[ayaghmour2]

May 10th, 2019: He's not a major piece, but the Texas Rangers lost Adrian Sampson for the rest of the year with a torn flexor tendon.

We opened the series against the struggling Nationals with April's Pitcher of the Month Collin McHugh (4-0, 2.54 ERA, 1.13 WHIP) battling Tanner Roark (1-2, 4.34 ERA, 1.52 WHIP).

Well, this isn't how I expected the series to start. McHugh allowed 4 in 5 off 9 hits, while walking 1 and striking out 3. He also picked up the loss in the 4-1 defeat.

Lewis Brinson, Jett Bandy, and Miguel Rojas had a pair of hits, while the only run came on a Brinson 2-out solo home run.

May 10th, 2019: Game two saw Zack Wheeler (0-2, 3.74 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) take on Jeff Manship (0-1, 5.93 ERA, 1.98 WHIP). Lewis Brinson needed a day off, so I used Tilson-Alford-Hernandez in the outfield. Kinsler and him were both tired, so we were using a short bench today.

We only needed 1 pinch hitter, as Wheeler went 7 strong, allowing just a run off 5 hits, while striking out 6, and picking up his first win of the year. Drew Steckenrider piched a hitless 8th for his 8th save, and Brad Brach saved game number 7. Steck has really thrived in the set up role, with an ERA of just 0.61.

We had 11 hits, 2 a piece for Alford and Miguel Rojas, and every other starter, Wheeler included, had a single hit. Hernandez and Alford doubled, while Alford and Tilson hit homers, as the outfield was producing on all cylinders. Alford drove in 2 of the runs on the homer, Tilson one on his, and the last to Ryon Healy who drove Hernandez in on a single.

It was a nice bounce back game, and we would finish the series tommorow.

May 12th, 2019: The Blue Jays offered me a medicore relief prospect for Steckesaurus. Easy rejection. Still haven't made a trade this season, I'm proud of myself.

Another minor piece to fall, but the Rockies lost reliever Austin Hosue for the year with a stretched elbow ligament. He's actually having a good year, with a 1.52 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 29.2 innings of relief work, but the 28-year-old rookie is more lucky then good as of now.

Ace lefty Jordan Montgomery (4-1, 1.99 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) was on the mound against former Marlins lefty Wei-Yin Chen (1-4, 8.54 ERA, 1.59 WHIP). Brinson and Kinsler were both back in the lineup for the rubber match.

Gulp. 2nd inning, Jordan Montgomery left the game with an injury. Don't take him, I'll sacrafice another arm to the Baseball Gods to save him...

Luckily, new longman Aaron Blair through 4 amazing innings, where he struck out 7 and walked none. He'd probably be next in line for the rotation, but he was excellent in this long relief role. He allowed just 2 hits and an unearned run, and picked up the win in our 5-2 series finale victory. The error was charged to Miguel Rojas.

Hernandez, Jett Bandy, and Ian Kinsler had two hits a piece. THe first two scored twixe and walked once, the last two drove in 2 runs. Bandy homered and Kinsler tripled. Lewis Brinson was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI off a Sac Fly. We were on to LA with a series win to finish our homestand.

We were looking at Ross Stripling (4-1, 3.13 ERA), Danny Salazar (4-0, 2.82 ERA), and Alex Wood (2-1, 6.50 ERA). We wouldn't need Montgomery for this series, but I really, really couldn't afford an injury to him...

May 13th, 2019: The A's lost reliever Mark Lowe for the season with a torn labrum, that will cost him about a full calender year. Please, please don't have this happen to Montgomery...

Everyone's favorite rnakings were published today, as the Marlins finished 10th in this round of Power Rankings. At 101.7, we were 40 points behind the 1st place Dodgers, our opponent for three.

Adalberto Mejia (2-2, 3.34 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) took on Stripling (4-1, 3.13 ERA, 1.26 WHIP) in the opener and Dodger Stadium. It was the first time I'd see J.T. Realmuto in another uniform. The Dodgers scored 2 in the 1st on a Corey Seager home run, and then no one else scored the rest of the game.

