MassBrew

Our once-in-a-while look at the affiliate team stats and league leaders: Keep in mind that players promoted between leagues get punished a bit when considered for being listed among league leaders... AAA: BATTING TOP 10 (MINIMUM 126 PLATE APPEARANCES) BATTER CLUB AVG G AB R H HR RBI Vitiello, Joe TOL .357 38 140 25 50 8 32 Morneau, Justin ROC .356 37 149 27 53 10 29 Orr, Pete RMD .351 43 171 27 60 1 18 Peralta, Jhonny BUF .347 46 176 29 61 1 26 Bartlett, Jason ROC .339 27 115 23 39 1 12 Leon, Jose OTT .339 37 118 23 40 11 29 Thomas, Charles RMD .338 40 136 21 46 3 19 [b]Liefer, Jeff IND .338 45 160 30 54 11 41[/b] Collier, Lou SWB .329 46 170 27 56 8 35 Nelson, Bryant CHR .328 49 201 30 66 9 32 RBI Snyder, Earl PAW 44 [b]Liefer, Jeff IND 41[/b] Deardorff, Jeff COL 40 Thames, Marcus TOL 38 Dominique, Andy PAW 38 TEAM BATTING AVG AB R H HR BB SO SB CS COLUMBUS .286 1553 255 444 55 159 319 17 12 BUFFALO .277 1544 231 428 47 153 305 44 24 TOLEDO .277 1672 253 463 52 119 348 52 17 RICHMOND .275 1530 217 420 48 144 324 23 21 LOUISVILLE .270 1553 259 420 44 167 368 43 17 OTTAWA .266 1634 215 434 37 117 300 33 14 PAWTUCKET .265 1672 268 443 70 187 402 25 14 CHARLOTTE .263 1663 238 437 62 147 319 40 16 ROCHESTER .263 1622 216 427 45 159 263 32 19 [b]INDIANAPOLIS .260 1563 226 406 41 148 281 32 23[/b] SCRANTON-WB .259 1517 224 393 28 169 254 40 18 DURHAM .256 1482 209 380 50 126 329 33 16 SYRACUSE .255 1616 208 412 42 162 346 13 11 NORFOLK .247 1503 169 371 38 91 331 25 21 SLUGGING PERCENTAGE Leon, Jose OTT .720 Thames, Marcus TOL .649 Morneau, Justin ROC .644 Snyder, Earl PAW .633 [b]Liefer, Jeff IND .631[/b] PITCHING TOP 10 (MINIMUM 37 IP) PITCHER CLUB W-L ERA IP H BB SO [b]Reichert, Dan IND 2- 0 1.22 37 28 15 29[/b] Bell, Rob DUR 5- 0 1.69 37 28 8 35 Powell, Brian SWB 3- 1 1.83 39 24 6 25 Diaz, Felix CHR 7- 0 2.41 52 43 9 45 Denney, Kyle BUF 4- 1 2.45 44 34 9 43 Smith, Travis RMD 4- 1 2.49 51 47 13 44 *Graman, Alex COL 3- 2 2.50 40 28 15 41 Munro, Pete ROC 6- 2 2.81 48 43 10 32 Drew, Tim RMD 2- 4 2.84 44 49 13 20 Brown, Jamie PAW 3- 1 2.84 38 28 2 27 SAVES Whiteside, Matt RMD 13 [b]Childers, Jason IND 13[/b] Crain, Jesse ROC 12 German, Franklyn TOL 12 Parra, Jose NOR 10 TEAM PITCHING W-L ERA H CG SHO SV HR BB SO SCRANTON-WB 27- 20 3.76 376 4 5 15 40 122 247 NORFOLK 21- 24 3.90 405 0 3 14 46 139 293 DURHAM 24- 22 3.99 389 0 5 13 34 150 338 CHARLOTTE 27- 22 4.00 413 0 2 14 57 151 355 PAWTUCKET 25- 24 4.08 450 2 4 6 72 123 287 [b]INDIANAPOLIS 27- 19 4.13 421 0 2 15 40 148 345[/b] RICHMOND 23- 23 4.15 415 1 2 15 34 141 314 TOLEDO 24- 25 4.21 404 3 4 13 44 134 322 ROCHESTER 26- 22 4.25 432 0 3 19 50 122 350 COLUMBUS 24- 22 4.40 414 2 0 8 47 131 322 SYRACUSE 21- 28 4.42 455 3 1 14 50 134 345 LOUISVILLE 23- 25 4.74 401 2 3 9 49 161 337 BUFFALO 21- 26 5.40 416 1 2 11 37 188 294 OTTAWA 19- 30 5.82 487 0 1 12 59 204 340

Beloit Site Game Notes and Player of the Game Info: www.snappersbaseball.com/...5962720e28

Newspaper Coverage from Grand Rapids: Beloit Daily News game story expected later today... Caps' Kirkland has memorable night The Grand Rapids Press BELOIT, Wis. -- Kody Kirkland had both a night to remember and forget. The red-hot-hitting third baseman went 2-for-5 at the plate with a run-scoring double, a two-run homer and all three RBIs for the West Michigan Whitecaps in a 4-3 defeat to the Beloit Snappers on Friday night at Pohlman Field. Yet, in the field, he committed three errors in the same inning. He also struck out three times, including getting called out on strikes with a pair of runners on base to end the contest. The loss for the Whitecaps (18-29) was their fifth in the last six games. The 20-year-old Kirkland supplied nearly all of the team's offense in the opener of a four-game series against the Snappers. In the fifth inning, he ripped a two-out RBI double down the left-field line that brought home shortstop Juan Francia. Kirkland has five doubles and eight extra-base hits over the last six games. He stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning and hammered the first offering from Snappers relief pitcher Simon Beresford beyond the left-center field wall for a two-run shot that trimmed the deficit to one run. Kirkland got one last opportunity to rescue the Whitecaps in their final at-bat. Kirkland, who struck out in his first two plate appearances, came up in the top of the ninth inning with center fielder Vince Blue and second baseman Eric Rodland on first and second base, respectively, representing the tying and go-ahead runs. He got caught looking at a third-strike curveball for the final out of the game. The team's record in one-run games drops to 4-11 this season. Ironically, even though Kirkland had a pair of throwing errors and a fielding error in the fourth inning, the Snappers were unable to capitalize on the multiple miscues. Beloit scored just once during the frame on Adam Heether's leadoff homer. The Snappers (25-21) grabbed a 4-0 lead with three runs in third inning and one more in the fourth.

