Joseph Zarr

With Carolina on the road headed to Down East for game two of their divisional round, it was the Sounds and Shuckers adorning my screens. What a luxury it is to zero in on a mere two Minor League games. It was a Gasser and Rodriguez double-billing and I'm here to tell you about it. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Biloxi Shuckers & Mike Krebs - Carlos F Rodriguez Pictured Game Balls: 3B Brock Wilken homered again? Yes. He has two long balls in his first two Double-A games and 6 RBI. Joyous. Oh, and it was another 100 mph line drive. "This young man only drives 100, officer. So, no, he will not slow down." RHP Max Lazar gets the nod for rescuing RHP Ryan Middendorf from his extremely rough 0 IP (three singles to load the bases) outing. Lazar got the strikeout and a savvy Wilken initiated DP to end the threat: LHP Fernando Abad gets some love for shutting down any thoughts the Charlotte Knights had of a big 10th inning of their own. He cooly stepped to the hill and struck out the first batter on three consecutive off-speed pitches. It was a much needed effort for Abad. It was wonderful to witness. The 37-year-old Dominican also picked up his second save for the Sounds in the process in only his second opportunity. Hopefully, this is the version we get moving forward! LHP Robert Gasser was poked around (albeit fairly pedestrian contact) some in his final inning but other than the early long ball (only the 12th he's surrendered all season) I liked what I saw overall. His sweeper curve was straight butter throughout. He gets the nod from me as he continues to fine tune his arsenal and mature as a pitcher. It's important to note, we really shouldn't take Gasser's historic season for granted. I don't know how he flies so far below the radar (from the affiliated post-game article linked below) I mean, that's a lot of swing and miss folks. He leads the International League strikeout leaderboard by 22 punch outs. AND, he has done it in 15 fewer innings. Do not sleep on this talented young man. 2B Abraham Toro gets the nod from me if simply for his home run in the 2nd inning. With RHP Nick Castrini pounding the Sounds hitters with change-up after change-up, it was Toro who finally broke through with a smash to RF and it opened up the gates for the Sounds hitters. It was a classic case of making an adjustment in the same AB. It was lovely to witness from one of my personal favorite watches in 2023. Transactions: NONE Final: Nashville 9, Charlotte (White Sox) 6Box Score / Game Log Via the Sounds' site, game details, please visit and review: Sounds Overcome Charlotte Rally, Win in Extras It was my first time seeing recently promoted (Lance Lynn trade) RHP Nick Nastrini in his third International League start for the Charlotte Knights. By my eyes, early at least, he was pitching with two primary pitches - a heater and a change-up. Meanwhile, LHP Robert Gasser got the start for the Sounds and early he was masterful with his sweeping curveball. It was really really sweeping up air. Gasser was sitting 92-93 mph but it was the off-speed and the cutter that was doing the heavy lifting. The Sounds managed to pull the game out in extras after they gave up two tying runs in the eighth inning, but with Durham having played a century of baseball with not a single loss it certainly seems as though the Sounds are playing for second place and personal pride. We will root them on, regardless. Three Quick Strikes: 1) INF Tyler Black has been putting together better and better AB's at Triple-A Nashville. He lined out very sharply to center field early and was put out by a ridiculously good full sprint shoelaces grab. It was a good sign. He drew two walks. He also singled to right field in the middle innings. Black will likely always live and die by the bat, his pitch recognition, and his speed and savvy on the base paths so it is quite refreshing to see him piece these very advanced qualities back together in Triple-A. 2) INF Patrick Dorrian managed to draw two walks and he also hit a key two-run flare single to plate two crucial runs in the tenth and final inning. It's always refreshing to see the extremely talented Dorrian rediscover success at the dish - he has vastly underrated power and line drive punch when he is dialed in. However, as much as I like the player Dorrian is, it's absolutely fair to say: he just hasn't played a very good shortstop in 2023. His error in the sixth inning absolutely can not happen given the setting and situation and I think he would admit so himself. I won't belabor the point any further but, suffice to say, it is my personal opinion he is a second baseman and third baseman first and foremost. He's also demonstrated, when needed, he can play a very solid first base in a pinch. I just haven't seen any semblance of meaningful consistency in his 22 starts at short to think he would be anything other than a 'break glass in case of emergency' shortstop at the MLB level. And, I could certainly be wrong. 