Jim Goulart

For the most part, this forum separates itself from the day-to-day emotions of the big league-related forums, but my goodness, it's so much more difficult to self-motivate and recap everything here after another dismal performance. Bring on the All-Star Break, please. Anyhoo, here we go -- Final: Wisconsin 5, South Bend (Mariners) 1 Wisconsin Site Game Summary Kemp hits; Merklinger pitches; Rattlers win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Corey Kemp hit a three-run homer and that was enough for Wisconsin Timber Rattlers' starting pitcher Dan Merklinger. The Rattlers beat the South Bend Silver Hawks 5-1 on Sunday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Field. South Bend starting pitcher Wade Miley walked two batters with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kemp made him pay as he drove a homer to left and the Rattlers were up 3-0. For Kemp, it was his first home run since May 26 at Dayton. It was his first homer at Time Warner Cable Field since April 29. Kemp would finish the day with three of Wisconsin's eight hits. The Rattlers (44-42 overall, 10-6 second half) tacked on two more two-out runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Peter Fatse and Lorenzo Cain drew back-to-back bases loaded walks to force in runs and give the Rattlers a 5-0 lead. South Bend (35-50, 8-9) got their only run in the top of the sixth inning. A two-out RBI single by Rossmel Perez cut Wisconsin's lead to 5-1. Merklinger would give up one more single before getting a strikeout to end the inning and his day. Merklinger allowed five hits, walked two and struck out six for his third win of the season. Daniel Meadows pitched the final three innings for the Rattlers. He earned his second save, gave up one hit, and struck out a pair without allowing a run. The final game of the series is Monday afternoon. Wisconsin sends Efrain Nieves (2-5, 6.49) to the mound as the starting pitcher. South Bend has Ryan Cook (6-7, 4.03) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 12:05 PM. Wisconsin Box Score We love lefties making progress -- if the plan had gone perfectly, Dan Merklinger would be doing this in high-instead-of-low-A in '09, but it's still nice to see; all of fellow southpaw Daniel Meadows' numbers (counting and peripheral) remain outstanding; OF Michael Vass sees his first action in a week, no known reason for the absence... Wisconsin Game Log

Look for Sunday's Futures Game news in this thread.

Kraig's Nashville Blog has multiple new posts this AM, and video highlights from Saturday night, including Adam Heether's blast.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 50 39 .562 - 29-20 21-19 W1 Iowa 46 43 .517 4.0 25-17 21-26 L1 Memphis 43 45 .489 6.5 28-18 15-27 L1 Omaha 35 53 .398 14.5 15-23 20-30 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Tenn 14 6 .700 - 7-3 7-3 W1 Chattanooga 9 10 .474 4.5 6-4 3-6 W1 Huntsville 9 11 .450 5.0 4-6 5-5 L1 Tennessee 9 11 .450 5.0 4-6 5-5 W1 Carolina 7 13 .350 7.0 3-7 4-6 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 9 4 .692 - 5-3 4-1 W4 Tampa 8 5 .615 1.0 4-4 4-1 W2 Clearwater 9 6 .600 1.0 1-2 8-4 W1 Dunedin 9 6 .600 1.0 6-5 3-1 L1 Daytona 7 9 .438 3.5 2-6 5-3 L2 Lakeland 6 8 .429 3.5 1-3 5-5 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Falls 11 7 .611 - 5-2 6-5 W2 Missoula 11 7 .611 - 8-3 3-4 W1 Helena 9 9 .500 2.0 4-6 5-3 L2 Billings 5 13 .278 6.0 2-6 3-7 L1

Midwest League Standings Arizona League Standings Dominican Summer League Standings

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated a few hours prior to gametime. Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): *** We're going to include the link to Kraig McNutt's Nashville blog in the same post as the Nashville media notes link going forward. *** "Voice of the Rattlers" Chris Mehring's informative and entertaining Rattlers Radio Blog includes game notes an hour or two before gametime.

