MassBrew

WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (NEW YORK YANKEES) 49 40 .551 TOLEDO MUD HENS (DETROIT) 49 43 .533 1.5 LOUISVILLE BATS (CINCINNATI) 43 48 .473 7.0 [b]INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (MILWAUKEE) 42 47 .472 7.0[/b] WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 10 8 .556[/b] BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 10 8 .556 WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 8 9 .471 1.5 MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 7 11 .389 3.0 *MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 7 11 .389 3.0 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB *LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 11 5 .688 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 11 6 .647 .5 INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 9 8 .529 2.5 LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 8 8 .500 3.0 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 5 12 .294 6.5[/b] WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 11 6 .647 QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 11 7 .611 .5 *KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 11 7 .611 .5 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 9 7 .563 1.5 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 8 9 .471 3.0 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 8 9 .471 3.0[/b] PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 8 10 .444 3.5 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 6 11 .353 5.0 NORTH DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]HELENA BREWERS (MILWAUKEE) 14 9 .609[/b] GREAT FALLS WHITE SOX (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 11 11 .500 2.5 BILLINGS MUSTANGS (CINCINNATI) 10 10 .500 2.5 MISSOULA OSPREY (ARIZONA) 8 13 .381 5.0 W L PCT GB ROYALS (KANSAS CITY) 10 6 .625 MARINERS (SEATTLE) 10 6 .625 GIANTS (SAN FRANCISCO) 10 6 .625 RANGERS (TEXAS) 9 7 .563 1.0 PADRES (SAN DIEGO) 9 7 .563 1.0 [b]BREWERS (MILWAUKEE) 8 8 .500 2.0[/b] ATHLETICS (OAKLAND) 7 9 .438 3.0 CUBS (CHICAGO CUBS) 5 11 .313 5.0 ANGELS (ANAHEIM) 4 12 .250 6.0

Helena Independent Republic Game Story: Early home runs propel Brewers By KEVIN SHIVELY - IR Sports Writer The first inning of Sunday's game between the Helena Brewers and Billings Mustangs might have been a sign of things to come. Both teams had back-to-back home runs on their way to a 15-11 Helena win. Brandon Syzmanski and Trevor Lawhorn hit back-to-back solo homers for the first two hits of the game. In the bottom half of the inning, Helena responded with a two-run shot from Grant Richardson, which was immediately followed by Adam Mannon's solo homer. "They did a great job coming back after two tough losses," said Helena skipper Johnny Narron. "They hit the ball really well." The Brewers and the Mustangs are now tied 1-1 in the series. Billings won in the 11th inning on Saturday night. Helena had 13 hits in the game, including the pair of homers and three doubles, but a lot of their baserunners were gifts. The Billings pitching gave up 11 walks in the game, and six of those were converted into runs. Helena catcher Clay Blevins was walked twice in the game, and also managed to hit 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Blevins had a two-run double in the eighth to put the Brewers up 15-8. The Mustangs gave the Helena club a scare in the top of the ninth. Trailing by seven, Billings cranked out three quick runs, loading the bases on a pair of walks and a single. The first run scored on an error charged to Helena shortstop Alcides Escobar, and the second two runners crossed the plate on a single from Paul Janish. Two runners were on and Tony Gutierrez was in to pinch hit for leadoff batter Drew Anderson. But Dan McKenna put Helena's angst to rest, catching Gutierrez looking and giving Helena the win. Edwin Walker started the day on the mound for Helena, and gave up five runs in 3 2/3 innings on the mound, three of which were earned. Tommy Hawk came in with two outs in the fourth, got out of the inning, and pitched a hitless fifth for the win. It was his first win of the season. "It was a tough day for us," said pitching coach Mark Littell. "I was glad the hitters were on top, but Hawk came in and settled us down, and we started to look a little better out there." The two teams will face off in game three of their series tonight at 7:05 p.m. Josh Baker will start on the mound for Helena, and Jacobo Meque will be on the mound for the Mustangs.

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update: SOUR-FATENot much to say that's positive after seeing your team outhit, 13-4 and outscored 8-1, so I won't go to great lengths with a recap........ Dennis Sarfate (1-1, 4.70 vs. Mobile) was off and on, but got past the 4th inning for the first time in three starts. He struck out two of the three batters he faced in the 1st inning, surviving a triple to right-centerfield by Ronnie Merrill, and retired the side on nine pitches, striking out two again in the 4th........But sandwiched like a double-cheeseburger was the 2nd, in which Josh Barfield homered and the dreadful 3rd in which Sarfate opened the inning by giving up a pair of singles to Kennard Jones and Merrill, and a pair of walks to Rico Washington and Greg Sain. He expended a total of 29 pitches, but consistent with his inconsistency, he retired Gerber, Barfield, and Johnson in order........ His fastball, peaking at 94 mph as best as I could track, moved well from both sides of the plate on hitters when he was able to set it up with his other pitches, which he didn't seem to have tight command of tonight....... He finally was pulled after 96 pitches in the 6th inning, after giving up a double to Nick Trzesniak (his 4th hit in his last 72 at-bats) and striking out the pitcher, Mike Thompson, who was just untouchable tonight......... The Bay Bears put up with Trzesniak because, like our own Joel Alvarado, he's one of the best defensive catchers in the league, throwing out 40% of the runners trying to steal against him. Brian Adams came into the 7th with an effective five-game history against Mobile hitters, holding them to a .161 average, and with a 1.93 ERA in a stretch of nine relief appearances going back to June 4........ Last year, Stan Kyles had him develop his curve, which he wasn't throwing much when he was with the Red Sox' system, but he worked on it as a fourth pitch and it's brought him a lot of success....... So this game should have stayed relatively close, but it didn't happen that way......... Mobile pounded him for five straight hits before he got anyone out........ A double to right-center by Rico Washington, three consecutive singles, and the coup de grace --- a three-run HR by Ben Johnson on an 0-2 off-speed pitch --- the 8th home run by Mobile in this series, and the 23rd by Mobile against Stars pitching this season........ Mobile is hitting only .233 against the Stars, pointing out the impact all the home runs have made....... Adams had given up a home run to Josh Barfield, two nights earlier........ The Bay Bears, for all their trouble lately (5-11 over the last 16 games with a team ERA over 5.00), can still depend upon the home run as their best offensive weapon........ They have a league-leading 96 in 88 games, putting them on pace to hit 151 this year. Their club record is 117. Prince Fielder was missed....... Joel Alvarado got his first start at Prince's position since he became a Huntsville Star, in fact, he played it only once, and that was in his debut late in an 18-inning game against Chattanooga, August 6, 2002....... It was an adventure, but he survived. He broke the wrong way on a ground out to Johnny Raburn to end the 2nd inning, causing him to quickly backstep in order to get to the bag on time to take his throw....... On a foul ball to the right side one batter earlier that would have been a snap for Fielder, Raburn had to come over and attempt the catch because Alvy was late getting back to the ball. Raburn's last moment dive came up short, but no harm was done........ Mike Thompson's four hits were scattered, but Ozzie Chavez, batting from the left side, lined one of his fastballs for a home run over the Kemp's sign in right field to break up his shutout........ Ozzie's only other homer was a game-winner against Birmingham that came in his Huntsville debut........ Only three other hitters made it to second base. Kade Johnson was thrown out trying to go from first to third on a ground ball -- a worthwhile try with the pitcher due up in the 5th inning. Raburn stole second on a 2-2 pitch to Tony Gwynn, Jr. in the 6th with one out, and Raburn reached second again in the 8th on a wild pitch, but Gwynn after fouling off three pitches on a full count, flied out to left-center. Ryan Knox was the only position player on the bench tonight, but is bothered by a strained groin and a recurrence of the hip strain that put him on the DL........ He's nowhere near the 100% he said he was when he came off the DL, Thursday, and it looks like he's headed for the DL again. Three days off for the All-Star break will decide, but it looks doubtful......... Greg Bruso threw five innings, yielding just an unearned run for High Desert in their 5-3 loss to Lake Elsinore, Sunday night....... Saturday, Ben Diggins pitched his first comeback game in the Arizona League, two nighs ago, throwing an inning and 2/3, giving up two unearned runs. An error by Ronnie Merrill in Friday night's game has been changed to a hit for Joel Alvarado in a late scoring change. That raised Alvarado's batting average to .162, now .157 after Sunday's game. The Stars hit .196 in the last three games of this series........ Brad Nelson has struck out 11 times in his last 31 AB (.355 Kavg.) and has 91 Ks (.284) on the year....... Jamie Gann has hit safely in 10 of the 11 games he has appeared for the Stars........ Dennis Sarfate now has an 8.76 ERA in his last three starts. In 12 1/3 innings, he's struck out 15 and walked 12......... Roberto Giron, who closed out the game in the 9th, has not given up a run in has last nine appearances going back before his promotion to Indianapolis. From a 2.08 ERA, he's lowered it to 1.19........ Ozzie Chavez has not drawn a walk since June 25. The Stars are 6th in the league in bases on balls......... Prince Fielder went 1-for-3 with a strikeout in the Futures Game in Houston. Rickie Weeks went 0-for-1 and left two on base........ Matt Ford will try to win his first game since Opening Day when the Stars return after the All-Star break against Montgomery. Both Fielder and Weeks are in Houston for the Futures Game, so they were missing from the lineup...... They'll be back when the Stars host Montgomery, Thursday........ Monday morning in Houston, Fielder will be on ESPN's "Cold Pizza", that network's version of the Today show. I've seen it a couple of times and it's pretty good......

