2019 Miami Marlins (Bringing back the Florida Marlins glory (?))

[lucho2107]

I´ve made a couple of roster moves before the start of the week. Marco Hernandez (2B) was DFA´d to make room in the 40 man roster. Julio Urias was claimed from Waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers. With this move, Alcantara was called up from AAA and Yamamoto will move to the rotation.

We traveled to New York for a 2 game interleague series against the Yankees. The first game was delayed for rain so we will have a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 21st.

The first game was a 5-3 loss. Caleb Smith had a good outing as he went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs. The bullpen struggled a bit as Bautista gave up 2 ER in 2 innings and Ferrell 1 in 1 inning. Luis Severino was great for them as he went 8 complete innings allowing only 2 runs. Rio Ruiz and Mike Ford had a good game as both of them went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI´s

The second game of the doubleheader was a win. Zac Gallen lasted 6 innings and gave up 4 runs in 2 home runs (Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar). The relief pitcher Keller, Eveld, and Anderson were amazing and threw three shutout innings. Anderson had his third save of the year. The team batted around James Paxton, as they scored 5 runs off him in the first three innings. Jorge Soler and Will Smith had homers. Trey Mancini went 3 for 5 with two doubles and three RBI´s

Marco Hernandez has been claimed off waivers by Washington, Milwaukee, and Chicago. He went to Chicago. Julio Urias is a new member of the team.

It was a one-run loss in the series opener against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Tim Anderson had a great game for us in the leadoff spot as he went 4 for 4 with a double and a triple. Dallas Keuchel struggled a bit with the long ball as he gave up two 2-run homers (Both of them to Ryan Braun). His final slash line was: 6IP, 4ER, 2 BB, 4K. Max Povse was credited with the loss as he pitched the last two innings and gave up one run.

April 24. It was another close game but we managed to win this one. We rallied in the ninth against all-star closer Josh Hader and scored two runs that finished a great come back. It was a Trey Mancini homer, his third of the year, that helped us turn the game around. Yolmer Sanchez had his first great performance with the Marlins as he went 3 for 4 with a triple and 2 RBI´s. Yamamoto had a good start, his first appearance as a starter in the season and went 5 innings allowing one run. The bad news is that Ferrell is still struggling and he failed to have a clean outing again. Nick Anderson got his 4th save of the year.

Our 10th loss of the season was again a one-run game. Martin Perez struggled for the first time and only went 3.2 innings allowing 5 earned runs. He got batted around as he allowed 8 hits and 2 bases on balls. The relievers did a good job keeping the game close but the offense couldn't figure it out against Burnes. We scored 3 runs against their starter thanks to Tim Anderson and Garret Cooper and we got even closer with a solo shot by Jorge Soler on the 9th. It wasn´t enough and we dropped the third game of the series.

Its a series split as we won the last game on extra innings. Caleb Smith was okay as he went five innings and gave up only one run. Nick Anderson had his first blown save of the season as he struggled in the ninth and gave up back to back homers to the Brewers to tie the game. In the 12th inning, James McCann started the inning with a solo homer and the team rallied behind him and scored four more runs. McCann also had homer in the 7th inning against Chase Anderson. Julio Urias made his debut with our team, throwing a clean 6th inning.

[lucho2107]

We´ve traveled to Los Angeles to play against the Dodgers for the first time this season. It was our first shutout loss of the season. Walker Buehler (6 IP, 1H, 11K) and Caleb Ferguson (3 IP, 0H, 2BB, 4K) completely dominated the team. Zac Gallen really struggled against a powerful offense and was taken out of the game after just 2.1 IP and 6 runs earned. Julio Urias had a good outing, as he limited his ex-teammates to 1 hit in 2 innings. Mancini and Diaz had a rough day at the plate as they both struggled and recorded 3 strikeouts.

After a terrible first game, we bounced back and shutout the Dodgers at their own home. It was another incredible performance by Dallas Keuchel as he went 7.1 innings allowing 6 hits and no earned runs. Kyle Keller finished the shutout by throwing 1.2 innings and striking out 2. Trey Mancini also bounced back after a difficult game and had a grand slam in the 4th, which was his 7th homer of the year. Rio Ruiz also homered in the 8th inning off Pedro Stroop.

League news: Edwin Encarnacion who is playing with the Oakland A´s has reached the 400 HR mark.

A late rally helped us to get an important road series win. The final game score was 4 to 3. Jordan Yamamoto's second start of the year was amazing as he went 8 innings allowing 3 runs. He was named the player of the game as he secured his first win of the season. Nick Anderson was in charge of the ninth inning and did amazing as he struck out 2 to earn his 5th save of the season. Scooter Gennet had his first home run as a Marlin and Trey Mancini run-scoring single in the 8th was the decisive run.

League news: Chicago Cubs starting pitcher, Jose Quintana, was diagnosed with torn flexor tendon in the elbow and will be out for the rest of the season.

End of the month review
NL player of the month is Anthony Rendon who has batted for .391 with 8 homers
AL player of the month is Aaron Judge who has batted for .336 with 11 homers

The Blue Jays are off to a hot start (17-9)

The AL central seems to be more competitive than last year as all teams are at a 3 game difference.

Los Angeles Angels were the hottest team in baseball in April. They have a record of (20-6)

The Braves are off to a hot start (19-7) and the Nationals have suffered the beginning of the season (7-19)

In spite of losing the last 3 games, the Reds have a good record to start the season (17-9)
__________________________________________________ ______

We were back at home facing the Colorado Rockies and lost a very tight contest. Martin Perez's first great outings are becoming a distant memory as he has struggled his last two starts. This time he went 3.2 innings and allowed 5 earned runs. His command was way off as he allowed 4 bases on balls and 6 hits. The offense kept us close as they rallied in the 6th and the 7th scored 5 runs. Soler had a good offensive game as he went 4 for 6 with two doubles and 2 RBI´s. The bullpen was okay, Riley Ferrell had a clean outing again, but in the top of the 13th after 1.2 innings of great relief, Zack Houston gave up a solo homer to Ian Desmond. That was the decisive run. We´ve had a tough game defensively wise as we had 3 errors, 2 of them by shortstop Tim Anderson.