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. MiLB.com now has Gameday available for AA as well as AAA this season. Nashville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_12_rreaaa_nasaaa_1 Brevard County Game One: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_12_lakafa_breafa_1 Brevard County Game Two: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_12_lakafa_breafa_2 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_07_12_souafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572 Helena: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_07_12_casrok_helrok_1&did=t433&sid=t433 Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_12_cubrok_brrrok_1

Sunday's Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chase Wright at home vs. Round Rock (Astros), 12:45 PM pre-game; 1:00 gametime Live Audio Link Huntsville: Idle -- All-Star Game is Monday, we'll set you up for action Monday AM Brevard County: RHP's Mark Rogers and Michael Bowman in a twinbill at home vs. Lakeland (Tigers), 12:05 PM gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Sorry, no audio for this series Wisconsin: LHP Dan Merklinger at home vs. South Bend (Diamondbacks), 12:50 PM pre-game, 1:05 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: RHP Andre Lamontagne at home vs. Casper (Rockies), 4:50 PM pre-game; 5:05 gametime Live Audio Link Arizona Summer League: at home in Maryvale vs. the baby Cubbies; no more day games -- all games begin at 7:00 local time in the desert; no audio, naturally... Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: Idle -- usual Sunday off

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Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Don Money Final: Nashville 6, Round Rock (Astros) 1 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Lindsay Gulin photo, text follows -- NASHVILLE - Left-hander Lindsay Gulin carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and combined with a pair of relievers on a three-hitter in Nashville's 6-1 victory on Saturday evening at historic Greer Stadium. With the win, the first-place Sounds (50-39) evened the series at two games apiece heading into Sunday's finale. Both starting pitchers - Nashville's Gulin and Round Rock's Bud Norris - got off to outstanding starts to their evenings as neither team recorded a hit through the first five innings of action. Gulin blinked first, losing his no-hit and shutout bid with two outs in the top of the sixth inning on Reggie Abercrombie's RBI single to left as Round Rock took a 1-0 lead. Lou Santangelo, who became the first Express baserunner of the evening earlier in the frame when he drew a one-out walk from Gulin, scored on the knock. Sounds shortstop Johnny Raburn broke up Norris' no-hit bid in the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff triple into the right field corner, his first hit with Nashville. Jason Bourgeois tied the contest two batters later with an RBI single up the middle. After Angel Salome (2-for-4) singled to right-center to put runners on the corners, Nashville first baseman Joe Koshansky dropped a perfectly executed, two-out squeeze bunt to drive in Bourgeois and push the home team in front, 2-1. AUDIO: Koshansky Squeeze Bunt Pinch-hitter deluxe Erick Almonte provided an insurance run for Nashville in the seventh when his two-out RBI single to left plated Brendan Katin to up the advantage to 3-1. Almonte is batting .407 (11-for-27) off the bench for the Sounds this season. Sounds third baseman Adam Heether increased the cushion to 6-1 in the eighth when he belted his tenth home run of the season, a three-run blast to left off Sam Gervacio. Second baseman Hernan Iribarren scored on the blast after singling earlier in the frame to extend Nashville's longest active hitting streak to 10 games. Gulin (5-5) turned in his seventh quality start of the year to earn the win for the Sounds. The southpaw allowed one run on two hits while striking out six batters over seven innings of action. R.J. Swindle and Ryan Houston each worked a scoreless inning of relief behind Gulin. Norris (3-8) took a hard-luck loss for Round Rock after surrendering three runs (two earned) on five hits and fanning eight in seven frames. The clubs wrap up their five-game series with a 1:00 PM matinee finale on Sunday afternoon. Left-hander Chase Wright (5-5, 3.70) is scheduled to be activated from the disabled list to make the start for Nashville. The Express will counter with right-hander Yorman Bazardo (7-3, 2.94). Nashville Box Score Alcides Escobar off for the Futures Game... Nashville Game Log

Photo by Tim Evearitt, The Chattanoogan Huntsville's Drew Anderson bangs into the right-center field wall as he makes a sensational catch of a drive off the bat of Russ Mitchell. http://images.chattanoogan.com/article_images/article_154693-2_large.jpg

