Milwaukee Brewers Minors: Mudcats Pull Off Only Win on Saturday

It was a rough Saturday down on the farm. In fact it took a late grand slam by Carolina in order for the Milwaukee Brewers affiliates to avoid getting swept on the day.

Triple-A

San Antonio Missions (35-22) vs Omaha Storm Chasers (27-30)

It was a rough ride for the Milwaukee Brewers Triple-A affiliate on Saturday.

The Missions offense was stagnant for most of the night, finally breaking through with a couple runs in the eighth but ultimately falling 7-2 to the Storm Chasers on Saturday night. No Missions player made it farther than first base for the game prior to that eighth inning.

Mauricio Dubon was the only San Antonio hitter to find decent offensive success on the night, going 3-for-4 on three singles. Travis Shaw went 0-for-3 with a strikeout after collecting three hits the night before, but he did collect a sacrifice fly to drive in one of the team’s run as he prepares to be called up to the big league club over the next couple days. Michael O’Neill knocked in the other run with an RBI-single.

Burch Smith was roughed up in the loss, giving up six earned runs, six hits, and three walks over five innings. Three relievers combined to give up just one run in the following four frames to try and keep the team in it, but to no avail.

Double-A

Biloxi Shuckers (31-24) vs Tennessee Smokies (27-27)

The Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate rallied all the way back from a 6-1 deficit, scoring five runs over the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to tie it. But unfortunately they could not match their parent ball club’s extra inning success and lost 7-6 to the Smokies in ten innings on Saturday. The Shuckers still ended up coming away with a 3-2 series win.

Biloxi lost a chance to do more damage and possibly take the lead after Dillon Thomas‘s RBI-single tied it in the sixth. But on that play, Trent Grisham got caught in a rundown in between second and third and was eventually tagged out, squashing any prospects they would have for scoring more runs that inning.

Thomas added another run-scoring single, going 2-for-4 and adding a run as well. Max McDowell collected two hits of his own and scored a run. Grisham also had two hits – a double and a home run, his eighth of the year. The Shuckers as a team left 24 runners on base for the game.

Class A Advanced

Carolina Mudcats (30-25) vs Winston-Salem Dash (30-24)

The Milwaukee Brewers High-A affiliate picked up the system’s only win on Saturday, splitting a doubleheader with the Dash that was created by a postponement due to a power outage in Winston-Salem the night before. The split handed Carolina a series loss to the Dash.

The day started off on the right foot. Pat McInerney was grand, bashing a one-out, 2-1 pitch to left center for a grand slam in the sixth inning. That put the Mudcats on top for good and sealed a 6-3 win in seven innings. Ryan Aguilar added a home run of his own, a solo shot that was also his fourth of the year and started the scoring in the first. Noah Zavolas picked up the win in giving up three runs over 5 1/3 innings.

A Carolina rally fell just short of giving the team a doubleheader sweep in the second game of the day. Down 5-2 in the seventh, Mario Feliciano‘s RBI-double and Zach Clark‘s RBI-single pulled the team within one. Two more singles loaded the bases, but Julio Garcia took a called third strike and the Mudcats fell 5-4. Braden Webb gave up five runs over five innings to take the loss.

Class A

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (25-29) vs Peoria Chiefs (24-30)

Wisconsin finally scored their first two runs of the game in the bottom of the ninth. But it wasn’t nearly enough as they dropped their second game in a row to Peoria 6-2 on Saturday.

Jesus Lujano (2-for-4), Brent Diaz (1-for-2, two walks), and Je’Von Ward (2-for-3) were the only Timber Rattlers with hits on the day. Diaz and Ward forced in the only two runs for the team in the ninth with a bases-loaded walk and a run-scoring single, respectively. Aaron Ashby turned in a strong outing in the loss, giving up just a run over six innings with seven strikeouts.