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update: 13 Ks, 0 BBs, 0 SCOREBOARDMaybe tomorrow. That was the catch phrase today after the promised on-line debut of the new scoreboard didn't exactly materialize...... The lights worked, the led display worked, and the hi-def video screen worked, but the work on the scoreboard couldn't be completed because a three-hour shower during the afternoon kept workers from finishing the wiring and subsequent conduit work to the control room....... The rain, as always when it's forecast, put a big damper on the crowd, usually large on a fireworks night........ By gametime, the skies were still mostly cloudy and the temperature, in the upper 80s all week, fell to 70° ........ Stars staff workers were optimistic that the scoreboard, with better weather forecast for Saturday, would get done, but some gave the odds at 50-50........ All the fans got tonight was a little tease. They saw the red lights register all zeroes across the nine-inning display. The logo lit brightly on the video screen (too brightly, in fact. It had to be turned off because Mobile players said it was too bright, and too distracting)....... The revolving ad panels had also yet to be finished and the analog clock had not been hoisted up. Although the big night for the scoreboard turned out to be a dud, Dennis Sarfate was at least dynamite....... He turned in another excellent start, and following his seven-inning two-hitter over Jacksonville, he now has 13 innings in consecutive games without giving up an earned run........ Starting out with a fastball that topped at 95 mph early on, and a new curve variation he learned from Ben Hendrickson, Sarfate struck out the first five Mobile Bay Bears to face him --- swinging........ However, he really worked for it. Even though he struck out the side in the 1st and retired the side in the 2nd, he used 38 pitches doing it. He went to 3-and-2 counts to four of the first five hitters, 2-and-2 to another, and tolerated a lot of fouled off pitches --- four in the 1st and six more in the 2nd inning....... Still, no Huntsville Star had struck out the first five hitters in a game since Luis Martinez did it last year, April 5th, when he pitched one of the finest games in Stars history, pitching no-hit ball for five innings against Jacksonville and striking out 11....... Sarfate had the goods to go nine innings tonight, if it were not for the fact that the first two innings were so prolonged. He threw 99 pitches, 65 for strikes in only six innings, but struck out nine, which is a season high for a starter, accomplished twice this season by Saturday's starter, Jeff Housman (1-2, 3.11), and scattered three hits --- a single through the right side with one out in the 4th, and a pair of singles to center in the 6th....... John Novinsky pitched brilliantly with three no-hit innings of relief, striking out four, and registering the 700th save in Stars history........ Another milestone is expected to be reached tomorrow. The pitching staff is expected to hit the 17,000 mark in strikeouts for its 20-year history.......... The Bay Bears scored their only run to come within one while I was paying the price for a combination of burger and onions, so I can't really tell you what happened but we know back-up catcher Mike Richardson scored on a single by shortstop Ronnie Merrill and an error on Kade Johnson after the throw home. There was one tense moment in the 8th inning when Novinsky repeated what pitcher Chris Rojas got suspended for Friday night.......... With one out, Novinsky, who had hit only one batter in over 21 innings this year, hit Richardson on the top of the helmet so loud, that the broadcast booth could hear it, and so hard, the ball bounced high in the air...... To his credit, Richardson simply dropped the bat down and trotted to first........ But then Novinsky hit the next batter, Todd Donovan, and that brought a warning from crew chief Rusty Griffin, who was behind home plate tonight, and visits to the mound by Fred Dabney and the infield, huddled in front of Novinsky for his sake........ Rattled, Novinsky threw a 1-1 pitch to Merrill wild and in the dirt, moving the two runners into scoring position, but Novinsky got him soon afterward on a grounder to Rickie Weeks. Huntsville scored the first two runs of the game in the 4th inning as two disputed calls factored in the inning........ Johnny Raburn reached on a bobbled grounder by Merrill to lead off the frame and stole second on a close play at second that prompted Mobile manager Gary Jones to race out to argue with umpire Ria Cortesio........ Cortesio, the league's first female ump, had quite a hard day. After she was involved in a couple of disputed calls with Frank Kremblas, and a bad call in the 6th that cost the Stars a run, if that wasn't enough, three drunken redneck individuals were hurling insults at Cortesio from about six rows behind home plate, and were bounced from the stadium by GM Bryan Dingo on orders by Griffin. Ozzie Chavez followed Raburn with a ground ball to short that was momentary fumbled again by Merrill, who recovered to throw to first as Chavez was called safe on another close play, and that prompted another visit to the field by Jones to argue........ Raburn eventually scored on a wild pitch and Chavez scored on a two-out single up the middle by Tony Gwynn Jr. to make it 2-0........ Raburn, who's turned into one very valuable utilityman, figured in the Stars' third run when he led off the 7th with a triple to the gap in right-center. He scored as Chavez singled him in. Just as the Stars' problems with being short-handed in the bullpen early in the month ended, the problem is now with the bench, where catcher Joel Alvarado became the only one available after the suspension of Prince Fielder and the roster spot that's been empty since the promotion of Brandon Gemoll to Indy........ Fielder, technically a "combatant" in Friday night's brawl, was fined the $300 minimum for his part by the league and suspended for three games, as well as Mobile catcher Nick Trzesniak and pitcher Chris Rojas, who won't start serving his until the day before his next scheduled start........ Oddly enough, Rojas was just named BC Powder Southern League Pitcher-of-the-Week for allowing just three earned runs in 12 1/.3 innings for a 2.19 ERA....... Since both benches and bullpens emptied, everyone on both rosters was fined $100. Without the problem of a depleted offense, the Stars have enough trouble scoring runs.... In games when they can muster only three runs or less, they are 7-18........ That changes dramatically with the addition of just one run. The Stars are 21-4 when they score four times or more in a game........ Mobile is batting under .230 as a team over their last 37 games and are now 3-10 when their opponents score first........ That should give us good odds to win tomorrow. The league is hitting .324 off tomorrow's starter, Clay Hensley (3-6, 6.11), who is tied for the lead in losses....... Tony Gwynn (.350) and Brad Nelson (.318, four doubles) are the only Stars hitting better than .300 on this homestand....... Richie Weeks, uncharacteristally, has struck out six times in his last eight at-bats. Prior to Wednesday's off-day, Weeks had just 27 strikeouts in 138 at-bats (a .196 average)........ Dennis Sarfate finishes the month of May with a record of 2-2 and an ERA of 3.09 in six starts. After 48 games, the Stars have committed 48 errors. the club record for fewest errors after 50 games is 53, set by the 1999 Stars....... The Stars already broke the record for fewest errors after 40 games (with 39), also previously held by the 1999 Stars....... With the 13-strikeout performance by Sarfate and Novinsky, the Stars pitching staff now leads the league with 413 Ks, two ahead of Greenville and seven ahead of Chattanooga. The Stars are also 3rd in ERA....... The BayBears promoted outfielder Freddy Guzman to the Triple-A Portland (PCL) before Friday's game.

Huntsville Times Game Story: Sarfate sees the light, but not on scoreboard Stars pitcher starting to figure out Double-A By PAUL GATTIS Times Sports Staff pgattis@htimes.com Remember the old Saturday morning cartoons when a light bulb would flash above Wile E. Coyote's head when he finally figured it all out? Now picture Wile E. wearing a Huntsville Stars cap and pitcher Dennis Sarfate's No. 40 jersey. That's what the Mobile BayBears and 2,498 fans at Joe Davis Stadium saw Friday night - figuratively speaking, of course. After Sarfate struggled miserably through his first seven starts, the light bulb is now glowing above his head. He sparkled in his second straight start, allowing only an unearned run on three hits in six innings as the Stars beat Mobile 3-1. In fact, the worst thing Sarfate (3-4) did was perhaps strike out too many BayBears. He whiffed nine batters - including the first five of the game - but the strikeouts quickly upped his pitch count and he had to leave after six innings. But after getting only one win in his first seven starts, Sarfate will happily accept such problems. "I've gotten to where I'm more comfortable coming up from low A ball," Sarfate said. "You can get away with more pitches there. I've started concentrating more between starts." Indeed, that renewed concentration was what earned Sarfate praise from pitching coach Fred Dabney following his seven-inning performance last Saturday when he allowed only two hits and one unearned run in seven innings. And on a night when the new scoreboard was not debuted as planned (that grand opening will be tonight at 7:05 p.m.), the Stars provided ample entertainment themselves. In the second inning, Johnny Raburn and Ozzie Chavez each reached on an error by Mobile shortstop Ronnie Merrill. Raburn scored on a wild pitch from losing pitcher Tim Stauffer (1-1) while Chavez scored on a two-out single by Tony Gwynn Jr. That was a surplus of runs for Sarfate, who retired the first 10 batters he faced. The only Mobile run came in the sixth inning when Stars catcher Kade Johnson failed to handle a throw from Gwynn to tag out Mike Richardson. Sarfate mowed down the BayBears by getting ahead with his fastball, then throwing his curveball and change-up for strikes. He also described his outing as "effectively wild" - keeping Mobile's batters off-balance even though he didn't walk a batter. Then John Novinsky finished off the win with three dazzling innings of his own for his second save, striking out four and not allowing a hit. It seems as if Sarfate is catching up with his quick promotion to Double-A Huntsville. After going 12-2 with a 2.84 ERA last year at low Single-A Beloit, Sarfate skipped high Single-A High Desert and headed for the Stars. "It's a pretty big jump," Stars manager Frank Kremblas said. "Hitters here are a lot more patient for the most part. If you show that you're a little wild, they'll make you throw strikes." Still, Kremblas isn't ready to declare Sarfate an all-star. "Not really," Kremblas said. "He still had a lot of balls up in the (strike) zone. But if they keep swinging at it, you might as well keep throwing it there. "But I'm sure some of them were not planned to be up there." That light bulb above Sarfate's head, though, is still glowing.

