Jim Goulart

Final: Arizona Brewers 3, Arizona Mariners 2 Arizona Brewer Box Score and Game Log Link: Congrats -- first win of the second half... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

Standings through Sunday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 63 53 .543 - 35-25 28-28 W4[/b] Iowa 59 56 .513 3.5 33-26 26-30 W2 Memphis 45 70 .391 17.5 26-33 19-37 L2 Omaha 45 71 .388 18.0 27-30 18-41 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 25 18 .581 - 15-8 10-10 L1 Chattanooga 23 20 .535 2.0 14-9 9-11 L2 West Tenn 21 22 .488 4.0 14-6 7-16 L4 [b]Huntsville 20 22 .476 4.5 12-12 8-10 L2[/b] Carolina 17 26 .395 8.0 11-7 6-19 W4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 25 17 .595 - 18-10 7-7 W3 St. Lucie 23 19 .548 2.0 13-9 10-10 W1 Palm Beach 22 22 .500 4.0 11-8 11-14 W3 [b]Brevard County 18 24 .429 7.0 9-9 9-15 L3[/b] Jupiter 17 25 .405 8.0 11-13 6-12 L1 Vero Beach 17 26 .395 8.5 11-14 6-12 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood 29 14 .674 - 14-5 15-9 W2 Lake County 23 17 .575 4.5 12-9 11-8 W2 Greensboro 21 20 .512 7.0 12-10 9-10 W4 Hickory 22 21 .512 7.0 10-15 12-6 W1 [b]West Virginia 20 22 .476 8.5 10-8 10-14 L2[/b] Hagerstown 19 23 .452 9.5 10-15 9-8 W1 Lexington 16 27 .372 13.0 10-11 6-16 W2 Delmarva 14 27 .341 14.0 8-12 6-15 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 5 3 .625 - 2-1 3-2 W1 Missoula 5 3 .625 - 4-1 1-2 W2 [b]Helena 4 4 .500 1.0 3-1 1-3 L2[/b] Great Falls 2 6 .250 3.0 2-2 0-4 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Padres 7 1 .875 - 4-0 3-1 W4 AZL Angels 7 2 .778 0.5 2-0 5-2 W5 AZL Giants 6 3 .667 1.5 2-2 4-1 W1 AZL Royals 6 3 .667 1.5 3-2 3-1 L2 AZL Athletics 4 5 .444 3.5 3-2 1-3 L3 AZL Mariners 4 5 .444 3.5 4-2 0-3 W2 AZL Cubs 3 6 .333 4.5 1-3 2-3 L1 AZL Rangers 2 6 .250 5.0 2-3 0-3 L2 [b]AZL Brewers 0 8 .000 7.0 0-4 0-4 L8[/b]

Follow Monday's action: 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_srcaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_mobaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_sarafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1 Arizona Rookie: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_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 Dana Eveland at Sacramento (A's), 8:45 PM pre-game, 9:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: Rehabbing RHP Jose Capellan (25 pitches) followed by RHP Tim Dillard at Mobile (Padres), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450radio.com/ Brevard County: RHP Mike Jones at Sarasota (Reds), 6:00 PM; sorry, no web audio for this series West Virginia: RHP Will Inman at home vs. Rome (Braves), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower. Helena: LHP Zach Braddock at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Audio (click on "Listen Live"): www.helenabrewers.net/html2/index.php Arizona: TBD at home in Maryvale to face the Mariners' kids, 9:00 PM Central time, never any web audio for the Arizona League

