Jim Goulart

Enjoyed the Huntsville audiocast thus far, Stars lead, 1-0, seventh inning stretch now, as of 8:15 Central, for those of you who may wish to tune in. Great job by Corey Thurman, clutch two-out RBI single for Lou Palmisano in the 4th driving in Brad Nelson, who had led off with a double.

MiLB.com Series Preview: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp Chattanooga Lookouts vs Huntsville Stars (Best-of-5) REGULAR-SEASON SERIES The two teams squared off just 15 times during the regular season (as opposed to the 25-game series between the other two participants in the semifinals), with Chattanooga winning the series, 9-6, and outscoring Huntsville, 71-55. HEAD-TO-HEAD STATS Chattanooga The Lookouts combined for a healthy .273 average against the Stars, led by switch-hitting infielder Luis Bolivar, who batted .340 in 15 games. OF Chris Dickerson's 11 RBIs led the club against Huntsville. 3B Aaron Herr batted .359 with 10 RBIs in 10 games. OF Javon Moran faced Huntsville just five times but batted .381 in 21 at-bats. And, of course, league MVP Joey Votto was his usual dominant self, hitting .309 with three homers and 10 RBIs. On the mound, the Lookouts combined for a 3.41 ERA as RHP Homer Bailey posted a 2.45 ERA in two starts. RHP Josh Hall had a 4.85 ERA in two starts, while LHP Tyler Pelland posted a 4.86 ERA in three games. RHP Edward Valdez was also effective against the Stars with a 2.75 ERA in four games. LHP Camilo Vazquez faced the Stars just once this season, giving up six runs in 5 1/3 innings. Huntsville 3B Ryan Braun batted .324 with three homers and eight RBIs in 10 games. Switch-hitting SS Ozzie Chavez was hitting .429 against the Lookouts in 10 games with a team-high 10 RBIs. OF Ron Acuna hit .300 in 14 games. Overall, the Stars hit .262 against Chattanooga and posted a 4.59 ERA. Yovani Gallardo had a 3.46 ERA in two starts, while Steve Hammond posted a 1.64 ERA in two games. Corey Thurman's ERA against Chattanooga was 3.21 in two games. Tim Dillard had the most looks at the Lookouts' lineup, posting a 3.57 ERA in five outings. LHP Manny Parra faced the Lookouts once, allowing one run on three hits over five innings. ON THE MOUND Chattanooga Bailey, the Reds' top prospect, joined the Lookouts from Sarasota, right after striking out the side on 12 pitches in the Florida State League All-Star Game. With Chattanooga, he's been even more dominant than he was at Sarasota, going 7-1 with a 1.59 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 68 innings. Pelland was 9-5 with a 3.99 ERA but struggled in August, posting a 7.03 ERA in five starts. Hall was 9-6 with a 3.39 ERA on the season. Rounding out the rotation are Valdez (3.89) and Vazquez (4.33), both of whom had ERAs over 5.00 in August as well. Closer David Shafer posted a 2.36 ERA and 26 saves. Huntsville While the club had no end-of-season All-Stars on the roster, it certainly had two pitchers worthy of some hardware. One of the leading contenders for Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Gallardo, joined the team midseason from Brevard County, and has gone 5-2 with a 1.63 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings to combine for a 1.86 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 155 innings, tops in the Minors. Due to his innings pitched, however, he and Hammond (2.93) will be limited to just one start apiece during the playoffs, leaving the opening-round rotation up in the air. A Comeback Player of the Year argument could certainly be made for Game 1 starter Thurman, who spent 2005 in the indie leagues rehabbing from shoulder surgery, and has posted a 2.96 ERA for the Stars. Dillard's ERA was 3.15. Parra posted a 2.96 ERA at Brevard before joining the Stars in August and has gone 3-0 with a 2.87 ERA in six starts since then, striking out 29 while walking just eight in 31 innings. AT THE PLATE Chattanooga The Lookouts were led by Southern League MVP Votto, who won the batting title at .319 and vied for a Triple Crown, adding 22 home runs, 77 RBIs and 24 steals. Herr hit .287 with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs. All-Star OF Noochie Varner batted .285 with 10 homers and 73 RBIs. Dickerson hit .242 with 12 home runs, 48 RBIs and 21 steals but got hot late, batting .309 with a team-high seven home runs and 19 RBIs in August. Moran, who missed a month on the DL before coming back mid-August, hit .353 in August and .320 on the season with 16 steals to give the top of the order a good lift. Huntsville Braun, the Brewers' first-round pick out of Miami in 2005, joined the club shortly after the All-Star break and hit .309 with 15 home runs and 40 RBIs. Switch-hitting 2B Callix Crabbe hit .267 with 32 steals on the season, including a .361 average and 17 steals in August alone. 1B Brad Nelson is no longer the power prospect he once was, but he batted .333 with four homers and 16 RBIs in August. POINTS OF INTEREST Chattanooga won the first half in the West with a 44-26 record, edging West Tenn (Cubs) by a game, to earn the team's first first-half title since 1992. In the second half, they were 37-33. Huntsville, meanwhile, was the turnaround team, finishing last in the West at 24-45, 19 1/2 games behind the Lookouts, before going 43-26 in the second half, including 36-6 from August on. SERIES COULD TURN ON With a team average of .246, the Stars have to rely on the strong pitching they've gotten down the stretch to shut down the Lookouts' bats. If Gallardo and Hammond are not able to go deep into a game, the team will have to rely on its bullpen and capitalize on early scoring opportunities. The fact that three-fifths of the Lookouts' rotation posted an August ERA of over 5.00 gives Huntsville a nice psychological edge in a five-game series, though the Stars have to get past Bailey. PREDICTION Huntsville, for an all-Alabama final vs. Montgomery (Devil Rays, MiLB.com's predicted winner over Jacksonville (Dodgers).

