Montreal Impact (26-23, .531, 4th NL East) @ Los Angeles Lakers (33-16, .673, 1st NL West)
Montreal’s First Baseman, Austin Rollins, is out for 3 months with a torn back muscle – putting aside how painful that must be for him, it’s, perhaps, even more painful for the impact – Austin is not their top guy – that designation goes to C Rex Engelstad – and he’s not even their 2nd best guy (that’d be LF Harlem Peterson), he’s their glue guy. The guy that makes it all work like a well-oiled machine, the guy whose presence means that your opposition can’t just pitch around your top-flight guys, and the guy that keeps the clubhouse loose. Without him, their good offense is looking pretty pedestrian and is currently ranked no better than 7th anywhere. And when you pair a pedestrian offense with a ho-hum starting rotation you get average results… At 26-23 the Montreal Impact are a good club that isn’t going to strike fear into the heart of their opponents – no, there’s nothing especially scary about this club… it’s too bad, if all their pieces were healthy, they’d have to be considered one of the favorites coming out of the NL East. Instead, they’re just another mid-table club playing a non-descript vanilla brand of baseball… in 2077 Canada’s greatest exports are Maple Syrup, Comedians, and a brand of baseball that is more sleep-aid than compelling.
50 of 162: Mikhail Poppen (3-3, 7.77) @ Newton Weiser (5-2, 2.49)
Loss, 6-3. We wasted a good effort from Weiser by virtue of providing no run support… Otto & Marshburn drive in our only (earned) runs, HR #14 for Isaac, Pepper hits his 12th double, and we stranded 8 base runners.
51 of 162: Max Harrington (2-4, 4.29) @ Aiden Jensen (4-4, 4.41)
Loss, 4-1. Harrington was masterful – 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 K’s – and Kwaku Kwaku hit a 3-run homer and was, ultimately, responsible for all 4 of Montreal’s runs… Hamza hit his 2nd HR of the year… AND, well, that’s just about it from the La La’s. Stolen bag for Otto… he also got hit by a pitch, didn’t leave the game though. It seems that our fragile little flower is all growns up…
Elsewhere: Brooklyn’s Merl Crawford pitched a CG shutout in their 3-0 win over PHOENIX – the former Laker struck out 7 during the appearance. SP Howard Min, of the Columbus Bluejackets, went TWELVE shutout innings with 11 K’s in a 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals – two things: 1- that’s not a line you see every day, and 2 – the Chicago Fire brass should fire the Manager of their AAA club for leaving this kid out there for 12 innings.
52 of 162: Jaxson Mottola (3-5, 4.36) @ Michael Brisk (5-3, 3.70)
Win, 8-3. Well, we avoided the sweep, and in dominating fashion no less… Brisky went 7 and gave up 3, Voorhis scored twice and drove one in, and we got homers from Otto & Webster. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL… SAC FLY for Dontrell Gay, 3 bags swiped clean (Lonzo Gonzo, Mack, and Gay), and a crisp looking double play… Mack-McDonnell-Webster.
Notes: Tough to lose a series at home, but, on the Brightside (I guess), we are about to head out on a 6-game road trip with stops in Minneapolis and Phoenix… Speaking of the Suns, our lead in the NL West is currently at 3 games – getting tired of these guys just hanging around.