TheCrew07

I will get to my updates sometime between midnight and 1 am.

Game's top two pitching prospects may be igniting a revolution This is a pretty fascinating article on a topic that we've discussed many times. I am a huge proponent of long toss, It's one of many pitching concepts I've stolen and modified for use with my QBs in football. It's always seemed like a no brainer to me to increase strength and range of motion everywhere (basically become more athletic) which is why I've so fiercely combated the notion that "weight lifting" is bad for baseball players. Power lifting and body building are for sure, but that's not athletic training. In fact at a double header last weekend our trainer and I were toying with the idea of stealing a football concept for the baseball team, having pitchers do heavy reps of light weight after they start to get the lactic acid out of the muscles in the arm and speed recovery. There just has to be a better way than what has been traditionally done, especially recently with the arbitrary 100 pitch count limit in the majors.

Crew, I just wanted to applaud you for keeping such good tabs on divisional prospect mentions. Really an awesome addition to the L.R. Thanks, but honestly I should have thought of it sooner as for years I've been posting that there is a wealth of information out on the internet about any number of subjects; from the injury nexus to peak performance training. Instead of suggesting that people go do the research themselves with simple Google searches I should have been linking and sharing the information all along.

Mehrings' 9 After 9 for 5/7/2012, the double header edition.

Final: Huntsville 6, Jackson 5 Huntsville Box Score The Stars carried a 6-2 lead into the 9th and just barely held on the for the win. Tyler Thornburg was uncharacteristically wild in this one and unfortunately Jackson doesn't appear to have anyone keeping track of pitches so there is no Gameday or pitch counts for this series. Tyler went 6IP allowing 4H, 2ER, 4BB, and 1HR against 7SO. The 4 walks are a season high for him and he only had 2 clean innings but the good news is that he scattered the hits and walks enough to limit the damage to the 2 runs. Jesus Sanchez was again impressive in relief striking out 3 over his 2 clean innings. Eric Marzec is really struggling and Rob Wooten didn't do him any favors by giving up a double to the first batter he faced allowing 2 of Marzec's inherited runners to score. The Stars pounded out 12 hits and Josh Prince had a banner day going 3-4 with a double while Juan Sanchez went 2-3 with a HR. Speaking long balls, Matt Cline also hit a HR, talk about 2 unlikely candidates... and finally Hunter Morris added a double. Every player in the order had at least 1 hit as there is a DH for this series. On the base paths Kentrail Davis stole a base while Sanchez was caught stealing. Domnit Bolivar committed the only error which was his 5th on a throw, those 5 errors have come in just 17 games. Huntsville Play By Play The Stars scored at least 1 run in every inning from the 3rd through the 7th inning including the 2 run 4th. Huntsville Top of the 4th Jay Gibbons flies out to left fielder Chris Pettit. Jason Jaramillo singles on a ground ball to center fielder Denny Almonte. Hunter Morris doubles (15) on a line drive to left fielder Chris Pettit. Jason Jaramillo to 3rd. Domnit Bolivar singles on a line drive to left fielder Chris Pettit. Jason Jaramillo scores. Hunter Morris scores. Domnit Bolivar out at 2nd, left fielder Chris Pettit to second baseman Gabriel Noriega. Juan Sanchez strikes out swinging. It was awfully dicey at the end... Jackson Bottom of the 9th Pitcher Change: Eric Marzec replaces Jesus Sanchez. Eric Campbell strikes out swinging. Jesus Sucre flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Kalian Sams walks. Gabriel Noriega singles on a fly ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Kalian Sams to 3rd. Francisco Martinez doubles (7) on a ground ball to left fielder Juan Sanchez. Kalian Sams scores. Gabriel Noriega to 3rd. Pitcher Change: Robert Wooten replaces Eric Marzec. Nick Franklin doubles (10) on a fly ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Gabriel Noriega scores. Francisco Martinez scores. Robert Wooten intentionally walks Joseph Dunigan. Chris Pettit grounds into a force out, shortstop Matt Cline to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Joseph Dunigan out at 2nd.

