MassBrew

Final: Buffalo (Indians) 7, Indianapolis 0 It's even worse than it appears, as a kid lefty from high-A ball was called up to make a one-time rotation appearance for the Bisons; obviously he shut the AAA Indy squad down... SportsNetwork appears to be having issues tonight -- box scores and game logs will be delayed; wow -- 9:30 Central and all the available audio for the evening is complete.

Final: Beloit 2, Burlington (Royals) 0 Details later...

In progress: Buffalo (Indians) 6, Indianapolis 0, after six innings Tribe's season continues to spiral...

Update, in progress: Greenville (Braves) 4, Huntsville 0, Braves still batting, bottom of the eighth Chris Saenz allowed to pitch into the eighth, allowed one run in that frame, responsible for another that eventually scored; Chris allowed a solo HR earlier; the Stars, as hardytheman noted above, stifled at the plate...

Baseball America lists the 3rd round signings and bonuses here. RHP Josh Wahpepah signed for a bit less than where slotted, it appears: www.baseballamerica.com/d....php?rnd=3

Final: Arizona Mariners 14, Arizona Brewers 7 We were given a "heads-up" on the draft forum that first round RHP Mark Rogers will make his Brewer debut with a couple of innings on Thursday July 1st. This group falls to 0-5. Box score Tuesday AM... FINAL R H E - - - ARIZ MARINERS 14 15 2 ARIZ BREWERS 7 9 4

In progress: Huntsville 0, Greenville 0, after four innings Chris Saenz allows one base hit thus far, striking out five; Saenz has also doubled and is 10-for-27 (.370) average.

From the Indy Indians: On the nice news front, look for CF David Krynzel's name to start popping up in Arizona Rookie League box scores, perhaps as soon as in the one from today's (June 28th) game, as he's been assigned to that level to begin rehab play (returning from broken foot). Indianapolis OF Jon Nunnally was placed on the disabled list after breaking the hamate bone in his right hand. Brewerfan sympathies to the veteran Nunnally, as we learned a lot about hamate bone issues in 2002/2003 via Brad Nelson. Finally, while noted briefly in Sunday's Link Report, Beloit second baseman Guilder Rodriguez has been activated from the Snapper DL, and at this time, is expected to rotate game action with Will Lewis.

Beloit Daily News Game Story: Cougars chase Pena Snapper suffers a rare `bad day' at Pohlman Field By Jim Franz Sports Editor If this was 2003, Luis Pena would have been much more concerned about having Kane County knock him out of the box in Sunday afternoon's 12-8 loss. The All-Star just hasn't had many rough outings this season. ``Everybody has a bad day,'' the tall right-hander said. ``This was my bad day. I've got a lot more games to throw this season.'' He sure wasn't alone in having his hands full with the Cougars. They're one of the Midwest League's most potent lineups and fattened their batting averages in taking three-of-four from Beloit. They had four home runs among their 12 hits Sunday, including two by Brian Snyder and a grand slam off Pena by Dustin Majewski. ``The frustrating part of this series was giving up all the runs,'' Beloit Manager Don Money said. ``It's one thing getting beat 4-2 or 5-1, but other than the opener, after three innings we're down 6-0. That's hard to come back on. We gave up 30 runs in the last three games.'' Sunday, the Snappers hoped Pena would be able to turn the Cougars into kittens, but instead they raked him for 11 hits and nine runs - eight earned - in just 4 1/3 innings. Beloit's offense finally got untracked. After being shut out for 20 innings by the Cougars, the Snappers collected 11 hits Sunday. Down 6-0, Beloit answered in the fourth inning. Lou Palmisano and Adam Heether drew two-out walks and Vinny Rottino followed with his ninth home run of the season to cut the deficit in half. Kane County chased Pena the following inning, plating three more runs. ``Every time we scored, the next half inning they scored,'' Money said. ``We tell our pitchers when we score, shut them down. But we couldn't do that.'' ``He was very quick to the plate and when you're quick to the plate you can't get your arm through and that means the ball is going to be up,'' pitching coach Rich Sauveur said. ``He didn't make the adjustment. That's a key word in this clubhouse. ``They're good hitters, but we made them even better. A good team will take advantage of mistakes and in this series we made a lot of mistakes.'' Pena agreed. ``I was having trouble with my command,'' he said. ``I was getting behind in the count and then throwing fastballs in the middle of the plate. I was getting them up in the zone. I've got to keep the ball down and throw more breaking balls.'' Reliever Daniel McKenna allowed two more runs - one earned - in 1 2/3 innings. Ty Taubenheim finished up, allowing just one hit in his three innings. It was a home run to dead center by Brian Snyder. ``Taubenheim threw very well,'' Sauveur said. ``He only made one mistake and they hit it out. But it wasn't a bomb. It's only 380 (feet) to center. Show me another baseball park where it's 380 to center.'' The game marked the Beloit debut of shortstop Wandel Campana, a 26-year-old in his second go-around in the MWL. He's a former Dayton Dragon (2001-002), who was released last season by the Cincinnati Reds. He had played 30 games this spring with the Schaumburg Flyers when the Milwaukee Brewers contacted him. ``They asked me if I wanted the chance to come here and I said, `Hell yes,''' the Havana, Ill., resident said. ``I hope I get the chance to prove I can play and put together some numbers.'' ``Josh Murray will get the majority of the playing time,'' Money said. ``But when we had Murray and Gilberto Acosta we were basically getting nothing offensively out of the shortstop spot. Now maybe we'll get a little more. Maybe it will push Murray a bit.'' The Snappers tried to keep the 2,779 fans interested. They scored three more runs in the fifth on a run-scoring single by Terry Trofholz and two-run double by Steve Moss. Trofholz and Moss were perfect in their final three at-bats. Trofholz had two singles and a triple, scoring each time. Moss had two doubles and a triple and on each occasion drove in Trofholz. NOTES: The Snappers head to Burlington today (7 p.m.). ...Money said Will Lewis and Guilder Rodriguez will alternate at second. ...Saturday, the Snappers were shut out, 8-0, on a six-hitter by Chris Dunwell and Manny Rodriguez. Greg Moreira (5-4) took the loss. Drew Anderson and Palmisano had two hits apiece for Beloit. The game drew 3,060 fans.

