MassBrew

Indy Honors Jim Rushford: Jim Rushford has been named the Indianapolis Indians Player of the Month for July and will receive a specially-designed commemorative watch from Windsor Jewelers prior to tonight's game. Rushford led the Indians in three offensive categories in July. The 29-year-old paced the team with 31 base hits, 19 runs batted in and 11 walks. In 27 games during the month, Rushford batted .298 with three doubles, three home runs and 12 runs scored. Rushford, who saw action at first base, left field and right field in July, posted 12 multi-hit games and reached base safely in 24 of 27 games. For the season, he ranks fifth in the International League with a .316 batting average. Rushford was the Indians Most Valuable Player in 2002 when he led the team with a .316 average, 128 hits, 33 doubles, 68 RBI and a .391 on-base percentage. He was also honored as the team's player of the month last July. The Indians select a player of the month each month from April-August. The winning player receives a special watch from Windsor Jewelers. Outfielder Mark Smith, pitcher David Manning and outfielder Pete Zoccolillo have previously been honored this season. At the end of the season, Windsor Jewelers will present the Indians Most Valuable Player with a championship-style diamond ring.

Daily Press High Desert Game Story: Santana steals a victory for Mavericks By MICHAEL ROTHSTEIN Staff Writer LANCASTER -- Ralph Santana couldn't remember ever stealing four bases in a professional game before. Santana has stolen two bags on many occasions, including on Apr. 11 against Lake Elsinore, but never before had he had a quartet. Until Saturday. Santana swiped four bags off Lancaster, leading to two runs scored en route to a 6-4 win for High Desert over the JetHawks. "It's my job to get on base and steal," Santana said. "I picked up both pitchers' moves pretty well tonight. I had it down. "As a base stealer it's like hitting. Once you get in a rhythm you steal some bases." High Desert attempted seven steals on Lancaster backup catcher Joe Wilkins, completing five. The majority of the steals came not from High Desert's steal leader Chris Morris ? he had one ? but rather from secondary stealing option Santana. Entering Saturday, Santana was third in steals on High Desert with 19. By the end of the game, he had tied No. 2 Johnny Raburn with 23 on the season. Santana's swipes all came within his first three at-bats, all singles. In the first inning, Santana stole second with cleanup hitter Daryl Clark batting. Clark later grounded to shortstop Danny Richar to end the inning. "I had the green light all the way," Santana said. "I was just picking my pitches on when to go. You're always taking a chance when you're stealing." Santana refused to give up his stealing secret, citing High Desert still faces Lancaster eight more times. In the third, Santana stole with No. 3 batter Scott Candelaria up and later came into score on a Candelaria single to make the score 3-1. Santana's single in the third scored Morris. In his next at-bat during the fifth inning, Santana became even more aggressive. After another single, Santana stole second with Candelaria up. The next pitch Santana took off for third, easily beating the Wilkins throw for stolen base No. 4. "We were on base," High Desert manager Tim Blackwell said. "That's the difference. We have to get on base. We've had other opportunities when we have not been there but we were on base. "When we get on base, we like to run." Entering Saturday, High Desert was second in the California League with 136 stolen bases. Bakersfield led the league with 138. The four thefts failed to represent an all-time high for Santana. While the right fielder attended Lake Sumter Community College in Florida, he stole seven bases in a game. Seven steals happens to be the California League record, held by major leaguers Lee Mazzilli in 1975 and all-time stolen base king Rickey Henderson in 1977. High Desert had added offense from Ozzie Chavez, who hit his third home run of the season in the fourth inning to make the score 5-1. Lancaster right fielder Jay Garthwaite cut High Desert's lead to two runs with a mammoth home run to left field in the sixth, easily clearing the Hangar and landing somewhere on or beyond Avenue I running parallel to the left field fence. Daily Press High Desert Weekly Notes Column: Daryl Clark quotes, and if I read this correctly, the famous "Chicken" easily grosses $800,000 a year, minimum... www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...795,96456,

The Brewers have signed former farmhand LHP Derrin Ebert, who appeared in 50 games for Indianapolis in 2002. However, Ebert will be providing a nice boost to the High Desert staff, and will be starting for the Mavericks Tuesday. Ebert's brother Darrel works in the Maverick front office. Ebert went to school in Hesperia which is part of the High Desert. Ebert will be 27 in August. He'a appeared in AAA this year in the Cub and Diamondback systems. If a AAA team comes calling, he apparantly has an out in his contract to sign with them, so him coming to HD is basically for innings as well as a favor to the Mavericks (and Ebert, as logistically and family-wise, everything made sense). Derrin Ebert's 2003 Numbers: www.baseballamerica.com/c...ebert%2C+d Nice job by the Brewers here for the Mavs...