Final Game 2: Wisconsin 3, Cedar Rapids 2 (7 Innings) Rattlers sweep Kernels with 3-2 win in game two Doubleheader sweep pushes Wisconsin's win streak to eight games By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers got three runs in the fourth inning in game two of their doubleheader against the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Monday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. It was enough. Wisconsin moved their winning streak to eight games with a 3-2 win over the Kernels. Jason Rogers broke the scoreless tie and almost broke the scoreboard on the same swing in the bottom of the fourth inning. Max Walla reached with a leadoff single. Rogers took the first two pitches from Kernels pitcher Austin Wood for balls and was sitting on a 2-0 pitch. Rogers crushed the next offering off the scoreboard above the wall in left-center. Rafael Neda made it 3-0 in favor of the Rattlers (20-11) later in the frame. His two-out RBI single scored Ben McMahan from second base. Wisconsin starting pitcher Matt Miller worked 5-2/3 scoreless innings, but one mistake cost him a clean sheet. Miller gave up a solo home run to Kaleb Cowart with two outs in the top of the sixth to cut the Wisconsin lead to 3-1. Miller allowed that one runs on four hits, walked two, and struck out four in six innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. Seth Harvey entered the game in the top of the seventh and allowed a leadoff single and a stolen base by Andy Workman. Harvey got a strikeout for the first out, but Gary Mitchell singled to drive in Workman to make the score 3-2. Harvey got Cedar Rapids catcher Carlos Lugo to ground into a force play at second for the second out. The Kernels (13-18) brought in Trevor Hairgrove to pinch run. Hairgrove took off on a 1-1 pitch to Wendell Soto, but Neda threw a strike to second to catch Hairgrove for the final out of the game. The last time the Timber Rattlers won eight games in a row was in 2003. The Rattlers won eight in a row twice during that season. The first time was from April 22 through May 1. The second eight game winning streak that year was May 29 through June 5. The final game of the series is Tuesday afternoon. Drew Gagnon (3-1, 1.02) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Cedar Rapids sends Eswarlin Jimenez (0-2, 5.00) to the mound. Game time is 12:05pm. A Tuesday day game means a Baker Tilly Business Persons Special. Show your business card when you purchase a ticket and for $11.50 you will receive a box seat ticket, a beverage and your choice of brat or hot dog. The offer is also available to senior citizens. Tuesday is also an American TV Tuesday. One fan will win a 32" flat-screen TV. If you can't make it out to the game, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 11:45am. The game is also available to MiLB.TV subscribers. HOME RUNS: CR: Kaleb Cowart (5th, 0 on in 6th inning off Matt Miller, 2 out) WIS: Jason Rogers (3rd, 2 on in 3rd inning off Austin Wood, 0 out) WP: Matt Miller (2-3) LP: Austin Wood (2-3) SAVE: Seth Harvey (5) TIME: 2:01 ATTN: 2,308 Wisconsin Game 2 Box Score Matt Miller has enough movement on his pitches that if he ever learns to locate consistently he might quiet some of the Big Ten haters (myself included). Matt's final line 6IP, 4H, 1ER, 2BB, 1HR, and 4SO, and was very efficient for him, getting 54 strikes out of 84 pitches (64%). His K:BB ratio and his K/9 are fantastic thus far, the hits and walks are really the only thing holding him back as a prospect. Miller also picked off Cowart at 1B. Speaking of Kaleb Cowart, after a impressive start (he really impressed me as well) to the season which had much of the league talking about him, he cooled off and had been hitting under .200 in his last 10 games until game 2 tonight, but his shot off Miller was such a no doubter that you could tell it was out off the bat from Chris' call. Ben McMahan and Adrian Williams had 2 hits a piece, and Jason Rogers had that huge HR which was discussed above. I hope Chris talks about it in his blog, but Yadiel Rivera can absolutely pick it and Chadwin Stang is right there with him. Unfortunately both players have really been slumping lately as Yadiel is only hitting .147 over his last 10 games and Chadwin .171 over that same span. On the plus side Max Walla continues to take his walks and now has 13 on season in 69 ABs, I'd have to wait for one of the other sites to update to give you his PAs on the season, but he's well above 10%. Once again the rattlers played clean defense and Rafael Neda went 2-4 gunning down would be base stealers including that game ending job. Wisconsin Game 2 Play By Play

