Tag Archives: allmississippibaseball

25 Sep

bright spots

On a supercharged Tuesday night in the big leagues when highlights were popping all over the place, a trio of former Mississippi Braves stars and an ex-Biloxi Shuckers standout found the limelight. In Atlanta, 2024 M-Braves alum Spencer Schwellenbach threw seven brilliant innings and Michael Harris II went 3-for-4 with a homer (and a great catch) as the Braves beat the New York Mets 5-1 in the opener of a crucial series. In Houston, Jason Heyward (M-Braves 2009) hit a go-ahead two-run homer and Josh Hader (Shuckers ’15-16) notched a clean four-out save as the Astros beat Seattle 4-3 to clinch their fourth straight American League West title. … Elsewhere, San Diego clinched a National League playoff berth, sealing a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers with a triple play; Baltimore clinched an AL berth with a wild win over New York at Yankee Stadium; and Detroit and Kansas City tightened their grip on AL wild card invitations. … But back to the ATL, where the Braves moved to within a half-game of Arizona (11-0 loser to San Francisco) and a game back of the Mets in the NL wild card standings. Schwellenbach started this season in A-ball and threw 13 scoreless innings in two May outings for the Double-A M-Braves before jumping to the big league club. He is 8-7 with a 3.47 ERA and has won three straight starts. A solo homer in the seventh inning was all the damage the Mets could muster against the right-hander. Harris, who jumped from Mississippi to Atlanta in 2022 and won rookie of the year honors, has been on fire since coming off the injured list in mid-August. He is batting .362 with seven homers, 13 RBIs and 17 runs in his last 15 games. … Over to Houston, where Heyward has found a home at age 35 after being released by the Dodgers in late August. He is batting .234 with four homers in 47 at-bats for the Astros and playing his usual stellar defense in the outfield. Hader, who has had some rocky times with Houston, notched his 34th save Tuesday; he has an 0.95 ERA in his last 15 appearances. Houston, which once trailed Seattle by 10 games in the AL West, is now 5 up. P.S. Former Ole Miss star Doug Nikhazy worked 5 2/3 innings (1 run, 10 strikeouts) to lead Columbus to a 3-2 win against Omaha in the opener of the Triple-A International League Championship Series. Lefty Nikhazy, a second-round pick in 2021, went 7-4 with a 2.98 ERA this season at Double-A and Triple-A in the Cleveland system.

24 Sep

philly flashback

The last time the Philadelphia Phillies celebrated a division championship was 13 years ago, when the club’s “Sports Illustrated Five” featured a pair of Mississippi junior college alumni. The Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 6-2 on Monday night to claim their first National League East crown since 2011. That was the year that ex-Meridian Community College star Cliff Lee and former Holmes CC standout Roy Oswalt were members of a stellar rotation that appeared on the cover of SI’s preseason issue. Lee went 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA and Oswalt 9-10, 3.69, as the Phillies rolled to a 102-60 finish. Roy Halladay (a 19-game winner), Cole Hamels and Vance Worley rounded out the starting five, and Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins powered the offense. Alas, Philly lost in the NL Division Series to St. Louis (and a rookie right-hander named Lance Lynn). The lone Mississippi connection with the 2024 Phillies is veteran infield coach Bobby Dickerson, the Laurel native who has been on the staff for the last three seasons. P.S. Drake Baldwin, who played for the Mississippi Braves in 2024, and Jacob Misiorowksi, who pitched for Biloxi this season, were named minor league players of the year in their respective organizations by Baseball America. Atlanta prospect Baldwin, a catcher, hit .244 with four homers in 52 games for the Double-A M-Braves before finishing the season at Triple-A, where he belted 12 more bombs. Milwaukee prospect Misiorowski was 3-4 with a 3.50 ERA for the Double-A Shuckers; he struck out 127 batters in 97 1/3 innings, including time in Triple-A.

