Back on the Road
Can we break the losing streak?
Chicago Architects 74-48 1st Place in US @ Milwaukee Eagles 36-86 Last in the US
Friday August 20th through Sunday August 22nd 2055
The Architects venture back out on the road for a brief 5 game trip that will take them to Milwaukee to face the 36-86 Eagles for 3 games and then off to Hamilton for 2 games to start the last of the Canadian portion of the schedule.
We have lost 10 straight on the road and if we can’t beat the Eagles on the road, well we might not win another road game all year. A bit harsh but even though the club is 4-2 since the roadtrip from hell, it just doesn’t feel like the team that raced out to such a commanding lead just 1 short month ago. We are only 6-11 in the month of August and we are starting to put ourselves into a familiar position. I have seen this story play out before and it generally doesn’t end well.
On the year Chicago is 14-4 against Milwaukee so we have been dominant against them, but then who hasn’t been. To end our losing streak on the road we are not going to go with SP Bill Lutz, who leads the team in victories with 11 but is in poor form right now. Instead we are going to take a risk and try to inject some life into the club. SP Stan Storey who we acquired from Thunder Bay back in May is going to make his big league debut. Storey is 13-7 with a 3.05 ERA between his two AAA clubs this year. He deserves a shot at proving himself. I don’t know with the returning John Moore and more importantly Yale Hulburt coming back next season (at some point in Hulburt’s case) if there is room for Storey in the rotation. He could be an interesting trade candidate or it could be Moore or even Lutz. Pitching is needed in this league and based on how Clint Simpson is pitching, and he proves us a lefty starter, we might try and re-sign him. The jury is out on that still.
Game #1 - Friday August 20th, 2055
Played at Milwaukee’s The Nest ballpark
A - 28,911
RHSP Stan Storey (13-7 3.05 ERA at AAA) vs RHSP Billy Hill 6-13 4.71
Chicago gives the ball to Stan Storey, a 25-year-old who came over in May in the Kent Noseworthy trade. In his first-ever major-league appearance, Storey throws 7 1/3 shutout innings in his big league debut and picks up the win (7.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K) Congrats, Stan! It is quite the pitchers duel between Storey and Eagles SP Billy Hill (6IP 5H 1R 2BB 3K). Prowler Ashley drives in one run with a single and another with a home run.
Chicago 2, Milwaukee 0.
LF M Graves 2-5 DB, R, RF J Ashley 2-4 HR R 2RBI SB
CH HR - RF J Ashley (26)
Game #2 - Saturday August 21st, 2055
Played at Milwaukee’s The Nest ballpark
A - 34,332
SP Cliff Simpson 0-2 3.58 vs Kent Bennett 5-12 6.40
They must love their baseball in Milwaukee despite the team’s struggles the last few seasons. Over 34,000 fans showed up and it wasn’t a buy 1 get 1 ticket promotion either. Chicago scored five times in the sixth inning. Cris Luna doubles in three, Walker Dunse singles in Luna, and Cruz Torres scores on a sac fly. Cliff Simpson (6.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 K) earns his first win in an Architects uniform and his 10th win on the season.
Chicago 6, Milwaukee 3.
3B T Arnaud 3-5 R, RBI, 1B R Osborn 2-4 2R BB SB, CF C Luna 1-3 DB R BB 3RBI, DH C Torres 2-4 R, C S White 2-5 DB R
CH HR - none
Game #3 - Sunday August 22nd, 2055
Played at Milwaukee’s The Nest ballpark
A - 34,815
Jose Cedeno 8-8 4.30 vs Mitch “Hypnotist” Belding 4-8 4.54
Milwaukee’s Mitch “The Hypnotist” Belding (5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K) as he put the Chicago hitters under a hypnotic trance. He pitched well, but he needed one more out to earn the win. The Eagles go ahead in the sixth. Cory Seguin doubles in a run, and Randy Hiscock singles in another. The mystifying Jose Cedeno has a rough game against the usually sleepy Eagles lineup.
Milwaukee 6, Chicago 1.
RF J Ashley 2-4 DB R, DH L Davis 2-3 BB, 2B W Dunse 2-3 BB
CH HR - none
Summary - Well the Architects ended the 10 game road skid in the first game of the series but even while winning 2 out of 3 and having won 6 out of their last 9, things just don’t seem all that great. The offense is still in a funk as we manage just 9 runs in 3 games against a really bad Milwaukee pitching staff. We did however stretch out our lead in the division to 2 games over Duluth and it remains 7 over Toledo, but now its off to Canada for the last of the painful (for US teams) series against the Canadian clubs. So far on the season we are 10-10 against teams from the North but US teams. So far this year the Canadian teams have dominated the inter-league play with a record of 71-49. That is at least the 4th straight season of domination (during my time in the league and I might research it further in the off-season).
Stan Storey certainly pitched well enough to earn another start, the question is when will it be and against who? Maybe when we get back around to Milwaukee, Detroit and Traverse City. I do not see it coming against either Toledo or Duluth, but it all depends. He pitched great, but it was against a struggling Eagles offense.
Next we go to Hamilton to take on the hard charging Mounties 66-59
Chicago Architects 76-49 1st in the US @ Hamilton Mounties 66-59 4th place in Canada
Monday August 23rd and 24th 2055
On August 10th the Mounties found themselves 57-57 in 4th place and 6 ˝ games out of the wildcard in the North of the Border League. Since that time they have gone 9-2 and are now in the thick of a fierce 3-team fight with Toronto and Owen Sound. Toronto leads the wildcard race and is just 1 game up on Owen Sound and Hamilton. So we get to face another “hot” team on the road. We really want to split these two games at worst so it is always nice to win the first game……
Game #1 - Monday August 23rd 2055
At Hamilton’s Harbour Field
A - 22,778
Joe Johnson 6-2 3.66 vs RHSP Sean “sleepy” Moore 6-12 4.33
SP Joe Johnson did not have his best stuff and left after 4 innings. On the other side of the diamond Sean “Sleepy” Moore made Chicago sleepy enough to allow his club a chance. Hamilton’s Rodeo Leroy hits a two-run home run, Glen Dickie doubles in a run, Terry Foster hits a solo home run and a sac fly. The Mounties have won 10 of 12. Hamilton 7, Chicago 5.
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We are now up to date with the league. This morning's 4 day sim took us to Hamilton for game 1 of the 2 game set there. Tomorrow we will finish off that set and come home to face a Windsor team who is trying to make it a 4 team race in for the North of the Border Wildcard, but they are 6 games back. Then we begin a 6 game homestand against Toledo and Duluth. Those games will likely settle the USA League. Toledo and Duluth also play each other 1 more time and just finished 3 games against each other where Toledo did us a favor and won 2 out of 3 games.
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