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Final: Wisconsin 6, Quad Cities 2 (7 innings) Rattlers slam their way to a split Chris Mehring/Timber Rattlers DAVENPORT, IA – Scooter Gennett’s second inning grand slam broke a 2-2 tie and lead the way for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers’ 6-2 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits in game two of a Tuesday night doubleheader at Modern Woodmen Park. Maverick Lasker picked up his first win of the season and struck out six over five innings of work. D’Vontrey Richardson took out some of the frustration that the Timber Rattlers (10-22) had built up during a 15-1/3 inning scoreless streak by launching a homer to right-center to leadoff the second game of the doubleheader. But, the River Bandits (20-13) responded with two runs on one hit in the bottom of the second inning. Lasker walked the first two batters in the bottom of the second. Jason Stidham doubled in the tying run. Matt Adam knocked in the go ahead run with an RBI grounder. Wisconsin came back with a vengeance against Quad Cities starter Michael Blazek in the second inning. Pete Fatse started the frame with a double. He would score on an error by Blazek after a grounder off the bat of Erik Miller. Blazek would walk two batters to load the bases with one out, but it looked like he would get out of the inning after recording the second out of the inning. Gennett had other ideas. The Rattlers second baseman fell behind in the count 1-2 before scalding a line drive down the right field line. The ball stayed fair and cleared the fence for a grand slam. This was the first home run with the bases loaded by a Timber Rattler since Maximo Mendez hit one against Kane County on August 12, 2008. More importantly, it put Wisconsin up 6-2. Lasker made that lead stand. He pitched five innings, allowed two hits, walked four, and struck out six before turning the game over to Andre Lamontagne in the bottom of the sixth. Lamontagne pitched two scoreless frames and the Rattlers snapped their six game losing streak. The final game of the series is Wednesday afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park. Wisconsin has Nick Bucci (0-2, 2.61) as the scheduled starting pitcher. Quad Cities counters with Shelby Miller (0-2, 2.61). Game time is 1:00pm. Tune in for the Miller Lite Pregame Show on AM1280 WNAM at 12:40pm. Wisconsin box scoreCatharsis. Remarkably, those two homers and Fatse's double were the only three hits the Rattlers got all game. Khris Davis walked twice, and Chris Dennis once. Fatse also had a walk to go with his double. Nice start from Lasker. Cameron Garfield got the second half of the doubleheader off. Wisconsin play-by-play It's pretty to read: Ryan Gennett hits a grand slam (2) to right field. Erik Miller scores. Austin Stockfisch scores. Carlos George scores.

Final: Nashville 4, Tacoma 3 (10 innings)Sounds Open Homestand With Extra-Inning Victory Nashville Sounds NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Norris Hopper plated Johnny Raburn with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the tenth inning to give the Nashville Sounds a 4-3 victory over the Tacoma Rainiers on Tuesday evening at historic Greer Stadium in the opener of a four-game series. Raburn drew a one-out walk from Tacoma reliever Levale Speigner then scored the winning run two batters later on Hopper's knock to center. The throw by center fielder Ezequiel Carrera beat Raburn to the plate, but the Nashville baserunner adeptly avoided the tag to provide the Sounds (20-11) with their seventh last at-bat win of the year. The late heroics made a winner out of David Johnson (1-0), who turned his best relief outing of the year for Nashville with three hitless frames. Speigner (1-4) took the loss after allowing the game-winner in his 1 2/3 innings of work. It was the fourth extra-inning contest of the year for Nashville (3-1) and the sixth for Tacoma (2-4). The Sounds pulled out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Tacoma starter Luke French. Second baseman Ray Olmedo put the home team on the board by belting his first home run of the year, a one-out solo shot to left. Nashville doubled its advantage later in the frame when Adam Heether doubled and scored on Erick Almonte's RBI single to right. Tacoma cut the lead to 2-1 in the second. Tommy Everidge led off with a single and scored one batter later on Jack Hannahan's RBI double to the wall in left-center off Sounds starter Kameron Loe. The run was the first earned run the right-hander allowed in 21.0 innings, a three-start stretch. The visitors tied it at 2-2 in the third when Everidge's two-out single to center brought home Carrera. Drew Anderson put Nashville back in front by a 3-2 count in the fifth when his one-out single to center off French plated Luis Cruz. Tacoma took advantage of a pair of Sounds fielding errors to re-tie the contest with an unearned run in the top of the sixth. After Mike Carp reached second to open the frame when Anderson dropped his fly ball in left field, he later scored when first baseman Joe Koshansky was unable to handle Matt Mangini's grounder. Neither starter factored in the decision despite a pair of solid efforts. Loe took a no-decision for Nashville after tossing his fourth consecutive quality start. He allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits with five strikeouts in seven innings of work. French matched Loe's effort with a quality outing of his own, allowing three runs on eight hits over his seven frames. The teams continue the series with an 11:05 a.m. contest on Wednesday morning, when Greer Stadium will be packed with area schoolchildren in attendance as a reward for reaching their goals in the popular Sounds Reading Club. Left-hander Chris Waters (3-0, 3.26) will man the bump for Nashville to face Tacoma right-hander Steven Shell (1-1, 2.10). http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2010/05/11/JJHQxh7a.jpg Nashville box score Heether finished 2-4, while a slumping Jonathan Lucroy was moved down to sixth in the order and went 0-4 while also committing his second passed ball. Our old friend Brad Nelson was the Rainiers' starting right fielder; he's having himself a nice year so far. Nashville play-by-play Lucroy did pitch in with a big caught stealing in the 5th that short-circuited a potential rally: Tacoma Top 5th Ezequiel Carrera flies out to right fielder John Raburn. Chris Woodward singles on a line drive to right fielder John Raburn. Brad Nelson singles on a line drive to right fielder John Raburn. Chris Woodward to 2nd. With Tommy Everidge batting, Chris Woodward caught stealing 3rd base, catcher Jonathan Lucroy to third baseman Adam Heether. Tommy Everidge singles on a ground ball to left fielder Drew T. Anderson. Brad Nelson to 2nd. Jack Hannahan grounds out to first baseman Joe Koshansky.

