Jim Goulart

Link, text follows -- Manatees' Anundsen tosses no-hitter By Benjamin Hill / Special to MLB.com By his own admission, Evan Anundsen was "so depressed" when he woke up this morning. He sure isn't feeling that way now. Anundsen, a 20-year-old Brewers prospect, hurled a nine-inning no-hitter on Tuesday to lead visiting Brevard County to a 1-0 victory over the Daytona Cubs. It was the second no-hitter in the Minor Leagues this season, but the first in which one pitcher lasted all nine innings. Anundsen's early morning depression was a result of the game's 10:35 AM local start time. He and his teammates had to get up at 6:00 AM in order to catch a bus to Daytona. "It was really hard to get to sleep early, since we usually play at night," said Anundsen, the Brewers' fourth-round selection in the 2006 Draft. "I was doing my best not to fall asleep on the bus. But nothing matters once you step across the white lines." And once Anundsen was inside the white lines, he was lights out. The Colorado native struck out a career-high 10 batters en route to the first no-hitter in the Florida State League since 2006, and the first complete-game shutout of his four-year professional career. He faced three batters over the minimum, walking one and hitting one. "I'm a sinkerball pitcher, and my plan of attack is to get as many three-pitch outs as possible," said Anundsen, who went 12-8 over 28 starts with the Class A West Virginia Power last season. "I tried to get ahead in the count, and keep guys swinging early and often." As dominant as Anundsen was, a Brevard County victory was anything but a forgone conclusion. The game remained scoreless through the first seven frames, as spot starter Craig Muschko and the Daytona bullpen kept the Manatees off the board. Brevard County finally broke through in the eighth, as Logan Schafer ripped a one-out triple and scored on Caleb Gindl's single to center field. The closeness of the game made it so Anundsen didn't have to obsess over the fact that he had a no-hitter going. "I was just sitting there hoping we'd score," he said. "Everyone on the team was focusing on their own job, going about their own business. It was a total team effort." The ninth inning was not without its share of drama. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Anundsen induced Nate Samson to hit a pop-up to shortstop Brent Brewer. The final out seemed imminent, but Brewer dropped the ball and Samson made it to second. "That's just part of playing during the day. That ball was in the sun and it was a real tough play," said Anundsen. "I wasn't going to blame [brewer]. It was just a little mental process I had to go through, like 'Now a guy's at second. Get over it.' We had worked so hard, and I wasn't about to let it fall apart." Indeed, Anundsen quickly gathered himself and struck out Tyler Colvin to end the ballgame. It wasn't yet one in the afternoon, and he had already turned in the greatest outing of his professional career. All that was left to do was celebrate. "I think my roommates and I are going to have a cookout," said Anundsen. "But the first thing I want to do is take a nap." Brevard County's Evan Anundsen faced three batters over the minimum in the no-hitter. (Mark LoMoglio/MiLB.com ) http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2009/04/28/kLRtEOuQ.jpg

Regarding the audio we heard, what's odd is that MiLB.com does not even list the Daytona feed on the new MiLB.com audio page. But I had remembered that Daytona had always broadcast each game in the past, so to start the season, I sought out and found the audio link from the radio station site. So if Evan's friends and families listened live today via the Link Report, I'm honored to have been of assistance. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif The Brewers should fly Evan up to Milwaukee this week between starts to be honored.

Final: Brevard County 1, Daytona (Cubs) 0 Brevard County Box Score Yeah, it's special... Brevard County Game Log Manatees stranded seven, thank goodness for this -- Brevard County Top 8th Anderson De La Rosa lines out to second baseman Nate Samson. Logan Schafer triples (2) on a fly ball to right fielder Dylan Johnston. Eric Farris walks. Pitcher Change: Dustin Sasser replaces Stephen Vento. Caleb Gindl singles on a line drive to center fielder Jonathan Wyatt. Logan Schafer scores. Eric Farris to 2nd.

MiLB.com has to figure out how to get that audio archived for the kid, even if it was the Daytona Cubs' announcers. We'll remind the Brewer front office to pursue such an audio archive with the Daytona radio station if MiLB does not. We're actually fortunate this was against Daytona, one of only a tiny percentage of games that are available via audio for the Manatees all season.