Baltimore is going to want young pitching back for Hardy, which young pitcher are you guys willing to give up? Thornburg? Peralta? Remember that Jungmann and Bradley can't be traded until late August as they haven't been with the Brewers more than a year. Why young pitching? Because they are in the AL east and believe they need to build around young pitching like the Rays have done to compete with NY and Bos, there have been plenty of articles about them over the last 3 years which bear that out. People seem to forget how how good of prospects Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz were, add Dylan Bundy and another top pitching prospect and all of a sudden you rival the Rays in terms of young talent in their pitching staff. I believe all the scouting reports require a BA subscription. Maybe we could trade them Gomez for Hardy when he gets off the DL and complete the cycle! I jest, but CF is actually the one position the organization has a ton of depth at, even without D'Vo as we have 3 CFs on the MLB roster and Schafer in AAA.

Final Game 1: Wisconsin 2, Cedar Rapids 0 (7 Innings) Wisconsin takes game one 2-0 and extends win streak to seven By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Sunday's rainout didn't slow down the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Wisconsin defeated the Cedar Rapids Kernels 2-0 in game one of a doubleheader on Monday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The victory was the seventh straight for the Midwest League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Rattlers got solo homers from Brandon Macias and Ben McMahan and shutout pitching from Andy Moye and Jacob Barnes to stay hot. Macias put the Rattlers (19-11) on top in the bottom of the third. Macias lined the first pitch from Cam Bedrosian over the left field wall for his first home run of the season and a 1-0 Wisconsin lead. McMahan made it 2-0 in the fourth inning. McMahan also hit his first homer of the season. His leadoff shot off Kerneles reliever Michael Johnson also cleared the left field wall. Moye needed a little defensive help in the top of the fifth inning to keep the shutout intact. Matt Scioscia singled with two outs. Then, Abel Baker doubled into the corner in right field. Scioscia tried to score from first on the play. But, Max Walla threw a strike to Greg Hopkins in short right. The relay from Hopkins was just in time to get Scioscia for the final out of the inning. That was the only scoring threat of the game for the Kernels (13-17). Moye went five innings before turning the game over to Jacob Barnes. Moye struck out three, allowed three hits, and did not walk a batter. Barnes issued a two out walk in the top of the sixth inning, but nothing else. Barnes would pitch a 1-2-3 seventh inning to nail down his first save of the season. HOME RUNS: WIS: Brandon Macias (1st, 0 on in 3rd inning, off Cam Bedrosian, 0 out) Ben McMahan (1st, 0 on in 4th inning off Michael Johnson, 0 out) WP: Andy Moye (2-0) LP: Cam Bedrosian (0-1) SAVE: Jacob Barnes (1) TIME: 1:36 Wisconsin Game 1 Box Score Gotta love that Chris finds the time to get the game story up between games of a double header, he's just a machine. Andrew Moye is an interesting prospect, I'm not sure where to peg him exactly, but his early returns in full season ball have been very good. Ditto for Jacob Barnes who's rate stats are upside down but yet has gotten very good results because hitters just don't make good contact against him at this level. Moye's final line 5IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, and 3SOs throwing 54 pitches and 36 for strikes. Cam Bredosian was the opposing pitcher and he should be a name that is familiar to most if not all followers of this forum. He was the 1st round selection of the Angels (29) in 2010 and prior to this year he had only pitched 12 professional innings. He had an elbow problem right away and the Angels training staff took the rehab route with it and then decided last spring training to do TJ surgery anyway, at least we aren't the only ones... Cam got a ton of pub last week from Baseball America and MiLB.com regarding his comeback, I'm impressed that he jumped right to full season ball in his first healthy professional season. At any rate, I feel pretty good about the Rattlers knocking him off in game 1. Chris covered the offensive highlights above. Max Walla did get picked off of 1B in additional to his outfield assist. Wisconsin Game 1 Play By Play

Martinez cost STL $1.5 million to sign which is equivalent to end of the first round money. Is Pascual's bonus still the biggest the Brewer's have handed out? The Rangers tried to sign Beras for something like $4.5 million this winter, the market in Latin America is quickly becoming outrageous, I wouldn't mind seeing those players included in the draft, just like the young men from Puerto Rico.

Top Batting Performances Over The Weekend, May 4-6 Another Reds prospect is listed and this time it's Henry Rodriguez a switch hitting 2B. He's one little dude at 5' 10" 150lbs and is rated as the #17 for the organization.

