Jim Goulart

Final: Huntsville 7, West Tenn (Mariners) 6 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Stars Battle Back From Early Deficit to Win Timely Hitting, Good Relief Work Lead to Victory By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Carlos Corporan doubled in the game-winning run in the eighth inning and Juan Sandoval worked out of trouble in the ninth to preserve Huntsville's 7-6 win over West Tenn Saturday night in the fifth of a six-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars pushed their second half record to 2-3 and their overall mark to 43-32, while the Jaxx dipped to 44-31 overall and 3-2 in the second half. The Stars improved to 10-14 in one-run games. Angel Salome led off the eighth with a single and advanced on a Cole Gillespie sacrifice bunt before Mike Bell bunted for a hit to move Salome to third. Corporan grounded Jason Mackintosh's first pitch past third baseman Matt Mangini down the left field line to score Salome and move Bell to third. However, the Stars could not add to their lead, as Guilder Rodriguez and Freddy Parejo both grounded out to end the frame. Sandoval, who pitched for the Jaxx last season, walked Luis Valbuena to open the ninth and uncorked a wild pitch that moved him into scoring position. Mike Wilson struck out and Johan Limonta walked to bring up Adam Moore, who grounded out to first to advance the runners. Jon Nelson then struck out on three pitches to end the game, as Sandoval earned his sixth save of the season and first since May 27 at Mobile. Valbuena's three-run home run in the third was followed by Wilson's solo smash to give the Jaxx a 4-1 lead and Nelson's line drive long ball leading off in the fourth extended the visitors' lead to 5-1. West Tenn starter Anderson Garcia held Huntsville to a lone run on four hits through five innings before Salome singled in a run and scored, with Alcides Escobar, on a Gillespie triple that trimmed the lead to 5-4. Gillespie then scored to tie the game on a wild pitch. Rodriguez opened the seventh with a double, advanced to third on an errant throw by left fielder Jeffrey Dominguez and scored to give the Stars a 6-5 lead on a Parejo base hit that chased Garcia from the game. The former Yankee, Met, Oriole and Phillies farmhand was charged with six runs on 10 hits over six innings in his first outing with the Diamond Jaxx. Stars' starter Donovan Hand was charged with five runs on 10 hits in six innings and was followed to the hill by Josh Wahpepah, who retired the Jaxx in order in the seventh. Mark Kiger's run-scoring hit in the eighth tied the game at six before Wahpepah struck out Greg Halman and got Dominguez to ground out to end the inning with runners at the corners. The right-hander earned his first win at the double-A level with two innings of work during which he struck out four. The series finishes Sunday afternoon with Hunsville right-hander Mike Jones taking the hill against West Tenn southpaw Ryan Ketchner. Coverage of the game begins at 4:50 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 Michael Brantley two hits, a walk, a sacrifice, OBP back over .400 -- Michael stole two bases and is 21-for-27 in that department; speaking of steals, Alcides Escobar now 20-for-25; Mat Gamel feeling well enough to play, he handled two pop outs and one ground ball tonight; Guilder Rodriguez 3-for-4 with a double as your first baseman, Chris Errecart off again; because of the six-game series, nemesis Ryan Ketchner, winner of the crucial game one, will start twice in the same set of games; for now, Mike Jones takes Steve Hammond's spot, certainly with a limited pitch count again... Huntsville Game Log

