Jim Goulart

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_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1 West Virginia Game One: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Two: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_2 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_idarok_1

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

Monday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Zach Jackson at home vs. Albuquerque (Marlins), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP Steve Hammond at West Tenn (Cubs), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450radio.com/ Brevard County: RHP Robert Hinton at home vs. Vero Beach (Dodgers), 6:00 PM Audio link (opponent's); audio will be archived as well: www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp West Virginia: LHP Brandon Parillo and TBD in a doubleheader at home vs. Hagerstown (Mets), 4:55 PM pre-game, 5:05 gametime Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower. Helena: RHP Roque Mercedes at Idaho Falls (Royals), 8:00 PM pre-game; 8:15 gametime Audio (click on "Listen Live"): www.helenabrewers.net/html2/index.php Arizona: Idle

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Johnson's absence now permanent MAURICE PATTON, the Tennessean Veteran catcher Mark Johnson, who left the Nashville Sounds during their recent 12-game road trip because of personal matters, will not rejoin the team. In 48 games, Johnson hit .203 (29-for-143) with two home runs and 10 RBIs. He was placed on the temporary inactive list on Aug. 11 when he left for his home in Warner Robins, Ga. The move leaves Nashville with only one catcher, Chad Moeller, on the roster, although utilityman Vinny Rottino started there Sunday night and has played 15 games behind the plate this season. Johnson, 30, spent parts of seven seasons in the majors, seeing time with the White Sox, Angels, Athletics and Brewers. Sounds reliever Mike Meyers has left the team as well and is playing with Team Canada in a 2008 Olympic qualifier tournament. He could, however, rejoin the team, depending on Canada's performance in the event.

Johnson's absence now permanent MAURICE PATTON, the Tennessean Veteran catcher Mark Johnson, who left the Nashville Sounds during their recent 12-game road trip because of personal matters, will not rejoin the team. In 48 games, Johnson hit .203 (29-for-143) with two home runs and 10 RBIs. He was placed on the temporary inactive list on Aug. 11 when he left for his home in Warner Robins, Ga. The move leaves Nashville with only one catcher, Chad Moeller, on the roster, although utilityman Vinny Rottino started there Sunday night and has played 15 games behind the plate this season. Johnson, 30, spent parts of seven seasons in the majors, seeing time with the White Sox, Angels, Athletics and Brewers. Sounds reliever Mike Meyers has left the team as well and is playing with Team Canada in a 2008 Olympic qualifier tournament. He could, however, rejoin the team, depending on Canada's performance in the event.

Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS On the move: Rottino saw time in three positions Sunday night. After starting at catcher, he moved to left field as part of a double switch in the sixth, then went to third base as part of another double switch in the eighth. Check, please: Nashville second baseman Zach Sorensen reached base in the second inning when he made contact on a checked swing against Albuquerque starter Adam Bostick. The hit rolled inside first base and into right field for a double. They're not booing: After going 1-for-4 with a stolen base in his Class AAA debut Saturday night, Sounds outfielder Drew Anderson had his first Triple-A multiple-hit game Sunday. Anderson went 2-for-3 with a double and scored from second on a wild pitch and an error during Nashville's three-run third inning. Anderson, who hit .291 with six home runs and 43 RBIs in 108 games at Double-A Huntsville, was removed from the game as part of a double switch in the sixth inning. Call to arms: Heading into Sunday's play, the Sounds had three of the Pacific Coast League's best pitchers in terms of earned run average. Ben Hendrickson, Sunday's starter, had a 2.47 ERA that was second in the league behind Round Rock's Jason Hirsh (2.10). Jared Fernandez was seventh with a 3.15, with Dennis Sarfate 10th with a 3.73. Spinning turnstiles: With Sunday's attendance of 4,782, the Sounds are in striking distance of 400,000 for the third straight year. The team has drawn 380,185 ? an average of 6,035 ? with six Greer Stadium dates remaining. At that pace, the team would fall just short of last year's 419,412 figure and finish with 416,415. In 2004, the Sounds drew 405,536, breaking the 400,000 mark for the first time since drawing 438,745 in 1993. What they said: "I think we got caught looking breaking ball and got fastballs." ? Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas, whose offense struck out 16 times ? 10 on called third strikes.

Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=51669 Isotopes issue a sound beating By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent It looked eerily like 2005 at Greer Stadium on Sunday night and the trip back in time was especially troubling as it related to Nashville starter Ben Hendrickson. So far this season Hendrickson has been Nashville?s most-reliable pitcher, but he was shellacked by the Albuquerque Isotopes for five runs on 12 hits as the Sounds fell 11-5. The performance was more typical of how Hendrickson threw a year ago. Last year Hendrickson went 6-12 with a 4.97 ERA. But he?s turned things around in 2006, entering Sunday?s game with an ERA of 2.47 and a 9-6 record. Against Albuquerque it was a different story. The first eight batters in the third inning collected hits against Hendrickson, including a three-run homer by Chris Aguila. By the time the inning was over, the Isotopes had five runs, which proved to be enough. ?I didn?t think his stuff was that bad,? Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said. ?He had a lot of stuff in the middle of the plate and too many pitches up in the zone and their guys did a great job.? Hendrickson didn?t allow a run after his forgettable third inning, but the Sounds bullpen didn?t do him any favors. Jared Fernandez allowed five runs of his own in the sixth inning to put the game completely out of reach. While the pitching was off the mark, the offense was out of sync as well. The Sounds (69-60) struck out 16 times against Isotope pitching. ?They made some good pitches with two strikes, we just didn?t put the ball in play before we got to two strikes,? Kremblas said. The loss, coupled with a win by second-place Iowa, put Nashville four games ahead in the American Northern Division. It also put a stop to a four-game win streak for the Sounds. Despite the loss, Kremblas still feels solid about where his club stands with 15 games left. ?My true comment? Who cares,? Kremblas said ?It?s just one game.? ***Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds' star fades vs. Albuquerque By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer Pacific Coast League All-Star Ben Hendrickson looked anything but Sunday night, giving up eight straight hits in the third inning as visiting Albuquerque grabbed a 11-5 win over the Nashville Sounds. "They could have scored about 25," said Hendrickson, who got out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the first inning and stranded runners at second and third bases in the second inning. "It was a tight strike zone," he said. "I can't blame it on that, but there were pitches that I wanted called. Being the pitcher I am, I have to get some calls or it's going to be a long night like it was." Entering the contest, Hendrickson had not allowed more than 11 hits or six runs in any of his 19 starts for the Sounds this season. Second in the PCL with a 2.47 earned run average heading into Sunday, he gave up five runs, all earned, on 12 hits and was relieved after five full innings. "I thought he did a good job limiting the damage," Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas said. "(Giving up) 12 hits and three walks ? that's a lot of base runners. It could have been a lot worse." Hendrickson, bidding to become Nashville's first 10-game winner since Nelson Figueroa won 12 in 2004, instead took his fifth loss in his last nine starts (with three wins and a no-decision).