Link while active, text follows: Downtown baseball stadium or not, key thing may be that fans just want to have fun By Patricia C. McCarter and Steve Doyle Huntsville Times Staff Writers When a group of 115 local business leaders was at a lunch meeting in Chattanooga Wednesday, mulling over ideas to revitalize downtown Huntsville, one concept got applause from nearly everyone in the room. Build a baseball stadium downtown for the minor league Huntsville Stars, at a site where the Searcy Homes housing project will soon be demolished. The group happened to be sitting in a city that has one of those new-ish, cozy downtown stadiums positioned near riverfront restaurants and bars, and minor league baseball is popular there. It's much more popular in Chattanooga than it is in Huntsville, where the large, comparably old multi-use stadium is off a busy Parkway and not in walking distance of many restaurants or watering holes. In a scenario where cash is plentiful, a new stadium sounds great. But that construction could easily be in the $20 million range, and the City of Huntsville doesn't have the money. But to keep Milwaukee Brewers-affiliated baseball in Huntsville, a change is necessary. The major league club's assistant general manager, Gord Ash, witnessed lackluster attendance last weekend - the worst attendance of the 10-team Southern League - and said Huntsville could lose the team. "This is a very apathetic baseball town, and something's going to have to change," Ash said last weekend. "They're going to be sorry in a couple of years when they don't have baseball. I don't know if they're going to lose the team, but they're going to lose our interest in being here because there's no enthusiasm." Could a new stadium fix that? And should the city be responsible for building it? Or has it done its share for minor league baseball? Can minor league baseball in Huntsville be saved? Deal with city Named for a popular former Huntsville mayor, Joe Davis Stadium was built in 1984 with about $4.6 million in city tax dollars. The Stars lease the ballpark from the city for just $10,000 a year. The city is responsible for routine maintenance - repairing broken restroom fixtures, for example - and has spent about $1 million since 2006 on stadium enhancements, including a larger home locker room, brighter outfield lights and a better sound system. It has also replaced all 10,488 seats in "The Joe" since 2002. The current lease is much more favorable to the Stars' management than the previous deal. From 1994 to 2006, the Stars were responsible for stadium maintenance and also had to pay the city a cut of ticket, concession and souvenir sales. That deal pumped an average of $17,000 back into the city's coffers from 2000-06. Former Mayor Loretta Spencer and Stars owner Miles Prentice negotiated the current lease, which will expire Sept. 30, 2010. "Miles was driven because he was an investor, but we cooperated very well," Spencer said Friday. "We knew what their needs were to stay in Huntsville, and I thought we were extremely fair." While the idea of a new downtown ballpark has been batted around for years, Spencer said she never seriously considered it. She said she chose to focus instead on expanding Huntsville's retail and industrial base. A new stadium "would be great," Spencer said. "But you have to have projects that pay their way. What we get a return on is what we put the biggest investment in." Mayor Tommy Battle has no plans to invest the city's limited resources in a new stadium, either. "The city can't afford to do everything," he said. "We've got especially tight resources right now, and there's no guarantee that a downtown stadium would alter attendance that much." Battle said he was surprised when he read in The Huntsville Times what the Brewers' assistant general manager had said about the Brewers possibly ceasing its affiliation with the Stars. "In baseball terms, that one came out of left field," Battle said. "I talked with Miles Prentice and (Stars general manager) Buck Rogers this spring, and both said they're looking forward to a long relationship with Huntsville. "We want to keep them, and they said they want to stay." 'It works for us' For Frank Burke, president of the Chattanooga Lookouts, a downtown stadium "reintroduced" baseball to his city, and the residents have loved it. He said he's consistently doubled his revenue since he built it - with private money - in 2000. He also built a downtown stadium for his minor league team in Portland, Maine. "We believe in it," he said. "We've found that it keeps people downtown between quitting time and time for the game to start. It works for us, but I'm certainly no expert as to what would work in Huntsville. "What I know most about the Huntsville team is that they usually beat us." Burke said his team was in "fight or flight" mode when the decision was made to move from the 1929-era stadium about two miles from the current site. But he wasn't going to build it if he couldn't sell at least 1,800 season tickets and 12 suites within a 90-day ticket drive. He ended up selling 2,300 season tickets and 15 suites. "In the past 10 seasons it's dropped a little bit, but the profitability is still there," he said. "We're paying the city twice as much sales tax as we did in the old stadium." Burke said people come to Lookouts games not just for baseball but for the experience. "You don't have any control over what kind of team you have, so you have to focus on the experience for the people who are paying their hard-earned money to come to the stadium," he said. "Minor league baseball exists to develop major league players of tomorrow. Some years, your team will be terrible, so you've got to have something else to draw the fans." Burke said the Lookouts give away $1,000 every Thursday, and every Monday children eat free. Most every game has some sort of promotion. "We constantly have to be working to give people a reason to choose us," Burke said. Baseball's a business Huntsville financial planner Phil Dotts agrees that baseball isn't the only reason people come to baseball games. He was one of 15 co-owners of the Stars for nearly 10 years before Prentice bought the team. Dotts explained that that group went in together to buy the team in 1994 "because there was a real threat of it leaving Huntsville." "It would be devastating for us to lose the Stars, but at the end of the day, it is a business," Dotts said. "And a business has to have a return or at least the prospect of an economic return, or it's not viable." If Brewers' management determines it no longer wants its affiliation with the Stars, "ownership could have to look for another major league affiliate, and that is a long, cumbersome process." Dotts said although the Stars venue "could be considered a bit tired," fans come to games for expectations other than a nice stadium and good baseball. "They want to be entertained, and that doesn't always have to do with actual baseball," he said. He and his wife recently attended a St. Paul Saints game in Minnesota, and he said they had an amazing time "because they had something going on every minute." The Saints are in an independent league and not affiliated with a major league team. "The night we were there, they had more fans than the Minnesota Twins did," he said. "It was just really, really fun. If you give people enough fun, they'll show up. "You can't blame low attendance on the stadium alone. The city has been responsive to the Stars' needs, and it has made some improvements. "At some point, it's about the product and how it is marketed. It is a tough business, I know. We didn't break even every year we owned it."

