2077 Season (8/24 – 8/26)
Los Angeles Lakers (75-48, .610, 1st NL West) @ Vancouver Whitecaps (46-79, .368, 6th NL West)
Outside of All-Star Catcher Laz Braun, the Vancouver Whitecaps don’t have much in the way of assets – they are a floundering club mired in a poor season with suspect ownership and no talent to speak of in the front office. They are, in a word, an also-ran. Content to grind their way through another disappointing season while daring their adopted city to turn their backs on them so they can quietly head off to some town south of the border like a thief in the night… it’s always a treat to visit BC – I’ve said as much many times – good food, good hiking, and a lively downtown make Vancouver a real treat for any discerning traveler – it’s just that, well, the baseball kind of sucks lately, and that is always a drag.
124 of 162: Paul Yeager (17-5, 3.09) @ Jeronimo Tucker (3-8, 5.83)
Loss, 5-1. It’s always nice to start off a road set against a team that really only has a punchers chance of beating us by getting blasted by a bad one in the face… Yeager came undone in the 6th and allowed 4 runs to plate in that frame while Jeronimo had us on a string in a dominant CG performance for the aging vet.
125 of 162: Aiden Jensen (8-11, 5.13) @ Jack Souris (3-11, 4.62)
Win, 8-2. Well, we picked ourselves up off the canvas and took it to the Whitecaps in this one – Aiden went the distance and only allowed 2 earned runs and Rajkumar went 3 for 3 with 2 runs and a walk. Hamza hit a 3-run double and finished the game with 4 RBIs and an… error.
126 of 162: Dejuan Burns (9-10, 3.76) @ Anthony Boswell (5-6, 4.16)
Win, 10-5. Otto finished at 2 for 3 with 2 jacks 2 RBI, and 3 runs, and Hamza & Ethan both add a homer of their own to take the 2-1 series victory over the Whitecaps. PEPPER got caught stealing in this one.
Elsewhere: Pittsburgh’s SP Edwin Blaxley nearly became the second Steeler to post a No-Hitter in a contest against the Montreal Wanderers… he managed to take his no-hit bid into the 7th inning, but his efforts were thwarted by a Rex Engelstad infield single. The mid-level, bottom of the rotation, Blaxley is 1-4 on the year with a 6.75 ERA… so this one came out of nowhere… in fact, Edwin is only on the big club as an injury replacement as he was called up from Nashville to replace SP Tony Hultquist who went down with back tightness – he’ll be back in the minors soon enough.
2077 Season (8/27 – 8/29)
Los Angeles Lakers (77-49, .611, 1st NL West) @ St. Louis Rams (71-55, .563, 2nd NL East)
St. Louis is always tough – even tougher on the road – but, we have the benefit here of not having to face Josiah Weber, and, despite dropping one to the lowly Whitecaps, are still in pretty good form as we arrive in the gateway city… With the best staff in the NL and an offense that consistently finds ways to get it done – even if they aren’t too flashy in that department – St. Louis is always a tough out. This will be a good litmus test for our club, though I’d rather take it in a situation where we didn’t still have the Phoenix Suns breathing down our neck.
127 of 162: Michael Brisk (10-10, 3.66) @ Trev Anderson (10-9, 4.28)
Win, 3-1. Brisky is in a good way right now – we dig it – he’s recaptured some of his early-season mojo and went 8 strong innings for us in this one without allowing a single runner to plate (Barbaccia secures his 33rd save despite letting one slip by him here)… Rajkumar stays hot – 2 for 3 with a run, and Lonzo Gonzo drove two in. We’d also get a Hamza-Hong yo-yo DP, and a SAC BUNT out of Hamza as well.
Note: Madera’s consecutive game hit streak is now at 41…
128 of 162: Newton Weiser (14-6, 2.86) @ EJ Powers (4-3, 3.60)
Win, 9-2. Newton gave us 7.2 with 7 K’s and 2 earned and OH HONG, back from the dead, went 2 for 5 with a 3-run jack in the top of the 7th… we scored 6 in that frame to put this one out of reach. Otto scored twice and we also got 7 stolen bases – 2x for Otto, O. Mack, and Hamza 9who now has 50) and 1 for Ethan… Voorhis continued to play terribly. He’s like Harry Houdini out here.
