Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: Brewers get lots of hits from Mat Gamel Former Sounds star continues solid offense in major leagues By Bryan Mullen THE TENNESSEAN There is a baseball in a sock in Mat Gamel's book bag. But this isn't just any baseball. It's the one he hit for his first big league home run two weeks ago. The strange storage fits with the personality of Gamel, the former Nashville Sound who is quickly becoming an everyday contributor to the Milwaukee Brewers. After teammates retrieved the ball from the bullpen, Gamel shoved it into a sanitary sock and tossed it in his bag. He didn't send it off to be encased. This was no time to get cocky. "I was just trying to stay through the middle and not do too much," recalled Gamel, who hit the three-run shot over the right field wall on May 18 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. "I've tried to keep the same approach I've had and not stray away from that. Luckily, I just got into it a little bit." After tearing it up in Nashville, where he hit .336 with 31 RBIs in just 33 games, Gamel was called up on May 14. The timing was ideal for Milwaukee. Gamel (6-foot, 200 pounds), one of the organization's top prospects, would be the designated hitter during interleague play. He was hot in his first six games, went into a slump in the next six games, but has appeared to turn it around. In his past four games, Gamel is 4-for-9, including 0 for 1 on Wednesday, and is hitting .235 overall. "We know he's going to hit," said Gord Ash, the Brewers' assistant general manager. "But every young player goes through an adjustment period, especially in the role he is in, which is kind of a part-time player and pinch hitter. That's a tough role for a young player." A knock on the third baseman has been his defense, but Ash is quick to defend Gamel, who has made one error in nine chances. "He's made some plays, including a great play, an (ESPN) Web-Gem type play at third base, Ash said. "I think as a whole, he's done a pretty good job defensively." And just because the flights are nicer now, the meals more extravagant and the ballparks palatial, the 23-year-old isn't changing his game too much. "It's the same mind-set I had when I was in Nashville," Gamel said. "I'm just making sure I get my work in and keep myself fresh. When I do get called in to play, I want to be able to have the same confidence I had down there." A brief call-up in September didn't hurt. Gamel played in two games with the Brewers in 2008 and had a double in two at-bats. He described it a courtesy call-up, after hitting .329 with 96 RBI at Double-A Huntsville and an impressive five-game showing in Nashville. "(The Brewers) were in a playoff race and I really didn't feel like I would be playing much," Gamel said. "I also didn't feel like I had earned the right to be playing much." Now as a regular contributor, several factors will determine how long Gamel remains in Milwaukee. He received some good news when it was announced last weekend he would remain with the Brewers through their next three interleague series. That means he will be in Milwaukee at least through June 25. "After that, we'll see where we are and if he's better served to play every day in the minor leagues, or if he's progressed enough to take a more active role at the major league level," Ash said. As is his personality, don't expect Gamel to stress out. "I'm trying not to put any more added pressure on myself," Gamel said. "This game is hard enough."

