Wed. 9/13 - Biloxi Gets the Spotlight as Carolina Regroups

[Jim Goulart]

This thread will be utilized for any minor league news Wednesday, lineup updates, etc.

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

[Joseph Zarr]

The fantastic thing about this ongoing Biloxi/Montgomery series is each and every game in the early going is the most important Minor League game these young men have played to date. Tonight, it's RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez's turn to give us a flashback to his unexpectedly dominant WBC work. Can he show out his Ace status in Game 2? Stay tuned! It's a classic best of five series from here on out...

[Joseph Zarr]

Really great pre-game interview from Tuesday (yesterday) with Pitching Coach Will Schierholz. He opines the past two week road trip was likely his favorite experience on a baseball diamond in his history with the sport. He discusses the vastly underrated RHP Tobias Myers and how he sat 96 mph his last road start (and how incredible he is on the road) and was touching 98 mph for the first time since the early season - getting stronger as the season has gone on. Good stuff. Listen HERE. 

Or, visit here:

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Just a minor change to the line-up tonight as Carlos D. Rodriguez moves back to a bench role. Lamar Sparks is rewarded for his wonderful late-inning sliding catch and key walk in the 8th frame as he gets the start in right field. Ethan Murray will again bring his stellar defense to 2B with Zamora at SS and Wilken at 3B. Clarke will again take the DH role with his 25 HR on the year. Quero will bat behind Martinez who brings his wares back to 1B - I can't begin to tell you how beneficial his massive frame has been catching balls at 1B for the infield. It's a huge difference. The Shuckers will look to move to 2-0 in the series and hope to jump 0.5 G ahead of the Biscuits for the 2nd Half Divisional lead.

 

[Joseph Zarr]

We see the rehabbing Perkins, Winker, and Ruf (kind of a really bad Law Firm title if they ever get any machinations) are again in the 1-3 spots of the lineup. This is a very interesting pitching match-up overall as this will be RHP Nick Nastrini's (via Dodgers in the Lance Lynn trade) third start in the International League. He is currently 0-2 with a grand total of 8 2/3 IP and a 4.15 ERA tho hitters are only managing a 0.167 BAA. Hopefully, the Sounds can hand him a third consecutive loss. The always underrated Abraham Toro will bat clean-up protected by 3B Tyler Black. Patrick Dorrian will try to continue chipping a way out of his slump and will be back at SS. C Payton Henry returns behind the backstop. Let's go, Sounds!

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Sounds open with a Perkins K looking at a 2-2 heater inner half at his knees. Winker broken bat 2-2 flare fly out to shallow CF. Ruf a 2-2 K looking at an inside splitter (?). On to the bottom half.

[Joseph Zarr]

Gasser's hook is nasty early. He just K'd a righty on a sweeper that may have moved 18". Beautiful pitch.

[Joseph Zarr]

He gives up a 1-2 inside muscled oppo flare for a two out single to RF. He played it inside but apparently not far enough inside. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Nastrini throws one too many change-ups to Abraham Toro who blasts a long ball over the RF wall and onto the porch. Love me some Toro - such an underrated bat. 1-0 Sounds. Nastrini has been really pounding the change-up. It's a nice pitch. Toro sat on that one - it was the third in a row. One looking. One missed swinging. One crushed.

Black smacks a hard hit liner to CF and is snakebitten by a full sprint shoestring catch. Heck of a grab. He tagged that ball. Jones then takes a first pitch heater deep over the LF'ers head and it one-hops off the base of the wall and he beats the throw into 2B. That 'should' have been an RBI dub. Good inning here. Nice lumber.

[Joseph Zarr]

Dorrian flails at a few change-ups and goes down swinging on a 2-2, you guessed it, change-up down and in. He was not close to those pitches. The slump continues. Let's go, Patrick...we all know you have skillz for days. It's a matter of time. You know who doesn't miss another change-up? C Payton Henry. He absolutely crushes a ball 398 footer over the LF wall. 106 mph EV. Yowza. 3-0 Sounds. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Gasser gives up an 0-1 oppo Homer to Hackenberg. It was only his 12th long ball of the season. 368 footer. Just a really good swing on a belt high outside rising heater. 3-1 Sounds.

