Jim Goulart

Final: Kane County (Athletics) 7, Wisconsin 6 Wisconsin Site Game Summary Rattlers win streak ends in heartbreak By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GENEVA, IL -- A roller coaster ninth inning saw a pair of comebacks, but it was Dusty Coleman's game-winning homer that gave the Kane County Cougars a 7-6 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Thursday night at Elfstrom Stadium. Wisconsin scored three times in the top of the ninth to take a 6-5 lead. But, Coleman's blast ended Wisconsin's season-high winning streak at six games. Steve Kleen blooped in a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the first inning to give Kane County (24-16) a 1-0 lead. Chris Dennis tied the game in the top of the second inning. His solo homer to center came on a 3-2 pitch with two outs. The home run was the second of the season for Dennis. In the third inning, Kane County had Coleman at first and Steve Kleen at the plate. Coleman took off on a hit-and-run and Kleen sent a grounder back through the middle. Rattler second baseman Brett Lawrie who was ranging over to cover second on the play, tried to backhand the grounder while keeping his foot on the base. However, the ball took a bad hop and got Lawrie in the face. Lawrie left the game at that point and no word was available on his condition. The Cougars got to Rattler starting pitcher Michael Bowman for four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. They loaded the bases on a double and two singles by the first three hitters. Then, Bowman walked Dusty Napoleon to force in a run. A fielder's choice by Jason Christian plated another run. Jason Ray's two-run double made the score 5-1. Back-to-back doubles by Dennis and Juan Sanchez got Wisconsin (18-22) to within 5-2 in the top of the fifth. But, that was all the Rattlers would get off Shawn Haviland on the night. The Cougar starting pitcher allowed just four hits and struck out five over seven innings. Wisconsin got to reliever Jose Guzman in the eighth. Edgar Trejo, Lawrie's replacement, started the inning with a double and scored on a Brock Kjeldgaard single. Corey Kemp would be next and his single put runners at first and third with no outs. Dennis sent a fly ball to left and Kjeldgaard appeared to beat the throw to the plate, but was ruled out for a double play. Guzman got the final out of the eighth to keep the score at 5-3. Cougar closer Jamie Richmond was touched for a one-out single by Erik Miller and a two-out single by Jose Duran that put runners at the corners. Richmond got ahead of Trejo 1-2, but Trejo doubled to the gap in right-center to drive in both runs to tie the game 5-5. Kjeldgaard was next and he sent a grounder to third that looked to be routine to end the inning. But, the ball took a bad hop over the glove of Christian and Trejo raced home with the go-ahead run. But, the Rattlers couldn't close the deal. Rigorberto Almonte, who had entered the game in the sixth inning, got the first out of the ninth. But, he would walk Matt Ray to bring Coleman to the plate. Almonte fell behind Coleman 2-0 and the Cougar shortstop drove the next pitch over the wall in center for a game-ending, two-run homer. Wisconsin finishes the first leg of their four city, 12-game road trip tomorrow night against the Cougars. The Timber Rattlers have Cody Scarpetta (1-2, 2.96) as the scheduled starting pitcher. Kane County has Pedro Figueroa (3-1, 5.74) on the hill. Game time is 6:30 PM. Wisconsin Box Score Technically, Jose Duran replaced Brett Lawrie at second base, with Edgar Trejo entering the game at third; had the entire bullpen been taxed recently? -- asking Rigo Almonte to finish things up in his 4th inning of work was asking quite a bit... Wisconsin Game Log

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Don Money Discusses recent roster shuffle, in particular Tony Gwynn's departure; also indicates that Sam Narron's return to the rotation sends Lindsay Gulin to spot starter (doubleheader) status...

