battlekow

Final: @AZL Rangers 7, AZL Brewers 2 AZL Brewers box scoreWill West had a 5/1 K/BB in four innings, but allowed seven hits, including two homers, and five runs. Only two of those runs were earned, though; the Brewers committed four errors in total. Jose Garcia had three of the team's eight hits, including a double and a triple for the second day in a row. Andres Martinez added a single and a double, and, continuing the Dominican theme, Ronny Puello even got another hit to get himself on the interstate (.106). Kevin Berard committed his fourth error in his ninth game at shortstop. AZL Brewers play-by-play

Taylor Green's passport might be getting a couple more stamps this winter:

Peralta dominates again at Triple-ABy Andrew Pentis / Special to MLB.com Nashville's Wily Peralta insisted a no-hit bid was the furthest thing from his mind Monday night. He boiled his focus on the mound to "Get this guy, then get this guy."Peralta got most of 'em. Milwaukee's top prospect completed 6 1/3 hitless innings before allowing a seventh-inning run on two singles in the Triple-A Sounds' 7-3, 11-inning road win over the Omaha Storm Chasers. Peralta (2-0) retired the first 13 batters he faced before walking Kila Ka'aihue on five pitches in the fifth inning. The 22-year-old right-hander then sat down six in a row before Lorenzo Cain smacked an infield single toward shortstop Edwin Maysonet with one out in the seventh. "It was a pretty close play," Peralta said. "When I looked at the scoreboard, I saw they had one hit with one out in the seventh inning, I was happy. It was fun trying to throw a no-hitter." Cain advanced to second on a wild pitch and, after Ka'aihue drew a second free pass, scored on Irving Falu's two-out single into right field. Ka'aihue, the potential tying run, was thrown out attempting to go from first to third on the play. "We were pretty excited," Peralta said of right fielder Caleb Gindl's assist. "The defense helped me a lot. They were doing their best for me." Peralta, whom the Brewers signed out of the Dominican Republic in November 2005, had extended his Triple-A scoreless innings streak to 14 1/3 before Cain touched home plate. He exited having thrown 98 pitches over his seven innings and struck out seven. The starter gave up three Las Vegas runs on six hits over six frames in his Triple-A debut on Aug. 12 then rebounded with seven scoreless innings against Tucson on Wednesday. In his second-to-last Double-A outing -- the best of his season -- pitching for Huntsville against Carolina on July 31, Peralta completed seven one-hit innings. Peralta has a 1.80 ERA and 24 strikeouts in his first 20 innings one level from the bigs. "I'm not changing anything," the Southern League Midseason All-Star said. "I'm just trying to keep doing what I am doing." Prior to Monday, Peralta had never held an opponent hitless for more than three innings. Pitching for short-season Helena against Billings on July 5, 2008, he tossed three no-hit frames, and matched that in two relief appearances the next season at Class A Wisconsin. The Storm Chasers scored two runs off of Donovan Hand in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score, 3-3, and force extra innings. Ka'aihue and Yamaico Navarro both smacked run-scoring singles. The Sounds regained the advantage with four runs in the top of the 11th. Eric Farris struck a run-scoring single off of reliever Brandon Sisk (4-2), then scored on Mat Gamel's longball. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2011/08/22/OWK7hbBi.jpg (Mike Strasinger/Nashville Sounds)

Final: @Burlington 5, Wisconsin 3 Burlington buzzes Timber Rattlers 5-3By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BURLINGTON, IA - The Burlington Bees didn't get a lot of hits on Monday night at Community Field against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. But, the Bees took advantage of some walks, some Timber Rattlers mistakes, and some good defense on their part for a 5-3 win. Yordy Cabrera kept the Rattlers (61-65 overall, 23-33) from scoring first. Rafael Neda was at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the first inning. Neda scalded a shot back through the middle, but the Bees shortstop ranged behind second to make the stop and throw to first to get the final out of the inning. Burlington (68-58, 23-33) scored three times in the bottom of the second inning. Royce Consigli singled with one out and runners on first and second to get the first run home. That hit was one of four on the night by Bees hitters. Wade Kirkland was next and he sent a fly ball deep to left-center. Rattlers left fielder Chad Stang ran down the ball and made a nice catch. But, Stang appeared to think that was the third out as he continued to run with the ball instead of getting it back to the infield. The runner at second tagged and scored when Stang dropped the ball making the exchange to his throwing hand. Consigli also took second on the play. That allowed him to score when Tyreace House singled and and the Bees were up 3-0. Wisconsin would get on the scoreboard in the top of the third. Nick Ramirez scored Nick Shaw with a sacrifice fly to get the Rattlers within 3-1. The Bees would score two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and did so without the benefit of a hit. Rattlers starting pitcher Del Howell walked two straight batters with one out before being replaced by Stosh Wawrzasek. The Rattlers reliever loaded the bases by hitting the first batter he faced. Jose Crisotomo plated the first run of the inning by grounding into a force play at second. Then, Crisotomo drew a throw as he stole second. Kirkland, the runner at third, broke for the plate and scored for a 5-1 lead. The Rattlers offense was handcuffed until the ninth. They had two on and two out with Cody Hawn at the plate. Hawn doubled over the head of House in center to score both runners and bring Ramirez to the plate as the potential tying. Ramirez sent a fly ball deep to right, but the ballpark held it and Crisotomo made the catch on the warning track to end the game. Wisconsin went just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded ten runners total on the evening. The Timber Rattlers wrap up their road trip on Tuesday night at Community Field with the final game of the series with the Bees. Wisconsin has Jimmy Nelson (6-8, 4.54) scheduled as their starting pitcher. Burlington will send Nate Long (7-6, 3.22) to the mound. Game time is 6:30pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10pm. Wisconsin box scoreHowell walked five in 3.1 innings. Alan Williams worked a perfect 8th with a strikeout. Hawn, Stang, and Franklin Romero, Jr. each had two hits. Shaw drew three walks, giving him 72 on the year. Ramirez is hitting .146. Wisconsin play-by-play