Final: Brevard County 3, St. Lucie 2Brevard County box score David Riske, on rehab assignment, was the nominal starter, turning in a scoreless 1st, and Wily Peralta pretty much took it from there, tossing seven innings of two-run baseball, striking out three and walking one while giving up a slightly startling ten hits. Both of the runs Peralta surrendered came in his first inning of work, so that's an impressive six shutout frames to finish; he finished his night on the hook for a 2-1 loss, but the Manatees' bats came through with two runs in the bottom of the 8th and Nick Green struck out the side in the 9th to make it stand up. Sean Halton had a triple in his first game since being promoted from Wisconsin, Josh Prince had a double, Matt Cline had a single and was hit by a pitch, and Erik Komatsu also had a hit. Kentrail Davis was 0-4. Brevard County play-by-play Four of the ten hits Peralta gave up came right away: St. Lucie Top 2nd Pitcher Change: Wily Peralta replaces David Riske. Sean Ratliff pops out to third baseman Matt Cline in foul territory. Joshua Satin singles on a line drive to center fielder Kentrail Davis. Stefan Welch singles on a ground ball to right fielder Erik Komatsu. Joshua Satin to 2nd. Juan Centeno singles on a line drive to left fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Joshua Satin to 3rd. Stefan Welch to 2nd. Wilfredo Tovar singles on a line drive to right fielder Erik Komatsu. Joshua Satin scores. Stefan Welch to 3rd. Juan Centeno to 2nd. Emmanuel Garcia grounds into a force out, second baseman Sergio Miranda to shortstop Josh Prince. Stefan Welch scores. Juan Centeno to 3rd. Wilfredo Tovar out at 2nd. Emmanuel Garcia to 1st. With Brahiam Maldonado batting, Emmanuel Garcia steals (11) 2nd base. Brahiam Maldonado grounds out, shortstop Josh Prince to first baseman Sean Halton. He got some help/luck in the 4th: St. Lucie Top 4th Joshua Satin walks. Stefan Welch doubles (8) on a line drive to left fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Joshua Satin out at home, third baseman Matt Cline. Stefan Welch to 3rd on the throw. Juan Centeno grounds out, second baseman Sergio Miranda to first baseman Sean Halton. Wilfredo Tovar grounds out, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Sean Halton. The Manatees' rally: Brevard County Bottom 8th Anderson De La Rosa singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Eric Campbell. Josh Prince hits a sacrifice bunt. Fielding error by pitcher Manuel Alvarez. Anderson De La Rosa to 2nd. Josh Prince to 1st. Matt Cline hit by pitch. Anderson De La Rosa to 3rd. Josh Prince to 2nd. Erik Komatsu grounds into a force out, shortstop Wilfredo Tovar to second baseman Reese Havens. Anderson De La Rosa scores. Josh Prince to 3rd. Matt Cline out at 2nd. Erik Komatsu to 1st. Kentrail Davis grounds into a force out, first baseman Stefan Welch to shortstop Wilfredo Tovar. Josh Prince scores. Erik Komatsu out at 2nd. Kentrail Davis advances to 2nd, on throwing error by shortstop Wilfredo Tovar. Sean Halton grounds out, shortstop Wilfredo Tovar to first baseman Stefan Welch.

Final: Quad Cities 4, Wisconsin 0 (7 innings)Fornataro quiets Rattlers in game one Chris Mehring/Timber Rattlers DAVENPORT, IA – Quad Cities starting pitcher Eric Fornataro got four runs and ran with them in game one of a doubleheader at Modern Woodmen Park. The right-hander struck out eight over six shutout innings and picked up the win as the River Bandits beat Wisconsin 4-0 Tuesday night. CJ Beatty had the big hit in a three-run fourth inning for the River Bandits. The loss was the sixth in a row for the Rattlers. The Bandits (20-12) broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Rattlers starting pitcher Kyle Heckathorn struck out the leadoff batter to set a professional single game high for strikeouts with six. Then, Matt Adams and Ryde Rodriguez singled and Ryan Jackson drew a walk to load the bases. Then, Beatty drove a 2-2 pitch to left-center for a three-run double. Niko Vasquez hit a one-out solo homer in the bottom of the fifth inning off reliever Caleb Thielbar to pad the River Bandits’ cushion to 4-0. Fornataro retired the first 11 Wisconsin hitters he faced, allowed two hits, hit a batter, and did not walk a batter over his six innings of work. Justin Smith came on for the seventh inning and retired the Rattlers (9-22) in order to end game one. Wisconsin box scoreOnly three baserunners, wow. Khris Davis and Cameron Garfield each had singles, and Cutter Dysktra was hit by a pitch. Thanks to a double play and caught stealing, Fornataro only faced one over the minimum. Wisconsin play-by-play This is the only time the Rattlers put a runner in scoring position: Wisconsin Top 4th D' Vontrey Richardson grounds out, third baseman Niko Vasquez to first baseman Matthew Adams. Ryan Gennett flies out to center fielder D'Marcus Ingram. Khristopher Davis singles on a ground ball to center fielder D'Marcus Ingram. With Chris Dennis batting, Khristopher Davis steals (6) 2nd base. Chris Dennis lines out to left fielder C. J. Beatty.

