Link Report for Thurs. 5/29 - Farmhands Shine as Big League Club Rests (Mills and Wagner Dazzle)

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Thursday's Daily Menu:

 

All times are Central

 

Nashville: LHP Brad Mills at home vs. Colorado Springs (Rockies), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Jeff Hem is the play-by-play voice of the Sounds; follow him on Twitter @jeffhempbp; we'll link to his blog updates at On the Air…and Off

 

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Nashville games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $49.99 season-long package ($12.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link.

 

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Huntsville: RHP Jacob Barnes at home vs. Tennessee (Cubs), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:30 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Steve Jarnicki is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars - welcome aboard! Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveJarnicki. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast.

 

MiLB.TV - It appears seven of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games (not the Stars).

 

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Brevard County: RHP Tyler Wagner at St. Lucie (Mets), 5:00 PM pre-game, 5:30 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link -- Select the proper link based on listed schedule

 

Dave Walkovic returns as the play-by-play voice of the 'Tees; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio. All home games and many road games are scheduled to be broadcast. When road games are only available via the opponents' audio feed (or not at all), we'll let you know that.

 

No Florida State League games are available via MiLB.TV.

 

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Wisconsin: RHP Taylor Williams at Cedar Rapids (Twins), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM 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.

 

For the $49.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from seven Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games.

 

NOTE: Thirty-nine (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (30) 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.

 

DVR Alert: The next Wisconsin game scheduled for local TV is Saturday evening, May 31st (MyNew32 TV).

[Mass Haas]

Follow Thursday's action as it happens with box score / game log links:

 

Nashville

 

Huntsville

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

 

MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

[Mass Haas]

To see tweets as to when the Link Report has been technically "completed" with available links, as well as to know when the new day's Report has been posted, please follow @Mass_Haas on Twitter.

[Mass Haas]

Look for these just prior to the respective game times --

 

Nashville Media Notes - it's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Roster" banner on the Sounds' site.

 

Brevard County Media Notes - again, it's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Manatees' site.

 

Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog

[Mass Haas]

STANDINGS:

 

AAA - Pacific Coast League American Southern Division

 

AA - Southern League North Division

 

High-A - Florida State League North Division

 

A - Midwest League Western Division

[Mass Haas]

Sortable individual stat pages:

 

Nashville

 

Huntsville

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

[Mass Haas]

Weather.com:

 

Nashville, TN

 

Huntsville, AL

 

St. Lucie, FL

 

Cedar Rapids, IA

[Mass Haas]

Andy Tarnoff of OnMilwaukee.com chronicles his extended road trip to see the Timber Rattlers, Stars, and Sounds, all in road venues --

 

Hitting the road with the Brewers of tomorrow

[Mass Haas]

We've added audio and video links to the tail end of Wednesday's report - be sure to visit to catch up if you have not already done so.

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO: Voice of the Sounds Jeff Hem on local Nashville radio today

[TheCrew07]

Additional Links at the story URL.

 

Sports Medicine Experts Roll Out More Guidelines For Keeping Pitchers Healthy

May 29, 2014 by J.J. Cooper

 

With Tommy John surgeries occurring at epidemic rates, the American Sports Medicine Institute produced a position paper Wednesday to eliminate misconceptions and educate parents to help the next generation of pitchers stay healthier than this generation has been.

 

Many of the misconceptions ASMI attempts to clear up are points they and other medical experts have made in the past: Tommy John surgery doesn’t make a pitcher throw harder, although the intense rehab may allow some pitchers to exceed their pre-injury velocities; curveballs aren’t a big factor in Tommy John surgeries; lowering the mound won’t help and they haven’t found Latin American pitchers to have a higher success rate of staying healthy.

 

But the paper also has advice for the pro pitcher, most notably that pitchers need to figure out how to succeed without throwing 100 percent on every pitch and both the pitcher and team need to be in constant communication about how the pitcher feels.

 

This is part of a continuing effort by ASMI, which has already put out a position statement for youth pitchers urging them to stop all baseball throwing for two-to-three months a year, take at least four months off from competitive baseball, pitch for no more than one team at a time, adhere to pitch limits and avoid having pitchers also catch.