Taveras, Wong injured in Cards' win Hot-hitting prospects forced to exit victory over Arkansas By Ashley Marshall / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/06/HSRGChKN.jpg Oscar Taveras ranks second in the Texas League with 75 total bases. (Walt Barnard/MiLB.com) Kolten Wong and Oscar Taveras continued their strong starts to the season Sunday, but the Cardinals may be forced to take their hot bats out of the lineup for a few days. Wong collected two more hits at the top of the lineup and Taveras slugged a three-run homer and reached base three times in Double-A Springfield's 10-7 win over Arkansas. But both top prospects suffered injuries that could leave the team shorthanded for the rest of its homestand. Wong, St. Louis' No. 6 prospect, rolled his left ankle trying to beat out an infield hit in the fifth inning. Taveras, the Cards' No. 3 prospect, bruised his right knee in a collision with second baseman Jose Garcia in the eighth. Both players left the game and received treatment in the clubhouse. The severity of the injuries is not known, although the Springfield News-Leader reported Wong does not expect to miss too much time. The afternoon started well for both players, with Wong -- a 2011 first-round pick -- opening the game with a single, going first-to-third on Jermaine Curtis' base hit and scoring on Taveras' eighth homer. The longball matched the 19-year-old outfielder's tally from last season and gave him the Texas League lead with 27 RBIs. Wong grounded out in the third and singled up the middle in the fourth. An inning later, chopped a ball to second baseman Renny Osuna and landed awkwardly while trying to beat out a hit. He was replaced by Garcia, who ended up playing a role in Taveras' injury. After walking in the second and flying out in the sixth, Taveras collided with Garcia in shallow right field as the two tried to track down Adam Heether's double. Garcia told the newspaper that Taveras' knee made contact with his leg. Taveras was able to walk off the field, while Garcia remained in the game. Taveras is batting .325 with a league-leading 20 extra-base hits in 29 games, while Wong is hitting .325 with 22 runs scored in 27 contests.

Top Pitching Performances Over The Weekend, May 4-6 Reds' #12 prospect Juan Carlos Sulbaran is listed, here's his scouting report:

Clancy is that you? Green is a barely adequate 2B, SS is not in his future.

More run for STL's OF prospect Oscar Taveras.

Final: Jackson 9, Huntsville 0 Huntsville Box Score The words required to sugar coat this one are escaping me at the moment, it was ugly. Dan Merlinger just hasn't been able gain a foothold here in the early going, I thought he may have been on the upswing after his last start but I was mistaken. None the less he's still an interesting prospect, and the only LHP north of Bradley worth discussing as a possible rotation addition in the future. His final line 5.0 IP, 6H, 5ER, 3BB, a balk, 1HR, and 4SO. Curiously there were no pitch counts in the box score, I wonder if that will be the case for the entire Jackson series? Merklinger was followed by Roque Mercedes who was bad enough he pushed his season ERA up over 12 and his spot in the organization should be tenuous at best, personally I don't get the fascination with Mercedes. Bradley Banks pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings though he did allow 2 of Rogue's inherited runners to score. The Stars managed just 5 hits but from a prospect perspective at least Scooter Gennett had 2 of them and a double, he's now hit in 5 consecutive games. Kentrail Davis added a double and Khris Davis did not appear in today's game. I'd rather we not see Khris again until he's fully healthy, playing at less 100% isn't working for him as he doesn't manage to stay in the line-up more than a couple of days at a time. The Stars committed 2 errors, both of the throwing variety, the culprits were newly promoted Juan Sanchez and Anderson De La Rosa. No Huntsville player stole a base and the defense went 0-2 on steal attempts. Huntsville Play By Play The Generals put up crooked numbers in the 3rd, 4th, and 7th innings. Jackson Bottom of the 3rd Kalian Sams flies out to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Eric Campbell singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jay Gibbons. With Francisco Martinez batting, Eric Campbell advances to 2nd on a balk. Francisco Martinez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Eric Campbell to 3rd. Nick Franklin out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Josh Prince. Eric Campbell scores. With Denny Almonte batting, Francisco Martinez steals (11) 2nd base. Denny Almonte singles on a line drive to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Francisco Martinez scores. Rich Poythress grounds into a force out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to shortstop Matt Cline. Denny Almonte out at 2nd. Jackson Bottom of the 4th Joseph Dunigan singles on a line drive to center fielder Josh Prince. Chris Pettit flies out to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Jesus Sucre doubles (2) on a line drive to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Joseph Dunigan scores. Kalian Sams grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Jesus Sucre to 3rd. Eric Campbell homers (2) on a fly ball to left center field. Jesus Sucre scores. Francisco Martinez called out on strikes. Jackson Bottom of the 7th Eric Campbell singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Francisco Martinez strikes out swinging. Nick Franklin singles on a line drive to center fielder Josh Prince. Eric Campbell to 3rd. Denny Almonte pops out to third baseman Juan Sanchez. Rich Poythress walks. Nick Franklin to 2nd. Joseph Dunigan doubles (9) on a line drive to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Eric Campbell scores. Nick Franklin scores. Rich Poythress to 3rd. Pitcher Change: Bradley Blanks replaces Roque Mercedes. Chris Pettit singles on a line drive to center fielder Josh Prince. Rich Poythress scores. Joseph Dunigan scores. Jesus Sucre flies out to center fielder Josh Prince.