Final: Portland (Beavers) 6, Nashville 4 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Adam Heether photo, text follows -- Sounds Drop Road Trip Opener To Beavers PORTLAND, Ore. - The Nashville Sounds began their road trip to the Pacific Northwest on a losing note on Thursday evening at PGE Park, falling 6-4 to the Portland Beavers in the opener of a four-game series. The Sounds jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Portland starter Walter Silva. Alcides Escobar reached on a fielder's choice and scored from first when Adam Heether's double was mishandled by Beavers left fielder Kyle Blanks. Two batters later, Brendan Katin delivered a two-out RBI double to increase the visitors' lead to two. AUDIO: Adam Heether Double + Error Katin pushed the Nashville lead to 3-0 in the third with a one-out RBI single that plated Escobar, who had opened the frame with a double. Portland first baseman Chad Huffman evened the contest at 3-3 in the home half of the fourth with a three-run homer to left off Sounds starter Tim Dillard, his team-leading ninth longball of the year. The Beavers took a 4-3 lead in the sixth when Huffman scored on a Dillard wild pitch before extending the advantage to 6-3 in the eighth on Eliezer Alfonzo's two-run homer off Nashville reliever David Johnson. Nashville pulled back within a pair of runs in the top of the ninth when Michael Garciaparra plated Cole Gillespie with an RBI single but Edwin Moreno closed out the win for Portland to notch his second save of the year. Silva (1-1) picked up his first win of the season with a quality start for Portland. He gave up three runs and struck out seven batters over his six innings of work. Dillard (6-2) took the loss for the Sounds after allowing four runs on eight hits over six frames. The teams continue the series with another 9:05 PM CT meeting on Friday evening. Left-hander Sam Narron (0-1, 4.50) makes his first appearance in a month following a stint on the disabled list when he takes the hill for Nashville. He will face Beavers right-hander and former Brewers farmhand Will Inman, who makes his first Class AAA appearance of the year. Nashville Box Score Jason Bourgeois inherits the full-time leadoff and CF gig (for now); two doubles for second baseman Alcides Escobar, who once again turned the pivot on a 6-4-3 double play; Adam Heether 3-for-3 with a walk hitting in the 3-hole... Nashville Game Log Escobar out trying to stretch a double to a triple to lead off the 5th, Heether then singled, ouch...

Final: Huntsville 7, West Tenn (Mariners) 2 Huntsville Site Game Summary Huntsville Slides Back Into Top Spot Stars Get Second Straight Sterling Pitching Performance By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Chris Cody spun eight sensational innings and Huntsville used two big innings to come from behind to beat West Tenn 7-2 Thursday night in the opener of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars evened their record at 18-18 and moved into first place, a half-game ahead of Tennessee, in the North Division, while the Diamond Jaxx dropped to 16-23. Greg Halman singled with one out in the first inning, moved to third base on a Marshall Hubbard double and scored on a Brent Johnson fly ball, as the Jaxx scored in the first inning for a seventh straight game. Cody retired the side in order in the second inning and then set down 16 in a row after a leadoff hit by Oswaldo Navarro in the third. Guillermo Quiroz ended the string with a solo home run with two outs in the eighth to cut the Stars lead to 7-2. Cody finished his performance by fanning Navarro after the long ball to put together the longest outing by a Stars' starter this season. The southpaw lifted his record to 4-1 with his first win in five home starts, as he yielded just four hits, did not walk a batter and matched a season-high with eight strikeouts. Huntsville had runners at second and third and one out in the first inning and could not score against Steve Bray and then had Drew Anderson thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Taylor Green single in the fourth inning but finally broke through in the fifth. Shane Justis singled in the tying run and then scored, with Adam Stern, on Vinny Rottino's two-out, bases loaded single. Bray was charged with the loss after allowing three runs on eight hits, walking three and striking out two. He dropped to 0-3 and lost in only the eighth start of his career. Aaron Cotter took over in the sixth and gave up consecutive two-out, run-scoring hits to Frank Catalanotto and Jonathan Lucroy and a two-run home run by Anderson, his fourth of the year. The Stars have now scored 42 runs on 69 hits in winning all five games against the Jaxx this season. The series continues Friday night with right-hander Mike Jones starting for Huntsville against West Tenn right-hander Kyle Parker. 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 Frank Catalanotto on base three times as the DH -- double, single, walk, you know that'll be noticed up north; six Stars with multiple-hit games; Chris being Chris -- Cody consistently stellar... Huntsville Game Log

BK, I personally listed Dillard high at # 10, so my cohorts will have to defend themselves on that one.

For all of you up at 1:45 AM Central, have at it.

Yup, being discussed on the major league forum here, thanks.

Two more Brevard County games completely lost on the schedule. Thursday's doubleheader at Daytona cancelled due to wet grounds.