NO-HITTER EVAN ANUNDSEN, Yee-Hah! That was a great listen. Anundsen walked one, hit one batter, and survived two Brent Brewer errors. Amazingly, one of those errors came with two outs in the 9th, on a pop-up behind short towards the left-field line that clanked off Brent's glove while he fought the sun. Evan then struck out the final batter, the ball scooted from catcher Anderson Delarosa, who made a shaky throw to first that manged to get the runner. Anundsen struck out ten, got 11 groundouts, just wow. Don't know what the pitch count was, but it had to be up there.

Yeah, you all REALLY need to listen to this (you need REAL player). It's nice that the Manatees scored in the 8th in a previously scoreless game. To the bottom of the 9th we go!

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 13 6 .684 - 6-2 7-4 W2 Memphis 10 8 .556 2.5 7-4 3-4 L2 Omaha 10 8 .556 2.5 3-3 7-5 L1 Nashville 10 9 .526 3.0 4-7 6-2 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 10 8 .556 - 5-5 5-3 L1 Tennessee 9 8 .529 0.5 4-3 5-5 L1 West Tenn 8 10 .444 2.0 4-4 4-6 W1 Carolina 7 11 .389 3.0 2-3 5-8 W1 Chattanooga 4 14 .222 6.0 3-5 1-9 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 11 6 .647 - 6-2 5-4 L1 Clearwater 10 7 .588 1.0 4-5 6-2 L1 Daytona 9 8 .529 2.0 5-4 4-4 W3 Tampa 8 9 .471 3.0 4-4 4-5 W1 Lakeland 7 10 .412 4.0 5-4 2-6 L3 Dunedin 6 11 .353 5.0 1-7 5-4 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):

Midwest League Standings

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_04_28_iowaaa_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_04_28_hunaax_cngaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_04_28_breafa_dbcafa_1 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_04_28_wisafx_qcsafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572

Tuesday's Daily Menu: We love typing Manatee Matinee All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Link here for the live audio choices - audio will no longer archive. For the Brevard County game specifically, click here for the Daytona Cubs feed. Nashville: RHP Tim Dillard at home vs. Iowa (Cubs), 10:45 AM pre-game; 11:00 gametime Huntsville: LHP David Welch at Chattanooga (Dodgers), 6:00 PM pre-game; 6:15 gametime Brevard County: RHP Evan Anundsen at Daytona (Cubs), 9:35 AM gametime Wisconsin: LHP Evan Frederickson at Quad Cities (Cardinals), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime

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From Sunday: Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Don Money From Monday: Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Outfielder Tony Gwynn

Final: Iowa (Cubs) 7, Nashville 3 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Mat Gamel photo, text follows -- Cubs Hit Four Homers To Sink Sounds, 7-3 NASHVILLE - The Iowa Cubs bested the Nashville Sounds by a 7-3 count in a slugfest that featured five home runs, four by the visitors, on Monday evening at Greer Stadium. Cubs first baseman Jake Fox belted two home runs to up his league-leading total to 11 roundtrippers on the year, while Sounds third sacker Mat Gamel smashed his team-leading seventh longball in the contest. Fox (29) and Gamel (25) ranked 1st and 2nd in the circuit in RBIs. Gamel got the evening's scoring going when he slugged his team-leading seventh home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning, an opposite-field, two-out solo shot to left-center off I-Cubs starter Randy Wells. AUDIO: Mat Gamel Homer Fox answered Gamel's shot with one of his own to lead off the second, belting a towering homer over the left field foul pole to even the contest at 1-1. The roundtripper off Sounds starter Nick Green was the PCL-leading 10th of the young season for Fox, who paces the circuit in several offensive categories. Nashville pulled back ahead by a run in the home half of the second when Hernan Iribarren singled with one out and later scored on a Carlos Corporan RBI single to right. The Sounds extended the lead to 3-1 in the third on Brendan Katin's two-out RBI single, which plated Tony Gwynn, who singled earlier in the frame and has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 contests. The visiting Cubs used the longball to tie things up once again in the fourth when left fielder Doug Deeds belted his first home run of the year, a two-run shot to left. Bobby Scales, who singled off Green to open the inning, also scored on the blast, which made it a 3-3 contest. Fox gave the Cubs their first lead of the evening in the top of the sixth when he clubbed his second homer of the night off Green, an impressive opposite-field shot to right into the wind. Brad Snyder provided three insurance runs for Iowa in the top of the eighth when he closed out the evening's scoring with a three-run bomb off Sounds reliever Chris Narveson, his fifth tater of the year which brought the score to its final 7-3. Wells (3-0) earned the win for the I-Cubs with a quality start. He allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out seven over six innings. Green (1-2) took the loss for Nashville after allowing four runs on eight hits in six innings of work. He struck out five batters and walked none. The teams wrap up the series with an 11:00 AM finale on Tuesday morning, which will be attended by thousands of area schoolchildren as a reward for reaching their goals in the popular Sounds Reading Club program. Right-hander Tim Dillard (3-0, 1.59) will look for his fourth victory in four starts this season when he takes the hill to face Iowa southpaw J.R. Mathes (3-1, 3.75). Nashville Box Score Tony Gwynn on base three times; 40-man roster first baseman Joe Koshansky (.155) with 21 K's in 58 AB's -- with Brad Nelson struggling so, including an ugly bases-loaded strikeout Monday night, Koshansky is not making his own case... Nashville Game Log Carlos Corporan thrown out at home from center field to end the 4th; Alcides Escobar now with ten steals, taking 2nd and 3rd base (both with two outs) in the 5th...

