Los Angeles Lakers (87-57, .604, 1st NL West) @ Montreal Impact (77-65, .542, 2nd NL East)
When you look at Montreal’s pitching staff, they look like the kind of guys that you’d find sharing a laugh over a game of darts at the local pub – and to a man, it’s safe to say that they are the kind of guys who’d enjoy a pitcher or three over a game of cricket. That they are also the undisputed #1 staff in the National League comes as a bit of a surprise – they have a 2-time All-Star as their Ace in Norm Rodriquez, a Gold Glove winner as their #2 in John Aivazian, and the 2073 Pacheco winner slotted in at third in the rotation in Ferdinand Loving. Locally, Loving is THE GUY – everybody loves Ferdinand. And why wouldn’t they? The guy is everywhere… raising money for the local Children’s Hospital? Ferdi’s got you, no problem. Looking for someone to come and speak to your youth group about life? Give Ferdi a call, he’ll answer, he’ll say yes, and he’ll stay late to sign autographs. 2076 marks Ferdinand’s 10th season as a Major Leaguer – with every one of those seasons being played in a Montreal kit… he’s an institution in Quebec, the heart and soul of this club, and one of the top “team first” guys in the game… and we’ll see him in the first game of this set.
146 of 162: Newton Weiser (5-5, 4.79) @ Ferdinand Loving (10-9, 3.30)
Loss, 7-1. Ferdi had no love in his heart for the La La’s… a complete game 1-run effort for the King of Montreal… and, look, Newton wasn’t bad here – not at all – he gave up two runs through 7 innings and Rudolf promptly gave up 5 runs once he took over. The guy is trash right now – he gave us a good effort while Barbaccia was gone, but his confidence seemed to implode as soon as our established closer returned – timing really is everything. LF Harlem Peterson drove in two runs, and former Laker, SS Sammie Fregoso hit a 2-run double off Caldwell in the 8th. Lonzo, in his first action for a short stretch, got two hits and drove in our only run. Otto has reached 40 steals – so that’s cool.
Note… we, like Philadelphia, secured a guaranteed spot in the playoffs on a loss. We now officially have a chance to win the World Series – and to right the wrong of losing Game 7 of that series in 2075.
147 of 162: Dejuan Burns (15-8, 3.59) @ Jaxon Mottola (6-9, 4.93)
Win, 4-0. We return the favor here – or more pointedly, Dejuan returns the favor over 7 innings of shutout baseball (and this time we went to Ash Newman in relief who was phenomenal). Otto hit his 31st homer and drove in two, and Newman hit a 2-run jack of his own. 3 double plays for the La La’s in this one – we played a nice, tight, and taut defense tonight on the road, and when we needed them, the hits came.
148 of 162: Michael Brisk (15-7, 3.60) @ Kikuzo Ueno (9-10, 3.96)
Win, 9-3. Big win for the La La’s that was captained by another really good performance from Brisky – 8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, and 6 K’s – while Ethan took his spot in the Navigators seat going 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored. Otto put #31 out of the park, we’d hit 3 doubles as a team (Rollins, Lonzo, and Marshburn), we’d get 3 2-out RBIs, and Ethan STOLE THREE BAGS. Really solid road performance for the good guys – I like what I’m seeing right now, my stomach has started to settle, and I’m looking to sell off some of that stock I bought in GlaxoSmithKline.
Elsewhere… Jacksonville’s SP Matthew Krebs rung up 14 Ks in a win over Golden State and is quietly putting together one of his best major league seasons… the Gwinnett Stripers swept the Seattle Supersonics in the 1st round of the International League playoffs, despite Seattle’s 3 HR’s in the closeout game… Your boy Adrian Bae’s injury diagnosis has come in – he’s out for the remainder of the season and at least the 1st round of the playoffs should Hagerstown make it to the postseason (it’s not really looking that good)… Former Laker disappointment, current NY Jet, SP Phillip King delivered a complete game, 6-hit, shutout win over the Portland Timbers – he struck out 4 in the victory and is now 11-9 on the year with a 2.86 ERA and 119 K’s.