Mejia undeservedly picked up the loss, allowing just the 2 runs off 6 hits and 2 walks in 6. He struck out 7. Jerry Blevins and Jake Diekman finished the game off with identical statlines: 1 inning pitched, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. Blevins threw 1 more pitch, and 2 less strikes.

Charlie Tilson had 3 hits, Antony Alford had 2, all 5 of those were singles. Adieny Hechavarria and Kinsler doubled, and hat was the entire offense.

There's always tommorow...

May 14th, 2019: Aaaaannnnndddddd exhale. Jordan Montgomery is ok, just a stiff neck, and he'll be ready for his next start. I just dodged a firing squad with that one.

Game two saw Brad Peacock (4-3, 2.56 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) taken on Danny Salazar (4-0, 2.82 ERA, 1.30 WHIP). On paper, another good pitching match up.

Didn't exactly turn out that way, neither pitcher finished the 5th...

In Peacock's defense, a Ryon Healy error cost him 2 of his 4 runs he allowed in 4.2 innings. 7 hits, 1 walk, and 4 strike outs, were all attributed to him. Luckily the pen was solid, and 6 guys got us to the end, without allowing a run. Balir, Dyson, Kevin Chapman, David Phelps, Steck, and Brach all got at least one out. Blair picked up the dub, Brach the save, and the rest holds, as we topped the Dodgers 6-4 to even the series back up.

We hit well, as all starters except the leadoff hitter Tilson recorded hits. Peacock even drove in a run. Healy had 3 hits and scored twice, so I guess he made it even. Lewis Brinson had two hits, including a homer, and drove in two, while Joe Mauer and pinch hitter Raudy Read doubled. We'd look to steal the series tommorow.

A+ Jupiter 1B Darick Hall went 5-for-6yh in a 6-4 victory over the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Hall came over from Philly in the Alex Dickerson trade. He actually has solid upside, and has gotten much better since joining the Marlins.

Joey Gallo extended his hit streak to 20 games in a 10-1 loss to the Angels. Tale of two seasons for him, as he hit .186 last year and is hitting .336 this year. Although last year he hit 41 homers and drove in 104 runs. This year, 17 and 39, so really good numbers as well.

Mike Clevinger of the Indians, who lowered his ERA to 5.36 in a 7-0 shutout of the Athletics. He's struggled thusfar this year, so this might turn things around.

May 15th, 2019: Martin Perez's rehab was ending, and he just doesn't look too good, so I designated him for assignment, and would deal with him later.

Colin McHugh (4-1, 3.07 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) took on Alex Wood (2-1, 6.50 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) in the rubber match. Charlie Tilson would be unavaliable for today's game.

Well... This game sucked... McHugh was laced for 8 runs in just 3.1 innings, as he wishes it was still April. We ended up losing 11-3. Lewis Brinson was the only player that really came to play, going 2-for-4 with a run scored, and 3 driven in. He hit his 9th homer of the year, a solo shot in the 4th.

The loss was sad, as we fell down to 20-18 on the year, but I wanted to focus on Brinson for a second. "Sweet Lou" was having a lowkey outstadnig season. Just 7 days as a 25-year-old, Brinson is hitting .336/.394/.636 with the 9 homers previously mentioned, 32 RBI's, and an OPS+ of 161. He's really hit his stride now, and he's been looking like the impact player we wanted in a deal that sent out Christian Yelich. The future looks really bright with him.

Anyways, we'd continue our road trip with 4 in Colorado, before getting a day off to return home, ending our string of 17 straight games, which started with the home eries against the Rockies. Then we'd host the Yankees for 2, before another off day. So far in this awful stretch of games, we're 7-6, and it defintely could have been worse.

Looking ahead, we'd see Kyle Freeland (2-0, 3.71 ERA), Tanner Rainey (0-1, 6.75 ERA), and former Marlin Shelby Miller (1-3, 8.49 ERA) in every pitcher's dream park, Coors Field.