BROOKFIELD — We’ll have a short feature and some notes at the top of tonight’s inning-by-inning coverage when we get to Standard Bank Stadium in Crestwood later this afternoon.  

Here’s a link to the pre-series notebook.

Tonight’s weather forecast:  A few clouds with a possibility of late thunderstorms with a high of 87 degrees and a low temperature of 70.  Winds will come from the northwest at 10 to 15 miles per hour.

Tonight’s starting pitchers:
The Miners will give right-hander Chris Allen (2-0, 1.42 ERA) his third start of the season tonight.  Allen started his professional career with more than 10 shutout innings over his first two starts.  He’s given up two earned runs on 11 hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in 12.2 innings.  Opponents have a .250 batting average against with no home runs allowed.  Allen lasted six shutout innings and allowed six hits in his first start on July 5.  He stretched his July 11 start to 6.2 innings and allowed five hits and no walks.  The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Allen has a fastball that can reach the 90s, a changeup and a slider. 

Windy City counters with Stephen Flake (5-2, 4.05 ERA), who makes his 11th start tonight.  Flake’s 60 innings rank second on the T-Bolts and his 46 strikeouts rank third.  He’s allowed 27 earned runs on 66 hits and 27 walks.  Opponents carry a .278 batting average against with four home runs.  Flake shut the Miners out and allowed five hits and one walk with six strikeouts at Rent One Park on June 16.  The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Flake has a mid-80s fastball, a curveball, a changeup and a slider.

CRESTWOOD — Ryan Bird pitched eight shutout innings and the Miners busted the game open with a three-run ninth inning in their 5-0 win over Windy City Saturday at Standard Bank Stadium.

The win, coupled with Gateway’s 2-1 loss to Evansville, earned Southern Illinois a 29-25 record and sole possession of first place in the Frontier League’s West Division.  Bird pitched 5 1/3 no-hit innings.   Bird allowed only two hits and struck out nine to increase his league-leading strikeout total to 87.

The Miners put the leadoff runner on three times.  The Miners scored each time.

Kevin Koski had two hits and scored twice.  His first-inning single set up the Miners’ first score.  Tony Roth moved him to second base with a sacrifice bunt.  Joey Metropoulos’ double pushed Koski across for a 1-0.  Southern Illinois improved to 17-6 when it scores the first run of a ballgame.  Brad Miller’s sac fly plated Koski after the center fielder led off the third with a double followed by Roth’s sac bunt to move him to third base.

The Miners added three more runs in the ninth.  Metropoulos led off the frame with a single.  Tim Dorn followed with a walk.  A throwing error by Windy City catcher Justin Tellam allowed pinch runner Bradley Goldsmith and Dorn to advance into scoring position.  Jones plated Goldsmith with a single.  Mike Scanzano scored Dorn with a single to right field for a 4-0 lead.  Jones reached third on Scanzano’s ground ball and scored on Brendan Akashian’s sacrifice fly for the final run.

The Miners turned two double plays.  

Windy City starter Amos Ramon’s record dropped to 3-3.  Ramon went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits.  He struck out five and walked none.  

The Miners have won three straight games and sit atop the division with a 29-25 record.  Windy City fell to 26-26.  The ThunderBolts are 2.5 games behind the Miners. 

The Miners wrap up their three-game series with the ‘Bolts Sunday at 6:05 p.m.

Score by inning     R H E
SIL    101 000 003 - 5 8 0
WCY  000 000 000 - 0 4 1

E - Tellam, J(1). DP - S. Illinois 2; Windy City 1. LOB - S. Illinois 4;
Windy City 5. 2B - Koski, K(2); Metropoulos(12). SH - Roth, T 2. SF -
Miller, B; Akashian, B.

SI Miners
Bird…………8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 SO, 24 AB, 27 BF
Carrasco…..1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO

Windy City
Ramon…….7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 23 AB, 27 BF
Zweber…….1.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3 AB, 4 BF
Rebyanski…0.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 3 AB, 4 BF
Petty……….1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO 

Win - Bird, R (8-3).  Loss - Ramon, A (3-3).  Save - None.
Umpires - HP: Arnsperger  1B: Lopina  3B: Doane
Start: 7:12   Time: 2:33   Attendance: 2783

CRESTWOOD — It never fails.  Write a story for Miners Extra about a guy doing (or not doing) something and undoubtably he’ll do the opposite.  

Take Brandon Jones for instance.  

I wrote a story on Jones’ struggles at the plate and at driving in runs, especially as they related to hitting to the opposite field, and Jones comes out last night and plates a pair on a pair of hits.  What was even better about it was, Jones drove in a run with a double to right-center.  That’s “oppo” for a right-handed batter.

“That was a great sign for him,” said manager Mike Pinto after the game.

Yep, sure was.  And once again, when a story on a player is written hours before a game starts, said player will come out and do the exact opposite.  

Now, don’t go thinking I’m disappointed that Jones went “oppo” of the story I wrote, because that’s just not the case.  

As a journalist, I’m not supposed to root for guys, but certain players always make themselves available for interviews after great days or bad days and they offer honest assessments on their and the team’s performances.  Jones is one of those guys, as are pretty much all the Miners, and it’s tough to stay totally indifferent to their ups and downs.  

Maybe last night’s game will turn things around for Jones.

Here’s a link to the pre-series notebook.

For the love of Mike:  
Baseball fans have Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park.  Football fans have the frozen tundra (which is redundant, by the way) of Lambeau Field.  Elvis fans have Graceland.  

Me?  I’m a nerd and a huge Mike Royko fan.  Royko was a great Chicago voice as a newspaper columnist and author.  As a fan, whenever I make it to Chicago I try to stop by the Billy Goat Tavern.  

I made my pilgrimage to its flagship location at 430 N. Michigan Ave. earlier this afternoon.  It’s Mecca to me.  The Billy Goat is located near the former location of the Chicago Sun-Times building and the Tribune Tower.  The tavern was a meeting spot for old-school journalists who would sit at the dark basement bar, drink and tell stories about politicians and sports figures.  It’s an unofficial newspaper museum and Royko would hold court near “Wise Guys Corner.”  

I had a “Doublecheezborger,” chips (because there are no fries) and a draft beer in honor of my guy today. Royko died in 1997, but for a newspaper nerd he’ll live forever.

Here are a couple classic Royko quotes:  
“Hating the Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax.”

“It’s been my policy to view the Internet not as an ‘information highway,’ but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies.” 

And, my favorite:  ”Show me somebody who is always smiling, always cheerful, always optimistic, and I will show you somebody who hasn’t the faintest idea what the heck is really going on.” 

But enough about Royko, the author of “Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago,” among other books.  Let’s get back to baseball.

Here are tonight’s lineups.

Lineup notes:  
2B Tony Roth is back in the lineup at his customary No. 2 spot in the batting order.  Roth has missed all or parts of the Miners’ last seven games with deep bruise on his lower back.  Roth injured himself after an awkward slide into second base in a July 8 game against Kalamazoo.  ”We may fight this for a while,” said Pinto of Roth’s back problems, which included bouts with spasms.  ”He may have to alter what he does in certain situations in order to compensate for it, but Tony is a pro and he knows what he has to do on any given day.”  Roth being in the lineup means Tyler Lairson moves to the bench, but don’t be surprised if Lairson comes into the game late if the Miners have a nice lead.

Mike Scanzano batted in the two hole last night, but moves down to the seven spot in the batting order…Eric Suttle will play left field and bat ninth.

Clay Zavada update:  The former Miners lefty is still the man, only he’s plying his trade for South Bend, the Arizona Diamondbacks Class A affiliate in the Midwest League.  Zavada is 1-1 with one save.  Doesn’t seem very impressive, does it?  Well, how about this:  20 strikeouts versus three walks in 10.2 innings over eight appearances.  Zavada has allowed two earned runs and three hits in 35 at-bats.  Opponents are batting a Ben Sheets-like .086 against Zavada. 

Tanner Roark update:  Roark is pitching for the Diamondback’s Bakersfield club in the Class A California League.  He’s made one appearance and allowed one earned run on a home run in two innings.  Roark gave up three hits with a walk and a strikeout.  

Tonight’s weather forecast:  Partly cloudy and humid tonight with a low temperature of 69 degrees.  Winds from the northeast at five to 10 miles per hour.  

Tonight’s starting pitchers:
Right-hander Ryan Bird (7-3, 3.32 ERA) makes his 12th start of the season tonight.  He enters the game as the Frontier League strikeouts leader, with 78.  Bird has allowed 23 earned runs on 57 hits and 23 walks in 62.1 innings.  Opponents own a .243 batting average against him.  Bird pitched a seven-inning, complete-game shutout earlier this season.  He’s 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in his one start versus Windy City.  Bird gave up four earned runs on seven hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in six innings on June 17.  The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Bird, 23, has a high-80s, low-90s fastball with a good curveball and a changeup.    

