Seattle Metros (0-0, .000, t-1st AL West) @ Portland Pioneers (0-0, .000, t-1st AL West)
I’ll start my tenure in Portland at home against our fiercest rival, the Seattle Metros, in a 3-game set that will count towards 2 of the 3 trophies up for grabs this season – the Cascadia Cup, awarded to the team with the best H2H record between Seattle, Vancouver, and ourselves, and the MLB Regular Season. Seattle, not unlike us, isn’t the most highly regarded club in the American League, though they are seen as a team in the hunt, a club who could, if things break their way, secure a wildcard spot this season after missing the postseason for 4 straight years. They’re a far cry from the club that made it to the post season in 10 of 11 straight seasons, winning it all three times during that span but expect that their reimagining project (see: rebuild) starts to pay some early dividends this season. And, who knows, maybe they’ll run roughshod over all comers in our division – their infield defense looks fierce, Silver Sluggers
Patrick Adams and
Rajkumar Kosciusko are manning the outfield corners, and their Ace, while not necessarily a top 3 guy, is top 10 in the Majors at least.
Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP W. Macomber (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs LHP A. Gunter (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
RHP D. Hornbrook (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP B. Dauncey (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
RHP H. Wilson (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP M. Fauske (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
#1: Win, 5-0…
3B Ron Henry hit a 3-run homer during the bottom of the 8th to put us up 5-0 and
SP William Macomber picked up his 1st win of the season after turning in 5-innings of shutout baseball with the bullpen allowing only a single hit the rest of the way.
1B Jaden Korzec hit a triple, we’d get a 2-out RBI from
Leo Bullock on a single, and, most importantly, get the opening day win, at home, in the first game of this new era.
#2: Loss, 1-5… Seattle would rely on a 4-run top of the 5th to put this one to bed, mostly from a bases-clearing double courtesy of
CF Page Sommers, while
SP Bob Dauncey had little trouble subduing our lineup over 6-innings of 3-hit work that included 8 strikeouts.
Hornbrook is saddled with the loss in his debut after allowing all 5 of Seattle’s runs, we couldn’t muster a single EBH, and
3B Ron Henry contributed a costly fielding flub that was the beginning of
Hornbrook’s demise. As days at the office go, this one was not my favorite.
Elsewhere: SP Rad Taylor, who signed a 1yr/$3.2mm contract with Montreal during the offseason, turned in an 8-inning, 3-hit shutout with 7 K’s to lead his new club to a 2-0 win over division rival Pittsburgh. After a rough season with me in Los Angeles last year, it’s nice to see Rad land on his feet and with a club that has room for him near the top of their rotation.
#3: Win, 6-0… our second win of the season, a winning set to begin the 2085 campaign, a smashing start to my tenure here, and our second shutout all rolled into one –
SP Hank Wilson was dealing, giving us a winning 5.2-inning, 5-hit, 3 K, clean sheet with
RP Tristan Kim and
RP Adrian Adragna preserving that the rest of the way. We’d get a nice, balanced offense here as well with 5 batsmen contributing RBI, led by
Ron Henry’s 2-run double. A good team win, a great way to start against a fellow Cascadian club, and about as good of a start I could have hoped for.
Elsewhere: SP AJ Quimby, who joined the Leopards during the offseason on a 1yr/$3.28mm contract, pitched a
PERFECT GAME against San Diego to lead the La La’s, who are now 1-2, to a 2-0 win over the Skipjacks. This marks the
81st No Hitter in this save and only the 4th Perfect Game.
SP David Arney last accomplished the feat with Seattle back in 2080.
Record: 2-1, .667, 2nd AL West
Up Next: We’ll take this show on the road with a set in Utah against the Salt Lake Alpines.