3) WIth the loss of C Alex Jackson in the trade that brought the Brewers RHP Evan McKendry, we've had to look for those mammoth blasts from the catching position mostly off the bat of C Payton Henry. He has definitely laid some wood to the eight long balls he's launched in 2023. Tonight was no different. He crushed a ball over the LF wall and onto high deck. It was a key two-run blast to open an early 3-0 lead. Henry is a more than capable bat at the catching position and he's been a pleasure to watch throughout 2023. He's a solid veteran chipping his way to a MLB opportunity and I hope he gets it. Final: Montgomery (Rays) 4, Biloxi 2 Box Score / Game Log Game Notes Via the Shuckers' site, game details, please visit and review: Shuckers Fall to Biscuits, 4-2, in Second Game of Series Shuckers Ace, RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez, gave his team all he had and for the majority of his start it was well more than enough. Ultimately, with the Shuckers bats sleeping, Rodriguez began hitting bumps in the road in the sixth and seventh innings. He did manage to toss 6 1/3 IP of 7 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 3 ER ball but he can thank RHP Shane Smith for stranding two runners at second and third base when he induced a double play liner to Ethan Murray. All three runs came in the fateful sixth frame via a two-run line drive blast over the right field wall (from old friend, OF Tristan Peters) and a run-scoring single after a wild pitch. One can't but wonder how his outing would have fared has his teammates' bats woken up. When all was said and done, the Shuckers were left knowing they now must win three of their last four games. It's a tough ask. But, it's absolutely in the cards. Three Quick Strikes: 1) Where for art thou, Mr. Chourio? In a must win series, in a series of must win series of late, the Shuckers need more from their superstar in CF Jackson Chourio. I'm going to call a spade a spade: we need the young superstar to show up and take over a game with his bat. We didn't see it in Birmingham. We haven't seen it in Biloxi. This isn't a tantrum in any way shape or form, mind you, and Chourio continues to offer plus defense throughout that center field grass. It's simply an honest observation. It is time he makes his mark at the pivotal moment of the Shuckers season. 2) One can't help but wonder what would have happened to Rodriguez's sixth inning and the remainder of his outing had RF Lamar Sparks not dropped a very catchable fly ball down the right field line. In classic scorer fashion, the drop was ruled a double. Sparks had a good get off but he took a slightly circuitous route thinking it may have traveled deeper off the sound of the bat. He quickly course corrected. He got to the ball in plenty of time. It bounced off the heel of his glove and rolled out his mitt and into foul territory. Sparks gets the mulligan - he has been phenomenal defensively in 2023. However, this led to more pitches. It led to a wild pitch. It led to the third run. 3) SS Eric Brown Jr. scored as a pinch runner in the 9th inning. Given Freddy Zamora went 0-for-4 at the dish, one has to wonder if Eric Brown Jr. isn't in store for a start come game three. It may be a stretch but I personally believe he is ready for a full game's worth of this tense atmosphere. Going one step forward, given Ernesto Martinez's 1-for-8 start to the series and quite rough September at the dish I can't help but think we'll see Zavier Warren or Wes Clarke get the chance to cover 1B tomorrow - despite all that Martinez offers as a target. Food for thought and we'll simply have to wait for the line up cards. The Mudcats will be back at it at Down East for a must win game two of their divisional round. At the time of publish, the starters have not been announced. But, if I were a betting man I would have to throw money down on RHP Patricio Aquino. He is more than deserving of the opportunity. From there, I'd fully expect RHP Jesus Rivero to be ready for meaningful innings to ensure there is a chance at game three. The chess match continues. Elsewhere, I hope to see a revitalized RHP Janson Junk in Charlotte and we are unsure of who we're seeing in Biloxi at this juncture. Given we likely won't see RHP Tobias Myers until game four (his standard six days rest). This means we are likely seeing RHP Christian Mejias. The good thing here is we know he has been much better in his two September starts. We'll leave it at that. Hopefully, we see his best! As always, thanks for reading and thanks for supporting Brewers Minor League baseball. 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

