Category: General News
Osprey Nugget of the Day
OK, o cool peoples … today is the first of a four-game series with the Ogden Raptors. The team is staying about a block away from the field, and two blocks away from the clubhouse. Should be a fun series.
Now, to drop a little knowledge. Tonight’s “Did You Know” will hopefully answer this question, which was brought up on the broadcast last night. So, comment if you have an answer to this one:
Eric Groff stole his 9th base of the season on Wednesday, putting him into some exclusive company. Can you name the other former Osprey who each had 20+ doubles, 10+ home runs and nine or more steals? We’ll check back and post a hint if needed.
Until then … happy thinking!
Starting Lineups for August 24 … Go Osprey!
Yes, we do admit … we are rooting for a Billings team tonight. You’re allowed … they’re 11, 12 and 13-year-olds.
Now, here’s the lineup:
Missoula Osprey (13-10, 38-23) starting lineup: Ellison (RF), Pena (C), Groff (3B), Griffin (DH), Court (1B), Belza (2B), Cardullo (SS), Bianco (CF), Linton (LF), Rowland (RHP)
Orem Owlz (14-9, 36-25) starting lineup: Lindsey (2B), Yakubik (LF), Jones (RF), Hall (1B), Cowart (3B), Pacione (C), Mitchell (DH), Giovinazzo (CF), Hairgrove (SS), Odom (RHP)
Starting Lineups for August 23
One night after the Osprey played like the team that lost three of four in their series in Missoula with the Owlz, they look to bounce back and snap out of the funk (dropping four of their last five) tonight. Raymond Hernandez looks for win #8.
Here are tonight’s starting lineups:
Missoula Osprey (12-10, 37-23) starting lineup: Belza (LF), Pena (2B), Groff (3B), Griffin (DH), Court (1B), Cardullo (SS), Aguila (C), Gomez (RF), Bianco (CF), Hernandez (RHP)
Orem Owlz (14-8, 36-24) starting lineup: Lindsey (2B), Yakubik (LF), Jones (RF), Hall (1B), Cowart (3B), Hatton (DH), Giovinazzo (CF), Pacione (C), Brewer (SS), Melioris (P)
Starting Lineups for tonight’s game in Orem
Here we go … Game 1 of the 7-game Utah Odyssey … Your lineups are as follows:
Missoula Osprey (12-9, 37-22) starting lineup: Chris Ellison (CF), Stephen Cardullo (SS), Eric Groff (2B), Jon Griffin (1B), Ryan Court (3B), Roidany Aguila (C), Bryan Henry (DH), Jeremia Gomez (RF), Ty Linton (LF), Dexter Price (RHP)
Orem Owlz (13-8, 35-24) starting lineup: Taylor Lindsey (2B), Jerod Yakubik (LF), Ryan Jones (RF), Frazier Hall (1B), Kaleb Cowart (3B), Wes Hatton (DH), Chris Giovinazzo (CF), Trevor Hairgrove (SS), Ricky Pacione (C), Nick Maronde (P)
Pre-game will be at 6:45 tonight – unless we get approval from the grounds crew dog to go on earlier … LOL … more on that during the broadcast.
Starting Lineups for August 21
Here’s tonight’s starting lineups, as the Osprey try to salvage the final game of the series with the Raptors.
Ogden Raptors (8-12, 30-28) starting lineup: Wingo (2B), Aguilar (3B), Pederson (LF), Dickson (DH), Schebler (RF), Kirkland (1B), Vasquez (C), Boudreaux (SS), Baldwin (CF), Cabrera (P)
Missoula Osprey (11-9, 36-22) starting lineup: Chris Ellison (RF), Tom Belza (2B), Ryan Court (3B), Jon Griffin (1B), Stephen Cardullo (SS), Roidany Aguila (DH), Bryan Henry (C), Ty Linton (LF), Justin Bianco (CF), Taylor Siemens (P)
Lineups and notes for Saturday night at the park …
First, tonight’s lineups:
Ogden Raptors (7-12, 29-28) starting lineup:
Wingo (2B), Cuevas (LF), Pederson (RF), Dickson (1B), Schebler (DH), Maynard (C), Boudreaux (SS), Hunt (3B), Baldwin (CF), Martinez (RHP)
Missoula Osprey (11-8, 36-21) starting lineup:
Ellison (CF), Belza (2B), Groff (3B), Griffin (DH), Court (1B), Pena (C), Cardullo (SS), Linton (LF), Gomez (RF), Darrah (RHP)
On to the notes:
| The Skinny: The Osprey, winners of the Pioneer League North Division First-Half title, continue their three-game series with the Ogden Raptors, and will look to snap their first two-game losing streak since late June tonight. The string of not losing back-to-back games lasted over seven weeks before back-to-back losses over the last two nights.
