Happy Thursday, everyone.

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Our series with Klamath Falls concludes at 6:40 tonight with Game 3 on a Block 15 Thursday and a Spindrift Cellars Tasting Night. Enjoy a discounted Block 15 adult beverage, and the final Spindrift Cellars Tasting Night of the summer. Righty Dakody Clemmer (2-1, 3.37) of Central Arizona is our starting pitcher, opposed by Western Oregon�s Garrett Alvarez (2-3, 4.30).

* Friday is Mario Pastega House Cap Night and the Laura Gillott Home Team Lebanon Night presented by the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce. The first 1,000 fans receive a free Knights cap, courtesy of the Mario Pastega House. Righty Austin Kelly (1-1, 3.93 all games) of Linn-Benton CC is our starting pitcher.

See you at the ballpark!

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Alum Brent Morel (2006-07) of Cal Poly has declared free agency after being designated for assignment on Saturday by the Pittsburgh Pirates. A five-year major-league veteran, he�s eligible to sign with any team.

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Some roster news to report:

* Pitcher Ryan Walker of Washington State has been shut down for the summer. He was a WCL South Division all-star, earned a save in the All-Star Game, and was 3-2 with a 4.17 ERA and one save.

* Outfielder Michael McAdoo Jr. has also been shut down. The freshman-to-be at UC Santa Barbara hit .230 in 23 games, with no homers and six RBIs.

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Wednesday�s crowd of 1,438 raised the season total to 40,297 in 28 dates, the fifth year in a row the Knights have surpassed the 40,000 mark. That is 4,944 fans ahead of our 2014 total through a corresponding number of openings. Please click here for WCL-only attendance figures.

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Erie (AA Eastern, Tigers) DH Dean Green (2008) was 2-for-5 with two homers and two RBIs in a 9-8 loss to Reading on Wednesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He recently was re-assigned to Erie after spending two weeks at triple-A Toledo.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Mobile (AA Southern, Diamondbacks) reliever Jimmie Sherfy (2011) had two strikeouts in a scoreless inning of relief in a 4-2 win over Jacksonville.

* Salem (A Carolina, Red Sox) reliever Kyle Kraus (2009-10) allowed no earned runs and had two strikeouts in a 4-0 loss to Lynchburg. Trevor Frank (2012) had a hold with a scoreless inning of relief for Lynchburg.

* Palm Beach (A Florida State, Cardinals) outfielder Blake Drake (2013) was 2-for-3 with two runs in a 9-0 win over Brevard County.

* Grand Junction (R Pioneer, Rockies) catcher Chris Rabago (2012-13) was 2-for-5 with two runs in a 9-6 win over Ogden.

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That is all for today; have a great day and get to the ballpark tonight and Friday. The Blog is taking a little R & R and we will see you next late week, in time for the Aug. 8-9 series with Medford.

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

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We were idle on Monday, but it was still a good day for the Knights. Yakima Valley lost to Medford, and fell 1/2-game further behind us in the race for the West Coast League's wild-card playoff berth.

So we lead the Pippins and Walla Walla by 1.5 games with 12 to play (for us), and we are two games up in the all-important loss column. Here are the wild-card standings after Monday's games:

Team W L GB

Corvallis 23 19 -

Yakima Valley 22 21 1.5

Walla Walla 21 21 2

Victoria 20 21 2.5

Walla Walla 20 22 3

Wenatchee 19 23 4

Medford 19 23 4

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We open a three-game series with the Klamath Falls Gems at Goss Stadium at 6:40 tonight. The four-game homestand ends on Friday with a nonleague game against the Oregon Collegiate Baseball League All-Stars.

Here are the promotions for this homestand:

* Tonight is Holiday Inn Express Baseball Giveaway Night. The first 500 fans receive a free baseball, courtesy of Holiday Inn Express. Lefty Cameron Bishop (0-1, 3.60) of UC-Irvine is our starting pitcher.

* Wednesday is Stahlbush Island Farms Hawaiian Night. General admission tickets for fans 60 years of age and older are only $2. Lefty Cory Nelson (2-0, 1.92) of PLU is our starting pitcher.

* Thursday is a Block 15 Thursday and a Spindrift Cellars Tasting Night. Enjoy a discounted Block 15 adult beverage, and the final Spindrift Cellars Tasting Night of the summer. Righty Dakody Clemmer (2-1, 3.37) of Central Arizona is our starting pitcher.

Klamath Falls joined the WCL as an expansion team in 2011 and the Knights lead the all-time series 31-7. We have won the last eight games between the teams at Goss Stadium and hold a 16-3 all-time home edge.