Huntsville Site Game Summary: The Stars dropped their second straight, 8-1, to Mobile on Sunday night at Joe Davis Stadium. With a split of the four-game series against the Bears, Huntsville (10-8, 42-46) dropped into a first-place tie in the Southern League West second-half race heading into the all-star break. After scoring the game?s first seven runs in a win the night before, Mobile bettered the feat by one on Sunday. Josh Barfield began the barrage with a second-inning solo homer, his third of the series and 13th of the season. In the third, Kennard Jones and Ronnie Merrill rapped singles, then Rico Washington walked and Greg Sain?s base on balls forced in a run. Barfield?s sacrifice fly made it 3-0, Bears. Mobile?s five-run seventh broke the game open. Rico Washington opened the inning with a double off reliever Brian Adams. Sain singled in a run and took second on the throw home, then Joe Gerber singled to knock in Sain. Barfield singled to left, and with two on and none out, Ben Johnson blasted a three-run homer to left for an 8-0 lead. The Bears homered twice in each of the four games in the series. Right-hander Mike Thompson (5-0) stifled Stars hitters for his fifth win, allowing four hits and one run, on Ozzie Chavez?s eighth-inning solo homer, with no walks and three strikeouts over eight frames, his longest outing of the season. Dennis Sarfate (4-8) suffered his eighth loss, permitting three runs on eight hits and three walks while fanning six in five innings. Adams surrendered five runs on five hits in the seventh. The Stars resume play after the all-star break on Thursday night at Joe Davis Stadium against the Montgomery Biscuits. Lefty Matt Ford (1-2, 3.64) takes the mound for Huntsville. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Indianapolis Post-Game Notes: The Indianapolis Indians came up short again Sunday, losing to Ottawa 8-7. The game was delayed for 73 minutes by rain in the sixth inning. Starter Pedro Liriano (3-8) took the loss, giving up four runs on nine hits in five innings pitched. He also walked two and struck out four. Ottawa starter Matt DeWitt (1-1) earned the win, with closer Darwin Cubillan notching his seventeenth save of the contest. The Indians closed the gap to 2-1 in the fourth, then 4-3 in the seventh, but the Lynx scored four runs in the final two frames to pull away. Former Indian Chad Mottola hit two of the four Ottawa home runs Sunday. Peter Bergeron hit a solo shot, finishing 3-for-5 and a strikeout. Dave Krynzel went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a double, a home run and three RBI. After the game, Cecil Cooper commented, "We pitched poorly and we executed poorly today. It?s disturbing. We have to change things here in the second half of the season. It?s good to see David Krynzel getting back on track. Krynzel had an outstanding day."

Monday's Daily Menu -- only one entree in this meal... INDIANAPOLIS: Idle HUNTSVILLE: Idle HIGH DESERT: Idle BELOIT: Idle HELENA: RHP Josh Baker at home vs. Billings (Reds), 8:05 PM Audio link (Mustangs' feed): www.billingsmustangs.com/home.cfm ARIZONA ROOKIE: Idle

Nice to Krynzel heating up right away. How did Weeks & Fielder do in the AS game? Check the tail end of our All-Star, Futures Game thread: p082.ezboard.com/fbrewers...2221.topic

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update: PERFECT TO A POINTThere's an exception to every rule. You don't have to have your team ahead in order to truly enjoy a game --- as long as a no-hitter is in progress. In this case, I'm talking a perfect game....... When leadoff hitter Johnny Raburn drove a 1-2 pitch to right field that tipped off the thumb of Ben Johnson's glove in the 7th inning, there was some suspenseful waiting. Don Rizzardi, the official scorer, deliberated long into the next batter to issue his decision........ To me, it looked like Johnson had misjudged the path of the Raburn's liner somehow. He retreated quickly at the last moment and tried to make an over-the-shoulder catch, then leaped, and missed........ It was a tough call for Rizzardi to make, but he called it a double.......... Johnson never had possession of the ball, he reasoned........ Johnson simply misjudged the path of the ball...... You can't give someone an error every time a catch or play isn't made, even if contact is made with the ball. Possession is 9/10 of the law as they say, and it's funny, cause Don is a lawyer........ The crowd booed when the "H" was finally flashed on the board as Tony Gwynn Jr. waited on a 2-0 pitch. Even if the error was charged, I don't think it was likely Clay Hensley would have kept his no-hitter.......... Jamie Gann ended all future debate with a two-out double to the right field corner that scored Raburn and that was followed by a couple more hits........ Hensley, who threw just 55 pitches through the 6th inning, threw 21 in the 7th. This was only the third time in 17 starts this season he had gone into the 7th inning and he had pitched through six innings only six times....... With Gann on second, Chris Barnwell drove Hensley's first pitch into the right field corner. Two pitches. Two extra-base hits. Two runs......... Barnwell had a triple as Johnson had trouble picking the ball up on the carom in the corner....... Ryan Knox then hit a soft hopper up the middle. Shortstop Ronnie Merrill came in too late in front of the second base bag and lost any chance at throwing Knox out. In a rush to make the play, he lost the handle on it as he tried to dig it off the grass....... It was enough to drive in Barnwell to make it 7-3........ Ozzie Chavez finally ended the inning with a ground out to first.......... Kade Johnson smashed a ball that with absolutely no wind at all to help him, carried Ben Johnson to the base of the wall for a long out to start the 8th inning. The Stars would try to rally in the 9th inning off Brad Baker, who had in five previous appearances, held the Stars to a .222 average. But he wasn't untouchable. The Stars had proved that back on May 13 when they became the first team to score off Baker, then the league's leading closer. On two hits and a pair of walks, they beat Baker and Mobile in the 9th inning, 6-5........ Do it once you can do it again, right?.......... Tony Gwynn led off with an infield tapper to Merrill again. Gwynn's speed forced him to eat the baseball. With Brad Nelson at the plate, Gwynn stole on a 2-0 pitch, his 23rd stolen base of the season, tying him for 4th in the league with Carolina's Eric Reed. That enabled Gwynn to score on Nelson's single up the middle, but that's as far as the Stars got......... Jamie Gann struck out on a 77 mph change and after a wild pitch and a walk to Barnwell, Baker struck out Knox on a 1-2 slider and Chavez flied out to left to end the game. Ryan Costello struggled through five innings and had walked two of the first three batters facing him in the first, getting only a comebacker from Kennard Jones........ Seeing Costello having trouble with his release point, pitching coach Fred Dabney came out to have a chat........ It may have helped, but only after giving up Greg Sain's 24th home run of the year, a huge three-run shot over the Papa John's sign in left, just to the right of the light standard........ Costello seemed to settle down, retiring five straight, then getting a force out, but Jones scored in the 3rd after a pickoff play turned into a two-base error....... Trying to steal off Costello, Nelson took Costello's throw and looked to have him in a rundown, but Nellie's throw to Ozzie Chavez was low and away, enabling Jones to take third........ He would score easily on Josh Barfield's fly ball to Jamie Gann in front of the warning tract........ Gann was able to show off his throwing arm in the next inning after Ben Johnson led off with a double to the left field wall........ Gann would take Nick Trzesniak's fly ball for one out, then fire the ball on a straight flight to Chris Barnwell without a hop to double up Ben Johnson....... In the 5th inning, Rico Washington hit a three-run HR over the second wall in RCF in the open space between two billboards. Washington is only 3-for-12 in this series, but all three hits have been home runs and he's driven in seven of Mobile's 15 runs......... Mobile has hit 94 home runs in 87 games, putting them on pace to break the club record of 117 in 1998........ Taking the loss, Ryan Costello has now not won since June 1. In the meantime, Clay Hensley was mowing down the Stars one after another, striking out five and seeing only three balls leave the infield in six innings........ Hensley was a struggling pitcher with an ERA of 5.45 when he held the Stars to one run on three hits in seven innings, striking out eight against Costello on June 30........ Whatever mojo he has on the Stars has a nice shelf life. This was a nice showcase game for Comcast Sports Southeast, which is televising several Southern League contests this year........ Only Comcast subscribers in this area can get these games, and of course, if you're on the satellite........ Robert Portnoy left the radio duties to Bryan Neece so he could share the television broadcast with Matt Stewart...... If you have CSS, the game will be rebroadcast Monday at 12:30 CST. Check www.css-sports.com for future televised games. Sunday, Dennis Sarfate (4-7, 5.11), who has failed to finish four innings in his last two starts will try to give the Stars another series victory against Mobile's Mike Thompson (4-0, 3.45)......... Though Thompson has a 2.50 ERA against the Stars in four appearances, he's been hit for a .364 average.

