[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (62-39, .613, 1st NL West) @ Seattle Metros (48-52, .480, 4th AL West)
It’s not often that we’re afforded the opportunity to spend time in the Pacific Northwest, much less have a day off, left to our own devices, in town prior to the start of this 3-game set… plenty of time to rehydrate, take in the sights and sounds of Pike Place Market, toss some fish around, feed the seagulls some fries at Ivars on the water, and work on alkalizing my body sufficiently for the slog ahead. Seattle has spent the better part of a decade contending, managing to win the World Series 3x during that stretch (2070, 2073, and 2076), but have been a bit up and down more recently, missing the playoffs in 2077 for the first time in 7 years, and are on the outside looking in so far this season. This year’s model is average on both sides of the ball, they do have their bright spots, of course, with Lonzo Gonzo, Aitor Cubas, and Patrick Adams coming to mind offensively, but, after you’ve called those names out, there’s just not a lot left on the page worth talking about.

102 of 162: Stephen Estevez (10-3, 1.88) @ Ricky Halbur (4-4, 3.18)
Win, 1-0. To get the win, on the road, after posting a meager three hits and only a single run, that came during the top of the 6th inning off a Tyler Hill SAC FLY, is the exact kind of good fortune we need after getting shellacked so severely during our last time out. And, to that we’ll say, with respectful eye contact and positive body language, ‘thank you sir, may I have another’… look, I know I said that this year’s version of Seattle is average at best, but, given that theirs is a proud and historically successful franchise, it’s easy to get caught looking against this kind of club. For our part, we stuck to the game plan, gutted out a nice little road win, and will attempt to carry this good fortune forward through the next two games in Seattle.

103 of 162: Dwight Beasley (9-3, 3.31) @ Tony Cox (6-1, 4.06)
Win, 2-0. Another day, another pitchers’ duel… with Pepper’s 2-run DING DONG coming during the 5th, we’d rely on our pitching the rest of the way to protect the win, and shut out the Metros, in their park, for the second day in a row. Beasley was beastly over 7-innings of work, fanning 6 while allowing just 3 total hits, Donovan Turnbull fanned two as he recorded his 6th hold on the year, and Haag is now one save away from 40 after securing his 39th of the season. And, we’ll enjoy another day in the sun as good fortune continues to shine on our club…

Of Note: RP Kaoru Kudo, who went down in late June, missing 4-weeks of work due to a severe abdominal strain, is eligible to return form the IL… I’m having a difficult time figuring out who to send down, so, for now, K2 will spend some time in Compton on a rehab assignment in the hopes that he gets himself good & sharp while I let my bullpen sort itself out based on individual performances over the next few weeks.

104 of 162: Keith Baeza (8-4, 2.80) @ Pappy Kincaid (3-7, 4.90)
Win, 6-5. Down one headed into the stretch, OH HONG would put us up 2 with a 3-run DING DONG during the top of the 7th… Seattle, not content to go down at home without a fight, was able to get one of those back when 3B Lance Tabor brought Aitor Cubas around on a SAC FLY, and that’s where we’d leave it as the bullpen triumvirate of Miotke, Turnbull, and Haag would do work, shutting the door on the home team to preserve the W. Otto joins OH HONG in the derby, brought in 2 on an early HR of his own, Tyler Hill continues to fill out the Leopards kit quite nicely, scoring a run for us today, and Hutchinson, who contributed to a rally-killing double play during the bottom of the 7th, had himself a nice little 2-for-4 day with a run and a riblet… and, just like that, we find ourselves back on that good stuff, completing a sweep on the road before welcoming the AL’s Denver Miners to our house tomorrow.

Record: 65-39, .625, 1st NL West
Up Next: The Denver Miners are headed our way for a three-game set…