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Old 01-11-2020, 05:45 PM   #20
Ruwisc
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Southwestern Illinois
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Week 6: May 1-7, 2023



Bees (18-13) @ New Mexico Suns (17-15)
Since their real hot streak about two weeks ago that rocketed them into first place, the Suns have not won a series, and now find themselves in a third-place tie with San Antonio. This is the start of a homestand for them, and the road trip was a sort of tough one, with tough series in Memphis and Louisville sandwiching an easier interleague stop in Austin. They're a bit banged up, although contrary to what I mentioned in the previous post, SS Brice Turang will play in the series - he's just not 100%. New Mexico's been a top offensive team thus far (although we're actually first in a high number of offensive categories including actual runs scored), and the Suns' pitching has been what's let them down.

Last time we played the Suns, it was opening weekend in SLC, and Opening Day was ruined for our home fans by Scott Fitzgerald's 2-run, game-winning HR off of Jared Miller in the 9th. We did salvage a split, though, by winning that Sunday.

Game 1 - William Gonzalez (0-0, 2.25) vs. Ronald Herrera (3-1, 5.29)
SLC: SS Mota, RF Robles, 3B Guerrero, 1B Ishihara, CF Mesa, 2B Maezes, LF Granite, C Ackerman, P Gonzalez
NMS: 2B Watts, 3B Hicks, SS Turang, C Raleigh, RF Reddick, LF DeLuca, 1B White, CF Deveaux, P Herrera

Herrera took his lone loss the last time out, at Memphis on Wednesday, with 4 runs allowed in 4.1 innings... William Gonzalez is getting the ball, yes, for his first start of 2019. This is just what Matheny was always gonna do. Maybe I need to just package Jonathan Holder for an even bigger rotation upgrade... neither team would get a hit in the first inning... our first hit came from Ishihara leading off the second but he'd be stranded there... New Mexico's first hit, on the other hand, would land in the seats, the 4th of the season for Tyler White... we would put two men on in the third, helped by an error on the pitcher Herrera, but fail to score... Gonzalez would not get through the third inning. Mike Watts, Christian Hicks and Brice Turang all singled, producing one run, and the two remaining runners came home on Cal Raleigh's 3-run shot to make it 5-0, just like that... William would get one out in the inning, and Justin Wilson came in on short notice to get the remaining outs... we had men on first and third with one out in the fourth but again could not score, but the same was true for the Suns... finally, we got on the board in the fifth, Mota singling and coming all the way around on a Robles double... Herrera would go 5.2 innings, exiting after allowing a two-out triple to Zack Granite, but we would fail to bring him home... we got one back in the seventh, this time bringing home our triple-hitter, who this time was Luis Mota. Ishihara had the RBI... one more in the eighth, pinch-hitter extraordinaire Whyte singling to get Granite around to get us within 5-3... Alexander Hermeling came on to pitch the 8th, and would put the game out of reach... singles from Trent Deveaux and Antoni Flores (who had come in via a double-switch), and hitting Christian Hicks with a pitch led to a bases loaded opportunity for the Suns' star Turang. He made no mistake, pulling a grand slam to right field to make it 9-3... we hit our third triple of the game in the ninth, this one by Mesa, scoring Ishihara, but that's all we would get.


PotG: Brice Turang

So, there goes the win streak. Houston lost so we remain in first place, but San Antonio also won so there are three teams all a half-game behind us.

On Tuesday, both C Josh Phegley and SS Min-Kyu Phyo were able to come off the DL, so both did. C Aaron Ackerman and 1B Jerry Callejas went back to Hawaii.

Game 2 - Will Shirah (2-2, 7.40) vs. Dana Williams (1-0, 6.75)
SLC: CF Mesa, 2B Phyo, 3B Guerrero, RF Robles, 1B Ishihara, P Shirah, C Phegley, LF Granite, SS Mota
NMS: LF DeLuca, SS Turang, 2B Fitzgerald, 1B White, 3B Hicks, C Raleigh, RF Reddick, CF Deveaux, P Williams

