Tue. 8/23 - Final Day for an Eight-Game Slate, Whew!

[Joseph Zarr]

Oh baby! INF Patrick Dorrian just took a hanging inner corner breaking ball deeeeeeep over the wall in right center. Yeah baby! Let's get Bradley run from this mound. 3-0 Sounds!

[Joseph Zarr]

Joey Wiemer works a 1-2 count full and then stays atop a breaking ball and rips it to left field and stretches it to a double. So lovely to see the young men learning and executing in real time at Triple-A. A great AB from Wiemer - he laid off a couple breaking balls in there. A big step. Navaretto follows ripping a fastball into left center and knocks in the Wiems. 4-0.

[Joseph Zarr]

Man Walden is suffering from paper cut hits and dribblers. Ahhhh baseball. 4-3 Sounds to the top of the 4th.

[Joseph Zarr]

RHP Carlos Rodriguez works around a couple walks to load the bases and strikes out his final batter on another nasty breaking ball. He escapes and it's still 0-0. No hits for either squad.

[Joseph Zarr]

Esteury Ruiz now has 29 stolen bases in 44 combined Triple-A games. Sheesh.

[Joseph Zarr]

I sincerely can not tell you how enjoyable it is to watch these young studs and the run production happening in Nashville right now. So much of this is just: 'Get on base.' And, at this rate, with the young bucks getting on routinely, it's a matter of how they move over and along. Singleton proves, yet again, he's so much more than a power hitter - a hard hit single to right field plating a runner. A sacrifice fly to left field plates another. AND, he leads the International League with over 90 walks. To boot, he's an incredible defender. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Wiemer with two hits tonight - a beautiful double and a fantastic display of his speed beating an infield hit for a single. We have Frelick hitting 0.422. Ruiz is now up to 0.322. AND, Mitchell is hitting 0.317. My goodness. The talent is ridiculous. They cause problems, folks. Legitimate problems.

[markedman5]

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Welp, Rosenthal's second rehab outing was quite a bit less impressive. He struggled to locate anything outside and just absolutely hung a meatball on an 0-2 pitch with runners on the corner. Josh Lowe slams it out to center field. Sounds now trail 5-6 in the fifth inning. Rosenthal's fastball is simply too hittable tonight. He's tossing flat 96-97 mph heaters right over the heart of the plate. All 6 Bulls runs have come with two down. 

[Joseph Zarr]

2 hours ago, markedman5 said:

 

I watched it. Wasn't pretty. Two mistake pitches got the second runner aboard. The home run pitch was a meatball on 0-2. He walked the next batter on four pitches. Ugly outing. And, now the athletic trainer is out there and he's leaving with an apparent re-injury. WOOOOOOF. Let's just say it: Ouch!?

[Joseph Zarr]

Wes Clarke: welcome back, young man! With a bases loaded, 0-2 count and looking like a wasted opportunity, he ropes a single to left center field and scores two. It's suddenly 2-1 T-Rats!

[Joseph Zarr]

Fernando Olguin continued his ongoing struggles for the Mudcats: 4 IP, 10 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 7 ER. Yikes. 

[Robocaller]

And Frelick singles to start an inning.

[Joseph Zarr]

Esteury Ruiz just hit his second 0-2 single. It's Ruiz and Frelick on 2nd and 3rd with nobody down again. AND, he just stole his 30th base in 44 Triple-A games combined. This guy...whewwww.

[Joseph Zarr]

6 minutes ago, Robocaller said:

And Frelick singles to start an inning.

It was an absolute '***' single dribbler. Speed kills. It was a beautiful pitch. Didn't matter. Dribbled under the pitcher's glove and they had no chance on the scoop from 2nd base. I'm telling you, these guys are problems. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Big Jon Singleton! Ladies and gentleman, his 3rd run knocked in tonight. He hits an inside change-up rope to right field over the shift and Frelick scores. We're tied again 6-6 and Ruiz is at 3rd base. Jon at 1st. Weston Wilson at the dish. One down.