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Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...006080722/ Odds go against Power Chuck McGill For the Charleston Daily Mail Baseball is a numbers game. Percentages, averages and ratios help managers and players identify trends, which they hope will enhance decision-making. Sometimes, however, it's less about probability and more about luck. The West Virginia Power dropped a 6-4, extra-inning contest to the Rome Braves Sunday night at Applachian Power Park. The game-winning base hit by Rome's Jamie Romak came after an intentional walk to load the bases with two outs in the top of the 10th inning. Statistics indicate the intentional walk was the correct decision, but the Canadian native's sweet swing defied a trend that Power Manager Mike Guerrero thought was in his favor. "It was a broken bat single," said a dejected Guerrero after the game. "It's a gamble everyone takes in that situation." With the score tied at 4-4 in the top of the 10th, the Braves opened the inning with a double by Derrick Arnold and a bunt single from speedster Ovandy Suero. A groundout by Quentin Davis advanced Suero to second, leaving first base open with only one out. A strikeout of Jamie Trejo set up the game-winning scenario, as Guerrero had to pick his poison. Pitch to Rome's Eric Campbell, the team-leader in home runs and RBI, or bypass Campbell to face Romak, a slugger with a high strikeout-rate, but two hits and a home run already in the contest. He chose to walk Campbell. With the bases loaded, Romak muscled a bloop single over shortstop Ryan Barba's head. Romak shattered his bat, and two runs crossed the plate. Guerrero said it was an easy decision to face Romak, who had struck out 74 times in 258 at bats. Romak finished 3-for-4, with two runs and four RBI to go along with his 13th home run of the year. The Power had plenty of other opportunities to take control of the game. As a team, West Virginia finished with 13 hits to Rome's eight. And the visitors committed an atrocious five errors in the field. "We had opportunities, but we just didn't do too well in those situations," Guerrero said. "It ended up costing us a lot." The Power jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Mike Bell, but left the bases loaded after Nate Yoho flied out to left field to end the inning. After Rome took the lead on a two-run double in the second, West Virginia left one runner stranded in the bottom half of the inning and two more in the third and fourth innings. Tony Festa opened the bottom of the fifth with a single, then scored on Kenny Holmberg's double in the gap. Holmberg raced to third on a throw to the plate, then scored when Rome starting pitcher Jeff Lyman hurled the ball into left field to give the Power a 4-2 advantage. Rome tied the game in the top of the sixth on Romak's homer, setting up his extra-inning heroics. For the game, the Power left 13 runners on base, but received multi-hit efforts from five players. Nestor Corredor, playing in place of the injured Angel Salome, was 2-for-4 with a double, and was involved in two plays at the plate. The lumbering catcher scored once, but was thrown out on his second attempt to score. Injured Angel Salome? No, we don't know more at this time. -- Mass Haas His effort caught the eye of his manager. "It's a good thing to have a guy like that," Guerrero said. "It's an example for all the players, the way he plays with his intensity and high energy." Reliever Patrick Ryan (2-2) took the loss for West Virginia, while Kevin Gunderson (2-0) picked up the win. Steve Garrison started for the Power, allowing three earned runs in six innings while striking out seven. The Power (59-52 overall, 20-22 in the second half) is in the midst of an eight-game homestand. Right-hander Will Inman takes the mound tonight for the Power in the second game of the four-game series against Rome. Inman is 8-1 on the season with a 1.65 earned run average.

More next-day reports from last night's action later this morning -- how's that for mixing time analysis comments?

