Los Angeles Leopards (90-52, .633, 1st NL West) @ New Orleans Gators (49-94, .342, 6th NL East)
We’re at that point in the season where we need to guard against going through the motions as the club gives in to thoughts about playoff glory and repeating as World Series champions… and, on a visit to the bayou, it’s of the utmost importance that our guys keep their eyes on the prize lest their likeness end up a voodoo doll used to derail all our best laid plans. There’s not a lot to say about New Orleans that their 49-94 record doesn’t already allude to – they’re, simply put, bad at baseball, haphazardly constructed, and, likely to a man, looking for a way out of this terrible season. They are professionals though, of course, and should not be taken lightly, lest they rise above their station long enough to smack us good and hard in the face. This one is ours to lose.
143 of 162: Dwight Beasley (13-5, 3.17) @ William Macomber (5-13, 3.21)
Loss, 1-7. It felt like a tentative poke when New Orleans matched our 3rd inning run with one of their own, when they scored again in the 6th we all felt like something was awry, and when they poured on 5 more during the bottom of the 8th it was clear that some witch doctor had gotten a hold of a strand of
Major Hansen’s hair as he was uncharacteristically battered around during his 1-inning of work. Offensively, only
Ethan was immune from New Orleans’ dark arts, finishing 1-for-4 with a run-scoring double, while the rest of our offense continued to sleepwalk there way through the last full month of the season. We’ll need to wake up and fast because answering our oppositions 4 doubles and 2 JACKS (
Angry Eloy hit his 20th) with only a double won’t get it done in the Bayou when our very souls may be on the line.
144 of 162: Keith Baeza (12-6, 2.65) @ Ty Peterson (3-2, 2.88)
Win, 3-2. After successfully constructing a magic mirror to counteract any potential voodoo, standing it up in a bowl of black salt, and pointing it in the direction of yesterdays box score, we managed to do just enough to stay one step ahead of the spider and secure a game 2 victory by the slimmest of margins.
PEPPER’s 2-run TANK in the top of the 3rd put us ahead 2-1 and
Ian Hanan’s run-scoring single would represent the game winner after the Gators knotted things up during the 5th. Save #52 for
Haag here too as we sent the ~13K in attendance off into the night on a loss.
Elsewhere: While Compton failed to secure a playoff bid in Triple-A, Inglewood (AA), Watts (A), and Brentwood (SA) will each represent our organization in the playoffs of each of their respective leagues. 3 out of 4 of our development clubs in the playoffs? We’ll take that.
145 of 162: Merl Crawford (15-7, 3.25) @ Pete Taylor (8-15, 3.43)
Loss, 1-2. Perhaps our haphazardly constructed magic mirror wasn’t as foolproof as we’d hoped given that
Pete Taylor bewitched our shopworn outfit over a superb 8-innings of 4-hit, 1 run work before handing it off to
Hayden Snodgrass who picked up his 28th save, making quick work of our hypnotized lineup on 11 total pitches. And while our pitching was stout, both of New Orleans’ runs were unearned (
BLACK MAGIC, OBVIOUSLY), the offense would once again fail to turn over as our battery has been drained and we have no jumpers in the trunk. And even if we did have the cables, I’m not 100% that it’s not the alternator anyways.
Elsewhere: Watts won game 1 of their 5-game series against the Duluth Zeniths (Toronto’s A-Ball Club) by a score of 8-2…
146 of 162: Jan Hernandez (10-5, 2.08) @ Tom Abraham (8-7, 2.54)
Win, 4-2. It’d take a vial of fake theatrical blood, a bag of chicken bones (h/t to
Manchu – best fried chicken and
yak-a-mein in all of New Orleans - ), and an exotic dancer who we hired to play the role of a Voodoo Witch Doctor to convince
Jan that it was safe to take the mound, but, once we got him out there he’d manage to give a good account of himself after navigating some early troubles that saw two runs get across before 3-innings were in the books.
OH HONG drove one in on a single during an otherwise nondescript 1-for-4 day,
Bill Cox drove in another on a triple, and
Ian Hanan made it four in the top of the 4th when he took a forkball from
Tom Abraham yard to right center. During the post-game interview,
Ian had this to say… "Chalk one up for the good guys," said
Hanan. "I'm sure our fans enjoyed that win." I couldn’t agree more – and I do believe that a 2-2 split is enough to ensure that we’ll exit town with our souls intact.
Elsewhere: Watts wins again, by a score of 6-5, and will take their 2-0 lead over Duluth back to California where they’ll look to close this 5-game series out at home. Brentwood, who finished a league best 58-18 in Short Season A-Ball, took a 1-game lead over Punxsutawney at home by a score of 4-5. Also, with the win today, we have officially secured a spot in the MLB playoffs.
Record: 92-54, .630, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’re on a plane back to Los Angeles, and not a minute too soon as New Orleans left us feeling slightly dazed and more than a little bit fatigued… when we get there, the San Jose Seals will be anxiously awaiting our arrival to kick off a 3-game set against them in our park on Friday.