Jim Goulart

Rare rule, home run welcome Neuhaus back Vision troubles gone, Brewers prospect plates three, out on weird play By Kelsie Heneghan / MiLB.com http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/2/0/121329320/cuts/Tucker_Neuhaus_budavcbs_64wftk48.jpg Prior to Wednesday, Tucker Neuhaus had three homers and one triple in his two-year career. (Mike Janes Photo / Four Seam Images) Usually when players say they aren't seeing the ball well, it means they're slumping. For Tucker Neuhaus, it meant he literally wasn't seeing the ball. In his first game back since a trip to Milwaukee to get glasses, the Brewers third-base prospect went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs for Class A Wisconsin, and the first of his three RBIs came on a play that forced the umpires to dig deep into their rule books. "I was excited to get back. I was itching to get back out there and I got an opportunity and did well today," he said after the 10-2 win over Clinton at the LumberJacks' Ashford University Field. "I really wasn't trying to do too much -- just try to get in the swing of things. My swing felt good, I was on time. Good results." A couple months ago, Neuhaus noticed that the vision in his right eye got significantly worse at night. The 19-year-old played on Opening Day, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, but it wasn't just dominating pitching that got him out. "Something with my eye was wrong, and the first game I was seeing the ball well while the sun was still out and then once it got dark, my vision went bad," he said. "I have some Oakley sports glasses that I got." In his first game back, Neuhaus tied a career high with three RBIs, the first coming in the first inning on an unusual force out. With the bases loaded and one out, Neuhaus, the No. 5 hitter, hit a grounder to second baseman Gianfranco Wawoe. "[Dustin DeMuth] slid [into second], had a nice aggressive slide. [Wawoe] threw the ball away and I went to second," he said. "[DeMuth] was just walking off the field and I guess Clinton thought he was just another baserunner who hadn't been called out yet, so they tagged him and they ended up calling him out on a force out at second and then for I think obstruction or interference as well. "So that was one of the craziest [plays] I had ever seen." Neuhaus had advanced to third on the throwing error but was ruled for the final out, since DeMuth was ruled to have confused the defense in violation of Rule 7.09 ©. Two runs had already scored, though, and Neuhaus had an RBI. Things settled down for the rest of the game, but it was still a special contest for the 2013 first-round pick. In the seventh, Neuhaus smacked his first triple since 2013. "It felt real good off the bat -- hit it to center. I thought it had a chance to go out, but I wasn't sure, so I was running hard," he said. "I saw it short-hop the wall, and the outfielder dove for it. I had the whole play in front of me, just coasted into third, so I felt good." He capped off Wisconsin's rout in the ninth with a two-run homer to right, tying his career mark for RBIs. "I was just sitting fastball and getting my timing down and just got the pitch that I was looking for and put a good swing on it," he said. "In games, I don't even pay attention to the stats or what's going on -- I'm just trying to get a good pitch and hit it and have a good team at-bat and let the stats worry about themselves." Though the third baseman made two errors, he is not worried since he's focused on getting reacquainted with the tempo of the game. Milton Gomez (1-1) held Clinton to one run on three hits and three walks while fanning five across five innings to pick up his first win of the season. LumberKings starter Lukas Schiraldi (1-2) took the loss. He allowed seven runs -- two earned -- on four hits and three walks while notching six punchouts in 4 1/3 innings.

I am well-documented elsewhere on our forum regarding my feelings on the loss of LHP Anthony Banda in the Gerardo Parra trade, but for more detail here -- In his age 21 season, Banda hasn't missed a beat and is excelling in the notoriously pitcher-evil California League, as these numbers will show through four starts. Mitch Haniger who? He was the throw-in! In Banda's combined most recent 72.2 innings in the Brewer and Diamondback systems, he has allowed 11 earned runs (1.35 ERA) with fantastic peripherals. At some point this summer, Arizona will bump up Banda to escape California, and he'll be a 21-year-old taking on Biloxi bats in the Southern League. If he were still in the Brewers' system, would he be the top lefty in the system? Wei-Chung Wang? Hobbs Johnson (24 years old today)? Kodi Medeiros until proven otherwise? With each Banda appearance, does current Milwaukee VP of Amateur Scouting Ray Montgomery, who certainly had a voice with Arizona in acquiring Banda, knock on Doug's door, and say "why did you let us grab Anthony?" When the Brewers move Parra this summer, they'd be doing well to get that kind of value.

