San Francisco Seals (30-16, .652, 1st NL West) @ Miami United (19-28, .404, 6th NL East)
It’s difficult to take San Francisco seriously – they’d languished in the land of the also-rans since 2075 with winning percentages in the .400s and no real hope of a future for the bay area. That they’ve emerged from this self-exile to reveal themselves as a card-carrying member of the baseball elite is difficult to parse out. They didn’t buy the best players, their development pantry was missing some staples, and there never seemed to be a plan for a return to prominence – what we have here instead is some strange brand of alchemy that mixes career-years, hyper-development, and luck. Offensively the club is among the best in the NL at getting on base, average at scoring runs, and, generally speaking, power-starved (12th NL). In summation – they are an average offensive ballclub, capable of holding their own against anyone in the league but without that special brand of hitting alchemy that gives opponents fits. Their pitching, however, is a different story – 1st in runs against, starters ERA, and bullpen ERA – these guys are elite from their Ace (
SP Max Harrington, 6-1. 1.11 ERA) to the last guy in the bullpen. They are, in short, dominant from the stripe… you have to keep picking at them, battling, just to find an opportunity to make a dent, and, once you’ve found it, they specialize in closing that door until you find yourself locked in a room with no exits, with no idea how you got there, and no route of escape.
48 of 162: Miguel Cejas (5-3, 4.92) @ Randy Kline (1-0, 8.76)
Loss, 6-1. Cejas went the distance, fanned 8, and only allowed one run… San Francisco’s pitching came in as advertised and blew the doors off our offense.
Saucerman went 3 for 4 with a run,
Hamza hit an RBI, we stole two bags and committed two boneheaded fielding flubs (
Ethan at 3rd and
Norton at C). The
Flim Flams are in a bad way – this ain’t no baseball team, it’s an
albatross.
Elsewhere: SP Julen Morales (STL) threw his first-ever NO HITTER in a 6-0 win over the Phoenix Suns. A
Mo Brokaw error cost him the perfect game…
Julen pitched 9 IP with 0 H, 0 BB, and 3 K’s, faced 28 batters (thanks
Mo), and only needed 87 pitches to get it done. At nearly 35-years old,
Julen is having one of his best Major League seasons at 3-3 with a 2.73 ERA. 1.27 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, and a 154 ERA+. The pride of Venezuela will live forever in the annuals of Strangeverse folklore. Also, the Final Four is all set with OK St set to face off against Stanford and the Santa Clara Broncos preparing for a date with the Rice University Owls.
49 of 162: Frederick Long (2-2, 4.91) @ Aiden O’Brien (3-5, 6.57)
Loss, 10-3.
Saul Guzman, who I, for some unknown reason, love, gave up 6 runs in the top of the 7th. SMH. And, because why not, Long went the distance for SF, fanned 9, and only allowed 3 runs to score.
Anaconda and
OH HONG both found their way home,
Webster hit his 1st RBI as a
‘Mingo, and
Hamza hit his 13th double of the year.
Elsewhere: Radoslav Borovsky (SEA) went 8.2 innings while allowing only 2 hits and no runs in Seattle’s 5-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons. That makes me feel crappy… Also,
SP Cullen Craig, who we sent down to Havana after our recent trading spree, hurled a complete game, 5-hit shutout with 7 K’s in a 3-0 win over the Sugar Land Skeeters.
50 of 162: Javier Cuello (1-0, 1.65) @ Rad Taylor (4-4, 2.90)
Loss, 3-2. Aargh!
Rad was RADICAL in an 8 inning, 5-hit, 10 K performance where he allowed only one earned run… but, same as it ever was, our offense gave him nothing and our bullpen ruined it – SF wins it with a run scored in the top of the 10th off
Jerome Dial. This will be
Jerome’s 2nd blown save of the year. And, we’ve now been swept in B2B series.
Elsewhere: Otto Isaac (COM), in a rehab start against the Spokane Steelheads, went 3 for 4 with
THREE HOMERS, SEVEN RBIs, and 3 runs in Compton’s 9-5 win. Welcome back, young man, may you have fair winds and following seas from here on out… OK State and Rice will play for the National NCAA Championship – whatever.
Notes: I’ll be keeping my bags packed, screening my calls, and doing my level best to avoid any interactions with
Elvira Hancock. We’re traveling to San Diego next… so, if I can just get on the plane without seeing her, I can avoid my certain firing for at least a few more days.