Post-Crescent Blog Entry with details on Wisconsin's 4-1 loss

Link Report Bonus # 3: Link while active, text follows: Lawrie proud of sister Danielle, who led Washington to NCAA Division I softball championship Brett Christopherson, Appleton Post-Crescent GRAND CHUTE - The cell phone screen served its purpose in revealing the important details of the scene playing out nearly 800 miles away on Tuesday. But Brett Lawrie had to actually see it for himself. So the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers second baseman quickly made his way up the long set of steps that connect the third base dugout at Fox Cities Stadium with the home clubhouse and checked out the television. Sure, the Rattlers were still sparring with Midwest League counterpart Cedar Rapids, taking their hacks and trying to string together a rally in the bottom of the ninth in a contest they'd eventually drop 1-0. But Lawrie wasn't due up for a while, so why not sneak away for a bit to see if his older sister, Danielle, could complete the dream? "It was awesome," Lawrie said. "It was pretty cool." There was Danielle, a 22-year-old star pitcher for the third-ranked University of Washington softball team, standing inside a circle of chalk in front of 5,800 fans and a mere two outs away from finishing off top-ranked Florida in the second game of the best-of-three NCAA Women's College World Series at Oklahoma City. The Gators, trailing 3-2 in the seventh, were threatening with runners on first and second, but the junior right-hander settled down and did what she does best, pounding the strike zone, and got the next two batters to whiff. Game over. Series sweep. A national championship secured. And Lawrie - thank you, ESPN2 - was there, sort of, to enjoy it. If only he had been awake to receive that early-morning call - try 3 a.m. - from his amped-up sister. "Obviously, they were out having some fun," Lawrie said with a grin before Wednesday's 4-1 Rattlers setback to Cedar Rapids. "It's once-in-a-lifetime. She was always the best at what she did. She was an awesome basketball player and an all-around athlete. Even at a young age, she was a 'fireballer' pitcher. You could always tell she was good at what she did." How good? Well, she was named the World Series' most outstanding player after tossing every one of the Huskies' 711 tournament pitches, finishing with a 5-1 record, a 2.42 ERA and 49 strikeouts over 44 2/3 innings. Then there's the national-player-of-the-year honor Danielle lassoed last week to cap a season in which she produced a 42-8 record and tallied 521 K's - one shy of tying the Pac-10's single-season strikeout mark. Oh, the kid can swing the bat, too. Her first-inning grand slam on Sunday in a tournament elimination game paved the way for a 9-3 victory over Georgia that sent the Huskies into the championship round. Danielle came back to fan 12 and surrender only two hits in blanking Florida 8-0 on Monday to snap the Gators' 29-game winning streak. "You just look at the stuff she's done," said Lawrie, 19. "Obviously, the odds were always against her, and now she's one of the best pitchers in the world. People are always trying to take her down, and she just goes out there day after day and just keeps repeating." The "take her down" comment is a dig at the naysayers who either made it clear they didn't care much for the Lawries' athletic success or didn't think either could accomplish what they have. That's why Lawrie, who was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round, 16th overall, of last June's draft, said he and his sister are wired the same in that both are ultra-intense when it comes to competing. Even if it's against each other. Lawrie recalls the days back home in Langley, British Columbia, when he and Danielle would square off in anything, from seeing who could jump the highest to finding out who could do the most push-ups. "You've always got to play with a chip on your shoulder, or else it seems like you're playing for nothing," said Lawrie, who, like Danielle, represented Team Canada last year in the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. "You always have to have something to strive for, and I always do out there. "Same thing with her. She's always had that chip on her shoulder. 'OK, now it's my turn in the middle of the circle, and I'm going to come after you.' " Speaking of coming after you, any chance you could drill one of your sister's fastballs? "Never tried," he said. "I think I could. I don't know. I guess those other softball players are making it look pretty tough, so I don't know if I'd have a chance. "She's the better softball player, and I think that speaks for itself. The national player of the year, World Series MVP - I guess that says it all right there. It's unreal to see. Hat's off to her. I'm very proud of her."

Link Report Bonus # 2: Mike Burns discusses some of the goings-on in Nashville in his pre-game audio interview with Cory Provus last night

Link Report Bonus # 1: Buck Rogers posted this as a "transaction" out of Huntsville, cute -- Stars Pitcher Josh Wahpepah and his wife, Marcie, have signed a new baby boy (Brady Maverick) to the family. Weighing in at 7 pounds, 15 ounces and measuring 19 inches, Brady is already being groomed for baseball as he slid into the Wahpepah home at 6:43 PM. Mom has been placed on the DL, but is expected back in the ballpark soon. Congratulations, Josh & Marcie!

Final: DSL Brewers / Orioles 4, DSL Pirates 1 Ages in parentheses... DSL Brewers / Orioles Box Score 16-year-old LF Luis Chirinos, a right-handed bat hitting in the # 3 spot in the lineup, hit a sacrifice fly and walked -- Chirinos is listed at 6'1", 215 -- he'll be 17 August 30th; catcher Jhonatan Javier (21) singled and scored a run; LHP Jose Ramos (soon to be 20) with a two-inning scoreless save; RHP Francisco Rivero (18) stranded two inherited runners in a nice "hold" effort; counting on you folks to point out other Brewer participants should we miss one each day... DSL Brewers / Orioles Game Log

