Link Report for Wednesday 9/16 - Southern League Championship Series, Game One in Biloxi

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Biloxi: RHP Jorge Lopez at home vs. Chattanooga (Twins), 6:55 PM pre-game, 7:10 gametime; Game One of a Best-of-Five Series

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

MiLB.TV - Eight of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games, and Biloxi is among them! Unfortunately, Chattanooga is not.

 

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Box Score / Game Log / Game Day Link

 

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Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog

 

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Weather forecast:

 

 

Biloxi, MS

[Mass Haas]

Kicked off the thread a day early as the Shuck Dynasty Blog linked above has already kicked off its preview coverage. We'll likely have other tidbits here prior to Game One Wednesday evening.

[Mass Haas]

Orlando Arcia on fire at plate as Shuckers start SLCS

Shuckers SS Arcia on fire at plate as championship series starts

By Patrick Magee, Biloxi Sun-Herald

 

BILOXI -- Biloxi Shuckers shortstop Orlando Arcia has had some amazing moments on the baseball diamond this season, but he topped himself last week in the Southern League South playoffs.

 

Arcia batted .615 with two homers, six RBIs and five runs scored in the Shuckers' three-game sweep of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

 

With Arcia's glove and bat, along with an outstanding pitching staff, the Shuckers have a shot at winning the Southern League title in their inaugural season.

 

The Southern League Championship Series starts at 7:10 p.m. today at MGM Park against the Chattanooga Lookouts.

 

On Tuesday, Arcia was in his usual good mood, wearing a sly smile while he went through batting practice with teammates.

 

Well-rounded player

 

The 21-year-old can clear the left field fence, shoot it into the gap in right center or just push the ball through the right side of the infield. Fans who were lucky enough to see Arcia play this season were witness to one of the best performances by a player not suited up at the Major League level.

 

He made the jump from Class-A to Double-A with ease and improved his batting average by nearly 20 points at .307. But Shuckers manager Carlos Subero was reluctant to say that the native of Venezuela surpassed expectations this season.

 

"We all know what we have in Arcia," Subero said. "I don't think he necessarily exceeded expectations. I think he lived up to the expectations and put himself in a great position with his future in this organization. We all know Arcia was gifted talent wise. From the mental standpoint, he's one of best I've managed at that age, without a doubt."

 

Speaking through Subero as his translator, Arcia pointed to his manager and hitting coach Sandy Guerrero as playing a big role in his development this season.

 

Listing off areas where he thinks he's improved the most, Arcia pointed to his approach at the plate and better mechanics on defense.

 

"He's able to get himself in a better fielding position," Subero said. "He has better foot work. He's allowing his hands to work with his good foot work." Subero and Arcia studied film prior to the Pensacola series and the two noticed that the Blue Wahoos' had a specific approach against him at the plate.

 

"There were some obvious sequences of pitches," Subero said. "He had two home runs because he knew they were coming in. Before, he was trying to hit that ball opposite field. He had a plan and stuck with that approach. Things fell into place."

 

Strong mind

 

That improved mental approach is where Guerrero believes Arcia has made the most progress.

 

"Before, he'd just go and swing without understanding what they're trying to do," Guerrero said. "Now, he doesn't do that. He kind of analyzes the pitcher even before he gets there based on what he's throwing the guy before him. He has a better idea that every at-bat is important."

 

Arcia had a career-high eight home runs in the regular season, giving reason to believe that the 6-foot, 165-pound shortstop could only add more pop as he matures.

 

Subero believes Arcia may be better off sticking to his current approach of working the gaps for doubles. Arcia led the Southern League in doubles this season with 37.

 

"He has enough sock (to hit more home runs)," Subero said. "Is that what we want him thinking? He can take some average off in the leagues by trying to do that. As he matures, he could add more power to it. He's just gifted at hand-eye coordination, putting that barrel on the baseball with some consistency. Hopefully, he's a line drive hitter, a doubles guy. He has the ability to hit home runs. You give him a hitter's count and he knows a fastball coming, he's going to get it."

 

It's been a special campaign for Arcia in Double-A, earning a spot in the All-Star Futures Game in July and becoming a Southern League All-Star. He was ranked the No. 8 prospect in the minor leagues by Baseball America.

