Tag Archives: MLB

06 Sep

clutch performers

Having lost two straight and with the Chicago Cubs breathing down their necks in the National League Central, the Milwaukee Brewers needed a rescue on Tuesday night at Pittsburgh. Up stepped Brandon Woodruff. The ex-Mississippi State standout from Wheeler threw seven shutout innings, never allowing a runner past first base, to lead the Brewers to a 7-3 win that kept them 2.5 games ahead of the second-place Cubs. Woodruff, who missed almost four months (April 8-Aug. 6) of the season with a shoulder problem, is now 4-1 with a 2.30 ERA in eight starts. Over his last three, the former All-Star right-hander has allowed three runs in 19 innings with 25 strikeouts and six walks. Tuesday’s 97-pitch outing was his longest of the year. “I think Woody is back,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell told mlb.com. “I think he’s really been back for a while.” … In another meaningful game, former MSU stars Jordan Westburg and Adam Frazier delivered in the clutch in Baltimore’s comeback 5-4 win against the Los Angeles Angels. Frazier smacked a pinch-hit double in the ninth and scored the tying run in that frame as the O’s rallied for two to take a 4-3 lead. After the Angels tied it, Westburg bounced into a 6-3 putout — with the infield in — to push the go-ahead run across from third base in the 10th. The first-place Orioles maintained a 3.5-game lead over Tampa Bay in the American League East. Westburg, a rookie, is batting .268 with 20 RBIs in 52 games. P.S. In the minors, Ole Miss product Kemp Alderman had a double and an RBI for Jupiter as Miami’s Low-Class A club clinched a Florida State League playoff berth with a 5-0 victory over Dunedin. Alderman, a second-round pick in July, is batting .196 with six doubles and 11 RBIs for the Hammerheads.

04 Sep

bucking the trend

Nathaniel Lowe is on the board. The Mississippi State alum, much more slugger than speedster, got his first stolen base of the season on Sunday in Texas’ 6-5 win against Minnesota. He’s only 11 behind the leader among Mississippians. Yes, the all-Mississippi stolen base list for 2023 is a little sad. The state that produced the legendary Cool Papa Bell, the amazing Billy Hamilton and Mr. Zoombiya Jarrod Dyson has produced just 38 combined steals, which would rank fifth among the individual leaders in MLB. Ironically, in a year in which stolen bases are up across the majors thanks to rule changes, Mississippians aren’t burning up the basepaths. Most of the Mississippians in The Show are power threats, not speed demons. Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star who has had a tough offensive year with the Chicago White Sox, has 12 bags. He got his 1,000th career hit on Sunday but no steals. He has had as many as 26 in a season. Second on the current list is ex-Mississippi State standout Adam Frazier, who has swiped nine bases for Baltimore. Orioles rookie Jordan Westburg, another MSU alum, has four steals in just 50 games. No one else has more than three. Hamilton, the Taylorsville High product, is the all-time leader in steals among Mississippians (native or school alums) with 326. He got two bags in just three games with the White Sox this season; he recently signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay but has yet to play. Second on the all-time list is Starkville native Bell, a Hall of Famer who stole 285 bases in the Negro Leagues, according to baseballreference.com. He probably swiped many more than that. Dyson, a McComb native and Southwest Mississippi CC alum, got 266 bags; his final MLB season was 2021. Gulfport’s Gee Walker is fourth on the list with 223, Vicksburg’s Ellis Burks had 181 and Greenville’s Frank White — celebrating his 73rd birthday today — had 178. The active leader — with Hamilton down in the minors — is Anderson at 116.

