[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (39-25, .609, 2nd NL West) @ Phoenix Coyotes (36-28, .562, 3rd NL West)
Phoenix boasts one of the top 3 pitching staffs in the National League – it’s, really, what has kept them afloat so far in 2078 as their lineup is in need of some fine tuning… 10th in runs scored, OPS, and bWAR, 11th in wOBA, 12th in home runs… their order hasn’t been productive, relying instead on their staffs ability to keep things close and their ability to produce timely hits. All told, even with an offense in such disarray, Phoenix owns a +29 RDiff, wins 2/3 of their home games, and has a knack for coming through in 1-run games. Basically, they’re a tough out at home, but we’ve won our last two contests against stiffer competition and expect to bring those good vibes to Phoenix with us as we quest to install ourselves back into our rightful place perched at the top of the pops in the NL West.

65 of 162: Masaya Nakagawa (4-3, 3.02) @ Logan Gorsline (3-0, 3.71)
Win, 10-6. Ethan Mullens turned in a season-best performance for us in Phoenix, finishing this contest at 4 for 5 with a double and FIVE RBI, and HAMZA did his level best to follow suit with a 4 for 5 day of his own with only one riblet to Ethan’s five. Nakagawa got shelled – 4.1 innings of work, 7 hits, 6 earned, 3 HRA – but Dwight Beasley, making quite a name for himself so far, shut that fuss down over 4.2 innings of his own where he’d allow Phoenix to secure only three hits with nothing earned and picked up his 2nd win as a Major Leaguer in the process. Ethan would also swipe his 17th bag in this one, Otto would score and drive one in, we’d get three doubles as a club, bring 10 around despite leaving another 13 stranded, and overcome Pepper’s 4th error of the season with a late, rally-killing, McDonnell-Hanan-Ono double play during the bottom of the 8th.

Note: Ethan’s line, which didn’t even crack the Top 25 Single Game Performance’s of the year, was good enough to earn him the #1 Performance of the Day in all of organized baseball with some kid called Martin Wainwright, of the Annapolis Corsairs (a Pittsburgh affiliate), taking the #2 slot behind a 5 for 6 day that included a triple, 3 RBI, and a couple of runs… his club smashed the Corona Condors by a score of 17-3 in that one… YIKES.

66 of 162: Keith Baeza (1-0, 2.25) @ Landon Sampson (7-3, 2.29)
Win, 2-0. MINI SWEEP! And a timely one at that! Here it’d be Keith Baeza who led the charge, outdueling Phoenix’s Ace, Landon Sampson, over the course of a 7.1 inning day where he’d allow a paltry two hits, nothing earned, and fan 8 hapless hitters for the game while OH HONG would put what was ultimately the game winner on the board during the top of the very first inning as he sent a moonshot over the fence for his 13th long ball of the season. Otto was responsible for our other run, another solo shot, his 19th TRUCK, during the top of the 4th… a good defensive effort from the club, including another expertly crafted McDonnell-Hanan-Ono DP, and some clutch pitching as Rishon Shaw secured his 9th hold and Turnbull his 18th save to preserve the team shutout and enter our 4th straight DUB into the permanent record.

With this mini sweep, we pulled ourselves back into the lead in the NL West and are now the proud owners of a half game lead over the San Jose Seals…

Record: 41-25, .621, 1st NL West
Up Next: Travel Day as we make our way to Mexico City, followed by a 4-game parlay against the Jaguars. After that, we get another Travel Day / Day Off as we make our way all the way up to San Jose for another one of those 2-game quickies…