Jim Goulart

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Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds pounded by RedHawks Struggles continue as Oklahoma hands Nashville worst loss By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer Trent Durrington's sixth-inning double gave the Nashville Sounds a team cycle last night against Oklahoma. Still, the Sounds' offense didn't show much motion in a 12-1 loss last night ? the team's 23rd in 37 home games since June 1. "I think we've gone through periods like this before," Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas said regarding the team's anemic attack. The Sounds had multiple baserunners on only two occasions last night, both times with two outs, and had just six hits. "But (Oklahoma starter Kelvin Jimenez) had good stuff. He was able to work the corners, extend the strike zone," Kremblas said. Omaha's 9-2 loss to New Orleans reduced Nashville's magic number for clinching the Pacific Coast League American North Division title to 10. Prior to Durrington's two-base hit, Nashville had managed just three other hits. Dave Krynzel was retired trying to score from third after a first-inning triple, Ryan Knox was caught stealing after a third-inning single and Mike Rivera put the Sounds on the scoreboard with a fifth-inning home run that made it a 3-1 game. The RedHawks re-sponded to Rivera's homer by sending 11 hitters to the plate in the sixth inning, scoring seven runs on seven hits to chase starter Ben Hendrickson. The RedHawks added two more runs in the seventh. "Everything I threw, they hit," Hendrickson said. "I threw a changeup away, at about shin level, and (Oklahoma all-star catcher Gerald) Laird hit it out. You can't do anything about that." The game marked the 11th time Nashville has allowed 10 runs or more. Oklahoma has accounted for four of those occasions. It was also the Sounds' largest margin of defeat this season. Veteran infielder Chris Barnwell pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the Sounds, allowing a pair of base hits but striking out three. In four innings over two relief stints, Barnwell has yet to allow a run. Power outage: Rivera's solo home run was Nashville's first since recent Milwaukee callup Prince Fielder did so last Wednesday against visiting Round Rock. The four-game drought that ended with Rivera's homer was the team's longest of the season. New position: In six games since moving to the No. 2 spot in the batting order, Krynzel has hit .450 (9-for-20) with a double, a triple, a home run, three runs and a pair of RBIs. Krynzel had batted leadoff in each of his first 94 starts before the move. With a successful pinch-hitting appearance in the game prior to that, Krynzel has posted a seven-game hitting streak in which he's batting .476. What they said: "We're still up five games. You'd hate to back your way into the playoffs. We have to go out and play every day. We could go win five of seven, and you'd forget all about the previous week." ? Hendrickson. Maurice Patton covers the Sounds for The Tennessean. He can be reached at mopatton@tennessean.com.

AUDIO: Krynzel Extends Hit Streak With Triple www.nashvillesounds.com/a...208-22.mp3

Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=43829 Sounds stumble in worst loss of the season By Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com If the Pacific Coast League regular season ended today, the Nashville Sounds and Oklahoma RedHawks would meet in the American Conference finals. And in a battle of the two division-leading teams, Oklahoma outclassed Nashville in every imaginable way Monday, downing the Sounds 12-1 in front of 3,301 fans at Greer Stadium. Nashville?s playoff future will be in jeopardy if the Sounds don?t turn things around. In the last eight days, the team has had four of its key performers promoted to Milwaukee. Over that span of time, Nashville (70-60) is 2-7. The 11-run difference is Nashville?s worst loss of the season. Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said he isn?t worried about where his team sits ? second place Omaha fell Monday night. That means Nashville?s lead is five games with 14 left to play. ?I?m not too concerned,? Kremblas said. ?In my opinion we?re still in good shape.? It was another difficult outing for Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson, who hasn?t won at Greer since June. Last year, Hendrickson was voted Milwaukee?s minor league pitcher of the year, notching an 11-3 record and a 2.02 ERA. With the loss, Hendrickson dropped to 6-11 on the season. ?He didn?t have bad stuff,? Kremblas said of Hendrickson. ?He just left something up to everybody. With these guys, you can?t do that or they?ll punish you. ?If you look at the score, it was a punishment.? The RedHawks blew things wide open in the sixth, when they tallied seven runs. Chris Richard, Gerald Laird and Jason Conti all registered base hits to start the inning, including a double by Richard. After a two-RBI single from Manny Alexander, Kremblas removed Hendrickson in favor of Brett Evert. The Oklahoma offense pounded Evert as well. Before the inning was all said and done, the RedHawks had scored seven runs on seven hits off the two pitchers. In the third inning, Oklahoma got on the board thanks to a pair of doubles from Will Smith and Drew Meyer. The damage came with two outs off Hendrickson. The RedHawks kept the ball rolling in the top of the fourth, when catcher Laird hit a two-run homer to raise the Oklahoma lead to 3-0. Sounds catcher Mike Rivera ended a streak of 12 scoreless innings with a home run in the fifth inning. It is the first homer by a Sounds player in five games ago, when Prince Fielder homered. Rehabbing third baseman Jeff Cirillo was out of the Nashville lineup Monday. Kremblas said Cirillo would likely be in tonight?s lineup, which would end his scheduled rehab stint.