Huntsville Times: Pitching rotation: Corey Thurman (5-9, 2.96 ERA) draws the start for Huntsville tonight, against Cincinnati's top pitching prospect, Homer Bailey (7-1, 1.59 in 13 Southern League starts). The Stars will follow with Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, Tim Dillard and Steve Hammond; Gallardo and Hammond have few innings left before reaching their maximum as prescribed by the Brewers. Should the Stars reach the championship round against either Montgomery or Jacksonville, Hammond probably can't be used. Starbrites: Jacksonville hosts Montgomery in the first two games of the Southern League South playoffs, starting tonight. ... Chattanooga first baseman Joey Votto was the league MVP and led the league in average at .319. He is the 13th Lookout to lead the league in hitting since 1979, when Joe Charboneau batted .352 for the Lookouts. ... The Nashville Sounds, Milwaukee's Triple-A team, won its division with a 76-67 mark and began its quest last night for a second consecutive Pacific Coast League title. ... Chattanooga is 9-6 against Huntsville this year, but the Stars have won four of the last six.

Standings through Wednesday's action: Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 27 10 .730 - 16-3 11-7 W4 Missoula 23 14 .622 4.0 13-5 10-9 W1 [b]Helena 19 18 .514 8.0 11-8 8-10 L4[/b] Great Falls 10 27 .270 17.0 6-12 4-15 L1

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated an hour or two prior to gametime: Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf Following Nashville's lead, Huntsville now makes its media notes available as well, nice: www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf NOTE: Huntsville notes haven't been updated as of this post since 8/24...