Monday's Daily Menu: 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 Adrian Hernandez at home vs. Buffalo (Indians), 7:00 PM Audio link: www.newstalk1430.com/ Alternate audio link (Bisons' feed): www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=bbisons/ HUNTSVILLE: RHP Chris Saenz at Greenville (Braves), 6:15 PM Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ HIGH DESERT: IDLE -- All-Star Game Tuesday BELOIT: RHP Simon Beresford at Burlington (Royals), 7:00 PM Audio link (Bees' feed): www.gobees.com/audio.html HELENA: LHP Jared Theodorakas at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 8:05 PM; sorry, no web audio for this series http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif ARIZONA ROOKIE: TBD on the mound as the boys host the Mariners at 10:30 AM Mountain time...

International League Standings: www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...league=INT WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 4 1 .800[/b] BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 3 2 .600 1.0 WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 2 3 .400 2.0 MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 2 3 .400 2.0 *MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 2 3 .400 2.0 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB *LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 6 0 1.000 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 4 2 .667 2.0 INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 4 2 .667 2.0 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 2 4 .333 4.0[/b] LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 1 5 .167 5.0 WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 3 1 .750 PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 3 1 .750 *KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 3 1 .750 CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 2 2 .500 1.0 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 2 2 .500 1.0 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 1 3 .250 2.0 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 1 3 .250 2.0 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 1 3 .250 2.0[/b] NORTH DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]HELENA BREWERS (MILWAUKEE) 6 3 .667[/b] GREAT FALLS WHITE SOX (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 5 4 .556 1.0 BILLINGS MUSTANGS (CINCINNATI) 5 4 .556 1.0 MISSOULA OSPREY (ARIZONA) 2 7 .222 4.0 W L PCT GB ROYALS (KANSAS CITY) 5 0 1.000 GIANTS (SAN FRANCISCO) 4 1 .800 1.0 PADRES (SAN DIEGO) 3 2 .600 2.0 MARINERS (SEATTLE) 3 2 .600 2.0 RANGERS (TEXAS) 2 3 .400 3.0 ATHLETICS (OAKLAND) 2 3 .400 3.0 ANGELS (ANAHEIM) 2 3 .400 3.0 CUBS (CHICAGO CUBS) 1 4 .200 4.0 [b]BREWERS (MILWAUKEE) 0 4 .000 4.5[/b]

