44 of 162: Case Tunnell (5-0, 4.45) @ Bentley Hawkins (3-3, 6.27)
Loss, 10-9. Walked off in the bottom of the 10th – not a good way to go out. Jacob Wells, the erstwhile Phoenix First Baseman, put a 4 for 5 performance on us – he’d hit a double, bat one in, and score three of his own before the day was done… Marshburn hit a two-run triple, Ethan hits a grand slam, and Cooke brought in 2 – all in the 5th, a NINE RUN FIFTH. The problem here – same as it ever was – is the bullpen… Miyakawa gives up 2, Merl only manages a single out, Barbaccia blows his second save, and Sandoval throws the walk-off pitch. Frustrating. That’s what it is.
Trade Alert: This bullpen issue is driving me bananas – so I made a trade. Truth be told, this won’t solve it – but I had to do something and so… I did. Kyle Weaver heads to Houston along with a so-so prospect for RHP Joshua Moeller and 35-year-old LF Stan Wilkins. Wilkins will be a back-up outfielder and Moeller will cure all that ails us. Or he won’t – he probably won’t. Good trade for Weaver too – he’s a spot starter for us, but should be an everyday guy in Houston.
Elsewhere… Portland’s SP Cuco Verhoeven came so close to completing a no-no against the Houston Dynamo today – 9IP, 1 measly hit, 0 earned, and 4 K’s – He had everything working for him in this one. I really would’ve loved to see him get the no-no though… Strangeverse hasn’t seen a no-hitter since 2074. That season we saw four… including a gem thrown by Seattle’s Bradley Hughes that included 17 K’s… easily one of the, if not THE, greatest pitching performances ever.
45 of 162: Phillip King (4-3, 2.97) @ Liam Anderson (4-3, 3.88)
Win, 2-1. We split the series in Phoenix and win the final game on a real pitcher’s duel where King goes 7.1 with 1 earned, Merl gets his 5th hold of the year, and Barbaccia earns save #17. We got 11 hits & 11 K’s as a club, Otto & Pepper drive in one each with Otto’s run-scoring double being the difference-maker in this one. Not a whole lot of action in this one – but it sure was nice to see the bullpen deliver a good performance to bring this one home for King – we’ve made a habit of wasting too many of these types of performances this season.
Elsewhere… the Great 8 – Cal beats Troy, 6-3 and their starter, Liam Clarke K’s 8 on the day… UAA beats West Virginia, 2-0 and their starter, Luke Carlson, gave them a complete game shutout – he’ll go in the first round this year. Kentucky ousts Wichita State, 4-1 and the SS prospect (80 potential), Toddrick Carr goes 2 for 3 with an RBI. AND the Purdue Boilermakers defeat the UW by a score of 5-3 in a grueling 14-inning contest – Reliever Adam Rigsby gave Purdue 5.2 innings of 4 hit ball and retired 22 batters to help secure the win. Nice to see the UW get tossed. Huck the Fuskies. Also – it’s pretty cool to see UAA make the final four – I’m not holding out hope that they win the whole thing – I’ll save myself the disappointment – but, I wouldn’t be mad if they did.