Follow Thursday'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_cngaax_1 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

Thursday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Zach Jackson at home vs. Round Rock (Astros), 6:40 PM pre-game; 7:00 PM gametime; Sounds lead the best-of-five, 1-0 Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Corey Thurman at Chattanooga (Reds), 6:00 PM pre-game, 6:15 gametime; first game of the best-of-five Audio link: www.espn1450radio.com/ Brevard County: Season completed West Virginia: Season completed Helena: RHP Roque Mercedes at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Audio (click on "Listen Live"): www.helenabrewers.net/html2/index.php Arizona: Season completed

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Wednesday's Helena KCAP Pre-Game Audio Chat with outfielder Stephen Chapman (Select date for September 6th, skip to the 12:30 minute mark) -- www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

Final: Missoula (Diamondbacks) 2, Helena 0 Link while active, text follows: www.missoulian.com/articl...orts01.txt O's win pitchers' duel By NICK LOCKRIDGE of the Missoulian Hits and runs were hard to come by Wednesday, especially for the Helena Brewers. Missoula Osprey pitchers carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, before tiring and eventually settling for a narrow 2-0 victory over Helena in a Pioneer League baseball game at Ogren-Allegiance Park. It was the sixth shutout of the summer for the Osprey, setting a team record, and it snapped a two game-losing streak. Missoula (23-14) has won six of its last eight heading into the regular season finale Thursday against the Brewers at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central). The Osprey, who've already clinched their first playoff appearance since 2001, got the hometown fans fired up with another bid at a no-hitter. Starter Jordan Norberto and reliever Brett Reynolds combined on the no-no until it was broken up with two outs in the top of the seventh. Missoula's Osbek Castillo and Hector Ambriz combined on the franchise's first complete game no-hitter back on Aug. 20. ?Our defense made some key plays, so it wasn't just us,? said Reynolds, a 17th round draft choice out of Missouri. ?Helena is a good hitting team. It was awesome to be a part of a complete-game shutout.? Helena starter Chris Jean became the first Pioneer League pitcher to toss a complete game himself this season, but unfortunately wound up with the loss. The pitching duel symbolized the battle these two teams fought down the homestretch for the Northern Division's final playoff spot. Billings won the first and second half title, to earn the automatic playoff berths, but Missoula and Helena fought for the wild card spot for the past month. ?This gets us some momentum,? Reynolds said. ?We'd like to sweep Helena to end the year, get a fire going for Billings, because Billings is a great team, so we'll need all we can get. We're not taking this lightly. We're playing as if it's the playoffs already.? O's closer Daniel Stange got out of a bases-loaded situation in the eighth and ninth inning to record his league-leading 13th save of the season. After allowing back-to-back singles to open the ninth and a walk with one out, Stange settled down and struck out the final two batters. In the eighth, Stange got Chris Errecart to ground out to third baseman Andrew Fie, who made all three putouts in the frame. The Brewers loaded the bases with two outs on a single, an error and a walk. Reynolds lost the no-hitter in the seventh on Jordan Swaydan's infield single, which shortstop Matt Oxendine had to dive for but couldn't field cleanly in time for a throw. Reynolds retired the next batter on a comebacker. There were two runners on at the time because of another walk. ?Ox made a great try at it, he knocked it down,? Reynolds said. ?He tried to tell me it was his fault, but I told him it was just a good job of knocking it down and keeping the guy at first. Those kind of hits happen to break up no-hitters.? Reynolds (3-3) finished with just the one hit against him in five innings of work. He had four strikeouts and three walks. Leadoff hitter Tyler Jones was the only O's player with more than one hit. He had a pair of singles in four trips to the plate. Missoula jumped ahead 2-0 in the second inning on Sean Smith's RBI single up the middle. Daniel Perales started the inning with a double and then scored on John Hester's ground-rule double in the next at-bat. Hester came in on Smith's hit. The O's had a pair of hits in the fifth, including Julio Parra's one-out double, but that inning got cut short by an inning-ending double play. Missoula used four pitchers in the game. Aside from Stange and Reynolds, reliever Matt Krohe lasted just two-thirds of an inning before getting replaced by Stange in the eighth, when the Brewers started going to their bench to get some different matchups. O's starter Jordan Norberto lasted just two innings, but it was pre-determined that he'd just get some work in before the playoffs. He walked two and struck out one. Helena Box Score and Game Log: Nice work, Chris Jean... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1 Photo by LINDA THOMPSON / Missoulian Helena Brewers outfielder Cole Gillespie is tagged out at second base by Missoula Osprey shortstop Matthew Oxendine during the first inning on Wednesday at Ogren-Allegiance Park. http://www.missoulian.com/content/articles/2006/09/07/sports/sports01.jpg

