The Montreal Expos... Exposing the New MLB?

[Griever20]

Montreal Grab Star Catcher From Kansas City
stadiumreport.bbn

June 13th, 2022

In a move that has fans in both cities buzzing, the Montreal Expos and the Kansas City Royals have agreed to a deal that will have 25-year old C Kyle Barr(2.5*), 22-year old minor league 3B Ramon Toledo(22, 2.5*, .299-4-11 .851OPS AAA & AA), and 18-year old minor league 1B Jerry Soto(0.5/3* HS, 0.5/2.5* OSA, .156-3-7 .409OPS -0.7WAR R) heading to Kansas City.

Kyle Barr, who is hitting .228 in limited time as a backup catcher, is expected to go on the major league roster right away, and so is young 3B Ramon Toledo. The 22-year old was signed on a minor league contract earlier this year after getting released by Memphis and generated trade value with his batting in AA and AAA. Jerry Soto was the teams big international amateur free agent signing in 2021, signing for $4.2 million.

In exchange, the Montreal Expos receive 26-year old C Gabriel Cervantes(4*, .315-8-39 .897OPS 2.3WAR) and 23-year old LHRP Pablo Mendoza(2.5/3* HS, 2.5/3.5* OSA, 1-0 7.36 11K 11IP 0.0WAR). Cervantes is rated the 10th best catcher in NMLB with elite blocking ability and above average framing, as well as a bat that produced 2+ WAR in last season, and in this season already. He is expected to take over the main catching duties from Kevin Craddock(.224-1-11 .593OPS 0.0WAR) right away.

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Ferguson and Morris for Murrietta in Blockbuster Trade
stadiumreport.bbn

June 13th, 2022

The rumor has been out there for a while now and today it was made official. The Montreal Expos have sent 27-year old LF Karl Ferguson(2.5*, .219-10-40 .729OPS 0.3WAR) and 23-year old LHSP Roland Morris(23, 3-4 5.07 54K -0.5WAR) to the Atlanta Minutemen.

The 2019 EL Rookie of the Year, Karl Ferguson, has basically stopped performing since 2020 as his last years combined for 0.5 WAR in 348 games, albeit with 55 home runs. The Montreal Expos signed him to a 5y/$25.4M extension this winter, but it looks like this trust building exercise was not enough.

In exchange, the Montreal Expos receive 25-year old RHSP Marty Murrietta(3.5* HS, 3.5/4* OSA, 4-5 4.48 51K 64.1IP 0.4WAR). The right-hander and former #63 pick is coming off a big 11-6 3.50 181K 4.2WAR season with Atlanta and many fans are shocked that he was given away at such a small price point.

--

Transactions:
RHSP Marty Murrietta and C Gabriel Cervantes were placed on the active roster while LHRP Pablo Mendoza was optioned to AAA. To fill out the final roster spot and the DH slot, 1B Matt Talbert(25, 2.5/3*, .269-2-14 .782OPS 0.5WAR AAA) was recalled.

--

Gabriel Cervantes’ availability was the best kept secret everybody knew about and avid readers will remember… we had a deal in place at the Winter Meetings but balked at sending Matt Talbert over… now we got our guy. We offered him a 6y/$61M extension, buying out his arbitration years above value and his free agent years below value.

I almost choked on my tomato soup when Marty Murrietta’s name came up in trade talks. The righty has good potential and was just having an off year, but somehow, he has become this year’s Austin Roy. This improves our starting rotation to a point where some of our prospects become luxury articles (maybe), but the trade was too good to pass up. The downside on Murrietta? He is fragile, but that also means… cheap? We dropped a 6y/$45M contract on his head, buying out arbitration and two years of free agency.

This move won’t bring playoffs to Montreal but rises the floor on this team and shakes things up quite a bit. With Ferguson out, I gave McCreery free reign of the lineup card, and he pencilled in Matt Talbert as cleanup hitter... we will see about that.

One of those days where you go home from work and wonder if this was the right move.

[Griever20]

Week 11: 3vs Detroit Trains(38-24), 3@ San José Killer Whales(26-36)

June 13th
Offday

June 14th

Hinton Can Not Stop Skid as Trains Win, 6-4

Pedro Figueroa made an impact in the 6-4 Detroit win over Montreal. Figueroa, who finished 2nd in the EL in extra base hits with 71 in 2015, was 3-4 with a double and 2 singles. He drove in 2 runs and scored once. The win was credited to two-time All-Star Antonio Pineda in relief. His record improves to 2-0. Kevin Cowden took the loss. Elliot Malloy notched his 22nd save in 25 chances.

Victor Munoz came through with a big-time hit for Detroit. The designated hitter smacked a 2-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to give his team the lead, 6-4. It was his only hit, but it was clutch. The 22-year old is batting .242-10-24 .744OPS 0.6WAR in 58 games,

"We cashed in when we had the chance," said Detroit manager Andy Musa.

With the win, Detroit raised its record to 39-24.

Doug Williams(R, 5-3 4.50) - Marty Murrietta(R, 4-5 4.48) tomorrow. Let’s see what the kid can do with one of the best defensive alignments behind him.

SP Dan Hinton 7IP 7H 3R 3ER 3BB 5K ND
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-5 R
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-3 R 2BB DB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 RBI BB
DH Matt Talbert 3-5 RBI
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-5
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-5 SB(4)
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-4 BB
SS Orlando Gonzalez 3-4 R RBI HR
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4 R RBI HR
HR DET: Burleston(3), Munoz(10)
HR MON: Gonzalez(5), Weltzer(3)
W: Antonio Pineda(2-0 2.56) L: Kevin Cowden(1-4 4.67) SV: Elliot Malloy(22 1.97)
Their closer >our closer.

June 15th

Expos Win in Murrietta Debut, 5-1

Montreal Expos starter Marty Murrietta found his groove in his team's 5-1 win over the Detroit Trains. He worked 5.1 innings of 1-run ball and collected his first win with his new team. The Expos raised their record to 26-37.

The Expos got a big at-bat from third baseman Mitku Kazemd. For the game, Kazemd was 1 for 3 with a double. In the bottom of the second, with a runner on 1st, he stroked a run-scoring double. His 6th double of the season gave Montreal a 1-0 lead.

"Nice to see our side come away with the win," Kazemd said after the game. The 22-year old is batting .219-4-17 .592OPS -0.2WAR in 49 games.

Natig Tarakhanov(R, 0-1 8.00) - Austin Roy(R, 3-5 3.62) tomorrow. As you could imagine by the name, kid is from Linton Hall in Virginia.

SP Marty Murrietta 5.1IP 4H 1R 1ER 2BB 6K W PotG
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-3 R RBI BB SB(4)
1B Dave Grochowski 2-4 R RBI DB
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-3 R RBI BB
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-3 R RBI DB
2B Robby Weltzer 2-3 R RBI 2DB
HR DET: none
HR MON: none
W: Marty Murrietta(5-5 4.26) L: Doug Williams(5-4 4.71) SV: none
A win! All celebrate. We have a win…

June 16th

Expos Lose to Trains, Tarakhanov, 6-1

The Detroit Trains beat the Montreal Expos, 6-1. Detroit pitcher and Linton Hall, Virginia, native Natig Tarakhanov led the way. The winner was Tarakhanov. He threw 7.1 innings of shutout ball.

Tarakhanov told a Detroit Today reporter that he was "satisfied" with the win .The loser was Austin Roy. The win lifted the Detroit record to 40-25.

Detroit used a clutch at-bat from J.J. Brock to capture the win. The first baseman hammered a 2-run home run in the top of the fifth inning to put the Trains ahead, 2-0. It was his lone hit in 3 at-bats, but it was a humdinger. The 3x Silver Slugger is batting .178-2-11 .548OPS -0.3WAR in 21 games.

Ryan Hanna(L, 0-1 4.94) - Sam Griffin(R, 6-4 4.38) tomorrow. They are as bad as we are… maybe we can buy a series?

SP Austin Roy 5.2IP 5H 4R 4ER 4BB 6K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 3-5 R DB
1B Dave Grochowski 3-4
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-3 RBI BB
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-4
SS Orlando Gonzalez 2-3 BB DB
HR DET: Brock(2), Armijo(11)
HR MON: none
W: Natig Tarakhanov(1-1 4.41) L: Austin Roy(3-6 3.81) SV: none
Not even this series against a AAAA pitcher.

June 17th

Killer Whales Suffer 6-1 Road Loss

The home crowd had a good time watching the San José Killer Whales and Montreal Expos get after it.

Getting an impressive start from Sam Griffin, Montreal beat San José by the score of 6-1. He worked seven innings of 1-run ball in the win. The Expos, at 27-38, sit in third place in the Eastern League North East Division.

Huai-yu Mah hit a run-scoring triple off Ryan Hanna in the bottom of the second, which put the Expos in front, 1-0. Mah had 2 singles, in addition to the triple. For the game, he went 3 for 4. The Taiwanese is batting .294-1-8 .709OPS 0.3WAR in 26 games.

"We cashed in when we had the chance," said Montreal manager Aaron McCreery.

Jose Hernandez(R, 8-1 3.12) - Juan Miranda(R, 2-7 5.65) tomorrow. Career year so far.

SP Sam Griffin 7IP 5H 1R 1ER 2BB 4K W PotG
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-3 BB
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4
DH Matt Talbert 0-3 R BB
1B Cody Kerzner 2-4 R
RF Huai-yu Mah 3-4 2R 2RBI TP
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4 2R RBI HR
C Kevin Craddock 2-4 2RBI
HR SJ: none
HR MON: Weltzer(4)
W: Sam Griffin(7-4 4.10) L: Ryan Hanna(0-2 5.57) SV: none
We beat that righty good and Griffin was his usual self.

June 18th

Allen Powers Expos to 6-0 Win

Riding the 4-hit performance of the 25-year old center fielder Chris Allen, the Montreal Expos defeated the San José Killer Whales, 6-0. Juan Miranda got the win, improving to 3-7. He worked 7 innings, giving up no runs on 3 hits, while striking out 7 and walking 1. Montreal has a record of 28-38, placing them third in the Eastern League North East Division.

With Montreal leading 2-0 in the bottom of the second, Allen hit a curveball from Jose Hernandez for a 3-run home run. It was his 1st home run of the season and put the Expos ahead, 5-0.

"Very pleased with the effort on our side," said Allen. A waiver wire claim last month, he is batting .190-1-4 .517OPS -0.2WAR in 24 games.

Eddie Baiamonte(R, 4-4 4.52) - Dan Hinton(R, 4-3 3.31) tomorrow. 4x All-Star & 17 game winner in 2021.

SP Juan Miranda 7IP 3H 0R 0ER 1BB 7K W
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 R RBI
CF Chris Allen 4-4 2R 3RBI DB HR SB(2)
DH Matt Talbert 1-3 RBI BB
RF Huai-yu Mah 0-3 R BB
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-4
HR SJ: none
HR MON: Allen(1)
W: Juan Miranda(3-7 5.09) L: Jose Hernandez(8-2 3.05) SV: none
Miranda bouncing back!

June 19th

Killer Whales Win, 5-2, at Montreal

San José parlayed a decent outing from starter Eddie Baiamonte into a solid win over the Montreal Expos. The final score was 5-2. Baiamonte yielded 2 runs over 8 innings to notch the win. He scattered 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 6. His record improves to 5-4. The last-place Killer Whales improved to 29-39.

Alex Balderas had a big 2-run home run for the Killer Whales in the top of the sixth inning. With San José leading 3-2 and a runner on 1st, he sized up a sinker from Dan Hinton, who is tied for 5th in the EL in complete games with 1, and punished it. The result was his 10th home run of the season, which put the Killer Whales on top, 5-2.

"We did enough to win," said Balderas. The 3x All-Star is batting .261-+10-23 .766OPS 0.6WAR in 54 games for the season.

Jose Pena(R, 2-1 3.05) - Marty Murrietta(R, 5-5 4.26) tomorrow. 40 stamina arm that can be dominant in the innings that he pitches.

SP Dan Hinton 5.2IP 6H 5R 5ER 1BB 2K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 RBI
DH Matt Talbert 1-2 2BB
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-4
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-4
SS Orlando Gonzalez 0-2 R BB
2B Robby Weltzer 1-3
RF Chris Allen 1-3 R RBI DB SB(3)
HR SJ: Balderas 2(10)
HR MON: none
W: Eddie Baiamonte(5-4 4.32) L: Dan Hinton(4-4 3.59) SV: Manny Echevarria(14 6.85)
Hinton unable to seal the sweep.

Record: 28-39, 4th in EL Northeast, 8GB
Week: 3-2 (1-2vs DET, 2-1vs SJ)
Power Rankings: #28(+1)
Runs scored: 253(11th)
Runs against: 278(9th)
Starters ERA: 4.19(13th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.25(7th)
Defensive Eff.: .713(4th)
Zone Rating: +16.9(2nd)
Fan Interest: 81(-1)

Who's hot?
Nobody

Who's not?
Nobody

News:

June 14th - San José SP Chris Myles(31, 2.5*) pitched a complete game 4-hitter today with 1BB and 7K in a 8-0 win over the San Diego Padres. The journeyman lefty is 1-7 4.84 50K 0.6WAR in 14G/12GS.

June 14th - Philadelphia SP Hugh Kieninger(26, 3.5/4*) blanked the New York Mets 5-0 with his own 4-hitter with 1BB and 9K. A 4th round selection in 2016, he improved to 6-0 1.50 55K 1.9WAR in seven starts.

June 16th - Los Angeles 2B Steve Elliott(35, 3*) collected career hit #2000 today in a 2-0 win over the Seattle. The 4x Gold Glover and 2x All-Star is a career .277/.312/.438 155HR 851RBI 408/495SB 46.1WAR hitter in 1761 games.

June 17th – The Montreal Expos announced that C Gabriel Cervantes(26, 4*) signed a 6y/$61M contract extension, and RHSP Marty Murrietta(25, 3.5*) signed a 6y/$45M contract with the final year being a $10M team option with a $1M buyout.

June 18th - Boston 1B Manny Rodriguez(25, 3*) had a massive day at the plate, going 5-5 4R 5RBI 3HR with a double in a 13-8 win over the Grizzlies. The 2019 El-All-Star is batting .328-11-39 .964OPS 2.0WAR in 47 games.

June 20th - Boston 1B Manny Rodriguez(25, 3*) was
named EL Player of the Week after going 12-25 4HR 9RBIs 7R.

June 20th - Portland C David Martinez(28, 2.5*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 9-18 2HR 6RBIs 4R. A solid 1WAR player every year, he is batting .247-6-24 .692OPS 0.9WAR in 51 games.

Next: 3vs Jacksonville Patriots(35-34), 3@ Houston Astros(37-29)

--

Why does everyone have a winning record. ‘Fun’ stat: Cervantes has hit .211 since coming over …

[Griever20]

Week 12: 3vs Jacksonville Patriots(35-34), 3@ Houston Astros(37-29)

June 20th

Patriots Suffer 7-5 Road Loss

Dave Grochowski was instrumental in his team's 7-5 triumph over the Jacksonville Patriots. The first baseman went 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 singles. He drove in 3 runs and scored once for the Montreal Expos.

"It doesn't matter if you're 10 games over .500 or 10 games under, it feels good to win," Grochowski told the Montreal Daily News. The 23-year old is batting .370-6-37 .954OPS 2.5WAR in 64 games. Montreal has a record of 29-39, placing them third in the Eastern League North East Division.

The Expos got a big at-bat from catcher Kevin Craddock. For the game, Craddock went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk. In the bottom of the sixth, with a runner on 1st, he stroked a run-scoring double. His 10th double of the season gave Montreal a 5-4 lead.

