Brewers Minor League Link Report (5/19): Carolina Rolls, But Three Other Affiliates Lose in Late Innings

A night of extremely effective starting pitching unfortunately only resulted in one victory for our full season affiliates, but let’s dwell on the positives:

• Carlos F. Rodriguez (Carolina), Alexander Cornielle (Carolina) and Justin Jarvis (Wisconsin) each had their best outings of the year
• TJ Shook (Biloxi) and Tyler Herb (Nashville) each went scoreless in their first appearances after promotion
• Dylan File (Nashville) put in another solid performance
• Joey Wiemer (10th homer) and Jakson Reetz (9th homer) continue to do serious damage to baseballs for Biloxi, while Tristen Lutz (4th homer) remains hot after a return from injury
• Despite the late inning losses, several actually performed well in the bullpen, not yielding any earned runs – Robbie Baker (Wisconsin), James Meeker (Wisconsin), JT Hintzen (Biloxi)

Game Balls for this Thursday night go to Cornielle, Jarvis, Rodriguez, Jose Sibrian and Wiemer.

Transactions:

• OF/IF Noah Campbell placed on AA Biloxi’s 7-day injured list retroactive to 5/17
• OF Terence Doston transferred to AA Biloxi from ACL Brewers Gold
• RHP Alec Bettinger outrighted to AAA Nashville from MLB Brewers’ 40-man roster

Game Action:

Carolina Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: Carolina 9, Down East 2
Box Score / Game Log

Via the Mudcats’ website, game details, and we encourage readers to review each of the affiliate write-ups as part of their Link Report routine: Cornielle and Rodriguez Lead Micro Brews to 9-2 Victory

This game was a pleasant matter of RHPs Carlos F. Rodriguez and Alexander Cornielle getting the job done until the Carolina offense came to life to blow open the game. Kudos to both on their best performances of the season to date, combining to strike out 11 Wood Ducks and give up only 3 hits.

Despite giving up two singles to start the game, Rodriguez didn’t get rattled and was instead lock down from that point, not giving up any more hits over his 4 innings of work.

One of those first inning baserunners did score on a sacrifice fly to give Down East an early 1-0 lead, but the Mudcats took the lead right back in the bottom half on an error (scoring Arbert Cipion, who’d walked) and a wild pitch (scoring Jackson Chourio, who’d singled).

That 2-1 scoreline continued into the 5th inning, when Rodriguez handed the game over to Cornielle to continue the solid work. Cornielle faced the minimum number of hitters over two innings before Down East turned to their third pitcher of the evening and lived to regret it.

In all, the first seven(!) Mudcats reached base in the bottom of the 6th inning on 2 hits and 5 walks, with the big hit being C Jose Sibrian’s bases-clearing double which extended the Carolina lead to 5-1. An RBI walk by SS Eduardo Garcia (a welcome sight in the lineup after leaving Sunday’s game early with an injury) made it 6-1.

Cornielle did yield one run in the 7th inning on a walk and a single, but was nonetheless terrific over his 5 innings of work, yielding only that one run and that one hit. Carolina added 3 more runs in the 8th inning on an Oswel Leones single and Zack Raabe 2-RBI double to complete the scoring at 9-2.

Performances of Note:

• Jose Sibrian – 2-3, double, BB, 3 RBIs
• Zack Raabe – 2-4, double, BB, 2 RBIs
• Jesus Chirinos – 2-5, double
• Arbert Cipion – 1-2, 3 BBs
• Eduardo Garcia – 1-4, BB, RBI
• Jackson Chourio – 1-4, BB
• Oswel Leones – 1-4, BB, RBI
• Carlos F. Rodriguez – 4 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 5 Ks
• Alexander Cornielle (Win) – 5 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 BBs, 6 Ks

Friday’s outlook: RHP Jefferson Figueroa (4.91 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 11.0 K/9 in 7 1/3 innings) is scheduled to make his 4th appearance of the season, as the Mudcats aim to take a 3-1 series lead at home.

Wisconsin Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: South Bend 3, Wisconsin 2
Box Score / Game Log

Via the Timber Rattlers’ website, game details: Cubs Beat Rattlers 3-2 in ten innings

Enjoy the video highlights which are always exceptional when the Rattlers play at home:

Both offenses struggled with runners in scoring position in this game, combining to go 2-20, as the Wisconsin and South Bend staffs struck out 29 hitters over their 20 innings (10 x 2 teams) of work.

