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Griever20 · 03-27-2025, 03:29 AM

Week 7: 3vs Chicago Rangers(18-17), 4vs Pittsburgh Kings(20-15)

May 16th

Transactions:
1B Matt Talbert was sent back to AAA after batting .147-1-3 .459OPS in 14G/6GS, and 1B Cody Kerzner was FINALLY ready to return off the DL as his day-to-day injury took extra time to heal.

Expos Top Rangers, 5-4, with Kazemd Walk-Off Double

The Montreal Expos defeated the Chicago Rangers, 5-4, in 13 innings in Eastern League action at Olympic Stadium. Montreal pitcher Roland Morris had a standout performance. He worked 5.2 innings of 2-hit and 1-run ball, but got betrayed by Freddy Silva who allowed three earned in relief.

The winner was Montreal reliever Joe Herzer, now 2-1. The loser was Jared Hughes. The victory gives Montreal a record of 18-17.

The decisive blow was delivered by Mitku Kazemd in the bottom of the 13th when he hit a run-scoring double off six-time All-Star Jared Hughes to win the game for Montreal. The home crowd went nuts.

"We took home the win," said Kazemd. "What's not to like?" The 22-year old rookie is batting .229-2-11 .602OPS -0.1WAR in 33 games.

Victor Salgado(R, 4-2 2.17) - Dan Hinton(R, 2-1 4.22) tomorrow. Control pitcher that got lit for a 5.38ERA last season.

SP Roland Morris 5.2IP 2H 1R 1ER 4BB 6K ND PotG
RF Ian Messer 1-3 RBI mild hip strain 3 days
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-5 RBI BB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4
DH Karl Ferguson 2-6 R 2DB
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-6 R RBI DB
C Kyle Barr 1-5 R RBI DB
2B Robby Weltzer 2-4 2R BB
SS Jose Robles 4-5 RBI 2DB
HR CHI: none
HR MON: none
W: Joe Herzer(2-1 3.10) L: Jared Hughes(0-1 2.70) SV: none
Morris was wild again, but lived at least through 5.2. Oh, Messer will not be put on the DL, he will play around his injury/he has to play through and be a tough guy.

May 17th

Hinton, Expos Mow Down Rangers, 11-1

Chicago had no answer for former first round draft pick Dan Hinton. The Montreal Expos starter stymied Rangers hitters, helping the Expos cruise to victory, 11-1. Hinton yielded 1 run over 7 innings to notch the win. He scattered 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 9. His record improves to 3-1. With the win, Montreal raised its record to 19-17.

Jose Robles had a big run-scoring double for the Expos in the bottom of the fourth inning. With Montreal leading 2-1 and a runner on 2nd, he got a sinker from Victor Salgado, who is tied for 3rd in the EL with a 0.91 WHIP, and swatted a double to left-center. It was his 9th double of the season, and more importantly, it put the Expos ahead, 3-1. The light-hitting shortstop got his bat hot again, batting .229-2-7 .645OPS 0.5WAR after a slow start in April.

"The boys were really swinging the bats today," winning manager Aaron McCreery said.

Jacob Smucker(R, 2-4 4.76) - Austin Roy(R, 2-2 3.66) tomorrow. 12-win pitcher in 2021, throws an assortment of six pitches.

SP Dan Hinton 7IP 4H 1R 0ER 2BB 9K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-5 R RBI
RF Ian Messer 4-4 2R RBI 2DB sprained knee 3-4 weeks
LF Ignacio Benavides 3-5 2R RBI DB
1B Dave Grochowski 3-5 R 2RBO
DH Karl Ferguson 2-5 R 2RBI
C Kevin Craddock 1-5 R RBI DB
2B Robby Weltzer 2-4 R 2RBI DB
SS Jose Robles 2-3 R RBI BB 2DB
HR CHI: none
HR MON: none
W: Dan Hinton(3-1 3.62) L: Victor Salgado(4-3 2.92) SV: none
DANNY! Great start from him but… Ian Messer… the team trainer mumbled something about… overcompensating for the hip injury… should’ve taken him off the table for McCreery…