Sunday's Daily Menu : Three evening audio alternatives for you, and nice choices to check out among the three starting pitchers going in tonight's action... We'll be plugging in the standings for playoff-contending Huntsville and Beloit within the Daily Menu while pertinent; Huntsville's fighting for a second-half crown that would provide additional home field advantage in the playoffs; Beloit's looking to qualify with a second-half division championship -- they can also automatically qualify with a second-place finish. We'll begin to include the Arizona Brewers here as well soon (now 4-1 in the second half). (Actually, today, our sources for easily postable "Standings" were unavailable as of "post time" -- sorry) All times Central; pitchers subject to change; pre-game audio begins approx. 15 minutes prior to game time listed... INDIANAPOLIS: LHP Luis Martinez at home vs. Durham (Devil Rays), 6:00 PM; will his scoreless streak continue beyond today? Audio link: www.newstalk1430.com/ HUNTSVILLE: RHP Ben Hendrickson at Birmingham (White Sox), 6:00 PM Audio link: espn1450.com/ HIGH DESERT: LHP Chad Petty at Lancaster (Diamondbacks), 7:00 PM Audio link: www.hdmavs.com/listen_live.htm BELOIT: RHP Luis Pena at home vs. Dayton (Reds), 2:00 PM Audio link (opponent's): www.streamaudio.com/liste...on=WHIO_AM HELENA: The Brewers continue their series in Great Falls (White Sox); no starting pitcher information available as of "post time"; no web audio for this 5:00 PM affair ARIZONA: Against the Royals (Team Two) squad... Have a great Sunday everyone -- I'll be checking in late this evening...

Arizona Brewers 8, Arizona Athletics 2 Arizona Box Score: 19-year-old LH hitting Dominican OF Fausto Mejia, the ninth man in the order, your offensive catalyst; RHP Brian Rauch, a 23-year-old undrafted free agent signing this spring, and 20-year-old RHP Wington Flandes (Concepcion), a product of the Dominican Summer League, combine to close the game out with five perfect innings in this combined two-hit effort... GAME DATE: 8/02/03 ATHLETICS 2 AT BREWERS 8 YTD YTD ATHLETICS AB R H BI AVG BREWERS AB R H BI AVG J.Mejia 2B 3 1 0 0 .361 W. Lewis 2B 5 0 1 3 .276 J.Acosta SS 2 0 0 0 .273 F.Plasencia CF 4 0 2 1 .284 D.Sutton CAT 4 1 1 1 .350 G.Acosta SS 4 0 0 0 .333 T.Klipnstein LF 3 0 1 1 .322 A.Mannon RF 4 0 0 0 .279 J.Garcia CF 3 0 0 0 .316 D.Bates LF 0 0 0 0 .290 G.Petit 3B 3 0 0 0 .253 C.Corporan 1B 4 1 1 0 .273 E.Macha 1B 3 0 0 0 .150 B.Opdyke CAT 3 1 1 0 .244 P.Maldonado DH 3 0 0 0 .225 C.Lozada DH 2 2 1 0 .355 J.Beauregard RF 3 0 0 0 .245 T.McCormack 3B 4 1 1 0 .242 A.Sanchez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Mejia LF 4 3 3 3 .300 M.Tovar PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Mejia RF 0 0 0 0 .300 J.Granado PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Morrison PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Rauch PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 W.Concepcion PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 27 2 2 2 TOTALS 34 8 10 7 ATHLETICS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 2 2 3 BREWERS 0 0 2 0 3 0 1 2 X- 8 10 0 E--G.Petit, E.Macha, J.Beauregard. DP--ATHLETICS 0, BREWERS 0. LOB--ATHLETICS 1, BREWERS 5. 2B--B.Opdyke (5), F.Mejia (4). CS-- F.Plasencia. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA ATHLETICS A.Sanchez (L,2-4) 5.0 6 5 4 1 5 0 5.18 M.Tovar 2.0 3 2 1 2 1 0 5.84 J.Granado 1.0 1 1 0 0 1 0 14.04 BREWERS T.Morrison 4.0 2 2 2 3 3 0 6.95 B.Rauch (W,2-2) 3.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.00 W.Concepcion 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 WP--J.Granado, T.Morrison. PB--D.Sutton 3, B.Opdyke. SO--D.Sutton 2, T.Klipnstein, J.Garcia, P.Maldonado 3, W. Lewis, A.Mannon 3, B.Opdyke 2, T.McCormack. BB--J.Mejia, J.Acosta 2, B.Opdyke, C.Lozada 2. T--2:18.

High Desert Site Game Summary: Lancaster, CA ? Ralph Santana had one of the Mavs' best offensive performances of the 2003 season on Saturday night, as the High Desert Mavericks beat the Lancaster JetHawks by a final score of 6-4 at the Hangar in Lancaster. Santana went 3-4 with two runs scored, an RBI and a season-best four stolen bases. Santana's great night helped Mavs' starter Danny Kolb pick up his first win in his last seven decisions. Kolb (4-9) went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, helping the Mavs to end their two-game losing streak. Trailing 1-0 in the second inning, Froilan Villanueva doubled and later scored on Jeremy Frost's sac fly to right field. With the game tied at 1-1 in the third, the Mavs took the lead for good, as Santana and Scott Candelaria each had run-scoring hits as the Mavs went up 3-1. Ozzie Chavez connected for his third homer of the year in the fourth, a two-run blast to right field off JetHawks starter Justin Wechsler (8-9), giving the Mavs a comfortable 5-1 lead. Kolb allowed a run in the bottom of the fourth, as Edgar Varela tripled and scored on a ground ball by Mike Thiessen, making the score 5-2. The Mavs got that run back in the next frame though thanks to Santana. After leading off the fifth with a bunt single, Santana stole second and then third on consecutive pitches. He then scored on a ground ball by Candelaria, who finished the night with two hits and two runs batted in. Jay Garthwaite's two-run homer down the left field line in the sixth pulled Lancaster to within two at 6-4. Aaron Dean came out of the Mavs bullpen with one on and one away in the bottom of the seventh. He struck out the only two hitters he faced to keep the lead at two. After allowing a leadoff hit in the eighth, Dean retired the next three men, including the final two via strikeout. The right-handed reliever worked a total of 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in his first appearance since straining his groin last weekend in Rancho Cucamonga. Dean's scoreless work set up Bobby Bystrowski who drove the nail in the coffin for the second time in as many appearances. Bystrowski allowed a leadoff bunt single to Joe Wilkins in the ninth, but retired the next three men to pick up his 13th save of the year. The Mavs try to make it two straight on Sunday evening, as they face the JetHawks in the final game of the three-game series and the final game of the Mavs' 10-game road trip. Chad Petty (0-8) throws against Lancaster's Doug Slaten on Sunday at 5:00 (7:00 Central). The Mavs return to Mavericks Stadium on Monday, August 4th as they face Rancho Cucamonga.