Stars’ Bats Stay Quiet in Loss Huntsville Stars HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Huntsville Stars (59-67) tried to come back against the Birmingham Barons (64-63) after Hector Santiago left the game, but it was too little, too late as they fall 3-2 in game two on Monday night. Santiago (6-5) threw a two-hit shutout through six innings, striking out six Stars hitters. Anthony Carter picked up his fourth save of the season pitching 1.2 hitless innings. The Barons offense also chipped in to lead the team to victory. Jon Gilmore extended his hit streak to 12 games, doubling and then scoring on Seth Loman’s home run in the fourth inning. Gilmore came around to score again for the eventual winning run in the sixth inning on a hit by Josh Phegley. R.J. Seidel (1-3) gave up all three runs on eight hits through 5.2 innings. After Chase Wright walked six batters the night before, the Stars pitching staff did not allow a single walk tonight. Hainley Statia was the driving force behind the Stars’ two runs of offense. Statia was 2-for-2 with two walks, a run and a RBI-triple. The Stars trail the Barons 2-0 in the series in the five-game set. Tuesday is KRAFT Singles Tuesday Night Tickets. Buy one ticket, get one free from KRAFT Singles with purchase. Bring your package wrapper to a Stars game on Tuesdays for a steal of a deal! For more information, call (256) 882-2562 or visit huntsvillestars.com. Don’t forget to keep up with the Stars on Facebook, Twitter and the official newsletter. For more information, visit huntsvillestars.com.

The Cerveceritos were suspended after three innings with a 3-1 lead (box score). 4/0 K/BB for starter Juan Francisco, and Orlando Arcia has a double. DSL Brewers Top of the 3rdJose Pena walks.Raphachel Colatosti strikes out swinging.Yonki Hernandez walks. Jose Pena to 2nd.Dionis Hinojosa singles on a ground ball to right fielder Dioni Dominguez. Jose Pena scores. Yonki Hernandez to 2nd.Orlando Arcia doubles (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Dioni Dominguez. Yonki Hernandez scores. Dionis Hinojosa to 3rd.Deivi Mejia out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Rockny Martinez. Dionis Hinojosa scores. Orlando Arcia to 3rd.Juan De Leon strikes out swinging.

Final: Birmingham 3, @Huntsville 2 Huntsville box scoreRJ Seidel had a very ball-in-play outing, striking out just one and walking none in 5.2 innings while allowing three runs on eight hits. Hainley Statia was pretty much the only Star to do anything with the bat, going 2-2 with a triple and two walks, though Brock Kjeldgaard and Khris Davis did each have a hit. Yay, a hit. Big Brock also threw out a runner at the plate (useless trivia: the runner was Josh Phegley, Eric Arnett's former battery-mate at Indiana and his fellow '09 first-rounder). Huntsville play-by-play

Final: @AZL Brewers 10, AZL Rangers 5 AZL Brewers play-by-playThe Brewers entered the bottom of the 8th down 5-2. Yes, you're doing the math right--they scored eight runs in the 8th inning. AZL Brewers Bottom of the 8thPitcher Change: Kenneth Wiser replaces Shawn Blackwell.Ronny Puello singles on a ground ball to center fielder Jordan Akins.Andres Martinez lines out to third baseman Ryan Rua.Kevin Berard singles on a line drive to right fielder Christopher Grayson. Ronny Puello to 2nd.Michael Reed doubles (2) on a fly ball to right fielder Christopher Grayson. Ronny Puello scores. Kevin Berard to 3rd.Jimmie Pharr singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jeremy Williams. Kevin Berard scores. Michael Reed to 3rd.Pitcher Change: Leonel De Los Santos replaces Kenneth Wiser.Jose Garcia doubles (5) on a fly ball to left fielder Jeremy Williams. Michael Reed scores. Jimmie Pharr to 3rd.Jalen Harris singles on a fly ball to right fielder Christopher Grayson. Jimmie Pharr scores. Jose Garcia to 3rd.Renaldo Jenkins singles on a fly ball to right fielder Christopher Grayson. Jose Garcia scores. Jalen Harris to 2nd.Matthew Franco walks. Jalen Harris to 3rd. Renaldo Jenkins to 2nd.Ronny Puello singles on a fly ball to right fielder Christopher Grayson. Jalen Harris scores. Renaldo Jenkins scores. Matthew Franco to 2nd.Andres Martinez strikes out swinging.Kevin Berard singles on a fly ball to left fielder Jeremy Williams. Matthew Franco scores. Ronny Puello to 2nd.Michael Reed walks. Ronny Puello to 3rd. Kevin Berard to 2nd.Jimmie Pharr grounds out, second baseman Nick Urbanus to first baseman Kevin Torres. You now things are going well when Ronny Puello, who had seven hits all year entering today, has two in an inning. AZL Brewers box scoreI like this thing where Chad Thompson, Michael Schaub, and Joel Pierce all pitch on the same day. Odds are at least one of them will do something interesting, and today it was the Thompson: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. Schaub allowed three runs in three innings while failing to strike out a batter, and Pierce worked a quiet 9th, continuing to make progress in his quest to get his ERA under 9. Kevin Berard, Jimmie Pharr, and Jose Garcia joined Puello with two hits; Garcia's were a double and a triple. Michael Reed doubled and walked. No one struck out more than twice. This is progress, people.

