Jim Goulart

Getting To Know Your Sounds: Mel Stocker

Final: Arizona Padres 6, Arizona Brewers 2 Arizona Box Score Florida high schooler Damon Krestalude continues to impress, including a wonderful ground ball ratio in his four outings thus far (10.2 IP, 3 BB, 12 K's); A-Crew batters draw no free passes while fanning nine times, that's getting old... Arizona Game Log

LHP Randy Choate has been activated off the 15-day MLB disabled list, and then outrighted off the Milwaukee 40-man roster. Choate has already cleared waivers and will remain with AAA Nashville.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 57 38 .600 - 35-17 22-21 W1 Memphis 51 42 .548 5.0 23-20 28-22 L1 Omaha 43 49 .467 12.5 19-26 24-23 L2 Nashville 38 56 .404 18.5 18-24 20-32 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 15 7 .682 - 8-4 7-3 W4 Huntsville 12 10 .545 3.0 5-5 7-5 W3 Carolina 11 11 .500 4.0 5-5 6-6 W1 Chattanooga 10 12 .455 5.0 5-7 5-5 L3 West Tenn 6 16 .273 9.0 1-9 5-7 L6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 11 7 .611 - 8-3 3-4 W3 Daytona 11 8 .579 0.5 6-2 5-6 W2 Palm Beach 10 8 .556 1.0 7-5 3-3 W2 Jupiter 9 8 .529 1.5 4-2 5-6 W3 Vero Beach 9 10 .474 2.5 3-5 6-5 L2 Brevard County 7 12 .368 4.5 3-8 4-4 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 15 5 .750 - 8-2 7-3 W5 Lakewood 12 8 .600 3.0 6-3 6-5 W2 Delmarva 10 10 .500 5.0 3-6 7-4 W1 Hagerstown 10 10 .500 5.0 4-6 6-4 L2 Lake County 10 11 .476 5.5 4-7 6-4 L2 Hickory 8 13 .381 7.5 3-6 5-7 W2 Greensboro 7 13 .350 8.0 2-8 5-5 W1 Lexington 5 15 .250 10.0 2-9 3-6 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Falls 14 8 .636 - 8-4 6-4 L1 Billings 13 9 .591 1.0 5-1 8-8 L2 Helena 11 11 .500 3.0 6-7 5-4 W1 Missoula 4 18 .182 10.0 1-12 3-6 L8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Angels 10 4 .714 - 4-3 6-1 W3 AZL Cubs 9 6 .600 1.5 6-1 3-5 W5 AZL Padres 8 6 .571 2.0 6-1 2-5 W2 AZL Giants 8 7 .533 2.5 5-3 3-4 L3 AZL Rangers 8 7 .533 2.5 4-4 4-3 L1 AZL Royals 8 7 .533 2.5 6-2 2-5 L1 AZL Athletics 6 9 .400 4.5 3-4 3-5 L2 AZL Mariners 6 9 .400 4.5 3-4 3-5 W1 AZL Brewers 3 11 .214 7.0 3-4 0-7 W1

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 Thursday'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 "Log" or "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_07_10_nasaaa_omaaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_10_hunaax_cngaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_10_lakafa_breafa_1 West Virginia: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_10_wvaafx_savafx_1 Helena: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_10_idarok_helrok_1 Arizona: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_07_10_pdrrok_brrrok_1

Thursday's Daily Menu: All times Central except Arizona League; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Richie Gardner at Omaha (Royals), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 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 Mike Jones at Chattanooga (Reds), 6:00 PM pre-game; 6:15 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 at home vs. Lakeland (Tigers), 6:00 gametime Sorry, no audio for this series... West Virginia: RHP Evan Anundsen at Savannah (Mets), 5:45 PM pre-game, 6:00 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: RHP Nick Tyson at home vs. Idaho Falls (Royals), 7:50 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: RHP Damon Krestalude, who has impressed thus far, vs. the mini-Padres in Maryvale, 10:30 AM local Mountain Standard Time Never any audio for the Maryvale Crew

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

We haven't mentioned Joe Thatcher in several weeks, but he was recently called back to San Diego to see if he can pitch in 2007 form there after a rough April / May. His minor league numbers were vintage "good" Joe.

