Toronto Reds BC (61-60, .504, 3rd AL East) @ Los Angeles Lakers (76-45, .628, 1st NL West)
It’s not that Toronto is a bad team per se – far from it, they’re pretty okay, it’s that they play in what I believe to be the toughest division in the MLB… the AL East. Currently, the Reds BC find themselves in a three-way tie for 3rd on the AL East table – occupying that space alongside the Chicago Fire and the Green Bay Packers… both solid clubs. That’s really it in a nutshell – they are just okay… sure, they are 10-8 so far in August, which isn’t bad, or great, it’s just… okay. Their problem, like so many of the Strangeverse clubs, is pitching, and, while their offense isn’t exactly up to snuff, it’s the arms that is doing them in so far in 2076. When you pair a Pitching staff that is ranked at 8th in the AL with and an offense that is ranked 6th you get a club that is treading water – like some so-so swimmer wearing water wings that have a slow leak… they have their head above water, but unless they stay in the shallow end of the pool, where their feet can still touch the ground, they won’t last long without swallowing some chlorine infused water and having a half-baked lifeguard throwing a life preserver in their general direction. The bad, and there is plenty of it, is that they have a -18 rDiff, are ranked 12th for Bullpen ERA, and are 11th for Strikeouts… and the good is, um, I don’t know, that they are raked 4th in OPS? It’s got to be tough for a guy like RF Andrew Beck, who, at 29-years old is hitting .299 with 19 jacks and 58 RBIs, even if he is banking $9.8M for the season – the former Oregon State Beaver was part of Toronto’s championship-winning 2071 campaign, made the playoffs with them in 2072 & 2073, and has suffered with them through losing campaigns in 2074 & 2075. This season has been a step in the right direction for Toronto, it has, it’s just that their stride-length leaves something to be desired and they have a long way to go to get back to the form they displayed when they won it all in ’71.
123 of 162: Keiki Kaneko (10-5, 3.70) @ Matt Olson (0-2, 3.14)
Win, 4-3. RP Ash Newman gets his first W in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform after putting in 3 innings of work in relief – he’d allow only 1 hit and ring up 4 K’s – and RF Ethan Mullens was vintage in a 2 for 3 performance for 2 HRs, 2 RBI, and 2 runs, while C Dom Cooke hit 2 jacks of his own in the win – together these two are responsible for all of our runs. 4 runs, 4 HRs… you don’t see that every day.
Elsewhere: The Carolina Panthers destroyed the San Diego Chargers by a score of 20-6. Ouch. SS Ethan Mason & LF Andy Shepard both hit GRAND SLAMS in the win. That the win came at home was special for the Carolina faithful.
124 of 162: Rafael Alcantara (1-0, 1.80) @ Michael Brisk (12-6, 3.78)
Loss, 4-1. Ouch. Every winning streak must end, but how often do they have to end at Brisky’s front door. It’s probably a recency effect, but it sure feels like it happens pretty often. Ethan Mullins put one out of the park, Lonzo Gonzo got caught trying to pull a jack move (that’s his 5th time caught with his hand in the honey pot), and Austin Rollins hit his 18th double.
Elsewhere: It was Phoenix’s turn to put a bad one on another team… they’d destroy the Chicago Fire (who are playing their worst baseball of the season right now) by a score of 16-6. SS Maddox Wahlen hit two bombs and drove in 5, 1B Jacob Wells hit a 2-run HR, and C Norton Manning hit a GRAND SLAM. Everyone got a piece in Phoenix tonight! Also, in the International League we had THREE CG SHUTOUTS – Davey Halimkusuma of the Mexico City Diablos (3 H, 11 K), Arnold Mistele of the Sacramento Kings (3 H, 11 K), and Riley Valentine of the Salem Silverbacks (3 H, 10 K) all accomplished the feat in near-identical performances with each of their teams winning by a score of 2-0 against their respective opponents… was there a glitch in the OOTP matrix? And, last but not least, CF Josh Rogers, of the Sunrise Supremos, went 3 for 4 with 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R, and 3 BBs in their 18-5 win over the Nolanville ‘Nauts in Bush League play… the 32-year old former Pittsburgh Panther spent three years with the Carolina Panthers before starting his journey through the Bush League… and I can tell just by the look of his facegen that this guy likes to party and tell fart jokes.
125 of 162: Rosario Arce (3-6, 5.61) @ Nat Millard (13-3, 2.83)
Win, 6-0. Nat nearly gets the CG SO but must hand it off to Zimmer for the last out as he got himself into a late jam, and Dom is at it again… 3-run homer in the 7th to put this one out of reach for good. Ethan scores twice and swipes a bag, we get two DP’s, and even Marshburn hits one out (his 6th). A nice win to take the series before we head out on the road for 10 straight.
Elsewhere: Brooklyn SP Josh Allen pitched an 8-inning shutout in their 6-0 win over the Portland Timbers. He’s fallen off recently – 4.63 ERA so far in 2076 – so, it’s nice to see him have some success here – especially when that success comes against PDX. RF Jay Shaffer, of the Long Beach Dirtbags, hit a GRAND SLAM for his club during their 5-1 win over the Louisville Bats. Your boy Adrian Bae took the Loss for the Hagerstown Hummers despite only giving up 1 run in 5 innings of work – can the Hummers give this guy some support already?
