Tue. 4/25 - Once Again, The Clubs Are Homeward Bound

[Joseph Zarr]

Gasser has now struck out three straight as he leads off his 3rd inning with a swing and a miss on a heater. He was robbed of a strike earlier in the count on a gorgeous sweeping breaking ball. He gets a fourth consecutive K and then the next batter reaches on a single to left center on a line drive that short-hopeed Devanney at SS and carombed off his shoulder. Tough play.

[Joseph Zarr]

Man, there's action happening all around. Shane Smith gave up a lead-off double deep the left field fence on a hanging 0-2 slider. Mistake pitch. He gets consecutive three consecutive K's, however, to close it out. Matt Wood (eeeeek) took a swinging miss bat follow-through off his upper arm/shoulder. The trainer came out but he stayed in the game. We'll have to keep tabs on this - this is an exciting young player folks. Mudcats win 7-4!

Meanwhile, in Biloxi, Chourio casually runs at about 75% full speed and gets to the deep left center field wall and casually jumps to the top rail and saves RHP TJ Shook from some early damage. He gets out of the inning unscathed. Still 2-0 Braves.

 

[Joseph Zarr]

THIS is what we wanted to see, folks:

LHP Robert Gasser through 4 IP:

1 H, 8 K, 0 ER.

Best he's looked in Nashville, hands down. You have to feel good tonight Brewers Minor League fans. Lots of good stuff happening. Now, this all being said, we're elated with the 4 fantastic innings. BUT, he struggled in the 5th giving all three runs back. Three very well-hit balls into LF and a walk led to the damage. We can build off this, however. Let's make this the baseline.

Naturally, as I type that Jackson Chourio strikes out on a slider off the plate. This is his current struggle at the Double-A level: how to identify and lay off off-speed off the dish.

[Joseph Zarr]

INF Eric Brown Jr. just made a web gem heads-up play at SS. Ben Metzinger failed to corral a hard hit grounder to his glove side. The ball ricocheted into and out of his lunging mitt and, Brown Jr. who was backing up the play, quickly reacted; scooped up the ball; and rifled a deep throw (almost on the fringe of the OF grass) to Ernesto Martinez at 1B who gave us his patented lunging splits for the grab. Quite a play!

[Joseph Zarr]

This is INF Eric Brown Jr.'s best game as a T-Rat. You love to see it. So many wonderful things tonight. So happy for the young man!

[Joseph Zarr]

And, just like that, OF Tyrone Taylor grabs his 2nd RBI sending home Tyler Naquin from 3B on a well hit liner to RF. 4-3 Sounds. Way to pick up your starter, Tyrone!

[Joseph Zarr]

Man, I love me some 2023 Eddy Alvarez. He just tagged and scored on a ball that wasn't but 9 feet into the shallow grass beyond SS. He's just such a heady and enjoyable player to watch. He saw the infielder on his back foot and slightly off-balance. He knew he needed a perfect throw. And, the ball was not perfect. Slightly to the 3B side of the catcher and he executes a gorgeous slide to home plate.  Singleton ropes an absolute blast deep to the wall in RF but it doesn't have enough top spin and the RF'er makes the sprinting catch just short of the wall. 5-3 Sound now, however. It looks like RHP Lucas Erceg is going to see some action in the 6th frame.

[Joseph Zarr]

The T-Rats grab two more runs here in the bottom of the fifth and it's now a 3-2 T-Rats lead. Let's go! Brown Jr. scored on a wild pitch after he stole a double with his glorious gazelle-like speed. Then, Eduardo García ripped a double deep to the RF grass. He over ran 2B thinking the lead runner would round for home. May as well have gone for it, in hindsight. García was picked off and Martinez weakly grounded to SS for the third out. Great mini rally tho to give Hernandez a shot at a 'W'.

[Joseph Zarr]

Skye Bolt no-doubter into RF over the Band Box baby. 6-3 Sounds. Meanwhile, Chourio is at the dish versus a LHP with the bases dripping. It's all happening tonight folks. AND, he takes his 2nd BB with the bases loaded on his season on a very discipline lay off of a high just outside heater. It's now 3-2 Braves. Lil bit of a comeback on our hands down South!

[Joseph Zarr]

So, now we have the bases still dripping here in the bottom of the 8th with a RHP who can sling 100 mph. INF Tyler Black at the dish. THESE are the moments we want for these talented young players. AND he rips a single through the infield through to left field scoring the tying run. 3-3. Noah Campbell was thrown out at home plate BUT the ump blew the call yet again. He beat that throw and slid in before the tag. Man, Campbell has been robbed in two bang-bang plays tonight. I thought the tie went to the runners?

[Joseph Zarr]

Abner Uribe showed closer stuff there getting out of the 1 out men on the corners jam in the 9th frame. Wonderful work. He gets two consecutive punchouts - the last looking on the outer stripe. The Shuckers will get a chance to walk it off, baby!

