Jim Goulart

Link, text follows: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp Sounds' Braun blasts three homers By Tim Leonard / Special to MLB.com Ryan Braun says he's even now. Chan Ho Park probably has a different opinion. Braun, the top offensive prospect of the Milwaukee Brewers, homered in his first three at-bats -- all against Park -- and drove in five runs Saturday night as the Nashville Sounds coasted past the New Orleans Zephyrs, 14-1. "I faced him last time and don't think I hit a ball out of the infield," Braun said, referring to a matchup against Park in the first series of the season. "So we're even now." Braun staked pitching phenom Yovani Gallardo to a lead in the first inning, smacking a 2-1 changeup over the wall in left-center field. The next four batters singled, with Brad Nelson driving in two runs to give Nashville a 4-0 lead. Braun smoked a 1-0 cutter over the center-field wall leading off the third. J.D. Closser followed with a double and scored on Andy Abad's single to make it 6-0. Park tried to sneak a first-pitch fastball past Braun in the fourth and watched it sail over the fence in right-center field for an 8-0 cushion. Braun, who went 3-for-5 with four runs scored, became the fifth Nashville player to hit three homers in a game. He joined an elite group that includes former Major Leaguers Craig Wilson, Steve Balboni, Dan Pasqua and Darnell Coles. "I take pride in those at-bats," Braun said of facing a pitcher like Park, who has been successful in the Major Leagues. "I feel like I'm seeing the ball well lately. I've been hitting the ball hard but right at people. I centered the ball and a few went over the fence." With Craig Counsell and Tony Graffanino manning third base in Milwaukee, it could be a matter of time before Braun gets his shot at a big-league job. The Brewers sent Braun to Triple-A with instructions to work on his defense but haven't provided a timetable for when he might get called up. "I try not to pay attention to it at all," Braun said. "I watch SportsCenter and root for them. I hope I dictate my own success and future. If I handle my business, I feel I'll be given that opportunity. Hopefully, I'll get that opportunity sooner rather than later. I'm ready. I can't wait. I'm ready and waiting." Braun wasn't the only hitting star in a game in which the Sounds pounded out 16 hits. Abad was 4-for-5 with three RBIs, while Vinny Rottino hit a two-run homer during a six-run sixth. Gallardo (1-1) equaled his career high with 12 strikeouts over six scoreless innings. He yielded three hits and two walks and did not allow a runner past second base. Alec Zumwalt came on to start the seventh and gave up one run on three hits to earn his first save. He surrendered a solo homer to Andy Tracy in the ninth, struck out four and didn't walk a batter. Park (1-1) was charged with eight runs on 10 hits over four innings as his ERA climbed to 7.20.

Link while active, text follows: p092.ezboard.com/fbrewers...4055.topic Stetter returns to Nashville DAVE JOHNSON, Evansville (IN) Courier & Press Executive Sports Editor Mitch Stetter pitched in 59 games in 2005 and 51 last year. If he has his way, he'll pitch even more often this season. "We play 140 games, and I'd like to get into at least half of them," said Stetter, the Nashville Sounds reliever from Huntingburg. So far, so good. Stetter appeared in four of the Sounds' first eight games. "I'll pitch as often as they give me the ball. I want to be in there, especially in close games," said the 26-year-old left-hander. Stetter is the lefty-lefty specialist for the Sounds, the Milwaukee Brewers' affiliate in the triple-A Pacific Coast League. He's the guy they usually summon from the bullpen in the late innings to face one or two lefthanded batters. Stetter faced one batter in each of his four appearances this year. He retired all four, two with strikeouts. He had a similar role with Nashville last year, when he was 2-5 with a 4.46 earned run average and struck out 36 in 38 innings. Stetter said he had to "sweat it out" this spring because the Brewers didn't invite him to their big-league camp. "Most of the guys who make up the triple-A pitching staff are the ones who got sent down from the big-league camp," said Stetter, who was Milwaukee's 16th-round draft pick in 2003, out of Indiana State. "The Brewers had a lot of good pitchers in camp, and they released some who had pretty good years last year. Only two or three of us made it (to Nashville) from the minor-league camp, so I'm happy to be back here. Hopefully, I'll put together a great year and we'll see what happens."

