Jim Goulart

Final: Nashville 13, Fresno (Giants) 10, 11 innings Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Jay Gibbons photo, text follows -- FRESNO, Calif. - Jay Gibbons belted a go-ahead solo home run to key a five-run 11th inning in the Nashville Sounds' 13-10 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies on Monday evening at Chukchansi Park. Gibbons' blast, which came on a 1-0 offering from Fresno reliever Kevin Gryboski to lead off the frame, was his first longball since joining the Sounds and capped off his 3-for-7 evening. The veteran has hit safely in seven of his initial nine games with Nashville at a .282 clip. The Sounds, who sent 10 batters to the plate in the decisive 11th inning, added four more runs off Gryboski to pull comfortably ahead. J.R. Hopf, Hernan Iribarren, and pitcher Tim Dillard all delivered RBI singles before Tony Gwynn pushed across the final run with a groundout. Fresno didn't go down without a fight, scoring a pair of runs against Dillard in the bottom of the frame on former Brewer farmhand Eliezer Alfonzo's RBI double, his third two-bagger of the evening, and an Eli Whiteside double play grounder. The extra-inning contest was the 12th of the year (4-8) and fourth in the last 11 games for Nashville, which registered a season-best 20 hits on the evening. Dillard (6-0) pulled into a tie for the team lead when he picked up his sixth win of the year - all in relief - despite giving up a pair of runs on three hits in two innings of work for the Sounds. Gryboski (2-5) was dealt the loss for Fresno after being touched for five runs on five hits in his 1 1/3 innings. Extra frames were necessary after Fresno rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning against Sounds closer Luis Pena, who suffered his fifth blown save of the year and his third in his last eight outings. The Sounds got out of the gate quickly, plating three first-inning runs against Fresno starter Brad Hennessey. With one out, Gibbons doubled and Joe Dillon (4-for-5) walked before team RBI leader Brad Nelson put the visitors on the board with a run-scoring single to center. Laynce Nix followed with an RBI single of his own before Chris Woodward added a sacrifice fly later in the frame to make it a 3-0 contest. Fresno responded in the home half of the frame, making it a 3-1 games with back-to-back one-out doubles off the bats of Travis Denker and Justin Leone against Sounds starter Sam Narron. The Grizzlies rallied to take the lead against Narron an inning later, putting up three scores in the home half of the second. Alfonzo doubled home Travis Ishikawa, who had opened the frame with a walk, before Clay Timpner added a go-ahead two-run single later in the inning to give Fresno a 4-3 lead. Fresno extended the advantage to 5-3 in the fifth on an Ishikawa sacrifice fly before the Sounds rallied to knot the contest with a pair of runs in the sixth against Hennessey. Nix and Hopf started off with consecutive singles before Nix scored from third on a Woodward groundout. Hernan Iribarren tied the game with a one-out RBI single to center that brought home Hopf. Nashville retook a 6-5 lead in the seventh against Grizzlies reliever Billy Sadler. After a pair of singles from Gibbons and Dillon followed by a Nelson fielder's choice grounder put runners on the corners with one out, Sadler uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Gibbons to race home with the go-ahead run. The right-hander escaped further damage in the frame when he induced an inning-ending grounder from Hopf to keep it a one-run contest. Nix added a pair of insurance runs for the Sounds in the top of the ninth when he belted his team-leading 22nd home run of the year, a two-out, two-run shot to right off Vinnie Chulk. Dillon, who singled earlier in the frame for one of his three hits on the night, also scored on the roundtripper, which made it an 8-5 game. AUDIO: Laynce Nix Two-Run HR Joe Bateman worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for the Sounds behind Narron, who allowed five runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 frames. Randy Choate fanned two batters during a scoreless eighth before turning things over to Pena. With one out in the ninth, pinch-hitter Brett Harper belted a solo homer, his 14th longball of the year, to pull the Grizzlies within two runs at 8-6. After Fresno loaded the bases against Pena by sandwiching a pair of walks around an Alfonzo single, Daniel Ortmeier delivered a game-tying two-out, two-run single to left on a 1-0 offering from Pena to send the game to extra frames. The teams continue the series with a 9:05 p.m. CT meeting on Tuesday. Left-hander Chris Narveson (4-12, 5.08) will take the hill for Nashville to face former Sounds hurler Steve Hammond (2-5, 6.75), who was traded to the Giants organization in the Ray Durham deal. Nashville Box Score Who'd have thought that Luis Pena could have pitched his way so thoroughly out of the Brewers' big league plans for 2008? Joe Dillon on base five times, four singles and a walk; Laynce Nix on base four times... Nashville Game Log