I think he's eligible to return on the 16th.

Stars 4, Biscuits 0 Jill Cacic/Huntsville Stars MONTGOMERY, ALA. - Stars starting pitcher Mark Rogers picked up his second win of the season in a 4-1 final Tuesday morning in Montgomery after missing his originally scheduled start Saturday. Rogers (2-2) held the Montgomery Biscuits (17-14) to only one hit through five innings. He struck out three and walked three. The Biscuits managed to get three hits off of Stars relievers Mike Jones and Brandon Kintzler but never advanced a runner past second base. The Stars (17-15) got to Montgomery starter Jake McGee (0-2) early, with a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Chuckie Caufield that scored first baseman Chris Errecart in the top of the 2nd. Errecart scored again in the 4th on a throwing error after hitting a leadoff double. With reliever Justin Garcia replacing McGee in the 5th, the Stars added two more runs on a home run by catcher Martin Maldonado. Caleb Gindl doubled to right field followed by a single from Zelous Wheeler to keep the hits going. In the next at-bat, Errecart ground out into a double play to end the inning. The Stars got a hit in three of the next four innings but didn?t score another run. Dominant pitching by starter Rogers and consistent hitting put another one in the win column for the Stars today. LHP Chris Cody (2-3, 4.91 ERA) will take the mound for Huntsville tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. in Montgomery. He will face RHP Alex Cobb (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

Rattler Radio: Game notes Tonight's pitchers Game one starting lineup

Adam McCalvy fills us in on why Mark Rogers' start was pushed back:

Final: Huntsville 4, Montgomery 0 Huntsville box score Apparently Mark Rogers' elbow isn't bothering him anymore, as he turned in a good outing today: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 K, 82 pitches, 49 strikes. Mike Jones and Brandon Kintzler backed him up with four shutout innings to get the affiliates off to a great start today; three double plays from the defense certainly helped out as well. As discussed above, Brett Lawrie had a tough day (though he did steal a base), and Taylor Green missed his third game in a row. Caleb Gindl, though, was 2-4 with a double, as was Chris Errecart, and Martin Maldonado carried the day with his three hits, one of which was a two-run homer. Huntsville play-by-play After pitching out of some minor trouble in the first few innings, Rogers was perfect in the 4th and 5th. The closest they came to scoring after that was the 8th, but Jones worked out of it: Montgomery Bottom 8th Craig Albernaz called out on strikes. John Matulia lines out to pitcher Mike Jones. Emeel Salem singles on a ground ball to shortstop Anderson Machado. Chris De La Cruz walks. Emeel Salem to 2nd. Coaching visit to mound. Chris Nowak flies out to center fielder Juan Sanchez.

Biscuits inch their way past Stars Aaron Morse/Huntsville Stars The Montgomery Biscuits (17-13) used some small ball after a long ball got them on the board and the Huntsville Stars (16-15) continued to struggle on offense as the Biscuits prevailed by a score of 3-2 Monday night. The Biscuits got their first run against Stars starter Michael Bowman in the bottom of the second with a homer from Matt Fields, his team leading 6th bomb of the year. But the Stars responded right away in the top half of the third inning thanks to the bottom of their order. Brent Brewer started things off with a single to center. That was followed by a Martin Maldonado double to right, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody down. One out later Caleb Gindl grounded out to score Brewer. But that would be all the Stars could get that inning. The Biscuits got an unearned run off Bowman in the bottom of the 5th inning as a Zelous Wheeler throwing error allowed Cody Strait to reach base with one away. Strait immediately stole second base. He advanced to third a single and scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Emeel Salem. Bowman got a no-decision in a strong outing as he went 5.2 innings, scattering five hits, giving up two runs, only one of which was earned, while walking two and striking out four. The Stars would tie the game up in the top of the 7th thanks to more production from the bottom of the order. With one away, Andy Machado doubled to right. Then with two away, Chuck Caufield came up huge with a single up the gut and the game was tied. Unfortunately the tie did not last long as the Biscuits got to reliever Mike McClendon (1-1) in the bottom half of the frame. Greg Sexton got things going with a double to right. A ground out moved him to third. Then John Matulia flied out to deep left to drive in Sexton. That’d be all the solid Biscuits bullpen needed as Matt Gorgen nailed down his 6th save of the year and Dane De La Rosa (3-0) got the win in relief of starter Jeremy Hall. Brent Brewer (3-4) had the only multi-hit game on either team. The Stars remain four games back of the North Division leading Tennessee Smokies. They’re back in action Tuesday morning as they take on the Biscuits at 10:35 a.m. central time. Chris Cody (2-3) will be on the mound and you can hear all the action only on www.huntsvillestars.com .

