Jim Goulart

Final: Brevard County 8, Palm Beach (Cardinals) 4 Brevard County Box Score: Five Manatees with multiple hit games -- the two more prominent names, Moss and Palmisano, hitless but each walked once; all 15 Brevard base hits singles -- don't these Florida State League outfields have gaps? The bullpen picks up Tim Dillard in a big way -- LHP Joe Thatcher an undrafted lefty find -- 18 K's, 1 BB, in 12 IP thus far -- sweet! www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1 Brevard County Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1

West Virginia Site Game Summary: Power capitalize on Lexington errors in victoryLexington, KY ? On Friday night at Applebee?s Park the Lexington Legends capitalized on four West Virginia Power errors in a 9-3 victory and on Saturday night, the West Virginia Power returned the favor, capitalizing on three Lexington errors in the first inning, and the Power went on to win by the final score of 5-1. Angel Salome knocked in the first run of the inning on an RBI single. His base hit followed the first two errors of the inning. Grant Richardson knocked in Hernan Iribarren on an RBI groundout to give the Power a 2-0 lead and Will Lewis knocked in the third run of the inning on an RBI groundout. The final run of the first inning crossed the plate when Alcides Escobar reached on second baseman Drew Sutton?s throwing error, which allowed Carlos Corporan to score and complete the four-run first inning. Lexington plated their only run of the contest in the bottom of the second on Sutton?s solo home run. In the top of the seventh inning Iribarren blasted a two-out RBI double off the right field wall to plate the final run of the contest. The Power victory snapped a three game losing streak and also snapped Lexington?s string of six consecutive victories. Derek Miller (2-1) tossed six solid innings to earn the victory, and Jimmy Barthmaier (11-6) obtained the loss. The Power are 28-31 in the second half after the win and the Legends move to 34-26 with the loss. The Power will conclude the four game series with the Lexington Legends at Applebee?s Park on Sunday night. The Power will throw RHP Yovani Gallardo (6-3, 2.99) and the Legends will counter with right-handed pitcher Felipe Paulino (1-0, 1.06). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM (5:05 Central).

Final: West Virginia 5, Lexington (Astros) 1 West Virginia Box Score: LHP Derek Miller with a nice six-inning stint, 11 fly ball outs, though -- served up a home run for the sole run allowed; RHP Dane Renkert solid since arriving from Helena; Hernan Iribarren's lone hit, a double, the only Power extra-base hit; sloppy Legend defense in the first handed the game to the good guys... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1

Nashville Media Notes for Saturday (PDF format): Written prior to the Justin Lehr re-call to Milwaukee... www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf TBD Updates: Tim Dillard started in Brevard County, uncharacteristically short outing Simon Beresford for the Helena squad, about to get underway