I was looking for the Huntsville game story (the Stars' stories have been slow to come if at all this year) and came across this, it might be of interest to some. Odorizzi on his game in Naturals' win

Chris' Nine after 9 for May 5, 2012

Final: Huntsville 6, Chattanooga 3 Huntsville Box Score I'm starting to warm up to Josh Stinson, he's been holding his own as a starter and pitched very well tonight. Josh went 5.1 IP, 4H, 2R, 0ER, 2BB, 1HBP, against 6SO while throwing 91 pitches and 60 for strikes. He was followed by Jesus Sanchez who's season line looks fantastic except for a low K rate. Jesus allowed a hit and walk in his 1.2 innings while striking out 3. Rob Wooten went the final 2 innings allowing a run on 3 hits and a walk, though he did strike out 4 batters. Andy Gonzalez was a monster at the plate tonight going 4-4 with a HR. Don't look now but Scooter Gennett is starting to pick it up again going 2-4 on the evening and will carry a 4 game hit streak into tomorow's contest. Kentrail Davis, Khris Davis, and Josh Stinson(!) all doubled, Stinson is now 4-8 on the year with an OPS over 1, he'll have no talk of a DH being necessary for pitchers. Josh Prince and Gonzalez each swiped a base, Khris Davis was caught stealing, and Jeff Bianchi was picked off off first. The Stars committed 2 errors, a fielding error by Prince, and a passed ball by De La Rosa. Huntsville Play By Play The 4 run 4th, could have had even more... Huntsville Bottom of the 4th Andy Gonzalez singles on a soft fly ball to center fielder Anthony Jackson. Hunter Morris hit by pitch. Andy Gonzalez to 2nd. Khris Davis walks. Andy Gonzalez to 3rd. Hunter Morris to 2nd. Anderson De La Rosa pops out to second baseman Luis Nunez on the infield fly rule. Josh Prince out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Anthony Jackson. Andy Gonzalez scores. Josh Stinson doubles (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Anthony Jackson. Hunter Morris scores. Khris Davis scores. Kentrail Davis doubles (6) on a fly ball to center fielder Anthony Jackson. Josh Stinson scores. Jeff Bianchi walks. With Scooter Gennett batting, Aaron Miller picks off Jeff Bianchi at 1st on throw to Travis Denker. Here's something to keep an eye on. Was it a failed hit and run? Was Davis pulled because of the steal attempt on his own? Either way did he get injured (again) doing so? Most defensive replacements for the Stars have been of the double switch variety. Huntsville Bottom of the 5th Pitcher Change: Javier Solano replaces Aaron Miller, batting 9th. Scooter Gennett singles on a ground ball to right fielder Blake Smith. Andy Gonzalez homers (3) on a fly ball to left center field. Scooter Gennett scores. Hunter Morris flies out to left fielder Kyle Russell in foul territory. Khris Davis doubles (5) on a line drive to left fielder Kyle Russell. Anderson De La Rosa strikes out swinging and Khris Davis caught stealing 3rd, catcher Gorman Erickson to third baseman Pedro Baez. Chattanooga Top of the 6th Defensive Substitution: Lee Haydel replaces left fielder Khris Davis, batting 6th, playing left field. Pedro Baez strikes out swinging. Blake Smith walks. Pitcher Change: Jesus Sanchez replaces Josh Stinson, batting 9th. Luis Nunez strikes out swinging. Gorman Erickson doubles (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Blake Smith to 3rd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter J. T. Wise replaces Javier Solano. J. T. Wise strikes out swinging.

