Wed. 5/8: Biloxi Matinee w/Bradley Blalock at 11:05 AM Central

[Joseph Zarr]

He's facing a guy who hasn't gotten a hit in the month of May. He's hitting 0.159 on the season. AND, he can't even throw a strike. Someone waive the towel for the Mudcats pitching staff. 3-2 count. OK, he got it back. Foul ball on a breaker. Count remains full. Whew. He gets the sharply hit DP. 5-3 Woodpeckers. Only a man on 3rd now. Yuck.

[Joseph Zarr]

And, Durow recognizing the lack of another blemish on the Mudcats bottom half takes a pitch clock violation for the scorer. 😅 He ends the rough rough inning with a hard hit liner Walling snags in RF with ease. Nice having a tall athletic guy out there!

[Joseph Zarr]

Quad Cities just walked 2 to open the 7th. Men on 1st and 2nd. They still trail 3-2. Nobody down.

ALSO, Welcome to Low-A Reece Walling! He works the count to 3-1. Staying patient looking. Then smacks a torch to the deepest part of left CF and it bounces over the wall. Men on 2nd and 3rd. Nobody. Down. 1 AB. 1 Dub. Man, I knew I loved this young man. He passes the eye test. I'm dead serious.

[Joseph Zarr]

T-Rats have the bases juiced now with nobody down. Fernandez smacked a hung breaker for a single to LF. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Guilarte goes down looking. One down. Men still on 2nd and 3rd. 

Doston with a gorgeous deep CF Sac Fly. All runners advanced. One down. Men on 2nd and 3rd. 3-3. Lara hits a looping liner to the LF wall. It ends a 2-run double. 5-3 T-Rats. LET'S GO!! 

[Joseph Zarr]

Yophery goes down looking on a heater dead center. Can't sit on that young man. Wooof. No matter. Cooper friggin Pratt rips a fly ball off the ball in deep LF (missed a HR by about an inch on the barrel) and he turns it into a triple. 5-5 Mudcats.

Let's friggin' frackin' GO!

[Joseph Zarr]

Much needed game for OF Luis Castillo. Big hits. He just added a solo jack. Mudcats suddenly lead 6-5. Whew.

[Joseph Zarr]

T-Rats take game 2. Manfredi did give up his 2nd long ball. No matter, Rund-to-Rodriguez ends it. 5-4 W.

[Joseph Zarr]

With the Mudcats leading 7-5 (Castillo again - RBI single), RHP Aidan Maldonado continues struggling in 2024. HB, pop out, single, ground out, BB. Bases juiced. Two down. Too many base runners in his young season. His change-up in particular is appearing to simply fade out of the zone nearly every delivery. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Big punch out from Maldonado there. He leaves them dripping. Character AB there. You love to see it. 7-5 and we're on to the 6th frame. 

[wiguy94]

Golden Sombrero for Yophery tonight with 3 of them looking.

[Joseph Zarr]

Maldonado barely escaped in the 5th. Definitely didn't escape in the 6th. Rough season for the young righty. He surrenders the lead in a 3-run 6th. 8-7 Woodpeckers. 

[Joseph Zarr]

RHP Bayden Root touching 97 early in his work here in the 7th. He gets the sharp hit ground out to 1B. Diaz made a nice play on a short hop as he continues to fill in after Hall's promotion. He's actually looked quite good in his brief stint.

[biedergb]

7 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Maldonado barely escaped in the 5th. Definitely didn't escape in the 6th. Rough season for the young righty. He surrenders the lead in a 3-run 6th. 8-7 Woodpeckers. 

Maldonado is struggling. He and Polancic - when I see them enter it’s just a sixth sense as “I see runs scoring” sadly.

 

Root - nice to hear he is touching high 90s.

i always have to look at his name again. We drafted a Jaden Noot a 6’ 3” HS RHP in the ‘22 draft (same draft as Maldonado) but didn’t sign him. But we did sign RHP Bayden Root - an 6’ 3” UDFA out of college though, I believe last year or in ‘22??

Seems like it fills some odd quota 😂

[Joseph Zarr]

Yophery has a chance to redeem himself here in the 8th. 0-4. 4 K's. He has men on 1st and 2nd with one out.

1-0 count. Strike swinging and missing. Strike fouled to the back netting. 1-2 count. Foul back over the press box. FIghts for another pitch. 1-2 count carries on. What a take on a gorgeous curve ball just off the inner part of the plate. He lays off high and outside. The count is full. Heck of an AB so far. He fouls it out to 3B territory on a jam shot. Rough result in what was a very good AB overall. It will be up to Pratt.

[biedergb]

No go for Yo. But Pratt is at bat

Let’s go ‘Cats

[Joseph Zarr]

Pratt takes four straight balls. Bases are juiced. 2 down. We will see if Baez can do some damage. Pratt has really had a fantastic night at the plate. He's seeing the ball very well.

[biedergb]

Pratt with 4 walks!!

Incredible.

Baez ready to drive in some runs

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Pitcher threw four straight balls. I absolutely knew Baez would swing pitch 1. LOL. He topped it foul 3B side. He's innately over-aggressive. LOL. BUT, who cares! He hits an oppo single through the gap between 1B and 2B. Perfectly placed. He takes second on the throw to 3B. 9-8 top of the 8th.

BAEZ!!!! You just accept that innate aggression because he routinely makes plays...even if he is addicted to being thrown out on the basepaths. Just a player.

[biedergb]

Yessir. 2 runs in. Nice hitting Baez. 
Diaz pops out to end it. But Cats up 9-8

[Joseph Zarr]

1 minute ago, biedergb said:

Pratt with 4 walks!!

Incredible.

Baez ready to drive in some runs

 

4 BB and a booming triple. Should have been a HR. He ripped that pitch. 

[biedergb]

Nice to hear on Pratt

i got to this forum late and not I’m not watching live tonight just Gameday updates. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Root is struggling to locate his off-speed here early in the 8th. Ultimately sees a full count result in an oppo single to RF. Root then induces a ridiculously slow chopper and Guilarte charges but can't get it out of his webbing - may not have mattered, regardless. Pitching Coach Michael O'Neal to the mound again. Men on 1st and 2nd. Nobody down. Root is staying in. Man, baseball. I swear. That ball might have been hit 40 mph. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Had the next batter 0-2. Threw 3 straight balls. Then after a really good foul by the batter, Root inexplicably has the runner caught off 2B and launches the ball into deep CF with an inaccurate throw. Just unreal horrible toss to 2B. What are we doing here Bayden? My gods. Know the situation. The Woodpeckers send both to homeplate. AND, the Mudcats get the benefit of a bang-bang call at home plate to keep it 9-9. He had the runner at 2nd dead to rights. Just an inexplicably poor throw that if not for Yophery's amazing play to corral and get the relay in impeccably (one of his qualities out on the CF grass - he knows when to hustle). SHEEESH. What a ridiculous turn of events. AND what an amazing play by Rodriguez and Pratt. 

I'm not kidding, Yophery almost had to track that down at the warning track. Meanwhile, Root clearly doesn't have it this inning but he's being left in there. He's wild everywhere. 

[wiguy94]

Bayden Root just threw a pickoff attempt at 2B nearly to the wall in right center field lmao. I have never seen that before.