[LouisEly]

Brad Mills... whoa. Did he learn a new pitch in the offseason?

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO via Jeff Hem's blog --

 

"Tonight’s interview stays on the field but goes away from players and field staff. It is with Nashville native and former longtime major league umpire Chuck Meriwether, who now works for Major League Baseball as an umpire supervisor. He discusses what minor league umpires go through in their quest (similar to players) to reach the major leagues, the controversial replay system now in place in the big leagues and what he’s looking for as he evaluates Triple-A umpires. (Editorial note: Chuck Meriwether is one of the nicest people you could ever come across in your life)."

[colbyjack]

Tyler Wagner and Taylor Williams were two of my favorite picks in the last two drafts, and I love seeing them continue to perform at a high level while matching their performance with lofty radar gun readings. Very favorable reports on both this evening.

[TheCrew07]

Rattlers rally for win over Kernels

Wisconsin scores five in 7th for 8-5 win

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers came back twice on Thursday night and defeated the Cedar Rapids Kernels 8-5 at Perfect Game Field. Taylor Brennan went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI to pace Wisconsin's 11-hit attack. One of Brennan's hits was part of a big five-run seventh inning that put Wisconsin ahead to stay.

 

The Kernels (25-29) took the lead with a single run in the first and two more in the second against starting pitcher Taylor Williams. Mitch Garver drove in the first run with a two-out double in the first. Engelb Vielma was at the plate in the second with runners at second and third. Vielma singled to left to drive in a run. Vielma headed for second on the throw into the infield. The throw to get Vielma was wild and that allowed the runner at third to score for a 3-0 lead.

 

Wisconsin (25-28) rallied back to tie the game. Brennan doubled with two outs in the top of the fourth to drive in Clint Coulter. The Rattlers loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning. Then, Jose Pena delivered a two-out two-run single to even the score 3-3.

 

The Rattlers nearly took the lead in the top of the sixth. Johnny Davis lined a two-out single to left-center with Brennan on second base. Brennan tried to score on the play, but was out at the plate on a strong throw from centerfielder Jason Kanzler.

 

Michael Quesada put Cedar Rapids back in front in the bottom of the sixth. There were two on with one out and Quesada doubled to drive in both runners. The Kernels were up 5-3. But, not for long.

 

Omar Garcia drew a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh. Clint Coulter followed with a single against Kernels reliever Chris Mazza. Mazza got the first out of the inning on a strikeout. Michael Ratterree was up next and Garcia took off for third on a pitch that Ratterree grounded deep into the hole at short. The Kernels shortstop misplayed the ball and Garcia scored on the error. Brennan followed with a single to knock in Coulter with the tying run. That knocked Mazza out of the game.

 

The hit by Brennan sent Ratterree to third base and set the Rattlers up with runners at the corners with one out against reliever Jared Smith.

 

Francisco Castillo greeted Smith with a perfect safety squeeze bunt up the first base line. Ratterree scored the go ahead run and Castillo reached on the bunt single. Steve Halcomb added some insurance for the Rattlers with a two-out double to left that scored both Brennan and Castillo for an 8-5 advantage.

 

Tyler Alexander took over for Taylor Williams in the bottom of the seventh inning and didn't allow the Kernels to think about a comeback. Alexander tossed three scoreless innings, allowed one hit, and struck out three to nail down his first Midwest League save.

 

The Timber Rattlers are 4-4 in the first eight games of current road trip.

 

The final game of the series - and of Wisconsin's nine-game road trip - is scheduled for Friday night. Barrett Astin (5-2, 3.64) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Cedar Rapids will send Ethan Mildren (0-3, 4.35) to the mound. Game time is 6:35pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm.

 

The Rattlers return home to begin a six-game, seven-day homestand on Saturday night. There will be fireworks, a visit from Hank the Dog, and many more events going on when the team gets back to town.

 

WP: Taylor Williams (2-1)

LP: Chris Mazza (0-1)

SAVE: Tyler Alexander (1)

 

TIME: 2:58

ATTN: 2,099

 

Wisconsin Boxscore

Taylor Williams wasn't sharp as evidenced by 8 H and the 5 ER he gave up across 6 IP against just 3 SOs. In fact he hit Kanzler twice, the second time right between the shoulder blades and Kanzler made a move towards Williams but Clint Coulter quickly jumped in the way and that was that, Clint is a big boy.

