Jim Goulart

Final: Colorado Springs 11, Oklahoma City 1 Cycle, Home Run Derby Back Bubba's Gem Orf hits for first Sox cycle since June 20, 2010, in 11-1 win By Robby Veronesi / Colorado Springs Sky Sox Nate Orf hit for the cycle and the Colorado Springs Sky Sox recorded five home runs to back Bubba Derby's strong performance in the 11-1 series-opening win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers in front of 5,314 at Security Service Field Saturday night. The Dodgers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Sky Sox (73-51) responded two batters into their first at-bats. Kyle Wren drew a leadoff walk and Orf took advantage of a hanging Eddie Gamboa pitch by launching it 401 feet over the left field walk to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. The Sox hit their second home run the second time through the lineup, extending the lead to 3-1 in the third inning. On a full count, Brett Phillips launched a 396-foot long ball over the right field wall for his 18th home run of the season with two outs. The hosts broke the game open with a six-run fifth inning. Five straight hits opened the frame, with Chris Colabello opening the scoring with a line-drive single to left field to score Orf. One batter later, Phillips crushed his second home run of the game to right field-a three-run shot to score Ivan De Jesus and Colabello. The multi-homer game was the third of the season for Phillips and the first since May 16 in El Paso. Tyler Heineman launched his second home run of the season during the ensuing at-bat, increasing the lead to 8-1. The Sox hit back-to-back home runs for the third time in 2017 and first since Mauricio Dubon and Lewis Brinson achieved the feat on July 5 against Nashville. The home run derby continued in the sixth inning. Colabello greeted OKC reliever Joe Broussard with a leadoff solo shot down the right field line. The opposite-field long ball gave the Sox five home runs, one shy of the team-high six long balls hit July 2 in Omaha. De Jesus would drive in a run of his own on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Henry Ramos in the seventh inning. Orf scored on the play after hitting a one-out triple for the first Sky Sox cycle since Dexter Fowler achieved the feat on June 20, 2010, against the Las Vegas 51s. In his first appearance against the Dodgers, Derby (4-0, 3.38 ERA) earned his second straight win by tossing a season-high seven innings of one-run, four-hit ball with seven strikeouts. The seven innings marked a new season-high for the right-hander while his seven strikeouts tied a season-high set July 8 in Round Rock. Wei-Chung Wang finished the game by tossing a pair of scoreless innings, dropping his ERA to 1.96. With the win, the Sox increase their PCL American Northern Division lead to eight games with 15 games left to play. The win also drops Colorado Springs' magic number to nine as the Sox look to clinch their first playoff berth since 1997. RHP Junior Guerra (1-2, 3.15 ERA) takes the hill for the Sox during game two of the four-game series. The Colorado Springs right-hander faces PCL strikeout leader and Oklahoma City RHP Wilmer Font (9-7, 3.30 ERA) at 2:30 PM CT. *** Sky Sox's Orf hits for cycle after scoring change Brewers outfielder completes feat with triple in seventh inning, becomes the seventh player in Colorado Springs history to do so. By Alex Kraft / MiLB.com Nate Orf had just sat down to eat dinner when his manager, Rick Sweet, walked over to inform him that he'd just made history. The Brewers outfielder completed the cycle on Saturday night after a postgame scoring decision changed his seventh-inning double a triple in Triple-A Colorado Springs' 11-1 rout of Oklahoma City at Security Service Field. The cycle was the first by a member of the Sky Sox since Dexter Fowler completed one on June 20, 2010. The play in question began with Orf looping an 0-2 offering from Dodgers right-hander Joe Broussard into the left-field corner. Trayce Thompson misread the carom off the wall, forcing him to chase it down. "The way our wall plays down there, it kind of hooks around," Orf said. "As an outfielder, it's a tough play because you never know what kind of bounce you're going to get. As I was rounding first and heading to second, I could see he was trying to pick it up off the wall and I saw it go by him. That's when I knew I had the triple." In the heat of the moment, the Missouri native never even looked at the scoreboard to see what the hit had been scored. When he heard a dissatisfied roar from the Sky Sox's dugout, he had an idea what it read. "I could see the dugout's reaction, which told me that they ruled it an error," Orf said. "I wasn't too worried about it. I was hoping they would change it and let me complete the cycle for all the work I did toward it, but at the end of the day, I was happy with my night." The 27-year-old hit a two-run homer to left in the first inning. After popping out in the second, he doubled to right leading off the fourth before singling to left later in the same frame. "I knew that I needed to get a triple in there and, of course, when I got back to the dugout all the guys were saying, 'You better not stop running for anything,'" he said. Even without the scoring change, Orf would have matched a season high with his second four-hit game. Although he said he would have been satisfied with that, he was happy the ruling was fixed. "The way the play played out, I'm glad they ruled it that way," the Baylor product said. "I think that's the right call." Orf had never cycled at any level before Saturday night. While it was not his favorite accomplishment of the season, he still plans to remember it fondly. "I had a walk-off homer this year and that was my first walk-off homer," he said. "To me, that was the coolest thing, to win the game for the team on a homer. Most of the stuff that goes down as a team ends up being the memories that last the longest. I just think it will be cool, at the end of my career, to say that I did get a cycle in there." Brewers No. 12 prospect Brett Phillips went 3-for-5 with a pair of homers and four RBIs for Colorado Springs. Sky Sox starter Bubba Derby (4-0) allowed one run on four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts over seven innings. Colorado Springs Box Score Bubba! Colorado Springs Game Log Defense in this one, too!