Daniel Murphy, two-homer game was not enough for the Rockies as we beat them 9 to 6. Caleb Smith, who Don Mattingly has been limiting to 5 innings, gave up 2 runs but got his first win of the year. Julio Urias struggled in the 6th as he gave up a 2 run homer to Murphy. Riley Ferrell was placed in a high leverage situation and struck out the last two players to earn his 6th save of the year. Jorge Soler who has been swinging a hot bat had a grand slam in the first inning of Jon Gray. Mike Ford and Will Smith also had homers.

Some roster moves before the Sunday game. Isan Diaz was optioned to AAA and Harold Ramirez has been recalled. He will be back up for the outfield corner positions, as Kike Hernandez will alternate with Victor Victor Mesa in the center field. Kike will also play some games at shortstop. We´ve lost the game and lost a series after three weeks. It was a shutout loss as Tyler Anderson had a great game for them and went 8 innings allowing only 6 hits. Brandon Brennan finished the game for the Rockies and had his 4th save of the year. Zac Gallen had a good outing and went 5 innings in 89 pitches allowing just one run. Bautista, Urias, and Houston had four clean innings but the offense couldn't come through

[lucho2107]

We opened the sixth week of the season with a home series against Philadelphia. The first game featured Dallas Keuchel who struggled and gave up 4 runs in the first 5 innings. Mattingly didn't use too many relievers as both Keller and Eveld pitched 2 innings and gave up 1 earned run each. The Phillies starter also struggled giving up 5 runs in the first six innings but the bullpen shut us out and we gave up game 1 of the series by a 2 run margin. Jorge Soler had another homer, his second game in a row rounding all four bases. Scooter Gennett and Tim Anderson both had a 2 for 4 game with an RBI.

The draft pool was revealed, we have this year's first pick. We also have the #5 pick in the first round.

The second game was our first blowout win of the season. Yamamoto had another quality start as he went 6.2 innings and allowed 2 runs. Max Povse didn´t have a good outing as he gave up 3 runs in 2.1 innings pitched. Nevertheless, the offense was stellar and Victor Victor Mesa was the player of the game going 4 for 4 with a double and a triple and 5 RBI´s. Mike Ford, Rio Ruiz, and Scooter Gennett homered and were responsible for 6 more runs.

The last game of the series was a W but Riley Ferrell suffered from an inflamed shoulder and that will keep him out of action for 5 weeks. He was placed on the 10 days IL and Jairo Labourt was recalled from AAA to replace him. James McCann was also injured during the game and he will be day to day for the next 5 days. Nevertheless, the game was a complete success as we record our third shutout win of the season. Martin Perez bounced back from a couple of bad outings and went 7.1 innings allowing only 3 hits. He was credited with his third win of the year. Will Smith, who came of the bench to replace an injured McCann had the decisive hit as his run-scoring double made the difference in the final score.

We are riding a 3 game winning streak thanks to a road win against the Reds in the series opener. Caleb Smith went his usual 5 innings and allowed his usual 2 runs. Gerson Bautista is having a great season and he had a great relief outing by throwing 2 clean innings. Nick Anderson recorded his seventh save of the season. Trey Mancini had a two-homer day as he went deep in the 3rd and 5th against Tony Santillan.

Our winning streak came to an end after a 6-3 loss against the Reds. It was Zac Gallen who took the mound and was credited with the loss. His slash line was 4IP, 4 ER, 3K. Povse and Julio Urias both gave up a run in 2 innings. Trey Mancini had another homer after his two-homer day and Jorge Soler had a solo shot in the 6th for his 9th homer of the year.

We´ve lost the series thanks to a one-run defeat. Dallas Keuchel had another quality outing as he went six innings and allowed 2 earned runs and 1 unearned. Our offense couldn't figure out the Red´s starter Alex Wood and finished just one run behind. Victor Victor Mesa has the highest average of the team and James McCann is fully recuperated and will start again next week.

[lucho2107]

We faced the Cubs at Wrigley Field for the first series of the week. The first game was a one-run win for us. Yamamoto has been outstanding as a starter and this time he went 5 innings allowing one run. Keller had a great long relief appearance as he went 3 innings limiting the Cubs to one run. In spite of giving up one run in the ninth, Nick Anderson closed the game and earned his 8th save of the season. Jorge Soler had his 10th homer of the year, he is leading the team in that category. James McCann was back to the starting lineup and he had a homer in the 2nd inning of Kyle Hendricks. Garret Cooper had his first pinch-hit homer of the year as he went deep in the top of the ninth.

The second game featured our second shutout loss of the season. Jon Lester was amazing for the Cubs limiting our team to 4 hits in 8 innings. Martin Perez had a good game for us as he only gave up one earned run. A throwing error by Tim Anderson in the seventh inning cost the team two more runs. Jairo Labourt had his first appearance for us in the season as he finished the seventh inning by striking out two Cubbies.

Back to back shutout losses placed us with a record of .500 again. Caleb Smith and Gerson Bautista were our pitchers for the game and only gave up one run, a Javi Baez homer in the 6th. The offense went quiet the last two games in Chicago.

We´ve traveled back home to play a 4 game series against the division leaders, the Atlanta Braves. We´ve suffered the third loss in a row, and again the offense couldn't achieve a good performance. Zac Gallen, went 5 innings and gave up 3 runs. They came thanks to a 3-run home-run by Ronald Acuña Jr at the top of the 5th. The relievers Bautista, Houston, and Urias had a good performance as they threw 4 innings of no-hit baseball. The only run of the game of our team came thanks to a sac-fly by Yolmer Sanchez.

After three difficult offensive games, the team scored 7 runs and won again. Scooter Gennett had a two-run homer in the seventh inning, getting his season total to 3. Rio Ruiz had a good game as he went 2 for 3 with a double a base on balls and a couple of RBI´s. Will Smith is still struggling at the plate and he had 3 strikeouts, his season average is at .146. Dallas Keuchel had to be replaced after just 2 pitches. He was diagnosed with forearm stiffness and he will be going to the 10 day IL. Max Povse did a great job as he went 5 innings allowing one run and striking out five. In his second appearance of the season, Labourt allowed one run in 1.1 innings pitched.

