Week 19: July 31-August 6, 2023
No more moves for this team on deadline day - I'm satisfied with the tinkering that's been done over the past couple of weeks & I think we're gonna have a shot. We have a 14 1/2 game lead over Houston, so I'm not worried too much about the division, and we also have a 3 1/2 game lead on Louisville for the #1 seed at the moment, which is my goal now for the rest of the regular season. Now my job is to basically twiddle my thumbs, deal with it if someone gets injured and maybe, maybe, try to extend Victor Mesa before he becomes a free agent at season's end.
July 31-August 1: Bees (70-35) vs. Cincinnati Reds (52-54)
Cincinnati has had a pretty difficult month of July that has come close to dashing their playoff chances. They're 6 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot right now, with 7 teams to pass. The rotation's been bad but the bullpen good. This team hits a lot of singles and not a lot of homers, exemplified by the combo of Trea Turner, Jonathan Lucroy, and 2B Freddy Zamora, who all have averages at least .315 but a total of 16 HR between them. The exception is Kyle Schwarber, playing for his hometown team and in the NL's top 5 with 27 HR.
Game 1 - Joey Lucchesi (11-4, 3.63) vs. Michael Pineda (4-3, 3.72)
CIN: CF McCray, 2B Zamora, SS Turner, LF Schwarber, C Lucroy, 1B Yalowitz, RF Sinay, 3B Holt, P Pineda
SLC: SS Mota, RF Robles, 3B Guerrero, 1B Ishihara, CF Mesa, LF Gamel, C Cottam, 2B Phyo, P Lucchesi
Oh yeah, him. I had not been looking at the schedule when I made this trade last week, so it completely blindsided me that Michael Pineda's first start with his new team would come at our ballpark. I could definitely see him coming out fired up to make me look like a schmuck, or I could see his arm falling off in the second inning (like usual)... we've won ten Lucchesi starts in a row at the moment, which is pretty insane... Joey worked around a hit in the first, then Pineda took to his familiar mound and we greeted him rudely. Both Robles and Ishihara went deep to give the good guys a 2-0 lead... but Cincinnati would respond in the 3rd. With Grant McCray and Freddy Zamora on, Trea Turner ripped an RBI double and so did Lucroy, and it was suddenly 3-2... we punched right back, Guerrero homering for a second straight day, his 19th, to score Robles and make it 4-3 Bees... Robles came up the next inning and had an RBI single, but Mota was thrown out going first-to-third so the rally ends at 5-3... in the fifth, we finally heard the magic words: "Michael Pineda was injured while pitching". This time, it was his back, which he also injured in April, after the forearm strain but before the dead arm, oblique strain and sore elbow... against Nick Vincent, two men got on ahead of Mesa's sixth home run of the year, and now we were goin'. Mota later doubled in two more and Robles doubled him in to make it 11-3... we pinch-hit for Lucchesi in that inning, so Shane Watson out for the sixth... he allowed a run, but it was unearned because of an error by Robles in RF... we kinda stopped playing at this point, though we did have Robles thrown out at the plate trying to score one more in the 8th... Watson and Goodwin tag-teamed the final four innings to preserve a W.
W: Joey Lucchesi (12-4) L: Michael Pineda (4-4)
PotG: Victor Robles
Robles had a 5-hit day, which triggered one of those automatic messages into my inbox. He had two doubles and a homer, with 3 RBI, making him the #2 star of the day leaguewide, behind Mike Trout's 4-4 with two homers and actually ahead of Graeme Stinson of the Cherries, who threw a shutout.
This was the final game of July, so it's time for July monthly awards!