Link while active, text follows: Aeros welcome LaPorta Left fielder in trade gets three hits in split with Baysox By Stephanie Storm Akron Beacon Journal sportswriter He didn't hit a home run. That's the first thing most Indians fans want to know after Matt LaPorta played his first two games as an Indians minor-leaguer at Double-A Akron Wednesday. But the new left fielder did combine to go 3-for-6 with three singles in the Aeros' doubleheader split against the Bowie Baysox at Canal Park. Just two days after joining the Indians organization as the centerpiece of the trade that sent CC Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers, LaPorta legged out an infield single in the first game and lined two solid shots through the left side in the nightcap. ''It was just another game in a new ballpark with a different team,'' LaPorta said, shrugging off the night's significance. And the Aeros did hit home runs - second baseman Josh Rodriguez and catcher Wyatt Toregas' homers combined to lead the Aeros to a 3-0 win in the first game before the Baysox came back for a 5-0 win in the second game. But it was LaPorta on whom many eyes were focused. LaPorta hit 20 home runs at Double-A Huntsville in the Southern League and came to town with rather large expectations for a 23-year-old who has never played above the Double-A level. ''I suppose everyone expects him to hit four homers today,'' Aeros manager Mike Sarbaugh said before the doubleheader. ''But we just want him to settle in and get comfortable.'' After striking out looking in his first at-bat in the first inning, LaPorta sent a shot back up the middle in his second at-bat in the third. The ball bounced oddly enough off the mound that he was able to leg out a base hit - but just barely. Of all the things LaPorta is reported to do well - and there are plenty of them - it's obvious that running with any kind of speed is not one of them. That is is why LaPorta, 6-foot-2, 210-pounder, is a first baseman by nature. The Brewers converted him to an outfielder because Prince Fielder is their first baseman. ''For now, he's going to be playing left field and hitting in the middle of the lineup,'' Sarbaugh said. ''We are going to be doing some early first-base work just to keep him fresh, but he's going to be an outfielder for now.'' Although he hasn't played much left field, he looked comfortable out there in both games. And as the night wore on, he increasingly looked more comfortable at the plate. ''Going in, it looked like he was trying a little too hard, just trying to do too much,'' Sarbaugh said. ''Then he settled down and had a couple good hits.'' In the second game, the Brewers No.1 pick (seventh overall) in the 2007 draft hit both singles with two outs, the second breaking his bat. ''I haven't played in three or four games, so I was really just going out there trying to get my timing back,'' LaPorta said.

As noted in Wednesday's game story, Helena has received RHP Marcus Salmon from Arizona. Salmon is now known as Rico Salmon. Brewers outfielder Cutter Dykstra was sent down to Arizona to rehabilitate an injury. Helena Manager Rene Gonzales expects him to be called back to Helena soon.

Helena Pre-Game Interview with catcher Corey Kemp Click on the KCAP archive of July 9th, then browse to the 08:00 minute mark...

