Brewers Minor League Link Report (5/7): Crow, Matos and Garcia Shine in Three Thursday Wins

[Ro Mueller]

Image courtesy of BrewerFanatic

Transactions:

• RHP Michael Fowler placed on High-A Wisconsin’s 7-day injured list

 

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Game Action:

Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes
Game One Final: Nashville 3, Louisville (Reds) 1 (in 7 innings)
Box Score and Game Log
Game Two Final: Nashville 9, Louisville 6 (in 7 innings)
Box Score and Game Log

In his first game as a minor leaguer since June 2023 (excluding rehab stints), OF Blake Perkins showed he’s serious about returning quickly to The Show: 3rd inning fly out (99mph exit velocity), 5th inning single (101.9mph) and theft of third base, 5th inning outfield assist, 7th inning RBI single (104.2mph).

Starting 25-year old RHP Coleman Crow also showed once again why he’s special, garnering strikeouts (4) and groundouts (6) throughout his 89-pitch, 5 2/3 innings of work (1 R, 3 H, 2 BB), although some loud contact in the 4th inning (2 line outs and a fly out all exceeding 100mph) was a bit uncharacteristic.

Breaking news: we’ve just received the doubleheader sweep game report, so I’ll post much of that here:

Sounds Sweep Doubleheader in Louisville, Take Control of Series – Brock Wilken Tallies 3 RBI, Extends On-Base Streak to 25 Games

Nashville earned a doubleheader sweep of the Louisville Bats on Thursday night at Louisville Slugger Field. The Sounds won the first game 3-1 behind stellar pitching from Coleman Crow and a pair of hits from Blake Perkins. Game two saw more offense with Nashville using a four-run fifth inning to seize control of the game and outlast the Bats for a 9-6 final behind a three-RBI performance for Eddys Leonard.

Crow, the Brewers no. 26-rated prospect made his fifth start of the season, following up a scoreless outing over 5.2 IP last Thursday night at First Horizon Park with another strong performance against the Bats in Game One. Despite two early baserunners with a leadoff single and walk, Crow limited the Bats to their only run of the game when Edwin Arroyo came around to score on a wild pitch.

The Sounds got their first baserunner in the top of the third via a Luis Matos single before he stole second and was left in scoring position as Davis Daniel retired each of the next three he faced. Back-to-back walks drawn by Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara in the top of the fourth were followed by a Brock Wilken RBI single (108mph exit velocity) that evened the score at 1-1.

Nashville then took the lead in the fifth as Pratt scored Jacob Hurtubise who walked and moved to third on a single by Perkins. Jordyn Adams delivered a two-out pinch hit triple in the top of the seventh inning ahead of Perkins who added his second hit and first Nashville RBI with a single to make it 3-1.

After the rocky start to the first, Crow settled in and retired 10 of the next 11 he faced before allowing a leadoff single in the fifth along with a two-out hit by pitch. Crow stranded both in the inning and then struck out back-to-back Bats in the sixth after allowing his third hit of the game to lead off the sixth. Brewers no. 28-rated prospect Craig Yoho (1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K) tossed a three-pitch strikeout to get the Sounds out of the inning and strand the runner on first. Yoho was back out for the bottom of the seventh and worked a 1-2-3 inning and collected his first save of the season to help Nashville take Game One.

In Game Two, LHP Thomas Pannone (2 2/3 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 Ks) and the Sounds faced off against and got the better of old friend Nate Peterson. Pannone pitched his way through a shaky start, as the Bats began the game with three straight singles to take an early 1-0 lead. Pannone and the Sounds traded a pair of outs for another run as the Bats made it 2-0 before loading the bases with three straight walks issued by Pannone. He escaped the jam with relatively minimal damage done as he got Dayne Leonard to strike out and strand all three remaining Louisville runners on base. Consecutive two-out singles and the fourth walk issued by Pannone once again loaded the bases for the Bats in the second, but he and the Sounds left the inning still just down two runs after he got Michael Toglia to line out to end the threat.