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Right-hander Dennis Sarfate delivered his second straight stellar performance and the short-handed Stars rolled to a 3-1 victory over Mobile on Friday night at Joe Davis Stadium. Huntsville (26-22) has won six of eight to pull within 1 1/2 games of West Tenn's lead in the Southern League West. Sarfate (3-4) fanned nine Bay Bears, his personal season-high, and allowed just one unearned run over six outstanding innings. Sarfate permitted only three hits and walked none to win his second consecutive start. He threw 99 pitches, 65 for strikes, and surrendered but three baserunners, all on singles. Huntsville's depleted offense - top run-producer Prince Fielder was suspended for three games for his part in Thursday's bench-clearing brawl - took advantage of two third-inning errors by Bears shortstop Ronnie Merrill, scoring one on a wild pitch and another on Tony Gwynn Jr.'s two-out single. In the seventh, Johnny Raburn ripped a triple to left-center and scored on Ozzie Chavez's single for a 3-1 Stars lead. Stars reliver John Novinsky handled the rest. Novinsky has two victories and two saves in his last five appearances, notching his second save of the season Friday night. He fanned four and hit two batters over three scoreless, hitless frames. Huntsville matches lefty Jeff Housman (1-2, 3.11) against Bears righty Clay Hensley (3-6, 6.11) in game three of the series Saturday night at Joe Davis Stadium. Game time is 7:05 PM.

Providence Journal Newspaper Account: PawSox blow big leads and Indians make them pay Indianapolis scores eight runs in the top of the seventh for the victory BY PAUL KENYON Journal Sports Writer PAWTUCKET -- Blame the defense. And the relief pitching, too. They both had bad nights for the Pawtucket Red Sox last night. Just don't blame Earl Snyder for the wild 12-10 loss to Indianapolis. The Indians rallied for eight runs in the top of the seventh -- the second eight-run inning Pawtucket has allowed this week -- to beat the PawSox before a crowd of 8,429 on the aptly named Fireworks Night at McCoy. Indianapolis pounded out 12 hits, but also took advantage of three critical Pawtucket errors that led to five earned runs. Pawtucket pitchers also walked seven and threw two wild pitches in helping blow leads of 5-0 and 8-4. Of all the problems, Pawtucket manager Buddy Bailey felt the fielding was the worst. "Obviously, the errors killed us tonight, no doubt about it," Bailey said. "We scored in five of the first seven innings and we still couldn't win." Indianapolis bunched all its runs in two innings, getting four in the third and eight in a 38-minute top of the seventh. Pawtucket had two errors in the fourth, making all four runs in that inning unearned. A botched double-play ball on which no one was retired, opened the flood gates to the eight-run seventh. "I know before the top of the seventh Kate Smith sang "God Bless America" and in the bottom of the seventh I was saying God bless America," Bailey said. "It was just one of those innings." The key was a grounder back to the mound by Corey Hart, that could have been a double play. Instead, the throw by releiver Tim Hamulack was wild and no one was retired. "You're really barking up the wrong tree when you don't turn double plays that are there for you," Bailey said. "That opened up a can of worms and it just snowballed from there." Luis Figueroa had two doubles in the inning and Mark Johnson a home run and a single. The problems ruined a big night by the Pawtucket offense, a great night by Snyder. Snyder added to an already dazzling season by blasting two more home runs and adding a single to start a two-run seventh by the PawSox that closed the gap to 12-10. The third baseman (and occasional first baseman and leftfielder) now has 16 home runs, which not only leads the I.L., it ties Omaha's Calvin Pickering for the lead in all of professional baseball. Snyder also leads the league with 44 RBI and is in the top six in slugging percentage, extra base hits and doubles. There have been 11 players who have performed for both Boston and Pawtucket already this season. Seven players who began the season in Pawtucket have been promoted to Boston. Snyder, a native New Englander (New Britain, Conn.) not only has not been promoted, he is not even on the parent team's 40-man roster. Going back to his big second half last season, Snyder has hit 31 home runs and driven 93 runs in his last 111 games. "It's been a good streak. I'm feeling good, trying to do certain things in the cage," Snyder said. "I've been kind of streaky in my career, but in that I tread water a little bit at the start of the season then in the summer months I heat up a little bit." Snyder is on such a streak that he hit his second homer in the fifth even though he was jammed on a pitch. "It was a sinker down and in," Snyder said. He was not able to extend on the pitch and his top hand came off as he swung. "It looked ugly, but I got the barrel of the bat on it," he said. "That just shows you how strong he is," Bailey said. The ball ended up on the berm in left, home run No. 16. Summer isn't even here and Snyder already is rod hot. Even with all the scoring, it was a defensive play that saved the game for the Indians. Pawtucket had a run in, to close to 12-9, and the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Kelly Shoppach then drilled a blast to right. The ball was long enough to get out for a grandslam. But Indianapolis rightfielder Hart went back to the fence, jumped and pulled the ball back in. It went for a sacrifice fly but Indianapolis held the lead. Combined with the Indians' eight runs in the top of the inning, the seventh lasted 55 minutes.