Huntsville Pre-Game Audio with LHP Brae Wright Click on the WUMP archive of August 4th, interview is right off the top; revised nutrition plan has been a key...

Final: Mississippi (Braves) 4, Huntsville 2 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Creek Blast Carries Braves to Victory Mississippi Gains Ground in Pennant Race By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Greg Creek's pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning was the difference maker in Mississippi's 4-2 win Monday night over Huntsville in the fourth of a five-game series at Joe Davis Stadium. The Braves beat the Stars for the fourth time in 14 tries this year to improve to 29-15 in the second half, while the Stars dipped to 20-24. The visitors pushed their lead to three games over Montgomery in the South Division, pending the outcome of the Biscuits game with West Tenn. J.C. Boscan singled with two outs in the seventh, his first hit of the series, before Creek smashed a 2-0 pitch from David Welch over all three tiers of signage in right field to put the Braves on top, 4-2. J.C. Holt and Matt Young followed with singles to chase Welch from the game after he had allowed eight hits, walked one and fanned a season-high eight. Jason Shiell got Reid Gorecki to fly out to end the inning. Welch suffered his first loss since April 21, also against the Braves, and dropped to 10-2 on the season. Luis Valdez got the last out for the Braves in the home eighth and found immediate trouble in the ninth by walking leadoff man Lorenzo Cain and giving up a base hit to Mike Bell that moved Cain to second. Martin Maldonado dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners before pinch-hitter Guilder Rodriguez took a called third strike and Michael Brantley was retired on a running catch in center field by Quentin Davis. Valdez earned his second save of the series and 23rd of the season. Holt started the game with a home run, his third of the season and second in as many games, before Alcides Escobar belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to give the Stars the lead. It was his first long ball since June 26 at Carolina, and eighth of the season. Brandon Hicks' first home run at the double-A level in the second inning tied the score. Braves starter Tommy Hanson worked six innings to grab the win, giving up four hits, walking one and striking out ten. The right-hander won his seventh game with the Braves and his tenth of the season after beginning the year at Myrtle Beach in the high class-A Carolina League. Former Stars pitcher Jerome Gamble threw a scoreless seventh inning and has blanked Huntsville over seven frames in his five outings against them. The series finishes Tuesday evening with right-hander Alex Periard taking the mound for Huntsville against Braves' right-hander Deunte Heath. Coverage begins at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com. *** Link while active, text follows: Welch's winning streak finished Mississippi Braves get to Stars lefty for second time By BRAD SHEPARD For The Huntsville Times It has been so long since David Welch lost a game, one might think he'd forgotten how it felt. Instead, the Huntsville Stars starter plopped down on the clubhouse couch after Monday's 4-2 loss to the Mississippi Braves and recalled his last setback on April 21 - his only other one this season - with vivid clarity. "It was against these guys," said Welch, whose record fell to 10-2 on the season. "They got me at their place. That makes this even more frustrating. They've gotten me twice this year." Pinch hitter Greg Creek specifically got Welch on Monday night, and Mississippi starter Tommy Hanson did the rest. After the 6-foot-6 pitcher struck out 10 Stars over six innings, he was lifted in the seventh for Creek. With Welch behind in the count, he threw an inside fastball that Creek turned on and drove down the right-field line and over the wall for a just-fair, go-ahead homer. The shot overshadowed Welch's eight-strikeout performance. "I had good stuff tonight and felt great on the mound," Welch said. "I just got too much of the plate. That's all it takes - one bad pitch." The Stars had a chance to tie it in the ninth with runners on second and third and one out, but pinch hitter Guilder Rodriguez struck out looking before Michael Brantley laced a 2-0 pitch toward the left-center field gap that was tracked down by defensive replacement Quentin Davis to end the game. It ended a frustrating night for the Stars, who saw their two-game winning streak snapped by a stellar pitching performance by Hanson and support from the rest of the Braves. But one positive was the return of Brantley, who made his first start since aggravating an injury in early July. He nearly got the big hit in the ninth, too. "It was the perfect scenario for him," Stars manager Don Money said. "You can't walk him because you have a .340 hitter hitting behind him (Alcides Escobar). Brantley hit it on the nose, but the guy tracked it down. What can you say?" Brantley had been nursing a high ankle sprain but was eager to help the Stars reverse their fortunes on what has been a forgettable second half thus far. They are now 20-24, seven games back of Carolina. "I felt great," Brantley said. "The main thing is I just enjoyed being out there with my teammates, and help them try to get this thing turned around." Creek and Hanson made sure that didn't happen, and 1,316 fans at Joe Davis Stadium left unhappy - as did Welch. "It's frustrating, just the fact that we weren't winning for a while and then we win two in a row until tonight," he said. "You just want to keep it rolling, and one bad pitch, and that's what happens." Huntsville Box Score Mat Gamel 4-for-his-last-33 (.121)... Huntsville Game Log