BC drops series opener to St. Lucie Frank Longobardo/Brevard County Manatees A five run fifth inning for the St. Lucie Mets was ultimately the difference as the Brevard County Manatees lost 8-3 on Monday night in Viera. With the score tied 1-1 after four innings, the Mets scored three runs to chase Manatees starter Michael Fiers who was relieved by Lucas Luetge. Luetge gave up a two-run home run to the St. Lucie's Joshua Satin to make it a 6-1 lead for the Mets. Fiers had his shortest start of the year as he went just 4 1/3 innings and allowed five runs, all earned on five hits. He walked two St. Lucie batters and fanned six. Brevard County would cut it to a 6-3 game and in the bottom of the seventh had runners on first and second with Erik Komatsu at the plate. Komatsu though would strike out looking with a full count and Kentrail Davis followed by grounding into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat. St. Lucie would add two more runs in the top of the eighth thanks to Satin's second two-run homer of the game, this time off of Trey Watten. Josh Prince, Matt Cline and Komatsu each had two hits apiece for Brevard County. Davis, Cline and Anderson De La Rosa drove in one run each. The Manatees were 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position, left nine runners on base and grounded into two double plays. Brevard County and St. Lucie will continue the series on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. at Space Coast Stadium. Every Tuesday is KRAFT Singles Tuesday Night Tickets. Fans who bring a KRAFT Singles package wrapper to the box office get a special buy one ticket, get one free deal.

Final: Montgomery 3, Huntsville 2Huntsville box score Michael Bowman allowed two runs, one earned, in 5.2 innings, surrendering five hits and issuing two walks while punching out four. He threw 92 pitches, 60 for strikes. The Stars couldn't get much going on offense, with Brett Lawrie and Caleb Gindl going 0-4 and 1-4 respectively, each with two strikeouts. Brent Brewer posted the only multi-hit game, going 3-4 as the DH to continue his post-promotion hot streak. Juan Sanchez, the Stars' new center fielder with Lorenzo Cain and Lee Haydel on the shelf, went 1-3 with a walk and an outfield assist in his first game at AA. Taylor Green missed his second straight game. Mark Rogers, scratched from his start on Saturday, did not pitch. Huntsville play-by-play The Stars put the tying run on second in the 9th but couldn't tie it up. Brewer, 3-3 up to that point, struck out to end the game: Huntsville Top 9th Chris Errecart flies out to center fielder Emeel Salem. Anderson Machado flies out to left fielder John Matulia. Juan Sanchez walks. Chuck Caufield walks. Juan Sanchez to 2nd. Brent Brewer strikes out swinging. They also managed only one run in the 3rd despite putting runners on second & third with no outs and Lawrie & Gindl coming up: Huntsville Top 3rd Brent Brewer singles on a line drive to center fielder Emeel Salem. Martin Maldonado doubles (4) on a line drive to right fielder Cody Strait. Brent Brewer to 3rd. Brett Lawrie strikes out swinging. Caleb Gindl grounds out, shortstop Chris De La Cruz to first baseman Matt Fields. Brent Brewer scores. Martin Maldonado to 3rd. Zelous Wheeler grounds out, shortstop Chris De La Cruz to first baseman Matt Fields.

Final: St. Lucie 8, Brevard County 3Brevard County box scoreMike Fiers started and pitched well for four innings before running into a buzzsaw, his final line being five runs allowed in 4.1 innings on five hits, two walks, and two hit batters with six strikeouts. Trey Watten tossed the final two frames, allowing two runs on four hits, walking none and striking out two. The first three hitters in the BC lineup, Josh Prince, Matt Cline, and Erik Komatsu, all had two hits, with Cline additionally drawing a walk and a HBP. Kentrail Davis and Shawn Zarraga were each 1-4. Brevard County play-by-play Through four innings, Fiers had allowed one run on three hits, a walk, and a hit batter, with six strikeouts.

No Mark Rogers. Mike Fiers got the start for BC.

T-Rats rained out; doubleheader tomorrow (the usual seven-inning games).