May 18th

Transactions:
After going back and fourth on a number of options, we put RF Ian Messer(.310-3-16 .848OPS) on the 10-day DL to fully heal his sprained body. Without much hype, we recalled LF/RF Huai-yu Mah(.221-2-10 .635OPS AAA). He will start in right field… the other option in AAA would’ve been 24-year old switch hitter Roberto Pedraza(.213-3-11 .593OPS AAA), a kid we got from Las Vegas way back in 2020. He was not putting up better numbers and is not on the 40-man so…

3x Gold Glover, 1x Silver Slugger, 4x All-Star and 6x World Series Winner Ricardo Acosta(.281/.354/.416 83HR 805RBIs, 2043H 67.2 WAR career) is a free agent… but wants $4.6M, forget it. We offered 29-year old Jason Antonsen a minor league contract. He never played in the majors and hit .247-3-23 .669OPS 17/23SB 2.0WAR in AAA last season and Dave G. likes him.

Expos Lose 4-2, Get Injury Scare

The Chicago Rangers picked up a win at Olympic Stadium, dropping the Montreal Expos, 4-2. Jacob Smucker, who was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2013 draft, was the difference-maker. He worked 6.1 innings of 2-run ball and got the win.

"Winning never gets dull," said Smucker. Getting the save was Gianpaolo Saldana, his 1st. Chicago raised its record to 19-19 with the win.

Jesus Jaramillo, who is a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, helped out the Chicago cause in the top of the fourth inning with a run-scoring single. For the game, the catcher was 1-4. He is batting .237-4-15 .779OPS 0.9WAR in 29 games.

The home team got quite a scare when starting pitcher Austin Roy left the game after the first inning after a defensive play where he stumbled and fell. He was later diagnosed with a sore ankle but won’t miss a start.

Joe Russo(R, 4-1 4.05) - Sam Griffin(R, 3-2 5.97) tomorrow. Will we ever see a lefty again?

SP Austin Roy 1IP 2H 1R 1ER 1BB 0K ND sore ankle 5 days
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4 R RBI HR
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-4 R SB(1)
1B Dave Grochowski 1-3
DH Karl Ferguson 0-3 BB
C Kevin Craddock 2-4
SS Jose Robles 1-3 DB
HR CHI: none
HR MON: Rodriguez(2)
W: Jacob Smucker(3-4 4.50) L: Ryan Rasbach(0-2 4.58) SV: Gianpaolo Saldana(1 0.90)
Never do this again to my heart. Roy will be fine as we have an offday next Monday. Oh, and Mah was 0-4 3K in his season debut.

May 19th

Ferguson Hits 2 home runs in Expos Win

The home crowd had a good time watching the Pittsburgh Kings and Montreal Expos get after it.

The Montreal Expos downed the Pittsburgh Kings, 6-1. The hitting star was designated hitter Karl Ferguson. Ferguson went 2-4 with 2 home runs. He drove in 4 runs and scored twice for the Expos. He is now batting .227-8-29 .797OPS 0.6WAR in 37 games.

Sam Griffin, the winner, goes to 4-2. He allowed 1 run on 5 hits, with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts over 7.2 innings. Glen McKeen closed it out for Montreal, earning his 1st save.

The Expos got a big at-bat from left fielder Ignacio Benavides. For the game, Benavides was 1 for 4 with a home run. He drove in 2 runs and scored once. In the bottom of the first, with a runner on 2nd, he stroked a 2-run home run. His 8th home run of the season gave Montreal a 2-0 lead.

"I like the vibe in the clubhouse after a win," said Benavides. "It sure beats the alternative."

Montreal now has a record of 20-18 with the win.

Jaylen Stewart(L, 4-2 4.66) - Juan Miranda(R, 2-4 5.79) tomorrow. Look, a lefty!