Charleston Gazette: Power begins brief homestand tonight The West Virginia Power brings its seven-game losing streak to Appalachian Power Park today to begin a brief two-game series with Lake County. The slide has essentially taken the Power (26-28) out of playoff contention. Before the losing skid, the Power sat 4 1/2-games out of first place. The Power now trails Northern Division leader Delmarva by nine games with 14 after Monday?s games. A return to the friendly confines should help, as the Power has won 14 of 27 home games in the South Atlantic League?s second half. Just six of the team?s final 15 games are at Appalachian Power Park, including a four-game series with Delmarva Aug. 29-Sept. 1 on the final homestand of the season. The Power and Captains have split their 10 meetings in the second half. David Cook homered and drove in two runs to lead Kannapolis to a 4-3 win Monday night over the Power. The Power took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out groundout by Ryan Braun. The Intimidators broke through in the third, taking a 2-1 lead on Chris Getz? two-out, two-RBI single to left off Power starter Derek Miller. Cook?s two-run shot in the next inning effectively ended Miller?s outing and put West Virginia down 4-1. Carlos Corporan singled in Grant Richardson from third in the fifth to make it 4-2. West Virginia drew to within a run in the eighth when Agustin Septimo came home on an error. In the ninth, the Power couldn?t get anything going against Garry Bakker, who picked up his second save. West Virginia has dropped seven straight, matched only by the team?s 0-7 start of the season.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1 Stars strand 11 runners in 2-1 loss Offense sputters as BayBears win 1st game of series By SKIP VAUGHN For The Times skipv@htimes.com The Huntsville Stars began a critical homestand Monday against the Mobile BayBears. The Stars started the night in fourth place in the Southern League North, trailing first-place Carolina by 9 1/2 games with 15 left in the second half of the season. "Every game's important to us," Stars manager Don Money said before the rain-delayed contest. "We're trying to win as many games as we can the second half just to try to make it the best half that we can. "We dug ourselves a hole, it's difficult to get out. You can't quit. We've got 15 games left. You just try to do the best you can the rest of the year." After more than an hour rain delay, Mobile beat the Stars 2-1 before an announced crowd of 939 at Joe Davis Stadium. The BayBears (25-32) loaded the bases with one out in the second but failed to score when Stars starter David Bradley recorded two strikeouts. Bradley (5-5) went six innings and allowed two earned runs with six hits, three walks and six strikeouts. Huntsville (23-33) had the bases loaded with two outs in the third against Mobile starter Jose Oyervidez but Brad Nelson grounded out to end the inning. Oyervidez (6-9) went six innings with one earned run on five hits, five walks and eight strikeouts. BayBears closer Dale Thayer earned his 24th save with a scoreless ninth. Huntsville stranded 11 baserunners. Mobile took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Peeter Ramos grounded into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded. George Kottaras scored from third. Kottaras made it 2-0 with a towering home run to right in the sixth, his second homer of the year. He finished 3-for-4 on the night. Nelson cut the Stars' deficit in half in the sixth with a leadoff homer to left, his sixth of the season. The Stars and BayBears play the second of the four-game series tonight at 7:05 at Joe Davis Stadium. Probable starters are Huntsville right-hander Ty Taubenheim (1-4, 4.37) and Mobile right-hander Jared Wells (1-4, 3.77).