* Friday is Mario Pastega House Cap Night and the Laura Gillott Home Team Lebanon Night presented by the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce. The first 1,000 fans receive a free Knights cap, courtesy of the Mario Pastega House. Righty Austin Kelly (1-1, 3.93 all games) of Linn-Benton CC is our starting pitcher.

See you at the ballpark!

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Our attendance for all games is 37,003 in 26 dates, an average of 1,423 per game. That's 4,700 fans ahead of our 2014 total through a corresponding number of openings. We also rank second in the WCL in league-games only with an average of 1,419 per outing; please click here for WCL attendance figures.

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Here is a story from Bend Bulletin reporter Grant Lucas on ex-Elk Christian Cavaness, who left the team recently to sign with the Minnesota Twins.

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Lake Elsinore (A California, Padres) outfielder Nick Torres (2012) was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run in a 5-4 win over Inland Empire on Monday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He is hitting .333 since his promotion from low-A Fort Wayne of the Midwest League.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Toledo (AAA International, Tigers) DH Dean Green (2008) was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in a 2-1 win over Rochester.

* Birmingham (AA Southern, White Sox) first baseman Danny Hayes (2010) was 2-for-4 with a double in a 5-3 win over Jacksonville.

* Visalia (A California, Diamondbacks) outfielder Mitch Haniger (2010) was 1-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs in a 9-5 loss to San Jose.

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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you at the ballpark tonight and back here on Wednesday.

Happy Monday, everyone.

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Good road trip to Klamath Falls, where we took 2 of 3 from the Gems to remain in first place in the West Coast League's wild-card playoff race. We lead runner-up Yakima Valley by one game, with 12 to play.

Here are the wild-card standings after Sunday's games:

Team W L GB

Corvallis 23 19 -

Yakima Valley 22 20 1

Victoria 20 21 2.5

Walla Walla 20 21 2.5

Wenatchee 19 23 4

Medford 19 23 4

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We are idle today, then begin another three-game series with the Gems at Goss Stadium at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday. The four-game homestand ends on Friday with a nonleague game against the Oregon Collegiate Baseball League All-Stars.

Here are the promotions for this homestand:

* Tuesday is Holiday Inn Express Baseball Giveaway Night. The first 500 fans receive a free baseball, courtesy of Holiday Inn Express. Lefty Cameron Bishop of UC-Irvine is our starting pitcher.

* Wednesday is Stahlbush Island Farms Hawaiian Night. General admission tickets for fans 60 years of age and older are only $2. Lefty Cory Nelson of PLU is our starting pitcher.

* Thursday is a Block 15 Thursday and a Spindrift Cellars Tasting Night. Enjoy a discounted Block 15 adult beverage, and the final Spindrift Cellars Tasting Night of the summer. Righty Dakody Clemmer of Central Arizona is our starting pitcher.

* Friday is Mario Pastega House Cap Night and the Laura Gillott Home Team Lebanon Night presented by the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce. The first 1,000 fans receive a free Knights cap, courtesy of the Mario Pastega House. Righty Austin Kelly of Linn-Benton CC is our scheduled starter.

See you at the ballpark!

---------------------------

Our attendance for all games is 37,003 in 26 dates, an average of 1,423 per game. That's 4,700 fans ahead of our 2014 total through a corresponding number of openings. We also rank second in the WCL in league-games only with an average of 1,419 per outing. Please click here for WCL attendance figures.

---------------------------------

The Pittsburgh Pirates made a trade on Friday for third baseman Aramis Ramirez and that left alum Brent Morel (2006-07) as the odd-man out on their 25-man roster. He was out of minor league options so Pittsburgh designed him for assignment.

That means the Pirates have 10 days to trade or release him. If Morel clears waivers, he can be assigned to Indianapolis in the triple-A International League. He also can reject the assignment and become a free agent.

He was 2-for-7 in his brief stay back in the majors, with a double and the game-winning RBI in Friday's 7-5 victory over Washington.

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Alum Matt "Slider Guy" Hague (2005) is having a great season for the Buffalo Bisons in the triple-A International League. He hit his eighth homer and drove in five runs on Sunday and is hitting .354 in 100 games, with 70 RBIs. Here is more on Matt from columnist Jerry Sullivan of The Buffalo News.

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West Virginia (A New York-Penn, Pirates) outfielder David Andriese (2010-11) was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI in a 4-3 win over Staten Island on Sunday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention goes to:

* El Paso (AAA Pacific Coast, Padres) catcher Rocky Gale (2007, 2009) was 1-for-4 with a triple and a run in a 6-3 win over Salt Lake.