Helena Independent Record Game Story: www.helenair.com/articles...303_03.txt Helena Site Game Summary: Helena ousted Great Falls in 12 innings Saturday night at Legion Field in Great Falls. Helena trailed early, but rallied in the ninth to even the score. Helena then led by one going into the bottom of the 11th, but Great Falls pushed one across. Helena then scored two in the top of the 12th. Dana Eveland gave off a lead of triple to start the home half of the 12th, but did not allow the run to score to pick up the victory for Helena. The game was three hours and 52 minutes, the longest of the season in both innings and time. Helena and Great Falls go back at it again Sunday afternoon at 4 PM (5:00 Central). Helena Box Score: 1B/DH Manny Ramirez 4-for-5 with a sacrifice fly; much-needed nice efforts by RHP's Dan Grybash and Brian Montalbo in relief as well... GAME DATE: 8/02/03 HELENA 9 AT GREAT FALLS 7 (EXTRA INNINGS) YTD YTD HELENA AB R H BI AVG GREAT FALLS AB R H BI AVG G.Rodriguez 2B 6 1 1 1 .222 A.Gray 2B 5 1 2 0 .312 T.Trofholz CF 6 1 3 1 .355 R.Nanita CF 1 1 0 1 .390 L.Palmisano CAT 4 0 1 0 .373 M.Myers SS 5 0 2 2 .293 B.Whitney 1B 2 0 0 0 .333 C.Lee DH 6 0 0 0 .304 D.Anderson LF 5 3 3 0 .338 S.Morris RF 6 0 1 0 .275 V.Rottino CAT 1 1 1 1 .345 C.King LF 6 1 2 0 .280 V.Rottino 1B 4 1 0 0 .345 C.Lisk CAT 4 2 1 0 .262 M.Ramirez DH 5 1 4 2 .382 M.Schnurstei 3B 5 1 1 0 .230 J.Barnes 3B 6 0 2 2 .269 C.Kelly 1B 4 0 2 3 .221 R.Deevers RF 3 0 1 1 .305 C.Haggerty PR 0 1 0 0 .258 M.Melo PH 1 0 0 0 .265 C.Haggerty 1B 0 0 0 0 .258 M.Melo RF 1 1 1 0 .265 F.Dizard PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Gomez SS 6 0 0 0 .227 M.Nachreiner PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Ramirez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Little PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Montalbo PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Johnson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Grybash PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Surratt PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Eveland PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Hernandez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Moviel PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 50 9 17 8 TOTALS 42 7 11 6 HELENA 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 1 2- 9 17 4 GREAT FALLS 0 2 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0- 7 11 8 E--L.Palmisano 2, D.Anderson, A.Gomez, A.Gray 3, R.Nanita, M.Myers, S.Morris, C.Lisk, F.Hernandez. DP--HELENA 1, GREAT FALLS 0. LOB-- HELENA 12, GREAT FALLS 9. 2B--D.Anderson (9), M.Ramirez (13), R.Deevers (8), M.Melo (2), M.Myers (8), S.Morris (8), C.Kelly 2 (10). 3B--C.King (3). SB--R.Nanita 2 (8), C.King (3), C.Lisk 2 (4). HBP--R.Nanita. SF-- M.Ramirez, R.Nanita. SH--B.Whitney, R.Deevers, R.Nanita, M.Myers. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HELENA C.Ramirez 5.0 8 4 4 2 3 0 2.60 B.Montalbo 3.0 1 2 0 2 4 0 5.63 D.Grybash 2.0 0 0 0 1 3 0 4.15 D.Eveland (W,1-1) 2.0 2 1 0 1 2 0 2.29 GREAT FALLS F.Dizard 5.0 5 1 1 1 1 0 3.60 M.Nachreiner 1.2 3 3 1 2 0 0 11.42 J.Little 0.1 2 0 0 0 0 0 4.82 J.Johnson 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.38 R.Surratt 0.1 1 1 0 0 1 0 3.57 F.Hernandez 2.2 3 2 1 1 0 0 1.76 P.Moviel (L,0-2) 1.0 3 2 2 0 0 0 8.16 HB--B.Montalbo. WP--B.Montalbo. PB--C.Lisk. SO--G.Rodriguez, T.Trofholz, B.Whitney, R.Deevers, A.Gray 3, M.Myers 3, C.Lee, C.King 3, M.Schnurstei, C.Kelly. BB--G.Rodriguez, T.Trofholz, D.Anderson, V.Rottino, A.Gray, R.Nanita 2, C.Lisk 2, C.Kelly. T--3:52. A--3298

