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Final: Charleston (Yankees) 9, West Virginia 3

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

RIVERDOGS SNAP POWER WINNING STREAK

The Charleston Riverdogs took an early 8-0 lead after two innings of Sunday night's game at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark and snapped the West Virginia Power's eight-game winning streak with a 9-3 victory.

Bradley Suttle and Carmen Angelini ripped RBI singles in the first inning and Austin Krum drove in two with a triple. In the second, Angelini and Brandon Laird singled in runs while Austin Romaine's double scored Abraham Almonte and Justin Snyder scored on Suttle's sacrifice fly.

West Virginia was held without a hit through the first three and two-thirds before Caleb Gindl ripped a two-out single in the fourth inning. Gindl scored on Zelous Wheeler's double. The Power plated their final two runs in the seventh inning when Lee Haydel's triple plated Steffan Wilson and Uly Snijders. The Riverdogs scored one final time in the eighth inning when Matt Morris touched home plate after Matt Cline's fielding error.

Wilkins De La Rosa (5-3) allowed just a run on three hits over six innings and earned the victory. Dan Merklinger (3-6) allowed four runs on four hits over two-thirds of the first inning and was tagged with the loss. Jose Garcia offered three scoreless innings of relief.

The Power fell to 50-43 on the year and 18-6 in the second half with the loss. The Riverdogs improved to 54-38 on the year and 9-13 in the second half with the loss. Wilson went 1-for-4 and has reached safely in 13 consecutive games and extended his road hitting streak to 19 games. Eric Fryer went 0-for-4 to end his 13-game hitting streak while Eric Farris went 0-for-4, putting an end to his 15-game hitting streak.

The Power will finish the four-game series against Charleston Monday night. Left hander Evan Frederickson (0-0, 6.23) will make the start for the Power and the Riverdogs will counter with right hander Dellin Betances (4-3, 3.74). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

West Virginia Box Score
Wow, talk about a quick hook -- starter Dan Merklinger faces seven batters, and considering at one point he had two outs with only one run in, how quickly did reliever Reed Dickert get ready? Maybe there were some extremely high pitch counts in those early AB's -- Brewer coaches won't let someone have a 35-pitch inning, for instance; Caleb Gindl threw out a man at third base from right field in the 2nd -- seems to these eyes we've seen quite a bit of throwing success from Mr. Gindl this season, I could be mistaken...

West Virginia Game Log
How often do you see this? Anderson de la Rosa and Eric Fryer switched positions for whatever reason to start the 8th -- so de la Rosa moved behind the plate and Fryer to left field, de la Rosa had committed an E-7 throwing error earlier and then committed an E-2 throwing error...

Final: Brevard County 5, Sarasota (Reds) 0

Brevard County Box Score
Honest to goodness, you have to really enjoy just-turned 21-year-old RHP Alex Periard -- he's just never completely off his game. How often do we see pitchers occasionally get knocked out early, as in "it just wasn't his day"? It never happens with Alex, check out the innings pitched column in his last ten starts. Periard's hard sinker is as effective against LH bats as it is righties, he doesn't get himself into trouble with walks, and he has a near 2-to-1 GB/FB ratio. Periard was the same pitcher last year at West Virginia, he's simply dialed up his K's some and improved slightly on all his other peripherals. The Brewers should commit to memory for future high school pitching prospects the roadmap followed by Periard and the Power's Evan Anundsen thus far -- their work represents two of the few truly shining moments in pitching development as of late, and hopefully we're following each for a long time to come -- how about Derek Lowe I and II?

Brevard County Game Log
Darren Ford a double and three walks - nice weekend; Scott Houin on base all four plate appearances...

Final: Arizona Athletics 17, Arizona Brewers 9

Arizona Box Score

FIELDING
E: C Requena (1, throw), SS George 2 (15, throw, fielding), P Linares (2, throw), 1B Robulack 2 (6, fielding, fielding), 3B Paciorek 3 (6, fielding, throw, throw), RF Arias (1, missed catch).

