Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070812/SPORTS0401/708120388/1328/SPORTS Sounds fall to Isotopes in a pitchers' duel DiFelice has 11 K's, allows two hits in loss By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer Mark DiFelice kept his momentum on the mound going, but the Sounds couldn't muster up any power on the way to a 3-1 loss Saturday to Albuquerque. DiFelice (2-1) picked up his first loss with Nashville despite tying a career-high with 11 strikeouts. He gave up two hits over seven innings, but the Sounds failed to capitalize on their six hits. The loss came before a Greer Stadium crowd of 8,759. The Sounds avoided a shutout when Ozzie Chavez's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning scored Charles Thomas. Albuquerque claimed its second consecutive win over Nashville by scoring two runs off sacrifice flies in the fourth and fifth innings before former Middle Tennessee State star Brett Carroll homered off the scoreboard in the seventh. "It's good to get a home run like that because it gets the stress off your shoulders,'' said Carroll, who is from Knoxville and has 14 homers this season. "All your family and friends who are here to see you play expect big things from you. "I got a hanging curveball up in the zone. (DiFelice) is good - he knows how to pitch." DiFelice pitched well, but the Isotopes took advantage of his few mistakes, according to Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas. "Unfortunately, when he made mistakes they had guys in scoring position,'' Kremblas said. "And they did a good job of capitalizing on them." Marino Salas replaced DiFelice in the seventh inning and recorded five strikeouts, giving the Sounds a total of 16, which was just one shy of their season-high. Albuquerque right-hander Wes Obermueller (1-1), a former Sound, struck out nine in 8 2/3 innings. For the second consecutive night Nashville threatened to rally late but came up short. Nashville had runners on second and third with one out but got just one run. What they said: "We had a chance. In that one inning (fourth) we had bases loaded, nobody out, and we weren't able to get anybody in. That's always frustrating.'' - Kremblas.

Helena KCAP Pre-Game Audio with Pro Scouting Director and Asst. to the GM Dick Groch... Be sure you're on the archive of August 11th and go to the 6:00 minute mark... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/multimedia/audio.jsp

Final: Orem (Angels) 10, Helena 2 Owlz own Brewers By Helena Independent Record Staff OREM, Utah - The Helena Brewers got off to a bad start Saturday, and things didn't get any better. Helena fell to the Orem Owlz 10-2 thanks to a shaky start by Chad Robinson, three errors and anemic hitting. In the bottom of the first, Gordon Gronkowski walked to load the bases with one out. Hector Estrella singled to left to bring in Rian Kiniry and Jay Brossman. Later, Anel De Los Santos hit his eighth double to drive in Gronkowski and Estrella. In the top of the second, Anthony Wycklendt singled with two out to bring up Zach McAngus, who, after a passed ball, singled to score Wycklendt. In the bottom of the second, Trevor Pippin walked to lead off the inning, but was put out on a fielder's choice. Andrew Romine singled to left, bringing Pippin to third. After Romine stole second base, Gronkowski hit his 17th double to right, driving in Romine and Pippin. That chased Robinson out of the inning, who moved to 0-3 on the year after allowing six runs on four hits and four walks. Casey Baron came on to finish the inning. In Helena's half of the third, Mike Goetz reached to lead off the inning when he was hit by a pitch. After an out, Goetz stole second and was driven in on a Jonathan Lucroy single. A double play ended the inning, and the last real Brewer threat. The Owlz weren't done, though. Jeremy Moore singled to lead off the bottom of the third, followed by a fielding error by David Fonseca. With two runners in scoring position, Pippin reacheds on a fielder's choice that allowed Jeremy Moore to score. In the bottom of the sixth, Kiniry reached on another error by Fonseca. Romine grounded into a fielder's choice, then stole second. With Brossman batting, Romine stole his eighth base of the year. Brossman then reached on a catcher interference call, followed by another walk by Gronkowski to load the bases. Estrella doubled to left to empty the bases. The Owlz were paced by starter Robert Fish, who gave up two runs on four hits and one walk. The Brewers have lost seven of their last nine games. They fell to five games back of the Great Falls White Sox in the second half standings. Helena travels to Ogden, Utah, today to play at 4:05 PM (5:05 Central). Helena Box Score: Caleb Gindl 2-for-4... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_11_helrok_orerok_1 Helena Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_11_helrok_orerok_1