* Bluefield (R Appalachian, Blue Jays) first baseman Gabe Clark was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in an 8-6 loss to Danville.

* Visalia (A California, Diamondbacks) outfielder Mitch Haniger (2010) was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs in a 7-5 loss to Modesto.

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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you on Monday.

Happy Friday, everyone.

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Another good night at Goss Stadium on Thursday, where we edged Cowlitz 2-1 to win the series and to remain tied with Yakima Valley in the West Coast League's wild-card race. We got great pitching from Chris Clements, Gary Steindorf and Harrison McGhee and three hits and an RBI from Emilio Alcantar.

We are off to Klamath Falls today for a Friday/Saturday/Sunday series with the Gems. Alex Nesbitt (2-2, 2.50) of Washington is our projected starter tonight; Slater Lee goes on Saturday and Cole Doherty goes on Sunday.

Game times at historic Kiger Stadium are 6:35 p.m. tonight and Saturday, and 5:05 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be broadcast on KEJO-AM 1240, with Mike Parker on the call.

We have Monday off, then host the Gems again on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday nights to begin our penultimate homestand. See you at Goss!

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As we mentioned earlier, we stayed even with Yakima Valley in the race for the WCL's wild-card playoff berth by winning last night. Here are the wild-card standings after Thursday's games:

Team W L GB

Corvallis 21 18 -

Yakima Valley 21 18 -

Walla Walla 20 19 1

Victoria 18 21 3

Cowlitz 17 22 4

Medford 17 22 4

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Thursday's crowd of 1,455 increased our season attendance to 37,003 in 26 dates. We are 4,700 fans ahead of their 2014 total through a corresponding number of openings.

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The Yakima Valley Pippins named Yakima-native Jeff Garretson as their new general manager on Tuesday. Garretson was the Pippins scorekeeper for the team's first two years at Yakima County Stadium.

He starts his duties Aug. 1 after concluding a 25-year career at the Yakima Herald-Republic newspaper. Here is more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

Congrats to Jeff, who, if memory serves me correctly, I met many years ago at a Northern Division baseball tournament at Yakima Valley College when he was a student at Washington State.

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Durham (AAA International, Rays) pitcher Matt Andriese ( 2009) allowed two hits, had seven strikeouts in seven innings and got the win in a 4-0 shutout of Charlotte on Thursday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Toledo (AAA International, Tigers) first baseman Dean Green (2008) was 1-for-3 with a run in a 7-6 win over Lehigh Valley.

* Salem (A Carolina, Red Sox) pitcher Kyle Kraus threw four shutout innings, allowed one hit, had six strikeouts and got the victory in a 3-1 win over Wilmington.

* Great Lakes (A Midwest, Dodgers) second baseman Jimmy Allen (2011) was 2-for-5 with a double, a run and three RBIs in a 13-0 win over South Bend.

* Bluefield (R Appalachian, Blue Jays) first baseman Gabe Clark was 2-for-4 with a run in an 8-1 loss to Greeneville.

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That is all for today. Have a great weekend, and we will see you on Monday.

Happy Thursday, everyone.

------------------------

Big game at Goss Stadium on Wednesday night. We rallied to defeat Cowlitz 3-2, and we moved into a tie for first place in the West Coast League's wild-card race.

We will try to win the series tonight in Game 3, set for 6:40 p.m. at Goss Stadium. It's a Block 15 Thursday and Barker Uerlings Insurance Reusable Grocery Tote Bag Night. Enjoy discounted Block 15 beverages, and the first 250 fans through the gates get a reusable grocery tote bag, compliments of Barker Uerlings.

Righty Chris Clements (1-2, 2.10) of UC Santa Barbara is our starting pitcher, opposed by Stanford lefty Chris Castellanos (2-0, 3.85). The Knights then head to Klamath Falls for a Friday-Sunday series with the Gems at Kiger Stadium.

See you at Goss!

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As we mentioned earlier, we pulled even with Yakima Valley in the race for the WCL's wild-card playoff berth. Here are the wild-card standings after Wednesday's games:

Team W L GB

Yakima Valley 20 18 -

Corvallis 20 18 -

Walla Walla 19 19 1

Victoria 18 20 2

Cowlitz 17 21 3

Medford 17 21 3

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Wednesday's crowd of 1,359 increased the season attendance to 35,548 in 25 dates. We are 4,557 fans ahead of their 2014 total through a corresponding number of openings.