Terrible news as Brendan McKay, one of our top pitcher prospects in AAA, suffered a torn UCL and will undergo TJ surgery. Jonathan Loaisga will be called up to make the start that Keuchel will miss.

It was a tough loss as the bullpen gave up three runs and we lost by 5 to 2. Yamamoto had another good outing as he went 5 innings and allowed just one run. Keller gave up another one in the eight and Nick Anderson surrendered two more in the ninth. The bullpen roles were moved again as Tommy Eveld will be the new closer. Mike Ford and Tim Anderson had homers.

It was a difficult Sunday and a difficult week. We´ve suffered a blowout loss as the Braves have beaten us 9 to 1. Martin Perez struggled and in 3.2 IP gave up 5 earned runs. Gerson Bautista and Jairo Labourt also struggled. Labourt was injured and diagnosed with a strained biceps, he will be out for 3 weeks. Rio Ruiz had a homer in the first, his fourth of the year.

[lucho2107]

Some roster moves before the home series against the Dodgers. Austin Slater, the left fielder, was called up to the majors to fill up the empty roster spot left by Jairo Labourt.

We´ve started the series with another loss-making it the third in a row and the eighth in our last ten games. This was another shutout loss as the offense has been struggling the last weeks. This time we only managed to get one hit, a Mike Ford single, and struck out 10th times. Caleb Smith went 4.2 innings and gave up one run. Max Povse struggled in relief and he is holding a season ERA of 4.85, he might be traded.

We´ve managed to shake off the shutout loss and won game 2 of the series by 5-0. A great bottom of the second inning, in which we scored all the runs of the games, was enough. Zac Gallen had a base clearing double and Kike Hernandez hit a run-scoring single as well. Zac Gallen was also money in the pitching side as he threw 6 shutout innings allowing only 2 hits. Bautista, Houston, and Anderson kept the Dodgers to one hit over the next three innings.

We´ve lost the fourth series in a row. Losaiga replaced Dallas Keuchel as the starter and he had to be taken out after 3.2 IP and 4 earned runs due to a sore elbow. Max Povse struggled again and gave up 2 more runs in relief. Austin Slater made his debut in a Marlins uniform and went 1 for 2 with a double and strikeout. Kike Hernandez had a good game and went 2 for 4 with a couple of doubles and 3 RBI´s.

We´ve made a trade. Max Povse and minor leaguer Humberto Mejia (SP) were traded to the Dodgers in exchange for Scott Alexander (RP) and minor leaguers Jon Littell (LF) and John Rooney (SP)

Sandy Alcantara was called up to the majors. He will be placed in the bullpen and his primary role will be in long relief.

In the second series of the week, we faced the Braves at SunTrust Park. It was another tough loss as the Braves batted around all of our pitchers. Yamamoto went 5.2 IP and gave up 3 earned runs, he was credited with the loss. Keller and Houston also struggled. Nick Markakis had a two-homer day. Austin Slater had his first homer as a Marlin.

League news: Mark Canha was shipped from the Oakland A´s to the St Louis Cardinals in exchange for minor leaguers Jose Alexander Martinez and Jose Rodriguez.

Another loss as we´ve fallen 5 games behind .500. It was a low scoring affair as the game ended 3 to 1. Martin Perez went 4.2 IP and gave up 2 earned runs. Sandy Alcantara had his first appearance of the season, coming out of the bullpen, and going 1.1 innings and giving up one run. The offense is still going through a slump.

The Sunday game against the Braves was postponed due to weather.

[lucho2107]

The end of May is turning to be an awful nightmare. Caleb Smith went 4 innings and allowed two runs. Sandy Alcantara had a good appearance as long relief, and he went 3 innings without allowing a run. Julio Urias gave up the decisive run in the 8th, thanks to a Wilson Ramos homer. The offense was dominated by Seth Lugo who went 8 innings and allowed only one run. Trey Mancini had an RBI-double in the eighth inning.

Another one-run loss as the Mets won in walk-off style. Tommy Eveld couldn't pitch a clean 9th and gave up a walk-off 2 run double to Luis Guillorme. Eveld was credited with the loss and he has a record of 0-2 in the season. Zac Gallen went 91 pitches in 4.2 innings and allowed one run. Bautista had a great outing and he is our best reliever of the season. He has an ERA of 1.82 in 29.2 IP. Victor Victor Mesa was moved up to the 3rd hole and went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

We were swept by the Mets. DeGrom shut us out and the game finished 3-0 in Citi Field. Dallas Keuchel had a good outing after missing his last start due to an injury and went 6 innings allowing just 1 run. Keller couldn´t keep the Mets clean and gave up a 2-run homer to Pete Alonso in the eighth innings. Jacob DeGrom was amazing and he went 8 innings allowing 2 hits, his season ERA is 2.05. Edwin Diaz had his eleventh save of the season.

League news: Mark Reynolds, currently at the San Diego Padres, announced his retirement from professional baseball.

We snapped off the four-game losing streak as we won a one-run game over the Nationals at home. Yamamoto is still doing great things and he went seven shutout innings allowed 5 hits and 2 bases on balls. Tommy Eveld, who is the new closer of the team, struggled and gave up 2 runs in the top of the ninth, nevertheless, he got his first save of the season. Scooter Gennett had a two-run homer in the fourth against Patrick Corbin. Victor Victor Mesa has been swinging a hot bat lately.

The second game of the series was a shutout win. Martin Perez got his 4th win of the season as he went six innings allowing only 2 hits. Sandy Alcantara, had three great innings in relief, as he allowed only one hit and struck out 5. He earned his first save of the season and the career. Trey Mancini had a homer in the 4th innings, his 8th of the year. Mancini has been in a slump lately and his season ERA is just .187.

We couldn´t win the last game of the series as the Nationals slipped past us by 4 to 0. Scooter Gennett had the only three hits for our team as he had a 3 for 4 game. Erik Fedde had his first career complete game. Caleb Smith went 5 innings and allowed 4 runs, he was credited with his fifth L of the season. Gerson Bautista was very good in relief again as he went 3 shutout innings striking out 7 Nats.