Link while active, text follows: www.casperstartribune.net...1ec3a4.txt Warranted win By CORY MATTESON Casper Star-Tribune staff writer After a dicey 5-4 win over the team with the best record in the Pioneer League, Casper Rockies manager P.J. Carey took a seat in his office and began to credit the Helena Brewers for their tenacity. And after two near comebacks in the final two innings which included two errors, it could be argued that the Brewers (15-6, 39-20) certainly deserved it. But it could also be argued that they deserved what they got -- a second consecutive loss to Casper (12-10, 32-28) in this four-game series at Mike Lansing Field. With leadoff batter Corey Wimberly on second, Brewers manager Ed Cedar elected to walk No. 3 batter Dexter Fowler in the hopes that Chris Cook, batting cleanup, would hit into a force-out or double play. But that's not why they call cleanup hitters cleanup hitters. Cook punished Simon Beresford's 3-2 fastball, sending his 10th home run of the season clear over the right field wall and, in the process, sending the Rockies to a 5-2 lead and a crowd of 1,552 into a tizzy. The win pushed Casper to the top of the South Division standings, one game ahead of Ogden (11-11). "I'm really proud of this team," Carey said. Casper held off a Brewers' rally in the top of the ninth without the use of closer Andrew Johnston. Brett Strickland (4-2), who had blown a save opportunity in the eighth, scrapped his way through the final inning to record the win. The late-inning outburst overshadowed a near-perfect outing from starter Chaz Roe. The 18-year-old pitched six innings of one-hit ball. And to the delight of Rockies fans at all levels, Roe kept his pitches low, forcing eight groundball outs thanks to a volatile mixture of wicked breaking balls and effective fastball. In front of his parents, visiting from Lexington, Ky., Roe also fanned five batters while walking three in the no-decision. "This is probably one of my top performances," he said afterwards. "The first thing I tried to do was keep the ball low. It carries out here. The ball carries a heck of a lot more." "He's something," Carey said. "He's got a good, good breaking ball." On Monday, the Rockies also overtook the Brewers at the top of the Pioneer League standings in team stolen bases thanks to four steals. Casper has now swiped 94 to Helena's 91. "They say speed kills, and it actually does," Carey said. And if speed kills, Brewers catcher Bryan Opdyke could be charged with assisted suicide. Casper's first two runs plated thanks in part to two of Opdyke's four poor throws to second base. The two teams meet again tonight at 7. Alan Johnson (2-1) will start for Casper against the Brewers' Tyler Morrison (4-1).

Catcher Clay Blevins, after just one appearance with Brevard County, has returned to Helena. Fellow catcher Brad Willcutt has suffered a leg injury, apparently, so Blevins joins Bryan Opdyke and will help guide the H-Crew pitchers as they head to the postseason.

Final: Mobile (Padres) 2, Huntsville 1 And so concludes the night's audio on this off-night for the parent club; as usual, the Huntsville broadcast was top-notch -- too bad the guys haven't had a more exciting season to enjoy... Huntsville Box Score: Vinny Rottino with two base hits, but stranded the tying run at 2nd in the 9th, grounding out; Stars stranded 11 -- shoot; Jerome Gamble flashes his dominance every so often -- he'll be a free agent at season's end once again, that doesn't preclude re-signing with the Crew... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

Final: Casper (Rockies) 5, Helena 4 Late rally falls just short... Helena Box Score: Aussie lefty David Welch with a fine five innings... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_casrok_1 Helena Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_casrok_1

Final: Kannapolis (White Sox) 4, West Virginia 3 West Virginia Site Game Summary: Kannapolis sweeps the PowerKannapolis, NC ? The Kannapolis Intimidators went into Monday night?s game against the West Virginia Power looking for their first four-game sweep of the season. The Intimidators got exactly what they were looking for, beating the Power 4-3 at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium in Kannapolis. The Power drew first blood in the top of the first inning when Ryan Braun knocked in Alcides Escobar on a groundout. Kannapolis took the lead in the third inning on a two-out, two-run single from Chris Getz. The Intimidators added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run homer from David Cook. In the fifth inning the Power battled back, when Grant Richardson scored on a groundball hit by Carlos Corporan. Hernan Iribarren reached on an error committed by first baseman Josh Hansen in the eighth inning, allowing Agustin Septimo to score and make it a 4-3 game, but the Power offense wasn?t able to plate any more runs after that. Jack Egbert (10-5) earned the victory, Garry Bakker (2) earned the save and Derek Miller (1-1) obtained the loss. The Power are 26-28 in the second half after the loss and the Intimidators move to 31-20 with the win. The Power will begin a brief two-game series with the Lake County Captains at Appalachian Power Park on Tuesday night. The Power will throw RHP Yovani Gallardo (5-3, 3.17) and the Captains will counter with LHP Chuck Lofgren (5-3, 2.17). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score: Both Justin Barnes and Robert Hinton stranded two inherited runners -- each has been awesome, and that'd be a great seasonal stat to have... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_kanafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_kanafx_1