[Joseph Zarr]

Gasser gets his 2nd K to end the second on another gorgeous breaking ball - just dialed with that pitch tonight. On to the 3rd. 3-1 Sounds.

[Joseph Zarr]

Gasser running into trouble in the 5th here. One down. Bases juiced now after a walk post-errant throw Home advancing two runners off the hand of Greg Allen. Sounds lead 6-2 - a Knights run has already crossed.

[Joseph Zarr]

Gasser digs deep and runs a slider in on the hands to a Righty power bat and gets the K. That's two down now. Bases still juiced and we get a classic Dorrian error at SS. My gods, he just isn't a SS. As much as I love him that error can't happen. A liner right to him and he looks up and it goes under the glove. Gotta be better in that spot. That's two errors on the Sounds in the inning. 6-4 now. Dorrian has to make that scoop.

[Joseph Zarr]

Gasser ends the inning with another punchout. His sixth. That inning, however, was pretty ugly. Weak hits finding the grass. Two bad veteran errors. Anywho, you take solace it didn't entirely blow up. 6-4 and we're on to the sixth.

[wiguy94]

Carlos Rodriguez is twirling a gem through 4 innings in Biloxi. Brock Wilken had a 111 EV, 406ft foul ball (wasn't close to being fair but just wanted to share cause 111 EV!! lol)

[Joseph Zarr]

Yeah. That ball was hammered. I swear 95% of the balls that leave his bat are absolute rockets. Uncanny consistency.

Unfortunately, the Shuckers bats haven't woken up either. It's a 0-0 game into the 5th frame.

[Joseph Zarr]

Contreras works around men on the corners in the 7th and gets his second consecutive punch out on a beautiful tailing change-up outside the zone to a lefty. It's on to the eighth 6-4 Sounds. I believe the Sounds may have had their third error in that inning as well. Slopppppy D tonight.

[wiguy94]

Peters must have been sitting changeup and Rodriguez left it slightly up and hit it well out of the park to RF. 2-0 Montgomery. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Tristan Peters just hit an 0-1 rocket off the scoreboard in RF. A two-run jack. 2-0 in the 6th. He certainly has a way of gettinb back at the Brewers. 103 off the bat. Given the sleeeeepy Shuckers bats this might even be enough tonight.

[Joseph Zarr]

Rodriguez running into further trouble. He just advanced a runner to 3rd on a ball that went about 3' behind the lefty hitting Seymour. It was an 0-2 count. That was a big miss. One down. Runner on 3rd now. 1-2 count.

[wiguy94]

Lamar Sparks gets an awful jump on a bloop down the RF line and then has it fall out of his glove for a double. With even a decent jump that's an out. A wild pitch brings the runner to 3B which draws the IF in then the Montgomery hitter has a bloop over the SS head which likely is caught with the IF at normal depth. Just everything going wrong for Biloxi this inning. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Heck of a 1-2 AB here from Seymour. He is fighting off several low change-ups. Good AB regardless of his result. AND he responds by hitting an absolute bloop single off the heft of his bat with the infield entirely in. It's 3-0 Biscuits. Rodriguez was cruising. At 77 pitches, and three runs in this inning, his outing is getting away from him in a hurry.

[Joseph Zarr]

1 minute ago, wiguy94 said:

Lamar Sparks gets an awful jump on a bloop down the RF line and then has it fall out of his glove for a double. With even a decent jump that's an out. A wild pitch brings the runner to 3B which draws the IF in then the Montgomery hitter has a bloop over the SS head which likely is caught with the IF at normal depth. Just everything going wrong for Biloxi this inning. 

I thought the jump was fine. The route was circuitous because he read it deeper off the bat. He got there quite easily and in time. He just completely botched the catch. At least that's how I saw it. He has to catch that ball. A rare gaffe from an otherwise incredible outfielder. 

[wiguy94]

A bit shocked that Guerrero brought Rodriguez back out for the 7th after he gave up some hard contact in the 6th on the 3rd time through. Lead-off BB and infield swing bunt hit and now he's going to the pen. This could be out of hand pretty quickly for Biloxi.