Final: Albuquerque (Marlins) 11, Nashville 5 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Drew Anderson in the camo uniform photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2121 Sounds Win Streak Snapped With 11-5 Loss NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? The Sounds? four-game winning streak was ended by two big Albuquerque innings in Nashville?s 11-5 loss to the Isotopes on Sunday night in front of 4,782 fans at Greer Stadium. With the loss, Nashville (69-60) had its lead over Iowa in the American Northern Division cut to four games as the Cubs defeated Oklahoma earlier in the day. Albuquerque pounded out 19 hits on the evening including at least two from every position player in the lineup. Isotopes starter Adam Bostick (1-0) earned his first Triple-A win in just his second start. The left-hander threw five innings and allowed three runs on five hits. Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson (9-7) was unable to record his 10th win of the season as he allowed five runs on a 12 hits over five innings of work. The 12 hits tie a season high for hits allowed by a Sounds pitcher. Jared Fernandez previously gave up 12 hits on two different occasions. With his 2-for-3 night, Sounds newcomer Drew Anderson recorded his first multi-hit night at the Triple-A level. He started in left field and recorded a hit for the second straight night for Nashville. Despite having runners on base throughout the early going, Hendrickson was able to keep the Isotopes at bay for two innings before giving up a five-run, eight-hit third inning. In the first two innings, Albuquerque had runners in scoring position with no outs both times and were unable to manufacture any runs. The ?Topes were able to gab a lead against Hendrickson when former Sound Jason Wood plated the visitors? first run with a double to the gap in left-center, allowing Roberto Andino to score from second. The Isotopes plated three more runs on a Chris Aguila round tripper over the left field fence, bringing the score to 4-0. It was the Albuquerque outfielder?s ninth longball of the year and second in as many nights against the Sounds. The ?Topes increased their lead to five runs on a Nick Trzesniak RBI single to right. The Sounds? offense answered right back, plating three runs off Bostick. Tony Gwynn led off the three-run inning with a lead of walk and then advanced to third on an Anderson double to left field. With runners in scoring position, Bostick threw a pitch that skipped just wide of the catcher allowing Gwynn to score. Trzesniak, the Albuquerque catcher, attempted to throw out Gwynn at the dish but instead threw the ball away allowing Anderson to cross home. Graham Koonce added some power to the Sounds offense, blasting his team-leading 16th longball of the season to bring Nashville within two runs. AUDIO: Graham Koonce's Solo Homer -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...208-20.mp3 Fernandez came into the game in relief of Hendrickson and allowed five Albuquerque runners to cross home in the visiting half of the sixth. The ?Topes etched their sixth run of the game on a Wilson RBI single to right field, which scored Wood from second. The visitors brought the score to 10-3 on a three-run home run off the bat of Trzesniak. The home run was the catcher?s fourth of the year and his third since joining Albuquerque on August 8th (eight games). The Sounds scored a run in the bottom of the sixth when Vinny Rottino trotted home on a bases-loaded Chris Resop balk, and Rottino scored Nashville?s final run of the evening two frames later on Chad Moeller?s two-out RBI single. Albuquerque tacked on one more run in the ninth when Eric Reed led off with a triple against Chris Demaria and scored on Robert Andino?s single one batter later. The two teams take the field again on Monday night at 6 p.m. for the third contest in the four-game series. The Sounds will give the starting nod to southpaw Zach Jackson (3-5, 4.25) and the Isotopes will give the ball to right-hander Jeff Fulchino (4-9, 4.49). Nashville Box Score and Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Outfielder Drew Anderson: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...208-20.mp3

Final: Arizona A's 4, Arizona Brewers 2 Arizona Brewer Box Score and Game Log: Brewer batters strike out 14 times; five errors by the A-Crew didn't help matters (two unearned runs); looks like former outfielder Anderson de la Rosa is being converted to catcher... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_athrok_1

Helena Independent Record: Brewers win 3rd straight IDAHO FALLS ? The Helena Brewers edged Idaho Falls Sunday for a 6-5 win. Cole Gillespie had singles in the second, fourth and ninth innings and also drew a pair of walks for the Brewers (13-9), who won their third in a row. Andy Bouchie delivered a two-run single during Helena's three-run first. Reliever Jose Romero (2-1) struck out two over three scoreless innings to pick up the win. Travis Wendte got the last five outs for his third save. The Chukars? Jase Turner hit a two-run homer during the bottom of the first inning. Idaho Falls (7-13) will host Helena again today at 7:15 PM (8:15 Central). The Brewers are third in the Northern League standings.