RHP Kaleb Bowman (1 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 Ks) took over on the mound in the bottom of the third with two outs. He was greeted with a single but stranded the seventh Louisville runner of the game to send the Sounds to the plate in the top of the fourth. Matos' second hit of the doubleheader was a two-run home run that evened the score at 2-2.

The Bats quickly regained their lead as Arroyo homered off Bowman for his second hit in game two and put the Bats back up by a run. Bowman followed a hit batter and walk in the frame with back-to-back strikeouts to strand two more.

Jett Williams added his second hit of the game with a leadoff single to begin Nashville's four-run rally in the top of the fifth. Pratt and Lara followed Williams on base to load the bases and back-to-back walks put Nashville in front 4-3. With the bases still loaded and one out, Leonard laced a two-RBI double into the right-center gap to push the Sounds back in front 6-3.

Peter Strzelecki (1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks) inherited a pair of runners after taking over for Bowman in the bottom of the fifth and was tasked with facing the top of the Bats order. Arroyo added his third hit of the game with a two-RBI triple that pulled the Bats back within a run. Strzelecki sat down each of the next two to maintain the one-run advantage and leave the tying run on third base. Williams was aboard for the third time after drawing a walk to begin the top of the sixth. Wilken started another two-out rally with a RBI single and would later come around to score on the third bases-loaded walk issued by Bats pitchers to push Nashville's lead back out to 8-5. Strzelecki struck out two more in the bottom of the sixth to help work around a one-out double and keep it a three-run Sounds advantage.

Ethan Murray connected on his second home run of the season to start the top of the seventh and give the Sounds their largest lead of the game at four runs.

After three straight outs following the solo homer by Murray, Drew Rom (1 IP, 1 R, 2 Ks) headed to the mound in the bottom of the seventh in relief of Strzelecki. Sitting on three hits and a double shy of the cycle, Arroyo added his fourth RBI of the game with a single cut off by Williams in the right-center field gap that prevented Arroyo from completing the cycle but brought the Bats back within two. Rom picked up his first strikeout of the night for the second out of the inning, but the game stayed alive as he allowed his third single of the frame and sent Rece Hinds to the plate to serve as the potential tying run with runners on the corners. Rom made quick work of Hinds with a four-pitch strikeout to help seal the doubleheader sweep for Nashville.

25 FOR 25: Brock Wilken ended the doubleheader 2-for-6 with three RBI, two walks, and two runs scored to help extend his on-base streak to 25 straight games dating back to April 10. A hit in each game of the doubleheader also extended his current hitting streak to five straight. The Brewers no. 21-rated prospect began his Triple-A tenure 3-for-50 through his first 15 games but is hitting .277 (18-for-65) over his last 20 games with a hit in 13 of his last 15 overall. His 25-game on-base streak is the second-longest active streak in the International League and the fifth-longest going in Triple-A currently. His three-RBI performance between the two games on Thursday have him in a three-way tie for the Nashville team lead in RBI along with Eddys Leonard and Jeferson Quero. His 24 walks lead the team and are tied for the eighth-most in the International League.

MIGHTY MATOS: Luis Matos added a hit in both games of the doubleheader including his first home run of the season and his first since August 29, 2025, with San Francisco. It ended a 24-game homerless streak for the outfielder in which he only had two total extra-base hits since hitting his home last home run. Matos is hitting .364 (4-for-11) in his first four games with Nashville and has reached base safely in all four games.

JETT IT GO: Brewers no. 3-rated prospect Jett Williams added his ninth multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-4 night at the plate in game two of the twin bill after being held hitless in game one. Williams now has three multi-hit performances in six games since the calendar turned to May and is hitting .354 (17-for-48) with three doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, and 10 runs scored over his last 13 games. His nine multi-hit games rank second among Nashville players this season behind Luis Lara and Eddys Leonard, who each have 11.

Friday’s outlook: LHP Tate Kuehner (4.15 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 8.9 K/9 in 30 1/3 IP) gets the opportunity to lead Nashville to a 3-1 series lead.