Final: Helena 15, Billings (Reds) 11 Not a work of art, but we'll take it given most of the other results this weekend... Helena Box Score: Actually, after the second inning, this wasn't in serious danger; ask and ye shall receive, Toby -- catcher Clay Blevins on base five times; Beloit batters take note -- 11 walks for the Helena lineup; RHP Tommy Hawk: extended spring training in Maryvale, two games in Beloit, some elbow soreness, two games in Arizona, and now in Helena; LHP Edwin Walker surrenders three HR's... GAME DATE: 7/11/04 BIL at HEL BILLINGS 11 AT HELENA 15 YTD YTD BILLINGS AB R H BI AVG HELENA AB R H BI AVG D.Anderson 3B 5 0 2 2 .256 H.Rasheed DH 4 0 0 1 .310 T.Gutierrez 3B 1 0 0 0 .308 S.Sollmann 2B 3 3 1 0 .291 B.Szymanski DH 5 1 1 1 .143 A.Septimo 2B 1 0 0 0 .059 T.Lawhorn 2B 4 2 1 1 .296 A.Festa 3B 5 2 2 4 .325 R.Mosby 1B 5 2 2 1 .268 G.Acosta 3B 0 0 0 0 .192 T.Kaats CF 5 0 1 0 .185 G.Richardson 1B 4 1 2 3 .377 C.Tatum CAT 3 1 1 0 .222 A.Mannon RF 4 2 2 3 .287 C.Ziemendorf CAT 0 2 0 0 .300 J.Serfass LF 3 2 2 0 .184 E.Esparragoz LF 5 1 2 0 .300 C.Fermaint CF 4 1 0 0 .239 D.Phillips RF 4 1 1 2 .308 C.Blevins CAT 3 3 3 3 .212 P.Janish SS 4 1 2 2 .246 A.Escobar SS 2 1 0 0 .263 A.Farfan PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 E.Walker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 L.Noriega PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Hawk PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Jenson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Marion PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Goetz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Escobar PIT 0 0 0 0 .263 D.McKenna PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 41 11 13 9 TOTALS 33 15 12 14 BILLINGS 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 3-11 13 1 HELENA 3 3 2 0 4 0 0 3 X-15 12 2 E--D.Anderson, A.Escobar 2. DP--BILLINGS 0, HELENA 0. LOB--BILLINGS 8, HELENA 8. 2B--E.Esparragoz (4), A.Festa 2 (10), J.Serfass 2 (4), C.Blevins (2). HR--B.Szymanski (1), T.Lawhorn (1), R.Mosby (7), G.Richardson (2), A.Mannon (5). CS--H.Rasheed. HBP--A.Mannon. SH-- H.Rasheed, A.Escobar. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BILLINGS A.Farfan (L,0-1) 2.0 7 8 7 3 2 2 20.25 L.Noriega 2.0 1 2 2 4 4 0 7.41 A.Jenson 1.0 2 2 2 2 1 0 7.36 G.Goetz 3.0 2 3 3 2 1 0 4.63 HELENA E.Walker 3.2 6 5 3 1 3 3 3.97 T.Hawk (W,1-0) 1.1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 R.Marion 2.2 1 3 3 2 0 0 6.43 D.McKenna 1.1 3 3 0 2 2 0 2.70 HB--L.Noriega. WP--A.Farfan, L.Noriega 2, G.Goetz, R.Marion, D.McKenna. PB--C.Tatum, C.Blevins. SO--D.Anderson 2, T.Gutierrez, B.Szymanski 2, R.Mosby, H.Rasheed, A.Festa 2, G.Richardson, A.Mannon, J.Serfass, C.Fermaint 2. BB--T.Lawhorn, C.Ziemendorf 2, D.Phillips, P.Janish, H.Rasheed, S.Sollmann 2, G.Richardson, J.Serfass 2, C.Fermaint, C.Blevins 2, A.Escobar 2. T--3:20. A--738Helena Game Log: Got an hour or so -- lots to review here; Grant Richardson and Adam Mannon's HR's were of the back-to-back variety; three wild pitches help helena in the 4th... www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=16567