I'm not going to pontificate on ten errors simply because I don't have the stomach to review the game log, but I'll remind everybody of this -- we've been doing this since mid-2001, and there have only been three high-end prospect position players who saw significant time at the Maryvale level (40 games or more). Hernan Iribarren earned his "Hurricane" Brewerfan moniker with his .439 average in 46 games in 2004, and Michael Brantley and Lorenzo Cain had plus seasons there in '05. It looks like OF Chris Dennis ('07) has a chance to join that group, and Stephen Chapman still has his fans as well. Here's hoping there's a breakout performer among the current crop. But there's a reason Alcides Escobar was sent to Helena when he wasn't even 17 and a half yet -- get the heck out of the Maryvale playing atmosphere as soon as you can...

Arizona Game Log

"Sigh" for Nashville below -- wonder if Tom Haudricourt will include this effort in his next "Luis Pena to Milwaukee" campaign pamphlet --

Final, Game One: New Orleans (Mets) 3, Nashville 0 -- Sounds get one hit
Final, Game Two: New Orleans 13, Nashville 12 -- Pena can't hold three-run final inning lead

Nashville Site Doubleheader Summary:
Link for Laynce Nix photo, text follows --

NASHVILLE - It was an emotional roller coaster for the Nashville Sounds and their fans on Sunday evening at Greer Stadium as the team wrapped up play before the All-Star break.

After scoring 11 unanswered runs to erase an eight-run deficit and take a late lead over New Orleans in the second game of a doubleheader, the Zephyrs rallied for four runs in the final evening of play to steal a 13-12 victory and complete a twinbill sweep to wrap up a four-game series.

In the evening's opener, the Zephyrs handed the Sounds their second consecutive shutout defeat as three New Orleans hurlers combined on a 3-0, one-hit shutout. It marked Nashville's first consecutive goose eggs since the club was blanked in three straight games in Memphis near the end of the 2005 season.

In the nightcap, Nashville fell behind 9-1 after three-and-a-half innings before mounting their largest comeback of the year to grab a 12-9 lead before giving up four more late runs to suffer the heartbreaking defeat.

The Zephyrs took a 3-0 lead with three two-out runs against Lindsay Gulin in the third inning. Valentino Pascucci highlighted the frame with a mammoth two-run homer to center that easily cleared the 24-foot high batter's eye. It was the slugger's team-leading 18th roundtripper of the season.

Nashville third baseman Adam Heether answered the longball with a solo blast of his own in the bottom of the frame off Z's starter Nelson Figueroa, his eighth home run of the year which made it a 3-1 game.

New Orleans extended its cushion to eight runs by sending 11 batters to the plate during a six-run fourth inning, pushing the lead to 9-1. All six runs in the frame were charged to Gulin, although three scored after reliever Randy Choate took over on the hill.

The Sounds got four runs back in the bottom of the fourth against Figueroa to pull within 9-5. Tony Gwynn led off with an infield single and moved to third on a Brad Nelson single before scoring on Vinny Rottino's single. Brendan Katin then cleared two runners off the bases with a double off the left-center wall. Heether followed with a two-bagger of his own to right-center, driving home Katin for his second RBI of the night.

Nashville rallied to take a 12-9 lead with a seven-run rally in the sixth. Nelson and Rottino opened the frame with back-to-back singles to chase Figueroa. Juan Padilla took over on the hill and was greeted by a Katin RBI single, which Pascucci over-ran in right field to allow a second run to score on the play as Katin advanced to third as a result of the error. Heether drove in his third run of the night when he followed with a sacrifice fly to left. The Sounds then loaded the bases on a pair of singles followed by a Callix Crabbe walk before Gwynn lifted a game-tying sac fly to center to greet reliever Tim McNab.

With Laynce Nix at the plate and runners on second and third, Z's catcher Gustavo Molina attempted to pick Hernan Iribarren off third but his throw went into the Nashville bullpen, allowing two runs to score to give the Sounds their first lead of the evening. Nix then capped off the frame with a long home run to right-center that careened off the back side of the clubhouse building beyond the wall. The blast was the outfielder's team-leading 17th of the year.