Final: Wisconsin 4, Cedar Rapids 3 Rattlers make it a six pack of wins for the week By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers racked up their sixth straight victory with a 4-3 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Jason Rogers drove in a pair of runs, including what turned out to be an important insurance run, for Wisconsin. Rafael Neda put the Timber Rattlers (17-11) up 1-0 with a run scoring single in the bottom of the second inning. Greg Hopkins reached on a single and stole second to start the inning. But, Hopkins was still at second with two outs. Neda got him home with a single to give Wisconsin the lead. Saturday night was the 21st time in 29 games the Rattlers have scored first. Cedar Rapids (13-16) came back to tie the game in the top of the third on an unearned run against Timber Rattlers starter David Goforth. Kevin Moesquit reached on an error and took second on a wild pitch. Ryan Jones drove in the tying run with a single. But, that was all Goforth let in for the game. The right-hander from Mississippi allowed six hits, walked one, and struck out two over five innings. Wisconsin came back to take the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Brandon Macias was hit by a pitch and Max Walla singled to send Macias to third with no outs. Rogers put the Rattlers up 2-1 with a sacrifice fly. Later in the inning, Walla scored on a wild pitch. Rogers added an insurance run in the fifth. Macias led off the inning with a double. One out later, Rogers knocked him in with a single. Chad Pierce relieved Goforth to start the sixth and worked three scoreless innings to keep Wisconsin up 4-1. Seth Harvey took over in the top of the ninth inning, but was greeted by Chevy Clarke with a leadoff triple. An error on a Gary Mitchell grounder let Clarke score and put Mitchell on base. Harvey got a strikeout, but Mitchell stole second to get into scoring position. Wendell Soto's RBI single got Mitchell home to cut the Rattlers lead to one run and bring the go ahead run to the plate. But, Harvey regrouped and struck out the next two batters to end the game. Game two of the series is Sunday afternoon. Andy Moye (1-0, 2.11) is scheduled to start for the Rattlers. Cam Bedrosian (0-0, 0.00), the son of former major league pitcher Steve Bedrosian, is set to take the hill for the Kernels. Game time is 1:05pm. Sunday is a Brewers Sunday presented by 107.5, The Fan. The first 1,000 fans to attend Sunday's game will receive a poster of the Rattlers right-hander as #3 in a series of ten that will be given away during the 2012 season. Before the game fans can play catch on-field courtesy of 77 KIDS. Timber Rattlers will be wearing Brewers-themed jerseys on-field during the game and will be available for an autograph session after the game. Time Warner Cable customers can receive up to four half-priced reserved bleacher tickets when showing their TWC bill at time of ticket purchase. If you can't make it out to the game, tune in for the game on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 12:45pm. The game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. WP: David Goforth (3-1) LP: Jairo Diaz (1-3) SAVE: Harvey (4) TIME: 2:48 ATTN: 4,383 Wisconsin Box Score I was looking at the league pitching stats tonight and WI isn't better than 2nd in any statistical category thus far, the Lansing staff (Toronto) has been outstanding. David Goforth pitched well again, in fact he has only one bad outing all year, but it was really bad, which is skewing his entire season line to this point. The Rattler pitchers really seem to be focusing on pitching to contact as the strike outs as a staff are trending down as the season progresses, which makes sense given the defense behind them. I don't have any problem with it because I believe guys like Gagnon and Goforth have enough that they can get hitters to strike out when they need it. Gregory Hopkins continues to swing a hot bat going 2-4 with a double, Max Walla went 2-4, and Brandon Macias added a double. Goforth picked off 2 runners, at 3rd and 1st, and Walla stole a base. The Rattlers had 2 errors, Macias throwing his 4th, and Carlos George fielding which was his 6th. Wisconsin Play By Play Goforth's POs came in the 2nd and 4th Cedar Rapids Top of the 2nd Chevy Clarke singles on a line drive to right fielder Max Walla. With Gary Mitchell batting, David Goforth picks off Chevy Clarke at 1st on throw to Gregory Hopkins. Gary Mitchell singles on a line drive to left fielder Ben McMahan. Carlos Lugo grounds out to first baseman Gregory Hopkins. Gary Mitchell to 2nd. Wendell Soto pops out to shortstop Yadiel Rivera. Cedar Rapids Top of the 4th Chevy Clarke grounds out, first baseman Gregory Hopkins to pitcher David Goforth. Gary Mitchell singles on a ground ball to left fielder Ben McMahan. Carlos Lugo walks. Gary Mitchell to 2nd. Wendell Soto grounds into a force out, shortstop Yadiel Rivera to second baseman Carlos George. Gary Mitchell to 3rd. Carlos Lugo out at 2nd. Wendell Soto to 1st. With Kevin Moesquit batting, David Goforth picks off Gary Mitchell at 3rd on throw to Brandon Macias

