Sun. 4/6 - Afternoon Delights (Hopefully)

[Joseph Zarr]

Bitonti swings and whiffs on two swooping off speed pitches away from his bat. Massive hacks. Massive misses. 1-2 count. Another off-speed breaking ball belt high outer half and he swings and misses. Whew. Rough look Eric. That last pitch, especially. They intentionally walk Di Turi. Bases juiced now for Nadal  who is 0-for-4 with 2 K today. He takes a slider down and away from ball 1. 1-0 count. Fouls a dead center heater straigh back. He was all over that. 1-1 count. Pitch clock violation. 2-1 count. Whewww. Another heater. He's on it again, however, just under it again and fouls it straight back again. 2-2 count. Belt high outside heater. Swing and miss. Nadal's third K. Woooof. Gotta capitalize there gents! 6-6 on to the 10th.

[Joseph Zarr]

The Mudcats and manager Nick Stanley will look to RHP Josh Timmerman to start the 10th inning of work with Manfred's Man on 2B.

[Joseph Zarr]

Well, Timmerman looked good early in his first AB. Kind of hung a high outside slider. The batter pretty much just poked a fly ball into the windy RF air and that thing just carried and carried and carried over the high wall. 8-6 Nats. Sigh. Keep in mind that wind is just carrying straight out to CF at about 20-25 mph.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

6 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

The Mudcats and manager Nick Stanley will look to RHP Adam Timmerman to start the 10th inning of work with Manfred's Man on 2B.

Might be time for more coffee.  You mean Josh Timmerman?

[ClosetBrewerFan]

1 minute ago, ClosetBrewerFan said:

Might be time for more coffee.  You mean Josh Timmerman?

Hmm. After the 2-run Homer, he may be fine if we call him Adam.

[Joseph Zarr]

1 minute ago, ClosetBrewerFan said:

Might be time for more coffee.  You mean Josh Timmerman?

Indeed. As I spell checked and corrected within a minute there, big fella! I'm on three screens!😅

[Joseph Zarr]

2 minutes ago, ClosetBrewerFan said:

Hmm. After the 2-run Homer, he may be fine if we call him Adam.

Good grief. yah yah yah. I may be contemporaneously living on a previous Packers O-Line? Hard to say at this point.

Meanwhile, Aquino just surrendered the 5-4 lead. Timmerman is on the verge of walking them full after having two down and the bases empty. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Big work digging deep there by Timmerman. He works the 3-0 count full and then gets the swing and miss strike three on a big inside breaker. Really nice pitch and execution. On to the Muddies half of the 10th. They'll need at least 2 runs to keep this going.

[Joseph Zarr]

Aquino is falling apart a bit here but still has a chance to preserve a tie. Gave up the RBI double. Then walked the next batter. Ump blows the next batter who fouled off a high inside check swing - clearly a foul ball on replay - he gives the batter a check HBP. Poor call. And, well, he's been poor most of the day just calling balls and strikes. This is the Minor Leagues, afterall. Nothing new. Bases now juiced. 5-5 game. One down. Next pitch nearly goes to the back stop. Aquino appears to have lost his control.

[Joseph Zarr]

AND, he gets the DP thanks to what I've been showcasing to you for two years: Areinamo's hands. That's a bang-bang play. Because he gets rid of that ball in a nano-second it's a DP inning ending play. He's so dang good. 3:00:37 on the replay to see what I've been talking about. So so savvy.

[Joseph Zarr]

Walling works a lead-off full count walk laying off a very close high and inside heater. Men on 1st and 2nd. Nobody down.

[Joseph Zarr]

Nicasia lays off a 3-1 high outside heater just beyond the zone (was a ball) and the bases are now juiced. Nobdoy down. 8-6 deficit. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Walther works the count 3-1. Bases juiced. He fouls one back at the upper part of the zone - slightly inside. 3-2 count. He walks! 8-7 Mudcats trail. Three straight free passes. Bases still juiced. Nobody down. Payne to the dish.

Meanwhile, with Rodriguez running on contact Burke blooped a two out wild spinning double to the LF wall that snuck past the charging LF'er. 6-5 in the 7th T-Rats lead. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Payne swings and misses late on a high outside 2-1 heater. That was ball 3. 2-2 count now. And he scoops an infield pop out to the 3B grass. Ouch. One down. DP ball is in play now to end the game. Pena with the chance to make something happen here. Pena already has a double, 2 BB, and a HBP today.

[Joseph Zarr]

Man, the T-Rats pitchers are definitely being hung out to dry by their outfield. Yhoswar misplays a hard liner sliding and his glove at his knee. The ball hit the webbing, his knee, and the ball caromed into CF. They rule it a double somehow. Then the ump misses a tag by Areinamo off the relay at 2B. He got him when he slid past. Missed the call. Garcia then biffed a grounder to SS. Charging play. Tough play. But he biffed it, regardless. Aquino is likely feeling he should have two outs. Instead he has men on 1st and 2nd and nobody down. Garcia is charged with an E6.

[Joseph Zarr]

Pena beats out a DP ball with his speed. That ties the game. AND, what else?

Josh Adamczewski walks it off with a hard hit ripped single to RF. I've been saying because I've been saying. This young man is an absolute STUD.

[Joseph Zarr]

RHP Yerlin Rodriguez is summoned here. Two aboard. Nobody out.

Swinging K on a 96 mph heater.

K looking on a gorgeous slider on the inner black after getting the whiff on a filthy slider down and away.