Final: Nashville 7, Albuquerque 6Koshansky Hits Game-Winning Homer In Sounds Win Nashville Sounds ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Pinch hitter Joe Koshansky smacked a go-ahead two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to give the Nashville Sounds a 7-6 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes on Monday afternoon at Isotopes Park in the finale of a four-game set. Adam Stern went 3-for-5 with an RBI and run scored, while Erick Almonte added three hits and two runs scored. With the win, Nashville splits the series with Albuquerque and moves to 19-11 overall. Chris Smith picked up his PCL-leading 12th save of the season after throwing a scoreless ninth inning. Sounds outfielder Trent Oeltjen scored the first run of the contest after walking to begin the contest and coming home on a Stern RBI-single. Albuquerque knotted the contest at 1-1 after the Isotopes opened the next frame with two straight doubles by Michael Restovich and Russ Mitchell. Chin-lung Hu then followed with a base hit that plated Mitchell and put Albuquerque ahead, 2-1. After another Restovich double in the bottom of the fourth inning, Hu drove in the next run with a sacrifice fly to right field for a 3-1 Albuquerque advantage. Shortstop Luis Cruz reduced the Isotopes lead to 3-2 in the top of the fifth inning with an RBI-single that scored Almonte, who led off the inning with a double. Cruz did more damage in the top of the seventh inning and put the Sounds in front at 4-3 with a two-run double that scored both Almonte and Drew Anderson, who both singled earlier in the frame. Stern led off the next inning with an 11-pitch at-bat, walking to reach base and then advancing to second on a Ray Olmedo sacrifice. Norris Hopper then extended his hitting streak to six games with an RBI-base knock that extended Sounds lead to 5-3. The Isotopes quickly took the lead back in the next frame, scoring three unearned runs off reliever John Axford for a 6-5 advantage. Due to a Olmedo fielding error, Prentice Redman scored the first run on a Mitchell base hit, and with the bases loaded later in the inning, Hu brought home the tying run on an infield groundout. Jay Gibbons then singled home Mitchell that put Albuquerque in front. Nashville quickly took the lead at 7-6 in the next frame as Koshansky homered to left field, a two-run blast for his third long ball of the series and second game in row. Chuck Lofgren twirled his third quality start of the season, allowing three runs on eight hits with one walk and five strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. Axford (3-2) picked up the win after giving up three unearned runs on three hits and two strikeouts over 1 1/3 innings. Scott Elbert pitched five innings and allowed two runs on eight hits with six strikeouts for a no decision. Reliever Luis Ayala (1-2) blew the save opportunity and took the loss, giving up the two-run bomb to Koshansky. The Sounds travel back home to Music City to open an eight-game homestand, with the first contest beginning at 7:05 pm CT against the Tacoma Rainiers (AAA-Mariners) on Tuesday evening at historic Greer Stadium. Right-handed starter Kameron Loe (4-1, 2.41) takes the hill for Nashville vs. Tacoma lefty Luke French (4-0, 1.35). Nashville box scoreLofgren's best start since his first two gems. A struggling Jonathan Lucroy went 0-5 with three strikeouts and is now sporting a distinctly un-Lucroyian 3/14 walk/strikeout ratio after a couple weeks with Sounds. Adam Heether was 2-4 with a double and a walk. Almonte was on base all five times, adding two walks to his three hits. As MH pointed out above, it appears Oeltjen was injured after being hit by a pitch. Nashville play-by-play Olmedo's error certainly didn't serve Axford, but it looks like he gave up a couple hard-hit balls, plus a walk, to exacerbate the situation. Albuquerque Bottom 8th Prentice Redman singles on a line drive to right fielder Adam Stern. John Lindsey reaches on force attempt, fielding error by second baseman Ray Olmedo. Prentice Redman to 2nd. With Michael Restovich batting, Prentice Redman steals (2) 3rd base. Timo Perez steals (1) 2nd base. Michael Restovich strikes out swinging. Russ Mitchell singles on a line drive to center fielder Norris Hopper. Prentice Redman scores. Timo Perez to 3rd. JD Closser walks. Russ Mitchell to 2nd. Coaching visit to mound. Chin-lung Hu grounds into a force out, second baseman Ray Olmedo to shortstop Luis Cruz. Timo Perez scores. Russ Mitchell to 3rd. JD Closser out at 2nd. Chin-lung Hu to 1st. Jay Gibbons singles on a ground ball to right fielder Adam Stern. Russ Mitchell scores. Chin-lung Hu to 3rd. Jamie Hoffmann grounds out, shortstop Luis Cruz to first baseman Erick Almonte.

He does the whole site. He's also one of the co-founders of collegesplits.com

Lots of transactions today: 1B Sean Halton and OF Erik Miller swap places, the former going to Brevard County and the latter to Wisconsin. OF Lee Haydel and RHP Jim Henderson were put on the Huntsville DL, with IF/OF Juan Sanchez moving up Huntsville from Brevard and OF Scott Krieger coming up from extended spring training to replace them. Don't know who's replacing Sanchez at Brevard yet. EDIT: They keep coming. Adam McCalvy reports that the team signed SS Justin Parker, who was Arizona's 6th-round pick in 2007. Parker hit .252/.349/.373 for South Bend in the Midwest League last year as a 22-year-old. McCalvy says he's been assigned to EST for now. EDIT: It'll be a rehabbing David Riske taking Sanchez's roster spot at Brevard County. EDIT: OF Adam Stern had his contract purchased by the Brewers and was called up from Nashville to replace Carlos Gomez.