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update: PENA WAS A PAINGreenville came into today's game handicapped by the promotion of their best pitcher, Dan Meyer, 3rd among Southern League ERA leaders and tops among those still in the league, and outfielder Bill McCarthy, one of twelve .300 hitters in the league. Both were promoted to Class AAA-Richmond (Int'l.) following last night's game........ Meyer was supposed to have pitched the rubber game of this series. Now Monday's starter for Greenville is up in the air. Whoever he is, he will face Chris Saenz (5-4, 4.07), who has given up four runs in 14 innings in his last two starts, both against Tennessee....... As for McCarthy, the Stars pitching staff has been able to hold him to a .176 average this year (3-for-17), so Meyer's loss to Greenville looms much more advantageous. Three consecutive singles off Jeff Housman in the 1st inning gave the G'Braves a 1-0 lead, Housman making his first start since June 4 after posting a 3.74 ERA in three games out of the bullpen. Joel Alvarado showed why he's in Double-A despite his .146 average, as his defense prevented further damage as a light rain started to fall at Greenville Muni........ With Napoleon Calzado on second and Brent Butler on third, Alvy faked a throw to second, luring Butler off base just enough to give him a chance to gun him down with that cannon of his....... Alvy has thrown out close to 50% of the runners trying to steal off him this year. In the 2nd, a hanging breaking ball from Housman was driven to centerfield by left fielder Kelly Johnson, driving in Tony Pena, who singled and stole second....... In the 5th, Scott Thorman crushed a 2-0 pitch over Brad Nelson's head in left, off the wall, after Jason Shelley had walked Butler and Calzado, making it 4-1. Pena, to get back to him, was a real menace for the Stars today....... The Stars were down 4-3, the closest they had gotten since the 3rd inning of this game, with Ozzie Chavez at bat and Johnny Raburn on second. Raburn had just doubled off the chalkline in right, driving in Tony Gwynn and Prince Fielder to get them to this point......... Chavez smoked a 1-1 liner to short that was destined for a game-tying hit, but Pena climbed the ladder and stabbed the ball in flight to end the 8th for the Stars........ Who else would be the first batter as the G'Braves came up in the bottom half? Of course........ BA served up an off-speed pitch to Pena that took off high over the left field wall. That was a big insurance run in a hapless inning for the Stars....... After Pena's HR, a catcher's interference put Kelly Johnson on, then Brayan Pena singled through the right side moving him to second. An error by Fielder on a bunt attempt by reliever Scott Sturkie loaded the bases. Prince was trying to pick the ball up and tag Sturkie all in one motion when all he had to do was secure the ball, turn and feed to first where Rickie Weeks was covering....... The first pitch to Adam Stern was singled up the middle to score Johnson. Everyone thought Pena would score, but he cost his team by failing to slide on Gwynn's throw, and Alvarado's sweep tag nailed him for the first out of the inning....... After that, Brian Adams got two quick outs on Butler and Calzado, but the Stars momentum was lost and their five-game win streak --- longest this season --- was over. Both teams had their roving pitching instructors acting as pitching coaches today....... Mike Alvarez for Greenville. I met him many years ago. A very friendly person to talk to and deeply religious. And Jim Rooney for the Stars replacing Fred Dabney, who was at a family wedding. A lot of talk about Rickie Weeks' improvement at the plate of late....... Rickie is learning to spray the ball more and that is residue of Sandy Guerrero's instruction. Sandy advised him to back off the plate, giving his powerful wrists more time to react, and while he hasn't utilitzed his speed more to steal bases, he has been getting on base more....... Rickie went hitless today, ending a six-game hitting streak, but he's hit .288 in his last 17 games. The Birmingham Barons will have to find another shortstop after losing Michael Morse (11, 38, .287) in a major trade with the Seattle Mariners....... The White Sox got Freddy Garcia for former Barons Miguel Olivo, Jeremy Reed, and Morse........ Stars fans, of course, remember Reed, who hit .409 in 66 games for Birmingham last year, with a .591 slugging percentage. One of the keys to the Stars' five-game playoff victory last year for the Western title was holding Reed to 2-for-19, because he killed us during the regular season. Last June 29, in what I believe was his first game against the Stars, he went 5-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs in a 6-4 victory for Birmingham....... Miguel Olivo was a strong-armed catcher who was once in the A's organization when the Stars were an Oakland farm team. He was a Southern League All-Star for the Barons in 2002, hitting .306 that year. He was a big pest at the plate, too. A handful of former Stars will be playing in the Triple-A All-Star game next month. Ben Hendrickson and Corey Hart were chosen from Indianapolis, Jim Rushford and Lou Collier from Scranton, Ernie Young from Buffalo, Danny Ardoin from Oklahoma, Jamey Wright (who won his two rehab starts for the Stars in 2000) from Omaha, and Bucky Jacobsen from Tacoma. The July 17 game will be televised on ESPN2 and aired on SportingNews Radio.

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Huntsville?s five-game winning streak came to an end Sunday evening. Despite their rousing eighth-inning rally that put the tying run in scoring position, the Stars fell, 6-3, to the G-Braves at Municipal Stadium. Huntsville (4-1, 36-39) remained one game up in the Southern League West second-half standings. Down 4-1 into the eighth, the Stars mounted a threat against Braves reliever Jason Richardson. Tony Gwynn Jr. and Prince Fielder opened the frame with walks, and Richardson gave way to Scott Sturkie, who fanned Brad Nelson and retired Chris Barnwell on a popout to second after the Stars pulled off a double-steal. With runners at second and third and two down in the eighth, Johnny Raburn ripped a Sturkie offering into the rightfield corner for a two-run double. Ozzie Chavez followed with a line-drive bullet toward short, where Tony Pena Jr. made a jaw-dropping leap to steal a hit and save a run. The Braves grabbed insurance in the eighth, as Pena led off with a homer to left and two Stars errors handed Greenville an unearned run. Joel Alvardo?s catcher?s interference, Brayan Pena?s infield hit and first baseman Fielder?s bobble on a bunt loaded the bases with none out. Adam Stern singled in a run to make it 6-3, G-Braves. Sturkie secured his second save, tossing two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and fanning one. Izzy Pineda (3-4) picked up his third win, striking out 10 while holding Huntsville to two hits, three walks and one unearned run over five innings. Jeff Housman (1-5) suffered his fifth loss, surrendering two runs on six hits and no walks with four strikeouts over four innings. Huntsville sends righty Chris Saenz (5-4, 4.07) against an unannounced Braves starter in the series finale Monday night. Game time is 6:15 p.m. CT and the FPH Financial Services Pre-game Show starts at 6:00 p.m. CT. Stars baseball can be heard on ESPN 1450 and at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Indians second baseman Trent Durrington attempts to tag Syracuse right fielder Stubby Clapp. The Indians lost the game in 11 innings after giving up a one-run lead in the ninth. -- Lizz Giordano / The Indianapolis Star http://www.indystar.com/images/pics2/image-158298-1602.jpg

