2074 Season (9/28 – 9/30)
Phoenix Suns (80-79, .503, 3rd NL West) @ Vancouver Whitecaps (77-82, .484, 4th NL West)
The last time we played Vancouver we completed a 4-game sweep – our only one this season. We are 12-5 against them in 2074, spend ~20m less on our payroll, and we underpay our staff by comparison. They are in rebuilding mode and have put together the 5th rated minor league system, while I have traded most of my “win now” talent away to improve ours to a 1st overall ranking. If things go according to plan – we will be fighting for divisional titles in upcoming seasons. We’re both ahead of schedule a bit – boosted by OKC’s injury misfortunes and the Lakers incompetence. On paper, we are better than them nearly everywhere (though are starters have managed to be worse than theirs, and our bullpen would be ranked lower if they didn’t lose 2-time Kingston Cashmore winner Wayne Conley for the season back in April. We only need one win here to get into the playoffs for the first time in 8 seasons – just one… so why does that feel like such a tall order?
160 of 162: We get what we need here, extend our winning streak to three, and earn an 8-2 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps. Preston Wallace and Mitchell Cusac each get 2 hits and a home run – Wallace added 3 RBI to his line. Michael Brisk pitched a complete game – and only gave up 2 runs in the effort. Most importantly, we were perfect in the field while Vancouver three costly errors – we got 3 across as a result of the flubs. It’s nice to get the win we needed in the 1st game of the set – playoff bound, baby! Elsewhere: San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Seattle all clinched their respective divisional titles.
161 of 162: We extended our winning streak to 4 today – Luca Milbrandt got 2 hits and 2 runs and Dylan Huerta did the same. We lifted Evan Frazier in the 2nd after he gave up 4 runs in 2.1 innings, but the bullpen was able to stop the bleeding in route to our 8-4 victory. Let the good times roll.
162 of 162: Vancouver blocked the sweep with a gonzo walk-off in the bottom of the 9th, sending us into the playoffs with doubt in our hearts. Gonzo in that we essentially walked ourselves off and an error with the bases loaded was the culprit – in fact, to close out the 2074 campaign we struck out 12 times, got caught thieving twice, and committed 4 errors. It’s a sad state of affairs when you give away a game that you should have won like that.
Kind of a weird way to limp into the playoffs – on an error induced walk-off loss. But, that kind of sums up my club nicely – a lot of our damage has been self-inflicted. Jacob Wells took home is second Rookie of the Month Award and Ash Newman took home his 1st ever Pitcher of the Month Award after compiling a 4-1 record in September. We open the playoffs against the always tough Orland City – we finished the regular season at 4-3 against them and they come into the playoffs on a 3-game skid. We have a shot at doing something special against them.