The North is back to being a mess …: The Pioneer League North Division looks a lot like it did during the first half of the season, with three teams tied for first place entering tonight’s action. The Osprey are one of those teams, and Billings jumped into the tie for first with a win at Casper, while Great Falls was stung in a come-from-behind loss at Idaho Falls. That leaves the threesome tied at 11-8, with Helena five games off the pace at the moment. Billings also opened up a three-game lead over Great Falls, and six over Helena, for a possible wild-card, if the Osprey win the Second Half North crown. … while the Owlz begin to take control in the South: The South Division race is starting to become, believe it or not, all Orem. The Owlz have won two in a row to pull ahead of Casper by a pair of games, and keep hard-charging Idaho Falls four games off the pace. One of those three teams will face Ogden in the Southern Division playoffs – and Orem has a nine-game lead in a possible wild-card scenario, so if the Chukars or Ghosts have playoff dreams, they will most likely have to win the South in the second half. On the Mound Tonight: Missoula will send out right-hander Jesse Darrah to the mound as he looks to snap the Osprey out of their current funk. Darrah (4-0, 4.08) is a solid candidate to get the job done, winning all four of his decisions and posting a 3.48 ERA since July 1. In August, Darrah had allowed just one hit in eight innings of work before getting touched up a bit by Orem on Monday in a relief outing, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks. In his last start, Darrah pitched five hitless innings at Great Falls, though he did allow three walks, and struck out four batters in what turned out to be a 2-1 win on August 9. Darrah is currently in a piggyback situation with right-hander Conrad Flynn (4-1, 4.07), who is 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA as a reliever this season. Darrah is 4-0 with a 3.80 ERA as a starter in nine starts this season, and has struck out 56 batters in 51 innings pitched. The Raptors will counter tonight with right-hander Brandon Martinez, who has been Ogden’s most consistent starter this season. Martinez (5-3, 4.39) will make his 12th start tonight, and while July had its rough spots (3-3, 5.28 for the month), he has followed that up with an August that more resembles his numbers from June, when he was 2-0 with an ERA right at 3.00. Martinez has a 3.77 ERA in three August starts, but has also not kept the ball down as well – he has allowed three home runs in August, one more than he had allowed in the first two months of the season combined. |
We’re on shortly … let’s hope for a win tonight.
Lineups for August 19
Here’s the starting lineups for tonight’s game …
Ogden Raptors (6-12, 28-28) starting lineup:
Wingo (2B), Bourdeaux (SS), Pederson (RF), Cuevas (LF), Schebler (DH), Kirkland (1B), Maynard (C), Aguilar (3B), Baldwin (CF), Gomez (RHP)
Missoula Osprey (11-7, 36-20) starting lineup:
Chris Ellison (LF), Tom Belza (DH), Eric Groff (2B), Jon Griffin (1B), Ryan Court (3B), Fidel Pena (C), Stephen Cardullo (SS), Jeremia Gomez (RF), Justin Bianco (CF), Robby Rowland (RHP)
Pre-game interview is Matt Sample. We’re on at 6:55 (slightly delayed start).
Lineups for Aug. 17
Tonight’s starting lineups:
Orem Owlz (10-6, 32-22) starting lineup: Trevor Lindsey (2B), Jerod Yakubik (LF), Ryan Jones (RF), Frazier Hall (1B), Abel Baker (C), Kaleb Cowart (3B), Gary Mitchell (DH), Brandon Brewer (SS), Drew Martinez (CF), Nick Maronde (LHP)
Missoula Osprey (10-6, 35-19) starting lineup: Chris Ellison (CF),Fidel Pena (2B), Eric Groff (3B), Jon Griffin (1B), Ryan Court (DH), Tom Belza (SS), Roidany Aguila (C), Ty Linton (LF), Jeremia Gomez (RF), Dexter Price (RHP)
Lineups for August 16, Notes and one more thing …
Leading off tonight – starting lineups for tonight’s game:
Orem Owlz (10-5, 32-21) starting lineup: Lindsey (2B), Hairgrove (SS), Jones (RF), Hall (1B), Cowart (3B), Giovinazzo (CF), Pacione (DH), Ray (LF), Mahoney (C), Crowley (LHP)
Missoula Osprey (9-6, 34-19) starting lineup: Ellison (RF), Pena (2B), Groff (DH), Griffin (1B), Court (3B), Belza (SS), Aguila (C), Linton (LF), Bianco (CF), Siemens (LHP)
Pre-Game guest will be Chris Ellison, as he is now back in the lineup.
Now, to bring you up to speed ….
| Another Streak In a Season of them: The 2011 season has become a historic one for the Osprey, and while it does not look like they will close in on the 52-win team in 2001, they have managed to achieve something that they, nor any other team in Osprey history, has been able to do. The last time the Osprey lost back-to-back games was June 27-28, when they fell to 3-6 on the season. Since then, they have compiled a 31-13 record, and they have not lost back-to-back games in seven weeks.