Checks International League scoreboard. Durham Bulls won again. Hangs head. Weeps. They are on One. My goodness.

Wow. Two up. Two down via swinging K's. Incredible. That's two down and Manfred's Man still twiddling his thumbs at 2B. Let's go, Abad!

Hey now! He gets a three pitch K on two swooping curves and a second pitch dipping change-up. Fantastic first AB. One down.

Ruh Roh. Sweetie is left to run with LHP Fernando Abad. If I remember correctly, ummm, his last outing is what we might call 'a struggle'. Let's pray for the best. He has a current 0.478 BAA with the Sounds. My goodness.

Dorrian started 2-0. He laid off two and it's 2-2. Now it's 3-2 after a ball in the dirt and he pokes a liner to shallow CF to plate two more! Huge hit for Dorrian and it had to feel gooooood given his challenges of late. Love to see it. 9-6 Sounds. One down and men on 1st and 2nd for C Payton Henry.

Jones walks in the first Sounds run on 5 pitches. Dorrian to the dish. Bases still juiced. One down. 7-6 Sounds now.

LOL. Heck, even the graphic for Biloxi is wrong. I'm re-watching it and they also have 'Russell Smith'. 😅

LOL. I guess the gameday is wrong on all fronts. 😅 OR, unless, as you say, Smith is working on a new look all the way across the board.

After Abraham Toro missed on a massive cut of a dead center breaking ball, 3B Tyler Black walks the bases full in the 10th inning. One down after Toro's swing and miss. And, we have OF Jahmai Jones to the dish. Let's go, Sounds!

It was LHP Russ Smith to face the lefty in Peters.

Wilken with his second long ball in two nights. To think where this Shuckers offense would be through two games without the red hot 3B. Yowza. A heck of a debut in Double-A jumping into a highly competitive six-game push for the playoffs? 2 long balls. 6 RBI so far. Sheeesh.

Well the Shuckers plated one and we are in a downpour and a rain delay in Biloxi. It's 3-1. Meanwhile, I see the Sounds gave up 2 and it's 6-6 in the 10th.

I thought the jump was fine. The route was circuitous because he read it deeper off the bat. He got there quite easily and in time. He just completely botched the catch. At least that's how I saw it. He has to catch that ball. A rare gaffe from an otherwise incredible outfielder.

Heck of a 1-2 AB here from Seymour. He is fighting off several low change-ups. Good AB regardless of his result. AND he responds by hitting an absolute bloop single off the heft of his bat with the infield entirely in. It's 3-0 Biscuits. Rodriguez was cruising. At 77 pitches, and three runs in this inning, his outing is getting away from him in a hurry.

Rodriguez running into further trouble. He just advanced a runner to 3rd on a ball that went about 3' behind the lefty hitting Seymour. It was an 0-2 count. That was a big miss. One down. Runner on 3rd now. 1-2 count.

Tristan Peters just hit an 0-1 rocket off the scoreboard in RF. A two-run jack. 2-0 in the 6th. He certainly has a way of gettinb back at the Brewers. 103 off the bat. Given the sleeeeepy Shuckers bats this might even be enough tonight.

Contreras works around men on the corners in the 7th and gets his second consecutive punch out on a beautiful tailing change-up outside the zone to a lefty. It's on to the eighth 6-4 Sounds. I believe the Sounds may have had their third error in that inning as well. Slopppppy D tonight.

Yeah. That ball was hammered. I swear 95% of the balls that leave his bat are absolute rockets. Uncanny consistency. Unfortunately, the Shuckers bats haven't woken up either. It's a 0-0 game into the 5th frame.

Gasser ends the inning with another punchout. His sixth. That inning, however, was pretty ugly. Weak hits finding the grass. Two bad veteran errors. Anywho, you take solace it didn't entirely blow up. 6-4 and we're on to the sixth.

Gasser digs deep and runs a slider in on the hands to a Righty power bat and gets the K. That's two down now. Bases still juiced and we get a classic Dorrian error at SS. My gods, he just isn't a SS. As much as I love him that error can't happen. A liner right to him and he looks up and it goes under the glove. Gotta be better in that spot. That's two errors on the Sounds in the inning. 6-4 now. Dorrian has to make that scoop.

Gasser running into trouble in the 5th here. One down. Bases juiced now after a walk post-errant throw Home advancing two runners off the hand of Greg Allen. Sounds lead 6-2 - a Knights run has already crossed.

Gasser gets his 2nd K to end the second on another gorgeous breaking ball - just dialed with that pitch tonight. On to the 3rd. 3-1 Sounds.

Gasser gives up an 0-1 oppo Homer to Hackenberg. It was only his 12th long ball of the season. 368 footer. Just a really good swing on a belt high outside rising heater. 3-1 Sounds.