Dayton Site Game Summary (where's Beloit's?): Beloit, WI - The Dayton Dragons (19-22, 55-57) opened up an eight game, nine-day road trip at Pohlman Field against the Beloit Snappers (28-14,60-49) and the team?s struggles away from Fifth Third Field continued. The Dragons dropped the opening game of the series by a 6-0 count on Saturday night and lost its 11th game on the road in its last 12 tries. The Snappers picked up single runs off Thomas Pauly (L, 1-2) in each of the first three innings to take a 3-0 advantage. Pauly?s pitch count had him chased early, as he hit his maximum number through 3.0 innings of work. Prince Fielder knocked home his MWL leading 93rd RBI in the first for a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the second, the Snappers executed the ?safety squeeze? with John Vanden Berg scoring on the sacrifice bunt from Kennard Bibbs. Vanden Berg got in the act in the third with an RBI hit of his own to make the score 3-0. Beloit added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning off Dayton reliever Carlos Guevara (ND). Bibbs added his second RBI of the night, with an RBI single that plated Vanden Berg for a 5-0 lead. Chas Terni, who reached on a single, later scored on a wild pitch for a 5-0 Beloit lead. Kyle Edens (ND) made his Dragons debut in the seventh and the first pitch he threw was hammered over the wall in right for a solo HR by Travis Hinton, for a 6-0 lead. Starter Calvin Carpenter (W, 2-3) held the Dragons to four hits and didn?t allow a base runner past second all night as he picked up his third win of the year, shutting the Dragons out for 6.0 innings. Khalid Ballouli (S, 2) pitched the final 3.0 innings to earn the save. The Dragons and Snappers continue the four game series Sunday afternoon, with a 3 PM first pitch. News Talk 1290 WHIO will broadcast the game beginning with the pre game show at 2:30 PM. The Dragons will start RHP Gorky Batista, while Beloit will counter with RHP Luis Pena.

High Desert Box Score: Nice game all around; huge night for Ralph Santana, with three hits and four stolen bases... GAME DATE: 8/02/03 HIGH DESERT 6 AT LANCASTER 4 YTD YTD HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG LANCASTER AB R H BI AVG C.Morris CF 4 1 1 0 .264 M.Williams CF 4 0 1 0 .293 R.Santana RF 4 2 3 1 .279 D.Richar SS 5 1 3 0 .319 S.Candelaria 3B 4 0 2 2 .285 D.Uggla 2B 5 0 0 0 .295 D.Clark LF 4 0 1 0 .341 S.Neal 1B 3 0 1 1 .368 F.Villanueva DH 4 1 1 0 .294 K.Nichols DH 3 1 1 0 .321 J.Raburn 2B 4 0 2 0 .271 J.Garthwaite RF 4 1 1 2 .311 J.Frost 1B 3 1 1 1 .272 E.Varela 3B 4 1 2 0 .288 O.Chavez SS 3 1 1 2 .229 M.Thiessen LF 4 0 0 1 .286 J.Alvarado CAT 4 0 0 0 .139 J.Wilkins CAT 4 0 1 0 .222 D.Kolb PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Wechsler PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Dean PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Medlin PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Bystrowski PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Biggs PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Sikaras PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 34 6 12 6 TOTALS 36 4 10 4 HIGH DESERT 0 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0- 6 12 1 LANCASTER 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0- 4 10 0 E--S.Candelaria. DP--HIGH DESERT 1, LANCASTER 0. LOB--HIGH DESERT 4, LANCASTER 8. 2B--F.Villanueva (18), S.Neal (3). 3B--E.Varela (2). HR--O.Chavez (3), J.Garthwaite (17). SB--C.Morris (55), R.Santana 4 (23), D.Uggla (21), J.Garthwaite (3). CS--C.Morris, J.Raburn, M.Williams. SF--J.Frost. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HIGH DESERT D.Kolb (W,4-9) 6.1 8 4 4 3 3 1 6.40 A.Dean 1.2 1 0 0 0 4 0 6.36 B.Bystrowski (S,13) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.53 LANCASTER J.Wechsler (L,8-9) 3.1 8 5 5 0 0 1 5.25 C.Medlin 3.2 3 1 1 1 4 0 6.32 B.Biggs 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.31 P.Sikaras 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.47 SO--C.Morris, D.Clark, F.Villanueva 2, J.Frost 2, J.Alvarado, D.Richar, D.Uggla, S.Neal, K.Nichols, E.Varela, M.Thiessen, J.Wilkins. BB-- C.Morris, O.Chavez, M.Williams, S.Neal, K.Nichols. T--3:01. A--4415