WHEWWWW. This is what he can do when he is accurate. The big IF and WHEN. Two down now. He misses inside on a heater. 1-0. Drops another slider in there. He misses high on a breaking ball. 2-1 count. No matter. Swing and miss on a slider away after dropping another, you guessed it, slider for strike 3. Good gracious. THIS is what I've been talking about. IF he can harness control his stuff is absolutely filthy. That was glorious. A redemption inning for this ol' codger.

[Joseph Zarr]

Two out Roped double to the deep RF corner for Tayden Hall. Insurance run triple to the CF/RF gap and alley for Hedbert Perez. Big run. Yhoswar's truly rough day continues with a swinging K to end the inning. T-Rats will try to close this out up two runs.

[Joseph Zarr]

Yerlin is sitting 95-96. He does give up a solo jack BUT he digs deep with a ground out, fly out, and then a swinging K on a gorgeous breaker. T-Rats are on the board with a W. 7-6. BIG effort in a game the Kernels will likely feel they should have won outhitting the Rats. Either way, who cares. WIN. Woot woot.

[biedergb]

Wow missed an adventurous afternoon. I will try to catch some games later tonight.

@Joseph Zarr  is in mid-season form in the game thread today :)

Looks like TRats bats  are waking up a bit - particularly Yophery and Burke, with Areinamo and Hall having XBH as well. And the Mudcats line up is good and deep, need to get Bitonti hitting the ball, low batting average and lots of Ks. If he can figure it out at the plate whoa boy. Offense could also look a little deeper if/when Dinges can return. Nice start to the season for Payne, Pena, Adamczewski. And wonder what is up with young Mr. Made?

Suckers are what they are - a team without enough runs or hits. And oof to Wilken, and will Lara, Pratt, Adams get sucked into that Biloxi black hole?? Or will they find a way to hit out of it.

On the pitching side - kudos to Stiven Cruz, and nice to see quality innings from Childers/Yeager who look like the probable back end of the Biloxi 'pen. Bjorn Johnson and Jeferson Figueroa also with nice scoreless outings. But a rougher day for the season debuts of Welch and T. Smith (both '24 draftees), while KC Hunt had a very very un-"KC Hunt"-like outing.

Lots to take in and an off day tomorrow.

[Joseph Zarr]

1 hour ago, biedergb said:

Wow missed an adventurous afternoon. I will try to catch some games later tonight.

@Joseph Zarr  is in mid-season form in the game thread today :)

Looks like TRats bats  are waking up a bit - particularly Yophery and Burke, with Areinamo and Hall having XBH as well. And the Mudcats line up is good and deep, need to get Bitonti hitting the ball, low batting average and lots of Ks. If he can figure it out at the plate whoa boy. Offense could also look a little deeper if/when Dinges can return. Nice start to the season for Payne, Pena, Adamczewski. And wonder what is up with young Mr. Made?

Suckers are what they are - a team without enough runs or hits. And oof to Wilken, and will Lara, Pratt, Adams get sucked into that Biloxi black hole?? Or will they find a way to hit out of it.

On the pitching side - kudos to Stiven Cruz, and nice to see quality innings from Childers/Yeager who look like the probable back end of the Biloxi 'pen. Bjorn Johnson and Jeferson Figueroa also with nice scoreless outings. But a rougher day for the season debuts of Welch and T. Smith (both '24 draftees), while KC Hunt had a very very un-"KC Hunt"-like outing.

Lots to take in and an off day tomorrow.

I think the most important relief outing today - organizationally speaking and off-season speaking - was from RHP Yerlin Rodriguez, honestly. That's a two inning Save that began with two on, none out, in a pivotal 8th inning while clinging to a one-run (before the 2-run lead) where your defense just hung out Aquino to dry. He struck out the side. That's just massive.

[liveforoctober]

The home run Burke hit was an absolute nuke.

 

[wiguy94]

Honestly I don't think I could be any more impressed with Payne and Pena through 3 games. They both just look like they belong in the box. Honestly my only gripe with Payne at this point is that his defense in CF appears to be very raw. He's kind of the inverse Yophery out there in that he's super tooled up but raw whereas Yophery is more of a fringe average CF athlete with really solid instincts. Pena's defense is really smooth. He had an error today but honestly I put that way more on Walling who frankly looked like he was wearing oven mitts on any throw that was in the dirt.

[Joseph Zarr]

2 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

So even though Made had an instagram story that looked like he was maybe in the DR yesterday, he's definitely in Carolina. Saw him in the dugout after Nicasia's game tying double. Maybe just a minor injury?

Yeah, I saw him there too. AND, nothing was mentioned on the broadcast. Hopefully it is minor whatever it is. Good eye, Cap'n!

[Joseph Zarr]

5 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Honestly I don't think I could be any more impressed with Payne and Pena through 3 games. They both just look like they belong in the box. Honestly my only gripe with Payne at this point is that his defense in CF appears to be very raw. He's kind of the inverse Yophery out there in that he's super tooled up but raw whereas Yophery is more of a fringe average CF athlete with really solid instincts. Pena's defense is really smooth. He had an error today but honestly I put that way more on Walling who frankly looked like he was wearing oven mitts on any throw that was in the dirt.

Yophery's defensive output today says: "Hold my Beer, I got this!"

The winds were fierce in both locales today. Yophery had two of the poorest routes I've ever seen him take on fly balls to deep CF. Given you and I both know he is an incredible defender, overall, with great instincts, we can chalk it up to wind and unfamiliarity with the grass and wall at Fox River. Payne actually looked much better today. But, to your point, yeah he's all athlete and lesser feel at present in CF. I think part of it is he is so young and so athletic he thinks he can get away with anything. It's a god-given innate athletic tool kit. Absolutely looks the part in the batters box tho and on the base paths. An incredible weapon.