[ayaghmour2]

August 31st, 2018: Orioles rookie Tanner Scott will miss 4-5 months with an arthritic elbow. We faced him earlier in the season, and he finished the year with a 6.06 ERA and 3-6 record.

We opened the 3 game series against the Blue Jays with Colin McHugh (12-5, 3.62 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) against southpaw Colt Hynes (2-6, 8.94 ERA, 1.82 WHIP). Anthony Alford and Teoscar Hernandez would get a shot at their former team. I kind of want the Blue Jays to make the playoffs, but I also want to win.

We pitched great, as McHugh allowed just a single run and 2 hits in 5 innings. He struck out and walked 3 Blue Jays, and improved to 2-1 with the Marlins in a 4-1 victory.

Alford went 1-for-4 and Hernandez went 2-for-4, scoring twice. J.T. Realmuto went 2=for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI's. Miguel Rojas also doubled, and Hernan Perez and Ryon Healy picked up the other RBI's. Hernandez stole a base, while Alford was caught trying.

Robinson Cano went 2-for-3 against the A's in a 7-4 Mariners loss, but recorded his 2,500th hit of his career.

Tommorow, rosters would expand!

Sidenote: August was our best month of the year, as we went 11-15. All the trades I made actually made us better.

September 1st, 2018: Rosters expanded today, but I wasn't quite sure how many moves I'd make. I decided I'd recall Heath Hembree from his rehab assignment. His first outing was rough, but the last two he went 3.1 innings, allowing just 1 hit, and struck out 3. I also recalled Jarrett Parker from his rehab assignment in A Greensboro. Parker would hit 5th and play LF.

Brad Peacock (8-3, 3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) hosted Marco Estrada (6-8, 4.86 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) with Parker back in the lineup.

Let's just say today was bad. The Blue Jays lost Marco Estrada and Roberto Osuna to injury, and the Marlins lost 10-1. Peacock allowed 4 in 4 off 4 hits. He struck out 5 and walked 2 as well. Preston Guilmet allowed 4 in 0.1 innings, and Adam Conley allowed 2 in the final 2.2 innings.

We scattered 5 hits, and the only big event was Brian Anderson's homer. Parker was 1-for-3 with a walk in his return to the lineup.

The Nationals Howie Kendrick went 6-for-7 as the Nationals edged the Brewers 9-8. Kendrick singled, singled, singled, flied out, doubled, singled, and then singled again in the 13 inning affair. The game was 2-2 heading into the 9th, then both teams scored single runs in the 9th and the 11th. The 13th was crazy, as Milwaukee scored 4 runs, but the Natoinals rallied back for 5. The Nats outhit the Brew Crew 23-13. The trio of
Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon, and Raudy Read had three hits a piece.

September 2nd, 2018: Both us and the White Sox were officially eliminated from postseason contention after yesterday's results.

The Angels lost Garrett Richards for the rest of the year with a torn flexor tendon. He was 12-4 with a 3.15 ERA this year.

We sent Shelby Miller (2-7, 4.78 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) out in the rubber match to face Jaime Garcia (3-1, 4.78 ERA, 1.57 WHIP). I guess we wouldn't see Straily. I gave the ice cold Tyler Saladino a day off in favor of veteran J.J. Hardy. In a hard faught matchup, we came out on top, winning the series with a 6-5 win. Anthony Alford walked it off with a double off his former team. The former college QB went 3-for-5 with a run scored, 2 RBI's, and a pair of doubles. We hit a lot of doubled, as Hernandez, Parker (2), and Hardy (2) all doubled. 7 of our 10 hits were two baggers, the rest singles. Anderson and Alford (2) stole bases.

The Jays suffered another pitching injury, with Garcia leaving in the 1st inning. Miller wasn't great, allowing 5 in 5 off 9 hits. He didn't walk anyone, but only struck out 3. Brian Ellington, Kevin Chapman, and Kyle Barraclough struck out 2 a piece in single innings. Drew Steckenrider struck out the side, but needed 28 pitches with a hit and walk involved, earning the win. He's now 4-8 on the year. He also made an error, as well as catcher J.T. Realmuto.

September 3rd, 2018: Today, New Orleans, Jacksonville, and Greensboro's reglar seasons ended today. Jupiter ended yesterday, but they were headed to the playoffs.

Power Raknigs! We were now up to 28th, ahead of Milwaukee and Atlanta!

Philadelphia came to town, and Tom Eshelman (2-3, 5.34 ERA, 1.48 WHIP), a former Phillies pitcher, faced Nick Pivetta (3-3, 3.04 ERA, 1.37 WHIP).

Eshelman was great, and bested his former team with 7 scorless innings. In the 5-1 victory, he allowed 6 hits, a walk, and struck out 4 with exactly 100 total pitches. Yovani Gallardo allowed the only run in 2 innings to end the game.