Link for Gary Pettis photo while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds coach Pettis gets managing gig AFL experience helped others By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer Since its inception in 1992, the Arizona Fall League hasn't just been a developmental program for players. Seven current major league managers and 11 minor league managers have served in the AFL. One day, Gary Pettis may join that list. The Nashville Sounds hitting coach received word recently that he'll be managing the Peoria Javelinas in the six-team AFL when play starts in October. "It's something I actually never really thought I'd be doing," Pettis said. "But I think it's going to be a lot of fun." Pettis will be one of six former major leaguers in a managerial role in the AFL, joining former Cardinals and Braves infielder ? and current Norfolk skipper ? Ken Oberkfell. The two are going against a historic trend in that many big league managers were fringe players, at best, at that level. "There can be any number of reasons for that," Pettis said. "Personalities, ego, the era in which they played. "It's probably a combination of all that. To put a finger on any one reason, I'm not sure you can." Pettis played 11 seasons in the major leagues, spending time with the Angels, Tigers, Rangers and Padres. He hit .236, stole 354 bases and won five Gold Gloves. He retired as a player in 1992. Being caught up in his own success won't be Pettis' downfall, he said. "My ego is left at the door as soon as I walk in. I have no ego," he said. "I'm just like one of the guys, until something goes wrong. Then we have to talk about it. If you make a mistake, I'll talk you through it and try to get you to understand how maybe you can do something different next time." Though he didn't see himself pursuing a managerial path after his retirement as a player, Pettis has stayed in the game as a coach at both the major league and minor league levels in the Angels, White Sox and Mets systems. "That says you love the game, but it also says you want to help the guys that aren't there yet, which isn't an easy thing to do," said Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas, a career minor league player. "It can be frustrating. But I think he enjoys the ups and downs and trying to teach them how to deal with that." Pettis played for two of the winningest managers in baseball history in Sparky Anderson and Gene Mauch, and credits them both for shaping him as a player and as a future coach/manager. "I thought I knew a lot about baseball until I was on their teams, and then I realized there were a lot of little things I was missing," he said. "That's the good thing about being able to come back with major league experience and sharing with other players. "Even though they play a lot of games in the minor leagues, there are still some things that they may not have seen." Nashville outfielder Ryan Knox thinks the highs and lows Pettis experienced as a player will allow him to be a successful manager. "He was a very defensively talented guy, but he also struggled offensively somewhat during his big league career," Knox said. "I think that's very important to being a quality manager, to be able to understand what it's like to not play well." The competitive level of players he'll have at his disposal this fall won't be an issue. The AFL is usually made up of the cream of the crop of up-and-coming prospects. For instance, Milwaukee ? the parent club for the Sounds ? is expected to send Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy to Arizona this fall. "The first thing you have to get guys to do is respect the game," Pettis said. "If you respect the game, you don't have to worry about trying to get them to do something. If you have people that don't respect the game and they try to cut corners, you're probably not going to have a whole lot of success." Pettis believes it is the right formula. "I don't know if it will be successful, but anytime I put the uniform on, I want to have success. If I have success ... or even if I don't have as much success as I'd like, if I show the capability to run a ballclub, maybe somebody might look at that. "Will they look at me to manage a major league team in a year or two? Probably not. But stranger things have happened." Maurice Patton covers the Nashville Sounds for The Tennessean. He can be reached at mopatton@tennessean.com.