Brevard County Site Game Summary: Mets slip by Manatees Tony Piazza blasted a solo homer and St. Lucie scored four runs in the sixth inning to rally past visiting Brevard County, 7-6, on Sunday. Piazza's homer -- his first -- came in the fifth. He also drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth, and Caleb Stewart scored on a throwing error by pitcher Josh Alliston in the seventh for the eventual winning run. Edgar Alfonzo (5-6) allowed two hits in two scoreless innings of relief, and Carlos Muniz pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his 29th save for the Mets (32-24). Manatee starter Sam Narron allowed two earned runs on two hits in five innings, fanning four and without walking a batter. Carlos Corporan blasted a three-run homer in the fourth and Adam Heether added a two-run blast of his own in the sixth for the Manatees (23-33). Alliston (3-3) allowed one unearned run on two hits while striking out one and walking two in 1 2/3 innings. Met starter Bobby Parnell allowed three earned runs on four hits in four innings, striking out four and walking two.-- Josh Cooper/MLB.com

Final: West Tenn (Cubs) 1, Huntsville 0 Huntsville Game Review link, then text www.huntsvillestars.com/news/news.asp?newsId=975 Diamond Jaxx Down Stars Sean Gallagher and two relievers combined on a four-hit shutout, as West Tenn put a halt to Huntsville's six-game win streak with a 1-0 victory Sunday afternoon at Pringles Park. The Stars fell to 31-24 in the second half and remain a half game behind North Division leading Tennessee, which fell 9-5 at Carolina. The Diamond Jaxx squared their second half record at 28-28 and improved to 17-4 against Huntsville. The Diamond Jaxx have won six of the eight games decided by one run and all three games that have ended 1-0 between the two teams. Gallagher matched his longest outing of the season, going seven scoreless frames and yielding only three singles. He walked four, struck out five and got Ron Acuna to bounce into an inning ending force out with two runners on in the fourth and to ground out to second base with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth. Gallagher improved to 7-3 in 13 double-A starts with three wins in three tries over the Stars. Brendan Katin singled to open the eighth inning against Thomas Atlee for his first double-A hit and advanced to third base on a wild pitch and passed ball but was left stranded when Ryan Braun flied out to end the inning. Carlos Vasquez walked Brad Nelson to open the ninth and then got Acuna to ground into a double play before striking JC Boscan to end the game. Corey Thurman worked out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the second inning by retiring Gallagher on a fly out to shallow center field and striking out Chris Walker. West Tenn loaded the bases with one out in the fourth but Thurman worked out of trouble again by getting Gallagher to bounce into a double play. The Diamond Jaxx scored the only run of the game in the fifth inning on a one-out home run by Aron Weston, his third in 50 at-bats since joining the team. Thurman struck out four, walked four and gave up six hits in suffering his first loss since July 2 at home to West Tenn. The series continues Monday night with Huntsville southpaw Steve Hammond taking the hill against West Tenn left-hander Chris Shaver. Coverage of the game starts at 6:50 p.m. central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and locally on ESPN Radio 1450 AM. Huntsville Box Score and Game Log www.minorleaguebaseball.c..._wtdaax_1

West Virginia rained out, twinbill Monday evening...

I've always been a proponent of a forum in which the sole topic is the discussion of how many forums there should be http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . Nothing personal, but there are probably several other websites where baseball travel, road trips, and ballparks are discussed in detail. I know we consider our group family and friends here, but a forum dedicated to the subject -- I just don't see it.

And locked, too. Yeah, locked.

