[ayaghmour2]

July 18th, 1904: Washington 1B Jeremy Stinson and Newark 3B Matt White were Players of the Week.

We moved up a spot to 6th in the Power Rankings. Sitting in 4th, we're 49-45 and 15 games out of first.

We started a three game series in Cincinnati against the Red Hawks with Josh Fisher (1-7, 4.50 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) taking on 34-year-old vet Carlos Flores (1-2, 3.34 ERA, 0.77 WHIP) who is bound for some regression. Tied at 2 in the 9th, we rallied for two off closer Paul Monroe and took the opener 4-2.

Fisher was sharp, 8 innings with 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Tobias Laranjeira got the save, a hit and strikeout in his return to the big league club.

Damian Salcido was 2-for-3 with a solo homer, walk, and 2 runs scored. Zack Lawrence was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Justin Arrington was 1-for-3 with a solo homer, hit by pitch, and stolen base. Giobbe Cpuana was 1-for-4 with a double and run scored.

July 19th, 1904: Game 2 saw D.J. Ruhnke (12-8, 3.92 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) take on Humberto Gonzaelz (11-4, 3.37 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). Ruhnke was shelled and the Red Hawks crushed us 8-2.

He allowed 9 hits and 8 runs in 6 innings with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. Rhett Wigmore tossed 2 innings with a hit, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts.

Jonathan Simmons was 2-for-3 with a walk and two run homer. Andy Palme was 1-for-4 with a double and run scored. Justin Arrington was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Wildcats ace Marcos Hernandez tossed a 3-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts in a 4-0 win over the Cajuns.

Cleveland 3B Angel Contreras hit his 300th career homer. Most of those 300 came in Detroit, where he spent 1895-1902 with the Chargers before I let him walk in Free Agency. In 5,093 career at bats, he owns a .300/.346/.540 triple slash with 918 RBI's. This year with the Cyclones, he's hitting .289/.339/.474 with 13 homers and 40 RBI's.

July 20th, 1904: The Cardinals took a big blow to their pitching depth, as 26-year-old lefty Travis Edwards tore his labrum, and it effectively ended his career. It's the 2nd time the former 2nd rounder had labrum surgery, and he determined it wasn't worth coming back. He'll finish a 72 start career 17-28 with a 4.77 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. He walked 118 and struck out 346 in 402 career innings.

We looked to take the rubber match with a battle of red-hot righties, Nate McCue (4-4, 3.54 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) and Mike Gardenhire (7-5, 3.97 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) facing off. Neither looked hot today, although we managed to finish on top in a 9-7 win.

McCue went 7 with 5 hits, 7 runs, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Juan Londono picked up his 6th hold and Tobias Laranjeira earned his 24th save.

Giobbe Capuana was 3-for-4 with a double, homer, hit by pitch, and 4 RBI's. Justin Arrington was 3-for-4 with 2 walks and a run scored. Jesus Camargo was 3-for-5. Damian Salcido was 2-for-6 with a double, homer, 3 runs, and 3 RBI's. Jonathan Simmons was 2-for-5 with a solo homer, walk, and 2 runs scored. Andy Palme was 2-for-6 with a pair of runs scored. Zack Lawrence was 1-for-4 with a hit by pitch and RBI.

Baltimore's Dan Bishop tossed a 6-hit shutout in a 10-0 win over the Patriots.

We're off tomorrow, but we'd get a head start and travel to Milwaukee.

July 21st, 1904: We used our off day to travel to Milwaukee for a three game set with the Mustangs. At 48-48, they sat in 5th place and 6 games out of a playoff spot. The projected three were lefty Derrick Fullerton (5-7, 3.98 ERA) and righties Hector Peralez (3-0, 3.62 ERA) and Alberto Lucero (7-8, 5.09 ERA).

July 22nd, 1904: The three game set with Milwaukee started with Eric Thomas (8-6, 3.76 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) taking on Derrick Fullerton (5-7, 3.98 ERA, 1.34 WHIP). The bats lost no charge from the finale, and we pounded the Mustangs 13-4.

We were aided by Fullerton leaving the game in the 2nd with an injury, followed by Bang-zao Xu getting ejected just 20 pitches in after beaming Andy Palme and starting a brawl. Palme was ejected as well, and received a 4 game suspension.

Thomas went the distance, 9 innings with 6 hits, 4 runs, 5 walks, and 10 strikeouts.

