Tue. 4/8 - First Week of (4) Six-Game Series

[Joseph Zarr]

He gets the weak chopper to 3B. Wilken charges. Throws the short hop one hop. Adams adeptly scoops - really is a solid solid 1B over there (he's made a few really nice plays tonight). It'll be 6-2 Shuckers on to the bottom of the 8th.

[folly412]

The top of the Mudcats' order is really, really good.  3 of them are Top 10 prospects, and Adamczewski probably should be there or very close.

[Joseph Zarr]

Monasterio continues to play a very poor SS in the early going in Nashville. He has a throwing error tonight on a routine play (hard to overthrow EMJ) and he was just given a fielding error with one down here in the top of the 7th. These are routine plays. The problem is, nothing is easy for Mona right now.  

[Joseph Zarr]

Just now, folly412 said:

The top of the Mudcats' order is really, really good.  3 of them are Top 10 prospects, and Adamczewski probably should be there or very close.

Adamczewski, as I have been saying for quite some time, is absolutely the most slept on prospect in the system. He has an insanely gifted bat. His defense is improved in 2025 (and it wasn't bad to begin with). AND, there is a myth around he can't play defense elsewhere. He's an absolute stud. 

[snoogans8056]

6 minutes ago, folly412 said:

The top of the Mudcats' order is really, really good.  3 of them are Top 10 prospects, and Adamczewski probably should be there or very close.

And that’s not counting Made and DiTuri who was a million dollar bonus guy who could be figuring it out too.

Di Turi was also featured in a Baseball America article in the offseason about great swing decisions (along with Bitonti).

[sveumrules]

Holy onslaught for Carolina. 14 runs, 20 hits thru top of eight.

Bitonti 5 for 5 with a walk, three doubles and five RBI.

Adamczewski 4 for 5 with a walk and five RBI.

Payne 4 for 5 with a double and walk.

Nadal and Walling combined 0 for 11 though.

Melvin Hernandez (3.0 IP | 2 H | 1 BB | 3 K), Bryan Rivera (2.1 IP | 4 BB | 5 K) and Miles Langhorne (1.2 IP | 3 K) put up zeroes over the first seven frames and Jack Seppings just put up a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

[Joseph Zarr]

Costello continues to struggle in the 9th. Ahead 1-2. He walks the lead-off. Jaeger is warming up now. I know manager Joe Ayrault would like to rely on Chase here but it's pretty clear he doesn't have his stuff. Hopefully, he can pull it together. Pitching Coach, Josh Spence, just visited the mound. Nobody out. Man on 1B. 6-2 Shuckers.

[Joseph Zarr]

Just now, sveumrules said:

Holy onslaught for Carolina. 14 runs, 20 hits thru top of eight.

Bitonti 5 for 5 with a walk, three doubles and five RBI.

Adamczewski 4 for 4 with a walk and five RBI.

Payne 4 for 5 with a double and walk.

Nadal and Walling combined 0 for 11 though.

Melvin Hernandez (3.0 IP | 2 H | 1 BB | 3 K), Bryan Rivera (2.1 IP | 4 BB | 5 K) and Miles Langhorne (1.2 IP | 3 K) put up zeroes over the first seven frames and Jack Seppings just put up a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

That sounds like early season Nadal and Walling, honestly. 😅 Hopefully, they've looked better at the dish than that line states. They've struggled early.

[Joseph Zarr]

Please get Costello out of there. That AB was unnecessary. Double to the Left CF gap. Just silly. He clearly hasn't had his stuff. I would have preferred he didn't come out for the ninth and, well, here we are. 6-2 lead. Men on 2nd and 3rd. Nobody out. Yeager comes to the bump.

[sveumrules]

1 minute ago, Joseph Zarr said:

That sounds like early season Nadal and Walling, honestly. 😅 Hopefully, they've looked better at the dish than that line states. They've struggled early.

Reece must have sensed us typing about him and singled just now to get off the schneid.

[Joseph Zarr]

Yeager's first pitch sails high and inside and hits the ump's mask. Sheeeesh. Come on, men. Get this together and get your first 'W'. Nobody advances. trainers out to look at the ump.

