By Aaron Morse
Taylor Green drove in three runs and Lee Haydel drove in two as the Huntsville Stars (3-2) benefited from four Chattanooga Lookouts (2-3) errors to prevail 7-4 on Monday.
The first three innings went by in no time as the Stars’ Chris Cody (1-0) and the Lookouts’ Jesus Castillo (0-1) were in complete control. But in the top of the fourth the Stars took the 1-0 lead as Caleb Gindl reached on a grounder that snuck under the glove of second baseman Jaime Pedroza for an error. With two outs, it appeared Castillo was going to get out of the jam when Taylor Green hit a sky-high pop-up into shallow right center field. But the Lookouts’ fielders lost the ball in the lights and it dropped in for a RBI triple.
In the 5th, the Stars got to Castillo again as Haydel started things off with a single. He stole second and one out later scored on a Lorenzo Cain hot-shot that deflected off the glove of shortstop Dee Gordon for an error. But the Lookouts finally pushed a run across the plate in the bottom half of the frame against Cody. Corey Smith started things off with a double, moved to third on bunt single from Gordon, and scored on an Elian Herrera sacrifice fly. Cody would get out of the inning suffering no further damage, but that would be all for him in the game.
The Stars looked like they had the game well in-hand after they scored one in the sixth and two in the seventh to take a 5-1 lead.
The sixth inning featured yet another error from the Lookouts as Zelous Wheeler hit a grounder to second base with two outs and two on. Pedroza had it go off his glove for his third error of the game, allowing Jonathan Lucroy to come around and score. Then in the seventh Green doubled in Lucroy and Cain.
But the Lookouts battled back against the Stars’ bullpen. After scoring one in the seventh on a RBI ground-out from Herrera, the Lookouts mounted their biggest challenge in the eighth.
Andrew Lambo started things off with a double, and two outs later scored on a Scott Van Slyke single. After Smith walked, Gordon doubled home Van Slyke to make it a 5-4 game and put the go-ahead run in scoring position.
At that point Brandon Kintzler entered the game to try and bail the Stars out of the jam. He got a break when the Lookouts’ Herrera tried to surprise the Stars with a bunt, which popped straight up in the air to Kintzler for the final out of the inning.
The Stars added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth thanks to a two-RBI single from Haydel and Kintzler nailed down his second save of the year as he retired the Lookouts in order in the bottom half of the frame.
The Stars have an off day on Tuesday and return to Joe Davis Stadium for their home opener against Jacksonville on Wednesday night at 7:00pm Central Time. That game can be heard on 1450 AM/92.9 FM WTKI, http://www.huntsvillestars.com and all throughout the Stars Radio Network.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Stars win their second in a row to even series against Lookouts
By Aaron Morse
Caleb Gindl went 4-5 and the Stars bullpen shut down the Lookouts after five solid inning from Michael Bowman as Huntsville (2-2) prevailed 5-2 over Chattanooga (2-2) Sunday afternoon.
Bowman (1-0) struck out six and scattered five hits while surrendering only two runs in his first start of the 2010 season. The former 9th round pick showed why he’s advanced so quickly through the Brewers’ system as he did not walk anyone in his five innings of work.
Meanwhile, the Stars’ offense got on the board in the third inning thanks to some two-out offense. With two away, Lorenzo Cain got hit by the pitch, causing warnings to be issued to both teams since Bowman had hit a man in the previous inning. A wild pitch allowed Cain to advance to second. Then top prospect Brett Lawrie continued his early hot hitting with a single up the middle to drive in Cain. A passed ball put Lawrie on second and Gindl singled up the gut to give the Stars the 2-0 lead.
The Stars tacked on an insurance run in the third inning as Taylor Green reached on an infield single. One out later Zelous Wheeler reached on an error. With two on and one down, Lee Haydel delivered a clutch single to drive in Green.
But the Lookouts battled back in the 5th against Bowman. Dee Gordon doubled to right to start the inning. One out later pinch hitter Tommy Giles crushed a ground-rule double to drive in Gordon. Elian Herrera singled up the middle to drive in Giles. But Bowman was able to get out of the inning without any further damage.
Only up by one, the Stars got a much-needed insurance run in the sixth. Huntsville loaded the bases with only one away. Lawrie crushed a ball deep to left field, just barely missing a grand slam. But the Stars would have to settle for a sacrifice fly. No further runs were scored in the inning, but the Stars’ bullpen was able to hold down the fort.