End of the month recap
NL player of the month: Anthony Rendon (WAS)
AL player of the month: Chris Sale (BOS)

The Rays, Yankees, Red Sox´s and Blue Jays are close in the AL East.

The Indians and the White Sox´s are tied at the top of the AL Central. The Twins are close.

The Astros already have a 6 game lead in the AL West.

The Braves are the best team in baseball. They have a record of (36-16)

The Reds have the lead in the AL Central and are the only team with a winning record in the Central.

The Dodgers, Padres, and Rockies are close in the NL West.

[lucho2107]

Some roster moves as Harold Ramírez was demoted to AAA. Melky Cabrera was called up to the majors, let´s see if he can spark a little life in our offense.

Our 30th loss of the year came after another disappointing performance by the offense. At Petco Park, we only scored 1 run, thanks to a Kike Hernandez single and gave up 2. Zac Gallen was the starter and gave up the only two runs of the Padres as Franmil Reyes hit a 2 run homer off him in the sixth. He was credited with his 6th loss of the season. The bullpen of the Padres was great and struck out 6 Marlins in 3 innings. Keller and Urias finished the game and didn't allow a run.

League news: Dellin Betances, with the Phillies, had a torn flexor tendon and will undergo TJ surgery. He will miss the rest of the season.

We solved the Padres and won the first game of the week. It was a one-run win by 3-2. Dallas Keuchel went 6.1 IP and earned just one run. Bautista and Urias held the Padres and Tommy Eveld earned his second saved of the season, after striking out the side on the ninth inning. Rio Ruiz had a good offensive game and went 2 for 3 with 2 bases on balls, 1 double and 2 RBI´s.

Rio Ruiz had a very good offensive performance as he had two homers and drove in 3 runs. Trey Mancini had another homer, his ninth of the year and is trying to break out of his slump. Mike Ford and James McCann also had two-hit games. Yamamoto had another shutout effort as he went 6.1 IP with 5 K´s. Keller had a terrible outing and gave up 4 earned runs in 0.1 innings but Houston and Eveld bailed him out and we got the win.

League news: Jimmy Yacobonis was shipped from Kansas to Oakland in exchange for minor leaguer Skyle Bolt. The Rays acquired Lorenzo Cain from the Brewers, in exchange, the Brewers received Nicholas Castellanos and Nate Lowe.

We´ve lost the last game of the series in San Diego by 6 to 10. The pitching staff struggled, starting with Perez that gave up 5 runs in 3 innings. Alcantara and Anderson couldn't stop the Padres offense. Will Smith had his fourth homer of the year. Mike Ford drove in 2 runs in 2 innings.

The amateur draft was today: We choose for the #1 pick: SS Drew Browser out of High School. We also had the #5 pick and we went for 2B Tanner Allen out of College.

We played against Arizona for the first time this season. We´ve managed a one-run win thanks to a great performance by our pitching staff. The runs by the DiamondBacks were unearned. Caleb Smith lowered his season ERA to 3.88 and Zack Houston got his first save of the year. Jorge Soler had his 11th homer of the year, he leads the team in that category.

Our second win in a row and the second time the runs of the opposing team had come by our defense errors. This time Yolmer Sanchez made a bad throw in the ninth and allowed two runs to score, otherwise it would have been another shutout win for us. Zac Gallen, had his best start of the year as he went 8.1 innings allowing 8 hits and punching out 3. Tommy Eveld had the final out of the game and earned his 4th save of the year. Mike Ford had a three-run homer, his sixth of the year, on the second inning off Kyle Freeland. It was another good game for Victor Victor Mesa who went 2 for 4 with a double.

We outhit Arizona but we failed to deliver a clutch hit. Mike Ford had a homer, a solo shot in the 8th inning, and all the players in the lineup had a hit. That was not enough as Dallas Keuchel allowed 3 runs in 6 innings. Bautista and Urias had a clean 7th and 8th but we couldn't turn the game around and will finish the week with an L.

[lucho2107]

Some league news: Michael Givens was traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Chicago Cubs. The Orioles received minor leaguers 1B Dante Blaise, RP Jacob Widener.

I´ve offered contracts to all of the draft picks. We faced the St Louis Cardinals and managed to take the first W of the series by a one-run margin. It was Yamamoto´s 10 start of the season and he struggled a bit as he lasted 5.2 innings and gave up 3 runs. Nick Anderson had a great relief outing and went 2.2 shutout innings with 4 strikeouts. Tommy Eveld loaded the bases in the ninth but got out of a jam and had his fifth save of the season. Jorge Soler had a clutch homer in the ninth that gave us the lead. Mike Ford is still showing some improvement vs his last year stats, he has a season average of .270.

We had back to back wins as a great offensive performance helped overlook the struggles of the starting pitcher, Martin Perez, and the long reliever Sandy Alcantara. Kike Hernandez and James McCann were the stars of the game as both went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI´s and no one left on base. Keller showed some signs of improvement as he threw a clean inning. Austin Slater has been platooning with Trey Mancini and has been doing a good job since being called up.

We had our first sweep of the season! Another great offensive performance by the team. Everybody joined the party as nobody went hitless and only the pitcher was not credited with an RBI. Slater and Ford had homers and Tim Anderson had 3 RBI´s with a bases-clearing triple. Victor Victor Mesa had three hits in five plate appearances. Caleb Smith was great, 6.1 innings with only one run allowed. It was a very good series in St Louis as the offense showed the power we´ve been expecting.

League news: The Rangers and the Pirates have made a two-player trade. Rangers received RHP Trevor Williams and RHP Valentin Linarez and sent to the Pirates LF Marcel Ozuna and SS Derek Cartaya.

We traveled back home and lost the first game of the series vs the Padres. Logan Allen, the 23-year-old starter of the Padres, had the best game of his young career and threw a complete game allowing only one run. In our side, Zac Gallen struggled and gave up 4 runs in 4 innings pitched. James McCann's solo shot in the 4th was our only run of the game. Melky Cabrera played his second game of the season and went 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Our second round pick 3B Jaden Agassi has signed with the team.
Our fourth-round pick SP Levi Pratter has signed with the team.

League news: The pirates have traded Starling Marte and minor leaguer Braede Loege to the Indians receiving minor leaguers Ethan Hankins, Josh Rolette, and Brandon Benavente.

