Tag Archives: Brewers

10 Jul

third time’s a …?

Finally, after call-up No. 3, Brent Rooker got in a game for San Diego. Former Mississippi State star Rooker made his Padres debut Saturday night but ran into a nasty Carlos Rodon of San Francisco and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in a 3-1 loss. Rooker, acquired by the Padres from Minnesota just before the season started, has spent most of 2022 at Triple-A El Paso, batting .279 with 14 homers and 43 RBIs. The 27-year-old outfielder was recalled by the Padres on June 3 and again on June 11 but didn’t get an at-bat either time before going back down. The Padres brought him up again on Friday. The 35th overall draft pick in 2017 by the Twins, after winning the SEC Triple Crown at State, Rooker has always hit well in the minors: .265, 88 homers in 370 games. But in 66 MLB games, he’s at .209 with 10 homers. P.S. Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson returned to the St. Louis lineup for the first time in over a month (calf injury) but went 0-for-3 with a walk in the Cardinals’ 1-0 loss to Philadelphia. Dickerson, a free agent acquisition in the off-season, is batting .188. The Cardinals wasted a great start by ex-State standout Dakota Hudson, who threw six innings allowing just two hits. … MSU product Brandon Woodruff also threw six shutout innings for Milwaukee, ran into some trouble in the seventh, left the game and watched Brad Boxberger give up a game-deciding two-run homer to Pittsburgh’s Ben Gamel. Woodruff was charged with three runs in the 4-3 defeat. … Ex-DeSoto Central High standout Austin Riley, bidding to be picked as an All-Star reserve, went 2-for-3 with his 22nd home run in Atlanta’s 4-3 win over Washington. Riley is batting .278 with 53 RBIs. The reserves and pitchers for the July 19 All-Star Game will be announced tonight on MLB Network.

05 Jul

coming up empty

Practically perfect for four innings and pretty darn good deep into the seventh, Justin Steele had the Chicago Cubs in position to win on Monday. Alas, they did not. Trying to hold a 1-0 lead, the Lucedale native gave up a run with two outs in the seventh and left the game. He had allowed just two hits, four walks and fanned nine. The Cubs would go on to lose to National League Central leader Milwaukee 5-2 in 10 innings. Steele got a no-decision, his eighth in 16 starts. It’s been that kind of year for Steele and the fourth-place Cubs (32-48). After a rough start to his second big league campaign — he was 1-5 with a 5.32 ERA through May — the 26-year-old left-hander has been sharp over his last seven starts, posting a 3.03 ERA. But he has just two wins in that stretch and is 3-5, 4.13, on the season. Drafted in Round 5 in 2014 out of George County High, injuries stalled Steele’s progress in the minors. The Cubs, world champs in 2016, were falling into rebuild mode by the time Steele arrived in April of 2021. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Steele utilizes a four-pitch mix and typically avoids hard contact, having yielded just five homers in 76 1/3 innings in 2022. His work since early June — after getting some tips from ex-Cubs star Jon Lester — would seem to have solidified his role in the Cubs’ future plans. P.S. Crystal Springs native Hunter Renfroe reportedly has resumed baseball activities and is close to returning to Milwaukee’s active roster. The ex-Mississippi State star has been on the injured list (calf) since June 23.