Final: West Virginia 9, Delmarva (Orioles) 4 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER SCORE 600TH RUN IN WIN OVER DELMARVA The West Virginia Power used a four-run fifth inning to overcome an early deficit on Monday night at Appalachian Power Park as they defeated the Delmarva Shorebirds 9-4 and became the first team in the South Atlantic League this season to score 600 runs. Delmarva scored in the first inning for the third night in a row. Ryan Adams singled in Matt Angle to score the first run. With Adams at first and Paco Figueroa at third, Adams stole second base and Figueroa stole home as the Power attempted to throw Adams out at second. The Power cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first when Eric Farris scored on Adams' fielding error. Adams delivered another RBI single in the third to give the Shorebirds their biggest lead of the night. In the bottom of the third, Eric Fryer was on first and Steffan Wilson was on third when Wilson stole second and Fryer stole home on the attempt to nail Wilson at second. West Virginia used the long ball in the four-run fifth inning to take the lead. Fryer began the inning with his eighth homer of the season to tie the game. The homer was followed by base hits from Wilson and Caleb Gindl. Zelous Wheeler then crushed the first pitch he saw from Luis Noel over the wall in left field to give the Power the lead for good. The three-run shot was Wheeler's 11th of the season. Delmarva scored their final run in the sixth inning. Joe Nowicki began the inning with a double and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Wilson delivered a two-out RBI double in the sixth inning and the Power scored two more insurance runs in the eighth. Lee Haydel scored the first run on Logan Schafer's groundout and Fryer brought in Farris with a one-out single. Dan Merklinger (5-8) allowed four runs, just two earned, on six hits over five and a third and earned the victory. Rob Wooten (2) tossed three and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief to earn the save. Noel (9-7) allowed six runs on seven hits over four innings and was tagged with the loss. The Power improved to 62-51 on the year and 30-14 in the second half with the win. The Shorebirds fell to 62-51 on the year and 24-20 in the second half with the loss. Fryer and Wilson paced the Power with three hits apiece. Fryer has hit safely in his last 10 games. Matt Cline's on base streak came to an end at 23 games while Gindl extended his to 27 games. The Power will finish the four-game series against Delmarva Tuesday night. The Power will start right hander Evan Anundsen (10-4, 3.78) and the Shorebirds will counter with left hander Nathan Nery (2-3, 5.28). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score Lakewood won again, so the Power's slim lead remains two games; reliever Rob Wooten is doing exactly what a 23-year-old polished college senior with tons of College World Series experience is supposed to do -- dominate; Eric Fryer on base four times to push his OPS back over .900... West Virginia Game Log

Link Report Bonus (reluctantly): From Buck Rogers, Stars GM Brian Massey, our Media Director, the same guy who drew short straw and was our Human Pinata on Cinco de Mayo, was interviewed by Will Elrick of Hunstville's Fox-54 TV station the other day regarding our proposed Brett Favre trade. , and it's classic, complete with the native southern accent, the Favre jersey with t-shirts stuffed in for should pads, and the FedEx guy walking in unexpectedly...it's today's humor...