Back to back home losses as the Padres batted Dallas Keuchel around in the first innings of the game. Keuchel finished with 5 earned runs in 4 innings pitched, his ERA if over 3.00 for the first time this season. On the other hand, Luchessi and the Padres pitchers were inducing ground balls and only allowed one run in 5 hits. The run cames thanks to a James McCann single.

We erased all the good things done at the start of the week with another loss to the Padres at home. An error from Scooter Gennett with 2 outs in the 6th innings helped the Padres score three runs. Those were the difference as they won by 6 to 3. Yamamoto was decent as he allowed 3 runs in 5 innings and Bautista, Alcantara, and Eveld had clean outings. Jorge Soler had his 13th homer of the year.

League news: Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays was diagnosed with forearm inflammation and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

[lucho2107]

We won the first game of the home series against the San Francisco Giants. We faced Gerrit Cole, who has been really struggling in his new team (A season ERA of 6.27). We scored two runs against him thanks to a Rio Ruiz scoring single in the third and a Tim Anderson run-scoring double in the fifth. Martin Perez has a good outing as he went seven innings, allowing seven hits and one run. He struck out seven players. Tommy Eveld had a two-inning save. Kike Hernandez will play as the starting center fielder and Victor Victor Mesa will start at right field for the next few games.

Caleb Smith was rolling in the second game of the series but in the 8th inning, Sean Murphy connected a 2-run homer off him. That was enough for the Giants as the won by 2 to 1. Our run came thanks to a run-scoring single by Tim Anderson in the fifth inning. Our offense outhit the Giants but was not able to produce some runs. Julio Urias had a clean outing, he has been amazing since been claimed from waivers, his season ERA is 1.64.

Some bad news as our second round supplement pick has decided to reject our offer and continue with his college education. In the third game of the series, we had another shutout win. Zac Gallen had his best game of the season as he went 7 innings allowing just 2 hits. Sandy Alcantara finished the game with 2 perfect innings (no base runners). The offense rallied behind Trey Mancini who went 3 for 5 with a homer and 5 runs batted in. Melky Cabrera started at right field and also had a good game, going 2 for 4 with a couple of doubles and RBI´s

In spite of a complicated outing by Dallas Keuchel, we managed to win the series finale. Keuchel gave up three runs in the first (a Buster Posey three-run homer) but found his groove as he went 6 more innings without allowing a run. At the top of the 7th, he gave up 2 more runs and was replaced with Sandy Alcantara who had 1.2 clean innings of relief. Julio Urias, who is now the closer, was in charge of the last three outs, which he got easily. Jorge Soler was money on the offensive side as he had a 3 run homer in the 6th. Bad news as he was involved in a brawl and was suspended by MLB for two games. Austin Slater and Scooter Gennett also had homers.

We´ve traveled to Baltimore for a new interleague series. This time we faced the O´s and won the first game of the series. The game finished with a score of 7-5. Yamamoto was our starter and went 5 innings allowing 2 runs. Keller, who has been really struggling later, came in relief and allowed 3 runs in an inning. Nevertheless, the offense scored 3 runs on the top of the 7th and Bautista, Eveld and Urias closed the game. Austin Slater and Scooter Gennett had their second game in a row with a homer. Tim Anderson had a solo shot on the top of the 8th inning.

It´s turning out to be a good week for us, as we beat the Orioles by 8 to 4. Martin Perez went 6.2 innings and allowed three earned runs in 10 hits. Mike Mahtook had a two-homer day for the Orioles. Nick Anderson had a 2.1 inning relief appearance and was credited with the save. Kike Hernandez had a great game, he went 2 for 3 with a 2-run homer and a base on balls. Rio Ruiz also had a great game, his final slash line was 4 PA, 3H, 1 BB, and 1 RBI.

We´ve swept the Orioles after another great shutout and blowout win. Caleb Smith and Sandy Alcantara were the two pitchers on the game. They allowed only 5 base runners in the game and struck out 11. Mike Ford, Tim Anderson, Scotter Gennett, and Will Smith had homers. It was the best week of the season so far as we had a record of 6-1. The first and fifth picks of the draft have agreed to sign with us and will join our minor league system. After the game, we´ve made another roster move, Kyle Keller was demoted to AAA and Riley Ferrell finished his rehab assignment and is back to the active roster.

[lucho2107]

The new week starts with a trip out west to San Francisco. We faced the Giants and won our sixth game in a row. This time it was a one-run win thanks to a run-scoring single by Austin Slater at the top of the 11th. Zac Gallen was the starter and he went 6.1 innings giving up 2 earned runs in 5 hits. Riley Ferrell made his first appearance since coming out of the IL and had a shutout inning recording 1 strikeout and giving up 1 hit. Julio Urias had another great performance in relief and went 2.0 innings, (the 10th and the 11th) without allowing a single hit and was credited with the win. James McCann had a two-run homer in the seventh.

Our winning streak came to an end thanks to a terrible bottom of the 5th inning. Dallas Keuchel was rolling but he struggled in the 5th and gave up six earned runs in seven hits. Nick Anderson gave up three unearned runs thanks to a Jorge Soler 2-out error. Victor Victor Mesa had a good game as he went 2 for 2 with an RBI and 2 bases on balls.

It was another loss at Oracle Park at the series finale. Yamamoto struggled a lot as the starter and gave up 5 runs in 10 hits and 2 homers. Corey Dickerson and Brandon Belt were the players who went deep for the Giants. Hyun-Ryu had a great game for the home team as he went six shutout innings with six strikeouts. We tried a comeback in the last two innings as we scored three runs, thanks to a Scooter Gennett homer and a Victor Victor Mesa triple, but that wasn't enough.

League news: Joakim Soria, with the Oakland A´s, has decided to retire effective immediately. He had a career ERA of 3.21.

Our third loss in a row came in the series opener at Coors Field. Martin Perez had a great game and went six innings allowing just one run in 4 hits. Nick Anderson was batted around in the seventh and gave up 2 runs, that finally cost us the game. Anderson was credited with the loss. The offense struggled and only scored one run in 8 hits.