23 Sep

on center stage

The spotlight is a little brighter in the postseason, and Jacob Gonzalez is showing out in the Southern League playoffs. The ex-Ole Miss standout went 3-for-5 Sunday, including a three-run double that broke the game open in the seventh inning, as Birmingham beat Montgomery 7-2 in the opener of the SL Championship Series. Gonzalez, a lefty-swinging shortstop, is batting .538 with a homer, five RBIs and two steals in four postseason games for the Chicago White Sox’s Double-A club. The 15th overall pick ($3.9 million signing bonus) in the 2023 draft, Gonzalez was promoted from High-Class A Winston-Salem in late May and started hot for Birmingham before cooling down to a .225 average. On the year, he batted .238 with eight homers, 57 RBIs and 17 steals. He’s considered a good glove, but speculation is he’ll eventually move off shortstop. The California native had a stellar career at Ole Miss, helping the Rebels win the 2022 College World Series. Game 2 of the best-of-3 title series is Tuesday in Birmingham. … In the Double-A Eastern League Championship Series, Erie beat Somerset 9-5 in Game 1. Former Mississippi State product Colby White is a bullpen piece for Somerset (New York Yankees affiliate) and ex-William Carey star Patrick Lee a reserve infielder for Erie (Detroit). Neither played in the opener. … The Triple-A postseason begins on Tuesday. Ole Miss alum Doug Nikhazy pitches for Columbus (Cleveland) and MSU product Eric Cerantola for Omaha (Kansas City), who meet in the International League title series. Former State standout Konnor Pilkington pitches for Reno (Arizona), which takes on Sugar Land for the Pacific Coast League crown. P.S. In MLB, All-Star infielder Jordan Westburg returned to Baltimore’s lineup on Sunday, the ex-MSU star going 1-for-4 with an RBI in a loss to surging Detroit. … Emblematic of Kansas City’s struggles, MSU product Hunter Renfroe went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts as the Royals lost for the seventh straight time, 2-0 to San Francisco. The Royals managed three hits and fanned 13 times as they fell into a tie for the second American League wild card with Detroit. Renfroe, who has 13 homers, is in a 1-for-21 slump in his last seven games. … Southern Miss alum Matt Wallner had a hit in each game but couldn’t prevent Minnesota from being swept in a twinbill by Boston (8-1 and 9-3) and tumbling out of a wild card berth in the AL. … On Sept. 23, 2009, former Shannon High and Jackson State standout Dave Clark notched his first win as interim manager for Houston, which beat St. Louis 3-0. A longtime big league slugger and current first-base coach for the Astros, Clark went 4-9 in his lone managerial stint.

21 Sep

odds and ends

Garrett Crochet’s 2024 numbers, most of them, are pretty good. The Ocean Springs native, starting for the first time since his college days four years ago, has a 3.68 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, a .220 batting average against and 203 strikeouts with just 32 walks in 142 innings. The tall left-hander, an All-Star back in July, struck out eight with no walks in a four-inning scoreless outing on Friday. His team, the mournful Chicago White Sox, lost again to fall to 36-118. Crochet’s record is 6-12. How’d he ever win six? … Ex-Southern Miss standout Matt Wallner went 2-for-6 with an RBI knock in the 12th inning as Minnesota beat Boston 4-2 at Fenway Park to climb to within a game of slumping Kansas City for second place in the American League wild card race. Detroit, which lost Friday to wild card leader Baltimore, is a game back of the Twins, and Seattle is a game back of the Tigers. Three wild card teams make the postseason. … Madison Central High alum Spencer Turnbull is slated for a rehab appearance at Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday; the right-hander, on the injured list since late June, is 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA in 17 games for Philadelphia, which clinched a postseason berth on Friday. When he might return to the active roster remains unclear. … J.T. Ginn, the former Mississippi State pitcher from Brandon, worked five innings, allowing one run, for Oakland against the New York Yankees Friday but got a no-decision in a game the A’s would lose 4-2 in 10 innings. Rookie Ginn is 0-1 with a 4.40 ERA in seven games. … Ex-USM star Matthew Etzel went 1-for-3 and scored a run as Montgomery beat Biloxi to claim the Southern League South Division title. Former Magnolia Heights standout Cooper Pratt homered for the Shuckers. Birmingham won the North Division title over Tennessee with Ole Miss product Jacob Gonzalez going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run. The SL Championship Series starts Sunday at Montgomery. … USM alum and erstwhile big leaguer Kirk McCarty is 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 11 starts for CTBC Brothers, which has the best overall record in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

