Tue. 5/6 - It's a Weeknight Five-Pack

[Joseph Zarr]

Made mishandles a well hit grounder up the middle. He covered the ground. He got there. He didn't cleanly gather the ball. An ongoing issues for the talented young infielder - this isn't the first time I've seen him botch a play like this. Work to do. Lead off man aboard.

[Joseph Zarr]

Made just botched his second play of the inning. These are fairly routine plays. Very weakly hit grounder to the 3B side. Knowing this scorer tonight they'll call both plays hits. They were very much both errors on Made. His defense remains very very much a work in unrefined progress. Troubling development. Gillis should already be out of the frame. AND, the Kannapolis scorer's home cooking (clear home cooking) is leaving Gillis to potentially incur the damage here. As per usual in the Minor Leagues the box score rarely tells an accurate tale. 

[Joseph Zarr]

WOW. Gillis gets the massive and huge DP ball facing a bases loaded scenario after Made's gaffes and a walk. Facing the Cannonballer's hottest hitter he gets the grounder to Bitonti who fires accurately to Made at 2B who fires it accurately and on time to the hustling Gillis. Incredible work. 4-3 on to the 9th.

[Joseph Zarr]

Made is an unmitigated disaster at SS tonight. He should have three errors and nearly had a fourth. Almost butchers the first routine grounder of the 9th inning. Botches it. Has to double pump the throw to 1B as a result. Very nearly doesn't get the out - any other runner and it is likely safe. The very next play in the 'ball don't lie' department, the ball finds him again. Another slow chopper. He butchers it. Ball under the glove. NONE of these plays have been ruled an error and it's comical. He has 3 nearly 4 errors tonight. None of these are easy but none of these are high in the difficulty scale either. These are plays an everyday SS has to make. 

[Joseph Zarr]

So here we are again where the inning should be over. The game 'should' be won BUT the inning continues. Very next batter pokes a shallow single to RF and the game is tied. Made cost his team multiple times tonight. It finally bit them in the arse. Unreal. Can't happen. 4-4 game. Walling's throw was up line and not accurate. Runner advanced to 2B as a result. Two down. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Big night for Bitonti. He gets the go-ahead lead-off RBI single to RF in the 11th. 5-4 Muddies. Can the Catfish avoid a grounder to Made in the 11th. AND, Di Turi rips a deep triple to the left CF gap! Two run lead. Woot Woot. This after Payne weakly popped out to shallow RF down the RF line.

[Joseph Zarr]

Woody is pitching into the 5th on my feed (I'm behind - farm chores). He gave up a solo shot to deep left CF on a moon ball ( no clue how he hit that 93 mph sinker below the zone out of the park, honestly) to fall behind 2-1. BUT, I like what we're seeing tonight. Touched 94-95 multiple times in this fith inning. Pitch count approaching 80 now. I contend his slider is currently his best pitch. Really plays at 89-91 mph and works off the four-seamer and sinker quite well. Change-up coming along.

[Joseph Zarr]

I continue to love me some Hodges out of the Mudcats Pen. He's had some hiccups. But, he continues to rise to the occasion on enough occasions to keep me dialed in. He K's 5 in 2 IP in Xtras. Gives up zero Manfred Men. Muddies take game 1 6-4 despite Made's gaffes. And they were multiple.

[Joseph Zarr]

Woody: 83 pitches. 60 strikes. Just a masterful rehab outing. Touched 95 multiple times. The slider and change-up worked very very well. I contend his slider is currently his most impactful strikeout pitch. 2-1 Sounds trail in the 6th. You love to see it from the Big Woo!

[Joseph Zarr]

Fantastic Sixth Frame from RHP Easton McGee. That may be his best inning as a Brewer. Really good stuff. Got a nice sliding catch from LF Adam Hall in LF foul territory no less up and onto the bullpen mound. 

[Joseph Zarr]

My gods, the T-Rats just took the lead in the 8th. Is this a 7 spot?!?

[Joseph Zarr]

Blake Burke led off the top of the seventh. He hit the go-ahead double in the top of the 7th. Gotta love that. Well hit flaring gapper to the wall in deep left center. His second poke of his night. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Burke drops a routine toss to 1B to lead off the bottom of the 7th. Weird play. Liner off Broca's back. Ball bounced behind the mound. Burke was a little late to get to the bag. He may have had it before he dropped it? Bang bang. No less, Broca gets the DP Guilarte (3B) to Areinamo to Burke. Two down. 10-8 T-Rats improbably lead. 