Final: Brevard County 5, Sarasota (Reds) 0 Brevard County Box Score Steffan Wilson's fifth home run, a two-run shot to center field, broke a scoreless tie in the 6th; Logan Schafer (.840 OPS as a CF in the FSL, wow) clubbed a two-out RBI triple in the 7th, and Sergio Miranda lined a two-out, two-run double in the 8th to cap the scoring; Brent Brewer with two doubles (yes, it was a nice evening for Manatee extra-base hits) before, as noted above, departing for a pinch-runner in the 7th; Caleb Gindl and Zelous Wheeler each walked twice, hopefully good signs towards breaking out of hitting funks; tough 0-for-5 nights for Lee Haydel and Chris Errecart; once again, as you folks so nicely pointed out above, kudos to the pitching staff here, as there were no earned runs allowed in any of the three organizational minor league night games (AA, high-A, DSL)... Brevard County Game Log Only 227 in attendance in Sarasota, just a few more than have been at the Brewer / Marlin games this week...

Link while active, text follows: Melillo wants a return to majors One appearance at plate with A's not nearly enough By Paul Gattis Huntsville Times Sports Staff, paul.gattis@htimes.com June 24, 2007. "Best day of my life," Huntsville Stars infielder Kevin Melillo said. Sunday afternoon at Shea Stadium, New York Mets vs. the Oakland A's. The day Melillo's major-league career began - and ended. He's now tied for the Stars' home run lead with five and swinging the bat as well these days as he ever has in his six-year professional career. But every day, he thinks about that day as a member of the A's and how to get back to the majors. After all, Melillo - so far - has among the briefest careers in the majors in history. One plate appearance - as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning - that lasted eight pitches is all it was. Melillo walked against former Mets reliever Guillermo Mota. The next day, Oakland sent Melillo back to the minors. "And once you get a little taste of it, it makes you want to get back that much more," Melillo said. "It's unbelievable." Melillo is one of four Stars who have played briefly in the majors, received that cliched "cup of coffee." But Vinny Rottino, Drew Anderson and Adam Stern all have their first major league hits. Melillo is still waiting for his first official at-bat. "I've always told myself, the first pitch I see, I'm going to come out hacking in the big leagues," said Melillo, a left-handed batter. "The first pitch was a fastball almost in the right-hander's batter's box, so I couldn't swing. "The next pitch was a change-up and I almost pulled my back out and swung and missed. I fouled a couple of pitches off. I had a good AB." Stars manager Bob Miscik can only imagine. He spent nine years in the minor leagues as a player, never getting the call to the majors. He retired when he was 30. "One at-bat would have spurred me on to keep trying for a while," Miscik said. But will it pay off for the 27-year-old Melillo? He was released in spring training by the Toronto Blue Jays and signed by the Milwaukee Brewers two days before the season began. He's a second baseman who has adapted to playing both first and third base for the Stars. And he's sizzling at the plate. Melillo has hit all five of his home runs since May 23, including the game-winner in a 3-2 win Sunday over Birmingham. He's hitting .283 and fourth on the Stars with 26 RBIs. "I was surprised he hadn't started a little earlier," Miscik said of the home runs. "He just got off to a slow spurt with his power. But they've come in bunches." June 24, 2007. When the game ended and the Mets won 10-2, Oakland manager Bob Geren handed Melillo the lineup card as a souvenir. It's hanging on the wall of his parents' home in Orlando. Melillo still likes to look at it. In the Mets' lineup that day were superstars Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado. "And over on the other side, it says Kevin Melillo," Melillo said. "It's pretty cool to have that as a keepsake."