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- http://www.huntsvillestars.com/news/news.asp?newsId=1316 Barons Beat Stars for a Second Straight Night Kyle McCulloch worked six solid innings and Birmingham posted runs in six different frames en route to a 6-4 win over Huntsville Saturday night in the fourth of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars dropped their second straight game to fall to 30-19 in the second half, but they were able to maintain their three-game lead over Chattanooga, which fell at Montgomery, in the North Division, while the Barons improved to 22-27 in the second half and 54-65 overall. David Cook continued his Roy Hobbs impersonation with a solo home run in the first inning to give the Barons the early lead. He wound up reaching base in all five plate appearances and has hit seven long balls, knocked in 15 and scored in all nine games in his first stint at the double-A level. The Barons loaded the bases with one out in the second before Stars' starter Steve Hammond fanned Cole Armstrong and Adam Shabala to work out of trouble. The visitors added a run in the third to take a 2-0 lead. The Stars took the lead with three runs in the home third on a throwing error by the catcher Armstrong on a Mel Stocker sacrifice bunt attempt, a run-scoring single by Alcides Escobar, who was thrown out trying to stretch into a double, and a sacrifice fly by Hernan Iribarren, who had his 14th multiple hit game in his last 18 starts. Birmingham tied the game in the sixth on a two-out single by Getz that knocked Hammond out of the contest. Robert Hinton took over and walked Cook to load the bases before Shawn Garrett popped up to end the inning. The Stars loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame but McCulloch worked out of trouble by striking out Steve Moss and getting Carlos Corporan to foul out. The former Texas Longhorn yielded three runs, one earned on four hits over six innings in his second double-A start. He fanned three and walked two to grab his first win with the Barons and hiseighth of the season. The visitors took the lead for good against Hinton in the seventh on a run-scoring double by Ricardo Nanita and made it 5-3 in the eighth against E.J. Shanks on a two-out RBI hit by Victor Mercedes. The Stars scored in the home eighth against Adam Russell but the Barons added an insurance run in the ninth on a run-scoring double by Adam Shabala, who has knocked in a run in three straight games. Oneli Perez retired the Stars in order in the home ninth to earn a save for a second straight night and for the 14th time this season. The series wraps up Sunday evening with left-hander Sam Narron taking the hill for Huntsville against Barons' southpaw Gio Gonzalez. Coverage of the game begins at 5:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

How could the Stars lose on Don Money Wobbler night? http://www.huntsvillestars.com/images/news/Money%20Wobbler.jpg Is that a commentary on Don's waist band, his post-game beverages, or both? http://static.yuku.com/v2//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/smile.gif Forget bobbles, wobblers is where it's at...

Bottom of the 6th in Orem, H-Crew getting spanked, 7-2...

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 6, Huntsville 4 Birmingham scores a single run in six different innings, again making for an entertaining, if disappointing, game log; Huntsville site with details soon... Huntsville Box Score: Reliever E.J. Shanks' submarine pitching style fooled them all at low- and high-A, but not at this level; Hernan Iribarren still hot, 2-for-3 with a sac fly; Guilder Rodriguez not your prototypical first baseman... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_11_biraax_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_11_biraax_hunaax_1

Final: Fort Myers (Twins) 7, Brevard County 6 Brevard County Box Score: Ouch -- Mike McClendon has allowed 48 hits and 16 walks over his last six starts, totalling only 29 1/3 IP; Mat Gamel with a triple, on base three times; Anderson De La Rosa, just turned 23, remains a bit intriguing... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_11_breafa_ftmafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: These game logs are just chock full tonight, sometimes painful -- baserunners everywhere... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_11_breafa_ftmafa_1

Painful end to the 8th inning in Fort Myers, Manatees still down late: Brevard County Top 8th - Mat Gamel singles on a ground ball to center fielder Dustin Martin. - Cole Gillespie singles on a line drive to center fielder Dustin Martin. Mat Gamel to 3rd. - Pitcher Change: Eduardo Morlan replaces David Shinskie. - Darren Ford singles on a fly ball to shortstop Steven Tolleson, deflected by left fielder Juan Portes. Mat Gamel scores. Cole Gillespie to 2nd. - Michael Bell singles on a line drive to right fielder Dwayne White. Cole Gillespie to 3rd. Darren Ford to 2nd. - J. R. Hopf strikes out swinging. - Ned Yost strikes out swinging. - Anderson De La Rosa strikes out swinging.