Just an FYI -- The Sounds have indicated that today's game will likely not be available via internet because of network issues in New Orleans.

Standings through Saturday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 5 4 .556 - 2-0 3-4 W2 Memphis 5 4 .556 - 5-3 0-1 L1 Nashville 5 4 .556 - 3-4 2-0 W4 Omaha 3 7 .300 2.5 1-1 2-6 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 5 4 .556 - 3-1 2-3 W1 Huntsville 4 4 .500 0.5 2-3 2-1 L1 West Tenn 4 6 .400 1.5 0-0 4-6 L1 Tennessee 3 5 .375 1.5 1-2 2-3 W1 Carolina 2 8 .200 3.5 0-0 2-8 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jupiter 6 3 .667 - 1-1 5-2 W1 St. Lucie 6 3 .667 - 2-1 4-2 L1 Brevard County 4 5 .444 2.0 2-4 2-1 W1 Daytona 4 5 .444 2.0 2-2 2-3 L1 Palm Beach 4 5 .444 2.0 3-4 1-1 W1 Vero Beach 3 6 .333 3.0 2-3 1-3 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greensboro 7 2 .778 - 5-1 2-1 W5 West Virginia 6 3 .667 1.0 4-3 2-0 W4 Lexington 6 4 .600 1.5 5-3 1-1 L1 Hickory 5 4 .556 2.0 2-3 3-1 L2 Lakewood 4 4 .500 2.5 1-2 3-2 W1 Lake County 3 6 .333 4.0 1-1 2-5 W1 Delmarva 3 7 .300 4.5 0-2 3-5 L2 Hagerstown 3 7 .300 4.5 1-3 2-4 L2

It's a shame all yesterday's exciting action was on the road, because the media reports from those outposts are non-existant this morning. To cap things off, there's now some additional audio available from Friday evening: Nashville Pre-Game Chat with Starting Pitcher Tim Dillard: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-13.mp3

AUDIO: Ryan Braun's 3rd Home Run -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...4-14-3.mp3

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_nozaaa_1 Huntsville Game One: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1 Huntsville Game Two: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_2 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_delafx_1

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

Gotta love the Florida State League, especially divisional proximity: Friday: St. Lucie at Brevard County Saturday: Brevard County at St. Lucie Sunday: St. Lucie at Brevard County

Sunday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Zach Jackson at New Orleans (Mets), 1:40 PM pre-game; 2:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP's Manny Parra and Sam Narron in a double-dip at Tennessee (Cubs), 1:45 PM pre-game; 2:00 gametime; each game seven innings Audio link: www.huntsvillestars.com/ Brevard County: TBD at home vs. St. Lucie (Mets), 12:00 PM Audio link (game should also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp There may be an issue getting a web audio hookup from St. Lucie -- just an FYI... West Virginia: RHP Roque Mercedes at Delmarva (Orioles), 12:35 PM gametime Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

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Click on this link, then the archive of Thursday's April 12th doubleheader. If you then go to the three hour, ten minute mark of the archive, you'll pick up Scott Pinner's inning with Reid Nichols in the booth while Will Inman's on the mound. Scott manages to cover a variety of topics in limited time: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503