Final: Huntsville 3, Birmingham (White Sox) 1 Huntsville Site Game Summary Stars Even Series and End Two-Game Slide Holliman Hurls Huntsville Past Barons By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Mark Holliman tossed seven solid innings and Yohannis Perez belted a home run and knocked in a pair of runs to carry Huntsville past Birmingham 3-1 Wednesday in the fourth of a five-game set between division leaders at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars improved to 30-22 and maintained their game and a half lead over Carolina in the North, while the Barons fell to 35-18 and saw their lead over Mobile in the South trimmed to three and a half games. Dayan Viciedo led off the second inning with a single, stole second base and moved to third base on an errant throw by catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Stefan Gartrell then walked before Javier Colina grounded into a double play to chase home Viciedo to plate the game's first run. The Barons did not push a runner past second base the rest of the night. Freddy Parejo opened the third with a single, stole his first base of the season and scored to tie the game when Perez followed with a single into center field. Kevin Melillo started the fourth inning with a single, moved to third base on a Drew Anderson double and scored the go-ahead run on a Vinny Rottino groundout. Holliman did not allow a hit after the third inning and fashioned his longest outing of the season to win for the first time in five turns at home. He walked three and fanned five and was followed by Nick Bucci, who threw a scoreless eighth inning. Robert Hinton took over in the ninth and retired the side in order, including two strikeouts, to nail down his second save of the series and sixth of the season. Kyle McCulloch was the hard luck loser for Birmingham, going seven innings and allowing two runs on five hits, while walking one and fanning three. He fell to 5-5 and lasted seven frames for a sixth time in 11 turns. Jhonny Nunez took over in the eighth and gave up a leadoff long ball to Perez, who hit his second of the season and first since April 14. The series wraps up Thursday night with left-hander David Welch taking the hill for the Stars against Birmingham southpaw Aaron Poreda. Coverage of the game begins at 6:45 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score Kudos to the pitching staff, all highlighted above; Jonathan Lucroy dropped to 6th in the order; Kevin Melillo with a double, single, and walk... Huntsville Game Log In what was still a 2-1 game at the time, Nick Bucci struck out two men swinging with the tying run in scoring position to end the 8th -- an amazing spot for the 18-year-old...

Just by looking at MiLB.com pages associated with that team, you don't. So look for our updates within the Link Report. We knew the players because they are in our Player Index, in the Brewer media guide, and several had appeared in Arizona Rookie Summer League games in the past. You can learn more in this thread that's been updated over the past few days. Closing this thread...

Toronto options RHP Brian Wolfe (Corey Koskie trade) back to AAA; Chad Moeller clears waivers with Baltimore and accepts a AAA assignment.

Toronto options RHP Brian Wolfe (Corey Koskie trade) back to AAA; Chad Moeller clears waivers with Baltimore and accepts a AAA assignment.

Final: Nashville 3, Iowa (Cubs) 0 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for "celebratory" photo, text follows -- Sounds Blank Cubs Again, 3-0 NASHVILLE- The Nashville Sounds shutout the division-rival Iowa Cubs, 3-0, for the second consecutive game at historic Greer Stadium in the second-game of a four-game series on Wednesday afternoon. Nashville's win (30-24) marks the first time the Sounds have recorded back-to-back shutout wins since Sacramento was held scoreless at Greer on July 30-31, 2007. After Alcides Escobar doubled in the first inning, Adam Heether's RBI-base-knock gave Nashville an early 1-0 lead. Jason Bourgeois walked to start the rally in the fifth and then stole second base, marking the first swipe by a Sounds player in the last eight games. Heether then scored Bourgeois on an infield-groundout to make it 2-0. Nashville added another run to its lead at 3-0 in the next frame on a sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Erick Almonte that scored Joe Koshansky. Sounds starter Chase Wright (4-5) earned the win on his third quality start of the season, allowing three hits over six scoreless innings while striking out one. Relievers R.J. Swindle and David Johnson combined to throw two innings and keep the Cubs scoreless. Chris Smith earned his 12th save of the season. J.R. Mathes (7-4) started the game for Iowa and earned the loss, pitching just two innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out one. Angel Salome extended his hitting streak to a season-high six games on the afternoon, going 1-for-3 with a double and a walk. The Sounds and Cubs continue their series at 7:00 pm CT on Thursday night at historic Greer Stadium. Right-hander Josh Butler (0-1, 3.00) takes the mound for Nashville against righty Jeff Samardzija (2-1, 4.04). Nashville Box Score Chase Wright is a "day person" -- only four earned runs allowed in 23.1 daytime innings (1.54 ERA), 5.80 at night; nice job, bullpen, too! Hey, it's two shutouts of the Cubs -- exclamation points allowed! Nashville Game Log

