Jim Goulart

Final: Nashville 8, Fresno (Giants) 3 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- Sounds Sweep Away Grizzlies With 8-3 Victory FRESNO, Calif. - The Nashville Sounds wrapped up their first series sweep of the 2008 season with an 8-3 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies on Wednesday evening at Chukchansi Park in the finale of an eight-game road trip. Nashville (48-70) extended its longest winning streak of the year to four games and finished its West Coast road trip with a 6-2 record. The Sounds' 6-7-8 hitters did the majority of the damage in the contest. Adam Heether, Chris Woodward, and Vinny Rottino combined to go 9-for-15 with six RBIs and three runs scored on the evening. Fresno took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Travis Ishikawa led off the frame with a solo homer against Sounds starter Mark DiFelice, his 14th roundtripper of the year. The Grizzlies doubled their advantage later in the inning on Guillermo Rodriguez's two-out RBI single. The Sounds got a run back in the fifth when Heether singled with one out and Woodward followed with an RBI double to center off Fresno starter Pat Misch. Nashville grabbed a 5-2 lead in the top of the sixth with a four-run rally against Misch. Joe Dillon drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a Jay Gibbons single, and scored the tying run on Heether's two-out single to right. Woodward struck again for Nashville when he gave the visitors a one-run lead with a go-ahead RBI single to left that plated Gibbons. Rottino gave the Sounds some breathing room when he followed with a two-run double to center but was thrown out trying to reach third on the play to end the inning. AUDIO: Vinny Rottino Two-Run Double The Grizzlies plated a run in the bottom of the frame to pull within 5-3 when Ishikawa led off with a double and scored on Scott McClain's single. The Sounds extended the lead to 6-3 in the seventh when Tony Gwynn doubled and later scored on Gibbons' two-out RBI single off Misch. Nashville tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth against Grizzlies reliever Victor Santos. After the first two batters of the inning were retired, Callix Crabbe drew a walk then scored when Laynce Nix followed with a triple to center. Heether added an RBI single to make it an 8-3 contest. DiFelice (5-1) turned in a quality start to pick up the victory for the Sounds, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out five batters over six innings of work. Erasmo Ramirez followed DiFelice with a pair of scoreless innings before Joe Bateman took the hill and worked the ninth for Nashville. Misch (6-4) took the loss for Fresno after giving up six runs on 10 hits in his 6 2/3 frames of action. After joining the entire Pacific Coast League for an off day on Thursday, the Sounds open an eight-day, nine-game homestand on Friday evening against the division-rival Omaha Royals. Left-hander Lindsay Gulin (5-5, 3.64) will man the bump for Nashville in Friday's 7 p.m. series opener to face Royals right-hander Brandon Duckworth (3-11, 4.97). Nashville Box Score There's no reason not to keep Mark DeFelice on the 40-man all winter into next spring training... Nashville Game Log

Josh Butler only went one inning, so he must be working his way back from some sort of ailment. Did you check out Mr. Clutch, Gabe Gross, in Tampa today? Not debating the actual move of Gabe, just happy for the guy...

First-hand account from Charleston at BCB Thanks for the report -- hooray Pedro Lambertus! Evan Frederickson worried me from the moment I read the first scouting report on him weeks ago...

Great news for former Brewer farmhand and UW-Milwaukee product OF Mike Goetz, signed out of indy ball by the Pirates

Baseball America indicates additional 60-day transaction moves at the rookie levels. Catcher Brett Whiteside is sidelined with two broken fingers on his left hand. We haven't seen 19-year-old Canadian RHP Travis Nevakshonoff all season -- apparently, he's rehabbing a sprained elbow ligament, we believe he's going to avoid surgery. RHP Chad Robinson remains on the 60-day DL after shoulder surgery. Another Canadian, OF Ryan Jensen, technically on the organization's restricted list, is apparently rehabbing an elbow ligament strain of his own north of the border.

Adam McCalvy ran with our Jeffress update and also provides the following we didn't have earlier -- Outfielder Cutter Dykstra, one of the Brewers' two second-round picks, was moved from the entry-level Arizona Brewers to rookie Helena. He took the spot vacated by power-hitting outfielder Mike Vass, the team's 35th round selection, who was bumped from rookie Helena to low Class A West Virginia after hitting .242 with seven home runs and 28 RBIs in 43 games in the Pioneer League. It appears that West Virginia is one over their active limit of 25, and we should hear about some type of move by mid-day Thursday.