Final: Nashville 14, New Orleans (Mets) 1 Put this one in one of those time capsules, folks, we'll look back on it fondly as a pre-cursor of what is coming soon... Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Ryan Braun photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2263 Braun Belts Three Homers In 14-1 Rout Of Z's METAIRIE, La. ? Third baseman Ryan Braun and right-hander Yovani Gallardo put on clear demonstrations of why they are rated among the top prospects in baseball on Saturday evening at Zephyr Field, leading Nashville to an overwhelming 14-1 victory over New Orleans. Braun (3-for-5, 3 HRs, 5 RBIs, 4 R) became the fifth Sounds player in the franchise?s 30-year history to belt three roundtrippers in a single game and the first since Craig Wilson performed the feat in 2000. The other three Nashville longball recordholders include Steve Balboni (1980), Dan Pasqua (1984), and Darnell Coles (1992). The three home runs give the Milwaukee Brewers? top positional prospect four jacks on the year, a total which now leads the Pacific Coast League. Braun?s five RBIs tied a single-game career high. Gallardo (1-1), the Brewers? top prospect, kept up quite well with his highly-touted teammate, matching his career high with 12 strikeouts while allowing only three hits and walking two batters over six scoreless frames to record his first career Triple-A victory. The right-hander threw 100 pitches, 64 for strikes, and struck out at least one batter in each of his six innings, including three in the fourth. In addition to his performance on the mound, the 21-year-old hurler went 2-for-3 at the plate, including a double and run scored, to help his own cause. The win was the fourth in a row for the Sounds (5-4), who carry a winning record for the first time during the young season. It was an impressive offensive evening for a Nashville club that came into the contest with a team average below the Mendoza line. Every member of the Sounds? starting lineup recorded a hit or scored a run, combining for season highs of 14 runs and 16 hits. Joining Braun with solid evenings at the dish were Andy Abad, who went 4-for-5 after opening the year with 12 consecutive hitless at-bats, and J.D. Closser (3-for-5). The 14 runs were the most scored by a Nashville team since the Sounds plated 16 at Oklahoma on April 20, 2005 and the 13-run margin of victory matched the club?s largest since joining the Pacific Coast League in 1998. Ten of the Nashville runs were scored with two outs in an inning. The Sounds jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with a string of five consecutive two-out hits against New Orleans starter Chan Ho Park in the top of the first inning. After the first two batters went down in order, Braun got the rally started by crushing a two-out solo homer to left-center. Closser, Abad, Vinny Rottino, and Brad Nelson all followed with singles, the last of which plated a pair of runs to increase the Nashville advantage to four before the Zephyrs had stepped to the plate. Braun got back to work in the third when he led off the frame with a solo shot to center off Park. Closser followed with a double and scored to make it 6-0 when Abad, who finished with three RBIs, ripped a single to right off Park. The Ryan Braun show continued an inning later as the University of Miami product smacked a two-out, two-run homer to right against Park to push the Sounds? lead to 8-0. Jose Macias, who had reached on a fielder?s choice grounder, also scored on the roundtripper. Park (1-1) had a forgettable second outing to his 2007 season, taking the loss after surrendering eight runs on 10 hits in only four innings of work. The Nashville offense kept churning against the Zephyrs? bullpen, producing six additional runs against Jon Adkins in the sixth to increase the advantage to 14-0. A Macias sacrifice fly and Braun RBI grounder netted the first two scores before Abad delivered a two-out, two-run single and Rottino completed the scoring by blasting his second home run of the year, a two-run shot to right off Adkins. Reliever Willie Collazo stopped the bleeding for New Orleans, mopping up with three scoreless frames to close out the ballgame. Alec Zumwalt took over for Gallardo on the Nashville hill in the seventh and worked the final three innings to earn a save, allowing one run on an Andy Tracy ninth-inning homer that accounted for New Orleans? lone score of the evening. The teams meet again in a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee at Zephyr Field. Left-hander Zach Jackson (1-1, 2.89) is slated to make the start for Nashville and will be opposed by New Orleans southpaw Adam Bostick (1-0, 3.60). Nashville Box Score: Yup, this will forever go down as Andy Abad's breakout game http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1

Final: Brevard County 6, St. Lucie (Mets) 0 Brevard County Box Score: Seven Manatees with multiple base hits; Alcides Escobar 5-for-5 in SB attempts this season; remember when Jesse Harper was a waiver claim from Toronto? UW-Milwaukee's Ben Stanczyk has only allowed three baserunners in six innings... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_sluafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: Defensive stalwart Nestor Corredor loves to make that pickoff throw to first from behind the plate, it paid off tonight... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_sluafa_1