Huntsville Site Game Summary: www.huntsvillestars.com/s...newsId=252 Huntsville Times Weekly Notes Column: Interesting discussion on autographs... www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...455950.xml Hey, David Weiser's back! David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville Update: NO BREAK FOR NOLASCOThe Stars won 6 of 7 while I was gone (no wisecracky, please. I know what you're going to say). J.J. Hardy suffered through an 0-for-20 slump, Corey Hart tied a club record with his third grand-slam of the season, David Nolasco made his Huntsville Stars debut, Matt Childers was promoted to Indianapolis, and Derek Lee pitched probably the greatest game of his career, a stunning 1-hitter over 7 1/3 scoreless innings against Durham, striking out nine........ I came back from New Jersey on Thursday, after seeing Bruce Springsteen at Giants Stadium, the New Jersey Cardinals in Sussex County, my cousin Diana in Hoboken, and Clete Boyer in Cooperstown......... I also came back with the worst cold, I kid you not, I've had in years, which accounts for not getting back to this site until this night. The Stars finished strong in July to pull off their 8th consecutive winning month........ They did it in spite of the fact that Dave Krynzel hit just .237 and Hardy just .241......... Offensively, the Stars were led in July by Ryan Gripp, who hit .392, 5-for-8 as a pinch-hitter, and Hart with 19 RBIs, and whose 10 doubles was the most since Steve Scarborough hit 11 in April 2002. Brandon Gemoll had his finest month of the season, hitting .312 with 9 doubles and 12 RBIs........ Overall, the Stars hit just .244......... The pitching enabled the Stars to make use of what offense they could muster. The rotation had a July ERA of 3.42, while the pen chalked up a 3.19 ERA. Now comes the chase. Birmingham close at the Stars heels, in fact tying them for first after Saturday night, is expected to show the determination and the pitching depth in an effort to spoil the Stars' shot at winning both halves, with one more series left this season after Sunday. Neal Cotts tonight was just a whisker away from starting tonight for the Chicago White Sox (they decided to call up Jamey Wright instead). As a result, Nolasco was mismatched against Cotts, rather than face a spot starter. The line on Nolasco looks rather bad, but let's give him some credit....... He struggled to get out of the first, but got out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam after one was already in. He gave up five in the 5th inning before Brian Adams was called upon to put in a sparkling three innings of relief. Despite a strikeout-walk ratio worse than 1:1, Adams has a 1.62 ERA against league opponents since the start of July. The Barons' might never have scored those five runs if Nolasco hadn't have got a backhand glove on Jeremy Reed's hard two-hopper in the direction of the mound. The deflection turned a double-play ball into a double, as Hardy was caught flat-footed in one direction as the ball went up the middle...... Josh Shaffer scored and Danny Sandoval scooted into third, and a rally was born...... Gabe Alvarez hit a ground-rule double to score Sandoval and Reed, making the score 4-0, and Carlos Maldonado's sacrifice fly completed the scoring. Cotts beat the Stars for the third time in as many starts this season. Previously, he had outdueled Luis Martinez and Pedro Liriano, but this one was arguably the most impressive....... After 19 1/3 innings, Cotts has given the Stars just a run on 11 hits, striking out 24 and walking 5. Let's hope the White Sox give him a permanent call before the playoffs, if we have to face the Barons for the division title....... The Stars had to wait for Jake Meyer in the 9th inning to get something going....... J.J. was hit by a pitch, but erased on a throw from Chad Durham on a bloop hit by Hart. With one out, Gemoll walked on a 3-2 pitch, sending Corey to second. Brad Nelson then singled up the middle to drive him in. A wild pitch moved Gemoll to 3rd and Nelson to 2nd with Kade Johnson, 9-for-45 against Birmingham this year, the batter....... But Johnson hit a bouncing ball to third to end the game. The Stars and Barons will be done at Hoover Met this year, Sunday, unless they're back for the playoffs...... Ben Hendrickson (5-3, 2.57) will be matched against Enemencio Pacheco (9-2, 2.82). Pacheco, 7th among ERA leaders in the Southern League, has a 3.92 ERA against the Stars this year and a win and a loss in four meetings....... The blank job by Cotts should put him on top of the ERA leaderboard, shoving off Mike Jones, who was just .01 ahead of Cotts after Friday's game.

Indianapolis Star Game Story: Rushford and Cooper briefly mention the game's pivotal play... www.indystar.com/print/ar...7-036.html

Beloit 6, Dayton (Reds) 0 Snappers now playing .667 ball over 42 games in the second half (28-14) -- wow! RHP's Calvin Carpenter and Khalid Ballouli combine on a 7-hitter. More details to follow shortly...

Well, Gord Ash admitted this week that soon-to-be 31-year-old David Manning is making the start tonight because it "was his turn to pitch". On one note, it's nice to see a guy rewarded after pursuing his dream for 12 minor league seasons, including a lost 2001 season due to injury. On the other hand, Manning had been pretty run-of-the-mill poor at Indy the last few weeks, so it's really up to him as to whether this will be his only opportunity. The Brewers won't need a fifth starter again until next Saturday, and Luis Martinez (pitching tomorrow at Indy) will be available on normal rest next weekend. Oh yeah, facing Javier Vazquez won't help things any...

