The Providence Journal
Jeff Robinson - PawSox stars shine but I.L. loses in Triple-A All-Star Game
Two Pawtucket Red Sox nearly carried the night for the I.L. as Chris Carter hit a dramatic late homer and Joe Thurston finished 3-for-4.
“I just wanted to have good at-bats,” Thurston said. “I had been in a couple of other All-Star Games and had never had a hit until tonight. I had a lot of family watching me, so it was great to have three hits.”
Thurston, who started at second base and batted leadoff for the I.L., had a memorable night thanks to his three hits. But it was an at-bat in the seventh inning that played a key role in helping the I.L. stars snap a scoreless tie and build a 2-0 lead, an advantage they would watch evaporate in a fateful six-run ninth by the PCL.
Joe McDonald - The Big Papi attraction: Ortiz visit a huge event at McCoy Stadium
Thanks to Red Sox slugger David Ortiz’s rehab stint, the PawSox have witnessed a phenomenon like never before. The storied ballpark has hosted baseball’s Longest Game. It has hosted the Triple-A All-Star Game. It has hosted numerous rehab stints of other major-league stars in the past.
Full Version: Sox Minor League News Links, Thurs. July 17, 2008
Kevin Thomas - Hitter saves his best shot for game time; A Minnesota Twins prospect fizzles in the EL All-Star home run derby but sizzles with a winning three-run homer.
Three Portland Sea Dogs participated in the game.
Jeff Corsaletti started in left field and went 1 for 2 with a walk. Zach Daeges entered in the sixth inning to play right field and grounded out twice.
Reliever Beau Vaughan pitched the seventh inning. After allowing a single and a walk, he got out of the jam with a double-play grounder and a groundout.
Portland outfielder Bubba Bell did not play because of a sore quadriceps, but he still took part in the pregame ceremonies, as did Sea Dogs pitcher Michael Bowden, who was held out of the game by the parent Boston Red Sox.
Kevin Thomas - Three Dogs head to Triple-A; EL All-Star Notebook: Michael Bowden, Jeff Corsaletti and Sandy Madera earn promotions to Pawtucket.
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Portland Sea Dogs right-hander Michael Bowden and outfielder Jeff Corsaletti used the Eastern League All-Star game Wednesday as their farewell to Double-A baseball.
Both were promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket, as was first baseman-designated hitter Sandy Madera. All three will be at McCoy Stadium tonight. Corsaletti and Madera could be in the Pawtucket lineup, and Bowden is likely to get a start this weekend.
Among the replacements headed to Portland are two touted prospects from advanced Class A Lancaster: first baseman Lars Anderson and shortstop Argenis Diaz.
Bowden, 21, was the 47th overall pick in the 2005 draft. He was promoted to Portland early last season and was a dominant pitcher this season, going 9-4 with a 2.33 ERA.
"I'll just try to do the same thing I've been doing in Double-A and bring it to Triple-A," Bowden said.
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BUBBA BELL joined Bowden as an All-Star in name and uniform only. Bell withdrew from the Home Run Derby and the game with a sore left quadriceps muscle.
"I sat out Monday because the day before, I was dying," Bell said as he watched batting practice. The Sea Dogs "contacted (Red Sox minor league director) Mike Hazen and they decided I should take a break.
"I was really looking forward to the derby. (New Hampshire's Travis) Snider and I were the only lefties."
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Bowden is taking a short break from pitching, part of the built-in rest periods given to pitching prospects. Officially, he is on the disabled list with a sore calf, an injury commonly "assigned" to pitchers to take them off the roster.
Dan Goldberg - Beating the Best; JetHawks excel in all phases against Giants
All aspects of the JetHawks' game were in peak form as they defeated the Giants 6-2 Wednesday night at The Hangar. Their normally porous defense took away at least four hits. They were aggressive on the basepaths, taking advantage of Giants miscues in the field. They hit with runners in scoring position and they received another strong performance from Chris Province, who pitched seven innings for the first time in his career, and has now allowed just three runs in his last 18 innings.
"I thought (Province) did a real nice job," Epperson said. "He (only) had two blemishes on the night."
Both came in the third inning when Province walked Jackson Williams - the ninth-place hitter - and allowed a RBI single to leadoff hitter Brock Bond, which gave the Giants a 1-0 lead.
"Other than that, I thought the guy was in complete control of his game."
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Down one run in the third, Yamaico Navarro, who went 4-for-4, doubled home Jason Place. In the fourth, Mike Jones led off with a single and scored the go-ahead run off the bat of Reid Engel, who had been dropped to the eighth slot in the lineup. The move was predicated by the outfielder's prolonged slump in which he was 16 for his last 108 (.148). Ninth-place hitter Zak Farkes hit a two-run home run in the sixth to give the JetHawks a 5-1 lead.
Willie T. Smith III - Drive edge Captains
Only three days after claiming the most valuable player award at Major League Baseball's Futures Game in Yankee Stadium, Che-Hsuan Lin brought his magic to Fluor Field at the West End.