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Frank Kremblas: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%209-6.mp3

Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=51971 Villanueva carries Sounds to Game 1 victory By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent Over the last two months, Nashville starter Carlos Villanueva did all a guy can do to earn a call-up to the Milwaukee Brewers. But when the Sept. 1 call-up date came, Villanueva was left down in Music City by Brewers brass. The snub paid dividends in Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League American Conference Finals on Wednesday night, when Villanueva turned in yet another stellar performance. After finishing the regular season 7-1 with a 2.71 ERA, Villanueva threw seven scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and fanning six, to carry the Sounds to a 4-0 victory over the Round Rock Express at Greer Stadium. The win gives the defending PCL champion Sounds a 1-0 lead in the conference finals. Game 2 will take place tonight at Greer, with Zach Jackson taking the mound for Nashville. ?I wasn?t really disappointed to not [get called up on Sept. 1],? Villanueva said. ?I knew we were in the playoff hunt and I could help these guys down here. If [a promotion] comes, it comes. I can?t have one foot up there and one foot here. I have to focus on one place.? Brent Abernathy collected the winning hit for the Sounds when he smacked a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth off Taylor Buchholz. Abernathy?s hit, which plated Chris Barnwell and Andrew Beattie, broke a scoreless tie. The Sounds tacked on a pair of runs when Tony Gwynn launched a two-run homer in the seventh inning. ?Buchholz threw a heckuva game, he?s tough,? Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said. ?We were struggling. We?d get some guys on then he?d make some pitches. Fortunately he left one up at 0-2 to [Abernathy].? While the big hits from Abernathy and Gwynn gave the Sounds padding, it was the pitching of Villanueva that keyed the victory. Villanueva went 0-1 with a 4.61 ERA in 27.1 innings of work with Milwaukee after being called up from Double A Huntsville earlier this season. He was sent down to Nashville in July and ever since has sparkled with the Sounds. ?I just went out there and executed. I talked to [pitching coach] Stan Kyles and [catcher Chad] Moeller about it,? Villanueva said. ?We had a good game plan. Other than that it was good.? Villanueva?s strong outing sets the stage for the rest of the Sounds starters, all of whom have thrown the ball well this season. ?Our pitching staff was ridiculous all year. In a five game series, we?re going to be good,? Villanueva said of the Nashville staff, which led the PCL in ERA. Round Rock brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning when Sounds reliever Allan Simpson walked the bases loaded. But Simpson was spelled by Luther Hackman, who got Nashville out of the inning without surrendering a run. ?Simpson got a little wild there, which is unusual for him. Usually he throws strikes,? Kremblas said. ?Luther came in and did a good job and got a pop-up and a ground out. The pop-up was huge.? Jackson takes the mound for Nashville tonight, although Dana Eveland was originally scheduled. Eveland will start Game 3 in Round Rock on Friday.