Final: Helena 4, Idaho Falls (Royals) 3 Link while active, text follows: Brewers outlast Chukars By JOHN DORAN - Independent Record The Helena Brewers took advantage of miscues Wednesday, and overcame some of their own, to beat the Idaho Falls Chukars 4-3 and even their record at .500 in the Pioneer League. After falling by the same score Tuesday night to the Chukars, the Brewers returned the favor in front of 810 fans at Kindrick Legion Field. It didn't come easy. The Brewers pounded out 10 hits but stranded 10 runners on base, relying instead on clutch pitching out of the bullpen to hang onto the lead. Lucas Luetge earned the win in relief, getting out of a huge jam in the fifth and again in the sixth, and Wily Peralta closed out the ninth for the save. Helena moves to 11-11 on the season and remains in third place in the northern division behind Great Falls (14-8) and Billings (13-9). With the loss, Idaho Falls (7-15) plummets to nine games back from Orem (16-6). "We seem to go back and forth on that," Brewers manager Rene Gonzales said. "I hope we can get on a roll here but we've had lots of injuries." Brewers starting pitcher Santo Manzanillo pitched a strong 4 2/3 innings, with his only blemishes coming in the second inning as a result of a ball he missed while covering first base. After striking out the lead-off batter, Manzanillo walked third baseman Antonio Jimenez. With one out and the double play in order, Carlo Testa chopped a grounder to Brewers first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard, who threw to second to get the lead runner. But Manzanillo dropped shortstop Michael Marseco's return throw at first, breaking up the sure-bet double play. The drop came back to haunt Manzanillo. Neder Severino scooted a hit-and-run single through the four-hole and Devery Van De Keere stroked a single to bring home Testa. Severino blew through the stop sign rounding third, and when the relay throw came in behind him at third, Severino motored for home, sliding in under the tag to take a 2-0 lead. The Brewers answered in the bottom half of the second with two runs to tie. With the bases loaded, Marseco ripped the first pitch to deep left center. Two runs scored, but Derrick Alfonso was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first. It wasn't until the fifth that the Brew Crew tacked on two more runs, taking advantage of wild pitches by Chukars reliever Derrick Saito, who took the loss. Helena loaded the bases with two outs when Saito walked Erik Komatsu for the first run and drilled Michael Vass to bring home another. Brett Whiteside struck out with the bases loaded, leaving three of the Brewers' 10 runners stranded. "We had bases loaded (one) out. I was looking for more than that, but I'll take it," Gonzales said. "That should be a lesson for us. Two outs we got to get that third one. They weren't able to close us out and that was the difference." The Brewers were able to close it out with their bullpen. Luetge, a lefty, entered the game with runners at first and third and two outs to face left-handed hitter Alwin Perez, who bats third in the lineup. Luetge sat him down on three straight pitches. In the sixth, Luetge withstood a double and a walk to retire the side unscathed. "He had to strike out two with a runner third. That was huge," Gonzales said. Luetge got in a jam of his own in the seventh, and with two outs handed the ball over to Rico Salmon - who just arrived in Helena Wednesday - with runners at first and second. Nick Francis smoked a ball up the middle that David Fonseca snared, but his throw sailed wide at first, allowing Patrick Norris to score from second. Salmon settled in, getting Sean McCauley to ground out to retire the side. Peralta made it interesting in the ninth, walking the speedy Norris - one of the fastest players in the Royals organization - with one out but getting a strikeout and a come-backer groundout to earn his first save. "Peralta hasn't closed this year yet, but he did an awesome job coming in there in the ninth," Gonzales said. Luetge finished with two strikeouts, three walks, one hit and one unearned run over two innings. John Delaney was 2-for-4 with a run and Corey Kemp went 2-for-3 with a run for Helena. Marseco, the diminutive shortstop, provided a big spark from the nine-hole with two doubles and two RBI. Diamond notes: Brewers infielder Cutter Dykstra was sent down to Arizona to rehabilitate an injury. Gonzales expects him to be called back to Helena soon. The matchup of starting pitchers was like looking at polar opposites. Helena's Manzanillo worked quickly with a long, lanky and fluid arm action. Idaho Falls' Luis Cota struggled with control with a compact, tight arm action. In the third inning Brewers catcher Derrick Alfonso took a foul tip off his neck and went down to the dirt. He returned behind the dish, but if there's one area the Brewers can actually afford an injury - and there is only one - it's at catcher, where they're still stocked with four. Helena Box Score Marcus Salmon, the 2008 48th round pick, is now referred to as "Rico" at MiLB.com; catcher Brett Whiteside got a start in left field... Helena Game Log Photo by Lisa Kunkel, Helena IR staff photographer - Designated hitter Corey Kemp watches as ball four flies by during the Brewers' Wednesday night game against Idaho Falls at Kindrick Legion Field. Kemp's walk brought in Michael Marseco for the tying run. The Brewers defeated Idaho Falls 4-3. http://images.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/articles/2008/07/10/sports/top/50spl_080710_brewers.jpg