B.J. Pitcher(R, 7-4 2.66) - Austin Roy(R, 3-6 3.81) tomorrow. All-Star last year…

SP Marty Murietta 6.1IP 7H 5R 5ER 3BB 6K W
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-3 R BB
2B Robby Weltzer 1-3 R SB(11)
1B Dave Grochowski 3-4 R 3RBI HR PotG
DH Matt Talbert 1-4 R DB
3B Mitku Kazemd 2-4 2R 2RBI HR
C Kevin Craddock 1-3 R RBI BB DB
LF Chris Allen 1-4 RBI DB
HR JAC: Santos(2), Masariegos(6)
HR MON: Grochowski(6), Kazemd(5)
W: Marty Murrietta(6-4 4.50) L: Jose Pena(2-2 3.78) SV: Kevin Cowden(14 4.34)
Murrietta did not deserve that win, but our bats showed up today.

June 21st

Pitcher Now 8-4 After Beating Expos

In a tight contest between the Jacksonville Patriots and the Montreal Expos, B.J. Pitcher was the determining factor. The Jacksonville right-hander sparkled in his team's 3-0 win. Alberto Vela was credited with the save. He has now successfully converted 18 of 18 save opportunities. Jacksonville now has a record of 36-35 with the win.

Pitcher imposed his will on the Expos, scattering 1 hit over 8 innings while striking out 8. The right-hander upped his season record to 8-4.

"It's so much easier when you throw good pitches," said Pitcher.

Norm Coffey(R, 3-5 4.23) - Sam Griffin(R, 7-4 4.10) tomorrow. Pretty equal pitching matchup skill wise.

SP Austin Roy 5.1IP 4H 2R 2ER 4BB 5K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4
C Gabriel Cervantes 0-1 2BB
2B Robby Weltzer 1-3
HR JAC: none
HR MON: none
W: B.J. Pitcher(8-4 2.45) L: Austin Roy(3-7 3.78) SV: Alberto Vela(18 1.78)
Pitcher was waay to much for us… TWO STINKING SINGLES.

June 22nd

Patriots Prevail, 5-3, Over Montreal

Norm Coffey propelled his team to victory over the Montreal Expos. He worked six innings of 2-run, 1ER ball in the win. The final score was 5-3, Jacksonville. The win gives Jacksonville a season record of 37-35.

The Patriots got a big at-bat from second baseman Brent Lynn. For the game, Lynn was 1 for 4 with a double. In the top of the second, with a runner on 1st, he stroked a run-scoring double. His 11th double of the season gave Jacksonville a 1-0 lead. The former Montreal Expos player is batting .264-9-23 .774OPS 1.6WAR in 63 games.

Jacksonville manager Dave Meyer commended his team for delivering "maximum effort."

Juan Miranda(R, 3-7 5.09) - Stuart Behan(R, 0-1 6.17) tomorrow. AAAA player.

SP Sam Griffin 6.2IP 10H 5R 5ER 2BB 0K L
LF Ignacio Benavides 4-5 R TP SB(5)
1B Dave Grochowski 2-5 2R
DH Matt Talbert 1-4 BB
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-4
2B Robby Weltzer 3-4 RBI DB
HR JAC: Krenisky(3)
HR MON: none
W: Norm Coffey(4-5 3.96) L: Sam Griffin(7-5 4.31) SV: Alberto Vela(19 1.97)
Lynn of course… may they enjoy those 1.6WAR for $11M…

June 23rd
Offday

Transactions:
SS/3B Orlando Gonzalez(27, 2.5*, .256-5-13 .792OPS 1.0WAR) was placed on the 10-day DL with a strained rib cage muscle that will hamper him for 3 weeks. IF Franklin Reyes(28, 2.5*, .127-2-3 .341OPS -0.8WAR AAA) was recalled as we decided against Julian Hernandez with a heavy heart.

June 24th

Astros Win at Home, 4-2

Houston pitcher Stuart Behan did his part in helping his team beat the Montreal Expos, 4-2. The right-hander kept opposing batters from doing too much damage. He worked 6.1 innings of 1-run ball. The win gives Houston a season record of 39-31.

An inflection point occurred with one out in the bottom of the second. That's when Astros catcher Chris Blain hit a fastball from Juan Miranda for a 2-run single. Just like that, Houston was up, 2-1.

"We took home the win," said Blain. "What's not to like?" For him, it was a special game as it was his NMLB debut after getting selected in the 7th round of the 2014 draft and lingered between AA and AAA for years.

Dan Hinton(R, 4-4 3.59) - Grant Morea(R, 3-5 5.11) tomorrow. Veteran groundballer that usually wins double digit games.

SP Juan Miranda 6.0IP 3H 3R 3ER 2BB 6K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 R TP
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 R RBI DB
DH Matt Talbert 1-4 RBI
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-4
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-3
HR MON: none
HR HOU: Bigalow(13)
W: Stuart Behan(1-1 4.50) L: Juan Miranda(3-8 5.05) SV: Scott Becker(19 3.55)
Miranda with another good start but no cigar…

June 25th

Zamora Leads Astros to 7-5 Win

Houston and Montreal duked it out and the Astros came out victorious.

Hector Zamora led Houston to a win over Montreal. The final score was 7-5. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native collected 3 extra-base hits, including 1 home run and 2 doubles. Scott Becker was credited with the save. He has now successfully converted 20 of 23 save opportunities.

Houston left fielder Justin Lautenslager contributed a timely at-bat in the bottom of the fifth. With two down, he hit a sinker to left field for a run-scoring single. It was his 50th hit of the season and put the Astros ahead, 6-5. The 27-year old is batting .240-6-15 .686OPS 0.0WAR in 57 games.

"You know, at the end of the day, it's about who scores the most runs," said Houston manager Luis Gutierrez.

Montreal's current losing streak has reached 4 games.

Marty Murrietta(R, 6-5 4.50) - David Kohler(R, 5-2 4.02) tomorrow. Has not lasted 5 in his last two starts…

SP Dan Hinton 5IP 11H 6R 6ER 3BB 1K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-5
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-5 R RBI
1B Dave Grochowski 2-4 R RBI SB(2)
DH Matt Talbert 1-2 R RBI 2BB HR SB(1)
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-4 R RBI HR
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-4 RBI
2B Robby Weltzer 2-4 R
HR MON: Talbert(2), Cervantes(9)
HR HOU: Zamora(15)
W: Wilford Thompson(3-0 2.58) L: Dan Hinton(4-5 3.96) SV: Scott Becker(20 3.44)
Hinton was absolute garbage today and wasted a good offensive effort by our bats today.

June 26th

Astros Earn 6-2 Home Win

The home crowd had a good time watching the Montreal Expos and Houston Astros get after it.

The Houston Astros beat the Montreal Expos, 6-2, at Minute Maid Park. The Astros got a fine performance from first baseman Ed Bigalow, who was 3-4 with a home run and a double, while adding 2 RBI and scoring once. The Expos have now dropped 5 straight.

In the bottom of the sixth, Houston left fielder Sean Fink had a productive at-bat. With the bases loaded and two out, Fink stroked a 2-run single to right. It made the score 5-2, Houston. For the game, he went 2 for 4 with a double and was hit by a pitch. He drove in 3 runs and scored once.

Fink said his team "played with determination." Their leadoff hitter today, he is batting .228-2-22 .649OPS -0.3WAR in 52 games.

Austin Roy(R, 3-7 3.78) - Kyle McCall(R, 6-3 3.47) tomorrow. 2018 All-Star at young age, never became a regular until this year.

SP Marty Murrietta 5IP 5H 3R 3ER 2BB 6K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-5
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-4 DB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-3 BB
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-4
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-4 R DB
C Kevin Craddock 1-4 R RBI HR
SS Jose Robles 1-3 DB
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4 RBI
HR MON: Craddock(2)
HR HOU: Bigalow(14)
W: David Kohler(6-2 3.87) L: Marty Murrietta(6-6 4.56) SV: Andy Price(1 4.26)
Murrietta was not that bad against a good offense, but we just could not cobble together runs.

Record: 29-44, 5th in EL Northeast, 11GB
Week: 1-5 (1-2vs JAC, 0-3@ HOU)
Power Rankings: #30(-2)
Runs scored: 272(13th)
Runs against: 308(11th)
Starters ERA: 4.36(13th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.10(7th)
Defensive Eff.: .710(4th)
Zone Rating: +18.2(1st)
Fan Interest: 81(+-0)

Who's hot?
Nobody

Who's not?
RHSP Dan Hinton 2G 0-2 9.28 10.2IP 3K

News:
June 20th - Padres SP Brian Trask(28, 3/3.5*) allowed 7 hits and no walks but was able to bring home a complete game shutout with 8K, beating the Los Angeles Angels 4-0. The former 17th rounder is 7-5 5.00 91K 1.2WAR in 14 starts.

June 22nd - San José C Caleb Godina(30, 3.5*) collected five hits today in a 7-5 loss to Sacramento, going 5-5 R DB for the day. A trade acquisition from Toronto in 2020, he is batting .301-6-24 .812OPS 2.0WAR in 55 games.

June 27th - Houston 1B Ed Bigalow(29, 3*) was
named EL Player of the Week after going 10-21 4HR 7RBIs 7R. The 2x Silver Slugger is batting .248-14-39 .756OPS 0.0WAR in 69 games after leading the EL in OPS last season.

June 27th - Calgary 1B Arturo Melendez(26, 3*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 12-22 1HR 6RBIs 6R. A Gold Glover in 2021, he is batting .240-9-26 .701OPS 0.5WAR in 66 games.

Next: 3@ Toronto Blue Jays(30-42), 3@ Los Angeles Angels(37-37)

--

I managed the last two games of the Houston Astros series myself. We suck. If its not the pitching exploding in our face, it is the hitters that carry an empty batting average and OBP around them… frustrating.

[Griever20]

Week 13: 3@ Toronto Blue Jays(30-42), 3@ Los Angeles Angels(37-37)

June 27th

Massie Hits 18th Home Run, Leads Jays to Win

Mike Massie powered the Toronto Blue Jays to a win over the Montreal Expos. The final score was 6-1. The Toronto designated hitter, who led the EL in slugging percentage with .634 in 2019, was phenomenal. He stroked 2 extra-base hits, including 1 home run and 1 double. Montreal has now lost 6 consecutive games.

Early in the game, Massie had a 2-run home run for Toronto. It was his 18th home run of the season and put the Blue Jays on top, 2-0. The 2019 EL MvP is batting .292-18-49 .896OPS 1.8WAR in 72 games.

Toronto manager Art Tierney commended his team for delivering "maximum effort."

Sam Griffin(R, 7-5 4.31) - Walt Laidlaw(R, 2-8 5.51) tomorrow. Someone is going to lower his ERA tomorrow… and it’s not Sam.

SP Austin Roy 4IP 6H 6R 6ER 2BB 5K L
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 BB
1B Dave Grochowski 0-3 BB
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-3 R RBI HR
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-4
3B Mitku Kazemd 2-4
2B Robby Weltzer 2-4 SB(12)
HR MON: Cervantes(2)
HR TOR: Massie(18)
W: Kyle McCall(7-3 3.19) L: Austin Roy(3-8 4.22) SV: none
Roy sucked today. As did the rest of the team.

June 28th

Expos Stop Skid with 3-2 Win

Montreal turned a good effort from starter Sam Griffin into a win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Skydome. He worked 6 innings of 2-run ball and got the win. The final score was 3-2. The win puts Montreal at 30-45.

Montreal used the hitting of Mitku Kazemd to pick up the win. The third baseman clubbed a 2-run home run in the top of the second inning to put the Expos on top, 2-0. For the game, Kazemd had 1 home run and 1 single in 4 at-bats.

In postgame comments to the Montreal Daily News, Kazemd said, "If the effort is there, the wins will come." He is batting . 231-6-21 .617OPS -0.1WAR in 60 games.

Juan Miranda(R, 3-8 5.05) - Paul Davis(R, 0-4 5.50) tomorrow. Lost 11 games with an ERA of 6.12 last year.

SP Sam Griffin 6IP 7H 2R 2ER 2BB 4K W PotG
2B Robby Weltzer 2-5 DB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-5
DH Matt Talbert 1-3 BB DB
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-4
RF Huai-yu Mah 2-3 2R
3B Mitku Kazemd 2-4 R 2RBI HR
CF Chris Allen 1-4 RBI
HR MON: Kazemd(6)
HR TOR: none
W: Sam Griffin(8-5 4.22) L: Walt Laidlaw(2-9 5.50) SV: Kevin Cowden(15 4.20)
Griffin with a good start, but we only barely collected 3 runs to win a bloody ballgame.

June 29th

Blue Jays Walk It Off for 32nd Win of Season

The Toronto Blue Jays downed the Montreal Expos, 5-3, at Skydome. Oscar Vargas led the way, going 2-for-3 for Toronto. Toronto pitcher Allen Spahn got the win, upping his record to 4-1. Kevin Cowden got the loss. Today's win puts Toronto at 32-43, while Montreal falls to 30-46.

The game was decided with two out in the bottom of the ninth. With Toronto trailing 3-1, Vargas jumped on a fastball from fireballing right-hander Kevin Cowden and hit a grand slam home run to right-center. With one swing, the Blue Jays had a walk-off win.

"This place was rockin'," said Vargas. The 2019 World Series winner is batting .241-5-28 .633OPS 0.2WAR in 56 games.

Dan Hinton(R, 4-5 3.96) - Julian Valdenas(L, 8-5 4.22) tomorrow. Solid lefty that isn’t going to win awards, but does his job.

SP Juan Miranda 7.1IP 4H 1R 1ER 1BB 5K W
CF Chris Allen 2-4 R 2RBI HR
1B Dave Grochowski 0-3 R BB
DH Matt Talbert 2-4 RBI DB
RF Huai-yu Mah 0-3 BB
SS Jose Robles 1-3 R BB
HR MON: Allen(2)
HR TOR: Vargas(5)
W: Allen Spahn(4-1 4.01) L: Kevin Cowden(1-5 5.28) SV: none
Jep, we always find new ways to donate a win to the opponents. Remember when we were excited about Cowden as our closer…

June 30th
Offday

END OF JUNE

News:
June 30th - Las Vegas SP Chris Harkless(24, 4.5/5*) dominated the opposition today, pitching a complete game 3-hitter with 1BB and 13K in a 6-0 win over Arizona. The young phenom is 9-3 2.63 101K 3.1WAR in 16 starts.

June 30th - Philadelphia 1B Jose Maldonado(24, 3.5*) blistered Toronto in a 10-4 win today, going 5-6 3R 3DB with a stolen base. Their star leadoff hitter is batting .270-4-28 .773OPS 20/24SB 2.0WAR in 69 games.

June 30th – In the same game, Philadelphia 1B Roberto Jimenez(34, 2.5*) collected career home run #300. The 7x Gold Glover, 6x All-Star and 2x Silver Slugger is a career .272/.337/.499 300HR 933RBI 1613H 187/240SB 35.3WAR hitter in 1524 games, all with the Grizzlies.

[Griever20]

EL Awards:
Batter of the Month: Cincinnati 1B Leo Ramos(34, 3.5*) .357-13-33 1.221OPS 2.1WAR 2x MvP still going strong…
Pitcher of the Month: Toronto RHSP Brendan Lucas(22, 2.5*) 4-0 0.67 15K 26.2IP 0.4WAR 8th rounder in 2018, nothing too special…
Rookie of the Month: Toronto RHSP Brendan Lucas(22, 2.5*) 4-0 0.67 15K 26.2IP 0.4WAR


WL Awards:
Batter of the Month: Denver 1B Devin Grose(37, 4*) .412-11-24 1.290OPS 2.6WAR 6HR away from 600 career
Pitcher of the Month: Las Vegas RHSP Chris Harkless(24, 4.5/5*) 5-0 2.14 46K 6GS 42IP 1.4WAR Yep, the phenom has arrived.
Rookie of the Month: San José 1B Nate McClory(23, 3*) .330-7-18 1.032OPS 1.3WAR Trade acquisition from SF in 2021.

Frustation.

Yes, I knew that we would not compete for a playoff spot here. But, there was hoping that we could be better than last year and the talent level on the roster is better than last year. Yet, we are buried in fifth after a 7-19 month. Horrible.

Yes, our pythagorean record is 33-43, 3 games better, but that is hardly helping. Fact is, we are 2nd in batting average, 4th in OBP, but we can’t buy slugging and runs if your lifes depend on it. Our starters are not up to the level they should be. The bullpen is fine, defence is fine, but we can’t buy wins… Frustration.

Now, snapping out of the situation, we have a First Year Player Draft coming up, and a trade deadline. As easy it would be to just go full All-In and sell the rest of the team and go back to full blown rebuilding, it would be foolish. We have a solid core and a couple of good prospects that will join us in 2023, and hopefully in 2024 some more. And, we have a 2nd overall pick in the next draft where we hopefully can add a bat with some power that will have an ETA of 2024. Yes, the present sucks, but the future is bright.

After all, we have the #1 system in baseball with prospects #2, #3, #5, #13, #24, #30, #53, #65, #95. Relax. Patience.

Pitching:

DL: nobody

NMBL Montreal Expos Players on the leaderboard:
RHSP Sam Griffin 8 W – tied 2nd
RHSP Sam Griffin 1.2 BB/9 – 3rd
RHSP Juan Miranda 8 L – tied 4th

The idea was, Hinton, Roy and Murrietta as the save three on top, and Miranda and Griffin doing a solid ERA of 4 to keep us afloat. They are all just a group of 4ERA pitchers right now. And that is not going to cut it. I fear that Danny is hiding an injury, and I am not sure that the other Mr. Fragile in Murrietta has something brewing as well.

Then, there is the Kevin Cowden situation who git lit for an ERA of 9.00 after a 5.27 May. Trust him, McCreery says. Five losses on his shoulders make me doubt him. He gets the month of July, and that’s it.

Oh, by the way, Danny Sandoval is off the DL and made his way into a AAA rehab assignment… not that he will help.

Position Players:

DL: RF Ian Messer(26, 2.5*) fractured foot 4 days .315-3-17 .864OPS 35G/35GS 1.3WAR, SS/3B Orlando Gonzalez(27, 2.5*, .256-5-13 .792OPS 42G/37GS 1.0WAR)

NMBL Montreal Expos Players on the leaderboard:
1B Dave Grochowski .353 Batting Average – 1st
1B Dave Grochowski .426 OBP – 1st
1B Dave Grochowski .908 OPS – 5th
1B Dave Grochowski 88 H – 2nd
1B Dave Grochowski 154 OPS+ – 5th
1B Dave Grochowski 2.49 WPA – 1st
2B Robby Weltzer .370 Batting Average – 4th

Can’t blame all of that on the injuries. Would love to, but can’t. The truth is, we lack power. And yes, I traded away the only guy with 10+ home runs for a batting average defensive catcher and a rookie that is hitting below .200. Truth is, Matt Talbert’s power grade of 60 is the best on the whole roster.

Options? In AAA, we have 2B Fernando Perez, a 70 grade power potential middle infielder with good defense. But, he is 55/70 currently, 22-years old and while he hit 10 HR in AA already, he made a little run into AAA and hit .179 in 7 games. Not the solution yet. The next 70 grade power hitter is in A-ball and struggling, more below.

Free agents? Some 60-rated bats that can barely hit .220. Trade block… yes some, but do I want to bench Talbert or Grok or Benavides to get a $10M+ dollar rental in the lineup with us being 30-46? Nope. We will have to ride this one out and see if we can add power to the outlook here.


Prospect Watch:
AAA 2B/SS Julian Hernandez(2.5/4*) .305-7-20 .815OPS 68G 14/17SB 3.6WAR
AAA LHSP Brett Asselin(2.5/4.5*) 3-5 200 86K 103.2IP 15GS 2.0WAR(AA)
AA RHSP Jorge Estrella(2.5/3*) 4-6 4.2 49K 81IP 14GS 1.0WAR
AA RHSP Ed Shaulis(2.5/3*) 7-3 2.37 83K 114IP 15GS 2:8WAR
A 1B Joe Townsend(1.5/3.5*) .176-5-13 .534OPS 65G -0.5WAR
A RHSP Alejandro Corral(2/3.5*) 7-3 2.19 80K 82.1IP 15G 1.2WAR
A LF Santiago Rodriguez(2/4*) .269-8-24 .743OPS 63G 10/12SB 0.9WAR
R CF Tyler Dean(19, 1.5/5*) .202-9-23 .648OPS 6/8SB 67G 3.9WAR
R 2B/SS Manny Ramirez(0.5/5*) .158-3-9 .413OPS 1/2SB 67G 1.0WAR

Well. Hernandez is doing fine in AAA but we gave him a now assignment. Learn second and third base. He pretty much mastered second by now with a 60D rating, and can play short with 55. I want him to play all three infield positions and he may be our solution at 3rd with great defence and power.

We are performing the same act with Ramirez are working on Dean mastering the other outfield positions… gotta do something.

By the way, we promoted Brett Asselin to AAA. He is done with AA. I want him to make the last step in AAA and give him the chance in Spring Training next year to win a spot. He is 23 years old now. Time to grow up.

[Griever20]

Pitching:

LHSP Julio Lopez, 18-years of age, out of Dewey HS
Average Competition: 10-0 0.51 201K 14GS 106.0IP 9.0WAR
Signability: normal, Bonus Demand: $8.5M
Throwing 92-94 with a neutral GB/FB tendency, Lopez features strong control with a fastball, slider, changeup and cutter, and especially the changeup is tagged with 70 potential, but also the least developed pitch, making this a risky pick nearly age 19 as he is a HS senior. His stamina is good with 65 and there are no negatives, or positives on his personality.
Head Scout: 5* potential
OSA: 4.5* potential
Injury Proneness: Durable
Personality: Unknown

RHSP Jason Dawson, 18-years of age, out of Tahanto Regional HS
Average Competition: 7-2 1.20 137K 13GS 89.2IP 5.7WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $9M
Fastball, slider, changeup and sinker in his arsenal, and average stamina(50). 60 rated through the board in stuff, movement, and control with neutral tendency and 91-936mph on the heater, the scouting report is not bad. The red flags, apart from the stamina, are elsewhere. He is fragile and missed starts in high school already, his numbers were not as dominant as you would expect, and he is regarded as greedy and struggles to adapt. If we were to pursue a pitcher, we would shy away from Dawson high in the first round.
Head Scout: 4.5* potential
OSA: 5* potential
Injury Proneness: Fragile
Personality: Intelligence , Financial Ambition, Adaptability

RHSP Nate Fling, 19-years of age, out of Northwest Florida State College (JuCo)
Fair Competition: 11-1 1.98 118K 16GS 109IP 4.3WAR
Signability: Very Easy, Bonus Demand: Slot
His main weapon is the splitter, and he has very good control and stamina to run it deep into ballgames. Generates a lot of groundballs and the personality is green, no long injury history. Could be a save pick, but not a top two pick in my book.
Head Scout: 4* potential
OSA: 4* potential
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Adaptability, Work Ethic, Financial Ambition

RHSP Eric Plew, 18-years of age, out of Dallas Lutheran HS
Average Competition: 9-0 0.70 121K 12GS 90IP 5.6WAR
Signability: Hard, Bonus Demand: $6M
Another good control pitcher with a 92-94mph and a strong splitter, he is basically a carbon copy of Nate Fling, just a year younger, better HS stats and not that flashy of a personality.
Head Scout: 4* potential
OSA: 4* potential
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Financial Ambition

RHSP Alan Holden, 21-years of age, out of Angelo State University
Fair Competition: 7-3 3.01 111K 15GS 98.2IP 3.2WAR
Signability: Normal, Bonus Demand: $4M
Control is an issue for him with a 50 potential, and his bread and butter is offspeed stuff with a 75 grade curve and a 70 grade changeup that is still work in progress. With his pitches, he generates a lot of groundball outs. Stamina is capped at 50, but overall, he is fairly good developed with already a full star of overall, could develop quickly and pitch in 2 years in NMLB.
Head Scout: 4* potential
OSA: 3.5* potential
Injury Proneness: Durable
Personality: Adaptable

Lopez appears the – swing for the fence – pick here, but if I had to do a save one, it would be Holden or one of the splitter guys. We are pretty good set with pitching prospects in the higher minors, so I am not sure if an arm with the 2nd pick is the right move. The OSA has a couple of hot relief prospects up there that Dave G. does not rate that highly, but we will keep an eye on them as well.

Position Players:

1B D.J. Cleveland, 18-years of age, out of St. Andrew’s
Average Competition: .444/.534/.732 7HR 43RBI 38G 3.9WAR
Signability: Hard, Bonus Demand: $6.5M
An overall good contact hitter from the right side that has above average power potential, he can be a good first baseman for someone one day, but there is a lot of those in the draft pool…
Head Scout: 5* potential
OSA: 4.5* potential
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Financial Ambition

2B Bill Bissett, 18-years of age, out of Harrisonville HS
Average Competition: .484/.536/.806 9HR 47RBI 36G 4.2WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: slot
Not a great defender at 2B, his bat mimics the one of Cleveland and he may end up at first base unless he does a lot of work at second. Nothing that scares us away tho.
Head Scout: 4.5* potential
OSA: 5* potential
Injury Proneness: Durable
Personality: Financial Ambition

2B Jeff Ritter, 18-years of age, out of Kenyon-Wanamingo HS
Average Competition: .438/.498/.836 13HR 55RBI 41G 4.7WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $6.5M
Another not so great defender at 2B that projects more as a first baseman, he at least has a 65 graded power potential and some speed and stealing ability, albeit not elite. Basically the third “Will be a first baseman” prospect in the draft.
Head Scout: 4.5* potential
OSA: 4.5* potential
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Financial Ambition, Work Ethic

1B Tyler Aurand, 18-years of age, out of Cypress Bay High School
Average Competition: .435/.470/.875 17HR 60RBI 37G 4.1WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: Slot
Pure power hitter. Will strike out a lot, but with 75 power potential, he should hit bombs in the future. Hit 16-18 home runs in all four high school seasons and the personality is green in every way. The OSA loves him even more, grading him at a 80 power potential…
Head Scout: 4 * potential
OSA: 5* potential
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Loyalty, Work Ethic, Intelligence

2B/3B/SS/OF Bill Beaverson, 21-years of age, out of San Jose State University
Good Competition: .294/.379/.606 18HR 66RBI 62G 3.2WAR
Signability: Easy, Bonus Demand: $4M
There is a lot to like about Beaverson. With a 70 rated contact bat, 65/70/65/70 in the baserunning department, and the ability to field six positions, albeit short and centerfield a bit iffy, the only risk is that at age 21, 8 days from 22, his bat may not fully develop due to his age. But apart from that, he has ‘can’t miss’ all over him for me. A clubhouse leader, good work ethic, very competitive…
Head Scout: 4 * potential
OSA: 4* potential
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Loyalty, Work Ethic, Leader, Financial Ambition

2B/3B/SS/LF Bryan Booth, 21-years of age, out of San Jose State University
Fair Competition: .323/.379/.645 23HR 85RBI 69G 4.1WAR
Signability: Easy, Bonus Demand: $5M
Very similar to Beaverson, Booth can play multiple positions very well and especially the defence in the infield is even better. His baserunning won’t win you a leadoff spot, and his bat projects more as a power bat at 65 potential, but he looks like a good pick for me.
Head Scout: 4 * potential
OSA: 4* potential
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Adaptability

OF Clay Kearin, 21-years of age, out of West Chester University
Fair Competition: .314/.373/.601 20HR 76RBI 67G 3.4WAR
Signability: Normal, Bonus Demand: slot
Kearin has played center field in college, but projects as a typical corner outfielder, 70 grade power, not great speed, good defense, decent makeup. Still ways to go to develop the power tho.
Head Scout: 4 * potential
OSA: 4.5* potential
Injury Proneness: Durable
Personality: Work Ethic, Financial Ambition

2B/SS Travis Padilla, 17-years of age, out of Rockville
Average Competition: .428/.478/.729 7HR 49RBI 37G 3.5WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $4.6M
Dave G. tried to hide Padilla because he knew I could fall in love with him. A 85 rated defence at second base, 75 at short, and a 65 rated contact bat that could generate a lot of base hits, the only thing he lacks to become elite is speed… and time and odds as he will be just 18 when the draft rolls along. Personality is vanilla tho.
Head Scout: 4 * potential
OSA: 3.5* potential
Injury Proneness: none
Personality: Financial Ambition

1B Ronnie Smith, 18-years of age, out of Whitesburg Christian Academy HS
Average Competition: .456/.526/.863 13HR 56RBI 38G 4.6WAR
Signability: Hard, Bonus Demand: $6.5M
Smith is well liked as slugging 1B and the OSA has him even better than our scouting department. There is a lot to like about his bat and apart from not being a leader, his personality fits. Not a Gold Glover at first base.
Head Scout: 4 * potential
OSA: 5* potential
Injury Proneness: none
Personality: Leader , Work Ethic, Financial Ambition

There are some more 4* potential guys in there according to Dave G. and some more first baseman with pop, but this is pretty much the board we have for our second overall pick. My personal opinion is, we don’t need more pitching. Id like to go with a power bat and a college player, which narrows things down to Clay Kearin or Bryan Booth pretty much. Adding high school players, throw Tyler Aurand and his 75-80 grade power into the mix. Taking a step back from the power idea, Bill Beaverson is juicy, but I have doubts about his bat reaching his ceiling… Tricky one.

[Griever20]

After a little delay as my car broke down two days ago and I had to do some extra at work today, we are back to Canada's finest losers

Week 13: 3@ Toronto Blue Jays(30-42), 3@ Los Angeles Angels(37-37)

July 1st

Angels Best Expos in Pitching Duel

In a low-scoring affair between the Los Angeles Angels and the Montreal Expos, pitcher Julian Valdenas was the difference between victory and defeat. The Los Angeles left-hander earned accolades for his stellar performance in the 2-1 Angels win, working 6.1 innings of 1-run ball. Trevor Hoag was credited with the save. He has now successfully converted 18 of 20 save opportunities. The win gives Los Angeles a season record of 40-38.

Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead on Martin Cutelos's 4th home run of the season. The solo home run, which Cutelos hit in the bottom of the seventh, left Montreal pitcher Dan Hinton visibly frustrated.

Cutelos said his team "played with focus." He is batting .282-4-14 .845OPS 0.7WAR in 19 games.

Marty Murrietta(R, 6-6 4.56) - Alberto Vilchis(L, 6-5 4.44) tomorrow. Another lefty, not that it matters.

SP Dan Hinton 7.0IP 4H 2R 2ER 0BB 5K L
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 RBI
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-3 BB
2B Robby Weltzer 0-3BB
DH Matt Talbert 2-4
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-1 BB Mild hamstring strain 2 days
HR MON: none
HR LAA: Cutelos(4)
W: Sal Ramos(3-0 2.08) L: Dan Hinton(4-6 3.87) SV: Trevor Hoag(18 2.02)
Can’t blame Danny, we even outhit them 6-4, but scoring is tough…

July 2nd

Vilchis Now 7-5 After Subduing Expos

The Los Angeles Angels locked up a win at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, knocking off the Montreal Expos, 4-0. On the mound for Los Angeles was left-hander Alberto Vilchis. He played a major role in the triumph. Los Angeles has rattled off 4 straight wins.

In his 89-pitch effort, Vilchis allowed no runs on 3 hits over 6 innings. He walked 1 and struck out 10.

"This level of focus will win us a lot of ballgames," Vilchis said after the game.

Austin Roy(R, 3-8 4.22) - Hector Ontiveros(R, 3-1 2.34) tomorrow. That’s a sweep I guess…

SP Marty Murrietta 5.2IP 7H 4R 4ER 2BB 3K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-3 BB
RF Huai-yu Mah 2-3
HR MON: none
HR LAA: Franco(4)
W: Alberto Vilchis(7-5 4.14) L: Marty Murrietta(6-7 4.67) SV: none
I can’t…

July 3rd

Angels Lose at Home, 2-1

In a low-scoring contest between the Montreal Expos and the Los Angeles Angels, Austin Roy was the X factor. The Montreal right-hander spearheaded the 2-1 win. In 7.2 innings, Roy surrendered 7 hits, while striking out 3 and walking 1. He allowed 1 run. Kevin Cowden recorded the save. In save chances, he's now 16 for 19.

Montreal used the hitting of Robby Weltzer to pick up the win. The second baseman clubbed a 2-run home run in the top of the fourth inning to put the Expos on top, 2-0. For the game, Weltzer had 1 home run and 1 single in 4 at-bats. He is batting .303-5-25 .753OPS 2.1WAR in 71 games.

Montreal manager Aaron McCreery commended his team for exhibiting "no shortage of effort."

The Expos raised their record to 31-48.

Jessie Dittus(R, 4-3 3.44) - Sam Griffin(R, 8-5 4.22) tomorrow. How Sam got those 8 wins still is a mystery for me…

SP Austin Roy 7.2IP 7H 1R 0ER 1BB 3K W
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4
1B Dave Grochowski 2-4 R
2B Robby Weltzer 2-4 R RBI HR
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-4
DH Matt Talbert 1-3
SS Jose Robles 1-3
HR MON: Weltzer(5)
HR LAA: none
W: Austin Roy(4-8 3.88) L: Hector Ontiveros(3-2 2.32) SV: Kevin Cowden(16 5.12)
Good boy Austin. Limit the others to one run every game, and you may win some? Difficult, you say? Then talk to those incompetent fools that are batting for you.

Record: 31-48, 5th in EL Northeast, 11GB
Week: 2-4 (1-2@ TOR, 1-2@ LAA)
Power Rankings: #30(+-0)
Runs scored: 282(14th)
Runs against: 328(7th)
Starters ERA: 4.30(13th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.08(2nd)
Defensive Eff.: .709(3rd)
Zone Rating: +19.1(1st)
Fan Interest: 80(-1)

Who's hot?
RHSP Juan Miranda 3G 1-1 1.77 20.1IP 18K
OF Chris Allen 6G 9-22 .409 2HR 8RBIs

Who's not?
RHRP Kevin Cowden 14G 7SV 8.10 16.2IP 17K
LF Ignacio Benavides 5G 1-20 .050 0HR 1RBI
SS Jose Robles 31G 11-101 .108 0HR 0RBIs

News:
July 1st - Las Vegas C Omar Vega(24, 5*) boomed three home runs today in a 13-4 drubbing of San José, going 3-4 3R 8RBI 3HR for the day. The reigning WL MvP is batting .307-21-55 .998OPS 3.4WAR in 59 games.

July 1st - Padres 3B Constantine Capote(22, 2.5/3*) collected five hits in a 13-11 win over the Sacramento Cavaliers, going 5-5 3R 4RBI 2DB HR. The rookie is batting .289-12-29 .790OPS 0.4WAR in his first 30 career games.

July 2nd - Portland 2B Ahmad Miller(25, 2.5*) saw a 23-game hitting streak come to an end today in a 1-0 win over Calgary. Having the longest hitting streak so far this year, he is batting .270-3-14 .719OPS 1.0WAR in 50 games.

July 4th - Pittsburgh LF Danny Roman(27, 3*) was
named EL Player of the Week after going 14-30 2HR 6RBIs 7R. The 2019 Silver Slugger is batting .296-9-37 .813OPS 1.3WAR in 74 games.

July 4th - San José 3B Jim Davis(27, 3*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 12-25 4HR 8RBIs 7R. An All-Star in 2021, he is batting .279-6-16 .888OPS 1.2WAR in 35 games.

Next: 3vs Philadelphia Grizzlies(42-37), 4vs New York Mets(33-47)

--

We started shuffling the lineup around to get the hot batters in the top 5 spots more, dropping Talbert down the order to accommodate for his struggling. Did not help as Bemavides now went cold and we still lack power. Time for a 7-game losing streak at home so that the fan interest drops more…

[Griever20]

Week 14: 3vs Philadelphia Grizzlies(42-37), 4vs New York Mets(33-47)

July 4th

Transactions:
SS Jose Robles(28, 2.5*, .174 2-7 .489OPS -0.4WAR) and 1B Cody Kerzner(27, 2.5*, .320-0-4 .713OPS 0.0WAR) were waived and designated for assignment.
Corresponding these roster move, the contract of AA SS/2B Rich Meilleur(24, 2.5*, .274-8-20 .749OPS 3.7WAR AA) was bought. The left-handed hitter was acquired in 2021 in the Bill Smith deal and will take over shortstop duties immediately. Also, left-handed hitter 1B/2B Tim McKusick(28, 2.5*, .291-7-32 .766OPS 68G AAA 2021) signed as a free agent and will be placed on the active roster. He will platoon with Matt Talbert at the DH spot. Shake things up. Create more platoons. Get something going.

Grizzlies Top Expos, 2-0, Behind Dittus

Jessie Dittus, who finished 3rd in the EL in saves with 37 in 2018, had a strong outing for the Philadelphia Grizzlies against the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium. The right-hander was a big part of his team's 2-0 win. The win elevated the Grizzlies to 43-37.

Dittus was in the zone, shutting down Montreal hitters over 6.1 innings. Dittus, who threw 95 pitches, allowed no runs on 2 hits. He also tallied 7 punchouts.

"Jessie was dictating to their hitters," said Philadelphia manager Pat Pierce. He outpitched Montreal Expos starter Sam Griffin who worked a complete game, 9 innings of 2-run ball.

Colin Taylor(R, 4-7 6.15) - Juan Miranda(R, 3-8 4.71) tomorrow. Poor Juan.

SP Sam Griffin 9IP 5H 2R 2ER 0BB 5K L
1B Dave Grochowski 1-3
C Gabriel Cervantes 0-3 BB
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3 First NMLB Hit
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-2 BB
HR PHI: none
HR MON: none
W: Jesse Dittus(5-3 3.16) L: Sam Griffin(8-6 4.02) SV: Jose Gutierrez(15 3.00)
Sam, I know. It hurts.

July 5th

Grizzlies Absorb 4-1 Loss at Olympic Stadium

Montreal turned a good performance from starting pitcher Juan Miranda into a 4-1 triumph over the Philadelphia Grizzlies at Olympic Stadium. The rookie worked 7 innings of 2-hit and 1-run ball in the win. Kevin Cowden was credited with the save. He has now successfully converted 17 of 20 save opportunities. The Expos go to 32-49 with the win.

Tim McKusick helped his team take an early lead with a 2-run single. It came in the first inning, making the score 3-0, Expos. Having made his NMLB debut in 2018 for those exact Philadelphia Grizzlies, it was a bittersweet moment for him to get his first hit of 2022 against the team that drafted him.

"In baseball, you have your ups and downs," said Philadelphia manager Pat Pierce. "You just try to stay level-headed the whole time."

Hugh Kieninger(R, 7-1 2.09) - Dan Hinton(R, 4-6 3.87) tomorrow. This will be fun…

SP Juan Miranda 7IP 2H 1R 1ER 2BB 7K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-1 DB sore ankle 2 days
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4 R RBI SB(13)
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 R SB(3)
DH Tim McKusick 1-2 2RBI BB
C Kevin Craddock 1-3
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-3 R RBI HR
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3
HR PHI: none
HR MON: Mah(2)
W: Juan Miranda(4-8 4.45) L: Colin Taylor(4-8 6.12) SV: Kevin Cowden(17 4.96)
Miranda with a great start and we at least had one strong 3-run first to get this one home…

July 6th

Transaction:
OF Huai-yu Mah(27, 2.5*, .273-2-10 .666OPS 0.3WAR) was sent back down to AAA and RF Ian Messer(26, 2.5*, .315-3-17 .864OPS 1.2WAR) was activated off the DL.

Grizzlies Blanked by Expos, 3-0

Montreal Expos pitcher Dan Hinton was in top form, leading his team past the Philadelphia Grizzlies, 3-0. Hinton got the win, improving to 5-6. He gave up 7 hits and walked 0 over 7 innings. He allowed no runs. Adam Rudolph notched his 4th save in 5 chances.

Dave Grochowski had a big solo home run for the Expos in the bottom of the sixth inning. With Montreal leading 1-0 and the bases empty, he sized up a splitter from Hugh Kieninger, who is tied for 8th in the EL in wins with 7, and punished it. The result was his 7th home run of the season, which put the Expos on top, 2-0. He is batting .347-7-42 .895OPS 2.5WAR in 78 games.

"I like what I saw today," said Montreal manager Aaron McCreery, "and I can't wait to get back out there and do it again."

The Expos raised their record to 33-49.

Jesse Eisenberg(L, 3-9 5.24) - Marty Murrietta(R, 6-7 4.67) tomorrow. 1-1 against us so far…

SP Dan Hinton 7IP 7H 0R 0ER 0BB 9K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4
1B Dave Grochowski 1-3 R RBI BB HR
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-3 R BB
DH Tim McKusick 0-2 2BB
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-4
2B Robby Weltzer 1-3 R RBI
SS Franklin Reyes 2-3 BB
HR PHI: none
HR MON: Grochowski(7)
W: Dan Hinton(5-6 3.63) L: Hugh Kieninger(7-2 2.22) SV: Adam Rudolph(4 1.64)
Danny! We beat a tough pitcher today.

July 7th

Transaction:
Cody Kerzner and Jose Robles were not claimed and therefore banished to Siberia… AAA.

Murrietta Spins Shutout Against Mets

Marty Murrietta of the Montreal Expos was on top of his game.

The 25-year-old tantalized the New York Mets with crisp curves and changeups, mixed in with just enough fastballs to keep the batters honest, shutting them out, 1-0.

"He had the changeup working," New York manager Nathan Sandlin said in postgame comments. "You knew it was coming and you still grounded out -- and then he threw it even slower."

The Montreal hurler had 9 strikeouts, gave up 1 walk and surrendered 3 hits in his complete-game effort.

Murrietta told reporters after the game that "keeping the ball down is the key to being successful in this league."

"If you don't do that, they'll make you pay," he said.

For the season, Murrietta has compiled a 7-7 record with a 4.23 ERA.

Nelson Flores(R, 6-5 4.26) - Austin Roy(R, 4-8 3.88) tomorrow. Now your turn to throw a gem!

SP Marty Murrietta 9IP 3H 0R 0ER 1BB 9K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4 RBI
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-3
SS Rich Meilleur 0-3 R
HR NYM: none
HR MON: none
W: Marty Murrietta(7-7 4-23) L: Jesse Eisenberg(3-10 4.95) SV: none
Given that Eisenberg’s no-hit bid was broken up in the bottom of the 8th…

July 8th

Expos Earn 6-3 Home Win

The Montreal Expos picked up a win at Olympic Stadium, dropping the New York Mets, 6-3. Austin Roy, who led the WL in ERA with 2.98 in 2020, was the difference-maker. The winner was Roy. He threw 7.0 innings allowing 1 run. The loser was Nelson Flores. Montreal has run its win streak to 4 in a row.

Dave Grochowski hit a 2-run home run off Nelson Flores in the bottom of the first, which put the Expos ahead, 2-0. In addition to the homer, Grochowski had 1 double, while going 2 for 3. He is batting .348-8-45 .910OPS 2.7WAR in 80 games.

"I like our mindset right now," said Montreal manager Aaron McCreery.

Joel Gaspar(L, 3-3 4.07) - Sam Griffin(R, 8-6 4.02) tomorrow. Another lefty, the last one nearly no-hit us…

SP Austin Roy 7IP 7H 1R 1ER 1BB 5K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-4 3R DB
RF Ian Messer 2-4 R DB
1B Dave Grochowski 2-3 R 3RBI DB HR
PH/1B Matt Talbert 1-1
LF Ignacio Benavides 0-4 RBI
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-3 SB(2)
SS Rich Meilleur 1-4 RBI
2B Franklin Reyes 1-4
HR NYM: Lee(11)
HR MON: Grochowski(8)
W: Austin Roy(5-8 3.71) L: Nelson Flores(6-6 4.48) SV: Kevin Cowden(18 4.81)
Whoa offense. We needed it as Glen McKeen gave up two runs in relief, making it a save situation, but Cowden also needed the morale boost. Now, if Benavides would finally snap out of his funk…

July 9th

Transactions:
LHRP John Mannino(23, 2.5*, 0-1 4.56 20K 23.2IP -0.2WAR) was sent down to AAA for the day as he is down with flu-like symptoms and we needed a starter today. RHSP Cesar Alvarado(22, 2.5*, 4-4 2.97 52K 57.2IP 1.1WAR) AAA was recalled to take the start today as Sam Griffin needs another day off after his 112 pitch complete game. We will reverse that one after the game.

Down to Defeat Goes Mets, 3-0

Montreal turned a good effort from starter Cesar Alvarado into a win over the New York Mets at Olympic Stadium. He worked 7 scoreless innings of 3-hit ball, walking two and striking out 3. The Expos won the game, 3-0. Kevin Cowden earned the save, his 19th in 22 tries. The third-place Expos have won 5 straight games.

With scoring opportunities rare, the Expos had to cash in when they had the chance. One such opportunity presented itself in the bottom of the second, when designated hitter Matt Talbert hit a run-scoring single. The single came off Joel Gaspar and made the score 1-0, Expos. Talbert went 2 for 3 with 2 singles.

"It's nice to come out on top today," said Talbert. The 24-year old is batting .221-2-9 .613OPS -0.3WAR in 36 games.

Zach Laurents(R, 4-9 4.91) - Sam Griffin(R, 8-6 4.02) tomorrow. This time for real.

SP Cesar Alvarado 7IP 3H 0R 0ER 2BB 3K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-3 RBI BB
1B Dave Grochowski 2-3 BB TP
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-4 R
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 R
DH Matt Talbert 2-3 RBI
RF Ian Messer 0-3 R RBI
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3
HR NYM: none
HR MON: none
W: Cesar Alvarado(1-0 0.00) L: Joel Gaspar(3-4 4.13) SV: Kevin Cowden(19 4.67)
Alvarado was on fire today! Good spot start, we will keep that in mind…

July 10th

Mets Avoid Sweep with 8-5 Road Win

Montreal third baseman Franklin Reyes was sensational. He went 2-2 with a home run, a double, and 2 walks. He drove in 2 runs and scored once. But it wasn't enough to rally his team to a win. New York beat the Expos, 8-5. New York is now 36-50, while Montreal is 36-50.

Who knows how it might've ended, had it not been for Abel Lemke? The New York center fielder had a 2-run single in the top of the second inning to put the Mets on top, 2-0. For the game, Lemke had 1 double and 1 single in 6 at-bats.

"I'm just trying to make good contact," said Lemke, "one at-bat at a time." Their leadoff hitter, he is batting .280-6-22 .750OPS 22/23SB 3.0WAR in 66 games.

Juan Miranda(R, 4-8 4.45) - Colin Taylor(R, 4-8 6.12) tomorrow. These guys again… PHI.

SP Sam Griffin 4IP 10H 6R 6ER 1BB 2K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-5 R RBI TP
RF Ian Messer 1-5 RBI
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-5 R DB
DH Tim McKusick 1-3 RBI BB DB
2B Robby Weltzer 2-3 2R BB DB
3B Franklin Reyes 2-2 R 2RBI 2BB HR
HR NYM: Toscano(9)
HR MON: Reyes(1)
W: Zach Laurents(5-9 4.88) L: Sam Griffin(8-7 4.39) SV: Brian Sirianni(16 3.69)
Griffin had nothing today despite an extra offday.

Record: 36-50, 3rd in EL Northeast, 10,5GB
Week: 5-2 (2-1vs PHI, 3-1vs NYM)
Power Rankings: #26(+4)
Runs scored: 304(14th)
Runs against: 342(6th)
Starters ERA: 4.06(9th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.07(2nd)
Defensive Eff.: .714(1st)
Zone Rating: +21.7(1st)
Fan Interest: 80(+-0)

Who's hot?
RHSP Juan Miranda 2G 101 1.26 14.1IP 12K

Who's not?
LF Ignacio Benavides 12G 3-45 .066 0HR 2RBI
3B Mitku Kazemd 7G 3-23 .130 0HR 0RBI

News:
July 4th - Pittsburgh LF Danny Roman(27, 3*) collected a 5-hit game in a 8-5 win over Toronto, going 5-5 R 2RBI SB. The 2019 EL All-Star is batting .316-12-44 .873OPS 2.0WAR 10/13SB in 77 games.

July 8th - San José 1B Bill Matthews(29, 3.5*) had his own 5-hit game, going 5-6 2R 5RBI HR in a 19-9 rout of the Las Vegas Gamblers. The 2x All-Star is batting .303-11-49 .855OPS 1.9WAR in 82 games.

July 10th - San Diego 3B Octavio Gonzalos(25, 4*) lost his 24 game hitting streak today in a 3-1 win over the Sacramento Cavaliers. The 25-year old is batting .313-25-60 .950OPS 3.9WAR in 77 games.

July 11th - Pittsburgh LF Danny Roman(27, 3*) was
named EL Player of the Week after going 12-23 3HR 9RBI 4R. Also the PotW last week, he is batting .313-12-46 .869OPS 2.2WAR in 80 games.

July 11th - Seattle RF B.J. Hemphill(25, 3*)
was named WL Player of the Week after going 12-27 2HR 11RBI 4R. The sophomore is batting .326-10-49 .898OPS 2.0WAR in 62 games.

Next: 4@ Philadelphia Grizzlies(46-39), 3@ New York Mets(36-50)

--

More importantly, today is the First-Year Player Draft…

Anyways, our pitching did the heavy lifting this week as our bats remain rather silent, and the slump of Ignacio remains concerning.

[Griever20]

Following the final game of last week, I entered the Draft War room… alone. I sat there, looked over scouting reports, over lineups, over mock drafts, over projections… and was restless. When I heard a voice from the entrance. “Here you are. I heard you were nervously pacing around the offices for days now,” said Rich Buchanan, our owner that was around for the New York Mets series and whose visits are infrequent and rather hands-off.

“It seems like this draft is bothering you way more than last years draft?” He asked me while coming forward to me, handing me a cup of fruit tea. “Why is that, you probably made the biggest pick of your life last year and were not as restless as right now?”

I had to sigh and smile, and decided to answer truthfully. “The reason is that last season, the situation was way easier than this season. I knew, we wanted to pick the best overall prospect first overall, swing for the fences and get it right. With this goal, and the scouting reports at hand, it became rather clear that Tyler Dean was the one guy that had the highest upside, and looking at his #2 prospect rating, we got that one right. This year, the draft pool is… way more tricky.”

Buchanan moved his head from left to right and remarked that “not having the first overall pick makes things more complex as you don’t know what the San Diego Padres are going to do. But, how about you walk me through your thoughts?”

“Why not,” I said and walked over to our big board. “As you can see, the players with the biggest upside are three infielders that scream first base in the future, all of them high school bats. Four infielders if we add Tyler Aurand with his ridiculous 75-80 power potential. The other two players on there are high school starting pitchers, which is the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with 5 bullets in the revolver.”

“Why are those pitchers such a risk,” Buchanan asked curiously. “I read that pitchers only very rarely are selected first overall.” I nodded in agreement and explained that “starting pitchers are not usually selected high as the risk of development into a top notch player is very high. You see, in order to become a dominant pitcher, you have to have some good velocity, at least three very strong, fully developed pitches, good to very good movement and good to very good control. And all those traits are not developed in a high school pitcher, they are all only potential that needs to be fulfilled. If you fail in any of these categories, you may be a first overall turd.”

Buchanan laughed quickly, and then asked “why are position players different?” To show him my point, I opened the scouting report of one of the draftees, Bill Beaverson. “Ok, look at this kid, an infielder that can play basically everywhere on the field. He is graded 65-70 in the speed/stealing categories, and can be an above average defender in six positions. Those are skills that are basically set. You can bank on him having those skills in 2-3 years when he makes a major league roster. Leaving the uncertainty with his bat, and yes, it’s an uncertainty, but there are big parts of his game that are projectable for us. Which is where the problem with the big first baseman comes to play.”

Buchanan almost made a hand movement like he wanted to slap his forehead and there was a glimmer of understanding in his eyes. “Because those kids are not here for defence or baserunning, they are here for the bat. And similar to a pitcher, you need them to develop as projected on the bat to become valuable, you cannot diversify the risk like you could with Tyler Dean where you knew that he was a plus-plus defender and a good runner even if is bat would not develop as hoped?”

“Now you got it. And that puts me in a conundrum, adding the fact that I’d like to pick a college player whose ETA is 2024, latest 2025 and that fits in our lineup. On the other hand, picking a high school kid with higher upside could be more beneficial in the long run if he pans out. Now, let me show you what my thought process is and why I am pacing around, trying to make a decision…”

[Griever20]

NMLB News Flash: First-Year Player Draft
stadiumreport.bbn

July 11th, 2022

San Diego, Montreal, Los Angeles, Kansas City and Washington have the opportunity to really make some organization-altering changes today. Their GMs have been huddled around the conference room all night, playing over scenarios with the scouting staff, arguing out the merits of every possible scenario they can fathom. Who they pick might set their clubs up for ten years of quality baseball or it might mean ten years of languishing as an also-ran. BNN experts have concluded that these ten young men should be picked at the top of the draft:

1. Eric Jenkins, 21 year-old 3B out of college.
2. Jeff Ritter, 18 year-old 2B out of high-school.
3. Bryan Booth, 21 year-old SS out of college.
4. Julio Lopez, 18 year-old LHP out of high-school.
5. Chris Ward, 21 year-old 2B out of college.
6. Clay Kearin, 21 year-old CF out of college.
7. Bill Beaverson, 22 year-old SS out of college.
8. D.J. Cleveland, 18 year-old 1B out of high-school.
9. Nate Fling, 19 year-old RHP out of college.
10. Eric Plew, 18 year-old RHP out of high-school.

The San Diego Padres are on the clock…

1st Round, 1st Pick(1st overall) San Diego Padres select RHSP Nate Fling(19, 4*) out of Northwest Florida State College (JuCo)
Fair Competition: 11-1 1.98 118K 16GS 109IP 4.3WAR
Signability: Very Easy, Bonus Demand: Slot
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Adaptability, Work Ethic, Financial Ambition
They went there. The kid will have his 20th birthday the day after tomorrow and looks like a prototypical splitter based pitcher with good groundball tendencies and a very solid personality. The safest pick you could make here if you want a pitcher…

Which means, we are on the clock… and I could exhale for a second as the guy I decided to take was still on the board…

1st Round, 2nd Pick(2nd overall) Montreal Expos select 2B/3B/SS/LF Bryan Booth(21, 4*), out of San Jose State University
Fair Competition: .323/.379/.645 23HR 85RBI 69G 4.1WAR
Signability: Easy, Bonus Demand: $5M
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Adaptability
The best thing about this pick is that my owner can’t solely blame me for that pick as he was an active part of the decision making process here. In short, if he develops the way he hope he will, Bryan Booth has a job waiting for him in the infield in 2024. Booth can play multiple positions very well and especially the defence in the infield is even better. His baserunning won’t win you a leadoff spot, and his bat projects more as a power bat at 65 potential. Which is exactly what I like and where our minor league system lacks ONE guy. More on that below after the draft.

1st Round, 3rd Pick(3rd overall) Los Angeles Angels
select 2B/3B/SS/OF Bill Beaverson(22, 4* HS, 4* OSA) out of San Jose State University
Good Competition: .294/.379/.606 18HR 66RBI 62G 3.2WAR
Signability: Easy, Bonus Demand: $4M
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Loyalty, Work Ethic, Leader, Financial Ambition
There is a lot to like about Beaverson. With a 70 rated contact bat, 65/70/65/70 in the baserunning department, and the ability to field six positions, albeit short and centerfield a bit iffy, the only risk is that at age 21, 8 days from 22, his bat may not fully develop due to his age. But apart from that, he has ‘can’t miss’ all over him for me. A clubhouse leader, good work ethic, very competitive… He came in a close second on our big board as I loved the versatility and the ability to leadoff, but I have doubts about the odds of him fully developing his bat.

1st Round, 4th Pick(4th overall) Kansas City Royals select LHSP Julio Lopez(18, 5* HS, 4.5* OSA) out of Dewey HS
Average Competition: 10-0 0.51 201K 14GS 106.0IP 9.0WAR
Signability: normal, Bonus Demand: $8.5M
Injury Proneness: Durable
Personality: Unknown
Throwing 92-94 with a neutral GB/FB tendency, Lopez features strong control with a fastball, slider, changeup and cutter, and especially the changeup is tagged with 70 potential, but also the least developed pitch, making this a risky pick nearly age 19 as he is a HS senior. His stamina is good with 65 and there are no negatives, or positives on his personality. He was Dave G.’s recommendation with our pick, but I went the other way. Good pick at #4 tho.

1st Round, 5th Pick(5th overall) Washington Nationals select 3B Eric Jenkins(21, 3.5* HS, 3* OSA) out of Northwestern University
Great Competition: .280/.366/.557 20HR 66RBI 72G 3.1WAR
Signability: Normal, Bonus Demand: $5.36M
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Intelligence
A bit more down on our big board, Jenkins is a projectable college bat that won’t blow you away with his third base defence, but is a good overall hitter that pretty much should do what is college stats suggest, with a bit less power.

1st Round, 6th Pick(6th overall) San Francisco Red Devils select RHSP Alan Holden(21, 4* HS, 3.5*) out of Angelo State University
Fair Competition: 7-3 3.01 111K 15GS 98.2IP 3.2WAR
Signability: Normal, Bonus Demand: $4M
Injury Proneness: Durable
Personality: Adaptable
Control is an issue for him with a 50 potential, and his bread and butter is offspeed stuff with a 75 grade curve and a 70 grade changeup that is still work in progress. With his pitches, he generates a lot of groundball outs. Stamina is capped at 50, but overall, he is fairly good developed with already a full star of overall, could develop quickly and pitch in 2 years in NMLB. Solid pick here.

1st Round, 7th Pick(7th overall) San Francisco Red Devils select select RHSP Jason Dawson(18, 4.5* HS, 5* OSA) out of Tahanto Regional HS
Average Competition: 7-2 1.20 137K 13GS 89.2IP 5.7WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $9M
Injury Proneness: Fragile
Personality: Intelligence , Financial Ambition, Adaptability
With their compensation pick, SF doubled up on pitching, which could be a good move… but I don’t really dig his injury proneness. Fastball, slider, changeup and sinker in his arsenal, and average stamina(50). 60 rated through the board in stuff, movement, and control with neutral tendency and 91-936mph on the heater, the scouting report is not bad… apart from the stamina and the injury proneness.

1st Round, 8th Pick(8th overall) Calgary Beavers select SS Adrian Hinsch(18, 3.5* HS, 3* OSA) out of TCU
Average Competition: .434/.493/.687 6HR 49RBI 41G 3.7WAR
Signability: Normal, Bonus Demand: $7.5M
Injury Proneness: Fragile
Personality: Intelligence
Not on anyone’s top 10 list and a surprise for me as we did not like the injury proneness and the low IQ to be honest. Defence is elite and the bat projects as a solid .280 hitter with some nice extra base hits, but the red flags were too red, and the $7.5M demand for that package.

1st Round, 9th Pick(9th overall) Vancouver Canadians select 2B Jeff Ritter(18, 4.5* HS, 5* OSA) out of Kenyon-Wanamingo HS
Average Competition: .438/.498/.836 13HR 55RBI 41G 4.7WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $6.5M
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Financial Ambition, Work Ethic
The big “first base projection” hitters are dropping… makes me think we may have made the right call. 65 power and contact potential with below average defence, but the ability to steal a base. Will be interesting to see how he develops.

1st Round, 10th Pick(10th overall) Atlanta Minuteman select RHSP Eric Plew(18, 4*) out of Dallas Lutheran HS
Average Competition: 9-0 0.70 121K 12GS 90IP 5.6WAR
Signability: Hard, Bonus Demand: $6M
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Financial Ambition
The lesser splitter pitcher goes off the board here, still a good pick if he can get the 65 rated control and 65 rated splitter going.

At that time, off our big board, 1B D.J. Cleveland, 2B Bill Bissett, 1B Tyler Aurand and a glut of 4* potential guys were still there… and Aurand and Cleveland were considered by us big time…
Bissett went 12th overall, Cleveland 16th and Aurand… well…


Rest of the draft:
2nd Round, 2nd Pick(41st overall) Montreal Expos select 1B Tyler Aurand(18, 4* HS, 5* OSA) out of Cypress Bay High School
Average Competition: .435/.470/.875 17HR 60RBI 37G 4.1WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: Slot
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Loyalty, Work Ethic, Intelligence
Getting him here makes me think that the kid is a bust, but with the scouting reports of Dave G., the OSA and the blue chip personality, I decided to not pass up on him. As mentioned a number of times 75-80 power potential. We may have won the lottery here.

3rd Round, 2nd Pick(73rd overall) Montreal Expos select LHSP Chris Alberti(18, 3.5*) out of Lynn University
Average Competition: 7-2 1.26 164K 93IP 12GS 6.0WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $750k
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Loyalty
Throwing 92-94 with a changeup and a splitte, the lefty was the recommendation of Dave G. and I complied here without much fuss. The kid can go deep into games, his stuff can become elite and the only drawback is his low control and movement potential(50 each). This is the risk that the other teams probably shied away from.

4th Round, 2nd Pick(98th overall) Montreal Expos select RHRP Josh Reinke(18, 3.5* HS, 3* OSA) out of Columbus High School
Average Competition: 4-0 13SV 0.81 75K 44.2IP 20G/1GS2.2WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: Slot
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Loyalty, Adaptability, Intelligence, Financial Ambition
Another Dave G. recommendation, the righty has a 95-97mph heater with a slider that mind boggles people. The movement may lack from time to time, but the stuff looks impressive, so I went along.

5th Round, 2nd Pick(128th overall) Montreal Expos select CF Dusty Eckel(17, 3* HS, 4.5* OSA) out of Vandegrift HS
Average Competition: .457/.495/.749 10HR 52RBI 39G 3.9WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $480k
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Work Ethic
Dave G. didn’t like this one but I had some scouting reports from independent scouts that profile the kid as a 60-75 graded outfield defender with 70 power potential. Probably an inflated image that was waved in front of me, but I decided to take the risk here.

6th Round, 2nd Pick(158th overall) Montreal Expos select RHRP Jay Morgan(18, 3* HS, 5* OSA) out of University of Illinois
Average Competition: 4-1 0SV 1.06 103K 59.1IP 13G/8GS 3.8WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: Slot
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Unknown
Another one that Dave G. wasn’t super fond of, but my sources put him at a 50/80 rated fastball already with a dynamite changeup and above average control.

7th Round, 2nd Pick(188th overall) Montreal Expos select OF George Cooper(18, 3*) out of Florida Atlantic University
Average Competition: .402/.474/.823 16HR 51RBI 38G 3.9WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $450k
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Leader
Slugging outfielder that projects well at the corners with a 70 grade power potential. The question is, will he hit over .200 at the NMLB level. Not a great defender either.

8th Round, 2nd Pick(218th overall) Montreal Expos select RHSP Taylor Jackson(19, 2.5* HS, 3.5* OSA) out of Living Faith HS
Average Competition: 10-1 1.56 138K 109.1IP 15GS 5.6WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: slot
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Financial Ambition
Not a super flashy arm, but has some untapped control potential to become a Sam Griffin type arm. Good stamina and four solid pitches.

9th Round, 2nd Pick(248th overall) Montreal Expos select LF Ian Andreassi(18, 3* HS, 3.5’ OSA) out of Santa Cruz HS
Average Competition: .404/.475/.759 11HR 46RBI 32G 3.1WAR
Signability: Extremely Hard, Bonus Demand: $470k
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Loyalty
70 grade power. That is what got us interesting. Nothing else to see here.