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The San Francisco Giants optioned alum Josh Osich (2008), a left-handed reliever from Oregon State, back to triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday. Veteran reliever Jeremy Affeldt was activated from the DL and took Osich's spot on the 25-man roster.

Osich was 1-0, had six strikeouts and did not allow an earned run in 7.1 innings in nine appearances. The three runs he did allow were unearned, owing to an error by former Knight Matt Duffy (2010).

"He'll be back up here," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said of Osich. "I told him, 'You should be proud of where you are.' He has played his way back into being a top prospect for us."

Here is more on that story, from MLB.com.

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Bend outfielder Christian Cavaness has signed with the Minnesota Twins and has left the team. He hit .322 in 32 games, with three homers and 17 RBIs.

An NAIA All-American at Lindenwood University-Belleville in Illinois, he is the school's all-time leader in home runs, triples, RBIs and total bases. He will report to Fort Meyers, Fla., in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

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The Victoria HarbourCats have signed Victoria native Eric Hegadoren, a 6-foot-9 right-hander from Yavapai College. Hegadoren, who pitched for the HarbourCats in 2014, will be a reliever for the remainder of the regular season.

He joined the team in time for its ongoing series against Bellingham. He played for the Victoria Eagles Provincial Baseball League program before heading to Yavapai, located in Prescott, Ariz.

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El Paso (AAA Pacific Coast, Padres) catcher Rocky Gale (2007, 2009) was 2-for-6 with two runs, a double and three RBIs in a 15-2 win over Sacramento on Wednesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He is hitting .328.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Tri-City (A Northwest, Diamondbacks) shortstop Peter Van Gansen (2013) was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI in a 4-2 win over Salem-Keizer.

* Bluefield (R Appalachian, Blue Jays) first baseman Gabe Clark (2013) was 1-for-5 with two RBIs and his third homer in a 6-5 win over Greeneville.

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That is all for today. See you here on Friday, and at the ballpark tonight!

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

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Tough loss last night in the Cowlitz series opener. We had our chances but just could not convert. We will try to even things up by winning Game 2, set for 6:40 tonight at Goss Stadium.

* Tonight is 106.3 KLOO-FM Timeless Rock Night, presented by Calapooia Brewing. Break out those acid-washed jeans and the aqua net hairspray for a night of big hair, mullets and timeless rock. General admission tickets are only $2 for ages 60+ on Senior Nights, every Wednesday. Righty Dakody Clemmer (2-1, 3.34) of Central Arizona College is our starting pitcher.

* Thursday is a Block 15 Thursday and Barker Uerlings Insurance Reusable Grocery Tote Bag Night. Enjoy discounted Block 15 beverages, and the first 250 fans through the gates get a reusable grocery tote bag, compliments of Barker Uerlings. Righty Chris Clements (1-2, 2.10) of UC Santa Barbara is our starting pitcher.

See you at Goss!

---------------------------------

We still trail Yakima Valley by one game in the race for the West Coast League's wild-card playoff berth. Here are the wild-card standings after Tuesday's games:

Team W L GB

Yakima Valley 20 17 -

Corvallis 19 18 1

Walla Walla 19 18 1

Victoria 17 20 3

Cowlitz 17 20 3

Medford 16 21 4

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We do have some good news to report. Knights' outfielder Emilio Alcantar has signed with NAIA powerhouse Lewis-Clark State of Lewiston, Idaho, for the 2015-16 season. He played at Linn-Benton in 2014-15. Congrats to Emilio!

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Tuesday's crowd of 1,366 increased the season attendance to 34,189 in 24 dates. The Knights are 4,347 fans ahead of their 2014 total through a corresponding number of openings.

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Kelowna right-hander Curtis Taylor of University of British Columbia tossed a complete game shutout on July 18 at Elks Stadium to earn a 1-0 win over the Wenatchee AppleSox and WCL Player of the Week honors for July 13-19. Here is more on that story from the league website.

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Lake Elsinore (A California, Padres) outfielder Nick Torres (2012) was 2-for-4 with an RBI in a 2-1 loss to Modesto on Tuesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He is hitting .324 since being promoted from low-A Fort Wayne earlier this month.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Mobile (AA Southern, Diamondbacks) reliever Jimmie Sherfy (2011) had one strikeout in a scoreless inning in a 5-4 loss to Biloxi.

* Visalia (A California, Diamondbacks) outfielder Mitch Haniger (2010) was 1-for-5 with a run and a double in an 8-5 win over Rancho Cucamonga. He is hitting .362.

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That is all for today. See you here on Thursday, and at the ballpark on Wednesday night.