Batter of the Month
Charlotte 1B Matt Olson - .341, 13 HR, 27 RBI, 26 R
Oakland LF Eloy Jimenez - .351, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 25 R
Pitcher of the Month
Pittsburgh CL Nick Goody - 3-0, 8 Sv, 0.00 ERA, 10 IP over 11 G
Norfolk SP Dalton Terrell - 5-0, 1.54 ERA, 35 IP, 18 K, .138 avg against
Rookie of the Month
West Texas LF Miguel Baca - .323, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 12 XBH
Austin LF Adam Wesche - .423, 8 HR, 29 RBI
Game 2 - Ray Gaither (2-1, 4.82) vs. Caleb Gilbert (4-10, 6.70)
CIN: 1B Rivas, RF McCray, SS Turner, LF Schwarber, C Lucroy, 2B Holt, 3B Oquendo, CF Sur, P Gilbert
SLC: SS Mota, RF Robles, 3B Guerrero, 1B Ishihara, CF Mesa, LF Gamel, C Cottam, 2B Maezes, P Gaither
Gilbert, I think, is the first pitcher we've faced with 10 losses already on the board. Hartford's Eduardo Rodriguez is 7-13 to lead the way. Gilbert hasn't really had a good outing in a while, and hasn't won since June 21 at Miami, so he might be due or he might be bad. My scout only has bad things to say, though... Gaither had a rough start in Vancouver, but was bailed out by the offense and the bullpen in a 7-5 win... both teams made early outs on the bases. Robles was caught stealing in the first, and Brock Holt was thrown out trying to go first to third on Jonathan Oquendo's single... we struck first in the second. Ishihara led off with a homer, his 26th, and Cottam followed later with his 17th, a two-run shot... Guerrero added an RBI single in the 3rd, making it 4-0... Gaither came up to hit with men on first and third and one out in the 4th and delivered another run for the tally. 5-0. That's the end of the day for Gilbert... Gaither was absolutely rolling. In the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th he allowed a total of one baserunner. Meanwhile, we did a bit more scoring. Robles hit a homer in the 7th, and Gamel had an RBI later in that inning as well. In the 8th, Maezes doubled, and Gaither, still in for himself, laid down an absolutely perfect bunt that he was able to beat out for a hit. Mota had an RBI single, Guerrero drove in two more with a double, and then Ishihara went deep for the second time tonight. We weren't done, putting up three more singles and another run before they finally got the third out when Gaither came up to hit again... In the 9th, Ray came back out to pitch up 13-0, but he didn't finish the CG. After a strikeout, he walked pinch-hitter Andrew McCutchen and exited. Paul Goodwin managed to ruin the shutout by giving up a 3-run homer to Trea Turner.
W: Ray Gaither (3-1) L: Caleb Gilbert (4-11)
PotG: Ray Gaither
I sometimes take this team's offense for granted - 37 hits in a two-game series is something to be really appreciative of.
August 3-4: Bees (72-35) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (60-48)
In contrast to Cincy, Pittsburgh is rolling right now. The Pirates haven't lost a series since the end of June & are finally looking like the team that was the best in the National League last season. We split a pair of games in Pittsburgh in mid-April - we were still under .500 at that point, leaving town with a 10-11 record. Look at us now! Anyway, Pittsburgh is the best pitching team in the league, even without Madison Bumgarner (out for the season). Thankfully we will miss reigning Cy Young winner Wu-Shiun Chen in this series, but they have a barnful of powerful pitchers behind him.