Indianapolis Post-Game Notes: Indianapolis blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning Sunday afternoon as the Syracuse SkyChiefs battled back to defeat the Tribe in 11 innings, 3-1. Indianapolis jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Chris Magruder drove in Peter Bergeron with a sacrafice fly. Pitchers Jorge De La Rosa and Travis Phelps combined to shut out the SkyChiefs for seven innings. Syracuse tied the game in the ninth on Paul Chiaffredo?s sacrafice fly, then Chiaffredo doubled home two runs in the 11th off Tribe reliever Roberto Giron. Todd Erdos (0-3) suffered the loss for Indianapolis. Kevin Frederick (2-1) picked up the win for Syracuse as Jason Kershner earned his first save. Indianapolis falls to 36-38, while Syracuse improves to 32-45 and closes the series with two consecutive victories. Indianapolis meets Buffalo on Monday Dollar Menu Night. Opening pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. QUOTE: Paul Chiaffredo, Syracuse catcher on game winning hit: "I was looking for a good pitch," said Chiaffredo. "He (Giron) made a mistake and threw me a slider two times in a row and I was looking for it the second time. I?ve just taken the pressure off myself and I?m swinging the bat very comfortably. When we loaded the bases with nobody out early in the game and did not score, we knew that things could happen later." NOTES: The crowd of 13,917 was the largest of the season at Victory Field. The Indians and SkyChiefs split the series at 2-2. Indianapolis is 11-21 against IL North Division opponents this season and 8-17 during the month of June.

Thanks, guys, for the game updates. Always appreciated, especially on a Sunday. Beloit Site Game Note and Player of the Game Info: www.snappersbaseball.com/...45a1b95777