Link while active, text follows: www.helenair.com/articles...705_01.txt Brewers unable to comeback for win By TOM STUBER - IR Sports Writer The Billings Mustangs sidled into Kindrick Legion Field Friday, ordered a couple J.D. pokes, then staggered out with an 8-7 win. The J.D.s in this case were Billings sluggers J.D. Reininger and J.D. Roberts, who each hit two- run shots to give Billings a 4-0 lead in the fourth. Helena was able to hang around all game and finally broke through with a three-run eighth to tie the game at five only to give all three runs back in the Billings' ninth. Helena starter Mathew Kretzschmar appeared to be settling down nicely after Reininger hammered his two-run blast off one of the net poles in left. He struck out three of the next seven batters he faced and had two outs in the third when Roberts hurt him again with another two-run homer. "He had good stuff, but it was location and pitch sequence," Helena pitching coach Mark Littell explained in regards to Kretzschmar. "He challenged, but it's those two factors right there." Helena, besieged with light-hitting of late, scrambled back into the game somehow in the eighth. The Brewers had just one hit and all three runs were unearned after a passed ball on a third strike to Michael Bell kept the inning going and gave them a run. Kenny Holmberg followed with a two-run single. On the play it appeared Helena may take the lead when the throw from the outfield rolled into the Helena dugout. The ruling on the field was that the throw came before the runner had passed third and the runners were sent back. Things, however, fell apart in the ninth. "When we got out there in the last inning I was just waiting for our left-hander to take charge and it just didn't happen," Littell said of reliever Rafael Lluberes. Lluberes allowed six hits and walked two in just three innings of work. His big downfall was the ninth, however, as he gave up two hits and a walk with one out to load the bases. Helena second baseman Scotty McKnight was unable to come up with a potential inning-ending throw to second as the ball skittered into right field allowing two runs to score. Josh Holden hit a groundball to short that Helena's Ryan Crew fielded and threw to second for what looked like the start of crucial double-play only to see McKnight mishandle the throw and extend the inning. J.D. Roberts and Jay Bruce each had three hits for Billings, while Brandon Roberts, Reininger, and Mayker Sandoval all had two. Bell, Holmberg and Adam Mannon had two hits apiece. The Brewers will end a three home game series with Billings tonight before taking on Missoula at Kindrick Legion Field for another three game series.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Stars owner joins bidders interested in Cincinnati Reds Prentice wants to buy majority stake in team By MARK McCARTER Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com Miles Prentice, the owner of the Huntsville Stars, has yet to renew a lease with the city of Huntsville that expired after the 2003 season. Perhaps that's because he has his eye on a bigger target. Prentice, a New York attorney, has emerged as one of the bidders to purchase majority ownership of the Cincinnati Reds, according to a report in Friday's Cincinnati Enquirer. Prentice was out of the country and unavailable for comment. He has made previous bids to purchase other major league teams, including the Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox. In 1998, he put together a large group of potential co-owners to purchase the Royals from the Kauffman family, but the sale was rejected by Major League Baseball. Ostensibly, the rejection was because MLB feared too many owners were involved; other speculation was that the $75 million price tag undercut the value of other franchises. According to the Cincinnati paper, the price tag for the 51.5 percent of the Reds could be as high as $80 million. Though it would garner the majority ownership, the sale "would not change operating control,'' according to the paper, and the buyer would negotiate with current CEO Carl Lidner "to take over team management.'' The shares being sold belong to two individual owners and to a third entity, Gannett Co., the publishing corporation. Competing with Prentice to purchase the Reds are two Cincinnati-area groups. One includes Doug Flynn, the former Reds' infielder, and Ron Switzer, owner of the Lexington (Ky.) Horsemen arena football team. Along with the Stars, whose ownership he shares with other out-of-town investors, Prentice owns the Midland (Tex.) Rockhounds of the Double-A Texas League.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Stars suture Goocher Huntsville hitters Smokies pitcher's nemesis By MATTHEW NASCONE For the Huntsville Times The Huntsville Stars continued to dominate Tennessee Smokies pitcher Clint Goocher on Friday night at Joe Davis Stadium. In his last three starts against the Stars, Goocher has been roughed up for 19 runs on 28 hits in 11 innings. The Stars won Friday's game 7-5 for their second consecutive victory. "The main reason we won is because we came out and scored early," said Huntsville manager Don Money. "We scored two in the first and five in the third after they tied it up in the top of the third. "And we just held the lead for the rest of the game." Callix Crabbe reached base on a single through the middle for the first hit of the game. Enrique Cruz hit a laser over the left field fence to score Crabbe and give the Stars a 2-0 lead. In the second inning Chris Carter scored the Smokies' first run on a double by Noochie Varner. Dan Uggla scored Adam Haley for his 86th RBI on a double to left field in the third inning, tying the game at 2-2. Varner was 3-for4 for the game with two RBIs. A crowd of 2,926 saw an offensive explosion by the Stars in the third inning. Kennard Bibbs, Crabbe and Adam Heether opened with singles. Bibbs scored on Heether's single and Crabbe scored on a single by Brad Nelson. Heether and Nelson scored on a single by Ben Van Iderstine. Van Iderstine scored on a double by John Vanden Berg, increasing the Stars' lead to 7-2. The five-run third inning closed the book on Goocher (7-11). He gave up six earned runs on nine hits and struck out four Stars. Carlos Villanueva (1-1) grabbed the win for the Stars, allowing four earned runs on five hits. He struck out five and walked three. Keith Stamler relieved Villanueva in the seventh inning to pick up his first save of the season. Crabbe was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a sacrifice bunt. Money said he gave leadoff man Tony Gwynn Jr. the day off against the left-handed starter. Bibbs filled in at the top of the lineup and went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and a run scored. Tennessee scored one run in the fourth inning. Mike DeRosa blasted a home run off the scoreboard in left field. In the sixth inning, Tennessee scored two runs on two hits. Carter walked to open the sixth inning and scored on a fielder's choice to the first baseman two batters later. Jon Zeringue doubled and scored on a double by Varner, cutting the Stars' lead to 7-5.