Mike Jones, Robert Hinton, and Brandon Kintzler combined to toss four shut-out innings, with Kintzler earning his first save of the year.
The Stars tacked on another run in the top of the 9th as Gindl put an exclamation point on his big day with a deep homer to right, his first jack of the year.
John Koronka (0-1) took the loss for the Lookouts.
The two teams square-off in the rubber match of the five-game series Monday at 6:15pm Central Time. The game can be heard on http://www.huntsvillestars.com.
Caleb Gindl went 4-5 and the Stars bullpen shut down the Lookouts after five solid inning from Michael Bowman as Huntsville (2-2) prevailed 5-2 over Chattanooga (2-2) Sunday afternoon.
Bowman (1-0) struck out six and scattered five hits while surrendering only two runs in his first start of the 2010 season. The former 9th round pick showed why he’s advanced so quickly through the Brewers’ system as he did not walk anyone in his five innings of work.
Meanwhile, the Stars’ offense got on the board in the third inning thanks to some two-out offense. With two away, Lorenzo Cain got hit by the pitch, causing warnings to be issued to both teams since Bowman had hit a man in the previous inning. A wild pitch allowed Cain to advance to second. Then top prospect Brett Lawrie continued his early hot hitting with a single up the middle to drive in Cain. A passed ball put Lawrie on second and Gindl singled up the gut to give the Stars the 2-0 lead.
The Stars tacked on an insurance run in the third inning as Taylor Green reached on an infield single. One out later Zelous Wheeler reached on an error. With two on and one down, Lee Haydel delivered a clutch single to drive in Green.
But the Lookouts battled back in the 5th against Bowman. Dee Gordon doubled to right to start the inning. One out later pinch hitter Tommy Giles crushed a ground-rule double to drive in Gordon. Elian Herrera singled up the middle to drive in Giles. But Bowman was able to get out of the inning without any further damage.
Only up by one, the Stars got a much-needed insurance run in the sixth. Huntsville loaded the bases with only one away. Lawrie crushed a ball deep to left field, just barely missing a grand slam. But the Stars would have to settle for a sacrifice fly. No further runs were scored in the inning, but the Stars’ bullpen was able to hold down the fort.
Mike Jones, Robert Hinton, and Brandon Kintzler combined to toss four shut-out innings, with Kintzler earning his first save of the year.
The Stars tacked on another run in the top of the 9th as Gindl put an exclamation point on his big day with a deep homer to right, his first jack of the year.
John Koronka (0-1) took the loss for the Lookouts.
The two teams square-off in the rubber match of the five-game series Monday at 6:15pm Central Time. The game can be heard on http://www.huntsvillestars.com.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Stars can't recover from early deficit
The Huntsville Stars failed to pull their 2010 record even by falling at Chattanooga on Friday night 3-2 in a late inning thriller.
In a departure from Thursday’s season opener, Chattanooga was the first to lead thanks to throwing errors by Zelous Wheeler and Brett Lawrie, respectively. One inning later, Elian Hererra singled home Lookouts third baseman Anthony Hatch to neutralize the Stars first inning score, a run credited to Chris Errecart. Errors have been commonplace for the Stars over the first two games this season. On Thursday, Amaury Rivas’ dazzling five inning effort was wasted; Huntsville gave up four unearned runs in a 4-2 loss.
After a pitching change, Caleb Gindl drew Huntsville to within one by plating Lee Haydel with a two out double in the Stars half of the seventh. Huntsville caught the break of the night in the eighth when Chattanooga catcher Lucas May missed a two out, opposite field home run by mere feet. He instead was relegated to a double. A wiley set of substitutions from new Manager Mike Guerrero, including putting Mike Jones on the mound, preserved the one run deficit as Jones worked his way back in the count against Thursday’s hero Scott Van Slyke to retire him on a soft grounder.
The Stars could not, however, take advantage of the momentum as the Lookouts 24 year old flamethrower Javy Guerra retired the stars in the ninth 1-2-3. The Stars are left hanging their heads as the lone Northern Division team to be without a win in 2010, leaving eight base runners on base Friday night. Alex Periard takes the loss for the Stars allowing three runs (two earned) over six full innings. Alberto Bastardo scattered seven hits over five innings while allowing one run in taking the win. Guerra picks up his second save in as many games.