New Orleans didn't go down without a fight in the seventh, re-taking a 13-12 lead with four runs off All-Star Sounds closer Luis Pena as they batted around for the second time in the contest. Josh Petersen pulled the visitors within a run with a two-run, pinch-hit single before Anderson Machado ripped a game-tying single to right later in the frame to bring him home. Valentino Pascucci (3-for-4) followed by driving in his fourth run of the evening with a go-ahead single to right. Heether took over on the hill and recorded the final out in his second pitching appearance of the year, stranding two of Pena's baserunners.

Rottino led off the Sounds' seventh with a double to left but was stranded there as New Orleans reliever Casey Hoorelbeke retired the next three batters in order to notch his first save of the year.

McNab (3-1) was the beneficiary of the late Z's rally, earning the win after allowing one run in his two-thirds of an inning.

Pena (1-1) suffered his first loss of the year after blowing his third save. He allowed four runs on five hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Gulin took a no-decision in the nightcap for Nashville despite giving up a season-high nine runs on eight hits in his shortest start of the year; the All-Star southpaw lasted only 3 1/3 innings. His ERA jumped from 2.89 to 3.67 during the outing. The nine runs allowed were his most in any outing dating back to the start of the 1999 campaign.

Nashville Game Two Box Score
29 combined hits in just seven innings...

Nashville Game Two Game Log

New Orleans took a 1-0 lead in the opener with a second-inning run off Steve Hammond. Michel Abreu led off with a single and later scored on an Anderson Machado RBI single to left.

Abreu increased the visitors' lead to 2-0 in the fourth when he led off the frame with a solo homer to center off Hammond, his ninth roundtripper of the year.

The Zephyrs added their final tally in the top of the seventh when Tim Dillard issued a bases-loaded walk to John Rodriguez, bringing the score to its final 3-0.

Callix Crabbe recorded the lone Nashville hit of the first contest, a fourth-inning single. Brendan Katin went 0-for-3 in the opener to snap his season-best hitting streak at eight games.

Zephyrs starter Willie Collazo worked three hitless innings to open the ballgame before being removed due to a planned pitch count. He will start the Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday.

Jose Santiago (3-0) followed Collazo to the hill and earned the win with three innings of scoreless, one-hit ball. Nate Field kept the Sounds off the board in the bottom of the seventh to notch his seventh save of the year.

Hammond (0-4) took his fourth loss in four starts for Nashville after he allowed two runs on four hits and struck out a Triple-A career-best seven batters over his four innings of work.

Nashville Game One Box Score
Only four innings (79 pitches) for Steve Hammond?

Nashville Game One Game Log

The Sounds take the next four days off during the Triple-A All-Star break before resuming their schedule on Friday evening in Des Moines, Iowa, when they open a three-game weekend series against the division-rival Iowa Cubs.

Right-hander Richie Gardner (6-2, 4.20) will man the bump for the Sounds in Friday's 7:05 p.m. series opener. Iowa has yet to announce its starter for the contest.

Catcher Vinny Rottino, left-handed starting pitcher Linsday Gulin, and closer Luis Pena will join trainer Jeff Paxson in representing the Sounds in the 2008 Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday evening in Louisville, Ky. The 6:00 p.m. CT game will air on ESPN2 and Sports Radio 560 AM.

Saturday's update, but we'll post here...

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com

For the first time in quite some time, the Stars were royally routed, ending an extraordinary five-game win streak. Not since June 12 at Jacksonville, had they lost by more than five runs. They lost by 10 only one other time this season (May 8 to Mobile, 12-2)....... They get over the hump of not being able to win more than two straight on seven separate occasions since May 15, then out of nowhere score 48 runs on 78 hits in five games -- more runs in any five game stretch since 2003, and the most hits since May 7-11, 1986, when the Stars totaled 80, scoring 55 runs vs. Chattanooga and Birmingham.

I had a ticket left over from a June 1 rainout and intended to go to this game, but it rained most of the day here in Huntsville, and weather patterns naturally head in an easterly direction, meaning Chattanooga would get whatever we got in a little more than an hour....... In actuality, there was a 43-minute rain delay at AT&T Field, most of it spent waiting for the puddles in left field to dry up, but the weather did get better, the sun broke through, and the game got underway.