19-year-old RHP Rolando Pascual has been transferred from Helena back down to Maryvale, dragging along these lovely numbers. At least it looks like the Brewers went 1-for-2 with the Pascual and Wily Peralta high-end Latin signings.

Final: Daytona (Cubs) 8, Brevard County 1 Daytona Site: [DAYTONA BEACH, FL] With the Taste of Daytona offering food samples to a packed house at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, the Cubs feasted on Manatee pitching. Daytona saw home runs by Robinson Chirinos and Ty Wright fuel an 8-1 victory over the Brevard County Manatees. After being shutout on Sunday, the Cubs wasted no time getting the offense started on Monday. Jonathan Mota doubled to lead off the game. Jim Adduci singled on an attempted sacrifice bunt. After Wright stuck out, Steve Clevenger doubled home both runners. Marquez Smith also struck out, but, with two outs, Chirinos hit a two-run home run to put the Cubs ahead, 4-0. Marcos Mateo brought his A-game Monday. It has been an irregular schedule for Mateo, who worked out of relief and started game two of a doubleheader due to a couple of rainouts recently. But with the skies dry at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, Mateo went out and pitched very well, going 5.2 innings, allowing just one run and striking out six. Déjà vu crept into the bottom of the fifth inning. Mota doubled and Adduci attempted to sacrifice him over. Once again, Adduci ended up at first base with a single. The 'been here before' feeling ended when Wright came up to the plate. Wright mashed a three run home run. The Cubs kept rolling after the homer. Clevenger stood in next and walked. With one out, Chirinos singled. Yusuf Carter grounded out to score Clevenger and the Cubs worked their second four run inning. The Cubs held an 8-0 lead with five innings complete. Out of the bullpen, Jordan Latham has really started to settle in with Daytona, after struggling in his first few outings after being called up from Peoria. Latham came on with two outs and nobody on in the sixth inning and struck out Chuck Caufield. Latham continued his fine work into the seventh, as he needed only four batters to retire the side. In the eighth, Latham gave up a walk and struck out a batter. Latham struck out three and allowed no runs on just two hits and one walk in 1.2 innings. Brevard County Box Score Brent Brewer doubled and walked; starter Mike Ramlow and Amaury Rivas each struggled... Brevard County Game Log Scott Houin was ejected after getting called out on strikes in the 5th...

OK, on with the Minor League night, as we just finished watching an episode of "The Fresh Punk of Milwaukee". Huntsville and Mississippi tied at 2 after six innings. David Welch and the Braves' Thomas Hansen have combined for 18 K's and just two walks thus far. Power trying to hold on, up 7-4 late.

That Fielder incident was ridiculous, and will be splashed all over every news outlet imaginable for days to come. There were six players and staff holding Prince back, no one was with manny. J.J. was above the railing, looking down on the pile, yelling at Prince.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 68 47 .591 - 41-20 27-27 W1 Memphis 63 52 .548 5.0 30-25 33-27 L2 Omaha 51 64 .443 17.0 24-32 27-32 W1 Nashville 45 70 .391 23.0 21-33 24-37 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 26 17 .605 - 14-6 12-11 W2 Tennessee 23 20 .535 3.0 11-12 12-8 L2 Huntsville 20 23 .465 6.0 10-13 10-10 W2 West Tenn 17 25 .405 8.5 6-13 11-12 W1 Chattanooga 17 26 .395 9.0 8-12 9-14 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 24 15 .615 - 14-6 10-9 L1 St. Lucie 21 17 .553 2.5 10-7 11-10 W1 Jupiter 22 18 .550 2.5 12-9 10-9 W3 Palm Beach 20 21 .488 5.0 12-8 8-13 L1 Brevard County 17 23 .425 7.5 9-12 8-11 W1 Vero Beach 14 28 .333 11.5 6-14 8-14 L5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 29 14 .674 - 15-5 14-9 L1 Lakewood 27 16 .628 2.0 14-8 13-8 L1 Delmarva 24 19 .558 5.0 10-12 14-7 W1 Hagerstown 19 24 .442 10.0 9-14 10-10 L2 Lake County 19 24 .442 10.0 10-13 9-11 W5 Lexington 16 26 .381 12.5 7-14 9-12 L3 Greensboro 16 27 .372 13.0 8-12 8-15 W1 Hickory 14 29 .326 15.0 3-16 11-13 L6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 6 1 .857 - 5-0 1-1 L1 Great Falls 3 4 .429 3.0 1-2 2-2 W1 Helena 3 4 .429 3.0 1-2 2-2 W1 Missoula 2 5 .286 4.0 2-1 0-4 L1