Arizona League Standings

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 69 49 .585 - 42-22 27-27 W1 Memphis 64 53 .547 4.5 30-25 34-28 W1 Omaha 51 67 .432 18.0 24-35 27-32 L3 Nashville 47 70 .402 21.5 21-33 26-37 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 28 17 .622 - 14-6 14-11 W4 Tennessee 23 22 .511 5.0 11-14 12-8 L4 Huntsville 21 24 .467 7.0 11-14 10-10 W1 West Tenn 18 26 .409 9.5 6-13 12-13 L1 Chattanooga 18 27 .400 10.0 8-12 10-15 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 25 16 .610 - 15-6 10-10 L1 Jupiter 24 18 .571 1.5 12-9 12-9 W5 St. Lucie 22 18 .550 2.5 11-8 11-10 L1 Palm Beach 21 22 .488 5.0 13-9 8-13 W1 Brevard County 18 24 .429 7.5 9-12 9-12 W1 Vero Beach 14 30 .318 12.5 6-15 8-15 L7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 30 15 .667 - 16-6 14-9 L1 Lakewood 28 17 .622 2.0 14-8 14-9 L1 Delmarva 25 20 .556 5.0 10-12 15-8 W1 Hagerstown 20 25 .444 10.0 9-14 11-11 L1 Lake County 19 26 .422 11.0 10-13 9-13 L2 Lexington 18 26 .409 11.5 9-14 9-12 W2 Greensboro 17 28 .378 13.0 9-13 8-15 W1 Hickory 15 30 .333 15.0 4-17 11-13 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 8 1 .889 - 5-0 3-1 W2 Great Falls 4 5 .444 4.0 1-2 3-3 W1 Helena 3 6 .333 5.0 1-4 2-2 L2 Missoula 3 6 .333 5.0 3-2 0-4 L1

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated several hours prior to gametime. Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

Follow Wednesday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, 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. Nashville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_06_nasaaa_freaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_06_hunaax_wtdaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_06_breafa_vbdafa_1

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times Central except Arizona League; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Mark DiFelice at Fresno (Giants), 8:50 PM pre-game; 9:05 gametime Audio link via WNSR, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t556 Huntsville: RHP Nic Ungs at West Tenn (Mariners), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Audio link via WUMP, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559 Brevard County: RHP Josh Butler makes his first appearance since July 10th at Vero Beach (Rays), 6:00 PM gametime Audio link via Vero Beach broadcast, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?cid=503&sid=t503 West Virginia: Idle Helena: Idle Arizona: Idle

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

Welcome to AA, Jeremy Jeffress -- the kid has been promoted to Huntsville from high-A Brevard County. As speculated elsewhere on this forum, this could be part of a plan to get Jeffress to qualify for placement in the Arizona Fall League. More big news, as LHP Zach Braddock, on the DL since July 17th, has been activated for the Manatees. Catcher Anderson DeLaRosa continues his whirlwind tour of the mid-level Brewer affiliates, as he's transferred to Brevard from Huntsville. This is a pre-cursor to Angel Salome being activated off the Stars' DL later today. To make room at Brevard, LHP Mike Ramlow is transferred from the Manatees to the open position at West Virginia. That is strictly a numbers move, as Ramlow had pitched well in four outings at B.C. before a recent tough outing vs. Daytona. Ramlow had been in Brevard since mid-July.