Brewers announce Scooter Gennett will play in this weekend's games with the Timber Ratlers (Friday - Monday), eligible to come off the DL Tuesday with his hand stitches issue. Scooter spent the 2010 season in Wisconsin: http://www.milb.com/images/2011/01/12/njsWpTcp.jpg

Blog Entry: Jeff Levering of the Brewers' broadcast team's Minor League Blog debut, and he'll be traveling for affiliate interviews as well...

Probably should have better detailed RHP Corey Knebel's rough inning last night, since it was his first tough moment as a Brewer farmhand - he entered in a 3-3 game, 7th inning of a game scheduled for seven: Iowa Top of the 7th Jonathan Mota singles on a ground ball to left fielder Matt Long. Arismendy Alcantara out on a sacrifice bunt, first baseman Matt Clark to second baseman Pete Orr. Jonathan Mota to 2nd. Adron Chambers strikes out swinging, catcher Robinzon Diaz to first baseman Matt Clark. Corey Knebel intentionally walks Mike Baxter. With Chris Valaika batting, wild pitch by Corey Knebel, Jonathan Mota to 3rd. Mike Baxter to 2nd. Chris Valaika walks. Rafael Lopez doubles (3) on a fly ball to center fielder Ben Guez. Jonathan Mota scores. Mike Baxter scores. Chris Valaika scores. Christian Villanueva strikes out swinging. *** : Colorado Springs Tuesday pre-game interview with outfielder and Brewers' 40-man roster member Shane Peterson *** VIDEO: Ben Guez whacks a double in Colorado Springs' 7-1 Game One loss to Iowa *** VIDEO: Luis Sardinas doubles in Colorado Springs' 6-3 Game Two loss to Iowa *** VIDEO: Biloxi's Nick Shaw rips a two-out triple in the ninth inning of a 6-2 win over Pensacola

Look for these just prior to the respective game times -- Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog *** STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League South Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division *** Sortable individual stat pages: Colorado Springs Biloxi Brevard County Wisconsin *** Weather.com: Pensacola, FL Clinton, IA

Follow Wednesday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Biloxi Wisconsin MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

DVR Alert! Friday evening's (6:30 PM) and Saturday afternoon's (1:00 PM) Timber Rattlers games will be broadcast on MyNew32 TV.

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Colorado Springs: Idle ********** Biloxi: RHP Jorge Lopez at Pensacola (Reds), 6:05 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime; expect LHP Luis Ortega to see action in a tandem role Free Live Audio Link We also welcome Chris Harris as the very first play-by-play voice of the Shuckers! Follow Chris on Twitter @CHarris731. We'll be looking off to his very promising "Shuck Dynasty" blog. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be radio broadcast. MiLB.TV - Seven of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games, and Biloxi staff indicates it is hopeful it will be eight when the new stadium opens. NOTE: This series from Pensacola is airing on MiLB.TV, nice. ********** Brevard County: Idle ********** Wisconsin: RHP Milton Gomez at Clinton (Mariners), 11:40 AM pre-game, 12:00 PM gametime Free Live Audio Link - WNAM Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio. NOTE: Forty-two (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (34) will split duties. We'll let you know when and who, and remember to refer to the Rattlers' full TV schedule so you can coordinate your DVR activity. *** So, for the $49.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sky Sox games, most Shuckers games, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. We'll let you know when a Wisconsin road series is available via MiLB.TV.

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

Based on Tucker's reply to my tweet, looks like the goggles may be a night game thing? We'll see...next televised game is Friday.

Per Chris Mehring, 3B Tucker Neuhaus returns to action today since being sidelined in the season opener on the 9th. Neuhaus hinted that he'd be wearing goggles going forward, whether that will carry over to games remains to be seen (seen - no pun intended). Replacing Neuhaus on the Rattler DL is OF Brandon Diaz, who left early in Tuesday's game after jamming his hand into second base.