Arizona League Standings

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 Monday'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_04_nasaaa_freaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_04_msbaax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_04_breafa_dbcafa_1 West Virginia: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_04_delafx_wvaafx_1 Helena: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_04_bilrok_helrok_1 Arizona: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_04_brrrok_mrnrok_1

Monday's Daily Menu: All times Central except Arizona League; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Sam Narron 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: LHP David Welch at home vs. Mississippi (Braves), 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: TBD (perhaps RHP Amaury Rivas) at Daytona (Cubs), 6:05 PM gametime Audio link via Daytona 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: LHP Dan Merklinger at home vs. Delmarva (Orioles), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link via WSWW, 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=t525 Helena: LHP Efrain Nieves at home vs. Billings (Reds), 7:55 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Audio link via KCAP, 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=t433 Arizona: TBD at the Mariners' complex in Peoria, 7:00 PM local Mountain Standard Time Never any audio for the Maryvale Crew

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

Just for the sake of nothing, here's a Ned Yost piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution this AM...

Darren Ford on base three more times in a 4-3 13-inning San Jose win.

Steve Garrison with a night to forget.

MiLB.com with a feature article on last night's Nashville win, which includes Chuck Valenches' audio calls of Chris Woodward's six RBI, including his grand slam.

Link while active, text follows: Shorebirds rebound to knock off Power by Christopher Wade For the Charleston Daily Mail CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- If a football team suffered a devastating loss in the manner in which the Delmarva Shorebirds did Saturday evening, it would have had to wait an excruciating week to get the loss out of its system. Fortunately for the Shorebirds, after blowing an eight-run lead to the West Virginia Power during a nine-run seventh inning, they had the luxury of getting right back on the field one day later in hopes of putting the collapse behind them. That's exactly what Delmarva did as it rebounded in a big way, once again leading by eight runs, and this time holding on for a 10-5 victory over West Virginia at Appalachian Power Park on Sunday evening. "It was a disappointing loss," said Delmarva starting pitcher Sean Gleason, who was put in a tough position of trying to shut down the Power's explosive offense, which leads the South Atlantic League with 5.28 runs per game. "A nine spot, you don't see that much in one inning in baseball. Everybody just brushed it off. It's one of those things that doesn't happen a lot. We came in with an open mind today -- swing the bats and see what happens." Power Manager Jeff Isom was impressed with the way Delmarva shrugged off the disappointing loss, scoring early and often while it built a 10-2 lead before his team scored the last three runs of the game. "I've always said, the good thing about baseball players is they have a good, short memory," Isom said. "They have to forget about the game and be ready for the next day. It's not like football when they play once a week." Isom realizes his team needs to get off to a better start and can't expect to fight its way out of huge deficits like it did against Delmarva on Saturday. "Tonight's game was a lot like yesterday's early on," Isom said. "We got into a big deficit, and unlike last night, when we came out and scored nine runs in the seventh inning, you can't rely on doing that a whole lot. "We got ourselves in trouble again today and never gave ourselves an opportunity to win this ball game. Our starting pitching has to do a better job." Delmarva had just the right person on the mound in Gleason, the ace of the Shorebirds' staff, who entered Sunday's game with an 8-1 record and 2.81 earned run average. Gleason posted another solid performance, giving up five hits and two runs (both unearned) in six innings. Gleason knew facing the solid Power lineup would be a challenge, but he was looking forward to the opportunity. "My last few starts have been pretty good," Gleason said. "I wanted to come out, throw strikes, get ahead and be effective with all my pitches. I just wanted to make sure I gave my team a chance to win. "I did a pretty good job of attacking the zone. I mixed my pitches pretty good: a few changeups, mainly my curve ball, fastball on both sides of the plate and a few sliders." Isom was equally impressed with the performance of Gleason, a 20th-round draft pick in 2007 for the Baltimore Orioles. "We didn't get anything off of him pretty much all night," Isom said. "We scratched a run here and there, but that was about it. He had a very good performance and put up zero's right away." Despite the loss that drops its record to 61-51 on the season and 29-14 in the second half, West Virginia remains two games ahead of second-place Lakewood, which also lost Sunday, 3-0 to Greensboro. Shortstop Eric Farris had the only multi-hit game for the Power, going 2-for-5 on a pair of infield singles. Designated hitter Curt Rindal drove in a pair of runs.

