by Ben Catley

First, the injury thing. Osprey staff managed to take batting practice today, and we’re glad to report that no one was injured in their efforts to resurrect their athletic prowess, or show the lack thereof.  Although I did tweak my back a bit trying to act like I was 15 again and could play first base like no one else I know. Needless to say, I don’t have the same footwork as I did three decades ago. I can teach it, but doing it is another thing entirely.

As far as the BP game is concerned, the Jeff Griffin Dudes managed to take home a 6-2 win over the Jared Amoss Jackhammers in the first of what we hope will be a series of staff BPs (although the next one will likely be Operations vs. Office. Good thing the two bombers on our staff are Office folk, because Operations has some people that can rake!). Which will only happen when the O’s pitching staff gets a shutout, or before the season ends. So it will be at least once …

Anyway, lineups and notes, which is the real reason you read this, I know, is after the “jump” ….

	Billings Mustangs
	Overall: 9-4
	Manager:Pat Kelly
No.	Player					Pos.	Avg.	HR	RBI
41	Beau Amaral					CF	.000	0	0
23	Jesse Winker					RF	.366	0	7
35	Carlos Sanchez					1B	.413	3	15
16	Robert Maddox					DH	.324	2	8
26	Daniel Pigott					LF	.000	0	0
40	Robert Ramirez					3B	.219	0	3
11	Sammy Diaz					2B	.270	0	5
34	Wagner Gomez					C	.286	0	2
6	Brandon Dailey					SS	.265	2	6
54	Sal Romano	1-0	1.00	2-2		RHP
	Starting Pitcher Stats	W-L	ERA	G-GS
	Missoula Osprey
	Overall: 7-6
	Manager: Andy Green
No.	Player					Pos.	Avg.	HR	RBI
14	Pedro Ruiz					SS	.362	1	2
19	Socrates Brito					CF	.269	0	4
18	Jake Lamb					3B	.333	0	5
21	Breland Almadova					LF	.378	0	6
7	Michael Perez					C	.375	2	13
33	Rudy Flores					1B	.357	0	9
9	Danny Pulfer					2B	.296	1	8
15	Justin Bianco					RF	.167	0	3
39	Kyle Koeneman					DH	.190	1	3
29	Karl Triana	0-1	14.54	1-1		RHP
	Starting Pitcher Stats	W-L	ERA	G-GS
	Umpires:	Home Plate				Charlie Ramos
		First Base				Farris Pearson

The Skinny:
The Osprey and Mustangs continue their four-game series at Ogren Park Allegiance Field today as Missoula looks to gain ground again in the Pioneer League North Division. The O’s scored a 10-5 win on Saturday, and improved their mark to 2-3 against Billings this season.

Last Time Out:
Andrew Barbosa continued his domination of Pioneer League hitters on Saturday night here at Ogren Park Allegiance Field, and had a hand in tying or besting two marks in the Missoula Osprey record books. The lanky left-hander struck out 13 batters, tying the individual mark for most strikeouts in a game, while the staff collected a 9-inning record 19 Ks as the Osprey beat Billings, 10-5, before 1,820 fans. Barbosa struck out the side in the third and fourth innings, collecting the most strikeouts by a single Osprey pitcher since Shane Dove fanned 13 Idaho Falls batters on August 30, 2004. It also helped the staff (Chase Stevens, Bobby O’Neill and Patrick Smith) set a new 9-inning standard of 19. The overall team mark of 20 was set in a 12-inning game on June 23, 2011 against Helena. The Osprey (7-6) scored a run in the first inning, then scored three times in the third, fourth and sixth frames to jump out to a 10-0 lead and cruised home with the win, which pulled the Osprey within two games of the first-place Mustangs (9-4). Michael Perez was 3-for-3 with three RBIs, while Rudy Flores added two hits and three RBIs for the Osprey. Tyler Bream (two RBIs) and Pedro Ruiz also had a pair of hits for Missoula.

Barbosa in Rare Air:
Andrew Barbosa is in more rare company in Osprey history than just his strikeout total last night. Lost in the K’s was the fact that he stretched his scoreless streak to 16 innings, which is most likely the best stretch for a starting pitcher in his debut in O’s history. To the best of our knowledge, the longest scoreless innings streak belongs to Osbek Castillo, who did not allow a run in his final 28 1/3 innings pitched of the 2006 season.