[Joseph Zarr]

Attta boy, Weston Wilson! He took the 0-2 count to 2-2 and then smacks a well-hit knock to left center. Singleton to 3rd base. Ruiz scores. Sounds back atop 7-6. AND, it all started with the speed and ability to get on base for the young bucks. Beautiful.

[Robocaller]

I'm feeling pretty good about a 2024 major league lineup where Frelick, Ruiz, Mitchell, and Turang are filling out the 1,2,3, and 9 slots in the order (in no particular order).

[Joseph Zarr]

Meanwhile, LHP Karlos Morales has now walked the bases, then gives up an oppo flare that falls to score 2 runs. It's 3-2 Lansing. Action all around.

Wilson takes second base, the ball goes into CF. Wilson goes to 3rd. Singleton scores. 9-6 Sounds baby!

[Joseph Zarr]

Boy, RHP Hobie Harris isn't making things easy on himself. He missed a toss from Singleton for an easy first out putting the runner aboard right off the bat (error charged to Singelton - I disagree...he took his eye off the ball). He then throws a pitch in the dirt that bounces off Navaretto's shoulder pad and to the back stop. Men on 2nd and 3rd. Nobody down. Sounds lead 9-6.

Oh, and this just in: With Otero's release, the Sounds now have zero lefties in their pen. Durham struggles against lefties. They have no match-ups they can exploit. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Oh baby, flash that leather Sounds! A strikeout on a pitch in the dirt. Navarreto fakes a throw to first. Fakes again and draws the third base runner down the line. They get him in a brief run down. Out at third! Navarreto points Turang to second base. Turang fires the strike and Wilson lays the tag down grabbing Josh Lowe at second base to end the threat. 9-7 Sounds and we're onto the 8th. That was awesome.

Oh my word. Excuse me! That was a 2-6-9 double play. Joey Wiemer sprinted in from right field to make that tag at second base. That's incredible. What a heads up play!

[Joseph Zarr]

Sounds win the final 10-7. Four runs in the 7th inning were the difference. They outhit the Bulls 14-8. Speed and pressure are the name of the new Sounds game. Man, it is fun to watch. 

[Joseph Zarr]

All you really have to do to get INF Eduardo Garcia out is throw a slider away. I routinely see him striking out on the same exact pitch. This is going to really hinder his growth as a player and will continue to knock him down my lists. So much talent, but, if you can't identify pitches as a hitter you will continue to struggle as you move up. The Rattlers really missed out on an opportunity to tie the game on a Joe Gray Jr. blooper on a strange decision by Reidy Mercado to slide into third when he clearly would have scored had he seen Ayrault sending him home - the ball had snuck passed the fallen outfielder and dribbled past his glove. This is simply what we are watching with T-Rats baseball right now. They have to grind out everything and mistakes like that will typically cost them gravely. Adding insult to injury, Mercado had come on as a pinch runner. After the inning, the crowd was dead quiet.

[Joseph Zarr]

Three consecutive strikeouts strand Ethan Murray at first base - who had opened the bottom of the ninth with a very nice walk. Cipion goes down looking on a dead center heater (his 4th K of his evening). Pinero goes down looking at a dead center off-speed pitch - he was clearly looking for some heat. Metzinger goes down swinging on a 94 mph heater middle in but mostly dead center. T-Rats lose 4-3 and fall 8 back of second-half leading South Bend. It sure looks like the youngsters are going to see their season end in early September.

[LouisEly]

2 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

I watched it. Wasn't pretty. Two mistake pitches got the second runner aboard. The home run pitch was a meatball on 0-2. He walked the next batter on four pitches. Ugly outing. And, now the athletic trainer is out there and he's leaving with an apparent re-injury. WOOOOOOF. Let's just say it: Sh!t!?

Well, that's just spiffy