 

When asked if he's had a chance to enjoy what has been an outstanding season, he offered a smile and a laugh.

 

"That's just part of him," Subero said. "You can see he laughs about it. That's part of him, having fun while he plays. He just enjoys the daily competition. That's what he enjoys the most. That's why we get so excited about him. Any time he can go out there and compete, he'll try to beat you."

[Mass Haas]

VIDEO via WLOX: More Biloxi preview video with Pitching Coach Chris Hook discussing Jorge Lopez

[Mass Haas]

Jeff Levering - Minor Details Blog Post

[TigerUppercut]

What has gotten into this Arcia fellow? 3 post season homers in 4 games? Good Lord.

[Jenkins5]

Arcia & Phillips with Championship Game Homers so far with Lopez dealing.... Visions of 2019 Brewers World Series run!

[rwa12]

Is it too early to say Arcia is the best player on the Brewers? Not sure if blue font is necessary.

[wichmae]

Is it too early to say Arcia is the best player on the Brewers? Not sure if blue font is necessary.

He has to do it against MLB pitching but there is no doubt at this point he is a top 10 prospect in baseball.

[bkrause2]

Final: Chattanooga 2, Biloxi 7

 

Shuckers open SLCS with a dominant 7-2 victory over Lookouts

Lopez was masterful on the mound and was backed by homers from Arcia and Phillips

Biloxi Shuckers

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/8/6/150047586/cuts/8S1A2291_mebz5wr7_3im16e1a.JPG

Jorge Lopez tosses seven innings of one-run baseball earning his second postseason victory (M.K. Krebs)

 

BILOXI, MS – Behind another masterful performance from starter Jorge Lopez and homers from Orlando Arcia and Brett Phillips, the Biloxi Shuckers took a 1-0 lead in the BC Powder’s Southern League Championship Series after a 7-2 triumph in game one on Wednesday night at MGM Park. In four postseason games, the Shuckers are now 4-0 and have scored 24 runs on 42 hits, with just one opposing starter lasting into the sixth inning (Daniel Wright – 5.1 innings on Sept. 10).

 

The game one winner has won three of the last four Southern League Championships. After four games, Shuckers starting pitchers have a 0.34 ERA, giving up just one earned run over 28.2 innings. Lopez stopped the consecutive innings without an earned run by giving up one in the third inning.

 

Biloxi (1-0) had to play from behind for the first time this postseason as Chattanooga (0-1) plated the first run of the game in the third on a RBI single off the bat of Jorge Polanco, scoring Stuart Turner. The earned was the first in 24.1 innings allowed by Shuckers starting pitching this postseason.

 

The Shuckers had a quick answer in the home-half of the third. Adam Weisenburger (1x2, 2 R) started the inning by being hit by a pitch and came around to score the tying run on Yadiel Rivera’s (2x5, 3 RBI, R, 2B, 3B) triple to right-center field. Arcia (2x3, HR, 3 RBI, R, BB) followed with a line drive blast just to the right of the auxiliary scoreboard in left field to give Biloxi a 3-1 lead.

 

In four postseason games, the Milwaukee Brewers’ top-ranked prospect is batting .625, 10-for-16 with three doubles, a triple, three homeruns and nine RBI.

 

The two-run margin was more than enough for Lopez (2-0). In seven innings of work, the 22-year-old allowed just the one run on four hits, a walk and six strikeouts. In two starts over the postseason, the Puerto Rico native has allowed two runs – one earned – over 13.2 innings of work while walking four and striking out 13.

 

Phillips (1x3, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB) extended Biloxi’s lead to three with a solo shot in the fourth, his first long ball since joining the Shuckers on Aug. 1. Arcia added another RBI in the fifth with a single up the middle to bring in Nick Shaw (1x4, R, 2B). Rivera plated two more runs in the sixth on a double to center that scored Phillips and Weisenburger to give the Shuckers a commanding, 7-1, lead.

