The Brewers’ affiliates split their Sunday action, with Biloxi closing out its regular season on a winning note and Nashville getting handled in its finale against Durham.
Biloxi’s 2-1 victory over Pensacola was built around a sharp outing from Manuel Rodriguez and a timely return from Jesús Made. The 19-year-old shortstop had missed three games, but he came back and immediately made an impact, driving in the Shuckers’ first run with a sacrifice fly.
Rodriguez then took care of the rest on the mound, turning in five shutout innings and earning his 13th win of the 2026 season, a franchise record. He allowed five hits, walked none and struck out five while working on four days’ rest.
The Shuckers didn’t exactly make life easy on themselves. They went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, which kept the door open for Pensacola deeper into the game than it probably should have been.
But Biloxi still found enough offense to finish the job. Darrien Miller, batting ninth, went 2-for-3 with a walk, threw out a runner trying to steal in the first inning and reached base three times.
He also singled to start the fifth and scored on Braylon Payne’s sacrifice fly for the insurance run.
Peyton Niksch did solid work in the middle, tossing three innings and escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth with a popout and a groundout. Garrett Hodges then handled the save, though it got tense in the ninth when the first two batters reached on a hit-by-pitch and a bunt single. Hodges responded by fielding the next bunt attempt for the first out, then got a fly out and a pop out to end it.
Josh Adamczewski also chipped in with two hits, including a double, and Dylan O’Rae singled and swiped his 63rd base of the season. Biloxi finished its series with a 3-3 split and now turns to a best-of-three Southern League playoff semifinal against Pensacola, beginning Tuesday night in Florida.
Nashville’s day went the other direction. The Sounds fell 7-2 to Durham and were limited to just two hits, even though they managed to put the leadoff man on in five of the nine innings.
Jared Oliva, once a Brewers farmhand himself, set the tone for the Rays affiliate by ending Thomas Pannone’s perfect streak with a leadoff infield single, then hammering a two-run homer in the second to make it 4-0. He wasn’t done there, either, adding a bunt single in the fourth that helped spark a two-out, three-run rally.
Brandon Lockridge and Jacob Hurtubise each reached base twice for Nashville, but the offense never really got moving. Tyler Black did keep his strong stretch going, doubling and scoring in the sixth as Nashville trimmed the deficit to 7-2. But that rally stalled when Andrick Nava sent a 349-foot fly out to leave the bases loaded.
There were some encouraging signs in the bullpen. Brandon Sproat bounced back from his rough Wednesday outing by throwing 2 1/3 hitless, scoreless innings, retiring the first five hitters he faced and touching 99.3 mph. Jared Koenig and Cameron Wagoner also worked scoreless relief, with Wagoner striking out three and reaching 98.7 mph.
Nashville finished the week 2-4 and will head home for its final series of the 2026 season, a six-game set against Memphis starting Tuesday evening. Biloxi and Pensacola are also back in action Tuesday, while Monday is an off day for both the Brewers and their minor league clubs.
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The rest of the group gives the Brewers even more reason to pay attention, with Ryan Birchard, Miqueas Mercedes, Jose Meneses and Josh Quezada also earning assignments. The Fall League has long been a proving ground for players on the brink of bigger roles, so the names Milwaukee chose to send say plenty about where the club sees upside, depth and the prospects worth investing more time in this fall. [Read more 🡒]