Saturday's Daily Menu : We'll be plugging in the standings for playoff-contending Huntsville and Beloit within the Daily Menu while pertinent; Huntsville's fighting for a second-half crown that would provide additional home field advantage in the playoffs; Beloit's looking to qualify with a second-half division championship -- they can also automatically qualify with a second-place finish. Hopefully we'll begin to include the Arizona Brewers here as well soon (now 3-1 in the second half). All times Central; pitchers subject to change; pre-game audio begins approx. 15 minutes prior to game time listed... INDIANAPOLIS: RHP Ben Ford at home vs. Durham (Devil Rays), 7:00 PM; this will be Ford's fourth start in 21 Indy appearances, but it's been a while -- look for a limited-innings outing Audio link: www.newstalk1430.com/ HUNTSVILLE: The Stars play Birmingham (White Sox) again, but the scene shifts to the Barons' ballpark; RHP David Nolasco makes his second Stars' start, 7:00 PM; will David head to the pen after this one? You'd think yes, unless something happens with Jones - Liriano - Hendrickson - Housman - Shelley. Very tough matchup tonight against top White Sox prospect Neal Cotts Audio link: espn1450.com/ WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]*HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 22 17 .564[/b] BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 21 18 .538 1.0 MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 20 18 .526 1.5 WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 19 20 .487 3.0 CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS (CINCINNATI) 17 23 .425 5.5HIGH DESERT: RHP Dan Kolb at Lancaster (Diamondbacks), 9:05 PM Audio link: www.hdmavs.com/listen_live.htm BELOIT: Finally, the Snappers return home after a very successful road trip, as they host Dayton (Reds), 7:00 PM. It's a bit puzzling why the Snappers haven't announced Calvin Carpenter as this evening's starter yet (TBD) -- Carpenter last pitched five innings on Sunday Audio link (opponent's): www.daytondragons.com/str...games.html WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 27 14 .659[/b] CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 25 17 .595 2.5 *KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 23 18 .561 4.0 PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 23 19 .548 4.5 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 21 21 .500 6.5 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 19 23 .452 8.5 %WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 17 24 .415 10.0 QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 16 26 .381 11.5 HELENA: LHP Carlos Ramirez at Great Falls (White Sox), 8:00 PM; Ramirez once again announced as your starting pitcher, so he's fine; bummer, no Helena audio this weekend ARIZONA: RHP Tyler Morrison makes his sixth start as the Maryvale kids host the lower case A's tonight; the 2003 10th round pick out of a California high school is the only Arizona pitcher not to make a relief appearance this season. The lower case A's -- I crack myself up...

Daily Press High Desert Game Story: www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...873,98756,

Helena Independent Record Game Story: www.helenair.com/articles...203_03.txt

High Desert Site Game Summary: Lancaster, CA ? Keith Whatley threw his first complete game of his professional career on Friday night, as the Lancaster JetHawks defeated the High Desert Mavericks by a final score of 5-2 at the Hangar in Lancaster. Jeremy Frost's two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning ruined what could have been a complete game shutout for Whatley. Despite allowing Frost's sixth home run of the year, Whatley (3-2) still picked up the win, getting Johnny Raburn to ground out to end the game. The Mavs were off-balance all night against the left-hander, collecting just six base hits through the first eight innings. Whatley only walked one, while striking out two on the game. The JetHawks got an unearned run to take a 1-0 lead off Mavs starter Dan Hall (6-10) in the second. With Kyle Nichols at second base and one out, Edgar Varela grounded back to Hall. Nichols got caught between second and third and was tagged out by third baseman Raburn. On the play, Varela tried to take second base. Raburn's throw to second sailed into right field and allowed Varela to score the game's first run. The JetHawks added two in the third, as Jaime Jones collected a two-run single to make it 3-0. Hall would last only three frames, as he's still working with a low pitch count after having mild tendonitis in his right shoulder. Former Mav Steve Neal's two-out base hit to right field knocked in two runs, as the JetHawks made it 5-0 against reliever Jeff Hundley. Justin Backsmeyer followed Hundley's three innings, with two scoreless frames. The Mavs have now lost two straight and fall to 9-32 in the second half. Overall, High Desert is now 43 games under .500 for the first time this year, at 34-77. Danny Kolb (3-9) throws for the Mavs on Saturday in Lancaster. The JetHawks will counter with Justin Wechsler (8-8). Game time is 7:15 (9:15 Central) from the Hangar. The Mavs return to Mavericks Stadium on Monday as they face Rancho Cucamonga.

Huntsville Times Game Story: Quotes from Mike Jones -- thank goodness the mature young man spoke up as soon as he experienced discomfort, unlike so many others... www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...536482.xml

Indianapolis Star Game Story: 2B Rich Paz, off to a .412 start (1.003 OPS) in his first six games at AAA, is in your "Action Shot"; otherwise no quotes, just a rehash from the Indy site... www.indystar.com/print/ar...5-036.html

In terms of wins and losses, a pretty bad night. Beloit wins on just two base hits, and even there Tony Gwynn is now "mired" in a slump, and Dennis Sarfate walks four in five innings, and while we won't quibble with his scoreless effort (oh wait, I guess we are), it looks as though his pitch count may have limited him to only the five innings -- a bit of a season-long issue for the right-hander with an otherwise impressive 9-2 record. Brad Nelson with three of Huntsville's five hits, and you have to wonder just how much J.J. Hardy is pressing at the plate.

