WV Brew

Erceg named Carolina League Player of the Week Erceg led the league in AVG, OPS and RBIs during the last week http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/5/2/245570352/cuts/Carolina_Player_of_the_week.jpg_1ci8v2ma_hgc10icw.jpeg

Also, Carlos Belonis goes on the DL. He was hit in the hand by a pitch. Not sure of the extent of the injury.

Caleb Whalen has been assigned to Carolina from Wisconsin.

Chris Christie gets into the anti-Cub act: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4744822/Chris-Christie-gets-face-Chicago-Cubs-fan.html It even made the British papers. Please leave politics at home. I didn't know Christie's son works for the Brewers. Who'd have thunk it?

Medeiros fans career high nine in 3-2 victory The Mudcats clinched a three games to one series victory with Sunday's home win By Carolina Mudcats | July 30, 2017 6:42 PM ET http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/5/2/227352552/cuts/16x9_Medeiros_gx0n0faj_36ea1c8x.jpg Kodi Medeiros pitching for the Carolina Mudcats at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, N.C. (NIKOLAUS - Carolina Mudcats) Just to piggyback on what DHonks said earlier in case people don't read the whole thread, Kodi Medeiros (7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K) has now gone 6 innings or better in 5 straight starts. Jordan Yamamoto's family was in town and distributing pineapples to the Mudcats' staff like Jordan was distributing zeros to the Blue Rocks yesterday. It was quite the weekend for Hawaii-KO. After Yamamoto's game score of 75 yesterday, Medeiros followed that with a score of 77 today which was the 4th highest by a Mudcat this year. Medeiros threw 96 pitches today, 71! for strikes. He hit 102 on the stadium gun in the 7th inning after around 90 pitches. The Blue Rocks were trotting out their half swings and still not getting around on it. That 102 is probably somewhere in the high 90's in the real world. Wuilder Rodriguez and Nate Griep worked the 8th and 9th, Griep picking up his 20th save. The Blue Rocks hit the skids early when D. J. Burt hit a disputed ball down the first base line which was called foul to lead off the game. He struck out on a disputed third strike on the next pitch and was then tossed out of the game. Jake Gatewood (1-3, 2B, BB) led the Mudcats' attack today with the wind blowing in. Trent Clark was 1-3 with a sacrifice fly. Jose Cuas (1-4) knocked in the other two runs on a cue shot off the end of his bat which eluded the first baseman. Carolina Box Score Carolina Game Log Carolina Bottom of the 2nd Lucas Erceg singles on a line drive to center fielder Nick Heath. Luis Aviles singles on a bunt ground ball to catcher Colton Frabasilio. Lucas Erceg to 2nd. Cooper Hummel singles on a ground ball to second baseman Travis Maezes. Lucas Erceg to 3rd. Luis Aviles to 2nd. Jose Cuas singles on a ground ball to second baseman Travis Maezes. Lucas Erceg scores. Luis Aviles scores. Cooper Hummel to 3rd. Trent Clark out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Roman Collins. Cooper Hummel scores. Monte Harrison flies out to center fielder Nick Heath. With Corey Ray batting, passed ball by Colton Frabasilio, Jose Cuas to 2nd. Corey Ray grounds out to first baseman Chris DeVito.

Charley Meyer activated for Carolina. (McDowell must at least be nicked up). Brandon Diaz released. I guess you could see that coming. Good luck to Brandon.

Mudcats earn doubleheader split with Wilmington Erceg homered in his third straight and Yamamoto turned in a complete game gem on Saturday By Carolina Mudcats | July 29, 2017 11:57 PM ET http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/7/0/235500270/cuts/Yamamoto_1_en42wt4i_uhcf619n.JPG Lucas Erceg (2-3, HR) tied the game with a long home run in the 6th inning of game 1. The Mudcats lost the game when D. J. Burt led off the 7th for Wilmington with a double, stole third and scored on a wild pitch from Brad Kuntz (3 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K) who took the loss. Marcos Diplan (3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 3 K) was the starter. Diplan issued 4 walks in the 4th inning alone. Cooper Hummel was 2-2 with a walk to reach base all three trips to the plate in game 1. Carolina Box Score Game 1 Carolina Game 1 Log Game two was dominated by Jordan Yamamoto (7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K) who pitched a complete game shutout. His game score of 75 was his best of the year. Two of those walks came in the 7th when he appeared to tire a bit. Shao-Ching Chiang had a game score of 99 in his 9 inning no-hitter yesterday for Lynchburg to provide a point of reference. Lucas Erceg went 0-3 in the nightcap to end his 3 game home run streak. Jake Gatewood (2-3, 2B, 3 RBI) knocked in 3 of Carolina's runs and Luis Aviles (2-2, Sac Fly) batted in the other two. Gatewood now has 33 doubles. The Mudcats' club record is 42. They interviewed Max McDowell between games but I missed that so I don't know the reason for Hummel starting both games of the double header. Carlos Belonis was hit in the finger trying to bunt in the second game and had to leave the game. No update on his status. Carolina Game 2 Box Score Carolina Game 2 Log Carolina Bottom of the 3rd Monte Harrison walks. Isan Diaz singles on a line drive to right fielder Jose Sanchez. Monte Harrison to 2nd. Jake Gatewood doubles (33) on a line drive to center fielder Brandon Downes. Monte Harrison scores. Isan Diaz scores. Lucas Erceg grounds out to first baseman Chris DeVito. Jake Gatewood to 3rd. Luis Aviles out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Brandon Downes. Jake Gatewood scores. Cooper Hummel singles on a line drive to right fielder Jose Sanchez. Carlos Belonis called out on strikes.