Windy City counters with righty Amos Ramon (3-2, 4.53 ERA), who’s making his ninth start and 10th appearance.  Ramon ranks third on Windy City in innings pitched (53.2) and has allowed 27 earned runs on 61 hits and 12 walks.  Opponents have a .281 batting average against Ramon with 26 strikeouts.  Ramon is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA against the Miners this season.  He’s pitched 11 innings and allowed 11 earned runs on 19 hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in two starts versus Southern Illinois.  The 5-foot-8, 185-pound Ramon, 25, has a low-80s sinking fastball, a curveball, a changeup and a slider.   

We’ll be back after the Miners take their first-inning at-bats here at Standard Bank Stadium in Crestwood…We’ll be a little late tonight.  Windy City is honoring living and fallen military personnel in a pre-game ceremony.  There will also be a delay in the seventh inning for an in-game presentation on the field.  

First pitch, ball, 7:12 p.m.

First inning:
The Miners got to Windy City starter Amos Ramon early.  Center fielder Kevin Koski grounded a 2-2 pitch to deep second base for an infield single.  Second baseman Tony Roth laid down a 2-3 sac bunt.  Koski moved to second base.  First baseman Brad Miller struck out swinging on a full-count offering.  Right fielder Joey Metropoulos pulled a 1-0 pitch to left for a run-scoring double that plated Koski from second base for a 1-0 lead.  Designated hitter Tim Dorn lifted a fly-out to left. 

Starter Ryan Bird took the first step in improving Southern Illinois’ record when scoring first to 17-6 with a shutout opening frame.  Right fielder Scott Billak lifted a 1-1 offering to shallow right for the first out.  Bird walked left fielder Mike Coles on six pitches.  Shortstop Wes Long grounded Bird’s first pitch into a 6-4-3 double play.  1-0 Miners.

Second inning:
Southern Illinois could not add to its lead on Ramon in the second.  Third baseman Brandon Jones grounded out, 5-3, on a 1-2 pitch.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano sliced a 2-1 offering for a fly-out to right.  Catcher Brendan Akashian pulled a one-ball offering to right for a single.  Left fielder Eric Suttle swung through a 1-2 pitch for the final out.   

Southern Illinois got its second double play of the night in a scoreless second inning.  Bird walked first baseman Phil Hawke on five pitches.  Bird fell behind designated hitter Brett Amyx, 2-0, met with Akashian at the mound, evened the count and then induced a 5-4-3 double play.  Third baseman Josh Horn was called out on strikes to end the inning.  1-0 Miners.

Third inning:
The Miners got the leadoff man on for the second time tonight.  They scored him for the second time tonight.  Koski pulled a 2-2 pitch to right field for a standup double.  Roth laid down a 3-4 sac bunt that advanced Koski to third base.  Miller’s sacrifice fly to center on a 2-2 offering scored Koski from third for a 2-0 lead.  Metropoulos flied-out to left on an 0-1 pitch for the final out.   

A pair of nifty defensive plays by Jones at third kept the ThunderBolts scoreless through three innings.  Catcher Danny Sawyer was called out on strikes.  Jones backhanded center fielder Mike Sullivan’s groundball to third base for a 5-3 putout.  Akashian and Bird had a brief meeting on the mound as second baseman Chris Klepps stepped to the plate.  Jones scooped Klepp’s bounding grounder and fired to first for a 5-3 putout.  2-0 Miners.

Fourth inning:
The Miners went down in order for the first time tonight in the fourth.  Dorn was called out on strikes on Ramon’s full-count offering.  Jones flied-out to right field on a 2-1 pitch.  Scanzano lifted a fly-out to right field.   

Bird has this one on cruise control.  He’s faced the minimum through four no-hit innings.  Billak grounded out, 6-3, on Bird’s 1-1 offering.  Coles watched a 1-2 curveball for a strikeout.  Coles lined-out to center field for the fourth’s final out. 2-0 Miners.

Fifth inning:
Southern Illinois got a one-out single but no runs in the fifth.  Akashian struck out swinging on three pitches.  Suttle lined a 1-1 offering to right for an opposite-field single.  Koski flied-out to center.  Roth grounded a two-balls, two-strikes pitch into a 5-3 putout.   

Bird has faced one over the minimum through five no-hit innings.  Bird walked Hawke on four pitches.  Jones gloved a stinging liner off Amyx’s bat for the first out.  Bird picked up his fourth strikeout of the night when Horn swung through a 1-2 pitch.  Bird picked up his fifth when Sawyer was called out on strikes.  2-0 Miners.

Sixth inning:
Ramon sat the Miners down in order in the sixth.  Miller struck out swinging on a high fastball in a 1-2 count.  Metropoulos lifted a fly-out to center on an 0-2 offering.  Dorn grounded a one-ball, two-strikes pitch into a 6-3 putout.   

Bye-bye for Birdy’s no-hit bid, but the T-Bolts’ are still scoreless through six.  Bird struck out Sullivan swinging.  Klepp broke up Bird’s no-hit bid with a 2-2 single past a diving Jones at third base.  Billak struck out swinging.  Coles grounded into a 5-4 fielder’s choice to end the inning.  2-0 Miners.

Seventh inning:
Quiet inning for the Miners.  Jones flied-out to left.  Scanzano followed with a fly-out to right.  Akashian grounded out, 4-3.   

Bird picked up his eighth and ninth strikeouts of the night in a scoreless seventh.  Long went down swinging.  Hawke lined a 1-2 offering to right for a single.  Amyx struck out swinging.  Horn grounded out, 5-3.  2-0 Miners.

Eight inning:
Right-hander Kyle Zweber (0-0, 0.00 ERA) relieved Ramon in the eighth and held Southern Illinois scoreless.  Suttle struck out swinging.  Koski grounded a 2-2 offering into a 6-3 double play.  Roth took a four-pitch walk.  Miller’s foul popup to first base ended the Miners’ frame. 
Ramon’s line:  7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO. 

A scoreless eighth might be Bird’s last inning of the night.  Justin Tellem (.000) came in as a pinch hitter for Sawyer in the eighth and grounded out, 5-3.  Right-hander Armando Carrasco tossed in the Miners’ bullpen.  Sullivan lofted a full-count offering to center for a fly-out.  Klepps popped-up to Miller in foul territory.  2-0 Miners.

Ninth inning:
Southern Illinois got an insurance run and then some in the ninth inning.  Metropoulos blooped a single to center on the first offering from reliever Anthony Rebyanski (1-2, 6.75 ERA).  Dorn took a four-pitch walk.  Bradley Goldsmith, Metro’s pinch runner, moved to second base as the T-Bolts’ infield converged on the mound for a defensive strategy meeting with Jones at the plate.  Jones feigned a bunt, took a ball and new catcher Justin Tellam’s throw to a vacant second base advanced both runners into scoring position.  Jones pulled a single to left that scored Goldsmith for a 3-0 lead.  Dorn advanced to third base.  Scanzano grounded an opposite-field single to right.  Dorn scored for a 4-0 lead.  Jones advanced to third from first.  Jones scored on Akashian’s sac fly to left for a 5-0 lead.  Suttle lined to the pitcher, now Matt Petty, who tossed to first to double up Scanzano. 

Right-hander Armando Carrasco (2-2, 6.20 ERA) relieved Bird in the ninth and kept the shutout intact.  Suttle moved from left to right field.  Goldsmith stayed in the game and played left field.  Billak flied-out to left.  Coles struck out swinging.  Long reached when Miller slipped trying to field his dribbler to the right side of the infield.  Hawke singled to right.  Amyx’s fly-out to right ended the game.  Final score: 5-0 Miners. 

CRESTWOOD – Score early.  Score late.  Score a win for the Southern Illinois Miners.

Mike Scanzano followed Kevin Koski’s run-scoring single with a one-out, suicide squeeze in the top of the ninth inning to give Southern Illinois an 8-6 win over Windy City Friday at Standard Bank Stadium. Griffin Bailey improved his record to 4-2 with two scoreless innings of relief.  Windy City reliever Jason Lowey gave up three straight one-out walks before giving way to the bullpen as his record fell to 1-1.  ThunderBolts closer Matt Petty allowed Koski’s single and Scanzano’s squeeze. 

Southern Illinois (28-24) remained in a first-place tie with Gateway and dropped Windy City (26-25) to 1 1/2 games back with the win.