Billings (Reds) 9, Helena 8 Helena Box Score: Brewers finally meet their match on the basepaths, going only 1-for-4 in SB attempts; Helena pitching has been weak as of late, putting it mildly; Judd Richardson bumped up in the rotation in front of Carlos Ramirez -- hopefully everything's all right with Carlos, the prized 18-year-old (19 in two weeks)... HELENA AB R H BI AVG BILLINGS AB R H BI AVG G.Rodriguez 2B 4 1 0 0 .225 L.Bolivar SS 5 0 2 0 .419 T.Trofholz CF 5 0 2 0 .349 T.Cairns 3B 5 1 2 0 .333 L.Palmisano CAT 3 0 1 1 .377 J.Votto 1B 5 2 3 0 .354 D.Anderson LF 5 1 2 0 .328 M.Perez CAT 5 2 1 0 .361 V.Rottino 1B 3 1 2 0 .351 W.Olmstead LF 4 2 2 3 .275 V.Rottino 3B 1 0 0 0 .351 B.Himes RF 4 1 2 1 .311 M.Ramirez DH 5 2 3 0 .361 R.Mosby DH 2 1 1 3 .219 J.Barnes 3B 3 1 1 0 .265 C.Dickerson CF 4 0 2 1 .210 B.Whitney PH 0 0 0 1 .341 D.Beale 2B 4 0 0 0 .216 B.Whitney 1B 1 1 1 0 .341 C.Vazquez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Deevers RF 4 1 1 2 .304 C.Medlock PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Gomez SS 5 0 2 2 .242 M.Wells PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Richardson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 O.Escorcha PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.McKenna PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Shafer PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Slack PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 39 8 15 6 TOTALS 38 9 15 8 HELENA 0 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 1- 8 15 2 BILLINGS 0 1 0 2 2 2 0 2 X- 9 15 3 E--J.Barnes, A.Gomez, L.Bolivar, J.Votto, M.Perez. DP--HELENA 0, BILLINGS 0. LOB--HELENA 11, BILLINGS 9. 2B--M.Ramirez (12). 3B-- B.Whitney (1). HR--W.Olmstead (9), R.Mosby (6). SB--G.Rodriguez (17), L.Bolivar (7), T.Cairns (1), J.Votto (4). CS--T.Trofholz, V.Rottino, R.Deevers, L.Bolivar, B.Himes. SF--L.Palmisano, R.Mosby. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HELENA J.Richardson 3.1 5 3 3 2 4 1 5.46 D.McKenna 2.0 6 4 3 1 1 0 7.84 N.Slack (L,1-1) 2.2 4 2 2 0 6 1 2.08 BILLINGS C.Vazquez 2.0 5 4 2 2 1 0 3.12 C.Medlock 3.0 4 0 0 1 2 0 2.08 M.Wells 1.1 3 3 3 2 1 0 1.31 O.Escorcha (W,4-0) 1.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 1.99 D.Shafer (S,7) 1.0 2 1 1 0 3 0 2.19 WP--D.McKenna, N.Slack. SO--G.Rodriguez, D.Anderson, M.Ramirez, J.Barnes, R.Deevers 2, A.Gomez, J.Votto 2, M.Perez 3, W.Olmstead, B.Himes 2, R.Mosby, C.Dickerson, D.Beale. BB--G.Rodriguez 2, L.Palmisano, V.Rottino, B.Whitney, R.Deevers, W.Olmstead, B.Himes, R.Mosby. T--3:48. A--4295

Lancaster (Diamondbacks) 5, High Desert 2 High Desert Box Score: Two run HR from Jeremy Frost in the ninth hardly enough.. HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG LANCASTER AB R H BI AVG C.Morris CF 4 0 1 0 .264 M.Williams CF 4 2 2 0 .294 T.West 2B 4 0 1 0 .245 D.Uggla 2B 2 1 2 0 .299 D.Clark LF 3 0 0 0 .343 D.Uggla 3B 1 0 0 0 .299 S.Candelaria 1B 4 1 2 0 .282 D.Firlit SS 0 0 0 0 .368 F.Villanueva CAT 4 0 1 0 .295 J.Jones RF 2 0 1 2 .302 R.Santana RF 4 0 0 0 .273 M.Thiessen LF 1 0 0 0 .292 J.Frost DH 4 1 2 2 .270 S.Neal 1B 4 0 1 2 .375 J.Raburn 3B 4 0 0 0 .268 K.Nichols DH 2 0 2 0 .321 O.Chavez SS 3 0 1 0 .227 J.Garthwaite LF 3 0 0 0 .311 D.Hall PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Garthwaite RF 0 0 0 0 .311 J.Hundley PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 E.Varela 3B 3 1 0 0 .271 J.Backsmeyer PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.DiRosa CAT 3 0 0 0 .230 D.Richar 2B 0 0 0 0 .314 D.Richar SS 3 1 1 0 .314 K.Whatley PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 34 2 8 2 TOTALS 28 5 9 4 HIGH DESERT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2- 2 8 1 LANCASTER 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 X- 5 9 1 E--J.Raburn, D.Uggla. DP--HIGH DESERT 3, LANCASTER 0. LOB--HIGH DESERT 6, LANCASTER 2. HR--J.Frost (6). SB--D.Uggla (20). CS--D.Clark. HBP-- J.Jones. SH--D.Uggla. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HIGH DESERT D.Hall (L,6-10) 3.0 4 3 2 1 0 0 6.80 J.Hundley 3.0 5 2 2 0 1 0 4.37 J.Backsmeyer 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.30 LANCASTER K.Whatley (W,3-2) 9.0 8 2 2 1 2 1 4.50 HB--J.Hundley. BALKS--D.Hall, J.Hundley. SO--R.Santana, J.Raburn, S.Neal, M.DiRosa. BB--D.Clark, K.Nichols. T--2:33. A--4125

Phillies' Kevin Millwood perfect through five vs. SD.