02 Sep

watch for it

Featuring an upper-90s fastball and three other pitches, Hurston Waldrep has what Baseball America called “tantalizing upside potential” in evaluating the right-hander’s MLB draft prospects. Atlanta took him with the 24th overall pick in July, and tonight the onetime Southern Miss standout is slated to make his Double-A debut for the Mississippi Braves at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Waldrep, rated the Braves’ No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline, has made four previous pro starts, all in A-ball, posting a 1.20 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 15 innings. The Georgia native averaged 13.9 K’s per nine innings in three years of college ball, two at USM and last season with Florida. He went 10-3, 4.16, for the Gators and helped them reach the College World Series finals. When he toes the rubber tonight (6:05) against Rocket City, Waldrep will join a list of Mississippi connections to play for the M-Braves that includes current outfielder Brandon Parker plus Zack Bird, Brent Leach, Van Pope, Jay Powell, Austin Riley, Michael Rosamond and John Thomson. P.S. Colton Ledbetter, a 2023 draftee out of Mississippi State, went 2-for-4 with a run Friday night as Low-Class A Charleston clinched a Carolina League playoff berth by beating Myrtle Beach. Ledbetter is batting .324 in 11 games for the Tampa Bay affiliate. … In MLB, former MSU standout Nathaniel Lowe extended his hitting streak to 13 games Friday for Texas, which lost at home to Minnesota and remained a game back of Seattle and Houston in the American League West. … Hunter Renfroe went 0-for-5 in his Cincinnati debut as the Reds split a doubleheader with the Chicago Cubs. MSU product Renfroe started the opener, playing right field and batting cleanup; he entered Game 2 as a pinch hitter. … Ex-Ole Miss star Grae Kessinger was activated from the injured list by Houston and former Rebels standout James McArthur was recalled from Triple-A by Kansas City as MLB rosters expanded to 28. … Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin went 2-for-3 with a walk as Team USA beat Spain 6-2 in the U-18 World Cup at Taipei, Taiwan. The U.S. team is 2-0 in the tournament’s opening round.

31 Aug

here, there and everywhere

Tanner Allen, the former Mississippi State All-America, is finding his groove at Double-A Pensacola, the third level he has played at this season. The lefty-hitting outfielder, a 2021 draftee by Miami, smacked his first Double-A homer on Wednesday night and is 10-for-23 (.323) in eight games for the Blue Wahoos. Overall this season, Allen is batting .275 with nine homers, 39 RBIs and eight stolen bases. … Former Pascagoula High star Willie Joe Garry Jr., who has reached Double-A in his fifth pro season, is also enjoying success at the game’s herd-cutting level. Garry, a lefty-hitting outfielder, is batting .263 for Wichita in the Minnesota system. He has four doubles, two triples, three homers, 16 RBIs, nine runs and four steals for the Wind Surge. Garry, a 2018 draftee, is still only 23. … Ex-Ole Miss standout Grae Kessinger, at Double-A Corpus Christi on a rehab assignment from Houston, delivered a two-run single in the eighth inning to boost the Hooks to a 2-1 win against Frisco. Kessinger, who made his big league debut earlier this season, is batting .194 in 19 games for the Astros. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton has signed a minor league contract with Tampa Bay. The MLB veteran, recently released by the Chicago White Sox (see previous post), could be a serviceable pinch runner/defensive replacement for the Rays, who are battling for an American League playoff berth. … Darius Vines became the fifth Mississippi Braves alum to debut as a starting pitcher for Atlanta this season, throwing six strong innings to notch the win at Colorado on Wednesday night. Former M-Braves Dylan Dodd, Jared Shuster, AJ Smith-Shawver and Allan Winans also debuted this year and are among the 16 different starters the Braves have used in 2023. … The Braves visit the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight for a compelling clash of National League titans, with Atlanta ace — and M-Braves alum — Spencer Strider (15-4, 3.46 ERA) facing former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn (4-0, 2.03 in five starts for LA). Of note: Lynn has allowed an MLB-worst 34 homers (six since joining the Dodgers), while the homer-happy Braves just set a franchise record for bombs in a season with 250. P.S. The U-18 version of Team USA, including Jackson Prep standout Konnor Griffin, begins play tonight (local time) against The Netherlands in the U-18 World Cup in Taipei, Taiwan. The U.S. is the defending champion. Griffin had an RBI triple and scored a run in an exhibition victory against Chinese Taipei earlier this week.

