[ayaghmour2]

May 13th, 2022: The Rays will be without CL Jamie Schultz who partially tore his unlar collateral liagment. He had 41 saves last year, but just 6 this year to go with a 4.20 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 15 innings.

The Rox tinkered with their rotation and sent Eric Lauer (3-2, 3.53 ERA, 1.57 WHIP) to the mound today to face Jameson Taillon (3-3, 2.95 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) as we looked to win the opener. A rare shutout occured in Coors Field, as we opened the three game set with a 3-0 shutout win.

Taillon went the distance and took a no hitter into the 9th until Desmond Lindsay doubled with two outs. Victor Caratini had an error as well, but Taillon was near perfect, and struck out 6 hitters.

Cole Brannen was 3-for-4 hitting, but 1-for-3 stealing. He doubled, drove in a run, and walked. Andrelton Simmons was 3-for-4 with a run scored. Ryan Mountcastle was 1-for-4 with an RBI double in the first, and Victor Caratini was 2-for-4.

May 14th, 2022: We looked to replicate yesterday's performance with A.J. Puckett (2-2, 4.23 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) taking on Jon Gray (3-2, 2.53 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). The team was tired, with four guys needing rest. Simmons had to tough it out and play short, as I only had three non-catchers on the bench. Colorado came to play today, rallying for 2 in the 7th, 8th, and 10th to win 6-5.

Puckett allowed 2 runs (1 earned) in 6 innings off 4 hits, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts, which means we should've won this one in regulation... Arano allowed 2 runs and got just 1 out to blow the save in the 7th, and Corbin Clouse was charged with the loss after 2 runs (1 earned) in the 10th with just 1 out. So yes, we should have played more then 9.2 innings...

Tyler Jay and Brian Anderson were charged with the errors.

The bats were working better then the gloves, and we managed 14 hits. Carlos Soler was 2-for-4 with 7th inning 2-run homer. Lewis Brinson had a solo shot in a 2-for-4 outing. Keston Hiura, who was tired, came off the bench and was 2-for-2 with a double. Christian Bethancourt had a pinch hit RBI double in the 10th off Zach Britton.

May 15th, 2022: The Cubs will be without righty Yu Darvish for the rest of the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Now 35, the Osaka native has 2 more years after this on his contract he signed in 2020.

Tyler Mahle (1-1, 3.57 ERA, 0.90 WHIP) got the ball against Darwinzon Hernandez (0-2, 7.71 ERA, 1.93 WHIP) as we looked to take the series. The still tired Simmons got the day off with Cole Brannen playing SS and Carlos Soler manning RF. Brannen actually has a little bit of experience at short and average fielding ratings, but is no Andrelton Simmons. It wouldn't have mattered who played 2nd, as we slaughtered the hometown Rockies 12-2.

Mahle tossed 7 innings with 2 runs, 10 hits, and 8 strikeouts. With another 0 walk performance, he has just 5 on the season in 52.1 innings. Edward Cabrera finished the final two innings with a hit and a pair of strikeouts.

The rain didn't put the flame out in the lineup, as Mahle was the only Marlin without a hit, and all 9 starters scored. Lewis Brinson was 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, and an RBI. Scott Kingery was 3-for-5 with a steal, 2 runs scored, 2 driven in, and a triple. Marwin Gonzalez was 2-for-5 with a solo shot and 3 total RBI's. Carlos Soler was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and a solo shot. Brian Anderson was 1-for-4 with 2 runs scored, and 2 driven in on a 3rd inning homer.

This is exactly the kind of game we needed to end our road trip, as tomorrow would be a much earned day off. But trust me, it doesn't get easier...

May 16th, 2022: 13th is our new spot in the Power Rankings and we have our first off day since April 25th, so I'm hoping that is what caused our struggles.

We're 5 games out at 21-20, and head home to face the Los Angeles Dodgers who are posied to three-peat with a commanding 25-14 record. Our opponents would be Danny Salazar (1-2, 4.93 ERA), Dennis Santana (0-0, 5.14 ERA), and Song-shil Su (2-3, 4.97 ERA). Perhaps we can pull of a surprise sweep?

May 17th, 2022: Walker Buehler (2-4, 4.62 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) looked to build on his last start as he faced Danny Salazar (1-2, 4.93 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) and his former employer. The lineup was all rested and ready to go, which helped us win the opener 6-1. The only runner who scored for LA?/ None other then former Marlin Anthony Alford, who was 2-for-4 with a steal.