Estrada, rotation have Sounds resonating with fans Chris Jackson/MLB.com The reason for the Nashville Sounds' early success this season has been easy to identify. It's all about the pitching for the Brewers' top affiliate, and it starts with the starters. Nashville has sent out the same five pitchers to start every game so far this season, a rarity and a luxury in Triple-A. "This is one of the better rotations I've been a part of," said right-hander Marco Estrada. "Everyone gets along real well. That helps." The Sounds (18-11) were leading the Pacific Coast League with a 2.96 ERA entering Saturday's game at Albuquerque, but the Isotopes prevailed, 14-2. Over the weekend, Nashville's ERA jumped to 3.75. The pitchers have had to carry the load as the Sounds rank 10th in batting average (.257) and 14th in on-base percentage (.324) in the 16-team league. It is all the more remarkable that Nashville has been able to find success as each of the five starters joined the Brewers organization fairly recently. Estrada (1-2, 3.55 ERA) was claimed off waivers from the Washington Nationals in February. Right-hander Kameron Loe (4-1, 2.41) signed as a free agent in December after spending 2009 in Japan. Left-handers Chuck Lofgren (4-2, 4.31) and Chris Waters (3-0, 3.26) also arrived in December, Lofgren via the Rule 5 Draft from the Cleveland Indians and Waters as a free agent. Fellow southpaw Chase Wright (2-1, 4.59) is the longest tenured starter, having joined the Brewers in a trade from the New York Yankees in February 2009. Wright said the current rotation bonded in the latter days of Spring Training in Arizona this March. "Everybody gelled, and it just seemed from Game 1, the starter went out there and pitched well," Wright said. "We all fed off of that, each trying to outdo one another. We're just trying to pitch deep into games and give our team a chance to win, and right now we're definitely doing that." Estrada agreed that the group has pushed one another along. "I think that's what makes us better. We all see how well one guy is doing, and it makes you want to do just as well," he said. "We get along so well, we talk to each other and we let each other know what's going on." With the exception of Lofgren, each of the starters has spent time in the Majors. Loe went 19-23 with a 4.77 ERA from 2004-'08 with the Texas Rangers. Waters made 12 starts for the Baltimore Orioles in '08-'09. Wright started twice for the Yankees in '07. Estrada made 15 appearances with Washington in '08-'09. "I think that's why we're all here, to get (back to the Majors), stay there and make a career up there," Wright said. "It's something where you don't know how many opportunities you're going to get. If you do get that opportunity, you've got to take advantage of it." http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2010/05/09/CWLaSPTK.jpg The Brewers acquired righty Marco Estrada off waivers from the Nationals. (Kevin Pataky/MiLB.com)

Lefty Braddock suffers rare rough outing Adam McCalvy/MLB.com PHOENIX -- Brewers left-handed pitching prospect Zach Braddock was lighting up the Triple-A Pacific Coast League until Sunday, when Braddock was the one being lit up. The 22-year-old had not allowed a run in eight outings spanning 13 1/3 innings but was touched for eight runs Sunday in two-thirds of an inning in a 15-12 Nashville Sounds loss at Albuquerque. Braddock entered with 23 strikeouts vs. six walks and an .095 batting average, but he allowed his eight runs on five hits and two walks. Fellow lefty Mitch Stetter, who was promoted back to the Majors on Sunday, has a feeling Braddock will bounce back. "I watched him the first couple of times he threw, and by the third time, I was out in the bullpen laughing," Stetter said. "We're all laughing. He's out there striking guys out. He's throwing his fastball right by guys. I think his fastball kind of explodes out of his hand and then explodes at the end. Guys couldn't catch up to it. "It's crazy. Every time he pitches two innings, he strikes out at least four. We're down there [in the bullpen] counting them. We're down there laughing because he throws it right by guys." Stetter got the call on Sunday to replace injured reliever LaTroy Hawkins because he was on the 40-man roster and has Major League experience, general manager Doug Melvin said. Braddock isn't on the 40-man roster. "Mitch has the experience. We have Atlanta coming up with some left-handed hitters, and Mitch has faced them," Melvin said. "Braddock is throwing well. But when Mitch went down, he didn't go down because he wasn't throwing well."

Final: Albuquerque 15, Nashville 12Sounds Lose Wild Game To 'Topes, 15-12 Nashville Sounds ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Nashville Sounds lost to the Albuquerque Isotopes, 15-12, on Sunday afternoon at Isotopes Park in the third game of a four-game series. Matching the season-high of 12 runs scored in the defeat, the 15 runs allowed were also the most that Nashville (18-11) has surrendered this season, with a total of 45 combined runs being scored by both clubs through the first three games of the series. In the top of the second inning, outfielder Drew Anderson smacked his first home run of the season over the center field wall to put the Sounds on the board at 1-0. Extending his hitting streak to a season-best eight games in the next frame, outfielder Trent Oeltjen then belted another solo home run to center field, his second on the year that made it 2-0 Sounds. Albuquerque then took a 5-2 lead with a five-run rally that began on a leadoff single by Lucas May. Jamie Hoffman followed with an RBI-triple, with Chin-lung Hu tying the game at 2-2 with a base hit to right field. Timo Perez then gave the Isotopes a 4-2 lead with a two-run single, with Ivan De Jesus Jr. plating the final run of the frame with another RBI-single. De Jesus Jr. added to the Albuquerque lead with another RBI-double off reliever Tim Dillard in the sixth inning. Later in the frame, May brought home Perez that made it 7-2 Albuquerque. The Sounds struck back with three runs in the top of the seventh inning, beginning with a leadoff walk by pinch hitter Norris Hopper. Hopper then went to third on an Adam Stern single and later scored on a James McDonald wild pitch. Johnny Raburn followed with a base hit to score Stern and reduced the Isotopes lead to 7-3. Later in the inning, Oeltjen reached base on a fielder's choice, stole second and third base, and then came home on an Adam Heether sacrifice fly that reduced the Albuquerque advantage to three runs. The Isotopes offense exploded for eight more runs off Sounds reliever Zach Braddock in the next frame, his first runs allowed in the 2010 season. Albuquerque produced RBI-base hits by Hu, Perez, and JD Closser before Hoffman belted a three-run homer to left field that made it 15-5 Isotopes. In the next frame, Nashville scored six runs with no outs to reduce the Albuquerque lead with four runs at 15-11. Luis Cruz walked, then the Sounds hit three straight base hits, followed by an Oeltjen two-run double. Nashville's final run of the inning came from a Joe Koshansky double that plated Oeltjen. Ben Johnson homered in the bottom of the ninth inning that brought the Sounds within three runs, but Nashville was unable to do further damage with the tying run at the plate with two outs. McDonald (2-1) surrendered four runs on eight hits with six strikeouts to pick up the win. Releiver Jon Link gave up five of the six Nashville runs in the eighth before being removed for reliever Luis Ayala. Sounds starting pitcher Marco Estrada (1-2) allowed five runs on eight hits with one walk and no strikeouts in four innings to take the defeat. John Axford threw 1/3 scoreless frames, with Chris Smith contributing a shutout inning while fanning one batter. The Sounds look for the series split with tomorrow's 1:05 pm CT afternoon contest at Isotopes Park. Sounds left-hander Chuck Lofgren (4-2, 4.31) takes the mound against Isotopes lefty Scott Elbert (0-1, 7.77) in the finale of the four-game set. Nashville box scoreUh, wow. Hopefully that's just one of your all-time blips from Braddock; as pointed out above, he was getting ground balls, but there's no way to tell how hard they were hit and how unlucky he was getting. He threw 41 pitches, 24 for strikes. Disappointing outing from Marco Estrada, as well. Jonathan Lucroy had the day off. Nashville play-by-play Braddock's performance: Albuquerque Bottom 7th Pitcher Change: Zach Braddock replaces Tim Dillard, batting 6th, replacing left fielder Drew T. Anderson. Jamie Hoffmann hit by pitch. Russ Mitchell out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Zach Braddock to first baseman Joe Koshansky. Jamie Hoffmann to 2nd. Chin-lung Hu singles on a ground ball to second baseman John Raburn. Jamie Hoffmann scores. Throwing error by second baseman John Raburn. Prentice Redman singles on a ground ball to center fielder Norris Hopper. Chin-lung Hu to 3rd. Timo Perez singles on a ground ball to first baseman Joe Koshansky. Chin-lung Hu scores. Prentice Redman to 3rd. Ivan De JesusJr. walks. Timo Perez to 2nd. Jon Link walks. Prentice Redman scores. Timo Perez to 3rd. Ivan De JesusJr. to 2nd. Lucas May called out on strikes. JD Closser singles on a ground ball to third baseman Adam Heether. Timo Perez scores. Ivan De JesusJr. Jon Link to 2nd. Jamie Hoffmann homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. Jon Link scores. JD Closser scores. Pitcher Change: John Axford replaces Zach Braddock, batting 6th. Russ Mitchell pops out to second baseman John Raburn.