Final: Arizona Padres 13, Arizona Brewers 8 Arizona Box Score Cutter Dykstra three singles on a 3-for-5 night with an HBP; Miguel Vasquez, normally a middle infielder, played first base and reached four times (a strong .880 OPS for Arizona desert numbers); rehabbing Lou Palmisano, Allixon Cequea, and Shawn Zarraga each reached base three times; Carlos George is hitting .302 but has only walked three times in 96 AB's; a bit of a shock to the system to see Jake Odorizzi's line -- after just two Padres batters had come to the plate, the Brewers had already committed three errors, including Odorizzi's on a pickoff attempt; an error on George (the Brewers committed six in the contest) didn't help Jake in the 2nd, but he was still roughed up pretty good; about as ugly as it gets among the relievers as well, as they walked 11 after Odorizzi's departure; it's been a very long and ugly road through injury and poor performances for 2006 8th round RHP Shane Hill, drafted out of a Florida high school... Arizona Game Log

Final: Delmarva (Orioles) 10, West Virginia 5 West Virginia Site Game Summary: SHOREBIRDS DOUBLE UP POWER The Delmarva Shorebirds scored early and often at Appalachian Power Park on Sunday night and took the second game of the series with a 10-5 victory over the West Virginia Power. Matt Angle walked to start the contest and stole second before reaching third on a passed ball and Paco Figueroa brought him in with a sacrifice fly. Victor Castillo ripped an RBI double in the top of the second before Curt Rindal cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning with an RBI groundout. The Shorebirds took a 4-1 lead in the third on Joe Nowhicki's two-run homer. Delmarva pulled away with a three-run fifth inning. Nowicki knocked in another run with a sacrifice fly, Anthony Martinez doubled in the next run and scored on Tyler Henson's base hit. Figueroa brought in another run with his second sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to give the Shorebirds their largest lead of the night. The Power plated their second run in the sixth inning on Zelous Wheeler's RBI triple. Delmarva plated their final two runs in the eighth. Figueroa's third sacrifice fly of the night scored Pedro Florimon and Ryan Adams singled in Matt Angle. In the bottom of the eighth, Adams' throwing error at second base allowed Caleb Gindl to score and Rindal's sacrifice fly brought Wheeler home. Eric Fryer brought in the final run of the game and extended his hitting streak to nine games with a two-out RBI single in the ninth inning. Sean Gleason (9-1) pitched six strong innings and allowed just a pair of unearned runs on five hits while striking out five in a winning effort. Michael Bowman (1-1) allowed six runs on five hits with five walks over four and a third and was tagged with the loss. The Power pitching staff allowed nine free passes on the night. The Power fell to 61-51 on the year and 29-14 in the second half with the loss. The Shorebirds improved to 62-50 on the year and 24-19 in the second half with the win. Eric Farris paced the Power with a 2-for-5 performance at the plate. Matt Cline reached once to extend his on-base streak to 23 games and Gindl extended his to 26 games. The Power will continue the four game series against Delmarva Monday night. The Power will start left hander Dan Merklinger (4-8, 5.71) and the Shorebirds will counter with right hander Luis Noel (9-6, 3.77). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score The Power maintains its two-game division lead, as Lakewood lost; after eight sparkling efforts at Helena and West Virginia, RHP Michael Bowman's last two outings have been rough; Delmarva's second baseman committed three errors, giving him 45 on the season... West Virginia Game Log