04 Jul

numbers to crunch

4 — Straight wins by the Mississippi Braves, who’ll take that streak into tonight’s Southern League game against Pensacola at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The M-Braves (4-2 second half, 33-42 overall) have struggled with the bats of late but scored 36 times during the win streak, including an 18-run outburst on Saturday.
10 — Hits in his last seven games, including two on Sunday, for Austin Riley, the DeSoto Central High product who is batting .385 over that stretch with two homers, six RBIs and five runs for the surging Atlanta Braves. Riley is fourth in the National League with 20 homers.
1 — Career starts vs. Atlanta by Dakota Hudson, the Mississippi State alum who goes for St. Louis against the Braves today at Truist Park. That one start was on May 25, 2019. Hudson is 6-4 with a 3.83 ERA. He’ll be opposed by ex-M-Braves star Kyle Wright (9-4), tied for second in the NL in wins.
2 — Wins in his last three starts for Justin Steele, the George County High product who’ll pitch for the Chicago Cubs against Milwaukee today at American Family Field. Steele is 3-5, 4.39, for the lowly Cubs.
1,600 — Career managerial wins for Buck Showalter, the former State standout who reached that milestone on Sunday when his New York Mets beat Texas 4-1. Showalter, who has managed five different MLB clubs, is No. 22 on the all-time wins list, having just passed Tommy LaSorda.
22 — Number of Mississippians to appear in an MLB game in 2022 after ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton got in as a pinch runner for Miami on Sunday. He scored his 440th career run in his 912th big league game.
18 — Strikeouts in 11 innings over two games (both wins) for Brandon Woodruff since the former State standout came off the injured list for Milwaukee. Woodruff beat Pittsburgh with six shutout innings (eight K’s) on Sunday and is 7-3 on the season.
9.00 — ERA in three games for Kirk McCarty, the ex-Southern Miss star who was designated for assignment Sunday by Cleveland. The rookie left-hander lost to the New York Yankees on Saturday (four runs in five innings), the second time he has faced them in his brief MLB tenure.
3 — Hits in five at-bats for Ole Miss’ Jacob Gonzalez, who also drove in two runs as he helped the Stars beat the Stripes 7-3 on Sunday in Game 4 of Collegiate National Team’s intrasquad series. The teams play again today at Charlotte, N.C.

02 Jul

all in a day

On any given day, 90-some-odd games are played in affiliated pro ball at the different levels, from the big leagues to the rookies. There are Mississippians scattered throughout this landscape, at different stages of their careers, with different objectives in mind. Here’s a snapshot from Friday, starting in Mesa, Ariz., in the Arizona Complex League, where one of Kansas City’s rookie teams met Oakland’s. The Royals’ shortstop and No. 2 hitter is Brennon McNair, 19, a product of Magee High School and the lone prep player drafted out of Mississippi in 2021. McNair had a day Friday, going 4-for-4, with a double, three runs and a stolen base. For the year, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound McNair is batting .314 with a homer, eight RBIs, four doubles, four triples, two steals and 15 runs in 15 games. Just getting started on the road that leads to The Show, McNair is one to track. In addition to batting .527 with 11 homers as a senior at Magee, he was valedictorian and class president. … In Myrtle Beach, S.C., former Clinton High standout Christian Johnson made his Low-Class A debut for Charleston in the Tampa Bay system. Playing left field, he went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Drafted in 2019, Johnson’s career got off to a sluggish start. He hit .168 in parts of three seasons at the rookie level. But the former 19th-round pick, 21 years old, is getting an opportunity at a higher level, and he made good Friday. … In Vancouver, B.C., Ole Miss alum Will Ethridge registered an encouraging start for Spokane, Colorado’s High-A team, allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and notching his first win since April 29. The 24-year-old right-hander, a fifth-round pick in 2019, is 3-4 with a 5.51 ERA in 12 starts this season, 10-12, 4.82 for his pro career. … At Reading, Pa., in the Double-A Eastern League, former Jackson Prep star Will Warren worked five innings (four hits, one run) for Somerset, the New York Yankees’ affiliate, but got a no-decision in a game the Patriots lost. Warren, 23, drafted just last year out of Southeastern Louisiana, is 3-2 with a 2.90 ERA in six Double-A starts. He already is rated the Yankees’ No. 27 prospect by MLB Pipeline. … In Nashville, Mississippi State product Ethan Small, who got a brief look with the Milwaukee Brewers this season, keeps putting up good numbers for the Triple-A Sounds. The lefty, a former first-round pick, improved to 5-3, 3.30, with a six-inning outing (six hits, three runs) on Friday against Indianapolis. Small, 25, lasted just 2 2/3 innings in his MLB debut back on May 30. He is bound to get another call-up soon. … In San Francisco, at Oracle Park, ex-Ole Miss star and big league veteran Lance Lynn delivered his best start of the season for the Chicago White Sox: six shutout innings, allowing only five baserunners. (The White Sox won the game 1-0 with a run in the ninth; MSU alum Kendall Graveman got the save, his fourth.) Lynn, 35, who missed two months of the season after knee surgery, is 1-1 with a 4.50 in four starts since his return. The scuffling ChiSox, third in the American League Central, need more vintage Lynn. P.S. Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton was called up from Triple-A by Miami on Friday but didn’t get in the Marlins’ game. The well-traveled, 10-year big league vet had played one game for Jacksonville after signing on June 21; he hit .186 this season for Triple-A Tacoma in Seattle’s system before declaring free agency. … Petal’s Demarcus Evans, taken off Texas’ 40-man roster, was outrighted to Triple-A Round Rock’s roster. Evans last pitched in the majors in 2021; he has a 7.50 ERA in 12 games at Round Rock this year.