 

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Biloxi Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: Biloxi 7, Columbus (Braves) 6
Box Score and Game Log

Via the Shuckers’ website, game details and we encourage readers to review affiliate write-ups as part of their Link Report routine: Garcia Hits Two Homers as Shuckers Stave Off Clingstones 7-6

After a big winter (.976 OPS in Venezuela) was cut short due to a wrist injury, Eduardo Garcia’s first 2026 start in center field (after 49 starts there last season) may have been the sign that he’s truly fully recovered. We’ll interpret his 2-run homer in the 3rd inning and solo shot in the 5th inning as further evidence.

On his last day as the only 18-year old in AA, SS Jesus Made (Feliz cumpleaños!) had 3 singles and a walk to lift his season average to .282 and OPS to .815. As of this morning, he’s the only 19-year old hitter in the Southern League, making him the youngest position player in the league by over 2 years. He also got this bat out of the way to preserve 1B Blake Burke’s health:

Starting 20-year old RHP Manuel Rodriguez (6 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 Ks) retired the first 10 batters he faced before conceding a solo homer on a 2-2 pitch, then an infield single and first pitch 2-run shot the following inning.

After that second homer, Rodriguez, RHP Nick Merkel (1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 Ks) and LHP Mark Manfredi retired 12 of the next 13 Clingstones to put themselves on a cusp of a comfortable 7-3 victory with 1 out and nobody on in the 9th inning, before Manfredi (1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K) decided to make it more entertaining for the home fans.

Thankfully he was able to strand the potential game-tying run at second base, ending the Shuckers’ 7-game losing streak.

Shuckers’ Extras:

• The homers may be a bit unsightly (8 allowed in just 28 1/3 innings this season) and certainly hurt his ERA (5.40), but Rodriguez continues to efficiently get outs (1.20 WHIP, 24 K / 6 BB ratio). He’s the only 20-year old pitcher in the 8-team Southern League.
• After a 2-game mini-slump (0-for-8), OF Damon Keith (1-for-4) doubled home 2 runs in this game. He’s now reached base in 19 of 20 games this year, hitting .324 with a 1.068 OPS.
• OF Dasan Brown’s 4th inning homer was the 30th of his minor league career (492 games), as he’s more known for being fleet of foot (157 career stolen bases).

Friday’s outlook: RHP Brett Wichrowski (6.83 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 9.8 K/9 in 27 2/3 IP) aims to lead Biloxi to a win to tie up this week’s home series, making his 5th start (7th appearance).

 

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Wisconsin Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: Peoria (Cardinals) 7, Wisconsin 6
Box Score and Game Log

Via the Timber Rattlers’ website, game details: Chiefs Stun Rattlers with Four Runs in Ninth

The linked game report covers the high highs and low lows of this contest in depth, including 4 embedded videos.

A respectable start from RHP Braylon Owens (5 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks), strong relief from RHP Yorman Galindez and clutch 2-out hitting appeared to have clinched the victory as Wisconsin led 6-3 and needed just one more out in the bottom of the 9th inning.

Galindez (3 2/3 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks) wasn’t troubled in his first 3 innings of relief, but a double, full count catcher’s interference and 0-and-2 infield single helped push him to a season-high 58 pitches, forcing Manager Nick Stanley’s hand.

5 of Wisconsin’s 6 runs came with 2 outs, including 1B Eric Bitonti’s RBI double, a run-scoring wild pitch, C Blayberg Diaz’s RBI infield single and red-hot OF Josiah Ragsdale’s RBI infield single.

Ragsdale had a 2-for-5 game with 2 RBIs, while OF Josh Adamczewski (.321 AVG, 1.071 OPS) continued his assault on the Midwest League with a 3-for-5 game with a double and a stolen base.

Timber Rattlers’ Extras:

• The final 4 Chiefs’ runs came across on just 7 pitches thrown by RHP Jose Nova (single, wild pitch, walk-off single), who was the freshest bullpen arm (last pitched May 1).
• This was Owens’ 3rd consecutive strong start, as he retired the first 6 batters faced and 6 of the last 7 batters, sandwiched between the difficult 3rd inning (3 runs, 3 singles, 2 walks).
• OF Luis Castillo had an early exit (ejected after a 4th inning strikeout), but substitute Tayden Hall had a walk, single and run scored. SS Daniel Dickinson is in a bit of a rut: 0-for-last-12 with 7 strikeouts, likely still making the adjustment to High-A ball.