Eight games.

Final: Tampa 6, @Brevard County 0 'Tees blanked by TampaBy Frank Longobardo / Brevard County Manatees VIERA, Fla. -- The Brevard County Manatees dropped their fourth game in a row on Sunday evening, as they were shutout by the Tampa Yankees, 6-0 at Space Coast Stadium. Offensively, the Manatees (52-72 overall, 25-29 second half) scratched together six singles and only had two runners get past first base. Josh Prince had two of Brevard County's six hits. Hiram Burgos started for the 'Tees and allowed six runs on 11 hits in six innings of work. Burgos ran into trouble in the second as he allowed four singles on four hits and a walk. The Yankees (67-57, 30-25) added two more against Burgos in the sixth on a two-run homer by Rob Segedin. The trio of Skyler Crawford, Jon Pokorny and Roque Mercedes out of the bullpen, allowed just one hit over three combined innings, but the damage had already been done. Brevard County is now six games back of Dunedin for first place in the second half and the Manatees elimination number stands at eight. After an off day on Monday, the 'Tees will hit the road for seven straight games. The road trip begins with a three-game series at Clearwater (67-57, 28-27), that starts on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. Brevard County's will return home on Tuesday, August 30 at 5:05 p.m. for a doubleheader against the Threshers. Brevard County box score Brevard County play-by-play

Final: Wisconsin 5, @Burlington 4 Rattlers top Bees 5-4Chris Mehring/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BURLINGTON, IA – Brooks Hall got some help from the bullpen and just enough offense to become a seven game winner. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers right-hander tossed 5-2/3 innings in Wisconsin’s 5-4 victory over the Burlington Bees Sunday afternoon at Community Field. Reggie Keen paced the offense with four hits and Cody Hawn delivered a pair of key RBI to help the Rattlers end a three-game losing streak. Wisconsin (61-64 overall, 23-32 second half) scored three times in the top of the first inning thanks to a few defensive miscues. TJ Mittelstaedt bunted with one out and reached on a hit. He also took third on the play on an overthrow to first base. Hawn slapped a single through a drawn in infield to send Mittelstaedt home with the first run of the game. Jason Rogers followed with a single. Chad Stang reached on a bunt that was ruled an error after third baseman Wade Kirkland could not make a barehanded play. That loaded the bases. Rafael Neda picked up an RBI on a fielder’s choice as Stang was forced at second. Keen drove in the final run of the inning with a double the line in right that was just inside first base bag. Burlington (67-58, 22-33) responded in the third inning. A two-out, two-run home run to right by Nino Leyja off Hall got the Bees to within a run. The Rattlers had a chance to build on their lead in the top of the fourth as they loaded the bases with no outs. But, Burlington starter Blake Hassebrock got a grounder that turned into a force at the plate and a 6-4-3 double play to end the frame with the Rattlers still up 3-2. The Bees made the Rattlers pay for that wasted opportunity. Jose Crisotomo cashed in a runner from second with a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game at three. Hawn put the Rattlers back in front in the top of the sixth inning. His sacrifice fly scored Franklin Romero, Jr. from third and Wisconsin went up 4-3. Casey Medlen relieved Hall with a runner at second and two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Medlen got the final out of the inning with a strikeout. Wisconsin added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning. Keen reached second on an infield single and a throwing error to start the inning. An errant pickoff throw allowed Keen to take third. Greg Hopkins got Keen home with a hard grounder to third. The infield was in, but by the time the ball was knocked down and picked up, there was only play was to first base. Medlen struck out the side in order in the bottom of the seventh and worked around a one out single in the eighth before turning the ball over to Adrian Rosario for the bottom of the ninth. The inning started out with a high fly to left off the bat of Royce Consigli that was dropped after a long run by Stang. John Nester was next and his single put runners at the corners. Rosario got Ryan Pineda to ground into a force play at second that scored Consigli to get the Bees to within a run. Rosario retired the next batter for the second out of the inning. The Bees sent pinch-hitter Josh Whitaker to the plate. Whitaker, who is second in the Midwest League in hitting with a .324 average and also has 16 homers on the season, stepped to the plate representing the winning run. He would draw a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Rosario recovered to get Crisotomo to ground to firs to end the game and pick up his fourth save of the season. Hall, who struck out five over 5-2/3 innings, picked up his seventh win of the season. The Timber Rattlers and Bees meet in game three of the series at Community Field on Monday night. Wisconsin has Del Howell (2-7, 5.61) as their scheduled starting pitcher. Burlington plans to send Jonathan Joseph (4-4, 5.92) to the mound. Game time is 6:30pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10pm. Wisconsin box scorePretty decent line from Hall, with the five strikeouts against no walks (he did hit a batter). Medlen matched that K/BB in just 2.1 innings. Mittelstaedt, Rogers, and Nick Shaw each had two hits, with Mittelstaedt adding a walk. Hawn walked and was hit by a pitch to go with his single. Neda was 0-5 in his first start with the Rattlers. Romero, Jr. drew his fifth walk; he has batted 299 times this year. Wisconsin play-by-play

