[PhilledUp]

June 9, 2025: Week 9
39-19 overall; 6 game lead (4-3 this week)
Runs Scored: 293, 4th in NL (from 2nd) Runs Allowed: 233, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: +1.6 (from +6.1)
Power Rankings: 2 (from 2)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 76 (from 76)
Last Week: @ Las Vegas (1-2), @ Buffalo (3-1)
Next Week: 3 vs San Jose, 3 vs Portland
Player of the Week NL: Paco Sanchez (Anchorage) SL: Antonio Rodriguez (Jacksonville)

Game Notes
Game 52: Las Vegas 4 Madison 3 W Ferreira (3-2) L Wiley (4-2) S Joardar (4) – Player of the Game: Victor Bautista, Madison (3-4, HR, RBI)
HR Madison: Bautista (17), Corral (13)
Wiley started slow and allowed 4 runs in the first 2 innings. The offense made a comeback attempt, but fell short. Madison’s losing streak ties their season high at 3 games.
Game 53: Madison 5 Las Vegas 4 W Moore (7-1) L Sawada (2-3) S McClellan (16) – Player of the Game: Ronnie Sheffield, Las Vegas (2-3, HR, 2 RBI)
HR Madison: Bautista (18), Corral (14) Las Vegas: Sheffield (4)
An error allowed 3 Las Vegas runs to score in the 1st, but Moore was sharp from then on out. He allowed only 1 more run, and the offense slowly crept back until taking the lead in the 8th. Medina strained his hamstring on a triple in the 2nd.
Game 54: Las Vegas 6 Madison 2 W Ramirez (6-3) L Sawyer (1-3) – Player of the Game: Javier Ramirez, Las Vegas (8 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)
HR Madison: Bautista (19), Sanchez (11) Las Vegas: Escobedo (2), Wheeler (3)
Sawyer allowed 4 runs in the first two innings. A late pair of solo HRs (including one by Bautista, his 3rd straight game with a HR) prevented a shutout.
Game 55: Buffalo 3 Madison 0 W Bernard (4-5) L Martinez (2-3) S Marino (2) – Player of the Game: Felipe Bernard, Buffalo (8.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K)
Former fielder of the year Junior Corral had 2 errors that led to the only 3 runs of the game. Offseason heart throb Felipe Bernard left with 2 outs in the 9th, narrowly missing the shutout.
Game 56: Madison 4 Buffalo 2 W Dixon (7-2) L Starks (4-5) S McClellan (17) – Player of the Game: Rafael Deleon, Madison (2-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Deleon (7)
Dixon pitched 7 innings of 2 run ball and Deleon did the heavy lifting on offense with a 3 run HR to allow Madison to even the series.
Game 57: Madison 1 Buffalo 0 W Wiley (5-2) L Hurt (6-1) – Player of the Game: Kenny Wiley, Madison (9 IP, 10 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)
With a AAA lineup supporting him, Wiley needed to be nearly perfect. He was, as he scattered 10 hits in 9 shutout innings.
Game 58: Madison 7 Buffalo 5 W May (2-0) L Escobar (2-3) – Player of the Game: Tomas Gracia, Madison (1-1, HR, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Gracia (3)
Trailing 3-2 in the 8th, Madison scored 2 to take the lead and Gracia added a pinch hit 3 run HR to put the cherry on top.

Thoughts
We finished the road trip 8-5, thanks largely in part to a sweep over Newark to start things off. We accomplished our goal though. The offense is in a bit of a mini slump. Fernando Gonzalez has ‘slipped’ to a .378 average, which is still tops in the league. Fields continues to struggle. Those only magnify the absence of Medina and Huang from the lineup. They will each be out about 3 more weeks. However, Avila is due back this week and will hopefully help the OF production.

I finally got tired of Kerry Sawyer’s predictably mediocre starts. That, combined with Jud Sargent’s good performance since returning from the DL (5 ER in 30.1 IP in 4 GS) and the service time considerations makes now the perfect time to introduce Sargent to the pitching rotation. If everyone produces and stays healthy, it should be a very solid unit.

Team Transactions
6/4: Madison placed CF Augusto Medina on the 11 day DL and purchased the contract of CF Jack Bond.
6/5: Madison optioned SP Kerry Sawyer to AAA Laredo.
6/6: Madison signed 16 year old SP Jorge Vela from the Dominican Republic.
6/7: Madison recalled 2B Jose Reyna from AAA Laredo.
6/8: Madison optioned 2B Jose Reyna to AAA Laredo.
6/8: Madison signed 4th round pick CF Terry Cornett to a contract and assigned him to R Long Beach.

League News
6/3: Boise signed 3 time batter of the year and 2 time triple crown winner LF Dale Peterson to a 1 year contract extension worth $9M. He was due to be a free agent for the first time at the end of the season.
6/7: Madison SP Kenny Wiley allowed 10 hits and walked 1 while striking out 4 in a 1-0 shutout over Buffalo. It was the 28 year old’s 2nd career shutout.
6/8: Colorado Springs traded 25 year old CF Tony Bowers and 24 year old minor league 2B Tim Nelson to Columbus for 25 year old LF Martin Costa. Bowers will play CF against LHPs while Costa will be the full-time LF for Colorado Springs.
6/8: San Jose traded 25 year old SP John Yates to Charlotte for 19 year old minor league 1B John Piper and 20 year old minor league 3B Jesus Rincon. Yates will be the #4 SP for Charlotte. Piper was the preseason #24 prospect.
6/8: New Orleans traded 32 year old RP Ramon Ocampo to Wichita for 20 year old minor league SP Jose Romero, 21 year old minor league SP Mario Alvarez, and 24 year old minor league 1B Steve Moreau. Ocampo, who has 1 more year left on his contract after 2025, will close for Wichita.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Victor Bautista 5
Junior Corral 3
Rafael Deleon 2
Jimmy Dixon 3
Glenn Fields 1
Fernando Gonzalez 4
Tomas Gracia 2
Jing Huang 1
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 1
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 3
Kerry Sawyer 1
Richard Walters 1
Kenny Wiley 1