On the Mound Tonight:
Missoula will send right-hander Karl Triana to the hill as he looks to bounce back from a rough debut outing. Triana (0-1, 14.54) was touched up for seven earned runs on eight hits and three walks in a 9-1 loss at Helena on Tuesday. It was Triana’s second start of the season – in his first, in the Arizona League, Triana allowed just four hits and an unearned while striking out 10 batters in five innings of work. The Osprey hope to get at least five innings out of Triana, who was with the group at Extended Spring Training this past spring. The native of Cartagena, Columbia spent the 2011 summer in the Dominican Summer League, where he was 3-5 with a 3.06 ERA in 12 appearances (11 starts), and even racked up a complete game. In 67 2/3 innings pitched, Triana allowed opponents to hit at only a .223 clip.

The Mustangs will counter tonight with right-hander Sal Romano, who has been very good in his first two starts of the season. Romano (1-0, 1.00) allowed just three hits in his first start of the season, a 3-0 win over Missoula on June 21. In his latest outing, Romano allowed two runs (one earned) in four innings of work, surrendering four hits and a walk in his first-ever road start, at Great Falls. Romano was a 21^st round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2011 MLB Draft out of Southington High School in Connecticut. Romano made his pro debut against the Osprey in that June 21 start.

By The Numbers:

Current Streak:	W1	Extra Innings:	3-2	Team Hitting:	.293
First Half:	7-6	Lead After 5:	5-1	PL Rank:	3rd
Second Half:	0-0	Tied After 5:	2-2	Team Pitching:	3.90
June:	7-6	Trail After 5:	0-3	PL Rank:	2nd
July:	0-0	One-run games:	4-3	Longest Winning Streak:	2 games
August:	0-0	Two-run games:	0-1	Longest Losing Streak	3 games
September:	0-0	Three-run games:	0-1	HR total at home:	4
Score First:	6-3	+3-run games:	3-1	Pitching K total:	126
Score Last:	2-1	Shutout Record:	1-1	Pitching K/9IP Ratio:	9.27

D-backs Minor League Report/Osprey Alumni Update:

AZL D-backs	Alumni Briefing: The AZL D-backs get back to game action today.
Record: 3-5
Next: vs. AZL Angels
DSL D-backs1/2	Update: The DSL D-backs lost, 8-3, while the D-backs/Reds co-op also lost, 7-1.
Record: 14-11/3-22
Next: Off day
SS-A Yakima	Alumni Briefing: Blake Perry (2010) tossed a complete-game three-hitter as the Bears beat Tri-City, 6-1. Perry struck out five and did not allow a walk in the effort.
Record: 9-7
Next: vs. Spokane
Class A South Bend	Alumni Briefing: The Silver Hawks lost a 9-2 decision to Dayton on Saturday. Starter Jesse Darrah (2011) was touched up for seven second-inning runs and took the loss. Eric Groff (2010-11) doubled and plated both Hawks runs, while Chris Ellison (2011), Fidel Pena (2010-11) and Roidany Aguila (2009-11) each added a base hit. Alex Capaul (2011) pitched four scoreless innings of relief, allowing just two hits and collecting a strikeout.
Record: 5-4, 40-39
Next: vs. Lansing
Class A Advanced Visalia	Alumni Briefing: The Rawhide pounded out 11 hits, and Bobby Borchering (2009) launched two more home runs, a pair of two-run shots, as the ‘Hide beat Stockton on Saturday, 6-1. Jon Griffin (2011) and Raywilly Gomez (2009) each had two hits, while Ender Inciarte (2009) also added a base hit. Andrew Chafin (2011) fanned seven and allowed just three hits and a walk in five innings of work to pick up the win, while Jeremy Erben (2010) added two scoreless innings behind him.
Record: 6-4, 37-43
Next: vs. Inland Empire
Double-A Mobile	Alumni Briefing: Chris Owings (2009) hit a two-run home run to break a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning as the BayBears outpitched Huntsville, 2-0. David Nick (2009) added a base hit, while Eury De La Rosa (2009) pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
Record: 5-5, 45-35
Next: vs. Mississippi
Triple-A Reno	Alumni Briefing: Jake Elmore (2008) doubled and plated a run as the Aces fell to Las Vegas, 7-2.
Record: 48-35
Next: vs. Las Vegas

Former Osprey with the Arizona Diamondbacks:

Paul Goldschmidt (2009)	.293 BA, 11 HR, 35 RBI, .911 OPS	Gerardo Parra (2006)	.268 BA, 6 HR, 23 RBI, .772 OPS
Miguel Montero (2002-03)	.279 BA, 8 HR, 43 RBI, .809 OPS	Bryan Shaw (2008)	1-3, 2 saves, 2.81 ERA, 26 K in 32 IP
Lyle Overbay (1999)	.333 BA, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .937 OPS	TEAM: 39-38, 3rd in NL West, 4 GB … 3 GB in wildcard