Los Angeles Lakers (69-56, .552, 1st NL West) @ Portland Timbers (61-62, .496, 4th AL West)
There’s a popular refrain in the PNW that goes, “Keep Portland Weird”, it’s fun, a badge of honor, they even have a sign (and keychains, mugs, shirts, etc). But Portland isn’t weird – it’s quirky, a PNW oddball, eccentric in a fun way. I like Portland – and I always like being in the dugout across from Angry Eloy – but I’ll be in the box seats tonight given that he’s out of the lineup (though it is possible that he makes an appearance in this series – depending on rehab effectiveness). At 61-62, it isn’t the offense that has failed Portland – they rank 2nd behind the Jets, but if I’m honest, I think they are a bip or two better than them. They may not be as consistent a performer as the New York crew, but they do it at the most opportune of times – the problem, then, is that there pitching hasn’t put them in opportunistic positions often enough and at 11th in the American League their hurlers leave a lot to be desired. With guys like Monte Loftus (.315/15/74) & Austin Tolzmann (.350/14/54) leading the way – the Timbers can put some wood on the ball and have you hurting in a hurry – our pitchers will need to be with it if we are to get some wins on this trip. Their staff is anchored by righty Peter Garcia – he’s been good, but his numbers resemble that of a #2 guy, not an Ace and at 10-6 with a 3.77 ERA this season you can’t help but wonder what this club could have done with a better man at the top of the rotation. They look to be on the outside looking in come playoff time – but, there is lots of baseball left, and, when it comes to this league… I’m consistently wrong about these things.
126 of 162: Dejuan Burns (11-7, 3.87) @ Rex Marler (5-8, 5.83)
This one is a real barn-burner – more enjoyable for the fans than a GM, but I digress – by the time we hit the 7th inning stretch we have 15 runs between us and the La La’s have the lead, 8-7 – thanks to a 6 run burst in the 6th & 7th. In the end, we’re able to hang on and win it by that count – we get three good innings from Saul, who came on in the 5th, and Kawka gets save #9 – Pepper came up huge for us in a 3 for 5 performance with 4 RBI, Mullens hit homer #20, Otto walks twice and scores a run, and Newman brings two home in this one. An offensive slugfest here – where we survive a 1.2 inning performance from Dejuan and win it at the plate. Every player got at least one hit for us today as well – so, we were spreading that love around.
127 of 162: Case Tunnell (9-5, 3.53) @ Peter Garcia (10-6, 3.77)
Another win – without the fireworks – for our 3rd in a row… we down the Timbers by a score of 3-1. Case is the difference here – 8, 5-hit innings with 1 earned run – and Kawka picks up save #10. Pepper put us ahead in the 6th with a 2-run single and Otto finished 2 for 3 with 2 runs. Case gets three double plays from the defense today and we steal three bags – making it happen in every facet of the game. A good complete effort from the Purple & Gold here.
128 of 162: Julen Morales (14-6, 3.38) @ David Ouwerkerk (9-8, 4.29)
We came out like Kong in the opening (action) sequence of Skull Island, scoring 10 before the 5th and win it by a score of 11-3 to earn a road sweep. Pepper is on a roll – 3 for 4 with THREE doubles, THREE runs, and THREE RBI… Otto finished 2 for 6 with THREE RBI of his own and Ethan scores THREE runs on THREE hits. Otto also gets homer #27. Morales is great over 7 innings, allowing only 2 earned while striking out 5 while Ouwerkerk gives up 8 runs in 3.1 innings of work – we chased him out of there with the quickness today. Good stuff, and a timely sweep – we needed this oh so badly.
Propers: Yoshimasa Sugawara went 3 for 4 with a HR and 3 RBI for the City of Compton today in their 7-3 loss versus the Columbus Blue Jackets in Triple-A action. Sugawara signed a minor league contract out of Japan with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2067 and promoted out of the International Complex in 2071 to Nashville where he’d get on the proverbial hamster wheel for 3 seasons. After his release, he was picked up by the 49ers, did nothing of note for them, was released, and finally picked up by us for a closer look. He’s currently batting .249 with 17 homers and 61 RBI for Compton and starting to fulfill some of his potential – we may see him in the Majors as a utility man or spot starter, but it’s not the likeliest of scenarios. He, most likely, is a Bush League guy who’s Major League dreams may go unfulfilled.