Link while active, text follows: www.missoulian.com/articl...orts01.txt O's use homers to subdue Brewers By NICK LOCKRIDGE of the Missoulian A trio of home runs helped propel the Missoula Osprey to an 11-5 victory over Helena in a lazy Pioneer League baseball game Sunday at Ogren-Allegiance Park. Andrew Fie, Daniel Perales and Ricardo Cruz homered for the Osprey, who jumped out to a big, early lead for the second straight game and held on to win. Missoula scored five runs in the first inning of Saturday's 6-3 victory over Billings. The O's have won five of seven since opening the second half of the season with a loss to Billings. Missoula (5-3) is still tied with the Mustangs for first place in the North. ?Everybody is feeling a little more comfortable in the second half,? said Perales, who socked his fourth homer of the season. ?We know what we have as a team and we've come together real well. We're just trying to make stuff happen real early and give support to our pitchers and hopefully just carry it all the way through the game.? The Osprey bullpen allowed a pair of late runs, but didn't fold completely like they did in Friday's extra-inning loss. ?We're trying to get on some kind of roll here and hopefully carry it deep into the second half and see what happens in the playoffs,? Perales said. Missoula won the first of six straight games with the Brewers. The two teams square off again Monday at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central) before heading to Helena for a four-game set starting Tuesday. Perales blasted a grand slam to put the Birds ahead 6-0 in the third inning. Perales, who went 1-for-3 with three runs scored, was behind in the count when he took Great Falls starter Jose Beltre deep. ?I was sitting on something offspeed and away because two pitches prior he threw me a slider in the dirt and with my bad pitch selection I swung at it,? Perales said. ?I was a little disappointed in myself because I was down in the count and the bases were loaded and then he came up and in with the fastball and it wasn't anything too over powering, I adjusted well and turned on it and luckily got that one over.? The ball barely cleared the 24-foot high fence in right field. ?That was probably the shortest one I've hit so far,? Perales said, ?but I'll take it, you know. Give us some runs, give us a good lead especially when our pitchers see that, that we're putting runs up on the board it relaxes them up on the mound and helps them pitch their game.? John Hester followed with his third triple of the season and later scored on Fie's RBI single to make it 7-0. Hester, the Osprey catcher, is tied for the team lead in triples with leadoff hitter Tyler Jones. Jones, who was 3-for-4 with four stolen bases, led off the third with a bunt single. Beltre sandwiched two walks around a pop out to load the bases for Perales. Cruz hit his team-leading fifth home run of the season off reliever Stuart Sutherland to lead off the sixth. The O's scored once more on Gerardo Parra's RBI single to go ahead 9-3 in the inning. Fie belted his fourth homer of the season to give Missoula a 2-0 lead in the second. He hit his off Beltre (1-3). It's the second time this season the Osprey have hit three home runs in a game. They had four - two each by Perales and Hester - in a win over Orem on July 18. Perales' grand slam was just the second four-run shot of the season. Missoula hit three grand slams last year and the team record is seven in a season. With all the offense, the pitching was able to do its job. Brett Reynolds earned his second win of the season. He allowed just one run in 2 1/3 innings of relief. Reynolds (2-3) struck out three. Matt Brewer held the Brewers scoreless over the final two innings. He entered in the eighth when Missoula's Jason Neighborgall got into trouble. Neighborgall walked the first three batters of the inning, but Brewer coaxed a double play, which scored a run, and then got out of the inning with a fly out. Missoula starter Jordan Norberto just missed getting the win. He went 4 2/3 innings but began to tire in the fifth, when Helena scored three times to get back to 7-3. ?He kept getting ahead in the count and then falling behind and walking guys,? Perales said. ?He was throwing too many pitches, so his arm was getting a little tired.? Chris Errecart had an RBI double and Zach Clem drove in a run with a single in the third. Clem went 3-for-4 in the game. Notes: Missoula's combined record is 23-23. One more win and the O's will be above .500 for the first time this season since June 26 when they were 4-3.

Link while active, text follows: sports.mainetoday.com/pro...gers.shtml Rogers' progress stalled as he nurses sore shoulder By PAUL BETIT, Portland Press Herald Writer A sore shoulder has taken Mark Rogers off the mound. Rogers, a 20-year-old right-hander from Orr's Island, returned to the Milwaukee Brewers' training complex in Maryvale, Ariz., on July 26 after his right shoulder stiffened up while he was pitching for the Brevard County Manatees of the Class A Florida State League. "He got a little out of sync and started flinging a couple of balls, and he felt some stiffness in the shoulder," said Jim Rooney, the Milwaukee Brewers' coordinator of minor-league pitching. "Everything checked out good, but we backed him (off) a little bit." According to Rooney, Rogers' move to Arizona is temporary. "For the sake of just taking care of him as best as we can, we felt it would be better for (Rogers) to go to our spring training complex," he said. "We felt if he had individual attention we could expedite the process and get him back on the mound." Rogers received the fifth-largest bonus in club history when he signed for $2.2 million after the Brewers made him the fifth pick in the 2004 draft following his senior year at Mt. Ararat High School. In March, Rogers was ranked 44th on Baseball America's list of top prospects. "Everything (was) really going well." Rogers said in a recent telephone interview. "I felt very comfortable with my mechanics. I was going six or seven innings every game. I was just throwing strikes. Then, my shoulder started barking at me. "It was nothing major, just a little inflammation in my shoulder. I know exactly what it is, and we're treating it conservatively." According to Rooney, Milwaukee is satisfied with the progress Rogers had made since becoming a professional. "He went through a string of six to eight starts where he just dominated," Rooney said. In 16 starts with the Manatees, Milwaukee's top Class A team, Rogers has a 1-2 record with a 5.07 earned-run average. In 71 innings, he has 96 strikeouts - the second-highest total on the team - with 53 walks and 12 wild pitches. Rogers expects to return to Florida at the end of the week after he makes a rehab start Tuesday night in the Arizona Rookie League. "After I return to Florida, I should make two or three more starts (before the season ends)," Rogers said. "He's doing his throwing program," said Rooney, who just completed a five-week tour of the Brewers' minor-league teams. "From the reports I'm getting, everything is fine. Everything's moving ahead smoothly and everybody's very happy."