20 Sep

southern exposure

Behind a gem of an outing from former Mississippi State pitcher K.C. Hunt, Biloxi squared its Southern League Division Series at a game apiece with a 5-1 win against Montgomery on Thursday night. Hunt threw 7 2/3 innings, allowing just the one run on three hits and no walks with five strikeouts. A member of State’s 2021 national title team, Hunt was 8-3 with a 2.03 ERA over three levels in Milwaukee’s minor league system in 2024. Joining the Shuckers on Thursday was Cooper Pratt, the ex-Magnolia Heights star who celebrated his first game in Double-A by going 1-for-4 with an RBI. Shortstop Pratt, the Brewers’ No. 2 prospect, hit .277 with eight homers, 45 RBIs and 27 steals over two Class A levels this season. Southern Miss product Matthew Etzel drove in the only run for Montgomery, a Tampa Bay affiliate. The decisive Game 3 of the series is tonight at Montgomery’s Riverwalk Stadium. … In the other Southern League series, former Ole Miss standout Jacob Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a homer and scored twice as Birmingham (Chicago White Sox) beat Tennessee (Cubs) 12-5 to even that series at 1-1. Gonzalez, a 2023 first-round pick, hit .238 with eight homers, 57 RBIs and 17 bags over two levels this year. P.S. MSU alum Jordan Westburg went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI for Triple-A Norfolk as he began a rehab assignment in the Baltimore system. A 2024 All-Star, Westburg (.269, 18 homers, 58 RBIs) has been on the injured list (hand) since Aug. 1. The Orioles are battling the New York Yankees for the American League East title. … Ex-USM star Nick Sandlin got the final two outs (via strikeout) in the fifth inning, halting a Minnesota rally, and Cleveland went on to beat the Twins 3-2 in 10 innings and clinch a playoff berth in the AL. Sandlin has a 3.93 ERA in 66 games. … Ole Miss alum Nick Fortes had a good view of a history-making event on Thursday. He was catching for Miami as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani went 6-for-6 with three homers, two steals and 10 RBIs, becoming the first player to record a 50-homer/50-steal season. BTW, Fortes hit his fourth homer of the year in the ninth inning of the Marlins’ 20-4 loss.

19 Sep

fitting finale

Lance Lynn’s season ended Wednesday when St. Louis put the veteran right-hander on the injured list with right knee inflammation. We’re now left to wonder if Ole Miss alum Lynn’s career might have ended, too. If so, he went out in fitting fashion, like the horse he has always been, throwing six innings and allowing a lone run in a 3-1 victory Tuesday against Pittsburgh at Busch Stadium. The burly, gray-bearded Lynn, 7-4, 3.84 ERA in 23 starts on the year, went 6-0 at Busch Stadium, where a large group of family members watched him work on Tuesday. Tuesday’s game was his 100th career appearance at Busch, per an mlb.com story, and he is 46-20 there all-time. The 37-year-old Lynn’s 13-year MLB career began with St. Louis in 2011, when he helped the Cardinals win the World Series. All told, he went 143-99 with a 3.74 ERA and 2,015 strikeouts, pitching for six different clubs. Drafted in the first round out of Ole Miss by St. Louis in 2008, Lynn’s 143 wins are tied for fourth-most (with Cliff Lee) among Mississippi natives or school alums who have pitched in the big leagues. Lynn signed a one-year, $11 million free agent contract with the Cardinals this past off-season, and the club holds an option to bring him back in 2025. Cards manager Oliver Marmol told mlb.com he couldn’t have asked for more than Lynn provided in 2024: “I think we picked the right guy to come in and help mold the culture in ways that matter.” So, will we see Lynn on the bump in the majors again? “If you ask me if I want to pitch, I never want to stop pitching,” he said after Tuesday’s game. “But I know there’s going to be a time when that’s going to happen.” P.S. Lucedale’s Justin Steele came off the injured list Wednesday and threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the Chicago Cubs, who lost to Oakland 5-3 at Wrigley Field. Steele is 5-5, 3.03, in an injury-dampened season. … Props to Milwaukee and all the former Biloxi Shuckers who contributed as the Brewers clinched the National League Central crown on Wednesday. … Love these comments from Grae Kessinger, the former Ole Miss star now playing a reserve role with the playoff-bound Houston Astros: “It’s always good to contribute and help the team win. Every day, just come to win. What a fun group this is. Winning is all that matters.” On Tuesday, Kessinger, subbing for the ejected “Shoeless Jose” Altuve, scored the go-ahead run as the ghost runner in the top of the 10th inning and then made a sweet play behind second base to end the game, a 4-3 victory over San Diego. Kessinger has played in just 17 games and gotten just 15 at-bats.