[Joseph Zarr]

It's very fair to say this ump in Peoria is a disaster for both clubs. He has zero clue what the outer black is. Broca was just robbed of a K looking in a 2-2 count on a beautiful heater. Unbelievable blown call. Entire infield was headed to the dugout. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Well, I'll be. Eduardo Garcia leads off the 8th with a scorching line drive over the LF wall. He atones for his earlier gaffe in a big way. 11-8 T-Rats. That ball was smoked. T-Rats trailed 5-0 earlier. And entered the 7th down 8-3

[Joseph Zarr]

Meanwhile, the Sounds just took a 5-2 lead on a tailor made DSL inning. Walk. WP. PB. And, oh, a single in there too.

[Joseph Zarr]

RHP Vinny Nittoli is not making things easy. A single. A K. A walk. Two men on. One down. Sounds lead 5-2 after the four spot last inning.

Broca leads off his8th inning with a 2-1 hanging solo jack over the LF wall. 11-9 T-Rats. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Broca K's a lefty. Rund will come aboard now. 

Meanwhile, in a 3-2 count, Nittoli (after two fouls) is called for a pitch clock violation as he spins to feign a throw to 2B. He'll be pulled. Amazing. Bases juiced. One down. Liranzo will be called upon to try and put this fire out.

This is an unbelievably classic Game 1 across the board tonight. So many weird plays across the board.

[Joseph Zarr]

Liranzo does what 2025 Liranzo does: shuts it down. Weak fly out to LF. Hall smartly throws to 3B (doesn't have the arm to challenge at home regardless). Runners stay. He K's the next batter with pure challenge heat. The man is unafraid to bring that 96-97 mph into your wheelhouse. Sounds win 5-3. Wild. They were dead to rights. And, the Ghost of DSL Summer's past reared it's head for a four spot inning. 

[Joseph Zarr]

T-Rats have the bases juiced again in the 9th. Burke ripped a single to LF to score Garcia (beautiful bunt single) that sent Areinamo (BB) to 2B. Both runners advanced on a WP. Wood sac flies to CF. 13-9 T-Rats. Boy, this Chiefs pitching staff (bottom half of the League in many a category) is curing what has ailed this low-run producing T-Rats offense. 

[Joseph Zarr]

THe Chiefs catcher drops a first pitch weakly hit foul ball off the bat of Alastre behind home plate. Just botched the catch. The Chiefs reliever walks Alastre on four consecutive pitches thereafter. 14-9 Rattlers. The T-Rats may have met their match. 😂

[Terry]

Final six start for Hunt last season and first six start for him this year. Clearly there's some dropoff both stuff and command wise, hopefully he turns around the corner soon enough. (Ignore the one on 9/12, it was a double header and raw data botched it)

[Joseph Zarr]

Yeah, there's no doubt about it. Even without the data there (and I've been alluding to it in many a report)...he just isn't sharp. He's missing with his pitches by too big a margin when he's trying to nibble the zone. It's happening in a variety of ways. He's been close to dialed in a couple times in the early going but as a whole just not sharp. What is missing there, however, is his final start of 2024 was a 7 1/3 shutdown performance in a must win do or die first round playoff series. His walk rate in 2025 is his biggest issues. See tonight's first frame. Two down. Then walks two. Then suddenly he's pitching into the mid 30's again. Pensacola has given him fits in that first frame in both starts. Didn't make it out of the first frame after 2/3 IP in the debut @ Pensacola. Hopefully he figures it out. It's a real bummer in the early going coming off co-Pitcher of the Year Honors just a season ago.

[snoogans8056]

Dorchies with a real nice outing. Reminder that him and Renz were the two youngest players in their entire draft class.

[Joseph Zarr]

The wheels are starting to fall off a bit for RHP Ethan Dorchies in the bottom of the 6th. He has 5 K in 3 1/3 IP. However, we see three walks; a WP; and a PB in this same frame. There was also a catcher change mid inning with Rojas replacing Garcia. He just dug deep and got his 6th K. Bases juiced. Two down now. 3 2/3 IP, 6 K. Regardless of how this shakes out, really intriguing outing.