Tuesday 4/4: Nashville at Memphis (Cardinals), 6:45 CT

[Jim Goulart]

Thread will be utilized for any minor league news Sunday, lineup updates, etc.

Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores

Reminder, the other three affiliates open on Friday April 7th.

[Joseph Zarr]

Just a heads up ye Sounds fans:

I would prepare for a rescheduled game tomorrow afternoon. Very severe weather looks to be in the Memphis area with a 90+% chance of over an inch of rainfall and thunderstorms  starting mid to late morning. There are tornado advisories west of Memphis as well. Tonight looks to be in the clear but tomorrow looks ominous at best for live game action.

And, this is your Minor League public service announcement.

[Joseph Zarr]

It would appear I will be watching RHP Robert Stock's Sounds debut tonight. Line-ups yet to be officially released but that appears to be the man on the mound for the Sounds.

From tonight's 'Game Notes':

Quote

: 33-year-old Robert Stock makes his first start stateside since the 2021 season. He went 9-10 with a 3.60 ERA (165.0 IP/66 ER) across 29 starts playing for the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization last year...

Note: If you recall, Doosan is also where RHP Dylan File took his talents for 2023. 

[Joseph Zarr]

We have our line up card. And we get the Singleton/Hiura one two offensive punch. 

 

[Joseph Zarr]

We are seconds from the first pitch from Memphis' RHP Tommy Parsons. Let's go get those Red Birds, gents!

[Joseph Zarr]

And Frelick leads off with a second pitch lazy deep fly ball to straight away center field on an offspeed pitch. Fear not, however! OF Blake Perkins does his best Garrett Mitchell/Joey Wiemer impression and stretches a single to RF by stealing a double. An important piece of work as Hiura loops a single to shallow right center driving in the first Sounds run. 1-0. One down. And Singleton to the dish. Let's go!

[Joseph Zarr]

Hiura is stranded at first base after two sky high pop ups at home plate from Jon Singleton on a 3-0 center cut heater and Abraham Toro on a high center cut heater. Both men will want those swings back. It's on to the bottom half of inning number one where the Sounds will try to tighten up their defensive woes from the recent weekend series.

[Joseph Zarr]

Wynn triples to deep CF on a ball that just carried and carried, surprisingly (it's hard to tell, however, as Memphis' camera is a sole dead on OF camera so we get no looks from behind the plate - not very classy, Cardinals 😁). He scores on a Kramer Robertson ground out to Alvarez at 2B and it is tied 1-1 with one down. Stock follows with a nice slider to K the next batter and gets a weak fly out (on a nice heater with a small bit of inside tailing action) to right field to end the frame knotted at one run apiece. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Hey a two-out Eddie Alvarez triple ripped to the right center field gap! Nice, Eddie! Let's try and knock him home, boys.

[Joseph Zarr]

Yes Sir! Andrew Monasterio's hot bat stays rippin' as he ropes a line drive single past the diving Robertson. It's 2-1 Sounds with Frelick back to the dish. And, we'll have to wait on Frelick as Monasterio leaves early and is picked off second base by a few steps in the failed steal attempt.

[Joseph Zarr]

The ump is not giving Stock the benefit of the outer edge of the plate here in the 2nd frame. That's two beautiful curve balls called for balls - one led to a walk and the other led to a 3-0 count. Give the man a beer. He's not giving him the inside part of the plate either on a gorgeous heater that was strike three but, well, not called by the ump. Give him two beers, please. When do those Auto Zone strikes begin? Not soon enough. Good gracious.

[Joseph Zarr]

Blake Perkins. Baseball player. Very very athletic. Very smooth. Second double of the evening on another beautiful lefty stroke to right field. Unheralded off-season ML FA pick-up (on the 40 Man) and, as I said at the time, this is an ascending young player.

[Joseph Zarr]

A first pitch hanging slider to Kramer Robertson sees its way over the left field fence. It's now 2-2 here in the bottom of the 3rd. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Stock leaves another pitch well over the meat of the plate and, after a deep shot to the warning track in left field barely missing another long ball the batter prior, Luken Baker hits his 3rd HR of the young season to straight away CF. 4-2 Redbirds. Stock only makes it 2 1/3 IP responsible for all four runs. Not the debut Stock was looking for. He walks 3. Strikes out 3. He gave up several well hit balls throughout the ball park and several to the warning track. He'll look to rebound and fine tune his offerings.