Final, Game One: Iowa 7, Colorado Springs 1 Final, Game Two: Iowa 6, Colorado Springs 3 Sky Sox Drop Twin-Bill to I-Cubs, Split Series Iowa Turned the Tables On the Sox Tuesday, Securing Back-to-Back 7-Inning Wins By Ed Pearsall / Colorado Springs Sky Sox COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - 3,464 fans were treated to a long day of baseball at Security Service Field on Tuesday evening as the Sky Sox and Iowa Cubs played two after two consecutive poor weather days in Colorado Springs. A full day of baseball is almost always a great thing, however, the Sox long day would end in bittersweet fashion as they dropped consecutive hard-fought games to Iowa: 7-1 in game one and 6-3 in game two. Coming off a strong 6.2 scoreless innings performance in his last time out against Round Rock, game one starter Nick Additon (1-2, 6.30) would not experience the same success this time around. After a 1-2-3 first, the left-hander would hit a wall in the second giving up five runs in the frame on six hits, a walk, an error and a wild pitch. While the second was certainly the toughest inning of his night, Additon would give up two more runs before his night was through, allowing a total of seven earned runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out three. Conversely, Iowa game one starter Donn Roach (2-0, 2.31) would go a strong six innings, allowing just one run on seven hits and three walks while striking out one. The Sky Sox offense put plenty of traffic on the bases but was unable to produce the same big hits that lead to success in their 7-0 win against the Cubs on Monday evening. Matt Clark collected two base hits, beating the shift each time to continue his recent string of success at the plate, while Donnie Murphy collected the team's only RBI (his first of the season) on an RBI single in the sixth. David Goforth and Tim Dillard would toss three combined scoreless innings in relief of Additon before Cubs lefty Joseph Perez closed the door on the ballgame with a scoreless seventh inning to secure the 7-1 Iowa win. Colorado Springs Game One Box Score Hard-fought game? Not so sure here in Game One; RHP David Goforth with more walks (six) than K's (five) in 9.2 innings - his ratio has never been strong, I suppose his 40-man roster placement hasn't cost the Brewers another player yet, at least; given some thought, RHP Tim Dillard's run of 13 consecutive seasons in the Brewers' organization, having never pitched within another affiliated organization's chain, is quite remarkable in this day and age... Colorado Springs Game One Game Log *** Game two would be a tight one throughout as both team's starters allowed three runs in their respective outings before leaving the game's fate in the hands of the bullpens. Drew Gagnon got the nod for Colorado Springs in game two, ultimately outpitching his opposing starter, lefty-hander Eric Jokisch. Gagnon would toss 4.2 innings of three-run ball on six hits and two walks while striking out two. Jokisch would last just 3.2 innings before being pulled in the fourth with the Sox threatening to add to their 3-1 lead. The Sky Sox runs would be scored thanks to the production of the top of the order, plating two in the third inning on singles from Matt Long and Luis Sardinas and a booming double to right-center by Pete Orr. Gagnon seemed to be in somewhat of a groove heading into the fifth inning with a two-run advantage until a leadoff triple by speedy Cubs right fielder John Andreoli set Iowa up with a chance to chip away. Andreoli would wind up scoring on the very next play as a routine groundout by Jonathan Mota would cut the lead to one. Already with a home run in game one of the double-header, Arismendy Alcantara would drill a mammoth blast (travelling an estimated 445 feet) over the right field wall to tie the ballgame at three. Iowa would use four relievers to finish out the ballgame as they mixed and matched to keep the Sky Sox off the board the rest of the way. Brandon Kintzler would toss 1.1 scoreless innings before turning the ball over to Corey Knebel (1-1, 4.50). The tall right-hander would not fare as well, allowing three runs on two hits and two walks while striking out two in the top of the seventh. The three runs would cement the win for the I-Cubs and allow them to escape town with a series split. The Sky Sox are back at it on Thursday night at Security Service Field as they open a four-game set against the Omaha Storm Chasers. Tyler Cravy (1-2, 5.06) leads the way against left-hander John Lamb (0-0, 3.86) with first pitch slated for 6:35 PM MDT (7:35 Central). Colorado Springs Game Two Box Score Luis Sardinas finally stole a base (3rd attempt) -- click his page to see how 2014 represented a big dropoff in attempts from the prior two seasons... Colorado Springs Game Two Game Log Col. Springs Bottom of the 2nd Nevin Ashley called out on strikes. Colorado Springs Sky Sox catcher Nevin Ashley ejected by HP umpire Billy Cunha. Shane Peterson grounds out, shortstop Chris Valaika to first baseman Mike Baxter. Ben Guez singles on a line drive to left fielder Adron Chambers. Brandon Macias grounds into a force out, shortstop Chris Valaika to second baseman Arismendy Alcantara. Ben Guez out at 2nd. Umpire can't do that in a doubleheader (Ashley can't, either, for that matter). Robinzon Diaz forced into double duty, and Diaz is now 0-for-10 in limited action thus far. *** Sky Sox fall to 6-13...

