Joseph Zarr

I admire manager Nick Stanley sticking with struggling 2B Filippo Di Turi. With Adamczewski on the shelf with a high ankle sprain (sigh), Stanley keeps rolling with the young switch-hitter in a two month slump. Let's hope he finds some success in game two. RHP Manuel Rodriguez is back atop the hill in only his second action since returning from the IL. The Mudcats are going to need his best tonight versus the Fred Nats and RHP Travis Sykora. RF Braylon Payne is back in lead-off. Two notable changes to the line-up: C Blayberg Diaz replaces C David Garcia and LF Luis Castillo starts the game replacing LF Yhoswar Garcia. Let's see if the young men can find some better luck off the Fred Nats bats and some better defense throughout. Game 1 was a rough loss. Can we take Game 2 and force a Game 3?

RHP Will Rudy will try to keep building off his improved form of late. He takes game 2 on the bump for the playoff-hungry T-Rats fans. C Matt Wood is back in the line-up and batting fifth protecting our everyday baseball hero in 2B Jadher Areinamo. CF Luis Lara goes back atop the line-up protected by SS Cooper Pratt and 3B Luke Adams. 1B Tayden Hall will hope to pair his flashing leather with improved results at the dish. Big game two for the Timber Rattlers as they look for the sweep and an advance to the Championship Series.

Let's score more runs than the Giants tonight. Let's toss last night's debacle in the trash. Let's get some hot bats going for a change. I'm calling toward the baseball gods' quarters: Please, oh please, give us double digit Brewers runs tonight.

Before line-up cards are shared for the Carolina and T-Rats Home playoff tilts, let's take a trip down memory lane at Quad Cities with Chris Mehring on the inspired call:

Let's hope the line-up card misprint right off the bat for game 1 isn't an inauspicious sign for the execution we see on the field. Obviously, #6 is Dylan O'Rae and we don't have CF Adam Hall and his doppelgänger covering the infield dirt. LHP Tate Kuehner will look to discover earlier season form after a couple tough outings of late. Of note, OF Connor Scott remains sidelined past his 7-Day stint on the IL. This remains a big hole in the Shuckers line-up.

Given what we've seen from the Sounds defense and bats, they could very much use the night off. Let's hope they regroup and start playing some more 'Sound' ball throughout the remainder of the series.

I mentioned this early in last night's thread. The game seemed quite unlikely with a 70% prediction of up to an inch of rain throughout the day into the evening. Unsurprised. What a weird season of consistent rain outs!

With playoff teams resting and preparing back at their home ballparks and with Biloxi postponed yet again, we solely had the Sounds to look forward to tonight. Sadly, they weren't up to the task. The ballpark was mostly in a lifeless mid-week form and, well, I can't really blame them. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Transactions: None Final: Memphis (Cardinals) 6, Nashville 3 Via the Sounds' website, please be sure to click and read this write-up believe me, it's worth it: Sounds' Late Rally Not Enough in Series Opening Loss to Redbirds - Brian Navarreto Has Two RBI in 5-3 Loss Box Score / Game Log Let's make this Quick and easy as the Sounds certainly didn't give us an evening to wax poetic about. RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez had a few moments in his 5.0 complete IP. But, in all reality, he wasn't sharp throughout. Often misfiring around the zone and building very little rhythm or flow. He was already averaging over 20 pitches per inning by the end of the third frame. He was working deep into all too many counts. Cargo did manage to execute some key pitches in key moments - particularly impactful with the change-up, as one would predict. But, as a whole, despite touching 94 and even 95 mph on the heater on more than one occasion, he just struggled with any semblance of fine-tuned control throughout. This certainly isn't the first time I've seen this type of outing for the talented 22-year-old at Triple-A Nashville in 2024. At this juncture, I simply hope he can find it within himself to deliver more consistency in 2025. With Columbus coming back late against St. Paul, the Sounds fell to 5.5 GB with only 10 games remaining. Their hopes for a playoff berth are essentially all but over. Three Quick Strikes: 1) LF Carlos D. Rodriguez ran down a ball down the left field foul line early - a fine full speed play and a play I hoped was a sign of things to come. All in all, despite this fine play Rodriguez did not have a great night - even with a 2-for-5 showing overall. He ended the evening by hitting into a double play in the ninth and final inning. He also rushed a throw from the deep LF corner in an attempt to aggressively grab a runner stretching to second base - the throw misfired well right of the bag past a diving 2B Vinny Capra. It resulted in an E7 after a double. Essentially, an inside the park home run. 2) About that play...1B Wes Clarke or RF Brewer Hicklen absolutely have to do a better job backing up that throw to second base. Their collective ball watching led to the ball rolling all the way to the middle wall down the 1B/RF line. Clarke, certainly not a speedster, ultimately lumbered toward the ball. The runner rounded third. Clarke got there late and threw a misfire to home plate. It was truly a play that encapsulated the Sounds entire night. It's truly a play that shouldn't be happening in a Triple-A baseball game. 3) LHP Bryan Hudson suffered a bloop flare into shallow right field to lead-off his relief inning. He was also very much left out to dry by a truly inexplicable gaffe by SS Freddy Zamora on a routine slow grounder to his right. Yet, with men on second and third with nobody out Hudson struck out the side to end the threat. A truly savvy and gritty effort. His pitch count went into the high 20's. He touched 92 mph on several occasions. He started slow in the frame but he ended looking like the threat he has been for most of the season in Milwaukee. Biloxi will be back on the diamond trying to find some semblance of post-season form as they play their first double-header of a two double-header week. Both playoff teams will also be back at it in their respective home ballparks. And, the Sounds will try to wake up from their two game slumber as they face the Redbirds at home for game three. RHP Manuel Rodriguez will try to even the series for the Mudcats. RHP Will Rudy will try to take the series for the Timber Rattlers. LHP Tate Kuehner and RHP K.C. Hunt will try to take games one and two for the Shuckers. RHP Mitch White will try to stop the Sounds' bleeding. It's a late-season full night of Brewers affiliated baseball with big implications on the line. As always, thanks for reading and thanks for supporting Milwaukee Brewers Minor League baseball and the many players deserving of our time and recognition. 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 View full article