29 Jun

three dog night

Collectively, they worked 14 1/3 innings, yielding eight runs on 16 hits and four walks with 17 strikeouts. A 5.03 ERA might not bring joy to the world, but two wins with one loss is a good feeling. Three former Mississippi State Bulldogs started in big league games on Tuesday night. Konnor Pilkington came back from Triple-A to make a spot start for Cleveland in Game 2 of a twinbill against Minnesota, and it didn’t go so well for the rookie left-hander. Dakota Hudson came back from a rough start last Thursday to post a better one, earning a win thanks to a St. Louis rally against Miami. Brandon Woodruff came back from the injured list for his first start since May 27, and the veteran right-hander was very good in Milwaukee’s win at Tampa Bay. “There’s a reason why hitters talk about his fastball. We saw it tonight,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell told mlb.com. Woodruff threw 76 pitches over five innings, allowing two hits and one run with no walks and 10 punchouts. He reportedly hit 99 on the radar gun several times. Woodruff is now 6-3 with a 4.44 ERA for Milwaukee, which won 5-3 to maintain a 1/2-game lead over St. Louis in the National League Central. The Cardinals beat the Marlins 5-3, scoring four times in the bottom of the fifth. Hudson (6-4, 3.83) worked five, allowing six hits and all three Miami runs. (Ex-Ole Miss standout Nick Fortes knocked in one of those runs.) Pilkington (1-1, 4.31, in nine appearances) gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings in Cleveland’s 6-0 loss to the Twins. The teams split the doubleheader, leaving the Guardians 3 games back of the first-place Twins in the American League Central.

28 Jun

starting fresh

The Mississippi Braves, no doubt happy to put the first half behind them, and Biloxi Shuckers face off tonight at MGM Park to begin the second half of the Southern League season. The M-Braves lost 17 of their last 23 games to finish 29-40, last in the four-team SL South. With Michael Harris II gone to Atlanta at the end of May, the Double-A M-Braves have struggled to produce runs, scoring just 62 in June so far. No other team in the league has scored fewer than 103 this month. The Shuckers, on the other hand, have been an offensive juggernaut in June, scoring 156 runs. They won seven of their last 10 to finish the first half at 34-33, second place in the division. Aiming to quell the Shuckers’ attack and start the second half on a high note, the M-Braves will start Atlanta No. 9 prospect Jared Shuster (4-7, 3.53 ERA) in Game 1 of the six-game series. Biloxi’s hottest hitter has been Cam Devanney (.291), who’ll take a 19-game hitting streak into tonight’s game. Ole Miss alum Thomas Dillard is batting .227 with five homers for the Shuckers. Andrew Moritz was named the M-Braves’ player of the week for last week after batting .416 with five RBIs in six games. He’s at .268 for the year. The M-Braves count on the power of Drew Lugbauer (15 homers) and C.J. Alexander (12) for much of their offense. … The Shuckers will honor Pearl River Community College’s national championship team in pregame ceremonies tonight. P.S. Ex-Southern Miss star Matt Wallner and DeSoto Central High product Blaze Jordan were named to MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Week for June 20-26. Wallner, playing for Minnesota’s Double-A Wichita club, went 9-for-21 with three homers, six RBIs, seven runs and six walks; he has 16 bombs on the season. Jordan went 12-for-24 with two homers, five RBIs and five runs for Boston’s Low-Class A Salem team; he is hitting .311 with eight homers for the season. Other notable performances last week, per MLB Pipeline: Hattiesburg’s Joe Gray, Jr., had a two-homer game for High-A Wisconsin in Milwaukee’s system, boosting his total to nine. He’s batting .177, so a promotion to Biloxi isn’t likely anytime soon. … Mississippi State product Jordan Westburg had a five-hit game for Triple-A Norfolk in Baltimore’s system. He is batting .366 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 16 games for the Tides. … Former Itawamba Community College standout Tyreque Reed, having a rough year (.202) at Double-A Portland (Boston), broke up a no-hitter in the seventh inning against Richmond last Friday.

