Folmer saves win for Chukarsr

Posted on July 10, 2009 by zachkyle

Chukar Carlos Arias should buy dinner for fellow pitcher Richard Folmer after the Chukars’ 7-6 road win over the Helena Brewers Friday Night.

Needing just one out to end the game, Chukars manager handed the ball to Arias. Despite showing great control this season, Arias couldn’t find the plate, walking three straight batters. He walked home two runs as Helena pulled within 7-6 with cleanup hitter Chris Ellington at the plate.

The third walk prompted Chukars manager Darryl Kennedy to bring in Folmer. After falling behind to Ellington 2-0, Folmer threw two fastballs and a slider to strike out Ellington and pick up the win.

Folmer said his time as a closer at Stephen F. Austin University helped prepare him for tough situations at the end of games.

“I definitely wasn’t worried when I fell behind,” Folmer said. “I was around the zone. I just had to bare down and throw strikes.”

The Chukars took three of four games in Helena and lead the Pioneer League with an 11-4 record.

Arias entered the game with a sparkling 0.79 ERA and 16 strikeouts against six walks. He threw only two strikes while issuing the three walks, but Kennedy said Arias pitched better than the numbers suggest.

“He was around the zone,” Kennedy said. “He wasn’t missing bad. The umpire was staying strong with the zone in the last inning. It was just one of those nights.”

The Chukars offense rebounded from a two-hit showing in a 2-0 loss to Helena the night before by pounding out 11 hits, five for doubles.

Tito Espinosa had a pair of RBI doubles. Hilton Richardson batted in the No. 9 hole, but the centerfielder set the table by leading off three innings with base hits. He finished 4-for-4 with a double and three runs scored.

Filed under: Game recap | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

LIVE BLOG – Chukars at Helena Brewers, July 10

Posted on July 10, 2009 by zachkyle

The Chukars are the top club in the Pioneer League at 10-4. The 9-7 Helena Brewers sit tied with Great Falls a game behind Missoula for the north division lead.

First pitch at 7:05.

The Brewers shut down the Chukars 2-0 last night, but a win tonight will give the Chukars three wins to wrap up the four-game series.

The offenses will be licking their chops, as both teams trot out pitchers who have given up runs in limited opportunities so far this season.

Nick Wooley gets the start for the Chukars. The righthander is 0-0 in two starts and has given up 4 runs in 5.1 innings pitched. In his last outing on the 4th of July against Orem, Wooley gave up two runs in just 3.1 innings. He struck out four and walked one.

Helena’s Eric Arnett (0-0) in one start and two relief appearances. Arnett, a righty, went only two innings deep in his start against Billings, but he didn’t give up a run. He’s struck out three and walked four batters in 4.1 innings this season. In Arnett’s last outing, a relief appearance against Great Falls, Arnett gave up 2 runs on two hits in 1.1 inning.

On to the game thread:

Click Here

Filed under: Game thread | Leave a Comment »

Saito traded to the Mariners

Posted on July 10, 2009 by michaellycklama
Derrick Saito

Derrick Saito

I can’t promise I can keep up with all the trades of former Chukars, but as a Mariners fan, this jumped out at me.

Left-handed reliever Derrick Saito, a 2008 Chukar, was involved in a trade that sent shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt to the Royals and Saito and Daniel Cortes, the Royals’ No. 1 pitching prospect, to the Mariners.

The trade became official this afternoon. The Seattle Times has the story here.

Saito pitched 33 innings in 18 appearances in 2008, putting up a 4.36 ERA with a 5.2 BB/9 and a 10.1 K/9. With the Low-A Burlington Bees this year, Saito has posted a 4.15 ERA in 52 innings with a 2.6 BB/9 and a 9.2 K/9.

He’s originally be assigned to switch teams in the Midwest League. He’s scheduled to join the Clinton LumberKings, a divisional opponent of the Burlington Bees.

