Vancouver Whitecaps (33-60, .355, 6th NL West) @ Los Angeles Lakers (58-34, .630, 1st NL West)
The Vancouver Whitecaps are basically a Unicorn – except without the magic and devoid of purity and grace. So, essentially, they’re not a unicorn at all… no, that was a terrible analogy – they’re actually a lot like a hard-drinking uncle who gets the meat sweats at family bar-b-ques. The type that seems cool until you look on them with more mature eyes… They are also a Strangeverse rarity – these guys are bad everywhere… offensively challenged, defensively inept, and the pitchers couldn’t hit the glove from 5-ft away with a beachball. All of this is concerning really… they are the kind of team we should destroy in our sleep, but don’t. In that way, maybe we are the Unicorn – content to spread our love around and sprinkle our special brand of magic dust on all the crappy teams we play. See, these guys are no better than San Diego and you saw what happened there… these are the sets that give me nightmares, the ones where we are supposed to win but often don’t. Confirmation bias? Maybe. Call me old fashioned – I’m a what have you done for me lately type of guy.
93 of 162: Cleveland Cornejo (4-10, 4.97) @ Newton Weiser (11-4, 2.91)
Loss, 5-2. Yeah, so, this happened – our 4th loss in a row comes to Cleveland Cornejo, who is a terrible pitcher against every club not called the Lakers. The vet went 7 strong, gave up 5 hits, and allowed only 2 runs – but that’s less than half of the story. It was their bullpen (RANKED LAST IN THE NL) that really did us in – 6 shutout innings spread across three relievers topped off with a 3-run top of the 13th courtesy of CJ Elliot’s bases-loaded walk that put the Whitecaps up for good. Our highlights: PEPPER put one out, Lonzo Gonzo hit a double, and Ethan stole his 32nd base…
94 of 162: Adam Gunter (9-8, 4.01) @ Trevor Dotson (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 5-2. Trevor’s major league debut was a success – he didn’t come out of the gates quite like Newton Weiser, but he acquitted himself nicely here. I hope he enjoyed it as I’ll probably bring Jensen back up in a couple of days… Ethan was clutch, 2 for 3 with the RBI that put us up forever, Barbaccia notched his 26th save, Hamza drove two in, another double for OH HONG (15th), two triples (Hamza & O-Mack), and 3 double-plays… it’s nice to see the club playing baseball again.
Elsewhere: SP Cam Murphy (PHX) pitched a CG, 4-hit, shutout against the San Diego Chargers in a 5-0 Suns win. The former Blue Mountain State Goat added 8 K’s and no walks to the performance… It took Cam a while to develop in Tucson (Phoenix’s minor league affiliate) and he finally seems to be turning the corner in 2077 – if only he could improve his movement though. With more movement, this kid would be a world-beater. Legendary stuff, great FB, better slider, and middling movement…
95 of 162: Jeronimo Tucker (2-4, 5.51) @ Paul Yeager (12-4, 3.36)
Win, 8-1. We’re back, baby! Off that schneid and back on that high life! Otto went 4 for 4 with a HR, 3 RBI, and 2 runs, Yeager gave us 8.2 innings of 6-hit, 1-run ball, and Mark Messick went 3 for 4 with two doubles and 2 ribbies in a rare start (kid plays in about 30% of our games)… 5 doubles for the club (Messick 2x, Ethan, OH HONG, and Hamza), Otto’s 26th, and a SAC FLY from PEPPER in this one. Some good stuff from the yellow caps here – and we’re back on form just in time to welcome the fearsome Pittsburgh Steelers to town.
Side note: I recalled Aiden after the game, which means that Trevor Dotson is once again flexing the Olde English C & Black Cap in Compton… his day will come, don’t you worry. Also, our lead over Phoenix sits at 4 games now – I mean, not ideal but it could be worse…