Lots of divisional prospects get a mention in this weeks' Hot Sheet. In the team photo: 2010 #2 overall selection Pirate Jameson Taillon, here's BA's scouting report on him: Not so hot: • Ronald Torreyes, 2b, Cubs: Torreyes has shown some good things and some bad early in the high Class A Florida State League season. The pint-sized second baseman is hitting just .205/.274/.289 in 23 games, including a 1-for-25 (.040) stretch over the past week. The good news is that Torreyes' terrific hand-eye coordination and bat control have not deserted him. Even this past week, he has not struck out once, and he only has seven strikeouts all season. His early performance has been underwhelming, but as a 19-year-old in the FSL, there's no need to panic here. • Gerardo Concepcion, lhp, Cubs: The Cubs gave Concepcion a rather stunning five-year major league deal worth $6 million in March, a move that was widely derided throughout the international scouting community. While the deal was seen as a significant overpay, Concepcion at least figured to be able to handle the low minors without much issue due to his success in Cuba's Serie Nacional at a young age. Instead, the 20-year-old's first two low Class A Peoria starts have resulted in 12 rus in 5 2/3 innings, including a start this week in which he couldn't even get out of the first. Concepcion is throwing strikes, but he's also struck out just two of the 32 batters he's faced, a pattern consistent with his middling strikeout rate in Cuba with a very hittable fastball that sits in the high 80s.

Well done sir, this made me laugh.

Final: Chattanooga 8, Huntsville 2 Huntsville Box Score Tonight's start was unfortunately Kyle Heckathorn's worst of the season combined with the Stars playing absolutely horrible defense, just a bad game all the way around. Heckathorn gave up single runs in 4 of the 5 innings he pitched. Kyle's final line 4.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 2BB, and 1 WP against only 3 strike outs. Darren Byrd relieved Heckathorn in the 5th but then the position players combined for 3 errors in a 4 run 6th that put the game away for the Lookouts. Byrd gave up 4 R, 1 ER, in his 1.1 IP while giving up 3 H, 1 BB, and striking out 3. Eric Marzec finished off the 6th for Byrd pitching 2.1 innings allowing just 1 hit against 3 strike outs. Mitch Stetter pitched a clean final frame. Jeff Bianchi and Hunter Morris had 2 hits a piece and Kentrail Davis doubled for the noteworthy accomplishments at the plate. Khris Davis came in during a double switch and went 0-2 with an error. The other errors were Heckathorn (1, pickoff), Bianchi (4, fielding), and Jason Jarmillo. (3, pickoff) Huntsville Play By Play U.G.L.Y you ain't got no alibi... Chattanooga Top of the 6th Nick Buss grounds out, shortstop Jeff Bianchi to first baseman Hunter Morris. Jake Lemmerman hits a ground-rule double (6) on a fly ball to right-center field. J. T. Wise reaches on fielding error by shortstop Jeff Bianchi. Jake Lemmerman to 3rd. With Kyle Russell batting, throwing error by Jason Jaramillo on the pickoff attempt, Jake Lemmerman scores. J. T. Wise to 2nd. Kyle Russell walks. Pedro Baez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Khris Davis. J. T. Wise scores. Pedro Baez to 2nd. Kyle Russell advances to 3rd, on throwing error by left fielder Khris Davis. Blake Smith strikes out swinging. Luis Nunez singles on a line drive to left fielder Khris Davis. Kyle Russell scores. Pedro Baez scores. Pitcher Change: Eric Marzec replaces Darren Byrd, batting 6th. Matt Wallach strikes out swinging.