With a new parent club, Sky Sox adjusting to life in chilly Colorado Springs By Brent Briggeman, Colorado Springs Gazette Bryan Petersen never needs to seek out a weather forecast. It finds him. "In a minor league clubhouse you usually have about 25 weathermen," said Petersen, the Sky Sox left fielder. "Word gets around." Before being greeted with sunny skies and mild temperatures Tuesday - with 70s in the forecast for the next few days - the weather report had largely been a downer for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at home this season. The average starting temperature for the nine home games entering Tuesday had been 56 degrees - or 19 degrees colder than the eight road contests. And that just measures the temperature at first pitch. It obviously cools as the hour grows later. In addition, the Sky Sox have had three games postponed - two for rain, one for cold. This is nothing new for the Sky Sox fan base, but this is an adjustment for the club now that it is an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee's previous Triple-A team had been in Nashville, which is about 12 degrees - on average - warmer than Colorado Springs in April. Sky Sox manager Rick Sweet said there's a trade-off with that. "When it gets to be July and August in Nashville, you can't get outside and spend time. You walk outside and you start dripping. And you can't stay outside and work too long because it just sucks it out of you," Sweet said. "We're going to be able to do that. The weather here doesn't get that extreme heat, it stays pretty decent. I think overall, the weather is probably better here than it was last year." Sweet said the Colorado Springs cold hasn't been anything worse than he's seen at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Fenway Park in Boston or in the minor leagues at places like Erie, Pa., where the cold is made more extreme by breezes off the nearby Great Lake. Players aren't going to be able to hide from this in their careers, so they might as well get used to it, he reasons. Sweet doesn't spend a lot of time worrying about weather or using it as an excuse, but he's very much aware of it. He keeps a weather app on the front page of his phone and loads it with cities he's going to be visiting. It still has Round Rock and Nashville programmed from the recent road trip and he said he'll soon be adding Memphis and Des Moines for a trip that runs from May 4-11. He doesn't obsess over it, but he wants to know what to expect in terms of available time to get pregame work in on the field or when to anticipate the occasional day off because of weather. Those days, like Sunday with an early rainout, are welcomed events. The Sky Sox have only eight days off in their five-month season, so Sunday brought a chance to not only rest bullpen arms and get regular players off their feet, but also eat a nice meal and go out to the movies (which much of the team did). "You get a night off, that's a huge event for us," Sweet said. Petersen said players suffer a bit from the lost time on the field when it rains, but he said it happens here far less frequently than it did in New Orleans, where he played for parts of four seasons. He said playing in the cold has been an adjustment, but the extremes (the Sky Sox have started two games in temperatures in the 40s) haven't been bad enough to alter the game. "It does become a little bit of a mental battle when you have to deal with it day after day," he said. "But that's part of the fairness of baseball. Both teams have to deal with it."

AUDIO: Highlights from the five-run Shuckers 2nd inning *** Chris Harris Tweet: Reliever Damien Magnifico touching 95-98 on the gun in the outing tonight.

Final: Biloxi 6, Pensacola 2 Five-run second sends Shuckers past Wahoos, take series Biloxi hands Pensacola a 6-2 loss and up division lead to two games Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/9/3/6/121162936/cuts/DSC07672_kakzs92k_k5pfygqu.JPG Nick Shaw was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI's on Tuesday night at Pensacola. (Photo by John Shadrick) PENSACOLA, FLA. - The red-hot Biloxi Shuckers used a five-run second inning and rolled to a 6-2 victory over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Tuesday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. The win was a league-best 13th and secured a series victory, Biloxi's third of the season in four tries. Mobile and Mississippi were suspended on Tuesday, so Biloxi picked up a ½ game in the division and lead the BayBears by two full games. The Shuckers have won nine of their last 12 and also seven of eight. The Shuckers improved to 7-2 against the Wahoos in 2015, and Biloxi also improved to an amazing 10-0 in nine-inning games. Biloxi (13-6) got to Pensacola starter Josh Smith (L, 1-1) with a five-run second inning which set the tone on Tuesday night. Nick Ramirez started the frame with a leadoff single, but was erased on a fielder's choice by Michael Reed (0x4, R) to second. Taylor Green (1x4, R) singled to put two on for the Shuckers, and Adam Weisenburger (1x3, 2 R) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Nick Shaw, who tallied his first multi-hit game of the season (2x4, 2 RBI, R, 2B, 3B) doubled in Reed and Green to give the Shuckers a 2-0 lead. After a Hobbs Johnson strikeout, Kyle Wren (0x3, RBI, R, SB) reached on an error to plate Weisenburger and move Shaw to third, giving Biloxi a three-run edge. Wren then stole second to give Biloxi two more runners in scoring position. Wren has six steals which is tied for second in the league. Yadiel Rivera (2x4, 2 RBI) broke the game open with a single to center, bringing in Shaw and Wren, to give the Shuckers a 5-0 advantage. The five-run second frame is the largest of the inaugural season, besting last night's four-run fourth and ninth. Rivera continued his on-base streak with a bunt-single in the first. The 22-year-old has now reached in all 18 games he's appeared in. Biloxi tacked on another run in the seventh on a Wren sacrifice fly to center to bring in Weisenburger. Johnson (W, 2-0) allowed three Blue Wahoos to reach base through the first four innings, but struggled in the fifth, surrendering two runs on two hits. Beau Amaral singled home Juan Perez, who led off the inning with a triple, and Jesse Winker's sacrifice fly brought in Chris Berset to cut Biloxi's lead to three. The North Carolina native finished the night having allowed just the two runs on three hits, three walks and two strikeouts. The win was the 10th for the starting rotation. Jaye Chapman (IP, H, 2 SO), Damien Magnifico (2 IP, 2 H, 2 SO) and Wirfin Obispo (IP, SO) held Pensacola (5-13) at bay through the final four frames to secure the Shuckers' win. The Biloxi bullpen has allowed just one run over its last 25.1 innings pitched, a 0.36 ERA. The first place Shuckers will have RHP Jorge Lopez (1-2, 5.25) toe the rubber in game six against the Blue Wahoos on Wednesday. Pensacola will look to end a two-game skid and send out LHP Wandy Peralta (1-1, 2.30). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM and can be heard starting at 6:20 with the Beau Rivage Biloxi Shuckers Pregame Show on 1240-AM WGCM, 1580-AM WPMO and the Biloxi Shuckers Radio Network. Fans can also listen to the game using the TuneIn Radio app or by going to www.biloxishuckers.com. Biloxi Box Score For me, Yadiel Rivera's performance is the biggest April bonus in the system all April - .367/.415/.550 with only 9 K's in 60 AB's, wow! Kyle Wren is ready to get to May soon, his .494 OPS atop the lineup has been somewhat unnoticed given all the positive Shuckers news; also lost in the fantastic Biloxi start has been the very good work of this bullpen, only because the starters have gone so deep, and there have been several seven-inning games. Biloxi Game Log Sleep in Wednesday AM, Hobbs Johnson, knowing you're waking up on your 24th birthday with a win in your back pocket from this game...

