Jim Goulart

Final: West Tenn (Mariners) 1, Huntsville 0 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1210 Road Trip Ends With Tough Loss to DJaxx Travis Chick, Chad Fillinger and Kam Mickolio combined on a three-hit shutout, as West Tenn blanked Huntsville 1-0 Monday night in the final game of a five-game set at Pringles Park. The Stars fell to 34-29 but maintained their one-game lead in the North Division over Tennessee, which fell to Carolina. The Diamond Jaxx took three of the five games to improve to 29-36 and finish the first half with a five-game series against the Smokies. The Stars were shut out for a sixth time this season and wound up splitting the 10 games on the just concluded road trip to Chattanooga and Jackson, Tennessee. The Stars stranded runners at first and second with nobody out in the fourth and with two outs in the fifth against Travis Chick, who was making his first start of the season. Chick lasted five frames, throwing 93 pitches, allowing two singles, walking two and fanning three. Fillinger worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one single and hitting a batter before Mickolio closed out the game and earned his second save by retiring all four hitters he faced. The Stars were blanked for a second time in the series on three hits and failed to advance a runner past second base in both of those losses. Stars? starter Lindsay Gulin retired 10 batters in a row after Chartlon Jimerson reached on an error with one out in the first inning before Marshall Hubbard singled into center field to pick up the home side?s first hit. He was picked off to end the inning with Matt Tuiasosopo at the plate. The West Tenn third baseman led off the home fifth and belted Gulin?s first pitch over the wall in left field for his third home run of the season. The Stars? southpaw has given up a long ball in three straight starts and in five out of his last six turns and one in each of his two starts against West Tenn. Brent Johnson doubled with two outs in the eighth before Charlton Jimerson walked and Gulin was replaced by David Johnson, who struck out Prentice Redman to end the inning. Gulin turned out to be the hard luck loser, giving up a lone run in 7 2/3 innings, his longest stint with the Stars, while walking two and fanning eight. He dropped to 4-3 and has been involved in the decision in each of his starts. The Stars return home to open the final series of the first half on Wednesday night against Birmingham and will send southpaw Sam Narron to the mound against Baron?s right-hander Adam Russell. 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: Michael Brantley on base three times... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1

Final: Nashville 7, Memphis (Cardinals) 1 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Chris Oxspring photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2380 Sounds Defeat Redbirds In Series Opener, 7-1 MEMPHIS, Tenn. ? Chris Oxspring continued his recent run of dominant pitching and struck out a season-high 10 batters in leading the Nashville Sounds to a 7-1 victory over the division-rival Memphis Redbirds on Monday evening at AutoZone Park in the opener of a four-game series. Oxspring (6-3) earned a victory for the fourth consecutive start after holding the Redbirds to one run on five hits over six innings of action, the Australian?s fifth quality start. The right-hander has hit his stride, allowing only one run over his last 22 innings. The three Nashville hurlers in the contest combined for 17 strikeouts, a new season high. Memphis leftfielder Skip Schumaker put the home team on the board with a leadoff home run to right off Oxspring in the bottom of the first inning. The blast, his fourth of the year, came on a 3-2 pitch and put an end to the right-hander?s 16-inning scoreless streak. After the game-opening homer, the Redbirds would not score again the remainder of the evening. Redbirds starter Mike Parisi opened with 3 1/3 hitless frames before Chris Barnwell singled up the middle in top of the fourth. The shortstop?s attempt to tie the contest was stifled later in the inning when he was thrown out at the plate by Memphis first baseman Tagg Bozied while attempting to score on a Joe Dillon grounder. The Sounds grabbed a 2-1 lead later in the fourth against Parisi after loading the bases with two out against the right-hander. Vinny Rottino lifted a shallow fly to right that fell to the turf after narrowly missing the glove of a charging Nick Stavinoha, who had stormed at a full sprint 40 feet from his initial post in right field. The play was ruled an error, however, making the runs scored by Laynce Nix and Dillon unearned. Charles Thomas continued his recent hot hitting when he increased the Nashville advantage to 3-1 in the fifth with a leadoff solo homer to right off Parisi, the outfielder?s third roundtripper of the year and second of the current road trip. AUDIO: Charles Thomas Belts A Homer -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...206-11.mp3 Dillon, who entered the contest with a team-leading 36 RBIs for Nashville, added two more with a two-out single in the fifth that plated Oxspring and Callix Crabbe to stretch the Sounds? lead to 5-1. Both runs were unearned because Parisi misfired on a Crabbe sacrifice bunt earlier in the frame, allowing the second baseman to reach safely. Jose Macias provided the Sounds with a pair of insurance runs with a two-out, two-run triple into the right-field corner that brought the score to its final 7-1. Dennis Sarfate followed Oxspring with two scoreless innings and fanned six batters, the most by a Nashville reliever this season. Luther Hackman, a former Redbird, closed things out with a scoreless ninth for the Sounds. Parisi (4-5) took the loss for the Redbirds after allowing five runs (one earned) on five hits over seven frames. The teams continue the series with another 7:10 p.m. CT meeting on Tuesday. The game will feature an outstanding pitching matchup. Right-hander Yovani Gallardo (8-2, 2.89), who leads the minor leagues with 98 strikeouts and paces the Pacific Coast League with eight wins, will start for the Sounds and face Memphis right-hander Anthony Reyes (0-1, 1.93), who has been impressive in two starts for the Redbirds since joining the club from St. Louis. Nashville Box Score: Chris Oxspring has given up three earned runs in his last four starts -- he's actually been more impressive than Yo in some regard lately -- what a season thus far... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_mrbaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_mrbaaa_1