Standings through Saturday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 69 59 .539 - 39-26 30-33 W4[/b] Iowa 64 64 .500 5.0 36-27 28-37 W1 Memphis 51 77 .398 18.0 30-35 21-42 W1 Omaha 47 81 .367 22.0 29-36 18-45 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 32 23 .582 - 18-12 14-11 L2 [b]Huntsville 31 23 .574 0.5 17-12 14-11 W6[/b] Chattanooga 29 26 .527 3.0 17-13 12-13 L1 West Tenn 27 28 .491 5.0 17-8 10-20 W1 Carolina 22 33 .400 10.0 16-9 6-24 L5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 31 24 .564 - 16-12 15-12 L1 Daytona 30 24 .556 0.5 19-11 11-13 W1 Palm Beach 30 25 .545 1.0 17-10 13-15 L1 [b]Brevard County 23 32 .418 8.0 11-13 12-19 W1[/b] Vero Beach 20 33 .377 10.0 12-16 8-17 L1 Jupiter 20 35 .364 11.0 11-18 9-17 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood 37 18 .673 - 21-7 16-11 L1 Lake County 30 23 .566 6.0 16-13 14-10 W2 Greensboro 27 26 .509 9.0 14-15 13-11 W2 Hickory 28 27 .509 9.0 13-16 15-11 L1 [b]West Virginia 27 27 .500 9.5 16-10 11-17 W1[/b] Lexington 22 33 .400 15.0 13-12 9-21 L2 Delmarva 21 32 .396 15.0 11-13 10-19 W1 Hagerstown 21 33 .389 15.5 11-18 10-15 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 15 6 .714 - 9-2 6-4 W7 Missoula 13 8 .619 2.0 8-2 5-6 W2 [b]Helena 12 9 .571 3.0 6-4 6-5 W2[/b] Great Falls 5 16 .238 10.0 4-7 1-9 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Royals 14 6 .700 - 7-4 7-2 W3 AZL Angels 13 6 .684 0.5 4-1 9-5 L1 AZL Giants 13 7 .650 1.0 6-4 7-3 L1 AZL Padres 12 7 .632 1.5 7-3 5-4 W3 AZL Mariners 10 10 .500 4.0 8-3 2-7 W1 AZL Athletics 8 11 .421 5.5 7-3 1-8 L3 AZL Cubs 8 11 .421 5.5 3-6 5-5 W1 AZL Rangers 6 13 .316 7.5 5-6 1-7 L1 [b]AZL Brewers 3 16 .158 10.5 3-7 0-9 L6[/b]

Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds extend win streak to four Quick Nashville start stymies Albuquerque By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer If Sir Elton John were a Sounds fan he might be called on to tweak his 1970s hit "Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting." Something along the lines of "Saturday Night's All Right For Winning Games" would have a nice ring to it for Nashville. Saturday night's 6-2 win over Albuquerque (62-64) was the Sounds' 14th of the season on a Saturday. Nashville has won more games in 2006 on Saturdays than any other day of the week. More importantly, this victory, which came before a Greer Stadium sellout crowd of 10,140, extended the Sounds' win streak to four games. It was Nashville's third sellout of the year and seventh crowd of at least 10,000. The Sounds have won five of their last six games during a critical stretch as the PCL season winds down. Nashville (69-59) entered Saturday's contest with a five-game lead over second-place Iowa. "We're swinging the bats better, which always helps,'' said Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas. "If we're going to do anything, put together any kind of nice little winning streak or have a few more wins than losses, we're going to have to swing the bats better. That's what we've been doing right now.'' It was another quick start for the Sounds, who loaded the bases in the first inning with no outs. Nashville's first run came when Albuquerque pitcher Chris George walked Andrew Beattie, which scored Tony Gwynn. The Sounds picked up three more runs before the end of the first and led 4-0 before the Isotopes got their first hit of the game in the fourth. That was a single by shortstop Robert Andino, who went all the way to third on an error by Sounds first baseman Graham Koonce, who mishandled a throw from pitcher Justin Lehr. Andino scored on a sacrifice fly by Edgar Gonzalez to trim Nashville's lead to 4-1. Lehr (4-6) allowed just three hits through the first six innings before giving up a home run to Chris Aguila and a double to Matt Cepicky in the seventh. Lehr, replaced in the eighth by Chris Demaria, finished with eight strikeouts, which matched his season-high, and five hits. Nashville had taken a 6-1 lead in the fifth when Drew Anderson singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third and advanced home on a wild pitch. Dave Krynzel's single later in the inning scored Vinny Rottino, giving Nashville the five-run lead. What they said: "I found out in the first in the inning (Friday in Huntsville) that I was coming to Nashville and I was pretty excited. I was just trying to stay in the groove up here.'' ?Drew Anderson ***Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Anderson gets call up to AAA By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer As a result of outfielder Laynce Nix being called up to the Milwaukee Brewers after Friday's game, outfielder Drew Anderson was promoted from Class AA Huntsville to Nashville. Nix reported to Milwaukee Saturday morning to replace pitcher Matt Wise, who was placed on the disabled list with a right elbow injury. Nix left Nashville with a Pacific Coast League-leading 54 total bases in August. He batted .412 (28-for-68) with 13 RBIs in his 18 games with the Sounds. Anderson, 25, started in left field and made his AAA debut Saturday night batting third in the Sounds lineup. During his time with Huntsville, Anderson batted a season-high .362 (17-of-47) in August. For the season Anderson batted .291 with six home runs, 43 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 108 games. In his first at-bat for the Sounds, Anderson reached on a bunt and loaded the bases. The Sounds picked up their first run later in the inning when Andrew Beattie was walked, scoring Tony Gwynn. Anderson got his first hit as the leadoff batter in the fifth inning. He singled to right field. Another thief: Anderson stole third after his single, making him the 14th different Sound to steal a base this season. Anderson scored from third on a wild pitch, giving Nashville a 5-1 lead. Pickin' and grinnin': The Sounds Jermaine Clark was presented a Copley guitar for getting his 1,000th career minor league hit Monday in a game at Albuquerque. Since then Clark has added five hits. Sounds mascot Ozzie presented the guitar to Clark. Slump over: Nashville infielder Vinny Rottino snapped a hitless steak over his previous 10 at-bats in the first inning with a shot just over Albuquerque pitcher Chris George's outstretched glove and into center field for a single. The hit scored Chris Barnwell to give Nashville a 2-0 lead. Rottino also singled on his second and third times at-bat. The three hits tied Rottino's season-high. Multiple hits: Gwynn got hits on his first two at-bats, giving him 36 games in which he has had multiple-hit games. That leads the Sounds.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Torrid Stars heading into West Tenn's fire By MARK McCARTER Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com Here's the party: The Stars have never been hotter this season. They have hacked their way into a pennant race after being left for dead midway through the summer. Here's the party pooper: The Stars now head to West Tenn to begin a five-game series against the Diamond Jaxx, a team that has won 16-of-20 meetings against Huntsville this year. However, the Stars are packing a considerable amount of momentum as they head to Jackson, Tenn., completing a five-game sweep of the Carolina Mudcats Saturday night with a 7-1 victory in front of an announced crowd of 3,467. The Stars have won six in a row and 20 of their last 25. They have moved to within a half-game of Tennessee in the Southern League North, with 16 games left, the Smokies having lost Friday to Mississippi. Ryan Braun and Callix Crabbe both homered for the Stars. It was the third straight night in which Braun has homered, giving him 11 since his promotion from Single-A Brevard County on June 22. That supported the superb pitching of starter Manny Parra (five innings, four hits, four strikeouts) and the splendid bullpen work of Travis Phelps and Luther Hackman. "We've gotten on a roll, and now