And now back to our regularly scheduled programming…
Los Angeles Lakers (73-45, .619, 1st NL West) @ St. Louis Rams (53-65, .449, 6th NL East)
St. Louis - AKA the Gateway City - sits on the western bank of the Mississippi River. To the north, the Missouri & Mississippi rivers shake hands, become best friends and merge into one. It’s about unity and the spirit of togetherness. For all it’s grime, STL can be something to behold... historic, home to some world-class BBQ, and with deep, heartfelt blues pouring out of every open door downtown - the city inspires the question of just exactly where it’s famed gateway leads. If you’re a baseball fan, especially one that imbibes the Spirit of St. Louis, it’s been imminently clear that the gateway leads to purgatory - that middle ground reserved for those mired in suffering with no obvious routes of escape. Condemned to the waiting for lying to themselves about the prospects of their club with a seat reserved at the kiddie table sandwiched between the marketer who named double-stuff Oreo’s despite the fact that they really only have 1.5x the stuff and the guy who wrote “the Final Countdown”. The Rams are a halfway house - they give you just enough to entertain thoughts of sublime grandeur before dropping you on your head after another campaign of unfulfilled promise followed by an offseason spent assuaging your worry with promises of glory on the horizon. RF Jonah Dove (.252/10/62) has underperformed when compared to the standard he set last season while 1B Austin Matthews and his 19 HR’s have been a nice surprise but it’s really the same as it ever was... here we have a sub .500 club slogging their way through the dog days of summer and looking to course-correct starting with a 3-game set in La La Land.
120 of 162: Nat Millard (12-3, 2.81) @ Dimitri Pimentel (9-10, 3.93)
Win, 12-3. With Pepper out on the DL, we recalled 3B Dontrell Gay from Compton – he responded by putting one out of the park (we also reactivated RP Patrick Zimmer from the IL, so Newton’s stay on the big club was cut short – he’s back in Compton working on his control – he was stellar, sure, just not as dependable as we’d like him to be…). Nat goes the distance, lets three get across, Hanan finished 3 for 3 with a 2-run HR, and Dontrell, looking sharp in the Purple & Gold, finished 2 for 5 with a double, a HR, 2 RBI, and 2 runs. Otto also drove a couple in… good all-around effort in this squash match.
Elsewhere: SP Newton Weiser, now of your CITY OF COMPTON RAIDERS, went 8 innings with 5 hits, 1 earned, and 10 K’s in a 3-1 win over the Sugarland Skeeters – your boy has a point to prove and is dealing from the bump with a chip on his shoulder. He’ll be back with the big club soon enough… Also, the Los Angeles Galaxy now have a ½ game lead over the Sounders – they’re firing on all cylinders and look to be a big-time factor come playoff time.
121 of 162: Lee Myers (12-5, 3.65) @ Nick Colbaugh (4-9, 6.87)
Win, 9-7 (in extras). Ethan hits a 2-run blast in the top of the 11th to secure the victory & Barbaccia makes his first appearance since his return from the IL – he gave up a hit and earned a K in 0.1 IP and added his first hold of the 2076 season to the tally. Otto went 2 for 5 with a run and an RBI, Larry Williams scored twice (and hit a SAC FLY), and we stole two bags (guess who… Otto (35th) & Lonzo Gonzo (30th).
Elsewhere: SP Theodore
Junkersfield, highlighted here as much for his name as his performance, put in 7.1 innings of work with 7 K’s and 0 earned for the Columbus Bluejackets in their 4-2 win over the Gwinnett Stripers. Junkersfeld was the 7th overall pick in the 2075 draft out of Clemson - The kid has 4-MLB worthy pitches in his arsenal and his stuff/control is already highly rated – but, he’ll need to work on his movement if he is to develop into the player that the Chicago Fire pegged him to one day become – if he can do that, he’ll factor into their long-term plans. Also, the Philadelphia 76ers beat the San Francisco 49ers in extras – winning by a score of 7-5. With the win, they are the first club to reach 80 wins in 2076.
122 of 162: Dejuan Burns (12-7, 3.48) @ Thomas Deane (5-4, 3.97)
Win, 9-7. 3B Dontrell Gay continues to make the most of his opportunity – he went 4 for 4 with a double and 4 runs & Lonzo Gonzo finished at 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs… all in a day’s work as they say. Otto went 3 for 5 with a homer in the top of the 5th that put us up for good, and Hanan & Lonzo both hit SAC FLIES that all but ensured that we’d secure the sweep against the listless, lost, and otherwise predisposed shell of a baseball club we like to call the St. Louis Rams. Also, save #21 for Barbaccia.
With the sweep, we have successfully opened a 7-game lead on the Phoenix Suns, which, while nowhere near as cool as Philly’s 18 ½ game lead over the Montreal Impact, has us feeling pretty good about ourselves. Jacksonville, despite losing their #5 pitcher, Justin Torres, for the season are starting to run away with the AL East crown having now opened a 5 ½ game lead over Carolina, and the Los Angeles Galaxy continue their hot streak with a sweep over the Chicago Fire (in Chi-Town) to improve their lead over Seattle in the AL West to 1 ½ games. We’re boarding a plane to run back home where we’ll meet up with the Toronto Reds BC for a 3-game set before returning to the road with sets in Carolina, Phoenix, and Minnesota to kick off September… we’re getting close to the end of the marathon… gotta stay hydrated and hope that none of our muscles cramp as we inch towards the finish line.