Los Angeles Lakers (12-8, .600, 2nd NL West) @ Toronto Reds BC (11-8, .579, 1st AL East)
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interleague silliness… but this time we get a squad in the Toronto Reds that is every bit as good as their record would suggest. So far, in the early goings of the tricentennial season, the Reds have adopted the Chicago Fire’s 2075 approach – it’s all about that balanced attack. At 6th in total offense and 5th in pitching, the Reds BC have a lot of ways to beat you, just none that stand out – they’ve been outlier free since 2073. DH Andrew Beck & 2B Richard McTaggart are leading the way offensively – Beck with his three jacks and .389 average, and McTaggart with his slick fielding and 7 RBI’s. 1B Arnold Webster, batting just .192, has managed to put 5 out of the park and amass 15 riblets so far – when his stick gets straightened out he’ll be a handful. Their starters have also been solid as a unit – 5th in ERA & 6th in runs against – but, it’s the Bullpen that has been stellar for Toronto. As a unit they are 3rd in ERA and have nary a blown hold or save between them – they’ll falter eventually… hopefully, that comes against us in this 3-game set. It’s unlikely though – they’re set up for success and their fans know it as evidenced by their 21% increase in both attendance and revenue per game. So, after three years of futility where they played sub-.500 ball – their time, it seems, is now.
But, not on our watch. Hopefully.
21 of 162: Merl Crawford (0-1, 3.18) @ Kade McMillan (2-1, 6.60)
Win, 7-3… 5 straights W's now. Weaver did a little bit of everything in this one – he finished 4 for 5 with a triple, 2 runs, and 3 RBI’s – a solid days work. Rocco finished 0 for 4 but reached on an error in the top of the 4th that allowed two runs to score, Otto & Newman both finish 1 for 5, and Nash, Otto, Cooke, and Williams all hit doubles – but, again, the story was Weaver and his 6 total bases in this one. Crawford was sufficient – 6 thrown, 3 earned – and the pen successfully closes this one out – we’ll take a game one win against a solid club, in their park, anytime.
22 of 162: Dejuan Burns (2-2, 2.93) @ Tom Wallace (2-1, 5.56)
Win, 5-3… the streak is now at 6 straight… Burns spins a magic outing in this one – 7 thrown, 3 earned – and Barbaccia gets his 8th save and brings his ERA below 10. Pepper drives in two runs on a sac fly – Zarate and Weaver drive in 1 each, and Otto hits a double and scores a run. Not a ton to parse out in this one – we were mostly just workmanlike in this contest and in the end were good for a few more reps than the other guys.
Elsewhere: Isidro Lutz of the despicable Jacksonville Jaguars finished 4 for 5 with a double, a homer, and 5 RBI’s in the defending champs 10-2 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Lutz is hitting .311 with 3 HR and 15 RB so far this season and has an OPS+ of 152. He’s a killer, boss.
23 of 162: Michael Brisk (2-1, 2.54) @ Sarkis Canby (2-2, 3.20)
Win, 6-2… SWEEP! The winning streak has now grown to SEVEN! We’d get a complete game out of Brisk – he allowed only one and struck out 7 during the outing – and Dom Cooke finished 3 for 5 with a double, a HR, and 3 RBI’s. We’d get 11 total hits as a club with Mullens, Pepper, Cooke, and Weaver all getting two or more – Otto, batting just .222 now, went 0 for 5 with 2 K’s… seriously, what gives? Toronto loses Canby and Thomas Torin to injury in this one – status unclear as of yet, but let’s hope neither stay out for any extended length of time.
Well… I didn’t expect to sweep Toronto at home, especially with Otto playing like trash so far this season. So we get a welcome and surprising result here – we’ll head off to Brooklyn next where we will face a struggling Josh Allen in the first game of a 4-game series.
Bush League (The Ballad of Adrian Bae) – So, this is cool (from an authoring perspective at least, I’m sure that Adrian would disagree) … It seems that Adrian Bae, former 2075 LA Laker – who actually performed at above replacement levels for us down the home stretch – has joined the Hagerstown Hummers of the Bush League where he has been slotted in at #2 in their STARTING rotation. This requires that we chronicle his time in the BL – SO… I’ve shortlisted the fella and will be posting his results each time he starts as we progress through the La La’s 2076 campaign. Dig?