Game 1 - Will Shirah (7-5, 4.47) vs. Justin Davis (7-3, 3.21)
PIT: SS Hanoian, RF Harris, CF Pumphrey, 3B Delmonico, C Realmuto, 2B Asuaje, 1B Matheny, LF Duplantis, P Davis
SLC: CF Mesa, C Cottam, 3B Guerrero, RF Robles, 1B Ishihara, P Shirah, 2B Phyo, LF Gamel, SS Mota
Oh yeah, the Pirates also have last year's Cy Young runner-up, Davis. This 27-year-old Minnesotan doesn't have the best stuff, but all his other ratings are really good and it adds up to a pretty great ground ball pitcher. They're quite a good defensive team so that combination plays up for this team... Will started the game in Vancouver last week where the bullpen blew a 6 run lead and a win for him... he didn't win a game in the month of July, but due to the All-Star break and some weirdness caused by the timing of trades, he also only made three starts in the month... Pittsburgh's offense is not the greatest, but with their pitching they don't have to be. I say that to mean Matt Pumphrey's first-inning 2-run homer may just be enough... we did pull one back in the second from Davis, an RBI single from Ishihara following Robles' double, but left the bases loaded in that inning... Nicky Delmonico made it a 4-1 Pirate lead with a two-run double in the 3rd... Will Shirah's last act in this game was being caught stealing in the 4th, as he didn't come out for the 5th. 7 hits allowed and 4 runs, and needed 91 pitches to get his 12 outs... Zack Granite came up pinch-hitting in the 6th and drove in Guerrero with a double to get us within two, but that's as close as we'd get. Jawuan Harris had a ninth-inning HR to seal the final score, and the vaunted Pirate bullpen retired our last 7 in order.
W: Justin Davis (8-3) L: Will Shirah (7-6) S: Ryley Gilliam (2)
PotG: Jawuan Harris
We definitely got outpitched today. That's probably a common refrain from Pittsburgh opponents.
Friday was the deadline to sign 2023 draft picks, which I find hilarious because we had all of ours signed within about four days of the draft. Most teams have their top guys already signed pre-deadline, but notables who haven't signed are Miguel Arteaga (Austin) and Nathan Foster (Dodgers).
I had isolated at draft time one guy to keep an eye on, Hartford's Alex King, who was the #6 overall pick out of the University of Portland, who was already an All-Star caliber reliever. They signed him a few weeks ago and sent him to play in Venezuela... but then, abruptly, called him all the way up to the bigs this week and installed him in the closer's role. He made his major league debut Thursday night and blew a save by hitting Salvador Perez with the bases loaded, in an eventual 13-inning loss to Montréal.
Game 2 - Jose Quintana (12-5, 2.64) vs. Keisaburo Doi (3-6, 4.54)
PIT: SS Hanoian, RF Harris, CF Pumphrey, 3B Delmonico, C Realmuto, 2B Asuaje, 1B Matheny, LF Duplantis, P Doi
SLC: SS Mota, RF Robles, 3B Guerrero, 1B Ishihara, CF Mesa, LF Gamel, C Cottam, 2B Phyo, P Quintana
Going into the 2022 season, Pittsburgh splashed the cash on two high-rated pitchers coming over from Asia. Chen was the biggest immediate success, but Doi has also pitched well. He's a hard-throwing Japanese righty who's under contract with Pittsburgh until 2027... He lost to the Reds over the weekend in his most recent start... Quintana nearly fired a shutout on Saturday against the Suns but surrendered a run in the 9th... both teams wasted a man on third in the first inning... Pittsburgh struck first, in their 3rd. Antoine Duplantis led off with a long walk, moved up on a sac bunt and scored on Tristan Hanoian's hit... we tied it up straightaway with three straight hits, Ishihara driving in Robles... Doi was pulled after 5, ceding the 6th to former Bee Brad Hand, who we dumped on Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago. We must know his stuff. Mesa, Cottam and Phyo had singles to load the bases, and Quintana hit for himself. He ended up hitting a slow ground ball into the hole at short, and everyone was safe! Q gives himself the lead 2-1... after an out, Robles was plunked to force in another run... Quintana actually labored in this game more than usual, and exited in the 7th having thrown 108 pitches, completed 6.2 innings, and left the bases loaded for Bennerman to deal with. Thankfully, he did... Bennerman also pitched a scoreless eighth, dealing with a leadoff walk... now Miller for the 9th. Carlos Asuaje... singles, and the tying run comes up. Caiden Matheny (no relation) hits a nubber that Mota is just able to turn into an out. Duplantis hits a sharp single through the right, hit too hard to score the run but bringing the winning run to the plate... pinch-hitting, Eiichi Kaneko digs in, and before he can even have an impact, a quick throw to first and they got him! Duplantis is picked off! Kaneko then hits a grounder to short for the final out.