SP Sam Griffin 7.2IP 5H 1R 1ER 1BB 7K W
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4 R
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 R 2RBI HR
1B Dave Grochowski 4-4 2R DB SB(1)
DH Karl Ferguson 2-4 2R 4RBI 2HR
SS Jose Robles 1-3
HR PIT: none
HR MON: Benavides(8), Ferguson 2(8)
W: Sam Griffin(4-2 5.16) L: Joe Russo(4-2 4.21) SV: Glen McKeen(1 3.75)
I like this! Ferguson hitting for some power and positive WAR is a nice revelation and Grok is batting .417-4-22 1.069OPS so far this season… insane kid.

May 20th

Transaction:
LF Jason Antonsen(29, 2.5*) has signed a minor league contract and was assigned to AAA.

Kings Victorious at Montreal, in Tight Tilt

Both teams had their chances, but the Pittsburgh Kings eventually prevailed.

The Pittsburgh Kings, despite a fine performance by Montreal pitcher Juan Miranda, grabbed a 3-2 win at Olympic Stadium. Miranda allowed 3 runs over 6.1 innings. Jaylen Stewart, who is tied for 3rd in the EL in wins with 5, was the winner. He's now 5-2. The loser was Juan Miranda. T.J. Hoffman earned the save for Pittsburgh, his 12th.

Pittsburgh used a clutch at-bat from Elias Mora to capture the win. The catcher hammered a 2-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to put the Kings ahead, 3-2. It was his lone hit in 3 at-bats, but it was a humdinger.

"I'm just trying to make good contact," said Mora, "one at-bat at a time." The 2020 EL MvP is batting .287-7-19 .918OPS in 30 games.

The triumph puts Pittsburgh at 22-18 for the season.

Victor Alvarez(R, 3-2 2.98) - Roland Morris(L, 3-1 2.92) tomorrow. Alvarez is the better pitcher here…

SP Juan Miranda 6.1IP 6H 3R 3ER 3BB 8K L PotG
LF Ignacio Benavides 3-5 R DB
RF Huai-Yu Mah 2-5 R DB
1B Cody Kerzner 3-3 RBI BB
3B Mitku Kazemd 2-3 RBI
HR PIT: Mora(7), Kersey(4)
HR MON: none
W: Jaylen Stewart(5-2 4.40) L: Juan Miranda(2-5 5.56) SV: T.J. Hoffman(12 4,.00)
Miranda didn’t deserve this loss. Maybe I should not have asked for a lefty?

May 21st

Kings Deal Expos 8-5 Loss, Hammer Morris, Cowden

Pittsburgh Kings starter Victor Alvarez found his groove in his team's 8-5 win over the Montreal Expos. With the win, Pittsburgh upped its record to 23-18.

Pittsburgh won the game in part because of Elias Mora. The catcher ripped a solo home run in the top of the tenth inning to put the Kings ahead, 3-2. For the game, Mora had 1 double and 1 home run in 5 at-bats.

"It doesn't matter if you're 10 games over .500 or 10 games under, it feels good to win," Mora told the Pittsburgh Daily.

It was a black day for Montreal pitching as starter Roland Morris needed 97 wild pitches to get through 3-1 innings and then, closer Kevin Cowden got lit for 6ER in the 10th to lose a long bullpen game for the Expos.

Jonathan Holder(R, 0-1 9.31) - Dan Hinton(R, 3-1 3.62) tomorrow. That pitching matchup should favor us…

SP Roland Morris 3.1IP 6H 2R 2ER 2BB 3K ND
CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-5 DB
RF Huai-Yu Mah 1-5 2R
1B Dave Grochowski 2-4 R RBI BB
C Kevin Craddock 1-4 3RBI DB
SS Orlando Gonzalez 2-3 2BB
LF Brian Schill 2-5
HR PIT: Mora(7), Kersey(4)
HR MON: none
W: Jordan Benson(2-0 2.60) L: Kevin Cowden(1-2 4.19) SV: T.J. Hoffman(13 4.19)
Morris was awful and that meant 6.2 innings for the bullpen… poor Kevin had nothing today. In other news, Grok is now at .421

May 22nd
Being in a 3-22 slump, Mitku Kazemd(.218-2-12 .563OPS -0.4WAR) was benched for Orlando Gonzalez(.220-0-0 .606OPS -0.1WAR)… desperation moves.