Link while active, text follows: Power welcomes day off after falling to Delmarva Manager Jeff Isom says team needs a break as it is poised for SAL pennant race by Christopher Wade For the Charleston Daily Mail With West Virginia clinging to a two-game Northern Division lead over second-place Lakewood and a South Atlantic League baseball playoff berth on the line, the Power officially is entering the stretch run. After playing games for 12 straight days and enduring a pair of long road trips since mid-July, the Power (30-15) gets a much needed off day today. With 25 games left in the second half, the Power play 20 straight days starting Thursday, and Manager Jeff Isom hopes the players enjoy a rare relaxing day off before facing the brutal stretch. The day off might have been even better had it not been for a 4-3 loss to the Delmarva Shorebirds on Tuesday night at Appalachian Power Park before a crowd of 2,092. The Power squandered many opportunities for victory. "It was unfortunate but tomorrow (Wednesday) is a well needed off day, there's no question about it," Isom said. "We need to get rested up because it's a big series coming up on Thursday. "Every team is in the same boat as we are at this point. It's the dog days of summer. We have less than 30 games to go. It wears on you mentally and physically." Isom and the rest of the staff have tried to get the players prepared for such a situation all season long, and said his team is ready for the crucial stretch drive. "We talked about it early on in the season," Isom said. "It's a good time to get yourself prepared -- getting your sleep, eating the right food, and all those important things." As for the day off today, Isom doesn't care what his players do but hopes they, along with himself and the rest of the coaches, try to take their mind off baseball and the playoff push for at least a day. "We can do what we need and want to do, like go fishing," Isom said. "Some of us will go fishing and golfing. It's nice just to relax and not have a game. I am anxious about the next series though (starting Thursday night at home against Hickory)." The players themselves are very much looking forward to the off day but also know the importance of the remaining games starting Thursday as the Milwaukee farm team tries to reach the postseason for back-to-back seasons. "We will definitely enjoy our off day," Power left fielder Lee Haydel said. "We will rest up and get ready for the home stretch. We have to rest up and get ready for that." The Power had every opportunity to go into the off day on a high note against the Shorebirds, but unlike most of the second half when the offense has led the way, West Virginia couldn't get the big hit against Delmarva. The team had nine hits -- two apiece by Haydel and Eric Farris -- but left seven runners on base and squandered several crucial chances midway through the game. After the Power scored three runs in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead, Delmarva responded with a run in the third and two runs in the fourth to take the lead they would not relinquish. "We had tons of opportunities there in the middle innings, and had a good chance to win," Isom said. "You can't rely on the offense every night. We let the lead go and couldn't do anything offensively the rest of the way unfortunately." In the fourth inning, the Power had a runner thrown out caught stealing and Haydel was thrown out at second trying to turn a single into a double. One inning later, the Power had its best scoring opportunity after loading the bases with one out when center fielder Caleb Gindl hit a line drive shot up the middle. However, Delmarva pitcher Nathan Nery snared the hot shot and doubled off Steffan Wilson from first base to end the threat. The sixth and seventh innings also saw the Power have a runner on second base with no outs and one out, respectively, but both times it couldn't get the runner home or even to third. "We just couldn't get the runs when we needed them," Haydel said. "It's a tough loss. We just have to move on and get the next series. We didn't get a timely hit. That's baseball and it was just one of those days."

Final: Nashville 5, Fresno (Giants) 4, ten innings Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Joe Dillon photo, text follows -- Sounds Beat Fresno Again In Extras, 5-4 FRESNO, Calif. - The Nashville Sounds recorded their second straight extra-inning win on Tuesday evening at Chukchansi Park, besting the Fresno Grizzlies by a 5-4 count in 10 innings. With the win, Nashville (47-70) secured its third winning road trip of the year and extended its current winning streak to three games, matching the club's longest effort of the season. Hernan Iribarren opened the tenth with a single off Grizzlies reliever Dan Griffin and moved to second when Callix Crabbe walked. After Ryan Sadowski took over on the hill for Fresno, Tony Gwynn legged out a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Joe Dillon followed with a go-ahead sacrifice fly to center that plated Iribarren for a 4-3 Nashville lead. After a strikeout by pinch-hitter Jay Gibbons and an intentional walk issued to Laynce Nix that reloaded the bases, Sadowski hit Adam Heether with a pitch to force home Crabbe to increase the advantage to 5-3. Randy Choate took the hill in the bottom of the tenth for the Sounds and allowed a leadoff single to Travis Ishikawa. Catcher Vinny Rottino threw the Fresno first baseman out as he attempted to steal second, which turned out to be a very important play. Scott McClain followed with a solo homer to left, his 23rd roundtripper of the year, which pulled the Grizzlies within 5-4. Justin Leone followed with a double that put the potential tying run in scoring position with only one out. Choate induced a groundout from Ben Copeland then a game-ending popout from pinch-hitter Guillermo Rodriguez to secure the win and lock down his second save. Mitch Stetter (1-3) was awarded his first win for Nashville following one scoreless inning of relief work, while Griffin (0-1) was dealt the loss for Fresno after being charged with two runs in his one-plus inning of action. The extra-inning contest was the 13th of the year (5-8) and fifth in the last 12 games for Nashville. Fresno took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Sounds starter Chris Narveson. McClain plated Clay Timpner with an RBI groundout before Leone delivered a two-out run-scoring double to left. The teams exchanged runs in the second. Nix led off the second with a double and scored on Chris Woodward's RBI single to halve the lead to 2-1 before ex-Sound Steve Hammond helped his own cause in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double that brought home Brian Horwitz for a 3-1 Grizzlies lead. Narveson worked out of further damage in the frame after Fresno loaded the bases with one out, inducing consecutive popouts from Ishikawa and McClain. The Sounds tied the contest in the third with a pair of runs off Hammond. Crabbe led off with a single against Hammond then scored when Gwynn followed with a triple to right, bring the score to 3-2. Two batters later, Brad Nelson knotted the score with an RBI infield single. Neither team scored again until the decisive tenth inning. The teams wrap up the series with a 9:05 p.m. CT finale on Wednesday evening. Right-hander Mark DiFelice (4-1, 3.53) will take the hill for the Sounds to face Fresno southpaw Pat Misch (6-3, 5.35). Nashville Box Score Callix Crabbe and Tony Gwynn each reached three times at the top of the order; Steve Hammond acquitted himself well after a shaky start... Nashville Game Log

