But, first… Our own
OH HONG took home the PoTW award today after going 12-for-27 with 4 dingers, 11 RBI, and 8 runs last week. That makes 2 in a row for
Hong… what a stud.
Los Angeles Leopards (27-17, .613, 1st NL West) @ Phoenix Coyotes (22-22, .500, 4th NL West)
The Coyotes are better than their record would suggest… that they find themselves shuffling along so aimlessly at the start of the 2080 campaign is something of a surprise, but it’s early and there’s still time to get worked into a groove, to bring your fitness up to a competitive level, and to show what you’re truly capable of as a unit. It’s not that they’ve been all bad – the offense is performing, 4th in AVG, OPS, wOBA, and 5th in Runs and OBP – it’s just that their bullpen is in shambles, unable to hold water, and too often allows their opponents to get back into games and eventually take them over. If they can get their pitching staff to perform at or near the level of their offense, Phoenix will be as formidable an opponent as the National League has to offer – and, like I said, they have plenty of runway to get their arms off the ground… the question isn’t whether they’ll eventually get airborne, they will, it’s are they structurally sound enough to weather any turbulence experienced along the way.
45 of 162: Stephen Estevez (5-2, 3.35) @ Landon Sampson (0-2, 4.69)
Loss, 1-2. Landon Sampson, whose dominance against us goes way, way back, was at it again, giving us the business for 5.1 innings where he’d allow just 3 hits and 1 earned before turning things over to his friends in the arm barn, who, despite their recent troubles, had no trouble keeping our guys off balance the rest of the way.
Estevez was solid too – he’d go one batter longer than
Sampson, but gave up twice as many runs – and, despite our 2 doubles and 2 double plays, we just couldn’t find a way to keep Phoenix from climbing over .500 against us today. Side note… when Phoenix put one across on
Estevez during the bottom of the 3rd it would end what was a 28-inning scoreless streak for our Ace.
Elsewhere: Corvalis is partying something fierce tonight as their Beavers of Oregon State managed to win the NCAA Championship during a barnburner, 5-4 win in extras over the New Mexico State Aggies. Bracket is attached…
Final bracket is attached...
46 of 162: Merl Crawford (3-4, 4.78) @ Matthew Krebs (5-1, 3.63)
Loss, 5-7. We looked to be on our way to getting some of that sweet, sweet get back against the Coyotes, up 5-1 at the stretch, and looking every bit a world beater until,
Left Fielder Tristan Cleveland, sent a
GRAND SLAM over the fence off
Wayne Matthews during the bottom of the 7th, knotting this thing up and taking the wind out of our sails.. From there, Phoenix’s
Isaias Osborn, with a man on 2nd and 3rd, would challenge
Otto’s range in the outfield, putting a ball just over his head to secure the game-winning, 2-run double. Listen, we got some good offense today, so no complaints there, we even stole 6 bags in total, just wrecking things on the basepaths, but the pitching was suspect with
Crawford,
Matthews, and
Ram Chen each allowing runs during their time on the mound.
Elsewhere: CF Lance Mathes, currently making a living with our A-Ball team in
Good Ol’ Watts, had himself a day against the Modesto Beasts, finishing 3-for-6 at the plate with THREE BOMBS, 7 RBI, and 3 runs to lead the Warriors to a fantastic 19-4 win at home.
Record: 27-19, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll head home to Los Angeles and await the Brooklyn Citizens for a 3-game set in our park over the weekend… This will be our first time seeing Brooklyn since they crushed all our hopes and dreams in the postseason last year.
Jerks.