 

Speaking of Clint he was up and down as usual behind the plate, he let of a couple of balls get through him but gunned a runner with his cannon of an arm.

 

Tyler Alexander has been pitching well since May 7th, Chris was raving about his change-up tonight.

 

Taylor Brennan's perfect day was mentioned above but the other multi-hit games came from Francisco Castillo (2-5) and Steven Halcomb (2-5,2B)... all it takes is a little LR mojo to turn things around. That reminds me, I wanted to clarify something I bagged on the other day but probably didn't make clear regarding Michael Ratterree. I was talking about the fact that he's taking too many called strikes, but I didn't mean to suggest that he should swing at anything early in the count, I'd much rather he stay selective and look for something to drive. The problem is that with 2 strikes he strikes out looking way too much, I'd like him foul off some pitches and give himself a chance. He doesn't like the knee high pitch off the outside corner but if the umpire is calling it a strike, and many A ball umpires will give that on the outside corner, then you have protect and give yourself a chance. Continually being called out on strikes drives me nuts.

 

edit. I almost forgot Jose Pena who's line is going to look bad with the 4 SOs, but 2 of those were long battles with the pitcher which he ultimately lost, however it's hard to qualify 8-10 pitch ABs as a loss at this level, even if the end result is a strike out.

 

Wisconsin Recap

 

Chris said this best, "Nobody in the stadium was expecting Halcomb's ball would carry that far!"... after being fooled and letting the ball get over his head Williams somehow made a bad situation worse by hurting his ankle trying to run the ball down.

 

Wisconsin Top of the 7th

• Omar Garcia walks.
  Clint Coulter singles on a ground ball to center fielder Jason Kanzler. Omar Garcia to 2nd.
  Jose Pena called out on strikes.
  Michael Ratterree singles on a ground ball to shortstop Ryan Walker. Omar Garcia scores. Clint Coulter to 2nd. Fielding error by shortstop Ryan Walker.
  Taylor Smith-Brennan singles on a line drive to right fielder Ivory Thomas. Clint Coulter scores. Michael Ratterree to 3rd.
  Pitching Change: Jared Wilson replaces Chris Mazza.
  Francisco Castillo singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Jared Wilson. Michael Ratterree scores. Taylor Smith-Brennan to 2nd.
  Rafael Neda pops out to shortstop Ryan Walker.
  Steven Halcomb doubles (2) on a line drive to left fielder J. D. Williams. Taylor Smith-Brennan scores. Francisco Castillo scores.
  Defensive Substitution: Joel Licon replaces left fielder J. Williams, batting 2nd, playing left field.
  Johnny Davis walks.
  Cedar Rapids Kernels left fielder J. D. Williams left the game due to an injured ankle.
  Omar Garcia strikes out swinging.

[TheCrew07]

Mills Fans Career-High 13 To Lead Sounds To 3-0 Shutout Win

Diaz, Bianchi Homer To Power Offense For First-Place Nashville

Nashville Sounds

 

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(Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds)

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Left-hander Brad Mills struck out a career-high 13 batters over eight scoreless frames to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium.

 

Mills (4-0), who retired his first 11 batters in order and 17 of his first 18 overall, lowered his ERA to 1.76 with the outstanding outing, his longest of the season. He scattered three hits and did not walk a batter in his 101-pitch start.

 

Donovan Hand set down the Sky Sox in order in the top of the ninth to close out Nashville's third shutout win of the year and nail down his tenth save, which co-leads the Pacific Coast League.

 

The two Nashville hurlers combined to allow only three hits and strike out 15 batters, a season high for the club.

 

The Sounds plated all of their runs with a pair of longballs off Sky Sox starter Christian Bergman in the bottom of the third inning.

 

Catcher Robinzon Diaz spotted Nashville a 1-0 lead when he led off the frame with a solo homer to left off, the backstop's third longball of the year.