Link while active, text follows: Slumping Gamel tries to shake off head games Once the hottest hitter in Double-A, he's fighting a second-half letdown By BRAD SHEPARD For The Huntsville Times For Mat Gamel, a game that started so promising Tuesday night ended with personal disappointment. The Huntsville Stars third baseman hopes his season doesn't follow suit. After stroking a solid single in the first inning of a 4-2 win over Mississippi, Gamel left three runners in scoring position with swinging strikeouts his next two at-bats before finishing 1-for-4. He also made two errors. Though the hit was encouraging, Gamel will have to wait until another night to break out of a colossal slump that has him scratching his head. Since July 1, he is hitting .227 and his batting average has fallen 43 points to .341. He still leads the league in hitting by one percentage point over teammate Angel Salome, but it doesn't feel like it to him. "It's all pitch recognition," Gamel said. "You just start thinking about it too much, and it gets in your head and makes the problems worse. "If you know how to get out of it, please tell me." Two at-bats in the past two nights exemplify the MLB Futures Game participant's struggles. On Monday, Gamel worked a count to 2-and-0 - a prime situation for hitters - but rather than zeroing in on a fastball, he looked fooled. Instead of hitting it hard in play, the left-handed Gamel got crossed up, swung late and sent a line-drive over the Huntsville third base-side dugout. "That's just not a 2-0 swing," Stars manager Don Money said. "He's swinging at fastballs when he's looking for curve balls and swinging at curve balls when he's looking for fastballs. It's the classic slump." Then with Gamel at the plate on Tuesday, Money sent Alcides Escobar from first on a hit-and-run. Rather than stay on the outside pitch, Money said Gamel opened his stance on the curve ball and bailed on the pitch. "Right now, he has got to look himself in the mirror and say something's got to change," Money said. "He hit .240 for the month (of July). You're the big gun. You've got to step up." During Gamel's slump, the Stars have gone 14-18 after starting the year 48-35. With all the injuries - specifically to the all-star trio of Michael Brantley, Chris Errecart and Salome - and the trade of Matt LaPorta, it is unfair to blame the team's second-half struggles on Gamel. But his prolonged slump hasn't helped matters. At times, the hitter who was so locked in early in the year has looked lost at the plate. During his past 31 games, Gamel has struck out 34 times after whiffing just 60 times in his first 70 games. Still, Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash doesn't seem alarmed. "He's still a good player, and probably the league is just making some adjustments," he said. "They try to pitch around him and don't give him anything to hit - or that's what I saw when I was there. He just has to be patient. "Young players go through this sometimes." This drought has been going on for six weeks, however, and there aren't any solid signs that Gamel is breaking out of it any time soon. A deeper look at his numbers doesn't make things better. He hit .243 in July with one home run, 12 RBIs and just eight extra-base hits. In August those numbers have fallen to .125 (2-for-16) with no homers or RBIs. Since the All-Star break, the Jacksonville, Fla., native is hitting .157, and he finished the recent 10-game homestand with only three hits. Gamel said he is over-analyzing every at-bat, and he just has to find a way to snap out of it. "I've been through it before at the start of last year," said Gamel, who wound up the season at Brevard County hitting .300. "It's something everybody goes through at some point, I think. I just have to keep working. It's part of the game. You're not going to be perfect and go 2-for-4 every single game."