[Joseph Zarr]

This homeplate ump's strike zone has been capital Squeezed all night long. 2-0 he calls an inside slider a ball. Fouled back an inside slider (Miller set up outer half) pitch 3. 2-1 count. Yeager almost gives up a 3-run jack down the LF line just past the foul pole. Yeeeeesh. Do the Shuckers ever it make it easy? 2-2 count. He gets the high inside heater swing and miss foul tip into Miller's mitt. One down.

[Joseph Zarr]

Mona gathers himself and corrals a 106 mph short hop line drive to SS. He corrals it on his butt and manages to one hop an accurate throw to grab the speedy Fermin. Big play there. Nice to see it. 

Meanwhile, Yeager missed a batter 2 swinging foul tip K when Miller can't hold on to the high inside heater. He then almost hits the batter. Foul back 2-2 count on the next pitch an inside slider. Misses low and away on a slider. Full count. He walks him high and outside. The tying run is at the dish. Bases juiced. One out. He gets a first pitch line out to PRatt. Two down. let's go.

[Joseph Zarr]

 Yeager leaves an absolute slider hanger. Belt high. Two hops to the wall. 6-4. Runner goes back to 3B. Men on 2nd and 3rd. The leading run now comes to the dish. Come on, Justin. Now they face Cargo. Ugly stuff. Ruh roh. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Yeager gets up 0-2. Gotta execute here. Let's see. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Misses up and in at 95 mph. 1-2 count. Misses low and in the dirt. Great job by Miller to stop that clean. Sheesh. 2-2 count. AND he gives up the tie. Unreal. Biloxi Shuckers baseball. Yeager looks in very poor form. Unreal. 

This is a four run ninth. The Shuckers as I've been saying all week: just a painful painful watch.

[Joseph Zarr]

Miller rescues his struggling closer by nabbing Cargo trying to swipe 2B when Yeager's heater sailed high and outside - thankfully, this time. On to the bottom of the 9th. 6-6 game. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Lara ground out to 1B. Pratt swinging K on a flailing whiff on a cutter way outside. Poor form, Coop. Pressing there. Wilken will try to do some damage. Works a 2-0 count taking two nice sliders away. Nice to see. Wilken flies out to RF. 

AND, two winless teams go to Xtras. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Costello and Yeager, to a man, just aren't sharp. When your set-up man and your Closer are consistently missing in the dirt and well high and you are working with a very very tight zone on the edges that's a hard bargain. Shuckers are feeling it right now. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Yeager gets the first AB K. Big out there, Justin. Let's go, young man. He works the next batter 1-2. Yeager's pitch count is sitting 34. He gets the pop up to very shallow CF where EBJ corrals it easily. Two down. 

[Joseph Zarr]

The Clingstones are checks notes 5-for-24 with RISP. No worries. Yeager, with two down and a chance to give his mates a legit walk-off opportunity, hangs another one for an easy poke to CF. Lara slips trying to throw home and can't get the ball in. Cargo scores. 7-6 deficit. Ahhhhhh Shuckers baseball. 

[Joseph Zarr]

And, now a hanger oppo poke into LF. Men on the corners. Two down. Pitch count at 39. Yeager is getting peppered. Finally, they go back to the Pen. 

[wibadgers23]

That Carolina boxscore is a thing of beauty.  Holy smokes.  And this is without Made playing.

[Joseph Zarr]

Just now, wibadgers23 said:

That Carolina boxscore is a thing of beauty.  Holy smokes.  And this is without Made playing.

Made twice as sweet playing a Cubs affiliate, no less. 

[Joseph Zarr]

The Shuckers bullpen may be melting down but this is in no part due to anything C Darrien Miller is doing. He's thrown out a base runner and he's corralled several (and I mean a hefty several) of these consistently errant throws from Costello, Yeager, and now Manfredi who walks his first batter to load the bases. That's NINE free passes from this Shucker's staff. This is absolutely a game of two winless opponents who are doing their very best to extend this game into perpetuity so nobody ever wins. 😅