Final: West Virginia 8, Savannah (Mets) 6 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER WIN 8-6 SLUGFEST The West Virginia Power and Savannah Sand Gnats combined to score 14 runs on 17 hits on Saturday night at Appalachian Power Park and the Power came away with an 8-6 victory to take the final game of the series. Jonathan Sanchez hit a two-run homer in the top of the first inning to give the Sand Gnats an early edge. The Power answered quickly in the bottom of the first as Taylor Green tied the game with a two-run single. Green struck again in the third inning with an RBI single. Savannah took their second lead of the game in the fourth inning. Leivi Ventura doubled in the first run of the inning and Elvis Cruz knocked in the second on a sacrifice fly. Brent Brewer's two-run single in the fourth inning put the Power ahead 5-4. The Sand Gnats tied the game in the fifth inning when Hector Pellot scored on Jeremy Jeffress's error. Andy Bouchie ripped a two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to give West Virginia the lead for good. The Sand Gnats scored their final run in the sixth inning on Cruz's second sac fly and in the eighth inning the Power added an insurance run when Matt LaPorta walked with the bases loaded. Jose Romero (4-0) got the win, allowing a run on a hit over two innings of relief. Donovan Hand (1) got the save and retired all eight batters he faced while Waner Mateo (0-1) was tagged with the loss. The Power improved to 70-46 overall and 22-26 in the second half, while the Sand Gnats fell to 35-82 overall and 15-32 in the second half with the loss. Brewer, Green and Bouchie all had two hits apiece. Green went 8-for-13 with three runs and three RBI in the series. The Power will begin a four game series with the Charleston Riverdogs at Appalachian Power Park on Sunday night. The Power will start right hander Shawn Ferguson (2-1, 3.05) and the Riverdogs will counter with right hander John Axford (0-2, 3.04). The first pitch is scheduled for 5:05 PM (4:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score: Jeremy Jeffress with fielding miscues on consecutive plays in the 5th; Taylor Green has been enormously fun to follow all season, what an unexpected joy; Brent Brewer now 37-for-44 in SB attempts; Andy Bouchie sorely needed a big game like tonight's... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_11_savafx_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Runs were scored in nine different hal-innings by the two clubs, but never more than two runs in an inning... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_11_savafx_wvaafx_1

Final: Albuquerque (Marlins) 3, Nashville 1 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Mark DiFelice photo, text follows -- http://www.nashvillesounds.com/news/news.asp?newsId=2501 NASHVILLE - Former Sounds hurler Wes Obermueller worked 8 2/3 strong innings to lead the Albuquerque Isotopes to a 3-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday evening in front of 8,759 fans at Greer Stadium. Obermueller (1-1), who pitched for Nashville during the club's PCL championship campaign in 2005, notched his first PCL win of the year. He allowed one unearned run on seven hits over his 8 2/3 innings while striking out nine batters. Nashville pitchers allowed only three hits and struck out 16 batters in the losing effort. The Sounds (71-49) out-hit the opposition for the third straight game but have dropped all three contests. Middle Tennessee State University product Brett Carroll scored two of the three Isotopes runs, including one on his 14th home run of the season. Sounds starter Mark DiFelice (2-1) matched a career high with 11 strikeouts and surrendered only two hits over seven innings but took a hard-luck loss, his first in six PCL outings this season. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.78 with the effort. The Isotopes manufactured a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning against DiFelice. Eric Reed led off with a double to right, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a John Gall sacrifice fly. Obermueller worked into and out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fourth inning to nix Nashville's best scoring opportunity of the evening. After Drew Anderson led off with a walk, Brad Nelson and Vinny Rottino followed with singles to fill the bags. Obermueller caught three straight Sounds batters looking at strike three - Charles Thomas, Chris Barnwell, and Ozzie Chavez - to escape the jam unscathed. Albuquerque used a Jason Phillips sacrifice fly to double its lead to 2-0 in the fifth. Carroll scored unearned on the play after reaching to open the frame when centerfielder Gabe Gross dropped his fly ball. Carroll increased the visitors' lead to 3-0 in the top of the seventh when he belted a 1-1 DiFelice offering off the scoreboard in left-center. The one-out solo homer was his 14th of the season. Nashville broke up Obermueller's shutout bid in the bottom of the ninth after Thomas drew a one-out walk and Barnwell singled. Chavez followed with a sacrifice fly to left to make it a 3-1 contest. Roy Corcoran took over on the Albuquerque hill and retired pinch-hitter Andy Abad, the potential tying run, on a flyout to notch his 11th save of the year and second in two nights. Gross (2-for-4) extended his hitting streak to 10 games for Nashville with a fifth-inning single. Anderson had his season-best 12-game hitting streak halted with an 0-for-3 evening for the Sounds. The teams continue the series with another 6 p.m. meeting on Sunday evening. Right-hander Seth McClung (1-0, 0.00) will make his second start of the year for the Sounds to face Isotopes right-hander Nic Ungs (4-4, 5.40). Nashville Box Score: Reliever Marino Salas' most recent three outings -- 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 13 K's; Gabe Gross with a 1.082 OPS in 18 AAA games... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_11_albaaa_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_11_albaaa_nasaaa_1