Final: West Virginia 5, Savannah (Mets) 4 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER OUTLAST SAND GNATS The West Virginia Power endured a three-hour sixteen minute battle with the Savannah Sand Gnats at Grayson Stadium on Wednesday night and won their fifth game in a row with a 5-4 victory, giving them an opportunity to go for the sweep on Thursday. West Virginia scored the first run of the contest on Steffan Wilson's run-scoring double in the second inning. The Sand Gnats tied the game in the fourth when Juan Lagares scored on Joaquin Rodriguez's sacrifice fly. The Power scored three times in the fifth to take the lead and never looked back. Eric Farris singled in the first two runs and he scored on Eric Fryer's base hit. The Sand Gnats pulled within a run in the bottom of the fifth inning after B.J. Hubbert scored on Michael Parker's groundout and Greg Veloz touched home plate on an infield single from Lagares. West Virginia plated their final run on Matt Cline's RBI double down the left field line in the sixth inning. The double was heavily debated by Savannah manager Donovan Mitchell and it eventually led to his ejection. Savannah scored one final time in the eighth inning on Rodriguez's two-out RBI single. Mike Ramlow (4-3) entered with two outs in the fifth inning and allowed just a run on three hits over four and a third to get the victory. He used just four pitches in the ninth to retire the final three batters. Elvin Ramirez (6-7) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on four hits with four walks over five innings. Evan Frederickson started for the Power and went four and two-thirds, allowing three runs on three hits and walked five. The Power improved to 47-42 on the year and 15-5 in the second half with the win. The Sand Gnats fell to 40-50 on the year and 7-13 in the second half with the loss. Farris paced the Power with two hits and extended his hitting streak to 12 games while Fryer extended his to ten. Wilson's double extended his road hitting streak to 15 games. The Power will finish the four game series against Savannah Thursday night. Rightt hander Evan Anundsen (7-4, 3.36) will make the start for the Power and the Sand Gnats will counter with right hander Maikel Cleto (3-6, 3.38). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 Central). West Virginia Box Score That's a heck of a save, Mike Ramlow -- your promotion to high-A is way overdue; we're going to live through many multi-walk Evan Frederickson performances, but the payoff could be huge; Eric Fryer on base three times -- OPS .981; Power have won 11-of-12... West Virginia Game Log

Final: Lakeland (Tigers) 5, Brevard County 1 Big inning sinks Manatees In Viera, the Lakeland Flying Tigers scored five runs off reliever John Axford in the top of the eighth to defeat the Brevard County Manatees 5-1 Wednesday at Space Coast Stadium. Brent Brewer doubled and drove in the run for the Manatees (7-12). Brevard County starter Chris Cody pitched seven shutout innings, striking out seven and walking two. Brennan Boesch drove in three runs and Cale Iorg went 3-for-5 for Lakeland (10-7). Brevard County Box Score Taylor Green singled in four AB's; LHP Chris Cody with one of the prettier pitching lines of the entire season... Brevard County Game Log

Huntsville Pre-Game Audio with Manager Don Money Click on the WUMP archive of July 9th, it's right off the top...