Nashville Game Summary (from the Round Rock site this AM): (Round Rock, TX) - The Round Rock Express, on Bud Light Fireworks Friday, relied on game winning homer fireworks from E-Train first baseman Carlos Rivera. Rivera, with one out in the bottom of the tenth inning, delivered the game winner, a solo homer onto the right field berm off Nashville closer Jeff Bennett for a 5-4 win. The victory, coupled with a 1-0 Oklahoma loss to Omaha, moves Round Rock to within a game and a half of the RedHawks in the American Southern Division pennant race with ten games left. Express starter Fernando Nieve gave up three runs in the first to the Sounds. His teammates responded in the bottom of the first with a solo run off Nashville starter Mike Meyers. After that first inning Nieve settled in, finishing the evening giving up only those three runs, while striking out a season high eleven batters, while walking none. In one stretch from the fourth inning until the end of the seventh inning, the twenty-three year old PCL rookie retired twelve in a row, but ultimately did not figure in the decision. The Express put up three runs off Meyers in the fourth inning, with an RBI single from catcher Raul Chavez and a two-run Charles Gipson single for a 4-3 Round Rock lead. Reliever Roberto Giron, the longtime Milwaukee farmhand, pitched the eighth inning and gave up a run that tied the game at four. That set the stage for Rivera, who smacked a Bennett pitch onto the right field berm for the game winner, 5-4. Reliever Scott Strickland won his second game on the season. Game four of the five game series begins at 7:05 PM on Saturday with righty Brian Tollberg going for the Express. Ben Hendrickson pitches for the Sounds.

West Virginia's Grant Richardson (15) was forced out at second in the second inning by the Legends' Edwin Maysonet, whose throw to first wasn't in time to complete a double play. Kentucky.com photo: Brian Tietz http://www.kentucky.com/images/kentucky/kentucky/12479/155728085548.jpg

Brevard County Site Game Summary: Manatees Late Rally Not Enough The Manatees found little relief from their recent struggles, falling to the Palm Beach Cardinals 7-4 Friday night. Manatees starter Bo Hall struggled against a tough Cardinals offense. He was roughed up for seven runs, four earned, on eleven hits in his 4 1/3 innings of work. Relievers Darwin Soto, Ben Diggins, and Forrest Martin pitched a scoreless final 4 2/3 innings, but it wasn't enough as a late Manatees rally fell short in the ninth. The Manatees made things interesting in the ninth after being down 7-2. A Travis Ezi double to lead off the inning was followed by a Steve Moss single to put runners at the corners. The next batter, Drew Anderson, singled to score Ezi and sent Moss to second. Jeff Eure followed suit and singled to load the bases for Lou Palmisano. Palmisano, already 2-3 in the game, came through with an RBI single to draw the Manatees to within three, however, that would be all the runs the Manatees would muster as Josh Murray struck out, and Ozzie Chavez lined into a double play to end the threat. With the loss, the Manatees fell to 5.5 games behind the Cardinals in the race for first place in the East Division. The Manatees look for payback tomorrow night at 7:00 pm (6:00 Central). Tomorrow night is the last Fireworks Extravaganza of the year here at Space Coast Stadium with ?Brevard's Best Fireworks? being shot off during post-game activities. Additionally, the Manatees will attempt to break the world record for honorary first pitches at a baseball game. Early arriving fans will be invited onto the pitchers mound here at the ballpark to throw out a first pitch in an attempt to break the record of 2,052. The gates open at 2:00 pm and the first pitches start immediately. All tickets are $7 and include a free ticket to a future Manatees home game.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 70 64 .522 - 33-35 37-29 L6[/b] Omaha 67 67 .500 3.0 31-35 36-32 W1 Memphis 65 68 .489 4.5 33-31 32-37 L1 Iowa 62 69 .473 6.5 38-29 24-40 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 34 25 .576 - 19-12 15-13 L2 West Tenn 32 27 .542 2.0 17-11 15-16 L1 Tennessee 26 34 .433 8.5 13-14 13-20 L3 [b]Huntsville 25 35 .417 9.5 10-18 15-17 W2[/b] Chattanooga 23 36 .390 11.0 15-20 8-16 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 37 24 .607 - 18-14 19-10 W2 Vero Beach 35 24 .593 1.0 19-12 16-12 W2 St. Lucie 32 29 .525 5.0 15-15 17-14 L1 [b]Brevard County 31 29 .517 5.5 13-17 18-12 L3[/b] Daytona 29 31 .483 7.5 18-13 11-18 W1 Jupiter 23 35 .397 12.5 15-13 8-22 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 38 21 .644 - 21-8 17-13 L2 Lexington 34 25 .576 4.0 20-13 14-12 W6 Lake County 30 28 .517 7.5 14-13 16-15 W1 Hickory 30 29 .508 8.0 17-12 13-17 W1 [b]West Virginia 27 31 .466 10.5 15-14 12-17 L3[/b] Lakewood 27 32 .458 11.0 16-17 11-15 L1 Greensboro 27 33 .450 11.5 10-16 17-17 L1 Hagerstown 22 35 .386 15.0 11-16 11-19 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Helena 17 8 .680 - 7-5 10-3 L2[/b] Missoula 14 11 .560 3.0 9-5 5-6 W3 Billings 13 12 .520 4.0 6-5 7-7 W7 Great Falls 10 15 .400 7.0 6-7 4-8 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Athletics 16 8 .667 - 10-3 6-5 L1 AZL Mariners 15 8 .652 0.5 9-4 6-4 W2 AZL Giants 14 9 .609 1.5 5-6 9-3 W2 AZL Rangers 13 11 .542 3.0 7-6 6-5 W1 AZL Royals 12 11 .522 3.5 7-5 5-6 L3 AZL Padres 10 14 .417 6.0 4-9 6-5 W3 [b]AZL Brewers 9 13 .409 6.0 3-8 6-5 L7[/b] AZL Cubs 8 15 .348 7.5 4-8 4-7 L1 AZL Angels 8 16 .333 8.0 2-5 6-11 L2Stats and League Leaders, USA Today (or go to MILB.com): www.usatoday.com/sports/b.../index.htm

