Brandon Sproat, Tyler Black play key roles in Brewers' Triple-A squad's combined no-hitter

One of the key reasons for the Milwaukee Brewers' recent success is their ability to field one of the deepest 40-man rosters in all of baseball. The Brewers certainly understand the depth needed to navigate the 162-game marathon and make it a point of emphasis to always make sure they have a talented Triple-A squad full of players who could step in at the big-league level on a moment's notice.

As a result, the Brewers generally have players competing for their Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds, who would likely have major league roles in other organizations. Two such players are right-hander Brandon Sproat and outfielder Tyler Black, both of whom have impacted Milwaukee's first-place, big-league roster at some point during the 2026 season.

Sproat, who the Brewers acquired from the New York Mets in the Freddy Peralta offseason blockbuster, made 21 appearances (19 starts) for the Brewers through the first four months of the 2026 campaign. Though his 5.27 ERA indicates there was some inconsistency during those starts, Sproat clearly flashed enough potential to prove that he belongs in a major-league starting rotation in the near future. Since the start of the month, when the Brewers acquired Dustin May at the midseason trade deadline and returned Kyle Harrison from the injured list, Sproat has been trying to find some consistency with the Triple-A club.

Meanwhile, Black has just 27 at-bats with the Brewers this year. While he had nine hits in that small sample size, four of which were doubles, Black has struggled to find opportunities among the Brewers' crowded position player group. Now playing mostly left field, Black's path to the big-league roster has been impacted by Milwaukee's assemblage of major league outfield depth. His continued success in the minor leagues, however, indicates that he is deserving of a big-league job somewhere.

On Sunday afternoon, in the first leg of the Sounds' doubleheader against the Norfolk Tides, the Baltimore Orioles' Triple-A squad, both Sproat and Black played important roles in completing Nashville's first no-hitter in eight years. Between Sproat logging another encouraging outing and Black making a once-in-a-lifetime, game-saving catch, it was quite the night for the pair.

Brandon Sproat logs three perfect innings, Tyler Black makes game-saving catch in Nashville Sounds' first no-hitter in eight years

Sunday afternoon's first game was delayed on multiple occasions before the Sounds and Tides finally squared off for a seven-inning contest (doubleheaders in the minor leagues are just seven innings). Sproat was always scheduled to start, but ended up pitching two days later than he was expected to.

The change in schedule seemed not to impact Sproat, who didn't allow a baserunner in his three innings of work, while earning strikeouts in five of the nine outs he collected. Sproat threw just 40 pitches during the outing, which could be a factor of his altered schedule or could indicate that the Brewers are considering moving him to a relief role for the final weeks of the season, just in case they need him out of their bullpen during the final stretch. It was the second consecutive strong outing for Sproat in Triple-A, who allowed in six earned runs in four innings during his first start with the Sounds back on August 9.

Sproat handed the ball over to left-hander Tate Kuehner, who was viewed as an option for the Brewers' big-league pitching staff before injuries hampered his 2026 season. Nothing was hampered on Sunday afternoon, however, as Kuehner turned in four no-hit innings with one walk and one hit batter to complete the Sounds' first no-hitter since 2017.

The seven-inning no-hitter did not occur without the help of an incredible defensive play, as always seems to be the case with no-hitters. It just so happened that the web gem in this no-hitter came on the final play of the game.

With runners on first and second (the only two base runners of the game for the Tides), two outs, and the Sounds leading by two runs, Orioles' shortstop prospect José Barrero lifted a fly ball to straight away left field. The ball appeared to be heading for the left field wall, but Black ranged over, and, seemingly out of nowhere, made the grab before crashing into the wall, ending the game, and completing the no-hitter.

The ball wasn't headed over the fence, but it certainly would have tied the game at two runs apiece. However, Black's heroics not only won the game for Nashville but also etched his, Sproat's, and Kuehner's names in the Sounds' record books.

The Sounds completed the doubleheader sweep with a victory over the Tides on Sunday evening. Nashville is 5.5 games back of the Indianapolis Indians, the Pittsburgh Pirates' Triple-A affiliate, for the second half title in the International League's West Division, which they need to win in order to qualify for the postseason this year. In need of a hot streak to end the season, the Sounds open a series against the struggling Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Tuesday night.

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