10th Round, 1st Pick(277th overall) Montreal Expos select C Gary Flynn(21, 2.5*) out of East Carolina University
Average Competition: .275/.332/.443 11HR 57RBI 60G 1.2WAR
Signability: Normal, Bonus Demand: slot
Injury Proneness: normal
Personality: Adaptability, Financial Ambition
Solid defensive catcher that can hit some. Depth signing.

Now, about that Bryan Booth pick. I went through the lineup projections for 2024 and 2025.

C Gabriel Cervantes – SAFE
1B Dave Grochowski – SAFE
2B Meilleur/Kazemd/Weltzer
3B Julian Hernandez - #13 prospect AAA
SS Fernando Perez – AA 70 grade power potential
LF - Ignacio Benavides – SAFE
CF Tyler Dean/Vicente Rodriguez
RF Santiago Rodriguez – #30 prospect A-ball
DH Ian Messer(L)/ Matt Talbert(R)

The one position where I was kinda meh was the middle infield position vacated by Meilleur/Kazemd/Weltzer. Bryan Booth could be the solution here. Cross fingers now that we didn’t mess that pick up.

[Griever20]

Week 15: 4@ Philadelphia Grizzlies(46-39), 3@ New York Mets(36-50)

July 11th

Expos Get Clutch Win, 4-3

The Montreal Expos beat the Philadelphia Grizzlies, 4-3. Montreal pitcher and Boyden, Iowa, native Juan Miranda led the way. The rookie worked 6 innings of 2-hit and 2-run ball and got a ND. Montreal reliever Dustin Jenkins picked up the win, upping his record to 1-0. Luke Greenberg took the loss. Adam Rudolph notched his 5th save in 6 chances.

Dave Grochowski, who is tied for 5th in the EL with a .910 OPS, had a direct impact on the outcome. Grochowski contributed a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning to put Montreal up, 4-3. The 23-year old is batting .346-8-46 .910OPS 2.7WAR in 83 games.

"Honestly, I'm not frustrated," said Philadelphia manager Pat Pierce. "The effort was great."

At 37-50, the Expos find themselves in third place in the Eastern League North East Division.

Dan Hinton(R, 5-6 3.63) - Hugh Kieninger(R, 7-2 2.22) tomorrow. Ace duel again.

SP Juan Miranda 6IP 2H 2R 2ER 3BB 8K ND PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-5
RF Ian Messer 1-4 R RBI HR
1B Dave Grochowski 1-2 R RBI 2BB
3B Mitku Kazemd 3-5 R
DH Tim McKusick 1-4 RBI
C Kevin Craddock 1-3 RBI BB
LF Chris Allen 0-3 R BB SB(4)
HR MON: Messer(4)
HR PHI: Maradiaga(12)
W: Dustin Jenkins(1-0 4.20) L: Luke Greenberg(3-1 3.31) SV: Adam Rudolph(5 1.54)
John Mannino came in in relief and allowed a 3-run homer with two inherited runners… living on borrowed time by now.

July 12th

Transactions:
Our 7th rounder, CF George Cooper(18, 3*) has signed.

Expos Lose Game, 4-2, And Hinton

Starting pitcher Hugh Kieninger fulfilled his part of the bargain, helping the Philadelphia Grizzlies stymie the Montreal Expos, 4-2. Kieninger picked up the win for Philadelphia, going 8 innings. He gave up 2 runs on 5 hits. He now sports a record of 8-2. Ricky Espinal got the save, his 2nd in 2 chances.

The Grizzlies got a big at-bat from designated hitter Roberto Jimenez. For the game, Jimenez was 1 for 4 with a double, while adding 2 RBI. In the bottom of the first, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, he stroked a 2-run double. His 13th double of the season gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.

Jimenez attributed the win to his team's "focus and intensity." He is batting .227-6-32 .662OPS -0.5WAR in 72 games.

The victory gives Philadelphia a record of 47-40.

Marty Murrietta(R, 7-7 4.23) - Cristiano Zavala(R, 4-3 2.85) tomorrow. 96-98 on the heater…

SP Dan Hinton 0.2IP 2H 2R 2ER 0BB 0K ND strained back 1 week
RF Ian Messer 1-4 SB(3)
1B Matt Talbert 1-4 R DB
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-4
DH Tim McKusick 1-4
2B Robby Weltzer 1-2 R RBI BB HR
HR MON: Weltzer(6)
HR PHI: none
W: Hugh Kieninger(8-2 2.22) L: Dustin Jenkins(1-1 4.34) SV: Ricky Espinal(2 3.53)
Hard day on the bullpen…

Transactions:
Danny(23 4.5/5*, 5-6 3.77 92K 2.5WAR) gave me quite a scare… He was placed on the 15-day IL and we recalled RHSP Cesar Alvarado(22, 2.5*, 1-0 0.00 3K 0.2WAR) to take his rotation slot.

July 13th

Grizzlies Popped by Expos, 9-1

Montreal turned a good effort from starter Marty Murrietta into a win over the Philadelphia Grizzlies at Citizens Bank Park. The righty worked 7 innings of 1-run ball.

"Marty pitched his heart out," said Montreal manager Aaron McCreery. The Expos won the game, 9-1. Montreal's record now stands at 38-51, placing them third in the Eastern League North East Division.

Montreal used the hitting of Mitku Kazemd to pick up the win. The third baseman clubbed a 2-run home run in the top of the third inning to put the Expos on top, 2-0. For the game, Kazemd had 1 home run and 1 single in 4 at-bats. He is batting .229-7-23 .608OPS -0.2WAR in 72 games.

Austin Roy(R, 5-8 3.71) - Oscar Guzman(R, 2-5 4.84) tomorrow. 5.12ERA last year.

SP Marty Murrietta 7.0IP 4H 1R 1ER 0BB 4K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-5 2RBI
RF Ian Messer 0-1 HBP fractured thumb 6 weeks
1B Dave Grochowski 2-5 R RBI
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-4 R BB
DH Tim McKusick 2-5 2R 3RBI DB HR
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-5
2B Robby Weltzer 2-3 R RBI 2DB
3B Mitku Kazemd 2-4 R 2RBI HR
HR MON: Kazemd(7), McKusick(1)
HR PHI: none
W: Marty Murrietta(8-7 4.03) L: Cristiano Zavala(4-4 3.69) SV: none
The league hates Ian Messer… ANOTHER HBP -> IL.

July 14th

Transactions:
RF Ian Messer(26, 2.5*, .292-4-20 .811OPS 1.0WAR) was placed on the 10-day IL for the third time and as expected by everyone, Huai-yu Mah(27, 2.5*, .273-2-10 .666OPS 0.3WAR) was recalled…
Also, IF Franklin Reyes(28, 2.5*, .273-1-2 .860OPS -0.1WAR) was sent back down to AAA and IF Orlando Gonzalez(27, 2.5*, .256-5-13 .792OPS 0.9WAR) was activated off the IL.

Grizzlies Pull Out Late Win, 5-4

Dave Griffiths left his imprint on the 5-4 Philadelphia win against the Montreal Expos. Griffiths, who finished 3rd in the EL in triples with 10 in 2018, was 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 singles. He scored 2 times and drove in 4. The win went to Jeff Mathias in relief, making him now 4-3. Kevin Cowden took the loss for Montreal. Philadelphia now has a record of 48-41 with the win.

The game was decided with no one out in the bottom of the ninth. With Philadelphia trailing 4-1, Griffiths jumped on a fastball from fireballing right-hander Kevin Cowden and hit a grand slam home run to left. With one swing, the Grizzlies had a walk-off win. The 2016 Gold Glover is batting .259-2-13 .633OPS -0.5WAR in 66 games.

"I'll probably toss and turn tonight," Montreal manager Aaron McCreery said, following the tough loss.

Sam Griffin(R, 7-7 4.23) - Joel Gaspar(L, 3-4 4.13) tomorrow. NYM… maybe we can buy some more wins?

SP Austin Roy 7.0IP 6H 1R 1ER 3BB 9K ND
CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-5 R RBI DB
1B Dave Grochowski 2-4 DB
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 RBI
DH Tim McKusick 1-4
2B Mitku Kazemd 1-4 R RBI HR
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-4 R DB
RF Huai-yu Mah 3-4 R RBI 3DB
SS Rich Meilleur 1-4
HR MON: Kazemd(8)
HR PHI: Griffith(2)
W: Jeff Mathias(4-3 4.02) L: Kevin Cowden(1-6 5.71) SV: none
Cowden blew that one AGAIN… Congrats to Adam Rudolph, you are the new closer…

July 15th

Transactions:
4th rounder RHRP Josh Reinke)(18, 3.5* HS, 3* OSA) has signed.

Montreal Gets 7-2 Win

Montreal Expos starter Sam Griffin pitched his team past the New York Mets, 7-2. The control artist worked 7 innings of 1-run ball and got the win. The Expos improved to 39-52.

"Felt great, felt really good," said Griffin.

Ignacio Benavides had a big 2-run double for the Expos in the top of the fifth inning. With Montreal leading 3-0 and the bases loaded, he got a slider from Robby Avery, who finished 5th in the WL in saves with 36 in 2015, and swatted a double to right-center. It was his 14th double of the season, and more importantly, it put the Expos ahead, 5-0. Hopefully breaking out of his slump, he was 2-4 for the day and is batting .247-9-37 .718OPS 1.0WAR in 81 games.

Juan Miranda(R, 4-8 4.36) - Zach Laurents(R, 5-9 4.88) tomorrow. He won last week against us… you hear that guys???

SP Sam Griffin 7.0IP 6H 1R 1ER 1BB 3K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-2 2R BB TP
2B Robby Weltzer 1-3R 2RBI 2BB DB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 R RBI BB
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-4 2RBI DB
DH Matt Talbert 1-3 R 2RBI HR
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-3 R BB
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-4 R DB
HR MON: Talbert(3)
HR NYM: Oatley(9), Garcia(6)
W: Sam Griffin(9-7 4.19) L: Joel Gaspar(3-5 4.47) SV: none
Jep, that is our former outfielder Brian Oatley hitting his 9th home run AND he threw out a runner from left… he is also batting .203, so I’m fine with that… -1.4WAR in 75 games… Jesus…

July 16th

New York Beaten, 8-4, by Montreal

No one was more impactful than Rich Meilleur in the 8-4 Montreal win over New York. Meilleur went 1 for 2 with a home run and a walk, while adding 3 RBI and scoring once. The 24-year old is batting .182-1-4 .501OPS 0.0WAR in his first 10 NMLB games.

The third-place Expos sport a record of 40-52.

Montreal used a timely hit from Matt Talbert to get the win. The pinch hitter stroked a run-scoring double in the top of the eighth inning to put the Expos ahead, 5-4. It was his only hit in 1 at-bat, but it made an impact.

"The boys were really swinging the bats today," winning manager Aaron McCreery said.

Cesar Alvarado(R, 1-0 0.00) - Andy Siler(R, 3-7 5.78) tomorrow. 2* pitcher according to our scouting department.

SP Juan Miranda 6.0IP 7H 4R 4ER 1BB 3K ND
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-5 R 2RBI DB
1B Dave Grochowski 0-3 R 2BB
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-4 R 2RBI BB TP
3B Orlando Gonzalez 2-5 2R
SS Rich Meilleur 1-2 R 3RBI BB HR
PH Matt Talbert 1-1 R RBI DB
2B Robby Weltzer 2-5 R
HR MON: Meilleur(1)
HR NYM: Lee(12)
W: Melvin Hernandez(1-1 0.36) L: Hector Elias(3-4 4.46) SV: none
Whoa offense. We are on a little roll here…

July 17th

Transactions:
1st rounder IF Bryan Booth(21, 4*), 2nd rounder 1B Tyler Aurand(18, 4* HS, 5* OSA) and 5th rounder CF Dusty Eckel(18, 3* HS, 4.5* OSA) have all signed. Bryan Booth was assigned to Short A.

Expos Sweep Mets with 7-1 Sunday Win

The Montreal Expos picked up a win at Citi Field, topping the New York Mets, 7-1. On the mound for Montreal was right-hander Cesar Alvarado. He played a principal role in the triumph. The winning pitcher was Alvarado, now 2-0. He tossed 6.1 innings of 4-hit ball, while walking 2 and fanning 6.

"When this team comes together and plays the way we can, we can compete with anyone," said Alvarado. "I think we're going to keep proving that." Montreal has now won 3 straight, while the Mets have lost 3 in a row.

Montreal used the hitting of Huai-yu Mah to pick up the win. The right fielder clubbed a 3-run home run in the top of the first inning to put the Expos on top, 3-0. For the game, Mah had 1 home run and 1 single in 4 at-bats. He is batting .276-3-14 .701OPS 0.5WAR in 45 games.

SP Cesar Alvarado 6.1IP 4H 1R 1ER 2BB 6K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-5 2R
1B Dave Grochowski 3-4 2R 2RBI 2DB TP
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-3 RBI BB
RF Huai-yu Mah 2-4 R 3RBI HR
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-3 R RBI HR
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3 R BB
HR MON: Mah(3), Gonzalez(6)
HR NYM: none
W: Cesar Alvarado(2-0 0.67) L: Andy Siler(3-8 6.28) SV: none
Nice to beat up a worse team.

Record: 41-52, 3rd in EL Northeast, 9.5GB
Week: 5-2 (2-2@ PHI, 3-0@ NYM)
Power Rankings: #16(+10)
Runs scored: 345(13th)
Runs against: 362(7th)
Starters ERA: 3.96(7th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.09(3rd)
Defensive Eff.: .716(1st)
Zone Rating: +25.3(1st)
Fan Interest: 78(-2)

Who's hot?
RHSP Marty Murrietta 2G 2-0 0.56 16IP 13K

Who's not?
RHRP Kevin Cowden 16G 9SV 7.63 15.1IP 15K
LF Ignacio Benavides 17G 8-65 .123 0HR 6RBI

News:
July 12th - Cincinnati SP Jimmy McMahon(25, 3.5/4*) pitched 8 strong innings of 2-hit, 0BB and 12K ball in a 3-+1 win over the Chicago Rangers. The 2015 2nd rounder is 8-5 3.34 120K
3.8WAR in 18 starts.

July 13th - Houston 1B Ed Bigalow(29, 3*) hammered 3 home runs in a 11-8 loss to Atlanta, going 3-5 3R 5RBI 3HR. The 2x Silver Slugger is batting .253-19-54 .773OPS 0.4WAR in 86 games.

July 13th - Arizona 3B Lance Ralich(24, 2.5/3*) had a 5-hit game today in a 15-1 rout of the Kansas City Royals, going 5-5 3R 8RBI 2HR for the night. The rookie is batting .226-9-23 .799OPS 1.2WAR in 35 games.

July 18th - Atlanta Minuteman 1B Ryan Jackson(27, 3*) was named EL Player of the Week after going 10-20 1HR 7RBI 4R. The right-handed hitter is batting .262-9-37 .734OPS 0.6WAR in 84 games.

July 18th - Arizona 3B Lance Ralich(24, 2.5/3*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 11-24 4HR 14RBI 7R. The rookie is batting .243-11-29 .839OPS 1.5WAR in 38 games.

Next: All-Star Game, 3vs Toronto Blue Jays(37-56)

--

We are slowly but surely getting better, especially the starting pitching is performing insanely good with an elite defence behind them. Yes, Rich Meilleur is batting .194 right now but I believe that he can do better, and the defensive plays are spectacular. And ye, Tim McKusick is batting .179… but somehow this has provided the team with a spark.

[Griever20]

And again, we get a middle-of-the-road reliever as an All-Star… ohwell.

Interestingly enough, Hernandez is one of the guys that are available at the trade deadline. At age 30, he is due for arbitration for $2.7M and we have been able to build a reliable pen for the second year in a row without stress now, so there is that.

Apart from that, we have a glut of upcoming minor league free agents that we are willing to trade, including ’Winless’ Hilscher and 2021 EL All-Star Rich Nelson, so those are on the block.

Shall you expect a blockbuster? No. We will monitor the market, but similar to last year, there needs to be a team that is willing to rethink their stance and put a big name on the market for us to really do another big, Cervantes/Murrietta like move. We will look at the trade block, seeing if we can flip another 2 month rental for prospects as we have some room in the budget, but right now, there is nothing there.

