Sunday Funday Lineups, news and such

The weather has turned a bit cooler here in Missoula – which is a welcome sight since the temps have been in the 90s for the past week or so.

On the air at 4:50 we’ll be on AM 930, KMPT, and online at MissoulaOsprey.com, with a pre-game show including highlights from last night and a look around the Pioneer League. Over the next two days, pre-game interviews will include Brandon Marcus, the radio voice of the Orem Owlz, and Alex Herrenberger, a former Osprey catcher who is now the team’s Video Coordinator.

Lineups, please …

Orem Owlz
Overall: 11-15
Manager: Tom Kotchman
No. Player Pos. Avg. HR RBI
17 Joel Capote LF .475 0 9
4 Sherman Johnson 2B .267 1 8
35 Wade Hinkle 1B .294 6 25
29 Michael Snyder DH .344 2 17
2 Wendell Soto SS .372 3 17
18 Caleb Bushyhead 3B .263 0 8
3 Kyle Johnson RF .308 1 7
25 Chevy Clarke CF .375 0 1
7 Adrian Gutierrez C .222 0 3
44 Jairo Diaz 2-2 4.71 4-4 RHP
Starting Pitcher Stats W-L ERA G-GS
Missoula Osprey
Overall: 14-12
Manager: Andy Green
No. Player Pos. Avg. HR RBI
14 Pedro Ruiz SS .349 1 5
35 Evan Marzilli CF .405 0 3
18 Jake Lamb 3B .347 1 14
7 Michael Perez C .338 3 19
19 Socrates Brito RF .231 0 10
9 Danny Pulfer 2B .226 1 9
33 Rudy Flores 1B .295 0 13
17 Ty Linton LF .207 4 12
15 Justin Bianco DH .219 2 10
44 Chris Pack 2-1 3.99 5-5 RHP
Starting Pitcher Stats W-L ERA G-GS
Umpires: Home Plate Clinton Vondraic
First Base Mitchell Morgan
The Skinny:
The Osprey  continue their four-game series with the Owlz as they look to improve on their 2-2 homestand, and gain ground on first-place Great Falls in the Pioneer League North Division race.

Last Time Out:
Rudy Flores hit a key two-run double with two out in the bottom of the sixth inning to help the Missoula Osprey snap a brief two-game slide with a 4-2 win over the Orem Owlz on Saturday at Ogren Park Allegiance Field. The 2,142 fans in attendance witnessed Welcome to the Major Leagues Night – where both teams wore the uniforms of their parent clubs, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They were also witnesses to five double plays turned by the Missoula defense, including a strikeout-pickoff twin-killing that helped the Osprey seal the win in the top of the ninth inning. Flores hit a fly ball to left with two on and two out in the bottom of the sixth deep to left, which carried to the left-field fence then caromed away from left-fielder Joel Capote, allowing both Socrates Brito and Yosbel Gutierrez to score on the play, snapping a 2-2 tie in the sixth. The bullpen made the run-scoring double stand up, as both Chris Capper (2-1) and Justin Thompson kept things quiet enough to finish off the win. Thompson picked up his fourth save of the season, but it wasn’t easy, as the first two batters reached against him to lead off the top of the ninth. However, Thompson managed to strike out Michael Bolaski, and catcher Michael Perez picked off Wendell Soto from first to get the first two outs on the board. Chevy Clarke would then fly out to center field to end the game. The Owlz took a 1-0 lead in their half of the first on a RBI single by Michael Snyder, but the Osprey responded with a two-run home half of the inning. Jake Lamb’s RBI triple and a sacrifice fly by Perez to put the Osprey in front, 2-1. Orem would tie the game with a Capote RBI groundout in the top of the fifth. Lamb and Flores combined for four of the six Osprey hits on the night. Gutierrez and Evan Marzilli – who had reached on a base hit in each of his first nine games as a professional baseball player – added base hits for Missoula.

On the Mound Tonight:
Missoula will send right-hander Chris Pack to the mound to continue to build his resume of solid outings. Pack (2-1, 3.99 ERA) won in his last start on Monday in Helena, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk while striking out four batters in what was his shortest outing of the season. Pack has pitched into the sixth on each of his four other starts, and has a season-best outing of seven innings. Teams hit .226 off of Pack, with right-handers (.210) having a tougher time than lefties (.250). Pack is one of a handful of Osprey pitchers who had professional experience prior to this season, pitching for the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League in 2011. Pack was a reliever for the Slammers, and helped them win their first-ever division title that season. The D-backs purchased the rights to Pack this past spring.

The Owlz will counter tonight with right-hander Jairo Diaz, who has been a workhorse this season for Tom Kotchman’s pitching staff. Diaz (2-2, 4.71) has surrendered 19 runs in 21 innings pitched this season – only 11 of which were earned – but has given up only four walks in his four starts. Diaz has been solid at Brent Brown Ballpark, posting a 2.87 home ERA, but in one road start, gave up six earned runs (seven total) in a loss at Grand Junction. Diaz, from Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, signed as a free agent in 2007, and started his 2012 season with Class A Cedar Rapids, where he was 2-7 with a 7.70 ERA in 13 starts.