Final: @Omaha 5, Nashville 3 Storm Chasers Ride Mendoza To 5-2 Victory Over Nashville Nashville Sounds Papillion, Neb. - The Nashville Sounds lost a 5-3 contest to the division-leading Omaha Storm Chasers on Sunday afternoon in the second game of a crucial four-game series at Werner Park. With the loss, Nashville (65-64) moved to 7.5 games behind the Storm Chasers in the American Northern Division. The Sounds also have dropped 10 of 12 day games on the road this season. Lowering his earned run average to a PCL-best 2.18 ERA on the afternoon, Omaha starting pitcher Luis Mendoza (10-5) shut down the Sounds' offense. The Omaha All-Star allowed one unearned run on five hits in seven innings pitched for the victory. Third baseman Taylor Green had two hits while first baseman Mat Gamel and center fielder Logan Schafer each hit solo homers. Omaha first baseman Clint Robinson gave the Storm Chasers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-out RBI double. After former Sounds outfielder Lorenzo Cain walked, Nashville starter Mike Fiers committed a throwing error during a pickoff attempt at first base that allowed Cain to move to second base. Cain would later trot home on Robinson's two-bagger. The Sounds finally got to Mendoza in the top of the seventh inning. After right fielder Caleb Gindl reached on a fielding error and second baseman Eric Farris singled to left field, shortstop Edwin Maysonet bunted down the third base line to load the bases. Schafer hit a slow grounder to first that let Gindl come home and scoring the tying run. Omaha quickly took back the lead in the bottom of the same inning to go ahead for good at 5-1. Cain singled home left fielder Jarrod Dyson for the first run of the inning, which removed Daniel Meadows from the contest. After Randy Flores entered, Robinson blasted the second pitch he saw over the wall in right field for a three-run home run, his team-leading 21st long ball and 90th RBI of the season. Gamel busted out of an 0-for-17 slump with a solo homer in the eighth to trim the lead to three runs. Reliever Jessie Chavez offered up a first pitch fastball that Gamel sent over the right field wall. The long ball was his team-leading 26th big fly and 90th RBI. The Sounds rallied in the ninth, but failed to come back for the win. Schafer hit an opposite-field, two-out solo homer off Chavez to bring the Sounds within two runs at 5-3. It was his fifth of the season. Left fielder Jordan Brown then singled to remove the Chavez from the game and bring the tying run to the plate. Closer Kelvin Herrera came into the game with two outs and got Green to fly out the right field and end the game, converting his fifth save. In a no-decision, Fiers surrendered one unearned run on two hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. He also walked four and struck out three. The right-hander has yet to give up more than two runs through his first seven Triple-A starts. Stranding his only inherited runner, Meadows (0-2) was charged with the loss after surrendering three runs in one plus innings. Flores gave up one run in 1 2/3 frames, letting both of his inherited runners to score on the homer. The Sounds and Storm Chasers will play the third game of a four-game series at 7:05 pm CT on Monday night at Werner Park. Nashville right-hander Wily Peralta (2-0, 2.08) will make his third Triple-A start against former Sound and Omaha righty Jeff Suppan (11-6, 4.53). Nashville box score Obviously Fiers wasn't at his sharpest, but he gutted it out and allowed just the one unearned run. The Brewers will like that. 8/4 GO/FO and 60 strikes in 99 pitches for Mike. Check out Minor League Ball's John Sickels on Fiers a couple posts above. Sounds like a big-league arsenal to me. Not a good outing for Meadows--I guess four runs in 2.2 innings is what happens when you let lefty middle relievers finish the ballgame. Surely Don Money could have worked Danny Ray Herrera in there too. After hitting no home runs in 211 PA for Huntsville, Schafer has five in 147 PA for Nashville. Green committed his 13th error. Nashville play-by-play

Final: @Helena 10, Orem 8 Helena play-by-playThe Brewers lost 88% of this game 8-0. The 7th, though, was a different story: Helena Bottom of the 7thYadiel Rivera singles on a line drive to left fielder Jerod Yakubik.Parker Berberet walks. Yadiel Rivera to 2nd.Benjamin McMahan singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jerod Yakubik. Yadiel Rivera to 3rd. Parker Berberet to 2nd.Max Walla singles on a line drive to right fielder Ryan Jones. Yadiel Rivera scores. Parker Berberet scores. Benjamin McMahan to 2nd.Tyler Roberts singles on a line drive to left fielder Jerod Yakubik. Benjamin McMahan to 3rd. Max Walla to 2nd.Pitcher Change: Daniel Reynolds replaces Garrett Baker.Kyle Dhanani grounds out to first baseman Frazier Hall. Benjamin McMahan scores. Max Walla to 3rd. Tyler Roberts to 2nd.Kenneth Allison reaches on catcher interference by Ricky Pacione. Kenneth Allison to 1st.Adrian Williams singles on a ground ball to pitcher Daniel Reynolds. Max Walla scores. Tyler Roberts to 3rd. Kenneth Allison to 2nd.Robert Garvey singles on a ground ball to second baseman Taylor Lindsey. Tyler Roberts scores. Kenneth Allison to 3rd. Adrian Williams to 2nd.Yadiel Rivera triples (7) on a line drive to right fielder Ryan Jones. Kenneth Allison scores. Adrian Williams scores. Robert Garvey scores.Parker Berberet singles on a line drive to center fielder Chris Giovinazzo. Yadiel Rivera scores.Pitcher Change: Aaron Meade replaces Daniel Reynolds.Benjamin McMahan flies out to right fielder Ryan Jones.Max Walla doubles (13) on a line drive to left fielder Jerod Yakubik. Parker Berberet scores.Tyler Roberts grounds out, shortstop Trevor Hairgrove to first baseman Frazier Hall. Helena box scoreYadiel Rivera, Max Walla, and Kyle Dhanani each had two hits. Mark Williams picked up the win in his second pro game, and the Mad Bahamian, Sean Albury, allowed the first runs of his pro career in his 14th game.