Final: Nashville 8, Memphis (Cardinals) 3 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Vinny Rottino photo, text follows -- NASHVILLE - A four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning helped the Nashville Sounds take down the division-rival Memphis Redbirds, 8-5, on Saturday night at Greer Stadium. Both Chris Woodward and Adam Heether knocked two-run hits to cap a go-ahead rally for the Sounds in a back-and-forth battle with their in-state foes. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-5 and chipped in an RBI to pace the Sounds offensive attack, and starter Lindsay Gulin only gave up three earned runs over 5 2/3 innings to turn in another strong start for Nashville. The Sounds scored the first runs of the game in the bottom of the second inning off Memphis starter Jaime Garcia when Vinny Rottino singled to start the inning and moved to third on a double to centerfield from Brendan Katin. Rottino then scored on a wild pitch from Garcia and Katin scored on a sacrifice fly from Heether. The Redbirds responded quickly, though, with a pair of runs in the top of the third inning off Gulin to even the score. Garcia helped his own cause by leading the inning off with a double to left field, and Brian Barden followed with a walk. Garcia then came around to score on a single from Colby Rasmus, and Barden eventually scored on a fielder's choice from D'Angelo Jimenez. Nashville countered with another run in the bottom half of the inning when Mel Stocker was hit by a pitch, then stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by Redbirds catcher Bryan Anderson. With that steal, Stocker now has 13 on the year and has only been caught once. He scored on the next pitch when Gwynn grounded out to first base. Gwynn did his best Stocker impersonation in the bottom of the fifth when he singled then stole second and moved to third on a throwing error from Anderson. Just like Stocker in the third inning, he then scored on a fielder's choice groundball from Callix Crabbe to increase the lead to 4-2. Memphis notched another run in the top of the sixth inning after Jimenez led off with a single and later scored on a double from pinch-hitter David Freese. The RBI was Freese's 14th in the month of June and 23rd in his last 23 games. The Redbirds evened things up in the top of the seventh inning when Joe Mather scored on a passed ball by Rottino, but Sounds reliever Tim Dillard was able to minimize the damage by getting out of a bases loaded jam with the help of a diving catch by Heether at third base. Woodward then came up big in the bottom of the inning for the Sounds when he knocked a two-run single off Memphis reliever Jason Motte with the bases loaded to score Brad Nelson and Rottino. Heether followed with a double off the top of the left field wall to score two more runs and give the Sounds a four-run lead. Woodward and Heether continue to be the hottest hitters for Nashville, extending their individual season-best hitting streaks to six and seven games, respectively. Memphis was able to manage one more run off Sounds reliever Ben Howard in the top of the ninth inning when Jarrett Hoffpauir scored on an RBI double from former Sounds catcher Mark Johnson, but Howard closed out the game after that. Dillard (4-0) picked up the win after pitching 1 2/3 innings and giving up only one unearned run, and Erasmo Ramirez pitched in 2/3 innings of scoreless work. Ron Flores (0-1) was tagged with the loss after Motte allowed his inherited runners to score in the Sounds big, four-run rally in the seventh inning. Garcia struggled again against Nashville, dropping his record to 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA (12 ER / 15 IP) in three starts against the Sounds. The division rivals will continue their series on Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. at Greer Stadium. Southpaw Steve Hammond (NR) will make his Triple-A debut for the Sounds against righty P.J. Walters (6-1, 5.36) for the Redbirds. Nashville Box Score With a penciled-in spot for Julian Tavarez in the rotation in a week or so, it appears Ben howard will be returning to the bullpen; Vinny Rottino on base four times, but 13 passed balls is high for this mid-point in the season; Tim Dillard a bit shaky in his return to the Sounds -- hang in there for a return trip to the bigs, Tim... Nashville Game Log

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Starting Pitcher Steve Hammond

Final: Daytona (Cubs) 4, Brevard County 3 Game Summary from the Cubs' Site: Cubs Pickle Manatees To Victory Wright Doubles, Scores Final Run By: Brian Chapman [DAYTONA BEACH, FL] Lately, when the Daytona Cubs win a ball game they've blown out their opponent or slid by in a crazy ending. Saturday night's game was the latter as Steve Clevenger's pickle allowed Jim Adduci to score the go-ahead run in the eighth. Daytona would not lose that lead in the ninth as they snuck past the Brevard County Manatees 4-3. In the bottom of the first a costly error came back to punish the Manatees. With one out, Jim Adduci hit a ground ball to Stephen Chapman at first who booted the baseball. Cubs RBI leader Ty Wright capitalized by knocking Adduci in on a double to give the Cubs an early 1-0 lead. The Manatees responded quickly in the second. With two out and a man on first base Chapman drove the ball deep into centerfield over Adduci's head. Chapman ended up on third with an RBI triple to tie the Cubs at 1-1. Yusuf Carter led off the bottom of the second with a double off the leftfield wall and stole third to put the go-ahead run just 90 feet away. Two batters later, Carter remained on third base with Darwin Barney at the plate. Barney lined a single into the outfield to take advantage of the leadoff hit and put Daytona up 2-1. Brevard County evened the score in the fifth thanks to a leadoff infield single by Chapman. After a groundout and a fly out moved Chapman to third, Darren Ford tied the game on an RBI double. Daytona and Brevard County were tied at 2-2 after four and a half innings. Two innings later the Cubs fell behind for the first time in the game. Yohannis Perez singled off of new Cubs reliever Dustin Sasser and, two batters later, scored on a single by Ford. Brevard County took a 3-2 lead to the bottom of the seventh inning. In the bottom of the eighth Adduci led off the frame with an infield single. A single by Ty Wright put the tying run 90 feet away and the go-ahead run on first. With one out Clevenger came in to pinch hit and nubbed the second infield single of the inning to tie the game and move Wright to second. Next, Carter grounded out, but Clevenger got himself caught in a pickle between first and second base. He avoided Manatee defenders just long enough to allow Wright to score from second. That pushed the Cubs ahead once again 4-3. Matt Avery worked a perfect ninth to earn the win as the Cubs won 4-3 and moved above .500 in the first half. Brevard County Box Score Jonathan Lucroy with a triple and a walk -- a cool 1.317 OPS after his first high-A series; Charlie Fermaint a single and two walks; wonderful six-inning start for Alex Periard -- that's six quality starts in a row... Brevard County Game Log The 'Tees wasted Lucroy's leadoff triple in the 6th and his leadoff walk in the 8th; they went down 1-2-3 in the 9th...