27 Jun

one more for the ‘sip

The dust has settled in Omaha. The shouting has (mostly) subsided. And there it is: Ole Miss is the national champion of 2022. Let that soak in. A month ago, this seemed improbable if not impossible. But the Rebels got a ticket to the dance, and magic happened. Ten wins in 11 NCAA Tournament games, a sweep of Oklahoma in the College World Series final. On Sunday, there was more great pitching. A big home run. A crazy eighth-inning rally. Three punchouts in the ninth. A nationally relevant program for years, Ole Miss now has validation with its first national title. There is vindication for coach Mike Bianco, who has been on a hot seat for virtually his entire 22 years in Oxford. There was a time when New York City was called the Capital of Baseball, in the heyday of the Yankees, Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers. Today, Mississippi could fairly be called the Capital of College Baseball. Pearl River Community College also won a natty this year. Mississippi State won its first national title in 2021. The Magnolia State can now claim six national baseball championships, with William Carey, Delta State and Jones College also on the list. The Rebels’ impressive feat caps another great year for state baseball. Southern Miss hosted and won a regional. DSU made the Division II regionals. Carey won the SSAC Tournament and went to the NAIA postseason. Millsaps made it to the SAA championship series in D-III. Rust College, under first-year coach John Bates, got an invitation to the NAIA division of the Black College World Series. Individual honors were abundant — and more may be coming. Ole Miss’ Dylan DeLucia was rightly named the MVP of the CWS. Teammate Jacob Gonzalez was first-team All-SEC. MSU’s R.J. Yeager was also a first-teamer. USM’s Tanner Hall has made two first-team All-America lists. He was also the C-USA pitcher of the year. Scott Berry was C-USA coach of the year, pitching guru Christian Ostrander assistant coach of the year and Hurston Waldrep and Landon Harper were first-team All–C-USA selections. DSU’s Rodney Batts was the Gulf South coach of the year, and Jake Barlow and Carson Clowers were named first-team All-GSC. Carey’s A.J. Stinson and R.J. Stinson were All-SSAC picks, as were Blue Mountain’s Alex Frilliman and Dylan Hale. Millsaps’ Jim Page was SAA coach of the year, with Wil Wood and Ryan Erwin earning first-team All-SAA honors. Belhaven’s Brett Sanchez was an All-ASC pick. Pearl River CC’s Tate Parker was a first-team All-America pick in NJCAA Division II. So, when does fall ball start? P.S. In other news: Perhaps foreshadowing the Rebels’ win in Omaha, former Ole Miss catcher Nick Fortes hit his first walk-off home run to give Miami a 3-2 win against the New York Mets. … Ex-State star Hunter Renfroe has been placed on the injured list by Milwaukee, which will activate Bulldogs alum Brandon Woodruff from the IL to start on Tuesday against Tampa Bay. … Former Petal High standout Demarcus Evans, pitching in Triple-A, has been designated for assignment by Texas. The erstwhile big leaguer likely will stay in the organization. … Wes Johnson, a former MSU pitching coach, is leaving the Minnesota Twins’ staff to take a coaching job at LSU.

26 Jun

up-date in arms

Surely there are Oklahoma players and fans wondering this today: How can Ole Miss possibly top the brilliant pitching performance of Jack Dougherty, Mason Nichols and Josh Mallitz on Saturday, which followed the brilliant pitching performance of Dylan DeLucia on Thursday? How deep is that well? Heads up Sooners, ’cause here comes Hunter Elliott, who’ll start Game 2 of the College World Series with the national title in the Rebels’ grasp. Elliott, the freshman left-hander from Tupelo, has, in his last four starts, beaten LSU, Southern Miss and Arkansas and pitched masterfully in a no-decision against Miami. He is 5-3, 2.70 ERA, on the season. And he’ll have Rebel Nation roaring with every strike he throws in Omaha today. … The Houston Astros’ three-man no-hitter against the New York Yankees on Saturday marked the first time the Yanks had been no-hit since June 11, 2003, when Holmes Community College product Roy Oswalt and former Jackson Generals star Billy Wagner started and finished, respectively, a six-man no-no for the Astros at the old Yankee Stadium. … Former Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn’s return to the Chicago White Sox’s rotation has not exactly sparked a team resurgence (see previous post). Lynn, coming off knee surgery, is 1-1 with a 6.19 ERA in his three starts, and the team is 6-6 since his return. He was roughed up Saturday by Baltimore. In 16 innings, Lynn has yielded 20 hits and three walks. … Mississippi State alum Ethan Small, bidding for another shot in The Show, threw seven strong innings for Nashville on Saturday, leading Milwaukee’s Triple-A club to a 2-1 win against Gwinnett. Small (4-3, 3.18) allowed three hits and one run and punched out 10, getting rehabbing big leaguer Eddie Rosario twice. … Jackson Prep alum Will Warren had the “unicorn slider” (see previous post) working Saturday, hurling 5 1/3 shutout innings in a win for Double-A Somerset in the Yankees’ chain. The right-hander allowed four hits and three walks with seven K’s. There is speculation, per MLB Trade Rumors, that the Yankees might use Warren as trade bait for a big league arm.