Sunday's Helena KCAP Pre-Game Audio Chat with Catcher Garry Savas (Select date for August 6th, skip to the 16:00 minute mark) -- Littell is always a fascinating listen... www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

It's 6:30 Central -- the Power is tied at 4-4 after seven (West Virginia has already stranded 12 in this game they're otherwise dominating), and the three other games are just underway, with Ryan Braun hitting a solo shot in the first for Huntsville. So finish up the West Virginia game with Bull and the Power broadcast, then flip to the Sounds, Stars, or H-Crew, and forget about the dud the big boys laid (again) today... So technically (almost), the Link Report on-time streak is intact -- now in its fifth year http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Final: Fort Myers (Twins) 6, Brevard County 4 Brevard County Box Score and Game Log Link: Hernan Iribarren on base three times, raising his .382 OBP coming in; Ryan Crew also reaches three times; two walks in the first hurt Derek Miller; defense failed Joe Thatcher in the seventh with his two inherited runners (including his own error); two-run rally in the 9th not enough for this decidedly mediocre squad... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_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

Follow Sunday's action: 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_srcaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_mobaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

Sunday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Carlos Villanueva at Sacramento (A's), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Yovani Gallardo at Mobile (Padres), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450radio.com/ Brevard County: LHP Derek Miller at home vs. Fort Myers (Twins), 3:00 PM Audio link (opponent's): www.sportsjuice.com/broad...4cwYBjA%3d West Virginia: LHP Steve Garrison at home vs. Rome (Braves), 3:55 PM pre-game, 4:05 gametime Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower. Helena: RHP Jose Beltre at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime Audio (click on "Listen Live"): www.helenabrewers.net/html2/index.php Arizona: Idle

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Sorry, kids, there will be no Sunday pre-game Link Report kickoff -- catch up with results during the overnight, thanks.

Final: Great Falls (White Sox) 3, Helena 0 Helena Independent Record: White Sox win pitchers duel with Brew After a day when the Helena Brewers and Great Falls White Sox combined for five home runs, Saturday was a pitcher?s paradise. Brewers starter Chris Jean lasted seven innings, getting four strikeouts in the process, but the White Sox won the competition as their pitching team combined for 12 punch outs, guiding them to a 3-0 win. Great Falls? starter Justin Cassel pitched for the win, throwing six strikeouts in five innings with only one walk. Helena could muster four hits, but Great Falls was able to string together some big hits to score in the first, sixth and seventh innings. In the first, Scott Madsen doubled then came home on a single to center by Lee Cruz. After the team?s five-inning hiatus, Michael Grace, who also doubled, came in on a Christian Marrero double, and in the seventh John Shelby scored on a sacrifice bunt by Archie Gilbert. Of the White Sox?s nine hits, seven were doubles. Great Falls gains a win but remains in the cellar of the Pioneer League?s North Division with a 2-5 record. The Helena Brewers, who placed last in the first half of the season but have led the second half from the start are now 4-3, sharing the lead with Billings and Missoula. The Brewers will head to Missoula today for a game with the Osprey. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 Pm (5:05 Central). Helena Box Score and Game Log Link: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_grfrok_1

Final: Arizona Cubs 12, Arizona Brewers 2 Arizona Brewer Box Score and Game Log Link: As noted, RHP Omar Aguilar debuts; for such a short season in actual games, it's been a long, sorry season for most of the Maryvale kids... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