Final: Kannapolis (White Sox) 14, West Virginia 3 West Virginia Site Game Summary: KANNAPOLIS CRUSHES THE POWER The Kannapolis Intimidators scored 13 of their 14 runs on Saturday night at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium with two outs and put the game out of reach early, defeating the Power 14-3. The Intimidators scored first on Mark Fleisher's sacrifice fly in the first inning that plated Sergio Morales. Fleisher struck again in the second inning with two outs, when he hit a grand slam to put the Intimidators ahead 5-0. Kannapolis did most of their damage in the third inning, where they scored eight runs with two outs. Nick Tyson retired the first two batters of the inning before he issued a walk to Sergio Miranda, which was followed by five consecutive singles, knocking Tyson out of the game. Dale Mollenhauer, Morales and Jim Gallagher all singled in runs off Tyson and Mollenhauer scored on a wild pitch. Jose Garcia had his fair share of problems in the third as well. He allowed an RBI single to Christian Marrero later in the inning before walking Lee Cruz with the bases loaded and Sergio Miranda singled in the final two runs of the inning off Garcia. The Intimidators continued their two-out rampage in the fourth inning when Logan Johnson singled in Mollenhauer with two away to make it a 14-0 lead. West Virginia got on the board in the fifth on David Fonseca's two-run homer, his first of the season. Uly Snijders hit a solo homer in the top of the ninth inning, his second of the year. Jason Rice (4-5) allowed a pair of runs on seven hits over six innings and was rewarded with the victory. Amaury Rivas (6-3) was pulled after two innings. He surrendered five runs on four hits, issued our free passes and was tagged with the loss. Reed Dickert tossed three scoreless innings of relief. The Power fell to 33-39 on the year and 1-2 in the second half with the loss, while the Intimidators improved to 33-40 on the year and 2-1 in the second half with the win. Six Power players hit safely. Four Power players recorded multi-hit games. Lee Haydel, Steffan Wilson and Eric Fryer all extended their hitting streaks. Haydel has hit safely in eight straight, Wilson brought his hitting streak to seven games and Fryer has hit safely in six straight. The Power will continue the five game series against Kannapolis Sunday evening. Left hander Dan Merklinger (1-5, 6.43) will get the start for the Power and the Intimidators will counter with right hander Charlie Shirek (2-3, 3.05). The first pitch is scheduled for 5:05 PM (4:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score In his last three outings, Nick Tyson has allowed 13 hits and 15 earned runs while retiring just four batters -- a shocking turn of events for the kid who pitched so well at Helena in '07; we expect more from Amaury Rivas, as this is only the second time in his last 11 starts he's allowed more than three earned runs; Caleb Gindl was pinch-hit for in the 8th, probably just to get Scott Houin an at-bat -- if you check the game log, you'll see Gindl was likely just plain exhausted from all the base hits he had to chase down, it's incredible, really, as Gindl ran down eight singles and a sacrifice fly... West Virginia Game Log

When MiLB.com updates its Arizona Brewers roster page either Sunday or Monday, we'll know more. Until then, no. Notice as of Saturday night, no one new to the system since the end of last season is on the page.

Thanks, battlekow. I've marked my calendar for either MLB All-Star Game Night on July 15th or three days later on the 18th to see Adams. I did get your email and was going to reply there, but I thought our readers would like to know as well. How did you manage to get in touch with several of the Brewer draft picks for interviews so quickly? Did you conduct the interviews via phone or email? That's not an easy task to transcribe and make it so conveniently readable as you have done. You do a great job for Jeff Sackmann's BrewCrewBall.com, and I'm glad our website relationship is so mutually informative for each of us and all the readers. By the way, here's the game log and box score from Evan Bronson's eight-inning stint.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 43 32 .573 - 25-14 18-18 L1 Memphis 38 37 .507 5.0 17-18 21-19 L1 Omaha 35 38 .479 7.0 15-19 20-19 W2 Nashville 29 46 .387 14.0 16-19 13-27 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 3 1 .750 - 0-0 3-1 L1 West Tenn 3 1 .750 - 0-0 3-1 W2 Tennessee 2 2 .500 1.0 2-2 0-0 L1 Chattanooga 1 3 .250 2.0 1-3 0-0 W1 Huntsville 1 3 .250 2.0 1-3 0-0 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jupiter 2 0 1.000 - 1-0 1-0 W2 St. Lucie 2 0 1.000 - 0-0 2-0 W2 Brevard County 1 1 .500 1.0 0-1 1-0 L1 Daytona 1 1 .500 1.0 0-1 1-0 W1 Palm Beach 0 2 .000 2.0 0-1 0-1 L2 Vero Beach 0 2 .000 2.0 0-2 0-0 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greensboro 2 0 1.000 - 0-0 2-0 W2 Hagerstown 2 0 1.000 - 0-0 2-0 W2 Lakewood 2 0 1.000 - 2-0 0-0 W2 West Virginia 1 1 .500 1.0 0-0 1-1 L1 Delmarva 0 2 .000 2.0 0-2 0-0 L2 Hickory 0 2 .000 2.0 0-0 0-2 L2 Lake County 0 2 .000 2.0 0-0 0-2 L2 Lexington 0 2 .000 2.0 0-2 0-0 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 4 0 1.000 - 0-0 4-0 W4 Great Falls 3 1 .750 1.0 0-1 3-0 L1 Helena 1 3 .250 3.0 1-3 0-0 W1 Missoula 0 4 .000 4.0 0-3 0-1 L4