Final: @AZL Reds 4, AZL Brewers 3 AZL Brewers box scoreThe Brewers got two in the top of the 9th to tie it but then immediately blew it in the bottom half. Danny Keller, runs aside, was pretty good: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 3 K. Michael White got the loss, fanning three but walking four in 2.1 innings. Renaldo Jenkins and Alejandro Mendoza each had two knocks, and Jalen Harris had a hit and walked twice. Harris is finally enjoying a modest hot streak, hitting .308 over his last ten. Jenkins has been similarly hot and has really cut down on his strikeouts. Michael Reed and Malcolm Dowell each had a hit. 50th-rounder Matt Franco struck out three times in four trips, giving him 34 whiffs this year in just 108 plate appearances. Yikes. That's still not quite Max Walla territory, but then again Walla has 48 rounds on Franco. Actually, just for fun, let's take a look at the strikeout rates of what you might consider the "young" players on this team that have gotten significant playing time: Name Age PA K K/PA Andres Martinez 19 114 43 0.377 Hitaniel Arias 20 153 56 0.366 Matthew Franco 18 108 34 0.315 Jalen Harris 18 163 47 0.288 Malcolm Dowell 18 132 37 0.280 Renaldo Jenkins 18 169 44 0.260 Jose Garcia 20 152 39 0.257 Kevin Berard 19 183 34 0.186 Wow. That's a lot of strikeouts. AZL Brewers play-by-play AZL Brewers Top of the 9thJalen Harris walks.Renaldo Jenkins strikes out swinging.Malcolm Dowell singles on a ground ball to right fielder Steven Selsky. Jalen Harris to 2nd.Matthew Franco strikes out swinging.Alejandro Mendoza singles on a ground ball to left fielder Wilfrel Estevez. Jalen Harris scores. Malcolm Dowell to 3rd.With Kevin Berard batting, wild pitch by Alejandro Chacin, Malcolm Dowell scores. Alejandro Mendoza to 2nd.Kevin Berard hit by pitch.Michael Reed flies out to center fielder Brennan May. AZL Reds Bottom of the 9thWagner Gomez flies out to left fielder Matthew Franco.Josef Terry walks.With Humberto Valor batting, Josef Terry steals (3) 2nd base.Humberto Valor walks.Gabriel Rosa hit by pitch. Josef Terry to 3rd. Humberto Valor to 2nd.Defensive Substitution: Andres Martinez replaces left fielder Matthew Franco, batting 8th, playing left field.Steven Selsky singles on a line drive to center fielder Malcolm Dowell. Josef Terry scores. Humberto Valor to 3rd. Gabriel Rosa to 2nd. Looks like they went to a five-man infield there. The Brewers do it, the Rattlers did it recently--why not Maryvale?

John Sickels, who loves Mike Fiers, is taking in the Sounds game today. His impressions: "Mike Fiers nashville. 88-92 fb. Slider looks flat at 82-83. Outstanding changeup at 76. Command off today. Fiers also has nice slow curve 76"

Language barrier still remains daunting challenge for Latin American baseball playersBy Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- In a university dining hall in Richmond, Va., a million miles from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Sergio Miranda would join his teammates. He sat there, silent as the salt shaker in front of him. "I'd sit around the table with the guys and pretty much move my head yes or no, because I didn't know anything else," recalls Miranda, now a Huntsville Stars infielder who came to the U.S. to play at Virginia Commonwealth. Mike Guerrero watched soap operas on TV to pick up English words. Anderson Machado tried to absorb all he could from teammates. Wily Peralta was "scared to go to a restaurant and order the wrong thing." Such is the impact of the language barrier for Latin American baseball players. English, says Machado, a Stars' infielder, "is something you have to learn (so you can) survive." And, if they can't, "You see so many players fall through the cracks," says Raymond Abreu, Director of Latin American Operations for the Oakland Athletics. No major American sport is as bilingual as baseball. Twenty-seven percent of the opening-day major league rosters was Hispanic, according to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports. Yet many of those players come to the U.S. ill-prepared for the cultural differences and poorly educated in English. "Eighty percent of them are going to suffer a huge frustration when they get here," says Rolando Valles, the Milwaukee Brewers' Latin liaison. Because of that, there is a "more focused emphasis on having these kids understand at a young age ... that the English language is important," says Abreu. Imagine the emotions, being 18 years old in a foreign country, with peculiar customs, a language you can't understand and with your entire livelihood - and often the fate of a poverty-stricken family - at stake. "I couldn't fathom being dropped into a country and not speaking the language, and my performance determining whether I continue as an employee," says Pat O'Conner, president of Minor League Baseball. It may be a bit of a challenge to ask a player to express, in his second language, his feelings about being unable to speak that language. "It's really bad," says Machado. "If you go to China or Japan, you don't know how to speak that language. You have to find a way to communicate, even by signs." Machado says he got outside his comfort zone to "hang out with the American guys because they taught me a lot. That's the way I learned." "You can call it frustrating and embarrassing," says Guerrero, the Stars' manager. "If you get embarrassed to speak and say the wrong words, you're never going to speak." Easing the transition Baseball has never been a sprinter when it comes to cultural change and welcoming diversity. The sport eagerly has been luring players from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and other Latin American countries since the 1960s, introducing superstars like Roberto Clemente, Juan Marichal, Luis Aparicio, Rod Carew and Orlando Cepeda. It has moved more slowly in knocking down the language barrier. More is being done now than, say, 1998, when Machado became a professional. That same summer, Abreu welcomed Huntsville visitors to the rustic Campo Juan Marichal, carved out of a Dominican Republic jungle an hour from Santo Domingo. "It's night and day from then," says Abreu. "The facilities have improved a great deal. Ten years ago, I had a guy who was a teacher in the U.S. who taught English. Now there are institutions backed by the government, and we give them classes to help them finish high school." Every major league club has a presence in the Dominican in which prospects are schooled in baseball fundamentals and taught English. One of the early camps, coincidentally, was established by Epy Guerrero, a long-time scout in the Dominican and the father of Mike Guerrero. The Brewers hired Valles four years ago as their Latin liason, a position most organizations have in some shape or form. Valles arranges for English tutors at the lower levels of the minor leagues and for thrice-weekly English classes for the Latin players in the Arizona Rookie League. Even then, says Peralta, the former Huntsville pitcher, "it's pretty hard to learn in English class, because we take class right after practice and sometimes we get tired." Much of his English, he says, he picked up by "asking my teammates, 'How do you say this, how do you say that?' " "Baseball is approaching the Latin culture differently, and it's trying to make the transition easier," Valles said. "It's one of the things we're going to do more as an industry," says O'Conner, who shares an anecdote from Manny Acta, the Cleveland Indians' manager, who played for a minor league team O'Conner once ran. "Manny tells the story he ate Whoppers and Cokes for a full year, because that's all the English he knew." "The Brewers and baseball know how tough it is for Latin players when they are not able to follow directions or go to a restaurant and eat, or not be able to get to the ballpark," Mike Guerrero says. Bridging the cultural gap "I almost decided to go back home," Miranda said. "My parents told me to hang in there." Some don't hang in. "Culturally, with the language barrier, there are tons of players with much better abilities than others (who don't make it)." "I've seen so many people in my years in baseball walk out the door because they weren't able to adjust to the culture," Valles says. "And that's the sad part. "After the years, I see some of them struggle back home. Eight years ago, that kid could have been a big leaguer if he wanted, but because of the cultural barriers, he couldn't adjust and his life ended up taking a different route." Conversely, for players whose baseball route is cut short, absorbing the education they are provided puts them ahead of the general population in their countries. "We're not always building baseball players," Valles says. "We're building good characters. When they go back to their country, they get to be a role model." There is at least some bit of levity to the language barrier, "a funny way to learn," Machado said. Some impish English-speaking players may include in their tutoring sessions words that shouldn't be uttered in polite company. Said Machado, "It's the same way we teach the American guys bad words in Spanish."

