If the last year wasn't weird enough, minor-league baseball decided to throw another wrinkle into things when it announced its modified scheduling for this season.
Instead of the usual three- or four-game sets and constant city hopping, everyone would play six-game series with the goal of limiting travel -- and ultimately, minimizing the chances for covid-related interruptions.
That meant adjustments for all players, but especially pitchers on teams that opted for six-man rotations rather than the usual five.
Adam Hill, the Arkansas Travelers' scheduled Sunday starter, suffered even more than most when rain canceled the Travs' series finale with Northwest Arkansas. If the rotation remained unchanged, Hill wouldn't have made his 2021 debut until Game No. 12.
Instead, Hill got the nod for Wednesday's game after Darren McCaughan was called up to Class AAA Tacoma on Tuesday.
The former Mets' fourth-round pick took advantage, turning in a solid 4 2/3 innings while surrendering 2 runs on 2 hits in the Travs' 4-2 victory over Springfield at Dickey-Stephens Park.
The Travs scored three times in a matter of four pitches in the sixth to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.
"He pitched himself out of trouble really well tonight," Travs Manager Collin Cowgill said of Hill. "We made a little bit of an adjustment, upping the usage on his changeup, and it kept guys off balance."
Those little fixes were the story of the night for the Travs. Although Hill didn't make it through the fifth inning -- he was on a 70-pitch limit like Arkansas' other starters the first time through the rotation -- the bullpen was able to pick up the slack.
After three scoreless frames to close out Tuesday's series opener, Travs relievers kept the Cards off the board again Wednesday, scattering five hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Reid Morgan, who replaced Hill, picked up his second win of the season. Darron Gillies closed out the eighth and ninth to earn a save.
"Our process right now is really good," Cowgill said when asked about the bullpen's recent success. "When you've got guys like Jack Anderson and Reid Morgan who can come in and do their jobs -- get outs and throw strikes -- when we do that, working ahead in the counts ... we're going to do well."
The major adjustment came at the plate.
The Travs registered just one base hit in the first five innings against Springfield starter Connor Thomas, with the southpaw working the lower half of the strike zone and getting under the Arkansas bats.
So hitting coach Joe Thurston suggested forcing the Cards pitcher to throw higher up, and that's when the hosts pounced.
Jake Scheiner led off the sixth with a solo home run that he lifted just over the right-field fence. The Travs' designated hitter wasn't sure he'd cleared the wall initially, stopping at second base before being waved home by the umpires.
The very next pitch, Thomas plunked Joe Rizzo. And two pitches after that, catcher Brian O'Keefe lined a fastball comfortably over the left-field wall -- and that 390-foot laser settled the night's final margin, putting the Travs up 4-2.
"It's a huge homer," Cowgill said of O'Keefe's home run. "Before the game started, we challenged [O'Keefe] to have a better plan at the plate and stay within his strengths and hunt something down. So it's exciting when a guy has something to think about, adjusts and goes out and responds."
Today’s game
ARKANSAS TRAVELERS VS. SPRINGFIELD CARDINALS
WHEN 7:10 p.m.
WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in Central Arkansas
WEBSITE travs.com
PITCHERS Travs: LHP Adam McKinney (0-0, 3.60 ERA); Cardinals: RHP Kyle Leahy (0-1, 11.25 ERA)
TICKETS $12 box (available in pods of 1, 2, 4, 6); $8 reserved (available in pods of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6); $6 general admission. Available only online at travs.com; no in-person sales.
PROMOTIONS Thirsty Thursday ($2 Bud Light, $3 select drafts for Mug Club members)
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY vs. Springfield, 7:10 p.m.
FRIDAY vs. Springfield, 7:10 p.m.
SATURDAY vs. Springfield, 6:10 p.m.
SUNDAY vs. Springfield, 2:10 p.m.
MONDAY Off
TUESDAY at Corpus Christi, 6:35 p.m.
WEDNESDAY at Corpus Christi, 6:35 p.m.