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):

Saturday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Lindsay Gulin at home vs. Memphis (Cardinals), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 PM 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 Donovan Hand at home vs. 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 Alex Periard at Daytona (Cubs), 6:05 gametime Audio link, via Daytona's broadcast, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503 West Virginia: RHP Amaury Rivas at Kannapolis (White Sox), 5:50 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: 21-year-old 2008 2nd round RHP Cody Adams at home vs. Missoula (Diamondbacks), 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: Season begins Monday, June 23rd

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

Something to remember, because the Helena squad is going to play a ton of games against still-winless division rival Missoula this season. The Diamondbacks' lowest rung in their USA minor league affiliate ladder is Missoula (they do not have an Arizona League team). So all the games vs. the Osprey would be the equivalent of taking on the Brewer's Maryvale unit -- if Helena does (or does not) not dominate (as they won last night, 10-0), just keep that in mind.

I kind of dropped the ball last night -- I don't live on the Cape, as most of the Cape League towns are at least 50-60 miles to my east. However, the closest location, in Wareham, is only 30 miles away, and is normally where I take in my one or two Cape League games each summer. Traffic issues on summer weekends make it a real commitment to travel further. Last night, wouldn't you know it, 36th round lefty Evan Bronson got the start for visiting Yarmouth-Dennis in one of that team's two games at Wareham this summer. He went eight strong innings in a 10-3 Y-D win, so I missed out on that, or getting a chance to chat with him. Chances may have been good that the Brewers' New England Area Scout scout Rene Mons may have been at the game, or another member of the scouting staff. I've enjoyed a couple of chats with Brewer scouts in that setting in the past, although it's been a couple of years since the last one. Bronson's squad comes to Wareham again on Sunday, July 13th, so we'll see if I get a chance to circle my calendar for that evening. battlekow, the local papers here continue to refer to Austin Adams of TCU in their write-ups, as seen here, so if you can confirm it's actually the Brewer draftee out of Faulkner University in Alabama and not the TCU kid, that's another potential Brewer I may get to see in Wareham, and also get a chance to see if the Brewers are scouting him as a summer draft-and-follow. But I'm guessing it may be the TCU kid, as the local press is probably getting their info from league programs and bulletins.

Helena Pre-Game Audio Interview with General Manager and President Paul Fetz Discussion about current and planned ballpark improvements... Go to the KCAP audio archive of June 20th, then browse to the 19:00 minute mark