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Brewer Minor League Pitching Coordinator Jim Rooney (Part 2 of 2): http://www.nashvillesounds.com/audio/2007/Interview%208-11.mp3

Man, it is so much easier to slide on over to this forum and post the updates after a victory like that by the Crew! A wonderful late-night second wind on the East Coast here for yours truly. All your updates shortly. Just remember, before he was your Milwaukee stud, Ryan Braun was your Link Report stud. http://static.yuku.com/v2//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/happy.gif

Two of the wilder game logs of the season in the Power and Manatee games tonight, both tight affairs currently in the mid-innings. Bad first inning for Chad Robinson in Helena. The Sounds were Obermueller'd tonight -- details later.

Nashville down 1-0 mid-game, cover your eyes here: Nashville Bottom 4th - Drew Anderson walks. - Brad Nelson singles on a ground ball to right fielder Reggie Abercrombie. Drew Anderson to 2nd. - Vinny Rottino singles on a bunt ground ball to catcher Jason Phillips. Drew Anderson to 3rd. Brad Nelson to 2nd. - Charles Thomas called out on strikes. - Chris Barnwell called out on strikes. - Ozzie Chavez called out on strikes.

Darren Ford and his .313 Florida State League OBP hitting 5th tonight for Brevard. Lorenzo Cain and his .342 Florida State League SLG batting leadoff. It's the old switcheroo, which basically means both have disappointed in their previously assigned roles. Notice I didn't say failed, just disappointed.

Link while active, text follows: http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695199904,00.html Owlz handed shutout by Brewers By Jason Adkins For the Deseret Morning News OREM - Twenty-five games are left in the Pioneer League season for the Orem Owlz, and they aren't out of contention yet. But they need to get it together quickly to secure a playoff berth for the seventh straight year. A 3-0 loss by Orem (5-6, 22-27 overall) to the Helena Brewers (4-7, 30-19) Friday didn't help their cause heading into the final weeks of the season. Helena lefty Bobby Bramhall (2-0, 2.70 ERA) got the win, striking out eight and lasting six innings in his second start of the season. Robert Bryson earned his eighth save in three innings of relief. "He had us discombobulated," Orem manager Tom Kotchman said of Bramhall's performance. Instead of scoring runs as he did in Thursday's game, Helena's Curt Rindal used his bat to give his team their first run in the top of the first by smacking an RBI single down the third-base line. Two straight leadoff hits by the Brewers set up the scoring situation. Not to be outdone by the Brewers staff, Orem starter Jordan Walden (1-1) settled down and notched seven strikeouts in five innings of work after his issues early on. His relief staff couldn't follow his lead as Helena increased their margin. Kurt Crowell put the Brewers' lead to three runs in the seventh with a two-run blast over the shallow right-field fence. Rindal led off the inning with a double that got past the diving glove of Jay Brossman at third. "He (Derek Schlecker) gave up a home run that is not a home run in most ballparks," said Kotchman. Orem's best chance for a run came in their turn of the fifth. Hector Estrella singled, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball that put him in position for the tying score. Two outs didn't give Orem's batters many options to bring him home, and Bramhall used his slider to almost perfection in getting the final out of the frame. Another chance for Orem to score was for naught as they couldn't break through in the seventh. Brossman started off the inning with a double, but was stranded at second after two strikeouts and a flyout ended their hopes of putting something on the board. Orem continues its series against Helena tonight at 7:00 PM (6:00 Central) at Brown Ballpark. *** Bramhall and Brewers shut down Orem Helena Independent Record OREM, Utah-The Helena Brewers got a quality start from their pitcher Friday night, and cashed in, winning 3-0 over the Orem Owlz. Brewer starter Bobby Bramhall pitched well, allowing no runs on three hits across six innings. He struck out eight while walking just one. Right fielder Kurt Crowell homered for the Brewers, who won their second game in a row. In the first, Helena first baseman Curt Rindal brought home left fielder Mike Goetz with the third Brewer single of the inning. In the seventh, Rindal doubled to left center to lead off the inning. After a sacrifice bunt that sent Rindal to third, Crowell hit his fourth homer of the season, a shot to right that brought the score to 3-0. Goetz and Eric Farris each collected two hits on the evening. Brewer reliever Robert Bryson came on to close the game down, working three innings and allowing four hits while striking out five, two of which were in the ninth inning. That was enough for Bryson to claim his eighth save of the season. With the win, Helena stayed four games behind Northern-Division leading Great Falls. The Brewers face off against the Owlz again tonight, the second game of their four-game series. Photo by Tom Smart, Deseret Morning News Brewers' Eric Ferris tags out the Owlz Jerry Gonzalez at second base during Friday night's contest in Orem. The Brewers won. http://deseretnews.com/photos/4453500.jpg