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Catcher J.R. Hopf: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...206-11.mp3

In progress: Brevard County 3, Palm Beach (Cardinals) 0, just underway Mat Gamel, who has absolutely been on fire like no other Brewer farmhand the last week or two, with a two-run triple -- Manatee first inning still in progress; LHP David Welch is your starter tonight. Brevard's magic number over Palm Beach was six heading into this game... MiLB.com: 3B Mat Gamel has been tearing the cover off of the ball of late. In his last ten, games Gamel is hitting .576 with six RBIs.

No Brewers on this week list, but the boys at BA tossed this blurb out: The Brewers strike a lot of folks out. High Class A Brevard County righthander Will Inman tied Triple-A Nashville righthander Yovani Gallardo for the minor-league lead in strikeouts with 98. But other than all those whiffs, both pitchers were raked last week. Yeah, Yovani had on ereally bad start, but Inman raked? Will's been "rakeless" in 2007: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...pid=488989 "The Sheet": www.baseballamerica.com/t...64256.html

Our fearless webmaster Brian reported earlier today in the darft forum that 5th round CF Caleb Gindl is now Brewers property for $144,900: p092.ezboard.com/fbrewers...amp;stop=4

Nice picture of Chuckie Caufield from MiLB.com: Chuckie Caufield and the West Virginia Power became the first team in the Minors to clinch a playoff berth on Thursday. (Photos by Tony Farlow/MLB.com) http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/06/11/WMaWPDff.jpg West Virginia Power All-Star selection Darren Ford is tied for seventh in the SAL at .335 and leads the circuit with 31 stolen bases. Ford was recently promoted to Brevard County. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/06/11/uv97yPpm.jpg

Link to Stars' site: Nice to see a middle reliever honored -- as noted in recent Link Reports, the guy has been tremendous for the Stars, really all season -- DiFelice Named as Pitcher of the Week