Filed under: Where are they now | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Helena shuts out Chukars

Posted on July 9, 2009 by michaellycklama

The Chukars ran into a buzzsaw Thursday in Helena, Mont.

Helena Brewers starting pitching Nicholas Bucci and reliever Michael Fiers combined to face two batters over the minimum and never allowed a runner past first base in a 2-0 Helena win.

Bucci entered the game with a combined 7.00 ERA between the Pioneer League and AA Huntsville, Ala. But the 18-year-old turned in the best outing of his professional career, throwing seven shutout innings while allowing two hits, no walks and striking out nine.

Only Chukars catcher Salvador Perez’s infield single forced Bucci to face one more than the minimum through seven innings.

“He just commanded the ball and made us chase pitches,” Chukars manager Darryl Kennedy said. “He was on top of game tonight. We couldn’t get anything done.”

Fiers entered the game in the eighth inning and picked up his fourth save of the year, tying him for the league lead, in two innings.

Second baseman Deivy Batista recorded the only other hit for the Chukars when he beat out an infield single in the fourth inning. That stretches his hitting streak, which includes the end of the 2008 season, to 15 games.

Outfielder Carlo Testa entered Thursday with a 15-game hitting streak of his own, but went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts to snap the streak.

Helena opened the scoring when Joseph Paciorek scored on a wild pitch from Chukars starter Sugar Ray Marimon in the third inning. Helena scratched its other run on the legs of the league leader in steals in the fifth.

Helena’s Joshua Prince stood at second base with another runner at first when Helena called for a hit-and-run. Chukars shortstop Angel Franco broke to cover second base on what he thought was a double steal. He then recovered back to his right and fielded a Scott Krieger groundball.

But Prince ran through third base and headed for home. Because he took such a wide turn, he slid in behind catcher Ben Theriot for the game’s second and final run.

Because the lack of offense from either Idaho Falls or Helena, which rank second and third in the league in runs scored per game, respectively, the game finished in two hours and two minutes.

Box score

Filed under: Game recap | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

LIVE BLOG: Chukars at Helena Brewers, July 9

Posted on July 9, 2009 by michaellycklama

Click here for live game blog

Filed under: Game thread | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Chukars add another pitcher

Posted on July 9, 2009 by michaellycklama

The Chukars pitching staff will swell to 15 members today after the Royals promoted right-handed pitcher Scott Shimek to the Pioneer League.

An undrafted free agent after the 2009 draft, Shimek started his professional career with the Royals’ rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona League. He made two appearances in Arizona, pitching 2.2 innings and facing the minimum. He allowed one hit but no walks or runs and didn’t strike anybody out.

The Royals signed Shimek at the conclusion of the draft after his finished his senior season at Division II St. Mary’s University in Texas. He went 10-3 with a 2.93 ERA this spring, throwing a complete game in 10 of his 13 starts and striking out 80 in 89 innings.

He is expected to join the team for tonight’s game in Helena.

Filed under: Roster moves | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Batista dusts off rust, Helena Brewers

Posted on July 8, 2009 by michaellycklama
Deivy Batista

Deivy Batista

Chukars infielder Deivy Batista made his return to the lineup felt Wednesday in a 9-5 10-inning win in Helena, Mont.

Batista, who hasn’t played since July 1 due to an abdominal strain, hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning to tie the game at 5-5.

The score would stay tied until an Angel Franco’s sacrifice fly in the 10th inning. Batista added the insurance in the next at-bat with another three-run home run to left field.

“He’s really been our guy as far as having big hits and driving in runs,” Chukars manager Darryl Kennedy said. “With him out of the lineup, we missed him. But tonight he comes back and doesn’t miss a beat.”

The first three-run home run extended Batista’s hit streak, which stretches back to the end of 2008, to 14 games. He finished 3-for-6 with 6 RBIs.

The 6-RBI night leaves Batista with 18 on the season, tied for second in the Pioneer League with Helena’s Scott Krieger.