Final: Cedar Rapids (Angels) 4, Wisconsin 1 Wisconsin Site Game Summary Rattlers can't keep Kernels from twelfth straight win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI -- The Cedar Rapids Kernels showed why they have won twelve straight games in their 4-1 comeback win against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Wednesday afternoon. They had stellar pitching, a key defensive play, and clutch hitting to offset a pretty good pitching performance by Timber Rattler starter Trey Watten at Time Warner Cable Field. Sean McCraw put the Rattlers (24-28) up 1-0 with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the second inning. He looped in a single to left with Corey Kemp at third and Michael Vass at second. Kemp scored, but Vass was thrown out at the plate on a strong throw by Ryan Groth. Watten pitched six shutout innings, allowed two hits, and struck out a career high eight batters. But, he was not involved in the decision. Daniel Meadows relieved Watten for the seventh inning and walked the leadoff batter. A sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch moved the tying run around to third base with two outs. Gabe Jacobo singled off Meadows' glove to tie the game 1-1. The Kernels (32-20) took the lead in the top of the eighth. Jon Townsend doubled and one out later, Alexi Amarista singled to put runners on first and third. That single by Amarista drove Meadows out of the game. Rigoberto Almonte entered and Amarista stole second. So, the Rattlers decided to walk Roberto Lopez to load the bases and set up the double play. Almonte recorded a strikeout to inch closer to getting out of the inning with the game still tied. But, Younger lined a 3-2 pitch to left and drove in a pair of runs for a 3-1 lead. On the play Lopez took third. He would score when Almonte balked before throwing a pitch to the next batter. Correa turned the game over to Vladimir Veras for the bottom of the ninth. Correa retired the final eleven batters he faced and only allowed one hit after those three he gave up in the second inning. He also struck out six without walking a batter. Veras walked a pair of batters in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs. But, he picked up his eighth save of the season. Game three of the series is Thursday night. Wily Peralta (0-0, 3.26) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Ryan Chaffee (4-1, 3.13) is scheduled to start for the Kernels. Game time is 7:05 PM. Wisconsin Box Score Listened to Chris this afternoon -- you really got the sense early on that the Rattlers would have to hold that slim 1-0 lead to be victorious, because the Wisconsin offense just wasn't happening and there would be no add-on runs; it would have been nice to write a different script, but big Brock Kjeldgaard popped up foul to end the game, representing the tying run; "pretty good" effort for Trey Watten, Chris? Great write-up as usual, but Watten's line deserves a "very good" at minimum; Daniel Meadows with his first loss to fall to 8-1; Nick Tyson's first five relief stints have been scoreless... Wisconsin Game Log

To make room for Chase Wright at Nashville (from Brevard, paper transaction), OF Chris Duffy has been placed on the Temporary Inactive List.

Chris Mehring has all his morning updates online at Rattler Radio, and because he's got some posts outside the normal gameday updates (including one on Danielle Lawrie, Brett's sister), we'll link to the blog itself today rather than individual posts. Look for tidbits on the versatile Juan Sanchez and the red-hot Chris Dennis.

Just-turned 22-year-old RHP Michael Bowman (stats link) gets a much-deserved bump from Wisconsin to Brevard County. The 2008 9th round draft pick out of VMI made eight starts for the TimberRattlers, and only once allowed more than two earned runs. Well done, young man... RHP Liam Ohlmann gets transferred back on to the Wisconsin roster to fill that spot. Unless we tell you otherwise, the Manatees made room by sending LHP Chase Wright back to the Nashville roster (backing out the earlier paper move).

From May 31st: Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Outfielder Brendan Katin From June 1st: Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Don Money

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 29 24 .547 - 15-13 14-11 W2 Memphis 28 24 .538 0.5 16-11 12-13 W4 Iowa 26 27 .491 3.0 12-12 14-15 L4 Omaha 23 29 .442 5.5 10-15 13-14 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 29 22 .569 - 11-13 18-9 L2 Carolina 28 24 .538 1.5 16-12 12-12 W6 Chattanooga 22 30 .423 7.5 12-16 10-14 W2 West Tenn 22 30 .423 7.5 11-13 11-17 W1 Tennessee 21 32 .396 9.0 10-18 11-14 L10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 31 14 .689 - 14-8 17-6 W2 Clearwater 24 23 .511 8.0 11-12 13-11 W1 Daytona 22 24 .478 9.5 11-10 11-14 L1 Lakeland 21 23 .477 9.5 11-13 10-10 L1 Tampa 21 28 .429 12.0 12-16 9-12 L2 Dunedin 19 29 .396 13.5 7-18 12-11 W2