Jesus Camargo went 4-for-6 with a homer, 3 runs, and 5 RBI's. Jeremy Bell was 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, a run scored, RBI, and walk. Zack Lawrence was 2-for-5 with a homer, double, 2 runs, 3 RBI's, and a walk. Justin Arrington was 2-for-4 with a two run homer and two walks. Pete McCoy, who replaced Palme, was 2-for-4 with a double, run scored, and two driven in. Damian Salcido was 1-for-3 with a walk and 2 runs scored. Thomas was 1-for-4 with a sac-bunt and run scored.

Pittsburgh's Richard Aguilar tossed a 2-hit shutout in a 5-0 win over the Bearcats. Lightning rising star Bobby Brosius struck out 15 in a 3-2 win over the Red Hawks. He's already struck out 194 batters this year, while walking just 28. He's on pace for 327, which would break Jim McNiff's team record of 318 which he set in 1900. The Lightning didn't have the best history, and their top 10 strikeout leaders have all been in the last 10 seasons.

July 23rd, 1904: The middle match saw Matt Puckett (9-5, 4.88 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) face Hector Peralez (3-0, 3.62 ERA, 1.18 WHIP), who's making his first start of the season after 24 relief appearances. Puckett has done well against the Mustangs, 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA this season. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't improve to 4-0, as we were edged 2-1.

Puck went 8 with just 3 hits, 2 runs (1 earned...), 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts.

Jesus Camargo was 3-for-4 with an RBI double. Omar Atillio was 1-for-2 with 2 walks. Zack Lawrence was 1-for-4 with a run scored. We had only 5 hits, while Milwaukee managed 3 and somehow still won...

Even better, three hitters had 5 hit games today! Buffalo 2B John McKenzie was 5-for-6 in an 8-5 win over the Boston. Brooklyn SS Matt Strong was 5-for-6 in a loss to the Pilots. And down in Class C Grand Rapids, 2B Carlos Martinez was 5-for-6 in an 18-2 domination of the Louisville Condors.

July 24th, 1904: The Calvary and Red Hawks linked up for a trade, with 3B Phil Davis going to Buffalo and LHP Jonathan Vogl and LF Esteban Ramirez going to the Cincinnati.

Davis, 31, isn't really that good, and actually more of a shortstop, which is probably why his rating is low. He is, however, on the decline, but owns a really solid .301/.367/.472 career line with 114 homers and 416 RBI's in 910 career games with the Cyclones and Red Hawks. A former 2nd Round selection by the Cyclones out of Arizona, the switch hitter has lead the league in runs three times (1899-1901) and hits once (1901).

Vogl, 29, spent 1899-1903 with Milwaukee before signing with Buffalo as a minor league free agent. He didn't pitch much in the majors till 1902 where he tallied 151.1 innings in 21 starts, but he hasn't topped 80 in another season, with a pair of seasons with less then 10. He's a durable innings eater, but isn't much more then a fill in. In 39 career starts and 10 relief appearances, he's 17-14 with a 4.23 ERA and 1.37 WHIP.

Ramirez, 24, is a fragile left fielder who doesn't offer much on defense. He's slow, but an elite base stealer and runner. He's got plus-plus gap power and a plus eye and is easily a bat first guy. The Venezuelan had a quick 2 game cameo with the Calvary last year, where he was 2-for-7 with a double, homer, 3 RBI's, and a walk, but has yet to play in the majors this season.

We looked to take the series and the finale with D.J. Ruhnke (12-9, 4.21 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) taking on the struggling Alberto Lucero (7-8, 5.09 ERA, 1.36 WHIP). The bats were back today, and we won the finale 7-3.

Ruhnke went 7.1 innings with 9 hits, 3 runs, a walk, and 7 strikeouts. Juan Londono walked 2 in the 8th, but manage to record the final 2 outs. Laranjeira struck out 1 in a perfect 9th.

Jesus Camargo was 2-for-3 with 2 runs, a solo homer, and a hit by pitch. Damian Salcido was 2-for-5 with a two run homer. Justin Arrington was 2-for-5 with a run scored and 2 RBI's. Pete McCoy was 2-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI. Jonathan Simmons was 2-for-5 with a solo homer and 2 runs scored. Zack Lawrence was 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Our road trip continues with three in St. Louis to face the 67-31 Lightning. They are 15 games ahead of us and 10.5 ahead of the Rebels. We'd see Eddie Long (11-6, 3.71 ERA), Matt Nesgoda (10-2, 2.60 ERA), and Bobby Borsisus (11-5, 2.31 ERA).