Offense Shines, Pitching Struggles in Fayetteville Loss
The Woodpeckers offense returned to their power-packed roots on Wednesday afternoon, but a poor day from the pitching staff ultimately cost Fayetteville the middle game of their series with Carolina, dropping the Education Day contest, 10-7. Fayetteville knocked two more home runs on the day, and racked up another 13
The Woodpeckers offense returned to their power-packed roots on Wednesday afternoon, but a poor day from the pitching staff ultimately cost Fayetteville the middle game of their series with Carolina, dropping the Education Day contest, 10-7. Fayetteville knocked two more home runs on the day, and racked up another 13 strikeouts on the mound, timely hitting and plenty of runners in scoring position for the Mudcats did Fayetteville in, as the Woodpeckers see their franchise-worst losing streak extend to five games.
Just as they did in the series opener, Fayetteville struck quickly against the hosting Mudcats. Facing Nelson Hernandez for the third time this year, things opened with the first two batters reaching safely for Fayetteville, and they closed when Jake Adams drove them both in with a double to left field. Hernandez struggled against Fayetteville prior to this outing, allowing three runs in his two other starts against the Woodpeckers. Carolina won each of the two games that Hernandez started against Fayetteville, and quickly took control for this contest as well.
Moving to the bottom of the frame, Carolina pounced on starter Shawn Dubin. Five of the first six batters in the first inning reached safely against the right-hander, with four of them coming home to score before Dubin was able to record two outs. Just narrowly escaping the first inning, Dubin was only given a short break in the dugout as the Fayetteville offense went down quickly in the second inning. Dubin (0-2) was unable to maintain control in the second frame, as he walked a batter and hit three others, allowing two more runs to score before being yanked with only five outs collected.
Jacob Billingsley came out from the bullpen for Fayetteville and pitched well enough to buy time for Fayetteville to chip away at the lead. As Billingsley tossed a scoreless third and fourth inning, Seth Beer brought home a run in the third inning, his league-leading 29th RBI this season, and Bryan De La Cruz took it a step further in the 4th inning with his third home run of the season, cutting the four-run deficit all the way to one, 6-5.
As the momentum shifted toward Fayetteville, Carolina summoned Matt Hardy from the bullpen to try and stop the Fayetteville offense. Hardy (5-0) completed that challenge with ease, retiring all seven batters he faced in the relief appearance, and working in a string of 10 consecutive batters sent down by the Mudcats pitching staff. As the Fayetteville offense once again settled, the Mudcats rebuilt their lead at the plate, finally plating one run against Billingsley, and eventually peppering Tommy DeJuneas for a pair of runs as DeJuneas allowed four of the first five batters in the sixth inning to reach safely. The offensive push from Carolina made it a four-run game once again, 9-5.
With a new pitcher on the mound for Carolina in Michael Petersen, Fayetteville got back to work. After the first two batters were retired, a pair of pitches got Fayetteville a bit closer in the contest, when Beer was hit by a pitch, and Adams followed with the second two-run home run of the day for Fayetteville. Adams finished going 2-for-4 with four runs driven in, his second time this season driving in at least four runs in a single game. Still trailing by two, the offense for Fayetteville ended there, however, as Clayton Andrews faced the minimum while tossing two scoreless frames to pick up the save. Carolina added a run for good measure in the eighth inning from a triple and an RBI single hit by Mario Feliciano.
As Fayetteville sees their losing streak extend, they are still left eight games out of first place in the South Division with Down East also losing today. Needing a win to avoid being swept for their second straight series, Fayetteville will get time to rest before the series finale tomorrow at Five County Stadium, with first pitch coming at 7:00PM.
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring