Jim Goulart

Final: Huntsville 5, Chattanooga (Reds) 2 Huntsville site details later... Huntsville Box Score: Those Huntsville bullpen ERA's are pretty darn impressive; kind of an odd time to pull Mike Jones, with two outs and no one on in the 4th -- pitch count would have seemed to be reasonable given the game log, wonder if he's OK... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

Final: Nashville 5, Round Rock (Astros) 2 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Yovani Gallardo photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2302 Gallardo Tosses Another Gem In 5-2 Victory NASHVILLE ? Yovani Gallardo turned in another gem for Nashville on Sunday afternoon at Greer Stadium, leading the Sounds to a 5-2 victory over the Round Rock Express in front of 7,096 fans. Gallardo (4-1) allowed only one hit and fanned nine batters over seven scoreless innings to earn the victory in his fifth consecutive quality start. The right-hander did not allow a runner to advance past first base during his outing and took the overall minor league lead with 51 K?s through his first six starts. The victory, which ties Gallardo with Zach Jackson for the team lead, was the 21-year-old hurler?s fourth in his last five starts; in his previous start on April 30 at Iowa, he left in line for a win before a blown save by the Sounds? bullpen resulted in a Nashville loss. Gallardo lowered his ERA to 2.19 on the year and has held opponents to a .164 batting average this season. The first-place Sounds (17-13) notched their fourth win in the last six games and their eighth victory in the club?s last nine home contests. Mike Rivera paced the Nashville offense on the afternoon with a 2-for-2 effort that included a home run, double, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Rivera (2-for-2) broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning with a leadoff solo home run off the guitar-shaped scoreboard in left-center. The blast, which came against Round Rock starter Jared Gothreaux, was his second of the season. AUDIO: Mike Rivera Homers Off The Guitar -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%205-6.mp3 The Sounds extended the lead to 3-0 in the sixth against Gothreaux. With one out, Charles Thomas drew a walk and Vinny Rottino singled to chase the right-hander. Andy Abad greeted Express reliever and former Brewer farmhand Travis Phelps with a rocket RBI single off the glove of first baseman Mark Saccamanno to plate Thomas and extend his hitting streak to seven games. Rivera followed with a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Rottino with Nashville?s third run of the contest. Round Rock plated its first run in the top of the eighth against the Nashville bullpen. Jose Capellan allowed consecutive singles to put runners on the corners before inducing a popout from pinch-hitter Barry Wesson. After Luis Villarreal took over on the hill, Eric Bruntlett scored from third on a Josh Anderson groundout to make it a 3-1 contest. Nashville added a pair of gift insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 5-1 contest when Round Rock second baseman Brooks Conrad misfired to first while handling a two-out, bases-loaded grounder off the bat of Sounds pinch-hitter Jose Macias. Rottino and Rivera scored in unearned fashion on the play. Express reliever Scott Sauerbeck had walked the bases loaded. The Express made it a 5-2 game in the ninth against Luther Hackman. Eric Munson led off the frame with a single and scored on a two-out RBI triple by Bruntlett. Gothreaux (1-1) took his first loss of the year for Round Rock after allowing three runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings. The teams wrap up the four-game series with a 10:30 AM finale on Monday morning. Left-hander Zach Jackson (4-2, 4.32) will take the hill for the Sounds to face Round Rock right-hander Chad Reineke (2-2, 7.20). The game will feature a crowd filled with over 8,000 area schoolchildren in attendance as part of the successful Nashville Sounds Reading Club program. All program participants who have met their reading goals receive a free ticket to the game and will be recognized for their accomplishments during a pre-game, on-field parade. Nashville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Reliever Steve Bray: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%205-6.mp3

MiLB.com Brevard County Game Notes: Carpenter, Threshers thrash Manatees Andrew Carpenter hurled a four-hitter for eight innings as Clearwater routed visiting Brevard County, 9-2, on Sunday. Carpenter (3-1), a 21-year-old right hander, allowed both runs, striking out eight and walking one to lower his ERA to 2.39. He retired the first 14 batters he faced before the Manatees' Cole Gillespie reached on an infield single with two out in the fifth inning. Brett Harker threw a perfect ninth in relief. The Threshers (20-10) broke open a 2-2 game with five runs in the sixth. Welinson Baez, who went 2-for-4, keyed the rally with a bases-loaded double that drove in three. Orlando Guevara's RBI double and Mike Spidale's sacrifice fly plated two more runs. The Threshers' Jeremy Slayden also went 2-for-4 to raise his batting average to .327. Jesse Harper (1-3) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs -- five earned -- on six hits while fanning four and walking two for the Manatees (16-14). -- Alan Friedman/MLB.com

West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER RALLY FOR 20TH WIN The West Virginia Power scored two times with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday afternoon and came from behind to defeat the Lexington Legends 5-4 at Appalachian Power Park. The Power scored their first three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Darren Ford scored on Michael Brantley?s sacrifice fly before Chuckie Caufield doubled in Brent Brewer and Andrew Lefave capped off the three-run frame with an RBI single. The lead held strong until the Legends scored all four of their runs with two outs in the eighth inning. Max Sapp ripped an RBI single to score Greg Buchanan before Jimmy Van Ostrand gave Lexington the lead on a three-run homer. The Power were down to their final out in the bottom of the ninth inning when Ford hit a solo home run, his second of the year, to tie the game at 4-4. Brewer and Brantley followed with back-to-back base hits and Caufield ended the game on a walkoff RBI single. The game-winning RBI single was Caufield?s second of the year. Power starting pitcher Alex Periard tossed six scoreless innings of five-hit ball and struck out five but didn?t get the decision. He extended his scoreless innings streak to 15. E.J. Shanks (3-0) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the victory and Santo Luis (0-1) was tagged with the loss. The first five batters in the Power starting lineup had multi-hit games. Caufield led the team with three hits and two RBI. The Power improved to 20-7 with the win and the Legends fell to 14-16 with the loss. The Power will finish the four game series with Lexington Monday morning. The Power will start left hander Zach Braddock (2-0, 1.14) and the Legends will counter with left hander Polin Trinidad (1-2, 6.64). The first pitch is scheduled for 10:35 AM (9:35 Central).

Final: West Virginia 5, Lexington (Astros) 4 West Virginia Box Score: Top five in the order combine to reach base 13 times; Quebec's Alex Periard will start to draw some serious attention north of the border -- the Canadian press follows its prospects closely; 25-year-old independent league signee E.J. Shanks has been a stabilizing force in the late innings, now 17 innings without an earned run this season... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Thank goodness for the comeback win, because the Power 5th, 7th, and 8th innings were painful to follow... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

Down to their final out, Darren Ford homers to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th! Three batters later, Chuckie Caufield with a walk-off single! Power wins, 5-4 -- details later, and we'll tell you when the 9th inning audio archive is available for review. West Virginia Bottom 9th - Martin Maldonado flies out to right fielder Jordan Parraz. - Taylor Green grounds out, second baseman Greg Buchanan to first baseman James Van Ostrand. - Darren Ford homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. - Brent Brewer singles on a line drive to left fielder Andrew Holder. - Michael Brantley singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jordan Parraz. Brent Brewer to 3rd. - Chuck Caufield singles on a ground ball to left fielder Andrew Holder. Brent Brewer scores. Michael Brantley to 2nd. Box score and game log links shortly...

Final: Clearwater (Phillies) 9, Brevard County 2 Brevard County Box Score: Only four hits, only one walk, two costly errors, not a lot to like here... web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503 Brevard County Game Log: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_clrafa_1

Not over yet, but the Power have wasted so many chances, and just coughed up a four-spot in the 8th to go down 4-3.

No Ryan Braun in the Sounds lineup again today; unfortunately, watching the Brewers so unable to hear Chuck Valenches' call, which unfortunately does not archive. Will try to pass on info later on...

To cover Garret Anderson's injury -- nothing concrete, speculation: www.latimes.com/sports/ba...;cset=true Among the players the Angels are believed to be interested in are Colorado third baseman Garrett Atkins and outfielders Brad Hawpe and Jeff Baker, outfielders Kevin Mench (Milwaukee), Jacque Jones (Chicago Cubs), Pat Burrell (Philadelphia) and Emil Brown (Kansas City), and third basemen Morgan Ensberg (Houston) and Edwin Encarnacion (Cincinnati).

Standings through Saturday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 16 13 .552 - 8-5 8-8 L1 Memphis 16 14 .533 0.5 13-5 3-9 W1 Iowa 14 15 .483 2.0 8-4 6-11 W2 Omaha 13 17 .433 3.5 11-5 2-12 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 14 13 .519 - 5-8 9-5 W2 Huntsville 13 14 .481 1.0 6-8 7-6 L2 Chattanooga 13 16 .448 2.0 7-8 6-8 W2 West Tenn 13 16 .448 2.0 7-7 6-9 W1 Carolina 12 17 .414 3.0 7-7 5-10 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 16 12 .571 - 7-7 9-5 L2 Brevard County 16 13 .552 0.5 8-6 8-7 L1 Daytona 15 14 .517 1.5 9-5 6-9 L1 Vero Beach 13 15 .464 3.0 9-6 4-9 W3 Jupiter 13 16 .448 3.5 5-9 8-7 W1 St. Lucie 13 16 .448 3.5 6-9 7-7 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 19 7 .731 - 11-5 8-2 L2 Greensboro 17 12 .586 3.5 11-4 6-8 L1 Lakewood 14 12 .538 5.0 6-7 8-5 W3 Lake County 14 14 .500 6.0 9-6 5-8 L3 Lexington 14 15 .483 6.5 7-8 7-7 W2 Hickory 12 15 .444 7.5 5-4 7-11 W1 Delmarva 10 17 .370 9.5 5-8 5-9 W1 Hagerstown 10 18 .357 10.0 6-8 4-10 L2

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

Follow Sunday'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_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_clrafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

Sunday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Yo Gallardo at home vs. Round Rock (Astros), 1:45 PM pre-game; 2:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Mike Jones at home vs. Chattanooga (Reds), 1:50 PM pre-game; 2:05 gametime Audio link: www.huntsvillestars.com/ Brevard County: RHP Jesse Harper at Clearwater (Phillies), 11:50 AM pre-game, 12:00 PM gametime Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp West Virginia: RHP Alex Periard at home vs. Lexington (Astros), 12:55 PM pre-game, 1:05 gametime Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

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Link for photo while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds split with Express Game 2 loss ends home win streak By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer The Sounds weren't half bad Saturday. They came back to win in the second half of a suspended game 2-1 over Round Rock. But in the regularly scheduled game shortened to seven innings, Nashville allowed the lead to slip away in the final inning and lost 5-4. A season-high Greer Stadium crowd of 10,698 saw the Sounds extend their home winning streak to seven in the first game. That game began Friday but was halted by rain in the fifth inning. The Sounds appeared on their way to keeping their win streak alive in the sixth inning of the second game after pinch hitter Andy Abad's bases-loaded single scored Mike Rivera and Callix Crabbe. That gave Nashville a 4-3 lead. But Round Rock, which had only one hit in the first four innings, heated up in the sixth when Cody Ransom smashed a three-run homer. And the Express stayed hot against Sounds reliever Dennis Sarfate in the seventh. Josh Anderson scored from third and tied the score at 4 on catcher Vinny Rottino's throwing error to second. Then Eric Munson's single sent Josh Anderson home for the go-ahead run. "The problem came in the sixth when we had a 2-0 lead,'' Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "We got two outs and we leave the ball up with two strikes and (Ransom) hits it out. But we're able to come back from that. Unfortunately Dennis just didn't have good command tonight." Abad said he felt particularly good about his RBI single, not only because it gave the Sounds the lead, but also because it came against his old nemesis, lefty Scott Sauerbeck. "I've faced (Sauerbeck) a lot in my career ? probably back when he was with the Mets in the mid-90s,'' Abad said. "He's always had my number." What they said: "Our pitching has been there the whole year. That's the reason we are where we're at right now. Give a power pitcher like Sarfate the ball like that, you always have a chance at winning. It just didn't happen today.'' ? Abad. ***Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Newest Sounds waste no time in contributing Thomas singles; Villarreal perfect By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer Center fielder Charles Thomas and pitcher Luis Villarreal made their debuts Saturday with the Sounds. Thomas, 28, was traded Friday from Sacramento for catcher for J.D. Closser and reported Saturday to Nashville. Thomas reached on an error in the game continued from Friday. He scored Nashville's first run on a sacrifice fly by Andy Abad. In the second game, Thomas got his first hit, a single. He scored on a single by Callix Crabbe, giving the Sounds a 2-0 lead. Thomas, 28, was drafted by Atlanta and spent the first five years in the Braves system. He was traded in 2004 to Oakland in a deal that sent All-Star pitcher Tim Hudson to Atlanta. Villarreal was promoted from Class AA Huntsville on Friday and replaced Tim Dillard at the start of Saturday's first game. Dillard had pitched the first four innings and given up five hits on Friday. It also was Villarreal's Class AAA debut. The left-hander pitched only one inning. He forced Round Rock's first two batters to pop out and then struck out catcher Eric Munson. Streak snapped: Sounds left fielder Vinny Rottino went 0-for-2 in the first game, which snapped his five-game hit streak. It was Rottino's longest hitting streak of the season. Rottino bounced back with a single in the second inning of the second game. Abad extended his hit streak to five games. Pitching down under: The Sounds used two pitchers from Australia in the second game. Right-hander Chris Oxspring, who is from Rouse Hill, was the starter and was relieved by Grant Balfour, who is from Glenwood. Oxspring pitched five shutout innings, and his ERA dropped to 2.01, which kept him in the top five in the PCL. Pinch hit pitcher: Zach Jackson pinch hit for fellow pitcher Steve Bray in the eighth inning of the first game. Jackson singled, making him 3-for-10 on the year.

Brevard County Game Notes from MiLB.com: Slayden steers Threshers Jeremy Slayden homered and drove in five runs to power Clearwater to a 9-5 victory over visiting Brevard County on Saturday. Slayden, who fell a triple short of the cycle, went 3-for-4 with two runs scored as the Threshers (19-10) won for the eighth time in 10 games. He hit a two-run double and scored in the first inning, singled in the third and slugged a three-run homer, his fifth, in the fifth. The 24-year-old right fielder had two chances at the cycle, but walked in the seventh and struck out in the eighth. He leads Clearwater with a .321 batting average, five homers and 28 RBIs. Gregory Golson had two hits and scored twice, while Michael Garciaparra also scored twice and drove in a pair of runs for the Threshers. Welinson Baez smacked a two-run homer, his third of the year, in the fourth. Starter Daniel Brauer (4-1) yielded three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings for the win. The Northwestern product struck out six and won his second straight start. Cole Gillespie went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Alcides Escobar had two hits and two RBIs for the Manatees (16-13). Steve Garrison (1-2) was tagged for season highs of eight runs and nine hits with one walk and a strikeout over four-plus innings in his sixth start for Brevard County. -- Peter Spadora.MLB.com

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com/ EURE OUT6'1" Sam LeCure had a late birthday present. (He turned 23 , Friday). He scattered five hits over five innings and worked his way out of a couple of jams to win his 4th game -- the 4th pitcher in the Southern League to do so this season........ LeCure wasn't particularly overpowering or impressive with his slider. He didn't seem to have control over it in the 4th and 5th innings....... He threw 90 pitches, 60 for strikes, but in the 5th inning, he was easily struggling, throwing only 10 of his 25 pitches for strikes. That inning afforded the Stars, down 4-2, their best chance of taking the lead in this ballgame, and it all happened, like last night, with two out........After Mike Carlin flied out to shallow left and Steve Sollmann lined out, Hernan Iribarren lined a one-hopper to right for a hit........ Steve Moss, 2nd to Lou Palmisano on the club in walks, watched four straight balls. Brendan Katin fouled off a couple of pitches before going to first on a slider for ball four. That loaded the bases for Ron Davenport, who Friday night, lined an 0-1 pitch right back to the pitcher for the game-ender........ Davenport, who finished the day with a .167 average, got ahead 3-and-1 on Lecure, then lifted a high fly ball that was handled by Chris Dickerson without taking more than a step......... In the 6th, Yohannis Perez lifted a long two-out fly ball to right that dropped in close to the line for a double. Carlin drew a walk on seven pitches, but Sollmann flied out to right-center to end the inning......... After that, the Lookouts' bullpen held the Stars to just one hit -- a 9th inning leadoff single up the middle by Perez. The Stars sent six men to the plate in the 3rd inning to score their two runs....... Steve Hammond led off with a hard grounder to right for a hit, then moved to 2nd when Sollmann's liner went off the glove of Enrique Cruz on the far edge of the infield, the play he was charged an error for........ Iribarren worked the count to 2-and-2 before he hit a two-hop single to right that brought in Hammond and moved Sollmann to 3rd........ A long fly ball to the edge of the warning track in center was enough to score Sollmann for the Stars' 2nd run, and send Iribarren to 2nd......... Iribarren would steal 3rd on Lecure's 2-2 pitch to Brendan Katin, but Katin struck out swinging and Davenport grounded out to end the 3rd. But Cody Strait had already given Chattanooga enough runs to win with a two-run HR off the star-shaped advertisement to the left of the scoreboard. Sunday -- another day game -- with Mike Jones, who has given up just one run in his last 12 innings, to face former Carolina Mudcat Luke Lockwood (0-4, 6.75)....... Lockwood has given up 27 hits in his last 16 innings over three appearances, all of which he lost....... In relief with the Mudcats in 2005, he held the Stars to two runs on four hits in 8 1/3 innings (2.16 ERA). The Stars have released Jeff Eure....... Eure, the second Huntsville Star to ever play all nine positions in a game on the last day of the 2006 season, was hitting .181 in 23 games. In the field, he was in left field, 1st base, and 3rd base this season, and made four errors...... Notably, he was 5-for-13 (.385) with runners on and two outs..... Adam Heether was taken off the disabled list to bring the roster back to its full limit.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Stars not timely with hits Huntsville strands nine baserunners in 4-2 setback By SKIP VAUGHN For The Huntsville Times, skip.vaughn@htimes.com Missed opportunities plagued the Huntsville Stars on Saturday against the Chattanooga Lookouts. The Stars left nine men on base, including a bases-loaded situation in the fifth inning. The result was a frustrating 4-2 loss to Chattanooga before an announced crowd of 1,637 at Joe Davis Stadium. "We had chances," Stars manager Don Money said. "We just didn't come through with the big hit. You've got to give their pitcher a little credit, too. He did a good job." Lookouts starter Sam LeCure (4-0) went five innings with six strikeouts and allowed five hits, two runs (one earned) and walked two batters. "He did his job," Money said. "He kept us at two, and that was the ballgame." Huntsville starter Steve Hammond (2-4) went five innings with four strikeouts and allowed six hits with four runs and one walk. "I thought Steve made some bad pitches today and got burned," Stars pitching coach Rich Sauveur said. "He had key situations and didn't make quality pitches there." Stars relievers Mark DiFelice and Robert Hinton combined for four scoreless innings. DiFelice had five strikeouts and allowed one hit in three innings, while Hinton had one strikeout and one hit in his inning. "The bullpen was outstanding," Sauveur said. "They did a great job. They came in and threw four scoreless and gave us a good chance to get back in the game. That's what they've been doing all year pretty much." The Lookouts outhit the Stars only 8-7, but left just four men on base. In Chattanooga's three-run third, Cody Strait blasted a towering two-run homer which hit the top of the star in left field. Hernan Iribarren and Yohannis Perez had two hits apiece for Huntsville (13-14). "I think both teams played pretty well," said Stars leadoff hitter Steve Sollmann, who had one hit and scored a run. "You got good pitching from both teams. They just took advantage of opportunities better than we did today." Stars hitting coach Sandy Guerrero said Huntsville has to do a better job of scoring runners on base with less than two outs. "We've been struggling in those situations," Guerrero said. "We've got to do a better job of making contact in those situations." Chattanooga (13-16) and Huntsville finish their five-game series today at 2:05 p.m. at Joe Davis Stadium. Probable starters are Stars right-hander Mike Jones (2-2, 5.11) and Lookouts left-hander Luke Lockwood (0-4, 6.75).

To hear Will's actual voice, there's a post-game interview archived here -- clcik on the May 4th link, and go to the 2 hour, 50 minute mark: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503

Here's audio of Brad Nelson's Go-Ahead Homer in the opening game Saturday night: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%205-4.mp3 Nashville Site Game Two Summary: Link for Andy Abad photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2301 Sounds Collapse Late, Fall To Express 5-4 NASHVILLE ? The Round Rock Express took advantage of two blown saves by the Nashville bullpen in the final two innings of play to score a 5-4, seven-inning victory over the Sounds in a see-saw battle on Saturday evening in front of a standing room only crowd of 10,698 fans at Greer Stadium. The loss snapped a seven-game home winning streak for the Sounds (16-13), who hold a half-game lead in the PCL American Conference Northern Division over cross-state rival Memphis. The game was reduced to seven innings because it followed the completion of Friday?s suspended game. The clubs exchanged the lead three times in the last two innings of play with Round Rock scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning against Dennis Sarfate to erase a one-run deficit and score the victory. Nashville starter Chris Oxspring, who took a no-decision, allowed two hits over five scoreless frames for the Sounds to drop his ERA to 2.01 on the year, a figure that ranks fifth in the Pacific Coast League. The Sounds jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Chris Barnwell sprinted across the plate on Jose Macias? perfectly-executed suicide squeeze bunt with the bases loaded against Round Rock starter Philip Barzilla. Barnwell (2-for-4) and Charles Thomas had opened the frame with consecutive singles and Mike Rivera was given a one-out intentional walk to set the table for Macias. Callix Crabbe doubled the advantage to 2-0 when he followed Macias? effort with an RBI single to left that plated Thomas, whose hit earlier in the frame was his first as a Sound and gave the outfielder hits in seven of his last eight games dating back to his time spent in Sacramento. Veteran infielder Cody Ransom (2-for-3) put the Express in front with one swing of the bat in the top of the sixth, swatting a two-out, three-run homer to right off Nashville reliever Grant Balfour to give this visitors a 3-2 lead. The opposite-field blast was Ransom?s second of the year and scored Brooks Conrad and Danny Klassen. The Sounds rallied back in the bottom of the frame to retake the lead against veteran southpaw Scott Sauerbeck. Rivera opened the frame with a single and was replaced by pinch-runner Ryan Braun. After a Macias flyout, Crabbe and Ozzie Chavez drew back-to-back walks before pinch-hitter Andy Abad delivered a go-ahead, two-run single to center that gave Nashville a 4-3 lead. AUDIO: Andy Abad Two-Run Pinch Single -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%205-5.mp3 Sarfate was tagged with the Sounds? second blown save of the evening when he failed to hold the lead in the top of the seventh. Jesse Garcia (2-for-3) greeted the right-hander with a double and was sacrificed to third. After Josh Anderson walked on four pitches, the speedy outfielder stole second, his team-leading 12th theft of the year, and Vinny Rottino?s throw to second on the play ended up in center field, allowing Garcia to cross home and tie the contest at 4-4. The Express rally continued when Eric Munson rapped a two-out RBI single to right-center off Sarfate to put Round Rock ahead by a 5-4 count. Sauerbeck (1-0) backed into a victory for Round Rock after blowing a save and allowing one run in his lone inning of work. Sarfate (1-2) took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits in his one frame of action. Paul Estrada worked a perfect bottom of the seventh to notch his fourth save of the year for the Express. The teams continue the series with a 2 p.m. meeting on Sunday at Greer. Right-hander Yovani Gallardo (3-1, 2.70), the Milwaukee Brewers? top prospect who ranks second in the Pacific Coast League with 42 strikeouts, will man the bump for the Sounds and face Round Rock right-hander Jared Gothreaux (1-0, 3.86).

Will Inman Pre-Season Interview has been posted at the always-a-good-read brewcrewball.com: www.brewcrewball.com./sto...6#readmore

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Frank Kremblas: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%205-5.mp3

Final: Round Rock (Astros) 5, Nashville 4, seven innings, regularly scheduled game Dennis Sarfate blows another save, throwing only ten strikes in his 26 pitches -- details from the Sounds site soon... Nashville Box Score: Ryan Braun remained in the game defensively in the top of the final inning, but Brad Nelson pinch-hit for him to end the game -- whatever is ailing Ryan, he was instructed not to swing a bat today... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1