Wed. 7/31: Afternoon Tilt for Wisconsin (2:10 Central)

[Joseph Zarr]

Both Hall runs came in the 1st frame via sac flies. The curveball, the slider, and the change were quite nice. The heater looked decent but it was definitely getting popped. Let's see how his next innings fare.

[Joseph Zarr]

Holy heck did Clarke absolutely crush that ball. Whewww. That was a no doubter. My goodness. 408' down the LF line. Launch angle looked to be 45 degrees 😅

[biedergb]

Yeah DL Hall had a tough trip through the order the first time but mid second inning was pitching well

The defense giveth (Black nice catch as mentioned in left) and taketh (brutal miss on the “single” in the first.)

[biedergb]

Per baseball savant his fastball was 92.8 - 95.5, but mostly 93.x - 94.x range. He had 12 swinging strikes of his 74 pitches. So outside that first inning he was decent.  Encouraging I think.

[Joseph Zarr]

I'm going to say this for the however manyeth time in the past few months: I think LHP DL Hall's off-speed offerings are vastly undersold in the persistent discourse on his velo and fastball shape. He can lead any AB with that slider or change-up and I personally love the shape of his curveball - they are just fantastic offerings. Only one swing and miss on the heater that topped out at 95.5 mph tonight. 12 swings and misses on 39 swings. Only one swing and miss on the heater. Decent outing. Not dominant, whatsoever, but very decent. Again, that off-speed toolkit is absolutely legit. The heater continues to be outing-to-outing inconsistent by my eyes.

[Joseph Zarr]

17 minutes ago, biedergb said:

Per baseball savant his fastball was 92.8 - 95.5, but mostly 93.x - 94.x range. He had 12 swinging strikes of his 74 pitches. So outside that first inning he was decent.  Encouraging I think.

Yeah, I tend to look. at the ratio of swings taken and swings missed. 12-of-39 is very acceptable. AND, as I allude to above: only one swing and miss on the heater. His off-speed was filthy tonight. I'd personally love to see him continue to lead there. That heater simply remains elusive in its impact outing-to-outing. His last time out it was a dominating pitch. Tonight, it was serviceable but not dominant whatsoever.

[Joseph Zarr]

34 minutes ago, biedergb said:

Yeah DL Hall had a tough trip through the order the first time but mid second inning was pitching well

The defense giveth (Black nice catch as mentioned in left) and taketh (brutal miss on the “single” in the first.)

That was a sun issue on the seeing eye single. Arroyo absolutely lost the ball in that sun window at SS. He had no idea where the ball went. I like seeing Isaac Collins make a nice charging full diamond throw from 3B - looked comfy!

[Joseph Zarr]

Second Half Standings Check:

Biloxi: With one swing of the Wilken bat, the Shuckers improved to 18-11 in the first half. They are 2.5 G ahead of Pensacola in first place atop the Southern League South Division.

Nashville: With the 'L' @ Gwinnett, the Sounds fall to 16-12 in the second half. Because divisions mean diddly squat in the International League, I'll just share they remain 2.0 GB of overall first place Lehigh Valley.

Carolina: Already playoff bound with their first half crown, the Mudcats won tonight and improved to 17-14 in the second half just 2.5 GB of first place Fredericksburg (21-12) atop the Carolina League South division. In all reality, Fredericksburg and Salem are currently competing for that second playoff berth - Salem remains 3.0 GB the Nats.

Wisconsin: Even scuffling to consecutive losses to the South Bend Cubbies, the T-Rats are still sitting atop the Midwest League West division at an impressive 20-11 record overall. They are 2.5 G ahead of Cedar Rapids (18-14) who are really presently competing with the Peoria Chiefs (16-16).

[Joseph Zarr]

A two game losing streak for the T-Rats and I just learned manager Victor Estevez has indeed been absent with his family in the Dominican Republic at the opening of this series. He'll be back in the fold Thursday. I anticipate a 47-0 thrashing of the Cubbies. It is destiny.

[Joseph Zarr]

INF Jadher Areinamo update (via tonight's post-game pod):

The organization is being cautious. He was ready to play the next day but they took it easy with him. He took a full batting practice on Tuesday. He claims he is 100%. He 'could' come off the IL on Thursday. But, don't be surprised if they rest him a little more past that just to be safe. BUT, he is fine overall. Sounds like a little tweak and nothing more.