RHP Luis Contreras will see his first action of 2023 and he looks fantastic. Great velocity. Active breaking ball. He was, naturally, robbed of a 2nd K from the ump working his magic but, none the less, he looked fantastic in his first 2/3 inning pitched.

[Joseph Zarr]

Hey Now! C Alex Jackson just destroyed his first HR of his 2023 season on a 2-1 count in the bottom of the 4th. His first HR and his first RBI. He crushed that middle-middle heater over the wall in deep left center and into the streets. It nearly hit parked cars by the YMCA. 3-4 Good Guys still clawing back. Bases now empty and two down for Eddie Alvarez. 

I was not kidding about the Jackson ding dong. The numbers are in. Whoa:

 

[Joseph Zarr]

I am seriously soooooo pumped for Auto Balls and Strikes. I've seen Sounds pitchers robbed (absolutely robbed) of 3 strikeouts tonight on glorious pitches. Contreras just robbed on a glorious breaking pitch directly on the outer stripe an inning after being robbed of a beautiful strike three heater in the same area at the knees. I am done with 'Well, that's just his zone.' There is an actual strike zone. This isn't poetic licensure. LOL.

[Joseph Zarr]

Well RHP Tyson Miller struck out Moises Gomez. Walked Luken Baker (got squeezed by the ump - shocker). Struck out his next batter. Got squeezed again on a third out K on a clear outside strike with men on 2nd and 3rd base. AND, a Sounds pitcher is yet again forced to dig deep. He gets the pop up stranding the bases loaded. Miller kept his composure tho he realllllly wanted to say something. 4-3 Redbirds as we head to the top of the 6th with Hiura leading off.

[Joseph Zarr]

Sal Frelick web gem in CF sprinting into the shallow grass and laying out to grab the 2nd out in the bottom of the 6th. Now 2 down as Tyler Herb looks to keep it a 3-4 deficit for the Sounds.

We now have a clip:

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Men on the corners with nobody down after a Naquin single and then an Austin Jackson single up the middle (Naquin advanced on a bobble in CF). Eddie Alvarez botches his first pitch bunt and then strikes out on a heater right down the middle looking. Monasterio follows suit with a swinging K. It's up to Sal Frelick. These are the situations we want for the talented young OF'er. Let's see what he can muster on his current 0-for-3 evening (two fly outs and a ground out).

[Joseph Zarr]

And, after the ump miraculously calls an inside strike 2 on Frelick (smh) to get the count full Frelick hits a laser shot down the first base line but Luken Baker makes a fantastic diving stab and the inning and the possible rally are over. Still 4-3 Redbirds onto the bottom of the 7th.

[Joseph Zarr]

Headed to the 8th inning now after Tyler Herb punches out 2 and goes 3 up and 3 down. The Sounds have outhit the Redbirds 10-6 but have failed to get those meaningful leading runs across. The Redbirds have maximized the long ball. Here we go to the big money innings.

[Joseph Zarr]

The early season goings on for the Sounds is a couple things: sloppy and inopportune. Cam Robinson sees a few seeing eye singles knock in another run. He then corks off a wild pitch. And a routine grounder to Abraham Toro sees him throw a push throw into the dirt where Jon Singleton fails to scoop it up. It's all too much of this type of play in the early going. Robinson sees 3 runs cross during his woeful inning. He showed flashes of the dynamic hurler we are all excited about but with an ump squeezing the zone he also showed where he has to polish his game. It's now 7-3 Redbirds.

[Joseph Zarr]

And, you see now why that wild pitch and that poor error between Toro and Singleton costs you: Alvarez just ripped his second deep ball to the wall in right center. This time it clears the fence scoring Austin Jackson (walk) from first. It's now 7-5 Redbirds. What could be a tie ball game is instead probably not quite enough. Two down for the Sounds. Great pop out of the 8-spot from Alvarez tonight.

[Joseph Zarr]

Ball game. Indeed. 7-5 Redbirds. Frelick faces Genesis Cabrera and lunges for an infield pop out completing his hitless evening. 

[wiguy94]

2 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Hey Now! C Austin Jackson just destroyed his first HR of his 2023 season on a 2-1 count in the bottom of the 4th. His first HR and his first RBI. He crushed that middle-middle heater over the wall in deep left center and into the streets. It nearly hit parked cars by the YMCA. 3-4 Good Guys still clawing back. Bases now empty and two down for Eddie Alvarez. 

I was not kidding about the Jackson ding dong. The numbers are in. Whoa:

 

Alex Jackson not Austin!