Standings through Sunday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 36 26 .581 - 18-10 18-16 L3 Nashville 35 28 .556 1.5 21-10 14-18 L1 Omaha 32 31 .508 4.5 24-12 8-19 W1 Memphis 28 36 .438 9.0 17-15 11-21 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 34 28 .548 - 17-13 17-15 W1 Tennessee 33 29 .532 1.0 14-14 19-15 L2 Chattanooga 28 36 .438 7.0 17-18 11-18 W1 West Tenn 28 36 .438 7.0 18-16 10-20 L1 Carolina 23 41 .359 12.0 14-15 9-26 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 36 27 .571 - 21-10 15-17 W3 Palm Beach 33 29 .532 2.5 16-16 17-13 L1 Daytona 30 32 .484 5.5 19-12 11-20 L1 Vero Beach 29 33 .468 6.5 19-12 10-21 W1 St. Lucie 28 34 .452 7.5 15-17 13-17 W4 Jupiter 27 35 .435 8.5 12-18 15-17 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 43 17 .717 - 20-10 23-7 L1 Greensboro 34 29 .540 10.5 21-9 13-20 W3 Delmarva 30 30 .500 13.0 19-13 11-17 L1 Lakewood 30 30 .500 13.0 14-17 16-13 W1 Lake County 29 33 .468 15.0 17-15 12-18 L2 Lexington 28 35 .444 16.5 16-19 12-16 W1 Hagerstown 26 36 .419 18.0 14-14 12-22 W2 Hickory 25 35 .417 18.0 12-14 13-21 W2

These links will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally they are updated an hour or two prior to gametime, with Nashville's usually earlier: Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf Huntsville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

Link for Nashville video feed ($3.95): web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t235

Follow Monday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, choose "Log". 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: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_mrbaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_pbcafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hicafx_1

Monday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Chris Oxspring at Memphis (Cardinals), 6:55 PM pre-game; 7:10 PM gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP Lindsay Gulin at West Tenn (Mariners), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.huntsvillestars.com/ Brevard County: TBD at Palm Beach (Cardinals), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp West Virginia: LHP Brae Wright at Hickory (Pirates), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

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

We'll try and find out what adjustments to the Sally League All-Star game will be made now that E.J. Shanks, Mike McClendon, and Darren Ford have been promoted to high-A. Perhaps others snubbed earlier (not Michael Brantley, now in Huntsville) will be named in their stead.

MiLB.com: Bell, Manatees edge Cards Michael Bell scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the top of the 10th inning as Brevard County beat Palm Beach, 7-4, on Sunday. After the Cardinals tied the game in the ninth, Bell led off the final frame with an infield single and advanced on second baseman Dan Nelson's throwing error. Bell moved to third on Chris Errecart's groundout and scored on Luke Gregerson's wild pitch. Alcides Escobar extended the lead with his only hit, a two-run double later in the inning. Bell ripped a two-run homer, his fifth, in the seventh, and Escobar had three RBIs. Darren Ford, who made his Florida State League debut Saturday, notched his first two hits, scored twice and collected an RBI for the Manatees (36-27). Reliever E.J. Shanks (1-0) picked up the win despite blowing the save in the ninth. He yielded an unearned run, walked one and struck out one. Rafael Lluberes worked a scoreless 10th to earn his first save. Starter Will Inman allowed two runs on one hit and three walks while fanning seven over five innings and saw his ERA rise from 1.59 to 1.72. Gregerson (0-1) took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk while retiring just one batter in the 10th. Starter Adam Ottavino was charged with four runs -- three earned -- on five hits over seven innings. He struck out four and walked one. Ian Church had three RBIs for the Cardinals (33-29). -- Chip Haunss/MLB.com