[Joseph Zarr]

And, oh baby, we have a rifle oppo line drive to the corner by none other than OF Lamar Sparks for a 9th inning, nobody out, lead-off triple! Man, these affiliate games are the juice tonight. So many exciting moments and men rising to their moments!

[Joseph Zarr]

And, on screen #2 I get the oppo 2-run jack off the bat of none other than INF/OF Keston Hiura. It's 8-3 Sounds. Come on Shuckers, let's drive him in! Zamora strikes out on a 3-2 ripping heater. One down. They walk Rodriguez to get to Nick Kahle.

[Joseph Zarr]

You gotta love C Nick Kahle. He is 0-for-10 on the season. They're asking him to suicide squeeze Sparks home from 3B. He looks like he's never bunted in his life. The Braves hurl a wild pitch to the backstop and Kahle is waving Sparks to stay at 3B. Are you kidding me? No. Sparks waves him off, obviously, and slides in with his blazing speed and scores the winning run. That was hilarious and awesome all at once. Shuckers complete the comeback victory and have won four in a row.  Glorious!

Correction: I went back and watched different angles. Kahle was indeed waving Sparks IN. My apologies. Credit me with the viewing error. Time to go hit the weights.

[Joseph Zarr]

Oh my word, an unbelievable sequence ties the game in Wisconsin. On a 1-2 count, Morales executes a glorious pitch and the batter scuffles a warm burner dribbler into the dirt directly at home plate. The ball sits an inch fair within the batters box. Miller reacts slowly hoping it's foul. Then rushes his throw to first and airmails it to RF. The lead runner scored (who had gotten on base by an Eric Brown Jr. misplay) on the play. On the ensuing batter, Morales gives up the lead-surrendering double to the left field corner. 

Truly an inexcusable error by Miller at the dish. His rough season gets rougher. Morales deserved a much better fate but his teammates let him down in the field: 2 unearned runs cross on his tab and the T-Rats suddenly trail 4-3.

[wiguy94]

1 minute ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Oh my word, an unbelievable sequence ties the game in Wisconsin. On a 1-2 count, Morales executes a glorious pitch and the batter scuffles a warm burner dribbler into the dirt directly at home plate. The ball sits an inch fair within the batters box. Miller reacts slowly hoping it's foul. Then rushes his throw to first and airmails it to RF. The lead runner scored (who had gotten on base by an Eric Brown Jr. misplay) on the play. On the ensuing batter, Morales gives up the lead-surrendering double to the left field corner. 

Truly an inexcusable error by Miller at the dish. His rough season gets rougher.

Smart play by Ward in LF throwing his hands up with the ball under the wall. That easily scores the runner from 1st if it isn't an automatic double. 5-3 is much different than 4-3.

[Joseph Zarr]

2 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Smart play by Ward in LF throwing his hands up with the ball under the wall. That easily scores the runner from 1st if it isn't an automatic double. 5-3 is much different than 4-3.

Absolutely. For a moment I thought they were going to give him an inside-the-parker. Very heady preserving the 4-3 deficit. I tell you, this is my second time seeing Beloit's Jacob Berry. That's an MLB caliber talent right there. He is a very toolsy toolsy player.

That throw by Miller though? And that inability to grab it by Martinez was classic 2023 T-Rats though. Just a play you have to make for your pitcher.

[Joseph Zarr]

I don't know who I trust in the T-Rats line-up to get a clutch hit at present. I don't know how Martinez Jr. takes that 3-2 pitch looking. You have to at least fight that off. Two down and runners still stranded on first and second base. Let's hope Je'Von Ward can grab the big knock here.

[Joseph Zarr]

Rejoice, oh baseball savants, we have a swinging miss on an LHP Ehtan Small slider leading to a 92 mph fastball center cut and that's a three-pitch K in Small's first batter. He then grabs the weak grounder to Devanney on his first pitch to his second batter. And he closes with a 4-pitch K on a glorious change-up to finish another flawless outing. This is the stuff. Start stacking, Mr. Small. I see you.

[Joseph Zarr]

Two key T-Rats AB's with two men on and one out. Both times, Martinez Jr. and now Gray Jr. strikeout looking at dead center cut heaters. That's a hard hard take, gentlemen. Metzinger follows suit looking at a slider center cut to inner stripe. That's three AB's looking with tying and lead runners on base. This is the current T-Rats funk in a nutshell. Let's hope it turns in the 9th. The pitching staff deserves better. 

[brewmann04]

What a great line for the Sounds pitchers Gasser Lucas and Small those guys need to keep this up looking like we might need all 3 in Milwaukee 

[Joseph Zarr]

RHP Taylor Floyd doing his part going 2 1/3 IP scoreless with 4 K. The T-Rats have had two runners on in each of the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings. Can they get runners on and tie it here in the 9th? 

[Joseph Zarr]

Just now, brewmann04 said:

What a great line for the Sounds pitchers Gasser Lucas and Small those guys need to keep this up looking like we might need all 3 in Milwaukee 

It was a good night in Nashville. Don't forget Tyrone Taylor's fine rehab effort. He was fantastic.