Los Angeles Lakers (66-49, .574, 1st NL West) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (56-59, .487, 5th NL East)
With the #1 offense and the #12 pitching staff in the NL – Pittsburgh is a dichotomy between excellence and futility – they could easily be in the hunt if they had 1 or 2 good (not great) pitchers on their staff. But, they don’t – instead, they have a collection of stiffs with dead arm syndrome, poor movement in aggregate, and a knack for letting opposing teams score in bunches. And, this is without any pitchers on the IL – so, it’s not like they would be better at full strength. This is full strength and it’s terrible. Led by LF Tony Voorhis (.282/.337/.454, 21 HR, and 52 RBI), the Pittsburgh offense is a well-oiled machine – 1st in Runs Scored, Batting Average, OPS, and wOBA and 3rd in HR’s – this is a group that can get it done. In fact, it’s something of a surprise that they didn’t bring in a pitcher before the trade deadline – or at least a good one as they did trade for Tim Kelly – giving up a couple of low-key prospects and a bag of donuts to get him. He’s slotted in at 4th of an already bad rotation and brings a 3.50 ERA with him from Minnesota. Since putting on the Pittsburgh kit, he’s given up 18 runs in 6 starts, including 4 to us. In fact, in 4 starts against us this year, he’s given up 13 runs – we’ll see him in the second game of this three-game set unless Pittsburgh Skipper, Jim Bielefeldt, pulls the ol’ banana in the tailpipe on us.
116 of 162: Dejuan Burns (10-6, 3.58) @ Gregory Morgan (11-8, 3.03)
So, the much-vaunted Pittsburgh offense had ZERO trouble with Burns early – knocking him around for 8 hits and 5 runs through the first 4 innings… meanwhile, we spent the entire game flummoxed by Pittsburgh’s subpar pitching staff – Morgan shuts us out for 8 and reliever Zaslavsky finishes the job in the 9th. We lose this one, embarrassingly, by a score of 8-0, strike out 8 times, and hit into two double plays.
117 of 162: Case Tunnell (9-3, 3.45) @ Tim Kelly (8-6, 3.50)
It’s a tight game until the bottom of the 5th when Pittsburgh blows us up for 5 to take a 7-1 lead in the game… and just like that, we find ourselves a long way from victory. But the Steelers weren’t content to let it rest there – they just keep coming, finding ways to pour it on – 3 more score across the 6th and 7th bringing it to 10-2 and we close the book on this one with a less than respectable 10-4 loss. Mullens and Otto provide the only bright spots here with 4 hits, 3 runs, and 2 RBI between them.
118 of 162: Julen Morales (13-5, 3.31) @ Dom Jefferson (2-7, 5.27)
Ethan Mullens almost single-handedly wins this one for us on a 3 for 4 performance with a HR plus 3 RBI, and Julen is good for 7.1 innings of 2-run ball. We get three doubles as a team (Clay, Ruben, and Pepper) and Ethan’s home run. Kawka earns his 6th save in a 12-pitch 9th to seal the deal as we finally get a win in the last game of the series by a score of 5-2.
Propers: Gainesville Gamecock, Tatsuo Kobayashi, bounced around in the minors, first for the New York Jets (who drafted him 161st overall in 2068) and then for the Vancouver Whitecaps (who picked him up for a look after the Jets gave up), but never saw any game action in the MLB. He’s spent the last 5 seasons in the Bush Leagues – a year in Shreveport, two in Dearborne, another in Coney Island, and finally with the Gamecocks of Gainesville, where he went 4 for 4 with a 2B, a HR, and an RBI today as his club defeated the Coney Island Footlongs by a score of 8-4. Of note: He’s hit 7 walk-offs and 2 grand slams in his Bush League career.