Link while active, text follows: Timber Rattlers put loss to Cedar Rapids behind them and keep their eyes on the big picture By Brett Christopherson Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE - It wasn't exactly Jim Mora-esque, but Wisconsin Timber Rattlers manager Jeff Isom isn't thinking playoffs just yet. "Let's worry about tomorrow," he said with a chuckle following a 1-0 setback to the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Tuesday at Fox Cities Stadium. Then again, those tomorrows are beginning to run dry as the first half of the Midwest League season inches closer to completion. Tuesday's series opener marked the beginning of a key 12-game homestand for the Rattlers, who entered play seven games behind Western Division front-runner Kane County and six games in back of the Kernels, the current wild-card holder. Win and Wisconsin can scratch its way back into playoff contention. But lose too many more and the focus will shift from the first half of the season - 19 games still remain - to the second half. The Midwest League slate is divided into halves, with divisional champions and wild-card winners awarded from each to set up an eight-team playoff. "We had a really good ending of our road trip. We swept West Michigan, which is one of the top division leaders," said pitcher Cody Scarpetta, referring to Wisconsin's recent three-game sweep of the Eastern Division-leading Whitecaps - the first at West Michigan by an Appleton Baseball Club Inc. franchise - to cap a 7-5 road trip. "So I think we're coming off a pretty good high, a good feeling about winning. I think this whole club thinks we'll be able to make a good push for the playoffs sometime. "Our pitching's been there for the past couple of weeks. We've got some good arms here, and I think we'll be able to hold some teams down, and I think our hitters will come back this homestand and come through." Scarpetta pitched well on Tuesday despite picking up the loss. The right-hander struck out six and scattered only three hits in five innings, his only blemish a 2-2 fastball to Kernels right fielder Roberto Lopez in the fourth that was hit over the left field fence. Offensively, Wisconsin scratched out just three hits and whiffed 13 times against a trio of hard-throwing Cedar Rapids hurlers who consistently touched 90 mph-plus on the stadium speed gun. Although the loss was a disappointing way to kick off a homestand that also includes a four-game set with Kane County (June 10-13), Isom said it wasn't necessarily discouraging to the club's playoff hopes because the overall approach is the continued focus on the details and not the larger picture. "We just want to continue to get better every day, and that's what we're doing, and all of a sudden, we start sneaking up there," he said. "So we're going to kind of keep it on the down-low a little bit and just go about our business and try to win on a daily basis."

Be sure to check out plenty of quotes and number analysis at the Post-Crescent TimberRattlers blog. While we tend to paste in the content of newspaper articles (always linking to the source as well), we're hesitant to do the same for blog posts. Everybody monitors their own blog hits and such, so have at it and click away.

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 13, Huntsville 12, ten innings Huntsville Site Game Summary Barons Rally to Down Stars in Extras Heart Breaking Loss for Huntsville Tightens Pennant Race By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Stefan Gartrell singled in the game-winning run with two outs in the tenth inning to push Birmingham past Huntsville 13-12 Tuesday night at Joe Davis Stadium in a battle of division leaders. The Barons improved to 35-17 and pushed their lead to four and a half games over Mobile in the South, while the Stars slipped to 29-22 and saw their lead in the North trimmed to a game and a half after Carolina's win at home over Tennessee. Casey Baron retired the first two hitters in the tenth before he hit Brandon Allen to keep the inning going. Dayan Viciedo reached on a bad hop single to left field that pushed Allen to third base and Gartrell followed with a hit past a diving shortstop Johnny Raburn into center field that chased home Allen with the decisive run. Fernando Hernandez took over on the hill for the Barons in the bottom of the inning and ran into immediate trouble when Viciedo dropped a Kevin Melillo pop up, allowing him to reach second base. Melillo advanced on a wild pitch, as Drew Anderson struck out, but stayed put when Vinny Rottino grounded out against a drawn-in infield and Taylor Green bounced out to end the game. Hernandez recorded his tenth save, while Baron suffered his first loss. Huntsville took a 12-7 lead into the ninth inning and turned to Omar Aguilar to close out the game. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for David Cook, who delivered an infield hit to plate Allen to cut the lead to four. John Shelby then blasted a grand slam, the second of the series for the Barons, on a 1-1 offering to tie the game. Aguilar got one more out and was replaced by Baron and charged with five runs on four hits over 2/3 of an inning after allowing his first home run of the season. The Barons jumped on starter Bobby Bramhall for three runs in the first inning before the Stars rallied for six of their own in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by back-to-back two-run doubles by J.R. Hopf and Freddy Parejo. The Stars tallied twice in the fourth on back-to-back two-out RBI doubles by Melillo and Anderson to push their lead to 8-4 before the Barons added two in the fifth and knocked Bramhall out of the game. He was charged with six runs on 11 hits over 4 2/3 innings and replaced by Donovan Hand, who tossed a scoreless inning and a third. Barons' starter Brian Omogrosso went four frames in his shortest start of the season and was charged with eight runs on six hits and six walks. Mike McClendon took over for Hand in the seventh and gave up a two-out home run to Cook, his third of the series, that cut the home team's lead to 8-7. The Stars received run-scoring hits by Green and Parejo in the seventh and a Rottino run-scoring hit and Green scoring fly ball in the eighth to extend their lead to five. Huntsville lost for the fourth time in 21 games taking a lead into the ninth inning. The series continues Wednesday night with right-hander Mark Holliman taking the hill for the Stars against Birmingham right-hander Kyle McCulloch. Coverage of the game begins at 6:45 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score Omar Aguilar had gone six consecutive one-inning scoreless appearances (five saves) before this disaster; Bobby Bramhall has one quality start among his ten efforts (the only time he's managed to go six innings) -- the soon-to-be 24-year-old is just not ready for AA, despite last year's high-A success, at least not as a starter; Taylor Green and Freddy Parejo each drive in three runs; Johnny Raburn is slugging .243 (yikes), but has drawn at least one walk in each of his last eight games... Huntsville Game Log You're a better person than I if you're going to take on a review of this beast, especially during the overnight -- have at it...