Helena jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first and made it 5-0 in the third with a three-run Chris Ellington home run.

But after the home run, Chukars (10-3) starter Santiago Garrido settled down and had his best outing of the season. After a Cutter Dykstra walk two batters after the home run, Garrido retired the next eight batters he faced before hitting his 85-pitch limit.

He recorded the first two outs in the sixth inning, making him the first Chukars starter to work into the sixth. Despite five walks and five earned runs, Kennedy was impressed.

“He could have easily folded the tent,” Kennedy said. “But I think that three-run homer sparked something in him.”

Right-handed pitcher Patrick Keating relieved Garrido and stretched it to 12 consecutive Helena batters retired before Josh Prince dropped in a bunt single.

Right-hander Ryan Morgan started the ninth inning and gave up one hit while striking out three to pick up the win.

Box score

Filed under: Game recap | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

LIVE BLOG: Chukars at Helena Brewers, July 8

Posted on July 8, 2009 by michaellycklama

Click Here

Filed under: Game thread | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Pioneer League notebook released

Posted on July 8, 2009 by michaellycklama

The Pioneer League has it’s weekly notebook up on its Web site. It features four or five tidbits on every team in the league.

Check it out.

Filed under: Pioneer League notebook | Leave a Comment »

Pitching lifts Chukars over Brewers 2-1

Posted on July 7, 2009 by zachkyle

A battle between two offensive clubs turned into a pitching battle as the Chukars squeaked by the Helena Brewers on the road 2-1.

With the win, the Chukars maintain the best record in the Pioneer League at 9-3. The loss drops Helena to 8-6 and one game behind Great Falls for the north division lead.

Three Chukars pitchers dominated, holding Helena four runs under its average of five runs per game. Starter Ivor Hodgson and relievers Cole White and Carlos Arias gave up just five hits. The trio struck out 13 batters and walked just two.

A solo homer by Edgar Trejo in the second inning saved Helena from a shutout loss.

Helena’s pitchers were equally effective. Starter Adrian Rosario struck out seven batters in six innings, and reliever Andre Lamantagne didn’t give up a hit in three innings of work.

The difference was situational hitting and defense.

After being shut out for five innings The Chukars manufactured the tying run in the sixth. A J.D. Alfaro got things going with a leadoff double. Salvador Perez moved Alfaro to third, and Carlo Testa brought him home with a single to right field.

Alfaro said Perez ignored a swing away sign when he laid down the bunt.

“Salvador did that on his own,” Alfaro said. “It was a good time. That shows he has confidence in himself. It shows what he’s capable of.”

Chukars manager Daryll Kennedy said he didn’t mind his No. 3 hitter going off the reservation to play small ball.

“We needed to get the guy to third with less than three outs,” Kennedy said. “I was hoping he’d drive ball to right field and maybe get a double himself. But he took it upon himself to get the job done. That was a big run for us.”

The Chukars benefited from Helena’s charity in the eight when two throwing errors allowed Alfaro to reach and to score the go-ahead run.

All season, the Chukars have come from behind and pick up wins. With both teams pitching well, the Chukars squirmed to victory by making routine plays behind their pitchers while Helena left the door open with errors.

“One thing this team shows is confidence,” Kennedy said. “Even though the offense wasn’t there tonight and runs were at a premium, guys did a good job finding a way to do it, finding a way to win. That’s indicative of what I’ve seen of this team.”

White improved to 2-1 on the season and kept his ERA at 0.00 by striking out four of the seven batters he faced. Arias, who will move out of the starting rotation and into a pseudo closer role, struck out four of six batters, lowered his ERA to 0.79 and picked up his first save.

At two hours and 15 minutes, the pitcher’s duel resulted in the Chukars’ shortest game of the season, a full one hour and 17 minutes faster than the June 30 marathon against Casper.

Filed under: Game recap | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Next Page »