Indianapolis Post-Game Notes: GAME HIGHLIGHTS: Friday night was fireworks night at McCoy Stadium and the Indians and PawSox supplied plenty of firepower. For Indianapolis, Jeff Liefer and Corey Hart each drove in three runs and Mark Johnson?s (1) solo homer in the visitor seventh ignited an eight-run Tribe rally that carried Indianapolis past Pawtucket, 12-10. Johnson added another RBI in the seventh and Luis Figueroa produced two doubles in the frame. Indianapolis battled back from deficits of 5-0 and 8-4, adding 12 hits on the night. Hart came up with the defensive play of the game in the bottom of the seventh. The 6-6 right fielder robbed Kelly Shoppach of a grand slam homer, making a leaping catch against the wall with the bases loaded, limiting the PawSox to just one run on the play. Indianapolis remains in first place in the IL West Division, improving to 27-19, Pawtucket drops to 25-24. Second place Columbus lost 7-2 to Scranton/Wilkes Barre in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night, then dropped game two as well, 6-4. Dan Reichert pitched two near-perfect innings of relief for the Tribe and closer Jason Childers picked up his 13th save, second best in the IL. QUOTES: Indians manager Cecil Cooper: ?You like to get better pitching, but what can I say about Corey (Hart) and Childers?? said Cecil Cooper. ?The replay showed that Hart caught the ball over the wall. The kid made a great play. We had a scuffle out there tonight. We had the good sense to win it.? Indians catcher Mark Johnson on his clutch hitting and Tribe pitching: ?I?ve just been a little more aggressive,? said Johnson. ?I kept swinging the bat and good things happened. Reichert and Childers are solid each time out. They did a heckuva job tonight.? Indians right fielder Corey Hart on his defensive effort: ?When I took off, I did not realize how close I was to the wall,? said Hart. ?It was a great thing to happen. I am a lot more comfortable now in right field. It is my first year playing there and I know that I still have a lot more to learn. Offensively, it?s pretty nice to get three RBI tonight. It?s taken me a couple of games to get adjusted since getting back (from Milwaukee). Everybody?s contributing on this team and that?s great.? NOTES: The Tribe and PawSox split the series 2-2. Indianapolis was due to take a five-hour bus ride to Scranton after the game tonight. Jeff Liefer?s RBI total (41) is second in the league. Liefer is fourth in slugging percentage (.620), sixth in extra-base hits (23), eighth in batting average (.329), ninth in hits (52), and ninth in on-base percentage (.398). He has hit seven homers and 17 RBI in May. The Tribe is 24-1 when leading after eight innings. Dan Reichert is 1-0 with an 0.89 ERA during the month of May.

WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (MILWAUKEE) 27 19 .587[/b] COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (NEW YORK YANKEES) 24 22 .522 3.0 TOLEDO MUD HENS (DETROIT) 24 25 .490 4.5 LOUISVILLE BATS (CINCINNATI) 23 25 .479 5.0 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 27 20 .574 [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 26 22 .542 1.5[/b] BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 24 23 .511 3.0 MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 24 24 .500 3.5 MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 18 30 .375 9.5 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 28 20 .583 LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 27 20 .574 .5 LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 26 21 .553 1.5 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 21 26 .447 6.5 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 20 29 .408 8.5[/b] WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 28 19 .596 KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 28 19 .596 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 28 19 .596 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 27 21 .563 1.5[/b] CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 26 22 .542 2.5 QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 22 24 .478 5.5 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 20 27 .426 8.0 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 16 32 .333 12.5

Final: High Desert 2, Inland Empire (Mariners) 1 Early Game Story from the San Bernadino Sun: We should have a Daily Press story later this AM; what a day behind the plate for Froilan Villanueva... Sixers are off base, lose By JAMES CURRAN, Correspondent SAN BERNARDINO - A virus is spreading at Arrowhead Credit Union Park from the hands to the legs. Not only has the hitting been a plague to the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino lately, but on Friday, runners were caught off base six times in a 2-1 loss to High Desert in a California League game in front of 3,982 fans. Troy Farnsworth lifted a solo home run in the fifth inning to provide the winning margin for the Mavericks. What was more detrimental to Southern Division-leading San Bernardino (28-20) was the staggering way it self-destructed on the base paths. Mavericks catcher Froilan Villanueva threw out four baserunners Friday. The Sixers became the first team in the California League to have five runners caught stealing this year. Gary Harris singled in Jesus Guzman with the lone Sixers run in the fourth inning. The run was just the eighth for Inland Empire in the last five games. Sixers manager Daren Brown said his players were trying to make something happen and were a bit overzealous. "We haven't swung the bats well,' Brown said. "Tonight, we had a lot of guys trying to make things happen, we're pressing a little bit, hopefully we can put this behind us.' San Bernardino pitcher P.A. Fulmer (3-4) could have been considered the right guy at the right time with a minimal margin for error. Fulner started for San Bernardino in the only game in which High Desert was shut out this year, on May 12. Friday, Fulmer didn't pitch poorly either, allowing two runs and six hits in six innings with five strikeouts and a walk. Bo Hall (3-3) was just a bit better for High Desert. He allowed only one run in five innings with three hits, four strikeouts and two walks. Danny Kolb and Mike Kusiewicz then combined for four shutout innings for the Mavs (20-29). Kusiewicz earned his first save but High Desert manager Mel Queen said Villanueva was the rightful recipient of the save. Villanueva's efforts were particularly evident in the seventh inning. Harris doubled to lead off the seventh inning and a potential big inning seemed imminent. However, when Kolb threw a pitch to T.J. Bohn that skidded past Villanueva, Harris took off for third. The ball barely reached the grass around home plate and Villanueva threw out Harris. "It was a bang-bang play and you can't fault the runner,' Queen said. "But you gotta be cautious. "Our pitching coach (John Curtis) said he actually saved the game. Said Brown: "We tried to hammer into these guys about being aggressive especially about balls in the dirt. One of our guys was being too aggressive, but here is where they learn how to play the game.' Aside from a welcome start to a nine game road trip, High Desert managed to accomplish something that it hasn't done before this year -- win a pitcher's duel. Before Friday the Mavericks had lost all 14 games they played when they scored three runs or less. 66ers notes In today's game at 6:11 PM (8:11 Central), the Sixers will send Ryan Rowland-Smith (2-0, 3.55 ERA) to the mound and the Mavs will counter with Manny Parra (1-1, 4.42 ERA). High Desert Box Score: GAME DATE: 5/28/04 HD at INL HIGH DESERT 2 AT INLAND EMPIRE 1 YTD YTD HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG INLAND EMPIRE AB R H BI AVG C.Morris DH 4 0 1 0 .315 J.Gonzalez SS 4 0 1 0 .326 C.Crabbe 2B 3 0 1 0 .288 J.Guzman 3B 3 1 2 0 .313 D.Boyd LF 3 0 0 0 .280 G.Harris CF 4 0 2 1 .274 T.Hinton 1B 3 0 0 0 .290 T.Bohn RF 3 0 0 0 .297 F.Villanueva CAT 4 1 1 0 .223 V.Faison DH 3 0 0 0 .261 K.Bibbs CF 3 0 0 0 .295 R.Rivera CAT 2 0 0 0 .279 S.Candelaria RF 4 0 2 1 .257 M.Rogelstad 2B 2 0 0 0 .265 T.Farnsworth 3B 3 1 1 1 .176 M.Hagen 1B 2 0 0 0 .211 E.Cruz SS 2 0 0 0 .219 J.Nelson PH 1 0 0 0 .290 B.Hall PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Nelson 1B 0 0 0 0 .290 D.Kolb PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Arroyo LF 2 0 0 0 .308 M.Kusiewicz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Fulmer PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Martinez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 29 2 6 2 TOTALS 26 1 5 1 HIGH DESERT 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0- 2 6 2 INLAND EMPIRE 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0- 1 5 1 E--E.Cruz, D.Kolb, J.Guzman. DP--HIGH DESERT 1, INLAND EMPIRE 1. LOB--HIGH DESERT 5, INLAND EMPIRE 2. 2B--G.Harris (5). HR--T.Farnsworth (2). SB--C.Morris (23). CS--C.Crabbe, J.Gonzalez, J.Guzman, G.Harris 2, M.Rogelstad. SH--D.Boyd, K.Bibbs. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HIGH DESERT B.Hall (W,3-3) 5.0 3 1 1 2 4 0 6.15 D.Kolb 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4.91 M.Kusiewicz (S,1) 2.0 0 0 0 2 4 0 5.17 INLAND EMPIRE T.Fulmer (L,3-4) 6.2 6 2 2 1 5 1 4.24 M.Martinez 2.1 0 0 0 2 3 0 4.15 WP--M.Kusiewicz 2. SO--C.Morris 2, T.Hinton 2, F.Villanueva, S.Candelaria, T.Farnsworth 2, J.Gonzalez, J.Guzman, G.Harris 2, M.Hagen 2, J.Nelson, C.Arroyo. BB--C.Crabbe, T.Hinton, E.Cruz, J.Guzman, R.Rivera, M.Rogelstad, C.Arroyo. T--2:41. A--3982High Desert Game Log: www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=18043