 

Josh Hader came out of the bullpen to take the eighth and worked around an error and a walk by striking out the side. Damien Magnifico took the bump in the ninth and allowed a run, but ultimately finished off the game

 

Biloxi will look to take a two-game advantage in the best-of-five matchup with Chattanooga in game two on Thursday night at MGM Park. RHP Adrian Houser (1-0, 0.00) will make his second start of the postseason for the Shuckers, and first since tossing a shutout and striking out 10 against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in game two of the Divisional Round on Sept. 11. LHP Jason Wheeler (0-0, 1.50) toes the rubber for the Lookouts, his second of the year against Biloxi. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m., with coverage beginning at 6:55 p.m. 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 http://www.biloxishuckers.com.

 

Biloxi Box Score

 

Biloxi Game Log

[colbyjack]

Great googly moogly this Biloxi team is crazy to follow. That is all.

[Mass Haas]

Arcia, Shuckers not slowing down for Finals

Top Brewers prospect homers in third straight playoff game in opener

By Josh Jackson / MiLB.com

 

If the Brewers' top prospect had a huge 2015 season, his postseason can be considered absolutely enormous.

 

"Orlando Arcia keeps on doing it," Double-A Biloxi manager Carlos Subero said. "He's a special player. With Orlando, the big thing is, the higher the challenge is, the higher he's going to go in the game."

 

Arcia homered for a third consecutive playoff game, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk in the Shuckers' 7-1 win over visiting the Chattanooga Lookouts. The victory gave Biloxi a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 Southern League Championship Series.

 

 

The 21-year-old shortstop, who slashed .307/.347/.453 with 52 extra-base hits and 25 stolen bases over 129 Double-A games this year, socked a two-run dinger to left-center field off Chattanooga starter D.J Baxendale in the third inning.

 

"Like the previous two, you could tell he got a good pitch to hit," Subero said. "They got him to break his bat [on a first-inning popout], but he made the adjustments and came back and was ready for them."

 

He singled in a run against Baxendale in the fifth, giving MLB.com's No. 12 overall prospect multiple hits in all of the Shuckers' four playoff games this year. He's 10-for-16 (.625) with 10 RBIs and six runs scored since the semifinals against Pensacola opened on Sept. 10.

 

"He had big at-bats. He gets it done when it counts," said Arcia's manager. "That's the kind of player he's been all year. He's been hitting around .370, .380 with runners in scoring position all year. He likes the moment.

 

"He [homered on] a fastball in, and he thought they were going to start him with the offspeed. He's always thinking along with the game, looking for sequences. It's not only his talent, it's that he puts himself in a position to succeed. Sure enough, first pitch, they give him a curveball, and -- boop! -- up the middle. That tells you something."

 

Milwaukee's No. 2 prospect Brett Phillips, who was acquired by the Brewers from the Astros in the Carlos Gomez deadline deal, hit his first home run of the postseason after missing the last two weeks of the regular season with an irritated nerve in his thumb.

 

 

SIDENOTE COMMENT -- Where have we heard about an irritated thumb nerve before?

 

"It's been great," being able to slot him in the lineup, Subero said. "He got hurt there for a while and only got to play in two games in Pensacola. We all know about his tools -- he covers a lot of ground in center field, and he's been good. It was good to see him hit that one."

 

The club's No. 9 prospect Jorge Lopez allowed a run on four hits and a walk while striking out six over seven innings to improve to 2-0 with an 0.66 ERA in the playoffs. He finished the regular season 12-5 with a 2.26 ERA over 24 starts spanning 143 1/3 Southern League innings.

 

"With Jorge, he became a pitcher. He knows how to pitch. He knows what he's got that night. It might not be the changeup, it might not be the curveball, it might not be the fastball early on, but he knows how to work with what he's got," Subero said. "He started that about two-and-a-half months ago, and he hasn't stopped. [Pitching coach] Chris [Hook] has done a tremendous job working with him."

 

The Shuckers host Game 2 at 8:10 p.m. ET (7:10 Central) on Thursday.

 

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Local Milwaukee product highlight for the Lookouts --

 

[Mass Haas]

Via WLOX --

 

The Biloxi Shuckers got the job done on the mound and at the plate. Pitcher Jorge Lopez gave up only one run on four hits with six strikeouts in seven innings.

 

Shuckers manager Carlos Subero said, "Great ballgame. It started with Jorge Lopez who had a great outing on the mound, going seven innings. He allowed only four hits , striking out six guys and a couple of times he got into trouble, he got out of it."