Final: Brevard County 6, Vero Beach (Dodgers) 1 RHP Ben Diggins activated from the disabled list prior to the game... Brevard County Site Game Summary: Manatees Roll Over Dodgers Solid pitching and timely hitting ruled the night as the Manatees defeated the Vero Beach Dodgers 6-1 on Monday. Manatees starter Ryan Costello breezed through the Dodgers lineup in his seven innings of work, allowing only one run. He struck out seven and gave up five hits en route to his fifth win of the year. Relievers Ben Diggins and Landon Stockman came on to pitch the final two innings without allowing a hit. The Manatees offense scored all of their runs in two three-run innings. In the fourth inning, an Adam Heether double plated two runs to give the Manatees the lead for the rest of the night. Heether later scored on a Jeff Eure single to put the Manatees up 3-1. In the seventh, the 'Tees added three more runs, two on a Steve Moss single with the bases loaded. Heether struck again two batters later, adding his third RBI of the night, with a single to drive in Steve Sollmann. Heether finished the night 2-for-4, three RBI, and a run scored. The Manatees kept pace with the Palm Beach Cardinals, who beat the Daytona Cubs Monday night, to remain 3.5 games out of first place in the East Division. The Manatees face the Dodgers in game two of this three game series tomorrow night at 7:00 pm (6:00 Central), and will try to make up more ground on the Cardinals. Brevard County Box Score: On those occasions when lefty Ryan Costello is good, he's very good; 3B Adam Heether's OPS of .830 entering the game will rise a bit -- impressive number for the FSL... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1 Brevard County Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1

Final: Oklahoma (Rangers) 12, Nashville 1 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for photo of Mike Rivera (with the shades), text follows: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1763 NASHVILLE ? The Oklahoma RedHawks handed the Nashville Sounds their worst loss of the season on Monday evening at Greer Stadium, posting a 12-1 victory over the home club in the third game of the teams? four-game series. Despite the loss, the Sounds (70-60) retained their five-game lead in the PCL American Conference Northern Division; second-place Omaha was defeated by New Orleans, 9-2. Nashville has lost eight of its last 10 contests, including five of seven on the current homestand. The 11-run defeat eclipsed a ten-run loss to Iowa on June 20. Every Oklahoma batter recorded a hit except Rashad Eldridge (0-for-4), led by 3-for-5, two-RBI efforts from Gerald Laird and Chris Richard. One night after finishing 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position, the RedHawks went 8-for-18 in those situations. Oklahoma jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning with back-to-back two-out doubles by Will Smith and Drew Meyer off Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson. Laird upped the visitors? advantage to 3-0 with a one-out, two-run homer to left off Hendrickson, his 15th roundtripper of the season. Richard, who had singled, scored on the blast. Mike Rivera ended a 12-inning scoring drought for Nashville when he slugged his 15th home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning, a two-out solo shot to right off Oklahoma starter Kelvin Jimenez that made it a 3-1 game. Oklahoma answered right back in the top of the sixth, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs off Hendrickson and reliever Brett Evert to extend the lead to a comfortable 10-1. Jason Conti got things started when he plated Richard with an RBI single then scored along with Laird on Manny Alexander?s one-out, two-run single. After Evert took over for Hendrickson, Esteban German and Richard added consecutive two-out, two-run singles to complete the scoring in the frame. The RedHawks tacked on two more against Evert in the seventh on Meyer?s two-run single. Dave Krynzel extended the Sounds? longest active hitting streak to seven games with a first-inning triple, his seventh three-bagger of the season. Jimenez (3-6) earned the victory in his second start of the season, allowing one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. Hendrickson (6-11) drew the loss after being touched for seven runs on 10 hits over his 5 1/3 frames. The right-hander is winless in his last eight home starts for Nashville, posting an 8.36 ERA (35er/37.2ip) over that stretch dating back to mid-June. Sounds third baseman Chris Barnwell moved to the mound to pitch the ninth and struck out the side around a hit and a walk in working a scoreless frame. The infielder has four scoreless innings to his credit this season. The teams wrap up their series with a 7 p.m. meeting on Tuesday evening. Left-hander Jeff Housman (5-12, 6.24) toes the rubber for Nashville and will be opposed by RedHawks southpaw A.J. Murray (1-0, 3.60). Nashville Box Score: Ben Hendrickson's not even looking at a September call-up at this point... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Some nights, every level of our system had a stud on the mound. Since Ben Sheets' call-up to Milwaukee pre-dates the birth of the Link Report, exactly what did having all those "studs" get the organization? I'm guessing you're referencing Nick Neugebauer, Mike Jones, Manny Parra, perhaps a few others. Hopefully Dana Eveland's name listed earlier this season piqued your interest. Don't sell short names like Dillard, Villanueva, Taubenheim, Wahpepah, and Gallardo. They've given us some pretty solid efforts this year. But overall, yes, the "wow" factor is down this year.

