07 Oct

connect four

Those were familiar names rising to the occasion in Milwaukee’s huge Game 2 win Monday night in the National League Division Series. Three Biloxi Shuckers of recent vintage and a Mississippi Braves alum took star turns in the 7-3 victory over Chicago at American Family Field. Start with Jason Misiorowski, the 6-foot-7 stringbean rookie who threw three innings of high heat and got the win. He yielded just one hit and no runs, striking out four and hitting 102 mph-plus on 12 of his pitches, topping out at 104.3. In two seasons at Double-A Biloxi, The Miz flashed some of that stuff: He struck out 141 batters across 100 2/3 innings. With the score tied at 3-3 in the third inning, William Contreras (M-Braves 2019) launched a 411-foot (at least) solo home run off Shota Imanaga. (Why did Atlanta ever trade Contreras, who’s also an excellent defensive catcher?) In the fourth inning, Jackson Chourio — one of the top prospects in the minors when he wore the Shuckers unie in 2023 — belted a three-run bomb, 419 feet to center field on an 0-2 pitch, that essentially iced the game for the Brewers. Almost overlooked is what reliever Abner Uribe (Shuckers ’22-23) did in the ninth, blowing away Carson Kelly, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson on 13 pitches. The largely unsung Uribe had a 1.67 ERA in 75 appearances this season. The Brewers hold a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Wrigley Field. P.S. Oh yeah, in the other NLDS, Los Angeles took a 2-0 series lead with a drama-filled 4-3 win against Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. In the middle of it all was Freddie Freeman, the “grizzled veteran” who toiled for the M-Braves way back in 2009. Freeman had a hit and scored a run in the Dodgers’ four-run seventh, then made two outstanding plays at first base in the ninth as the Phillies tried to rally. Because of his clutch hitting prowess, it’s easy to forget what a great defensive player Freeman is: In 66 postseason games, he has a .996 fielding percentage with just two errors.

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