(Not officially a transaction note...) Huntsville Times: Three new faces: Outfielder Charlie Fermaint, second baseman Hernan Iribarren and pitcher Sam Narron are with the Stars. They are not on the active roster but could be used in the playoffs should an emergency arise.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Nelson became big Star First baseman hits groove to help Huntsville win By MARK McCARTER Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com After another depressing demotion, with a batting average that looked like beginners' class bowling scores, Stars first baseman Brad Nelson had a revelation. "I knew what I could do," he said. "The frustrating thing was like, 'Man, it can't get much worse.' So instead of getting more frustrated, I'd try to turn it around. "Then," Nelson added, "the best thing happened: We started winning games." The Stars won enough games - a franchise-record 22 in the month of August, 32 of their last 40 - to have rolled into the first game of Southern League playoffs tonight in Chattanooga (6:15, ESPN Radio 1450 AM) as one of the hottest teams in all of baseball. Credit Nelson, 23, with much of the success. He drove in the game-winning run Friday in the victory that clinched the Southern League North second-half championship, and had 18 RBIs in his last 27 games. Said hitting coach Sandy Guerrero, "He's found his stroke. He's had a lot of big hits down the stretch." As much as this may be a September to celebrate, it was a May to mourn for Nelson. He was batting only .215 with just three homers in 40 games at Triple-A Nashville. He had gone from one of the Brewers' top-rated prospects in 2002 to a guy struggling - and seeing Prince Fielder leapfrog over him to the majors. He was then sent to Huntsville, the fourth year he's been in a Stars uniform. He was batting .216 going into the Aug. 11 game at Mississippi. He went 2-for-3 that night. He would collect 14 hits in 22 at-bats and drive in six runs. "That started turning it around," he said. "It brought the average up. Not only that, but everything else - the confidence level, all the numbers increased." Nelson finished the season at .264, with six homers, 39 RBIs. In his first chapter in Huntsville, he joined the Stars in late July and was part of that playoff team. "It was my first experience of playoff baseball," said Nelson, who won a title with Nashville last year. "With that team, we were super-young. It was a blast. The way we did it, down to the wire in Birmingham (after trailing 2-1 in the series), we did it the dumbest way possible - two five-game series. And we ended up losing in Carolina." Still adapting to the outfield at the time, he preserved a 3-0 shutout in the first playoff game with a pair of sensational catches against the Barons. Nelson hails from tiny Algona, Iowa. It's 200 or so miles from Dyersville, where the "Field of Dreams" ballpark-in-a-cornfield movie set was created and remains. "Great movie," Nelson said. He has visited the site and pronounced it "definitely cool." His high school team even played Dyersville. One thing you've got to understand: "I'm from Iowa. I see cornfields all the time."

