Los Angeles Lakers (53-29, .646, 1st NL West) @ San Diego Chargers (33-47, .412, 5th NL West)
From one paradise to another – first we had four games in Phoenix, now we get a four-game stretch in San Diego… Let’s hope that Brisky can control himself this time. The Chargers, after missing the postseason for the first time in three seasons in 2076, are poised to do it again, albeit in a more spectacular fashion. They’ve fashioned a barely-above average offense that is 2nd in the NL for OBP and 5th in just about everything else but has a lot of work to do in the pitching department if they plan on being competitive any time soon. 11th in RA, Bullpen ERA, FIP, and pWAR, and 12th in Starters ERA – the San Diego pitching staff can’t really do the one job they have to do very well. And at 4-6 for their last 10, with a -51 rDiff, and a 16-22 home record – I think that it is safe to say that San Diego is in rough form. This should be a nice respite before the all-star break replete with winning, street tacos, and roller-skating on the boardwalk.
83 of 162: Dejuan Burns (7-4, 3.54) @ Burt McElheny (6-5, 3.71)
Loss, 3-1. Well, I did go roller-skating last night after arriving in San Diego from Phoenix, so there is that – the winning though, well, not so much… Dejuan gave us 6 innings, gave up 2, and was saddled with the loss as Big Burt McElheny went ham over 7.1 innings of 1-run ball while striking out 9 of my La La’s… Otto went 3 for 4, Lonzo got caught stealing, and, well, we just really sucked in this one. The Chargers put TWO SAC FLIES on the board tonight and that was the difference. That and the fact that we sucked. Our suckage helped too.
84 of 162: Paul Yeager (11-3, 3.11) @ Rod Garcia (4-4, 5.70)
Win, 6-5. Yeager didn’t look great – he gave up 5 in 7.2 but somehow walked away with the win anyway… we’ll take it, but I expect better from our Ace. Ethan went 3 for 5 with a solo HR, OH HONG went 3 for 4 with an RBI, Barbaccia picks up his 23rd SV, and ETHAN STOLE THREE BAGS. 3 homers in the game – Otto, Ethan, Dylan Tucker (his 1st), 2 doubles – Messick & Voorhis, and 2-out RBIs for Messick, Otto, and Ethan… some good stuff out of the Yellow Caps tonight.
85 of 162: Newton Weiser (10-4, 3.08) @ Artyom Fadeyev (3-11, 6.73)
Win, 4-2. Newton pitched 7 solid innings, and Dom Cooke’s solo HR in the top of the 8th put us up for good tonight – another ho-hum, game 1 like performance from the team, but we got it done this time… 24th save for Barbaccia – dude’s been automatic lately, digging on that… PEPPER hit his 20th double, Dontrell hit a SAC BUNT, and Hamza, after seeing what Ethan did last night, went out and stole two bags in response… he also committed an error which Ethan did not do last night… so, is that one-upmanship? Bagging rays by day and winning games by night – a man could get used to life in San Diego… also – I’m thinking about getting glow in the dark wheels for my roller-skates, something in neon green. Dunno yet, need to temperature check the locals.
Elsewhere… FILE UNDER: Good God, man, what happened? The Columbia Blowfish dismantled, razed, and flat-out destroyed the Quincy Quackers by a score of 27-4 in Bush League play tonight… two of their players put up 5 RBI, another 4 put up 3 RBI, they hit five dingers, TWO SAC FLIES, stole a few bags, and touched up 8 of the 10 pitchers that made an appearance for Quincy…
86 of 162: Ferdinand Loving (4-0, 3.41) @ Mike Augustine (2-7, 6.75)
Win, 7-5. Another “opener” start for Ferdinand – he gave up 4 runs in 2 innings, so it did not have the desired effect – that we, fortunately, escaped unscathed as we went on to score two in the top of the 9th to secure the victory here. I tried to get cute with my staff again and almost got burnt for it… Barbaccia, unfazed by my shenanigans, picked up his 25th save, Otto & OH HONG hit doubles, SAC FLY for Isaac, steals for Lonzo Gonzo and Hamza, and some extreme luck for the La La’s here… Ferdinand gave up TWO DOUBLES and TWO HOMERS as the opener – just got hit tiddies liddy in this one folks, I’ll not be pulling this type of thing again until after the All-Star break.
Note: I purchased Lloyd Daniels’ contract off of the Decatur Donnybrooks… it’s the last of my budget, so I hope that it's worth it… My head scout, Zahur Peterson told me that Lloyd will take a walk if he doesn’t get a pitch to hit and the he has good contact ability – which was enough for me… Phil Murray’s money was burning a hole in my pocket – I just couldn’t help myself. I’ll keep tabs on him in Compton from time to time… if anything, I can pork-barrel the kid into a trade as filler to push it through.