Final: Chattanooga (Dodgers) 7, Huntsville 3 Huntsville Site Game Summary Looks Win Last Game Before the Break Chattanooga Takes Season Series From Stars By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Alberto Bastardo tossed seven solid innings and Adam Godwin drove in three runs to push Chattanooga past Huntsville 7-3 Saturday night in the last of a four-game set at AT&T Field. The Lookouts earned a series split to improve to 9-10 in the second half and 39-49 overall, while Stars dropped to 9-11 in the second half and 47-42 overall as they head into the three-day All-Star break. The Lookouts claimed the season series ten games to nine, winning five of nine in Chattanooga. Bastardo had retired nine batters in a row before Jonathan Lucroy doubled with two outs in the fourth. Taylor Green then tapped a ground ball to third that Josh Bell fielded but his one-hop throw to first base skipped away from Eddy Perez and allowed Lucroy to score the game's first run, marking the third straight game that the Stars had tallied first. Lucas May singled with one out in the home fourth, moved to second base on a walk to Russ Mitchell and scored to tie the game on a Perez single that also advanced Mitchell to third base. Godwin then legged out an infield hit that pushed across Mitchell with the go-ahead run. Bastardo and James Tomlin opened the home fifth with singles and scored when Ramon Nivar doubled into centerfield to make it 4-1 and chase starter David Welch from the game. The southpaw was charged with four runs on eight hits, while walking two and fanning three. He suffered the loss to fall to 4-7 and 0-3 in three turns against the Lookouts. Bastardo issued back-to-back one out walks in the sixth but worked out of trouble by getting two ground ball outs to end the inning. Kevin Melillo's home run, his second in as many days, in the seventh cut the Looks' lead to two before Bastardo retired the next two hitters to end the inning and his night. He allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits, walking a pair and fanning five in his longest double-A outing. Bastardo improved to 2-1 and equaled his mark at 1-1 against the Stars. Tim Corcoran took over for the Looks in the eighth and gave up a double to Shane Justis, who then advanced to third on a throwing error by Bell that allowed Michael Garciaparra to reach safely. Corcoran was lifted for the lefty-tossing James Adkins, who got the lefty-swinging Drew Anderson to fly out to left field, deep enough to score Justis to cut the lead to 4-3. Matt Sartor then came on to get Green to line out and Vinny Rottino to bounce into a force play at second base to end the inning. Chattanooga tacked on three runs in the eighth against Juan Sandoval, highlighted by Godwins's two-run double. Victor Garate threw a scoreless ninth to close out the game. The Stars resume play after the All-Star break Wednesday night in the opener of a five-game series at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score Sorry to be a broken record, and it's totally not fair (however it is realistic) to the other Stars, but as of this point in time, Huntsville box scores, particularly offensively, are all about Jonathan Lucroy and Taylor Green, and then you kind of move on... Huntsville Game Log

Final: South Bend (Diamondbacks) 3, Wisconsin 1 Wisconsin Site Game Summary Hawks scoop up a win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Nelson Gomez drove in two runs and made a lot of tough catches on balls in the dirt on throws to first for the South Bend Silver Hawks. The offensive and defensive support from Gomez was enough for Randy Rodriguez to break a personal six-game losing streak in a 3-1 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Field. The Silver Hawks (35-49 overall, 8-8 second half) took the lead with three runs in the top of the third inning. Chris Davis doubled and Jake Elmore singled to put two runners on base against Rattlers starting pitcher Evan Frederickson. Reynaldo Navarro followed with an RBI double to drive in the first run. Frederickson got a pair of popups to get the next two outs. But, Gomez drove in both Elmore and Navarro with a two-out double for a 3-0 lead. Those would prove to be the winning runs. Gomez also did the job with the glove several times throughout the game made the scoop on low throws to save an error for one of his fellow infielders and keep the bases clear for Rodriguez. Rodriguez entered the game with a 1-7 record and had not won since June 2nd. But, at one point, Rodriguez retired ten straight batters and 14 out of 15. He had less than 80 pitches through eight innings. Then, Wisconsin (43-42, 9-7) got to him in the ninth. Juan Sanchez led off the inning with a single and -- one out later -- Lorenzo Cain singled. Rodriguez walked Corey Kemp, the only walk he would issue, to load the bases. That was when the call went for T.J. Hose to relieve Rodriguez. Brock Kjeldgaard, the Wisconsin leader in homers and RBI stepped up as the winning run and was hit with a 1-1 pitch to force in a run. Hose regrouped to strike out Martin Maldonado for the second out. Then, John Delaney sent a slow grounder to third base. Victor Estevez fielded the ball and threw to first on the run. The throw was low, but Gomez made the dig one last time for the final out to preserve the 3-1 win for the Silver Hawks. The series continues on Sunday afternoon. Dan Merklinger (2-2, 3.09) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Wade Miley (3-6, 4.24) is set to start for the Silver Hawks. Game time is 1:05 PM. *** Link while active, text follows: South's Bend's Rodriguez puts clamps on the Timber Rattlers By Ryan Wilson Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE - Baseball often provides more questions than answers. On Saturday night, South Bend pitcher Randy Rodriquez was the question the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers were unable to answer. The Silver Hawks starter pitched into the ninth inning, shutting down the Rattlers in a 3-1 South Bend win in front of 4,981 fans at Fox Cities Stadium. Rodriquez came into the game at 1-7 with a 5.40 ERA, and had lost six consecutive decisions. But he left Wisconsin batters scratching their head on Saturday. "I thought (Rodriquez) did a really good job tonight," said Wisconsin manager Jeff Isom. "He ran a fastball pretty good up there on us, and he threw us sliders away and we didn't make adjustments. He located all of his pitches. When he does that and we don't make adjustments, you're going to have games where you don't score a whole lot of runs." Wisconsin was missing a key cog from its lineup as Brett Lawrie was unavailable. The Brewers' first-round pick from 2008 was traveling to St. Louis to participate in today's Futures Game at Busch Stadium at 1:00 PM. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2. While the absence of Lawrie left a huge hole in the Timber Rattlers lineup, Isom wasn't using that as an excuse for the team's lack of success against Rodriquez. "Obviously, you'd like to have Brett's bat in the lineup, but would it have made a difference tonight? I don't know," said Isom. "But I like what we did defensively tonight." For their part, Wisconsin's players were crediting Rodriquez as well. "He was throwing a real good slider to the right-handers early in counts for strikes, and to the lefties he was working off-speed with his changeup and he was spotting his fastball," said Rattlers shortstop Michael Marseco, who had one of Wisconsin's seven hits on the night. Rattlers starter Evan Frederickson wasn't as sharp, leaving the game with two outs in the top of the third, an inning during which he surrendered all three of South Bend's runs. In the third inning, Reynaldo Navarro doubled over Derrick McPhearson's head in left field to score Chris Davis, and South Bend grabbed a 1-0 lead. The next two South Bend hitters flew out, but Frederickson couldn't escape the inning without more damage. Nelson Gomez delivered a line drive double to the wall in right field to score Jake Elmore and Navarro for a 3-0 lead. Wisconsin nearly came back in the ninth, finally chasing Rodriquez with one out in the inning. The Rattlers loaded the bases and scored their lone run when reliever T.J. Hose hit Brock Kjeldgaard with the bases loaded. But a strikeout and groundout ended the threat. Wisconsin Box Score Lost in all that was three more innings of mastery from RHP Wily Peralta -- the Brewers are sticking to the piggy-back routine with Peralta, and almost assuredly, wise for the long-term good; don't forget there is an innings pitch count limit as well as a game limit, likely why Evan Frederickson was removed in the 3rd; RHP Nick Tyson stranded two of Frederickson's runners; it's been a seven-game stay thus far for Lorenzo Cain in Appleton, a double and single here... Wisconsin Game Log