Final: Columbus (Dodgers) 9, West Virginia 5 West Virginia Site Game Summary: SIX RUN NINTH PREVENTS POWER SWEEP Three outs away from being swept, the Columbus Catfish scored six times in the top of the ninth inning to erase a two run deficit and avoid being swept by the West Virginia Power with a 9-5 victory at Appalachian Power Park on Saturday night. The Catfish started the scoring with two runs in the first inning. Tony Harper smacked an RBI double and Lucas May singled Harper home. The Power cut the 2-0 lead in half in the bottom of the first on Mat Gamel?s first of two RBI singles. West Virginia tied the game on Mike Bell?s solo home run in the bottom of the third and they took the lead later in the inning on Kenny Holmberg?s run-scoring single. The Power took a 5-2 lead after a two run fifth inning. Darren Ford scored the first run on Columbus catcher Tony Harper?s throwing error and Gamel knocked in the final run with a run-scoring single. Travis Denker began the Columbus comeback in the seventh inning with an RBI groundout. In the ninth inning, nine batters came to the plate for the Catfish. Bridger Hunt?s RBI single brought Columbus within a run, and Juan Rivera scored the tying run on a passed ball. Travis Denker singled in the go ahead run, Lucas May knocked in a pair with a base hit and Jason Mooneyham finished the scoring in the six-run frame on an RBI single which was the sixth hit of the inning. Four Power players had multi-hit games and every Power player hit safely in the contest. Gamel?s two RBI in the game gives him a total of 16 in his last six games. Joey Norrito (2-1) got the win, Ramon Troncoso (13) earned the save and Dane Renkert (5-7) obtained the loss. The Power are 59-51 overall and 20-21 in the second half after the loss while the Catfish improved to 56-56 overall and 19-23 in the second half after the win. The Power will begin a four game series against the Rome Braves at Appalachian Power Park on Sunday night. Right hander Jeff Lyman (5-3, 3.77) will make the start for Rome and the Power will counter with left hander Steve Garrison (5-4, 3.58). The first pitch is scheduled for 5:05 PM (4:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score and Game Log Link: Dane Renkert's 3.13 ERA a bit misleading -- he's allowed 15 unearned runs in 63.1 IP (22 earned), so he needs to pitch around his mate's errors more often... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

Link while active, text follows: www.thereporter.com/sports/ci_4141103 Clark making rare visit to Raley The former Wood star is hoping to rejuvenate his bat as Nashville meets Sacramento By Matt Miller, the Vacaville (CA) Reporter Assistant Sports Editor Sacramento's Raley Field was the sight of arguably Jermaine Clark's best baseball games as a professional. The former Will C. Wood High School star hit a home run, tripled and drove in two runs last September in helping the host River Cats beat the Tacoma Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League playoffs. Much has changed since then, though, and his return on Sunday could be bittersweet. Clark has moved on to the Milwaukee Brewers' organization with the Class AAA Nashville Sounds. He is struggling offensively, hitting only .218 through Thursday's game, and contemplating the end of a career. "I do think this might be it, but I want to wait until the offseason to figure things out,' Clark said. "The reality is that I'm not one of their prospects. The guys they've wanted to go up have gone to the big leagues. I'm not put in a position to be there and I don't expect to be there any time soon.' Clark has had brief major league stints with the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics. Now he is trying to find his way as a utility player with the Sounds, seeing time at third base, second base, shortstop and in the outfield. It's at the plate where he has been most frustrated. He's always been a consistent hitter who regularly puts the ball in play. Clark has just 69 hits in 316 plate appearances with 10 doubles, three home runs, 26 RBI. He has 26 stolen bases. "My stats are a nightmare,' he said. 'That's the way it goes. You win some, you lose some. I'm not making the right adjustments and it's a little case of bad luck every now and then. I wish I could give a better offensive performance on a daily basis.' Clark is pleased to be approaching one personal milestone, though. He is six hits away from collecting 1,000 in his professional career. Earning that achievement, he says, would be nice to do in front of family and friends at the Sacramento ballpark. One important fan will be noticeably missing, however. Clark's father, George, died at the end of last year. "My father knew what to say when I was going through situations like this and it's hard not having that person to go to,' he said. "I know he's sitting up there watching me, wanting me to get a couple of more hits for him. "This will be the first time for me to come home and not have my dad there to see me play. Him not being there is heavy on my mind.'