Link while active, text follows: Brewers blank Osprey By JEFF WINDMUELLER - Helena Independent Record It was like night and day for the Helena Brewers. After dropping their first three games of the season to Great Falls, Helena (1-3) walloped the Missoula Osprey 10-0 Friday night in a battle between the Pioneer League Northern Division's bottom two teams. Missoula (0-4) is winless on the season. Designated hitter Chris Dennis cracked two home runs in subsequent at bats while the Brewers defense played near-perfect ball, ending the night with three double plays and no errors in front of the crowd of 861. "I think you're just going to see better and better ball from us the more we play together," said Brewers manager Rene Gonzales about the win. Dennis' first hit was a solo home run that sailed over the right-field fence in the fourth to extend the Brewers' early lead to 4-0. In the next inning, Cutter Dykstra walked for the third time, John Delaney singled and both were brought in when Corey Kemp doubled off the centerfield wall. Kemp was able to jog the rest of the way when Dennis followed up with his second hit, barely clearing Missoula centerfielder Alberto Diaz's glove at the wall. "I've been working with the hitting coaches and for me, personally, it was just about making solid contact," Dennis said. "Once I made solid contact good things would hopefully happen, and I'm thankful for that tonight." The two-run homer brought the score to 9-0 and Dykstra came in once more on a Delaney single in the sixth to end the scoring. Dennis finished 2-for-4 with three RBI. Kemp finished 2-for-4 and Delaney 2-for-3. Meanwhile, Dykstra led the team with three runs scored despite going just 1-for-2 at the plate. Defensively, the Brewers couldn't have gotten off to a better start with Trey Watten (1-0) on the mound. Watten struck out four in the first three innings and finished after the sixth with just three hits. Brandon Ritchie came in to pitch three innings with two strike outs to earn the save. Of course, both pitchers had help preserving the shutout. On top of the double plays, Helena outfielders made two diving stops in the sixth that would have been fit for Sportscenter. Logan Schafer made the first, running toward the first base line to stretch for the snag a few inches off the grass. Dykstra followed it up two plays later when he made a diving stop at center, this one coming a foot in the air off the ball's first bounce. Dykstra popped up quickly and had home plate umpire Greg Stanzak sold on the catch. Stanzak called it an out, but after Missoula manager Audo Vicente argued the call, Stanzak and first-base ump Jason Hutchings deliberated. Stanzak turned away from the three-man meeting with the safe sign and the Brewers took the field once again to get the final out. "I think that's the kind of guys that we just drafted," Gonzales said. "No matter what kind of record we come across with, you're going to see a team that's going to go all out all the time. We're always going to be hustling, we're always going to go first-to-third, regardless of the score." Sloppy play harangued Missoula as they ended with three errors and more than just a few mistakes. Helena's first four runs came on just two hits as starting pitcher Miles Reagan (0-1) struggled, giving up four runs, three of them earned, in his only two innings on the mound. He walked four and struck out three before Jesse Orusco came in to relieve. "We were a lot more aggressive today within the strike zone offensively, and their starter got off to a bad start, and that was about it," Gonzales said about the runs. Orusco gave up both homers and five earned runs as the Brewers picked up nine hits on the night. Justin Mace held the final two innings without a run. The Brewers host Missoula again tonight at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m (8:05 and 5:00 PM Central). Helena's Cody Adams is expected to start on the mound today while Rafael Quezada should start for Missoula. Like Gonzales said, the Brewers simply want to build momentum after picking up their first win. "It's a huge burden off our backs, to get that first one's big because after that your team begins to gain confidence," Dennis said. Photos by Lisa Kunkel, Helena IR staff photographer - Helena Brewers' Michael Marseco turns the double play as Missoula's Alberto Diaz, left, slides into second and Bill Musselman attempts to outrun the throw to first during Pioneer League action Friday night at Kindrick Legion Field. The Brewers had three double plays in the game. http://www.helenair.com/content/articles/2008/06/21/sports/top/50spl_080621_brewers.jpg Brewers' Cutter Dykstra slides safely into third base as Missoula's Kyle Greene bobbles the ball during Pioneer League action Friday night at Kindrick Legion Field. http://images.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/articles/2008/06/21/sports/top/50spl_080621_brewers-2.jpg The Brewers' Brock Kjeldgaard bats during Friday's game against Missoula. Kjeldgaard walked on to score a run and went 0-for-3 in the game. http://images.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/articles/2008/06/21/sports/top/50spl_080621_brewers-3.jpg

Link while active, text follows: Brewers' reliever throws two innings in rehab outing By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer Milwaukee reliever Randy Choate, who is recovering from a broken hand suffered during spring training, made a two-inning rehab start Friday in the Sounds' 7-2 loss to Oklahoma. Choate, who spent parts of the previous eight seasons with the Yankees (2000-03) and Diamondbacks (2004-07) before signing with the Brewers in November, allowed two hits and an unearned run. He was relieved by originally scheduled starter Sam Narron to open the third. Including Choate, five different Milwaukee players have spent time with the Sounds this season on a rehab assignment. The others are Yovani Gallardo, outfielders Tony Gwynn and Mike Cameron as well as pitcher David Riske. Superstition unsuccessful: Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas went with the same batting order to start Friday's game against Oklahoma as the one that snapped the team's 10-game losing streak to the RedHawks on Thursday night. The last time the Sounds utilized the same batting order in consecutive games was 48 games ago. Nashville beat Colorado Springs 4-3 on April 30 before losing 5-1 to the Sky Sox on May 1. Heether heats up: With his two-out double in the third inning - sparking a two-run rally - Adam Heether extended his hitting streak to six games, the longest current streak among Sounds players. It was also Heether's third double of the four-game series, a total later matched by Brendan Katin. Doing the Sounds shuffle: Prior to Friday's game, left-hander Mitch Stetter was recalled by the Brewers. He'll take the roster spot vacated when right-hander Tim Dillard was optioned back down. It'll be the second major league stint for Stetter this season. Following an April 18 call-up, he was 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA in 13 relief appearances with Milwaukee before he was optioned back on May 16. Since returning to the Sounds, he has posted a 6.23 ERA. Dillard, who joined the Brewers on May 19, had a 5.40 ERA in eight relief appearances. In his last three outings, he allowed 10 runs (five earned) in 2 2/3 innings. The roster moves bring the Sounds to 77 for the season - four short of last year's 81. True closer: Nashville's Luis Pena has converted 11 of 12 save opportunities, posting an 0.75 ERA with a .146 batting average allowed (6-for-41). In 18 non-save situations, he has a 5.94 ERA with a .308 average allowed (20-for-65). Pena's 11 saves are tied for the third-best total in the Pacific Coast League.