Final: Cedar Rapids 8, Wisconsin 1 Richards' Day Chris Mehring/Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers have seen enough of the Cedar Rapids Kernels for now. Kernels’ starting pitcher Garrett Richards tossed a complete game and struck out a professional career high 10 batters to defeat Rattlers 8-1 on Sunday at Time Warner Cable Field and complete the three-game sweep in the Midwest League series. Mike Trout and Justin Bass both homered for the Kernels. Cedar Rapids also took advantage of nine walks and four hit batsmen by Wisconsin’s pitchers along with three errors by the Timber Rattlers defense. Trout continued to torment the Timber Rattlers. The leadoff batter for the Kernels started Sunday’s game with a home run off Eric Arnett to give Cedar Rapids a 1-0 lead. Trout had homered to lead off the top of the tenth inning on Saturday afternoon in a 5-4 Cedar Rapids win. Wisconsin (9-21) tied the game in the bottom of the first against Kernels starting pitcher Garrett Davis. Khris Davis grounded into a 6-4-3 double play with runners at the corners to score a run from third. But, Cedar Rapids (17-14) went back in front in the top of the second inning. The Kernels loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a walk. Arnett got the first out with a strikeout, but he would walk Trout to force in the run that put Cedar Rapids up 2-1. A bloop single by Jean Segura and a sacrifice fly by Luis Jimenez scored the other two runs in the inning for a 4-1 lead. Richards allowed a bunt single to Pete Fatse in the second inning and proceeded to retire the next 11 Wisconsin hitters. The Rattlers wouldn’t get their next hit until the seventh inning. Bass, the #9 hitter in the Cedar Rapids batting order, hit a two out, solo homer off Hiram Burgos in the top of the sixth inning and the Kernels led 5-1. That hit in the seventh inning for the Rattlers was a leadoff triple by Khris Davis. But, Richards struck out the next hitters to keep the Rattlers stuck on one run. The Kernels did not need a hit to score three runs in the top of the eighth inning. Reliever Chad Robinson retired the first hitter. But, he would walk the Jon Karcich and Bass. A wild pickoff throw to first by Rattlers catcher Cameron Garfield allowed Karcich to score. Robinson walked Trout to put runners at the corners, but would strikeout Segura. Then, Robinson hit the next batter to load the bases. The final two runs for the Kernels scored when Eric Oliver walked on four pitches to force in a run and Carlos George committed an error on a flip to second for what should have been an inning ending force out. Richards walked three and allowed four hits as he finished off the Rattlers with less than 100 pitches on the afternoon. Wisconsin starts a brief three-game road trip on Monday with a game at Modern Woodmen Park against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Kyle Heckathorn (1-2, 4.70) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rattlers. Quad Cities sends Eric Fornataro (2-2, 3.66) to the mound. Game time is 7:00pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm. Wisconsin box scoreApparently Arnett only pitches well on days with tornadoes. His final line: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 1 HBP, 2 K. Sadly, that actually lowered his ERA (to 9.00). D'Vontrey Richardson had an encouraging day, walking three times. Scooter Gennett and Davis were 1-4, while Chris Dennis was 0-4 and Garfield and Cutter Dykstra were 0-3. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t572&gid=2010_05_09_cedafx_wisafx_1&cid=420&t=g_box Wisconsin play-by-playSigh: Wisconsin Bottom 7th Khristopher Davis triples (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Mike Trout. Chris Dennis called out on strikes. Cameron Garfield strikes out swinging. Peter Fatse called out on strikes.

