San Diego Chargers (57-101, .361, 6th NL West) @ Los Angeles Kings (93-65, .589, 2nd NL West)
Given that we’re amongst friends, let’s be honest here – nobody cares about the last series of the regular season when it will be contested against the worst team in the league at a time when your playoff destiny is no longer in doubt. But, with my petition to the Commissioners office denied post-haste, we’ll show up for these games, fully dressed, and ready to perform in front of our slightly bored and less-than-adoring fans. If nothing else, this set will give us an opportunity to start some of our young guns to see what they got and to, more importantly, give our rotation a break prior to our clash against the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs. Kordell, Rad, Riley, and Ramsey will each get a turn as we idle our way through the end of the marathon and steel ourselves up for what will, undoubtedly, be a fiercely contested 1st round series.
159 of 162: Artyom Fadeyev (7-16, 5.13) @ Kordell Littles (1-0, 4.20)
Loss, 7-5. Kordell was good enough, he was smart enough, and doggone it… everybody liked him – except for Barbaccia. That dude doesn’t like anybody. Kordell was supreme – 8 innings, 5-hits, and 2 earned runs, and, Barbaccia, was not… his wheels came off, and try as he might, the most consistently inconsistent closer only retired one batter and gave up three runs on 17 total pitches. None of them for strikes. Look, it wasn’t all bad – we hit three doubles (Ethan (29), Cooke (30), and Rake (2)), got a 5th inning solo shot from OH HONG, and even put a SAC BUNT & SAC FLY on the board… it’s just that, when Barbaccia is off there really isn’t much you can do to get things under control – the guy is a one-man wrecking crew… sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes it’s not.
Elsewhere: The Phoenix Suns have clinched the National League West Division title and
it is all Steven Barbaccia’s fault. Obviously.
160 of 162: Brody John (9-14, 4.18) @ Rad Taylor (1-0, 1.00)
Win, 5-3.
Rad Taylor went 8.1 innings, allowed one run, and OH HONG delivered a 2-run, walk-off, homer run to secure the victory for the Kings. Hong went 2 for 5 with the momentous homer, Mullens scored, Dick McTaggart stole his 29th base of the season, and our defense completed 3 double plays… even Barbaccia gave us an 11-pitch inning of solid work. The guy does have the ability to shake off a poor effort with little to no lingering effects. Unflappability… the mark of any true closer.
161 of 162: Cosmo Puente (3-9, 4.26) @ Riley Valentine (1-0, 2.65)
Win, 10-1. The kids, it would seem, are alright… Riley went 7 strong, allowed only a lone runner to plate, and punched out five of San Diego’s batsmen, while Ethan busied himself by going 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs – that’s four of a kind the hard way – and Rajkumar got in on the action with a 2 for 5, 2 doubles, and 4 RBI performance. Let there be no doubt – the offense was humming – we wrecked the base paths with 4 steals, including numbers 50 & 51 for Ethan, and did whatever we wanted to do for the entire game. Phoenix had better come correct, we’re performing like a well-oiled machine right now.
162 of 162: Brian Candelario (4-3, 5.05) @ Ramsay Hudson (2-1, 8.00)
Loss, 4-0. Ramsay went the distance but our offense couldn’t be bothered to follow him to the promised land… content to work their way through a series of listless at-bats and poor swing selection. Nothing was clicking here… Ethan got caught with his hand in the honey pot, we couldn’t manage a single EBH, and even our Gay-Sellers-Hong double play, on closer inspection, didn’t pass muster. This is how we do it… meander into the postseason coming off a loss that we can’t feel bad about because, with our mind adrift on the possibilities laid out before us, we weren’t paying enough attention to this one while it was happening.
Elsewhere: With the regular season complete, we find ourselves in a position where, in the NL East, a one-game playoff pitting the Pittsburgh Steelers against the St. Louis Rams with death on the line…
Pittsburgh Steelers (87-75, .537, t-1st NL East) @ St. Louis Rams (87-75, .537, t-1st NL East)
163 of 162: Robby Garrett (18-12, 4.04) @ Josiah Weber (13-14, 3.47)
Steelers Win, 10-6. Weber, whose form at 39 years-old has suffered this season, couldn’t bring this one home as Ian Hanan hit a game-busting 2-run homer in the top of the 7th and Eldin Kemp went 3 for 5 with a double, 2 runs, and 4 RBIs for the Steelers to secure the victory. Franzone finished at 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI but couldn’t lift #55 out of the park and will finish his record-breaking season with a playoff bid and 54 jacks.
Up next, the moment we’ve all been waiting for… the 2078 MLB Playoffs… I’m nervous.