Final: Omaha (Royals) 10, Nashville 6 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Tim Dillard photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2375 Royals Defeat Sounds To Earn Series Split OMAHA ? The Omaha Royals scored 10 unanswered runs to overcome an early deficit en route to posting a 10-6 victory over the Nashville Sounds on Sunday afternoon at Rosenblatt Stadium in the finale of a four-game series. The Royals gained a series split with the win over Nashville (35-28). Leftfielder Justin Huber enjoyed his second huge game of the four-game set for Omaha, contributing six RBIs after driving in five runs in Omaha?s win in Thursday?s series opener. Nashville jumped out to an early lead when Chris Barnwell scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning. The Sounds extended the lead to 4-0 with a three-run fourth against Omaha starter Jason Shiell. Charles Thomas plated two of the runs with a one-out, bases-loaded double that brought home Joe Dillon and Brad Nelson, then Jose Macias followed with an RBI single to push the advantage to four. The Royals responded quickly against Sounds starter Tim Dillard, squaring the contest at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth. Huber drove in three of the runs with a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double off the right-hander. Huber struck again an inning later, giving Omaha its first lead of the day at 7-4 with a two-out, three-run homer to left-center off Dillard. The blast was his eighth of the year and third of the four-game series against the Sounds. Royals catcher Matt Tupman increased the lead to 8-4 in the sixth with a first-pitch homer off Dillard, the backstop?s first longball of the campaign. Omaha wrapped up its scoring in the seventh when Craig Brazell belted the club?s third home run of the afternoon, a two-run homer off Sounds reliever Greg Aquino, that extended the Royals? lead to 10-4. The blast was the slugger?s team-leading 15th of the year. With the Sounds trailing by six in the ninth, the red-hot Dillon slugged a home run for the third straight game, ripping a two-run shot to left off Royals reliever Gabe DeHoyos to bring the score to its final 10-6. It was the veteran?s 10th roundtripper of the season. Omaha reliever Thad Markray (3-1) was awarded the victory after working 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief behind Shiell. Dillard (3-4) took the loss for Nashville after surrendering a season-high eight runs on 10 hits over six innings of work. The Sounds travel to Memphis tomorrow to continue their road trip with a four-game series against the division-rival Redbirds. Right-hander Chris Oxspring (5-3, 2.60) will take the hill for Nashville in Monday?s 7:10 p.m. CT series opener to face Memphis right-hander Mike Parisi (4-4, 6.05). Nashville Box Score: Plenty of runs and baserunners, Dillard and Aquino simply didn't get the job done... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_omaaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_omaaaa_1

Link, text follows: slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseba...2-sun.html The Milwaukee Brewers didn't waste any time getting their drafted players to put pen to paper. Jay Lapp, eastern Canadian scouting supervisor, signed three Canadian players. The Brewers signed first baseman Cameron Robulack, of the Ontario Blue Jays on the weekend. Robulack, the second-highest area high school player chosen in the annual draft of high schoolers and collegians, was a 20th-round selection on Friday. He had signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Nebraska. Milwaukee also signed center fielder Ryan Jensen, of Langley, B.C. and right-hander Adam Arnold, of London, Ont. Jensen was chosen in the 33rd round, while Arnold was a 41st-round choice attending Thompson River University in Kamloops, B.C. These were among the few Brewer draft picks we had little info on from this past weekend's research (see Draft Forum for Official Thread). All the new draft picks will have their Brewerfan Player Index Pages built when the dust settles on signings late this week.

We still owe you more this morning, including everything on the Nashville loss -- later this morning, thanks for your patience...

