Colorado Kings (5-7, .417, 5th AL West) @ Portland Pioneers (6-6, .500, 3rd AL West)
The Kings have sputtered off the line, a bum fuel injection system has kept them from keeping pace, and their staff/defense has suffered the same fate I saw in Mexico City so often over the last decade… tossing it around at altitude is a frustrating mess. Yet, this is a staff who, on paper, looks to be one of the American League’s very best, boasting
Ace Elias Belanger (55/70) at the top of the rotation and backing him up with
Jack Sanchez-Flores (73/73) and
Larimel Alvarez (65/65). And, as I keep saying, it’s early, they still have more than enough time to prove that out – if nothing else, this will be a fun experiment to keep tabs on… one that could answer the age-old question of, “can a great pitching staff be great in Denver, Colorado”?
Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP H. Wilson (1-1, 5.62 ERA) vs RHP E. Belanger (1-1, 3.09 ERA)
RHP K. Voll (1-0, 0.75 ERA) vs RHP J. Dickrell (1-1, 2.19 ERA)
RHP B. Sánchez (1-1, 3.07 ERA) vs RHP B. John (1-0, 3.95 ERA)
#13: Win, 2-1… we’d knot this one up on a
2B Wyatt Raphael solo homer during the bottom of the 7th and win it, two innings later, on a walk off SAC FLY courtesy of
1B Angel Marino…
SP Hank Wilson gave us a hard scrabble 6.1 innings of 2-hit, 9 K work, and
CL Payton Inzen picked up his first win of the season after pitching to Colorado’s final two batsmen during the top of the 9th. A good win – still, I’d like to see the offense put things together a bit better – we left 10 men stranded in this one and could of run up the score a little bit if we were halfway decent at running the bases.
#14: Win, 5-4… Leo Bullock would tie this one up, with two outs already on the board, just after the stretch on a run-scoring single and
LF Adam Collins would play the role of walk-off hero during the bottom of the 9th hitting a dramatic, solo homer on the 4th pitch of his AB.
Collins was really the whole show for us here… 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs, with
Ron Henry,
Leo Bullock, and
Sam Gore, putting in some work in the outfield for our ailing CFer in this one, each contributing a run batted in.
Elsewhere: I spend a relatively significant amount of time mining this save for talent, going through feeder league rosters, analyzing crops of international ammy’s, and even combing through the bush leagues to find minor league filler that can help my blue chippers along, so, when I stumble upon someone like
LF Porky Black, whose name alone should of caught my attention, it always comes as something of a fun surprise. Today, the Stetson Hatters sophomore had himself a day… 4-for-5 with 3 HR, 8 RBI, and 3 runs to lead his collegiate peers to a 14-8 win over Pittsburgh. This kid’s going to wreck things in the majors… reminds me of
Aitor Cubas without the drastic splits.
#15: Win, 8-2… our first sweep, not counting the one we were on the other side of earlier this month, against a club that should be a bit better than they’ve been so far and by a margin that is ushering some sense of hope in our hometown faithful – here, we went buck – 8 total runs on two doubles, two tanks, and a host of singles.
Sam Gore, still putting in work at CF, hit a 3-run DING DONG, his first of the year, to pace the offense, while
SP Bernal Sanchez picks up win #2 after turning in a superb 7-innings of 6-hit, 2 earned ball. A great set for the club, this one, it will do wonders for our confidence in the short term and, should we find a way to keep these superb vibes flowing, could be the beginning of something special to close out our first full month of the season.
Record: 9-6, .600, 3rd AL West
Up Next: We’ll board a cross country flight bound for Boston where Tom Franzone and his band of foul-mouthed curmudgeons are, no doubt, anxiously awaiting our arrival.