Wednesday Lineups and More …

It’s a beautiful night for baseball on tap at Ogren Park Allegiance Field, as the Missoula Osprey play host to the Great Falls Voyagers. We’re down to the final nine games in the Pioneer League season, and the distance between first-place Billings and second-place Missoula in the North Division Second Half standings is still at one game. The Osprey will look to still be within a game or less by the end of the night.

Infielder Tyler Bream will be our pre-game show guest, and we’ll get started around 6:50 tonight, with the first pitch slated for around 7:05 on AM 930 KMPT and online at MissoulaOsprey.com.

Missoula Osprey (17-12, 35-32)

1 35 Evan Marzilli CF
.332, 0 HR, 13 RBI
2 9 Danny Pulfer 2B
.291, 2 HR, 24 RBI
3 18 Jake Lamb 3B
.315, 7 HR, 47 RBI
4 26 Yosbel Gutierrez C
.327, 2 HR, 13 RBI
5 19 Socrates Brito RF
.324, 3 HR, 36 RBI
6 30 Tyler Bream 1B
.284, 3 HR, 24 RBI
7 21 Breland Almadova DH
.305, 1 HR, 26 RBI
8 15 Alex Glenn LF
.241, 2 HR, 5 RBI
9 38 Andrew Velazquez SS
.269, 0 HR, 1 RBI
P 29 Karl Triana P

Great Falls Voyagers (10-19, 34-33)

1 3 Micah Johnson 2B
.287, 4 HR, 25 RBI
2 16 Thomas McCarthy 3B
.273, 1 HR, 15 RBI
3 27 Yoandy Barroso LF
.303, 2 HR, 41 RBI
4 22 Kyle Robinson RF
.338, 2 HR, 34 RBI
5 12 Brent Tanner DH
.275, 4 HR, 39 RBI
6 7 Patrick Palmeiro 1B
.202, 2 HR, 15 RBI
7 19 Zac Fisher C
.221, 1 HR, 9 RBI
8 15 Bradley Salgado SS
.173, 1 HR, 11 RBI
9 1 Daryus Mercedes CF
.211, 1 HR, 15 RBI
P 30 Brandon Brennan P
The Skinny:
The Osprey won their opener of their two-game series with the Great Falls Voyagers on Tuesday night, and stayed one game back of the Billings Mustangs in the Pioneer League North Division Second Half Standings. The Osprey will host Billings to close out the season.

About Last Night:
The Osprey used another mix of solid pitching and timely hitting to produce a 6-4 win over the Voyagers on Tuesday in front of 2,254 fans at Ogren Park Allegiance Field. Chris Pack (6-1) and two relievers combined to scatter seven hits and five walks while striking out 16 batters. In fact, the last 11 outs, and 12 of the final 13 outs recorded, were strikeouts. The Osprey scored three runs in the home half of the first inning to take the lead for good. Michael Perez plated a run with a sacrifice fly, Socrates Brito drove in another on a fielder’s choice and Rudy Flores added a run-scoring single for a 3-0 Osprey lead. After the Voyagers (10-19, 34-33) pulled to within 3-2 in the top of the third, Yosbel Gutierrez connected on a two-run homer to right field to make it a 5-2 edge. The Osprey would add a run in the bottom of the sixth on a throwing error to take a 6-2 lead. Great Falls tried to come up big in the top of the ninth, and scored a pair of runs to pull within 6-4, but Justin Thompson managed to strike out Yoandy Barroso looking to end the game. Thompson came on in the ninth, after Chris Capper allowed just a base hit while striking out six batters in two innings of work. The Osprey had 13 hits on the night, including a pair Gutierrez, Breland Almadova, Evan Marzilli and Andrew Velazquez. Every Osprey starter had at least one base hit.

Notes from the Nest (PBL Record Book Edition):
Michael Perez is one double play shy of tying the mark for most double plays for a catcher in a season in Pioneer League history. The record is nine, set by Billings catcher Marlon Styles in 1974 … It would be the second Osprey catcher to set a new league defensive mark recently. Roidany Aguila (2009-11) set the new standard for fielding percentage by a catcher in 2011 with a .996 mark … The 2011 Osprey pitching staff holds the single-season mark for team strikeouts (738), and could become one of two teams to post back-to-back 700-K seasons.

On the Mound Tonight:
Missoula will send right-hander Karl Triana to the mound as he looks to end a two-outing decision drought. In each of those outings, Triana has been touched up – allowing nine runs in his last nine innings of work. Triana has been steady at home, however, with a 2-2 mark and 4.09 ERA at Ogren Park Allegiance Field. In three starts against Great Falls, Triana is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA, allowing just four earned runs in 16 innings pitched and posting a WHIP of 1.19 against the Voyagers.

The Voyagers will go with right-hander Brandon Brennan, who has been more than solid away from home this season, and making his sixth start of the summer. Brennan (3-1, 3.64) is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA away from Centene Stadium, although only two of his seven road appearances have been starts. Two of his last three appearances against the Osprey have been solid – his first outing was a rough one, allowing five runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks in just 2/3 of an inning. Since then, in a relief appearance at Ogren Park Allegiance Field, and a start at home, Brennan has allowed just two runs in seven innings of work – the net is a 1-0 mark against Missoula with a 5.87 ERA. As a starter, Brennan is 0-1 with a 4.34 ERA, but has been solid for the month of August (1-0, 2.55).