--

Montreal and San José Deal Minor Leaguers
stadiumreport.bbn

July 22nd, 2022

Proving the old adage that one man's trash is another man's treasure, the Expos announced today the acquisition of 23-year old minor league LHRP Alex Guzman(2.5*) and 24-year old minor league CF Bobby Martinez(2.5*) from the San José Killer Whales in exchange for 24-year old minor league 2B Lee McKinney(2*) and 27-year old minor league LHRP Rich Nelson(2.5*). "This isn't the deal of the century," acknowledged the Expos, "but we think it will improve the direction of both teams."

In his 38-game career Nelson has been credited with 4 wins, 1 loss and 1 saves. His ERA stands at 4.19, and he has fired third strikes past 65 batters in 81.2 innings while giving up 26 walks.

Got a good outfielder that will audition for the 4th outfielder in 2023, and a lefty with a bit of potential…

[Griever20]

Week 16: All-Star Game, 3vs Toronto Blue Jays(37-56)

July 22nd

Expos Lose at Home, 8-4

The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Montreal Expos by a score of 8-4. Toronto right fielder Ricardo Orta deserved the lion's share of the credit. Orta was 3-4 with a home run, a double, and a walk, while scoring 2 times and driving in 2 for the Blue Jays. Paul Davis, the winner, improved to 1-6. He held Montreal to 1 run on 2 hits over 6 innings, while racking up 6 strikeouts. The Blue Jays raised their record to 38-56.

Toronto used the hitting of Bobby Neal to pick up the win. The left fielder clubbed a 2-run home run in the top of the first inning to put the Blue Jays on top, 2-0. For the game, Neal had 1 home run and 1 single in 5 at-bats. The 25-year old is batting .260-7-33 .759OPS 0.8WAR in 54 games.

"In baseball, you have your ups and downs," said Montreal manager Aaron McCreery. "You just try to stay level-headed the whole time."

Kyle McCall(R, 7-5 3.55) - Austin Roy(R, 5-8 3.56) tomorrow. Should not have an ERA that low…

SP Marty Murrietta 6IP 5H 3R 3ER 5BB 3K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4 R DB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-3 2R RBI BB DB
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-4 R 2RBI HR
DH Tim McKusick 1-4
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-4 R
3B Orlando Gonzalez 0-2 2BB
HR TOR: Neal(7), Orta(19)
HR MON: Cervantes(11)
W: Paul Davis(1-6 4.94) L: Marty Murrietta(8-8 4.06) SV: none
Murrietta was wild and out bullpen was bad today.

July 23rd

Toronto Gets 9-4 Win

Behind the hitting of Paul Ludgate, the Toronto Blue Jays stopped the Montreal Expos, 9-4. Ludgate was 3-4 with 2 doubles and a walk. He drove in 3 runs and scored once for the Blue Jays. The 2020 All-Star is batting .248-7-33 .679OPS 0.5WAR in 71 games.

Kyle McCall, the winner, goes to 8-5. He allowed 4 runs on 8 hits, with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Jeff Martinelli earned his 1st save in 1 chances.

Toronto used the hitting of Bobby Neal to pick up the win. The left fielder clubbed a 3-run home run in the top of the fourth inning to put the Blue Jays on top, 6-3. For the game, Neal had 1 home run and 1 single in 5 at-bats.

"It was a solid, all-around game for us," said Toronto manager Art Tierney.

The Toronto winning streak has reached 3 games.

Brendan Lucas(R, 7-5 3.34) - Sam Griffin(R, 5-8 3.56) tomorrow. How are those bad pitchers having such a great year on a losing team?

SP Austin Roy 1.1IP 2H 1R 1ER 0BB 2K ND hamstring soreness 3 days
CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-5 2R
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 R BB
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-4 RBI
DH Tim McKusick 2-4 R 3RBI DB HR
RF Huai-yu Mah 3-4
HR TOR: Neal(8), Orta(20)
HR MON: McKusick(2)
W: Kyle McCall(8-5 3.69) L: Joe Herzer(3-3 2.82) SV: Jeff Martinelli(1 0.00)
Boy, we suck again. How surprising.

July 24th

Jays Sweep Canada Series with 7-5 Win

The Toronto Blue Jays withstood a fine game by Montreal first baseman Dave Grochowski at Olympic Stadium, to upend the Expos, 7-5. Grochowski hit 2 home runs. He drove in 3 runs and scored twice. The 4th-place Blue Jays have won 4 straight games.

Toronto used the hitting of Mike Massie to pick up the win. The designated hitter clubbed a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to put the Blue Jays on top, 7-5. For the game, Massie had 1 home run and 1 single in 4 at-bats.

"Winning never gets dull," said Massie. The 2019 EL MvP is batting .284-20-58 .835OPS 1.4WAR in 93 games.

Gong-sun Zháo(R, 7-2 2.54) - Juan Miranda(R, 4-8 4.46) tomorrow. Not a prayer.

SP Sam Griffin 4.1IP 9H 6R 6ER 0BB 2K ND
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4 R BB
1B Dave Grochowski 3-5 2R 3RBI DB 2HR PotG
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-5
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-3 BB DB
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-3 R HBP
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-4 R 2RBI HR
HR TOR: Neal 2(10), Massie(20)
HR MON: Grochowski 2(10), Mah(4)
W: Brendan Lucas(8-4 3.78) L: Sam Griffin(9-8 4.50) SV: Ron Pavlovich(20 4.14)
Griffin was lit up again… sadly, our offense is not that bad in this series, but now the pitching failed.

Record: 41-55, 3rd in EL Northeast, 11.5GB
Week: 0-3 (0-3vs TOR)
Power Rankings: #27(-11)
Runs scored: 358(13th)
Runs against: 386(9th)
Starters ERA: 4.04(9th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.36(4th)
Defensive Eff.: .713(1st)
Zone Rating: +24.5(1st)
Fan Interest: 77(-1)

Who's hot?
1B Dave Grochowski 7G 11-27 .407 2HR 7RBIs

Who's not?
RHRP Kevin Cowden 19G 10SV 9.16 18.2IP 20K

News:
July 25th - Chicago 2B Lazaro Miranda(23, 3.5/4.5*) was named EL Player of the Week after going 6-8 3HR 5RBI 5R. The sophomore is batting .264-11-38 .758OPS 1.3WAR in 78 games.

July 25th - Salt Lake C Alex Figueroa(22, 2.5*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 6-10 2HR 3RBI 2R. The rookie is batting .259-10-25 .751OPS 0.9WAR in 65 games.

Next: 4vs Houston Astros(56-39), 3vs Sacramento Cavaliers(49-47)

--

Now that the bad teams are out of the way, time to get hammered again.

[Griever20]

Week 17: All-Star Game, 3vs Toronto Blue Jays(37-56)

July 25th

Expos Clip Astros with Huge 8th, Win 6-5

The Houston Astros got a superb performance from pitcher Gong-sun Zhào, but the Montreal Expos still won the game, 6-5. Zhào threw 7.0 innings of 5-hit ball. At 42-55, the Expos find themselves in third place in the Eastern League North East Division.

Gabriel Cervantes helped out the Montreal cause in the bottom of the eighth inning with a run-scoring single. For the game, the catcher went 2 for 4 with 2 singles.

"I just tried to make good contact," said Cervantes. The recent trade acquisition is batting .305-11-48 .849OPS 3.0WAR between MON and KCR.

Clint Gray(R, 3-1 4.26) - Cesar Alvarado(R, 2-0 0.67) tomorrow. Curious if Cesar can keep this up.

SP Juan Miranda 5.1IP 6H 3R 3ER 2BB 8K ND
CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-4 R DB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 R
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-4 R RBI
DH Tim McKusick 0-2 R RBI BB
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-4 R 2RBI HR
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-3 R RBI SB(4)
2B Robby Weltzer 1-3 RBI
HR HOU: Zamora(21)
HR MON: Benavides(10)
W: Kevin Cowden(2-6 5.26) L: Chris Roberts(6-3 3.63) SV: Adam Rudolph(6 2.37)
Rudolph gets his first shot as a closer and allows 2ER…

July 26th

Expos Walk-Off, Win 4-3

The Montreal Expos topped the Houston Astros, 4-3, in Eastern League action at Olympic Stadium. The standout performance belonged to Montreal pitcher and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, native Cesar Alvarado. He worked 7.2 innings of 3-run ball. Montreal is now 43-55.

"Cesar was bobbing and weaving the whole game," said Montreal manager Aaron McCreery.

Kevin Craddock was the walk-off hero for Montreal. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Expos catcher hit a dramatic run-scoring single to send the teams home. The backup catcher is batting .223-2-18 .601OPS 0.1WAR in 56 games.

David Kohler(R, 7-2 3.82) - Marty Murrietta(R, 8-8 4.06) tomorrow. Great stuff, but long ball prone

SP Cesar Alvarado 7.2IP 4H 3R 3ER 1BB 4K ND PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4 R
LF Ignacio Benavides 0-4 R BB
PH Gabriel Cervantes 1-1 R RBI DB
SS Rich Meilleur 2-3 R TP
C Kevin Craddock 2-4 2RBI DB
HR HOU: Bigalow(22), Valenzuela(5)
HR MON: none
W: Freddy Silva(2-1 4.24) L: Scott Becker(3-8 4.17) SV: none
Alvarado with a good start, but how we beat a division leader twice is beyond me.

July 27th

Expos Win Three in a Row, 4-2

The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 4-2. Montreal pitcher and San Juan, Puerto Rico, native Marty Murrietta led the way. Murrietta, now 5-3, was the winner. In 7.2 innings, he gave up 7 hits, while striking out 9, walking 1, and allowing 2 runs. The Montreal win streak is now 3 games.

Ignacio Benavides, who is tied for 9th in the EL in triples with 4, aided the Montreal cause with a run-scoring ground out in the bottom of the third. For the game, the left fielder went 1-4.

"We need to keep playing good baseball," Benavides told the Montreal Daily News. Snapping out of a long funk, he is batting .249-10-43 .723 0.9WAR in 88 games.

Jesse Chapple(R, 1-2 3.58) - Dan Hinton(R, 5-6 3.77) tomorrow. Off the DL tomorrow!

SP Marty Murrietta 7.2IP 7H 2R 2ER 1BB 9K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4 R
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 R RBI DB
DH Tim McKusick 1-3 R RBI HR
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 R RBI
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-3 RBI DB
HR HOU: none
HR MON: McKusick(3)
W: Marty Murrietta(9-8 3.95) L: David Kohler(7-3 3.90) SV: Adam Rudolph(7 2.31)
McKusick does not do much, but homers from time to time.

July 28th

Transactions:
RHRP Melvin Hernandez(30, 3*, 1-1 0.34 21K 0.3WAR 25G) was traded to the Cincinnati Eagles in exchange for 20-year old LHSP Ben Anderson(20, 1/2.5*). SP Dan Hinton(23, 4.5/5*, 5-6 3.77 92K 2.5WAR) was activated off the IL and Cesar Alvarado was sent to the bullpen for his fine work.

Expos Sweep Astros with 6-2 Win

The Montreal Expos topped the Houston Astros, 6-2, in Eastern League action at Olympic Stadium. The game was highlighted by the performance of Montreal pitcher Dan Hinton. Hinton got the win, improving to 6-6. He gave up 5 hits and walked 1 over 8 innings. He allowed 2 runs. Montreal has run its win streak to 4 consecutive.

Montreal took a 3-2 lead on Robby Weltzer's 7th home run of the season. The solo home run, which Weltzer hit in the bottom of the seventh, left Houston pitcher Jonathan Johnson visibly frustrated. The 25-year old is batting .284-7-33 .726OPS 2.4WAR in 90 games.

"I like the roll we're on," said Montreal manager Aaron McCreery.

Dante Rodriguez(R, 5-6 4.18) - Sam Griffin(R, 9-8 4.50) tomorrow. Career 4.68 ERA pitcher.

SP Dan Hinton 8.0IP 5H 2R 2ER 1BB 7K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-4 2R TP
1B Dave Grochowski 3-3 2R RBI BB DB
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-4 R RBI DB
DH Tim McKusick 2-4 2RBI DB
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4 R RBI HR
HR HOU: Lautenslager(8)
HR MON: Weltzer(7)
W: Dan Hinton(6-6 3.66) L: Jonathan Johnson(2-2 3.45) SV: none
Hinton vintage, hitting good. GM confused.

July 29th

Expos Make it 5 Straight with 8-5 Win

The Montreal Expos beat the Sacramento Cavaliers, 8-5, at Olympic Stadium. Mitku Kazemd, in particular, was impressive. He went 2-3 with a home run and a walk. He scored 2 times and drove in 3. The 22-year old is batting .237-9-27 .642OPS 0.2WAR in 77 games.

Sam Griffin got the win, improving to 10-8. He worked 6.2 innings, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits, while striking out 3 and walking 1. Kevin Cowden got the save, his 20th in 24 chances. Montreal has now won 5 straight, while the Cavaliers have lost 3 in a row.

An inflection point occurred with one out in the bottom of the fifth. That's when Expos first baseman Dave Grochowski hit a slider from Dante Rodriguez for a 2-run single. Just like that, Montreal was up, 4-3.

"Being able to contribute to a win is always a great feeling," Grochowski told the Montreal Daily News.

Mike Ayers(R, 6-4 5.06) - Juan Miranda(R, 4-8 4.49) tomorrow. Extreme groundballer.

SP Sam Griffin 6.2IP 8H 5R 5ER 1BB 3K W
CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-5 R RBI 20-game hitting streak
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 R 2RBI BB
DH Tim McKusick 1-4 R RBI
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 R
3B Mitku Kazemd 2-3 2R 3RBI BB HR PotG
RF Huai-yu Mah 2-4 R RBI DB
2B Robby Weltzer 1-3
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3 R DB
HR SAC: Vega(5)
HR MON: Kazemd(9)
W: Sam Griffin(10-8 4.62) L: Dante Rodriguez(5-7 4.46) SV: Kevin Cowden(20 5.12)
We are on a roll… stunning. I didn’t realize that hitting streak by the way.

July 30th

Miranda, Expos Get 2-1 Win

Montreal starter Juan Miranda put the Sacramento offense in a vise grip. The right-hander relied heavily on his fastball in leading the Expos to a 2-1 win. Kevin Cowden was credited with the save. He has now successfully converted 21 of 25 save opportunities. Sacramento, at 50-51, has lost 4 straight.

Miranda made it look effortless. He scattered 2 hits over 6.1 innings, while racking up 8 strikeouts. The Montreal right-hander encountered little resistance from the Sacramento hitters. His season record is now 5-8.

"You have to trust that what you're doing is going to produce results," said Miranda.

Peter Dewberry(L, 6-3 3.89) - Marty Murrietta(R, 9-8 3.95) tomorrow. Former BOS starter, just traded over yesterday.

SP Juan Miranda 6.1IP 2H 0R 0ER 1BB 8K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4 21-game hitting streak
DH Tim McKusick 1-3
3B Mitku Kazemd 1-3 R RBI HR
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3 DB
RF Chris Allen 1-3 R RBI HR
HR SAC: none
HR MON: Kazemd(10), Allen(3)
W: Juan Miranda(5-8 4.24) L: Mike Ayers(6-5 4.85) SV: Kevin Cowden(22 5.22)
Cowden tried to lose it with three walks and an earned run in the 9th but couldn’t.

July 31st

Expos Finish Perfect Week with 8-2 Win

Matt Talbert knocked in 4 runs to help Montreal beat Sacramento, 8-2. Talbert produced 2 singles, 1 double, and 1 home run. He is batting .263-4-16 .766OPS 0.3WAR in 43 games.

"We need to keep playing good baseball," Talbert told the Montreal Daily News. Montreal has now won seven straight.

Montreal reliever John Mannino picked up the win, upping his record to 1-1. Peter Dewberry absorbed the loss. Sacramento has now lost 5 straight.

Early in the game, second baseman Robby Weltzer had a bases-clearing double for Montreal. It was his 19th double of the season and put the Expos on top, 4-1.