Final: Casper (Rockies) 3, Helena 1 Helena Site Game Summary Brewers Fall to Ghosts By Dan Douts / Helena Brewers HELENA, MT-- Cameron Garfield singled to right field with two outs in the seventh to break up a no-hit bid by the Casper Ghosts on Saturday night as the Brewers fell 3-1. Casper starter Chris Balcom-Miller shut down the Brewers hitters leaving after five innings without giving up a hit, while striking out five to pick up the win. Clint Tilford relieved Balcom-Miller and pitched three innings allowing one run on three hits to record the save Damon Krestalude pitched seven innings for the Brewers giving up only two runs on five hits, but was given his second loss of the season. Chris Ellington drove in the lone Helena run of the game on a groundout in the bottom of the ninth. Josh Prince, Chad Stang and Garfield each had one hit in the contest. The Ghosts were led by Jeff Squier, who went 2-4 with two runs batted in and Eliezer Mesa who had three hits in the game These two teams will meet again tomorrow afternoon with the Brewers sending RHP Andre Lamontagne (0-1, 0.93) to face Casper RHP Kyle Hancock (0-2, 10.05). First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PM (5:05 Central). *** Link while active, text follows: Brewers run into trouble vs. Casper ace By JASON SCOTT - Helena Independent Record There was another great pitching performance at Kindrick Legion Field Saturday night, however this time it belonged to the Casper Ghosts' Chris Balcom-Miller. Balcom-Miller was nearly perfect in the Ghosts' 3-1 victory, allowing no hits in five innings while walking one. The outing was another strong one for the 6-foot, 2-inch righty, who, prior to the game, had held opposing batters to a .174 average. He has allowed four hits in 12 total innings this year. Though the win, just Casper's fourth as a team, was his first, he hasn't allowed a run in three appearances. "That guy came in with some great numbers," said Brewers manager Rene Gonzales whose team dropped to 9-9. "It indicated that he's been doing well. Obviously he's doing something right, but we couldn't get anything going tonight." The Brewers fell behind early in the game. Casper put two runs on the board in the second inning thanks to a two-run double by third baseman Jeffrey Squier off starting pitcher Damon Krestalude. Though he suffered the loss, Krestalude's start was another strong one. He went seven innings, giving up five hits while striking out four. Unfortunately for the 752 fans in attendance, the Brewers just couldn't find a way to cross the plate. "Krestalude gave up two runs; that should be good enough," Gonzales said. The Brewers weren't able to break up the no-hitter until the seventh inning. After Chad Stang and Scott Krieger reached base on errors, Cameron Garfield slapped a ball into right field for the first Helena base knock of the day. The hit came off reliever Clint Tilford, who pitched four innings, allowing three hits and one earned run. Helena finally scored in the ninth, answering the last Casper run which came across in the top half of the inning. Josh Prince led off with a single up the middle, followed by a single by Stang. With the tying run at the plate, the heart of the Brewers' lineup failed to produce a hit, going down in order to end the game. Prince came home on a groundout to Casper shortstop David Hernandez, who made nine plays in the game and fielded the last two grounders. "I've got to give it to the pitchers tonight," Hernandez said. "The pitchers were amazing today. Our team is doing good right now and we've just got to keep doing it." The Brewers hope to end their two-game losing streak when they face the Ghosts again today at Kindrick. Helena pitcher Andre Lamontagne is scheduled to get the start against Casper's Kyle Hancock, who has run up a 10.05 ERA so far this season. Josh Prince might get a game off today, his first of the season, giving other players a chance to perform at shortstop. In any event, the Helena squad wants to get out of the Casper series with a couple wins. "We'll be fine," Gonzales said. "We'll come out hitting (today), I'm sure of that." Helena Box Score So much for beating up on the now 4-12 Ghosts; fully-stretched out from extended spring and other stops, Damon Krestalude, Nick Bucci, and even Jake Odorizzi are providing Helena with much longer outings than we've ever seen there -- heck, pitchers on all levels struggle to get through seven or eight innings, and Krestalude and Bucci are doing it regularly while still being monitored closely on pitch counts -- very impressive; all three Helena hits were singles, and they drew only one walk; Cameron Garfield reached twice and sports a .439 OBP; left fielder Chris Ellington with an outfield assist at home to end the 8th... Helena Game Log

