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TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Series Preview: Naturals and Cards

September 9, 2009 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


Wednesday the Naturals open up a five-game playoff series with the Springfield Cardinals for the North Division Championship. NWANaturals.com along with The Morning News previews the series. The Springfield Cardinals prevailed in a tight first-half division race, guaranteeing themselves a spot in the playoffs, but they lifted the pedal off the accelerator slightly in the second half, finishing last in the Texas League North Division.

The Naturals rebounded after just missing the first-half title, finishing in first place over Tulsa in the second half despite enduring a seven-game losing streak in August. The Cardinals, despite the sub-par second half, led the league in longballs and still retain most of their top home run hitters. Steven Hill, Tyler Henley and Andrew Brown have all hit the double-digit mark in homers this year. Brown, for his part, clubbed four homers in as many games against the Naturals the last time these two teams met two weeks ago.

The Naturals have at times dominated the St. Louis Cardinals' Double-A affiliate. Northwest Arkansas leads the overall series 37-27, including an 18-14 mark this year. The Naturals won nine of 16 games in Hammons Field this season and own a two-year road mark of 17-15.

Northwest Arkansas' last trip to Springfield saw the Naturals earn a four-game sweep while outscoring the Cardinals 44-20.

But Naturals catcher Cody Clark told the Morning News those numbers mean nothing this time of the year. Clark has been in a Naturals uniform the past two seasons and was named the Texas League Player of the Week on Tuesday.

"They have been all tough games, and there have been times they have taken it to us," Clark said. "It's going to be a good series."

Springfield will send Trey Hearne (12-3, 2.82 ERA) to the mound for game one while the Naturals will counter with Anthony Lerew (10-6, 4.09 ERA). Hearne is 2-1 against Northwest Arkansas this season but was roughed up in his last outing against the Naturals, giving up 13 hits and five runs in 5 1/3 innings of work.

Clark calls Hearne one of the best pitchers in the Texas League.

"(Hearne) is a guy that is going to come right at you and throw a lot of strikes," Clark said. "You have to be ready for anything because he has a lot of pitches. You could be ahead in the count but he is just not going to lay a fastball in there."

Lerew has been a bright spot this season. Lerew had Tommy John surgery in 2007 but has been the Naturals' most consistent starter. Lerew is 6-2 with a 2.42 ERA in his last 10 starts. Two of those six wins have been against Springfield.

"Anthony has got better as the year has gone on," said Naturals manager Brian Poldberg. "He had the surgery and you never know how a guy is going to respond as you get deeper into the year. Anthony's velocity has come up and his command has got better. He can throw all his pitches and he is pitching with confidence."

Starting pitching will be a main focus as the Naturals hope to get solid contributions from their other starters like Blake Johnson, who had an up-and-down season overall but finished the season strong with a solid August, and Rowdy Hardy, who stabilized the rotation in the season's final six weeks. They also need a solid outing from Everett Teaford, the slated game four starter, who battled control issues to pitch five no-hit innings against Tulsa on Saturday only to see the bullpen allow a ninth-inning walkoff home run that delayed the Naturals' champagne-toasting an extra 24 hours.

Look for the hitters to be aggressive and try and make Springfield's starting pitchers work, and allow their own starters to settle into a groove and control the pace of what usually are close, tight games between the Naturals and Cardinals.

SPEED GAMES: The Naturals led the Texas League with 162 stolen bases and have attempted 48 steals against the Cardinals, whereas the slower-footed Cards only attempted 16 steals on the Naturals. One key element - Springfield backstop Tony Cruz is one of the league's best at throwing runners out and is the only backstop in the league to throw out Jarrod Dyson more than once. Dyson led the Naturals with 37 swipes despite joining the club in June.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Springfield defeated Tulsa 3-0 in the North Division Finals back in 2007, before falling to San Antonio (3-1) in the Texas League Championship Series. The Naturals were swept 3-0 by the eventual champions, the Travelers, in last year's playoffs.

CARDS' PROSPECTS: St. Louis Cardinals prospects on the Springfield roster include the talented OF Daryl Jones (#7), SS Peter Kozma (#10), RHP Lance Lynn (#15), RHP Francisco Samuel (#21), C/1B/OF Steven Hill (#25), C/3B Tony Cruz (#27), and LHP Nick Additon (#30). Lynn was the Cards' first-round pick in the 2008 draft. Kozma has had a steady campaign in the Texas League and is rated by Baseball America as the best defensive infielder in the system. Baseball America also sees Daryl Jones as the organization's best athlete and fastest baserunner. These rankings will change tremendously for next year with the departures of several prospects including third baseman Brett Wallace and former Diamond Hog Jess Todd in separate trades earlier this summer.

HEAD-TO-HEAD NUMBERS: Springfield's ERA against the Naturals is 5.03, their batting average is .261, they've scored 155 runs against Northwest Arkansas, hit 35 homers, and stolen 14 bases. The Naturals have a 4.43 ERA against Springfield, a .271 average, have scored 174 runs, and hit 32 homers while stealing 26 bases.

DOWN SOUTH: The Second Half South Division Champion Midland RockHounds will visit the First Half South Division Champion San Antonio Missions tonight, in the opening game of the South Division Finals. Midland last won the crown in 2005, while San Antonio's last pennant came in 2007, when they defeated Springfield 3-1. The winner of this series will host games one and two of the Texas League Championship Series on Tuesday, September 15th and Wednesday, September 16th, before the series returns to the North representative city on Friday, September 18th for game three.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game 1, At Springfield, Wednesday 7:10 p.m.

Northwest Arkansas RHP Anthony Lerew (10-6, 4.09 ERA) vs. Springfield RHP Trey Hearne (12-3, 2.82 ERA)

Game 2, At Springfield, Thursday 7:10 p.m.

Northwest Arkansas RHP Blake Johnson (8-8, 4.57) vs. Springfield RHP Lance Lynn (11-4, 2.92)

Game 3, At Arvest Ballpark, Friday 7 p.m.

Springfield RHP Brandon Dickson (8-10, 3.78) vs. Northwest Arkansas LHP Rowdy Hardy (4-4, 3.43)

Game 4 (If Necessary), At Arvest Ballpark, Saturday 7 p.m.

Springfield RHP Scott Gorgen (4-5, 5.20) vs. Northwest Arkansas LHP Everett Teaford (3-7, 5.11)

Game 5 (If Necessary)At Arvest Ballpark, Sunday 6 p.m.

Springfield LHP Nick Addition (2-3, 3.19) vs. Northwest Arkansas RHP Federico Castaneda (0-3, 4.28)

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics



Texas League Stories from September 9, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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