 

Following Pete Orr's one-out single, shortstop Jeff Bianchi -- playing his first game of the year with the Sounds -- slammed a two-run homer off the guitar-shaped scoreboard in left-center to make it a 3-0 contest.

 

Bergman (3-4) took the loss despite a quality-start effort for Colorado Springs, allowing three runs in seven frames of work. The right-hander settled down after the three-run third, retiring his final 13 Nashville batters in succession.

 

Right fielder Kyle Parker recorded two of Colorado Springs' three hits on the night.

 

The teams wrap up the four-game set with a 7:05 p.m. finale on Friday night. Right-hander Ariel Pena (3-4, 4.14) will toe the slab for the Sounds and face Sky Sox left-hander Christian Friedrich (1-5, 6.91).

 

Nashville Boxscore

Jeff Bianchi who had 37 HRs in 8 minor league seasons coming into todays game says, "Demote this!"

 

Brad Mills hasn't pitched this well since he was 23 years old, obviously something is different because he's not getting insanely lucky, however I have no idea what it might be.

 

Here's his draft report, the Blue Jays actually drafted him back to back years.

Last year, Mills got some scouts' hopes up by flashing plus fastball velocity to go with a plus changeup and potentially above-average breaking ball. Some thought he was a third- or fourth-round talent, but the former walk-on at Arizona was honest with clubs and said he didn't want to sign as a junior. Instead, the civil engineering major--who attends Arizona on an academic scholarship--returned for his senior season and has been the Wildcats' No. 2 starter. The Blue Jays drafted him in the 22nd round but he didn't seriously consider signing, and he was having another solid season. His repertoire is much as it was last year, though he has pitched more in the 87-90 mph range without touching 92 as he did last year. His breaking ball has improved, as he throws it with more power than he did before. Mills is still a semester short of graduation and likely will want to finish up, which could cost him instructional league and set his development back. He also needed a cortisone shot late in the spring to help a balky back that caused him to miss a pair of starts down the stretch, further clouding his draft status.

 

Here's his BA scouting report when he was ranked the Jay's 30th prospect following the 2010 season:

The Blue Jays drafted Mills in the 22nd round in 2006, but he turned them down to return to Arizona to finish his civil-engineering degree. Toronto signed him as a fourth-rounder in 2007, and he made his big league debut just two years later. He's still trying to find establish himself against top-level hitters, as his ERA has risen from 1.96 through Double-A to 4.58 in Triple-A to 7.80 in the majors. Mills depends on his feel for pitching and deception rather than pure stuff. In his brief time in Toronto, he has fallen behind in the count too often and then gotten hammered when he has been forced to come over the plate. Mills' best pitch is his changeup, which throws hitters off because he maintains good arm speed and has a herky-jerky delivery. He sets it up with a high-80s fastball that can touch 91 and an average 12-to-6 curveball. Mills will be 26 this season, and his window to crack the back of the Jays' rotation may be drawing to a close. If it closes completely, then he could be useful as a long reliever.

 

Maybe his "feel for pitching" has just improved that much? No idea, but who can argue with the results so far this season, 13 strike outs in 101 pitches is crazy good, that's my kind of pitch efficiency.

 

With just 5 hits no batter had more than 1, this Sky Sox staff has been tough on the Nashville bats.

 

Nashville Recap

 

Nashville Gameday

[Mass Haas]

Final: @Huntsville 4, Tennessee 3

 

Stars Rally Late To Beat Smokies

Steve Jarnicki, Huntsville Stars

 

Huntsville, AL - The Huntsville Stars used a four-run seventh inning Thursday night to erase a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Tennessee Smokies 4-3 at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

Nick Shaw's sacrifice fly proved to be the difference in the Stars' sixth straight victory.

 

Tennessee got on the board first in the fifth inning against Stars reliever Eric Marzec. With one out and runners on the corners, Rafael Lopez singled home John Andreoli giving the Smokies a 1-0 lead.

 

They added to their lead later in the inning when Rubi Silva grounded a ball off first baseman Nick Ramirez which trickled out into right field scoring Wes Darvill.

 

Kris Bryant homered for the Smokies in the seventh off Marzec. It was Bryant's third homer of the series and 16th of the season.