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update: WOOLY BULLYThe last time Brian Moehler faced Huntsville, he was staring at the likes of 2nd baseman Mark Bellhorn and right fielder Ben Grieve, among others........ That was on August 15, 1996 at Wolfson Park in Jacksonville....... The Double-A All-Star won his 14th game that day, beating the Stars, 10-4........ Eventually he would win 15, rare in the Southern League, despite its reputation as a pitchers league........ His efforts won him a trip to the majors with the Tigers in September and for the next four seasons, he would become part of the Tiger rotation, winning in double figures each year until 2000........ Then the bottom fell out........ Going from double-figures to just three major league victories over the next three seasons, he was in and out of surgery as well as in and out of one organization after another........ First visit was appendicitis in 2000, but then a weak shoulder was misdiagnosed as tendinitis a year later. It turned out he had a torn rotator cuff and a torn labrum as well........ If that wasn't enough, a torn elbow ligament followed and that required Tommy John surgery........ Now 32, he's trying to come back with the Braves organization........ Never a durable pitcher to begin with, he gave up all six of the Stars runs, as well as all ten hits in an unconventional victory for the Stars, their first over Moehler since May 3, 1996. Unlike their four previous wins, the Stars got off to a shaky start........ Matt Ford needed only 13 pitches to get the G'Braves out 1-2-3 in the 1st, but the 2nd inning took a toll as the Braves scored a pair of unearned runs....... Chris Barnwell's low throw to first put Bill McCarthy on to lead off the inning. With one out, a wild pitch by Ford got him to second and Tony Pena's fly ball to right sent him to third. Aaron Herr (former #1 draft pick, the son of former St. Louis Cardinal leaguer Tommy Herr) walked to put runners on the corners....... That set things up for catcher Jean (J.C.) Boscan........ Boscan lined a 3-2 pitch deep to right-center off the wall for a double scoring both runners....... Ford followed that by walking the pitcher, but recovered to strike out Adam Stern, the 7th leading hitter in the league, but the inning took 37 pitches out of him......... By the time Ford was gone from this game after more non-support from his defense, he had thrown 66 pitches in just three innings. In the top of the inning, the Stars got on the board........ Kade Johnson walked, stole 2nd, and advanced to 3rd on Ford's grounder........ Rickie Weeks then extended his hitting streak to six games, chopping a ball through the infield to right for a two-out RBI-single........ Weeks is playing as well as he did in April when he hit .311, making only 2 errors while learning the ropes at second. He's setting the table with a .438 average to start the second half, and has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games for a .296 average........ One run is all the Stars got, but it looked like they would get more. Tony Gwynn singled, sending Weeks to third, then stole second putting runners in scoring position, but Prince Fielder popped out to end the inning. The G'Braves extended their lead to 4-1, thanks in part to some more sloppy defense........ With one out, Jackson Melian reached on an error by Fielder and stole second. The former Huntsville Stars outfielder had been acquired by the Braves from the Yankees earlier that day for a player to be named. He was once the fifth best prospect in the Braves' organization in 2000, and projected to be part of their outfield in 2002, but he was traded to the Reds in a multi-player deal. His stock went down and Cincinnati put him on waivers, the Brewers claiming him prior to the 2002 season. Hitting only .223 for the Stars, he was traded to the Cubs, and now he's playing for his 4th Southern League team ....... Ford walked Bill McCarthy, sending up Scott Thorman, a Florida State League All-Star last year. Thorman hit a breaking ball past a diving Fielder for a base hit. Melian rounded third and scored. Raburn's throw was late. McCarthy, on the throw, raced to third and the Stars had Thorman caught between first and second, but no one was covering second for the rundown. All three Stars outfielders rushed in to try to cover, but it was much too late and Thorman was on second. It got even more bizarre...... Tony Pena, Jr. sent a rocket to third, backhanded on a fine play by Chris Barnwell. He ran down McCarthy, tagging him out in a short-lived rundown between home and 3rd, then promptly threw the ball into centerfield in an attempt to get Thorman, who was able to succeed where McCarthy didn't...... It was now 4-1..... Two errors by Barnwell in the inning. Manager Frank Kremblas still believes in him, though, despite 16 errors --- most in the league for a 3rd baseman........ Getting that third out to get out of the inning was no easy matter. Aaron Herr singled to left. Pena took a gamble and rounded third. The throw from Brad Nelson was a little off-line, forcing Kade to scramble into foul territory, but Johnson made a great defensive effort, stealing back across the plate to make the tag on Pena to end the inning and the game for Matt Ford. The Stars would get Ford off the hook and the person to get things going was none other than Glenn Woolard, who would help extend the bullpen's string of scoreless innings in this half to 15 1/3 innings, and take the credit for his first Double-A victory......... Woolard, with one out, singled up the middle. Weeks then followed with one to the left side, moving him to second......... Tony Gwynn, Jr., jammed, hit a 1-2 pitch, a slow roller to Herr, who instead of taking a direct path to the ball, moved out of the runner's way, instead of letting the runner avoid him, thus taking himself out of position to field the ball........ It was the turning point of the ballgame.......... Woolard scored. Gwynn went to third, and Gwynn took second for a double, only his 2nd extra-base hit this month........ Greenville manager Brian Snitker pleaded obstruction to the ump, but it was like the apocryphal boy who pleads to the court to let him free on a charge of killing his parents because he's now an orphan.........Prince Fielder's grounder scored Gwynn to put the Stars within one........ Brad Nelson (.389 now vs. Greenville) then put the Stars in front, 5-4, driving a fast ball deep over the 405 sign in dead center at Greenville Muni --- his 15th homer of the season, his 3rd vs. this team this season....... In two days, Nelson passed the season-leading HR total of Corey Hart from last year. It seems Brad will easily have the most home runs for a Milwaukee-affiliated Huntsville Stars team, eclipsing Jeff Deardorff's total of 19 in 2002......... John Novinsky recorded his 7th save and 4th in as many appearances, but it was a prolonged, thrilling finish. Novinsky got two quick outs -- striking out pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson and getting Adam Stern to ground out to Barnwell, with Fielder making a fine scoop on the low throw......... But Napoleon Calzado walked on a 3-2 pitch and Jackson Melian hit a broken bat roller to short for a hit. Brazenly, Greenville manager called for and pulled off the double steal with an 0-2 count on .300 hitter Bill McCarthy at the plate, Greenville's leading RBI man....... With the tying run at second, and after a tough call on a check swing, Novinsky gave him a 2-2 breaking ball. McCarthy swung and missed and the Stars won their 5th straight for the first time this year, and the first time since August 2002. Saturday night, Greg Bruso pitched three scoreless innings, giving up just one hit for the Baby Brewers in an Arizona League game against the Cubs, but the Brews lost 8-6. Nestor Corredor, who was dropped from the Helena Brewers by going 1-for-18, went 2-for-3 in that game........ Kevin Haverbusch, who was released by the Brewers after a spring training stint with the Stars, is 7th among independent Atlantic League hitters with a .350 average for the Nashua Pride....... Francisco Matos, who worked out with the Stars before their season opener this year, and played for them from 1990-93, is 9th among Northeast League batting leaders with a .340 average.