Huntsville Times: Stars win 4-2 Recently promoted pitcher Alex Periard put a miserable outing his last time out behind him and tossed six strong innings to get the win for Huntsville. The Stars' big blow came in the sixth when first baseman Chris Errecart belted the game-winning home run off Paul Bush to give Huntsville a series victory over South Division leader Mississippi and send them on the road on a good note. "This last week, I think I've put too much pressure on myself," Errecart said. "The last couple of games, I'd started getting down on myself. Hitting that home run felt like 1,000 pounds had been taken off my back. This is a great win." Manager Don Money said Angel Salome will return from the disabled list today.

Link while active, text follows: Power (for once) can't capitalize By Tommy R. Atkinson Charleston Gazette Staff writer CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Nowadays, West Virginia Power manager Jeff Isom is just as surprised as most fans when the team fails to come through in clutch situations. Tuesday was one of those rare nights when the Power failed to produce and lost to the Delmarva (Md.) Shorebirds 4-3 in a South Atlantic League matchup. A paid crowd of 2,092 attended at Appalachian Power Park. The Power's lead over the second-place Lakewood (N.J.) BlueClaws remained at two games in the Northern Division. Tuesday night, the BlueClaws (28-17) lost at Greensboro 8-7 in 15 innings. After falling behind 4-3 in the fourth, the Power (30-15) had three straight innings with opportunities to either knot the game or take the lead and couldn't come through. "You can't rely on it every night,'' said Isom. "We had a couple of opportunities in the middle of the game. "We just couldn't come through with that big hit when we needed it. Little things cost us this ballgame, but I thought [Delmarva's] bullpen came in and did a very good job against us.'' West Virginia had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but Delmarva starting pitcher Nathan Nery gloved Caleb Gindl's line drive up the middle then threw to first base to double up Steffan Wilson to end the inning. The Power's Zelous Wheeler led off the sixth with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch but was left stranded. In the seventh, West Virginia's Logan Schafer singled with one out and stole second, but Eric Fryer flied out to the warning track and Wilson struck out. The Power went down in order in the eighth and ninth innings. Relievers Roque Mercedes and Corey Frerichs kept West Virginia in the game, shutting out Delmarva (25-20) on two hits in the final five innings. Power starter Evan Anundesen (10-5) took the loss, surrendering four earned runs on seven hits in four innings. Shorebirds relievers Cliff Flagello and Mick Mattaliano, who earned his 27th save, blanked the Power in the final four innings, giving up just a single. West Virginia took a 3-1 lead in the second inning on three straight run-scoring singles with two outs. Delmarva turned the tables on the Power, scoring three runs with two outs in the third and fourth innings to take a 4-3 edge. Joe Mahoney's two-out RBI single gave the Shorebirds the lead for good at 4-3 in the fourth. For the most part during the season's second half, the Power has been finding ways to win. West Virginia rallied from an 8-0 deficit Saturday to beat Delmarva, and the Power rallied to take a 9-4 victory over the Shorebirds Monday. "It's been somebody different every night,'' Isom said. "That's what we've been doing this whole second half. We get a couple guys on and somebody was coming up with a big hit. It's going to happen where it doesn't happen.'' Power points Delmarva catcher Brendan Monaghan fell over the railing in front of the Power dugout chasing a foul pop and went head over heels. Luckily, several West Virginia coaches and players were on hand to catch Monaghan, who was upside down for a few moments ... Eric Farris and Lee Haydel were the only Power players with multiple hits, pounding out two apiece ... The teams combined for 18 hits, all singles ... Fryer extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the first ...The Power is off today before beginning a four-game home series against Hickory at 7:05 PM Thursday (6:05 Central). Evan Anundsen Photo

