Miami United (7-11, .389, 6th NL East) @ Chicago Fire (7-12, .368, 6th AL East)
If Miami is a sunny place for shady people, what does that make Chicago? Just shady? Here’s a club that added 5 WAR in Free Agency – they lost 4 guys, a couple of whom were solid or a little better and added 3… two tip-top relievers and a former blue-chipper in
Jacob Wells. So, what gives? The offense is humming, up to temp, good oil viscosity, with the torque required to outpace most clubs in the American League – the pitching and defense, however, is suspect. They’re leaking like a sieve (10th in Runs Against), their Starters have been bad (11th in Starters ERA), and their bullpen not much better (9th Bullpen ERA). Their Ace,
Theo Junkersfeld, has been getting destroyed and the bottom of their rotation looks particularly bad… all hanging curveballs and poorly located heat. As we head into Chicago, I’d like to say that we have a great opportunity to tune up our own ride, change out the plugs, and get the wiper fluid replenished, but, in reality (where we live), that’s probably not in the cards – we’ve been their opposite. Our offense in shambles while our pitching seems sturdy… this could be a war of attrition or we could hand them their 3rd series win on a silver platter – hell, we could very well get swept in Chi-Town unceremoniously as we did during our last set at home. Nothing to it but to do it, I suppose, and so we engage in the battle of the 20th ranked Chicago Fire against the 22nd ranked Miami United – on the Brightside, not many folks will be watching.
19 of 162: Mirko Samsonenko (0-2, 8.16) @ Matheo Trachtenburg (0-1, 5.50)
Loss, 7-5.
Mirko was better than he has been – but, his ability to pitch deep into a game is still nonexistent and he’s still walking too many batters (5.1 innings and 4 free passes today). We hit 3 doubles, stole three bags, and got a well-hit SAC FLY from
Kyle Weaver – it wouldn’t match Chicago’s 4 homers though… you can’t win if you can’t keep the ball in the park.
Elsewhere: RF King Disney, of the Austin Grackles (a Dallas affiliate), continued to stay hot after winning last weeks PoTW honors in the International League – he went 2 for 2 with a 3-run jack, 3 RBIs, 2 runs, and 3 walks in Austin’s 7-3 win over the Salem Silverbacks. King was the 115th overall pick out of Villanova in 2076 and has spent every season since in Austin with the occasional cup of coffee with the big club – but, at 25-years old, he’s making his case here and looking to become an everyday glue guy on the big club.
20 of 162: Murray Wagner (1-1, 6.06) @ Theo Junkersfeld (1-2, 6.20)
Win, 11-3.
Murray’s effort went a long way towards securing the win – he gave us 9 innings of work and only allowed 3 runners to score despite allowing 7 hits and handing out 6 free passes, and
Aris Anaconda went 3 for 4 with TWO HOMERS, 5 RBIs, 3 runs, and a walk in another superb performance for the surging youngster.
3B Rueben Johnson went heavy on the sauerkraut with a bases-clearing double and 4 total RBIs for the game. Good stuff from the
Pink Tops here, back to being a .500 club on the road.
Elsewhere: Rad’s kin, Houston
SP Pete Taylor, fanned 11 batters over 8.1 shutout innings for the Texans in a 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy… He improved to 1-1 with a 2.41 ERA and was the main factor in securing Houston’s improbable 6th win of the season.
21 of 162: Rad Taylor (1-2, 3.00) @ Bentley Hawkins (1-1, 4.26)
Win, 6-4.
Rad has been stellar for us so far in 2080 – his stuff is
gnarly, his endurance has been
top flight, and his command, well, it’s been something to behold… but, before tonight, after losing in his last 3 appearances, I was starting to think that the rank and file didn’t like the guy… not here though, he gave us 8 innings of work, allowed 4 runs, and K’d three batters while giving the pen some breathing room.
Reuben Johnson was at it again – he has all the 1000 island dressing at his disposal right now – with a 2 for 5, HR, 2 RBI, and R performance, and
Ned Saucerman, the best BBQer on the team (his briskets are really something to behold), went 3 for 5 with a double, an RBI, and a run.
Anaconda hit his 6th double, we got three swiped bags (
Felger,
Saucerman, and
Hamza), and
Harvey Allen finally secured his 5th save of the season.
Elsewhere: LF Jace Hollenquest, of the Tallahassee Tomcats, went 3 for 4 with a triple, 2 dingers, 4 riblets, 2 runs, and a walk in his clubs 6-5 win over the Dearborn Dilly’s. Sill hanging on at 38-years old, and with 12+ years of Major League Service,
Jace has been a Bush League mainstay for the last 6 years with stints in Shreveport, Naperville, Nolanville, and Hagerstown before joining the expansion Tallahassee based ballclub. After being drafted in 2063 out of BYU by the Chicago Fire,
Jace spent time in Montreal, Orlando, and New York before beginning his second career in the BL. Known to kick back with some BBQ and a few beers, the Austin, TX born and bred Hollenquest is well-liked by his teammates. And, should a donnybrook break out, it’s been said that your boy is pretty good in the pocket.
Notes: After losing 4-straight contests, it sure felt good to string together a couple of wins and with a trip out to Houston next on the docket, we’ll have an opportunity to keep it rolling… Around the league, the Carolina Panthers & Golden State Warriors continue to outclass the rest of us, and in the NL West, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are all bunched up at the top with only a scant ½ game separating the three of them. In other, unlikely news – our own
Aris Anaconda, who, as you may well know, has been on something of a tear lately, is leading the NL in Batter WAR, RBIs, and is second to
Otto on the HR table at 7… that is, um, unexpected. Good news for
OH HONG – looks like he’ll be out for ~6 more days… we’ll likely get him back after this road trip when we welcome the Montreal Alouettes to Miami.