This is the third major league start for Dana Williams, a fictional player who was the Suns' third-round pick in 2021. He had a difficult debut against the Mets on April 22, allowing five runs and getting five outs, but threw five shutout innings in a win at Austin last Thursday for his first big-league win... Shirah is coming off of a win as well, in the first game of the Mets series last Thursday... Williams set us down in order in the first. The Suns would get three hits in the bottom half of the inning, but not score - Jonny DeLuca stole second, but was caught stealing third by Phegley, and so the two singles that followed were inconsequential... Robles led off the second inning with his fifth home run of the year, deep and way out to left, to put us out front first... Ishihara and Phegley would also reach base, but Granite and Mota failed to bring them home... we'd squander another opportunity in the fourth, Ishihara and Shirah reaching on a HBP and walk to start, but again nothing doing... not much really happened until our half of the sixth, when Williams met his day's end... Robles and Ishihara led off the inning with singles, and Shirah's second walk of the day loaded the bases for Phegley. Josh obliterated a 2-1 pitch out to the batter's eye in center for a grand slam! Suddenly we had a 5-0 lead! But in the bottom half of the inning, things would get more interesting... with one out, Tyler White hit a solo home run to get NM on the board, and then Christian Hicks came to the plate. Shirah hit him with a pitch, and Hicks charges the mound! Does OOTP just pull a number from a hat to determine if these things happen? On its face, there's no way Shirah would be throwing at Hicks intentionally - it was a 1-2 pitch, and although Morio Ishihara had been plunked twice in the game, those were on his first two plate appearances, multiple innings ago. Both Hicks and Shirah were ejected, so Will's day ends after 5.1 innings. I guess we're probably going to have to deal with a Shirah suspension, too. We'll find out after the game... Nolan Blackwood came in in relief, and Hicks' replacement, Mike Watts, would eventually score on a bases-loaded walk to make it 5-2... Turang led off the 7th with another home run off of Holder, and Fitzgerald/White both doubled. Cal Raleigh's following home run gave New Mexico a 6-5 lead. Gotta think this would go differently if we still had our starting pitcher... both teams went quietly in the 8th, and with Roberto Osuna on the IL long-term, the Suns turn to Durbin Feltman for the save. Top of the order for us... Mesa takes the first pitch to short for a groundout. Phyo strikes out, but after a long at bat, Guerrero spanks a 3-2 pitch up the middle for a base hit. Now Robles, but he hits a pitch to the same spot Mesa had, and Turang makes the play again.


PotG: Tyler White

I'm not happy - I think brawls and suspensions are one of the things OOTP does unrealistically. After the game, Shirah got a 6-game suspension, so that leaves us without a player on both sides of the ball for a week, and while it's totally impossible to diagnose intent in OOTP, I really doubt the HBP would be intentional. Luckily, due to the schedule (off days Wednesday and next Monday), we'll be able to get through the next week without an additional SP, but Shirah was also hitting really well. He'll be missed in the next series, since we'll be playing with the DH in Sacramento... With the loss, we fell back behind not only the Suns, but the Astros in the division (1/2 game behind both).

We're a little deeper in the infield than we are in the outfield without Will, so IF Te'Kwaan Whyte was optioned to AAA Hawaii, and OF Jason Welch was recalled.

May 4-5: Bees (18-15) @ Sacramento Solons (21-13)
It's an interesting matchup - the NL's #1 offense against the AL's #1 pitching staff; the AL's #10 offense against the NL's #18 pitching staff. The Solons had a difficult week last week, losing four straight to Norfolk, San Bernardino and Atlanta, but rebounded yesterday to put up 14 runs and beat the mighty Scorpions.

Game 1 - Jack Flaherty (2-2, 5.35) vs. Joshua Hahn (4-0, 2.20)
SLC: CF Mesa, 2B Phyo, 3B Guerrero, RF Robles, 1B Ishihara, C Phegley, DH Maezes, SS Mota, LF Granite
SAC: SS Sanchez, CF Hazeltine, RF Shannon, 3B Alexander, DH Moran, 2B Herrera, 1B Lavigne, C Flowers, LF Matsumoto