Middendorf on to start the 9th and the sloppy Sounds play keeps a coming. He gives up a flare bloop single to LF. He then walks the next batter on a toss to the backstop. Yikes. He gets the DP but then proceeds to walk the next batter on four pitches and hits the next batter to load the bases. This is ugly Sounds baseball, folks. No getting around it. Ugly game tonight.

Hudson. What can you say? He is hung out to dry by the shoddy defense of his SS and he doesn't flinch. Strikes out three straight to escape without any damage. Amazing. Nobody down. Men on 2nd and 3rd. Zero flinch. Almost threw 30 pitches for a guy supposed to be taking a break. Touched 92 mph several times.

The scorers ruled that a double? Amazing. 😅 I have so many contentions with the scoring the past two nights it isn't even funny. That was an egregious error by Zamora zero ?'s asked. He misread the ball initially. He misplayed the situation. Went to back up a roller that was clearly his responsibility. So over runs it and then falls on his kiester and misses the grounder trying to reach back and it's a double? Just capital NO.

LHP Bryan Hudson is on the bump. He gives up a bloop parachute single to RF to start his evening. He maxed out at 89 mph in his first AB on the lone heater he tossed. Again, I opine: not what the Brewers are looking for. He opens up the second AB with an 88 mph ball inside. Ball 2 outside at 80 mph. Touches 92 on a straight four-seamer. Strike 2. Touches 92 mph again on another heater in an identical location. Misses another slider outside - count is full. 85 mph delivery on the outer black and it's fouled off down the 1B line. 92 mph yet again and it's fouled back in the same location. Mixing speeds. Not getting the swing and miss. Broken bat ground ball and Zamora inexplicably over-runs it as Dorrian lays off. What he is doing there I have absolutely zero idea. That wasn't the 3B ball. That was ALL SS. He over-ran it maybe going into a back-up position for some reason? So ugly. 2nd and 3rd. Nobody out.

Clarke takes a dead center cut heater at the knees looking to K yet again. He swung and missed on a change-up the pitch prior in a 3-1 count. Ugly game for these Sounds bats. Lotta poor execution in the clutch and the power bats are yet again not on line. Sigh.

Sounds have two runners aboard in the 7th yet again. One down? Black lines out to LF. Can Clarke redeem his earlier K and his poor back-up defense? Big moment.

Jay leads off the 7th with a 3-2 delivery to a lefty (Koperniak) who rips his 19th HR down the RF line. This Nashville ballpark is absolutely lifeless and these Sounds are giving them much reason to be feeling joy. Slow, lumbering, relatively lifeless 6-3 deficit. And the Sounds have Columbus trailing by 3 in the 8th to St. Paul. Worcester and Indy will likely be gaining games. The Sounds, at this rate, are very likely sitting 4.5 GB after tonight.

LOL. The Sounds just gave Ramon Mendoza - the Redbird 9 hole hitter - an inside the park HR, essentially, via throwing error from Cargo in LF and Clarke's lumbering back-up. Amazing. Clarke with a doubly weak throw to home plate from down the 1B line. Double. E7 from Rodriguez who had a terrible throw to 2B. 5-3 Memphis. Woooof. Jay strikes out the side around that two-bagger oppo poke to the LF corner Cargo rushed a throw to 2B trying to get the runner. Wayyyyyyyy wide of the bag. I have absolutely zero idea what Clarke was doing in that play. Really poor display of the mental side of defensive baseball. He didn't back up the throw at all. If you're bigger and slower you have to get into position in that shallow OF grass because that is where a poor throw will hurt you. IF he misfires up the 1B line? You have a catcher there and you have your momentum. He then took his time down the 1B line to get the misfire. Then threw a weak toss wide of home plate. Ugly ugly stuff.

Sounds strand two in their half of the 5th. Clarke bloop line out (really nice diving grab by Memphis 2B). Mejía lines out to right CF.

Carlos gets a swinging K to end the threat in yet another full count. That'll be his night. Not a very sharp outing. Rather pedestrian with a few dynamic pitches thrown in there. He did touch 94-95 mph early, however.

Another liner up the middle also ripped plates two. Memphis back on top 4-3. As I've said: Cargo is not sharp. One clean inning. But, really, location issues throughout and now getting repeatedly ripped in the 5th. Pitch count now into 90's. He'll get a chance to leave this frame but he falls behind 2-0 right away.

Cargo has two men on in the top of the 5th. Pitch count in the 80's. Two line drive scorchers up the middle infield at 103 mph. These balls have been ripped. Men on the corners. One down. Pitch count at 85. LHP Tyler Jay is warming up.

Cargo gets his second K (looking) for his second out in the 4th. Pitch count now in the 70's. And, with the pitch count at 73 he completes his first 1-2-3 inning with a groundout to Zamora at SS.

Three-up. Three-Down. 6 Pitch 3rd inning for the Sounds bats.