we've got to go out and try to beat our nemesis, the team that's given us problems all year," manager Don Money said. Much as a brutal part of the schedule against the league's best teams sent the Stars to a 24-45 first-half mark, they have benefited this time around by catching Carolina and Mississippi, the two last-place teams, in this 10-game home stand. Now comes a series against the team with the top ERA in the league (2.84) and with a dangerous lineup. "We've got to keep the top of the order off the bases, like (Christopher) Walker and (Eric) Patterson and not let them have big innings," said Money. Conversely, much of the Stars' success has been innings triggered by Braun. "Braun hitting third is giving us some runs early and we've been going out getting a 1-0 lead a lot and that takes something away from (opponents)," Money said. On this night, Braun's homer tied the game 1-all, after Carolina had enjoyed its first lead in the series for, oh, about five minutes. Rex Rundgren doubled, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a Jason Hill sacrifice fly for a 1-0 edge in the top of the first inning. The Stars took a 3-1 lead in the third when Steve Moss led off with a single and later scored on a Brad Nelson single, then Ron Acuna drove home Nelson. Crabbe singled in the fifth, stole his way around to third and scored the fourth run on a Nelson sacrifice fly, then Guilder Rodriguez reached on an infield hit in the sixth and later scored on a throwing error before Crabbe's two-run homer in the eighth added the exclamation point. Even Parra jumped into the nine-hit Stars attack, doubling in the fourth. It's been a big offensive week for the starters. Corey Thurman and Steve Hammond each had key two-run doubles and Yovani Gallardo a two-run single in their starts earlier in the week and Steve Dillard had three hits on Friday night. ***Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1 Stars notebook Covering the bases Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times Outfielder Brendan Katin, a power-hitter with big numbers at Single-A Brevard County, was promoted to the Stars Saturday. He replaces Drew Anderson, who was promoted to Triple-A Nashville. Katin was batting .289 with 13 homers and 75 RBIs, and was leading the Florida State League with 34 doubles. He's a former University of Miami teammate of Stars third baseman Ryan Braun. Anderson had climbed to No. 6 in batting in the Southern League, at .291, with six homers and 43 RBIs. ... Are the Stars superstitious? Yes, in fact. On July 20, at Carolina, manager Don Money told coach Sandy Guerrero, "My stuff isn't working. You take third (base coaching) tonight.'' The Stars won. The follow evening, Guerrero returned to the dugout so he could concentrate on videotaping some hitters. The Stars lost. "My stuff really isn't working," Money told him again. Guerrero took over as third base coach on July 22 and, going into Saturday night's game, the Stars had won 19 of 24. ... A pair of big-league games went 18 innings Monday, prompting discussion of long games in the Stars clubhouse. Outfielder Steve Moss recalled a game when he was at Beloit, when the Snappers were behind 14-3 and came back to win 24-14. "It wasn't extra innings, but it lasted forever," he said. Money recalled an 18- or 19-inning game he played in Triple-A. "Why do I remember it? Because I went 0-for-8." ... The league record is a 23-inning game, Aug. 6, 1988, when Huntsville lost at Greenville. ... Has there been a better four-man starting rotation in Huntsville than the current quartet of Corey Thurman (sixth in the league in ERA), Steve Dillard (nine wins), Yovani Gallardo (1.44 ERA, 69 Ks in 62 innings in 10 starts) and Steve Hammond (2.31 in 10 starts)? Manny Parra, the fifth man in the rotation and Saturday's starter, was making only his fourth Huntsville start. A few more under his belt, it'd be a legit "best five." ... Dillard collected his 13th hit of the season Friday, breaking Travis Smith's club record for most hits by a pitcher. Around the league There is no perfect schedule, especially with the Southern League's screwy geography. It really comes to light in this late-season pennant race, to note that the Stars are chasing Tennessee for the SL North second-half title - but they've only played 10 times all year. They haven't met since May 16. ... On the other hand, Huntsville will play West Tenn 25 times, Chattanooga 15 times and Carolina 10 times. Those are the other North teams. ... The Stars will play Birmingham 25 times this year and it's in the opposite division. ... Jacksonville manager John Shoemaker collected his 1,000th minor league victory on Wednesday when the Suns beat Birmingham. ... Jacksonville shortstop Chin-Lung Hu was a bat boy for Guerrero's team when the Stars coach was playing in Taiwan. ... Tennessee's players aren't making any friends with umpiring crews, one in particular. According to The Knoxville News-Sentinel, a crew that includes Jason Bradley, Justin Vogel and Jason Milsap (who worked the most recent series in Huntsville) has ejected 15 Smokies. "They've tried to stick it to us," said pitcher Bill White. ... Chattanooga is 12-1 in extra inning games after Friday's six-run 10th beat Montgomery. Brewings Triple-A Nashville Sounds (68-59 before Saturday's play, first place in Pacific Coast League American Division): P Dana Eveland (4-4) ends 14-start winless streak, including five at Milwaukee, nine at Nashville, with two-hit pitching in six innings Friday. Single-A Brevard County Manatees (22-31, fourth in Florida State East Division this half): P Josh Alliston 3-2, 2.41, 8 saves Single-A West Virginia Power (26-27, fifth in South Atlantic League Northern Division this half): C Angel Salome league-leading 84 RBIs, with 10 HRs, .287 Single-A Helena Brewers (11-9, third in Pioneer League North) 2B Taylor Green 4-for-5, five RBIs, four runs Wednesday to end .088 stretch over previous 10 games On deck The Stars travel to West Tenn for five games, beginning this afternoon. The Diamond Jaxx have won 16 of 20 meetings with Huntsville this year. The Stars are back home Friday, beginning the final regular-season homestand of the year, a five-game set with Mississippi.