For Wisconsin, it was RHP Justin Jarvis throwing his best game of the year to drop his season ERA to 5.35, while the Cubs’ 2021 first round pick LHP Jordan Wicks made life difficult on Rattler hitters.

Wisconsin did grab a 1-0 2nd inning lead, courtesy of the first three hitters reaching base (Tristan Peters double, Ethan Murray walk, Carlos D. Rodriguez single), but were unfortunately only able to punch home one run via an Alex Hall sacrifice fly, which was followed by an Antonio Pinero strikeout and Tyler Black fly out.

South Bend took the lead back in the 4th inning when Mr. Jarvis dropped a throw at first base and immediately conceded a 2-run home run. Resettling himself, Justin retired 9 of the next 10 South Bend hitters to maintain the score at 2-1. Then RHP Robbie Baker continued the effort, allowing only one walk and no hits to cover the 7th and 8th innings.

On the offensive side of the ball, 20 straight Timber Rattlers were put down in order from the middle of the 2nd inning to the middle of the 8th inning. In fact, with 2 outs in the 8th inning, Wisconsin managed a Zavier Warren single and two walks to load ‘em up before Wes Clarke was unable to come through.

The 9th inning saw RHP James Meeker take the mantle, quickly retiring three Cubbies before Wisconsin finally grabbed that elusive second run to send the game to extra innings. OF Tristan Peters led off with an infield single and went all the way to third base on an error. This was followed a SS Ethan Murray walk, no doubt getting the home crowd excited. However, a Rodriguez ground out and Alex Hall strikeout left Wisconsin hanging by a thread before a wild pitch allowed Peters home to knot the game at 2-2. With Murray now at 3rd base as the potential winning run, Pinero was called out on strikes.

Meeker then took the hard luck loss, allowing only 1 of 7 batters to reach base, but that hit was an RBI single to score Manfred’s ghost and give South Bend a 3-2 lead in the top of the 10th inning.

In the bottom half, Wisconsin once again got a man to third base with nobody out, this time a wild pitch allowing their own ghost (Pinero) to advance. However, no more hits or wild pitches were to come this day, even as the squad loaded the bases on a Zavier Warren walk and Wes Clarke hit-by-pitch (move man, let the ball get to the screen…ah well).

Here’s some stellar defense from Warren earlier in the game:

Performances of Note:

• Tristan Peters – 2-5, double
• Zavier Warren – 1-4, SB
• Justin Jarvis – 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 2 BBs, 10 Ks
• Robbie Baker – 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 Ks
• James Meeker (Loss) – 2 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 0 BB, 2 Ks

Friday’s outlook: Wisconsin suddenly finds itself down 2-1 in their series, with South Bend also only 1 game back in the standings, setting up a pivotal Game 4 tonight. Brewer’s 2021 2nd round pick LHP Russell Smith (4.95 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 9.9 K/9 in 20 innings) should be back in action for the first time in 13 days.

Biloxi Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: Mississippi 9, Biloxi 4
Box Score / Game Log

Via the Shuckers’ website, game details: M-Braves Shock Shuckers 9-4

After RHP TJ Shook worked through traffic (6 men left on base) over 3 scoreless innings of work in his AA debut and RHP JT Hinzten was solid (retired 6 of 7 batters), Biloxi’s bats were initially silent, going 12-up, 12-down through 4 innings.

However, fireworks came in the 5th and 6th innings, when the Shuckers produced 4 runs on 3 hits to take a 4-0 lead. Each of those hits was a banger:

• Jakson Reetz 9th home run (solo shot) – his 5th in 6 games!
• Tristen Lutz 4th home run (solo shot)
• Joey Wiemer 10th home run (absolutely crushed a 2-run blast to score Gabe Holt, who’d walked)

However, the game went completely awry in the bottom of the 7th inning, with RHP Nash Walters giving up 4 hits (2 runs), then handing over to RHP Arnaldo Hernandez with 2-on, 1-out. Hernandez did manage to retire the first batter on a ground out before conceding a walk and full-count, bases-clearing double to Mississippi’s CJ Alexander to fall behind 5-4.