AUDIO via Thursday's Sky Sox Pre-Game: Manager Rick Sweet (or is it Rick Sour?)

The Brewers release 19-year-old Venezuelan RHP Jesus Colman, who had only pitched once since July 11th. Colman split 2017 between the DSL Brewers club and its Indians/Brewers co-op team, making 11 relief appearances (3.93 ERA but 1.58 WHIP, 13 walks and 10 K's in 18.1 IP). In 2016, Colman made his debut as a pro for the Blue Jays and posted impressive numbers, as you'll see at the link above. So the Blue Jays made their release decision not based on stats, certainly, and the Brewers pull a quick hook here. We'll never know, but perhaps there's much more to the story, as they say.

Helena RHP Braulio Ortiz, the hulking veteran RHP who has only pitched once since July 22nd, has been placed on the Carolina disabled list. The Helena roster was maxed at 35, and by moving him with the placement, it provides a bit more flexibility with both the Helena actual roster and its paper roster for AAA taxi squad purposes. No word on the nature of Ortiz' injury.

Timber Rattlers "Brewers" Jersey auction until 3:00 PM Sunday. Keston Hiura, anyone?

Here's the Atlantic League press release on the signing. The Sky Sox announce the Berry signing. To make room on the roster, RHP Angel Ventura was placed on the 7-day DL retroactive to 8/18. No word if Ventura is ailing in any way.

In this Beloit Daily News article (Roegner's home town), friend of Brewerfan Josh Flickinger fills us in on the LHP.

Carolina OF Carlos Belonis turns 23 today. Happy Birthday! http://www.milb.com/images/622767/t249/180x270/622767.jpg

Timber Rattler DVR Alert MON. 8/21 vs. Quad Cities (Astros), 12:00 PM Spectrum Sports are available on channel 32 and in HD on channel 1332 in Eastern Wisconsin

Look for these just prior to the respective game times -- Colorado Springs Media Notes - Linked on the Sky Sox official blog Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog Carolina Media Notes - Linked on the Mudcats official blog Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog *** STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League South Division High-A - Carolina League Southern Division A - Midwest League Western Division Pioneer League North Division Arizona League Central Division Dominican Summer League San Pedro Division Dominican Summer League North Division NOTE: Divisional standings for the two DSL teams point to the same shared page link. NOTE #2: The Standings Links above will reflect second-half standings for Biloxi, Carolina, and Wisconsin. You can easily then click on "Overall Standings" once you've reached the initial link. *** Sortable individual stat pages: Colorado Springs Biloxi Carolina Wisconsin Helena Maryvale DSL Brewers DSL Brewers/Indians *** Weather.com: Colorado Springs, CO Jackson, TN Zebulon, NC Grand Chute, WI Great Falls, MT Maryvale, AZ Santo Domingo, DR