Link while active, text follows: www.floridatoday.com/apps...061/SPORTS Heether searches for stroke Third baseman had problems in Double-A VIERA - -- His stuff is nasty, Adam Heether said with a smile, and he didn't stop there when assessing the state of his pingpong game. "I'm the clubhouse champion," the Brevard County Manatees third baseman said before Saturday night's game at Space Coast Stadium. That's probably a title he never figured he'd hold here after leaving the Manatees near the end of last season. Heether hit well at Double-A Huntsville (Ala.) following a promotion and started this season with the Stars. However, his struggles at the plate and the progress made by Ryan Braun, one of the Milwaukee Brewers' top prospects, led to an organizational switch. In early July, Braun went from the Manatees to the Stars. As for Heether, he was told to return to Brevard County and rediscover the hitting stroke he had all but posted on the back of a milk carton in hopes of finding it. "I just want to finish up strong this last month and have a good offseason," Heether said. "I just had a slow start and was pretty much grinding." The right-handed hitting Heether batted just .213 with one homer and 18 RBI in 244 at-bats. Words, even better than numbers, convey the extent of his struggles. "Baseballs," Heether said, "look like Advils." They do for most hitters that are slumping, which turns the batter's box into the loneliest place in the ballpark for them. Heether still is trying to find his way here (he is hitting .231) but he hardly looked lost before Saturday's game. The guy who has a tattoo that reads "All or Nothing" on the left side of his chest joked with teammates and played pingpong with them. Presumably, he beat all comers given the title he holds. "He is the self-proclaimed pingpong champion," Manatees outfielder Brendan Katin said. The look on Katin's face suggested there is a big difference between self-proclaimed and actual. But Heether isn't here to master pingpong as much as opposing pitchers so he can take some momentum and confidence into the offseason. He said playing the same position as Braun isn't discouraging for a simple reason: If Heether shows the Brewers he can hit, they will find a place for him to play. Or another organization will trade for him. Besides, Heether said, if he worried about who is at his position, that would only be a distraction that he clearly does not need. "Things don't always work out how you want them to work out," the 24-year-old Heether said. "I'm trying to develop as a player the best where I'm at and just play each day."

Final: Fort Myers (Twins) 10, Brevard County 4 Brevard County and Fort Myers Site Game Summaries: Aselton, Miracle stop Manatees Kyle Aselton tossed five no-hit innings as visiting Fort Myers rolled to a 10-4 victory over Brevard County on Saturday. Aselton (6-3) struck out three and walked five before Ryan Callahan took the mound to start the sixth. After retiring the first five batters he faced, Callahan yielded a double to Freddy Parejo in the seventh to break up the no-hit bid. David Winfree and Brandon Roberts combined for six RBIs for the Miracle (22-18), who totaled 18 hits. Winfree slammed his third homer in as many days, a three-run shot in the first, while two of Roberts' three singles plated runs. Jeremy Pickrel went 3-for-3 with four runs scored and an RBI. Trevor Plouffe drove in two runs and Brock Peterson had an RBI for Fort Myers. Alcides Escobar, who scored on a passed ball by Korey Feiner to put the Manatees (18-23) on the board in the eighth, delivered a two-run single off reliever J.P. Martinez in the ninth. Kyle Phillips followed with an RBI single to cap the scoring. Brevard County third baseman Ryan Crew went 0-for-4 to snap a 14-game hitting streak. Manatees starter Josh Wahpepah (5-7) surrendered four runs on four hits and three walks over two innings. -- Marissa Rega/MLB.com ***The Fort Myers Miracle offense wondered what it would do for an encore, a night after setting a season high in hits with 17. They topped it with an 18 hit barrage in a 10-4 victory over the Brevard County Manatees at Space Coast Stadium on Saturday night. Every Miracle collected a hit except for catcher Korey Feiner who walked three times. Jeremy Pickrel, Erold Andrus and Brandon Roberts each had three hit nights. It wss Roberts? second consecutive three hit night. For the second straight night the Miracle collected a hit in every single inning. It all started in the first when Roberts was hit by a pitch, Trevor Plouffe doubled and the birthday boy, David Winfree, slugged a three-run homer over the left field wall, his seventh of the season and third in as many nights. It?s the second time this season Winfree has homered in three straight games. With the score 4-0 in the third, Deacon Burns led off with a single to right-center, stole second and two batters later Pickrel laced a double to right which scored Burns. With the Miracle up 6-0 in the seventh, they added three more runs. They loaded the bases on a walk to Feiner and singles by Pickrel and Andrus. Roberts followed with a two run single to center. Plouffe singled to load the bases again and two batters later Peterson?s fielders choice scored Andrus to make it 9-0. On a night when the Miracle pounded out 18 hits the story was nearly the pitching. Starter Kyle Aselton went five innings of no hit baseball before coming out of the game because of a pitch out. He walked five and struck out three. Ryan Callahan nearly gave up the first hit in the sixth when Charlie Fermaint hit a liner that Plouffe jumped in the air, at short, and robbed him of a base hit. Callahan worked a hitless sixth. The no hitter was broken up in the seventh when Freddy Parejo doubled with two outs. The same two teams meet on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 PM (3:00 Central) in the finale of the four game series. The Miracle send RHP Anthony Swarzak (6-6, 3.70) to the hill against Manatees LHP Derek Miller (0-1, 6.00). Brevard County Box Score and Game Log Link: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