Final: Nashville 4, Round Rock (Astros) 0 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Carlos Villanueva photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2148 Sounds Derail Express In Playoff Opener, 4-0 NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? Carlos Villanueva combined with a pair of relievers on a two-hit, 4-0 shutout of the Round Rock Express to provide the Nashville Sounds a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five PCL American Conference Finals on Wednesday evening at Greer Stadium. Four of Nashville?s six victories against Round Rock this season have been shutouts. The Sounds co-led the Pacific Coast League with 12 shutouts during the regular season. With the win, the Sounds improved to 9-3 in their initial game of postseason play over the franchise?s 29-year history. The contest marked the fourth time in Nashville?s 12 postseason appearances that the Sounds have played their initial playoff game at home; Nashville is 4-0 in those contests. Villanueva (1-0) picked up the victory with his fifth straight quality start for the Sounds and his second dominant start in a row against the Express. The right-hander allowed only two hits over seven scoreless frames, walking a pair of batters and striking out six. He threw 93 pitches, 61 for strikes. On Friday, Villanueva carried a perfect game into the eighth inning against the Express before surrendering a pair of runs and taking a no-decision. Villanueva and Round Rock?s Taylor Buchholz were locked in a pitcher?s duel for the first half of the contest. The teams combined for a total of five hits over the first five-and-a-half innings before the Sounds finally broke a scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the sixth. Brent Abernathy (2-for-4), the Sounds? hottest hitter since the beginning of August, gave Nashville a 2-0 lead when he ripped a two-out, two-run double down the right field line on an 0-2 pitch from Buchholz. Chris Barnwell (single) and Andrew Beattie (walk) scored on the knock. Barnwell went 3-for-4 on the evening to continue his recent hot hitting. The shortstop finished the regular season riding an eight-game hitting streak. Abernathy wrapped up his regular season campaign with a seven-game hit streak. Tony Gwynn doubled the Nashville lead to 4-0 in the seventh when he belted a two-run homer off Round Rock reliever Travis Driskill. Dave Krynzel, who reached on a pinch-hit single to chase Buchholz one batter earlier, scored on the blast. Gwynn finished the regular season with a career-best four home runs. AUDIO: Tony Gwynn's Two-Run Homer -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...09-6-1.mp3 Sounds reliever Luther Hackman worked out of a crucial, inherited bases-loaded jam in the top of the eighth as the visitors attempted to creep back into the contest. After Allan Simpson walked the bags full, Hackman retired Express cleanup hitter J.R. House on a popup to shallow right then combined with first baseman Graham Koonce to retire Eric Munson on a groundout to first. Koonce ranged to his right and made a running throw to a hustling Hackman, who beat Munson to the bag by a half-step to escape the inning without harm. Hackman finished the contest by working a 1-2-3 ninth to notch his first save of the postseason and second overall save with Nashville this season. Buchholz (0-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out eight batters in his outing to match his season high for punchouts. The teams resume the best-of-five series with game two at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium. Left-hander Zach Jackson (4-6, 4.12) will toe the rubber for the Sounds and face Round Rock right-hander Jared Gothreaux (9-9, 4.34). Nashville Box Score and Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Baseball America's Final Prospect Hot Sheet for 2006: www.baseballamerica.com/t...62386.html Ryan Braun, 3b, Brewers (Double-A Huntsville): Braun finished on a roll, hitting .455 with a pair of homers. The fifth overall pick in 2005 out of Miami, Braun put up much better numbers than his first half in the Florida State League. Since he was called up to Double-A, Braun batted .303/.367/.589 and more than doubled his home run total in the FSL. "He might not be a third baseman, but he's got unbelievable raw power," a scout with an American League club said.

Standings through Tuesday's action: Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 26 10 .722 - 16-3 10-7 W3 Missoula 22 14 .611 4.0 12-5 10-9 L2 [b]Helena 19 17 .528 7.0 11-8 8-9 L3[/b] Great Falls 10 26 .278 16.0 6-11 4-15 W2