Three games remain in the current five game series in Chattanooga before the Stars return home on Wednesday. Saturdays contest starts again at 6:15 while Sunday is a matinee affair with a first pitch scheduled for 1:15. Coverage of all Stars baseball games begins 15 minutes before the first pitch and can be heard on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network (AM-1450/92.9-FM WTKI Huntsville) or online at www.huntsvillestars.com, www.chadandersonweb.org and www.wtkiradio.com.
In a departure from Thursday’s season opener, Chattanooga was the first to lead thanks to throwing errors by Zelous Wheeler and Brett Lawrie, respectively. One inning later, Elian Hererra singled home Lookouts third baseman Anthony Hatch to neutralize the Stars first inning score, a run credited to Chris Errecart. Errors have been commonplace for the Stars over the first two games this season. On Thursday, Amaury Rivas’ dazzling five inning effort was wasted; Huntsville gave up four unearned runs in a 4-2 loss.
After a pitching change, Caleb Gindl drew Huntsville to within one by plating Lee Haydel with a two out double in the Stars half of the seventh. Huntsville caught the break of the night in the eighth when Chattanooga catcher Lucas May missed a two out, opposite field home run by mere feet. He instead was relegated to a double. A wiley set of substitutions from new Manager Mike Guerrero, including putting Mike Jones on the mound, preserved the one run deficit as Jones worked his way back in the count against Thursday’s hero Scott Van Slyke to retire him on a soft grounder.
The Stars could not, however, take advantage of the momentum as the Lookouts 24 year old flamethrower Javy Guerra retired the stars in the ninth 1-2-3. The Stars are left hanging their heads as the lone Northern Division team to be without a win in 2010, leaving eight base runners on base Friday night. Alex Periard takes the loss for the Stars allowing three runs (two earned) over six full innings. Alberto Bastardo scattered seven hits over five innings while allowing one run in taking the win. Guerra picks up his second save in as many games.
Three games remain in the current five game series in Chattanooga before the Stars return home on Wednesday. Saturdays contest starts again at 6:15 while Sunday is a matinee affair with a first pitch scheduled for 1:15. Coverage of all Stars baseball games begins 15 minutes before the first pitch and can be heard on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network (AM-1450/92.9-FM WTKI Huntsville) or online at www.huntsvillestars.com, www.chadandersonweb.org and www.wtkiradio.com.
Stars take early lead, but Lookouts prevail in season opener
By: Aaron Morse
The Huntsville Stars wasted no time taking an early 2-0 lead in their first game of the season, but the Chattanooga Lookouts took advantage of three Stars errors and prevailed 4-2 on Thursday night.
Lookouts starter Chris Withrow struggled in the first inning as Brett Lawrie doubled home Lorenzo Cain with nobody out. After Lawrie advanced to third, Taylor Green drove him in with a sacrifice fly. But after that, Withrow was in complete control. He tossed six innings while surrendering only three hits and two runs. At one point, he retired 16 Stars in a row.
But Stars starter Amaury Rivas was tough as nails as he went five shutout innings, scattering three hits, while striking out four and walking three.
The Lookouts got one run back in the sixth off reliever Brandon Kintzler. Andrew Lambo reached on an error, and two outs later Scott Van Slyke doubled him home.
The Stars still hung on to their 2-1 lead until the bottom of the 8th, when the Lookouts exploded for three runs to take the lead for the first time in the game. With one out, Lambo walked, chasing reliever Casey Baron from the game. New pitcher Robert Hinton was immediately victimized by a throwing error that allowed the Lookouts to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with only one down. One out later, Van Slyke dealt the killer blow as he doubled home both runners to give the Lookouts the 3-2 lead. Pinch hitter Tommy Giles singled home Van Slyke for the insurance run.
Javy Guerra nailed down the save for the Lookouts, who start the year 1-0. Jesus Rodriguez (1-0) picked up the win out of the bullpen, while Hinton (0-1) suffered the loss. All four of the Lookouts’ runs were unearned.
The two teams will do battle tomorrow at 6:15pm Central Time. You can hear all the action on WTKI AM 1450 and FM 92.9. The game can be heard online at www.wtkiradio.com and www.huntsvillestars.com. Pre-game show starts at 6:00.
The Huntsville Stars wasted no time taking an early 2-0 lead in their first game of the season, but the Chattanooga Lookouts took advantage of three Stars errors and prevailed 4-2 on Thursday night.