Buehler was great, just 3 hits, a walk, and a run, in 6 innings in which he struck out 4. Joe Jimemenz, hoever, got the win with a scorless 7th, followed by holds for Victor Arano and Tyler Jay in the 8th, before we pulled away in the bottom half.

We only had 6 hits, but we made them count. Dustin Fowler was 1-for-3 with a walk and a 2-run homer in the 7th. Lewis Brinson and Victor Caratini both doubled home runs in the 8th. Brinson was 1-for-3 with 2 runs scored, 2 driven in, and a walk, while Caratini was just 1-for-4 with a single RBI. Cole Brannen left today's game with an injury, as he was hit by a pitch. Hopefully it is not serious, but we are still awaiting the diagnosis.

May 18th, 2022: The White Sox lost lefty Jace Fry for the season with shoulder inflammation. He was struggling to start the year, but they wanted to replace him instantly as they offered me a trade for Victor Arano. It was a decent offer, but Arano is too valuable to me.

Brannen was out of the lineup as Carlos Soler hit leadoff while Jordan Montgomery (5-2, 2.50 ERA, 0.98 WHIP) took the mound. Song-shil Su (2-3, 4.97 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) jumped a spot in the rotation and got today's start. We headed to the 9th down 4-1, but we rallied for four, including a pair of bases loaded walks, to take the series a day early with a 5-4 win.

We lost two more players, however, including Arano who I just declined a trade for... The other was Caratini, who was also hit by a pitch, as for some reason the Dodgres are out to get us.

Montgomery wasn't great, 4 runs off 7 hits and a walk with 5 strikeouts in 5 innings, but we still managed to get the win. Shiotani, who pitched a perfect 9th, was awarded with his 2nd of the year.

Carlos Soler was 1-for-4, but lead off the game with a home run, so I'm glad I didn't tinker with the lineup, as I was shocked to see him stay in Brannen's leadoff spot. Lewis Brinson was 2-for-4 and scored a run. Andrelton Simmons was 2-for-4 and drove in a run. Scott Kingery and Dustin Fowler were both 1-for-3 with RBI walks and 2 strikeouts and left 2 on base. They weren't identical, as Kingery scored, but they had really similar game lines.

Freddie Freeman hit his 300th career homer, but luckily, the Braves fell to the Cubs 9-2. The likely hall of famer and just 32-year-old Freeman is a career .290/.386/.512 in 6,053 at bats for the Braves.

May 19th, 2022: My depth will be tested as three players are unavailable to play with injuries, and for some reason Don Mattingly wants Christian Bethancourt to hit lead off. Instead, I moved Fowler to lead off and Bethancourt to 8th, pushing Simmons to 7th. Jameson Taillon (4-3, 2.44 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) was on the mound against Justin Dunn (3-0, 2.35 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) and let's just say the Dodgers stars Seager and Bellinger are not happy to see Taillon. He's got the best of the 5* pair, 1-for-14 for Seager and 1-for-11 for Bellinger. But none of that mattered, as we dropped the finale 5-3.

Taillon allowed 11 hits in 5.1 innings, and was charged with 3 runs, although 2 of them were unearned. He also struck out 4. Tanner Rainey got the loss, allowing 2 hits including a homer, before being replaced for Corbin Clouse. Clouse faired much better, 2 perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts.

With three injuries looming, we'd stay homer for three with Detroit before an off day that could prove quite useful. We'd see Jerad Eickhoff (0-1, 8.04 ERA), Matt Manning (1-4, 4.46 ERA), and Michael Fulmer (3-2, 4.50 ERA) and the 17-26 Tigers. Now just 4 out with a 23-21 record, we're slowly starting to play better.

Thinking about the injuries, I have a more then capable backstop in Nick Feight down in AAA who's mashed 5 homers and 13 RBI's in 25 games with a .287/.346/.489 line. For outfield I could bring up either LF Adam Haseley or CF D.J. Wilson. Wilson is more likely, as he's hitting .353/.419/.498 with 3 homers and 23 RBI's in 38 games for the Baby Cakes. I think James Farris would get the call if I need a pen arm, as he's recorded 3 saves with 6.1 scoreless innings down in AAA and was respectable in the majors. He also struck out 11 and walked just 1 down in New Orleans.