Follow Saturday's action as it happens: Nashville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_rreaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1 Arizona: Not updated live, but usually later during the overnight... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

Saturday's Daily Menu: All starts Central Time except for Arizona Rookie; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Ben Hendrickson at Round Rock (Astros), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Glenn Woolard at home vs. Tennessee (Diamondbacks), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ If that link is down for bandwidth, use: specs.eyecentric.com/pres...opup.shtml Brevard County: TBD at home vs. Palm Beach (Cardinals), 6:00 PM Audio link (opponent's): www.palmbeachcardinals.com/ West Virginia: LHP Derek Miller at Lexington (Astros), 6:05 PM Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower. Helena: TBD at home vs. Billings (Reds), 8:05 PM Audio link (opponent's): www.billingsmustangs.com/ Arizona: TBD at home vs. the not-so-Giants, 7:00 PM local time; never any web audio for Arizona Rookie ball...

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Stars snap losing skid with shutout Sarfate pitches four strong innings but doesn't get the win By MARK McCARTER Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com Dennis Sarfate didn't get the W. But he got a momentous K. And, with that, perhaps a U-turn. And - stop the presses - the Huntsville Stars even got a W at home, over the Mobile BayBears, at that. The 5-0 victory was only the second in the last 10 games against Mobile. The Stars had lost 13 of their last 17 at home and 10 of 13 overall. Though Brian Wolfe collected the victory with his two shutout innings, and Jerome Gamble and Gerrit Simpson wrapped up this shutout-by-committee, Sarfate pitched a desperately needed four scoreless innings in which he allowed only three hits. (A starting pitcher must complete five innings to qualify for a win.) In his last outing, on Aug. 14, Sarfate was drilled for four hits and five runs in less than two innings at Birmingham. His previous start, he gave up seven runs and eight hits in 3 2/3. He went on the disabled list with a sore arm after the Birmingham start, but proclaimed himself healthy enough to return - though he was limited to 75 pitches. "We wanted to see if he'd be healthy,'' said pitching coach Rich Sauveur. "It wasn't about winning. It was how his arm was. It just so happened he put zeroes up.'' His last pitch, No. 69 was a doozy. With the bases loaded and two out in the fourth, with a 3-2 count, he struck out Peeter Ramos to end the threat. Good news, bad news. "He shouldn't have been in that situation (having walked two batters),'' Sauveur said. Still, "Overall I thought he did a great job. He wants to pitch. There's no doubt about that. He wants the ball. That's the first step, to have a pitcher who wants to take the ball every fifth day.'' Sarfate and his pals enjoyed a comfy early lead, even. The Stars had managed only seven runs in the first three games with Mobile - twice with rare two-out RBI hits. Tony Gwynn Jr. led off the first with a single, stole second and scored on a two-out double by Enrique Cruz, then Adam Heether doubled home Guilder Rodriguez with two out in the third. In the fourth, pinch-hitter Nelson Castro drilled a wicked bouncer off third baseman Casey Baker to drive in Kennard Bibbs. Later, Rodriguez drew a bases-loaded, walk and Heether drove in a run with a groundout. The Stars continue this homestand tonight in the first of four against the Tennessee Smokies. However, UAH product and Huntsville native Adam Bass shouldn't be expected to pitch for Tennessee. He worked six innings of three-hit ball, not allowing an earned run, Thursday at Birmingham. He has a 3.93 ERA, 15th best in the league, but has a tough-luck 5-9 record. He's seventh in the league in strikeouts.