Final: Chattanooga (Dodgers) 6, Huntsville 3 Huntsville Site Game Summary Stars' Win String Snapped Rally in Ninth Falls Short By Brett Pollock / MiLB.com Josh Lindblom worked five impressive innings and benefited from a six-run explosion in the second inning that carried Chattanooga to a 6-3 win Monday night n in the middle of a five-game set at AT&T Field. The Lookouts snapped an eight-game losing streak and lifted their record to 4-14, while the Stars had a four-game win streak snapped and fell to 10-8. The Stars remained in first place in the North Division, a half game ahead of the Tennessee Smokies, who fell at home to the Carolina Mudcats. The Lookouts, entering the game with a .231 team batting average and having scored the second fewest amount of runs of any team in the league, posted all of their runs on seven hits in the second inning. Russ Mitchell drove in the first run with a single after a Josh Bell triple and then came into score on a home run by Lucas May, who broke an 0-for-17 drought with his second long ball of the season. Lindblom kept the rally going with a two-out double and scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0. Justin Sellers would double in Adam Godwin and then come in to score to complete the rally on a double by Andrew Lambo that knocked starter Bobby Bramhall out of the game. The Stars southpaw suffered his second loss after recording just five outs. Lindblom tossed four scoreless innings before Donovan Hand doubled in Chris Errecart to get the Stars on the board and drive in the first run for the Stars' pitching staff. Hand tossed 4 1/3 shutout innings in relief and was followed by Casey Baron, who threw two scoreless frames. Hand's outing was the longest by a Stars' reliever this season. The Dodgers' second round pick last year allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and fanned four in his third five-inning start of the season. Lindblom earned the victory to square his record at 2-2, with both wins coming at home. Carmen Cali worked three shutout innings behind Lindblom, retiring the last eight hitters he faced before Jacobo Meque took over in the ninth. The left-hander walked the bases loaded with one out before striking out Errecart for the second out. Shane Justis, in his first pinch-hit appearance of the year, singled in two runs and knocked Meque out of the game. Victor Garate came on to strike out Freddy Parejo to end the game and earn his second save. The series continues Tuesday night with southpaw David Welch making the start for the Stars against Lookouts' right-hander Francisco Felix. Coverage of the game begins at 6:00 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score As in Brevard, the bullpen kept it close; Donovan Hand effective with groundball outs as usual; Chris Cody's early season dominance is highlighted even further when compared to the struggles of fellow southpaws Bobby Bramhall and David Welch... Huntsville Game Log