Final: Battle Creek (Yankees) 8, Beloit 3 Beloit Game Summary from the Battle Creek Site: The Battle Creek Yankees used three home runs to beat the Beloit Snappers 8-3 and earn a split of their four-game series at C.O. Brown Stadium. Enrique Cruz (theirs, not ours -- MassBrew), Bryce Kartler and Rafael Rodriguez each hit home runs for the Yankees. Battle Creek got out to a 1-0 lead on Cruz?s solo home run in the second inning. Beloit took the lead in the top of the third with two runs on four hits. The Yankees regained the lead for good in the bottom of the third with three runs. Matt Carson had a two-run single and Jason VanMeetren added an RBI groundout to make it 4-2. The Snappers added a single run in the fifth on a home run by Josh Murray. However, the Yankees got that run back in the sixth on an RBI single by Rodriguez. Battle Creek made it 8-3 with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. After an Omir Santos single, Kartler hit a first pitch pinch-hit home run. Kartler was activated from the disabled list before the game and crushed the first pitch he saw over the right field fence. Rodriguez followed with a solo home run for the 8-3 final. Yankees? starter Elvys Quezada (2-6) won his first game since throwing a no-hitter on May 24. He went seven strong innings, allowing five hits and three runs, while striking out six. Mike Gardner and Paul Thorp each pitched one inning in relief for Battle Creek. Beloit Box Score: Somebody, anybody, start drawing some walks on this team; you know it's a bad day when even Dana Eveland and Ty Taubenheim are hit hard; Josh Murray with two extra-base hits -- if a recent Link Report criticism helped light a fire, we'll be sure to take full credit down the road -- keep it up, Josh... GAME DATE: 7/11/04 BLT at BTC BELOIT 3 AT BATTLE CREEK 8 YTD YTD BELOIT AB R H BI AVG BATTLE CREEK AB R H BI AVG G.Rodriguez 2B 3 0 0 0 .265 E.Andrus CF 5 1 1 0 .265 T.Trofholz CF 4 0 1 0 .317 H.Made SS 3 1 1 0 .264 D.Anderson LF 4 0 1 1 .290 M.Carson RF 4 1 2 2 .339 L.Palmisano DH 4 0 0 0 .301 W.Vasquez 1B 4 0 0 0 .234 V.Rottino 1B 4 0 0 0 .287 J.Van Meetre LF 4 0 0 1 .295 A.Heether 3B 4 0 0 0 .255 E.Cruz 2B 4 2 2 1 .241 C.Corporan CAT 3 0 0 0 .230 P.Santos CAT 4 1 1 0 .240 T.Marks CAT 0 0 0 0 .208 E.Cabrera DH 2 0 1 0 .167 R.Deevers RF 3 1 1 0 .218 B.Kartler PH 1 1 1 2 .250 J.Murray SS 3 2 2 2 .176 R.Rodriguez 3B 4 1 2 2 .274 D.Eveland PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 E.Quezada PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Taubenheim PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Gardner PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Thorp PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 32 3 5 3 TOTALS 35 8 11 8 BELOIT 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0- 3 5 2 BATTLE CREEK 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 3 X- 8 11 1 E--C.Corporan, J.Murray, R.Rodriguez. DP--BELOIT 0, BATTLE CREEK 0. LOB--BELOIT 3, BATTLE CREEK 5. 2B--R.Deevers (10), J.Murray (4), H.Made (19), E.Cruz (4). HR--J.Murray (4), E.Cruz (6), B.Kartler (5), R.Rodriguez (3). SB--E.Andrus (8), M.Carson 2 (12), R.Rodriguez (1). SH--G.Rodriguez, H.Made. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BELOIT D.Eveland (L,6-4) 6.0 8 5 5 1 8 1 3.14 T.Taubenheim 2.0 3 3 3 0 1 2 3.83 BATTLE CREEK E.Quezada (W,2-6) 7.0 5 3 3 0 6 1 4.13 M.Gardner 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.14 P.Thorp 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.92 SO--T.Trofholz, D.Anderson 2, L.Palmisano 2, V.Rottino, E.Andrus, W.Vasquez, J.Van Meetre 2, E.Cruz, P.Santos 2, E.Cabrera, R.Rodriguez. BB--E.Cabrera. T--2:06. A--1100Beloit Game Log: The final 15 Snapper batters went down in order... www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=12436

Final: Lake Elsinore (Padres) 5, High Desert 3 High Desert Box Score: RHP Khalid Ballouli with an interesting pitching line in relief of Greg Bruso... GAME DATE: 7/11/04 LKE at HD LAKE ELSINORE 5 AT HIGH DESERT 3 YTD YTD LAKE ELSINORE AB R H BI AVG HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG P.Ramos 2B 5 1 1 0 .316 K.Bibbs CF 5 0 1 0 .289 L.Cruz SS 5 0 2 0 .277 C.Crabbe 2B 3 0 1 0 .289 P.McAnulty LF 4 1 2 1 .286 J.Vanden ber CAT 3 0 0 0 .287 M.Richardson DH 4 1 2 1 .263 T.Hinton 1B 4 1 1 1 .314 J.Carter CF 5 1 2 1 .329 T.Farnsworth 3B 4 0 1 0 .178 J.Roman 1B 4 0 2 1 .213 F.Villanueva DH 3 1 1 0 .251 K.Jacobo 3B 4 0 0 0 .228 B.Van Iderst LF 4 1 2 0 .333 L.Carlin CAT 4 1 2 0 .265 M.Mendez RF 4 0 2 0 .266 C.Baker RF 3 0 0 0 .298 E.Cruz SS 3 0 0 1 .202 J.Huber PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Bruso PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Mateo PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Ballouli PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Gregg PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Thayer PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 38 5 13 4 TOTALS 33 3 9 2 LAKE ELSINORE 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 1- 5 13 1 HIGH DESERT 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2- 3 9 1 E--K.Jacobo, C.Crabbe. DP--LAKE ELSINORE 1, HIGH DESERT 1. LOB-- LAKE ELSINORE 9, HIGH DESERT 7. 2B--J.Carter (17), F.Villanueva (12). HR--P.McAnulty (12), T.Hinton (16). SB--K.Bibbs (25), M.Mendez (6). SF--E.Cruz. SH--C.Baker, F.Villanueva. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA LAKE ELSINORE J.Huber 6.0 5 1 1 1 10 1 3.80 N.Mateo (W,3-1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.04 G.Gregg 1.1 3 2 1 1 3 0 6.28 D.Thayer (S,10) 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.83 HIGH DESERT G.Bruso 5.0 4 1 0 2 2 0 8.59 K.Ballouli (L,4-9) 4.0 9 4 4 0 7 1 7.00 WP--J.Huber, K.Ballouli 2. SO--M.Richardson, J.Carter, K.Jacobo 4, L.Carlin, C.Baker 2, K.Bibbs, J.Vanden ber, T.Hinton 3, T.Farnsworth 3, F.Villanueva 2, M.Mendez 2, E.Cruz 2. BB--P.McAnulty, M.Richardson, C.Crabbe, J.Vanden ber. T--2:37. A--1176High Desert Game Log: Mavs did a little damage in the 9th, but the game log reveals a whole lot of nothing offensively... www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=17924

Final: Mobile (Padres) 8, Huntsville 1 Sports Network Game Wrap: Ben Johnson knocked in three runs and Mike Thompson pitched eight strong innings as the Mobile BayBears defeated the Huntsville Stars, 8-1, in Southern League action Sunday evening. Johnson hit his 13th home run of the season and finished the night 2-for-4. Josh Barfield also hit his 13th long ball of the year and went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for the BayBears. Greg Sain plated two runs for Mobile. Thompson (5-0) gave up one run on four hits and struck out three Stars. His ERA is now 3.18 for the year. Huntsville's Dennis Sarfate took the loss and fell to 4-8 overall. Sarfate surrendered three runs on eight hits and struck out six in 5 1/3rd innings of work. Ozzie Chavez hit his 2nd home run of the season for the Stars. Huntsville Box Score: LHP Brian Adams with a brutal inning late; even without that bad inning, could Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks have changed the outcome of this one today -- likely no... GAME DATE: 7/11/04 MOB at HVL MOBILE 8 AT HUNTSVILLE 1 YTD YTD MOBILE AB R H BI AVG HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG K.Jones CF 5 1 1 0 .218 J.Raburn 2B 3 0 0 0 .267 R.Merrill SS 5 1 3 0 .256 A.Gwynn CF 4 0 1 0 .252 R.Washington 3B 4 1 1 0 .279 B.Nelson LF 4 0 0 0 .272 G.Sain 1B 4 1 1 2 .226 J.Gann RF 4 0 1 0 .317 J.Gerber RF 5 1 2 1 .250 C.Barnwell 3B 3 0 0 0 .246 J.Barfield 2B 3 2 2 2 .251 K.Johnson CAT 4 0 1 0 .233 B.Johnson LF 4 1 2 3 .239 O.Chavez SS 3 1 1 1 .216 N.Trzesniak CAT 5 0 1 0 .195 J.Alvarado 1B 3 0 0 0 .148 M.Thompson PIT 4 0 0 0 .111 D.Sarfate PIT 1 0 0 0 .105 B.Baker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Stewart PIT 0 0 0 0 .111 F.Rijo PH 1 0 0 0 .222 B.Adams PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Rivera PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 R.Giron PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 39 8 13 8 TOTALS 31 1 4 1 MOBILE 0 1 2 0 0 0 5 0 0- 8 13 1 HUNTSVILLE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0- 1 4 2 E--J.Barfield, J.Raburn, J.Gann. DP--MOBILE 1, HUNTSVILLE 0. LOB-- MOBILE 9, HUNTSVILLE 5. 2B--R.Washington (3), N.Trzesniak (11). 3B--R.Merrill (2). HR--J.Barfield (13), B.Johnson (13), O.Chavez (2). SB--J.Raburn (11). HBP--J.Raburn. SF--J.Barfield. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA MOBILE M.Thompson (W,5-0) 8.0 4 1 1 0 3 1 3.18 B.Baker 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.54 HUNTSVILLE D.Sarfate (L,4-8) 5.1 8 3 3 3 6 1 5.11 P.Stewart 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.12 B.Adams 1.0 5 5 5 0 1 1 4.83 S.Rivera 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.04 R.Giron 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.19 HB--M.Thompson. WP--M.Thompson, D.Sarfate. SO--K.Jones 3, R.Washington, G.Sain, J.Gerber 2, M.Thompson 2, A.Gwynn, B.Nelson, O.Chavez. BB--R.Washington, G.Sain, J.Barfield, B.Johnson, C.Barnwell. T--2:41. A--1106Huntsville Game Log: www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=12014