If you had stayed at this game for five innings, you saw all you needed to see....... I know a number of Stars fans, who came to make up for the June 1 rainout, did -- including GM Buck Rogers and his wife, Babs, and newlywed Jerry Straneiro and his better half........ Donovan Hand, who threw a complete game in his last outing, lasted just two innings, as Lookout hitters held an 8-2 lead after just two innings. With a 9-3 lead, tempers flared in the 5th, erupting into a wild on-field brawl that delayed the game by 30 minutes. When it was all over, four Stars and five Lookouts were ejected from the game, but more on that later.

The Stars were without 3rd baseman Mat Gamel, in New York for the Futures Game....... Michael Brantley made his first start since June 26. Friday, Brantley picked up his 100th hit of the season..... Sam LeCure, in two previous starts this year against the Stars, gave up ten runs (nine earned) on 13 hits in 9 1/3 innings, losing 6-5, April 14. He didn't do much better in this start. He got enough support to get the win, but ironically took himself out in a 5th ininng brawl that got him, three teammates, and his manager, ejected.

Hand got in trouble right away........ He fell behind the younger brother of major leaguer David DeJesus, 2-and-0, before Michael DeJesus threaded a hit under the diving Mike Bell for a single. With Justin Turner at the plate, he stole second, then went to third when a routine ball was thrown low to first........ Another routine ball was misplayed when the next hitter, Daniel Dorn, hit a fly ball that right fielder Cole Gillespie dropped -- just his 4th error of the year -- then let the ball get behind him. DeJesus scored on the sac fly, but now Dorn was on second, when there should have been two outs and a runner on second at the very worst....... Tonys Gutierrez moved the runners into scoring position with a fielder's choice grounder that Alcides Escobar had to field on the hop from J.R. Hopf, thus avoiding another error!.........With Gutierrez on first and Justin Turner on third, the Lookouts increased their lead to 2-0 on an long fly ball that Lorenzo Cain raced to make a running, over-the-shoulder catch on to retire Sean Henry. Larry Ward, Lookouts play-by-play man said, "How did he ever get to that ball," ....... Eric Eymann, the # 6 hitter, made it 3-0 with a stand-up triple past a diving Gillespie in right field........ Things were already bad enough for the Stars with two errors, when they committed a third in the inning for the first time in my memory. Michael Garciaparra fielded a routine grounder by Craig Tatum and threw it into the dirt away from Hopf, allowing Eymann to score, making it 4-0, a half-hour after the game started........ I can't remember a worse inning defensively by the Stars in a long, long time........ Garciaparra, who has a very strong throwing arm, made three errors at 3rd base in this game, tying a club record for 3rd basemen held jointly by Mat Gamel on April 28, Corey Hart in 2002, and Gabe Alvarez that same season -- twice!

Undaunted, the Stars, who trailed in each of their last three games against the Lookouts after just an inning, shaved the Lookouts' lead in half after LeCure retired the first two hitters of the 2nd inning, then Hopf slid head first into 2nd base with a double hit down the right field line and Mike Bell belted a 3-2 pitch off the top of the left field wall for his 8th homer and 2nd of the series.

The 4-2 deficit is as close as the Stars would come........ With the bases loaded and one out, Tonys Gutierrez drove a fly ball right over the wall to right-center by the light standard, giving the Lookouts an impenetrable 8-2 lead......... The eight runs given up by Hand are the most given up by a Stars pitcher this year. Steve Hammond gave up seven on May 31 against the Lookouts.

The frustration of that grand-slam home run was the fuse that really set off the 5th inning free-for-all....... Then came the tit-for-tat....... Daniel Dorn homered in the 4th into the picnic area to make it 9-3, then Gutierrez came to bat......... Patrick Ryan lit the fuse with his first pitch. Ryan hits Gutierrez (who hit that grand-slam HR) right in the knee. He limped to first as exchanges started between home plate ump Takeshi HIrabayashi and Ryan. To be objective, Ryan should have been ejected, but the inning didn't end until after Garciaparra committed his 2nd error to put Eric Eymann on base. Eymann was then caught stealing on a pitch to Craig Tatum that was "ten feet high". Still, Eymann was a dead duck at second.