W: Jose Quintana (13-5) L: Brad Hand (1-2) S: Jared Miller (23)
PotG: Jose Quintana
5 runs in a series is a pretty dry spell for us, but we get the split. That's a 5-1 homestand, too. Time to head back to Canada, and this time, bring your French phrasebooks!
August 5-6: Bees (73-36) vs. Monarques de Montréal (65-45)
This is another potential playoff preview, although Montréal has been so unexpectedly good that this is a team we'd have to wait to face until a potential later-round matchup. I had said in the season preview that les Monarques were a team that could be counted on to finish in the middle of the pack, and I was wrong. Led by a much better offense than I gave them credit for, including breakout stars 2B Casey Martin and CF Jasiah Dixon, Montréal is succeeding despite a mediocre rotation and relatively little production from Josh Donaldson.
Game 1 - Jack Flaherty (12-6, 3.61) vs. Javier Rivas (6-9, 5.47)
SLC: SS Mota, RF Robles, 3B Guerrero, 1B Ishihara, CF Mesa, LF Gamel, C Cottam, 2B Phyo, P Flaherty
MTL: CF Dixon, LF Pillar, 3B Donaldson, C Perez, 1B Wolf, 2B Martin, SS Yeager, RF Casey, P Rivas
We faced Rivas earlier this year - he got his first win of the season at the Hive back on April 8, in a game in which Salvador Perez hit two homers and drove in 7. Perez leads the team in homers, and hit 4 against us in that two-game April series... it was Pineda that was shelled in that game, though, so maybe a bit better with Jack on the bump... he beat the Suns last Sunday, tossing seven strong... both teams let an early opportunity go by, though ours was more promising. In the first, Montréal had two hits, by Kevin Pillar and Salvador Perez, but both were left aboard. The top of the 2nd, though, Rivas walked Ishihara, Mesa and Gamel in order to load the bases with no out. Cottam hit a tapper back to the mound that became a fielder's choice at home, and Donaldson made a nice play to turn Phyo's grounder into a 5-4-3 double play... in the 4th, we did cash in, Ishihara's leadoff double eventually being converted to a run when Phyo singled with two out... RJ Yeager tied the game in the 5th with a solo home run... we loaded the bases again in the 7th but came up empty again. If we lose this game, we'll deserve it. At least we got Rivas out of the game in the process... in the bottom of that inning, Flaherty started with a walk and single, and so exited as well. Sam Bennerman continued to frustrate Bees fans by loading the bases with a walk and then walking in the go-ahead run. Sal Perez would add an infield hit later to make it 3-1, and Jeremy Wolf's sac fly made it 4-1... Perez would be the final baserunner of the game - the final 7 Bees were retired in order.
W: Chris Toto (4-2) L: Jack Flaherty (12-7) S: Jason Diaz (1)
PotG: Javier Rivas
A tough one. We left 10 men on base - got to take advantage of those opportunities.