Slumping Expos Lose Three in a Row

The Montreal Expos were defeated, 2-1, by the Pittsburgh Kings at Olympic Stadium, even though Dan Hinton pitched well for Montreal. The righty pitched a complete game, 9IP 5H 2ER 2BB 4K and it still was not enough to collect a win.

Pittsburgh reliever Trevor Roark snagged the win, upping his record to 1-1. Dan Hinton shouldered the loss. The win puts Pittsburgh at 24-18 this season.

Pittsburgh used a well-timed hit by Jim Creamer to capture the win. The catcher socked a 2-run double in the top of the fifth inning to put the Kings ahead, 2-0. Though it was his only hit in 3 at-bats, it was important. The 24-year old is batting .217-0-5 .538OPS -0.3WAR in 13 games.

"Runs were at a premium," said Pittsburgh manager Randy Sandlin.

Austin Roy(R, 2-2 3.78) - Eddie Aguilera Jr.(R, 3-3 2.68) tomorrow. We beat him last week so…

SP Dan Hinton 9IP 5H 2R 2ER 2BB 4K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-5 DB
RF Huai-Yu Mah 2-4
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-3 BB
1B Dave Grochowski 2-4
SS Jose Robles 1-4
C Kyle Barr 1-4
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-3 R RBI BB
HR PIT: none
HR MON: Gonzalez(1)
W: Trevor Roark(1-1 3.00) L: Dan Hinton(3-2 3.38) SV: Juan Rodriguez(4 1.29)
Danny can’t buy a win huh. THE GUY PITCHED A COMPLETE GAME LOSS WITH HIS INJURY PRONE WRECK OF A BODY AND YOU CAN’T SCORE MORE THAN ONE RUN…

Record: 20-21, 2nd in EL Northeast, 0.5GB
Week: 3-4 (2-1vs CHI, 1-3vs PIT)
Power Rankings: #18(-2)
Runs scored: 174(6th)
Runs against: 169(9th)
Starters ERA: 4.15(10th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.17(5th)
Defensive Eff.: .711(4th)
Zone Rating: +9.5(6th)
Fan Interest: 83(+1)

Who's hot?
1B Dave Grochowski 6G 13-22 .591 0HR 2RBIs
LF Ignacio Benavides 5G 10-21 .476 1HR 3RBIs

Who's not?
C Kevin Craddock 6G 3-25 .120 0HR 0RBI

News:
May 17th - Arizona LF Miguel Martinez(31, 4.5*) hammered three home runs today in a 10-3 win over the Sacramento Cavaliers, going 3-5 3R 4RBI 3HR for the night. The 2x MvP is batting .320-12-33 .969OPS 1.7WAR in 35 games.

May 22nd - San Francisco C Danny Smith(26, 4.5*) collected a 5-hit game in a 11-4 win over the Gamblers, going 5-6 R 3RBI. The 2020 Silver Slugger is batting .313-8-29 .886OPS 1.4WAR in 33 games.

May 23rd - Boston 3B Tim Aguilar(34, 4*) was named EL Player of the Week after going 12-25 4HR 6RBIs 6R. The biggest free agent signing of the winter, the 8x All-Star is batting .365-12-20 1.178OPS 2.3WAR in 31 games.

May 23rd - Kansas City 2B Curt Stillwell(30, 3*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 12-23 2HR 9RBIs 5R. The 2021 WL All-Star is batting .333-5-15 1.064OPS in 16 games this season after missing five weeks with a fractured shoulder blade.

Next: 3@ Atlanta Minuteman(25-18), 4vs Boston Aeros(21-21)

--

The Boston Aeros had a 4-3 week and pushed ahead of us, and the next week will be crucial for the early season. For some reason, we have a double header scheduled in Saturday next week (these shedules give me a headache) and play another one on Monday, so five with the division leader.