“I really couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the second half,” manager Mike Pinto said.  ”The intensity in our dugout was as good as I’ve seen it all year.  Literally every pitch, every at-bat, every check swing, the guys were intense.”

Koski reached base three times on a walk, a rally-starting error in the sixth and his ninth-inning single.  Scanzano had two sacrifice bunts and a single.  Scanzano and Koski each scored once.

The Miners plated their first six runs with two outs through the first six innings.  Brandon Jones drove in a pair of RBIs on a single and a double. Tim Dorn had three hits and an RBI in five at-bats. 

“Everybody swung the bats well,” Dorn said.  ”Our pitchers kept us in the game…If we can keep this up we’ll build some momentum and go into the playoffs.” 

The Miners trailed 5-3 in the sixth inning before taking a one-run lead off three Windy City errors.  The ThunderBolts tied the game with a run off reliever Jake McMurran in the seventh inning.

Southern Illinois opened the game with a short-lived lead.  Run-scoring singles from Dorn and Jones plated Brad Miller and Joey Metropoulos for a 2-0 advantage.  Two batters into the home half of the first, Windy City tied things on back-to-back home runs from Scott Billak and Mike Coles. 

“First two hitters of the ballgame of their side, we get a lead and all of a sudden, Bam! Bam! That’s not a good thing for us,” Pinto said.  ”When you get the lead, you want your guys to keep adding on, not give it right back.”

Billak’s one-out, solo shot in the third gave the ThunderBolts a 3-2 lead.  Phillip Hawke drove in another run with a double.  Brett Amyx’s single plated pushed Windy City ahead, 5-2.  Starting pitcher Brett Scapetta faced one more batter, gave up a base-on-balls, and was pulled from the game.

Scarpetta lasted 2 2/3 innings and allowed five earned runs on six hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts in his shortest start of the season. 

“I thought he was up,” Pinto said.  ”He didn’t have very good location tonight.  He couldn’t get command of his breaking ball.  Mostly, he didn’t have very good fastball command tonight.”

Josh Neal took over held the ThunderBolts scoreless for 1 2/3 innings.

The Miners chipped away a run in the fifth off Windy City starter Ross Stout on Jones’ second RBI of the night.  Reliever Jake McMurran bailed Neal out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the home half of the fifth.  McMurran tossed 2 2/3 innings and kept the Miners in position for their late-innings heroics.

“He got the big popup and gets a strikeout,” Pinto said.  ”He did a great job there.  Neal did a good job, as well…The problem is, (Neal) hasn’t been here long enough for us to know how far we can push him, how far he can go.”

Koski reached base on a two-out fielding error in the three-run sixth. 

“I hit a ground ball and I knew it was going to be a tough play so I just kept my head down and ran,” Koski said.  ”He made an error, got the inning started, and we ended up scoring some runs.  It was huge.”

Stout plunked Scanzano and walked Miller to load the bases.  A throwing error on Joey Metropoulos’ slow roller to third base scored Koski and cut Windy City’s lead to 5-4.  A two-run throwing error to third base from catcher Danny Sawyer plated Miller and Scanzano for a 6-5 lead.

“You know the old saying, I’ll take it anyway I can get it,” Pinto said.  ”That throwing error put us in the lead.  That may have been a game-changing play for us.”

The Miners tried to break a seventh inning tie by sending Bradley Goldsmith home from second base on Brendan Akashian’s one-out single to center field.  Goldsmith was cut down at the plate with the score knotted at 6-6.  Goldsmith made up for being caught with a sliding catch in the bottom of the seventh and a base-on-balls in the ninth.

“I thought Goldsmith came up big with the (sliding catch) down the (left-field line), not to mention (throwing out Coles at second base in the eighth),” Pinto said.  ”That’s a potential game-turner right there.”

The Miners and ThunderBolts play Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

Notes: Miller (1-for-5) scored twice…Four different Miners (Jones, Koski, Scanzano, Dorn and Jones) drove in at least one RBI…Jones’ two RBIs tied him with WC’s Billak for the game-high…Scanzano stole his first base of the season in the eighth inning…Jones, Dorn, and Willie Keene all had doubles…Coles and Wes Long have 15 and 12 stolen bases respectively this season…The Miners turned the game’s only double play.

Score by inning      R H E
SIL    200 013 002 - 8 11 1
WCT  203 001 000 - 6 11 3

E - Keene (2); Long (18), Horn (14), Sawyer (9).  DP - S. Illinois 1.  LOB - S. Illinois 13; Windy City 8.  2B - Dorn (10), Jones (10), Keene (4); Hawke (12).  HR - Billak, 2 (4), Coles (7).  HBP - Scanzano.  SH - Scanzano, 2.  SB - Scanzano (1); Coles (15), Long (12).

SI Miners
Scarpetta…………..2.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 13 AB, 15 BF
Neal………………….1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 6 AB, 8 BF
McMurran………….2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 11 AB, 12 BF
Bailey………………..2.0 IP, I H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 6 AB, 6 BF

Windy City
Stout………………..5.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO, 1 WP, 1 HP, 24 AB, 30 BF
Hess…………………1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 6 AB, 7 BF
Rebyanski…………1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
Lowey………………0.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO, 1 AB, 4 BF
Petty………………..0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 2 AB, 3 BF 

Strikeouts - Dorn 2, Jones, Keene, Lairson; Billak, Long 2, Hawke 2; Clepps 2.  Walks - Koski, Miller, Metropoulos, Goldsmith, Akashian 2, Lairson, Rosa; Coles 2, Hawke, Amyx, Horn.

Umpires - HP: Doane; 1B: Arnsperger; 3B: Lopina

Start 7:10 p.m.  Time: 3:32.  Attendance: 3,004.

CRESTWOOD — Southern Illinois and Windy City meet up tonight at 7:05 p.m. in the first game of a three-game tilt at Standard Bank Stadium.

Here’s a link to the pre-series notebook.  

As usual, I’m running behind on Friday.  Here’s what we’re working on for Miners Extra tomorrow:  Meet the Miner with Griffin Bailey; a story on Brandon Jones’ recent struggles; and, Mike Pinto’s thoughts on the second half of the season.

Here are tonight’s lineups.

Tonight’s weather forecast:  Scattered thunderstorms and showers with a 40 percent chance of rain.  We’ll have lows in the low 70s and five to 10 mile an hour winds from the south-southwest.  The flag in right-center is blowing out to left-center.

Tonight’s starting pitchers:
Right-hander Brett Scarpetta (2-2, 3.25 ERA) makes his sixth start of the season tonight.  Scarpetta has 22 strikeouts and 10 walks to go along with 10 earned runs and 27 hits in 27.2 innings.  Opponents are batting .268 against.  The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Scarpetta has a fastball in the upper 80s to low 90s with a curveball, a slider, and a changeup.    

Windy City counters with righty Ross Stout (5-3, 3.11 ERA), who’s making his 11th start of the season.  Stout has given up 22 earned runs and 51 hits in 63.2 innings.  He has 60 strikeouts and 19 walks.  Opponents are batting .219 against Stout, a 6-foot, 190-pounder with a high-80s fastball, a 12-to-6 curve, a changeup and a slider.

We’ll be back after the Miners take their at-bats in the first inning…

First pitch, strike, 7:10 p.m.

First inning:
The Miners plated a pair with two outs off Windy City starter Russ Stout.  Center fielder Kevin Koski flied out to right field.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano grounded out, 4-3.  First baseman Brad Miller singled to center field.  Right fielder Joey Metropoulos battled back from a 0-2 count to take a walk.  Designated hitter Tim Dorn singled past diving WC second baseman Chris Klepps for an RBI.  Miller scored from second base.  Metro advanced to second.  Third baseman Brandon Jones’ towering single to shallow left scored Metro from second for a 2-0 lead.  Dorn moved to third base.  Left fielder Willie Keene’s popup to Klepp in shallow right field ended the inning.  

So much for starter Brett Scarpetta’s two-run lead.  Right fielder Scott Billak hammered a 1-1 offering over the left-field fence.  Left fielder Mike Coles lifted a first-pitch home run over the fence in right.  Shortstop Wes Long singled off the glove of a diving Metropoulos in right field.  First baseman Phillip Hawke grounded into a 1-6-3 double play on a ball off Scarpetta’s glove.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano fielded a grounder at deep shortstop and Miller fielded his one-hop throw to retire designated hitter Brett Amyx to end the inning.  2-2.

Second inning:
Southern Illinois had two on with one out but could not get to Stout.  Catcher Brendan Akashian flied-out to center.  Second baseman Tyler Lairson reached on an opposite-field single to right.  Koski took a five-pitch walk.  Scanzano bunted and was retired, 2-3.  Lairson advanced to third base as Koski moved to second.  Miller grounded out, 6-3.   