Final: Daytona (Cubs) 4, Brevard County 2 Brevard County Site Game Summary Cubs Sneak Past Manatees, 4-2 By Tyler Stover / Brevard County Manatees Brevard County continued to struggle against their rivals, losing to Daytona on Monday night, 4-2. The Manatees are now 1-4 against the Cubs and 10-2 against the rest of the league. The Cubs took the lead early, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings off Manatees' starter Lucas Luetge (1-1). The Manatees threatened several times late in the game, but could not complete the comeback, largely due to the spectacular defense by the Daytona infield. Ryan Searle (2-1) earned the win for Daytona, pitching five scoreless innings. The Cubs bullpen struggled at times, but held on to preserve the victory. David Cales pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save. The Brevard County offense struggled most of the night, only managing six hits. Eric Farris was the lone bright spot, going 2-4 with a run batted in and two stolen bases. The Manatees head to Daytona for yet another morning battle on Tuesday. Evan Anundsen (1-2, 2.25 ERA) will look to turn things around in the rivalry, facing off against Craig Muschko (1-1, 6.35 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 10:35 AM (9:35 Central). Brevard County Box Score Steffan Wilson returned in a pinch-hitting role; Zelous Wheeler in a rough stretch, 1-for-20 in his last six games; Lee Haydel (.295, but only two extra-base hits in 61 AB's) certainly not your prototypical # 5 hitter; RHP John Axford and LHP Rafael Lluberes combined for five innings of near-spotless relief... Brevard County Game Log Two Cub runs in the 1st without a base hit, then five consecutive singles to open the Cub 2nd before Lucas Luetge limited the damage stranding the bases loaded, retiring the final three batters of the inning -- he also survived a one-out triple in the 3rd, such an odd start... Lucas Luetge recovered nicely from a rough start, but the Brevard County offense never got rolling Monday night. (MiLB.com photo by Dennis Greenblatt) http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2009/04/27/aFvzsJjP.jpg

MiLB.com is now showing LHP Lucas Luetge as tonight's Brevard County starter.

From Saturday: John Delaney started the game in left field, he grounded out to lead off the 3rd inning, and then was replaced in left in the bottom of the inning -- hopefully just a tweak... Delaney hasn't played since. Also, we'll see if Steffan Wilson plays tonight for the 'Tees, he did not play Sunday after leaving Saturday's game.

Final, Game Two: Quad Cities (Cardinals) 17, Wisconsin 7 Wisconsin Site Game Two Summary: RIVER BANDITS ROUT RATTLERS FOR TWINBILL SWEEP DAVENPORT, IA - The Quad Cities River Bandits scored early and often on their way to a 17- victory over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the second game of a doubleheader on Monday at Modern Woodmen Park. Charles Cutler led the way with a grand slam. Wisconsin (7-9) grabbed the early lead with a two-out RBI single by Brock Kjeldgaard in the top of the first. But, the River Bandits (9-7) jumped on Rattler starting pitcher Cody Scarpetta right away in the bottom of the first inning. Brett Lilley was hit by the first pitch from the Rattler starter. Niko Vasquez doubled and Chris Swauger walked to load the bases. Then, Scarpetta walked Jon Edwards to force in a run and allow the Bandits to tie the game. Cutler was next and he singled in a run. Scarpetta got the next batter with a strikeout, but Ryde Rodriguez singled to make the score 3-1. An error by Kjeldgaard on a grounder off the bat of Alex Castellanos allowed two more runs to score. Before he left the game, Scarpetta would balk in one more run. Wisconsin got a run back in the top of the second inning. Michael Vass doubled and took third on an error. A sacrifice fly by Edgar Trejo drove home Vass to make the score 6-2. Quad Cities added two runs in the second inning against Rattler reliever Garrett Sherrill on a two run single by Brian Buck. The Rattlers got a pair of runs in the third to make the score 8-4. Michael Marseco scored from second when third baseman Domnit Bolivar threw the ball away on a play to first. Brett Lawrie was next and he smacked a run scoring single to right. But, the Bandits scored another three runs in the bottom of the third. Jon Edwards hit a solo homer and Brian Buck was up later in the inning knocked in a pair of runs with a bases loaded single to make the score 11-4. Then, it was Wisconsin's turn to bat. A two-out walk to Sean McCraw was followed by a single by Marseco. A throwing error on a Dykstra ground ball to short allowed McCraw to score. Later in the inning, Lawrie singled home two more runs and the Rattlers were within 11-7. Then, the River Bandits went back to the plate to put the game out of reach. The first three batters of the bottom of the fourth inning reached on an error, a single, and a walk to load the bases for Cutler. The Quad Cities catcher lifted a deep fly ball to right that easily cleared the fence for a grand slam and a 15-7 lead. Bolivar followed with a homer to left-center to make it 16-7. A three-base error on a dropped fly ball and an RBI grounder by Swauger pushed the score to 17-7. The final game of the series is Tuesday night. Evan Frederickson (1-0, 8.49) is the scheduled starter for the Timber Rattlers. Miguel Tapia (0-1, 5.40) is set to start for the River Bandits. Game time is 7:00 PM Wisconsin Game Two Box Score OK, a pitching nuggett -- RHP Liam Ohlmann finished with three innings allowing just one run, which was unearned; it's just not happening for undrafted RHP Kris Dabrowiecki -- it didn't in spring training, either -- based on box score lines we saw... Wisconsin Game Two Game Log If you dare...