AUDIO: Wisconsin Pregame Interview with RHP Cy Sneed via the Rattlers Radio postgame entry

Demuth is six months older than Taylor Brennan at Brevard (both 23 years old), and while it's only April, both have only two XBH's among their 19 base knocks apiece thus far. And for Demuth, one of his XBH's is the phantom inside-the-park HR that we all saw via video was actually a foul ball.

In Tuesday's game, David Denson (golden sombrero, 0-for-4) and Jake Gatewood (0-for-3) combined to strike out all seven times up. Season thus far: Monte Harrison: 30 K's in 57 AB's (52.6% of AB's) Gatewood: 24K's in 52 AB's (46.2%) Denson: 25 K's in 60 AB's (41.7%) Timber Rattler individual stats here, but Denson (20 years old), and the two 19-year-old's, lead the way. Do the Brewers see if confidence can be gained in Helena once that season begins if those rates don't improve? As noted, historic paces...

Be sure to listen to two archived audio interviews via Chris: Brewers Director of Player Development Reid Nichols - Arcia talk included... RHP Tyler Wagner talking about his first career homer and fourth win

VIDEO: Colorado Springs' Shane Peterson leads off the fifth inning with a triple in a 7-0 win over Iowa -- this hit literally banged off the top of the CF wall, bouncing high up into the air Peterson has put up good numbers against southpaws for a LH bat, off to a fine start this year as well

About the signing of LHP Trevor Lubking, detailed above, turns out he had signed with the Frontier Greys of the independent Frontier League on April 2nd, and was preparing for play with that league club, which plays all road games. Read this brief summary about the Greys and you'll see there are three league teams which allow for commute road trips (back and forth daily, like the Manatees often do). So it's a rough schedule, but somewhat alleviated by that. So technically the Brewers purchased Lubking's contract, acquiring him from the Greys. Lubking would have begun play with the Greys in mid-May.

Per the Brewers, RHP Brandon Moore has retired. Moore, 23, was the Brewers' 17th round pick in 2013 out of the University of Arkansas. In 30 pro games between Helena and Wisconsin, he had posted a 5.60 ERA and 1.49 WHIP, and was still in extended spring training in Maryvale as of his decision.

Initially posted on 4/20: UPDATE: Per the Brewers, Hudgens has been activated from Wisconsin's DL and returned to extended spring training (Helena roster on paper).

Look for these just prior to the respective game times -- Colorado Springs Media Notes - It's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Sky Sox' site. Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog *** STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League South Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division *** Sortable individual stat pages: Colorado Springs Biloxi Brevard County Wisconsin *** Weather.com: Colorado Springs, CO Pensacola, FL Clinton, IA