Joshua Hahn, theoretically the Solons' #4 starter, has pitched like an ace thus far. His absolute worst start only consisted of allowing 4 runs over 6 innings, and he still got the win in that one... Jack, meanwhile, has won his last two starts... the first baserunner for either side came when Ishihara singled in the second for us, although he'd be left at first. In the third inning, we'd come at Sacramento with a quick display of small ball. Mota drew a walk, then stole second on the first pitch to Granite. The next pitch was a scorcher to third that CJ Alexander airmailed across the diamond, allowing Luis to come all the way around to score... Flaherty would continue to be perfect through three, but Alec Sanchez would tie the game at 1-1 leading off the fourth with his 2nd HR of the year... We'd put some serious pressure on Hahn in the fifth, and although we scored to retake the lead I feel like we could've done more - Granite walked with one out, and after a fielder's choice and a HBP of Phyo, Guerrero's single allowed Mesa to score. Robles then walked to load them up but Ishihara struck out... neither team would threaten again for a while. Flaherty was through six innings having allowed just two hits, but Hahn had allowed only four... but Hahn wouldn't come out for the seventh. We'd get one off of Bobby Wahl, with another piece of small ball. Mesa walked, stole second and third, both without a throw, and scored on Robles' hit. Robles would then be caught stealing himself (something he does a lot) so an interesting half inning on the bases. Another run scored for us in the 9th when flamethrower Jose Alvarado threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded. Mesa scored that one too, having led off the inning with a double... Jared Miller came on for the save, and although he allowed Zack Shannon to take him deep, that was all!


PotG: Jack Flaherty. An excellent game for Jack, he went eight innings and only allowed three hits!

After the game, we received news that Pineda wouldn't be ready for his next start, and it would be just long enough without him to justify a DL stint. SP Griffin Canning is back up from Hawaii, and although Matheny's mind is fickle, I expect him to start Sunday vs. Hartford.

Game 2 - Joey Lucchesi (3-2, 4.80) vs. Jeff Burkhardt (2-2, 5.13)
SLC: SS Mota, RF Robles, 3B Guerrero, 1B Ishihara, C Cottam, CF Mesa, 2B Phyo, LF Granite, DH Breaux
SAC: 3B Fitzgerald, 2B Herrera, 1B Shannon, RF Strohschein, DH Alexander, SS Sanchez, C Flowers, LF Matsumoto, CF Hazeltine

I think this is the first start of the season for Joe Breaux, in the DH role tonight. TBH we haven't really needed him much this season, though he's been on the roster this whole time. He gets an opportunity today with Shirah suspended. He's a really good defender, but really we have an excellent defensive outfield whenever Shirah isn't out there so no big deal that Matheny DHs him... Burkhardt has been consistently mediocre for Sacramento; 5 starts in a row in which he's gone between 5 and 7 innings and allowed either 3 or 4 runs exactly. The last of those came on Saturday against Atlanta in a 3-1 loss... Lucchesi got the first two in the bottom of the first, but Sacramento put together a two-out rally. Shannon singled, Kevin Strohschein followed with an RBI double, and CJ Alexander singled him around as well to put the Solons up 2-0... we would put two men in scoring position in the third, but Burkhardt would get Ishihara to ground out and end the threat... Tyler Fitzgerald made some mayhem in the bottom of the third, walking and coaxing a wild pickoff throw from Lucchesi. He'd score on a hit from Shannon... we had six baserunners in the first four innings, just couldn't string anything together off of Burkhardt... Alec Sanchez had an 11-pitch at bat in the fifth that didn't even get to a full count. Lucchesi would strike him out, but that takes a toll... Sacramento would add to their lead in the fifth. Hisaji Matsumoto led off with a hit, advanced on a walk and a fielder's choice to third, and scored on Shannon's second straight RBI hit. Now 4-0... Lucchesi would be done after 5. Not too bad an outing but not a good one either... Burkhardt just kept working out of trouble. We had a runner reach base against him in 7 of his 8 innings, but he just kept on getting out of it...Victor Arano would pitch the 9th for the Solons, and we'd add another hit, but not enough to push anything across at all.


PotG: Jeff Burkhardt

Not a nice way to cap off a series, and it's our first loss against the American League this year, but at least we're headed home to Salt Lake.