We passed from a six-game winning streak to a 4 game losing one. This time it was a shutout loss as Peter Lambert had a great performance for the Rockies. Caleb Smith gave up 6 runs in the first three innings. Riley Ferrell has improved since coming back from the IL and recorded another multi-inning clean outing. Coors Field has been bad for our offense.

We avoided getting swept thanks to a great offensive performance and an extra-innings triumph. Zac Gallen surrender to the Coors field effect and gave up 5 earned runs in just 3.2 innings. Gerson Bautista also suffered and gave up 5 more runs in 1.2 innings. Nevertheless, there was some pitching magic in Julio Urias who had 3 clean extra-inning outings and was credited with his 3rd W of the season. The offense did not rellied on the long ball as the only homer came thanks to Tim Anderson. The other 11 runs were scored thanks to singles, doubles, and triples. Victor Victor Mesa is still swinging a hot bat and had a 3 for 4 day with a base on balls. Kike Hernandez is batting for average as well as he went 3 for 6 in our last game in Colorado.

We´ve made a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. We´ve sent minor leaguers Chad Wallach (C) (who was in the 40 man roster) and Trevor Rogers (SP) and received minor leaguers Edgardo Rodriguez (C) and Daury del Rosario (3B). I´ve also offered a minor league contract to free-agent catcher, Jacob Nottingham.

[lucho2107]

We went back home to face the Arizona Diamondbacks. The first game of the series featured Dallas Keuchel as our starter. Keuchel who started the season red hot has been struggling after a great month to start the season. He went 6 innings and allowed 4 runs. Riley Ferrell had a bad outing as well, he gave up 3 runs in 0.2 innings. After a great season last year, he has mixed lots of ups and downs this season. Victor Victor Mesa had his first homer of the year in the second inning of Eric Lauer. Austin Slater, who played in center field this game, homered as well and had his fifth of the year. James McCann has been in a slump lately and his season AVG is just .220

The offense had a great game as it scored 14 runs in 13 hits. It was a great 4th inning as we scored 10 runs thanks to a grand slam by Jorge Soler. Soler had his 15th homer of the year and is leading the team in that category. Rio Ruiz also had a great game and went 3 for 4 with a homer, it was a solo shot in the 8th. Yamamoto had a great outing and went 6 innings allowing just one run, he also managed to strike out 8 opposing players. Sandy Alcantara had a rough outing as he gave up 4 runs in just 3 innings. Victor Victor Mesa stole 2 runs in a game and has umped his season total to 12.

Jacob Nottingham has signed a minor league contract with us.

End of the month recap
AL player of the month: Alex Bregman (HOU)
NL player of the month: David Dahl (COL)

The Tampa Bay Rays had a great month of June and have taken a 6 1/2 game difference at the top of the AL East.

The Indians have also taken a nice lead in the AL Central and now have seven-game difference against the Minnesota Twins.

The Astros have the best record in baseball (53-28).

The Braves are still hot and they have a 7 game difference at the top of the NL East. They have the second-best record in baseball and the best in the National League.

The NL Central is still dominated by mediocrity and the Reds have a 7 game difference at the top of the division. The other 4 teams have a losing record, the Cubs are at second place with a lousy record of 37-42.

The race for the NL West is very tied. The Rockies, Dodgers, and Padres are all within a one-game difference at the top.
__________________________________________________ _____

The second game of the series was a one-run win. Martin Perez had a great outing as he went 7.2 innings and allowed one run in 5 hits. The run scored by Arizona came thanks to a solo shot by Steven Souza Jr in the 6th inning. Julio Urias had 4 out save his third of the year. Our 2-runs came in the bottom of the 6th in a great rally, Tim Anderson and Scooter Gennett both had a run-scoring single.

The new class of international free agents is here. The highest potential rating my scout gave was 60.

We won the last game of the 4 game series and had another series W. Caleb Smith had five solid innings as he only gave up one run. Nick Anderson was in charge of the middle and gave up one run. Julio Urias had a clean ninth-inning in only 8 pitches and record his 4th save of the year. Rio Ruiz had a great game as he went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI´s. Tim Anderson and Victor Victor Mesa had a good game and were the key players on the offensive side.

We faced the Mets in the second home series of the week and won the first game by 7 to 3. Zac Gallen went 4 innings and gave up 2 runs. Sandy Alcantara replaced him for 1.1 innings and gave up another run. Riley Ferrell and Gerson Bautista finished the game, as Bautista was credited with the W. Scooter Gennett had his 9th homer of the year, in a 2-run laser over the left-field wall. Kike Hernandez had a 2 RBI game. James McCann is still struggling at the plate and Will Smith might replace him as the starting catcher in the next few games.

League news: Nelson Cruz, who is playing on the Mets and is 40 years old, has decided to retire and from professional baseball.

We are still hot as we won our fifth game in a row. This time it was a one-run walk-off win in extra innings. Dallas Keuchel had a good outing as he threw 96 pitches in 5.1 innings and did not allow a single run. Zack Houston gave up a run in the seventh that helped the Mets tie the game. The rest of the bullpen was amazing as they managed to throw 5 scoreless innings and kept the offense of the Mets totally quiet. Gabriel Bautista was credited with the win, his fourth of the season. Will Smith had an RBI single in the second. Yolmer Sanchez had an RBI walk-off double in the 12th vs Arquides Caminero.

Chris Stratton was amazing for the Mets and had a complete game. He went 9 innings in just 90 pitches and gave up 1 run in 5 hits. The run came thanks to a Rio Ruiz single in the third. The Mets offense batted around our pitchers after two quiet games. They scored 4 runs in 5 innings against our starter Yamamoto and then scored 3 more runs in the ninth vs Tommy Eveld. Victor Victor Mesa was injured in the game and will be out of action for 2 weeks. He has a sore elbow. The week power rankings ranked us as the 12th best team in baseball.

Some league news: The A´s have traded reliever Zack Godley and left fielder Lazaro Armenteros to the Padres in exchange for Brad Zunica and Reiss Kher.

[lucho2107]

We started the week with a home interleague series against the Tampa Bay Rays. We managed to win by 2 to 0, thanks to an amazing performance by our pitching staff that only gave up one hit. Martin Perez was the starter and gave up the only hit of the game. Anderson, Houston, and Urias had four clean innings as the didn't allow a single base runner. Urias had his fifth save of the season. Rio Ruiz had a homer vs Tyler Glasnow in the 6th inning and gave us a 2 run lead. James McCann had a sac fly in the 4th.

