Wed. 5/3 - 11:00 AM (Central) Shuckers and Timber Rattlers Contests

[Joseph Zarr]

Hey now! The Sounds get a gift from the fielding corral when the SS and 3B gave way to a charging LF who lost the ball and it plopped to the grass. Heads up play from OF Blake Perkins who never stopped sprinting and scored on the botched fly ball. Singleton aboard. It's now 3-2 Sounds baby (Eddy Alvarez got the deep fly - a truly great sprinting reaching catch - scored a Sac Fly).

[Joseph Zarr]

17 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

I think Ethan Small will probably come back out for a 2nd inning but that was a very quality 1st inning from him. 1 hit (soft liner) and 3 strikeouts while consistently pounding the zone.

Two more K's here in his 2nd inning on gorgeous change-ups. One swinging (way out in front) one looking. He gets out of it with a weakly hit groundball to Alvarez at 2B. More really solid bullpen work from the surging bounceback lefty!

[wiguy94]

Fantastic pitching out of Small today. 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO in a super efficient 27 pitches. 

[wiguy94]

1 minute ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Two more K's here in his 2nd inning on gorgeous change-ups. One swinging (way out in front) one looking. He gets out of it with a weakly hit groundball to Alvarez at 2B. More really solid bullpen work from the surging bounceback lefty!

He's put together like 5 straight quality appearances. Love to see this from him. 

[Joseph Zarr]

C Matt Wood now has caught both runners stealing. He has 3 BB in an 0-for-1 outing. He's just a High-A player. His time in Carolina 'should' be short. He'd be an upgrade in Appleton at this rate.

[Joseph Zarr]

RHP Shane Smith gave up a big long ball in the 7th but that was his only blemish. He has 7 K through 3 IP. Quite an outing for the young hurler. His breaking ball was really dialed in tonight. 

[Joseph Zarr]

AND, we'll get to see how LHP Jakob Brustoski's time on the Development List worked for him. This is his first outing since his return after another inauspicious beginning to 2023 with more walks and hit batters. I'm pulling for this young man to find that zone with his stuff!

[wiguy94]

Ethan Small out for a 3rd inning here. That seems notable.

[Joseph Zarr]

Small is back out for a third inning. Hey now. Let's go, Ethan!

[Joseph Zarr]

 

2 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Ethan Small out for a 3rd inning here. That seems notable.

The change-up just giving the Saints hitters fits. Another K on a filthy change center cut.

[wiguy94]

Small gets 2 quick outs then gives up a bloop double. 70 EV, 45 LA. Hopefully he can find his way out of this.

[Joseph Zarr]

Brustoski looks much better than his first two outing. You love to see it! He's struck out his first two batters but he did give out another free pass on a full count pitch outside and in the dirt. All in all, however, we're digging out of the basement. We'll take this type of outing and look at it as something to build on. He strikes out the side!

[Joseph Zarr]

1 minute ago, wiguy94 said:

Small gets 2 quick outs then gives up a bloop double. 70 EV, 45 LA. Hopefully he can find his way out of this.

And he does. He gets the one-hop liner directly to Alvarez at 2B. Let's grab an elusive W tonight!

[Joseph Zarr]

The Mudcats will likely lose this one (6-2 headed to the 9th) but, like the Shuckers early, the pitching staff was dealing. 14 K.

OF Monte Harrison is having his best night at the plate as a Sound. He rips a lead-off oppo double to start the 7th. Hopefully, Perkins can drive him in again. Let's go! 

[wiguy94]

Clayton Andrews definitely did not have his command but still worked a 1-2-3 inning without anything hit hard.

[markedman5]

I want to believe in Small but I just can’t…,,,not until he does something good at the ML level.

[Joseph Zarr]

This Sounds bullpen is the class of the International League. I don't know if this 3-2 lead holds for Nashville but I do know the bullpen continues to friggin' rock the casbah. I would definitively not want to face LHP Ethan Small and then bounce to LHP Clayton Andrews. Just filthy stuff from the Pen.

[Joseph Zarr]

3 minutes ago, markedman5 said:

I want to believe in Small but I just can’t…,,,not until he does something good at the ML level.

Well, you don't have to believe in Small (as you put it) but you can celebrate the fact he has really pitched wonderfully in 2023 in his first full season in a strictly bullpen role. And, especially, after struggling in his call-up and after his call-up in Nashville closing out 2022. This is great news for the depth of the overall bullpen scene for the Brewers (which is already quite awesome, frankly).

[Joseph Zarr]

11 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Clayton Andrews definitely did not have his command but still worked a 1-2-3 inning without anything hit hard.

Yup and he leaves after a weakly hit seeing-eye single through to the right field grass. Let's hope we get the shutdown version of RHP Lucas Erceg!

[Joseph Zarr]

AND, we get the first batter four-pitch walk version of Erceg early. Ruh Roh. Men on 1st and 2nd. One down. 

[wiguy94]

Isaac Collins having a brutal time in LF. What should have been a routine play turns into a double and 2 runs because of a horrible jump and failing to keep the ball in front of him.

[wiguy94]

Some absolutely embarrassing defense by the Sounds this inning.

[Joseph Zarr]

Six straight balls from Erceg and he is forced to throw one center cut. AND OF Isaac Collins greatly misplays the liner to LF and it bounces past his effort and to the fence. That was an extremely costly misplay. And, it was an extremely costly way to enter the game for Erceg.

[Joseph Zarr]

Just now, wiguy94 said:

Some absolutely embarrassing defense by the Sounds this inning.

Yeah, indeed. AND, this is on Erceg and his complete lack of anything touching the zone in a meaningful way. This is the problem with Erceg. He is too inconsistent in his young career.

[wiguy94]

1 minute ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Yeah, indeed. AND, this is on Erceg and his complete lack of anything touching the zone in a meaningful way. This is the problem with Erceg. He is too inconsistent in his young career.

I'm just sad this hurts Andrews ERA. He doesn't deserve an earned run.