With 4,957 watching Lin made several outstanding catches in centerfield, then knocked in the tying and scored the winning run to lead the Greenville Drive to a 2-1 victory over the Lake County Captains Wednesday night.
Greenville (11-15 in the second half) continued to get outstanding pitching. Starter Terumasa Matsuo held the Captains to one run on four hits and three walks, while striking out four, in six innings.
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Relievers Ryne Miller and Felix Ventura kept Lake City at bay in the final three innings with Ventura earning his seventh save in his last eight opportunities.
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Greenville capitalized on its first legitimate scoring opportunity in the sixth.
Second baseman Kristopher Negron opened with a walk, then stole second base. Lin followed with a single to right, which scored Negron. After advancing to second on an error, Lin went to third on a single to right by first baseman Carlos Fernandez-Oliva. A Kalish sacrifice fly to right scored Lin with the winning run.
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Notes: First baseman Mike Jones and shortstop Yamaico Navarro were promoted to advanced Class A Lancaster on Tuesday. ... They were replaced by Fernandez-Oliva and Negron. Negron returned after a three-day stint at Class AA Portland.
Willie T. Smith III - Lin cherishes memories of Futures Game
The 19-year old Drive centerfielder, selected to participate as a member of the World All-Stars, did not enter until the bottom of the sixth and got his first at-bat in the top of the seventh. He made the most of his short stint, drilling the first pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run homer and then singling to left in the ninth.
After the World claimed a 3-0 over the U.S. All-Stars, Lin collected the Larry Doby Award as the game's most valuable player.
"I really didn't think too much about (the home run at-bat)," Lin said through interpreter Mickey Jiang. "The whole thing was just like a dream. I was really excited when I hit that bomb, but I wanted to keep calm and do my best."
Lin, the youngest player ever to win the award, had no idea when he would enter the game and was given no advice on how to approach his at-bat.
Kevin Gray - On Baseball: This is how it's done
Perfect weather, a packed house and the brightest young baseball stars in a showcase to remember.
Boy, did the Fisher Cats and the city of Manchester hit the jackpot last night at Merchantsauto.com Stadium. Memo to Trenton, rumored to host next year's All-Star Game:
That's how it's done.
Allen Lessells - Three-run blast paces North's win
MANCHESTER – Luke Hughes struggled in the Home Run Derby contest that opened last night's Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All Star festivities.
The Aussie made up for that -- big-time -- a few hours later.
Hughes, representing Perth and the New Britain Rock Cats, turned the All-Star game around with a three-run home run in the sixth inning that lifted the Northern Division to a 5-3 win over the South. A Merchantsauto.com Stadium record crowd of 8,762 turned out for the star-studded affair.
David Willis - Stars come out in Manchester: Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays show off future outfield standouts
Of the budding stars, Bell is the most surprising. He attracted attention for little more than his unique first name when he was selected in the 39th round out of Nicholls (La.) State in 2005.
"It was a lot of motivation for me," he said. "I had to work really hard. Especially now in the upper levels. A lot of people have been ahead of me."
But Bell has let his play do the talking. He exploded onto the scene with the Lowell Spinners in 2006, hitting .492 (39 for 91) with nine doubles and 13 RBIs. That earned him a promotion to high Single-A Greenville.
"Any time you can get off to a good start and establish yourself, you'll be on peoples' minds," he said. "I turned a few heads, and it also gave me a boost in confidence."
He continued his breakout last season when he hit an eye-popping .370 with 22 home runs for Single-A Lancaster.
Lowell's Huntzinger bests Batavia
Six scoreless innings from Brock Huntzinger allowed Lowell to snap a two-game losing streak by toppling host Batavia, 5-1, in the opener of a three-game series.
Huntzinger continued his torrid start for the Spinners (11-11), striking out six and walking none while scattering five hits. In 26 innings over five starts, the right-hander has allowed just two earned runs while boasting a 22-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Mitch Dening stretched his hitting streak to seven games with a home run to lead off the game followed by an RBI triple from Rafael Cabreja that plated Ryan Dent (double). Ronald Bermudez's sixth-inning RBI infield single and Dent bases-loaded walk locked down the victory.
Stephen Fife (two innings, one run) and Seth Garrison tossed the final three innings to preserve the win.
'Dogs' Corsaletti, Madera promoted to Pawtucket
PORTLAND — The Boston Red Sox have promoted Portland Sea Dogs' outfielder Jeff Corsaletti, starting pitcher Michael Bowden and infielder Sandy Madera to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Moving up from Single-A Lancaster to Portland are infielders Lars Anderson and Argenis Diaz. Outfielder Bryan Prtiz heads to the Sea Dogs from Pawtucket and infielder Kris Negron was returned to Single-A Greenville. So far this season, 42 players have worn Sea Dogs' uniforms.
Bowden, an Eastern League All-Star, is 9-4 with the Sea Dogs this season. He has 101 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.87.
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