Now we get to the 5th, and the water is on the boil. Everyone knows the lid is about to pop...... Sam Lecure walks leadoff hitter Patrick Ryan, coming way inside on the second pitch, which illicits a warning....... A third inside pitch to Ryan, and both sides get a warning. The Chattanooga bench is on the top step....... Here comes Brantley, fresh off the disabled list, don't forget....... The first pitch to Brantley, is of course, inside. He points his bat at Lecure...... The next pitch goes way inside, and here we go.

Brantley comes charging the mound and the benches empty. Brantley is hit in the face and pushed from behind by Craig Tatum. Fists are now flying all over the place......... One of the Stars is thrown into the dugout, which one, I don't know....... It's all-out war........ Justin Turner is punched from behind........ 5'8" and muscular Angel Salome, the wrong player to be pushed around, is swinging at everyone within distance. The uniform comes off and Martin Maldonado is trying to hold him back........ Lorenzo Cain is going after coach Jamie Dismuke........ Everyone is in this melee........ Don Money is trying to get his players off the field........ Sean Henry is being taunted from the Huntsville bench by Freddy Parejo....... Henry tries to break loose and Chattanooga manager Mike Goff has to grab him around the neck...... It's very difficult at this point to sort out who stays and who goes, but the final score is Chattanooga 5, Huntsville 4....... Goff becomes the first to be tossed while he is going nose-to-nose with 1st base ump Art Thigpen, but for some reason, Lecure is still on the mound and in the game. Justin Turner and Brantley are tossed........ Salome, Craig Tatum, and Sean Henry are tossed before Hirabayashi finally throws Lecure out of the game....... Now Goff, already out of the game, takes his players out toward the clubhouse and Jamie Dismuke, acting manager is looking around to see who is left to work with. Pitcher Mike Hrynio is forced to play center field....... Mike Bell is gone and now David Welch. Mike Goff, who was headed for the clubhouse, was still in the dugout as Art Thigpen was trying to restore order and get the game underway and only after Goff had enough and left the dugout, was the game able to continue...... It was 9:50 local time and the game was just in the 5th inning.
Fortunately, both sides became very cautious and from the 5th inning on, after Parejo walked for Brantley. The Stars were retired without a hit. The Lookouts were retired in order. Two hits for the Stars in the 6th and none until the 8th when Cole Gillespie singled to center...... Chattanooga was retired in order in the 6th and the 7th....... Chris Denove, the leadoff hitter for the Lookouts in the 8th, was hit, but despite the drama, nothing happened, other than the Lookouts tacking on more insult with a four-run inning, capped by Dorn's two-run homer off Omar Aguilar.

It was an ugly, messy game and I'd love to know what the conversation on that bus was like going home to Huntsville........ The Stars' five errors was the most since August 1, 2004 in a 10-4 loss to Birmingham..

Since coming off the disabled list June 24, David Johnson has thrown 9 2/3 scoreless innings in relief over the space of seven games........ Since Patrick Ryan's consecutive scoreless streak from the start of the season ended at 20 2/3 innings, he is 2-4 with a 5.56 ERA.......

There are going to be some suspensions at the wrong time, for the Stars face the 1st place Tennessee Smokies when they return home, trailing by two games Wednesday with a homestand full of interesting promotions that could only come from the house of Buck Rogers........ The first-ever Gorgeous Grandma beauty pageant on Thursday, a fundraiser for the Huntsville Hospital Foundation and fireworks on Friday, a Corey Hart T-shirt Jersey giveaway on Saturday, and a celebration of the 39th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission on Sunday...... Friday, fans can see a pre-game "Hoses and Handcuffs" Home Run Derby between the fire department and HPD. Proceeds from "Launch-a-Ball" and a silent auction will go to the Foundation........ WDRM sponsors a contest with their listeners, in which five couples will experience a romantic candlelight dinner in a skybox section Saturday night while they watch the ballgame, as part of I 'Hart' the Stars...... Thanks to the votes from Stars fans, Brewers fans, and their affiliates, Corey Hart was added to the NL All-Star squad in MLB's extra-man voting. Evan Longoria was voted in, likewise, on the American League side.