The second game of the series went our way as we won on extra innings in walk-off style. Caleb Smith went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs. Both runs came thanks to solo homers by Yandy Diaz and Chad Wallach (who played in our minor league system until a couple of weeks ago). Riley Ferrel had a great relief outing for us as he went 3 innings and struck out 6. Julio Urias kept the game tied till the 10th inning. Gerson Bautista also threw two more scoreless and was credited with the win. Mike Ford and Scotter Gennett had a solo shot and the hero was Trey Mancini who had a walk-off home run in the 12th inning.

Some roster moves as Victor Victor Mesa was placed in the 10 day IL. Jairo Labourt (RP) finished his rehab assignment in the minors and was placed in the active roster.

The Rays took the last game of the series by a score of 4 to 1. Zac Gallen was credited with the loss in spite of his good performance, he went 6 innings and allowed just 2 runs. Nick Anderson also gave up a run in relief and an error by Tim Anderson in the ninth cost us another run. Trey Mancini, who has been replacing Victor Victor Mesa in the right field had a good game as he went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. He has improved his season average to .200

We traveled to DC to play a 4 game series against the Nationals. We took the first game of the series thanks to another great outing by our pitching staff. Dallas Keuchel has bounced back from a couple of bad outing and went 7.1 shutout innings allowing just 4 runs and 2 bases on balls. Jairo Labourt suffered a bit finishing the eight innings as Tim Anderson had another error, his 10th of the season. Nick Anderson had his 10th save of the season as he struck out the side on the ninth inning. James McCann had a good game as he went 2 for 4 with a double and homer and drove in 3 runs.

It was another extra-innings win for us, this time in 16 innings. It was our longest game of the season as it lastest 5 hours and 35 minutes. Yamamoto had a great outing going 7.1 innings and allowed one run in 4 hits. The relievers managed to put up a 0 in 10 consecutive innings. The Nationals struck out 21 times. Sandy Alcantara was credited with the save and Riley Ferrell with the win. Scooter Gennett had a 3 run home run in the 16th innings vs the ex Marlins pitcher, Jose Ureña.

Some league news: Omar Narvaez was traded to the Seattle Mariners. Steven Souza Jr was shipped to the Kansas City Royals with $850,000 in exchange for minor leaguers Meibrys Vilora and Mason Mallard.

In the third game at D.C, we were unlucky as we lost on extra innings by 4 to 3. The Nationals tied the game in the ninth of Julio Urias who had his first blown save of the year. Martin Perez had a good game as our starter as he went 6.1 innings and allowed just one run in a solo shot to Aaron Alther. The walk-off hero this time was Yan Gomes who delivered in the 14th with a run-scoring single off Tommy Eveld.

We lost the Sunday showdown at the nation's capital to end the series in a tie. Caleb Smith struggled and only managed to pitch 4.2 innings and allowed 5 runs. He was credited with the loss, his 8th of the year. Nick Anderson and Zack Houston had good relief outings but were insufficient due to a poor offensive performance. Trey Mancini had his 12th homer of the year, and he is behind Jorge Soler in that category on the team.

Some league news: David Peralta has signed a 4-year extension with Arizona worth 76M. Freddy Galvis was traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Chicago White Sox´s

July 12. I´ve submitted my All-star ballot.

All-Star Ballot

American League

SP: Colin Poche (TB)
SP: Chris Sale (BOS)
SP: Justin Verlander (HOU)
RP: Chaz Roe (TB)
RP: Trevor May (MIN)
RP: Ryan Brasier (TOR)
C: Gary Sanchez (NYY)
1B: Joey Gallo (TEX)
2B: Jose Altuve (HOU)
3B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr (TOR)
SS: Adalberto Mondesi (KC)
LF: Eloy Jimenez (CHW)
CF: Dustin Fowler (OAK)
RF: Mitch Haniger (SEA)
DH: J.D Martinez (BOS)

National League
SP: Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
SP: Cal Quantrill (SD)
SP: Joe Musgrove (PIT)
RP: Gerson Bautista (MIA)
RP: Jimmy Herget (CIN)
RP: Kenley Jansen (LAD)
C: Buster Posey (SF)
1B: Pete Alonso (NYM)
2B: Garret Hampson (COL)
3B: Anthony Rendon (WAS)
SS: Corey Seager (LAD)
LF: David Dahl (COL)
CF: Brandon Nimmo (NYM)
RF: Franmil Reyes (SD)

[lucho2107]

We´ve made an important trade before the start of the week. Jonathan Loaisga and Melky Cabrera were traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Adam Eaton (65 % retain), Jhon Romero (RP), Tanner Rainey (CL) and minor leaguer 2B Glenn Santiago

We opened the 16th week of the season with a home series against the Brewers. We dropped game one thanks to a bad outing by our starter Zac Gallen. He only pitched 2 innings and allowed 6 earned runs in 7 hits and 2 homers. Sandy Alcantara and Riley Ferrell also struggled in relief and gave up 2 runs each. Tanner Rainey made his debut in a Marlins uniform and threw 1.1 clean innings. Adam Eaton also played for the first time with the team and went 2 for 5 with a double and an RBI. Scooter Gennett went deep in the first inning against Amari Corothers.

We´ve lost the second game in a row. This time the starter, Keuchel, had a decent outing as he went 7 innings allowing only 3 runs. Bautista couldn't hold the opposing team and gave up the decisive run on the top of the 8th. He was credited with the loss. James McCann had a good game as he went 2 for 3 with a couple of RBI´s.

League news: Craig Stammen was traded from Arizona to the Diamondbacks. Carl Edwards Jr was traded from the Cubs to the Astros.
Zack Wheeler was traded from the Nationals to the Blue Jays in exchange for minor leaguers Resse McGuire and Warnel Valdez.

It was an awful home series as we were swept at home. Our pitching staff couldn't figure out the Brewers offense and we gave up 9 runs in this game. Yamamoto suffered in the first innings and gave up 3 runs. Julio Urias and Tommy Eveld also gave up 3 runs. Scooter Gennett had another homer and he might be featured in the all-star game.