Final: West Virginia 8, Delmarva (Orioles) 4 West Virginia Site Game Summary: SIX RUN THIRD PACES POWER IN VICTORY OVER DELMARVA The West Virginia Power scored six of their eight runs in the third inning of Saturday night?s contest against the Delmarva Shorbirds as the Power won their fourth game in a row by the final score of 8-4. Kenny Holmberg walked with the bases loaded to bring in the first of six runs in the top of the third. Andy Bouchie singled in the next two runs before John Alonso?s two-run double knocked Delmarva starter Fernando De Nebal out of the game. Darren Ford finished the six-run third inning with an RBI single. In the fourth inning the Power took a 7-0 lead on Holmberg?s RBI groundout. Miguel Abreu drove in Delmarva?s first run on a double in the bottom of the fourth inning and West Virginia scored their final run of the game on Andy Bouchie?s run-scoring single in the top of the sixth inning. Miguel Abreu pulled the Shorebirds within four on a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning but it was not enough. Mike Ramlow (1-1) gave up a run on three hits through five innings to earn the win and Fernando De Nebal (1-1) took the loss. Brent Brewer led the Power with three hits on the night while Alonso and Bouchie both had two. Holmberg and Alonso both drove in a pair of runs while Bouchie knocked in three. The Power improved to 6-3 with the win and the Shorebirds fell to 3-7 with the loss. The four-run victory for West Virginia was their first of the season that was not decided by a run. The Power will continue the four-game series against the Shorebirds at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Delmarva will start right hander Josh Tamba (0-0, 18.00) and the Power will counter with right hander Roque Mercedes (0-1, 67.50). The first pitch is scheduled for 1:35 PM (12:35 Central). West Virginia Box Score: Pitching coach John Curtis is working wonders with this relatively unheralded starting staff -- hopefully Roque Mercedes, the only rotation member to stumble, will bounce back Sunday; looks like the Power may be on their way to a fourth consecutive competitive half-season after that initial awful debut in Charleston the first half of 2005... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_delafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_delafx_1

Manatee game just about over, up 6-0 -- Brevard with 19 hits tonight (16 singles, three doubles, one walk, one HBP)...

Great starts from the Manatees' Jesse Harper and the Power's Mike Ramlow being overshadowed tonight, but we'll fill you in later on...

We're discussing in tonight's Brewer in-game thread Ryan Braun's three home runs (and one throwing error) in the first four innings of the Nashville game tonight. Yovani Gallardo with three scoreless innings and five K's, by the way...

Huntsville Site: Stars and Smokies Washed Out, Again The Huntsville Stars and Tennessee Smokies game scheduled for Saturday night at Smokies Park in Sevierville, TN has been postponed because of steady rain and the forecast for more throughout the rest of the night. The game is slated to be made up as part of a twin bill on Sunday afternoon beginning at 2:00 p.m. Central Time. The Stars send left-handers Manny Parra and Sam Narron to the mound in the doubleheader in the final two games of the set, while the Smokies? will counter with right-handers Kevin Hart and Mark Holliman. Coverage will begin at 1:45 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 AM WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

By the way, Braun's error was of the throwing variety.

FSN St. Louis had a great graphic that showed both Cecil and Prince Fielder hit exactly 31 HR's after their first 205 games in the big leagues.

Ryan Braun HR # 2 tonight...

When you watch a game while listening to Ueck (as I am this evening), you realize how tough it can be for audio-only fans sometimes. After Duncan went to third, Fielder couldn't quite reach Rolen's shallow fly pop, but Bob said it went to shallow right and never mentioned it was easily foul. If you're just listening, you're wondering why it's still scoreless.

Brevard County Top 2nd - Charlie Fermaint singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jose Castro. - Nestor Corredor singles on a ground ball to right fielder Bobby Malek. Charlie Fermaint to 3rd. - Ryan Crew called out on strikes. - Alcides Escobar singles on a line drive to right fielder Bobby Malek. Charlie Fermaint out at home, right fielder Bobby Malek to catcher Rafael Arroyo. Nestor Corredor to 2nd. - Lorenzo Cain strikes out swinging. That must have been one very odd play, how does the speedy Fermaint get thrown out, even if he was near the bag at third if unsure on the line drive? Manatees scored in the first and lead 1-0 after two. By the way, Chris Errecart is 2-for-2 and is hitting .485 (16-for-33, only one walk, but only 3 K's).