It's another pitching matchup that on the surface favors the Brewers, as Kyle Lohse has been on the bad side of mediocre this year. MLB.com preview: brewers.mlb.com/NASApp/ml...;fext=.jsp It'd be huge to take two out of three here, basically canceling out the series loss against Colorado at Miller Park. And yes, while Coors Field and PNC Park have not been kind to the Brewers, after today, the road trip is seven games against two teams a combined 32 games under .500. Speaking of getting ahead of ourselves http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif , it gets a bit repetitive, but it's worth saying again -- the wild-card leaders have exactly one fewer loss than the Brewers do. Here's your wild-card standings and focus in on that loss column -- heck, with Friday's doubleheader, the Crew can finally start making up these "games-in-hand": sports.espn.go.com/mlb/st...e&st=2 Enjoy your Sunday, folks!

International League Standings: www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...league=INT WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 4 0 1.000[/b] BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 3 1 .750 1.0 *MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 2 2 .500 2.0 WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 1 3 .250 3.0 MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 1 3 .250 3.0 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB *LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 5 0 1.000 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 4 1 .800 1.0 INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 4 2 .667 1.5 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 2 4 .333 3.5[/b] LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 1 4 .200 4.0 WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 2 1 .667 PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 2 1 .667 *KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 2 1 .667 CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 2 1 .667 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 1 2 .333 1.0 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 1 2 .333 1.0 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 1 2 .333 1.0 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 1 2 .333 1.0[/b] NORTH DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]HELENA BREWERS (MILWAUKEE) 6 3 .667[/b] GREAT FALLS WHITE SOX (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 5 4 .556 1.0 BILLINGS MUSTANGS (CINCINNATI) 5 4 .556 1.0 MISSOULA OSPREY (ARIZONA) 2 7 .222 4.0 W L PCT GB ROYALS (KANSAS CITY) 4 0 1.000 GIANTS (SAN FRANCISCO) 4 0 1.000 MARINERS (SEATTLE) 3 1 .750 1.0 PADRES (SAN DIEGO) 2 2 .500 2.0 ANGELS (ANAHEIM) 2 2 .500 2.0 RANGERS (TEXAS) 1 3 .250 3.0 CUBS (CHICAGO CUBS) 1 3 .250 3.0 ATHLETICS (OAKLAND) 1 3 .250 3.0 [b]BREWERS (MILWAUKEE) 0 4 .000 4.0[/b]

Helena Game Story from the Missoulian: Lots more detail as you'd expect from the home team coverage... Centeno's bat helps O's snap skid By KIM BRIGGEMAN of the Missoulian Manager Jim Presley held a brief meeting with his Missoula Osprey before their baseball game Saturday night and delivered a succinct message: "It's time to start winning." The O's didn't hit very well, and they had to avert disaster when pitcher Ben Krantz got off to a rocky start. But they beat the Helena Brewers 3-1 in Pioneer League action, breaking a five-game losing skein against the suddenly punchless Brewers. Now 2-7 in the young season, they'll take Sunday off before playing four more home games, two against Billings and two more against the Brewers again. It was Missoula's first win in its new stadium, Play Ball Park. A crowd of 2,014 celebrated the milestone as rain and wind visited briefly but had the good grace to keep moving up the valley. Jaen Centeno continued to wave his magic bat for Missoula, driving in two of the three runs and finishing 3-for-4. Esperling Vasquez recorded the Osprey bullpen's first save with a 1-2-3 ninth. Donald Julio blanked the Brewers for the previous 3 1-3 innings to get the victory. Presley's meeting wasn't long. The Osprey had found numerous ways to lose their five previous games to Helena, though they'd played well in most of them. "I said we've got everybody healthy now. We're going to start playing situational baseball," said Presley. "If we're giving up two, three, four runs in the first inning, they aren't going to be out there very long." Krantz's line shows no indication of a 3-1 victory. He walked six Brewers, hit two others and threw a wild pitch in 4 2-3 innings. The 23-year-old Canadian right-hander, who pitched at Penn before the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him in the 16th round last year, was in deep, roiling water within minutes of his first pitch. He walked two of the first three batters, and between that Steven Sollman doubled off the left-field wall. With bases load, Krantz plunked Grant Richardson on his first pitch to force in a run. There were still no outs. Osprey pitching coach Wellington Cepeda paid a visit to Krantz, who'd missed Presley's pregame meeting while getting ready for his start. Cepeda passed the message on at the mound. And then Lady Luck interceded. Helena's Tony Festa smashed a screaming liner down the first-base line. Osprey first baseman Javier Brito, who's had a number of fine defensive plays this week, snagged it at knee level and stepped on first for a double play. Adam Mannon, a Bird killer most of the week, then lined out to center field and Krantz was off the hook. Helena went on to leave 11 runners on base. Charlie Fermaint stalled a potential game-breaking inning in the fifth when he inexplicably broke for third base while a surprised Julio, just in the game, watched from the mound. Fermaint was disposed of in a rundown for the third out. Missoula cobbled together seven hits, its fewest since a 7-2 opening-night loss at Great Falls. But many came at key times. Wilkin Castillo led off the fourth with a double that bounced off the high wall in right field, mere feet from becoming the first home run in Play Ball Park (that's still pending). Two outs later, Centeno lined a single to left-center to score Castillo. Centeno, a 20-year-old Venezuelan left fielder, added an RBI single in the sixth and another base hit on a hit-and-run in the eighth. In five games against the Brewers, he was 13-for-17 to take over the Pioneer League batting lead with a .538 batting average. Helena, the league's top hitting team going in, collected just six hits off the three Missoula pitchers. The Brewers' No. 3-6 hitters - Fermaint, Richardson, Festa and Mannon - went 0-for-10.

