A nice friendly error from ol' friend Hernan Perez at SS on a possible weird bounce allows the bases full on a Haase E6 reach. In the next AB, Roller breaks the curse with a 2-RBI bloop single to shallow LF. 4-0 Sounds.
Kernels lead 5-2 in the 9th. T-Rats hold a 7-5 lead here in the top of the 5th. Costello on the bump after he got the final out of the 4th. Man on first. Nobody out.
AND, the Sounds have now had two base runners in three consecutive innings. Is the third time a charm?
Mudcats lose 3-1. No life in the bats in game 1. A snoozer.
Patrick settling down quite nicely after the early two men on scenarios. We head to the bottom of the 6th and Sounds still lead 2-0. Meanwhile the Mudcats are down to their final 3 outs. They still trail 3-1.
Sounds lead 2-0 but have squandered two consecutive two men on scenarios here looking to add runs. On to the 7th. Zamora did grab his first SB in Triple-A after his lead-off single on a 3-1 heater. Nice easy oppo line drive.
AND just like that he gives up an 0-1 line drive single to LF that is mishandles slightly by Garcia as he tried to keep it from the gap. Bounces toward CF. E7 scored. Men on 2nd and 3rd. Nobody out. Rodriguez continues to struggle in Low-A relief. He gets a pop fly out to shallow RF. He gets a 2-2 swing and miss for a punch out dead center on a heater (batter was late). Two down now. The River Dogs doing their last place best with a runner on 3rd and nobody down. AND he gives up the line drive single to CF scoring 2. Runner thrown out at 2B. Mudcats trail 3-1 now headed to the 8th. Just way too much of the plate in an 0-1 count.
Rodriguez has stuff. He really does. BUT, you never know where it's going to go. His slider could be a very plus pitch if he knew where it was going.
RHP Braelin Rodriguez doing his absolute best to honor his 1 H and 1 BB per Low-A inning since his assignment to Carolina. He walks his first batter in the bottom of the 7th on 5 pitches. The balls were as they say: not close.
Wes Clarke really showed off the concrete blocks on his wheels after Isaac Collins hit an absurdly slow check swing goose snort to SS. Clarke was thrown out by 3 feet and it appeared he was running in quicksand. 😅
Second consecutive outing I've watched RHP Chad Patrick and had the exact same thought:
Too many men on the bases.
Two innings pitched so far. He's put two on in each. Had two down here in the 4th frame and gave up a 109 mph rocket double off the straightaway CF wall. Just walked the next batter on 4 pitches - not a single pitch particularly close.
RHP Manuel Rodriguez continues his utterly impressive 2024 campaign. He just completed his sixth (and likely final) inning here. It's still a 1-1 game. The young man is just so impressive when he's dialed - lotta subtle movement on his pitches. Room to fill in and add a couple ticks down the line to boot.
Chirinos with the 3-run jack in the first. Now Vargas with the solo jack in the 2nd and we are tied 5-5. Let's hope the T-Rats pitching can find some flow.
T-Rats uncharacteristically sloppy here early. We have a run on catcher's interference. AND Doston's error to boot. Only 3 earned for Manfredi but he has conceded 4 H and 3 BB through 2 IP. Uncharacteristically sloppy early.
Manfredi really struggling in this outing. Went down 3-0 in the first. His stablemates gave back 4. Taking a 4-3 lead into the 2nd, he has walked a guy; given up a single; and now walked the bases full. One down.
Two down. 1-1 game in Charleston. Guilarte putting in a really professional AB. Eating pitches. Fouling them off. He takes the walk off the outside corner. That was a sexy 10-pitch AB.
AND, that's all for Junis. RHP Chad Patrick in for relief. Junis topped at 91 mph and hit 90 mph another time but absolutely mostly sat 89. Let's see what rehab outing numero dos has in store for him.
This homeplate ump in Charleston is gifting all sorts of strikes. He's calling it below the zone. Inside off the zone. Just throw it near the box and you just might get a call.
Walling takes a 3-2 count. Fouls off a pitch. Lines a two out single into left CF. 1-1 now in the 4th frame. BIG hit.
Meanwhile, Junis looks sharp here in the 2nd frame. K'ng his first two batters looking.
Bummer for us.
AND, a relief to not have to tack on two additional games in my report tomorrow, if I'm being an honest fellow. And, an honest fellow I am and shall be. I'll take an 8 game write-up over a 9. You know, for reasons.🤪