Nothing doing for the ThunderBolts in the second inning.  Third baseman Josh Horn flied out to center.  Catcher Danny Sawyer grounded out, 5-3.  Center fielder Mike Sullivan grounded out, 4-3.  2-2.

Third inning:
Southern Illinois had a quiet inning.  Metropoulos flied-out to left.  Dorn singled sharply to left.  Jones grounded into a 5-4 fielder’s choice.  Keene struck out swinging.   

Scarpetta got knock out two outs into the third as Windy City took a three-run lead.  Second baseman Chris Klepp was called out on strikes.  Billak’s second home run of the night gave Windy City a 3-2 lead.  Coles followed with a base-on-balls and then stole second during Long’s at-bat.  Long went down looking for the second out.  Hawke drove in Coles with a double.  Amyx’s single up the middle plated Hawke for a 5-2 lead.  Lefty Josh Neal began warming up.  A walk to Horn ended Scarpetta’s night.  Neal (0-0, 0.00 ERA) inherited a two-on, two-out situation with Sawyer at the plate.  Sawyer grounded out, 1-3.  5-2 T-Bolts.
Scarpetta’s line:  2.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO.  

Fourth inning:
Stout worked around his leadoff walk of Akashian in a scoreless inning.  Lairson struck out swinging.  Koski flied-out to left, as did Scanzano on a broken-bat job.  

Neal gave away nothing in the fourth.  Sullivan grounded out, 4-3.  Klepps flied-out to center.  Billak went down swinging.  5-2 T-Bolts. 

Fifth inning:
Southern Illinois got back a run in the fifth.  Miller grounded out, 5-3.  Metropoulos followed with a 6-3 groundout.  Dorn doubled on a ball Billak appeared to lose in the night sky.  Jones doubled to right-center to cut the lead to 5-3.  Keene flied out to right.   

Right-handed reliever Jake McMurran inherited a nightmare jam but kept the Miners in the game in the fifth.  Coles grounded out, 6-3.  Long singled up the middle.  Hawke took a walk.  McMurran tossed in the Miners’ bullpen.  Neal walked Amyx to load the bases.  McMurran (1-2, 3.00 ERA) got Horn on a pop-out and struck out Sawyer swinging.  5-3 T-Bolts.
Neal’s line:  1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO. 

Sixth inning:
Southern Illinois took advantage of three Windy City errors, chased Stout from the game and took the lead in the sixth.  Akashian grounded out, 1-3.  Lairson popped-out to second base.  Koski reached on Long’s fielding error at shortstop.  Scanzano got hit on the right hand with Stout’s 1-1 offering.  Koski moved to second base.  Manager Mike Kashirsky visited Stout on the mound.  Lefty Isaac Hess warmed up in the ‘Bolts’ bullpen.  Stout’s wild pitch to Miller advance runners into scoring position.  Miller took a four-pitch walk to load the bases.  Hess (2-4, 4.89 ERA) came in to face Metropoulos.  Metro reached on Horn’s throwing error to second base on a putout attempt.  Koski scored.  Sawyer’s error on a snap throw to third base during Dorn’s at-bat plated Scanzano and Miller for a 6-5 lead.  Dorn stuck out swinging.
Stout’s line:  5.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 SO, 1 HP.   

McMurran could not hold the lead in the sixth.  Sullivan singled up the middle.  Klepps tried to lay down a sac bunt that resulted in a 1-6 fielder’s choice to erase Sullivan at second base.  Klepps moved to second on Billak’s 6-3 groundout.  Coles took a base-on-balls to put two on with two outs.  Long’s single to left scored Klepps from second to tie the game, 6-6.  Coles advanced to third base with Hawke at the plate.  Coles took second on defensive indifference.  Hawke was called out on strikes.  6-6.

Seventh inning:
Southern Illinois lost a base runner at the plate in the seventh.  Jones struck out swinging.  Keene doubled to center.  Bradley Goldsmith (.260 BA) pinch ran for Keene at second base.  Goldsmith was gunned down at the plate, 8-2, on Akashian’s single to center.  Akashian advanced to second on the throw.  Lairson took a base-on-balls.  WC pitching coach Jim Miksis went to the mound for a conference.  Koski grounded out, 4-3.

McMurran probably pitched his last inning with a scoreless seventh.  Horn flied-out to the center field warning track.  Horn pulled a single to left past a diving Jones at third base.  Sawyer struck out swinging.  Goldsmith robbed Sullivan of a hit with a sliding catch in left field.  6-6.

Eighth inning:
Right-hander Anthony Rebyanski (1-2, 7.06 ERA) relieved Hess in the eighth and held the Miners scoreless.  Scanzano led off with a single to left.  Miller popped-out to third base.  Scanzano stole second base on Metropoulos’ swinging strikeout.  Dorn struck out swinging.   

Right-hander Griffin Bailey (3-2, 1.64 ERA) took over for McMurran and kept the ThunderBolts off the scoreboard in the eighth.  Klepps went down swinging.  Billak’s broken-bat, 5-3 groundout represented the second out.  Coles singled to left field, but Goldsmith’s strong throw cut Coles down at second base for the final out.  6-6.
McMurran’s line:  2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO. 

Ninth inning:
Southern Illinois took the lead after three walks, a single and a one-out suicide squeeze.  Right-hander Jason Lowey (1-0, 4.15 ERA) got the call in the ninth.  Jones popped-up to second base as Tony Roth (?!?) tossed in the Miners’ bullpen.  Goldsmith took a seven-pitch walk.  Akashian took a walk to put runners on first and second.  Randy Rosa (.241 BA) pinch hit for Lairson.  Guess Roth was just getting loose to come onto the field in the ninth.  Rosa’s walk loaded the bases.  Koski moved to third base, Akashian to second.  Kashirsky replaced Lowey with closer Matt Petty (1-3, 5.40 ERA, 8 SV).  Pinto replaced Rosa at first base with Tony Roth (.308 BA).  Koski’s single to center scored Goldsmith from third for a 7-6 lead.  Akashian moved to third, Roth to second.  Scanzano’s suicide squeeze plated Akashian for an 8-6 lead.  Roth advanced to third, Koski to second.  Miller grounded out, 5-3, for the final out.

Bailey came out for his second inning in the ninth and shut down the ThunderBolts for an improbable win.  Bailey retired Long and Hawke on swinging strikeouts.  Amyx’s 5-3 groundout ended the game.  Final score:  8-6 Miners.

BROOKFIELD — The All-Star game is over and now order can be restored to the super tight Frontier League West race.  Instead of pulling for each other as they did in Traverse City, the FL West players and managers can get back to beating in each other’s brains.

“The war starts again on Friday,” said manager Mike Pinto in the Southern Illinoisan’s all-star game story.

Southern Illinois (27-24) begins its 45-game war for a playoff berth with a three-game battle at Windy City (26-24).  The ThunderBolts lead the series, 4-2, but the Miners took two of three the last time these teams got together in Crestwood.

Of course, with all six teams within three games of each other, the second half of the season — especially for Southern Illinois, Gateway and Windy City — starts off at 0-0.  How’s this for a nine-game stretch out of the break:  three at Windy City; three at River City; and, three at home with Gateway.  

“This second half should be very exciting,” said starting pitcher Chris Little.  ”I’m very confident in what we have over here.  I haven’t seen any team yet that, if our pitching is on and our hitting is on, we’re not going to lose too many games.  Of course, you’re not going to get that every single night, but if you can get it when it counts, we could do some special things.”

Every game counts from here to the end of the season and it’s no coincidence the Miners became major players in the playoff picture when their starting pitching not only kept them in games, but at times simply dominated.  

Southern Illinois charged into the all-star break with eight wins in its final 12 games.

“Hopefully we can start the second half the way we finished up the first one,” Joey Metropoulos said.  

Here’s the rundown of the starting pitchers in July:

RHP Ryan Bird went 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA, 28 strikeouts and only seven walks in three July starts.  Little gave up no earned runs in 16 innings on his way to a 1-1 record.  RHP Brett Scapetta continued his steady improvement with a 1-0 record and 0.69 ERA in two starts.  RHP Chris Allen (2-0, 1.42 ERA) threw more than 10 consecutive shutout innings over two starts to begin his professional career.  

Scarpetta and Bird will pitch in Friday and Saturday’s game.  Either Little or Allen will get Sunday’s start, Pinto said. 

“I feel pretty good (about where the team is),” Pinto said.  ”We still need a fifth starter…I’ve got until…Tuesday to get a new starter in here.”