May 6-7: Bees (19-16) vs. Hartford Oaks (15-21)
Hartford has been an interesting team so far. They were projected as a last place team going into the season, and they're tied in last place with the Mets at the moment, but the way they've gotten here is interesting. Their offense is bottom 5 in the NL for batting average, OBP, OPS, WAR and wOBA but 19th in runs scored, because they mash so many dingers. 5th-most home runs in the NL, not led by any player in particular but having 5 players who already have 5 or more home runs, here about 20% of the way through the season. They're actually working on a 3-game win streak right now, having just won both games from the Cubs at Wrigley.

Game 1 - Griffin Canning (2-1, 6.75) vs. Eduardo Rodriguez (2-5, 4.54)
HFD: CF Albert, RF Heyward, LF Chigbogu, 1B Byler, 3B Aiello, C Arroyo, SS Lookout, 2B Thomas, P Rodriguez
SLC: CF Mesa, 2B Phyo, 3B Guerrero, RF Robles, 1B Ishihara, C Phegley, SS Mota, LF Granite, P Canning

Rodriguez is, at least theoretically, the Hartford ace, so we may have a tough time today. You know him IRL as a member of the Red Sox but here in this game he became a big star in St. Louis, and cashed in as a free agent after the 2021 season, signing a contract that will pay him $175 million over 7 years. Now in year 2, he's off to a slow-ish start. He started the season by shutting out the Monarques on Opening Day but hasn't thrown more than six innings since... he's also lost three straight starts, including on Sunday in Houston, when he allowed 5 earned runs and didn't complete the 5th inning... Canning last pitched for us at home against Jacksonville, last Monday (12 days ago), when he picked up his second win, but he made a start for our AAA team in the interim... it was a nervy start for Canning, who saw Reese Albert take his second pitch of the game up and out for a solo HR, his 4th, though he would seriously settle down after that. Griffin would retire 16 of the next 18 batters overall, the only two reaching being singles by DeShawn Lookout... we had three hits over the first three innings, but we finally got to Rodriguez in the fourth. Robles led off with a hit, stole second and scored on Phegley's double to tie the game at 1... really scary moment for us in the 5th. With two outs, Guerrero put a ball into the left-center gap and turned on the jets. As he slid into third, though, he seemed to tweak something in his knee. If we've gotta be without Vlad for an extended period, it's gonna be tough for us. Tune in after the game... Maezes would pinch run and come in to play 3rd... Canning would be done after 6 innings, but he should be proud of himself today. 1 run on 5 hits over six... Holder and Hand combined to pitch a scoreless seventh for us... Rodriguez would also exit after 6, both starters getting a no-decision today since we're still stalemated. It'll be Eduardo Rodriguez' first ND of the season, weirdly... Riley Ferrell walked two batters in the 9th with the game still deadlocked, but got out of it, giving us a chance to maybe walk off in the ninth... Ishihara led off, taking a fly ball deep to right, but it wasn't deep enough, and Jason Heyward made a stellar defensive play lunging back toward the wall to catch it. Phegley walked, and the first pitch to Mota was wild, allowing the winning run to reach second. The very next pitch was smashed up the middle, and just out of the reach of second baseman Ako Thomas, winning the game for the Bees!


PotG: Griffin Canning

Our second walkoff win of the season, and both winners have been delivered by Luis Mota! (The other came in the second game of our series against Montréal.)

Even better news came in after the game, when we found out that Vlad Jr. won't miss any time with his injury. It turns out to be just a bit of tendinitis, and it'll only affect his baserunning.

Game 2 - William Gonzalez (0-1, 5.02) vs. Tyler Skaggs (1-4, 5.09)
HFD: CF Albert, 2B Thomas, LF Chigbogu, 1B Byler, 3B Aiello, SS Story, RF Adorno, C Arroyo, P Skaggs
SLC: CF Mesa, 2B Phyo, 3B Guerrero, RF Robles, 1B Ishihara, C Phegley, SS Mota, LF Granite, P Gonzalez

