Vancouver Whitecaps (15-13, .536, 2nd NL West) @ Los Angeles Lakers (19-11, .633, 1st NL West)
We welcome the Whitecaps to town, a team we own a 2-1 record against so far this season, for a 3-game set. Vancouver is a good club with a rock-solid offense and a good group of starters – their bullpen, however, is in shambles. Ranked dead last in the MLB for Bullpen ERA and Runs Against, the Whitecaps haven’t seen too many leads that inspire comfort so far in 2076. Innings 7 through 9 have had a tendency to go from sure-thing to chaotic in a hurry – the equivalent of betting on a sure-thing horse in the Kentucky Derby only to have the jockey fall off the saddle during the final furlong. That’s where they’ve been beatable – after the stretch… you’re unlikely to get at these guys early. They’re also saddled with injuries as their top pitcher, Bill Marvin, is out for 4 weeks with a strained hamstring, and 1B, Colt DeWees is out for that same stretch with a strained groin, which sounds painful because it is. Even without those guys, and mostly due to the heart of their lineup (Monte Lofthus, Arthur Grant, and Mercury Aghajari), the Whitecaps find themselves in 2nd place of the NL West and only 3-games off the pace. If they can hold on and play at a level just a smidge above treading water, they will be in a great position to make some noise after the all-star break.
31 of 162: Jack Souris (3-1, 4.55) @ Dejuan Burns (4-2, 3.21)
Loss, 4-2 (in extras)… Souris was in a groove for 7 innings – he’d strike out 5 and allow only 2 runs – and Dejuan was, mostly, equal to the challenge over 7 innings where he gave up 2 runs and K’d 7 batters. The story of this one was the bullpen – ours, not theirs – as Barbaccia gave up 2 runs in the top of the 10th that our club was unable to answer. Otto continued his season-long slump with another 0 for 4 performance, and none of our batters recorded more than 1 hit for the game – the Whitecaps kept us guessing here until our closer got it wrong. Not a great way to start a 3-game set at home, but if baseball was easy we’d play golf.
32 of 162: Elijah Hall (2-1, 4.03) @ Nat Millard (1-1, 2.93)… Guess who’s back, back again…
Win, 16-3… Millard gives us a 6-inning, 7-hit effort in his return from the IL, allowing only a single run to plate during the outing – good stuff & exactly what we need from him. Overshadowing his return, however, was the awakening of our offense – Zarate goes 3 for 6 with a double, a homer, and 4 RBI, Ethan finished at 4 for 6 with a double and 3 RBI, and Otto (remember him?) went 3 for 5 with a 3-run homer. As a team, we hit three doubles and three homers, Otto gets 6 total bases, and we turned 3 double plays. When we are on – we’re on… and this one was anything but a nail biter.
33 of 162: Luke Mann (0-1, 2.25) @ Michael Brisk (3-2, 2.91)
Win, 5-3. We overcame a vintage Arthur Grant performance in this one – he went 2 for 3 with a HR and 2 RBI – and Michael Brisk went 7 strong with 8 K’s and 3 earned. Zarate went 2 for 3, Otto finished 1 for 4 with a run, and Ruben, Weaver, Gay, Williams, and Newman each brought in a run for the club. Our defense was stout – 3 DP’s today – Crawford earns his 3rd hold of the season, and Barbaccia brushed off his last collapse with a 13 pitch 9th to earn his 14th save of the year. Still putting together solid wins without consistent offensive output from our “best” guys at the plate. Looking forward to getting Pepper back into the lineup, but his back spasms keep flaring up and prolonging his stay on the IL.
Elsewhere… Montreal SP, Dylan Bauer, a 28-year-old lefty out of Minnesota pitched a complete game 2-hit shutout in their 2-0 loss against Orlando. The game went an insane 18-innings before the result would be sorted by City when they managed to squeeze two across in the top of the 18th. Tough loss for Bauer and an even tougher game to watch for the home fans in MTL. Can you imagine staying for 18 innings, you’re tired, cold, and forced to choke down your third serving of poutine only to lose in the 18th? 6 hours and 23 minutes of little to no offense… Yikes! At least they got to see their man Bauer put 10 K’s on the board. It’s the small victories that help fans rationalize their love for the game in times like these… am I right?
With the series win, we moved into the #3 spot on the weekly power rankings with only the Chicago Fire and Philadelphia 76ers ranked above us. We’ll get a day off before heading back out on the road for six straight interleague games starting in Charlotte to visit the 17-14 Carolina Panthers then traveling north to face the 17-14 NY Jets. Should be a fun trip – at least the visit to Charlotte – as we only get out to their park every other year.