[ayaghmour2]

August 9th, 2022: We started a nice homestand with Walker Buehler (12-5, 2.41 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) and a finally rested Marlins side against Aaron Nola (10-9, 3.77 ERA, 1.19 WHIP). We treated the home fans to a nice 5-2 win with help from a 3 run 7th.

Buehler was as great as ever, and looks like a legitimate Cy Young candidate. He went 6 innings, allowing a single run and 6 hits with 7 strikeouts. Joe Jimenez grabbed a hold with a perfect 7th. Shiotani pitched the 9th and allowed a solo homer, but struck out 2 to finish the game.

Brendan Rodgers stayed hot with a 3-for-4 game, doubled twice, and scored all three times he was on base. Ryan Mountcastle was 2-for-3 with a 3 run homer and a walk. Dustin Fowler was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI's and a double.

August 10th, 2022: The Twins lost SP Ross Stripling for the year with a torn meniscus. He was 7-6 with a 3.74 ERA in his first year with Minnesota.

Jameson Taillon (9-7, 2.22 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) looked to stay hot against Sixto Sanchez (4-7, 4.38 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) in the middle game of the series. The Phillies evened up the series with an 8-4 win to send a sold out crowd home sad.

The saddest part was perhaps the pair of injuries to Jameson Taillon and Tanner Rainey. Rainey will miss just 2 weeks with a mild shoulder strain, but the diagnosis on Taillon is still pending.

Corbin Clouse got the loss, but didn't expect to enter the game in the 2nd. He allowed 5 runs off 4 hits and 2 walks in 1.2 innings. Koda Glover allowed 3 more in 1.1 innings after Rainey left with his injury. Of the pitchers who expected to pitch, they combined for 6 single innings (counting Rainey and Taillon) with just 4 hits, a walk, and 9 strikeouts. That should've been a win...

Well, we didn't really deserve it as we only had 5 hits. Lewis Brinson was 2-for-5 with a run scored. Keston Hiura was 2-for-3 with a walk, run scored, RBI, and pair of doubles. Ryan Mountcastle was 1-for-4 with a 2 run homer. Victor Caratini did walk twice in four appearences.

Rainey is headed to the DL, and I'd grab a replacement tomorrow.

Trea Turner went 5-for-5 with a cycle in a 14-9 Nationals win over the Mets. I appreciate that one Washington!

August 11th, 2022: I recalled Brett Conine from AAA. In New Orleans this year, he's tossed 24.1 innings with a 2.59 ERA and 1.27 WHIP and would rejoin the club in the finale.

Speaking of the finale, Jordan Montgomery (8-7, 3.29 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) battled Marcos Molina (8-3, 2.11 ERA, 1.11 WHIP) for the series clinching game. The struggling Lewis Brinson is hitting over .400 against Molina, so hopefully he could help. He didn't, but we still won 5-3.

Jordan Montgomery scared the Marlins fan base after he left after just 1.2 innings. Luckily, just a sore elbow, and with an upcoming off day, he'd be fine to make his next start. Conine got his first big league win, but allowed 3 runs on 4 his in 3 innings with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Again, not really his fault, as he had to enter in the middle of the 2nd with no preperation. Tyler Jay, Koda Glover, and Art Warren earned holds before Bulldozer Shiotani got the save. Jay dropped his ERA down to 0.50 on the year in 36 innings. It's not as good as his 0.41 ERA in 2020, but that was just 22 innings after recovering from a major arm injury.

Scott Kingery went deep against his former team, a 2-run shot in a 1-for-3 outing. Ryan Mountcastle was 1-for-4 with a 2 run double. Keston Hiura doubled twice in 4 at bats.

We're just 1.5 games out of first behind our next opponent, the Mets. We've won 7 of our 9 matchups against them so far this season. We'd face Brady Singer (11-3, 3.80 ERA), Chris Sale (6-5, 3.94 ERA), and Luis Marrero (6-2, 3.31 ERA). I think Marrero might be quaking with fear right now...

August 12th, 2022: Ok, it's ok, Taillon is just DTD for four days with a strained back and nothing more. I'd still need someone to start game three, but it'll be ok. I'm thinking of purchasing J.P. Gates' contract from AA to make the spot start. It's either him or Tanner Roark, and they both are scheduled to pitch tomorrow. I might fo with Roark just due to his experience and he's pitched well in AAA, 11-3 with a 3.30 ERA.

A.J. Puckett (9-4, 3.17 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) opened the series against Brady Singer (11-3, 3.80 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) as we had a legitimate chance to take 1st place after the end of this series. It's been a long time since we've been on top of the East...

It might be a little longer, as we dropped the opener 4-2...

Puckett went 6 innings and allowed just 4 hits, 2 runs, and a walk, while striking out 3. Victor Arano allowed 2 runs off 2 hits in the 9th.