Well, this is a bummer. Skaggs, in this version of the world, has become a reliable, if not elite, starter. He signed with Hartford this year, only getting a minor league deal after posting his worst season in his final arbitration year with Seattle, but is now a regular part of the rotation. He's been subpar thus far, but he's coming off his best start of the year Monday at Louisville - six shutout innings in a no-decision and a 2-1 loss... Gonzalez gets his second start of the week. He took the loss on Monday in Albuquerque... the Oaks would strike first in their first crack. Ako Thomas walked in the first, Justin Chigbogu singled him to third, and Austin Byler came through with an RBI hit... we'd get it right back off of Skaggs. Mesa doubled on his first pitch and Guerrero's RBI single tied the game... after an uneventful 2nd, Trevor Story would give Hartford a third-inning lead, singling with men on second and third to drive in Thomas and Chigbogu... Gonzalez would exit after 4 innings, giving way to Martin Perez, but Perez would allow a fifth inning two-out rally with Story driving in another runner, this time Byler... the Bees would strand both Mesa and Phyo in the fifth, but the Oaks would strand the bases loaded in the sixth... consecutive doubles by Story and Tony Adorno would extend the lead in the 7th... Nolan Blackwood notably had a 3-pitch inning in the 8th, getting the top of the Hartford order in quick succession... the Oaks' bullpen would retire the final seven batters in order.


PotG: Tyler Skaggs

A disappointing end to a sorta disappointing week. 2-4 isn't the end of the world but I would hope we'd have been able to win this Hartford series.

Bees' Player of the Week:
It was a tougher week for us offensively, not terrible overall but with no real standouts. For me, the Bees' PotW is SP Jack Flaherty, who threw eight innings with 1 run allowed in a tough win in Sacramento.

On the Leaderboard:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: 1st in average (.385), 1st in RBI (41), 5th in OBP (.431), 3rd in slugging (.647), 3rd in OPS (1.078), 5th in WAR (1.9), 1st in hits (60), 1st in total bases (101)
Victor Victor Mesa: 4th in average (.364), 9th in OBP (.417), T-3rd in hits (56), T-2nd in SB (10)
Jack Flaherty: T-1st in QS (6)

Minor League Bees:
AAA Hawaii won their series against Lincoln (Thunder) and swept Fresno (Solons) before winning the first game against Spokane (Angels). Hawaii is an astonishing 21-4, five games better than the next AAA team.
AA Monterrey went 4-3 on the week, remaining in first place in the Mexican League but dropping to 2nd in the power rankings
A Burlington had a 5-2 week, and at 20-6 they have the best record in the Midwest League.

Standings:



League News:
May 2: Already the third no-hitter of the season leaguewide. Pittsburgh's Wu-Shiun Chen threw a near-perfect game in a 6-0 win over San Antonio. He walked David Hamilton leading off the game and then retired the next 27 batters in order! First career no-hitter for the reigning Cy Young winner from Taiwan.
May 4: Oklahoma Oilers manager Eddie Hoffman just up and retires out of nowhere! Hoffman was, I think, randomly generated as the team's manager in 2018 when the game was created, and held the job for the duration of this save up to today. He's just 55, so I don't know why he'd do this, but Oklahoma is now managerless. They do have John Gibbons on staff, so maybe he takes over?
May 5: Buffalo is surging right now, but they'll have to play the rest of the season without SP Steven Matz. He had Tommy John surgery today and will be out until about Spring Training time next year.
May 6: Washington's Jose Quintana pitches a 1-hitter in Atlanta as the Nats beat the Braves 6-0.
May 7: The hitting streak of Las Vegas 1B Rhys Hoskins reaches 20 games. We'll be looking out for this one going forward.

Players of the Week:
Sacramento RF Zack Shannon - 12-25, 4 HR, 13 RBI. That includes 4-8 in two games against us
LA Dodgers CF Eric Cole - 15-27, 2 RBI. Cole is riding a really impressive streak of 8 straight multi-hit games, during which the Dodgers are 6-2.

Power Rankings:
A tougher week for us, we dropped from 9th last week to 19th this week.
1. Las Vegas Scorpions (27-11)
2. Ottawa Lynx (26-12)
3. Louisville Colts (25-13)
4. San Diego Padres (24-13)
5. Columbus Explorers (25-13)
56. Omaha Thunder (14-23)
57. Cleveland Indians (12-26)
58. Boston Red Sox (11-26)
59. Colorado Rockies (12-26)
60. Arizona Diamondbacks (11-27)

Next Week: our toughest week of the season so far. The NY Burros and Ottawa Lynx come to town to finish this homestand, and then we go down to Houston.
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