Milwaukee Brewers Minors: Mudcats Win Streak to Six Games

The Reviewing the Brew minor league recap is back after a brief hiatus. Let’s take a look at the last two days in Milwaukee Brewers affiliate action.

Triple-A

The San Antonio Missions (54-36) have been off the last couple days for the All-Star game between the Pacific Coast and International Leagues. Four Missions players were named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team – Keston Hiura, Tyler Saladino, David Freitas, and Jay Jackson. Freitas and Jackson will be the only Missions participating as Hiura and Saladino are currently members of the parent ball club.

The Milwaukee Brewers Triple-A affiliate currently finds themselves at the top of the PCL American Southern division, two games ahead of the Round Rock Express for first place. After Wednesday’s All-Star game, the Missions resume regular season play on Thursday with an eight-game home stand, kicked off with four games against the Omaha Storm Chasers.

Double-A

Biloxi Shuckers (51-39) vs Mississippi Braves (41-48)

The Shuckers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and then held off a late M-Braves rally, winning 4-3 on Monday. Trey Supak went seven strong innings, giving up just a run and two hits and striking out seven to increase his record to 9-4.

Michael O’Neill went 2-for-4 and scored when Dillon Thomas grounded into a fielder’s choice in the third. Weston Wilson also finished 2-for-4 and scored twice, adding the game-winning run on a solo homer in the sixth, his 12th of the year but first since June 14th.

The Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate jumped out to an early lead again on Tuesday with two runs in the top of the first. But the M-Braves brought more offense this time and Biloxi couldn’t keep up, dropping the final game of the series to Mississippi 7-4. Despite the loss, the Shuckers ended up winning the series four games to two.

Wilson picked up where he left off on Monday, driving in the first two runs with a two-run single for his only hit of the day on Tuesday. C.J. Hinojosa and Patrick Leonard each finished 2-for-3 with Hinojosa driving in a run and Leonard scoring twice. Bruce Caldwell went 1-for-4 with a run-scoring double and also scored himself.

Class A Advanced

Carolina Mudcats (51-38) vs Lynchburg Hillcats (43-44)

Wes Rogers was a busy man on the basepaths on Monday. He finished 2-for-3 with two walks and scored four times as the Mudcats held of a furious Hillcats rally in the ninth to come out on top 6-5. Noah Zavolas gave up a run and six hits over 5 1/3 innings to pick up his fifth win. Lynchburg put up four runs in the ninth inning before Justin Topa came on to record the final two outs for his first save as a Mudcat.

Mario Feliciano drove in the three of the first four runs for Carolina on two doubles and a triple, finishing 3-for-4. Ryan Aguilar drove in the final two Carolina runs on a two-run double in the eighth and finished 2-for-4.

The Mudcats more than doubled their scoring output on Tuesday, scoring early and often en route to a 13-2 dismantling of the Hillcats, giving Carolina a sweep of the three-game series and increasing their winning streak to six games. Matt Hardy gave up two runs over four innings in the start, earning a no decision. Phil Bickford threw three scoreless innings in relief to pick up his first win and his first scoreless outing after a rough start to the year.

Six players had at least two hits for the Mudcats in the game. Pat McInerney and Payton Henry each had a home run, their sixth and tenth respectively, and drove in four runs apiece. Devin Hairston clubbed his first homer of the year and first ever as a Mudcat while knocking in three runs on the day. Aguilar and Rob Henry each had two hits and scored twice.

Before Monday’s game, it was announced that Milwaukee Brewers 2018 first-round draft pick Brice Turang would be promoted from the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to the Mudcats. Starting at shortstop and leading off on Tuesday, Turang went 0-for-4 in his first action with Carolina, though he did walk twice and scored a run.

Class A

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (42-45) vs Beloit Snappers (31-54)

Monday was not a day to remember for the Milwaukee Brewers Single-A affiliate as they gave up a whopping 20 hits in dropping the final game of their series with the Snappers 11-2, allowing Beloit to avoid the series sweep. Scott Sunitsch gave up seven earned runs over 5 1/3 innings to take the loss and drop to 6-9 on the year.

Wisconsin scored both of their runs in the bottom of the fourth. With the bases loaded and no outs, Yeison Coca slapped a single to left that scored Gabriel Garcia. Leugim Castillo followed with a sacrifice fly to score Chad McClanahan and cut the Snapper lead to 5-2.

David Fry finished 2-for-4 with a double in the loss. Coca, McClanahan, and Connor McVey had a single each for the only other Timber Rattler hits. Wisconsin had the day off on Tuesday and begin a six-game road trip on Wednesday with three games against the Dayton Dragons.

Rookie Advanced

Rocky Mountain Vibes (9-14) vs Ogden Raptors (17-6)

The Vibes dropped their second straight game to the Raptors on Monday, tallying just four hits in a 3-0 shutout loss. With a loss in the series finale, the Vibes dropped the series four games to one.

Only two Vibes made it as far as second base on the night. Jess Williams had a single and a stolen base in the fifth and also advanced to third on a balk, while Edwin Sano had a double in the ninth. Nash Walters, a third round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015, threw two scoreless innings in the start. He has given up just three earned runs over 20 2/3 innings and dropped his ERA to 1.31.

The Vibes had the day off on Tuesday and return home for an eight-game homestand on that begins on Wednesday. The series starts with four games versus the Billings Mustangs.