together again

Mississippi Braves vs. Biloxi Shuckers. We want this to be a rivalry. Rivalries are good. They demand attention. Remember Jackson-Shreveport from the old Texas League days? The M-Braves and Shuckers meet for the first time in 2016 tonight at Trustmark Park. They split their 24 meetings in 2015, but, M-Braves fans should recall, the Shuckers clinched — and celebrated — the Southern League South first-half championship at the TeePee last June. So, there’s that. Biloxi comes in tonight leading the SL South at 11-3. The M-Braves are last at 5-10. The Shuckers again feature a bevy of top Milwaukee prospects, including No. 2 Brett Phillips, who is batting .311 with a homer and eight RBIs, and right-hander Adrian Houser, tonight’s starter, who is 0-1, 5.73 ERA. Biloxi has three of the SL’s top 10 hitters: Phillips, Victor Roache (.333) and Javier Betancourt (.314). The M-Braves have one: Ozzie Albies, who’s third at .350. Both teams pitch pretty well, ranking second (Biloxi) and fourth in the league in ERA. Lucas Sims, one of several pitching prospects on the M-Braves’ roster, gets the start in Game 1; he is 0-2, 1.84. P.S. Big league chew: Ex-Ole Miss star and veteran big leaguer Alex Presley got a hit in his Milwaukee debut on Thursday. … Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Jarrod Dyson is 3-for-9 with two steals since Kansas City activated him from the disabled list. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton has a thumb injury (from last week’s home run-robbing catch) that is keeping him out of the Cincinnati lineup. … Former Pillow Academy standout Louis Coleman has been placed on the bereavement list by the Los Angeles Dodgers.