 

The Stars entered their seventh trailing 3-0. Joe Gardner, who started for Tennessee, had only allowed one hit coming into the inning.

 

After Gardner retired Ramirez on a groundout to second, the Smokies went to the bullpen and brought in Lendy Castillo.

 

Castillo walked Jason Rogers. Mitch Haniger then singled into left field. Kentrail Davis followed with a single into centerfield loading up the bases.

 

With the bases loaded and one out, Castillo walked Adam Weisenburger, scoring Rogers to get the Stars on the board.

 

With the Stars trailing 3-1, the next batter, Greg Hopkins, grounded a ball towards Darvill at second base. As Darvill shifted towards his right, he booted the ball which went into center. Haniger and Davis scored tying the game at 3-3.

 

Two batters later, Shaw hit a sacrifice fly scoring Weisenburger to give the Stars a 4-3 lead.

 

Castillo (0-1), who faced five batters in the seventh, took the loss for the Smokies.

 

The Smokies (26-27) put one final threat together in the ninth against Stars closer David Goforth. With the leadoff runner on and the slugger Bryant at the plate, Goforth got a groundball off Bryant's bat to first base. Ramirez, the first baseman, nearly started a double play. However, Bryant was able to reach on a fielder's choice as he beat out the relay throw to first.

 

Goforth would eventually get the double play that he was looking for from the next batter. Lopez hit into a game ending 4-6-3 double play ball. Goforth earned his twelfth save of the season.

 

Tim Dillard (1-0) collected the win out of the Stars bullpen after retiring the final batter in the seventh.

 

Haniger went 2-3 for the Stars who improved to 37-17. The Stars now lead second place Tennessee by 10.5 games with sixteen games left in the first half of the season.

 

The Stars lead the Smokies 4-0 in their five game series. Friday night the Stars can sweep Tennessee with a win. Huntsville will send RHP Andy Moye (0-0, 1.59) to the hill. Tennessee will have RHP Julio Rodriguez (1-0, 1.69) on the mound. Friday's game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki starting at 6:15 PM CDT on 92.9 FM, 1450 AM and wtkiradio.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score

 

And let the fun continue, as the Stars make a mockery of their division "race".

 

Starting RHP Jacob Barnes has pitched as many as six innings (last start 5/24), so not sure why he exited after three scoreless here, but Barnes did ground out to end the 3rd.

 

Huntsville Bottom of the 3rd

 

Adam Weisenburger grounds out, shortstop Elliot Soto to first baseman Charles Cutler.

Greg Hopkins lines out to left fielder John Andreoli.

Jacob Barnes grounds out, shortstop Elliot Soto to first baseman Charles Cutler.

 

Mitch Haniger reached three times (two singles, walk).

 

Big Adam Weisenburger fan here, but passed ball #6 tonight, need to tidy that up.

 

Huntsville Game Log

 

Stars only had five hits (all singles), added five walks. Helps to bunch things up --

 

Huntsville Bottom of the 7th

 

Nick Ramirez grounds out, second baseman Wes Darvill to first baseman Charles Cutler.

Pitching Change: Lendy Castillo replaces Joe Gardner, batting 5th.

Defensive Substitution: Dustin Geiger replaces pitcher Joe Gardner, batting 9th, playing first base.

Jason Rogers walks.

Mitch Haniger singles on a line drive to left fielder John Andreoli. Jason Rogers to 2nd.

Kentrail Davis singles on a ground ball to center fielder Jae-Hoon Ha. Jason Rogers to 3rd. Mitch Haniger to 2nd.

Adam Weisenburger walks. Jason Rogers scores. Mitch Haniger to 3rd. Kentrail Davis to 2nd.

Greg Hopkins reaches on a force attempt, fielding error by second baseman Wes Darvill. Mitch Haniger scores. Kentrail Davis scores. Adam Weisenburger to 3rd.

Pitching Change: Jeff Lorick replaces Lendy Castillo, batting 5th.

Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Shawn Zarraga replaces Tim Dillard.

Shawn Zarraga walks. Greg Hopkins to 2nd.

Nick Shaw out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder John Andreoli. Adam Weisenburger scores.

D' Vontrey Richardson grounds out, pitcher Jeff Lorick to first baseman Dustin Geiger.

