[Bub13]

August 18-20 vs. BALTIMORE
Orioles are 57-60, 14.5 games behind Boston. Stats are subpar across the board, excepting 7th in HR and starter's ERA. SP Raul Trevino paces the staff at 3.58, 12-7, 164 K in 151 IP, but he's pitching with a herniated disc. No hitters have stood out (with only two hitting over .276), but seven of nine starters are in double figures for HR. Fun fact: prospect system is ranked dead last, 36th.

#119: LOSS 0-4...held to a six-hit shutout by a guy with an ERA over 7...Ragland at least looked like a big leaguer for once
#120: WIN 4-2...Josh Robertson gets his 1st MLB homer, and Wunderlich goes six strong innings...we carefully work through five relievers afterwards tho
#121: LOSS 3-4...three of the first four batters in the first go yard against Clark (natch)...that's 34 in 153 innings, if you're keeping track

Those good feelings from the Cleveland sweep are quickly dissipating. Our overall pitching was okay, but our hitting is trending downward. Groff can't get back soon enough....Of note: St Louis has now lost 10 in a row, making for a nice and chunky record of 39-83.


August 21-23 vs. MIAMI
Home stand continues against the 61-61 Marlins. Good hitting club, lead by LF Ricky Beard (.324/36/72), 1B Carlos Valencia (.248/30/79), and injured 3B Sergio Torres (.303/34/80). Plus they're just a day away (boo) from getting back super prospect RF Jerry Buchanan (.360/.435/.617, 14 HR) from his broken wrist. Worst pitching staff ERA, however, and that won't be helped by the 'moderate' dtd shoulder injury their best starter Brian Huddleston (3.99, 9-6, 102 K) just suffered.

#122: LOSS 0-1...each team with just seven hits...waste a 3-for-3 night from Wiggins
#123: WIN 12-3...ah, that felt good...Brock yields ten hits but no runs in 8 innings, and we pound 8 runs in 2 innings out of Marlin RP Chris Flores
#124: LOSS 5-10...guess who pitched again? Ol' Rag-arm...gave up four homers, hit zero

No mojo right now at the plate. Tweaking the lineup worked for one game. And my trade to improve the rotation? Well, let's not talk about that. And we're headed to Toronto next, oy....On the plus side, SS Mullen is back from the DL, and we're just over a week away from getting Groff back....SP DiFranco wants to stay in Hawaii next year. Good! But he's 31 and wants $150M over 8 years. Bad!...Oakland treading water behind us, hanging around at 4.5 games back; Seattle has fallen back to 10....So Montreal 3B Matt Anderson is hitting .343 with 43 HR and 125 RBI, yet is not near the top of the WAR list in the NL...St Louis has now lost 13 straight. They have 27 games remaining this season, so I'm hoping they can make it an even 50.


August 25-27 @ TORONTO
The Blue Jays are of course battling for the division, sitting at 73-51, just 2 back of Boston. Top three hitting, best staff ERA in the AL. 1B Preston Sorensen is raking, at .335/.437/.639 with 37 HR and 96 RBI. SP Curtis Thames has won only 12 games, but otherwise has been dominant: 3.06, 231 K in 176 IP, with 12 K/9, and a 5.2 WAR already. And three-time defending Cy Young award winner Dave Henderson has been solid, if not at the top of his game.

#125: LOSS 1-2...Henderson outduels Wunderlich, who gave up just four hits...once again, we can't hit and can't score
#126: LOSS 2-4...Clark only lasts five innings (again)...Videira goes 2-for-2 then gets plunked by Jay Erkel, they fight, get ejected
#127: WIN 11-6...19 hits, as all that pent-up talent finally bursts forth...everyone gets a hit!

Our bats are showing up every third game now, which...isn't going to work, frankly....2B Hebert and RP Shewmake get brief dtd injuries, dings really, and DH Videira will sit for two more games after sparking that game two brawl....Groff comes back next series; no rehab stint for him, just get back out there and do yer job, son....League note: STL losing streak now at 16 games, and they've been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.


August 28-30 @ LA ANGELS
The road trip grinds on to California. We have 27 games left, only 9 against out-of-division opponents. It's a lost season for the Angels, who reside in last place at 58-70, 17.5 games back. Team stats are pretty dismal for the former perennial playoff contenders. And yet, the team chemistry is "Happy." Ok.

#128: WIN 8-3...McArthur's 3-run blast in the 7th put it out of reach...Brock with another quietly effective start, now 11-8 on the year
#129: WIN 4-1...no more Ragland: Partida is back and tosses six innings of two-hit ball (and walks 5 tho) to get the win
#130: LOSS 1-5...held to just three hits...Wunderlich manages to give up just 6 hits, but 5 runs

The bats came back (for the most part), and we get Groff back tomorrow. Videira's suspension ends, so we'll be back at full strength at the plate....I fired Justin Ragland into the sun, and recalled Angelo Partida from AAA. Fair's fair: I should never have replaced Angelo in the first place, and I'll go ahead and blame Ragland entirely for our struggles in August, especially since he's not here to defend himself anymore. (Ok, he's just in KC.)....League note: STL finally won, ending the streak at 17 games.


August 31 @ HOUSTON
(Start of three-game set.) The Astros have been okay, at 64-65, flirting with .500 for the first time since winning 80 games in 2025. Pitching has been okay, led by Jay Russo (2.78, 209 K, 159 IP, 5.5 WAR) and Adam Spinrad (3.28, 178 K in 148 IP, 4.0 WAR). Hitting has been abysmal, and currently only two starters are over .250.

#131: WIN 4-0...here's hoping this game is a sign for Clark in the post-season: five hits, 11 K, complete game shutout

Home stretch time! We're sitting at 78-53, and are 5.5 games up on Oakland....Everyone's getting healthy, and hopefully will stay that way, dangit....Rosters are expanding, but I'm not sure who I'll call up, especially as KC is a playoff team too....We managed to pull it together enough to finish August 14-14, and our hitting, OBP, and bullpen ERA are still leading the AL. We're third in runs scored, runs against, starter's ERA, and defensive efficiency. Stats are below.

Next up: Pennant Chase and League Overview