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com/ UNLUCKY DAY FOR THE BULLPENEight games deep into the season, and the Stars still haven't hit a home run. They're now on a record drought. The Stars' went seven games deep into the 1999 season before Dave Elliott ended a homerless streak of 57 innings. Well, it was Friday the 13th, wasn't it?........ The Stars, who were 32-9 when they banged out 10 or more hits last year, reach a season-high with 11 hits in the game. They had allowed more than five runs only once this young season, losing that game. They scratch and claw to take the lead in the 5th inning, then leave it to a, so far impregnable bullpen with a 0.98 ERA, to hold the lead, and the bullpen fails....... Yep, it was an unlucky day, but it didn't start out that way. Corey Thurman came in to relieve an ineffective Mike Jones in the 4th inning after Jonesy walked Chris Walker and Jorge Cortes to load the bases...... Thurman got Jake Fox, 2-for-13 since a four-hit day on April 7, to pop out to Hernan Iribarren and Josh Kroeger to fly out to left to end the threat. Down 4-3 in the top of the 5th, Hernan leads off with a double off the wall in left-center and Steve Moss lines a ball inside the right field line to the corner for his 2nd triple of the year, tying the score...... After Brendan Katin struck out for the first out, Lou Palmisano drew a walk to put runners on the corners........ That was all for Smokies starter Justin Berg after 4 1/3 innings........ It looked like Adelberto Mendez would get his team out of trouble. He fanned Jeff Eure, but with Steve Sollmann at the dish, Mendez attempted to pickoff Palmisano. While engaging the defense in a rundown, Moss broke for home and scored, and the Stars effectively pulled off the double-steal to give the Stars a 5-4 lead. The Smokies were persistent, even though they didn't score in the bottom of the 5th after Matt Craig hit a ball to center that nearly went over the wall for a home run. It hit the top of the wall and bounced back in for a double. Hitting coach Barbaro Garbey argued in vain for the homer........ Brian Dopirak's fly ball to right moved Craig to 3rd, but the Stars snuffed another attempt by the Smokies to go ahead when Yohannis Perez made up for a dropped pop-up in the 2nd that put Tennessee ahead, 3-0...... Perez threw out Craig at the plate on a grounder by Gary Cates......... Thurman still couldn't swat the pesky Smokies. After Cates stole 2nd, he walked Issmael Salas before retiring Jemel Spearman on a fly ot to left........ In the 6th, the Smokies continued to get on base against Thurman, and finally went ahead. Chris Walker singled on a bunt to the right side, then stole 2nd base, as he was so prone to do last year when he stole 15 bases against the Stars........ Thurman struck out Jorge Cortes, but Jake Fox doubled to tie the game, stole third, then scored to put the Smokies ahead, 6-5 when Josh Kroeger, the Smokies hottest hitter, extended his hitting streak to seven games with an RBI single. The Stars, who had 11 hits in the game, could only muster a pair in the final four innings........ Chattanooga lost to Montgomery when the Biscuits scored seven runs in the 11th inning, so the Stars and Lookouts remain on top in the Northern Division at 4-4........ Hopefully that changes for the better tonight, but the forecast in the Knoxville area is bad with strong storms and gusts from the SSW on tap........ Manny Parra is scheduled to go for his 2nd victory against right-hander Kevin Hart. Looking at the progress of some former Stars: Dave Krynzel is off to a 5-for-20 start for the Class AAA-Tucson Sidewinders. Dana Eveland, who joined Krynzel in an off-season trade to the Diamondbacks, held Salt Lake scoreless last April 9 in his first start and first victory to date........ Cristian Guerrero is 5-for-21 (.223 with a triple and four RBIs after six games for Class AA-Harrisburg (Eastern)....... Jackson Melian is 6-for-15 (.400), all singles, and six RBIs for Class AA-Erie (Eastern)....... Chris Saenz, in his only start so far for the Class AA-Arkansas Travelers (Texas), was knocked for five runs on three hits and six walks in 3 1/3 innings against Midland in a 12-inning 7-6 loss, April 9....... Mark Bellhorn (1996 Stars) is 6-for-24 with two HRs and seven RBI for the Class AAA-Louisville (Int.) Bats.