 

After the Lookouts grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the 3rd, Biloxi exploded for three runs in the bottom of the inning on a triple by Yadiel Rivera and a two run blast off the bat of Orlando Arcia who had two hits in three trips to the plate, including an RBI double. Arcia now has 10 hits in 16 at-bats with three doubles, a triple, three home runs and nine RBI in four postseason games.

 

Rivera was 2 for 5 with 3 runs batted in. Besides his triple, Yadiel smashed a 2 run double.

 

"When they told me they wanted me to come down and help the team in the playoffs, I said, yes, "stated Rivera. "Let's go out and help the team and we're here in the finals and won the first game. Hopefully, we've got the next two."

 

Center fielder Brett Phillips belted his first Shuckers home run Wednesday night. It was a solo-shot in the fourth inning to right field.

 

"Playoffs is a different atmosphere and I've been blessed enough to play in my third, "said Phillips. "So, I knew what it's like to win and I feel like I contribute to this team. Everyone of these guys are winners. You can see it in our faces when we're out on the field, playing hard and playing to win."

 

The Shuckers are now undefeated in four postseason games and have plated 24 runs on 42 hits.

 

The Shuckers go for win Number two tonight at 7:10 at MGM Park and let's pack the stadium.

[Mass Haas]

VIDEO via WLOX -- Game highlights, including Yadiel Rivera's triple

[Mass Haas]

PHOTO GALLERY -- Biloxi Sun-Herald

[Mass Haas]

Arcia, Lopez star again as Shuckers take 1-0 lead in SLCS

Patrick Magee, Biloxi Sun-Herald

 

BILOXI – Shuckers shortstop Orlando Arcia is looking more like a big leaguer every day.

 

The 21-year-old hit his third homer in as many games and knocked in three runs as the Shuckers took game one of the Southern League Championship Series, 7-2, Wednesday night.

 

“This is impressive, watching him doing what he's doing,” Shuckers outfielder Brett Phillips said. “He's helping this team a lot. We're all putting it together and winning as a team. It's been fun.”

 

Arcia, who is ranked the No. 8 prospect in the minors by Baseball America, has three homers and nine RBIs in four postseason games. He was 2-of-3 with a run scored Wednesday.

 

Chattanooga manager Doug Mientkiewicz and his pitching staff will have to figure out a new approach to stop Arcia going into game two.

 

“In my book, he's better than half of the shortstops in the major leagues right now,” Mientkiewicz said. “We'll do the best you can. We'll try to use his aggression against him, come up with some new plan and try to go with something else tomorrow.”

 

The Southern League's Most Outstanding Pitcher, Jorge Lopez, put in another stellar outing on the mound for Biloxi before a crowd of 2,386. He gave up one run on four hits in seven innings, striking out six and walking one to pick up his second postseason victory.

 

In 13 2/3 postseason innings, Lopez allowed one run on just six hits and also appears ready for a promotion to Milwaukee.

 

“Jorge has become a pitcher,” Biloxi manager Carlos Subero said. “He knows what pitches are working for him that night. He'll go work with that. He's been great.”

 

Game two of the series is set for 7:10 p.m. Thursday at MGM Park with right-hander Adrian Houser scheduled to get the start for the Shuckers with left-handed pitcher Jason Wheeler starting for Chattanooga.

 

"To the fans that have come out and support us all year long, tomorrow is last game they'll see this season," Phillips said. "We expect all you guys to be out there cheering us on. We appreciate it."

 

Arcia's two-run blast in the third inning was part of a three-run rally that erased a 1-0 lead for Chattanooga.

 

Biloxi catcher Adam Weisenburger was hit by a pitch from D.J. Baxendale to lead off bottom of the third to put one on. Yadiel Rivera followed with a line drive to the right-center gap to score Weisenburger and tie the game at 1-1.

 

In the next at-bat, Arcia ripped a 1-0 pitch well over the left field wall to hand the Shuckers the 3-1 lead.

 

Subero credited the outburst at the plate to a change in approach.

 

“I think (Baxendale) had a little pattern of busting in,” Subero said. “We hadn't seen him in a while. He just kept going in, stayed in and I think we were able to make an adjustment on that.”