17 Sep

on this date

On Sept. 17, 1984, Reggie Jackson hit the 500th home run of his Hall of Fame career. But forget that. In the same game, for the same team, Jackson native and former Forest Hill High star Stewart Cliburn made his major league debut. Cliburn pitched the last two innings of California’s 10-1 loss to Kansas City at Anaheim Stadium. The right-hander worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning, striking out the first batter he faced (Greenville native Frank White), then coughed up three runs in the ninth. Cliburn, 27 at the time, pitched in two more seasons for the Angels, posting a 3.11 ERA in 85 appearances overall. In 1985, he was a key reliever for the club, notching nine wins and six saves for a 90-72 team that finished 1 game out of first in the American League West. Cliburn was drafted out of Delta State by Pittsburgh in 1977 and labored in the minors for seven seasons before California gave him a call-up in ’84. Since his playing days ended, Cliburn has worked as a pitching coach at various levels and is currently with the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association. His twin brother Stan, who also reached the big leagues as a catcher, is the manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the indy Atlantic League; he got his 2,000th managerial win this season.

14 Sep

welcome back … ?

The Pittsburgh Pirates and fans at PNC Park gave Adam Frazier a warm “welcome back” on Friday night. The Pirates played a video tribute to their former star on the stadium scoreboard and the crowd gave him a standing ovation before his first at-bat. “Appreciate them doing that,” the Mississippi State product said in a postgame interview. “Then you gotta lock back in, that’s all I was trying to do right there … .” He did, helping visiting Kansas City — fighting for a playoff berth — roll to an 8-3 victory. Frazier scored twice and hit his fourth home run as the Royals improved to 81-67, second in the American League wild card standings. Frazier was drafted by the Pirates in 2013 and spent his first six MLB seasons in a Pittsburgh uniform. He was traded in mid-2021, which was the last time he played at PNC. He has bounced to four other teams the past four years. A .264 career hitter, Frazier’s first year in KC hasn’t been great — .205, four homers, 20 RBIs, 32 runs over 244 at-bats — but he plays hard and plays anywhere in the field he is needed. He also has postseason experience — with Baltimore in 2023 and Seattle in 2022. P.S. Saucier native Brandon Parker, back near his old stomping grounds at Biloxi’s Keesler Federal Park, homered for the second straight night as the Mississippi Braves beat the Shuckers 7-0 in a Double-A Southern League game. Parker has eight homers on the season. At Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Perkinston, Parker belted 38 homers in two seasons, setting the school record with 24 as a freshman in 2018. … Ole Miss alum T.J. McCants doubled home the winning run in the 11th inning as Low-Class A Kannapolis beat Charleston 2-1 to advance to the Carolina League Championship Series. McCants, who finished his college career at Alabama in 2024, hit .230 with two homers and four steals this season for the Chicago White Sox affiliate.