Link while active, text follows: kentucky.com/271/story/94332.html Two-out shot in 9th lifts Legends LITTLE-USED GOETHALS HELPS TEAM AVOID SWEEP By Mark Maloney MMALONEY@HERALD-LEADER.COM For one night, a sixth-place team felt like a playoff champion at Applebee's Park. Jim Goethals' walk-off homer with two out in the ninth gave the Lexington Legends a dramatic 2-1 win over first-half division champion West Virginia last night. A game that featured 27 strikeouts -- 15 by Power pitchers, 12 by Legends -- and a combined three-hitter by two Legends was left to a backup catcher who was 0-for-the-season to play hero. He was mobbed at the plate. "It couldn't have happened to a greater guy," said Manager Gregg Langbehn, whose team closed the first-half home schedule at 16-19. "That's good stuff. That's without question the highlight of the season right now. As frustrating as it's been at times, you saw the celebration. It's meaningful." In his sixth game of the year, Goethals strode to the plate in the ninth 0-for-2 -- 0-for-12 overall, with 10 K's. He jumped on a 1-0 pitch by Shawn Ferguson (0-1), driving the ball to left-center. By the time Goethals finished his "Star of the Game" interview with Legends play-by-play man Larry Glover and arrived in the clubhouse, his teammates had cued video of the shot. They roared as he took a look. "It's awesome of the guys," Goethals said. "It felt good, especially being the first hit. I just wanted to get a good pitch, and I got a pitch middle-in, in a good count and got enough of it." The Legends avoided a four-game sweep, ending the Power's six-game win streak. David Qualben held the league's top scoring and hitting team to one run on two hits and an uncharacteristic four walks through six innings. He struck out nine. Qualben overcame early wildness -- two walks to start the game, a balk and Chuckie Caufield's sacrifice fly accounted for the Power run. "The first two guys, I fell behind, and I wasn't spotting up where I wanted to," Qualben said. "But I only gave up one run. It could have been worse. ... I battled the rest of the game." Kyle DeYoung (2-5) held the Power one hit over the last three innings. He walked one and fanned three. DeYoung has been sharp his last few outings since pitching coach Charley Taylor got the righty to drop his arm slot to a sidearm motion. "He's athletic and I thought he could make the adjustment," Taylor said. "He's got some good life to the ball and more consistency and everything." Tim Torres started the sixth with a double, only the third hit for the Legends. Chris Johnson's fly to right moved Torres to third. Max Sapp drove him in with a single up the middle. Power starter Zach Braddock, fresh off the DL, pitched three innings of one-hit, one-walk ball, striking out seven. Luis Ramirez and Ferguson followed, combining for eight strikeouts.

Click on the Katie King link on the Legends site to view the walk-off -- admit it, we're all Katie King fans, it must be the Kentucky accent http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif : web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p?sid=t495 MiLB.com: Jim Goethals--0-for-12 with 10 strikeouts coming into his ninth inning at bat, hit an improbable two-out blast to left-center field to win the game for the Legends on Sunday evening at Applebee's Park. Lexington avoided a sweep with the 2-1 victory, and snapped the Power's winning streak at six games. West Virginia managed to strike early against starter David Qualben. He walked the first two batters of the game, then balked them into scoring position. He struck out Andrew Lefave for the first out, but Chuckie Caufield was able to rap a sacrifice fly to center to bring home a run. That was all the Power would get off Qualben, however. He worked six innings, striking out nine, and even made one of his patented pickoff plays to end the fifth. In his first start since going to the disabled list with shoulder tendonitis, Zach Braddock delivered early on for the Power. He struck out seven in three innings, even working out of a bases-loaded jam in the third by striking out the side. He gave way to Luis Ramirez, who picked up right where Braddock left off. Ramirez struck out five in four innings of work, however, he allowed the Legends to tie the game in the sixth. Tim Torres led off the inning with a double to deep center. He advanced to third on Chris Johnson's fly ball to the right-field wall, and Max Sapp delivered the game-tying hit by grounding a single through the middle of the drawn-in infield. That was where the score stayed for the next three innings. Kyle DeYoung (2-5) entered the game in relief of Qualben, striking out three and allowing only one baserunner. In fact, neither team launched much of a threat until Goethals' bases-empty dinger came on a 1-0 Shawn Ferguson fastball. He was mobbed by his teammates as he stepped on home plate with the winning run.

Final: Lexington (Astros) 2, West Virginia 1 West Virginia Site Game Summary: LEGENDS AVOID POWER SWEEP Jim Goethals hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday evening at Applebee?s Park as the Lexington Legends avoided the four game sweep with a 2-1 victory over the West Virginia Power, snapping their six game winning streak. The Power offense, which had recorded multi-hit games in their last ten contests, were held to just a run on three hits. They scored their only run in the top of the first inning. Jimmy Mojica and Brent Brewer drew back-to-back walks and Mojica scored on Chuckie Caufield?s sacrifice fly. The Legends tied the game in the sixth inning. Tim Torres began the inning with a double and moved to third on a fly ball to right field. With the infield drawn in and one out, Max Sapp singled up the middle to score Torres. In the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, Goethals, who was 0-for-12 on the season, hit the walk-off home run to win it. Kyle DeYoung (2-5) pitched three scoreless innings out of the bullpen to get the win, while Shawn Ferguson (0-1) was tagged with the loss. Ferguson had retired the first five batters he faced and struck out three in a row before allowing the home run. Zach Braddock looked great in his first start since coming off the disabled list, tossing three scoreless innings of one-hit ball and striking out seven. The Power fell to 43-17 with the loss and the Legends improved to 28-35 with the win. Andrew Lefave was the only player with a multi-hit game, he accounted for two of West Virginia?s three hits. The Power will begin a three game series against the Hickory Crawdads at L.P. Frans Stadium on Monday night. Lefty Brae Wright (4-3, 6.49) will make the start for the Power and Hickory will counter with right hander Mike Crotta (2-4, 5.08). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 Central). West Virginia Box Score: LHP Luis Ramirez' fine middle relief effort should not go unmentioned; 27 K's in the game -- Power batters fanned 12 times; pitchers K'd 15... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1