By the way, in the 2-1 High Desert win Mike Kusiewicz got the save after allowing the game-tying run to reach third base with no one out in the ninth, and then proceeding to strike out the side! The Mavericks have an announcer intern by the name of Mike Benton who normally takes an inning or two mid-game each night. With lead broadcaster Roxy Bernstein away for a family wedding this weekend, Mike's taking the entire show on the road on his own. The dude is outstanding -- and these tapes are going to help launch one heck of a career. Great job, kid.

HE CAUGHT IT! OH MY GOD, HE CAUGHT IT! So how many games feature 32 runs, 33 hits, eight doubles, three HR's, 12 walks and 19 strikeouts, yet all anyone can remember and buzz about is a single defensive play? A play so incredible that after the game, the opponent's post-game radio interview show, conducted live on the field with the player we're talking about here and heard in the stadium via the crowd sound speakers, focuses on this one defensive gem. Pawtucket Bottom 7th - Snyder, E singled to left field. - Sherrod, J doubled to left center, RBI; Snyder, E scored. - Reichert, D to p for Giron, R. - Schrager, T walked. - Stanley, H singled to right field; Schrager, T advanced to second; Sherrod, J advanced to third. - Shoppach, K flied out to rf, SF, RBI; Sherrod, J scored. - Curry, M grounded out to 1b unassisted; Stanley, H advanced to second; Schrager, T advanced to third. - Febles, C grounded out to 2b. Just back from Pawtucket, and the (redundant) firework show after a 3 hour, 30 minute Indianapolis 12-10 win. I'm a big fan of the new Sports Network game logs, but I'm sure that night in and night out these little lines do the players no justice, despite the usually solid efforts of the local newspaper accounts and website game summaries. This is one of those cases. Sacrifice fly, out recorded, one run scores -- yawn. Yeah, right. The PawSox close off beer sales after the seventh, I believe, so fans had a little extra time to toss them back tonight. Top of the 7th, the Tribe puts up an 8-spot to take a 12-8 lead. Given the wild events of the night thus far, this lone Brewer / Indy fan felt little comfort in the four-run bulge, and even less after Roberto Giron allows an inning-opening single and run-scoring double right after the seventh-inning stretch. Enter Dan Reichert. Walk and single load the bases with none out, tying run on first -- go-ahead run at the plate, 8400 already hoarse fans going nuts. Catcher Kelly Shoppach brings his thick tree-trunk legs and his right-handed bat to the plate. Shoppach launches an absolute laser beam to deep right-center. This isn't a lofty, pretty thing, it's a low land-to-air missile traveling at warp speed. The crowd is nuts, they're watching a go-ahead grand slam -- or not. Racing back, tracking, hunting, now reaching, wait, there's the wall, now extending, but man, crashing, is Corey Hart -- running, stretching, (and catching!) within nanoseconds. Grand slam stolen. Wall somehow still standing. So is Corey. Hart raises his glove ever so quickly (in shock?) to demonstrate that he has the ball. The runner on third obviously scores to make it 12-10. The runner on second, with so little time to react on such a hard-hit screamer, regardless of depth, is not in position to tag. Runners on first and second, one out. The very impressive Reichert, obviously buoyed, closes out the inning nicely. Given the circumstances, one of the best plays I've ever seen live, when you don't get the benefit of seeing the replay over and over to confirm the play's greatness. The reaction of his teammates by the dugout in congratulating Corey after the inning solidified my belief. I so look forward to Hart being penciled in to RF in Milwaukee for 150 games in 2005, I can't tell you enough. What an athlete. What a talent. Not sure who pitched the first two innings for Indy -- they told me it was Ben Hendrickson, but I didn't recognize him by the results. Ben was due for a night like this, and I credit him for bulldogging it through five innings. It seemed like Ben went to a 2-0 count on every batter in those two innings, and so many pitches were up, up, up in the zone. He ran into the ridiculously hot Earl Snyder (two HR's, now with 16). But there was no comfort level evident, yet notice he still managed to strike out seven. I was sitting behind the Indy dugout, where it was hard to view the 12-to-6 nature of Hendrickson's curve. But I loved how he continually would bust a fastball up and in to the several PawSox who were leaning in looking for the curve. I give no credence to the Pawtucket speed gun, which must have run ridiculously slow all night long. I saw one Hendrickson fastball hit 88, otherwise 86. But that was the only pitch above 86 I saw for either team all night long, and no way was that the case. Jason Childers is a very, very nice pitcher. He's 29, right-handed, 6'0", and 160 pounds, yet watching him pitch is a joy. I really hope the Crew finds room for him in September, and some organization is going to enjoy his work next year unless the Brewers and he hook up for a 40-man spot or another re-up. Jeff Liefer is just raking. Two more hits, a walk, and another great sacrifice fly story. His SF was a blast to straight-away center, that CF Henri Stanley laid out for as he made an over-the-shoulder catch as his body went tumbling into the base of the wall at the 400-foot mark. On any other night, it'd be the defensive runaway for play of the game. Tribe rallies from 5-0 and 8-4 down to win. The kid eats every sweet and goodie known to man, falls sound asleep in the car on the way home, is carried in her baseball game clothes to bed without brushing her teeth. That cotton-candy dental bill might be troublseome, but I'm hoping her perfect dental record survives this one adventure. We lower a pretty unique cloth Brewer wall-hanging (the old ball and glove) that I have into the sunken Indy dugout (unique field layout at McCoy), prior to the game. Many players sign (including Corey http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ). I had taped a little note to the cloth: "Go Indy! Your New England Fans from www.brewerfan.net" That's all it said. We pull up the souvenir via our little rope once game time approaches. On the note, an additional message has been scribbled: "MassBrew rules!" I have no idea who wrote that, but I got a good chuckle out of it. Great night until I heard the Brewer score back in the car afterwards. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif Huge thanks to brewcrewkid14 for all the links, it looks like a wonderful night for all the affiliates (High Desert just won, 2-1!), and I'm looking forward to reviewing all the action and posting all the summaries and reports Saturday AM. But it's going to have to wait until then -- busy evening. -- Jim