David Weiser's http://www.starsboxscore.com/ BARONS WING IT GULIN's TO WAIT TILL THURSDAY FOR WIN #12 Birmingham didn't need a wing and a prayer Friday night to contain a Stars offense that was bashing the ball at a .331 clip over the last seven games. Just a Wing...... Ryan Wing (1-1, 3.38 vs. the Stars in two previous starts), retired 17 of 18 hitters until he ran out of gas in the 6th, but got a pair of home runs in the 5th for support as the Barons snapped two winning streaks -- Huntsville's eight-game win streak, and Lindsay Gulin's seven-gamer......... Gulin had not lost since June 11 when West Tennessee beat the Stars, 1-0, on a Matt Tuiasosopo HR. A good crowd of over 6,600, eager for fireworks, and perhaps lured in by a Redstone Federal Credit Union buyout, braved the continuing heat wave, which seems to be growing worse by the day........ The temperature an hour before game-time was 99º. It cooled off maybe by a degree or two by the time it started (other sources will vary), but to my memory, it was the hottest temperature I've sat through in my 22 years of coming to this stadium....... As bad as it sounds, though, the Arizona-like heat was mitigated by an occasional breeze blowing in, and a 26% relative humidity, which made watching this game more tolerable, certainly than Thursday. Brendan Katin entered the game as the Southern League's active HR and RBI leader after West Tennessee's Charlton Jimerson was promoted to Tacoma....... That's good news for the Stars who play the Diamond Jaxx at Pringles Park starting Tuesday...... Jimerson was the backbone of their offense, hitting .276 with 23 HRs and 73 RBIs and 30 stolen bases and was leading the league in slugging........ Katin, unfortunately, isn't the offensive threat Jimerson was in this league for one reason --- he's struck out 137 times this season, and is just nine away from tying Brad Nelson's club strikeout record, which stood for almost 20 years until he broke it in 2004...... Katin, who has struck out at a .349 rate, is certain to smash it to pieces. In contrast to the hitting parade we saw the last two nights, Wing and Gulin were dueling each other for four innings...... While all the Stars could muster was Carlos Corporan's two-out double to left in the 3rd, the Barons were getting on base, although not in bunches -- at least until the 5th....... Gulin, who rarely throws in the mid-80s, is successful because he keeps hitters off-balance and can locate his pitches well. And, it's worth emphasizing, no one can really hit a ball that's thrown in the low 70s well........ Remember a game last year -- August 25th, in fact, when the Stars and Mississippi Braves battled to 14 innings at the Joe. Jeff Blauser's bullpen was so depleted that he was forced to use coach David Williams and catcher Ray Serrano on the mound in the last 3 2/3 innings........ In the 7th, 8th, and 9th, the Stars banged out eight hits, but could only score three runs to force the game into extra innings. Now it seems the Stars should have taken target practice on the Braves' two emergency subs, but Williams and Serrano lollipopped their way to four scoreless innings of one-hit ball....... Huntsville hitters, overanxious perhaps, and cutting the ball underneath, were popping everything up. They couldn't drive the ball deep at the speed they were being thrown...... The point to this is, part of Gulin's effectiveness lies in that it's hard for opposing hitters to drive a ball far when it is thrown at such a low velocity. Early on, Gulin used the fast ball to set up the change, then relied on the change and curve more as the game progressed...... He struck out five -- all of them on change-ups....... He threw 13 of his first 19 pitches for strikes but wore down in the 6th, throwing only 14 of 27 for strikes. In the end, he threw 104 pitches, 66 for strikes (63.4%)........ With his soft stuff, he's also been able to avoid the long ball, giving up just nine home runs in 95 innings into tonight. But in the space of three batters in the 5th, Andy Shabala and David Cook went deep on him, giving the Barons a game-deciding 3-0 lead........ Shabala's home run, his 2nd in as many days (his only ones with Birmingham) flew over the Hardees sign, which makes up the top wall in right field, about 375' away...... After Chris Getz singled through the legs of Hernan Iribarren, which was originally ruled an error, Cook planted one over the wall, almost to dead-center, about 410'...... The closest the Stars came to the long ball was a shot by Steve Moss in the 6th -- one of the last batters Wing faced. Moss hit an 0-1 pitch deep to left-center that bounced off the top of the railing on the wall to the left of the scoreboard, and bounced back in. Moss got a double out of that, and scored on Ryan Crew's single on a 2-2 pitch right up the middle........ Crew (.320 in August) has now hit safely in five of his last six games and driven in six runs. Saturday, the Barons will trot out an unknown -- right-hander Kyle McCulloch (7-7, 3.64 at Winston-Salem), making just his 2nd appearance. The Stars counter with Steve Hammond, 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA in his last 13 appearances, three of them out of the bullpen. The Sollmanns are proud new parents of a baby girl. Mother and baby are doing fine. Let's hope this starts a nice long hitting streak for Steve, who is 5-for-29 (.172) in August. Released in June by the Los Angeles Angels' farm club at Arkansas, Chris Saenz has joined the independent ranks, signing with Reno of the Golden League.