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO: Manager of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Matt Erickson joined fill-in host Kyle Lobner of Milwaukee Magazine on the WSCO Home Stretch Thursday, May 29th to talk about the Rattlers current road trip.

[Mass Haas]

Veteran Mills shines in 13-strikeout gem

Left-hander making good impression on fourth club in as many years

By Ashley Marshall / Special to MiLB.com

 

The past few years have brought nothing but change for Brad Mills, but he's taking everything in stride in an attempt to get back to the Majors.

 

Thursday's strong performance is the latest effort that could give him hope in a season full of them. Mills (4-0) allowed three hits and struck out a career-high 13 batters over eight innings in the Triple-A Nashville Sounds' 3-0 win over the visiting Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

 

"I mean, it was pretty good," Mills said. "I will take eight shutout innings any day. It was fun. It's up there. You remember the games where you go past seven innings. We needed the win and any time you can go eight innings with the pitch counts in the Minors, it's one you remember."

 

Selected by the Blue Jays in the fourth round of the 2007 Draft, Mills threw 74 of 101 pitches for strikes and induced seven ground balls at Herschel Greer Stadium to lower his ERA to 1.74.

 

Mills bookended his gem by striking out the side in the first and eighth innings. He also fanned two batters in the third and fifth frames, plus one each in the second, fourth and seventh.

 

"I would say three of my four pitches were working. My changeup and curveball were really good and I had fastball command," said Mills, who was traded from the Blue Jays to the Angels in December 2011, selected and released by the Rangers less than four months apart in 2013 and then signed by the Brewers as a free agent this January.

 

"I didn't really throw my cutter. It's my fourth pitch any way and it's what I go to the third and fourth time through the order, but my other three pitches were pretty good. I don't throw super hard, but I have deception and the off-speed had good action so they couldn't sit on a particular pitch in a particular spot."

 

After 11 consecutive outs to begin the game, Mills allowed a two-out single to Kyle Parker. Jason Pridie added a two-out double in the sixth and Kyle Parker collected a leadoff single in the seventh, but no Sky Sox batter made it to third base.

 

The eight innings tied a career high and marked the 11th time in his professional career that he pitched at least seven innings without allowing a run. Donovan Hand replaced Mills in the ninth, striking out two hitters in a perfect frame to complete the shutout.

 

The University of Arizona product hopes the hot start in his new environment will help him find his way back to the Majors. He has started just one big league game in the past 32 months and he's with his fourth organization in as many years.

 

There's also been some change in his home life since that last start, five shutout innings for the Angels against the Orioles in July 2012. His first son, Nixon, will turn 2 in June, while his second child, Noah, will soon be 9 months old.

 

"It is hard," Mills said about moving to another new team. "You don't know anyone, any of the coaches or the rovers. You don't know the staff or how people do things. There's definitely an acclimatization process. But if you throw well, it helps you with the guys and helps you feel part of the team.

 

"My wife [Annie] is a champ. She takes care of them on road trips and she meets with the other wives, especially those who have kids. She does it all. I'm the one who does the fun stuff. I get to hang out in locker rooms and eat out every night. In the midst of it, you can think it is sometimes a crazy life, but one day I will look back and treasure this."

 

Brad Mills has allowed six runs over his past 38 2/3 Pacific Coast League innings. (Nashville Sounds photo)

 

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[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 9, @St. Lucie 1

 

'Tees trounce St. Lucie, 9-1

Wagner allows one run in eight innings as Brevard tallies 18 hits

By Andrew Luftglass / Brevard County Manatees

 

Brevard County starting pitcher Tyler Wagner, seen here in a game from earlier this season, earned his first win since April 14 as he struck out a season-high eight batters in eight innings of work in the Manatees' 9-1 win over the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday night at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie. (Dennis Greenblatt/Hawk-Eye Sports Photography)

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/7/0/8/77419708/cuts/Wagner_4.3_3_640x360_r599qkyi_ojs63i8n.jpg

 

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - In both his longest and best outing of 2014 thus far, Tyler Wagner stymied the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday night at Tradition Field, as he fanned a season-high eight over eight innings, in a 9-1 Brevard County Manatees' victory.