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update: THE LAST STRAWWhat a crazy game on this quiet, pleasant Thursday night......... A brawl, a BAD call, ejections, projection, a loss of direction, and defensive rejections, a christening, a launching, and first time around, and if I'm redundant, and not making any sense, I'll explain it all. Read on. There's a reason why this game lasted almost three hours. Let's get to the most exciting part...... In all the years I've been coming to the Joe, I've never actually seen a brawl here. Perhaps the consequences in starting one have something to do with it. Anyone leaving the dugout to participate gets an automatic fine and suspensions are usually very certain...... But you can take one guess what started this one. Chris Rojas, in his 3rd season for Mobile, is 3-3 with a 4.73 ERA, but against the Stars, he's been a historic whipping post...... In his 14th appearance against the Stars going back to 2002, he's won only one of his 10 starts, that being last year when he pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings against Ben Hendrickson on July 17, but overall, he's 2-6 with a 5.64 ERA........ His last appearance was May 11 this year, when he gave up five runs in five innings and walked away with no decision in an 8-5 victory for the Stars. With the Stars trailing, 2-1 in the bottom of the 6th inning, Rojas began getting inexplicably wild. A couple of his pitches to leadoff man Rickie Weeks were way outside, before Weeks swung at a third strike (third strikeout for Weeks this night)....... Tony Gwynn, Jr. then got a hot foot on a 1-2 pitch........ Rojas was wild with a fastball, hitting Gwynn on the back foot. In letting the bat instinctively drop down while trying to avoid the pitch, the ball ricocheted off his foot to the bat to strike the other foot. He angrily threw the bat away and trotted to first....... That was the 30th time a Stars batter has been hit this season, which matches the entire total of the 1992 season....... Half the time the target has been Weeks, who I've noticed has been backing his left foot a little bit off the plate now. But as many times as the Stars have had near-confrontations, especially against Jacksonville, there's never been a brawl --- until tonight. Prince Fielder followed Gwynn. On 0-1, Rojas went head-hunting, literally....... This was bound to happen after 30 HBPs....... The pitch hit Fielder in the helmet, which flew off. Fielder didn't fall, but he backed out of the box, bat in hand, then glared at Rojas........ About a third of the way to first, Fielder began leaving the baseline, stepping into the infield grass and everyone knew the boiling point had just about been reached....... Fielder stopped, pointed the bat straight at Rojas, then dropped it, and took off at Rojas......... Catcher Nick Trzesniak grabbed the Big Prince from behind, more to restrain him from taking a belt at Rojas, but Rojas took the occasion to take a swing at Fielder, then all hell broke loose......... Both benches and bullpens emptied. Chris Barnwell, separated from the melee, was poised to take a whack at someone, but he was restrained, while the scrum resembled bees on a hive, with the central characters hidden deep inside........ No other fisticuffs ensued, but it was interesting to watch at the time because you never know what's going to happen when one starts....... It took several minutes for this umpiring crew of Ria Cortesio, Rusty Griffin, and Steve McMullen, at the Joe for the first time this year, to sort everything out, but when the smoke cleared, Rojas, Trzesniak, and Fielder were booted. Johnny Raburn came in to pinch-run for Fielder and take over first base duties as well........ Raburn has turned into the second coming of (former Star) Jared Mathis on this team. This is the sixth position he's played this year, but unlike the versatile Mathis, I get a better impression of Raburn (.241, 9 RBIs) as a hitter. Time will tell if that's actually true........ Mobile manager Gary Jones brought in Alan Webb to pitch to Brad Nelson, but on the second pitch to Nelson, Frank Kremblas had the boys running. The pitch bounced wild, all the way to the backstop. Gwynn tried to take two on the wild pitch, but the tag was made on the throw from Steve Morales to Webb on a very close play that brought Kremblas out to argue........ Raburn took third on the play at the plate....... Nelson walked on five pitches, then on a 1-1 pitch, Jason Belcher singled to center to score Raburn, tying the game......... That was all for Webb, who left with an ERA of a leaden 11.32........ Jack Cassel got Barnwell to hit into a 5-4 force play and that was the end of that long inning....... Cassel would retire the side in the 7th, but Kade Johnson, the first batter that inning, battling an 8-for-52 month, made it an adventure with a long fly to dead center that Freddy Guzman caught on an over-the-shoulder run. Tim Bausher pitched well enough to hold the Bay Bears for three innings, but again got little run support, and found himself behind, 2-0 on back-to-back HRs by Greg Sain and Jake Gautreau in the 4th........ The 4th is Bausher's toughest inning so far this year. Prior to this game, he's been hit for a .320 average that inning, after holding opponents to the .250s for the first three....... Sain's HR, on a 2-0 pitch, rudely hit off our new scoreboard where it says "GUEST" and "HOME"........ Although the appelations look fixed on the scoreboard, GM Bryan Dingo tells me he's working to have the installers put LED displays there to designate anything that the control room chooses to put there, hopefully before the end of the season....... Gautreau took the first pitch and pulled it over the the AmSouth sign in left........ Concerned after walking Freddy Guzman with two out in the 7th, pitching coach Fred Dabney and Kremblas let Bausher in to pitch to Greg Sain, but he gave up another home run over the long Corr Wireless sign in left field. Normally on a 75-80 pitch count, he threw this on his 95th and last pitch of the game, breaking the 2-2 deadlock, giving the game to Mobile........ Bausher, in seven previous starts, had never given up more than two earned runs per start, but because he had no runs to work with in three of those starts, and nine in all seven starts put together, he is now 1-5. The Bay Bears got their sixth run, not that it mattered at that point, on a bad call by home plate ump Ria Cortestio, the first female ump in Southern League history........ With the Bay Bears leading 5-2 after pinch-hitter Jesse Roman's RBI double to the right field wall, shortstop Ronnie Merrill blooped a single to left, sending Roman to third. Next, Steve Morales flied out to center -- the second out -- Gwynn threw to Weeks at second to get Merrill advancing on the fly....... One can see the strategy --- Merrill sacrificing himself, hoping Roman scores before he is tagged out at second. It didn't work that way. Roman didn't cross the plate in time. Nevertheless, Cortesio called Roman safe at home, clearly a bad call, causing a storm of protest from everywhere. Even Mobile's play-by-play man in the booth, Tom Nichols, admitted it was a bad call. There were two really sparkling defensive plays by the Stars....... In the 4th, two batters after those back-to-back HRs were hit, Nick Trzesniak chopped a ball to Ozzie Chavez..... Charging in on the ball, Ozzie made a nifty short-hop catch away from his body, then fired on the run to Fielder to get the out........ An inning later, Freddy Guzman hit a deep fly that sent Gwynn fleeting to the track in dead center....... Appearing to lose the ball, Gwynn twists and turns, backpedals, frontpedals, then makes the catch on the track. Glenn Woolard arrived in Huntsville Thursday, and made his debut in the 7th inning after Bausher's two-run gopher ball to Sain....... He struck out Gautreau on a long nine-pitch battle to end the inning, and got three of four batters to face him in the 9th (walking Todd Donovan on four pitches), but gave up three straight hits in the 8th. His off-speed was good, he had trouble with the slider, which he had trouble keeping down, but he had decent control of his fastball and generally did his best although he tended to go long in the count. The new scoreboard, which I've talked to death about, will make its debut tonight, but as I look out the window now at 19 minutes past 11 in the morning, the skies are overcast and ripe for a big shower....... The Stars will send Dennis Sarfate (2-4, 4.83), coming off a good 10-1 win over Jacksonville, against Tim Stauffer (1-0, 2.70), just placed in Mobile's rotation....... Hopefully the rain threat won't spoil what looked to be the best crowd of the season. Corey Hart, who made his major league debut Tuesday night against Los Angeles, was returned to Indianapolis....... Paul Stewart, in his first appearance for the Indians Wednesday, had a similar outing to Woolard's: 2 1/3 IP, 3 hits, 2 earned runs for a 7.71 ERA, 3 Ks and a walk. The Stars could still break a club record for the fewest errors made after 50 games...... After 47, they've committed 47 errors. The record for the fewest made after 50 games is 53 by the 1999 Stars....... The Stars already broke the record for fewest errors after 40 games (with 39), also previously held by the 1999 Stars. Tony Gwynn's hitting streak ended at nine games. He was 16-for-39 during the streak........ His average is at .261. It was .213 when the streak started........ Brad Nelson was caught stealing for the sixth time in 10 attempts in the 2nd inning. He has 11 doubles this month, the most since Steve Scarborough hit 11 in April of 2002....... Jason Belcher, hitting .339 for the month of May, is the Stars' leading hitter, and 4-for-8 in his last two games...... The Stars are still one shy of getting the 700th save in their history for some pitcher....... They are also 18 strikeouts shy of 17,000 in their 20-year history and 44 away from hitting their 2,000th home run........ The Stars pitching staff has racked up 400 strikeouts, 2nd best in the league. The Booster Club is planning a bus trip to Birmingham for the Rickwood Classic at Rickwood Field, one of baseball's oldest fields, built in 1910 and modeled after Forbes Field. Already, 30 have signed up for it with room for a few more.