Final: Huntsville 15, Chattanooga (Reds) 4 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Stars Keep Offense in High Gear in Lopsided Win Seven Players With Multiple Hits in Victory over Looks By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Michael Garciaparra hit a home run and drove in four runs to power Huntsville to a 15-4 win over Chattanooga Wednesday night in the second of a five-game set at AT&T Field. The Stars improved to 12-10 in the second half but could gain no ground on victorious Tennessee in the North Division, while the Lookouts dropped to 10-12 and fell five games behind the Smokies. The Stars won a third straight game for the first time since sweeping a five-game set at Smokies Park from May 10-14. Chris Valaika's home run in the first inning gave the Lookouts the lead and marked the fifth time in the last six games the Stars opponent had scored first and the fourth time doing so with a solo home run. Huntsville grabbed the lead for good in the second on a run-scoring single by Lorezno Cain, who picked up his first double-A RBI, and a throwing error on the play that allowed Garciaparra to score. The Stars tacked on four runs in the third on a lead off long ball by Freddy Parejo, his first since May 17, run-scoring hits by Angel Salome and Garciaparra and a bases loaded walk to starting pitcher Troy Cate. Huntsville broke the game open with four more in the fourth on an RBI hit by Mat Gamel that knocked starter Travis Wood out of the game and Garciaparra's three-run long ball, his first extra base hit in 36 at-bats. Wood surrendered eight runs, seven earned, on 10 hits, while walking two and fanning two in falling to 2-5. Gamel's sacrifice fly and another run-scoring hit by Salome against Pedro Viola in the fifth pushed the visitors' lead to 12-1. Three more runs in the seventh against Lee Tabor helped the visitors to match a season-high in runs set on May 10 at Tennessee and here against the Lookouts on June 3. Gamel finished with three hits, three runs scored and three knocked in, while Parejo finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, Salome added three hits and three runs batted in and Escobar had his third four-hit game of the season and scored four times. Huntsville collected 20 hits, one shy of a season-high set against the Looks on June 3 in a 15-10 win. Cate gave up a solo home run to Sean Henry in the fifth and lasted seven innings in his third start for Huntsville. The veteran southpaw allowed five hits, walked three and struck out three to earn his second win. Omar Aguilar allowed two runs in the eighth before Steve Bray tossed a scoreless ninth to end the game. The series continues Thursday night with right-hander Mike Jones taking the hill for Huntsville against Lookouts' right-hander James Avery. Coverage of the game begins at 6:00 pm central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com. Chattanooga Times Free Press Staff Photo by Dan Henry-- Chattanooga Lookouts Justin Turner (6) misses the tag on Huntsville Stars Lorenzo Cain (18) at second during the 4th inning of play at AT&T field Wednesday evening. http://media.timesfreepress.com/img/photos/2008/07/09/wb-0710-ls-d-lookouts.jpg Huntsville Box Score Enjoy the crooked numbers; LHP David Welch continues to get pinch-hit AB's on a short roster -- in a 15-4 game, hardly of consequence; Omar Aguilar's AA struggles continue... Huntsville Game Log

Some Brewer farmhands have posted fantastic seasons to win the Organizational Pitcher of the Year honor in recent years -- Tim Dillard, Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra -- even Ben Hendrickson's award was well-deserved at the time. This season, the two strongest pitchers have been soon-to-be 27-year-old LHP Sam Narron and 31-year-old fellow southpaw Lindsay Gulin. Will your year-end winner be Evan Anundesn? Alex Periard? Who is your winner today? And predicted winner at year-end? And does the discussion indicate an overall down year on the farmhand mound? To help you out, here's the Brewerfan Player Index. Click on the POS colun to sort by position -- look at those indicated as "CL", "MR", or "SP". Edit: I had listed Sam Narron as 28, should be 27...

Jim Breen of BrewersNation with a nice Q&A with 2008 4th round LHP Josh Romanski, who chipped in as Helena's DH as needed. Apparently Romanski is nursing an injury he alludes to but doesn't detail, that is keeping him from making his mound debut. Josh has been busy. We learn more in a second interview he conducted this week over at BrewCrewBall. Definitely worthwhile, it's something how the two chats don't really overlap or repeat much. (Josh's groin is sore, by the way.)