Rattler Radio Blog: May 21, 2009 Game Notes May 21, 2009 Starting Pitcher (Michael Bowman) May 21, 2009 Starting Lineup (John Delaney's first start since April 25th)

Chris Mehring summarizes today's Wisconsin roster moves (involving Taylor Green, John Delaney, Edgar Trejo, and Shawn Zarraga) here. We're guessing that the click count at the Rattler Radio Blog is up just a tad from the TimberRattlers' Mariner-affiliated days.

It'll be Sam Narron vs. Will Inman Friday night. The game starts two hours later that the big league Brewers game, so it should allow many readers here to flip over to the Sounds audio afterwards.

From Huntsville: The Milwaukee Brewers and the Huntsville Stars announced a pair of transactions today. OF Frank Catalanotto and INF Taylor Green have been added to the Stars roster and OF Chuckie Caufield and LHP David Welch have been transferred to Helena. Both moves are effective immediately and Catalanotto and Green will be in uniform tonight against the West Tenn D'Jaxx. An updated roster is attached. *** This Helena roster stuff is new; we've been posting transactions here nine years now, and while the Brewers often got creative in how they would temporarily shift players, it was never via this means. We're guessing that MiLB is getting tougher on phantom injuries and "convenient" 7-day DL stints. Chances are Welch, who just tossed seven shutout innings last night, and Caufield are still working out with the club in Huntsville.

Feature article on RHP Mike Burns from Milwaukee Magazine courtesy of the Sounds' site

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 23 17 .575 - 12-11 11-6 W1 Memphis 21 16 .568 0.5 13-8 8-8 W2 Iowa 21 17 .553 1.0 10-6 11-11 W2 Omaha 19 20 .487 3.5 8-8 11-12 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 18 18 .500 - 7-7 11-11 W1 Huntsville 17 18 .486 0.5 6-10 11-8 W1 Chattanooga 18 21 .462 1.5 10-10 8-11 L1 West Tenn 16 22 .421 3.0 8-11 8-11 W3 Carolina 16 23 .410 3.5 9-11 7-12 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 24 11 .686 - 11-5 13-6 W1 Clearwater 20 16 .556 4.5 8-11 12-5 W2 Daytona 19 19 .500 6.5 8-9 11-10 W2 Lakeland 16 19 .457 8.0 10-10 6-9 W1 Dunedin 15 22 .405 10.0 5-13 10-9 L2 Tampa 15 22 .405 10.0 7-12 8-10 L3

Midwest 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):

Follow Tuesday'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_05_21_nasaaa_poraaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_05_21_wtdaax_hunaax_1 Brevard County Game One: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_05_21_breafa_dbcafa_1 Brevard County Game Two: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_05_21_breafa_dbcafa_2 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_05_21_wisafx_kccafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572

By the way, Huntsville faces old friend Steve Bray starting for West Tenn tonight, and the Beavers are expected to adjust their rotation and start Will Inman against the Sounds some time in Portland this weekend. Inman last pitched on Sunday, a stellar seven-inning two-hit effort.

Thursday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Link here for the live audio choices - audio will no longer archive. For this Brevard County series, click here for the Daytona Cubs' feed. Nashville: RHP Tim Dillard at Portland (Padres), 8:40 PM pre-game; 9:05 gametime Huntsville: LHP Chris Cody at home vs. West Tenn (Mariners), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Brevard County: TBD (times two, still Anundsen and Rogers?) in a doubledip at Daytona (Cubs), 5:05 PM gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Wisconsin: RHP Michael Bowman at Kane County (Athletics), 5:40 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

Daytona Beach has received 14 inches of rain since Monday, and more is scheduled for Thursday. Yikes...

Link while active, text follows: Welch, Huntsville Stars blank BayBears By ARTHUR L. MACK, Mobile Register Sports Correspondent When Huntsville left-hander David Welch started against Mobile on April 13, the BayBears shelled him for eight runs in two innings. On Wednesday night, Welch (2-3) got a measure of revenge as he limited Mobile to five hits and got two in nings of no-hit relief from Robert Hinton as the Stars blanked Mobile 5-0 in front of an announced crowd of 1,456 at Hank Aaron Stadium. Welch pitched seven scoreless innings without a walk as Huntsville salvaged the final game of the series and broke the BayBears' three-game winning streak. "The last time I faced them, they beat me up pretty good," Welch said. "After giving up eight runs in two innings, I had to get back at them." Welch's pitching - which included a bunch of changeups - all but shut down the BayBears, who had only one runner advance past second base. "He (Welch) mixed his pitches very well, and did a good job," said Mobile manager Hector De La Cruz. Cody Evans (2-5) got the loss, giving up seven hits and four runs in seven innings. Pedro Ciriaco, who came back off a shoulder injury, got two of the BayBears' five hits. An early lead enabled Welch to relax and keep Mobile off balance. "I threw a few changeups and got ahead of them," Welch said. "That was the key, because they're a great hitting ballclub." Huntsville broke it open with three runs in the top of the eighth. Chuckie Caufield led off with a homer, and Kevin Melillo scored on a throwing error after his double brought in Adam Stern. "I needed a win for the team because in the past few games our bullpen got beat up pretty hard," said Welch. "We had gone deep (in previous games) and it was great to give them a break."