We hit well, recording 10 hits. Alford, Brian Anderson, and Miguel Rojas had pairs of hits. Alford had two singles, Anderson two doubles, and Rojas one of each. Teoscar Hernandez hit a 3 run homer in the 5th off Pivetta, and Justin Bour drove in the other two. Ryon Healy made an error, but it didn't lead to a run.

September 4th, 2018: So all my non-rookie teams were in the playoffs except Batavia, but they had one more game left in the regular season and could make the playoffs still, just half a game out of first. It looked like it could be a while for callups to occur.

Anyways, Zach Godley (8-10, 4.46 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) took on Ben Livey (5-4, 5.45 ERA, 1.27 WHIP). Both pitchers lost to the opposing team this year. Brian Anderson, still at 2B, has done a good job learning it, increasing his versatility.

This one was rough. Godley was good, allowing just a single run in 7 innings. He walked 3, but allowed just 2 hits and struck out 6. We had a 3-1 lead going into the 9th, but Steckesaurus blew his 6th save of the year, allowing 2 runs off 2 hits and a walk in the 9th. We couldn't score in the 9th, so it headed to extras. Kevin Chapman struck out the side in the 10th, but also allowed 3 hits, a walk, and 2 runs. We couldn't score in the 10th, and lost 5-3.

Justin Bour had a single and double, while Tyler Saladino had a pair of singles. Anderson and Healy doubled like Bour. The former drove in 1 run, the latter 2.

September 5th, 2018: Lot's of moves before the rubber match in the series, as I activated Derek Dietrich from the DL. Ryan Borucki and Jarlin Garcia were activated from the AAA DL, which lead to the call ups of Brian Johnson and Adam Morgan from their rehab assigments.

I caved, and designated Brett Anderson for assignment, but if he was claimed I could revoke the waiver assignment, since he wasn't on the 40. I would, however, then be forced to place him on the active roster, or attempt to waive him again.

Could we win another series? Let's see, as Colin McHugh (13-5, 3.56 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) dueled Vince Velasquez (4-3, 3.56 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), a pitcher I considered around deadline time.

So McHugh was perfect, but only through 0.2 innings, before leaving with an injury. Luckily, we've got a big pen. Adam Conley tossed 4.2 scorless innings, striking out 4 and allowing 2 hits. Gallardo added 0.2 more, followed by Brian Johnson, who struck out 4 and walked 1 in 2 innings, right after being recalled from rehab. Preston Guilmet finished the fame with a shaky 9th where he allowed 1 hit and 2 walks, but it completed a 6-0 team shutout of the first place Phillies. Yes, the now 49-91 Marlins won a series against the 83-56 Phillies. We might have been at home, but all are sweeps were on the road.

We had 10 hits, 2 a piece for Anderson, Herandez, and Realmuto. Anderson and Hernandez doubled, while the former drove in one, the latter a pair. Hernan Perez hit a solo shot and drove in another run. Anthony Alford didn't get a hit, but he picked up stolen base number 4.

McHugh would be fine, as he left the game for precautionary reasons. The durable righty just has a sore elbow, as the x-rays were negative for a rotator cuff tear.

I think, for the first time all year, the Marlins are 7-3 in their last 10. Honestly, I don't know if before this little run we ever had a 10 game span with a winning record. We'd rest tommorow, before heading to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates. I'd hopefully have more callups soon, but I want my Minor League teams to win rings.

September 6th, 2018: It took a little shuffling, but I called up 1B Mike Ford and SP Reynaldo Lopez from AAA. I had two guys come off the DL, so instead of sending guys down, I brought them up.

Since joining us in a trade with Seattle for Lane Adams with Ryon Healy and Nick Rumbelow, Ford hit .321/.413/.505 in AAA New Orleans. He had 5 HR's, 22 RBI's, and walked (17) more then he struck out (16). He's not much more then a bench player, but he's got a great eye and a solid bat.

Reynaldo Lopez, who came from the White Sox as a part of the package for All-Star Starlin Castro, was 5-8 with a 4.22 ERA in 21 starts for the Sox. In AAA New Orleans, he was much better, 2-2 with a 2.82 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 8 starts. He struck out 37 and walked 11. In his big league career with Washington and Chicago, he's 13-14 with a 4.49 ERA in 204.2 innings. He's walked 70, struck out 163, and has a 1.38 WHIP.

Ford will backup Bour and 1B, while Lopez will be available out of the pen.

The Rays and Orioles are now eliminated from the playoffs as well.

We headed to Pittsburgh in preperation for a long roadtrip. We'd see them for 3, and then head to the Big Apple for 4. Against Pittsburgh, we'd see Trevor Williams (9-8, 4.75 ERA), Joe Musgrove (1-6, 4.35 ERA), and Steven Brault (7-0, 3.61 ERA).