Vs. Salt Lake Alpines (32-49, .395)
Mired in a real funk, like
Cam Gallagher & The Tasty Soul without the requisite positivity and enthusiasm, these Alpines have been content to sleepwalk through the first half of 2086. The Alpines have lethargically approached the first half of the 2086 season, a stark contrast to their 2nd place finish in the AL West division just a year ago and their fanbase’s optimism from 2085 seems misplaced now… Here as they begin the 2nd half of the 2086 campaign, these Alpines are ambling down the same old, well-worn path they’ve followed to 5th place finish after 5th place finish throughout their less-than-storied history – just another aimless, moribund club shuffling along the road to obscurity.
Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP N. Barilla (3-2, 2.53) vs RHP F. Bursley (4-2, 1.33)
RHP W. Macomber (5-6, 3.13) vs RHP W. Long (3-4, 6.26)
RHP B. Sánchez (11-2, 2.92) vs RHP R. Taylor (4-5, 3.91)
#82: Win, 2-0…
SP Norman Barilla picked up his 4th win of the season since being called up on May 14th after giving us 7.1-innings of 7-hit, shutout work where he’d also fan 7 batsmen while walking just one lucky hitter and
Noah DiMaio earned his 24th save of the year with a near-flawless top of the 9th. We’d also score our only 2 runs by homer as
Leo Bullock and
C Chaz Gildea did the honors for us here to give our staff & defense all the cushion they’d need to secure the win… two double plays and an OF assist from the defense in this one as well –
certainly not the most exciting contest for the fans who joined us at Pendleton Park, but it did have its moments.
Elsewhere: Our recent draft pick, starting pitcher
Terry Singleton, was chosen with the 45th overall pick in the 2nd round of this year's draft from Vanderbilt University and he's already demonstrating his potential to our fans. In a recent game for our Triple-A club, the Eugene Ducks,
Singleton pitched 7.2 innings, struck out 13 batters, and secured his first professional win with a 3-0 victory over the Lower 9th Ward Reapers (A New Orleans Gators affiliate).
#83: Win, 5-2…
Frodo Gonzales’ solo
tater during the bottom of the 7th put this one all but out of reach, running our total up to 5 runs on the day and putting the hapless Alpines a position to do something they’re terrible at… come from behind to win a game of baseball. A 2-run dinger for
Micky Austin, his 12th on the year, and doubles from
Chaz and
Simon Harris would round out the offense while Starter,
Willaim Macomber, drew even on the season at 6-6 after turning in a nice 6-inning, 5 hit, 2 earned performance that included 7 total K’s.
Injury Alert: 2B Blanco Whitt, who has started each of our 83-games at 2B so far this year, will be out for the next three weeks recovering from a torn ligament in his thumb. Our backup,
2B Takamori Miyake, will take over for now with
2B Antwon Cross being called up from Eugene to provide some depth in his absence
Cross saw 15 games of action on the big club in 2085 and did nothing with it - 190/230/224, 1 RBI, -0.3 WAR.
#84: Win, 6-5… we’d rebuff a near cataclysmic comeback from the Alpines with a dramatic, 2-out, walk off solo TANK courtesy of
SS Skyler Dickey who finished 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored and that fateful RBI.
SP Bernal Sanchez was fine – 8-innings, 4 hits, and 3 earned with 9 K’s – and should have earned the win here but, alas, closer
Noah DiMaio blew the save before
Skyler found a way to gift him the W during the bottom of the 9th. Two doubles, two homers, and four 2-out RBI for the club, picking up the hard-fought W here and securing a much-needed sweep to charge head-first into the second half.
Record: 44-40, .524, 3rd AL West
Up Next: The 2086 slog continues as the club travels to Dallas for a 3-game set against the 2nd place Chaparrals.