MiLB.com series preview: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp Nashville Sounds vs. Round Rock Express (Best-of-5) REGULAR-SEASON SERIES Round Rock has consistently dominated Nashville this season, going 11-5 overall and winning every series played against the Sounds. The two teams finished the regular season with a four-game set, and the Express came out on top in three of four games, while outscoring the Sounds, 31-16. HEAD-TO-HEAD STATS Nashville Ben Hendrickson has a 2.62 ERA against the Round Rock lineup. ... Carlos Villanueva pitched seven perfect innings before giving up two runs in eight innings against Round Rock September 1. ... Tony Gwynn was held to a .250 average. ... In the most recent series, Nashville batted .280, Chris Barnwell batted .460 with three RBIs and Drew Anderson was 5-for-11 with four RBIs. Round Rock Joe McEwing is batting .330 against Nashville this season and went 6-for-13 with three runs scored in the last four games. Ezequiel Astacio held the Sounds to two hits in five shutout innings Sept. 4. ... Royce Huffman is batting .390 in his last seven games against Nashville. ... In the most recent series against the Sounds, J.R. House batted .410 with five RBIs, and Brooks Conrad went 6-for-14 with six runs scored and five RBIs. ON THE MOUND Nashville The Sounds lead the PCL in numerous pitching categories, including ERA, complete games and shutouts, and until the most recent series, the poor record against Round Rock could be blamed more on the offense than the pitching. In 10 of the 12 games in June and July, the run differential between the two teams was two runs or less. Villanueva has been outstanding for the Sounds since his promotion, boasting a 2.71 ERA and a 7-1 record with Nashville. Hendrickson has a 3.36 ERA that belies his 9-8 record. Dana Eveland is 6-4 with a 2.74 ERA but gave up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings against Round Rock on September 2. Round Rock Round Rock has a 3.78 team ERA, and although much of that can be attributed to PCL Pitcher of the Year Jason Hirsh -- who was 13-2 with a 2.10 ERA before being promoted to Houston -- only an all-around quality starting rotation can produce quality numbers. Chris Sampson is the ace of the staff with a 12-3 record and a 2.51 ERA, while Jared Gothreaux (9-9, 4.34) has been a workhorse for the Express, leading the team in innings pitched. Ezequiel Astacio is 8-4 with a 4.86 ERA in 21 games for Round Rock, but as a consistent contributor to the 2005 NL Champion Astros, he brings plenty of big-game experience to the table. AT THE PLATE Nashville Tony Gwynn, CF: Gwynn has been the catalyst for Nashville's lineup all season. The leadoff hitter's batting a consistent .300, leads the Sounds with 134 hits and is second on the team with 30 stolen bases. Chris Barnwell, SS: Barnwell brings a potent one-two punch to the top of the Sounds' lineup. He's batting .300 with 18 RBIs this season and was red-hot against Round Rock pitching in the most recent series. Drew Anderson, LF: Anderson joined Nashville at just the right time. The 25-year-old is batting .333 with nine RBIs since his promotion from Double-A Huntsville on August 19. Anderson batted .291 with 24 doubles and 43 RBIs with the Stars before getting called up. Round Rock J.R. House, 1B: In just a little over a month since his promotion from Double-A Corpus Christi, House has already established himself as one of Round Rock's top hitters. The cleanup hitter is batting a torrid .412 with 32 RBIs in just 31 games with the Express after batting .325 in 97 games for the Hooks. Joe McEwing, 3B: The 33-year-old has played in over 700 Major League games, including the 2000 World Series with the Mets, making his veteran presence and experience invaluable to the Express in the postseason. McEwing's put in a solid season for Round Rock in 2006, batting .315 with 10 homers, 21 doubles and 46 RBIs. Brooks Conrad, 2B: When Conrad connects, there's no doubt it's going deep. The 25-year-old leads the Express in all extra-base hit categories with 24 homers, 15 triples and 40 doubles on the year. POINTS OF INTEREST The playoffs are a familiar place for the Sounds as they took home the PCL crown a year ago, and this season is showing eerie similarities to the 2005 squad. The Sounds clinched the American North crown on the second to last day of the regular season this year. ... just as they did last year before knocking through Oklahoma and Tacoma to get to the crown. This marks Round Rock's first playoff appearance since becoming a Triple-A franchise last year. But don't discount the Express due to lack of experience. Round Rock won three division titles in the Double-A Texas League between 2000 and 2004 and won the championship in 2000. SERIES COULD TURN ON: Nashville's recent postseason experience. The Sounds have yet to crack the code to Round Rock's weaknesses, but as any baseball fan knows, anything can happen in the playoffs. PREDICTION Barring a sudden revelation by the Sounds or some underdog postseason magic, the Express hold a heavy advantage coming into the series. Not only has Round Rock beaten the Sounds consistently throughout the season, they're also carrying the momentum from this past week into the playoffs. Round Rock in four.