Final: Wisconsin 5, Clinton 0 Thompson & Williams combine on no-hitter in Clinton Rattlers win fifth straight on fourth no-no in team history By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers CLINTON, IA - Chad Thompson made one heck of a first start for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The right-hander pitched five no-hit innings and struck out six against the Clinton LumberKings Friday night at Ashford University Field. Mark Williams came on in relief and finished the run to history with four no-hit innings for a combined no-hitter in a 5-0 victory. Wisconsin (17-11) scored four times in the first inning to grab the lead. Jason Rogers was at the plate with runners at first and second and one out and drove an RBI single to left-center. Greg Hopkins was next and the Rattlers second baseman continued his offensive onslaught with a three-run homer off the scoreboard beyond wall in left-center. Hopkins had homered in Thursday's game, too. He has at least one hit in 14 of his last 15 games and has raised his average from .233 to .312 since April 20. Rafael Neda added to the Wisconsin lead with a two-out RBI single in the top of the fourth. That was more than enough for Thompson and Williams against Clinton (10-17). Thompson showed very few nerves in his Midwest League debut. He walked three, but struck out six. The only jam that he faced came in the bottom of the fourth inning. He walked Jamal Anderson to start the inning and Anderson eventually wound up on third with one out after a pair of stolen bases. Thompson walked Jhardimy DeJesus to put runners on the corners with one out. The tall righty got out of the inning with a strikeout and a fly ball to center. Thompson worked a perfect sixth and gave way to Williams with around 70 pitches under his belt. Williams hit a batter with two outs in the sixth, but got the final out. Williams worked a 1-2-3 seventh and got the first two hitters in the eighth. But a two out walk brought Austin to the plate. Williams got him to fly out to Ben McMahan in right field for the final out of the eighth. In the ninth, Williams got the first out on a grounder back to the mound. He finished strong by striking out the final two batters to conclude the fourth no-hitter in Timber Rattlers history. Williams walked one, hit a batter, and struck out three over four innings to earn his first save of the season. Wisconsin's last no-hitter was also a combined job. Jake Odorizzi went eight innings and Adrian Rosario went one in a no-no at Cedar Rapids on August 24, 2012. The Timber Rattlers return home on Saturday to start a four game series with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Wisconsin has David Goforth (2-1, 5.11) as the scheduled starting pitcher. Fond du Lac native Chad Pierce (1-0, 2.20) is scheduled to pitch in relief for the Rattlers. Cedar Rapids has Jairo Diaz (1-2, 7.33) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 6:35pm. The first 1,000 children aged 12 and under to attend the game will receive a Webkinz Tree Frog. It is also a Fly Away Saturday, which means that one lucky fan will win airfare for two from Funjet Vacations and Fox World Travel at this game! As part of the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, ten qualified contestants will take part in a postgame beach dig and one will win an All-Inclusive Vacation for two to the RIU Playacar in Riviera Maya, Mexico from Fox World Travel and Funjet Vacations! If you can't make it out to the game, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. Saturday's game will also be available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. HOME RUN: WIS: Greg Hopkins (3rd, 2 on in 1st inning off Stephen Landazuri, 1 out) WP: Chad Thompson (1-0) LP: Stephen Ladazuri (3-1) SAVE: Mark Williams (1) TIME: 2:24 Wisconsin Box Score In no way did I expect to be reporting on this, of all the pitching in the system who would have a guessed Chad Thompson & Mark Williams would combine for the first no hitter of the season? The only time I remember Chris mentioning a gun reading for Thompson I believe he said 89 MPH. Greg Hopkins is as has been since Gamel went on his long hit streak so many years ago, in case you missed it above he was 2-4 with a HR. Jason Rogers was the only other T-Rat with multiple hits as he went 2-4 with a double. The Rattlers played clean defense again but went 0-2 cutting down base stealers. Wisconsin Play By Play There will be plenty more coverage of this game from MiLB, the Post Crescent, and Chris.

Back of the rotation/reliever but he's pretty tenacious on the mound, he's probably a guy with a legit chance to overachieve his raw stuff.

1 out away for the T-Rats.