Link while active, text follows: http://www.al.com/stars/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/sports/1186823716321080.xml&coll=1 Stars less than stellar Barons halt Huntsville's roll with 6-2 win By BRAD SHEPARD For the Huntsville Times For the better part of the past two months, Stars starting pitcher Lindsay Gulin has been brilliant at baffling hitters. For the better part of the past week, the Stars' offense has looked like it could hit blindfolded. For the better part of Friday night, then, the world must have tilted on its axis. Both of those things turned upside down. Gulin finally looked human against Birmingham, allowing four runs in six innings as the Barons snapped Huntsville's eight-game winning streak with a 6-2 win in front of a crowd of 6,651 at Joe Davis Stadium. It was the largest home crowd since July 21. "Unfortunately, it's part of the game," said Stars center fielder Steve Moss, who was 1-for-4 with the first run scored. "Obviously, you try to go out there and be on the other side. "We'll just go out tomorrow and start a new streak." Not only did Gulin lose for the first time since mid-June, going back seven decisions, but the Stars (30-18, 67-49) couldn't string together any hits, either. Birmingham starter Ryan Wing did his best Gulin impression, giving up only four hits and a run in 5 2/3 innings. After Wing left, Huntsville managed only one other run. "He was changing speeds very well," Stars manager Don Money said of Wing. "He had our guys swinging early. He did a great job." Added Moss: "He's obviously been watching us, because he did his best to exploit our weaknesses, and he got the best of us." Both pitchers were cruising along until the fifth when Adam Shabala smacked his second home run of the series to give the Barons (21-27, 53-65) a 1-0 lead. Following an infield single by Chris Getz, David Cook belted a Gulin pitch over the right-center field wall for a two-run homer and a 3-0 lead. Birmingham tacked on an insurance run the next inning when it got a couple of hits, and Victor Mercedes raced home on a Gulin wild pitch to make it 4-0. Neither David Johnson nor Vince Perkins was very effective in relief afterward. Though Gulin was not at his sharpest to be sure, Money said he pitched pretty well other than a couple of bad choices. The manager specifically mentioned the home run pitch to Shabala. "I think he just made a bad pitch selection there," Money said. "He wanted to come in, and to me, that's not the pitch to go in on because the wind - when there was a wind - was blowing out in the right-field corner." Huntsville's bats finally awoke a little in the sixth when the Stars pushed across a run. Then, they loaded the bases with two outs, but Lou Palmisano grounded into a force play to end the inning. That was where the rallies ended. Huntsville tacked on another run in the seventh, but the Stars never threatened to seriously tackle the Barons' lead. "We just didn't do very many things well tonight," Money said. The Stars and Barons will continue their series tonight at 7:05 as Kyle McCulloch will take the mound against Huntsville's resurgent Steve Hammond.

