Laboring on Labor Day
Travs still in contention for postseason play, Matt Brash named Pitcher of the Week, Grant Black gets his first win of the season, plus stats, scores and so much more
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It wasn’t the ending everyone hoped for.
After a long night of baseball last Friday, the Travs had the chance for a win at Dickey-Stephens Park.
Against Wichita, the Travs had jumped out early, 4-0, before the game was tied and sent into extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, Wichita got the go-ahead run, 6-5, but the Travs had a chance in the bottom of the inning, and they did just that, getting the bases loaded, with two outs, and up to bat was Julio Rodriguez, who was working on a big night.
Baseball’s No. 2 prospect had four hits, with a double and two stolen bases, along with the kind of play that only emphasized his talent.
But baseball, baseball, has a way of humbling even the best as the game ended with Rodriguez striking out.
It was still a good week for the Travs as the team went 4-2 in the series and are still in contention for postseason play.
The format this year is different as the League announced that “postseason will consist of two teams per league” and the pair of teams, “will be decided for each league (regardless of division) based on the best regular season winning percentage.”
Wichita leads the league at 62-46 and .574 but this is where it gets interesting. Frisco (59-47) at .557, while the Travs (59-49) are third at .546. And then it gets really tight as Tulsa (58-50) is .537 and Northwest Arkansas (57-50) is at .533.
There’s 12 games remaining in the regular season and this week things should start getting sorted out as Northwest Arkansas will be at Wichita, while the Travs travel to a suddenly surging Springfield. The S-Cards are last in the league standings but the pitching rotation there has gotten a lift with Dakota Hudson down from St. Louis for injury rehab starts. Newport’s Grant Black, also got his first career win last week for Springfield. Fourth place Tulsa (58-5 goes to Amarillo (51-56) for six games as five teams are all in the hunt for the top two spots.
The following and final week of the regular season has the Travs at Wichita in a six-game series, while Northwest Arkansas closes at Springfield, Frisco gets Amarillo and Tulsa has Midland in the last series.
Postseason will be a single, best-of-five series that starts on Tuesday, Sept. 21.
Brash named Pitcher of the Week
Matt Brash, fresh off a combined no-hitter against Wichita was named Pitcher of the Week for the Double-A Central, aka Texas League. Brash, who had a perfect game going in the win, is now 3-1 on the season for the Travs is considered one of the best young pitching prospects in baseball.
Individual leaders
Jake Scheiner goes to No. 16 in hitting
No Trav is listed among the league’s top pitchers, based on .8 innings pitched per game
Transactions
Sept. 5: Arkansas Travelers placed RHP Levi Stoudt on the 7-day injured list.
Sept. 5: RHP Tyler Driver assigned to Arkansas Travelers from Everett AquaSox.
Players of the Week
Michael Busch - Tulsa and Matt Brash - Arkansas
The scores
Tuesday: Wichita 10, Travs 7
Wednesday: Travs 4, Wichita 3
Thursday: Travs 6, Wichita 0
Friday: Wichita 6, Travs 5 (10)
Saturday: Travs 1, Wichita 0
Sunday: Travs 2, Wichita 1
The standings
Team … Record … Percentage … Games Back … Next Up
Wichita ...62-46 ... .574 ... - ... Plays Northwest Arkansas
Frisco ... 59-47 ... .557 ... 2.0 ... Plays San Antonio
Travs ... 59-49 ... .546 ... 3.0 ... At Springfield
Tulsa ... 58-50 ... .537 ... 4.0 ... At Amarillo
Northwest Arkansas ... 57-50 ... .533 ... 4.5 ... At Wichita
Midland ... 53-55 ... .491 ... 9.0 ... At Corpus Christi
Amarillo ... 51-56 ... .477 ... 10.5 ... Plays Tulsa
San Antonio ... 51-57 ... .472 ... 11.0 ... At Frisco
Corpus Christi ... 48-60 ... .444 ... 14.0 ... Plays Midland
Springfield ... 40-68 ... .370 ... 22.0 ... Plays Travs
The format for the 2021 Postseason will consist of two teams per league in a single best-of-5 series (beginning Sept. 21). The two playoff participants will be decided for each league (regardless of division) based on the best regular season winning percentage.
Grant Black’s Corner
About Grant Black’s Corner: This is a weekly look at current Minor-League players with Arkansas roots. Have an addition to this list? Email us at arkansas@substack.com or leave a comment on the post.September was a big month for Newport's Grant Black as he got his first professional win against Tulsa on Sept. 1.
Black got the start and pitched the first five innings. He gave up three runs and eight hits, but it didn’t matter as the S-Cards were up, 8-3 and went on to win, 9-3.
The game didn’t help his ERA, much, as it is 5.56 on the season, but he now had 60 strikeouts on 57 innings.
Black is expected to stay in the rotation this week with the Travs in town. Joining him is Dakota Hudson, down from St. Louis, for injury rehab as the S-Cards have been hot in September, winning the first three games of the month, before losing on Saturday and Sunday.
Many thanks to Arkansas high school baseball expert Kevin Bohannon for his help in compiling this list. You can catch him on the radio at 103.7 The Buzz as he's the station’s high school insider. He is also the co-host of The Hawg Talk podcast, which can be listened to here. He’s also on Twitter, @CoachKBo_HTP, so give him a follow.
Others on the Corner
Note: Click the player’s name to get current stats.
Luke Bandy, Springdale: Was released. He previously played in the Boston Red Sox farm system and @Luke_Bandy
Gray Fenter, West Memphis: Bowie Baysox, Double-A Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and @Bear_Fenter
Logan Gragg, Prairie Grove: Peoria Chiefs, High-A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and @GraggLogan23
William Hancock, Little Rock Catholic: Quad Cities River Bandits, the High-A Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals
Tink Hence, Watson Chapel: GCL Cardinals, the Rookie Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and @HenceTink3
Blaine Knight, Bryant: Norfolk Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
Grant Koch, Fayetteville: Altoona Curve, the Double-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Evan Lee, Bryant: Wilmington Blue Rocks, the High-A Affiliate of the Washington Nationals and @Evan_Leeeee
Casey Martin, Lonoke: Clearwater Threshers, the Low-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies and @cmartin15_
Jake Reindl, Fayetteville: Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Low-A Affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and @jreindl24
Cody Scroggins, Bentonville: Greenville Drive, the High-A Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and @cody_scroggins
Gavin Stone, Riverside High School (Lake City): Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Low-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers and @gavinstone02
Nick Starr, Conway: Hickory Crawdads, the High-A Affiliate of the Texas Rangers and @nickstarr6
Schedule, tickets and promotions
On deck this week
AWAY GAMES | Tuesday at Springfield; Wednesday at Springfield; Thursday at Springfield; Friday at Springfield; Saturday at Springfield; Sunday at Springfield
Next week
AWAY GAMES | Tuesday, Sept. 14: at Wichita; Wednesday, Sept. 15: at Wichita; Thursday, Sept. 16: at Wichita; Friday, Sept. 17: at Wichita; Saturday, Sept. 18: at Wichita and Sunday, Sept. 19: at Wichita
The Week After
Post-season play