Cooper Hummel catching both halves of the doubleheader?

Tarp going on in Zebulon. Will be a late start at best. It has rained all day here in the DC area. Probably similar there.

This story claims pitchers throw too many fastballs. The Yankees are using a strategy of using more sliders and fewer fastballs. Interesting. http://www.businessinsider.com/yankees-pitching-strategy-fewer-fastballs-2017-7

Carolina was rained out.

Carolina in a rain delay. It doesn't look good for getting this game in. Thunderstorms forecast most of the night.

Erceg leads the way again; Mudcats win fourth straight Lucas Erceg drove in all three Carolina runs in Thursday's 3-2 win versus Wilmington By Gregory Young / Carolina Mudcats | July 27, 2017 11:04 PM ET http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/6/4/244898364/cuts/16x9_LucasErceg3_41k9vats_otxoqcpi.jpg Cody Ponce (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K) started for the Mudcats and worked two scoreless innings. It was planned for him to have limited pitches in this game. He wasn't injured, they are just trying to give him some rest and limit his innings. Frank Lopez worked a tandem role going 5 innings and giving up both Wilmington runs. He gets the win. Eric Hanhold and Nate Griep worked the 8th and 9th to preserve the win. Griep now with 19 saves on the year. The Mudcats only had 5 hits in this game. Corey Ray (1-4, 2B) led off the game with a double and was stranded at third. All of the remaining hits came from Monte Harrison (2-4, 2 2B) and Lucas Erceg (2-3, HR, 3 RBI). Erceg singled in the winning run in the 6th. Carolina Box Score Carolina Game Log Carolina Bottom of the 4th Isan Diaz hit by pitch. Jake Gatewood flies out to right fielder Brandon Downes. Lucas Erceg homers (11) on a fly ball to right field. Isan Diaz scores. Trent Clark flies out to left fielder Roman Collins. Luis Aviles strikes out swinging. Carolina Bottom of the 6th Monte Harrison doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Roman Collins. Isan Diaz walks. Jake Gatewood flies out to center fielder Nick Heath. Monte Harrison to 3rd. Lucas Erceg singles on a line drive to left fielder Roman Collins. Monte Harrison scores. Isan Diaz to 2nd. Trent Clark grounds into a double play, second baseman D. J. Burt to shortstop Jecksson Flores to first baseman Chris DeVito. Lucas Erceg out at 2nd.

The Brewers have transferred Carlos Belonis back to Carolina and activated Brandon Diaz there also. They already have 4 high profile outfielders there. Either trade, promotion or injury must be coming up.

Carolina also activated Brandon Diaz. That makes 6 outfielders who do nothing else. Something up?