Date Location Time (CT) Probable Pitching Matchup (NVL vs. ROU) Wednesday, Sept. 6 Nashville 7:00 PM RHP Carlos Villanueva (7-1, 2.71) vs. RHP Taylor Buchholz (1-3, 4.91) Thursday, Sept. 7 Nashville 7:00 PM LHP Dana Eveland (6-5, 2.74) vs. RHP Jared Gothreaux (9-9, 4.34) Friday, Sept. 8 Round Rock 7:05 PM LHP Zach Jackson (4-6, 4.12) vs. LHP Philip Barzilla (8-5, 3.85) Saturday, Sept. 9* Round Rock 1:05 PM RHP Justin Lehr (4-7, 3.94) vs. RHP Ezequiel Astacio (8-4, 4.86) Sunday, Sept. 10* Round Rock 1:05 PM RHP Ben Hendrickson (9-8, 3.36) vs. LHP Mark McLemore (2-3, 2.59) * if necessary

Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=51941 Sounds seek back-to-back PCL titles By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent At the beginning of the season, The City Paper gave baseball fans five good reasons to follow the Nashville Sounds in 2006. The top reason in April remains the top reason in September ? the team?s pursuit of a second-straight Pacific Coast League championship. Nashville?s repeat quest begins tonight when it hosts Round Rock at Greer Stadium in the first game of the best-of-five PCL American Conference Finals. That the Sounds are in the playoffs at all is a testament to manager Frank Kremblas, pitching coach Stan Kyles and hitting coach Gary Pettis. The Pacific Coast League manager of the year award went to Tacoma?s Dave Brundage. But even though Brundage?s Rainiers have the best record in the PCL, it?s hard to imagine anyone did a better job than Kremblas. Last year?s Sounds had an array of prospects who helped them earn a record good enough to qualify for the playoffs. But by the end of the season, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart and Jose Capellan were all playing for the Brewers and the Sounds ended up winning the title with a collection of utility players and solid pitching. The team used that same formula for success this season, since most of Milwaukee?s top prospects are either in the big leagues or at Double-A Huntsville. Despite that fact, Kremblas kept the Sounds winning. Nashville has the best team ERA, the best fielding percentage and the most stolen bases in the PCL this season. ?Last year we had better power,? Kremblas said. ?A lot of those guys got called up and we had to hang on at the end of the season [to win the division]. This year we have more pitching, more quality starting pitching. That and our defense is much better.? As the Sounds take aim at back-to-back titles, here are four more reasons to keep following the Sounds a little longer: 1. Triple-A champions: For the first time since 2000, the PCL and International League champions will meet for a one-game winner-take-all affair to crown a true Triple-A champion. The game will take place Sept. 19 in Oklahoma City. The Sounds can still win the PCL championship, but will have to win in Oklahoma City to lay claim to the Triple-A title, which they?ve never won before. 2. Catch them while you can: Perhaps the biggest allure of minor league baseball is to see top prospects before they go on to become big league stars. With just two games for sure on the home playoff schedule, this is likely the last chance for Sounds fans to see top prospects like center fielder Tony Gwynn and pitcher Carlos Villanueva. 3. More promotions: The most popular promotion at Greer this season has been the TiVo Challenge, where four fans battle to see who can hold a TiVo box over their head the longest. The winner is then awarded a TiVo box and one free year of TiVo service. The competition, which takes place after the first inning behind section M, is often intense enough that spectators are watching the promotion contestants as much as the game itself. ?It?s become our most talked-about promotion,? Sounds director of corporate sales Jason Bennett said. 4. Outstanding pitching: Nashville and Round Rock boast the top two team ERA?s in the PCL. Three of Nashville?s starters (Villanueva, Dana Eveland and Ben Hendrickson) have ERA?s below 3.00.

Tuesday's Helena KCAP Pre-Game Audio Chat with Trainer David Lake (Select date for September 5th, skip to the 18:00 minute mark) -- www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated an hour or two prior to gametime: Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

Follow Wednesday'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 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Carlos Villanueva at home vs. Round Rock (Astros), who will pitch RHP Taylor Buchholz, 6:40 PM pre-game; 7:00 PM gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: Playoffs begin Thursday in Chattanooga Brevard County: Season completed West Virginia: Season completed Helena: RHP Chris Jean at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Audio (click on "Listen Live"): www.helenabrewers.net/html2/index.php Arizona: Season completed

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