Let’s get into some notes…

Standard Bank Stadium dimensions:  Left field: 330 feet; center field: 390 ft.; right field: 330 ft.

Miners vs. T-Bolts:  As we noted earlier, Windy City leads the season series, 4-2.  This weekend will be the Miners’ last trip to Crestwood,  The T-Bolts come to Rent One Park for one more series, Aug. 26-28.  Southern Illinois holds a 34-27 advantage in runs scored and has 12 home runs compared to the T-Bolts’ three.  The Miners own a .258 batting average through six games with a .464 slugging percentage and a .349 OBP.  The Miners’ pitching staff has a 4.25 ERA with 42 strikeouts and 26 walks in 53 innings.  Windy City batted .262 with a .374 slugging percentage and a .356 OBP.  The ‘Bolts carry a 5.17 ERA with 41 strikeouts and 23 walks in 54 innings.   

Southern Illinois’ bats:  The Miners have a .282 team batting average, the second highest mark in the league.  Southern Illinois is tied with Kalamazoo for most runs scored (334) and ranks behind Florence (512) in hits, with 501.  The Miners lead the FL in triples (16) and rank second in slugging (.467) and total bases (793).  

Top Miners hitters:  Brandon Jones (210) has the second most at-bats in the FL…Jones (100) leads the Miners in total bases…Jones’ 56 hits lead the team…Jones has a .267 batting average…Jones is tied for the team lead in home runs (11) with Tim Dorn…Eric Suttle’s four triples rank second in the league…Jones’ 41 RBIs lead the Miners…Willie Keene’s .523 slugging percentage tops the Miners…Mike Scanzano leads the Miners in doubles, with 13…Tony Roth has team bests in batting average (.308) and OBP (.416) for players with at least 100 at-bats…Jones and Joey Metropoulos have 21 extra-base hits apiece…Metro has 10 homers and 11 doubles.

Southern Illinois’ arms:  The Miners have the league’s No. 3 team ERA at 4.49.  Southern Illinois has twirled four shutouts and two complete games.  The Miners have 384 strikeouts and 183 walks in 453.1 innings pitched.  Opponents have a .262 batting average and have scored 226 earned runs on 450 hits with 37 home runs.

Top Miners pitchers:  Little (2.96) ranks eighth in ERA…Bird (3.32) has the No. 10 ERA in the league…Bird’s seven wins are tied for third in the FL…Bird leads the FL in strikeouts, with 78…RHP Griffin Bailey’s 25 appearances are the third most in the FL…Little’s 67.0 innings pitched rank third…Little and Bird (62.1) are the only two Miners with at least 60 innings pitched…Bailey’s 1.64 ERA is a team best for pitchers with at least 30 innings…Jake McMurran has a 3.23 ERA in 23 appearances.

‘Bolts’ bats:  Windy City ranks third in the league in team batting with a .278 average.  The ‘Bolts have 485 hits, 46 home runs and 276 RBIs.

Top ‘Bolts hitters:  1B Phillip Hawke (.326) has the league’s No. 9 batting average…2B Gilberto Mejia’s 21 stolen bases rank third…OF Mike Coles is in a four-way tie for second place in doubles, with 16..Hawke’s 36 walks rank fourth…Mejia’s .724 stolen base percentage is the No. 4 mark in the FL…Hawke’s seven home runs lead the ‘Bolts…Coles leads Windy City in doubles, with 16…Coles and Hawke both have .495 slugging percentages…Hawke leads the ‘Bolts with 41 RBIs…Coles has 39 RBIs…SS Wes Long has a .298 batting average with 36 RBIs…3B Josh Horn has a .299 batting average with three home runs and 22 RBIs.

Windy City’s arms:  The ThunderBolts have a 5.57 team ERA with 397 strikeouts and 238 walks in 442.1 innings pitched.  Opponents have a .269 batting average with 464 hits and 53 home runs.  The ‘Bolts have allowed 274 earned runs.  The ‘Bolts have five complete games, but no shutouts.

Top ‘Bolts pitchers:  Ross Stout’s 60 strikeouts are tied for third…Stout’s three complete games are tied for the league lead..RHP Stephen Flake has a 5-1 record with a 4.05 ERA in 10 starts…Stout is 5-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 10 starts…RHP Matt Petty (1-3, 5.40 ERA) has a team-high eight saves…LHP Isaac Hess (2-4, 4.89 ERA) has 46 strikeouts in 22 appearances with two starts…Flake (60.0) and Stout (63.1) lead the ‘Bolts in innings pitched.

Game times:
Fri. - 7:05 p.m.*
Sat. - 7:05 p.m.*
Sun. - 6:05 p.m.*
*Games aired on WQUL 97.7 FM 

Weather forecast:
Fri. - High temperature near 90 degrees with scattered thunderstorms and showers overnight.  Chance of rain is 50 percent with an expected low temperature of 71 degrees.  Winds will come from the south-southwest at five to 10 miles per hour.
Sat. - Variable clouds with scattered T-storms.  High temperature: 81.  Low temp: 71.  Chance of rain: 60 percent.  
Sun. - A few T-storms possible with highs in the high 80s and lows in the low 70s.

Probable starters:
Fri. - RHP Brett Scarpetta (2-2, 3.25 ERA) @ RHP Ross Stout (5-3, 3.11 ERA)
Sat. - RHP Ryan Bird (7-3, 3.32 ERA) @ RHP Amos Ramon (3-2, 4.53 ERA)
Sun. - TBA @ RHP Stephen Flake (5-2, 4.05 ERA)

(Mark Urban contributed to this report).
 

MARION — Southern Illinois jumped on Traverse City early and never let up in a 12-3 win Sunday at Rent One Park.

Brad Miller had a grand slam and five RBIs.  Eric Suttle reached base in his first five plate appearances and scored three runs.  Starter Ryan Bird gave up three unearned runs with eight strikeouts in six innings to improve his record to 7-3.  Bird’s 78 strikeouts lead the Frontier League at the all-star break.

Southern Illinois picked up a 2-1 series win over the Beach Bums and finished its six-game homestand against the top two teams in the FL East with a 3-3 record.  If Windy City and Gateway lose tonight, the Miners will be in first place when they send seven players to the 2008 All-Star Game at Traverse City this week.

The Miners punished Traverse City starting pitcher Jon Haldis for six runs on four hits in two innings.  The Miners scored at least one run off each of Traverse City’s four relievers on a day when they cranked out 14 hits.  Southern Illinois scored nine times with two outs.

Southern Illinois sent 10 men to the plate in a six-run second inning.  Willie Keene took a one out walk.  Mike Scanzano sparked the big inning with a two-strike, two-out single.  Tyler Lairson followed with a walk.  Eric Suttle’s infield single scored Keene and kept the bases loaded for Miller, who hit his third home run of the season.  Joey Metropoulos followed with a solo shot, his 10th home run of the season, for a 6-0 lead.  Those back-to-back homers won John Kee of Farmington, Mo., a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

The Miners batted around again in a three-run fourth.  Miller followed Suttle’s one-out walk with a single.  Tim Dorn’s two-out double off reliever Steve Roberts chased him from the game and scored Suttle for a 7-0 lead.  Nick Pepper hit Brandon Jones and Keene to give the Miners their eighth run.  Brendan Akashian’s single put Southern Illinois ahead, 9-0.

Bird, who admitted he didn’t have his best stuff early, worked his way out of a two-on, one-out jam in the first with an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.  Bird walked leadoff batter Mike Epping in the second, but picked him off second after a stolen base.  From then on, Bird cruised until the sixth.

A Jake Whitesides double followed by Kyle Maunus’ walk put runners on first and second.  Akashian’s catcher interference loaded the bases, but got Bird off the hook for any earned runs.  The Beach Bums scored on a fielder’s choice, a double and a wild pitch to trim the Miners’ lead to 9-3.

Southern Illinois got the runs back with two scores in the seventh and an eighth-inning tally.

The win improved Southern Illinois’ record to 27-24.  Traverse City fell to 30-21.  The Miners open the second half of the season with a six-game road trip to Windy City and River City beginning July 18.

Notes:  LHP Josh Neal pitched two perfect innings…RHP Brett Cannon threw a scoreless ninth…Suttle finished with two hits, three walks and two RBIs…Bradley Goldsmith had a double and an RBI in one at-bat…Dorn had two doubles…Scanzano scored twice and had two hits…Traverse City’s Pepper hit four Miners…TC’s Pat Perry, Jake Brown and Whitesides had two hits apiece…The Miners had 25 base runners…SIL drew seven walks. 

