Vancouver @ Los Angeles
We welcome the Whitecaps to town for a 3-game set. 11th in OBP, 8th in Runs Scored, 9th in Average, and 8th in Stolen Bases – clearly not a wonderful offensive outfit. They can hurl though – 2nd in Starters ERA & Bullpen ERA, and 3rd in Runs Against – unfortunately they can’t defend at 12th in Errors. These guys are giving it away. In fact, after winning the title in 2072, that’s exactly what they did – sold off all their talent and not-so-mysteriously disappeared from the playoffs for the last two seasons (and this one if they keep it up). At 4-6 in our last ten contests, I’m hopeful that Vancouver & their streak of 8 straight losses has the key to what ails us. Also, OTTO IS BACK! Dance & rejoice.
96 of 162: Jake Renfer (5-7, 3.46) @ Case Tunnell (7-3, 3.63)
And we lose another one… Renfer goes 6 with only 3 earned, Case goes 7 with 3 earned, and Saul is the culprit here – blowing the save in the top of the 9th. Otto finished 1 for 4 in his return, Pepper & Ethan get 2-hits each, and Ethan is responsible for two of our 3 runs. Vancouver sneaks one by us, 4-3.
Elsewhere: City of Compton gets shut out by the Austin Grackles. The Raiders only managed to get 3 hits and strike out 10 times… The malaise is all-encompassing.
97 of 162: Adam Gunther (5-8, 3.23) @ Julen Morales (11-4, 3.24)
And the club you know and love is back… 7 runs through 3 innings, including a 4 run bottom of the 2nd. We’d put a couple more on the board in the bottom of the 4th and allow them to plate 4 before all was said and done in the much needed 9-4 win in our park. Otto finished 2 for 5, Pepper hit a 2-run HR (3 RBI on the day), and Ethan gets 3 hits. 5 batters record 2 or more hits on the day despite our 8 K’s.
Elsewhere: Former Phoenix flunky, Colton Koen, went 3 for 4 with a HR and 3 RBI for the Decatur Donnybrooks in their 8-4 win over the Quincy Quackers. I kind of want to buy out his Bush League contract, but a cool million dollars is too steep for a 35-year-old with below average discipline at the plate.
A trade: 32-year-old 2B Sammie Fregoso and 22-year-old minor league RHP Rad Taylor to the Montreal Impact for 31-year-old RHP Adrian Bae (an All-Star), 23-year-old minor league C Darby Helton and 28-year-old LHP Dejuan Burns. This year Fregoso has 6 home runs and a .258 batting average & Burns has worked 124.2 innings with 105 strikeouts en route to a 9-5 record and a 3.83 ERA.
Plus… Darby is a nice get for my ‘stache collection…
98 of 162: Martin Rigby (5-4, 4.15) @ Merl Crawford (8-6, 4.26)
Kawka – moved to the bullpen after the trade above – takes the L today after giving up 3-runs in the 9th (two came on a HR for Greg Micias). Vancouver wins a heart-breaker, 5-4. Otto gets a HR and 2 RBI, Pepper goes 0 for 4, and Lee Sobania (now starting at SS after trading Fregoso) goes 1 for 2 with 2 RBI. We wasted a good effort from Merl today – 7.2 IP with a single earned run.
Next up: San Francisco comes to town. They’re 11 ˝ games back and terrible. We desperately need to right this ship…