Final: Arizona Angels 10, Arizona Brewers 4 Arizona Box Score Last place in the AZL East at 6-11; Angels scored four runs in the third against RHP Ryan Platt, who turns 24 next month, and then five runs in the 7th against 19-year-old Blake Billings, who is having a very rough go of it this summer; bright spot in the 108 degree gametime heat was RHP Tyler Cravy, who turns 20 years old on Monday -- for the second time in six days, he held this Angels club scoreless over 3+ innings; switch-hitting catcher Austin Stockfisch made his pro debut and flied out in his lone at-bat; Albuquerque native and second-round pick RF Max Walla should be used to the Southwest heat, but a .592 OPS and more importantly, 28 K's in 64 AB's is a bit troubling, although it's always dangerous to read too much into AZL numbers -- let's at least get the kid to Helena in 2010... Arizona Game Log

Final: DSL Brewers / Orioles 3, DSL Pirates 2, 11 innings DSL Brewers / Orioles Box Score Team improves to 16-21; 19-year-old Dominican RH reliever Edwin Linares has been very reliable for this club all season in the back end of the pen -- .187 BAA in 30.1 innings, although K and BB numbers are mundane; Linares did allow an inherited runner to score in a tough spot in the 8th, but otherwise was near-flawless through 3.2 innings for the win; 17-year-old SS Andres Martinez in a horrendous slump, 0-for-4 with four K's (golden sombrero) to drop his average to .186 and his OPS to .558; all that, yet Martinez was intentionally walked to set up a force / double play situation in the final frame; catcher Jhonatan Javier (I have to copy-and-paste his name each time, I'd never spell it right) an uncharacteristic 0-for-4 (with an intentional walk); 17-year-old LF Juan Barrini (of the .403 OPS) was lifted at an odd defensive time in the middle of the 4th, two batters after chasing down a triple; among the missing -- RHP Jamie King has yet to appear in a game this season, RHP Francisco Rivero hasn't pitched since June 8th, 16-year-old OF Luis Chirinos has been out since leaving on an HBP earlier this week; RF Ronny Puello last played June 24th... DSL Brewers / Orioles Game Log

Wow, look at that Nashville box score through the 5th, pretty amazing. First Round Rock hit in the 6th, Nashville still looking for theirs...

GM Buck Rogers passes along the following -- Due to roster changes among some of the Northern Division teams, there have been some player moves on the Northern Division All-Star team. Here is the revised starting line-up submitted by West Tenn Manager Phil Plantier for your Northern Division All-Stars: 1-Adam Stern (CF) Huntsville 2-Blake Lalli (1B) Tennessee 3-Todd Frazier (LF) Carolina 4-Josh Bell (3B) Chattanooga 5-Marshall Hubbard (DH) West Tenn 6-Shane Justis (2B) Huntsville 7-Drew Anderson (RF) Huntsville 8-Jonathan Lucroy © Huntsville 9-Zack Cozart (SS) Carolina SP-Travis Wood (P) Carolina