Manager Mike Pinto on the game:  “You feel good having Ryan Bird on the mound to start with, but knowing it’s hot and wondering how long he’s going to be able to go on a Sunday day game, to have the (bats) jump out like that is good.  Miller’s bomb set the tone for the rest of the day.”

Pinto on Bird’s early struggles:  “He said he didn’t feel his legs in the first inning and he said, ‘Then I just got ticked off and all of a sudden they were there again.”

Pinto on Kee winning the motorcycle:  “How cool is that, huh?  Is that a great day or what?  He told me, ‘I think I’m going to have to have it re-tooled to ride this thing.’”

Pinto on splitting with the top two teams in the league in a six-game homestand:  “Heck, the games against Kalamazoo, we lost in extra innings and then we lost 1-0.  I’d say we’re pretty close.  I don’t think we’re yet where we want to be — we have to do some execution things better — but when I look back and ask, ‘Where are we?’ we’re in the upper tier, I’d say.”

Pinto on Neal’s first appearance:  “Pretty impressive, I’d say.  If you want to impress your manager, come out and throw first-pitch strikes, be around the zone, throw multiple pitches for strikes and let them make contact weakly.  Make an impression?  That’s a good way to do it.”

Miller on his day at the dish:  “I’ve not really been struggling, I just hadn’t been getting a whole lot of RBI opportunities offensively, the whole team.  We lost a rough one last night and just wanted to come out today and get off to a good start and I think we did that and the grand slam definitely helped out.”

Miller on winning Kee a Harley-Davidson:  “It’s a great feeling.  I met the guy during the autograph session.  Something to give away like that, it’s nice to be a part of, no matter what it is.”

Metropoulos on the second inning:  “The grand slam obviously helped a lot by putting four runs on the board.  Honestly, I was just happy to give that guy a Harley (with my home run).  We were hitting the ball well and Bird was pitching a great game so at that point after that grand slam I figured we had enough with five so any runs you get after that are good to have for insurance.  But, I think (my home run) was just special because of the Harley-Davidson.”

Bird on picking up his fifth straight win:  “It has been a pretty good roll.  Today was different for me with a day game on this turf.  I kind of felt it a little bit.  It was kind of warm and I’m not quite used to it.  It’s the run support, man.  I’m loving it.  These guys are putting up runs for me and after that I can just go out there and throw strikes.  I didn’t have my best stuff today.  I was pretty  inconsistent with my fastball and kind of relied on the curveball to get some of these guys out.”

Bird on the sixth inning:  “I think the sixth inning kind of blew up on me a little.  The double-play ball was almost there and then it was just kind of a rough last inning….I was just kind of mad at myself.  I wasn’t real focused.  I knew it was my last inning and I just got kind of lackadaisical and it so happened they put up a few hits, but it happens.” 

Bird on finding out those three sixth-inning runs were unearned:  “Really?  I didn’t know that.  I thought they were all (earned).”

Suttle on his day at the plate:  “It was nice to get on base and try to score.  That’s a big thing when everybody is hitting.  Anytime you put 13 hits on the scoreboard good things are going to happen.  Everybody was hitting.”

Suttle on the MIners bouncing back after Saturday’s frustrating loss:  “When you take the first game and lose the second one, the third game is always an important game — the rubber match.  Especially going into the all-star break, it’s nice to get a win and also take 2-of-3 from one of the better teams in the league.”

Goldsmith on coming through with an RBI in his at-bat after grounding into a ninth-inning double play Saturday:  “Like I said, I’m always ready from the first pitch of the game…That’s what you have to do to be successful.  I came out today and worked on the things I didn’t get done yesterday…I came through in that at-bat and the run scored and added to the lead.”  

Score by inning      R H E
TVC 000 003 000 -   3 9 0
SIL   060 300 21X - 12 13 1

E - Akashian, B. DP - Beach Bums 1; Miners 1. LOB - Beach Bums 8; Miners 12.
2B - Whitesides,J; Perry,P; Brown,J; Miller,B; Goldsmith, B; Dorn,T 2;
Scanzano,M. HR - Miller,B; Metropoulous. HBP - Suttle,E; Jones,B; Keene,W;
Akashian, B. SB - Epping,M. Reached on CI - Epping,M.

Beach Bums
Haldis……2.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 1 SO, 11 AB, 15 BF
Roberts….1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 5 AB, 7 BF
Pepper……2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 4 HP, 10 AB, 14 BF
Locke…….1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 6 AB, 7 BF
Gjeldum…1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5 AB, 5 BF

SI Miners
Bird………6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO, 23 AB, 27 BF
Neal……..2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 6 AB, 6 BF
Cannon…1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 5 AB, 5 BF
 

Win - Bird,R (7-3).  Loss - Haldis,J (0-1).  Save - None.
WP - Haldis,J; Bird,R. HBP - by Pepper,N (Jones,B); by Pepper,N (Keene,W); by
Pepper,N (Suttle,E); by Pepper,N (Akashian, B). CI - Akashian, B.
Umpires - HP: Marty Teasley  1B: Steve Dunahue  3B: Donald Gonzalez
Start: 2:05   Time: 2:57   Attendance: 3718

MARION — The Miners wrap up the first half of the season and a three-game series in today’s 2:05 p.m. game with Traverse City.

The Miners look to bounce back from last night’s poorly executed 5-4 loss to the Beach Bums.  Traverse City (30-20) knocked the Miners (26-24) out of first place in the Frontier League West Division.  

The Miners will be down a man today.  Center fielder and leadoff hitter Kevin Koski will miss the game with a sprained ankle.  Second baseman Tyler Lairson will move up from ninth to the top spot in the batting order.

“I just kind of like the way he’s handled the bat,” manager Mike Pinto said.  ”He’s shown some patience in some at-bats.  Looking at the options that we have, he’s probably the best of the group.”

Here are today’s lineups.

Southern Illinois would appear to have an advantage on the mound with league strikeout leader Ryan Bird squaring off against Jon Haldis, a former L.A. Dodgers farmhand who’s making his second Frontier League start.  Haldis picked up a win in his first start, lasting five innings and giving up two earned runs against River City.  Kalamazoo manager Jon Cahill said the key to a successful start for Haldis was simple.

“You can’t put any extra pressure on himself to out there and perform any more than he should,” Cahill said.  ”He just needs to keep the ball down, throw strikes and let the defense play behind him.  Easier said than done, but first-pitch strikes are crucial in this ballpark, against this good of a hitting team and against a pitcher like Bird.” 

Today’s weather:  High of around 85 degrees and winds from the north-northwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour.

Today’s starting pitchers:
Right-hander Ryan Bird (6-3, 3.67 ERA) makes his 11th start start of the season today.  Bird’s 70 strikeouts in 56.1 innings lead the league and he has a 3.5-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio.  He’s allowed 23 earned runs on 50 hits with 20 walks.  Opponents carry a .236 batting average against.  Traverse City brings five lefties and two switch hitters to today’s game.  Lefties are hitting .278 (27-for-94) against Bird.  The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Bird, 23, has a high-80s, low-90s fastball with a good curveball and a changeup.    

Right-hander Jon Haldis (1-0, 3.60 ERA) makes his second start today.  He pitched five innings against River City and gave up two earned runs on three hits and two walks with one strikeout.  Haldis pitched in the L.A. Dodgers organization for two seasons and Ogden of the Pioneer League in 2007.  He has a 2-6 career record and a 4.11 ERA in 41 appearances.  Haldis started seven games, going the distance in one, before joining the Beach Bums.  The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Haldis has a mid-to-high-80s fastball, a slider and a curve.

We’ll be back in the middle of the first inning…

First pitch, ball, 2:10 p.m.

First inning:
Starter Ryan Bird pitched behind in the count to each batter and had a couple guys reach base, but got out of the inning unscathed.  Left fielder Mike Goetz grounded out to first, unassisted.  Bird walked second baseman Steve Young on seven pitches.  Designated hitter Jake Whitesides singled sharply to right field.  Young advanced to second.  First baseman Kyle Maunus grounded into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play.  Had there been no outs, the Miners would have turned a triple play at the plate.  Guess that Chevrolet Malibu is safe for now.   

Traverse City starter Jon Haldis worked around two, two-out base runners in a scoreless first.  Second baseman Tyler Lairson flied-out to center.  Center fielder Eric Suttle drew a five-pitch walk.  First baseman Brad Miller grounded into a 1-6 fielder’s choice.  Suttle was out at second base.  Right fielder Joey Metropoulos struck out swinging but reached on a wild pitch.  Miller moved to second.  Designated hitter Tim Dorn lifted a full-count offering to deep right-center for the final out.   0-0.