Leaderboard: Current Osprey at the top or in the top 5/10 of the stats in the Pioneer League:
On the Mound Tonight: Missoula will send out left-hander Taylor Siemens to the mound as he will look to continue his impressive start to his professional baseball career. Siemens (2-1, 1.55) had the rarest of starts in his last outing at Helena last week – he lost the game and had his ERA go down, as he allowed five runs, none of which were earned. Siemens has been better on the road, but still has a 2.60 home ERA. Siemens would lead the league in ERA if he had enough innings. The Owlz will counter tonight with left-hander Ryan Crowley, who will make his 7th start and 8th appearance of the season. Crowley (0-0, 5.87) has not pitched out of the fourth inning in any of his starts this season, and has only gone beyond three full innings once. His lone start against the North – coming in Great Falls – went just an inning and did not allow a run or hit, coming off of an eblow ailment. Crowley has been touched up a bit on the road, allowing eight earned runs in eight innings away from Brent Brown Ballpark, with the host teams hitting .429 against him. Crowley was a 19th round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft. Pitching Probables Thursday, August 18 Friday, August 19 Saturday, August 20 By The Numbers:
D-backs Minor League Report/Osprey Alumni Update:
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Lineups for August 15 and News to Know
It’s signing day … the last day MLB clubs can sign plyers from the 2011 MLB Draft. A number of D-backs’ picks remain unsigned, but that could change as the day rolls along. The deadline is 10:01 p.m. MT.
Here’s tonight’s starting lineups for the opener with the Orem Owlz:
Orem Owlz (10-4, 32-20) starting lineup: Taylor Lindsey (2B) Jerod Yakubik (LF) Ryan Jones (RF) Frazier Hall (1B) Abel Baker (C) Kaleb Cowart (3B) Gary Mitchell (DH) Brandon Brewer (SS) Drew Martinez (CF) Daniel Vargas-Vila (P) Missoula Osprey (8-6, 33-19) starting lineup: Fidel Pena (2B) Tom Belza (RF) Eric Groff (3B) Jon Griffin (DH) Ryan Court (1B) Stephen Cardullo (SS) Roidany Aguila (C) Ty Linton (LF) Justin Bianco (CF) Conrad Flynn (P)
News and Notes:
– Enrique Burgos will miss his next turn in the starting rotation due to inflammation in his right elbow. It’s not seen as serious with Burgos, and he could make his next start as soon as next Monday in Orem. We’ll know more by the weekend.
– Burgos getting a break has re-set the Osprey rotation – left-hander Taylor Siemens will pitch on Tuesday, right-hander Dexter Price goes on Wednesday, righty Raymond Hernandez gets the nod on Thursday, and right-hander Robby Rowland will open the series against the Ogden Raptors on Friday. Jesse Darrah will pitch on Saturday, and Siemens will close out the homestand on Sunday.
Now to tonight’s Game Notes:
| The Skinny: The Osprey, winners of the Pioneer League North Division First-Half title, begin a 14-game swing against South Division foes Orem and Ogden with a four-game series at home against the South Division-leading Owlz. It matches the two best teams in the Pioneer League against each other.
Another Streak In a Season of them: The 2011 season has become a historic one for the Osprey, and while it does not look like they will close in on the 52-win team in 2001, they have managed to achieve something that they, nor any other team in Osprey history, has been able to do. The last time the Osprey lost back-to-back games was June 27-28, when they fell to 3-6 on the season. Since then, they have compiled a 30-13 record, and they have not lost back-to-back games in close to seven weeks. These Owlz can hit: Entering this series, the Orem Owlz offense is dominating the Pioneer League. Orem leads the Pioneer League with a .314 batting average – 20 points better than second-place Ogden, and 31 points better than the Osprey. They have scored more runs (364) than anyone else, are the lone PBL team with over 900 total bases, and lead the league in team slugging percentage (.492). In addition, the Owlz also have three of the top four individuals in batting – Jerod Yakubik (.395/1 HR/22 RBI) leads teammate Frazier Hall (.391/6/36), while Taylor Lindsey (.362/8/28) is currently fourth in the league. Ryan Jones (.341/9/44) is currently seventh in hitting. It will be a matchup of the “irresistible force” meeting the “immovable object”, as the Osprey are tops in the PBL in ERA (4.35) as well as tops in the league in least runs allowed (256). On the Mound Tonight: Missoula will send out right-hander Conrad Flynn to the mound as he will look to improve on his outings as a starter. Flynn (3-1, 4.62) has allowed three or more runs in each of his three prior starts, including eight in 4 1/3 innings at Idaho Falls on July 19. However, Flynn is 3-0 with a 2.79 ERA in five home appearances (two starts). The free-agent signee has been stellar in relief, posting all three of his wins and a 1.85 ERA in eight appearances out of the bullpen. The Owlz will counter tonight with right-hander Daniel Vargas-Vila, who will make his 10th straight start after making his initial appearance of the season out of the bullpen. Vargas-Vila (1-2, 3.53) has gone over a month without allowing more than two earned runs in a start (or three runs – which he did against Billings on July 24, but only one was earned). He has also pitched at least five innings in five of his last six starts – the lone start in which he didn’t make it through five innings was his last loss – July 30 at Casper. All five of his decisions have come in road starts (3.80 ERA). The Legend Grows: Former Osprey first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (2009) went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a run scored and a RBI to help the D-backs beat the NY Mets at Chase field on Sunday, 5-3. By The Numbers:
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Bird Droppings 