Final: Ottawa (Orioles) 8, Indianapolis 7 Sports Network Game Wrap: Chad Mottola hit two home runs and Matt DeWitt won his first game of the season as the Ottawa Lynx beat the Indianapolis Indians, 8-7, in International League action Sunday afternoon. Ottawa improved its record to 42-50 while Indianapolis fell to 42-47. Mottola hit his first home run, his 9th of the year, in the top of the second. He struck back in the fifth with his 10th of the season. Jack Cust hit his 9th of the season and Eddy Garabito smacked his 6th for the Lynx. DeWitt (1-1) only surrendered one run on four hits over five innings of work. Darwin Cubillan gave up two runs in the ninth but held on for his 17th save of the season. Indianapolis' Pedro Liriano took the loss and fell to 3-8. Liriano gave up four runs on nine hits and struck out four. Dave Krynzel hit his 3rd home run and finished the night 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI for the Indians. Peter Bergeron also homered and collected three hits. Indianapolis Box Score: Pedro Liriano with a disappointing first AAA year, although I'm guessing many of us thought he may struggle some... GAME DATE: 7/11/04 OTT at IND OTTAWA 8 AT INDIANAPOLIS 7 YTD YTD OTTAWA AB R H BI AVG INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG E.Garabito SS 4 1 2 1 .300 D.Krynzel CF 5 2 3 3 .272 M.Fontenot 2B 5 0 0 0 .277 P.Bergeron LF 5 1 3 1 .228 J.Cust DH 4 1 1 1 .271 C.Hart DH 5 0 0 0 .278 C.Mottola RF 5 2 2 2 .272 J.Liefer RF 4 1 1 0 .294 E.Guzman 3B 5 1 2 0 .273 C.Coste 3B 3 0 2 1 .292 P.Swann LF 4 1 2 0 .281 M.Johnson CAT 4 1 1 0 .251 A.Rios CF 4 1 3 1 .571 B.Gemoll 1B 3 1 2 2 .248 C.Bellinger 1B 2 0 1 0 .250 T.Durrington 2B 4 0 0 0 .171 T.McGee CAT 4 1 2 1 .278 L.Figueroa SS 4 1 1 0 .254 M.Dewitt PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Liriano PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Rakers PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Phelps PIT 0 0 0 0 .500 T.Williams PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Reichert PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Cubillan PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Ford PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 37 8 15 6 TOTALS 37 7 13 7 OTTAWA 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 3 1- 8 15 1 INDIANAPOLIS 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 2- 7 13 0 E--A.Rakers. DP--OTTAWA 1, INDIANAPOLIS 3. LOB--OTTAWA 6, INDIANAPOLIS 6. 2B--A.Rios (1), C.Bellinger (14), T.McGee (4), D.Krynzel (3), M.Johnson (13), B.Gemoll (7). HR--E.Garabito (6), J.Cust (9), C.Mottola 2 (10), D.Krynzel (3), P.Bergeron (3). CS--M.Fontenot, P.Swann, P.Bergeron. SF--C.Coste. SH--E.Garabito. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA OTTAWA M.Dewitt (W,1-1) 5.0 4 1 1 1 0 1 5.11 A.Rakers 1.2 4 2 2 1 3 0 2.94 T.Williams 1.1 3 2 2 0 1 0 3.06 D.Cubillan (S,17) 1.0 2 2 2 0 0 1 6.21 INDIANAPOLIS P.Liriano (L,3-8) 5.0 9 4 4 2 4 3 5.05 T.Phelps 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4.67 D.Reichert 2.0 3 3 2 1 1 0 2.97 B.Ford 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 4.85 WP--T.Williams, P.Liriano. PB--M.Johnson. SO--E.Garabito, M.Fontenot, J.Cust, C.Mottola, C.Bellinger, P.Bergeron, M.Johnson, T.Durrington, L.Figueroa. BB--J.Cust, C.Bellinger 2, J.Liefer, B.Gemoll. T--2:42. A--9341Indianapolis Game Log: www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=13966

Final: Arizona Brewers 4, Arizona A's 3 Arizona Brewer Box Score: 2004 6th round CF Stephen Chapman with three extra-base hits, adds a walk; 19-year-old LHP Rafael Lluveres, like his hitting counterpart Hernan Iribarren, brought over the best numbers from the now defunct Milwaukee DSL team... BREWERS 4 AT ATHLETICS 3 YTD YTD BREWERS AB R H BI AVG ATHLETICS AB R H BI AVG S.Chapman CF 4 1 3 0 .200 W.Perez 2B 5 0 0 0 .242 H.Iribarren 2B 3 0 1 0 .500 W.Long 3B 4 1 1 1 .306 F.Parejo LF 3 0 0 1 .304 A.Ogando RF 4 1 1 2 .400 C.Gallardo DH 5 0 2 1 .383 R.Padron DH 4 0 0 0 .327 A.Ayala 1B 4 0 1 0 .244 H.Pratt 1B 3 0 0 0 .200 F.De La Cruz 3B 0 0 0 0 .283 T.Best CAT 2 0 0 0 .205 B.Opdyke CAT 2 0 0 0 .240 A.Piper-Jord CF 3 0 0 0 .241 B.Opdyke 1B 0 0 0 0 .240 C.Boyd LF 3 1 1 0 .143 O.Vicioso 3B 3 0 0 0 .185 F.Martinez SS 4 0 2 0 .271 N.Corredor PH 0 0 0 0 .379 D.Acevedo PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Corredor CAT 0 0 0 0 .379 H.Mola PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 L.Leclercq SS 4 1 1 0 .217 S.Fairbanks PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Delarosa RF 4 2 2 0 .308 C.Robertson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Lluveres PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 W.Labasta PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Garner PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 32 4 10 2 TOTALS 32 3 5 3 BREWERS 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1- 4 10 2 ATHLETICS 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0- 3 5 2 E--O.Vicioso, W.Labasta, A.Piper-Jord, S.Fairbanks. DP--BREWERS 0, ATHLETICS 0. LOB--BREWERS 9, ATHLETICS 7. 2B--S.Chapman 2 (3), W.Long (4). 3B--S.Chapman (2), A.Delarosa (1). HR--A.Ogando (3). SB--F.Parejo (2). CS--H.Iribarren, A.Ayala, B.Opdyke. HBP--T.Best. SF--F.Parejo. SH--H.Iribarren, A.Piper-Jord. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BREWERS R.Lluveres 5.0 1 0 0 2 3 0 0.53 W.Labasta 2.0 3 3 2 1 0 1 9.90 J.Garner (W,1-1) 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.00 ATHLETICS D.Acevedo 6.0 7 1 1 0 5 0 3.13 H.Mola 1.0 2 2 1 2 1 0 9.00 S.Fairbanks 1.0 0 0 0 3 2 0 2.45 C.Robertson (L,0-2) 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0.82 HB--W.Labasta. WP--H.Mola. SO--F.Parejo, A.Ayala, B.Opdyke, O.Vicioso 2, L.Leclercq 2, A.Delarosa, W.Perez, W.Long, F.Martinez. BB--S.Chapman, H.Iribarren, F.Parejo, B.Opdyke 2, N.Corredor, H.Pratt, T.Best, C.Boyd. T--2:41.