Dustin Fowler was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Scott Kingery was 2-for-3 with a walk. We didn't really do much else other then that.

August 13th, 2022: I made my decision and scratched Tanner Roark from his scheudled start and would purchase his contract tomorrow.

Joe LaBrie (1-1, 2.70 ERA, 0.97 WHIP) took the mound today against Chris Sale (6-5, 3.94 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) as we looked to even up the series. We scored 4 in the 3rd and bounced back to win the second game 6-2.

LaBrie was excellent, 7 solid innings with only 2 runs, 2 walks, and 3 hits to go with his 6 strikeouts. The former Brave 1st Rounder has exceeded all expectations filling in for Mahle, and has done well enough that he might stick in the rotation for next year. After the Mahle injury, I shopped him around just to get a feel for what was available, obviously with no intent to make a deal as it was after the deadline, but he's set to make over $11 million in arbitration which is a lot to stomach for half of season of injury and the uncertaintey after it. I won't non-tender him, but if I can trade him for a top SS, it could really help me allocate funds better to give my players their raise, and look to unload Simmons' contract. Obviously, I'm fine with keeping Simmons, but I could use the salary relif if I can replace him with a better, younger version.

Keston Hiura had an excellent game, going 4-for-5 with a 3 run homer and an RBI double. He's now hitting .315 with 14 HR's and 70 RBI's this year and has been a blessing on offense. Ryan Mountcastle doubled twice in 5 trips with a run socred. Lewis Brinson was 2-for-4 with a hit by pitch and run scored. LaBrie himself was 1-for-3 with a run scored.

August 14th, 2022: I optioned Brett Conine to AAA to purchase the contract of today's starter Tanner Roark. The 35-year-old has a career 84-72 record in 256 games (208 starts) with a 4.06 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a total of 994 strikeouts. I signed him to a minor league deal in the spring, and he'll appear in the majors for a 10th straight season with his 5th organization, although he was a stallwort in the Nats rotation.

The Tigers lost CL Jason Foley for the year with a torn meniscus. The 26-year-old is 3-10 with 21 saves and an extremely high 7.79 ERA. He's got a ton of talent, but the 47-72 Tigers haven't really needed to replace their struggling closer, well obviously until now...

Roark picked up the spot spart against the only pitcher in history terrified of the Marlins lineup, the reigning Cy Young winner Luis Marrero (6-2, 3.31 ERA, 1.04 WHIP). He's so scared, that he allowed 4 runs in just 1.1 innings in his previous start, and is trembling as he came out on the mound with the sold out Marlins crowd yelling loudly whenever he attempts to pitch.

Okay, maybe that was a tad bit dramatic, but we won 7-0 and he lasted just 3 innings with 3 runs.

Roark was unexpectedly amazing, and would keep a spot in the pen, as his services in the rotation wouldn't be needed. He tossed 6 shutout innings with just 4 hits and he struck out 2. Corbin Clouse finished the game to earn a 3 inning save, and struck out 6 to go with a single hit and 2 walks.

Two Marlins were a perfect 3-for-3 today, Brendan Rodgers and Scott Kingery. Rodgers had a walk, 2 runs scored, an RBI, and a double. Kingery drove in 3, walked, and doubled. Lewis Brinson was 1-for-4, but took Rafael Montero deep in the 5th for a three run homer.

We're now just 0.5 a game behind both Atlanta and New York for first. With an off day tomorrow, we technically can be tied with Atlanta if they lose tomorrow, but the Mets have an off day.

Before the off day, I just wanted to give a Cole Brannen update: He's 3-4 weeks away from a full recovery, but has definitely dropped a little bit in his rating. He went from 4* potential to a 2.5/2.5, although his speed hasn't take any hits to his speed. I've really missed him with Lewis Brinson's struggle, but I don't quite know what's going to happen with him. I'm hoping he's not going to pull a Vince Coleman and fade away after injury. Kingery, however, has actually filled in at LF really well, and is now rated a 52, so he's slowly learning the position.

One final note: We've sold out every home game, but with our capacity at just under 37,000, we still rank 8th in total attendance. Fan interest is at an all time high, and I hope our 28th rated budget will increase in the offseason, because as noted, I have a lot of arbitration raises to juggle. The previously mentioned Mahle, Lewis Brinson, Jordan Montgomery, Brendan Rodgers, and Walker Buehler are all predicted $10 million or higher arbitration sums. Shiotani is projected around 8.4, Fowler at 7, and Caratini and Puckett around 5.5. Hiura and Glover are projected around 4 million, and then I still have Steckenrider, Jimenez, Jay, Anderson, Rainey, Kingery, and Warren to deal with. I'm hoping no cuts will be needed, but I have to stay realistic...