Steve Sollmann sliding in the photo at this link: www.jacksonsun.com/apps/p...006/SPORTS

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com/ STARS TAKE OVER 1st PLACEThe Stars have kept pace with the Tennessee Smokies, tied for 1st place in the Northern Division since May 30, when the Stars pounded Montgomery, 19-4...... Finally, the deadlock is broken with five games remaining in the 1st half. Carolina came from behind to beat Tennessee, 5-4, in 11 innings, Sunday. Carolina was actually up 4-3 going into the top of the 9th when a Jemel Spearman grounder with runners on 2nd and 3rd scored the tying run. The Mudcats won in the 11th after loading the bases on singles with one out. John Purdomill's sacrifice fly drove in the winning run....... So now the Stars will try, with a one game lead, to wrap this 1st half title in a five-game series at home against Birmingham, starting Wednesday......... Birmingham, Sunday, beat Mississippi, 12-3, as Victor Mercedes became the first Baron to hit for the cycle since Reggie Jackson did it in 1967....... The Smokies finish up the first half in a five-game series at Smokies Park against the Diamond Jaxx, who have played the Stars tough....... Or -- have the Stars' pitching staff, particularly the bullpen, displayed the first signs of wilting....... It's been the bullpen in April and May that has taken them to this point -- a 2.67 ERA in April and 87 strikeouts in 81 innings, and a 2.62 ERA in May, with seven wins, seven saves, and 89 strikeouts in 100 innings........ But the bullpen has been battered in June, in spite of a 6-4 June start......... With a bullpen ERA of 7.18 this month, they have the worst mark in the Southern League. The 9th place team, the Carolina Mudcats, have a bullpen ERA of 5.98....... Unfortunately, the starters are no better, in fact, they're having a worse start than they did in either April or May, showing a 4-2 record and a 5.52 ERA. They just finished May with a 4.94 ERA........ They've managed, somehow, to remain on top and win six of ten this month to a .272 average, and the fact that six other bullpens in the league have ERAs over 4.00.. But to Sunday's game. Steve Hammond came in with a notorious flair for allowing 1st inning runs, and today was no exception........ Hammond has now allowed 12 first-inning runs in his 12 starts, and has given up an earned run in seven of them........ After Michael Brantley's one-out opposite field double went wasted, the Diamond Jaxx went on top after Sebastien Boucher led off with a triple into the left field corner. Charlton Jimerson, who had hit .407 and driven in 12 runs in his last 10 games, singled him in....... Brantley made the jump from Class A-West Virginia (SAL) to the Stars prior to Saturday's game, after hitting .335 for the Power, and hitting safely in 11 of his last 12 games (a .471 average)....... He's the son of former major league outfielder Mickey Brantley, who hit .259 in a brief four-year career with the Seattle Mariners (1986-89)....... To make room on the roster, Anthony Wycklendt was sent to West Virginia three days after joining the team, without appearing in the field or getting a time at bat. The Stars tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the 3rd after Guilder Rodriguez hit his first extra-base hit of the season, going the other way with a double to left....... Rodriguez, surprisingly, is the Stars' batting leader with a .333 average. he's hit .409 since May 1 --- all singles until this inning........ Mel Stocker's sacrifice, his 2nd in this series, moved G. Rod over to third and Michael Brantley's grounder to short scored the tying run. Hammond got out of a 1st-and-2nd jam with nobody out in the bottom of the 3rd by striking out Marshall Hubbard and Matt Tuiasosopo swinging, then got Brent Johnson to fly out to center, and he retired the side in the 4th, but he was relieved after getting the first two hitters out in the 5th....... After hitting Prentice Redman with a pitch, he walked Hubbard, and then hit Tuiasosopo to load the bases. It was the first time going back to last year that Hammond had hit two batters in a game, let alone an inning....... Mark DiFelice, who had walked only six batters in 43 innings, came in, delivered one pitch and retired Brent Johnson on a fly to left....... DiFelice has been a rock through this tough month for the pen. Upon lowering his ERA to 1.99, he has not allowed a run since giving up a leadoff home run May 23, to Mobile's Justin Upton -- now