Final: Nashville 4, @Omaha 1 Sounds Take Series Opener In Omaha, 4-1Nashville Sounds PAPILLION, Neb. - The Nashville Sounds scored four runs in the top of the first inning and later turned their second triple play of the season en route to a 4-1 victory over the division-leading Omaha Storm Chasers on Saturday evening at Werner Park in the opener of a four-game series. The win was the Sounds' tenth straight victory in a series opener and pulled Nashville (65-63) back within 6 ½ games of the Storm Chasers in the PCL American Conference Northern Division race. Right-hander Josh Butler (8-7) took over sole possession of the Sounds' victories lead as he finally defeated Omaha after dropping his first three starts against them earlier this season. Butler authored a quality start, allowing one run on six hits over six innings of work, to pick up the win, his team-best eighth of the year. The Sounds jumped out to a quick lead with four first-inning runs against Omaha left-hander Mike Montgomery. Eric Farris reached on a one-out single and came around to score when Taylor Green followed with an RBI double to left. After Erick Almonte singled to put runners on the corners, Mat Gamel lifted a sacrifice fly to center to plate Green for a 2-0 advantage. Martin Maldonado then singled before he and Almonte scored on Caleb Gindl's two-out, two-run double to left. In the inning, Almonte and Maldonado extended their longest hitting streaks of the season to 10 and eight games, respectively. Following the four-run first frame, Nashville didn't advance a run to second base again until the ninth. Omaha scored its lone run in the home half of the second. Cody Clark grounded a one-out double to left off Butler and scored when Lance Zawadzki followed with an RBI single to right, which made it a 4-1 contest. In the bottom of the third inning, the Sounds turned their second triple play of the season. With runners on first and second, Clint Robinson hit a scorching liner to center that tipped off Logan Schafer's glove then bounced off the outfielder's head before finally being caught. The runners, Irving Falu and Lorenzo Cain, had already advanced to their next base on the play and were easily put out as Schafer threw to second baseman Farris, who stepped on second then tossed to first baseman Gamel for the third and final out [audio]. Nashville, which is the only Pacific Coast League club to turn a triple play this season, has turned three twice in the same year for the first time in franchise history. The Sounds' previous triple-killing of 2011 came on June 3rd against Iowa at Greer Stadium. Butler worked into and out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth, keeping the Sounds' 4-1 lead intact. After a Yamaico Navarro single sandwiched by a pair of walks filled the bags, the Nashville right-hander induced an infield fly pop-up from Joaquin Arias and an inning-ending groundout from Jarrod Dyson. Omaha left the bases loaded again in the eighth, this time against Sounds reliever Daniel Herrera. Arias was the victim once again as the Nashville southpaw struck him out to end the frame and leave the bags full of Storm Chasers. Herrera worked the final three innings in scoreless fashion for Nashville to close out the win and notch his first save of the year. He struck out a season-high five batters. Montgomery (5-8) took the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits over his seven frames of action. The division rivals continue their series with a 2:05 p.m. matinee on Sunday afternoon, when fans will be treated to an excellent pitching matchup. Right-hander Mike Fiers (5-0, 1.64), a winner in five of his six Triple-A starts, will man the bump for the Sounds to face the PCL's ERA leader - Omaha right-hander Luis Mendoza (9-5, 2.30). Nashville box scoreNice to see Gamel join Green back in the starting lineup. Gindl walked twice to go with his double, and Green had two hits. Nashville play-by-play