Link while active, text follows: http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070811/SPORTS0401/708110371/1328/SPORTS Home runs help end Pettyjohn's win streak By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer Even in the blazing heat Sounds ace Adam Pettyjohn cooled off Friday night in a 7-6 loss to Albuquerque. The southpaw, who had earned victories in each of his last six games, gave up home runs in the third and fifth innings on the way to falling behind 6-4 before a Greer Stadium crowd of 7,862 in the first of an eight-game homestand for the Sounds. It wasn't the first time Pettyjohn (9-3) had shown his vulnerability in giving up home runs. While he had won 11 of his previous 14 outings, Pettyjohn had given up home runs in eight of his nine Pacific Coast League wins. Nashville remained in first place with a 5½-game lead over Iowa. On Friday, it was Albuquerque center fielder Robert Andino who hit the first homer off Pettyjohn. Andino's two-run shot over the left field wall was followed in the fifth by a two-run homer by Val Pascucci, which gave the Isotopes a 6-1 lead. "The one to Pascucci wasn't a bad pitch, but he's just a big strong guy and he likes the ball over the outside of the plate,'' Pettyjohn said. "The one to Andino wasn't a bad pitch. It was a cutter down and in and he just got a good piece of the bat on the ball. It happens sometime. "Control has always been my strong point. You throw enough strikes in the zone and you rely on contact, they're bound to pop a couple here and there." Pettyjohn was pulled after the sixth and replaced by Steve Bray, who wasn't able to cool off Albuquerque's bats. The first batter Bray faced, former Sound Andrew Beattie, clubbed a home run. In the eighth Brad Nelson scored on an error by Isotopes pitcher Nate Field to trim Albuquerque's lead to 7-5. The Sounds loaded the bases with two outs, but Roy Corcoran struck out Mike Rivera. In the ninth, Laynce Nix scored from second on an error by Isotope center fielder Eric Reed, but Ozzie Chavez grounded out to end the game. What they said: "We got 13 hits and they made some errors, too, that allowed us to get some guys on, move them around and score." - Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas. *** Link while active, text follows: http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070811/SPORTS0401/708110372/1328/SPORTS Macias returns to Sounds after battling knee injury By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer In order to fill the roster spot left by Rickie Weeks, who was recalled by the Milwaukee Brewers to replace veteran infielder Tony Graffanino (knee injury), the Sounds activated utilityman Jose Macias. Macias has recovered from patellar tendinitis in his left knee. He had missed 13 games after being deactivated on July 27. Macias has two hits in his last 43 at-bats. He pinch-hit for pitcher Adam Pettyjohn in the sixth inning Friday and hit a ground ball that scored Brad Nelson, cutting Albuquerque's lead to 6-4. Weeks batted .455 with three doubles, a triple, three RBIs and scored five runs in six games on Nashville's last road trip. Nixing a slump: Laynce Nix, who entered Friday's game having just eight hits in his previous 72 at-bats (.111), hit a double to deep right field in the second inning. Nix added an RBI single in the fourth, scoring Mike Rivera, and hit a single in the sixth. Season high: The Sounds recorded a season-high six stolen bases. The previous high this season was three in nine different games. Streaking: Outfielder Drew Anderson doubled in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. Outfielder Gabe Gross got Nashville's first hit Friday, a single to right field in the first inning, to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Gross has hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games. Carroll update: Former Middle Tennessee State star Brett Carroll, the Isotopes' center fielder, reached in the second inning on an error committed by Nelson. Carroll added an RBI double to the center field warning track in the fourth, giving Albuquerque a 3-0 lead. Smith in the house: Contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Michael W. Smith, on hand for the Sounds' weekly Faith Night, threw out the opening pitch. Smith also sang the national anthem.

Final: Arizona Rangers 6, Arizona Brewers 1 Arizona Box Score: Bryan Crosby's 3rd inning ground single to right was the only Brewer hit; lefty Kristian Bueno with his best outing of the year by far (six IP, two ER); RHP Luis Guerrero, barely 17, has been very good, so his relief numbers here disappoint... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_rngrok_brrrok_1 Arizona Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_rngrok_brrrok_1

Helena KCAP Pre-Game Audio Interview with 2007 35th round infielder Curt Rindal out of the University of Washington: Be sure you're on the archive of the 10th, and go to the 8:30 minute mark -- good moustache talk... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/multimedia/audio.jsp

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 6, Huntsville 2 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- http://www.huntsvillestars.com/news/news.asp?newsId=1315 Barons Bring Stars Win String To a Halt David Cook continued his offensive assault on Southern League pitching and Ryan Wing was outstanding for 5 2/3 innings in Birmingham's 6-2 win over Huntsville Friday night in the middle contest of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars saw their eight-game win streak come to an end, as they dropped to 30-18 in the second half, but they were able to maintain their three-game lead over Chattanooga, which fell at Montgomery, in the North Division, while the Barons improved to 21-27 in the second half and 53-65 overall. Stars' starter Lindsay Gulin and Wing threw four scoreless innings before Adam Shabala hit a one-out home run in the fifth to give the Barons the lead. Chris Getz then reached on an infield single and Cook followed with a home run to right-center field just beyond the reach of leaping center fielder Steve Moss to make it 3-0. Cook has collected six long balls, knocked in 14 and scored at least once in each of his eight games with the Barons. The visitors tacked on another run in the sixth when Gulin uncorked his third wild pitch of the night allowing Victor Merecedes to score from third base. The veteran southpaw was charged with four runs on seven hits over six innings and lost for the first time since June 11 at West Tenn to fall to 11-4, ending a personal seven-game win streak. Wing retired 17 of the first 18 batters he faced before Moss doubled and scored on a Ryan Crew single with two outs in the sixth. Hernan Iribarren then reached on an infield single and Adam Heether walked to load the bases and chase Wing from the game. Adam Russell came on and got Lou Palmisano to ground into a force out at third to end the frame. Wing improved to 6-5 and has allowed one run in 10 2/3 innings over his two starts at the Joe this season. The teams traded runs in the seventh inning and Mercedes' two-out single in the ninth off Vince Perkins plated Chris Kelly to account for the final margin. Oneli Perez tossed two shutout innings in relief of Russell to nail down his 13th save and help hold the Stars under ten hits for just a second time in the last eight games. The series continues Saturday night with left-hander Steve Hammond taking the hill for Huntsville against Barons' right-hander Kyle McCulloch. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score: Carlos Corporan the only Star to reach base twice (double, single)... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_biraax_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_10_biraax_hunaax_1