Link Report Bonus: Economy helps Smokies' season soar Jim Matheny, WBIR.com, Knoxville General Managers throughout the Southern League say minor league baseball has benefited from cash-strapped families seeking inexpensive entertainment. After only six home games this season, attendance for the Tennessee Smokies has jumped by close to 5,000 compared to the same time last year. "We've been one of those businesses that's very lucky we are family friendly and at a very low cost for people," said Tennessee Smokies General Manager Brian Cox. "We've always kept our ticket prices low in addition to various promotions, but it really resonates with people this year." Smokies fan Angie Johnston attended Sunday's game with her husband and three children. "We choose to spend our money here. It's an economical way to have fun and to be together as a family," said Johnston. Cox said it is difficult to discern exactly how much to attribute the increase to the economy. The Smokies had one game postponed due to rain, but have enjoyed beautiful weather for most of their games thus far. "There's also a great deal of excitement when you have a hall of famer like Ryne Sandberg managing the team. Plus, the Cubs have a very large fan base nationally and we're benefitting from that affiliation," said Cox. Several other teams in the Southern League have reported huge jumps in revenue and attendance without the benefit of Ryne Sandberg or pristine weather. "Our game revenue is up 14.4% over the same amount of games last season," said Buck Rogers, General Manager for the Huntsville Stars. "We've even had tornado sirens interrupt games and 39 degree weather... but we're up across the board." "We actually expected this type of increase when the general managers in the league had our winter meeting," said Carolina Mudcats General Manager Joe Kremer. "We knew our low prices would put us in a position to attract people seeking a lot of bang for their buck. A ballgame is cheaper and allows more family interaction than going to the movies." Kremer said attendance for the Carolina Mudcats is up around 25 percent with crowds approaching "Fourth of July" levels. "People need to be entertained. And we're a very inexpensive alternative and I think that's what you're probably going to see this year," said Kremer. The West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx have tried to attract fans by increasing promotional giveaways and fireworks to every weekend this year. The Manager of Ticketing and Sales for the Diamond Jaxx, Andrew Lambert, said the strategy has allowed the team to capitalize on the economic climate with a 25 percent increase in attendance. "We have had great numbers over the first seven games," said Lambert. "It was discussed in today's game day meeting that this is our largest opening home stand since 2000."

Manatee Press Release: Gindl Named FSL Player of the Week (Viera, FL) Brevard County Manatees right fielder Caleb Gindl has been named the FSL Player of the Week for the period April 20-26. Gindl had an outstanding week, hitting .522 with two home runs and 11 runs batted in. He also drew three walks and stole a base. The left-handed slugger currently leads the Florida State League in batting average (.397), hits (23), and OPS (1.075). He is second in on-base average (.455) and slugging percentage (.621), and third in RBI (16). His strong week at the plate lifted the Manatees to a 5-1 record on their road trip, and they are now sitting on top of the FSL North at 11-5. Gindl, 20, hails from Pensacola, FL, and now resides in nearby Pace. He was named to the postseason all-star team in each of his first two seasons, first for the Pioneer League in 2007, and then in the South Atlantic League in 2008. Gindl was selected by Milwaukee in the 5th round as the 161st overall pick in the 2007 draft. So now we know why 2009 is even more special for Caleb -- home cooking!

