Ro Mueller

- RHP Miguel Sanchez recalled to MLB Brewers from AAA Nashville He replaces the effective RHP Luis Perdomo (1.74 ERA, 1.06 WHIP in 10 1/3 innings), who was placed on the Brewers' 15-day injured list with right elbow effusion (thankfully, per @Todd_Rosiak: " 'Does not appear to be a serious issue for Perdomo at this particular point in time', Craig Counsell says.")

Tellez is probably the better option both offensively and defensively, but we also can't expect him to play every single day. Maybe Keston will have a little more confidence against this left-hander (Liberatore), since he faced him a bit in AAA last year: August 17, 2021: Called out on strikes Walked Singled (line drive to CF) September 7, 2021: Called out on strikes Lined out to second baseman September 12, 2021: Called out on strikes Doubled (line drive to RF) Lined out to right fielder

As expected, Mark Mathias gets his first start of the year today.

Arnaldo Hernandez finished off Montgomery on 10 pitches (2 strikeouts, line out). That's some pretty decent bullpen work by Hernandez, Walters and Robbie Hitt. Well done Biloxi! A 2-win, 1-loss night for our MILB squads, with 5 games on tap tomorrow.

A Yeison Coca sacrifice fly and Sal Frelick double have given Biloxi a 9-7 lead in the 8th inning. RHP Arnaldo Hernandez will try to close it out.

3-up, 3-down for both squads in the 7th inning, with RHP Nash Walters registering 2 strikeouts. They're off to the 8th inning, tied 6-6, with Walters still pitching.

14.0 K/9 and a sub-1.00 WHIP in 40 innings of AA ball. What?! Gulp Miller. Smash can with foot.

RHP Taylor Floyd still isn't himself in 2022, giving up 1 run on 2 walks, but DH/C Brent Diaz hit his 5th home run of 2022 to tie it back up 7-7. They're still in the 6th inning in Biloxi.

Here's video of Frelick's 2nd inning outfield assist:

WEE-mer!

Nashville has fallen to their 3rd straight defeat and will see their amazing 7-win series streak to open the season come to an end. They'll need to muster consecutive wins on Saturday and Sunday to salvage a 3-3 series split.

Cam Robinson closed out Wisconsin's victory over Cedar Rapids, 7-3. The Sounds cut to deficit to 6-4 in Toledo and have the potential game-tying run at the plate, though they're down to their final out, with Abraham Almonte at the plate. Biloxi squandered a bases loaded, nobody out 4th inning. It's now 6-6 in the 6th inning, with Taylor Floyd on the mound.

Nashville trails 6-3 in the 9th inning in Toledo, despite grabbing an early 2-0 lead on an Abraham Almonte 1st inning homer (his 4th of the year). Josh Lindblom lasted 5 1/3 innings, giving up 4 earned runs on 9 hits. Corey Ray exited after 5 ½ innings (0-for-3 with 3 Ks), though hopefully he’s physically okay. The Sounds have Alex Jackson, Andruw Monasterio and Jonathan Davis due up in the 9th. Wisconsin leads 7-3 in the 9th inning, thanks largely to a 4-run 5th inning (Micah Bello 2-run shot, Tristan Peters 2-run triple). Brandon Knarr covered 5 innings (3 runs on 8 hits), Kent Hasler 2 shutout innings and Cam Robinson 1 shutout inning thus far. There are runs galore in Biloxi: 6-6 in the top of the 4th inning. TJ Shook only lasted 3 2/3 innings, giving up 6 earned runs on 7 hits, 3 walks and 2 wild pitches, aided by CF Sal Frelick throwing out a Biscuit at home to end the 2nd inning. Offensively, 6 different Shuckers have each driven in 1 run each. Carolina’s game was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow.

The AAA Sounds find themselves down 2-1 in their series in Toledo, with solid RHP Josh Lindblom (2.40 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 7.8 K/9 in 41 1/3 innings) getting the starting call tonight. CF Corey Ray is back from injury for the first time since May 4, while super-prospect SS Brice Turang has hit safely in 8 of his last 9 games:

Biloxi won their series opener at home against Montgomery yesterday, aided by RF Joey Wiemer’s Southern League-leading 12th home run (a 3-run game-tying blast). Wiemer, who’s also 2nd in the league in RBIs (33 in 40 games) is again batting 3rd today. RHP TJ Shook is slated to make his 2nd start in AA ball (3 innings, 0 runs 3 hits, 3 walks, 3 Ks in first start):

It’s the unstoppable force (Cedar Rapids’ 5.21 runs/game leads the 12-team Midwest League) against the immovable object (LHP Brandon Knarr’s 1.17 ERA is near the top of the league) in Cedar Rapids tonight, where Wisconsin needs a win to tie up the series 2-2. Tyler Black makes his first minor league appearance at 3rd base, while 18-year old IF Jadher Areinamo gets his first taste of full season affiliate ball:

Same - an ejection is a nice relief versus alternatives. Our MILB managers are doing a great job of spreading the innings around, with 10 long inning guys getting action last night (Herb, Otero, File, Bullock, Luna, Smith, Lazar, Segura, Figueroa, Jordan). Great comeback win for Biloxi!