26 Aug

front-runners

Five of the six first-place MLB teams kept their foot on the gas on Friday, and Mississippi college products were a driving force for three of those winners. Brandon Woodruff, Matt Wallner and Lance Lynn delivered praiseworthy performances for Milwaukee, Minnesota and the Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively. Start in Milwaukee, where ex-Mississippi State standout Woodruff threw six innings and allowed one run while punching out 11 batters in the Brewers’ 7-3 win against San Diego. It was Woodruff’s fourth start since he came off a long stay on the injured list (shoulder), and he has won two of them to run his record to 3-1 with a 2.65 ERA. Friday’s outing was his best yet; he has 19 career double-digit strikeout games. “It’s the best time of the year,” he told mlb.com “(A)nd it’s fun when you’re winning.” The Brewers have won six in a row and lead the National League Central by 4 games. At Minnesota, Southern Miss alum Wallner keyed a four-run first inning with a bases-loaded triple and the Twins went on to pound Texas 12-2. Wallner also had a double, scored three times and made a great catch in left field. He is batting .244 with nine homers and 25 RBIs in just 123 at-bats for Minnesota, which leads the American League Central by 6 games. Texas, the first-place team in the AL West, lost for the eighth straight time and fell into a tie with Seattle. Mississippi State product Nathaniel Lowe went 2-for-4 with an RBI in defeat for the Rangers. At Boston, former Ole Miss star Lynn battled through six innings and got the win as the Dodgers rallied late to beat the Red Sox. Lynn, 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA since moving to LA, gave up a couple of early home runs — a season-long bugaboo — but shut the BoSox down from innings 3-6. The NL West-leading Dodgers scored six times in the sixth and seventh innings to win 7-4. They lead the division by 12 games. … For the record, NL East leader Atlanta won at San Francisco, though DeSoto Central High product Austin Riley had a quiet night, and AL East leader Baltimore topped Colorado with MSU alums Jordan Westburg and Adam Frazier combining for one hit in four ABs.

25 Aug

notable numbers

17 — Quality starts by George County High product Justin Steele of the Chicago Cubs. The All-Star left-hander went six innings Thursday, allowing two earned runs, and propelled the Cubs to a 5-4, 10-inning win against Pittsburgh. Steele is 14-3 with a 2.80 ERA in 24 starts this season. “I want to be the guy that we rely on,” he told mlb.com.
10 — Runs allowed by ex-Mississippi State standout J.P. France, who took the loss for slumping Texas in a 17-1 defeat against Boston. Rookie France (9-5) lasted just 2 1/3 innings in his worst outing. The Rangers’ lead in the American League West is 1 game over Seattle and Houston.
55 — RBIs this season by former MSU star Brent Rooker, who belted his 22nd homer in Oakland’s 8-5 win over the White Sox. Rooker, the SEC Triple Crown winner in 2017, leads the team in homers, RBIs and batting average at .245.
117 — Hits this season by MSU product Jake Mangum, who banged out two more — including a grand slam — in Triple-A Jacksonville’s 8-4 win over Columbus. Mangum, 27, in his first year in Miami’s system, is batting .315 with five homers, 46 RBIs and 12 steals.
1 — Hit by Kellum Clark, the ex-MSU standout from Brandon, who went 1-for-4 with an RBI in his second game for the Low-Class A St. Lucie Mets.
1 — Hit by Brandon Parker, the Saucier native, West Harrison High alum and ex-Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star who made his Double-A debut for the Mississippi Braves at Montgomery. Parker, who also drove in a run and drew a walk, is the first Mississippi high school alum to play for the M-Braves since DeSoto Central’s Austin Riley debuted on May 5, 2018, according to a team release. Parker is the first state native to play for the M-Braves since Jackson’s Zack Bird, a Murrah High alum, pitched in three games in 2015.
32 — Consecutive games reaching base by the M-Braves’ Jesse Franklin V, who homered (No. 14) and walked three times in the team’s loss to Montgomery.

13 Aug

three-pronged success

One by one, three Magnolia State products took the mound on Saturday and delivered the kind of performance playoff-chasing teams need this time of year in the big leagues. “Bring in the sheets,” as Oppenheimer might say. Former George County High star Justin Steele and Mississippi State alums Brandon Woodruff and J.P. France steered their teams to meaningful wins. Steele, a 2023 All-Star and a Cy Young contender in the National League, toughed out five innings for the Chicago Cubs at Toronto, yielding six hits and three runs. The left-hander left with a lead, which the bullpen squandered, but watched the Cubs rally to win 5-4. He is 13-3 with a 2.79 ERA, tied for the NL lead in wins and second in ERA. “(T)he year he’s had has been insane,” teammate Julian Merryweather told mlb.com. The Cubs, on a 19-6 roll, stayed within 2.5 games of NL Central leader Milwaukee, which beat the White Sox 3-2 behind Woodruff. The big right-hander from Wheeler worked 6 1/3 innings in his second start after four months on the injured list. He allowed four hits, a walk and two runs. In four outings this year, the two-time All-Star is 2-1 with a 1.99. “He’s in a really good place after two starts (off the IL),” manager Craig Counsell said in an mlb.com piece. In Houston, France continued his remarkable season, which might garner some rookie of the year consideration. He went seven innings in an 11-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. He has won five straight — one in relief — and stands 9-3 with a 2.74 ERA in 17 games. He leads American League rookies in wins and would be second in the league in ERA if he had enough innings to qualify. “(J)ust trying to pitch my game,” the bespectacled righty told mlb.com. The Astros’ win kept them 2.5 games back of AL West leader Texas, which never seems to lose. (Ex-State star Chris Stratton pitched three scoreless innings in the Rangers’ 9-3 win vs. San Francisco on Saturday, his fifth scoreless appearance since being acquired at the trade deadline.) P.S. Tanner Allen, the 2021 SEC player of the year and Ferriss Trophy winner at MSU, was promoted to Double-A Pensacola in the Miami organization. He did not play Saturday. … Northwest Mississippi Community College product Dalton Fowler made his pro debut in the Florida Complex League, throwing an inning (two runs) for Tampa Bay’s rookie team. Fowler, a Southaven native, was a ninth-round pick by the Rays out of Memphis, where he was the American Athletic Conference’s pitcher of the year in 2023. … Fowler’s Memphis teammate Dalton Kendrick, an Hernando High alum and the AAC’s saves leader last season, was drafted in the 18th round by the Angels but has yet to appear in a game.