a string of 15 innings. While DiFelice was numbing WT bats, the Stars went to work in the 7th inning....... Against reliever Mumba Rivera, G. Rod singled up the middle with one out and Mel Stocker followed with a liner to center. A wild pitch on a ball in the dirt moved the runners into scoring position....... Michael Brantley lined out, but Steve Sollmann drew his 4th walk of the game to load the bases....... With Brendan Katin at the plate, Rivera's first pitch got past his eponymous batterymate for a passed ball that scored Rodriguez to give the Stars a 2-1 lead. With Stocker now on 3rd and Sollmann on 2nd, Katin hit a ball up the middle. Both middle infielders converged on the ball, and shortstop Chris Minaker got to the ball, but his double pump gave Katin all the time he needed to reach for an infield single driving in Stocker to make the score 3-1. Luis Pena pitched two innings to pick up the first save for someone other than Marino Salas for the first time since Grant Balfour on April 12....... A bases-clearing double off the base of the wall by Katin in the 9th became the coup de grace while Tennessee and Carolina were both tied in the 10th. This series wraps up Monday with Lindsay Gulin (4-2) facing Travis Chick. Chick, now a fringe prospect after at one time being the #4 prospect in the Padres' organization two years ago, is 3-3 lifetime against the Stars with a 5.69 ERA in 42 2/3 innings over eight starts. This is his 3rd Southern League team after Mobile and Chattanooga in 2005-06......... I may venture over to Jackson to see this game. It beats trying to listen over the internet. This road trip has been so tough to listen to because of the noise and distortion, I've had to turn it off several times. Isolating the Stars' 6.31 ERA from the pen this month: Bo Hall: five runs in 5 1/3 innings over three appearances........ Jeff Housman: three runs in 1 1/3 inning in his last appearance on Saturday....... Dave Johnson: two runs in four innings in his two appearances........ Luis Pena: four runs in an inning on June 2 vs. Chattanooga....... Marino Salas has gotten himself in and out of jams and allowed three of five inherited runners to score, but has, himself, not allowed a run on his own since May 2 -- a string of 15 consecutive scoreless innings over 16 appearances. Steve Sollmann, who walked four times Sunday, drew five walks back on April 16, tying a record. He's drawn 36 walks on the season, placing him in the top 5 in the league. Sollmann was 5th in on-base pct. in the Southern League going into the game......Mel Stocker raised his average to .268 with his three-hit day -- his best mark thus far. Stocker hit just .179 in April........ The Stars are now 8-1 on Sundays, 16-4 in daylight, and 25-14 when the other team scores first........ The Stars' .979 team fielding pct. is, with one other team, the best in the league -- that being West Tenn, but they are dead last in caught stealing/stolen base efficiency....... Lou Palmisano leads SL catcher in fielding (.997), but has caught only 12 of 57 (.211) trying to steal. In deference to Lou, the delay could have something to do with the time it takes for the pitcher to deliver to the plate, thus giving the runner a better jump. Pitching coach Rich Sauveur worked with pitchers on this last year. Carlos Corporan's rate is only slightly better (.231)........ Hernan Iribarren hit in the #6 hole today for the first time this year. Mike Jones underwent successful Tommy John surgery, Thursday. He's gone not just for this year, but for 2008 as well. Jones is 24, so it's still not the end of the road for him. Sometimes a pitcher's velocity actually improves with that type of surgery. Jones also missed time in 2003 and 2004, did not pitch at all in 2005, and threw only 20 innings last year....... Jay Witasick, unhappy with his relief role at Oakland, was released last Thursday. He's one of the last links to the old Oakland days with the Stars. The oldest former Star still active is Jason Wood, 37, a somewhat useful bench player for the Florida Marlins. Woody, who played for the Stars in 1993, 94, and 96 is the Stars' all-time hits leader with 341........ Michael Brantley, who was promoted to the Stars Saturday, is the youngest player on the team, and is the 2nd Stars player to be born after they made their Southern League debut in 1985. Last year, Yovani Gallardo became the first....... Ruben Mateo is scheduled to come off the disabled list when the Stars return home Wednesday.