Link while active, text follows: Brewers left stranded By CURT SYNNESS - Helena Independent Record Twelve men left on base. That was the Helena Brewers' major issue at Kindrick Legion Field Tuesday, as the home team lost to the Billings Mustangs, 7-5. The Mustangs, who improved to 31-16 overall and lead the Northern Division with an 8-1 second-half record, were led by the pitching of starter Andrew Bowman, and the bats of Carlos Mendez and Byron Wiley. The left-handed throwing Bowman posted the win, working five innings and giving up three hits and one run, while striking out six. Randall Linebaugh pitched the ninth frame to collect the save. Wiley went 2-for-4, with a double and an RBI, and Mendez drove in two runs, stroking a single and a two-bagger. Jordan Wideman was 2-for-3. The visitors outhit Helena 9-6 and left eight runners stranded, four fewer than the Capital City group. The Brewers were down 7-1 after 7 1/2 innings, but showed some grit by rallying for three runs in the seventh stanza and one in the eighth to get within two. Their big inning was the seventh, when Chris Dennis and Corey Kemp walked. With men on first and second and two out, Mike Vass put a charge into a 2-2 pitch, driving it well over the wall in left-center for a three-run homer. The ball traveled an estimated 400 feet, bouncing off the scoreboard and eliciting a booming cheer from the crowd of 1,300. Vass finished the game with a pair of base knocks. The Brew Crew's two tallies in the first and the eighth frames were produced by John Delaney, Dennis, Brock Kjeldgaard, Jose Duran and Erik Miller. The locals twice ended innings with the bases loaded, in the sixth and eighth frames. Rico Salmon started on the bump and went 4.1 innings while being tabbed with the defeat. He was relieved by Nick Tyson and Garrett Sherrill. The Brewers fell to 3-6 for the second half, and 23-24 overall. They next take to the road, facing the Orem Owlz in Utah on Thursday. Photos by Lisa Kunkel Helena IR staff photographer - Helena Brewers' Rico Salmon throws a pitch during the second inning of Tuesday night's game against Billings at Kindrick Legion Field. Salmon struck out two batters during the inning. http://www.helenair.com/content/articles/2008/08/06/sports/top/50spl_080806_brewers.jpg Helena Brewers' Michael Vass swings at a pitch during Tuesday night's game against Billings at Kindrick Legion Field. http://images.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/articles/2008/08/06/sports/top/50spl_080806_brewers-2.jpg

In Team USA's first exhibition game Friday, Matt LaPorta homered, but the Americans lost to Canada 4-3 in 10 innings. Darren Ford a single in five AB's.

Omar Aguilar is a California kid, and he was a star in Hawaii last fall.

Helena Pre-Game Audio Interview with RHP Garrett Sherrill Click on the KCAP archive of August 5th, then browse to the 16:00 minute mark; discusses the movement on his pitches among other topics; mentioned that RHP Rolando Pascual had to "go home"...

You must have missed this from the Link Report from this past Friday. To find it I used the "Search Forum" function here at Brewerfan. Helena Pre-Game Interview with 4th round LHP Josh Romanski, out initially with elbow soreness, but now out due to a groin injury Click on the KCAP archive of August 1st, then browse to the 15:00 minute mark

Helena Site: Brewers' Comeback Falls Short Again For the second night in a row, the Helena Brewers tried to make a late-inning comeback but couldn't quite get it done. The Billings Mustangs downed the Brewers 7-5 as they led from the fourth inning on, scoring in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Helena came back with three runs in the seventh and one in the eighth but couldn't quite catch the division leading Mustangs. Michael Vass had a home run and a double and Brock Kjeldgaard also had a double for Helena. Rico Salmon picks up his first loss of the season, giving up five runs in 4.1 innings. He struck out four Mustang hitters while walking five and surrendered three hits. Andrew Bowman picks up his second win of the season as he only gave up one run on three hits and struck out six Brewers. Randall Linebaugh collected his fourth save of the season as he shut down the Brewers in the bottom of the ninth, striking out two. The Brewers drop to 23-24 on the season and 3-5 in the second half. The Mustangs improve to 31-16 and 7-1 in the second half as they take 3-out-of-4 from Helena.

Final: Arizona Brewers 6, Arizona Cubs 4 Cubs lose! Cubs lose! Arizona Box Score 17-year-old Hitaniel Arias needed this as a confidence-booster -- double, two singles, HBP; Seth Lintz among the moundsmen... Arizona Game Log