Final: @Burlington 9, Wisconsin 1 Bees pull away from Rattlers for 9-1 winChris Mehring/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BURLINGTON, IA – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers scored first on Saturday night at Community Field. The Burlington Bees scored more. Burlington topped the Timber Rattlers 9-1 to send the Rattlers to their third straight loss. Jose Macias picked up the win for the Bees as he scattered five hits over six innings and struck out six. Wisconsin (60-64 overall, 22-32 second half) got on the board in the second inning. Jason Rogers walked to start the inning, but was still at first with two outs. Then, Chad Stang sent a fly ball down the line in right field. The ball glanced off the glove of Josh Whitaker after the Bees right fielder made a long run to get to the ball. Rogers scored easily and Stang wound up on third with a triple. The Bees (67-57, 22-32) tied the game in the bottom of the second inning. Yordano Cabrera singled to start the inning. He moved to second on a grounder and stole third. Ryan Pineda scored Cabrera with a sacrifice fly to center. Burlington took the lead in the third inning. Josh Whitaker singled in a pair of runs to make the score 3-1. The Bees tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning off Rattlers starting pitcher Matt Miller. Tyreace House drove in the first run of the inning with a single. Beau Taylor made it 5-1 with a sacrifice fly. Dan Britt relieved Miller to start the sixth inning and gave up a double, a single, and a walk to load the bases. Taylor drew a bases loaded walk to force in a run. Britt retired the next two batters, but allowed a double to AJ Kirby-Jones that cleared the bases to give the Bees the 9-1 lead. Nick Shaw had three singles for the Rattlers, including a pair of leadoff singles, but Macias and two Burlington relievers held the Rattlers to one run on seven hits. Game two of the four game series at Community Field is Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm. Brooks Hall (6-4, 3.35) is scheduled to be the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Burlington will counter with Blake Hassebrock (7-7, 2.49) heading to the mound. Game time is 2:00pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 1:40pm. Wisconsin box scoreMiller's line: 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K--and, of course, 1 HBP. Brian Garman and Adrian Rosario each worked scoreless innings. Stang had two hits plus a walk. Cody Hawn was 0-4 with three strikeouts. Wisconsin play-by-play

Final: Tampa 5, @Brevard County 2 Bullpen falters as 'Tees drop third straightBy Frank Longobardo / Brevard County Manatees VIERA, Fla. -- Nick Bucci's seven shutout innings went to waste as Brevard County's bullpen faltered in a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Yankees on Saturday night at Space Coast Stadium. The loss was the third in a row for the 'Tees. Bucci allowed just five hits and one walk, while striking out six and left the game with a 2-0 lead. Those two runs came in the bottom of the fifth, when Chuck Caufield stole home as part of a double steal and Brent Dean drove in Scott Krieger on a RBI triple. Mitch Conner replaced Bucci in the eighth and after striking out the first batter of the frame, allowed a single, ground-rule double and hit a batter to load the bases. Conner was then replaced by Bradley Blanks who proceeded to give up a two-run single to Ronnier Mustelier, that tied the game at 2-2. The next batter, Deangelo Mack hit a three-run homer to give Tampa a 5-2 lead. The Manatees (52-71 overall, 25-2 will try and salvage the series finale with the Yankees (66-57, 29-25) on Sunday evening at 5:05 p.m. Brevard County will give the ball to Hiram Burgos (4-7, 4.94), while Jose Quintana (8-2, 2.86) will take the hill for the Yankees. Brevard County box scoreAh well, the most important thing here is Bucci's outing. You can see his line listed above, and it's a good one; he also had an 8/4 GO/FO. Scooter Gennett collected a double. Brevard County play-by-play

Brewers haven't lost faith in prospect ArnettBy Adam McCalvy / MLB.com NEW YORK -- Brewers officials say they have not given up on Minor League right-hander Eric Arnett, a former first-round Draft pick who continues to struggle as a pro. In his second start back at Class A Wisconsin on Friday, Arnett allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings of an 8-2 loss at Peoria. In parts of three seasons since the Brewers plucked Arnett from Indiana University in the first round of the 2009 Draft, he is 7-17 with a 5.91 ERA. He has a 1.55 WHIP in nearly 200 professional innings. "We still have hope for Eric," Brewers amateur scouting director Bruce Seid said last week. "You have to remember that Eric was a late bloomer at Indiana. It took him until his third year to kind of put it together. I think Eric got into our organization, and, as we've talked about many times before, he put a lot of pressure on himself. He got off to a slow start, and it kind of tailspinned for him. "Eric, he's made strides this year. He's found a little bit of his velocity back. He's gotten bigger, he's gotten stronger, his breaking pitch has gotten more firm. "We look at Eric as a young guy still," Seid said. "We look at him as a guy that has a chance to, maybe a couple of years down the road, really find his top-end ceiling. He's made some strides, he's gained some confidence and we still feel that Eric can be of some value to the Brewers down the road."

Obviously Tom was fed those names by someone in the organization rather than picking them out himself, so it's interesting that the relatively old Mejia and Hinojosa are among them, and that younger players such as Sthervin Matos, Milton Gomez, and Osmel Perez (who hasn't pitched since 7/18) are not. Happy to see Rizzo in there; means he's not a complete junkballer, at least.