Link while active, text follows: Sounds waste chance to beat Oklahoma By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer The Sounds came up empty in a bases-loaded, no-out situation Friday night, and it proved costly. Oklahoma broke open a close game with four ninth-inning runs to deal the Sounds a 7-2 loss in the series finale at Greer Stadium. The defeat was the 11th for Nashville in 12 games with Oklahoma, and the 12th for the Sounds in their past 14 games. "When you're losing, those (situations) stick out more," the Sounds' Adam Heether said The Sounds had taken a 2-1 lead on three consecutive two-out hits in the third inning. Two innings later, Brendan Katin doubled and Chris Woodward singled before Heether was hit by a Kazuo Fukumori pitch. Fukumori struck out Mel Stocker, then was relieved by Wes Littleton, who struck out Tony Gwynn and got an inning-ending fly out from Callix Crabbe. "Wes came in and made some good pitches," said the left-handed Gwynn, who took a called third strike on a backdoor slider over the outside corner. "Unless you're looking for that, you're not going to do much with it. "You'd like to get a couple of runs out of that, but that's sometimes how it goes. You've got to tip your hat to him. He made good pitches in a tough situation." Nashville managed just three more runners the rest of the night, while the RedHawks went ahead on a Chris Davis two-run home run in the sixth off Sam Narron. John Mayberry's two-run homer off Zach Jackson keyed the RedHawks' late rally. Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas acknowledged the significance of the fifth-inning fizzle. "We had a chance to extend the lead, but their guys did a good job making some pitches," he said. "Our error there was to get to two strikes, because both those guys had 'put-away' pitches. Hopefully, we'd put the ball in play before two strikes. "That can change the complexion of the game. If we get two runs, or even one - it's a tie game (following the Davis homer)."

Link while active, text follows: Extra innings prove unkind to Stars again Huntsville can't pull off rally in 13th as Jaxx win 8-7 By BRAD SHEPARD For The Huntsville Times The Huntsville Stars were down one manager, two all-stars and five runs Friday night, but none of that beat them. Instead, they lost 8-7 to West Tenn in 13 innings because they couldn't execute the little things like bunting runners over, getting guys home from third, fielding and getting the inning's leadoff hitter out at the most crucial time. Omar Aguilar walked Mark Kiger to lead off the 13th, and he came around to score when Stars shortstop Alcides Escobar threw wildly to first trying to complete an inning-ending double play. Then in the bottom half, Huntsville's Mike Bell led off with an infield single off West Tenn's regular left fielder Brent Johnson, who was in to pitch. Escobar struck out, Angel Salome lined out to deep center, and after two walks, Chris Errecart flew out to center to end a game that went 4 1/2 hours, and featured 27 hits and seven errors. "Just a flat-out bad game all around," Stars manager Don Money said. "We couldn't execute bunts, couldn't get runners home from third. That's why you lose." After West Tenn took a one-run lead into the bottom of the 11th, Salome ripped an RBI single up the middle to knock home Bell and tie the game with two outs. For Salome, it was his third hit and third RBI of the night. The Stars also got a stellar effort from relievers Patrick Ryan and Joe Bateman (seven innings, two runs). They had an opportunity to win the game when Errecart led off the 12th with a single, but Freddy Parejo bunted into a double play - his second failed attempt to move a runner over in three innings. Salome's single kept the Stars clawing back like they had all night, despite being without their two top run-producers. Southern League batting leader Mat Gamel went home before the game sick with a stomach virus, and league home run leader Matt LaPorta left the team to be with his ailing grandfather. Money said LaPorta is expected to be back with the team when it opens the series in Carolina on Tuesday. Early in Friday's game, the Stars fell way behind and it looked like they were in for a long night. First, they lost Money in the fourth inning after home plate umpire Craig Barron awarded Diamond Jaxx catcher Adam Moore first base, saying he was hit by a pitch. Money was thrown out of the game for the second time this year after asking what the call was and hearing that Moore was hit. Money said Barron told him there was a black mark on the ball where it hit Moore, but when Money examined the ball, he said there was no mark. Money then got tossed arguing with Barron about the lack of a black mark. "I said, 'Show me where the black mark is,' " Money said. "He told me I was making a spectacle, and I said, 'So what?' and he tossed me." After the argument, West Tenn went on for a four-run fourth off Brae Wright, and by then, the Jaxx held a 5-0 advantage. The Stars didn't quit. Instead, they started chipping away, scoring two in the bottom of the inning after Salome's two-out double was followed by Cole Gillespie's RBI bloop double that fell between the shortstop, left fielder and center fielder. Then, Carlos Corporan knocked in Gillespie - who was celebrating his 24th birthday - with a single. The Stars added two more in the fifth with some more clutch two-out hits. This time, Bell singled home Parejo, and then Salome ripped another single to close the gap to 5-4. Immediately afterward, Moore belted a solo homer off Ryan in the top of the sixth for a two-run advantage, but the Stars rallied for two more in the bottom half.

