Los Angeles Lakers (21-12, .636, 1st NL West) @ San Diego Chargers (15-17, .469, 4th NL West)
So, umm, yeah… do you ever look at your upcoming schedule, get excited by something you see and miss what comes before it as a result? No? Just me? Well, OK – fine – that’s what I’ve done here. When I approached our clubs travel coordinator about getting out to Charlotte early, she gave me a weird look – you know the one… the “what’s wrong with you, are you broken” look you get from your wife when she finds a McDonald’s receipt while cleaning out the car. Long story short – we’re in San Diego for a two-game parlay against the Chargers instead of out east visiting the Queen City. The Chargers are an okay club – middling, serviceable, tanned – who have some speed (1st in Stolen Bases) and a lockdown bullpen (1st in Bullpen ERA), but are decidedly average everywhere else. At full strength, they’d be formidable – kind of – but find themselves broken at this early juncture of the 2076 campaign with 5 contributors and 1 borderline all-star making their living on the IL. Even still, they have good fan loyalty & interest which is, well, surprising given the dearth of outdoor activities available to the citizenry of San Diego. I mean, how do you explain a 6% increase in attendance for a club that has taken a large step back from where they were last year? Instead of eating Umami Fries at the park these folks could be people watching at the beach, combing the sand with the latest in metal detection technology, or frolicking in the surf… so many other options for entertainment when you live in paradise. Instead, they come to the park to cheer on the Burt McElheny’s of the world, to hold their breath when Smith Wells works the count full, and to sample the many over-hopped microbrews on tap throughout the park. If it was me – when choosing between watching the local talent on the beach while enjoying a sugary alcoholic concoction of dubious origin versus destroying my taste buds with each sip of a 1000+ IBU & outlandishly hopped up microbrew while watching the Chargers drop another ballgame – I’m applying some of that SPF 50 lotion, grabbing my favorite pair of aviators, and heading to the surf.
34 of 162: Case Tunnell (4-0, 4.20) @ Mike Augustine (2-3, 6.25)
Win, 11-2. Case reigns supreme and gives San Diego all seven layers in this one – an 8 inning, 7-hit performance where only two runs manage to come home for the Chargers – and Dom Cooke went off in a 4 for 5 performance with two doubles, a homer, 4 runs, and an RBI. Ethan had himself a day as well – 3 for 5, a double, and an RBI for the Dallas, TX born & bred right fielder… Otto finished 2 for 3 with 3 RBI’s, Williams scores twice, and Weaver drives in 3 runs. The Lakers are dominant here – 3 doubles, a triple, and a home run – and left the San Diego fanbase rethinking their life choices when this one was all said and done. If thought bubbles were visible – like some kind of real-life comic book – I can’t see a scenario where every single fan along the first baseline didn’t simultaneously entertain the thought that “I could’ve gone to the beach today”, after our 6-run 6th inning of doom. Instead, they were treated to a shellacking and probable permanent taste bud damage from washing down their sorrows with one too many of those Sculpin IPA’s by Ballast Point Brewing Company that was on a 2-for-1 special until the stretch. Ahh, hints of apricot, peach, mango, lemon, and disappointment – should have reached for a high life.
Elsewhere… Adrian Bae got his 3rd start for the Hummers today against the Quincy Quackers… and left after throwing 73 pitches over 3 innings of sub-par work. He was laboring out on the bump today – walking 3, allowing a couple to get across, giving up a couple of hits, and striking out 5 – listen, he wasn’t terrible, but Quincy was making him work way too hard for it. He just didn’t have his good stuff. Bright side – game went to extras and Hagerstown walked Quincy off in the bottom of the 11th when Yoshinori Okada hit a run-scoring single. All is well that ends well and Adrian lives to fight another day.
35 of 162: Phillip King (3-2, 2.45) @ Aden Grey (1-5, 5.89)
Loss, 4-3. Phillip King struggled early, giving up three runs in the bottom of the first, and our offense decided that effort is for suckers. Mullens & Zarate showed up – 5 for 10 with 2 RBI’s between them, Otto was out there swinging at pitches like he got sunblock in his eyes, Cooke struck out 4 times, and, outside of hitting a couple of doubles, we did jack squat the rest of the way. Ben Compton, the erstwhile San Diego first baseman drove in all the Chargers’ runs – 1st on the 3-run homer he hit on King in the 1st and then later on a run-scoring single against King in the 3rd. In other news, I tried myself one of those Sculpin IPA’s – my mouth feels like I just had my teeth cleaned and the dentist’s assistant accidentally nicked my tongue with the Novocain. So that’s fun.