Game 2 - Joey Lucchesi (12-4, 3.70) vs. Brett Graves (7-8, 5.17)
SLC: SS Mota, RF Robles, 3B Guerrero, 1B Ishihara, CF Mesa, LF Gamel, 2B Phyo, C Ackerman, P Lucchesi
MTL: CF Dixon, LF Pillar, C Perez, 3B Donaldson, 1B Wolf, 2B Martin, SS Yeager, RF Casey, P Graves
We're on the Sunday night broadcast this week, the one night game across the entire league. We'd have the stage to ourselves if not for a lengthy extra-inning game happening in Newark right now. About an hour into our game, Jacksonville would finish off a 4-3, 15-inning win... Graves was a trade acquisition for les Monarques, coming over from Reno at the end of May. With Montréal, Graves is 5-3 and has an ERA about three-quarters of a run below what he had with the Silver Sox. He beat the Explorers on Monday... Joey has won his last four starts, and we preposterously still haven't lost a start of his since mid-May, despite me continuing to mention it and inviting a jinx... in the first inning, two walks and a passed ball set Ishihara up with two runners in scoring position, and he came through with a two-run single. Two more hits, from Gamel and Phyo, produced a third run... we had two hits in the 2nd but didn't extend our lead... Clay Casey produced an RBI double in the 2nd to make it 3-1, but our 3-run lead was restored on the first pitch of the third inning, which Mesa powered the opposite way for his 7th homer... in the 4th, Casey Martin was drilled by Lucchesi's first pitch, and Yeager followed with a mammoth home run to make it 4-3 Bees, his second of the series... the fifth started with 3 straight Bee singles, Mesa scoring Guerrero with his. That was all for Graves, 4 innings complete. We would add another run on an error by Clay Casey in right, 6-3... Casey pulled it back the next half inning with his second RBI double of the day. That'd be Lucchesi's final inning - not his finest work today but he's still in line for the win at the moment... JB Wendelken was the first man out of our bullpen, and he gave up a homer to Kevin Pillar that made it 6-5, and another to Wolf in the next inning that tied the game. No win for Lucchesi today, but still time to get it for one of the bullpen guys... in the 8th, RJ Yeager suffered an injury to his shoulder while throwing out Aaron Ackerman at first... Felipe Vazquez out to pitch the 8th for us, and... he gives up another solo homer, this one to pinch-hitter Luke Heyer, which puts Montréal up 7-6. Gonna need some magic... Closer Jon Araujo on for the save. Robles, though, starts up with a sharp single to left, and we're in business... Guerrero gets down 0-2, only to then take 4 straight balls... Ishihara walks too, and that puts the tying run at 3rd with no one out, and the go-ahead run at 2nd! Up now is Mesa, and that's a long fly ball! Deep to left-center! A grand slam!!! 9th-inning magic again from these guys! The Monarque faithful seem shell-shocked, and Jared Miller has an easy time with the bottom of the 9th!
W: Felipe Vazquez (5-2) L: Jon Araujo (1-6) S: Jared Miller (24)
PotG: Victor Victor Mesa
6 RBI for Mesa on the evening in front of a national TV audience! That makes him the leaguewide player of the day, edging out multi-HR games by Detroit's Yonder Alonso and Austin's Trey Truitt. That 9th-inning rally gives us a 4-2 week instead of a 3-3 one, which just feels a lot better.
Bees' Player of the Week:
Mesa had one incredible game, but
RF Victor Robles had an incredible week. 13-24, getting on ahead of the big hitters and scoring 8 runs, while hitting a pair of dingers and driving in five of his own.
On the Leaderboard:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: 8th in average (.332), 4th in RBI (98), 5th in hits (151), 6th in total bases (241)
Charlie Tilson: 6th in average (.334), T-1st in triples (11)
Morio Ishihara: T-7th in HR (27), 3rd in RBI (99), 5th in slugging (.570), 3rd in OPS (.976), 8th in runs (86), 4th in total bases (248)
Victor Victor Mesa: T-1st in triples (11)
Victor Robles: T-5th in doubles (29)
Jose Quintana: 1st in ERA (2.59), 1st in wins (13), 1st in WAR (5.9), 1st in innings (166.2), 1st in CG (4), T-1st in shutouts (2), 3rd in strikeouts (169), 9th in K/BB (4.1), 3rd in WHIP (1.13), 1st in FIP (3.03), 1st in QS (19)
Jack Flaherty: T-2nd in wins (12), 4th in WAR (3.6), 4th in innings (143.0), 8th in K/BB (4.2), 8th in BB/9 (1.9), T-2nd in QS (16)
Joey Lucchesi: T-2nd in wins (12), 9th in WAR (2.9)
Jared Miller: 7th in Sv% (24-26, 92.3%)
Minor League Bees:
AAA Hawaii continues to struggle, going 2-4 this week. They've lost 4 in a row, including the first two games against St. Paul (Twins) at home. Now 7 games behind first-place Hollywood (Dodgers) in the PCL Pacific.