Brett Pollock mentioned in his pre-game open that Mat Gamel left the ball park and went home sick, and Matt LaPorta went home to Florida to be with an ailing grandfather. Huntsville Pre-Game Audio Interview with reliever Josh Wahpepah Go to the WUMP audio archive of June 20th, then browse to the 04:30 minute mark...

Huntsville Site Game Summary: D-Jaxx Down Stars in Extras Again Game Finally Decided After Four and a Half Hours By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Mark Kiger scored the winning run on a throwing error in the 13th inning to carry West Tenn past Huntsville 8-7 Friday night in the fourth of a six-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Diamond Jaxx have won three of the first four in the first series of the second half to improve to 44-30 overall, while the Stars dropped to 42-32 overall. Huntsville fell to 1-6 in extra innings games, while the Jaxx have won all seven of theirs. Omar Aguilar opened the 13th inning on the hill for the Stars and walked Kiger, who advanced to second base on a Brent Johnson sacrifice bunt. Luis Valbuena walked before Greg Halman hit a bouncer back to Aguilar, who threw to Alcides Escobar for the out at second but the shortstop bounced a one-hop throw to first base that Chris Errecart could not field cleanly, allowing Kiger to score the deciding run. Johnson, an outfielder, took over on the mound in the bottom half of the inning and gave up a leadoff single to Mike Bell before retiring the next two hitters. Cole Gillespie and Carlos Corporan walked to load the bases but Johnson worked out of trouble and saved the game by getting Errecart to fly out. The Stars have now lost five consecutive extra innings games, all at home, since May 15. Valbuena doubled in a pair of runs in a four-run fourth inning that extended the visitors' lead to 5-0. Gillespie and Corporan delivered run-scoring hits in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 5-2 and run-scoring singles by Bell and Angel Salome in the fifth sliced the lead to 5-4. Stars' starter Brae Wright allowed five runs, three earned, on eight hits, while walking three and fanning three, while West Tenn starter Travis Chick lasted 4 2/3 innings in his 13th start against the Stars over the last four seasons, yielding four runs, two earned, on seven hits. The Stars scored twice in the seventh inning to tie the game and there was no scoring until Jeffrey Dominguez delivered a two-out hit to plate Johnson to give the Jaxx a 7-6 edge in the eleventh. The Stars tied the game against Mumba Rivera in the bottom of the inning on a two-out hit by Salome, who has knocked in a run in 16 of his last 25 games. The series continues Saturday night with Huntsville right-hander Donovan Hand taking the hill against West Tenn right-hander Anderson Garcia in his double-A debut. Coverage of the game 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 That's brutal when a non-pitcher gets the scoreless save, but don't those guys normally have scoreless innings throughout baseball -- it's amazing; Joe Bateman's been very good out of the pen for quite a while now; seven of the 15 runs in the game were unearned; Alcides Escobar can't have 15 errors on June 20th in the future, no matter how many other spectacular plays he may make; base hits for everyone in the lineup; we're assuming it was a day of rest for both Mat Gamel and Matt LaPorta (back), although we'll check out the pre-game audio as well for news... Huntsville Game Log

Final: West Tenn (Mariners) 8, Huntsville 7, 13 innings All the details in the AM...

Final: Helena 10, Missoula (Diamondbacks) 0 Helena Site Game Summary: Brewers Thump Osprey, Earn First Win of Season The Helena Brewers picked up their first win of the 2008 season by defeating the Missoula Osprey 10-0 Friday night at Kindrick Field. The Brewers jumped out to a three run lead in the second inning and never looked back from there. Chris Dennis homered twice and had three RBI's for the Brewers and Trey Watten threw six scoreless innings in the rout. Watten surrendered only three hits while striking out four and didn't give up a walk in his professional debut. Brandon Ritchie earned his first save of his professional career as he closed out the final three innings striking out two Osprey and walking none. John Delaney and Corey Kemp each had two hits along with Dennis. Kemp also drove in a pair of runs. The Brewers look to put together a winning streak tomorrow night as they take on the Osprey again at Kindrick Field. Helena Box Score Two hours and eight minutes of dominance -- enjoy; Cutter Dykstra singled and walked three times, scored three runs; John Delaney also on three times; truly spectacular debuts for Trey Watten and the big lefty Brandon Ritchie, no walks at all for both... Helena Game Log

The Brewers have announced they've signed 46th round 19-year-old high school SS Carlos George of the Bronx, and 48th round RHP Marcus Salmon, a 20-year-old out of Miami Dade Junior College. Expect to see both in Maryvale this summer. Brewers Site -- Updated