Nashville Media Notes for Monday (PDF format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 70 59 .543 - 33-33 37-26 L1[/b] Omaha 65 64 .504 5.0 29-32 36-32 W1 Memphis 63 65 .492 6.5 33-31 30-34 W1 Iowa 58 67 .464 10.0 37-28 21-39 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 32 22 .593 - 19-11 13-11 W2 West Tenn 31 24 .564 1.5 17-11 14-13 W2 Tennessee 24 31 .436 8.5 13-14 11-17 L1 [b]Huntsville 23 32 .418 9.5 8-15 15-17 W1[/b] Chattanooga 21 34 .382 11.5 13-18 8-16 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 34 23 .596 - 16-13 18-10 W1 Vero Beach 33 23 .589 0.5 19-12 14-11 W1 [b]Brevard County 30 26 .536 3.5 12-14 18-12 L1[/b] St. Lucie 29 27 .518 4.5 12-13 17-14 L2 Daytona 27 28 .491 6.0 18-13 9-15 W2 Jupiter 22 33 .400 11.0 15-13 7-20 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 34 19 .642 - 20-6 14-13 W2 Lexington 30 25 .545 5.0 18-13 12-12 W2 Lake County 27 26 .509 7.0 14-13 13-13 W2 Hickory 28 27 .509 7.0 16-12 12-15 L2 [b]West Virginia 26 27 .491 8.0 14-13 12-14 L6[/b] Lakewood 26 28 .481 8.5 15-13 11-15 L2 Greensboro 24 31 .436 11.0 10-15 14-16 L2 Hagerstown 19 32 .373 14.0 10-14 9-18 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Helena 15 5 .750 - 7-3 8-2 L1[/b] Missoula 11 9 .550 4.0 7-5 4-4 W2 Billings 8 12 .400 7.0 3-5 5-7 W2 Great Falls 8 12 .400 7.0 4-6 4-6 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Athletics 14 6 .700 - 9-2 5-4 W6 AZL Mariners 12 7 .632 1.5 7-4 5-3 W2 AZL Giants 11 8 .579 2.5 4-5 7-3 L2 AZL Royals 10 8 .556 3.0 6-3 4-5 W3 AZL Rangers 11 9 .550 3.0 7-4 4-5 L1 [b]AZL Brewers 9 10 .474 4.5 3-7 6-3 L4[/b] AZL Angels 7 13 .350 7.0 1-4 6-9 W1 AZL Padres 7 13 .350 7.0 2-9 5-4 L1 AZL Cubs 6 13 .316 7.5 3-7 3-6 W1Stats and League Leaders, USA Today (or go to MILB.com): www.usatoday.com/sports/b.../index.htm

Follow Monday's action as it happens: Nashville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_kanafx_1 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_casrok_1 Arizona: Not updated live, but usually later during the overnight... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

Monday's Daily Menu: All starts Central Time except for Arizona Rookie; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Ben Hendrickson at home vs. Oklahoma (Rangers), 6:40 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Nashville Site Gamecast Feed: www.nashvillesounds.com/live/xlive.htm Huntsville: RHP David Bradley at home vs. Mobile (Padres), 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. Vero Beach (Dodgers), 6:00 PM; no audio for this series West Virginia: LHP Derek Miller at Kannapolis (White Sox), 6:05 PM Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower. Helena: LHP David Welch at Casper (Rockies), 8:05 PM Audio link (opponent's): www.casperrockies.com/ Arizona: TBD at home in Maryvale vs. the Athletics, 7:00 PM local time; never any web audio for Arizona Rookie ball...

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Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS RedHawks score winning run on disputed throwing error By CHIP CIRILLO Tennessean Staff Writer The Sounds got thrown for a loss last night. Literally. Oklahoma scored the winning run in a 3-1 victory over Nashville on a throwing error by Sounds catcher Julio Mosquera in the ninth inning. With one out and the score tied 1-1, Mosquera's throw to first base hit Oklahoma's Will Smith in the leg before rolling into right field. Mosquera was trying for a double play after catching a force out at the plate. "The guy was clearly inside the line," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "Nobody saw it. The rule is if he's on that side of the line at all and the ball hits him it's an automatic out. The runners have to go back." Kremblas said Smith was at least one foot inside the first-base line. "The home plate umpire said he didn't see it because he was watching the play at home, and the first-base umpire said he didn't see it," Kremblas said. Drew Meyer's RBI single increased the RedHawks' lead to 3-1. "Obviously (Smith) was inside the bag," Mosquera said. "All of a sudden when he's getting close to first base he jumps inside the line. He interfered with the throw. "I was just trying to get the ball down to first base as quick as I can. The home-plate umpire needs to shift a little bit to the left after he makes the call at home plate to look at the line to first base. He never moved." The RedHawks won despite going 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-21 with runners on base in front of a crowd of 4,125 at Greer Stadium. The Sounds took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Jeff Cirillo in the first inning. Oklahoma tied the game 1-1 on a fielder's choice by Chris Richard in the sixth. The RedHawks had two runners on base with no outs in the seventh, but reliever Clint Weibl escaped trouble by striking out Meyer and getting Manny Alexander to hit into a double play. Sounds center fielder Dave Krynzel robbed Esteban German of a home run by leaping above the fence to catch a towering fly ball for the first out of the eighth. Cirillo update: Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said Cirillo probably will return to Milwaukee after Nashville's homestand ends tomorrow against Oklahoma. "From what I understand, that's what the plan was," Kremblas said. Cirillo is 3-for-11 with three RBIs in the first four games of his rehabilitation assignment. He's on the Brewers' 60-day disabled list due to a fractured finger on his left hand. What they said: "We didn't play good in my opinion. We played hard and battled our butts off, getting out of jams. But we didn't swing the bats great." ? Kremblas. Chip Cirillo is a staff writer for The Tennessean. He can be contacted at ccirillo@tennessean.com.

Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=43806 Bad luck dooms Sounds By Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com The Nashville Sounds continued to struggle weathering the storm created last week when their roster was raided by the big league Milwaukee Brewers. In the past seven days, Nashville has had its top two offensive contributors ? Prince Fielder and Corey Hart ? and two of its top relievers ? Kane Davis and Jose Capellan ? promoted to Milwaukee. Oklahoma took advantage Sunday and downed Nashville 3-1 in front of 4,125 fans at Greer Stadium. Nashville (70-59) is 2-6 since a week ago, when the call-ups began. Oklahoma broke up a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth by way of a bad-luck play, which cost Nashville the game. With bases loaded, Will Smith hit a bounding ball to second, which Corey Hart threw home for the force out. Catcher Julio Mosquera tried to turn the double play, but his throw arrived with Smith and first baseman Trent Durrington was unable to field the throw. The ball then caromed away, which allowed the RedHawks to score the winning run. Nashville manager Frank Kremblas and Mosquera tried to argue for interference, but to no avail. Oklahoma (69-59) added an insurance run later in the inning. ?It was just unfortunate we didn?t get that call,? Kremblas said. ?[smith] was clearly inside the line and nobody saw it.? The Sounds got on the board in the first, when Durrington and Dave Krynzel each produced hits to start the game. Rehabbing Jeff Cirillo scored Durrington with a sac-fly to give Nashville the lead. The Sounds got strong pitching from starter Mike Meyers, who struck out seven and allowed just three hits. But he walked four batters over 5.1 innings of work. Myers exited with one out and a runner on second in the sixth inning. ?He did a good job,? Kremblas said. ?He got in some jams and got out of them.? Clint Weibl spelled Myers in the inning and balked Esteban German to third. German then scored on a grounder to second base. Hart made a poor decision and tried to peg German at home, but his throw was errant and the RedHawks tied the game. RedHawks starter Derek Lee pinned down the Nashville offense after the first inning, allowing only two hits thereafter. ?He did a good job,? Kremblas said. ?He kept the ball down.? Playing without Fielder and Hart, the Sounds failed to homer for the fourth straight game, which is a season high.