Follow Saturday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Colorado Springs Biloxi Carolina Wisconsin Helena Maryvale DSL Brewers DSL Brewers/Indians MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

Saturday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Colorado Springs: RHP Bubba Derby at home vs. Oklahoma City (Dodgers), 6:30 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime Free Live Audio Link Dan Karcher, the longtime play-by-play voice of the Sky Sox is on Twitter @SkySoxKarch; joining him again this season is Dan Acheson (@Dan_Acheson) MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Colorado Springs games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $49.99 season-long package ($12.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. The video of each game is archived online, which is a nice feature. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. NOTE: Notice that on MiLB.TV's page, you can click on "Filter", then "Milwaukee Brewers", and you'll see just the Crew's organizational TV lineup. ********** Biloxi: RHP Jon Perrin at Jackson (Diamondbacks), 5:45 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Chris Harris is the play-by-play voice of the Shuckers. Follow Chris on Twitter @CHarris731. We'll be linking to his fantastic "Shuck Dynasty" blog. Erik Bremer (@Erik_Bremer) joins Chris often. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be radio broadcast. MiLB.TV - Eight of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games, and Biloxi is among them. Only games in Chattanooga and Mobile won't be available. ********** Carolina: RHP Conor Harber at home vs. Frederick (Orioles), 3:45 PM pre-game, 4:00 gametime Free Live Audio Link We look forward to Mudcats audio with Greg Young (@gregyoungjr), especially after going without gameday audio for much of the Brewers' stay in Brevard County. MiLB.TV - Yes, Carolina home games will be on MiLB.TV, sweet. It appears three other Carolina League teams (Salem, Myrtle Beach, and Winston-Salem) broadcast as well. ********** Wisconsin: RHP Braden Webb at home vs. Quad Cities (Astros), 6:20 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime Free Live Audio Link Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio. MiLB.TV - Eight of the 16 Midwest League teams telecast their home games, and Wisconsin, once again, is among them. We'll let you know when a road TV feed is available. In 2017, fifteen games will be broadcast on Spectrum Sports in Wisconsin, available on channel 32 and in HD on channel 1332. We'll keep you posted with our "DVR Alerts" days in advance. *** Helena: RHP Dylan File at Great Falls (White Sox), 7:40 PM pre-game, 8:00 gametime Free Live Audio Link Garrett Greene (@Garrett_Greene) has your H-Crew coverage for 2017 *** Maryvale: at home vs. the size small White Sox, 7:00 PM gametime; never audio for games in this league *** DSL Brewers: at the DSL Cubs' #2 Squad, 9:30 AM DSL Brewers/Indians: at home vs. the DSL Pirates, 9:30 AM For each DSL contest, game data won't be available until later in the day We'll link to this Dominican Summer League Brewers' thread as part of the Daily Menu all season to assist you with your familiarity with these young men. You can also use that link to differentiate between Brewer and Indians' prospects on the co-op team.

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VIDEO REPORT: 2017 20th round RHP Austin Rubick sits down with Sande Charles to discuss development in the AZL Transcript of first five minutes at the link, full video below

VIDEO REPORT: 2017 20th round RHP Austin Rubick sits down with Sande Charles to discuss development in the AZL Transcript of first five minutes at the link, full video below

VIDEO via MontanaSports.com: Excellent report Size not slowing Helena Brewers’ Jose Gomez (Chad McClanahan is the teammate in the video commenting on Jose.)

VIDEO via MontanaSports.com: Excellent report Size not slowing Helena Brewers’ Jose Gomez (Chad McClanahan is the teammate in the video commenting on Jose.)

