(Note: there were no WPK games on Monday, September 18th and really also no meaningful news to report of any sort.)
The Denver Brewers:
Former Brewer starting pitcher Justin Peacock is having probably the best season of his career at the age of 31 for the Charlotte Sting this year. And he pitched a great game against his former club in this one, with the only run he allowed in his 7 innings pitched being on a game-opening leadoff home run off the bat of
Josh Schaeffer, his 18th homer of the season.
Peacock doesn't have a great record, given that he pitches for a pretty poor team, but he has the best ERA and WHIP of his career (granted, his BABIP is a low .248, so probably some luck involved.) The hard working five-pitch groundball specialist is arbitration eligible at the end of the season and should get a hefty raise. (Though given that he is rumored to be on the trading block, it might not be a surprise if the team opts to allow him to walk in free agency instead.)
Sadahige Kawasaki (17-7, 2.31) really didn't pitch bad either, but he had a slight break down in control in the 2-run 6th inning, when he threw a pitch that
Zacarias Martell had trouble corralling (it was called a passed ball, but certainly there was some shared blame) to allow a run to score, then walked that batter and after allowing a single walked another, followed by hitting shortstop Jonathan Rish, who had a big game, with a pitch, driving in the second run (having loaded the bases.)
Brett Taranto did improve his league best batting average to .343 with a 2-hit game and swiped his 19th base.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Aces kept pace when they got a 3-hit shutout from Joel Travino against Oklahoma City.
And L.A.'s veteran third baseman Jesus Hernandez is making a push for his 2nd league MVP award at the advanced age of 37, as he went 2 for 4, hit his MGL-best 27th home run, and sees his WAR rise to 6.4, just behind
Josh Schaeffer (6.5) and
Brett Taranto (6.7).
The Shoeless Joe League Pennant Race:
El Paso, Boston, and Columbus all get wins and El Paso now leads Boston by 2 games and Columbus and Philadelphia by 3. San Antonio falls to 4 back.
Tough loss for Philly's number 1 starter Rino Aguillon, who gave up 3 runs on 10 hits over 7 innings pitched. On the other hand, El Paso's 26-year old righty Zachary Shackleford is having the best season of his career. After a solid 15-7, 3.51 1977 campaign, he now has 18 wins and 13 losses with a 3.20 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in '78, and along with two-way player Vincent Medina, who pitches at the top of the rotation and plays first base, Shackleford helps give the Dawgs a good 1-2 combo at the top of the rotation.