Lookouts starter Chris Withrow struggled in the first inning as Brett Lawrie doubled home Lorenzo Cain with nobody out. After Lawrie advanced to third, Taylor Green drove him in with a sacrifice fly. But after that, Withrow was in complete control. He tossed six innings while surrendering only three hits and two runs. At one point, he retired 16 Stars in a row.
But Stars starter Amaury Rivas was tough as nails as he went five shutout innings, scattering three hits, while striking out four and walking three.
The Lookouts got one run back in the sixth off reliever Brandon Kintzler. Andrew Lambo reached on an error, and two outs later Scott Van Slyke doubled him home.
The Stars still hung on to their 2-1 lead until the bottom of the 8th, when the Lookouts exploded for three runs to take the lead for the first time in the game. With one out, Lambo walked, chasing reliever Casey Baron from the game. New pitcher Robert Hinton was immediately victimized by a throwing error that allowed the Lookouts to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with only one down. One out later, Van Slyke dealt the killer blow as he doubled home both runners to give the Lookouts the 3-2 lead. Pinch hitter Tommy Giles singled home Van Slyke for the insurance run.
Javy Guerra nailed down the save for the Lookouts, who start the year 1-0. Jesus Rodriguez (1-0) picked up the win out of the bullpen, while Hinton (0-1) suffered the loss. All four of the Lookouts’ runs were unearned.
The two teams will do battle tomorrow at 6:15pm Central Time. You can hear all the action on WTKI AM 1450 and FM 92.9. The game can be heard online at www.wtkiradio.com and www.huntsvillestars.com. Pre-game show starts at 6:00.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Questions & Answers with Mike Guerrero
At Spring Training in Arizona, I was able to catch up with new Stars manager, Mike Guerrero, about the upcoming 2010 season.
How is Spring Training going and what have you guys been doing to get ready for the season?
How excited are you to be in Huntsville, a step up in the system, and working with a team that’s produced quite a few quality Brewers players the past few years?
What’s the Mike Guerrero approach to a baseball team?
What other challenges do you face as a manager in trying to prepare kids who are 18-25 years old to play in triple A and the major leagues?
Do you think your experience sending people up from Brevard County to Huntsville will help you now advance people up from Huntsville to Nashville?
Pitching Coach John Curtis is coming back this year with Huntsville, but talk about the new staff and how you are preparing with them for the season.
Well Mike, thanks for joining us, welcome to Huntsville, and enjoy Arizona. We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.
How is Spring Training going and what have you guys been doing to get ready for the season?
How excited are you to be in Huntsville, a step up in the system, and working with a team that’s produced quite a few quality Brewers players the past few years?
What’s the Mike Guerrero approach to a baseball team?
What other challenges do you face as a manager in trying to prepare kids who are 18-25 years old to play in triple A and the major leagues?
Do you think your experience sending people up from Brevard County to Huntsville will help you now advance people up from Huntsville to Nashville?
Pitching Coach John Curtis is coming back this year with Huntsville, but talk about the new staff and how you are preparing with them for the season.
Well Mike, thanks for joining us, welcome to Huntsville, and enjoy Arizona. We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Spring Training Journal 2010: Day 2
I apologize for this being a day late, but I came down with a bad cold and/or strep throat possibly, so the last 24 hours have not been to enjoyable. Day two consisted of a ton of driving! We covered over 500 miles with our journey to the Grand Canyon and other parts of northern Arizona. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground and lots of wrecks on the interstate early in the morning. It really was remarkable to see entire fields with a blanket of snow that was around four feet deep on the ground. Not something you see in the South everyday. We did the usual at the Grand Canyon...take pictures, look at the views, have lunch and something not so usual...see two Vanderbilt fans of all things walking around. On the way back, we stopped in Sedona and Jerome which are small towns but very interesting and touristy. Jerome was interesting because the entire town sat on the side of a hill and buildings literally were right up against the streets. Very unique and probably dangerous. The day ended with viewing some college basketball at a local sports bar and getting ready for Friday. Brewers will be hosting the Cubs and we will have a chance to meet new Stars skipper, Mike Guerrero, for the first time. Stay tuned for pictures and audio clips coming soon!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Spring Training Journal 2010: Day 1
Well when you're a broadcaster, normally 4:30am doesn't factor into your day, but this was the exception. After an easy flight that featured a little work and catching up on some reading for a change, we landed in Phoenix around noon local time. Then a quick check in to the hotel and off to Peoria to catch as much of the Brewers v Padres as possible. First off, huge props to the Pads for their facility. It was first class, a perfect spring training type atmosphere and convenient to restaurants and shops rather than being stuck in the middle of no where. They share this facility with the Mariners, so everything was decorated half and half. Our seats were with the players' families, which was interesting because it was a first time. It was pretty cool to see parents cheering and booing umpires while watching their kids play on a major league field just as if it were a coach pitch game.
