Los Angeles Leopards (89-44, .669, 1st NL West) @ Mexico City Jaguars (58-75, .436, 6th NL West)
Ahh… Mexico City, home of the ho-hum Jaguars, world class tacos, all the mezcal a boy could want, and trouble around every corner. With the 5th ranked offense in the league where they rank 2nd in AVG & OBP, 4th in OPS and wOBA, and no worse that 6th anywhere else, it’s safe to say that this club rakes… what they don’t do well, and stop me if I’ve told you this many, many times before, is pitch. They rank dead last (12th) in Starters & Bullpen ERA, allow more runs than any other club in our sub league, are also last in defensive efficiency, and are more error prone that 9 other squads. Basically this 58-75 monstrosity is trash, barely worth the attention we’ll ask our players to give them… but, as ever, they play in a city that can sometimes cast a spell on opposing teams, convincing them that a night spent imbibing copious amounts of mezcal, dancing until the sun comes up, and wandering off with women of ill repute is a good way to spend their downtime so that they are all but worthless the next day on the field of play. We’ve fallen victim to that trap more than once – BUT, not this time, not on my watch.
134 of 162: Merl Crawford (9-6, 2.59) @ Davey Halimkusuma (4-2, 2.90)
Loss, 2-9. Mexico City stung
Merl for 5 runs, chasing him out of this one prior to the start of the 3rd inning, while their so-so staff had little trouble with our vastly overrated offense. Each of our runs came on SAC FLIES, one each for
Ono and
Hutch, we left 8 runners stranded, secured only one EBH… so, as you can see, and despite the fact that we fielded 3 double plays and
Otto completed 2 OF Assists, our offense presented a weak version of themselves and basically spent the majority of the game looking on with envy as the Jaguars styled on us much to the delight of their hometown crowd.
135 of 162: Ram Chen (6-4, 2.01) @ Jaxon Dupre (5-13, 5.87)
Loss, 4-6.
Craig Ramis had a career day for the home team, finishing 3-for-4 at the plate with THREE DING DONGS (2 off
Ram, 1 off
T-Rex), FOUR RBI, and 3 RUNS, and was basically the whole show for the Jaguars in this one as they made it two wins in a row against us to start this 4-game series off with a bang.
Chen got worked over to the tune of 4 runs allowed over 5 innings of work,
T-Rex got rolled after trying to come to his aid in relief, allowing two more bad ones to come across during his 2.1 innings of work, and, once again, the offense presented like a 90lb weakling at a body building contest… frail, ineffectual, out of place. Of note…
OH HONG continues to stay hot – 2-for-3, a double, 2 riblets and a run tonight.
136 of 162: Dontrell McNeil (4-3, 4.05) @ Justin Torres (7-5, 4.24)
Win, 9-2. Here our offense would come alive, putting a deuce on Mexico City during the top of the 1st and pummeling them with a selection of our greatest hits from there…
OH HONG drove in 4 runs during a 3-for-5 day at the plate,
Otto brought 2 more in on his 37th long ball, and
Koloski would round things out for us, putting runs #8 & 9 on the board during the top of the 8th with his first DING DONG in the Major Leagues… Pitching was stout as well –
Dontrell gave us 5-innings of filthiness, allowing just one runner to plate during his time on the bump, with
Beasley and
Marte closing the show admirably as our club managed to get some of that sweet, sweet get back after having catching some elbows during the first two games.
Elsewhere: SP Nacho Valadez, tossing a rehab start down on the farm in Kent (a Seattle Metros affiliate), played the Kelowna Silvertips like marionettes, holding them scoreless on 5 total hits during an 8-inning, 7 K performance… all the while leading the Comets to a hard-earned 2-1 victory on the road.
Who makes a Major Leaguer travel for a rehab start?
137 of 162: Stephen Estevez (12-5, 2.38) @ Hunter Newhouse (0-5, 3.02)
Win, 7-2. Our offense came correct once again, putting 7 bad ones on the Jaguars as we exit stage left, winners of two in a row.
Otto led the way offensively with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, including
JACK #38 off
Newhouse while
Ono drove two in despite not registering a single hit, the first on a bases-loaded walk and second on a bases-loaded hit by pitch… and, the pitching was fierce with
Estevez picking his 13th win,
T-Rex securing his 7th hold, and
Don Haag earning save #47 on the year…
Record: 91-46, .664, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’re head back stateside with our next stop in Las Vegas where we’ll attempt to bring the Outlaws to justice during a quickie, 2-game series.