Pitching Probables

Monday, July 16
MIS RHP Karl Triana (2-1, 5.12) vs. ORM RHP Pat Lowery (0-2, 10.80)

Tuesday, July 17
MIS RHP Yoimer Camacho (0-1, 2.13) vs. ORM RHP Gabriel Perez (4-1, 4.94)

Upcoming road trip
Thurs.-Sunday, July 19-22
At Grand Junction
Monday-Wed., July 23-25
At Orem

Hitting and Winning:

The Osprey have a hit plateau to reach for when they want to win games – 11. On the eight times Missoula has collected 11 or more hits, they have an 8-0 record. Oddly enough, they are 0-4 when they finish with exactly 10 hits in a game. If they are under 11 hits in a game, they are now 6-12 on the season.

By The Numbers:

Current Streak:

W1

 Extra Innings:

3-2

 Team Hitting:

.278
First Half:

14-12

 Lead After 5:

9-3

 PL Rank:

T-4th
Second Half:

0-0

 Tied After 5:

4-2

 Team Pitching:

4.11
June:

7-6

 Trail After 5:

1-7

 PL Rank:

2nd
July:

7-6

 One-run games:

4-4

 Longest Winning Streak:

3 games
August:

0-0

 Two-run games:

1-1

 Longest Losing Streak

3 games
September:

0-0

 Three-run games:

3-1

 HR total at home:

7
Score First:

8-5

 +3-run games:

6-6

 Pitching K total:

228
Score Last:

8-3

 Shutout Record:

1-1

 Pitching K/9IP Ratio:

8.68

D-backs Minor League Report/Osprey Alumni Update:

AZL D-backs Alumni Briefing: The AZL D-backs beat the AZL Royals on Saturday, 4-2.

 
Record: 8-10
Next: vs. AZL Giants
DSL D-backs Update: The DSL D-backs picked up a game and are now just a game back of the DSL Rockies in the DSL Boca Chica Baseball City standings, beating the Rox 1-0 on Friday.

 
Record: 20-16
 
SS-A Yakima Alumni Briefing: The Bears beat Salem-Keizer on Saturday, 4-0. Josh Parr (2011) had two hits, while Victor Capellan (2009) pitched two shutout innings in relief to close out the game.
Record: 18-11
Next: at Salem-Keizer
Class A South Bend Alumni Briefing: The Silver Hawks dropped a 5-3 decision at Clinton on Saturday. Chris Ellison (2011) had a solid effort, with a pair of doubles, a walk and three runs scored. He was also driven in each time by former Osprey – Matt Helm (2009-10) had two hits and two RBIs, while Ryan Court (2011) added a run-scoring single. JR Bradley (2010) took the loss, while Jesse Darrah (2011) provided 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief.
Record: 11-11, 46-46
Next: at Clinton
Class A Advanced Visalia Alumni Briefing: The Rawhide scored all of their runs in the middle innings as they won at San Jose on Saturday, 8-3. Raywilly Gomez (2009) singled, doubled and walked; while Ender Inciarte (2009) and Jon Griffin (2011) drove in runs for Visalia. Inciarte added a base hit (moving his average to .350 for the season) and a stolen base. Taylor Siemens (2011) picked up the win on the mound with six hits and a walk allowed, surrendering just one run while striking out eight batters. DJ Johnson (2011) pitched a scoreless ninth.
Record: 15-7, 46-46
Next: at San Jose
Double-A Mobile Alumni Briefing: Chris Owings (2009) and David Nick (2009) split four of the BayBears’ eight hits in a 6-0 loss at Montgomery on Saturday. David Holmberg (2010) allowed all six runs – only three earned – in 5 2/3 innings pitched to take the loss.
Record: 10-13, 50-43
Next: at Montgomery
Triple-A Reno Alumni Briefing: Adam Eaton (2010) went 2-for-4 at the plate as the Aces lost to Salt Lake, 4-3. Charles Brewer (2009) had a solid outing, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out three in seven innings pitched.
Record: 55-39
Next: vs. Salt Lake

Former Osprey with the Arizona Diamondbacks:

Paul Goldschmidt (2009) .304 BA, 12 HR, 42 RBI, .919 OPS Gerardo Parra (2006) .279 BA, 6 HR, 25 RBI, .775 OPS
Miguel Montero (2002-03) .264 BA, 8 HR, 45 RBI, .773 OPS Bryan Shaw (2008) 1-3, 2 saves, 3.28 ERA, 26 K in 35.2 IP
Lyle Overbay (1999) .317 BA, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .900 OPS

TEAM: 42-45, 3rd in NL West, 5.5 GB … 7 GB in wildcard

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