Phoenix Suns (51-34, .600, t-1st NL West) @ Los Angeles Kings (51-34, .600, t-1st NL West)
Phoenix, our nemesis – the burnt orange & eggplant purple squad that came from the desert – is 1st in runs scored, AVG, and OBP while we are 1st in OPS, bWAR, HRs, and runs against. In that way we are very similar – we both have expertly constructed offenses, serviceable staffs, and rabid fanbases. In the aggregate, when you look at everything as part of an organic whole, they are, according to the baseball punditry, the better team – at least since we’ve lost Otto for the season. Since that unfortunate development, many in the media have pegged us for nothing more than a paper tiger that is performing at a clip that is unsustainable. And, if I’m being honest, it’s a hard declaration to refute – unless we can manage to do so on the field over these next 4 games. A tall order, to be sure, given that they have SS Ray Gerhold, 3B Homer Wingard, and 1B Jacob Wells making up a fierce part of the batting order and backing that up with superior defensive play. I think that the reality here is that we have what it takes – the wherewithal, if you will – to get this done, to at least split these next four and maintain our place perched at the top of the NL West even if it is a shared honor with the club I hate the most (though Green Bay is close).
86 of 162: Crusher Melendez (6-4, 4.09) @ Newton Weiser (11-5, 3.51)
Loss, 4-1. Newton gave up 2 earned runs over 6 innings – we allowed all four of their runs during that stretch, but, Dom, ol’ butter glove, is the real culprit as a passed ball that he couldn’t find in the backstop led to two runs making it home in the top of the 1st. As inauspicious a start as I can think of – and, to be clear, I wouldn’t have thought of it if it didn’t happen… This was certainly a far cry from how we drew it up, but, in this game, drawings are meaningless – even the best and most creative architectural plans require a tradesman that can execute them and with Dom behind the plate tonight we came up well short.
Elsewhere: RF Kirk Johnson, Megan’s beau and the object of many a female fan's desires in
THE CITY OF COMPTON, went 3 for 4 with a double, a homer, and a run in the Raiders 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks. He’s, thus far, been that rare case where nepotism seems to pay off in actual, meaningful performance. It’s hard to hold Megan accountable for bringing actual talent to our club no matter its origin, I suppose. Oh, and a note from the edge… I’ve received word from a friend of mine, one Mr. Ronald Spaulding, that he is of the belief that he knows where our own Ms. Foggy Finkelstein is – it seems that she’s working as a barista in the SoHo district and is, currently, going by the name of Destiny Chartreuse. My theories are endless, but, for now, I’ve settled on the idea that she has gone into hiding after a too-close-for-comfort run-in with the Yakuza. But I don’t know… It’s a theory that is not based on anything approaching reality. As so many of them tend to be…
87 of 162: Jack Sanchez-Flores (4-6, 4.90) @ Trevor Dotson (6-4, 4.40)
Loss, 4-1. Well, this is not going according to plan then, is it? Dotson was fine – he gave up 4 over 7.1 and registered 6 K’s – and Sanchez-Flores was better in an 8 inning, 1 earned, 7 K performance. Our backup Catcher, Sueki Kojima, hit a solo home run that would stand as the only mark against the Phoenix ace, and, outside of a stolen base courtesy of Ethan, may have been our lone highlight of note. We’ve gone flat like a 2-liter bottle of Orange Soda that seemed like a good idea when you bought it only to sit in the fridge for weeks after being opened for it’s first, and only, cup.
Elsewhere: Um, RF Kirk Johnson is really feeling it right now in
THE CITY OF COMPTON… he went 3 for 3 with a double, a GRAND SLAM, and 3 runs in the Raiders 6-1 win over the San Jose Sharks today and Aris Anaconda got in on it a little bit by hitting a double and scoring twice… I have to keep reminding myself that Kirk, while solid, has a pretty low ceiling when it comes to Major League promise – the kid is on something of a run right now, though, so he gets a tip of the ol’ cap and a pat on the rear – good looks, kid, good looks.
88 of 162: Cam Murphy (4-3, 5.63) @ Jonny Garcia (3-5, 3.31)
Win, 8-1. Okay, cool – file under “finally”. Jonny gave us 6.1 scoreless innings of work, DH Lloyd Daniels hit a solo shot, we hit for a team cycle (doubles for Rajkumar and Nolan, a triplet for Mullens, and the aforementioned moonshot from Lloyd), and Rajkumar went 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs. We got 3 SBs (Zody x2, McTaggart), a SAC FLY from new guy Nolan, and 2 double plays. Things haven’t completely fallen apart in the Kingdom, but, without a win tomorrow, this series will be a major bust. A damning indictment on the state of my club – a pox on our house. I don’t mean to downplay it – let’s just say that tomorrow is important.
89 of 162: Jake Talley (11-3, 2.62) @ Aiden Jensen (8-6, 3.67)
Win, 1-0. We managed to navigate this series with our egos intact, thanks, largely, to Aiden’s efforts during his masterful complete-game, 9-hit, shutout. Our lone run came on a Dontrell Gay solo jack, we got another double from Rajkumar, two more double-plays, and win this one despite leaving 11 runners stranded over the course of the game. So, we end this thing right where we started, are no worse for wear, and, at the very least, can move forward with the knowledge that the division and, more importantly, the playoffs are still within our grasp.
Elsewhere: Your boy, the totally tubular
Rad Taylor, straight out of
THE CITY OF COMPTON, has done it… again. Add a complete-game, 4-hit shutout to his permanent record and throw in 5 K’s for good measure – Rad gets a hard-earned 5-0 victory over the Salem Silverbacks tonight in International League play and, finally, gives me someone else to talk about down there besides Kirk Johnson (who put up two RBIs in the game like it ain’t nothing)… Speaking of Megan’s boyfriend, kid took home player of the week honors in the IL’s Democratic League… he hit .481 with 4 home runs, 13 RBIs, and 7 runs scored. I mean, why not?
Some other random notes: Burt McElheny, of the Vancouver Giants, got the start for the AL in the All-Star Game – he was good enough to keep them in the game (not hard to do given that they put all 9 of their runs on the board before the start of the 5th) – and Al Bundy, Polk CC’s favorite Son (and current Carolina Panther), got the W… PoTG was CF Severino Serrano out of Golden State, New Guy Nolan hit a HR for the AL (weird), and Tom Franzone put out an absolute moonshot in the bottom of the 6th. AL wins 9-5… The Phoenix Suns now have a ½ game lead over us in the NL West (we had an extra day off after the All-Star break), and the largest lead in any of the MLB’s divisions at this point belongs to the Golden State Warriors who hold a slim 2 game lead over the Vancouver Giants. It seems that, as we hurdle ourselves towards the home stretch on the 2078 campaign, we will have some good races to keep our eye on. We got three in Philly coming up – it’ll be nice to get back out on the road even if it is in front of 30K+ fans whose hate for all things Los Angeles will be palpable.
Also… here’s something you don’t see every day.