Indianapolis Media Notes for Friday: Win a car tonight! Bullpen game Saturday? Who starts? TONIGHT: The Indians look to match their longest winning streak of the season with a fifth consecutive victory. The Tribe has won four in a row for the fourth time this season. A win tonight would equal the five-game streak the Indians put together from June 20-24. In the four wins, the Indians pitching staff has allowed five earned runs in 36.0 IP (1.25 ERA). The Tribe starters have allowed five earned runs in 26.2 IP (1.69 ERA). The Tribe continues a four-game series with the Durham Bulls. Durham leads the season series five games to four. The teams had each swept a two-game series in their home parks before the teams met in Durham last weekend. The Bulls took three of four in that series outscoring the Tribe 34-19. The Indians avoided a sweep by winning the final game 9-4. Jared Sandberg and Jeff Liefer, who combined for 11 hits and eight RBI in the series, were both recalled by Tampa Bay yesterday. ROSTER MOVE: RHP Matt Childers has been promoted from Double-A Huntsville and will join his brother Jason on the Tribe roster. Matt went 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA and eight saves in 36 games for the Stars. He allowed just one earned run over his last 19.2 innings as he recorded two saves in six appearances. Childers made three relief appearances for the Indians last season tossing 5.0 scoreless innings. THE "HOME" STRETCH: The final month of the season will truly be the "home" stretch for the Indians. From July 29 through Aug. 30, the Tribe will play 22 home games in 33 days. The Indians are 3-0 in that stretch. The final 16 games of the year will be against IL West rivals. The Tribe has won seven of its last nine home games, including five straight which is the longest home winning streak of the year. HOMESTAND HIGHLIGHTS: Tonight is Win-A-Car Night. Ten lucky fans will win cars. Saturday is Card Set and Autograph Night. The first 4,000 fans receive a 2003 Indians team card set, and Indians players will sign autographs from 5:45-6:30. On Sunday, the first 4,000 fans will receive a pair of Tribe sunglasses. YESTERDAY: Derek Lee and Shane Nance combined on the second one-hitter of an opponent in Victory Field history. Lee was perfect through 6.0 innings before allowing a lead-off single to Jason Tyner in the seventh. Lee struck out a season-high nine before departing after 7.2 innings. Nance retired all four men he faced to earn his first save. Jim Rushford and Mark Smith hit back-to-back doubles in the fourth, and Steve Scarborough had a solo homer in the eighth. ON THE MOUND: Righthander Pasqual Coco makes his team-leading 22nd start. Coco leads the Tribe with eight wins, 109.1 innings pitched and 77 strikeouts. He is the only Tribe hurler to have been a member of the starting rotation the entire season. Coco won seven consecutive decisions over 12 starts from May 4 - June 28, but has lost his last two decisions. Both of those losses have seen Coco pitch only 3.0 innings including his most recent start which came at Durham on Sunday. In that outing, Coco allowed nine runs on 10 hits and two walks in a 9-3 defeat. KEEPING IT CLOSE: The Indians went 11-17 in July. Of the Tribe's 28 games in July, nine were decided by one run (3-6) while another nine were decided by two runs (4-5). The last three games have been won by the Tribe with a two-run margin. ON THE LEADER BOARD: Mark Smith ranks eighth in the IL in batting with a .301 average. Jim Rushford is five plate appearances short of qualifying for the league leaders in hitting. His .318 mark would rank fourth. David Manning ranks third with 56 bases on balls. Note to Indy staff: Manning's walks = not a good thing... SCARBOROUGH - MORE THAN FAIR: In 11 games dating back to July 21, Tribe shortstop Steve Scarborough is hitting .333 (13-for-39) with eight runs, 12 RBI, five doubles, one triple and four home runs. Scarborough hit .262 in July with a team-high 16 extra-base hits. HOT AT THE PLATE: In 30 games since June 21, Cody McKay is hitting .313 (31-for-99). Mark Smith has hit safely in 17 of his last 19 games (.315, 23-for-73). Smith brings an eight-game hitting streak into tonight's game. It's his ninth hitting streak of five or more games this season. THE MAN'S GOT A GUN: OF Jason Conti leads the league with 15 outfield assists including two this week. The last time an IL outfielder recorded more assists was in 1999 when Chad Mottola and Anthony Sanders tied for the league lead with 17. HOME CROWD HEROES: Since moving into Victory Field on July 11, 1996, the Indians are 97-75 (.564) when 10,000 or more fans visit the ballpark. UPCOMING PROBABLES: Saturday vs. Durham - RHP Carlos Reyes (9-2, 2.07) vs. TBA Sunday vs. Durham - LHP Jim Parque (4-3, 4.20) vs. LHP Luis Martinez (2-0, 0.00)

Indy Site Press Release on Matt Childers' call-up to AAA: Good background info here.. www.indyindians.com/press..._0103.html