25 Jun

around the horn

As the weather has warmed in the Carolina League, so has Blaze Jordan, the ex-DeSoto Central High star. Jordan, playing for Boston’s Low-Class A Salem team, homered for the second straight day on Friday and now has eight homers on the season. But the 19-year-old third baseman, who famously has been winning home run derby contests since age 11, is doing more than slug. After a poor start in April, Jordan hit .323 in May and has really cranked it up in June: .421. Boston’s No. 6 prospect is batting .309 overall with a .361 on-base average, 20 doubles, 40 RBIs and 38 runs in 61 games. He has struck out just 44 times in 243 at-bats with 18 walks. In only his second pro season, Jordan is making big strides. … Look for Brandon Woodruff, the Mississippi State alum from Wheeler, to make a return to Milwaukee’s rotation soon, possibly Tuesday. On the injured list since late May, Woodruff threw a rehab game in A-ball on Thursday and pronounced himself healthy. He pitched five innings and allowed one run on two hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. The two-time All-Star is 5-3 with a 4.74 ERA for the Brewers this season. … Meanwhile, former State standout Hunter Renfroe, who has 13 homers this season, has missed Milwaukee’s last two games with a reported calf injury. It seems unclear how long Renfroe might be down. … Kudos to Jackson native and ex-big leaguer Stan Cliburn, whose Southern Maryland Blue Crabs clinched the Atlantic League North first-half title on Thursday. Cliburn’s club is 42-14. Among his best players are Mississippi products Braxton Lee (.305, 31 RBIs) and Bradley Roney (4-0, 4.21 ERA). … The Acadiana Cane Cutters, with a roster chock-full of Mississippians, lead the Texas Collegiate League with a 14-5 record. Patrick Lee, who plays for William Carey University, is batting .296 and has also pitched in five games for the summer league team. Carey’s Connor Adams is 3-0, 2.74 in eight appearances. Also on the roster are Casey Artigues (Southern Miss), Cade Crosby (Gulfport/Nicholls State), Vantrel Reed (Hinds Community College), Will Tynes (USM), Reed Vincent (Belhaven) and Justin Williams (Madison/Louisiana Tech).

20 Jun

something’s brewing

A three-game home run streak for Hunter Renfroe has coincided with the three-game win streak Milwaukee will take into a big four-game series against National League Central rival St. Louis starting tonight at American Family Field. The teams, both of which feature Mississippi products, are tied atop the division at 38-30. Former Mississippi State star Renfroe, whose 444-foot homer at Cincinnati on Sunday was his first on a Father’s Day since the death of his dad — his “best friend” — last summer, has 13 homers on the season and is batting .250 with 27 RBIs as the prime power source in the Brewers’ lineup. This series will feature some good pitching matchups, including Thursday’s between ex-State standout Dakota Hudson of the Cardinals and Jason Alexander, a 29-year-old Brewers rookie. Hudson, who beat Boston at Fenway on Saturday, is 5-3 with a 3.31 ERA in his first full season after Tommy John surgery. He has never faced Renfroe in the big leagues, and their careers at State did not intersect. Missing from this series, unfortunately, are State product Brandon Woodruff, one of the Brewers’ top starters, and ex-Meridian Community College star Corey Dickerson, a St. Louis outfielder. Both are on the injured list and on rehab assignments. P.S. East Central CC alum Tim Anderson, out roughly three weeks with a groin injury, is expected to return to the Chicago White Sox’s lineup at shortstop today against Toronto. Anderson is batting .356. … Blaze Jordan, the 19-year-old slugger from DeSoto Central High, clubbed two homers as part of a three-hit game Sunday for Boston’s Low-Class A Salem team. Jordan, a second-year pro, is batting .291 with six homers and 37 RBIs in 57 games this season.