Gamel frustrated by slow progress Adam McCalvy/MLB.com PHOENIX -- Injured Brewers prospect Mat Gamel vowed to be back in action before the end of the month and minced no words about his affinity for extended spring training. "This is awful," said Gamel, who is rehabilitating a shoulder injury. "I hate this." Gamel has been working at the Brewers' facility in west Phoenix, so he dropped by Chase Field on Saturday to visit the rest of the team before a game against the D-backs. He hasn't played at full strength since early March, when Gamel tore a muscle behind his right shoulder. He is hitting with no problem, and has asked Brewers officials to send him to an affiliate to serve as a designated hitter. He was told to remain at Maryvale Baseball Park until his shoulder is completely healed. "I've never been through anything like this, and it's tested me," Gamel said. He played catch at 105 feet this week, which represents progress. Gamel has also been taking ground balls at third base, but is restricted from throwing across the diamond. The 23-year-old remains one of Milwaukee's top prospects, but the past year has not gone smoothly. He struggled with sporadic playing time after a midseason callup last May and carried the slump back to Triple-A Nashville. Club officials have said Gamel would have had a very good chance to make the big league team in Spring Training if not for the injury. "I feel like I'm getting there," said Gamel, who thinks he will be playing for an affiliate before the end of May. "That's the goal," he said. "If if was up to me, I would have been out of here already."

West Tenn 4, Huntsville 1 Jill Cacic/Huntsville Stars HUNTSVILLE, ALA - The Huntsville Stars lost their second series of the year Saturday night at Joe Davis Stadium in a 4-1 final against the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. The Diamond Jaxx (15-14) took an early 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning off of a double by outfielder Joe Dunigan, followed by two singles from center fielder Kuo Hui Lo and catcher Jose Yepez. They added another run in both the 5th and 6th to make it 4-0. With dominant pitching from West Tenn starter Mauricio Robles (3-1), the Stars (16-14) only managed to get one hit until the 7th inning when outfielder Caleb Gindl hit a single to second base. He eventually scored off of a double by right fielder Chris Errecart, making it 4-1. Unfortunately the very short-lived rally wouldn't make it a come-from-behind victory for the second straight night as the final remained 4-1. Fresh off the disabled list, Stars (16-14) starter Donovan Hand (1-1) threw 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He was able to strike out three of the 18 batters he faced and didn't allow a single walk. Reliever Mark Willinsky came in for 1.2 innings of relief and gave up one run on five hits. He walked three and struck out two, while Casey Baron and Brandon Kintzler came in and pitched a perfect 3 innings combined. The Stars head to Montgomery to start a five-game series against the Biscuits on Monday.

Final: Albuquerque 14, Nashville 2 Albuquerque Wins 14-2 Over Nashville Nashville Sounds ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Nashville Sounds lost to the Albuquerque Isotopes, 14-2, on Saturday evening at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque in the second game of a four-game series. The 14 runs were the most that Nashville (18-10) has allowed this season, with a total of 28 combined runs being scored by both clubs so far in the first two games of the series. Tim Corcoran (2-2) picked up the win, allowing four hits and striking out four over five shutout innings. Albuquerque's first run came on a Russ Mitchell RBI-double in the bottom of the second inning. John Lindsey jacked a two-run shot in the next frame, his fourth homer of the season that made it 3-0 Isotopes. Albuquerque tacked on four more runs in the next inning on Sounds starter Chase Wright, as the lefty allowed a two-out single, double, and a triple on consecutive plays. The Isotopes added another four runs in the next frame, with two runs coming from RBI-hits from Chin-lung Hu and Michael Restovich, and another two runs coming from a passed ball and wild pitch from A.J. Murray. Joe Koshansky put the Sounds on the board with his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot in the top of the sixth inning. Jay Gibbons hit his sixth homer of the season in the next inning, his sixth of the season that made it 12-1 Albuquerque. After a Lucas May double, Prentice Redman drove in the next run with an RBI-double of his own. The Sounds' other run came from an Adam Stern RBI-base hit that drove home Adam Heether. Jamie Hoffman doubled home Hu in the following frame that brought the contest to 14-2. Wright (2-1) was tagged with the loss after surrendering seven runs on eight hits with two strikeouts in four innings. Murray threw two innings in relief, giving up six runs (five earned) on five hits with one strikeout. David Johnson allowed one run in two innings pitched. Trent Oeltjen extended his season-long hitting streak to seven games with a double in the defeat. The Sounds and Isotopes will play the third game of a four-game set at 2:35 pm CT on Sunday afternoon at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque. Right-hander Marco Estrada (1-1, 2.48) takes the mound for Nashville against Albuquerque righty James McDonald (1-1, 3.97). Nashville box scoreKarma for the Brewers game, I guess. Jonathan Lucroy was 1-3 with a walk but committed his first passed ball at AAA, and Adam Heether was 1-2 with a walk and HBP. Nashville play-by-play