Final: Arizona Brewers 3, Arizona Giants 2 Arizona Box Score Welcome, Jake Odorizzi; Cam Robulack dropped two balls at first base, both costly, but Odorizzi, Kristian Bueno and Joel Morales combined to not allow an earned run on three hits, striking out eight while walking two -- sweet; Pedro Ramos a triple among the A-Crew's five hits; outfielder Erik Miller 0-for-his-first-11 with seven K's after posting a .533 OPS in 126 AB's last season... Arizona Game Log

Final: Nashville 6, Omaha (Royals) 4 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Brendan Katin photo, text follows -- Sounds Stay Hot, Defeat Royals 6-4 OMAHA - The Nashville Sounds belted a pair of longballs in recording a 6-4 victory over the division-rival Omaha Royals on Wednesday afternoon at Rosenblatt Stadium. The Sounds (38-56) have won four of their last five contests after dropping six of their previous eight. Nashville took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning on Brendan Katin's 13th home run of the year, a two-run shot to center that scored Vinny Rottino (double). The blast came against Omaha starter Brandon Duckworth. AUDIO: Brendan Katin Two-Run HR "BK having it his way" - nice! The Sounds doubled their advantage in the third. Callix Crabbe and Tony Gwynn opened the frame with back-to-back singles and Crabbe advanced to third on a Laynce Nix flyout. Brad Nelson hit a ground ball to first that scored Crabbe and a subsequent throwing error by first baseman Ryan Shealy allowed Gwynn to come plateward on the play to make it a 4-0 contest. Omaha got a run back in the bottom of the third on a two-out Brayan Pena RBI single then pulled within a run at 4-3 in the fourth when Dave Matranga belted a two-run homer to left off Chris Narveson, his sixth longball of the year. Nashville added a run against Royals reliever Leo Nunez to make it a 5-3 advantage in the seventh. Chris Woodward drew a one-out walk and later scored on Crabbe's RBI double to right. The Royals pulled back within a run at 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh when Shealy touched rehabbing reliever Randy Choate for a one-out solo homer to left, his 13th big fly of the season. Choate worked into and out of a jam in the eighth to keep the one-run cushion intact. After Omaha put runners on second and third with only one out, the veteran southpaw struck out Chris Lubanski then retired Pena on an inning-ending flyout to center. Third baseman Adam Heether provided an insurance run for Nashville in the ninth when he led off the frame with his seventh home run of the year, a solo shot to left off Brad Salmon that increased the lead to 6-4. Closer Luis Pena took over on the Nashville hill in the ninth and worked a perfect ninth, including a game-ending strikeout of Jason Smith, to lock down his 14th save. Narveson (3-11) allowed three runs on six hits over five innings to record his first victory since May 7th, snapping a string of seven straight losing decisions. Duckworth (3-9) took the loss for Omaha after allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and striking out five batters in six innings of work. The teams wrap up the series with a 7:05 p.m. CT finale on Thursday evening. Right-hander Richie Gardner (6-2, 4.13) will take the hill for the Sounds to face Omaha left-hander Dusty Hughes (1-0, 4.32). Nashville Box Score Derrick Turnbow a scoreless inning; I tuned in quite a bit to this game, and it's nothing personal to the Sounds, or certainly play-by-play man Chuck Valenches, but in terms of anticipation and interesting story lines, I probably join others in saying that the AAA game is low on the totem pole these days... Nashville Game Log

To answer the two questions above, an MLB pitcher's minor league rehab stint can last 30 days, a position player 20 days. The Brewers will need to make a decision on Choate in just over a week, I believe. The Brewers were in Maryvale today, not Tempe. You would have probably been one of about 15 in attendance. Here's their upcoming schedule -- you may need to google to see which city the opponents play in. Good luck.

Sad to see RHP Chris Saenz was released by his independent Frontier League team. He'll always have that one magnificnt entry in the Baseball Encyclopedia. Goodness, his must be such a "what if?" life. RHP Dane Renkert retired from independent ball. We enjoyed his articles for a Washington state newspaper in the past -- hopefully he continues to follow that passion in his life.

Infielder Kenny Holmberg has been activated from the Brevard DL, placing that squad at its full complement of 25 active.

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Pitching Coach Stan Kyles (Part 2 of 2) I thought the conversation would move on to current Sounds, but it's an extension of the Zach Jackson topic...