These cuts are some of the toughest, because they involve players who’ve demonstrated some potential in the past and would almost certainly be playing in High-Rookie ball (e.g. Helena Brewers, Rocky Mountain Vibes) this year if it still existed. 20-year old 1B/OF Erys Bautista was signed for $500,000 from the Dominican Republic in 2018, smacking 14 extra-base hits in his 2019 debut campaign in the Dominican Summer League (.687 OPS in 227 plate appearances). In the 2021 Arizona Complex League, he had 12 extra base hits in 106 plate appearances (.777 OPS), but struck out 44 times versus just 4 walks. Whether his slugging tool attracts another club remains to be soon, but we wish him terrific success on whichever path life takes him. 21-year old OF Alwinson Valdez signed for $80,000 from the Dominican Republic in 2017, putting up excellent numbers in the 2018 DSL campaign (.799 OPS with 7 home runs in 211 plate appearances, while also stealing 14 bases in 18 attempts). Unfortunately, Mr. Valdez then lost his entire 2019 season due to injury, then saw 2020 evaporate due to Covid, finally returning to action in July 2021 with ACL Brewers Blue. Understandably rusty, he posted a .632 OPS in 91 plate appearances, but none of the aforementioned pop seen back in 2018 (zero home runs in 2021). We wish Mr. Valdez best of luck next in his upcoming endeavors. Just-turned 22-year old OF Alejandro Marte of the Dominican Republic was signed in 2017, hitting 4 home runs in the 2018 DSL campaign (.722 OPS in 135 plate appearances) and another 9 homers in the 2019 DSL campaign (.292 AVG / .376 OBP / .500 SLG in 221 plate appearances). In an eerily similar tale to Mr. Valdez above, Mr. Marte lost the 2020 season Covid and the 2021 season to injury, thus costing him his official state-side debut and possibly more. We hope that he’s fully healthy and wish him success in his next opportunity, baseball or otherwise.

The AA Shuckers and the Montgomery Biscuits aim to play the first game of this week’s series tonight, after two cancellations. RHP Justin Bullock (7.71 ERA, 1.86 WHIP in 7 innings), is set to make his 4th start of the year, but the big news is CF Sal Frelick’s (.777 OPS in 138 plate appearances across High-A and AA) return to the lineup for his first action since May 17th:

The Rattlers are even 1-1 in their series at first place Cedar Rapids, with LHP Russell Smith (5.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 9.8 K/9 in 24 innings) getting the start tonight. RF Carlos D. Rodriguez has multiple hits in 4 of his last 5 games, including going 3-for-4 yesterday with a home run:

The Mudcats have won two in a row at home against Kannapolis and are entrusting RHP Miguel Segura (5.33 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 6.8 K/9 in 25 1/3 innings) with the start this evening. SS Eduardo Garcia has hit safely in 7 of his last 8 games:

The Sounds have split the first two games in Toledo and send RHP Tyler Herb (1.17 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 8.9 K/9 in 38 1/3 innings, mainly in AA) to the mound for his first AAA start since July 23, 2019. CF Jonathan Davis has a 10-game on-base streak, though has been striking out more than usual (8 in last 4 games):

Low-A Carolina stormed back in yesterday’s game to take a 1-0 series lead at home against the Cannon Ballers. Tonight, RHP Alexander Cornielle gets the call, after earning his first victory of the season in his last start (5 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 6 Ks). LF Hedbert Perez was the big contributor yesterday with 10 total bases (4-for-5, 4 RBIs, 4 runs):

Whoa, I've barely looked up and Nashville and Toledo are already in the 8th inning. Crazy. Jason Alexander was dominant through 7 innings, facing only 23 batters. Unfortunately, those 2 extra batters scored in the 4th inning, knotting the game at 2-2. Mario Feliciano extended his hitting streak to 9 games and the Sounds' put the leadoff hitter on base in 4 of the first 5 innings, but have only managed 2 runs thus far (still tied 2-2). Let's hope Nashville can pull out this win on the road.

High-A Wisconsin trails their series 1-0 in Cedar Rapids, but the good news is that today's starter RHP Justin Jarvis is coming off a terrific 3-game stretch (16 IP, 2.25 ERA, 19 Ks). CF Joe Gray Jr. looks to keep his solid month going (.271 AVG / .391 OBP / .557 SLG in May):