Second inning:
Bird faced the minimum in the second.  Center fielder Mike Epping took a leadoff walk.  Epping stole second during right fielder Zack Kalter’s at-bat.  Bird picked Epping off at second base.  Kalter struck out swinging.

Southern Illinois batted around, plated six two-out runs and won a fan a motorcycle after back-to-back home runs.  Third baseman Brandon Jones lined-out to right field.  Left fielder Willie Keene took a base-on-balls.  Catcher Brendan Akashian lined out to left field.  Shortstop Mike Scanzano’s single to right field advanced Keene to third base.  Lairson’s six-pitch walk loaded the bases.  Suttle’s infield single scored Keene from third for a 1-0 lead.  Scanzano advanced to third.  TC manager Jon Cahill met with Haldis on the mound.  Miller yanked a grand slam off the light pole in left field on a one-strike offering for a 5-0 advantage.  Metropoulos followed with a line shot over the left field fence for a 6-0 advantage.  Metro’s home run won somebody in the stands a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle.  The TC bullpen began to get loose as Dorn took a base-on-balls on four pitches.  Jones flied out to right to end the inning.  6-0 Miners.

Third inning:
Bird held the Beach Bums scoreless in the third.  Catcher Patrick Perry was called out on strikes.  Third baseman Jeff Brown doubled to right field.  Right-hander Steve Roberts warmed up in the TC bullpen.  Goetz’ 6-3 groundout moved Brown to third base.  Young popped-out to Lairson in shallow right for the final out.  

Right-hander Steve Roberts (0-0, 0.00 ERA) replaced Haldis in the third and faced the minimum.  Keene struck out swinging.  Akashian drew a one-out walk.  Scanzano grounded into a 4-3 double play.  6-0 Miners.
Haldis’ line:  2.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 1 SO 

Fourth inning:
Bird cruised through the inning and picked up his fourth and fifth strikeouts.  Whitesides went down looking.  Maunus struck out swinging.  Epping’s fly-out to right ended the TC fourth.

Southern Illinois scored its seventh, eighth and ninth two-out runs to pretty much put this one away.  Lairson was called out on strikes.  Suttle drew a six-pitch walk.  Miller singled to center field.  Suttle advanced to second.  Metropoulos popped out to second base.  Dorn’s double to center scored Suttle for a 7-0 lead.  Miller advanced to third.  Cahill replaced Roberts with right-handed submariner Nick Pepper (1-2, 2.61 ERA) with two runners in scoring position.  Pepper hit Jones to load the bases.  Keene’s hit by pitch scored Miller from third.  Dorn moved to third, Jones to second.  Akashian’s single to left scored Dorn for an 8-0 lead.  Everybody advanced.  Scanzano grounded out, 4-3.  9-0 Miners.
Roberts’ line:  1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 HP. 

Fifth inning:
Bird gave up some base runners but kept the Beach Bums scoreless in the fifth.  Kalter singled to right over a leaping Lairson’s glove.  Miller was called out on strikes.  Perry singled to right.  Kalter moved to second.  Brown’s single to center loaded the bases.  Goetz popped-out to short.  Young flied-out to center.

Pepper plunked another but the Miners did not bruise his ERA in the fifth.  Lairson popped-out to first base.  Suttle took a hit by pitch.  Miller lined out to third base.  Metropoulos grounded out, 5-3.  9-0 Miners.

Sixth inning:
Bradley Goldsmith (.245 BA) replaced Metropoulos in the batting order and went to left field.  Keene took over in right.  Whitesides doubled down the right field line.  Bird walked Maunus on four pitches.  Lefty Josh Neal warmed up in the Miners’ bullpen.  Epping reached first on Akashian’s catcher interference (E2).  Kalter’s 4-6 fielder’s choice scored Whitesides from third and erased Epping at second.  Maunus moved to third.  Miller’s double to center scored Maunus to trim Southern Illinois’ lead to 9-2.  Bird’s wild pitch scored Kalter from third.  Miller moved to third.  Perry struck out swinging to end the inning.  

Southern Illinois got a leadoff double from Dorn but did not add to its lead in the sixth.  Jones popped out to second base.  Keene’s 1-3 groundout moved Dorn to third.  Akashian was hit by a Pepper pitch.  Scanzano lined-out to second base.  9-3.  

Seventh inning:
Lefty Josh Neal (0-0, 0.00 ERA) made his first professional appearance in the seventh and retired the side in order.  Goetz flied-out to center.  Young grounded out, 5-3.  Whitesides popped-out to Miller in shallow right.
Bird’s line:  6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO, 1 WP 

Lefty Jared Locke (2-1, 3.86 ERA) relieved Pepper in the seventh and gave up a pair of runs.  Lairson lined out to shortstop.  Suttle reached on an infield single to shortstop.  Miller’s double to the right-center gap scored Suttle from first base for a 10-1 lead.  Goldsmith’s ground-rule double hopped into the bullpen in right field.  Miler scored from second.  Dorn took a walk.  Jones struck out swinging.  Keene flied out to center.  11-3
Pepper’s line:   2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3 HP.

Eighth inning:
Neal retired the side in order in the eighth.  Maunus flied out to second base.  Pinch hitter Brad Roblin (.259 BA) struck out swinging.  Kalter grounded out, 4-3.

The Miners added a run in the eighth.  Akashian struck out swinging.  Scanzano doubled to left.  Lairson reached on an infield single that hit Locke’s left leg.  Scanzano moved to third.  Right-hander Brett Cannon warmed up in the Miners’ bullpen.  Suttle’s 6-3 fielder’s choice scored Scanzano from third.  Lairson was out at second.  Miller struck out swinging.  12-3 Miners. 

Ninth inning:
Right-hander Brett Cannon (0-0, 3.00 ERA) relieved Neal in the ninth Pinch hitter Eric Newton (.167 BA) singled to left in place of Miller.  Pinch hitter Jeff Stevens (.000 BA) singled to left in place of Perry.  Newton moved to second base.  Brown flied-out to left.  Goetz grounded into a 6-4 fielder’s choice.  Newton moved to third.  Damon Lessler (.125 BA) pinch hit for Young and struck out swinging.  Final score:  12-3 Miners.
Neal’s line:  2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 SO.  

July 12

Hello Miners fans.  Thanks for your past support and we are looking forward to a wild and exciting second half of the season. 

If you took a poll of our coaching staff when the season started, I think that we are about where we expected to be.  We have lost a number of games that we should have won and we also have won some games that our opponents handed to us.  It really does even out!  I guess my point is that our staff is neither disappointed nor is it overly excited where the team stands today.  Going into the season, we had very high expectations for the club. 

I get a lot of questions about how do you know when to send a runner and when do you hold him at third?  I would like to thank the fans who “roasted” me July 5 when I held Joey Metropoulos at third base.  I heard some a lot of things that my Mom would never have liked to hear about me!  But that is what makes fans so great.  And our Miner fans are in the game all the time. 

I held Joey the other night because we had a nine-run lead in the 7th inning.  That is not the time to start being aggressive and pouring it on.  Teams have very long memories and I would not want to be the reason one of our players was thrown at while at bat.  In addition, we were always taught to “leave a sleeping dog alone”.  In other words, don’t do anything to wake up the opposition. 

The first thing I have to consider is the speed of the runner, meaning how fast is he from second to home.  Next, I have to know before the play the strength of the three outfielder’s arms because there is usually one strong and two average.  Next, I have to know the score and the importance of the run for the team.   If we are losing by three or more, I tend to be a little more conservative because the last thing we want to happen is to be thrown out at the place, which is a real momentum buster!  

I have to know any physical ailments that our runner may have in this game.  Perhaps he is tender in the hamstring area, or his legs are feeling a little tired that day.Finally, I have to consider whether the outfielder is coming straight in at the ball, or is he running at an angle to pick up the baseball.  Running at the angle always gives us a better chance at scoring the run.  So, I hope you can better understand that there is a snap decision that has to be made and it is made in less than two seconds. 

We are playing two teams from the other division before the All-Star Break.  From what I have seen, they both are very solid defensive teams who approach the offensive game a little differently.  Traverse City has a great deal of speed and they like to play “small ball” (sacrifice bunts, hit and runs, advance runners) while Kalamazoo tended to be a bit more aggressive in their at bats.  We are fortunate that the Miners will miss the “ace” from Traverse City, Daniel Nathanson, because he pitched Thursday night.  We know that Chris Little pitched a great game against Kalamazoo’s ace, John Brownell, and we found ourselves on the short end of a 1-0 score. 