 

Phillips, who was acquired late in the season from the Astros, hit his first home run as a Shucker with a two-out drive over the right field wall to push the Biloxi lead to 4-1 after four innings.

 

“It felt great,” Phillips said of his homer. “It was a great team win tonight.'

 

Nick Shaw led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and Arcia punched a single up the middle two batters later to make it 5-1.

 

Rivera put the game out of reach for Chattanooga in the bottom of the sixth with a double that rolled to the wall in left center and brought home a pair of runs, making it 7-1.

 

Rivera finished 2-of-5 with three RBIs.

 

“It's good to see Rivera come through,” Subero said. “He can't be overlooked with the double and a triple.”

 

Lopez had to work through a couple of early rough moments, helping the Lookouts gain a 1-0 lead in the top of the third after walking the leadoff man, Ole Miss product Stuart Turner. Steve Wickens and Jorge Polanco pushed Turner across with back-to-back one-out singles.

 

Lopez avoided further damage by striking out Southern League MVP Max Kepler and getting Travis Harrison to ground out to end the inning.

 

Chattanooga was held to five hits in the game and first baseman D.J. Hicks struck out four times.

 

Baxendale lasted five innings, giving up five runs on six hits to take the loss. He struck out four and walked one.

[Mr Southpaw]

Lopez dominates a Shuckers take a 1-0 lead. One down, two to go. I am going to Chattanooga Saturday to see game three. Can't wait.

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO -- Your radio highlights via Chris Harris' broadcast

[Mass Haas]

With a LH Lookouts starter on the mound Thursday night and the designated hitter in place, Victor Roache should get a chance to celebrate his 24th birthday while in the lineup.

 

We also wish a happy 19th to promising Panamanian catcher Johel Atencio, who turns 19. He missed all of 2015 with an unidentified injury. Next spring's media guide should provide details.

[pogokat]

I think Arcia may be entering Braun-eque territories of prospectdom this off season. He's clearly the best ss prospect still in the minors, and when you look at what he's been like compared to Lindor, Reed, and even Seager, you can start to make a real case that maybe he should be ranked top 5 in all of baseball.

 

Yes, graduations will help him (all the above guys aren't prospects anymore), but even so, it's hard to argue that Arcia isn't far and away one of the best MILB players. Oh, and he's still a pretty scrawny 21 year old, so he's got a lot of projectability left...

[Outlander]

Looking at the attendance in Biloxi for these games is it common for attendance to be so bad during the playoffs? They seemed pretty excited to get a team and are about to win it all and nobody shows up.

[CheezWizHed]

I'm thinking Arcia might be getting to "Igniter v2.0" territory. 300+ ave all year, white hot when the bright lights go on in the playoffs.

 

I said it once and I'll say it again. They big steps of our MiLB players have been great. But seeing them step up and play like this when the pressure gets higher and the competition gets harder is AWESOME!

[JohnBriggs12]

I think Arcia may be entering Braun-eque territories of prospectdom this off season. He's clearly the best ss prospect still in the minors, and when you look at what he's been like compared to Lindor, Reed, and even Seager, you can start to make a real case that maybe he should be ranked top 5 in all of baseball.

 

Yes, graduations will help him (all the above guys aren't prospects anymore), but even so, it's hard to argue that Arcia isn't far and away one of the best MILB players. Oh, and he's still a pretty scrawny 21 year old, so he's got a lot of projectability left...

 

 

Agreed. Arcia figures to follow the time line next season similar to what Braun did in 07 with a Memorial Day weekend debut. There has not been the kind of anticipation for a debut since then. His late season surge is screaming that he's ready. Segura will undoubtedly be shopped this winter with Sardinas around to fill in the gap. Rebuilding in warp speed. Your Milwaukee Brewers!

[Mass Haas]

Looking at the attendance in Biloxi for these games is it common for attendance to be so bad during the playoffs? They seemed pretty excited to get a team and are about to win it all and nobody shows up.

 

It's a major issue all across minor league baseball, Baseball America has written about it extensively. Kids are back in school, and Biloxi wasn't helped by these being weekday games.

 

Heck, until Chattanooga won on Monday, Biloxi didn't even know if their series would begin Wednesday or Thursday. The folk in Biloxi actually attended very well for a Wed. night in this circumstance.