03-27-2025, 03:29 AM	#113
Griever20 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 3,722	2022 Week 7 Week 7: 3vs Chicago Rangers(18-17), 4vs Pittsburgh Kings(20-15) May 16th Transactions: 1B Matt Talbert was sent back to AAA after batting .147-1-3 .459OPS in 14G/6GS, and 1B Cody Kerzner was FINALLY ready to return off the DL as his day-to-day injury took extra time to heal. Expos Top Rangers, 5-4, with Kazemd Walk-Off Double The Montreal Expos defeated the Chicago Rangers, 5-4, in 13 innings in Eastern League action at Olympic Stadium. Montreal pitcher Roland Morris had a standout performance. He worked 5.2 innings of 2-hit and 1-run ball, but got betrayed by Freddy Silva who allowed three earned in relief. The winner was Montreal reliever Joe Herzer, now 2-1. The loser was Jared Hughes. The victory gives Montreal a record of 18-17. The decisive blow was delivered by Mitku Kazemd in the bottom of the 13th when he hit a run-scoring double off six-time All-Star Jared Hughes to win the game for Montreal. The home crowd went nuts. "We took home the win," said Kazemd. "What's not to like?" The 22-year old rookie is batting .229-2-11 .602OPS -0.1WAR in 33 games. Victor Salgado(R, 4-2 2.17) - Dan Hinton(R, 2-1 4.22) tomorrow. Control pitcher that got lit for a 5.38ERA last season. SP Roland Morris 5.2IP 2H 1R 1ER 4BB 6K ND PotG RF Ian Messer 1-3 RBI mild hip strain 3 days LF Ignacio Benavides 1-5 RBI BB 1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 DH Karl Ferguson 2-6 R 2DB 3B Mitku Kazemd 1-6 R RBI DB C Kyle Barr 1-5 R RBI DB 2B Robby Weltzer 2-4 2R BB SS Jose Robles 4-5 RBI 2DB HR CHI: none HR MON: none W: Joe Herzer(2-1 3.10) L: Jared Hughes(0-1 2.70) SV: none Morris was wild again, but lived at least through 5.2. Oh, Messer will not be put on the DL, he will play around his injury/he has to play through and be a tough guy. May 17th Hinton, Expos Mow Down Rangers, 11-1 Chicago had no answer for former first round draft pick Dan Hinton. The Montreal Expos starter stymied Rangers hitters, helping the Expos cruise to victory, 11-1. Hinton yielded 1 run over 7 innings to notch the win. He scattered 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 9. His record improves to 3-1. With the win, Montreal raised its record to 19-17. Jose Robles had a big run-scoring double for the Expos in the bottom of the fourth inning. With Montreal leading 2-1 and a runner on 2nd, he got a sinker from Victor Salgado, who is tied for 3rd in the EL with a 0.91 WHIP, and swatted a double to left-center. It was his 9th double of the season, and more importantly, it put the Expos ahead, 3-1. The light-hitting shortstop got his bat hot again, batting .229-2-7 .645OPS 0.5WAR after a slow start in April. "The boys were really swinging the bats today," winning manager Aaron McCreery said. Jacob Smucker(R, 2-4 4.76) - Austin Roy(R, 2-2 3.66) tomorrow. 12-win pitcher in 2021, throws an assortment of six pitches. SP Dan Hinton 7IP 4H 1R 0ER 2BB 9K W PotG CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-5 R RBI RF Ian Messer 4-4 2R RBI 2DB sprained knee 3-4 weeks LF Ignacio Benavides 3-5 2R RBI DB 1B Dave Grochowski 3-5 R 2RBO DH Karl Ferguson 2-5 R 2RBI C Kevin Craddock 1-5 R RBI DB 2B Robby Weltzer 2-4 R 2RBI DB SS Jose Robles 2-3 R RBI BB 2DB HR CHI: none HR MON: none W: Dan Hinton(3-1 3.62) L: Victor Salgado(4-3 2.92) SV: none DANNY! Great start from him but… Ian