Hernandez’ painful night continued in the 8th inning, as the first 5 Braves reached base on a home run, double, 2 singles and walk, stretching the lead to 9-4.

As something of a positive, RHP Taylor Floyd, who’s struggled since joining the squad late due to an apparent injury, managed to retire 2 of the 3 hitters he faced, although each did put the ball in the play (single, ground out, fly out). Let’s hope Mr. Floyd continues to round into the dominant form we’ve seen in recent years.

Let’s also give a tip of the cap to Mr. Lutz, as the former 34th overall draft selection (2017) is experiencing some sustained success at the plate after a recent injury spell, going 8 for his last 19 (.421 AVG), with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, 3 walks and only 4 strikeouts. Keep it up young man! Lutz is still only 23 years old, so matching his superb power with more consistent contact can pave the way to a future MLB career.

Braves’ second baseman Jalen Miller also made two fine defensive plays in this game before their offense woke up:

Performances of Note:

• Tristen Lutz – 2-4, HR, RBI
• Joey Wiemer – 1-4, HR, 2 RBIs
• Jakson Reetz – 1-4, HR, RBI
• TJ Shook – 3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BBs, 3 Ks
• JT Hintzen – 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 1 K
• Arnaldo Hernandez (Loss) – 1 IP, 5 R, 5 H, 2 BBs, 0 K

Friday’s outlook: Formidable RHP Victor Castaneda (2.23 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 10.3 K/9 in 32 1/3 innings) will be on the mound tonight, looking to even up the series in Pearl, Mississippi at 2 games apiece.

Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: Louisville 3, Nashville 1
Box Score / Game Log

Via the Sounds’ website, game details: Bats Clip Sounds in Extra Innings

The dependable Sounds saw their 4-game winning streak snapped despite another round of excellent pitching, this time from RHP Dylan File and newly-promoted RHP Tyler Herb.

If fans wanted to see offensive fireworks, this was not the game for them, as the Sounds went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and Louisville was not much better (1-for-11).

File managed to only concede one run on a 5th inning homer, despite hitting the first two batters he faced in the 3rd inning and a 1-out triple in the 4th inning.

After failing to get a runner to 2nd base over the first 4 innings, the Sounds put together two 5th inning singles (Pablo Reyes, Mario Feliciano) with 1 out, but a ground ball double play ended this first threat.

The 30-year old Herb entered the game in the 6th inning, which was actually his 31st game at the AAA level (13 with the Giants in 2018, 16 with the Orioles in 2019, 1 with the Mariners in 2021). He worked around a single and a walk in the top half, before Nashville finally knotted up the score via a Jon Singleton 2-out double (a missile off the wall) in the bottom half (plating Abraham Almonte, who’d singled).

However, that was the only offense which the Sounds could generate on this Thursday night, stranding runners at 2nd base in the 7th (Weston Wilson – walked), 8th (Brice Turang – singled) and 9th innings (Mario Feliciano – hit-by-pitch).

Mr. Herb was in trouble in the top half of the 9th inning, giving up a double and single to start things off, but struck out the next batter and then received some excellent assistance from his defense in the form of 3B Andruw Monasterio throwing out a runner the lead runner at home, ultimately escaping unscathed with another ground out.

In the 10th inning, however, Hobie Harris came on and conceded his first earned run of 2022, a first-pitch, 2-run homer to the powerful Aristides Aquino (28 homers in 294 AAA at-bats in 2019; 10 homers in 174 MLB at-bats in 2021) to give the Bats a 3-1 lead. Ultimately, that meant that Harris had to bear the loss, as Nashville went down in order in the bottom half of the 10th inning.

Performances of Note:

• Mario Feliciano – 2-3, HBP - this is another 23-year old who's figuring this out (10 hits over his last 17 at-bats)
• Jon Singleton – 1-2, double, 2 BBs, RBI
• Dylan File – 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 3 Ks
• Tyler Herb – 4 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 2 BBs, 3 Ks
• Hobie Harris (Loss) – 1 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 1 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks

Friday’s outlook: RHP Jason Alexander (3.03 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 5.8 K/9 in 35 2/3 innings) is expected to get the start, aiming for his 6th victory of 2022. A Sounds win would give them a 3-1 series lead.

We hope that you enjoy the Minor League Link Report. Good luck tonight, Brewers’ affiliates!

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