07 Aug

stepping up

There were a slew of big games on the major league slate on Sunday, and a slew of Mississippians came up big in some of the biggest. The most dramatic moment was produced by Matt Wallner, the Southern Miss career home run leader whose first big league walk-off homer in the ninth inning gave Minnesota a 5-3 win against Arizona. The two-run shot — off the Diamondbacks’ recently acquired closer Paul Sewald — was Wallner’s seventh homer of the year for the Twins and 70th off his pro career. He also made a great catch in left field. The Minnesota native has spent much of this season in Triple-A but appears to have secured a roster spot with the first-place Twins. “He’s a big boy and hits the ball so hard,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told mlb.com. “It’s a controlled, violent swing.” The 6-foot-4, 220-pound lefty hitter is batting .268 (.304 in his last seven games) with 16 RBIs and 16 runs in 30 games. Sunday’s win was the Twins’ fourth straight and gave them a 4.5-game lead over Cleveland in the American League Central. At Arlington, Texas, hot-hitting Mississippi State alum Nathaniel Lowe slugged his 13th home run — a two-run shot off Sandy Alcantara in the third inning — to help Texas whip Miami 6-0, the first-place Rangers’ sixth straight win. Lowe is batting .351 with four homers and 17 RBIs since the All-Star break for a club that is 14-7 over that span. Ex-MSU star Chris Stratton, a trade deadline pickup from St. Louis, threw 1 1/3 innings Sunday, his third straight scoreless appearance for the Rangers. They maintained a 2.5-game lead in the AL West over Houston, which beat New York at Yankee Stadium 9-7. MSU alum J.P. France got the win for the Astros, working 3 1/3 innings (no earned runs) in his first relief appearance of the season. The rookie right-hander, who has made 15 starts, is 8-3 with a 2.75 ERA. In the National League, the surging Chicago Cubs beat Atlanta 6-4 at windy Wrigley Field as ex-George County High star Justin Steele picked up his 13th win, which leads the big leagues. Steele, not real sharp, allowed three earned runs with seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings against the powerful Braves, runaway leaders in the NL East. The Cubs moved to within 1.5 games of NL Central leader Milwaukee, which lost 4-1 to Pittsburgh in ex-State standout Brandon Woodruff’s return from the injured list (see previous post). In the Sunday nightcap on ESPN, former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn allowed one run (a homer) in six innings to pace the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers past San Diego 8-2. Lynn, 36, is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts since the Dodgers got him at the trade deadline. He was 6-9, 6.47, in 21 starts for the White Sox.