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

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Pitchers Slater Lee and Ryan Walker infielder Michael Farris represented the Knights on Monday night at the West Coast League All-Star Game at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Wash.

Lee started for the South and pitched a perfect first inning; Walker allowed one hit in the ninth and got the save in a 3-0 South victory. Farris participated in the Home Run Derby but did not make the finals.

Corvallis skipper Brooke Knight and assistants Connor Lambert and Dane Lund coached the South team. Kitsap's Jake Scudder went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run and was the MVP. Here is more on the game, from the WCL website.

The 2016 ASG will be at cozy Story Field in Longview, Wash., one of the WCL's friendliest venues. That should make for a great Home Run Derby, with the 300-foot left-field fence and the party deck.

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We are back at it at 6:40 tonight, hosting the Cowlitz Black Bears at 6:40 p.m. in the opener of a three-game series at Goss Stadium. It is Cowlitz's first visit to Corvallis since June of 2013.

Cowlitz joined the WCL as an expansion team in 2010 and the Knights lead the all-time series 22-6. Corvallis is 10-2 all-time at home against Cowlitz and swept two games from the Black Bears in 2013 in their only playoff matchup.

Outfielder Slate Miller (Washington) is Cowlitz's top hitter at .319 (36-113), with two homers and nine RBIs. First baseman Lorin Archibald (Lower Columbia College) is their top power producer, with four homers and 27 RBIs.

Cal Neely of Linfield (1-2, 1.58) and Joe Balfour of San Jose State (3-1, 2.34) are the top starters. Central Washington's Lars Rider (0-0, 0.75, nine saves) anchors the bullpen. He has 24 strikeouts and just two walks in 12 innings over 13 appearances.

We trail Yakima Valley by one game in the race for the West Coast League's wild-card playoff berth. Here are the wild-card standings heading into the final 1/3 of the season:

Team W L GB

Yakima Valley 20 16 -

Corvallis 19 17 1

Walla Walla 18 18 2

Victoria 17 19 3

Cowlitz 16 20 4

It should be a real dogfight for the final playoff berth. Kelowna (4-game lead), Bellingham (7) and Bend (9) all hold comfortable advantages in their respective divisional races and look to have the inside track on the automatic berths.

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The Knights (24-17 all, 19-17 WCL) resume WCL action at 6:40 tonight in the opener of a three-game series against Cowlitz at Goss Stadium. Game 2 is at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday and Game 3 is at 6:40 p.m. Thursday.

* Tonight is Les & Bob's T-Shirt Giveaway Night, presented by SERVEPRO. The first 150 fans get a Corvallis Knights t-shirt! Lefty Cory Nelson (2-0, 2.07) of Pacific Lutheran is our starting pitcher.

* Wednesday is 106.3 KLOO-FM Timeless Rock Night, presented by Calapooia Brewing. Break out those acid-washed jeans and the aqua net hairspray for a night of big hair, mullets and timeless rock. General admission tickets are only $2 for ages 60+ on Senior Nights, every Wednesday. Righty Dakody Clemmer (2-1, 3.34) of Central Arizona JC is our starting pitcher.

* Thursday is a Block 15 Thursday and Barker Uerlings Insurance Reusable Grocery Tote Bag Night. Enjoy discounted Block 15 beverages, and the first 250 fans through the gates get a reusable grocery tote bag, compliments of Barker Uerlings. Righty Chris Clements (1-2, 2.10) of UC Santa Barbara is our starting pitcher.

See you at Goss!

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The Pittsburgh Pirates recalled alum Brent Morel to the majors on Monday from triple-A Indianapolis of the International League. He joined the team in time for Monday night's game at Kansas City. Here is more on that story from our website.

Also, here is more from mlb.com. Brent was hitting .266 (79-279) in 81 games, with nine homers and 47 RBIs, for the Indians had was one of their most productive players over the last six weeks.

Brent is a .226 lifetime hitter in 217 major-league games with the White Sox and Pirates, with 13 homers and 58 RBIs.

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Bluefield (R Appalachian, Blue Jays) first baseman Gabe Clark (2013) was a combined 3-for-7 with a run, a homer, a double and four RBIs in a doubleheader sweep of Johnson City on Monday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Grand Junction (R Pioneer, Rockies) catcher Chris Rabago (2012-13) was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI in a 6-4 win over Billings.

* Palm Beach (A Florida State, Cardinals) outfielder Blake Drake (2013) was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in a 5-3 loss to Bradenton.

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That is all for today. See you here on Wednesday, and at the ballpark on Tuesday night.