AA Cedar City was 4-2, winning both their series against Logan (Beavers) and Havasu (Marshals). They're still in second, but well behind first-place Grand Junction (Oilers).
A Burlington was 2-4 this week, losing series against Kane County (Flyers) and West Michigan (Tigers). The Lil' Bees are now 4 games back in the MWL West, 3rd in a 13-team division.
The AZL Rookie Bees had a 4-3 week, and go for the sweep of Milwaukee on Monday. They also beat San Bernardino 2 of 3, and are just 6 games back of division-leading Tucson despite being in 5th place of 6.
And the PRSL Rookie Bees had just a 3-game week, thanks to me accidentally leaving an All-Star break in the schedule, and were swept by Oakland. They find themselves tied for 7th in the 10-team PRSL.
Standings:
League News:
July 31: Deadline day didn't bring a ton of activity, but some good players were moved. Omaha traded closer Tyler Lyons to Atlanta... Oklahoma acquired closer Dellin Betances from division rival Tucson, but gave up their starting 1B Kyle Cuellar to do so... and Colorado sent SS Marcus Semien to Syracuse.
July 31: in what would be their only win of the entire week, San Antonio erases a 6-0 deficit to come back and beat the Brewers 7-6.
August 1: Cardinals SP Chris Vallimont may be having a hit put out on his team's bullpen - after 8 two-hit innings from Vallimont, two relievers combined to blow a 3-0 9th-inning lead and they would lose in 10 against the Pirates.
August 2: Bryce Harper goes deep 3 times, including a walk-off bomb, in a wild 12-11 11-inning Las Vegas win over Indianapolis. There were six different lead changes in the game, not even counting the Scorpions' two-run rally to tie it in the 9th. Harper has a pair of 3-homer games this year, one better than the rest of the league combined. He also overshadows a 6-hit game for the Rounders' Bren Spillane, who scored the go-ahead run in the 11th before Las Vegas turned it around in the bottom half.
August 2: Another wild game in the AL today sees New Orleans erase a 9-4 deficit to come back and beat Tucson 11-10. Alexis La Madrid was the hero for New Orleans, hitting two HR and later scoring the winning run in the 8th.
August 4: Clint Frazier accomplishes the more-impressive-but-less-catalogued "better than cycle", notching a homer, triple and pair of doubles in a 10-8 Royals win over the Oilers. I was hoping he hit one of the doubles last so I could pretend he just stopped at first for the cycle, but alas the homer was last.
August 5: It's a New York rivalry weekend, with the Mets and Burros meeting up in Brooklyn, and the first game had quite a jolt. Burros catcher Thomas Dillard hit a dramatic walk-off 3-run homer to turn around a Mets lead and win the game 9-7.
Players of the Week:
NY Yankees 2B Gabe Holt - 15-24, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 R
Salt Lake RF Victor Robles - 13-24, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 8 R
Power Rankings:
Buffalo is perfect since the All-Star Break at 13-0, and haven't lost a game since they played us on the 15th and 16th, so they leapfrog us and others into first place in this week's power rankings. We drop from 2nd to
3rd as a result.
1. Buffalo Beacons (67-43)
2. Las Vegas Scorpions (77-35)
3. Salt Lake Bees (74-37)
4. Louisville Colts (72-40)
5. Ottawa Lynx (70-42)
56. Washington Nationals (43-68)
57. Cleveland Indians (44-68)
58. San Antonio Marshals (48-64)
59. Texas Rangers (46-66)
60. Colorado Rockies (38-73)
Next Week: our road trip continues in Omaha and Miami, then we head home to face the Phillies. It'll be our first time seeing the Omaha Thunder since all the way back in April. I also had a dream that Morio Ishihara hit four home runs in a game, and though it hasn't happened yet I bet it's coming!