In his Link Report for last Wednesday's games, @Joseph Zarr wrote:
Two storylines carry the Mudcats post-game sentiments. Firstly, the ongoing effectiveness and savvy of one LHP Enderson Mercado is a thing. 5.0 IP of 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K work. 73 pitches and 46 strikes. Mercado makes a living on the edges of the zone - both sides and below - as a dominant tactic. He doesn't wow with velocity but he's a lefty who locates. In Low-A, that's a winning recipe.
The second storyline is the 2 1/3 IP of RHP Griffin Tobias. I am near certain Tobias blew out his throwing elbow. I've seen this same reaction from a Brewers pitcher multiple times over the past two seasons. It hurts every time I see it and I can only imagine what Tobias is going through in this very moment. As I indicated in the night's game thread HERE, if you want to take a look for yourself it happened at 4:02:31 on the replay (MiLB.TV subscribers). Tobias was let down by his defense on numerous occasion throughout his outing - I felt for him. Balls were getting hit hard, yes, but it felt like his tough luck outing was compounded in the worst way when his arm gave out. We'll have to wait and hear word in the days ahead. I don't have high hopes with this one, sadly. A 2 1/3 IP of 7 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 4 ER body of work to end a season injured leaves a bitter taste.