Helena Game Notes from the Independent Republic: Osprey end five-game losing skid to Brewers By IR Staff The Missoula Osprey stopped a five-game skid against Helena Saturday night, winning 3-1 for their first win at Play Ball Park. Jaen Centeno drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, with a single that plated Wilkin Castillo. Centeno was hitting .500 going into the game. The Brewers only run came in the first inning when Hasan Rasheed came home on a wild pitch. The Brewers left 11 men on base in the game. Donald Julio got the win for Missoula coming in the fifth and allowing just four hits and no runs over 3 1/3 innings. Josh Baker took the loss for Helena. The Rice product allowed two earned runs over four innings. Robert Hinton got the start for Helena and struck out three over four innings. Steven Sollman had two hits in the game, including a double. Dallas Bates went 3-for-4 at the plate. Helena (6-3) still owns a one-game lead over Great Falls and Billings in the Northern Division of the Pioneer League. The Brewers will have an off day today before entertaining the Great Falls White Sox on Monday at Kindrick-Legion Field. Southpaw Jared Theodorakas is slated to start for Helena. Game time is at 7:00 PM (8:00 Central).

There will be a Daily Press High Desert game story a bit later -- for now, this from the San Bernadino Sun has plenty of detail, and gives you some perspective to this Hernandez kid: Hernandez, Sixers roll over High Desert, 7-3 By MICHELLE GARDNER, Staff Writer ADELANTO - This time the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino didn't wait until the final inning to mount an offensive attack. They scored five runs in the sixth inning to blow open what was a close game and went on to a 7-3 victory over the High Desert Mavericks on Saturday in front of 2,760 fans at Mavericks Stadium in the final game before the all-star break. The Sixers (4-2), who needed a seven-run ninth Friday for an 8-5 victory, led 2-1 when they got the big inning this time. The carnage started with a one-out single by Jon Nelson, who scored on a double by Pichi Balet. Carlos Arroyo drove home a run with a single, and newcomer Erick Monzon hit a long fly ball that was mishandled by Mario Mendez, allowing two runs to score. "You like to think that momentum we had after Friday night would carry over,' Sixers manager Daren Brown said. "I guess it did because we came out and scored two right away in the first, then had a big inning after that. This is definitely a good way to end the half.' That run support was more than enough for phenom Felix Hernandez, who was spectacular once again. Hernandez (9-3) went seven innings and struck out a season-high 11, fanning every hitter in the Mavericks lineup at least once. He gave up just one run and three hits. Hernandez set down 15 consecutive hitters between the second and sixth innings. Hernandez's strong showing over the last six weeks has fueled speculation that he could soon be headed to Double-A San Antonio. In his last eight starts, the 18-year-old Venezuelan is 5-1 with a 1.97 ERA. In 50 innings, he has given up 42 hits and struck out 68. He has allowed 11 earned runs over that stretch but four came in one game. Hernandez said he thinks about the possibility of being promoted, but says he is focused on the task at hand. "This is a good league,' Hernandez through teammate and interpreter Rene Rivera. "It's not as easy as it looks. I just try and do the job every day. I still have to make good pitches when I'm out there.' The lone run Hernandez gave up came in the second when he walked Travis Hinton, who advanced on a single by John Vanden Berg and a sacrifice bunt by Mendez. He scored on an infield ground out that closed the gap to 2-1. The Sixers collected 10 hits with Nelson and Balet getting three each and Arroyo managing two. 66ers notes There was one official scoring change from Friday night's game. A grounder deep in the hole off the bat of newcomer Erick Monzon was originally ruled an error on High Desert shortstop Enrique Cruz but was changed to a hit, making Monzon 1-for-5. It also made the lone run charged to Mavs starter Khalid Ballouli earned rather than unearned.

