April 17 - Mudcats Game Notes

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FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS (HOUSTON ASTROS) at CAROLINA MUDCATS (MILWAUKEE BREWERS)
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 | 11:00 AM | Game 14, Home Game 7 | Five County Stadium | Zebulon, NC
RADIO: WZAX, 99.3 FM
STREAMING AUDIO: www.carolinamudcats.com, TuneIn Radio, First Pitch App
STREAMING VIDEO: MiLB.tv
Overall Record: CAR: 7-6; FAY: 8-5
Streaks: CAR: W1; FAY: L1
Last 10 Games: CAR: 5-5, FAY: 7-3
Home Record: CAR: 2-4; FAY: 0-0
Road Record: CAR: 5-2; FAY: 8-5
Division Record: CAR: 3-3; FAY: 4-2
Current Series: Tied 1-1 (of 3)
Season Series: Tied 1-1 (of 20)
CAR v. OPP: 1-1 @CAR (10), 0-0 @OPP (10)

UPCOMING PROBABLE STARTERS:
TODAY, 4/17 vs. Fayetteville, 11:00 AM: Fayetteville RHP Yohan Ramirez (0-1, 2.25) at Carolina RHP Drew Rasmussen (0-0, -.--)}THU, 4/18 at Fayetteville, 7:00 PM: Carolina RHP Noah Zavolas (1-1, 2.70) at Fayetteville RHP Enoli Paredes (0-0, 1.50)
FRI, 4/19 at Fayetteville, 7:00 PM: Carolina RHP Dylan File (0-2, 6.30) at Fayetteville RHP Cristian Javier (2-0, 0.82)
TONIGHT: The Mudcats snapped a four game losing streak with a 7-6 victory last night versus Fayetteville. Last night's win leveled the series at 1-1 and today the Mudcats will look to earn a series win as they take on the Woodpeckers again in today's series and home stand finale at Five County Stadium... The Mudcats are currently 2-4 in their first home stand of 2019... Today's game will begin at 11:00 AM and will feature RHP Drew Rasmussen making his Mudcats and Carolina League debut. It will also be just the second start of Rasmussen's professional career. 
ICYMI: Ryan Aguilar doubled in two runs in the third, broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth with a three-run home run and went 2-for-4 with two runs all while totaling a career high 5 RBI while leading the Mudcats to a 7-6 victory versus Fayetteville on Tuesday night at Five County Stadium. Mario Feliciano also homered in the game and Julio Garcia went 2-for-3 as the Mudcats snapped a four-game losing streak with the series tying win against the Woodpeckers.
ABOUT THE LAST ONE: Julio Garcia sparked a three-run and four hit Carolina third inning last night by reaching on a one-out double to deep right-center. The hit was Garcia's first of two in the game and his first of the season. Garcia had started the year at 0-for-18 before going 2-for-3 with a double and a run last night for the Mudcats.
THE STARTER: Drew Rasmussen has the start for the Mudcats in today's series finale at Five County Stadium versus the Woodpeckers. Rasmussen was selected in the sixth round of last year's Draft by Milwaukee, but missed the entire 2018 season while recovering from "Tommy John" surgery. He has undergone "Tommy John" twice in his young career; first on 3/29/16 and again on 8/23/17. Today's outing will, however, be Rasmussen's second of 2019 as he made his professional debut on April 12, 2019 with Low-A Wisconsin against Quad Cities in a game that was played at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Rasmussen struck out three and allowed one hit while pitching through 2.0 scoreless innings and totaling 30 pitches (18 strikes) in his Brewers organizational and professional debut... Rasmussen was previously drafted in the 1st round (31st overall, Competitive Balance Round A) out of Oregon State by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017, but did not sign. He was also previously drafted in the 39th round of the 2014 draft out of Mount Spokane High School by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but did not sign.
HOME IMPROVEMENT: The Mudcats totaled seven runs and nine hits in last night's 7-6 victory versus the Woodpeckers. Carolina had been held to just four runs over their previous four games and since winning their home opener 7-6 on April 11 versus Wilmington. The Mudcats are currently 2-4 at Five County Stadium this season and are batting just .205/.290/.316 as a team at home. They have also been outscored 32-18 over their first six home games so far this season.
WHERE THEY RANK: Joantgel Segovia is currently 5th in the CL in OPS (1.095) this season. Segovia is also 3rd in the CL in on-base (.473), tied for 7th in slugging (.622) and tied for 8th in hits (16)... Ryan Aguilar is currently tied for 1st in the CL in doubles (6); he is also tied for 3rd in extra-base hits (7) and tied for 6th in walks (8)... Bowden Francis is tied for 2nd in the CL in strikeouts (20) and is 8th in ERA (3.86)... Nelson Hernandez is currently 7th in the CL in ERA (3.24).
MUDDIES V. WOODIES: The Mudcats won last night's game 7-6 and managed to even their current and overall season series with the Woodpeckers at 1-1. Today's game is the finale of the current series between the two teams, but the season series will continue tomorrow night in Fayetteville as the Mudcats and Woodpeckers begin a new four game series at SEGRA Stadium in Downtown Fayetteville. Thursday's game will be the first in the history of SEGRA Stadium... The Woodpeckers are an affiliate of the Houston Astros and previously played in the Carolina League as the Buies Creek Astros the last two seasons. The Mudcats were 11-17 versus Buies Creek overall last year, including a 5-6 record at home and 6-11 record on the road. Carolina additionally went 7-16 overall against the Astros in 2017; 3-8 at home and 4-8 on the road. Carolina entered the 2019 season 18-33 all-time against Houston's High-A Carolina League team (8-14 at home, 10-19 away).
HOW THEY'RE BUILT: The Mudcats open the 2019 season with 11 returning players from last season... The 2019 squad features three of the Brewers' Top 30 prospects (as rated by MLBPipeline.com) including OF Tristen Lutz (No. 5), C Payton Henry (No. 10) and C Mario Feliciano (No. 22). 
PLAYOFF DROUGHT: The Mudcats failed to reach the playoffs again in 2018, stretching their current playoff drought to seven consecutive Carolina League seasons. Carolina has additionally failed to reach the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons overall between their time in the Carolina League (2012-Present) and Southern League (1991-2011). The Mudcats last reached the playoffs in 2008 when they lost to the Mississippi Braves in the Southern League Championship Series… Current post-season droughts in MiLB (full-season teams): Buffalo (AAA)/Delmarva: 13 seasons, New Orleans (AAA): 11 seasons, Iowa (AAA): 10 seasons, Hartford (AA): 9 seasons, Louisville (AAA): 8 seasons.
ON THIS DATE: April 17, 1994: A crowd of 8,067 see the Mudcats take on (then) retired NBA star Michael Jordan and the Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox) at Five County Stadium His "Airness" went 2-for-4 in the first game of a series between the Barons and Mudcats in Zebulon on April 17, 1994. 
THE MUDCATS HAVE…
... played in Zebulon, NC since 1991 (29th season).
... played in the Carolina League since 2012 (8th season).
... been an affiliate of the Brewers since 2017 (3rd season).
... operated under the ownership of the Brewers since Oct. 2017.
... not made the playoffs since the 2008 season.
... not made the playoffs during their Carolina League era.