Erceg hits grand slam in sweep clinching victory Lucas Erceg drove in a career high five RBIs and Conor Harber earned the win By Carolina Mudcats | July 26, 2017 11:32 PM ET http://www.milb.com/assets/images/7/1/4/224474714/cuts/414_Lucas_Erceg_RBI_Single_wsnqhxer_bzjxizxv.jpg Conor Harber (5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K) started and got the win for the Mudcats. Trey Supak (3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K) followed Harber and Luke Barker (1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K) finished the game. Lucas Erceg (3-5, HR, 5 RBI) broke open the game in the 3rd inning with a grand slam. I would like to highlight Corey Ray (3-5, 2B) who started off the 3rd inning offense with a hit to center. It was a routine single slightly to the left field side of center. Probably 99% of the time it would have been a single but Ray ran hard out of the batter's box and never hesitated in going to second. A few minutes later, Erceg launched his grand slam. Luis Aviles was 2-4 in the game. Carolina Box Score Carolina Game Log Carolina Top of the 3rd Luis Aviles grounds out to first baseman Adonis Paula. Corey Ray doubles (21) on a line drive to center fielder Connor Myers. With Troy Stokes batting, wild pitch by Justin Steele, Corey Ray to 3rd. Troy Stokes hit by pitch. Isan Diaz singles on a line drive to left fielder Robert Garcia. Corey Ray scores. Troy Stokes to 2nd. Jake Gatewood walks. Troy Stokes to 3rd. Isan Diaz to 2nd. Lucas Erceg hits a grand slam (10) to right center field. Troy Stokes scores. Isan Diaz scores. Jake Gatewood scores. Monte Harrison hit by pitch. Trent Clark grounds into a double play, second baseman Vimael Machin to shortstop Zack Short to first baseman Adonis Paula. Monte Harrison out at 2nd.

Clark is 30 points better in OBP this year than last. His SLG is up 50 points. All in a more difficult hitting environment. Yet his stock is down?

Medeiros tosses gem as Mudcats win second straight Ray hit a solo home run in the first and Erceg had a go-ahead double in the eighth By Carolina Mudcats | July 25, 2017 11:42 PM ET http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/4/0/231792340/cuts/16x9_KodiMedeiros1_7scwsytq_7ee3deuz.jpg Kodi Medeiros pitching for the Carolina Mudcats at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, N.C. (NIKOLAUS - Carolina Mudcats) Kodi Medeiros (6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) pitched through the 6th inning for the 4th start in a row. Eric Hanhold (2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) was credited with a blown save but picked up the win. Nate Griep picked up his 18th save by working the 9th. Trent Clark (1-3, 2 BB, SB) reached base 3 times. Corey Ray had a home run in 5 at bats and also stole a base. He had a "Natural" type moment on his home run. The ball hit off the equipment shed behind right field and when somebody returned the ball to the press box it had a flat area on one side. Lucas Erceg was 1-4 but had the game winning hit with a 2 run double in the 8th inning. Carolina Box Score Carolina Game Log Carolina Top of the 8th Vimael Machin remains in the game as the designated hitter. Pitching Change: Jordan Minch replaces Scott Effross. Corey Ray reaches on a fielding error by first baseman Tyler Alamo. Jake Gatewood pops out to shortstop Zack Short in foul territory. Isan Diaz walks. Corey Ray to 2nd. Lucas Erceg doubles (24) on a line drive to center fielder Connor Myers. Corey Ray scores. Isan Diaz scores. Monte Harrison called out on strikes. Max McDowell pops out to catcher P. J. Higgins in foul territory.

Mudcats end skid with 12-3 rain shortened victory Lucas Erceg, Troy Stokes Jr. and Corey Ray each had RBI triples in the game By Carolina Mudcats | July 24, 2017 11:31 PM ET http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/7/2/226387372/cuts/16x9_TroyStokesJr1_2fxjlrzh_2p41k3wm.jpg Troy Stokes Jr. tripled and scored a run for the Carolina Mudcats on April 14, 2017 at Five County Stadium. (NIKOLAUS - Carolina Mudcats) The Mudcats end a 5 game losing streak by beating a depleted (after the Quintana deal) Pelicans' lineup. Pelicans lost 3 players off this team in that deal including Eloy Jimenez, the Cubs' top prospect at the time. The Cubs' 3rd round pick from last years draft, Thomas Hatch, took the loss. Jordan Yamamoto went the distance (5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 3 K) to pick up the win. The Mudcats struck for 11 hits in the game including 3 triples and 4 doubles. Jake Gatewood (0-4) was the only player who failed to reach base on a hit. He is looking frustrated as he slammed his bat and helmet after his second at bat. Troy Stokes Jr (2-4, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI) and Lucas Erceg (2-2, 2B, 3B, BB, 3 R) led the way. Max McDowell (2-2, 2B) also had a multi-hit game. Carolina Box Score Carolina Game Log This inning put the game away and the Pelicans never got to bat in the bottom half of the inning when the rain came: Carolina Top of the 6th Pitching Change: David Berg replaces Thomas Hatch. Isan Diaz walks. Lucas Erceg doubles (23) on a pop up to second baseman Trent Giambrone. Isan Diaz scores. Lucas Erceg to 3rd. Throwing error by second baseman Trent Giambrone. Monte Harrison walks. Max McDowell hit by pitch. Monte Harrison to 2nd. Luis Aviles strikes out swinging. Trent Clark singles on a line drive to left fielder Eddy Martinez. Lucas Erceg scores. Monte Harrison to 3rd. Max McDowell to 2nd. Troy Stokes Jr. triples (5) on a fly ball to right fielder Robert Garcia. Monte Harrison scores. Max McDowell scores. Trent Clark scores. Corey Ray triples (3) on a line drive to left fielder Eddy Martinez. Troy Stokes Jr. scores. Pitching Change: Casey Bloomquist replaces David Berg. Jake Gatewood grounds out, third baseman Jesse Hodges to first baseman Tyler Alamo. With Isan Diaz batting, wild pitch by Casey Bloomquist, Corey Ray scores. Isan Diaz strikes out swinging.

Yes, Carolina has played twice in Frederick. Now done for this year. Frederick is a fun park. I saw a game at Potomac also which is not as good. The Nationals are looking to bail from there maybe to Fredericksburg.

Tebow is hitting .317/.398/.549/.947 at St. Lucie. Yes, it's a small sample but you have to give him credit. A lot of people took him as a joke but it's not working out that way necessarily.

Mudcats swept after falling 7-1 in Buies Creek Marcos Diplan allowed seven runs on 10 hits in the series finale loss By Carolina Mudcats | July 23, 2017 6:35 PM ET http://www.milb.com/assets/images/9/1/4/227352914/cuts/16x9_Gatewood1_4ehd4xkm_84q09rmh.jpg The Mudcats fall two games under .500 on the year and are dead last in their division, 9 games out, in the second half. Only Potomac Nationals have been worse in the second half. They fall to 6-13 against Buies Creek and combined with the T-Rats 4-7 against Quad Cities, they are now 10-20 against Astros affiliates. Fortunately, those are the only two intersecting teams. Marcos Diplan (3 1/3 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 3 BB, 5 K) continues a virtually lost season. Parker Berberet worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings and Brad Kuntz worked the 8th. Trent Clark drew the only Mudcat walk of the game. They have been limited to one walk in the last two games. Mudcats' hitters racked up another 11 strike outs in this game. Jake Gatewood was 2-4 with his 32nd double and Jose Cuas had a triple. Carolina Box Score Carolina Game Log

If they want a second baseman why not give Orf a run out? He has a .381 OBP which equals his career average. It's true that he has no power but so what? They already have that. Only Sogard and Santana have higher OBP with the Brewers.

Harrison and Stokes both homer in 6-2 loss The Mudcats lost their fourth straight game after falling 6-2 in Buies Creek By Carolina Mudcats | July 22, 2017 10:18 PM ET http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/4/8/243778348/cuts/16x9_Harrison_EvanPic_s8pwj1if_oao4asvq.jpg The Mudcats managed only 4 hits and zero walks while striking out 10 times. Two of the hits were solo home runs by Monte Harrison (2-3, HR) and Troy Stokes Jr (1-4, HR). Frank Lopez took the loss and didn't meke it out of the 4th inning. Wuilder Rodriguez (3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K) followed Lopez and allowed an inherited run to score. Nate Griep worked the 9th. Carolina Box Score Carolina Game Log Buies Creek Bottom of the 4th Anthony Hermelyn walks. Randy Cesar reaches on a force attempt, throwing error by third baseman Lucas Erceg. Anthony Hermelyn to 2nd. Spencer Johnson strikes out swinging. Wild pitch by pitcher Frank Lopez. Anthony Hermelyn to 3rd. Randy Cesar to 2nd. Alex De Goti singles on a ground ball to left fielder Trent Clark. Anthony Hermelyn scores. Randy Cesar to 3rd. With Tyler Wolfe batting, Alex De Goti steals (2) 2nd base. Tyler Wolfe walks. Myles Straw singles on a ground ball to right fielder Monte Harrison. Randy Cesar scores. Alex De Goti to 3rd. Tyler Wolfe to 2nd. Stephen Wrenn walks. Alex De Goti scores. Tyler Wolfe to 3rd. Myles Straw to 2nd. Yordan Alvarez walks. Tyler Wolfe scores. Myles Straw to 3rd. Stephen Wrenn to 2nd. Pitching Change: Wuilder Rodriguez replaces Frank Lopez. Taylor Jones out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Corey Ray. Myles Straw scores. Anthony Hermelyn pops out to third baseman Lucas Erceg in foul territory.