Huntsville Times Game Story: Stars, skipper get fighting mad in 6-2 loss to Mobile BayBears' Sain homers twice as players, fans are ejected By PAUL GATTIS Times Sports Staff pgattis@htimes.com Just your ordinary night at Joe Davis Stadium. ... The new scoreboard was christened before it was even put to use, getting popped by the home run hit by Mobile's Greg Sain in the fourth inning. Stars manager Frank Kremblas survived two heated arguments with home plate umpire Ria Cortesio and did not get an early shower. First base umpire Rusty Griffin ejected three fans sitting in the stands behind home plate for allegedly shouting obscenities at Cortesio. Stars first baseman Prince Fielder got hit in the head by a pitch and then went looking for a head to hit in response, setting off a bench-clearing brawl in the sixth inning. And by the time the night ended, Sain had slammed another home run and the BayBears beat the Stars 6-2 before an announced crowd of 1,109. Yeah, pretty routine stuff. Well, maybe the fight wasn't routine. Fielder took a fastball off the head from BayBears starter Chris Rojas and didn't like it. As he walked toward first base, he pointed with his bat toward Rojas on the mound and the players shouted at each other. Then Fielder bolted toward Rojas just as Rojas bolted toward Fielder and the benches emptied into a typical baseball fight - a little pushing and not much else. Fielder was dragged down from behind by Mobile catcher Nick Trzesniak and Rojas took a swing at Fielder before moving away. Fielder and Trzesniak exchanged a couple of punches and the brawl quickly ended with no bitter feelings on either side. Fielder was ejected from the game, as were Rojas and Trzesniak. "It's not that big a deal," Fielder said. "It's over." Said Mobile manager Gary Jones, "It's part of it. Sometimes it happens in baseball. It's unfortunate. Rojas obviously wasn't trying to throw at him and you can't blame Fielder for reacting the way that he did." Added Kremblas, "I had no problem with either one of them." Kremblas was obviously had a bigger problem with Cortesio, with whom he argued vehemently twice over plays at the plate. The first came soon after the brawl. Tony Gwynn Jr. had also been hit by a pitch, advanced to second when Fielder was hit. While stealing third, Mobile reliever Alan Webb threw a wild pitch and Gwynn hit third and kept going. He was thrown out when catcher Steve Morales flipped to Webb covering home. The second came in the eighth when Mobile's Jesse Roman scored on Morales' sacrifice fly to center. Except Kremblas complained that Roman did not cross home plate before Ronnie Merrill was thrown out on a double play that ended the inning, which would mean the run didn't count. "There were a couple of calls that were close," Kremblas said. "I only wish they had gone our way. "But I'm such a jerk to the umpires that I shouldn't expect calls to go our way." The three fans were forced to leave the game in the seventh inning when Griffin called for their ejection. The game was stopped for a couple of minutes until they left the seating area. And all this somewhat overshadowed the two home run game by Sain, who is second in the league with 12. The first home run was followed on the next pitch by a solo shot from Jake Gautreau off losing pitcher Tim Bausher (1-5). The Stars offense, meanwhile, managed just five hits. Jack Cassel (2-0) pitched 11/3 innings of hitless relief to get the win. It was just the Stars' second loss in their last seven games. And, well, maybe it wasn't such an ordinary night after all.

RHP Ken Durost will be starting for Beloit tonight. And at Indy, RHP Matt Chlders is listed as "day-to-day" with a groin pull.

I've emailed Brian, as he may not have visited the Issues Forum nor the Home Page and may not have been aware of the issue. Normally our fearless leader either fixes an issue right away with the wave of his Brewer wand or gives us an expected time for resolution. Square?

Daily Press High Desert Game Story: www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...598,19727, James Quigg / Victor Valley Daily Press Staff Photographer High Desert's Chris Morris gets tangled up with Stockton's Joaquin Arias at second base during their game Thursday night. http://www.vvdailypress.com/storypics2/052804_mavs.jpg

WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (MILWAUKEE) 26 19 .578[/b] COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (NEW YORK YANKEES) 24 20 .545 1.5 TOLEDO MUD HENS (DETROIT) 23 25 .479 4.5 LOUISVILLE BATS (CINCINNATI) 22 25 .468 5.0 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 27 19 .587 [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 25 22 .532 2.5[/b] BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 24 22 .522 3.0 MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 24 23 .511 3.5 MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 18 29 .383 9.5 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 28 19 .596 LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 26 20 .565 1.5 LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 26 20 .565 1.5 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 20 26 .435 7.5 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 19 29 .396 9.5[/b] WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 28 18 .609 PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 27 19 .587 1.0 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 27 19 .587 1.0 CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 26 21 .553 2.5 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 26 21 .553 2.5[/b] QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 21 24 .467 6.5 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 20 26 .435 8.0 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 15 32 .319 13.5

Huntsville Site Game Summary: In a contest puncutated by a bench-clearing brawl, Mobile (24-23) knocked off Huntsville, 6-2, on Thursday night at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars (25-22) fell 2 ½ games behind West Tenn in the Southern League West. The Stars and Bears rumbled in the sixth after Mobile starter Chris Rojas hit Prince Fielder in the helmet with an 0-1 pitch. Fielder pointed the bat at Rojas before dropping it and taking off for the mound. Bears catcher Nick Trzesniak tackled Fielder from behind as Rojas took a futile swing at Fielder, then the benches and bullpens arrived. Though no other fisticuffs ensued, it took several minutes for the umpires to sort out whom to eject. Finally, Rojas, Fielder and Trzesniak all were booted from the game. The Stars tied the game soon after Rojas? pitch hit Fielder, putting runners at first and second. Tony Gwynn Jr. was thrown out at home trying to score from second on a wild pitch by Alan Webb, but Johnny Raburn, who ran for Fielder at first and raced to third on the wild pitch, scored on Jason Belcher?s two-out single for a 2-2 tie. In the seventh, Mobile?s Greg Sain broke the deadlock with a two-run blast to left, his second homer of the game. The Bears added two insurance runs in the eighth, the second scoring when it appeared the final out of the inning had been recorded at second before the run crossed home plate. Jack Cassel (2-0) recorded the win with 1 1/3 perfect innings of relief, fanning one. Tim Bausher (1-5) suffered the loss, permitting four runs on six hits, including three homers, and three walks while fanning five over 6 2/3 innings, his longest outing of the season. The Stars send righty Dennis Sarfate (2-4, 4.83) against Bears right-hander Tim Stauffer (1-0, 2.70) in game two of the series Friday night at Joe Davis Stadium. Game time is 7:05 p.m. as the Stars? brand-new, state-of-the-art scoreboard makes its debut!