Final, Game One: Quad Cities (Cardinals) 4, Wisconsin 2 Wisconsin Site Game One Summary River Bandits take game one By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers DAVENPORT, IA - The Quad Cities River Bandits scored three times in the bottom of the third inning to rally to a 4-2 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in game one of a doubleheader on Monday afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park. Brett Lilley drove in the final two runs of the fifth inning to give the Bandits their winning margin. The first two Quad Cities batters reached on singles against Timber Rattler starting pitcher Trey Watten. The Rattler righty looked like he would get out of the inning with a fielder's choice and a strikeout. But, a passed ball allowed a run to score and the Rattlers (7-8) found themselves down 1-0. Wisconsin got the game back to even in the top of the third. Michael Marseco doubled with one out. A two-out, RBI single to left by Juan Sanchez sent Marseco home with the tying run. Erik Miller and Corey Kemp combined to put the Rattlers in front in the top of the fourth. Miller singled with one out. Then, Kemp doubled to left. Rattler manager Jeff Isom waved Miller all the way, but the relay throw to the plate beat Miller. The Rattler outfielder lowered his shoulder into River Bandit catcher Roberto Espinoza and jarred the ball loose to score the run for a 2-1 lead. Watten settled in after the first inning, but ran into trouble in the fifth. He walked the first two batters. The Rattler defense was playing for the sacrifice bunt, but Ryde Rodriguez swung away and bounced a double over the head of Edgar Trejo at third base to drive in a run. One out later, Lilley doubled to left-center and two runs scored for a 4-2 lead. Casey Mulligan pitched a scoreless seventh for his fourth save. Wisconsin Game One Box Score Left field seems to be more like a team platoon spot, almost like a second DH to get guys at-bats -- Juan Sanchez played there today; big (6'4", 230) lefty Brandon Ritchie has maintained his 0.00 ERA through six quick stints; just four base hits, one a double... Wisconsin Game One Game Log

We may never know the details, but Baseball America now indicates that RHP Pedro Lambertus was placed on the suspended list.

I'm sure the affiliates will have press releases later on, but congratulations to Southern League Pitcher of the Week Chris Cody and Florida State League Player of the Week Caleb Gindl.

Link while active, text follows: No homecoming for Sherrard grad Adams By Steve Batterson, Quad City Times Cody Adams won't get the chance to pitch for visiting Wisconsin during its series against the Quad-Cities River Bandits. He can live with his consolation prize, however. The Sherrard grad took the mound for the Timber Rattlers on Friday at Milwaukee's Miller Park, working three innings of relief in Wisconsin's 5-3 win over Peoria. A crowd of 17,880 watched Adams and his teammates make the most of a one-night taste of life in the big leagues. "If I can't pitch here, that's not a bad trade-off," said Adams, a second-round pick of the Brewers in the 2008 draft out of Southern Illinois who is 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA in three Midwest League appearances this season. "I really was looking forward to pitching here, kind of a second home field for me. I've never played on this field and I've had a lot of texts and emails from all sorts of people at home wondering if was going to happen," Adams said. "Growing up in a small town of 700 people, people are so supportive, and it would have been great to pitch here in front of them. We had a postponement that shuffled our rotation. It just didn't work out this time." Instead, the 6-foot-2 right-hander from Viola, Ill., was able to tell family and friends who attended Wisconsin's weekend games with the River Bandits about what it was like to work off of a major-league mound. "The atmosphere was incredible. To be out there, with so many fans rooting for you, it was great," he said. "I was pumped from the minute we got to the park and it's good to get a taste of what we're all working toward. Once I got out there, though, it was just about playing the game. It's still 60 feet, 6 inches (from the mound to the plate) and 90 feet between the bases." Those are the numbers Adams continues to focus on 11 innings into his first full season in the Milwaukee organization. Adams struck out 11 batters and walked five in his role in the Timber Rattlers' tandem system, rotating between starting and relief roles for the first time in his career. "The preparation has been different, switching back and forth," he said. "To me, it's easier to do one thing, which is what I've done up until now. I know they do it to try to save wear on arms, but it has been different." The results have been steady, however. "I feel pretty good about the start I've had," Adams said. "My off-speed pitches are working, my sinker has been good to me and my strikeouts are up and my walks are down so I'm happy with that. It's something to build on."