Sharing a common goal

Pitchers Jimmy Nelson and Corbin Burnes shared a common goal as they entered the home team clubhouse at Wolff Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Both arrived in a Triple-A setting hoping to rekindle major league success.
Burnes took another step toward achieving that goal as he started and pitched 4.2 scoreless innings, helping the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio win their sixth straight game with a 6-0 decision over the Oklahoma City Dodgers.
Nelson will get his chance on Sunday at 2:05 p.m. when he makes a rehabilitation start in the finale of a five-game series between the Chanclas, better known as the Missions, and the Dodgers.
"Jimmy is probably the best competitor the (Milwaukee) Brewers have," Burnes said. "I expect him to go out there, and he's going to attack hitters, as Jimmy always does. He's a great guy, and I wish nothing but the best for him, because he's been on the long road."
Nelson once made headlines as the ace of the Brewers' staff. That was only two years ago. He was 12-6 with a 3.49 ERA, which ranked ninth in the National League.
It all came crashing down on him in September of 2017 when he suffered a serious shoulder injury in Chicago at Wrigley Field.
Nelson suffered a partially torn labrum and a strained rotator cuff on his right (throwing) shoulder when he dove headfirst back into first base on a pickoff attempt.
The injury led to surgery and knocked him out for the rest of the season and all of 2018, as well.
"He had a great year the year he got hurt," Burnes said. "It was just one of those freak injuries that happens, sliding into a base. He's been on the long road coming back."
Unlike Nelson, Burnes is not on a rehabilitation assignment. Unless, of course, it's to rehabilitate the confidence he had in 2018 when he went 7-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 30 appearances as a Brewers reliever.
Because Burnes was such a key player in the brewers run to the National League Central championship, it makes it tougher to believe that he got off to such a slow start in Milwaukee this year.
He was 0-2 with a 10.70 ERA and yielded 11 home runs in 17.2 innings.
Burnes became so ineffective that the Brewers sent him down to work on some things. He didn't deny that the demotion stung.
"Whenever you get sent down, it's tough, especially knowing the success that we had up there," Burnes said. "It's tough but it's one of those things that's going to make me a better pitcher in the future."
Burnes was pretty good against the Dodgers, firing nearly five innings without allowing a run. He surrendered only three hits, walked one and hit two batters.
But he struck out seven and coaxed the visitors into ground balls that turned into outs.
"You always want to mix speeds and attack hitters, and I thought we did that well tonight," he said. "Gave up three hits and two of them were pretty weak contact. That was what we were kind of goig for, just keep it on the ground, get a bunch of ground outs. So, overall, it was a good day."
In two appearance with the Missions, Burnes has worked 7.2 innings, yielding no runs on four hits and four walks. He has struck out 10. Manager Rick Sweet said Burnes had good stuff against the Dodgers.
"It wasn't as consistent as you'd like to see as far as throwing strikes," Sweet said. "But I thought his stuff was very good. All his pitches are starting to come around. We're not pushing him too hard.
"We're making it nice and easy for him. But he's going out and having success."
Just about everyone wearing either a Chanclas or a Missions jersey has enjoyed a good amount of success lately.
The team hasn't lost since the first game of a doubleheader last Sunday in Nashville.
Since then, the Missions/Chanclas have won with every phase of the game. Pitching, defense and, at last, offense.
Missions bats are starting to come around with the team erupting for a season-high, tying 15 hits, including three each by Mauricio Dubón, Keston Hiura and David Freitas.
Freitas, acquired in a trade with the Mariners recently, went 3-for-4, hit a run-scoring double and also scored a run.
He is hitting .394 and is 7-for-9 on the homestand.
"I feel good," Freitas said. "I'm seeing the ball well. You know, I'm not trying to do too much … just kind of waiting the pitchers out until they give me something to swing on, then trying to put my best swing on those pitches."