Final: Oklahoma (Rangers) 3, Nashville 1 Done in by old friend Derek Lee, the mayor of Huntsville... Nashville Site Game Summary: NASHVILLE ? The Oklahoma RedHawks scored a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning to register a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Sounds in front of 4,125 fans on Sunday evening at Greer Stadium. With the win, Oklahoma (69-59) maintained first place in the PCL American Conference Southern Division, while the Sounds (70-59) saw their lead in the American Northern Division reduced to five games over Omaha, which defeated New Orleans earlier Sunday afternoon. The victory was Oklahoma?s 12th in its last at-bat and the loss was Nashville?s 11th when an opponent scores in its final trip to the plate. The RedHawks took their 3-1 lead in the top of the ninth against the Nashville bullpen. Clint Weibl walked Gerald Laird to open the inning before being relieved by Mitch Stetter. Jason Conti reached on a fielder?s choice sacrifice bunt and Rashad Eldridge drew a walk to load the bases. Will Smith followed with a grounder which second baseman Corey Hart turned into a forceout at home. However, catcher Julio Mosquera?s throw attempt to complete the double play at first base scooted into right field, allowing Conti to score the go-ahead run. Drew Meyer added an RBI single to left to bring home Eldridge unearned and increase the visitors? advantage to 3-1. Rehabbing third baseman Jeff Cirillo spotted the Sounds a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when he plated Trent Durrington on a sacrifice fly to left. Oklahoma tied things up at 1-1 in the sixth when Esteban German walked to opened the frame, advanced to second via his league-leading 36th stolen base, moved to third on a Weibl balk, and scored on a fielder?s choice grounder off the bat of Chris Richard. The RedHawks finished 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position and left men on second and/or third in six of the nine frames. Nashville logged only one at-bat in RBI situations, a Tony Zuniga double play groundout in the fourth inning. Dave Krynzel ? who made a full-extension leaping grab at the center field wall to rob Esteban German of a home run in the top of the eighth inning ? doubled in the first inning to extend the Sounds? longest active hitting streak to six games (9-for-19, .474). AUDIO: Dave Krynzel Robs A Homer www.nashvillesounds.com/a...208-21.mp3 Oklahoma reliever Matt Roney (3-0) picked up the victory after working one scoreless inning behind starter and former log-time Brewer farmhand Derek Lee, who gave up one run over his seven innings of work. Stetter (1-1) took the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) in his one-third of an inning. RedHawks closer Jose Veras retired the Sounds in order in the bottom of the ninth to etch his club-record 19th save of the campaign. The teams continue their series with a 7 p.m. meeting on Monday evening. Nashville sends right-hander Ben Hendrickson (6-10, 4.72) to the hill to face RedHawks right-hander Kelvin Jimenez (2-6, 3.79). Nashville Box Score: Maybe it's just me, but I don't remember too many clean Mitch Stetter relief stints this season, either in Nashville or Huntsville... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Nashville Media Notes (PDF format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf Pre-Game Audio Chat With Rehabbing Third Baseman Jeff Cirillo: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...208-21.mp3

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Being a baseball wife Patricia C. McCarter, Huntsville Times Kristen and Alec Zumwalt met six years ago when he was a minor league baseball player with the Braves organization at spring training in Orlando and she was an intern at Disney World. They've been married for the past four years. This past week, she had to pack up all of their belongings because Alec, a Stars pitcher this season, was promoted to Triple-A Nashville. For this week's 9 Questions, we thought it'd be fun for a baseball writer's wife - staff writer Patricia McCarter, wife of sports writer Mark McCarter - to talk with a baseball player's wife. 1 Do baseball wives like baseball? Some do, some don't. After I met Alec, I went out and bought "Baseball for Dummies" because I really didn't know anything about the game. Some wives love the game, and some absolutely hate it, hate the lifestyle. But I couldn't marry him and then say, "OK, I'm not going to support this dream you've had ever since you were a little boy." 2 What surprised you most about baseball when you began to learn about it? How difficult it is to throw a ball that fast and have it land in the exact perfect spot, and how difficult it is to hit a ball coming at you that fast when all you have is a skinny stick. I don't see how anybody ever hits a baseball, ever. 3 Did he ever take you to a batting cage on a date, like in "Bull Durham"? No, but he did try to teach me how to pitch once. There was so much to remember, from what you do with your arms and hands and head and legs, and I never got close to doing it right. He is definitely the baseball player in the family. 4 Do you go to all of Alec's ballgames? Wives don't generally travel with the team, but I'm at a home game if I know he's going to pitch. As a relief pitcher, Alec can pitch just about any night. 5 Do baseball wives/girlfriends sit together at the game? Usually. There's been a lot of movement with this team, so it's almost like you don't want to forge a friendship because you don't know who is going to be around. It does give you a sense of family, though. 6 Do you eat dinner at the ball park? Almost never. I don't want to get in that habit. As often as I'm there, if I ate a meal every time I was there, that could be a very bad, very fattening habit. 7 Is the thought of starting a family with a minor league baseball player scary? We live our lives based on faith. God provides for us. If Alec gets hurt or dropped, we know we'll be OK. I'm four months pregnant and I'm not worried about money or jobs or his career. I know we'll be fine. 8 How do you deal with the prospect of having to move in a moment's notice if Alec gets traded? We live light. We have one pot, one frying pan, nothing on the walls. Most of our belongings are in Charlotte, N.C., where we have a home. I've moved with Alec three times, but this is the first time I've had to pack us by myself. (He went immediately to play with the Nashville Sounds.) I've learned that if you roll up T-shirts instead of folding them, you can get more of them in a suitcase. A player's wife is the banker, travel agent, packer, mover, personal assistant. You get used to moving. You get used to the unknown. 9 Is it a fun life, being a player's wife? It's a part of who I am, but it isn't all that I am. The most fun for me is watching my husband fulfill his dream. He's wanted to be a professional ball player since he was 2. It's amazing to me that he's living his dream. How many people get to do that? Of course, we've long advocated for a Brewerfan Players Index section for photos of wives and girlfriends (one for each player, only http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif -- all photo submissions gladly accepted http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif -- Brewerfan staff