06 Aug

the only one

Al Jones, a tall right-hander from Charleston, made his big league debut for the Chicago White Sox on this date in 1983, becoming the first and to date only Alcorn State alumnus to make The Show. On in relief against Baltimore at old Memorial Stadium, he gave up two hits, got Cal Ripken Jr. to hit into a double play, then was pulled after walking the next batter. He wound up being charged with a run but got a hold in a game the White Sox won 6-4. Jones pitched only 26 more games in MLB, finishing his career in 1985 with a 3.77 ERA and five saves. He stayed in the game, pitching until 1999 in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, where he had a 3.69 over six years. Alcorn’s program, which has fallen on hard times in recent years, has produced some good players, foremost among them Bill Foster, a Negro Leagues legend from the 1920s and ’30s who is enshrined in Cooperstown. The Braves have had 13 players drafted, including Jones (13th round in 1981), Corey Wimberly, Angel Rosa, Marcus Davis and John Harrington. Greg Daniels hit .545 for the 1983 Braves, the second-highest average ever by an NCAA Division I player. Current Atlanta star Michael Harris II’s father played at Alcorn. But Jones is the only one to reach the big leagues — 40 years ago today — and there are no Braves alums currently in affiliated ball. P.S. Up in the Cape Cod League, Southern Miss’ J.B. Middleton got the win and Kros Sivley the save as Hyannis beat Falmouth on Saturday to advance in the playoffs. USM’s Will Armistead pitched the ninth inning in Hyannis’ win in Game 1 on Friday. … Yarmouth-Dennis, with Braden Montgomery (Madison Central alum) and Hunter Hines (Mississippi State) on its roster, faces a decisive Game 3 today against Brewster. Montgomery is 2-for-9 with a homer in the series; Hines, the CCBL home run champ, didn’t play in a win in Game 2. … The semi-pro Hattiesburg Black Sox went 2-2 in the NABF Major Division World Series in Michigan, bowing out in Saturday’s quarterfinals. … The Smith-Wills Stadium-based Hank Aaron Sports Academy is holding its Fantastic 44 “Winner Take All” game today at 6 p.m. The 44 participating players are from high schools all over the state and were selected by coaches and instructors that oversaw three showcase events this summer at the Jackson facility.

06 Aug

around the horn

The Milwaukee Brewers will get a jolt of energy today when Wheeler’s Brandon Woodruff takes the mound for the first time in four months. The Brewers, after a winning rally against visiting Pittsburgh on Saturday, are 60-52 and lead the National League Central by 1.5 games over Cincinnati and 2.5 over the Chicago Cubs. Woodruff, a two-time All-Star and a horse in the Brewers’ rotation since 2019, posted a 0.79 ERA in his first two starts this season before being shut down with a shoulder problem. Drafted out of Mississippi State in 2014, Woodruff is 42-25, 3.14, for his MLB career and typically gets deep into games. “I hold myself to a high standard and expect a lot of myself …,” he told reporters recently. “I’m happy to get to pitch.” He has dominated most of the hitters on the Pirates’ roster. Woodruff’s addition to Milwaukee’s active roster means there is a Mississippi product on every first-place club: Adam Frazier and Jordan Westburg in Baltimore, Matt Wallner in Minnesota, Nathaniel Lowe and Chris Stratton in Texas, Austin Riley in Atlanta and Lance Lynn with the Los Angeles Dodgers. P.S. Tim Anderson, the ex-East Central Community College standout now with the White Sox, engaged in a fist fight with Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez on Saturday and incited a benches-clearing brawl. Anderson, having a tough year for a disappointing team, faces a certain suspension, as do several others. He has been involved in a number of kerfuffles over the years. … Trustmark Park in Pearl is supposed to be a tough place to hit a home run. Well, try telling that to Drew Lugbauer of the Mississippi Braves. He hit three bombs in a win against Montgomery on Saturday night, the first time anyone has done that at the TeePee. With five homers in his last three games, he has 20 on the year, tied for first in the Southern League. Thirteen of those homers have come at home. He holds the Double-A club’s career record for bombs with 66, 32 at home. Of note: Left-hander Luis De Avila, an emerging prospect in the Atlanta system, threw six shutout innings against the Biscuits and improved to 6-6, 2.95, this season. … Hurston Waldrep, Atlanta’s first-round pick this year and a former Southern Miss pitcher, threw three innings in his pro debut for Low-Class A Augusta. He struck out eight and yielded one run. … Ex-Ole Miss star David Parkinson improved to 4-0 in his last five starts for Double-A Reading (Philadelphia system), going six innings (no earned runs) against Hartford. Left-hander Parkinson (6-4, 4.30) was the Phillies’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2018 before his career got off track. … Stuck in A-ball since 2018, former Pascagoula High standout Willie Joe Garry Jr. got a promotion last week to Double-A Wichita in the Minnesota chain and has looked right at home. Garry, 23, a lefty-hitting outfielder, belted a grand slam Saturday night and is 2-for-7 with six RBIs in two games. He was a .205 career hitter in 294 games in the low minors.