LHP Luis Ramirez is from Caracas, Venezuela -- nice to know the Brewers still have a presence in that country. Signed in January this year as a 17-year-old, I'm sure we're looking at our own Johan Santana http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif . Keep in mind that the same audio link for the Cole Gillespie interview provides archived audio of Steve Wendt's game call. Listen in to perhaps learn more about the kid's repertoire. Steve speaking highly of Luis' changeup from what I've heard -- nice.

Helena Independent Record: Bouchie?s grand slam lifts Brewers over Idaho Falls Andy Bouchie hit a grand slam and the Helena Brewers scored five runs in the third inning as they routed the Idaho Falls Chukars 8-2 on Saturday. After Everett Teaford walked in Chuckie Caufield with the bases loaded, Bouchie came up to bat and lit up the scoreboard with his hit over the left field wall. Stephen Chapman, Cole Gillespie and Zach Clem were batted in to give the Brewers a 6-0 lead. Helena added solo runs in the first, sixth and seventh innings to extend their lead. Bouchie is now tied with Fredy De La Cruz with five home runs, good for third on the team. The Chukars scored both runs in the eighth inning when Christopher McConnell grounded to left fielder scoring O. D. Gonzalez and Joseph Dickerson hit a sacrifice fly to score Gilbert Gil. The Chukars were held scoreless for six innings against Luis Ramirez. Ramirez, who joined Helena from the Arizona rookie league on Wednesday, pitched for the win with five strikeouts, two hits and one walk. Idaho Falls? pitching crew were off-and-on at best. Though all six combined for 11 strikeouts, they also gave up nine hits and walked six. The Helena Brewers are 12-9 in the second half of the season, placing them third in the North Division. They remain in Idaho Falls to play the Chukars today at 4:05 PM (5:05 Central). Helena will play Idaho Falls on Monday evening and again on Tuesday.

Saturday's Helena KCAP Pre-Game Audio Chat with outfielder Cole Gillespie (Select date for August 19th, skip to the 14:30 minute mark) -- www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

Final: Arizona Padres 14, Arizona Brewers 11 Arizona Brewer Box Score and Game Log: Padres stranded 14, could have been worse; it's been proven time and again -- the Latin pitchers who show command (Luis Ramirez, Amaury Rivas, Jose Beltre) get moved along, the others don't... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

Looks like Helena's going to coast behind an Andy Bouchie grand slam and the pre-mentioned pitching; the baby Brewers are tied at 2-2 after four (catcher Brett Whiteside was replaced awfully early after some passed ball issues, but that's not necessarily why he left the game). So, if the Maryvale kids can win, I believe that would be the first perfect organizational day of the season (all seven clubs in action and winning). If pogokat checks in later tonight, look for those updates and the summary from Huntsville, otherwise catch you in the AM.