Final: Great Falls 10, Helena 7 Brewers Lose Shootout At Centene Great Falls uses 9 extra base hits to win high-scoring game in first meeting since June 30 By Garrett Greene / Helena Brewers Photo of RHP Alec Bettinger from prior game at the summary link *** Helena Box Score Tough to lose when you play clean defense and your opponent commits five errors. Three hits, including a triple, for 20-year-old Nic Pierre, now at .319 (only five walks in 199 AB's). Helena Game Log The Brewers had the man they wanted up as a pinch-hitter, but not to be -- Helena Top of the 9th Jay Feliciano reaches on a throwing error by third baseman Amado Nunez. Jay Feliciano to 2nd. Gabriel Garcia pops out to shortstop Max Dutto. Chad McClanahan flies out to right fielder Nolan Brown. Jay Feliciano to 3rd. Payton Henry doubles (9) on a line drive to left fielder Tracy Hadley. Jay Feliciano scores. With Franly Mallen batting, wild pitch by Jhoan Quijada, Payton Henry to 3rd. Franly Mallen walks. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter KJ Harrison replaces Nick Roscetti. KJ Harrison pops out to second baseman Tate Blackman.

Final: Quad Cities 10, Wisconsin 3 Quad Cities Pulls Away Late to Beat Rattlers River Bandits break 3-3 tie with two runs in sixth and five runs in seventh By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Summary linked above... *** *** AUDIO via the Rattler Radio Soundcloud: "Tonight’s Papa John’s Pizza Postgame Podcast features audio from Matt Erickson, Colton Cross, and Mitch Ghelfi. Plus, Chris Mehring & Kyle Lobner talk about the 10–3 loss to the River Bandits." In which we learn Mitch Ghelfi's extended absence was due to thump surgery - ouch. *** Wisconsin Box Score Oh Nattino, will the "stuff" ever translate? Wisconsin Game Log

Final: Colorado Springs 7, Iowa 3 Sky Sox Bounce Back Four-run eighth fuels victory ahead of key series with Oklahoma City By Robby Veronesi / Colorado Springs Sky Sox From the summary you just read, linked above -- Iowa jumped out to a 1-0 lead after one inning of play, but the Sky Sox (72-51) responded and broke their long scoreless drought with two runs in the top of the second to take a 2-1 lead. The first three Sox reached on hits against Iowa starter Pierce Johnson, capped by Nick Noonan's two-run single to score Chris Colabello and Nate Orf. *** Colorado Springs Box Score RHP Michael Blazek got the start as the "TBD" when his outright assignment became official (66 pitches); Brett Phillips doubled and walked twice; Yadiel Rivera 3-for-his-last-34, his 2017 AAA OPS (in the PCL) is down to .579, just above his AAA career line of .578. Couldn't replicate his .717 AA OPS, and it's going to cost him an extended MLB career. Colorado Springs Game Log

Via MiLB.com -- Staked to a 2-0 lead, Frank Duncan came out in the ninth and got ahead, 0-2, against Biloxi leadoff man Angel Ortega. Despite facing a "well-executed" slider, Ortega legged out a broken-bat infield single to end the no-hit bid.

VIDEO TWEET via @BrewerProspect: Zack Brown K Montage *** VIDEO TWEETS via the Mudcats: More Zack Brown Slick middle infield work Monte Harrison double Cooper Hummel RBI double

VIDEO TWEETS via @BrewerProspect: Tyrone Taylor OF Assist Freddy Peralta "K" Inning Montage *** From the Biloxi game summary you read -- "With 17 games remaining in the regular season, the Shuckers will either remain 0.5 games out of first place or fall 1.5 games back depending on the result of Jacksonville's game at Mobile." 0.5 games out it is...

Wisconsin Media Notes: Infielder Keston Hiura has been placed on the Wisconsin disabled list retroactive to August 16. Pitcher Chase Williams has transferred from the Arizona League Brewers to the Timber Rattlers. *** TWEET via Adam McCalvy: Mild left hamstring strain for Hiura

AUDIO via WTMJ Mon. 8/14: "Jeff Levering joins Greg Matzek to break down the Crew's recent stretch and discuss if there's enough left to take the division lead." *** AUDIO via WTMJ Tue. AM 8/15: Craig Counsell *** AUDIO via WTMJ Wed. AM 8/16: Jeff Levering *** AUDIO via WTMJ Thurs. AM 8/17: GM David Stearns *** AUDIO via WTMJ Thurs. 8/17: "Fox Sports' Craig Coshun joins Greg Matzek to talk about the Crew's recent homestand and what the future West Coast stretch brings." *** AUDIO via WTMJ Thurs. AM 8/17: WTMJ's Matt Pauley