Note: Madera is at 42 and counting – all-time leader managed to go 47. Something special could be on the horizon. Oh, and Megan signed her first free agent as GM of the San Marcos Supremos – she picked up RP Brian Hayes for $282K – the 24-year old former PCU Whooping Crane has incredible stuff and two MLB caliber pitches in his repertoire but his movement & control leave a bit to be desired. AND, lastly – we are 17-8 so far in August after our disastrous 11-14 July.
129 of 162: Paul Yeager (17-6, 3.24) @ Josiah Weber (13-5, 2.90)
Win, 5-4. Well, so much for not having to face Josiah… didn’t matter though as we secure the sweep in extras off a walk-off single courtesy of Dontrell Gay. Barbaccia picked up his 34th save and Voorhis committed his 3rd fielding flub – when it rains, it pours for that guy. I miss Ian Hanan.
Elsewhere: With the sweep, we have re-secured our rightful position on top of the weekly power rankings – Phoenix is 2nd, so no rest for the wicked here… speaking of the Suns, they now sit 3 ½ games back – ahh, some breathing room… and Madera continues to rake – he’s at 43 consecutive games with at least one hit now. Trevor Dotson of your
CITY OF COMPTON RAIDERS put together a nice pitching performance for us in a game against the Seattle Supersonics – he went 8.1 with 5 hits and 2 earned runs – yeah, he’s not there yet, but he certainly will factor into my short term pitching plans, perhaps as early as 2078.
2077 Season (8/30 – 9/1)
Pittsburgh Steelers (79-51, .608, 1st NL East) @ Los Angeles Lakers (80-49, .620, 1st NL West)
A matchup between two of the NL’s powerhouses and a potential LCS preview – I’ve already said in a previous post that the Steelers are the bogeyman, and nothing has changed – they are still a tip-top club with a smashmouth offense and great pitching at 1 through 5… They are still without Hultquist for a few games, so we have that going for us, but the reality is that these guys are a collection of savages that come at you like a roman gladiator with freedom on the line. This set will, undoubtedly, require more than a few tums.
130 of 162: Robby Garrett (9-7, 4.29) @ Aiden Jensen (9-11, 4.94)
Loss, 7-6. Tough loss – I mean, DOM hit a 3-run jack, Voorhis came back from the dead with a 3 for 5 day, and Aiden was solid over 7.2 – unfortunately, the ‘never say die’ Steelers put 5 runs on the board over the last three innings and stole this one from us.
131 of 162: Cole Guzman (11-11, 3.88) @ Dejuan Burns (9-10, 3.91)
Win, 5-4. It’s not often that Cole Guzman gets chased out of the game early – but after we put 3 on the board against him during the bottom of the 3rd it was all downhill for him from there. Voorhis, now entering the box with a bat and everything, went 2 for 4 with an RBI and 2 runs. Barbaccia gets #35 and Hamza stole his 51st bag.
Note: Madera’s consecutive game hitting streak has come to an end… 44 games, only three away from the record, for the Carolina Panther’s first baseman. He now sits at 3rd all-time behind Vica Cabrera (47 in 2036) and Rick Jones (46 in 2022).
132 of 162: Gregory Morgan (11-5, 4.31) @ Michael Brisk (11-10, 3.49)
Win, 3-2. We’d get this one done in extras – the walk-off win comes courtesy of a run-scoring Rajkumar single in the bottom of the 13th… Brisky was vintage over 8 innings, PEPPER hit his 23rd double, and we git two really nice double-plays.
Elsewhere: We now have a 4 ½ game lead on the Phoenix Suns – pretty sweet, you ask me. And… it’s roster expansion time – SP Trevor Dotson, 1B Arnold Webster, LF Joseph Zody, and LF Kumar Bovie are among the notable players we brought up to the big club. Webster’s power bat will be inserted into the starting lineup as our DH right away. AND, we finished August with a 19-9 record - which ties May as our best month of the season so far...