Link while active, text follows: Manatees' Jeffress finds green light By Mason Kelley / Special to MLB.com The more Jeremy Jeffress struggled with his fastball, the more the walks piled up. It created frustration for him, forming what he calls "red lights." "When you think about stuff on the mound, that's a red light. That means stop," he said. "You can't pitch with a red light in your head." Throughout the early part of the season, the former first-round pick failed to find the green light he was looking for. That is, until Tuesday. The 21-year-old right-hander gave up two hits and struck out seven over seven innings to lead the Brevard County Manatees to a 5-0 victory over the Fort Myers Miracle. "I felt good," Jeffress said. "I got enough sleep last night and I just came out firing." He figured out how to control his fastball and mixed in a deceptive curve. If he ran into a red light, he simply stepped off the mound and took a deep breath before getting back to work. "I would just think about the good things and what pitch I wanted to throw and my mechanics," he said. Jeffress opened the season at Double-A Huntsville and went 1-3 with a 7.57 ERA in eight starts. He had 34 strikeouts over 27 1/3 innings, but he also walked 33. He couldn't shake the red lights. In his first two starts with the Manatees, walks continued to haunt him. But against the Miracle, he didn't walk a batter. "Just take it one pitch at a time, one inning at a time and just go out there and play your game because, at the end of the day, it's all on you," he said. Jeffress retired the first five batters before Deibinson Romero singled to center field. He also allowed a base hit in the fourth inning, but he was throwing strikes, so he kept the red lights at bay. "The players here are fundamentally sound," Jeffress said. "The coaches here are awesome. There are a lot of great people around who make me feel comfortable. That's always a big key." Not only was this performance good for his confidence, it also served as a sign he is putting his past behind him. Late in the 2007 season, the Virginia native was suspended 50 games for violating the Minor League substance abuse policy. The suspension carried over to the early portion of last season. "Being addicted to anything, it's hard to break loose," he said. "But afterwards, I was hungry and trying to do what I had to do to stay hungry and stay focused. It was tough, but I've got a lot of good people around me. "It's always a great thing to come out of something and succeed in anything you do." His performance against Fort Myers proved what he's capable of. Now, he plans to use Tuesday's start as a building block. "I'm just going to stay here, do what I have to do and take what I did tonight into my next start," he said. Former No. 1 pick Jeremy Jeffress made his longest start of the season Tuesday. (Photo by Bill Mitchell/Four Seam Images) http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2009/06/02/s9OPL6BQ.jpg

Jeffress was initially reunited with John Curtis in Huntsville to start this season, and they worked well together in West Virginia in 2007, so I don't see too much into the point you make above, although I can appreciate your thoughts on the subject.

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):