Some roster moves. Austin Slater was demoted to AAA as Victor Victor Mesa has fully recovered from his injury.

Another shutout loss. This time it was against the Philadelphia Phillies at home. Martin Perez went seven innings and gave up 3 earned runs. Zack Houston and Riley Ferrell delivered 2 clean innings but the offense went quiet. Vince Velasquez has a great game for the Phillies.

We managed to win in the second game of the series and snap out of a 6 game losing streak. Caleb Smith had a quality outing by going 6 innings and allowing 2 runs. In spite of Tommy Eveld struggles, he gave up 2 runs in the seventh, the team rallied behind him and got an 8 to 5 win. Mike Ford had a homer, his eleventh of the year.

We finished one of our most disappointing weeks of the season with a loss. It was a one-run defeat as Julio Urias gave up 3 runs in the top of the ninth giving up a 2 run lead. Zac Gallen had a good game and Rio Ruiz had his 9th homer of the year.

League news: McNeil was traded from the Mets to the O´s. Marcus Semien was traded from the Red Sox´s to the Tigers.

The all-star rosters are:

American League

SP: Casey Mize (DET)
SP: Shohei Othani (LAA)
SP: Colin Poche (TB)
SP: Carlos Rondon (CHW)
SP: Chris Sale (BOS) *
SP: Justus Sheffield (SEA)
SP: Justin Verlander (HOU)

RP: Mike Leake (CLE)
RP: Trevor May (MIN)
RP: Brad Hand (CLE)
RP: Wyatt Mills (SEA)
RP: Blake Treinen (MIN)

C: Willians Astudillo (MIN)
C: Kevin Plawecki (CLE)
C: Gary Sanchez (NYY) *

1B: Joey Gallo (TEX) *
1B: Matt Olson (OAK) *

2B: Jose Altuve (HOU) *
2B: Gleyber Torres (NYY)

3B: Yandy Diaz (TB)
3B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr (TOR) *
3B: Mike Moustakas (TEX)
3B: Jose Ramirez (CLE)
3B: Matt Chapman (OAK)
3B: Alex Bregman (HOU)
3B: Miguel Sano (BAL)

SS: Francisco Lindor (CLE)
SS: Adalberto Mondesi (KC)*

LF: Michael Brantley (HOU)*
LF: J.D Martinez (BOS) *
LF: Eddie Rosario (MIN)

CF: Dustin Fowler (OAK)*

RF: Aaron Judge (NYY)*
RF: Kyle Tucker (HOU)

National League

SP: Luis Castillo (CIN)
SP: Jacob deGrom (NYM)*
SP: Max Fried (ATL)
SP: Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
SP: Mike Minor (COL)
SP: Joe Musgrove (PIT)
SP: Cal Quantrill (SD)

RP: Gerson Bautista (MIA)
RP: Jimmy Herget (CIN)
RP: Taylor Williams (MIL)
RP: Julio Urias (MIA)
RP: Seranthony Dominguez (PHI)


C: Francisco Mejia (SD)
C: Buster Posey (SF)*
C: J.T Realmuto (PHI)

1B: Pete Alonso (NYM)*
1B: Daniel Murphy (COL)

2B: Ozzie Albies (ATL)*
2B: Javier Baez (CHC)
2B: Garret Hampson (COL)

3B: Nolan Arenado (COL)
3B: Anthony Rendon (WAS) *
3B: Josh Donaldson (STL)
3B: Eduardo Escobar (ARZ)

SS: Jose Peraza (CIN)
SS: Corey Seager (LAD)*

LF: Ronald Acuña Jr (ATL)
LF: Michael Conforto (NYM)*
LF: Franchy Cordero (SD)
LF: David Dahl (COL)*
LF: Rangel Ravelo (ARZ)

CF: Brandon Nimmo (NYM)*

RF: Bryce Harper (PHI)
RF: Franmil Reyes (SD)

*Starters

[lucho2107]

We have arrived at the All-star weekend. There was some league news before the game as the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to trade shortstop Nick Ahmed to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for minor leaguers Erick Teran and Jesus Fernando Lopez.

The American League team won once again the all-star game. Bryce Harper was named MVP has he had a two-run homer in the third inning off Casey Mize.

League news: Hunter Renfroe was traded from San Diego to Arizona in exchange for minor leaguers Riley Smith and Brayan Perez.

After the all-star break, we played an interleague series at Tropicana Field. The Rays won in walk-off style as a run-scoring single by Brandon Lowe gave them the edge. Dallas Keuchel had a good game, he went 6.1 innings allowing 2 runs in 5 hits. Kole Calhoun connected a homer off him in the 4th inning. Tommy Eveld was credited with the loss as he gave up the decisive run in the ninth. Victor Victor Mesa had a good game as he went 2 for 4 with a double, a homer and a couple of RBI´s.

Back to back losses as the offense was shut down by Tampa´s pitching staff. All-star pitcher, Colin Poche, went 8 innings allowing no runs and only 4 hits. Jose Alvarado closed the game for Tampa and recorded his 24th save of the season. On our side, Yamamoto had a decent game as he went 6 innings and allowed two runs. The only two runs came thanks to a 2 run shot by Tommy Pham in the 4th inning. Riley Ferrell had a good relief outing and pitched 2 hitless innings.

League news: David Peralta was traded from the Diamondbacks to the O´s. Marcus Strootman was traded from the Blue Jays to the Indians in exchange for three low-level minor leaguers.

The last game of the interleague series was another one-run defeat and we´ve been swept for the third time this season. Martin Perez had a good outing for us as he just gave up 2 earned runs in seven innings. Nevertheless, he allowed 3 unearned runs in the 5th inning thanks to a fielding error by first baseman Mike Ford. Sandy Alcantara had a good performance in relief and he has a season ERA of 2.56. The offense managed to score 4 runs but it was insufficient. We are fading away from the NL Wild card race.

We´ve made a trade with the Kansas City Royals. We´ve sent Harold Ramirez and acquired Taijuan Walker. Zac Gallen was demoted to AAA to make a spot for Walker in the rotation.