Our team is really “gelling” right now and players are more excited than ever.  I credit that to the new arrivals of catcher Brendan Akashian, outfielder Bradley Goldsmith and catcher Randy Rosa.  Last night we added former Saluki Tyler Lairson who also is a “gritty” ballplayer.  This is one example of the “rookies” reminding the veteran players that it doesn’t take any ability to hustle and play hard. 

Thanks for your comments about my blog and I look forward to seeing you out at Rent One Park.

Go Miners! 

Bart Zeller, Coach
Southern Illinois Miners

MARION — Manager Mike Pinto’s demeanor in his clubhouse office after Southern Illinois’ 5-4 loss to Traverse City was pretty easy to explain — angry.

Pinto was peeved at mental errors on the mound, in the field, and apparently most galling, at the plate.  Those errors wiped out a 4-1 lead built on Willie Keene’s two-run homer in the second, Eric Suttle’s run-scoring single in the first and Suttle’s leadoff home run in the third.  The mistakes also cost the Miners a shot at a comeback. 

The Miners got the leadoff runner on in both the seventh and ninth innings.  Both times they came away empty.  The first time, Suttle bunted a ball back to the mound for a fielder’s choice out at second base.  Kevin Koski, who reached on a leadoff single, sprained his ankle on the slide into second. 

Bradley Goldsmith replaced Koski in the batting order and had a shot to move a runner with a designed ninth-inning “butcher boy” swing after Tyler Lairson reached on a leadoff single.  Goldsmith hit the ball to pitcher Jeff Williams, who started a double play.

Starter Nick Starnes went 4.2 innings in a no-decision.  He gave up four hits and added three walks.  Two of those walks came around to score.  

Traverse City tied the game, 1-1, when Patrick Perry’s groundout followed a leadoff walk and a pair of singles.  The Beach Bums got within a run, 4-3, in the fourth after Starnes’ leadoff walk to Kyle Maunus and a two-run home run from Mike Epping.  

Traverse City got a run in the fifth.  Jeff Brown led off with a double to right and reached third on Suttle’s throwing error.  Mike Goetz’ sacrifice fly tied the game, 4-4.  

Jake McMurran took over after Starnes hit Steve Young with a pitch and got the Miners out of the inning.  One frame later, Jeff Brown’s one-out sacrifice fly scored Zack Kelter, who led off the sixth with a triple.

McMurran (1-2) took the loss.  Brian Wilburn finished the game with three shutout innings.  

Traverse City reliever Pete McEnearney picked up his first win of the season with 2.2 scoreless innings of middle relief.  Williams earned his ninth save with a scoreless ninth inning.  

Southern Illinois got all its runs off starter Brett Bostelman, pitched three innings and allowed six hits in a no-decision.  Traverse City’s bullpen combined for six shutout innings.

The loss dropped the Miners (26-24) out of first place in the Frontier League’s West Division.  Traverse City (30-20) stayed a game behind Kalamazoo for the best record in the East.  

The Miners and Beach Bums wrap up the series and the first half of the season Sunday with a 2:05 p.m. game at Rent One Park.  The Miners will have an 11:30 a.m. practice to work on some fundamentals before the game.

If you’re new to this site, check out our inning-by-inning coverage.

Pinto on his bats early in the game:  “We did a good job early on.  And then when we let them (Traverse City) back in the game, it seemed to take the air out of our dugout.”

Pinto on Starnes:  “He didn’t have command of the strike zone.  Twice we scored runs and walked the leadoff hitter in the next inning.  That generally is not going to get you success.”

Pinto on his team’s inability to get down late-innings bunts:  “As you’ll see, we’ll have guys here at 11:30 in the morning working on that.  It is something I’m adamant about.  There is probably nothing more that drives me crazier in this game than guys not having the ability to get the bunt down.  We’ve talked about it.  We’ve worked on it.  I had a couple conversations with guys following the game about my unhappiness with our lack of execution with that tonight.”

Pinto on adding injury to insult when Koski went down:  “Exactly.  When you don’t execute the bunt the right way, you not only don’t get the…tying run over to second base with (Brad) Miller and (Tim) Dorn coming up, but you also…get a guy hurt and he’s going to be out through the All-Star break.”

Pinto on Koski’s injury:  “It’s a sprain.  Chris (Stone, Miners trainer) thinks he should be ready to go after the break.”

Pinto on the butcher boy:  “It’s exactly what we wanted him (Goldsmith) to do.  If they’re charging, swing.  If the ball goes anywhere else, it’s a base hit and we’ve got guys on first and third.  It’s just this time it went to the wrong place.”

 Pinto on Wilburn:  “Wilburn was a real bright spot tonight.  He’s struggled a little bit since he got here.  He’s shown some signs, but his ability to come in for three innings and do a good job, that’s important for us down the road and it shows me that I might be able to use him in some situations where we’ve been waiting to see what he might be able to do.”

Pinto on Joey Metropoulos:  ”Joey will probably be back (Sunday).  I really wanted to give him one more day.  Since we took (Friday’s) game I figured we’d give him one more day today.  He put a good swing on the ball (in a pinch-hit appearance) but that one part of the ballpark (the left-center gap), it’s not going unless you really get it.”

Pinto on the three, four and five hitters going 1-for-10:  “The middle didn’t do what they’re capable of tonight.”

Suttle on his early at-bats:  “As a team we didn’t get to take a whole lot of batting practice (because of pre-game rain) so we really had to work on staying short of the ball…Those first two at-bats I was just working on keeping my weight back and staying short of the ball.  I was able to do that.  Nights like this, it’s tough to hit…I was just locked in early.  Everything felt really good there.”

Suttle on a running catch that turned an extra-base hit into an out in the first inning:  “I was able to get a good read off the ball.  (Coach) Ralph (Santana) actually moved me over two or three steps towards the (right-center) gap.  It was a left-hander and I was able to read the ball really well.  Thank god we’ve got a big outfield and I was able to run it down.  Between me and Koski out there, I think there is a lot of ground that can be covered.”

Suttle on his botched bunt attempt:  “That’s my mistake.  I”m trying to bunt that ball to first base, especially with a lefty falling off the third-base side of the mound.  My angle just wasn’t quite all the way there.  It hurts worse that our center fielder (Koski) got hurt.  Getting out is one thing, but when you lose a player like that, it makes me feel sorry about that.  I’ve got to do a better job than that.  A sacrifice means I’m sacrificing myself, not another player.”

Goldsmith on the butcher boy:  “I saw the guys crashing and I pulled back and slashed (a swing).  The result wasn’t good, but you can’t hang your head…Stuff like that will happen, but you can’t kill yourself over it.  If you kill yourself over everything that happens, you’re just going to get beat up and you’ll never succeed…I had the bunt sign and (could) pull back and slash if the guys crashed…The result wasn’t there.  I tried to get it down and it just didn’t happen.”

Traverse City manager Jon Cahill on his team’s comeback:  “We focused at the plate.  They (the Miners) scored some runs early in the game.  We needed a shut-down inning.  Our starter wasn’t able to do it.  Our offense started to come alive, which helped a lot…We had a lot better at-bats…We got pitches to hit and took advantage of them.”

 Cahill on taking advantage of walks and the error:  “Those are the little things we need to do more of.”

Cahill on his bullpen:  “Our bullpen has been great pretty much the entire season.  We tried to find bits and pieces and we have some great guys in the bullpen.  They’ve done a great job of getting strikes and letting the defense work behind them.”

Score by inning:    R H E
TVC 010 211 000 - 5 8 0
SIL   121 000 000 - 4 10 1

E - Suttle,E. DP - Beach Bums 2. LOB - Beach Bums 6; Miners 7. 2B - Brown,J;
Miller,B. 3B - Kalter,Z; Koski,K. HR - Epping,M; Suttle,E; Keene,W. HBP -
Young,S. SF - Goetz,M; Brown,J. SB - Miller,B; Suttle,E. CS - Young,S.

Beach Bums
Bostelman………3.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 14 AB, 16 SO
McEneaney……..2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 9 AB, 10 BF
Locke…………….1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO, 5 AB, 6 BF
Gjeldum…………1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3 AB, 3 BF
Williams…………1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3 AB, 3 BF

SI Miners
Starnes…………4.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO, 15 AB, 16 BF
McMurran……..1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 6 AB, 8 BF
Wilburn………..3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 10 AB, 10 BF 

Win - McEneaney,P (1-0).  Loss - Mcmurran,J (1-2).  Save - Williams,J (9).
HBP - by Starnes,N (Young,S).
Umpires - HP: Donald Gonzalez  1B: Marty Teasley  3B: Steve Dunahue
Start: 7:05   Time: 2:47   Attendance: 4354