Messer… the team trainer mumbled something about… overcompensating for the hip injury… should’ve taken him off the table for McCreery… May 18th Transactions: After going back and fourth on a number of options, we put RF Ian Messer(.310-3-16 .848OPS) on the 10-day DL to fully heal his sprained body. Without much hype, we recalled LF/RF Huai-yu Mah(.221-2-10 .635OPS AAA). He will start in right field… the other option in AAA would’ve been 24-year old switch hitter Roberto Pedraza(.213-3-11 .593OPS AAA), a kid we got from Las Vegas way back in 2020. He was not putting up better numbers and is not on the 40-man so… 3x Gold Glover, 1x Silver Slugger, 4x All-Star and 6x World Series Winner Ricardo Acosta(.281/.354/.416 83HR 805RBIs, 2043H 67.2 WAR career) is a free agent… but wants $4.6M, forget it. We offered 29-year old Jason Antonsen a minor league contract. He never played in the majors and hit .247-3-23 .669OPS 17/23SB 2.0WAR in AAA last season and Dave G. likes him. Expos Lose 4-2, Get Injury Scare The Chicago Rangers picked up a win at Olympic Stadium, dropping the Montreal Expos, 4-2. Jacob Smucker, who was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2013 draft, was the difference-maker. He worked 6.1 innings of 2-run ball and got the win. "Winning never gets dull," said Smucker. Getting the save was Gianpaolo Saldana, his 1st. Chicago raised its record to 19-19 with the win. Jesus Jaramillo, who is a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, helped out the Chicago cause in the top of the fourth inning with a run-scoring single. For the game, the catcher was 1-4. He is batting .237-4-15 .779OPS 0.9WAR in 29 games. The home team got quite a scare when starting pitcher Austin Roy left the game after the first inning after a defensive play where he stumbled and fell. He was later diagnosed with a sore ankle but won’t miss a start. Joe Russo(R, 4-1 4.05) - Sam Griffin(R, 3-2 5.97) tomorrow. Will we ever see a lefty again? SP Austin Roy 1IP 2H 1R 1ER 1BB 0K ND sore ankle 5 days CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4 R RBI HR LF Ignacio Benavides 2-4 R SB(1) 1B Dave Grochowski 1-3 DH Karl Ferguson 0-3 BB C Kevin Craddock 2-4 SS Jose Robles 1-3 DB HR CHI: none HR MON: Rodriguez(2) W: Jacob Smucker(3-4 4.50) L: Ryan Rasbach(0-2 4.58) SV: Gianpaolo Saldana(1 0.90) Never do this again to my heart. Roy will be fine as we have an offday next Monday. Oh, and Mah was 0-4 3K in his season debut. May 19th Ferguson Hits 2 home runs in Expos Win The home crowd had a good time watching the Pittsburgh Kings and Montreal Expos get after it. The Montreal Expos downed the Pittsburgh Kings, 6-1. The hitting star was designated hitter Karl Ferguson. Ferguson went 2-4 with 2 home runs. He drove in 4 runs and scored twice for the Expos. He is now batting .227-8-29 .797OPS 0.6WAR in 37 games. Sam Griffin, the winner, goes to 4-2. He allowed 1 run on 5 hits, with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts over 7.2 innings. Glen McKeen closed it out for Montreal, earning his 1st save. The Expos got a big at-bat from left fielder Ignacio Benavides. For the game, Benavides was 1 for 4 with a home run. He drove in 2 runs and scored once. In the bottom of the first, with a runner on 2nd, he stroked a 2-run home run. His 8th home run of the season gave Montreal a 2-0 lead. "I like the vibe in the clubhouse after a win," said Benavides. "It