Dominican dandiesTom Haudricourt/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The Brewers are excited about the progress they are making in the Dominican Republic, where they have lagged behind other clubs for years. They are about to open a baseball academy there that has been owned and operated by former Brewers reliever Salomon Torres. The club's Dominican Summer League team has fared much better this year, and there are several promising prospects there, including shortstop Orlando Arcia, first baseman/catcher Deivi Mejia, outfielder Raul Mondesi Jr., centerfielder Dionis Hinojosa, closer Carlos Sosa and right-hander Gian Rizzo. "Two years ago, we made a commitment there," said [bruce] Seid. "We knew we had to get better in the Dominican. We've made a lot of trips there as an organization. We've had a lot of workouts; seen a lot of games. Our scouts are working their tails off. "We have made some strides. We have a lot of arms, we have size; guys throwing in the low to mid 90s. We have some athletic kids. We know we have to continue to improve and get them over here to the United States, get them acclimated. We're a lot better down there now."

Final: @Mississippi 3, Huntsville 1 Huntsville box scoreAnother very dull game. At least Lee Haydel, Sean Halton, and Khris Davis each reached twice. Haydel had two hits, Halton singled and walked, and Davis singled and was hit by a pitch. After an awful month+ stretch, Haydel is finally turning things around; it would be nice if he could finish with better numbers than last year and make me look not-terrible for picking him to break out this year. Huntsville play-by-play

Final: @DSL Cardinals 6, DSL Brewers 1 DSL Brewers box scoreThe Cerveceritos lost, but who cares? Orinar los pantalones, because they're going to the playoffs! Eduard Reyes struck out six and walked one in five innings but allowed three unearned runs; Marcos Padilla followed and allowed three (earned) runs himself, finishing an uninspiring debut season with a 4.98 ERA and 17 walks against just eight strikeouts in 21.2 IP. Not much going on with the bats, though Raphachel Colatosti did reach three times on two hits and a HBP--along with committing his 15th and 16th errors. The Cerveceritos had six in total, so that's...bad. Now there's only one thing to do: Gana toda la maldita cosa. DSL Brewers play-by-play

Lawrie is Mr. IntensityBy BOB ELLIOTT, QMI Agency TORONTO - Blue Jays manager John Farrell has seen Brett Lawrie play 15 regular-season games. Mike Guerrero managed Lawrie for 135 games at double-A Huntsville in 2010. Guerrero, son of former Blue Jays scout Epy Guerrero, who brought Tony Fernández, Carlos Delgado, Kelvim Escobar, Junior Félix and Nelson Liriano and others to Toronto, had three other Canadians on his Huntsville roster: Infielder Taylor Green of Comox, B.C., Calgary reliever James Henderson and right-hander Alexandre Periard of St. Eustache, Que. "He's the most intense Canadian I've had, maybe one of the most intense players I've ever had," said Guerrero, from Pearl, Miss., of Lawrie. Guerrero in his 17th season in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, this is his eighth year managing. "Prince Fielder played for me, Rickie Weeks, Jonathan Lucroy and a few more on their way to the majors. Some show more emotion. Everyone is intense, every one shows emotions differently." Also learning from Guerrero were Yovani Gallardo, Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley and John Axford of Port Dover, Ont., now with the Brewers. A year ago, Lawrie, of Langley, B.C., batted leadoff, in the No. 2 spot or third in the batting order. "People in Huntsville would rather see him hit a ball in the gap than a homer, Brett could go first to third quicker than anyone in this league," Guerrero said. Lawrie hit 18 triples and eight homers, batting .275 at Huntsville. He enters Saturday night's game in Oakland with a .378 average. How is it possible to hit .275 in the double-A Southern League and roughly .100 points higher in the majors? We'll have the answer in a month or so. It's still early in Lawrie's major-league time. He's entering his third week. Can the game suddenly be as easy as the 21-year-old is making it look? Well, Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez used to room with a rookie third baseman with the Kansas City Royals. Martinez says Lawrie is more athletic than his old roomie, who grew up to be George Brett, a Hall of Famer. "We tried to help Brett last year. Every kid has a different demeanor," Guerrero said. "One thing I have to tip my hat to him is that I never had to tell him to play hard. He plays every game hard, goes all out." It didn't matter if the score was 1-0 or 10-1. "He can do so many things, the most impressive thing is his athletic ability. It comes so easy for him," Guerrero said. "Whether it's going side-to-side on a grounder, jumping on a line drive, running the bases, he got to the plays or could catch up to a pitch. His athletic ability is off the charts. "We saw flashes of the tools he has, saw what he brought to the table." Guerrero said he saw highlights on ESPN when Lawrie hit his grand slam against Oakland, then celebrated by fist pumping, slamming fists from one end of the dugout to the other and finally taking a curtain call. "He could get pretty excited with us," Guerrero said. "I'm sure having success at the big league level is worth getting excited about. You have to be a special kid to go in the first round. Defensively he has what it takes." Lawrie was selected 16th overall in North America in the 2008 draft by the Brewers, played for Canada in the Bejing Olympics and for the Canadian team in Edmonton at the world juniors. This is his third year of pro ball. He spent 2009 at class-A Wisconsin, last year at Huntsville, this year at triple-A Vegas and the Jays on his ear-popping ride. The Jays moved last year's opening day starter, Shaun Marcum, for Lawrie at the winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Marcum is 10-3, with a 3.50 ERA for the first-place Brewers. "The Brewers got what they wanted in Marcum," Guerrero said. "The Jays got what they wanted. They had to wait for a little more seasoning, but both teams filled their needs. "There's no doubting the talent Brett Lawrie has. He can do on the field whatever he's determines to do. He's going to be successful for a long time."