Final: Albuquerque (Marlins) 7, Nashville 6 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Adam Pettyjohn photo, text follows -- http://www.nashvillesounds.com/news/news.asp?newsId=2499 Sounds Drop Homestand Opener To Isotopes NASHVILLE - The Nashville Sounds dropped their series opener against the Albuquerque Isotopes, 7-6, on Friday evening at Greer Stadium in front of a Faith Night crowd of 7,862. With the loss, Nashville's lead in the division drops to 5 1/2 games over the Iowa Cubs, who won their game earlier in the evening. The Sounds' last six losses have now been decided by one run. Sounds outfielders Drew Anderson (1-for-3) and Gabe Gross (2-for-4) both extended their season-best hit streaks. Anderson has now hit safely in 12 straight contests and Gross has registered a hit in nine straight. It was an evening of missed opportunities for the Sounds (71-48), who left 12 men on base and finished 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position. Albuquerque (59-59) jumped on the board first in the top of the third. Josh Labandeira led off the inning by swinging at the third strike but reached when the wild pitch got past catcher Mike Rivera. Two batters later, Robert Andino drove a 1-0 pitch over the left-centerfield wall for his ninth home run of the season, giving Albuquerque a 2-0 advantage. The Isotopes added another in the top of the fourth. Valentino Pascucci led off and reached on a Chris Barnwell throwing error. Pascucci moved to second on his third stolen bag of the year before scoring on Brett Carrroll's double to deep left-center, bringing the score to 3-0. Nashville (71-48) got one back in the bottom of the frame. Rivera led off the inning with a double down the left field line and came around to score two batters later when Laynce Nix singled to right. It was Nix's 49th RBI of the year. Albuquerque scored three more in the top of the fifth, partially thanks to Pascucci's two-run opposite field blast. The All-Star slugger now has 29 longballs on the year and is tied for second in the PCL. Nashville put another run on the board in the fifth inning when Gross hit a one-out single up the middle before stealing his first base as a Sound. He scored thanks to Anderson's follow-up double. Nix led off the next inning with a single to right and moved to second on a Brad Nelson infield single. After a double steal put men at second and third with no outs, Barnwell grounded to short, plating Nix. Jose Macias followed with an identical at-bat, grounding out to short and scoring Nelson to bring the score to 7-4. The Sounds pulled one run closer in the eighth when Nelson scored on a throwing error by pitcher Nate Field before threatening in the bottom of the ninth. Nix walked with one out before Barnwell hit a line-drive single to center that was bobbled by Eric Reed. Nix scored on the error and Barnwell advanced to second, but the Sounds could not take advantage of the opportunity. Sounds starter Adam Pettyjohn (9-3) took the loss after giving up five earned runs in six innings. The defeat snapped a six-start winning streak for the left-hander. Starter Kenny Baugh (6-7) got the win for Albuquerque after throwing 5 1/3 innings and giving up four earned runs. Roy Corcoran earned his tenth save of the year by throwing 1 1/3 innings of relief. Despite the loss, Nashville set a season high by stealing six bases, one shy of the franchise record. The club's previous high in 2007 was three. The Sounds continue their series against Albuquerque tomorrow when right-hander Mark DiFelice (2-0, 2.83) takes the mound against former Sounds right-hander Wes Obermueller (0-1, 3.48) at 6:00 p.m. Nashville Box Score: Callix Crabbe 3-for-5; the 7th inning home run Steve Bray surrendered to former Brewer AAA farmhand Andrew Beattie proved costly... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_10_albaaa_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_10_albaaa_nasaaa_1

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Brewer Minor League Pitching Coordinator Jim Rooney (Part 1 of 2): http://www.nashvillesounds.com/audio/2007/Interview%208-10.mp3