sure beats the alternative." Montreal now has a record of 20-18 with the win. Jaylen Stewart(L, 4-2 4.66) - Juan Miranda(R, 2-4 5.79) tomorrow. Look, a lefty! SP Sam Griffin 7.2IP 5H 1R 1ER 1BB 7K W CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4 R LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 R 2RBI HR 1B Dave Grochowski 4-4 2R DB SB(1) DH Karl Ferguson 2-4 2R 4RBI 2HR SS Jose Robles 1-3 HR PIT: none HR MON: Benavides(8), Ferguson 2(8) W: Sam Griffin(4-2 5.16) L: Joe Russo(4-2 4.21) SV: Glen McKeen(1 3.75) I like this! Ferguson hitting for some power and positive WAR is a nice revelation and Grok is batting .417-4-22 1.069OPS so far this season… insane kid. May 20th Transaction: LF Jason Antonsen(29, 2.5) has signed a minor league contract and was assigned to AAA. Kings Victorious at Montreal, in Tight Tilt* Both teams had their chances, but the Pittsburgh Kings eventually prevailed. The Pittsburgh Kings, despite a fine performance by Montreal pitcher Juan Miranda, grabbed a 3-2 win at Olympic Stadium. Miranda allowed 3 runs over 6.1 innings. Jaylen Stewart, who is tied for 3rd in the EL in wins with 5, was the winner. He's now 5-2. The loser was Juan Miranda. T.J. Hoffman earned the save for Pittsburgh, his 12th. Pittsburgh used a clutch at-bat from Elias Mora to capture the win. The catcher hammered a 2-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to put the Kings ahead, 3-2. It was his lone hit in 3 at-bats, but it was a humdinger. "I'm just trying to make good contact," said Mora, "one at-bat at a time." The 2020 EL MvP is batting .287-7-19 .918OPS in 30 games. The triumph puts Pittsburgh at 22-18 for the season. Victor Alvarez(R, 3-2 2.98) - Roland Morris(L, 3-1 2.92) tomorrow. Alvarez is the better pitcher here… SP Juan Miranda 6.1IP 6H 3R 3ER 3BB 8K L PotG LF Ignacio Benavides 3-5 R DB RF Huai-Yu Mah 2-5 R DB 1B Cody Kerzner 3-3 RBI BB 3B Mitku Kazemd 2-3 RBI HR PIT: Mora(7), Kersey(4) HR MON: none W: Jaylen Stewart(5-2 4.40) L: Juan Miranda(2-5 5.56) SV: T.J. Hoffman(12 4,.00) Miranda didn’t deserve this loss. Maybe I should not have asked for a lefty? May 21st Kings Deal Expos 8-5 Loss, Hammer Morris, Cowden Pittsburgh Kings starter Victor Alvarez found his groove in his team's 8-5 win over the Montreal Expos. With the win, Pittsburgh upped its record to 23-18. Pittsburgh won the game in part because of Elias Mora. The catcher ripped a solo home run in the top of the tenth inning to put the Kings ahead, 3-2. For the game, Mora had 1 double and 1 home run in 5 at-bats. "It doesn't matter if you're 10 games over .500 or 10 games under, it feels good to win," Mora told the Pittsburgh Daily. It was a black day for Montreal pitching as starter Roland Morris needed 97 wild pitches to get through 3-1 innings and then, closer Kevin Cowden got lit for 6ER in the 10th to lose a long bullpen game for the Expos. Jonathan Holder(R, 0-1 9.31) - Dan Hinton(R, 3-1 3.62) tomorrow. That pitching matchup should favor us… SP Roland Morris 3.1IP 6H 2R 2ER 2BB 3K ND CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-5 DB RF Huai-Yu Mah 1-5 2R 1B Dave Grochowski 2-4 R RBI BB C Kevin Craddock 1-4 3RBI DB SS Orlando Gonzalez 2-3 2BB LF Brian Schill 2-5 HR PIT: Mora(7), Kersey(4) HR MON: none W: Jordan Benson(2-0 2.60) L: Kevin Cowden(1-2 4.19) SV: T.J. Hoffman(13 4.19) Morris was awful and that meant 6.2 innings for the bullpen… poor