Link while active, text follows: Majors in mind, Gillespie keeps it steady on field Ex-Oregon State star confident big leagues in future By BRAD SHEPARD For The Huntsville Times Every once in a while, Huntsville Stars left fielder Cole Gillespie allows himself to escape the present and return to a time when he could do no wrong. The year was 2006, and Beaver Mania was sweeping the nation after an Oregon State team led by Gillespie won the College World Series. The redshirt junior became the most decorated player in school history, gaining first-team All-America honors and winning the Pac-10 Player of the Year award. "That's something I think about a lot," Gillespie said. "It's pretty special to me, especially being from that conference where you've got so many top draft picks coming out of there and the team winning the World Series - that's something nobody can take from me." The 24-year-old outfielder also knows nothing is going to be given to him professionally because of his collegiate success. He doesn't want his college days to define his career, and now, the only thing that matters is getting to the majors. Any time he doubts his abilities - or he hears a scout project that his ceiling is a big-league fourth outfielder - all Gillespie has to do is summon those memories of 2006. "I know what I'm capable of, and if I keep progressing and keep improving, I can very well be an everyday big leaguer at some point," he said. "I try not to let what people say affect me, but at the same time, I like to prove those people wrong because I want to play in the big leagues for a long time." So far, he's on the right track. Though he isn't the fastest runner (Michael Brantley), the best pure hitter (Mat Gamel) or the best defensive player (Alcides Escobar) on the Stars roster, Gillespie does everything well. Entering the weekend, the No. 5 prospect in the Brewers organization according to Baseball America was hitting .274 with 13 home runs, 65 RBIs, 12 steals in 13 attempts and led the Southern League with 34 doubles. "He's done a solid job in the outfield and catches all the balls he gets to," Huntsville manager Don Money said. "On occasion, he shows good home run power and has a lot of extra-base hits. "In my opinion, I think he should try to pull the ball a little more, but he's got some good numbers, so you can't complain about that." Though Gillespie isn't flashy, he produces - and his Oregon State coach thinks he'll reach his ultimate goal because of it. "I look forward to watching him play in the major leagues," Beavers coach Pat Casey said. "I think the majority of major league players are exactly what he is. He's a big-league player because of the consistency of the things he does every day. He maybe isn't going to wow you in one area, but he does everything well." That has been the case since Casey recruited the three-sport star to OSU out of West Linn, Ore. He came in as a little-known shortstop/pitcher, but he was moved almost immediately to first base by Casey when he got to Corvallis. Gillespie eventually settled in the outfield, but he wasn't initially pleased with switching from shortstop. "That was definitely tough on me," he said. "I had certain expectations going in as a freshman knowing we had a junior shortstop who got drafted that I would play right away." Injury was added to insult for Gillespie as well that year. He had to have the first of two shoulder surgeries on his right arm, which ended any hopes of pitching or playing shortstop. He redshirted and rehabilitated the shoulder, and after playing sporadically as a freshman, he was a role player on the '05 team that made the CWS but was quickly eliminated. On that team, his roommate and good friend, Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, was the star. When Ellsbury was drafted, he turned the reins over to Gillespie, who didn't disappoint. "I don't know of anybody ever who had a better offensive year than the last year he had with us," Casey said. "He led this great conference in almost every offensive category we had." Now Gillespie is making his way in professional baseball. Though he's not the star he was in college, he is determined to forge his way to the big leagues the same way he always has. "I think it all goes back to hard work," Gillespie said. "Back in the offseason, my dad (Brad) and I are up in the cages, and he throws to me all the time at the age of 60. "You know, there are so many people around the world who are trying to make it to the major leagues, you have to do everything possible to give yourself an opportunity to get there, and I'm determined to get there."