From Friday's Link Report: The Brewers' organization probably leads the majors in number of farmhands / current big leaguers who have dads who were major leaguers, six by my count. Well, if you didn't get these first three right off the bat, shame on you: the Fielder's, Prince and dad Cecil the Gwynn's, Tony Jr. and dad Tony the Yost's, Ned IV and dad Ned Congrats to any of you who nailed the remaining three without checking the rosters: the Dillard's, Tim and dad Steve the Hinton's, Robert and dad Rich the Brantley's, Michael and dad Mickey Thanks for playing, and remember to have all your pets spayed and neutered http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

Final: Billings (Reds) 8, Helena 7 Helena Box Score: It was a decent listen to a wild last few innings from the Billings broadcast; we'll get a Helena newspaper out to you in the AM... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1 Helena Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Stamler Slams Door on SmokiesFour different hitters knocked in runs in a decisive five-run third inning and Keith Stamler worked three scoreless frames in relief in Huntsville?s 7-5 win over Tennessee Friday night at Joe Davis Stadium in the opener of a four-game series. The Stars won their second straight to improve to 25-35 in the second half, while the Smokies dropped to 26-34 in the second half. The Stars have taken four of the last five with Tennessee to move ahead 8-7 in the season series. Enrique Cruz drilled a two-run line drive home run to left field in the first inning to put the Stars on top 2-0. It was Cruz?s 14th home run of the season, ninth straight at home and just his second since July 7 and marked a third straight night during which the home team scored to take the lead in the first inning. Noochie Varner?s two-out, run-scoring double in the second inning and Dan Uggla?s two-out, run-scoring double in the third inning tied the game against starter Carlos Villanueva. Adam Heether and Brad Nelson singled home runs to put the Stars ahead 4-2 in the home third before Ben Van Iderstine delivered a two-run single to push the lead to 6-2. John Vanden Berg followed with a double to drive in Van Iderstine to complete the rally against Tennessee starter Clint Goocher, who was knocked out after the inning. The Stars have scored 19 runs on 28 hits in 11 innings over their last three meetings with Goocher, who suffered the loss to drop to 7-11. Villanueva lasted six innings in his second double-A start and was charged with five runs, four earned, on five hits and three walks, along with five strikeouts. Stamler took over and retired the first six hitters he faced before encountering trouble and working out of it in the ninth. Varner singled to open the inning, moved to second on a Mike DiRosa single before Matt Morgan dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Adam Haley then hit a bouncing ball back to Stamler, as Varner was breaking on contact. Stamler threw to the catcher Vanden Berg, who ran Varner back towards third base and tagged him out for the second out of the inning. Jarred Ball then flied out to center field on the next pitch to end the game. Stamler recorded his first save with Huntsville. The series continues on Saturday night with Huntsville right-hander Glenn Woolard meeting Smokies? right-hander Enrique Gonzalez. Coverage of the game gets underway at 6:50 p.m. central time on ESPN 1450 AM and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Big 8th inning comeback rally in Helena by the H-Crew -- hope you're listening, we make it easy for you to bounce from the end of one game to another...