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1207 Stars Stand Alone in First! Mark DiFelice worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief and Brendan Katin drove in four runs to push Huntsville past West Tenn 6-1 Sunday afternoon in the fourth of a five-game set at Pringles Park. The Stars squared the series at two games apiece to improve to 34-28 and move into sole possession of first place in the North Division after Tennessee lost in 11 innings at Carolina, while the Diamond Jaxx dropped to 28-36 after falling for an eighth time in their last 11 games. The Stars improved to 8-1 on Sundays and 16-4 in day games with their sixth win in nine games against West Tenn. Sebastien Boucher opened the home first with a triple and scored when Charlton Jimerson followed with a single to left to give the Diamond Jaxx the early edge and mark the eighth time in 13 starts that Stars? starter Steve Hammond has been scored on in the first inning, including five out of seven on the road. The Stars got the game tied in the third when Guilder Rodriguez led off with a double, his first extra base hit of the season, moved to third base on a Mel Stocker sacrifice bunt and scored on a ground ball out by Michael Brantley, who knocked in his first run at the double-A level. The Stars put two runners on in the fourth and did not score and left Stocker stranded at third in the fifth after his one-out triple. Hammond retired the first two batters in the fifth on two pitches before he hit Prentice Redman, walked Marshall Hubbard and hit Matt Tuiasosopo to load the bases. He was taken out and replaced by DiFelice, who retired Brent Johnson on a fly ball to end the inning. The veteran right-hander retired the side in order in the sixth and watched the Stars take the lead for good in the seventh to help him earn his fourth win of the year and second on the road trip. Joe Woerman tossed six innings for West Tenn, giving up a run on six hits and three walks and was replaced by Mumba Rivera, who was on for a second time in the series. Rodriguez started the decisive rally with a one-out single and advanced to third after a Stocker single and a wild pitch and stayed put after a two-out walk to Steve Sollmann, his fourth of the day, loaded the bases. Rene Rivera was charged with a passed ball on the second pitch to Brendan Katin which allowed Rodriguez to score to make it 2-1 in favor of the visitors and Katin followed with an infield single to plate Stocker to make it 3-1. DiFelice set down the first hitter in the seventh before Jimerson bunted his way on with one out. DiFelice moved off the mound to try to pick up the ball with his bare hand and missed and fell to the ground clutching his left knee. He shook off the injury, stayed in the game and promptly picked off Jimerson and retired Redman on a fly ball to end the frame and gave way to Luis Pena, who worked two scoreless innings to record his first save at the double-A level. Katin delivered a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double in the ninth to extend the lead to five and wound up knocking in four runs in a game for the third time this season. The series finishes Monday night, as the Stars send southpaw Lindsay Gulin to the mound against Diamond Jaxx? right-hander Travis Chick. 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: 212 AB's for Steve Sollmann -- 38 BB's, only 28 K's, .448 OBP; had not realized 31 of Guilder Rodriguez' 32 hits had been singles... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1