Daily Press High Desert Game Story: Mavs surrender late lead High Desert manager Queen gets tossed again By TIM HARAN/Staff Writer ADELANTO ? Jeffrey Macias probably won't be getting any farewell presents from Mel Queen when the Mavericks wrap up their three-game series today against Lake Elsinore. Then again, maybe the High Desert Mavericks manager wouldn't mind offering the embattled umpire a going-away gift. Macias, who ejected Queen in the ninth inning of the series opener, tossed the Mavs' skipper in the first inning of Lake Elsinore's come-from-behind 10-5 win over High Desert at Mavericks Stadium on Saturday night. "I had nothing on my agenda, but he forces it when he makes those two bad calls," Queen said. "No matter what I do, he's going to do what he does. ... I'm not saying he purposely is missing the calls, but he's sure not getting them right." The back-to-back ejections mark the only times this season that Queen has been thrown out. Questioning Macias' strike zone got Queen tossed the first go-round, and on Saturday it was the umpire's judgments on the base paths that drew the manager's ire. Queen thought Lake Elsinore's Peeter Ramos was out trying to steal third in the top of the first. The Storm second baseman later scored on a sacrifice fly, putting Lake Elsinore on top. In the bottom half of the frame, Mavs' leadoff batter Kennard Bibbs was called out on a close play at first. Arguing that call sent Queen to the showers. Stanton Cameron, the Mavs hitting coach and acting manager, was left to converse with the umpiring crew in the top of the second. After Lake Elsinore's Josh Carter singled through the left side to lead off the inning, Jesse Roman hit a grounder to second. High Desert's Callix Crabbe tagged Carter as he ran by and fired to first to complete what appeared to be a double play. But Macias ruled that Carter had interfered with the fielder and thus he called the play dead. Carter was out, but Roman remained at first. Cameron pleaded the Mavs' case to no avail. "His bad calls didn't cost us the game," Queen said. "We lost that game. Now (Friday) was a different story." Bo Hall pitched seven innings for the Mavs and left the game clinging to a one-run lead. But in the eighth, reliever Reggie Rivard issued a leadoff walk to Ramos and surrendered an RBI single to Paul McAnulty to tie the game. The Storm eventually loaded the bases, chasing the right-hander who joined High Desert late last month after spending the first part of the season at Double-A Huntsville. Michael Kusiewicz entered the game and struck out the first batter he faced before McAnulty scored on a passed ball and Kervin Jacobo smacked a three-run homer over the left field wall to secure the Storm victory. "When you have a lead, you can't come in and walk a couple guys and get yourself in a jam," Queen said. "And the umpires had nothing to do with that." For High Desert, Froilan Villanueva led off the second with a double to left field and scored on a Troy Farnsworth sacrifice. After the Storm hit Mario Mendez with a pitch, Enrique Cruz launched a monster shot to center. The two-run homer cleared the 25-foot wall in straight away center to give the Mavs the edge. "I went up there looking for a fastball and (starter Jared Wells) threw it," Cruz said of his seventh home run of the season. Lake Elsinore scored a run in the third, but Farnsworth answered in the fourth with a solo home run to left-center field. The teams traded runs in the fifth, an inning in which the Mavs had the bases loaded with no outs but could manage just a run. The Storm rallied to score seven runs in the final three innings.

Sunday's Daily Menu -- some nice post-game audio choices available to you this evening before Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and Huntsville all go on their break... All times Central except Arizona Rookie (local Mountain); pitchers subject to change; pre-game audio begins approx. 15 minutes prior to game time listed... INDIANAPOLIS: RHP Pedro Liriano at home vs. Ottawa (Orioles), 2:00 PM Audio link: www.newstalk1430.com/ HUNTSVILLE: LHP Jeff Housman at home vs. Mobile (Padres), 6:05 PM Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ HIGH DESERT: RHP Greg Bruso at home vs. Lake Elsinore (Padres), 5:05 PM Audio link: www.hdmavs.com/listen_live.htm BELOIT: LHP Dana Eveland at Battle Creek (Yankees), 1:00 PM Audio link (Yankees' feed): www.battlecreekyankees.com/ HELENA: LHP Edwin Walker at home vs. Billings (Reds), 6:05 PM Audio link (Mustangs' feed): www.billingsmustangs.com/home.cfm ARIZONA ROOKIE: LHP Rafael Lluveres at the A's complex, 10:30 AM local Arizona time; never any audio for this league...

WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (NEW YORK YANKEES) 49 39 .557 TOLEDO MUD HENS (DETROIT) 49 42 .538 1.5 [b]INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (MILWAUKEE) 42 46 .477 7.0[/b] LOUISVILLE BATS (CINCINNATI) 42 48 .467 8.0 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 10 7 .588[/b] BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 9 8 .529 1.0 WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 8 9 .471 2.0 MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 7 10 .412 3.0 *MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 6 11 .353 4.0 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB *LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 11 4 .733 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 10 6 .625 1.5 INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 8 8 .500 3.5 LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 7 8 .467 4.0 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 5 11 .313 6.5[/b] WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 11 5 .688 QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 11 6 .647 .5 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 9 6 .600 1.5 *KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 10 7 .588 1.5 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 8 8 .500 3.0[/b] CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 7 9 .438 4.0 PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 7 10 .412 4.5 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 6 10 .375 5.0 NORTH DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]HELENA BREWERS (MILWAUKEE) 13 9 .591[/b] BILLINGS MUSTANGS (CINCINNATI) 10 9 .526 1.5 GREAT FALLS WHITE SOX (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 11 10 .524 1.5 MISSOULA OSPREY (ARIZONA) 7 13 .350 5.0 W L PCT GB ROYALS (KANSAS CITY) 10 6 .625 MARINERS (SEATTLE) 10 6 .625 GIANTS (SAN FRANCISCO) 10 6 .625 RANGERS (TEXAS) 9 6 .600 .5 PADRES (SAN DIEGO) 8 7 .533 1.5 [b]BREWERS (MILWAUKEE) 7 8 .467 2.5[/b] ATHLETICS (OAKLAND) 7 8 .467 2.5 CUBS (CHICAGO CUBS) 4 11 .267 5.5 ANGELS (ANAHEIM) 4 11 .267 5.5

Beloit Game Story from the Battle Creek Enquirer: Don't be surprised if this kid Harmsen (9-0) is dealt by New York this month -- that record will stand out in a weak farm system come trade deadline time... Yanks break skid By Howie Magner Battle Creek's Brandon Harmsen had plenty of folks cheering him on to his franchise-record ninth straight victory Saturday night. Harmsen, who hails from the Grand Rapids suburb of Jenison, worked around 11 Beloit hits and got some stout defense behind him in Battle Creek's 6-1 win over the Snappers. Not only did 3,513 fans pay to get into C.O. Brown Stadium, the second-largest home crowd of the season, but Harmsen estimated that some 120 friends and family also showed up. In addition to seeing Harmsen run his record to 9-0, they also saw the Yankees break a three-game losing streak. And Harmsen said they wouldn't have seen either result without Battle Creek's defensive effort. "I had a lot of luck," said Harmsen, who tossed seven shutout innings and didn't walk a batter while lowering his earned run average to 1.95. "They hit the ball pretty hard and we had a lot of good defensive plays." One of the best came in the fourth inning when, with the Yanks ahead 3-0, Beloit's Vinny Rottino hit a leadoff triple to right-center field. But the relay throw from Matt Carson to Hector Made to Willie Vasquez caught Rottino as he overslid third base -- hey, I guessed right -- MassBrew. "The guys said only I could pull that off, only I could get that," joked Harmen, referring to his reputation for pitching under a lucky star. Beloit (8-8) would've gotten a run on Adam Heether's subsequent double. Instead, Harmsen later preserved the shutout with an inning-ending double play. Battle Creek (8-9) also got a couple of nice catches from center fielder Erold Andrus, one of them a sliding catch on a shallow fly ball, and Made had a nice snag in the seventh inning on a line drive that was ticketed for a two-run single. As for Battle Creek's offense, Andrus got the Yankees on the board with a first-inning RBI single off Beloit starter Brian Montalbo (5-5). Battle Creek went up 3-0 in the second on Nick Walsh's run-scoring groundout and Hector Made's RBI single. The Yankees extended the lead to 6-0 in the sixth with Vasquez's run-scoring single and a two-run single by Edwin Cabrera.

