-inning lead.

RHP Amaury Rivas, OF's Caleb Gindl and Logan Schafer, and 2B Eric Farris were named Florida State League Postseason All-Stars. No Evan Anundsen, and if Manatee relievers hadn't been promoted at midseason, we'd see at least one there as well. Manatees' Manager Mike Guerrero was named a "Coach" -- Fort Myers' Manager was the Manager of the Year.

In Game Two, Huntsville and Birmingham head to the 8th (scheduled for seven) tied at 1-1, despite the fact the Stars have out-hit the Barons 10-2. In fact, the only Stars' run scored on a double play ball. Brett Lawrie fanned with the go-ahead run on 3rd base and only one out in the 7th. Lefty David Welch stranded the bases loaded in the Barons' 7th. He's deserved a better fate. It's 9:40 Central, so you've got dueling extra-inning games to listen to -- Brett and the Stars are here. It also helps to load the two Gameday's, available at the box score links.

Brutal, just brutal. Joe Koshansky a shallow pop-up to center in the killer at-bat of another scoreless strand-the-bases-loaded inning for Nashville. On to the 10th as of 9:15 Central. Listen in here. The winner of this game is alone in first place.

Rattlers win, 2-0! While the Sounds are threatening to strand yet another man at third base with only one out in the 9th -- c'mon Nashville.

Drama in Nashville, golden chance in the 8th, runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, but Carlos Corporan fanned in the key at-bat. Ugh. On to the 9th, still tied at 5-5. Curse Angel Salome's finger!

Kyle Dhanani fanned to end the Rattler 8th, but it was a 15-pitch at-bat. Way to try, kid...

By the way, how does 22-year-old infielder Brandon Sizemore and his .916 OPS, half his 50 hits extra-base knocks, not get rewarded with a visit to Helena? Seven scoreless innings for Maverick Lasker -- four hits, two walks, three K's. Quick and efficient, topping out around 87-88 early on before the radar board malfunctioned -- focused on off-speed stuff, as mentioned previously...

The one run scored by Wisconsin was a complete gift in the first inning -- the offense has done nothing on their own, although they do have two base hits. Lasker unofficially with only 78 pitches through six, according to Chris.

Lasker about to come out for a 6th inning of work, (edit) and it's 1-2-3, nice play by 2B Mike Brownstein to help out. Sounds tied 5-5 in their important battle. LHP David Welch is pitching the nightcap for the Stars, not RHP Mark Holliman. Seems we have folks listening in on at least a few fronts tonight, keep us posted on items and tidbits of interest you come across that may not make the game summaries later.

I made a similar post in Monday's Link Report, but we've noted for weeks just how thin both the Arizona and Helena rosters were in position players all season. Now that the Maryvale season is complete, many players have been bumped up to Helena to help out -- Catcher Tyler Roberts, SS Carlos George, OF's Franklin Romero and Max Walla were sent to Great Falls to join the Brewers today. Walla is in the lineup Monday night. Pitching-wise, LHP's Matt Costello and Caleb Thielbar, and RHP Jose Oviedo arrived in Montana as well. Roberts and Walla provide left-handed bats, joining only switch-hitting Michael Marseco on the squad in that regard.

Four scoreless for Maverick Lasker thus far -- sweet! EDIT: Make it five, helping bail out his defense in the 5th as well. Chris reporting he's throwing a lot of breaking stuff thus far, also some troubles, at least just now, with the radar gun in this road game. I didn't happen to hear earlier pitch count references, if any, but we can find out...

I will make a similar post in the Transaction thread, but we've noted for weeks just how thin both the Arizona and Helena rosters were in position players all season. Now that the Maryvale season is complete, many players have been bumped up to Helena to help out -- Catcher Tyler Roberts, SS Carlos George, OF's Franklin Romero and Max Walla were sent to Great Falls to join the Brewers today. Walla is in the lineup Monday night. Pitching-wise, LHP's Matt Costello and Caleb Thielbar, and RHP Jose Oviedo arrived in Montana as well. Roberts and Walla provide left-handed bats, joining only switch-hitting Michael Marseco on the squad in that regard.

Final, Game One: Birmingham (White Sox) 2, Huntsville 1 Huntsville Game One Box Score Brett will provide more details in his doubleheader summary later; the Stars scored their one run in the 3rd, but missed a big opportunity that inning when no additional runs scored after runners were on 2nd and 3rd with just one out -- Stars never really threatened again in the seven-inning affair; RHP Brandon Kintzler fanned seven in five innings, and allowed two runs in the fifth -- ten Barons reached base against Kintzler, so he minimized the damage, but not enough... Huntsville Game One Game Log For no apparent reason, Michael Garciaparra replaced Yohannis Perez at shortstop in the middle of the 4th inning...

Chris Mehring reports that RHP Maverick Lasker (see Transactions thread), not RHP Trey Watten, gets the start for Wisconsin tonight. An already interesting night just gained momentum...

From Chris Mehring's blog post -- LHP Efrain Nieves has been placed on the Temporary Inactive list as of (8/31). Nieves will be joining team Puerto Rico for the IBF (International Baseball Federation) tournament. RHP Maverick Lasker has been transferred from Arizona to Wisconsin and will be active for tonight's game (8/31) vs Kane County.

Alcides Escobar Named To All-PCL Team

Helena Press Release: Major League All-Star Chris Capuano To Make Rehab Stint in Helena HELENA, MT-Former Major League All-Star Chris Capuano is scheduled to make three appearances for the Helena Brewers as part of a minor league rehabilitation assignment the Helena Brewers announced on Monday. Capuano underwent ligament replacement (commonly known as Tommy John) surgery on his left elbow in May 2008 and has been undergoing treatment at Milwaukee's minor league complex in Maryvale, AZ. Capuano, who was acquired by Milwaukee as part of a blockbuster trade in 2003 that sent Richie Sexson to Arizona, is scheduled to start on Wednesday, August 2nd versus the Missoula Osprey at Kindrick Field in Helena. The Springfield, MA native will be on strictly monitored pitch count. "It's been a long year-and-a-half recovery from this elbow surgery and I'm excited to get out there and pitch competitively again," Capuano said on Monday. "This is an opportunity to come to a part of the country I've always wanted to visit and I'm happy to be back playing." The 31-year old was a staple in Milwaukee's rotation from 2005-2007 and was an 18-game winner in 2005. Capuano won his first five starts of 2006 and was named to the National League All-Star roster. He has a career record of 42-48 with a 4.39 ERA over five Major League seasons. He debuted with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2003. The former Duke University star has not pitched in an MLB game since 2007. "We are so pleased that we can help Chris Capuano in his trip back to the big leagues," Helena Brewers President Paul Fetz said. "We know that he'll be successful and in the process we can show off some Montana hospitality." Capuano, who now resides in Scottsdale, AZ, will wear jersey #39, as he has done in the Major Leagues. His three outings are subject to change but are tentatively slated to all take place at Kindrick Field in Helena.

At Huntsville, RHP Jim Henderson has been placed on the Temporary Inactive List -- he'll be representing Canada in the upcoming World Cup. LHP David Welch (likely never hurt at all) comes off the 7-day DL to fill the roster spot.