From the Baseball America chat Friday afternoon: Q: David from Kennesaw, GA asks: Matt, now that the season is coming to a close, is it safe to say that even despite his early struggles, Homer Bailey is by far the better prospect over Mark Rogers? A: Matt Meyers: David, Neither of these guys have had spectacular full season debuts, but Bailey is certainly a step ahead at this point, I wouldn't say "by far" though. Rogers has never gotten it going and has also battled some blister problems which aren't helping. From what I hear, the Brewers are still high on him and believe that he is picking things up slowly and one day it is just going to "click." This is a guy from Maine though, and while I have a lot of Maine pride since I went to college there, the competition he faced in high school was not particularly tough and he should be given the benefit of the doubt. He does have 100 strike outs in 89 innings, but also 61 walks. Way too early to give up on him. Hopefully he can replace Bill Swift as the greatest big leaguer from Maine, Bailey has not put up great numbers either in the Midwest League, but I had a scout recently raving about him and his "hammer curve." His 3.52 ERA in August (with 33 Ks in 23 innings) is his second best ERA of any month so it is good to see he isn't tiring.He has a lot of moxie too. As a writer, I want to see him get to the big leagues for his outlandish quotes if nothing else.

Final: Round Rock (Astros) 5, Nashville 4, ten innings Nashville Box Score: Jeff Bennett gave up the walk-off line drive HR just over a stretched-out Nelson Cruz; Sounds pitchers strike out 13 -- Sounds batters struck out 14 times; Mike Adams with his best outing in a while, came in to escape a bases-loaded situation... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_rreaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: Except for scratching out an eighth-inning run, the Sounds never challenged offensively after the first inning; none of the big Milwaukee bats are coming back to AAA, so these boys best get to steppin'.... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_rreaaa_1

Final: Huntsville 7, Tennessee (Diamondbacks) 5 Huntsville Box Score: Carlos Villanueva the winner, he can thank his teammates for backing him with that pitching line -- all five hits he allowed for extra bases; RHP Keith Stamler wrapped it up with a pretty bow, nice job... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: Enrique Cruz (cleanup hitter) with a two-run HR for a quick first inning lead... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

Final: Lexington (Astros) 9, West Virginia 3 Not sure, but we believe LHP Greg Kloosterman may be the very first pitcher in the long storied history of the South Atlantic League to lose 18 games in a single season... West Virginia Site Game Summary: Power commit four errors in loss to LexingtonLexington, KY ? The Lexington Legends capitalized on four West Virginia Power errors in Friday night?s game at Applebee?s Park, and the Legends went on to win their sixth game in a row, beating the Power 9-3. The Legends scored three runs in the first inning to take an early lead. Justin Humphries knocked in the first run on an RBI single, he scored later in the inning on Beau Torbert?s double and Torbert crossed the plate on Grant Richardson?s fielding error. Richardson made up for the error with a leadoff double in the top of the second inning and he later scored on Carlos Corporan?s single. In the bottom of the second inning the Legends took advantage of Angel Salome?s throwing error, which allowed Chris Clark to score and make it a 4-1 game. The Power plated another run in the top of the third inning on Richardson?s double making it a 4-2 contest. Drew Sutton hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to give the Legends a four run lead and Torbert added to the advantage in the fifth inning with his second RBI double of the game. The Power plated their final run of the contest in the top of the sixth inning on Salome?s RBI groundout. Mitch Einertson drove in a run on an RBI single in the sixth inning and Humphries followed him with a sacrifice fly to plate the final run of the game. Chad Reineke (10-8) earned the victory, and Greg Kloosterman (4-18) obtained the loss. The Power are 27-31 in the second half after the loss and the Legends move to 34-25 with the win. The Power will continue the four game series with Lexington at Applebee?s Park on Saturday night. The Power will throw LHP Derek Miller (1-1, 5.03) and the Legends will counter with RHP Jimmy Barthmaier (11-5, 2.38). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score: Grant Richardson 3-for-4 with three doubles; where are those gaudy offensive numbers for all the Helena callups -- not as easy as it seems to make that jump; wow - a Josh Baker sighting (two innings in relief)... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1

Walk-off HR loss for Nashville - lead down to just three games, amazing...