VCR ALERT: Futures Game (3 p.m. Central Time Sunday, ESPN2) at Minute Maid Park (Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks) Link includes Fielder audio and video at FanFest: mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ml...;fext=.jsp

Huntsville Times Stars' Notebook: Bruce McLellan and Mark McCarter Covering the bases The Southern League alignment will have to change next season and Huntsville probably will be in a new division, league president Don Mincher said. The subject of realignment will be on the agenda for the league meeting Tuesday morning in Chattanooga. The league needs to realign because the Atlanta Braves' farm team is moving from Greenville, S.C., to Pearl, Miss., for next season. Two scenarios are under discussion. In one, the divisions would remain East and West, with Huntsville moving from West to East and the Braves going from East to West. Mincher speculated that Huntsville also could wind up in a new North Division with Chattanooga, Carolina (Zebulon, N.C.), Tennessee (Knoxville area) and West Tenn (Jackson). The South would have Birmingham, Mobile, Pearl, Jacksonville, Fla., and Montgomery. ... League and team officials also will get an update on construction of the stadium in Pearl. Mincher said he expects it to be ready when the 2005 season opens. "I have never seen one not ready to play," the former Stars general manager said. "Huntsville might have been the closest. We were still hanging fences during batting practice on opening day 1985." ... Stars principal owner Miles Prentice is expected to attend the league meeting, according to general manager Bryan Dingo. ... Stars first baseman Prince Fielder and second baseman Rickie Weeks took a flight to Houston on Saturday to play in today's Futures Game (3 p.m., ESPN2) at Minute Maid Park. ... Fielder will fly from Houston to Chattanooga for the Southern League All-Star Game, which is Tuesday at BellSouth Park. Stars manager Frank Kremblas will guide the West All-Stars and be assisted by Huntsville hitting coach Sandy Guerrero. Outfielder Brad Nelson will join Fielder in the West starting lineup. ... Weeks was hit by pitches twice Friday, extending his team record for getting hit by a pitch to 22. The old single-season record was 19. ... The Mobile BayBears probably are tired of seeing Huntsville pitcher Jeff Housman (3-5). He beat them twice in six days, giving up one earned run in 12 innings and earning the BC Powder Southern League Pitcher of the Week honor. He gave up only six hits in the two games, the second an 8-3 Stars victory on Thursday. He set a Stars season-high with 10 strikeouts July 3 in a 5-3 win over Mobile. ... Tony Gwynn Jr. failed to get a hit Friday, ending a nine-game hitting streak. He had a 14-game streak earlier in the season. On deck After the three-day All-Star break Monday through Wednesday, the Stars have a four-game homestand against Montgomery, beginning with a 7:05 p.m. game Thursday.

Huntsville Times Game Story: Stars molded by Clay BayBears pitcher takes perfect game into seventh By MIKE EASTERLING Times Sports Staff mikee@htimes.com Maybe it was because top Stars prospects Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder were absent while traveling to the Futures Game. Then again, maybe Mobile pitcher Clay Hensley was simply too good. Whatever the reason, Hensley took a perfect game into the seventh inning, Huntsville starter Ryan Costello struggled to find the strike zone as the BayBears stormed to an early lead and the Stars went on to fall 7-4 Saturday night. An announced crowd of 4,513 at Joe Davis Stadium looked on as Hensley went unscathed until Johnny Raburn lined a double off the out-stretched glove of Mobile right fielder Ben Johnson to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Despite the loss, Huntsville (10-7 second half) held on to first place in the Southern League's West Division since Birmingham, a game behind, lost to Chattanooga. Mobile improved to 6-11. "(Hensley's) fastball was down in the zone and had some sink, and he threw his breaking ball much better than he has in the past,'' Huntsville manager Frank Kremblas said. "He didn't even have to throw his changeup until late in the game. He did a good job.'' Meanwhile, Costello struggled to throw strikes in the first inning and it proved costly. He walked Ronnie Merrill to start the game, and after a groundout he walked Josh Barfield. Costello then pitched into a 3-2 count against Greg Sain, who leads the league in home runs, and he smashed his 24th homer to left field to put Mobile ahead 3-0. "You can't walk people in front of the middle of their lineup,'' Kremblas said. "Their guys will make you pay.'' The BayBears went up 4-0 in the third. Kennard Jones reached on a fielder's choice and went from first to third when Brad Nelson, who moved from the outfield to first in Fielder's absence, threw the ball into left field attempting to get Jones at second on a pickoff play. Jones scored on a sacrifice fly by Barfield. Mobile put the game away in the fifth. Barfield singled with two out, Sain walked and Rico Washington hammered a home run to right-center to make it 7-0. It was Washington's third home run in as many days. Huntsville finally broke through in the seventh on Raburn's leadoff double. The ball was nearly caught by a sprinting Johnson, who got a glove on the liner but couldn't haul it in. One out later, hot-hitting Jamie Gann lined a double into right-center to score Raburn. Nelson followed with a triple into the right-field corner to score Gann, and Nelson scored on an infield hit by Ryan Knox to make it 7-3. Gann has had at least one hit in nine of the 10 games he's played with Huntsville. He also threw out a runner tagging up from second to third, giving him four assists. Huntsville added a run in the ninth when Tony Gwynn Jr. hit an infield single, stole his team-high 24th base and scored on a single by Nelson. Costello (3-2) allowed seven runs (six earned) in five innings on seven hits with four walks.

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Saturday night?s game followed a familiar pattern, only the roles were reversed. In the series? first two games, Huntsville romped to leads of 8-0 and 6-0 on route to a pair of victories over the Bay Bears. For the first time in the set, Mobile scored first and rolled up a 7-0 advantage before holding on for a 7-4 win at Joe Davis Stadium. Despite the loss, Huntsville (10-7, 42-45) stayed one game in front in the Southern League West second-half standings. For the third straight game, Southern League homerun leader Mobile launched two bombs. For the third straight night, third baseman Rico Washington delivered one of them. After the league?s individual homerun leader Greg Sain blasted his 24th, a three-run shot in the first, Mobile got an unearned run in the third. Then in the fifth, Washington touched off a three-run shot to right, his third of the series and season, for a 7-0 Bears lead. While Mobile reached Stars starter Ryan Costello, Bear Clay Hensley shut down the Stars? bats. Hensley authored six perfect innings before Johnny Raburn?s double off Ben Johnson?s glove in right broke up the perfecto. Johnson broke back and leapt for the catchable ball, but it glanced off the thumb of his glove and rolled past him. Two outs later, Jamie Gann ripped a double to right, scoring Raburn, and Chris Barnwell lashed a triple into the rightfield corner, plating Gann. Ryan Knox?s infield-single knocked in Barnwell to make it 7-3. The Stars? final run came in the ninth, a rare tally against Bears closer Brad Baker, who surrendered a run for just the fourth time in 38 appearances. Tony Gwynn Jr. singled, stole second and scored on Brad Nelson?s single to right-center. Hensley (6-7) picked up the win, allowing three runs on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts in seven innings. Costello (4-3) suffered the loss, permitting seven runs, six earned, on seven hits and four walks with one strikeout in five innings. Stars lefty Jeff Housman (3-5, 3.23) takes the mound against Mobile in the series finale on Sunday at Joe Davis Stadium. Game time is 6:05 p.m.

