[pauwoo]

Portland Pioneers (26-19, .577, 3rd AL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (26-19, .578, 1st NL West)
Arriving in Los Angeles losers in 3 of the 5 sets we’ve played in May, including the last two in a row, is far from ideal. Especially when you consider that this is my first time back in the city I called home for a decade with my new club… and, though we arrive in Tinseltown on an identical record as the Leopards, given our recent run of form, it’s safe to say that we’re in a bit of a funk, a bad way. Conversely, things are going pretty well for the Leopards, the offense, ranked first overall in the National League, is humming, led by Oh Hong’s 11 tanks with Otto contributing another 10 right behind him, while their staff continues to perform in the style fans have grown accustomed to – which is to say at a clip nearly unmatched by any other club in the majors. We’ll have our work cut out for us here, especially considering our poor form… I sure would like to land some punches while in town, give these guys a little something to remember me by.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP W. Macomber (4-3, 4.40 ERA) vs RHP D. Wilburn (5-2, 3.21 ERA)
RHP D. Hornbrook (4-3, 3.47 ERA) vs RHP P. Yeager (0-2, 7.80 ERA)
RHP W. Long (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs RHP A. Quimby (5-2, 3.16 ERA)

#46: Loss, 4-9… with the contest knotted up at 4 each, Los Angeles put 5 bad ones on us during the bottom of the 8th, including a 3-run BLAST courtesy of SS Dan Baker, to all but settle the series opener by a margin that neatly illustrated the actual difference between our two clubs… Otto finished 2-for-4 with a 2-run TANK, Oh Hong’s only hit was a 2-run, two-bagger, and Ramiro Marte, who was an absolute stud for me last season, picked up the win after tossing a hitless 3-innings of relief. For our part, Leo Bullock, former Leopard utilityman, provided our lone highlight, a 2-run DING DONG off LA starter, Dontrell Wilburn, as our pitching staff, all six of the hurlers we trotted out to the mound in this one, were summarily dismissed, dismantled, parted out, and sold off for scraps.

#47: Loss, 0-2… while more closely contested than the 1st game, the result would be the same as the Leopards found a way to dig deep, scoring both of their runs after the stretch, to secure the series win in my first ever trip to Los Angeles as the General Manager of the Portland Pioneers. Otto hit the game winner, a solo shot during the bottom of the 7th, while Hernando Benavidez put the cushion on the board an inning later on a SAC FLY, and their pitching, as always, came through with Orlando holding us scoreless through 6 before turning it over to Major Hansen and T-Rex Stiles to close things out. Rough being on the other side of this sort of thing… I mean, hell, I could’ve stayed in LA. Maybe I should have… for our part we fanned 9 times as a club, hit nary an extra base hit, and looked every bit the A Ball club next to the reigning champions.

#48: Loss, 4-5 (12)… we hung in there, hangin’ tough like NKOTB, but would not have enough in the tank to get it over the finish line as the Leopards found a way to walk us off during the bottom of the 12th on a C Mason Click solo homer that gave them the win and saddled Gray Switzer with his 5th loss this season. Leo Bullock (3-for-5, 2B, RBI, R) and Jess Alford (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI) were the story for us offensively and our pitching, save Gray Switzer, was relatively stout after Waldo Long turned the ball over to the pen to start the 6th. We’d just not have enough to best a juggernaut the likes of Los Angeles – no surprise here, really, though it would have been nice to get at least one while in town.

One funny thing about Los Angeles this season… Otto has been moved to 1B, Oh Hong playing DH. Getting older is hard, you guys.

Record: 26-22, .541, 3rd AL West
Up Next: I’ll cry myself to sleep on the plane ride home, take Monday off, as always, and then get back after it, in Pendleton Park, against the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday. One foot in front of the other and all that.