Final: Huntsville 3, Mississippi (Braves) 2, 11 innings Huntsville Site Game Summary: Walk-Off Win For Stars! De La Rosa Delivers in Clutch By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Anderson De La Rosa singled in the winning run in the 11th inning to lift Huntsville to a 3-2 win over Mississippi Sunday night in the middle of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars won their second straight after an eight-game losing streak to improve to 20-23 in the second half, while the Braves lost a second in a row following an eight-game win streak and fell to 28-15 in the half. The Stars have won ten of the 13 games between the two teams. Chris Errecart was hit by a pitch by Steve Marek to open the 11th and moved to second base on a single by Lorenzo Cain, after he had failed to execute a sacrifice bunt on two tries. Freddy Parejo did get the bunt down to move the runners and De La Rosa, in his second double-A start, grounded a single past a drawn-in infield to deliver Errecart with the winning run and the Stars third win in 11 extra innings games. Mississippi's lead in the South Division was trimmed to two games and could be cut further based on the outcome of Montgomery's game with West Tenn. To hear the winning rally, click on the WUMP audio archive of August 3rd. The bottom of the 11th begins at the 03:07:00 hour / minute mark, and the actual game-winner from De La Rosa is at the 03:14:00 hour / minute mark -- the inning's build-up includes correct remarks about Lorenzo Cain's need to improve his bunting skills... J.C. Holt's home run in the eighth inning had tied the game at two. It was his first home run since June 6 and the first allowed by Stars' starter Brae Wright since June 8 over 62.1 innings. Wright went eight innings, giving up six hits, walking three and striking out a season-high eight but remained winless since June 26 and without a victory at home since May 24. David Johnson tossed two scoreless innings behind Wright and Steve Bray grabbed the win with a scoreless 11th, fanning Jordan Schafer to end the frame with two runners on base. Cain's two-out, two-run single in the first inning gave the Stars a 2-1 lead and the Stars missed out on an opportunity to extend the lead when they couldn't drive in Wright from third base with one out in the fifth. Braves' starter Kris Medlen went seven innings, giving up eight hits and striking out four, as he matched his longest outing of the season. Sung-Ki Jung retired all six hitters he faced before Stephen Marek took over in the tenth and fanned Cole Gillespie to end the inning with runners at the corners. The series continues Monday evening with left-hander David Welch taking the mound for Huntsville against Braves' right-hander Tommy Hanson. Coverage begins at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com. Huntsville Box Score Eight innings from Brae Wright, excellent -- wonder why the AA Texas League box scores (Inman, Garrison) provide pitch counts, but the AA Southern League boxes do not; Wright was also 2-for-3 at the plate with a double; reliever Dave Johnson, 26 years old later this month, continues his impressive stretch; Lorenzo Cain finished with four hits, including a double, stole a base... Huntsville Game Log Stars turn four double plays...

David Weiser made a mid-day Sunday update on his site, including this breakdown, click on the link for the full report on Saturday's action: The eight-game losing streak is the longest since June 5-13, 2006....... The Stars scored three runs or less in seven games of the streak, losing by a run in five of those games........ They had just 43 hits over those eight games, 15 for extra bases (six home runs) and hit just .184....... The Stars had a lead or tied the game in six of them....... Individually, here's how our boys fared: [align=center] AB H Avg. HR RBI Mike Bell 19 4 .211 1 3 Lorenzo Cain 29 5 .172 2 5 Chris Errecart 18 2 .111 0 2 Alcides Escobar 15 6 .400 0 2 Mat Gamel 27 4 .148 1 2 Cole Gillespie 26 4 .154 0 0 J.R. Hopf 5 0 .000 0 0 Martin Maldonado 14 3 .214 1 1 Freddy Parejo 21 3 .143 0 0 Yohannis Perez 6 0 .000 0 0 Guilder Rodriguez 24 6 .250 0 0 Angel Salome 12 2 .167 1 2 http://www.starsboxscore.com/[/align]