Pitching Probables
Thursday, August 30
MIS RHP Yoimer Camacho (2-4, 4.91) at BIL RHP Drew Cisco (4-1, 4.05)

Friday, August 31
MIS RHP Chris Thomas (2-1, 4.35) at BIL RHP Sal Romano (5-5, 5.17)

Saturday, September 1
MIS RHP Ross Gerdeman (4-4, 4.77) at BIL RHP Jon Moscot (0-1, 2.57)

Sunday, September 2
MIS RHP Chris Pack (5-1, 5.83) vs. BIL LHP Joel Bender (2-4, 8.56)

Goose eggs aplenty
The Osprey pitching staff has five shutouts this season, which is one shy of the club record of six, posted by the 2006 pitching staff. The league record for shutouts? It is 13, done by the Great Falls pitching staff during the 1989 season.

By The Numbers:

Current Streak:

W3

 Extra Innings:

5-4

 Team Hitting:

.291
First Half:

18-20

 Lead After 5:

22-7

 PL Rank:

3rd
Second Half:

17-12

 Tied After 5:

9-2

 Team Pitching:

4.74
June:

7-6

 Trail After 5:

4-23

 PL Rank:

3rd
July:

13-15

 One-run games:

10-10

 Longest Winning Streak:

5 games
August:

15-11

 Two-run games:

5-5

 Longest Losing Streak

6 games
September:

0-0

 Three-run games:

7-1

 HR total at home:

22
Score First:

22-10

 +3-run games:

13-16

 Pitching K total:

596
Score Last:

15-9

 Shutout Record:

5-4

 Pitching K/9IP Ratio:

8.86
Reaching 11-hit Mark:

23-5

  

Peanut Inning Success:

17/35

D-backs Minor League Report/Osprey Alumni Update:

AZL D-backs Alumni Briefing: Justin Bianco (2011-12) went 1-for-5 with an RBI (.250), while John Leonard (2012) was 1-for-4 at the plate (.195) as the AZL D-backs beat the AZL Cubs on Tuesday, 6-4.
Record: 27-28
Ends season Aug. 29

 
DSL D-backs Update: The DSL D-backs won nine of their last 10 games to win the Boca Chica Baseball City Division title.

 
Record: 43-29
Regular Season over

 
SS-A Yakima Alumni Briefing: Blake Perry (2010) allowed just three hits and a walk while surrendering one run in five innings of work as the Bears rolled past Vancouver on Tuesday, 9-1. Enrique Burgos (2009, 11) pitched an inning of scoreless relief, with a pair of strikeouts. Josh Parr (2011) added a RBI.

 
Record: 15-19, 36-36
Next: vs. Vancouver
Class A South Bend Alumni Briefing: Eric Groff (2010-11) had two hits and a RBI, while Matt Helm (2009-10) added a RBI as the Silver Hawks lost to Bowling Green on Tuesday, 6-4. Chris Ellison (2011) and Ryan Court (2011) each added a hit and a run scored. Andrew Barbosa (2012) allowed three runs on two hits and four walks, while striking out seven batters in four innings and took the loss.
Record: 30-34, 65-69
Next: vs. Lansing
Class A Advanced Visalia Alumni Briefing: Keon Broxton (2009) hit a two-run home run, his 19th of the season, but it wasn’t enough to win at Bakersfield on Tuesday, 10-6. Patrick Schuster (2009-10) kept the Rawhide in the game with two innings of shutout relief, allowing just a hit and a walk and struck out a pair of batters.
Record: 31-33, 62-72
Next: at Bakersfield, with Andrew Chafin (2011) starting for the Rawhide
Double-A Mobile Alumni Briefing: Jon Griffin (2011) had three hits, including a solo home run, while Chris Owings (2009) also hit a solo shot, but the BayBears lost in 10 innings at Tennessee on Tuesday, 6-5. Ollie Linton (2008) also hit a solo shot, tying the game in the top of the ninth inning. David Nick (2009) added a hit and a RBI for Mobile. Bradin Hagens (2009) pitched into the seventh in his Double-A debut, allowing just three runs on six hits and a walk, with four strikeouts. Eury De La Rosa (2009) added an inning of scoreless relief.
Record: 27-38, 67-68
Next: Off day
Triple-A Reno Alumni Briefing: Taylor Harbin (2007) had two hits and a RBI to raise his batting average to .308 for the season, but the Aces lost at Fresno on Tuesday in 12 innings, 4-3. Bryan Henry (2007) suffered his first loss of the season, allowing the 12th inning run while pitching 1 2/3 innings. Henry is now 2-1 out of the bullpen this season.
Record: 76-62
Next: at Tacoma

Former Osprey with the Arizona Diamondbacks:

Paul Goldschmidt (2009) .287 BA, 18 HR, 66 RBI, .867 OPS Gerardo Parra (2006) .277 BA, 6 HR, 32 RBI, .740 OPS
Miguel Montero (2002-03) .276 BA, 14 HR, 74 RBI, .826 OPS Jake Elmore (2008) .161 BA (5-31), .235 OBP

Bryan Shaw (2008): 1-4, 2 saves, 4.30 ERA

TEAM: 64-66, 3rd in NL West, 8.5 GB … 7.5 GB in wildcard

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