Link, text follows: Escobar, Lawrie excited for Futures Game Brewers' middle infield prospects set to play for World Team By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com One is at the top of the ladder, waiting for an opportunity and just about ready to show what he can do. The other is just getting started, both in his pro career and at his position, and might take some time to be big-league ready. Together, though, Alcides Escobar and Brett Lawrie look like the future of the Milwaukee Brewers up the middle. And both may have the chance to feel each other out for the first time as part of the World infield at the XM Radio All-Star Futures Game. The 11th annual Futures Game, pitting the best Minor League prospects from the United States against the best from the rest of the World, will be held at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on All-Star Sunday, July 12, at 1 p.m. CT. MLB.com will provide complete coverage before, during and after the game, which can be seen live on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD and followed live on Gameday. Escobar, the shortstop, has been there before, a member of the World team back in 2007. The 22-year-old has been a walking highlight film ever since he joined the Brewers out of Venezuela back in 2003 and could field the premier position more than capably in Milwaukee right now. What's been in some ways more encouraging has been the progress he's made over time at the plate. Escobar uses his speed well, stealing 34 bases a year ago and already with 30 this season. His average has been hovering right around .300 all year and he's developed a much more consistent approach offensively. "He makes a 'wow' play every game," Brewers farm director Reid Nichols said. "He's a defensive wizard. He's a solid player that makes your pitching better. And he's showing more patience at the plate." The Brewers are certainly willing to be patient with Lawrie, their 2008 first-round pick (16th overall). Just 19, Lawrie is in some ways a perfect complement to Escobar, a player with an electric bat who's still learning how to play his position defensively. "He's made surprising progress at second base," Nichols said. "He's got thunder in his bat with potential for hard contact every at-bat." Lawrie was a Midwest League All-Star and has hit .262 in his first taste of pro ball. The Canadian who has played for his country in both the Olympics and the World Baseball Classic will grow into his power as he develop. He's shown glimpses now with 26 extra-base hits in 71 games for a respectable .459 SLG to go along with 14 steals. Escobar's time to show what he can do and join the long list of young, homegrown Brewers hitters to reach Milwaukee is just about here and he's a reason why many think J.J. Hardy's time as a Brewer might be running out. He'll have to wait a few years to be joined by Lawrie. But it's the kind of pairing that those in player development dream about. "From my standpoint, I'd like to see that happen," Nichols said. "It's probably not going to happen yet for a while during the regular season. You'll see a lot of athleticism up the middle [when it does]." While Brewers fans will have to be patient before seeing an Escobar-Lawrie duo full-time, if they tune in to watch Sunday's Futures Game, they very well might get a glimpse. It would be a first for everyone involved, including the players themselves. "That would be great," said Lawrie, who didn't even work with Escobar during Spring Training. "I've never played with him, but I've heard he's one heck of a player. Hopefully things will go well and we can turn a few double plays together." From his mouth to the farm director's ears. Or eyes, really. Like any director of player development, Nichols wants only to see those under his watch succeed. Being named to the Futures Game makes him proud enough. Having two of his pupils work together and excel on that stage would be incredibly gratifying. "I'm exact in what I like to do," Nichols said. "The thing that keeps me going is seeing a guy get to the next level and make a play, the satisfaction of being able to see him perform at the next level. That's what drives all people in player development."

From the 'Tees: Tonight's game versus the Lakeland Flying Tigers has been postponed due to a ridiculous amount of rain prior to game time. The game will be made up tomorrow beginning at 1:05 PM (12:05 Central). Both games will be seven innings. Mark Rogers (0-2, 1.84) and Michael Bowman (3-2, 4.18) are the expected starters for the Manatees. Fans are encouraged to bring Saran Wrap to the ballpark as our staff will attempt to construct a roof for Space Coast Stadium. We look forward to seeing all of you soon. Stay dry!

Congrats to our new 2009 friend Chris Mehring -- Long time radio announcer Chris Mehring has been moved into the role of Director of Media Relations. Mehring will continue to provide play-by-play coverage for the team on AM 1280 WNAM and will also keep the media informed of the latest Timber Rattlers news and events. "His promotion is very well deserved," said Timber Rattlers President, Rob Zerjav. "Chris has been with us since 2000 and has prior experience working in media relations. It was a natural fit to move him into this role and we are excited for him to continue as our radio announcer.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 49 39 .557 - 28-20 21-19 L1 Iowa 45 42 .517 3.5 25-17 20-25 W1 Memphis 43 44 .494 5.5 28-17 15-27 W2 Omaha 34 53 .391 14.5 15-23 19-30 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Tenn 13 6 .684 - 6-3 7-3 L1 Huntsville 9 10 .474 4.0 4-6 5-4 W2 Chattanooga 8 10 .444 4.5 5-4 3-6 L2 Tennessee 8 11 .421 5.0 3-6 5-5 L5 Carolina 6 12 .333 6.5 3-7 3-5 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 9 4 .692 - 5-3 4-1 W4 Dunedin 9 5 .643 0.5 6-4 3-1 W1 Tampa 7 5 .583 1.5 4-4 3-1 W1 Clearwater 8 6 .571 1.5 1-2 7-4 L3 Daytona 7 8 .467 3.0 2-5 5-3 L1 Lakeland 6 8 .429 3.5 1-3 5-5 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Falls 10 7 .588 - 5-2 5-5 W1 Missoula 10 7 .588 - 7-3 3-4 L1 Helena 9 8 .529 1.0 4-5 5-3 L1 Billings 5 12 .294 5.0 2-6 3-6 W1

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated a few hours prior to gametime. Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): *** We're going to include the link to Kraig McNutt's Nashville blog in the same post as the Nashville media notes link going forward. *** "Voice of the Rattlers" Chris Mehring's informative and entertaining Rattlers Radio Blog includes game notes an hour or two before gametime.

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