Friday’s outlook: RHP Ethan Dorchies and LHP JD Thompson are starting options for Wisconsin, who need a victory to even this week’s series.

 

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Wilson Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: Fayetteville (Astros) 3, Wilson 2 (in 7 innings)
Box Score and Game Log

Via The Wilson Times: Woodpeckers, Newman crunch Wilson 3-2 in rain-shortened win

Mother Nature gave Fayetteville a light assist after the Warbirds left the bases loaded in the 7th inning and LHP Andrew Healy (3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks) completed his third scoreless inning of relief.

Wilson looked in good shape early, as starting RHP Tyler Renz (4 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks) largely cruised through 3 frames, backed by OF Jose Anderson’s 6th blast of 2026 and SS Brady Ebel’s RBI single. Anderson had a 2-for-3 day, accounting for half of the team’s hits.

Unfortunately, Ebel was thrown out at home to end the Warbirds’ half of the 3rd inning, which could have extended the lead.

An error and two walks in the top of the 7th inning gave OF Handelfry Encarnacion (1-for-4) the chance to play hero yet again (he’d homered in 4 of his last 5 games), but he lined the first pitch he saw to the left fielder.

Warbirds’ Extras:

• Wilson’s 4 through 9 hitters combined to go 0-for-15 with 3 walks and a stolen base. The most concerning case may be 3B Filippo Di Turi (0-for-3, .163 AVG), who’s still searching for his early 2025 season form.
• 6’6” Andrew Healy turned in his second straight dominant outing (combined 6 IP, 0 R, 11 Ks), which is a great sign for the 2025 9th round draft pick.

Friday’s outlook: RHP Jacob Morrison is scheduled to make his 2nd career start (3 IP, 0 R, 4 Ks last week), with Wilson needing a win to even the series 2-2.

 

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Final: ACL Padres 5, ACL Brewers 2 (in 7 innings)
Box Score and Game Log

After trouncing the Padres twice in earlier games, the opposition resorted to having rehabbing pitchers cover 6 of the 7 innings, but our youngsters still managed to out-hit them 9 to 7.

18-year old RHP Chase Bentley, making his professional debut after being selected in the 19th round in the 2025 MLB Draft, was the team’s standout performer on the mound, blanking the Padres over the final 4 innings (4 IP, 0 R, 1 H – a single, 2 BB, 6 Ks).

Unfortunately, the team trailed 5-1 by the time Bentley entered, as rehabbing RHP JB Bukauskas struggled in his second outing (2/3 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 1 HBP, 2 Ks), retiring only 2 of 6 batters faced. Bukauskas hasn’t had sustained health since a lat strain in April 2024.

On the offensive side, C Rylan Mills (2-for-3, HR; .556 AVG) and OF Alexander Frias (2-for-3, SB; .375 AVG) continued to impress, including Mills briefly tying the game on a solo homer in the 2nd inning (first career blast). Roderick Flores (2-for-3; .375 AVG) is also quietly getting the job done. 8 of the 9 Brewers’ position players reached base via hit or walk.

The team missed some opportunities, going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. The 4th inning was particularly frustrating: 3 singles, 0 runs. 13 of the team’s 21 outs came via strikeout.

The game also featured the second 2026 outing for RHP Jayden Dubanewicz (2 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K), who appears to be working back to full strength after a spring injury, and a stateside debut for 19-year old RHP Josue Toledo (2 batters faced: double, groundout). Next up: the Brewers (2-2) host the ACL Cubs (2-2) on Friday evening.

 

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We hope that you enjoy the Minor League Link Report. On Friday, five minor league games are on tap, with Wilson kicking things off at 6:05pm CST. The Milwaukee Brewers also begin their home series against the Yankees at 6:40pm.

Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores
Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth
Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth

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[Ro Mueller]

The Wilson game report is also showing on their website now: Longball Dooms Warbirds in Loss to Fayetteville

[Ro Mueller]