13 Sep

short hops

A year after helping his rookie-level club win a league title, Cooper Pratt is chasing another championship in the High-Class A Midwest League. The 2023 Mississippi prep player of the year at Magnolia Heights knocked in the tying run and scored the game-winner Thursday as Wisconsin beat Quad Cities 7-6 to advance to the MWL Championship Series. Pratt, a .277 hitter at two levels in 2024, had three hits and scored three times for the Timber Rattlers, a Milwaukee affiliate. Pratt is the Brewers’ No. 2 prospect. … Former Mississippi State right-hander K.C. Hunt threw six shutout innings to notch his first Double-A win as Biloxi beat visiting Mississippi 8-1 in Game 2 of a doubleheader. Hunt, the Brewers’ No. 29 prospect, is 1-2, 2.20 ERA, for the Shuckers and 8-3, 2.03, overall this year. … Former Shuckers star Jackson Chourio hit his 20th home run for Milwaukee, becoming the youngest player, at age 20, to post a 20-homer/20-steal season in major league history. … Ex-Ole Miss standout Kemp Alderman belted his first Double-A homer for Pensacola (Miami affiliate) and now has eight bombs over four levels in his second pro season. … UM alum Tim Elko hit his eighth homer for Triple-A Charlotte (Chicago White Sox) and now has 50 in his three-season minor league career. … Former MSU star Brent Rooker hit his 36th homer for Oakland and extended his on-base streak to 22 games, best current streak in MLB. … UM product Grae Kessinger was recalled from the minors by Houston but did not play in Thursday’s win against the A’s. Kessinger, batting .262 in Triple-A, is 0-for-15 in his limited duty with the Astros this season. … Ole Miss and Southern Miss will meet at Trustmark Park on March 18 next season, and Mississippi State and Ole Miss will play the annual Governor’s Cup game on April 22 at the Pearl ballpark. MSU is slated to play Southern Miss in a home-and-home series in 2025 but no game in Pearl. MSU will play two non-conference games in Biloxi (March 11-12).

12 Sep

central characters

With just a couple weeks left in the major league season, four of the five teams in the American League Central are very much in the playoff hunt. And, yes, there are Mississippi products in impactful roles on all of these clubs. To wit: Former Southern Miss star Matt Wallner homered for Minnesota in a win against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. It was his 13th of the season, 12th in 51 games since he was recalled from the minors on July 7. Wallner hit a majestic 444-foot blast in the Twins’ win on Tuesday. The Twins, third in the division, are third in the wild card standings, 1.5 games back of Kansas City. The Royals, who swept the Twins last weekend, lost in extra innings to the New York Yankees on Wednesday, falling 4.5 games behind AL Central leader Cleveland. Ex-Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe, who didn’t play Wednesday, is hitting .240 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs for the Royals. MSU product Adam Frazier (.204) plays a utility role for the team, and James McArthur (Ole Miss) and Chris Stratton (MSU) work out of the bullpen, though both have struggled of late. Cleveland won its third straight on Wednesday, beating the lowly Chicago White Sox. USM alum Nick Sandlin pitched 1 1/3 innings for the Guardians and cherry-picked the victory, his eighth, all in relief. He has nine holds, a save and a 3.78 ERA. Cool moment: In the sixth inning Wednesday, Sandlin faced ChiSox catcher Chuckie Robinson, his batterymate in Hattiesburg back in 2016. Sandlin struck out Robinson on a 3-2 pitch. Lurking in fourth place in the wild card standings is Detroit, just 3 games back of Minnesota. Ex-Biloxi High standout Colt Keith, the Tigers’ rookie second baseman, is batting .262 with 12 homers and 55 RBIs. He was 1-for-3 in a win over Colorado on Wednesday. The battle for postseason spots between the AL Central clubs intensifies next week: The Guardians and Twins meet in a four-game series, while the Tigers and Royals play a three-game set. P.S. Brent Rooker, the former SEC player of the year from MSU, knocked in two runs for Oakland on Wednesday, giving him 101 RBIs on the season. That’s tied for fifth in MLB, third in the AL.