Kevin had nothing today. In other news, Grok is now at .421 May 22nd Being in a 3-22 slump, Mitku Kazemd(.218-2-12 .563OPS -0.4WAR) was benched for Orlando Gonzalez(.220-0-0 .606OPS -0.1WAR)… desperation moves. Slumping Expos Lose Three in a Row The Montreal Expos were defeated, 2-1, by the Pittsburgh Kings at Olympic Stadium, even though Dan Hinton pitched well for Montreal. The righty pitched a complete game, 9IP 5H 2ER 2BB 4K and it still was not enough to collect a win. Pittsburgh reliever Trevor Roark snagged the win, upping his record to 1-1. Dan Hinton shouldered the loss. The win puts Pittsburgh at 24-18 this season. Pittsburgh used a well-timed hit by Jim Creamer to capture the win. The catcher socked a 2-run double in the top of the fifth inning to put the Kings ahead, 2-0. Though it was his only hit in 3 at-bats, it was important. The 24-year old is batting .217-0-5 .538OPS -0.3WAR in 13 games. "Runs were at a premium," said Pittsburgh manager Randy Sandlin. Austin Roy(R, 2-2 3.78) - Eddie Aguilera Jr.(R, 3-3 2.68) tomorrow. We beat him last week so… SP Dan Hinton 9IP 5H 2R 2ER 2BB 4K L CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-5 DB RF Huai-Yu Mah 2-4 LF Ignacio Benavides 1-3 BB 1B Dave Grochowski 2-4 SS Jose Robles 1-4 C Kyle Barr 1-4 2B Robby Weltzer 1-4 3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-3 R RBI BB HR PIT: none HR MON: Gonzalez(1) W: Trevor Roark(1-1 3.00) L: Dan Hinton(3-2 3.38) SV: Juan Rodriguez(4 1.29) Danny can’t buy a win huh. THE GUY PITCHED A COMPLETE GAME LOSS WITH HIS INJURY PRONE WRECK OF A BODY AND YOU CAN’T SCORE MORE THAN ONE RUN… Record: 20-21, 2nd in EL Northeast, 0.5GB Week: 3-4 (2-1vs CHI, 1-3vs PIT) Power Rankings: #18(-2) Runs scored: 174(6th) Runs against: 169(9th) Starters ERA: 4.15(10th) Bullpen ERA: 3.17(5th) Defensive Eff.: .711(4th) Zone Rating: +9.5(6th) Fan Interest: 83(+1) Who's hot? 1B Dave Grochowski 6G 13-22 .591 0HR 2RBIs LF Ignacio Benavides 5G 10-21 .476 1HR 3RBIs Who's not? C Kevin Craddock 6G 3-25 .120 0HR 0RBI News: May 17th - Arizona LF Miguel Martinez(31, 4.5) hammered three home runs today in a 10-3 win over the Sacramento Cavaliers, going 3-5 3R 4RBI 3HR for the night. The 2x MvP is batting .320-12-33 .969OPS 1.7WAR in 35 games. May 22nd - San Francisco* C Danny Smith(26, 4.5) collected a 5-hit game in a 11-4 win over the Gamblers, going 5-6 R 3RBI. The 2020 Silver Slugger is batting .313-8-29 .886OPS 1.4WAR in 33 games. May 23rd - Boston* 3B Tim Aguilar(34, 4) was named EL Player of the Week after going 12-25 4HR 6RBIs 6R. The biggest free agent signing of the winter, the 8x All-Star is batting .365-12-20 1.178OPS 2.3WAR in 31 games. May 23rd - Kansas City* 2B Curt Stillwell(30, 3) was named WL Player of the Week after going 12-23 2HR 9RBIs 5R. The 2021 WL All-Star is batting .333-5-15 1.064OPS in 16 games this season after missing five weeks with a fractured shoulder blade. Next: 3@ Atlanta Minuteman(25-18), 4vs Boston Aeros(21-21) -- The Boston Aeros* had a 4-3 week and pushed ahead of us, and the next week will be crucial for the early season. For some reason, we have a double header scheduled in Saturday next week (these shedules give me a headache) and play another one on Monday, so five with the division leader. __________________ The Montreal Expos... Exposing the New MLB? MLB 2015 - Being the Brewmaster(ended) MLB 2013: The Blue Jays That Never Were(concluded)