 

In the end, Wagner (4-3, 1.94 ERA) allowed just one run on a solo shot by Phillip Evans in the fifth. He walked one and surrendered six hits to pick up his first victory since April 14.

 

Wagner was terrific from the start, as he nearly struck out the side on nine pitches in the first inning, but settled for a perfect frame with a pair of strikeouts.

 

The next few innings were almost as smooth for the Manatees' starter. Wagner faced just one man more than the minimum in the first three innings, thanks to a pair of double plays. The starter only allowed three men to reach scoring position all night.

 

While Wagner was a tough nut to crack, the Manatees (27-25) had no trouble striking early against St. Lucie (31-22) starting pitcher Luis Cessa. Brevard County ripped three doubles in the first inning and scored two runs to take an early lead.

 

Nathan Orf led off the game with a two-bagger and Orlando Arcia followed with a double of his own to score Orf. After CF Tyrone Taylor singled, Nicky Delmonico smoked a two-base hit to bring Arcia home.

 

The 'Tees went through a scoring drought in the middle of the game, but broke out of it decisively in the seventh and eighth. Brevard County had two men on and two outs in the seventh, when Taylor hit a broken-bat double down the left field line. His MiLB-leading 21st double of the season scored Mike Garza and Jose Sermo to expand the Manatees' lead to 4-1.

 

Brevard flooded the scoreboard with runs in the eighth inning. The 'Tees scored five runs and four different Manatees contributed RBI singles. Garza, Sermo, Arcia and Taylor each delivered those knocks and Delmonico added a run on an RBI ground out.

 

Sermo's run-scoring single came on a beautiful safety squeeze. The switch-hitter - batting left-handed - dropped a bunt down the third base line with Yadiel Rivera on third. Rivera raced home, ran past Mets catcher Albert Cordero and slid around his tag to score.

 

Cessa (3-4, 3.35) took the loss for the Mets, though he settled down and did not give up a run after the first inning. The right-hander struck out five, walked two and allowed seven hits over his six innings of work.

 

Six Brevard County hitters recorded at least two hits each as the 'Tees tallied 18 total. Orf, Arcia, Taylor, Garza and Sermo all had three hits each, while Delmonico had two.

 

The first four hitters in the Manatees' order - Orf, Arcia, Taylor and Delmonico - combined to go 11-for-20 with four doubles and seven RBI.

 

Brevard County has taken two of the first three games against the St. Lucie Mets and will look to win the four-game set on Friday night in Port St. Lucie, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. Austin Ross (3-0, 3.31) is scheduled to start for the Manatees against the Florida State League leader in wins, Matthew Koch (6-0, 2.83).

 

Brevard County Box Score

 

Great writeup from the 'Tees staff, as always. This is one where you just soak up the box score. Even catcher Cameron Garfield (0-for-5, three K's) can know that he guided Tyler Wagner through a great performance.

 

Brevard County Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Brevard County --

 

AUDIO: Middle infielder Yadiel Rivera joins Andrew Luftglass to discuss learning the English language and adjusting to playing both 2B and SS

 

AUDIO, Game Highlights: The 'Tees explode for seven runs late and beat the Mets, 9-1

 

AUDIO: Catching up with Tyler Wagner after another dominant, eight-inning performance

[Mass Haas]

Nashville --

 

AUDIO: Robinzon Diaz HR

 

AUDIO: Jeff Bianchi smacks a 2-run homer off the guitar scoreboard

 

AUDIO: Bianchi Diving Catch

 

AUDIO: Brad Mills sets a new career high with his 12th strikeout vs. Colorado Springs

[Mass Haas]

OK, you just listened to Jeff Hem's calls of those two Jeff Bianchi highlights, now watch each in this Nashville local sports desk report.

 

Also, "the Sounds launder the Sky Sox".

 

Like that one...

[fondybrewfan]

This pitching is getting borderline ridiculous. Anyone the Brewers are throwing out there are having great years. I am not sure we have a legitimate pitching prospect that is having a bad year. Quintana or Pena maybe? Everyone has been great and will make it awfully hard to complete promotions and hopefully several can provide ammunition to improve the big league club later on.