Cole Gillespie joins the Northern Division All-Star squad after the Southern League revised their roster last Tuesday. Gillespie replaces Carolina's injured Cameron Maybin........ Also Tennessee infielder Nate Spears will replace Stars' 1st baseman Chris Errecart, who is out with a fractured bone in his right wrist. ..... The revised rosters are on the standings page.

STARS BULLPEN SINCE MAY 15
	W-L-S-BS	ERA	IP	H	R	ER
Omar Aguilar	0-3-3-2	5.94	16 2/3	19	15	11
Joe Bateman	0-0-1-0	3.04	23 2/3	22	9	8
Steve Bray	0-1-1-2	4.91	10 2/3	12	5	5
Donovan Hand	0-0	3.60	5	4	2	2
Robert Hinton	1-3-1-1	7.04	23	24	19	18
David Johnson	0-1-1-0	1.93	18 2/3	14	5	4
Mike Jones	0-0-0-1	8.64	8 1/3	14	8	8
Patrick Ryan	2-4-1-5	5.18	24 1/3	37	20	14
Juan Sandoval	1-3-7-4	4.12	24	22	11	11
E.J. Shanks	0-0	9.81	3 2/3	6	4	4
Jason Shiell	3-1-0-0	3.12	17 1/3	19	9	6
Josh Wahpepah	1-0	9.64	4 2/3	10	5	5
TOTALS	8-16-15-15	4.80	180	203	112	96

Link while active, text follows:

Sounds need All-Star break after Zephyrs secure sweep
By MAURICE PATTON
Tennessean Staff Writer

This was hardly the way the Sounds wanted to go into the All-Star break.

Dropping both ends of a doubleheader Sunday to visiting New Orleans - 3-0 in the opener and 13-12 in the nightcap - the Sounds have lost three straight games and 10 of 15 in July.

"It's good to have four days off," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "Maybe these guys can take a look at themselves and finish the season strong."

The two losses were somewhat reflective of Nashville's uneven play through the first three-plus months of a season that has seen the team put together the worst record in the Pacific Coast League.

In the first seven-inning game, starter Steve Hammond struck out seven in four innings and allowed just two runs, but the offensive managed just one hit.

After Saturday's 7-0 rain-shortened defeat, it marked the first back-to-back shutout losses for the Sounds since they dropped three straight games without scoring against Memphis in the final week of the 2005 season.

PCL all-star selection Lindsay Gulin had his worst outing of the season in the second seven-inning loss to the Zephyrs, lasting just 3 1/3 innings and giving up nine earned runs as his ERA swelled from 2.89 to 3.67.

Once Gulin left the game, the Sounds scored 11 straight runs and took a three-run lead into the seventh inning before New Orleans scored four times off reliever Luis Pena to complete the sweep.

It was Pena's second appearance in as many days. The PCL all-star threw 25 pitches in the seventh of Saturday's loss.

"You've got to shut them down there," Kremblas said.

"Unfortunately, Pena wasn't able to do it. You'd hope he could get three outs before they could get four runs."

With the two losses, the Sounds fell to 39-60 - a season-worst 21 games below .500 - after losing just 55 games during the 2007 season that resulted in their third straight division championship.

"We know we have bats up and down the lineup; we know we can put up runs," said Adam Heether, who homered and drove in three runs and pitched the final one-third of an inning in relief of Pena.

"We feel like we're a different team than in the beginning (of the season). We just want to go out and win some games."

What they said: "We didn't close it out, but I guarantee the next time we'll win the game in that situation because we'll learn from this." - Gulin.

The Tennessean:

Right-hander Mark DiFelice departed Saturday's start against New Orleans after experiencing lower back stiffness throughout his two innings, he said before Sunday's doubleheader.

"It's nothing serious," DiFelice said, indicating he should be ready to make his next scheduled start July 23 against visiting Tacoma.

***

Ah yes, minor league injury reports -- didn't Frank Kremblas say it was forearm stiffness in his audio interview? Anyway, glad Mark's OK.