Good thing Milwaukee won -- thank you, Ben Sheets! That's right, folks, affiliates with a winless Saturday night http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif

Final: Ottawa (Orioles) 11, Indianapolis 3 Indianapolis Post-Game Notes: Tribe starter Jeff Farnsworth could not locate his pitches Saturday night, hitting two batters and walking four as the Ottawa Lynx defeated Indianapolis, 11-3. Jack Cust and Chad Mottola each homered for the Lynx, who erased a two-game losing skid. The Lynx produced 14 hits off five Tribe pitchers. Indianapolis added nine hits, scoring a single run in the second and a pair of runs in the eighth. Farnsworth (2-5) picked up the loss, while Ottawa starter Bruce Chen (3-1) earned the victory. Brandon Gemoll had three hits to lead the Tribe. Both Dave Krynzel and Chris Coste each added two hits. Each of Krynzel's were triples. The game was delayed one hour and seven minutes due to thunder and lightning. QUOTE: Tim Leiper, manager of Ottawa on the win: "This was big for us," said Leiper. "During this roadtrip, we?ve had a lot of success until we got here. We battled back and put ourselves into a position to get back into the race. " Leiper on Bruce Chen?s performance: "He?s been outstanding," said Leiper. "He did a great job tonight. He added a little bit of a slider and it really helped him. " NOTES: The Tribe attracted its five millionth fan -Tony Wesner of Olney, Ill. Upon passing the turnstile, Wesner learned that he would be the recipient of a pair of roundtrip tickets to Hawaii, courtesy of ATA, a personalized Indians jersey, box seat season tickets for 2005 and a chance to win $50,000 in an on-field promotion. The two teams play Sunday in the rubber game of the four-game series on Victory Field Floppy Hat Day. Indianapolis Box Score: Gee, do you think this team will miss Ben Hendrickson at all? GAME DATE: 7/10/04 OTT at IND OTTAWA 11 AT INDIANAPOLIS 3 YTD YTD OTTAWA AB R H BI AVG INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG D.McDonald CF 5 2 0 1 .222 D.Krynzel CF 4 1 2 0 .253 M.Fontenot 2B 6 2 4 1 .281 P.Bergeron LF 4 0 0 0 .214 J.Cust DH 3 2 2 5 .271 C.Hart DH 3 1 0 0 .283 G.Gil CAT 5 0 1 2 .273 J.Liefer RF 4 0 1 0 .294 C.Mottola RF 5 1 2 1 .270 C.Coste 3B 4 1 2 2 .285 E.Guzman 3B 5 0 2 1 .268 M.Johnson CAT 3 0 1 0 .251 E.Garabito SS 4 1 1 0 .297 T.Durrington 2B 4 0 0 0 .181 A.Rios LF 2 1 0 0 .333 B.Gemoll 1B 4 0 3 1 .236 C.Bellinger 1B 4 2 2 0 .247 L.Figueroa SS 4 0 0 0 .254 B.Chen PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Farnsworth PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Fiore PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Childers PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Byrdak PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Weibl PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Erdos PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Michalak PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 39 11 14 11 TOTALS 34 3 9 3 OTTAWA 0 4 0 3 0 1 2 0 1-11 14 0 INDIANAPOLIS 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0- 3 9 0 DP--OTTAWA 2, INDIANAPOLIS 2. LOB--OTTAWA 11, INDIANAPOLIS 6. 2B-- J.Cust (11), C.Bellinger (13), C.Coste (13). 3B--M.Fontenot (8), D.Krynzel 2 (3). HR--J.Cust (8), C.Mottola (8). SB--E.Garabito (10), A.Rios (1). HBP--J.Cust, G.Gil, E.Garabito. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA OTTAWA B.Chen (W,3-1) 6.0 4 1 1 1 8 0 3.23 T.Fiore 2.0 4 2 2 1 0 0 4.50 T.Byrdak 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9.35 INDIANAPOLIS J.Farnsworth (L,2-5) 3.1 5 7 7 4 3 1 7.13 M.Childers 0.2 2 0 0 0 0 0 5.67 C.Weibl 2.0 2 1 1 2 0 1 3.60 T.Erdos 2.0 3 2 2 1 1 0 8.63 C.Michalak 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 5.18 HB--J.Farnsworth 2, C.Michalak. SO--D.McDonald, M.Fontenot, C.Mottola, E.Guzman, D.Krynzel 2, P.Bergeron, C.Hart, C.Coste, T.Durrington 2, B.Gemoll. BB--D.McDonald, J.Cust 2, A.Rios 3, C.Bellinger, C.Hart, M.Johnson. T--2:50. A--12976Indianapolis Game Log: Krynzel's leadoff triple in the first wasted... www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=13965

Final: Lake Elsinore (Padres) 10, High Desert 5 High Desert Box Score: Enrique Cruz has managed seven California League HR's in 160 AB's, despite a .648 OPS; Bo Hall continues to tough his way through 16 starts thus far -- not Chris Saenz-like, circa 2003, but he's Cal League-solid more often than not... GAME DATE: 7/10/04 LKE at HD LAKE ELSINORE 10 AT HIGH DESERT 5 YTD YTD LAKE ELSINORE AB R H BI AVG HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG P.Ramos 2B 4 3 2 0 .327 K.Bibbs CF 5 1 1 0 .291 L.Cruz SS 3 1 1 1 .275 C.Crabbe 2B 3 0 0 0 .288 P.McAnulty LF 4 1 2 2 .283 J.Eure 3B 5 0 2 0 .242 M.Richardson DH 3 1 1 1 .253 T.Hinton 1B 4 0 0 0 .315 J.Carter CF 5 1 1 0 .327 F.Villanueva CAT 4 1 1 0 .250 J.Roman 1B 5 1 1 0 .193 J.Frost LF 4 0 0 0 .261 K.Jacobo 3B 4 1 1 3 .231 T.Farnsworth DH 3 1 1 2 .175 A.Pagan CAT 4 1 3 1 .248 M.Mendez RF 3 1 1 0 .261 C.Baker RF 4 0 0 1 .308 E.Cruz SS 4 1 1 1 .206 J.Wells PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Hall PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Coonrod PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Rivard PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Sevier PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Kusiewicz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Nolasco PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 36 10 12 9 TOTALS 35 5 7 3 LAKE ELSINORE 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 5 1-10 12 2 HIGH DESERT 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0- 5 7 2 E--P.Ramos, L.Cruz, J.Eure, J.Frost. DP--LAKE ELSINORE 1, HIGH DESERT 1. LOB--LAKE ELSINORE 5, HIGH DESERT 7. 2B--P.Ramos (3), J.Roman (4), F.Villanueva (11). 3B--P.Ramos (1). HR--K.Jacobo (10), A.Pagan (6), T.Farnsworth (7), E.Cruz (7). SB--P.Ramos (4). HBP--M.Mendez. SF-- P.McAnulty. SH--L.Cruz. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA LAKE ELSINORE J.Wells 6.0 7 5 5 2 0 2 3.50 A.Coonrod (W,1-0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 N.Sevier 2.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 2.70 HIGH DESERT B.Hall 7.0 7 4 4 1 4 1 5.86 R.Rivard (L,0-1) 0.1 1 4 1 2 0 0 2.70 M.Kusiewicz 0.2 2 1 0 0 2 1 4.26 D.Nolasco 1.0 2 1 0 1 1 0 7.79 HB--J.Wells. WP--R.Rivard. PB--F.Villanueva. SO--P.Ramos, P.McAnulty, J.Carter, J.Roman 2, K.Jacobo, C.Baker, C.Crabbe, J.Eure, J.Frost. BB--P.Ramos, L.Cruz, M.Richardson 2, C.Crabbe 2, T.Farnsworth. T--2:50. A--2778High Desert Game Log: A wild pitch, an error, and a passed ball all contributed to the disastrous eighth inning for the Mavs... www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=17923