Final: Daytona (Cubs) 11, Brevard County 3 Game Summary from the Cubs's Site: [VIERA, FL] The bats were flying all around Space Coast Stadium, both literally and figuratively, tonight as the Cubs pounded the Manatees on their home turf, 11-3. The Cubs hit three, three-run home runs tonight in the process of dismantling the Brevard County pitching staff. The first of those three came in the third inning off the bat of Blake Lalli. With two outs, Lalli took full advantage of the situation. He drove a pitch off Manatees starter Josh Butler out to right field to put the Cubs on top 3-0. There was no looking back from that point. Russ Canzler remained hot when he hit the second three-run shot of the game. Tony Thomas led off the inning with a double, and was followed up by a Jim Adduci walk. The next two men were retired, which brought Canzler to the plate. He turned on a fast ball and knocked it out of left field. Ironically, the first two home runs both came with two outs in the inning. Thomas no doubt had the most exciting play of the game in the sixth inning. Jonathan Mota and Darwin Barney were on base when Thomas lined a pitch down the third base line. He turned on the superjets and didn't stop running. Thomas somehow made it all the way around to score for an inside-the-park home run to make the score 9-0. Billy Muldowney was nothing short of spectacular tonight. He pitched five innings of shutout baseball. He gave up two hits, walked one, and struck out two as he picked up his second win, while lowering his ERA to 1.26. More runs came in the seventh. Four singles in the inning produced two runs. Lalli was the first man to reach base and was followed by Yusuf Carter who singled as well. Jonathan Mota singled next, and then it took Mark Reed's singled to bring the two runs in the inning. The bullpen had a huge lead to work with and they were able to make it stick. Three relievers combined to pitch four innings of six hit, three run baseball. The series concludes tomorrow night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark back in Daytona. Game time is 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). Brevard County Box Score An inside-the-park home run down the left field line? Did Charlie Fermaint pull an Alex Rios? Josh Buler walked six, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch, and as mentioned earlier, surrendered three three-run home runs; game was delayed an hour and 20 minutes at the start; three-game series with home games in Daytona, Viera, and then Daytona again; Mr. Reliable, Taylor Green, on base three times... Brevard County Game Log

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Frank Kremblas (Fridays with Frank) Final: Oklahoma (Rangers) 7, Nashville 2 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for new Adam Heether photo, text follows -- Sounds Drop Series Finale To RedHawks NASHVILLE - The Oklahoma RedHawks scored six unanswered runs to hang a 7-2 defeat on the Nashville Sounds on Friday evening at Greer Stadium in the finale of a four-game series. The loss was Nashville's 11th in 12 contests against the RedHawks this season. Left-hander Randy Choate made the start in his first rehab appearance for Nashville and worked two innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits. He threw 31 pitches (14 strikes). Oklahoma pushed across the game's first run in unearned fashion in the top of the second inning. Travis Metcalf drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a passed ball charged to Sounds catcher Vinny Rottino, and later scored on Nate Gold's two-out RBI single to left. The Sounds took a 2-1 lead in the third against RedHawks starter Kazuo Fukumori. After the first two batters were retired, Adam Heether and Mel Stocker ripped back-to-back, two-out doubles to knot the score. Heether's two-bagger was his third of the series and extended Nashville's longest active hitting streak to six games. After Stocker stole third, Tony Gwynn plated him with a go-ahead RBI single through the right side. AUDIO: Mel Stocker RBI Double Nashville missed a chance to add to the lead in the fifth, failing to score after loading the bases with no outs. Fukumori struck out Stocker for the first out before being replaced by Wes Littleton, who fanned Gwynn and induced an inning-ending flyout from Callix Crabbe. RedHawks first baseman Chris Davis continued his strong series in the sixth when he belted a two-run homer to deep center off Sam Narron, his third roundtripper of the series and tenth of the year. Nelson Cruz, who led off the inning with a walk, also scored on the blast, which gave the visitors a 3-2 lead. Oklahoma added four insurance runs in the top of the ninth against Zach Jackson to extend its lead to 7-2. Kevin Richardson led off with a double, was sacrificed to third, and scored on Joaquin Arias' RBI single to left. After Cruz singled to right, Davis lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center to bring home Arias. John Mayberry followed with a two-run homer to left-center, his eighth tater of the year, to wrap up the visitors' scoring. Littleton (5-1) picked up the win after working 2 2/3 hitless relief innings for Oklahoma. Bill White worked two scoreless frames for the RedHawks to notch his second save of the year. Narron (3-3) took the loss after allowing two runs on five hits in his 5 1/3 innings of work behind Choate's rehab outing. The Sounds continue their homestand on Saturday evening by welcoming the cross-state rival Memphis Redbirds to town for the 6 p.m. opener of a four-game series. Left-hander Lindsay Gulin (3-4, 2.83) will man the bump for the Sounds to face Redbirds southpaw Jaime Garcia (3-3, 3.97). The first 2,000 fans entering the ballpark will receive a free Ryan Braun magnet, courtesy of NowPlayingNashville.com. Another spectacular fireworks show will follow the game. Nashville Box Score Zach Jackson was fantastic in the 8th, stranding two inherited runners, but blew up in the 9th, as noted above; not the most imposing of lineups the Sounds are tossing out there when Callix Crabbe is your #3 hitter... Nashville Game Log