Final: Mobile (Padres) 5, Huntsville 2 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=951 Late Offense Not Enough As Stars Fall Jack Cassel tossed seven no-hit innings and Stephen Smitherman cranked a first inning grand slam to power Mobile past Huntsville 5-2 Saturday night in the second game of a five-game set at Hank Aaron Stadium. The BayBears held the Stars hitless for 7 2/3 innings in stopping a two-game slide and improving to 21-21 in the second half, while the Stars saw their three-game win streak snapped and dropped to 20-21 in the second half and four and a half games behind North Division leading Tennessee, which scored three times in the home ninth to beat Birmingham. Cassel retired the first seven batters he faced before hitting Ozzie Chavez. He set down the next four before walking Brad Nelson and then retired the next seven batters. Drew Anderson and Nelson drew leadoff walks in the seventh inning before Ron Acuna grounded into a double play to move Anderson to third. Jeff Eure hit a ground ball to third base that Julius Matos fielded, juggled and threw to first base late to allow Anderson to score to slice the lead to 4-1. The play was ruled an error and Cassel was able to retire Lou Palmisano to end the inning and his night. He matched a season-high with eight strikeouts, walked three and has now allowed only three earned runs in 27 innings at home, where he is 3-0 in four starts. Leo Rosales took over in the eighth and struck out the first two hitters he faced before Travis Ezi lined a single into center field to break up the no-hit bid. Anderson opened the ninth with a single off of Dale Thayer and scored to make it 5-2 after singles by Acuna and Eure, who knocked in his 50th run of the season. Palmisano popped up and Chavez grounded out to end the game and the Stars bid to climb above the .500 mark for the first time since May 14. Juan Ciriaco started the home first inning with a single to right field, moved to second base on a Matos single and advanced to third when Vincent Sinisi walked on four pitches. Smitherman then blasted a 2-2 pitch over the wall and grassy berm area in left field for his second grand slam of the season and 16th home run. The Stars have given up a grand slam in the first inning in two of their last five games and it marked the second time in three turns that starting pitcher Steve Hammond had been taken deep in the first inning. Hammond set down 11 in a row after a Jeremy Cleveland single in the first inning and left after surrendering four runs on six hits and a pair of walks in 5 1/3 innings. Gerrit Simpson took over with two runners on in the sixth and retired Cleveland and Drew Macias to end the frame. Ciriaco homered in the seventh off Simpson, who has given up a long ball in four of his last seven appearances. The series continues Sunday evening with right-hander Yovani Gallardo taking the hill for Huntsville against Mobile southpaw Sean Thompson. Coverage of the game begins at 5:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on ESPN Radio 1450 AM and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score and Game Log Link: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_mobaax_1