The Journal-Sentinel with an update on Frank Catalanotto, who will be in Huntsville today. We should have the news on the roster adjustments later this afternoon.

Link while active, text follows: Minor league spotlight: Cole Gillespie, Nashville Sounds by Aaron Fentress, Oregonlive.com Nashville outfielder Cole Gillespie has been lying awake at night. It's not his sore throwing shoulder. Nor is it his uncharacteristically low batting average. No, weighing on the former Oregon State star's mind is playing before family members and friends when the Sounds start a four-game series against the Portland Beavers Thursday at PGE Park. "I've been pretty pumped up about that," the West Linn High School product said. "I've not been sleeping well at night." Gillespie has plenty to show off. Since helping OSU to the national championship in 2006, he has made a smooth transition into professional baseball. Well, at least until now. The Milwaukee Brewers' third-round selection in 2006, Gillespie, recovering from a right elbow injury, was batting .221 (through Wednesday), well below his career minor league average of .285. This after he was a Southern League all-star for Class AA Huntsville (Ala.) last season. But what hasn't eluded him is his plate discipline, which ultimately could be his ticket to the big leagues once his swing rounds back into form. A strong spring training ended with a sore right elbow. After he healed, Gillespie, ranked as the Brewers' No. 9 prospect by Baseball America, began the season with Class A Brevard County in the Florida State League. There he batted .349 in 12 games as a designated hitter and soon was called up to Nashville. "Once I got here I might have been trying to do a little too much and have been pressing a little bit," he said. Thus the .221 average. Still, Gillespie, whom Baseball America labeled as the Brewers' prospect with the "Best Strike-Zone Discipline," has remained productive thanks to an on-base percentage of .372. His career on-base percentage is .396. "I look for a certain pitch early in the count, and if it's not there I lay off it," Gillespie said. "I don't worry about getting too far into the count or striking out. I don't want to swing at the pitcher's pitch early in the count. I work the count and sometimes I get two strikes and can strike out, but I also get some walks." With Gillespie a step from the majors in the Pacific Coast League, the question is, where does he fit? He's not considered fast enough to play center field. His power, which produced a career-high 14 home runs for Huntsville last season, falls short of a prototypical corner outfielder's. "He's not the corner power guy," Sounds manager Don Money said. "But he's pretty much locked in to being a corner man to this point." The power question -- 80 major league players hit more than 20 home runs last season -- could prove to be a nonissue should the rest of Gillespie's skills set hold true. Money, who managed Huntsville last year, said Gillespie must learn to pull the ball better and that could result in more power numbers. But for now, he has been productive using all fields. Last year, he finished second in the Southern League in doubles (38) and third in walks (75) and extra-base hits (56). Money, who played 16 seasons in the majors, said an outfielder who can hit 12 to 15 home runs, play solid defense and bat .280 with a high on-base percentage can be a productive major league player. "If he's asked to sacrifice, get on base with walks and is having good ABs, at times that is just as important as getting that base hit," Money said. Still, Gillespie expects to see his batting average rise. "I'm just taking each AB one at a time and realize we play about 140 games," he said. The sooner he turns things around the quicker he will be on the big league club's radar. "It's definitely on my mind," Gillespie said. "I'm only a level or a phone call away. But I try not to worry too much about that because you have to take care of your business where you are." Photo by Mike Strasinger/Nashville Sounds Cole Gillespie is recovering from an elbow injury that has contributed to an uncharacteristically low batting average this season for Nashville. http://blog.oregonlive.com/mlb/2009/05/large_Cole1.JPG

If Jack Bauer can do what he does in a day, then we should be able to have a new Power 50 for you within the next 24.