High Desert Box Score: GAME DATE: 6/26/04 INL at HD INLAND EMPIRE 7 AT HIGH DESERT 3 YTD YTD INLAND EMPIRE AB R H BI AVG HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG J.Guzman 3B 3 1 1 0 .300 C.Crabbe 2B 4 1 1 0 .301 M.Rogelstad 2B 5 0 0 0 .242 S.Candelaria 3B 4 1 1 0 .233 G.Harris CF 5 0 0 0 .270 D.Boyd LF 3 0 0 1 .293 J.Nelson LF 5 2 3 1 .304 T.Hinton 1B 3 1 1 0 .310 P.Balet 1B 4 1 3 1 .303 J.Vanden ber CAT 4 0 2 0 .312 T.Bohn RF 4 1 1 0 .283 J.Frost RF 3 0 1 0 .265 C.Arroyo DH 5 1 2 1 .343 M.Mendez CF 4 0 1 1 .263 R.Rivera CAT 4 1 0 1 .262 E.Henderson DH 4 0 0 0 .148 E.Monzon SS 3 0 0 1 .000 E.Cruz SS 4 0 0 0 .197 F.Hernandez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Harper PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Rowland-Sm PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Kusiewicz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Nolasco PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Breslow PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 38 7 10 5 TOTALS 33 3 7 2 INLAND EMPIRE 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0- 7 10 0 HIGH DESERT 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0- 3 7 5 E--S.Candelaria 2, D.Boyd, M.Mendez, E.Cruz. DP--INLAND EMPIRE 2, HIGH DESERT 0. LOB--INLAND EMPIRE 9, HIGH DESERT 6. 2B--J.Nelson (12), P.Balet (12), S.Candelaria (7). HBP--P.Balet, T.Bohn, D.Boyd. SH-- J.Frost. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INLAND EMPIRE F.Hernandez (W,9-3) 7.0 3 1 1 1 11 0 2.74 R.Rowland-Sm 2.0 4 2 2 0 3 0 3.47 HIGH DESERT J.Harper (L,1-2) 5.1 8 6 5 2 7 0 6.05 M.Kusiewicz 0.2 0 1 0 1 2 0 4.88 D.Nolasco 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7.99 C.Breslow 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 7.38 HB--F.Hernandez, C.Breslow 2. WP--R.Rowland-Sm. SO--J.Guzman, M.Rogelstad 2, G.Harris 3, J.Nelson, T.Bohn 2, R.Rivera, E.Monzon, C.Crabbe, S.Candelaria, D.Boyd, T.Hinton, J.Vanden ber 2, J.Frost 2, M.Mendez 2, E.Henderson 2, E.Cruz 2. BB--J.Guzman 2, E.Monzon, T.Hinton. T--2:34. A--2761High Desert Game Log: Now, about all these errors, boys... www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=17920

Sunday's Daily Menu -- unusually light fare; once the Brewer game ends, flip on over to Huntsville: 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: LHP Jorge de la Rosa at home vs. Syracuse (Blue Jays), 2:00 PM Audio link: www.newstalk1430.com/ Alternate audio link (SkyChiefs' feed): www.skychiefs.com/ HUNTSVILLE: LHP Jeff Housman at Greenville (Braves), 4:15 PM Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ HIGH DESERT: IDLE BELOIT: RHP Luis Pena at home vs. Kane County (A's), 2:00 PM Audio link (Cougar's feed): www.kccougars.com/ HELENA: IDLE ARIZONA ROOKIE: IDLE

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Stars Rally for Fifth Straight VictoryIt was a different formula but a familiar result. The Stars rallied from 4-1 down for their season-high fifth straight victory, 6-4, over the G-Braves (3-1, 29-44) on Saturday night at Municipal Stadium. Huntsville (4-0, 36-38) maintained sole possession of first place in the Southern League West second-half standings. Down 4-1 in the fifth, the Stars struck against former big leaguer Brian Moehler. With one out, pitcher Glenn Woolard singled up the middle. Rickie Weeks followed with a base hit to left, one of his three singles in the game. Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a grounder between first and second, where Aaron Herr could not field the ball as he avoided contact with the base runner Weeks. The ball rolled untouched into shallow right-center, scoring Woolard from second and sending Gwynn and Weeks to second and third. Prince Fielder knocked in a run with a broken-bat groundout to short, and Brad Nelson slammed a two-run homer, his 15th of the season, to put Huntsville up, 5-4. Huntsville added an insurance run in the sixth on Weeks? run-scoring single. For the fourth straight game, the Stars? bullpen was perfect, delivering six scoreless innings. Woolard (1-0) tossed three shutout frames for his first Southern League win, allowing one hit and two walks. Fernando Rijo permitted two hits and fanned three over two scoreless innings, and John Novinsky recorded his seventh save, permitting one hit and one walk with two strikeouts in the ninth. Novinsky fanned Bill McCarthy with the tying runs in scoring position to end the game. Moehler (2-4) suffered the loss, surrendering six runs on 10 hits and one walk with five strikeouts in six innings. Stars lefty Jeff Housman (1-4, 3.59) meets G-Braves righty Izzy Pineda (2-4, 6.29) in game two of the series Sunday night at Municipal Stadium. Game time is 4:15 p.m. CT and the FPH Financial Pre-game Show starts at 4:00 p.m. CT. Stars baseball can be heard on ESPN 1450 and at www.huntsvillestars.com.