Even by catching the earliest flight out of Huntsville today, we made it to our seats in the top of the fourth inning. The Brew Crew was down 3-1 at this point because of a first inning three run homer off Gallardo. That was really his only blemish as the outing seemed to be better than his line score. He went three innings, allowing three earned runs but just two hits and two walks. Around us were the wives, kids and parents of Casey McGehee, Corey Hart and Scott Schoeneweis. The kids were amusing, especially when their dads came to the plate in the middle of the game. I could overhear McGehee's wife talking about how Casey enjoys Milwaukee and likes playing against his former team, the Chicago Cubs (McGehee picked up playing time while Aramis Ramirez was injured in 2008). One of the highlights of the day was Schoeneweis striking out Padre slugger, Adrian Gonzalez and battling back from being down 3-0 on the next batter to pick up another K as well. After picking up one in the sixth, the Brewers managed to steal the lead in the seventh on an Alcides Escobar RBI single. However, it disappeared in the eighth as Milwaukee squandered the lead and gave up the game to San Diego, 5-4. No real highlights from the game except for Schoeneweis and Escobar.
Later, we drove by the University of Phoenix Stadium to check out the Cardinals (Arizona that is) venue, which is getting ready for Wrestlemania XXVI in a few weeks before heading downtown to US Airways Arena and Chase Field (home of the D'Backs). After a long day, we hit a sports bar, watched some college basketball since it is tournament time with the conferences and headed straight back to the room to rest. Tomorrow is a day of leisure as we will head to the Grand Canyon (high of 40 degrees) to check out some scenery in the northern part of the state. This will hopefully be worth the drive since we are skipping Alabama v South Carolina in the first round of the SEC tournament. Friday we will be at the Brewer's complex in Maryvale as they host the Cubs and then again on Saturday against the Rockies. Stay tuned for more updates from Arizona, possible sound bytes and more! And thank you to everyone for having me as part of the Huntsville Stars and Milwaukee Brewers organization.
Even by catching the earliest flight out of Huntsville today, we made it to our seats in the top of the fourth inning. The Brew Crew was down 3-1 at this point because of a first inning three run homer off Gallardo. That was really his only blemish as the outing seemed to be better than his line score. He went three innings, allowing three earned runs but just two hits and two walks. Around us were the wives, kids and parents of Casey McGehee, Corey Hart and Scott Schoeneweis. The kids were amusing, especially when their dads came to the plate in the middle of the game. I could overhear McGehee's wife talking about how Casey enjoys Milwaukee and likes playing against his former team, the Chicago Cubs (McGehee picked up playing time while Aramis Ramirez was injured in 2008). One of the highlights of the day was Schoeneweis striking out Padre slugger, Adrian Gonzalez and battling back from being down 3-0 on the next batter to pick up another K as well. After picking up one in the sixth, the Brewers managed to steal the lead in the seventh on an Alcides Escobar RBI single. However, it disappeared in the eighth as Milwaukee squandered the lead and gave up the game to San Diego, 5-4. No real highlights from the game except for Schoeneweis and Escobar.
Later, we drove by the University of Phoenix Stadium to check out the Cardinals (Arizona that is) venue, which is getting ready for Wrestlemania XXVI in a few weeks before heading downtown to US Airways Arena and Chase Field (home of the D'Backs). After a long day, we hit a sports bar, watched some college basketball since it is tournament time with the conferences and headed straight back to the room to rest. Tomorrow is a day of leisure as we will head to the Grand Canyon (high of 40 degrees) to check out some scenery in the northern part of the state. This will hopefully be worth the drive since we are skipping Alabama v South Carolina in the first round of the SEC tournament. Friday we will be at the Brewer's complex in Maryvale as they host the Cubs and then again on Saturday against the Rockies. Stay tuned for more updates from Arizona, possible sound bytes and more! And thank you to everyone for having me as part of the Huntsville Stars and Milwaukee Brewers organization.
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