Final: Huntsville 6, Tennessee (Diamondbacks -- thanks for the reminder!) 3 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Bullpen Saves the Day for StarsGlenn Woolard worked six solid innings and got three shutout frames from the bullpen to preserve Huntsville?s 6-3 win Sunday afternoon in the final game of a three-game set at Smokies Park. The Stars took two out of three to finish the 10-game road trip with three wins and improve to 23-32 in the second half, while the Smokies dipped to 24-31 in the half and 31-31 at home. Tennesse got to Woolard for three runs in the first inning, as Chris Carter plated two with a single and came into score on a base hit by Matt Morgan, who knocked in his fourth run over the last two games. Tennessee collected three singles against Woolard in the second inning but could not score and left runners at first and second base in the fifth inning. The Huntsville right-hander lasted six innings, giving up three runs on nine hits, while walking three and striking out four. He earned up the win to improve to 7-10. Brad Nelson crushed a leadoff home run in the second inning off of Smokies? starter Clint Goocher to get the visitors on the board and cut the Tennessee lead to 3-1. It was Nelson?s fifth long ball with the Stars and his first since July 28 at home against West Tenn. Woolard started the Stars four-run third inning rally with a walk after falling behind in the count 0-2 and moved to second base on a single by Guilder Rodriguez, who picked up his second hit of the game. Nelson Castro dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners before Vinny Rottino singled to center field to chase home both runners and get the game tied at three. Nelson then singled with two outs and Ben Van Iderstine followed with a double into right-center field to deliver Rottino and Nelson and put the Stars on top to stay at 5-3. Goocher was taken out after the fourth inning and suffered the loss to drop to 7-10. The southpaw was touched up for five runs on eight hits and has now allowed 12 runs on 19 hits over eight innings in his last two starts against the Stars. Andy Pratt took over for the Stars in the seventh and walked leadoff hitter Adam Haley and saw Dan Uggla reach on a fielding error by Castro, the Stars first of the day. Pratt uncorked a wild pitch to move the runners up one base but struck out Carter for the first out of the frame and was replaced by Keith Stamler, who had warmed up earlier in the game on two different occasions. The right-hander retired Jamie D?Antona on a pop up with his first pitch and struck out Morgan to end the frame. Stamler retired the side in order in the eighth inning and Gerrit Simpson retired all three hitters he faced in the ninth to nail down his first save with the Stars. The Stars return home Monday night to open a four-game series against Mobile with right-hander David Bradley taking the hill. Coverage gets underway at 6:50 p.m. central time on ESPN 1450 AM and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score: Old friend Noochie Varner still plugging along in AA; streaky Brad Nelson on the upside again as of late; all indications were just-turned 22-year-old utility infielder Guilder Rodriguez was going to be a one-week emergency AA fill-in back in May with his promotion from West Virginia, but the 151-pounder has managed a .289 average and .372 OBP in semi-limited time (114 AB's) -- as expected though, no power, with three doubles and 30 singles... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1