Indianapolis Star: Travis Phelps and two Indianapolis Indians relievers held the Pawtucket Red Sox to three hits Thursday night in a 3-0 win. Phelps (5-1) struck out five and allowed just two hits in six innings. He retired the final 11 batters he faced and allowed only one runner to advance to second base. "A superb effort by Phelps," Indians manager Cecil Cooper said in a news release from the team. "A much-needed win for our staff." Jon Nunnally's home run off Scott Cassidy (0-1) in the second gave the Indians (26-19) a 1-0 lead. "We came out and got a run early," Phelps said. "I got some momentum and all my pitches were working well tonight." Mark Johnson's two-run single in the sixth inning off Red Sox reliever Mark Malaska gave Indianapolis a 3-0 lead. Nunnally went 2-for-2 with two walks to help the Tribe win for just the second time in its past eight road games. "For some reason, we have not found our comfort zone offensively on the road," Indians second baseman Matt Erickson said. "Tonight, we got a couple of key hits. . . . As long as we get good pitching, we're going to be just fine." Clint Weibl pitched two scoreless innings, and Jason Childers pitched the ninth for his 12th save.

Friday's Daily Menu: Listen to Indy's Big Ben for a couple of hours before the Brewers begin their night... All times Central; pitchers subject to change; pre-game audio begins approx. 15 minutes prior to game time listed... INDIANAPOLIS: RHP Ben Hendrickson at Pawtucket (Red Sox), 5:05 PM Audio link: www.newstalk1430.com/ Alternate audio link (Pawsox' feed): www.pawsox.com/ HUNTSVILLE: RHP Dennis Sarfate at home vs. Mobile (Padres), 7:05 PM Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ HIGH DESERT: RHP Bo Hall at Inland Empire (Mariners), 9:05 PM Audio link: www.hdmavs.com/listen_live.htm BELOIT: TBD at home vs. West Michigan (Tigers), 6:30 PM No online audio for this series http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

Final: Mobile (Padres) 6, Huntsville 2 Huntsville Box Score: RHP Tim Bausher surrenders three home runs... GAME DATE: 5/27/04 MOB at HVL MOBILE 6 AT HUNTSVILLE 2 YTD YTD MOBILE AB R H BI AVG HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG T.Donovan LF 3 0 0 0 .292 R.Weeks 2B 4 0 1 0 .261 F.Guzman CF 4 1 0 0 .283 A.Gwynn CF 2 1 0 0 .261 G.Sain 1B 5 2 2 3 .235 P.Fielder 1B 2 0 0 0 .256 J.Gautreau 3B 5 1 1 1 .231 J.Raburn PR 0 1 0 0 .241 B.Johnson RF 4 0 0 0 .232 J.Raburn 1B 1 0 0 0 .241 J.Barfield 2B 3 1 1 0 .254 B.Nelson LF 2 0 1 0 .287 N.Trzesniak CAT 3 0 1 0 .220 J.Belcher RF 4 0 2 2 .293 A.Webb PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Barnwell 3B 4 0 0 0 .202 J.Cassel PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Johnson CAT 4 0 1 0 .238 J.Roman PH 1 1 1 1 .172 O.Chavez SS 3 0 0 0 .190 R.Spiehs PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Bausher PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 M.Thompson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Woolard PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 R.Merrill SS 4 0 1 0 .192 C.Rojas PIT 2 0 2 0 .250 S.Morales CAT 1 0 0 1 .227 TOTALS 35 6 9 6 TOTALS 29 2 5 2 MOBILE 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 0- 6 9 0 HUNTSVILLE 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0- 2 5 1 E--K.Johnson. DP--MOBILE 1, HUNTSVILLE 0. LOB--MOBILE 7, HUNTSVILLE 6. 2B--J.Roman (2). HR--G.Sain 2 (12), J.Gautreau (6). SB--T.Donovan (15), F.Guzman (17), A.Gwynn 2 (14), J.Raburn (3). CS--B.Nelson. HBP-- A.Gwynn, P.Fielder. SF--S.Morales. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA MOBILE C.Rojas 5.1 2 2 2 3 5 0 4.59 A.Webb 0.1 1 0 0 1 0 0 11.32 J.Cassel (W,2-0) 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.91 R.Spiehs 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.88 M.Thompson 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.22 HUNTSVILLE T.Bausher (L,1-5) 6.2 6 4 4 3 5 3 3.27 G.Woolard 2.1 3 2 2 1 2 0 7.71 HB--C.Rojas 2. WP--C.Rojas, G.Woolard. SO--F.Guzman, G.Sain, J.Gautreau 2, J.Barfield, R.Merrill 2, R.Weeks 3, J.Belcher, K.Johnson, O.Chavez, G.Woolard. BB--T.Donovan 2, F.Guzman, J.Barfield, A.Gwynn, B.Nelson 2, O.Chavez. T--2:59. A--1109Huntsville Game Log: www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=11989

Update: High Desert 6, Stockton (Rangers) 2, bottom of the 4th at Friendly Mavericks Stadium Dan Boyd and Travis Hinton just hit back-to-back jacks, with Boyd's a three-run shot -- fun, fun, fun...

Beloit Game Summary from the Cougars' Site: The Kane County Cougars rallied late but lost for the second straight night to the Beloit Snappers by a final score of 5?4 on a beautiful night at Elfstrom Stadium. The Cougars had the tying and go ahead runs on base in the final two innings but were unable to come up with the big hit and split the first four games of the current eight game home stand. The Snappers (26?21) got on the scoreboard first, for the fourth straight game, scoring two runs on a double to the right center field gap by Manuel Ramirez to take a 2?0 lead. The Cougars (28?18) would answer scoring a run of their own in the bottom of the second when Eddie Kim came home on an RBI single from Dustin Majewski to make it a 2?1 game. The Snappers would add two more runs on three hits in the top of the third to take a 4?1 lead. The Cougars would come back in the bottom of the fifth on a two home run off the bat of Chris Tritle, his third of the season, to cut the lead to 4?3. Beloit would add another run in the top of the seventh inning when Terry Trofholz would score from third when Lou Palmisano grounded into a double play. The Cougars got that run back in the bottom of the eighth inning when with one out, Dustin Majewski hit a bases loaded sacrifice fly into left field scoring David Castillo to cut the lead to 5?4. Vasili Spanos then was called upon to pinch hit for David Harriman but struck out to end the inning. The Cougars would threaten again in the bottom of the ninth putting runners on first and third with only one out but a 6?4?3 double play ended the game as the Snappers evened the season series at four games a piece.

Updates -- I've had High Desert on, I'll let others comment on the Stars' game... In progress: Mobile (Padres) 4, Huntsville 2, after seven innings In progress: Stockton (Rangers) 0, High Desert 0, after one inning Starting pitcher David Bradley's 3.63 ERA entering the game the lowest on the Mavs' staff... Tidbits from the HD broadcast in the early going: -- OF Chris Morris doubled in his first AB but was caught stealing third. This is his first start in 20 games as he's had a thumb injury -- Dan Boyd was hit by a pitch for the 11th time this year in the first, and the fifth time in six games -- John Vanden Berg's .327 average heading into the game has been pumped by a .440 (!) average at Friendly Mavericks Stadium