Austin Roy(R, 5-8 3.59) - Hector Mata(R, 8-5 3.18) tomorrow. 2020 WL Cy Young with DEN… somehow.

SP Marty Murietta 4IP 1H 1R 1ER 5BB 1K ND
2B Robby Weltzer 1-5 3RBI DB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-3 2R BB
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-4 R RBI HR
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 2R
DH Matt Talbert 4-4 2R 4RBI DB HR
SS Orlando Gonzalez 2-3 R
HR SAC: none
HR MON: Cervantes(12), Talbert(4)
W: John Mannino(1-1 4.06) L: Peter Dewberry(6-4 3.96) SV: Cesar Alvarado(1 1.50)
Rodriguez sat this one out, so his hitting streak survives… What a WEEK.

Record: 48-55, 3rd in EL Northeast, 7GB
Week: 7-0 (4-0vs HOU, 3-0 vs SAC)
Power Rankings: #11(+16)
Runs scored: 396(13th)
Runs against: 406(7th)
Starters ERA: 3.97(6th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.29(3rd)
Defensive Eff.: .716(1st)
Zone Rating: +28.0(1st)
Fan Interest: 76(-1)

Who's hot?
SP Marty Murrietta 5G 3-1 1.87 33.2IP 26K
1B Matt Talbert 10G 11-21 .524 2HR 8RBIs

Who's not?
RHSP Sam Griffin 2G 1-1 9.02 11IP 5K
RHRP Kevin Cowden 22G 12SV 8.31 21.2IP 24K

News:
July 26th - Denver 1B Devin Grose(37, 4*) collected career home run #600 today in a 12-8 loss to Oakland. The 3x MvP, 3x Gold Glover, 11x Silver Slugger and 14x All Star is a career .311/.404/.587 600HR 1864RBI 2692H 98.9WAR in 2282 games.

July 26th - Cincinnati SP Jimmy McMahon(25, 3.5/4*) pitched a rare no-hitter today, striking out six and walking two in a 10-0 victory over Memphis. The 30th no-hitter and second for Cincinnati in 22 years, he improved to 10-5 3.15 134K 4.3WAR in 20 starts.

August 1st - Pittsburgh 2B Alex Elizalde(24, 4*) was named EL Player of the Week after going 10-24 4HR 10RBI 7R. The 2020 EL Wild Card Series MvP is batting .289-17-43 1.000OPS 1.8WAR in 42 games.

August 1st - Oakland C Brandon Mathis(26, 4.5*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 12-21 1HR 4RBI 9R. The 2021 WL All-Star is batting .251-11-45 .805OPS 2.6WAR in 77 games.

Next: 3@ Chicago Rangers(51-52), 4@ Memphis Bolts(46-56)

--

Trade Deadline News:

The Montreal Expos trade AA C Juan Rivera(23, 2.5*, .271-2-11 .738 0.5WAR) to the Marlins in exchange for A UT James Slowik(25, 2.5*, .261-1-14 .639OPS 1.5WAR), a switch hitter that can play five positions.

In a trade that stocks up the minor league bullpens of Montreal, the Expos trade 1B Cody Kerzner(27, 2.5*, .320-0-4 .713OPS 0.0WAR) and SS Jose Robles(28, 2*, .174-2-7 .489OPS -0.4WAR) to the Portland Bears in exchange for S A RHRP Melchior Mikos(23, 2/2.5*, 0-5 4SV 4.61 15K -0.8WAR) and R RHRP Justin Azzi(23, 2/2.5*, 1-0 9SV 0.00 34K 1.2WAR).

[Griever20]

EL Awards:
Batter of the Month: Atlanta LF Robbie Thompson(31, 2.5*) .359-6-20 1.028OPS 1.4WAR 4x All-Star
Pitcher of the Month: Cincinnati RHSP Jimmy McMahon(25, 3.5/4*) 4-0 1.15 34K 31.1IP 1.2WAR That no-hitter helps here
Rookie of the Month: Montreal 1B Dave Grochowski(23, 3.5*) .326-4-17 .988OPS 1.4WAR All Hail Grok!


WL Awards:
Batter of the Month: San Diego 3B Octavio Gonzalos(25, 4*) .337-9-18 1.120OPS 1.7WAR Once traded away for a failed catcher by us…, 30 home runs in 92 games…
Pitcher of the Month: Los Angeles LHSP Julian Valdenas(25, 2.5*) 5-0 1.96 38K 6GS 41.1IP 0.7WAR Can dominate with his stuff, but bad control.
Rookie of the Month: Oakland CF Mauricio Jimenez(24, 2.5*) .409-6-20 1.255OPS 1.5WAR Rule 5 draftee from CIN

After being super frustrated a month ago, don’t expect me to be super hyped now after a 18-9 July. Yes, that final week was spectacular. Yes. We are now at a Pythagorean record of 50-53 and yes, our starters that I called “a bunch of 4ERA starters” last month picked up the slack. Guess the truth is somewhere between this month and the two before that. Which means we are a .500 team, which is about where I expected us to be.

That being said, I think that bodes well for the future with some top prospects coming through in the next two years.

Now, a little bit of trade chatter. We got rid of Cody Kerzner, Jose Robles, Melvin Hernandez and AA catcher Juan Rivera. Three out of those four were pending minor league free agents, two of them after getting waived, and Hernandez was a Rule 5 draftee that was kind enough to generate some trade value. We grabbed some good looking arms that won’t blow anyone away but are under team control, and a good utility guy in James Slowik that can hit .260 in singles while playing good defence at 2B/3B/SS/LF/RF. Maybe, next year in NMLB.

Pitching:

DL: nobody

NMBL Montreal Expos Players on the leaderboard:
RHSP Sam Griffin 10 W – tied 2nd
RHSP Sam Griffin 2 CG – tied 3rd
RHSP Sam Griffin 1.1 BB/9 – 1st
RHSP Marty Murrietta 45 BB – 5th

A little housekeeping, Danny Sandoval, our Rule 5 draftee in 2020, was returned to the Detroit Trains. Because of his 60-day IL stint, he was still considered a Rule 5 player and I was not willing to place him on the active roster for 26 days to let that one run out. Good luck for him, he is in AAA again.

Our internal pitcher of the month? Juan Miranda with a 2-0 2-93 34K 30.2IP 2.36FIP 1.1WAR month is pretty much up there, but apart from Sam Griffin stinking a bit in his last two starts and some slightly inflated ERAs in the pen, all is well here. Aaron McCreery really was happy when I told him that Cesar Alvarado will be in his bullpen now. He told me that Alvarado may play well with his 70-rated fastball/cutter combination, only using the weaker changeup when the opportunity arises. We will see.

Position Players:

DL: RF Ian Messer(26, 2.5*) fractured thumb 3 weeks .292-4-20 .811OPS 43G/43GS 0.9WAR

NMBL Montreal Expos Players on the leaderboard:
1B Dave Grochowski .346 Batting Average – 1st
1B Dave Grochowski .421 OBP – 1st
1B Dave Grochowski .930 OPS – 4th
1B Dave Grochowski 119 H – tied 1st
1B Dave Grochowski 158 OPS+ – 2nd
1B Dave Grochowski 3.57 WPA – 2nd
CF Vicente Rodriguez 6 TP – tied 2nd

Funny enough, we shook things up by brining Rich Meilleur and Tim McKusick in, and so far McKusick is a -0.1WAR hitter and Meilleur is batting .172, just running out at 0.0War due to elite defence. We will give them the rest of the year, but finding a hard-hitting DH that bats from the left side is something we definitely need to complement Matt Talbert. Who, by the way, is batting .286-1-5 .804OPS against LHP, so there is that.

And yes, I am aware that Huai-yu Mah hits .269 with some stuff and is left-handed. This won’t last.

Vicente Rodriguez continues to be an interesting find in center field. His defence is really good, and he does make solid contact, and somehow, he is on a 21-game hitting streak while batting .301 in July. If he just had the stealing skills to complement his speed, he could be an elite leadoff man…


Prospect Watch:
AAA 2B/SS Julian Hernandez(2.5/4*) .302-8-30 .806OPS 91G 16/19SB 4.2WAR
AAA LHSP Brett Asselin(2.5/4.5*) 1-2 2.52 34K 35.2IP 6GS 0.0WAR
AA RHSP Jorge Estrella(2.5/3*) 6-9 3.44 73K 117.2IP 19GS 1.6WAR
A RHSP Alejandro Corral(2/3.5*) 8-5 2.50 100K 104.1IP 19G 1.3WAR
A LF Santiago Rodriguez(2/4*) .256-10-30 .718OPS 87G 12/14SB 0.8WAR
S A SS Bryan Booth(21, 1/4*) .297-1-3 .755OPS 2/3SB 12G 0.5WAR
S A 1B Joe Townsend(1.5/3.5*) .174-7-21 .543OPS 91G -0.5WAR(A)
R CF Tyler Dean(19, 1.5/5*) .221-12-34 .695OPS 8/10SB 88G 5.4WAR
R 2B/SS Manny Ramirez(0.5/5*) .155-4-15 .412OPS 1/2SB 89G 1.4WAR
R 1B Tyler Aurand(18, 4*) .261-2-4 .911OPS 9G 0.8WAR

We may have done it again. In the dynamic top prospect list, Bryan Booth is rated as #22 currently! We sent him to Short A to finish the year there, but there is hope that he can start next season in A ball and move through the minors quickly… we will see.

Julian Hernandez is doing fine with the bat and with learning third base as he is a 55/65 currently there, and so is Manny Ramirez at second base. And the others are doing quite fine, the only concern was 1B Joe Townsend and he was sent back down to Short A to work on his swing.

There was an argument to be had for Tyler Dean to be sent to short A as well after batting .270-3-11 .804OPS in 22 games in July, but I want him to work with one hitting coach all year long and not switch him to a different one in the middle of the minor league season.

[Griever20]

Migrated the save to OOTP 26 today, so this thread will be moved to the OOTP 26 Forums very soon could not wait till the end of the season

[Griever20]

Week 18: 3@ Chicago Rangers(51-52), 4@ Memphis Bolts(46-56)

August 1st

Expos Keep Run Going With 7-5 Win in Chicago

The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Rangers, 7-5. Montreal pitcher and Rochester, Minnesota, native Austin Roy led the way.

"I'm happy we won," said Roy. "That's first and foremost. My goal is for the team to win the day I pitch, however it's done." He worked seven innings of 3-run, 1ER ball and struck out eight.

Dustin Jenkins earned his 1st save in 1 chances. Montreal has run its win streak to 8 in a row.

Montreal used the timely hitting of Vicente Rodriguez to seize the win. The center fielder stroked a 2-run single in the top of the seventh inning to put the Expos on top, 6-3. It was his only hit in 5 at-bats, but it was a game-changer. Also, it kept his 22-game hitting streak alive.

Dan Hinton(R, 6-6 3.66) - Steve Grant(R, 4-7 3.61) tomorrow. 35-year old veteran that once won the PotY in 2013.

SP Austin Roy 7P 5H 3R 1ER 0BB 7K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-5 R 2RBI 22-game hitting streak
2B Robby Weltzer 2-5 RBI 2DB SB(14)
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-5 R
1B Matt Talbert 1-3 2R RBI BB HR
PH Dave Grochowski 1-1 2RBI DB
RF Huai-yu Mah 2-4 R
SS Rich Meilleur 1-4 R RBI DB
HR MON: Talbert(5)
HR CHI: none
W: Austin Roy(6-8 3.46) L: Mitchell O’Day(1-2 6.60) SV: Dustin Jenkins(1 4.00)
We collected four unearned runs due to errors by Mah and Meilleur, but the streaks keep on going! Eight in a row!

August 2nd

Montreal Loses Streaks as Grant, Bullpen Pitch 2-hitter

Chicago Rangers starter Steve Grant pitched his team past the Montreal Expos, 2-0. Chicago, at 52-53, occupies 4th place in the Eastern League Central.

The outcome was still in doubt with two out in the top of the fourth inning, but Grant was able to pitch out of a jam. With runners on 1st and 3rd and Montreal trailing 1-0, Grant retired Huai-yu Mah, who lined out.

The 2013 EL Pitcher of the Year and 2x All-Star worked 7 innings of 2-hit, 1BB and 2K ball and moved 5-7 with an ERA of 3.39.

Sam Griffin(R, 10-8 4.62) - Josh Gibson(R, 4-3 3.46) tomorrow. Another 34-year old veteran.

SP Dan Hinton 8P 4H 2R 2ER 3BB 6K L
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4
2B Robby Weltzer 1-2 BB DB
HR MON: none
HR CHI: Scott(8)
W: Steve Grant(5-7 3.39) L: Dan Hinton(6-7 3.58) SV: Austin Berry(20 2.08)
Hinton did the best he could, but can’t blame the offense for a day off against a veteran pitcher. Not after winning eight in a row.

August 3rd

Rangers Take Series with 3-1 Win

Chicago pitcher Josh Gibson had a large part in his team beating the Montreal Expos, 3-1. The right-hander kept opposing batters in check throughout the game. The winner was Gibson. He threw 7.0 innings of 5-hit ball. The loser was Sam Griffin. Austin Berry was credited with the save. He has now successfully converted 21 of 25 save opportunities.

Chicago designated hitter Edwin Jimenez contributed a timely at-bat in the bottom of the fourth. With two down, he hit a sinker to left field for a 2-run single. It was his 106th hit of the season and put the Rangers ahead, 3-0.

Jimenez called the win a test of his team's "mettle." The 2017 EL Silver Slugger is batting .281-9-52 .807OPS 45/51SB 3.2WAR in 98 games.

The win puts Chicago at 53-53 this season.

Juan Miranda(R, 5-8 4.24) - Andres Colon(R, 5-7 4.88) tomorrow. 2020 EL All-Star in career best 12 win season.

SP Sam Griffin 4P 5H 3R 3ER 5BB 3K L
CF Vicente Rodriguez 1-4
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-4
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-3 BB
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-3 R
2B Robby Weltzer 1-3 RBI
HR MON: none
HR CHI: Chanez(22)
W: Josh Gibson(5-3 3.25) L: Sam Grifin(10-9 4.69) SV: Austin Berry(21 2.02)
Sam had uncharacteristically bad control today and our bats have cooled off in Chicago Rangers here.

August 4th

Foley Homers Twice as Bolts Win, 8-3

The home crowd had a good time watching the Montreal Expos and Memphis Bolts get after it.

Behind the hitting of John Foley, the Memphis Bolts stopped the Montreal Expos, 8-3. Foley was 2 for 4 with 2 home runs for the Bolts. Andres Colon, the winner, is now 6-7. He struck out 3 and walked 1 over 6 innings, while allowing 1 run on 6 hits.

With Memphis leading 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Foley hit a slider from Juan Miranda for a solo home run. It was his 6th home run of the season and put the Bolts ahead, 2-0.

"I was seeing the ball well tonight," said Foley. The 2x All-Star is batting .290-6-25 .856OPS 1.5WAR in 51 games after losing a lot of games to injury.

The 4th-place Bolts improved to 48-58.

Marty Murrietta(R, 9-8 3.89) - Chad Orlich(R, 3-8 3.28) tomorrow. Some low ERA’s there for our opposing pitchers this week.

SP Juan Miranda 5.2P 6H 7R 7ER 3BB 5K L
1B Dave Grochowski 2-5 RBI
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-4 R RBI HR
DH Tim McKusick 2-5 R
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-4
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-4
PH Matt Talbert 1-1 RBI DB
2B Mitku Kazemd 1-4 R
SS Rick Meilleur 2-4
HR MON: Cervantes(13)
HR MEM: Foley 2(6), Marquez(10)
W: Andres Colon(6-7 4.68) L: Juan Miranda(5-9 4.56) SV: none
That is why I did not want to get overly optimistic.

August 5th

Expos Hold on to 5-4 Win

Getting offensive support from Tim McKusick, the Montreal Expos topped the Memphis Bolts, 5-4. McKusick went 1-3 with a home run. He drove in 3 runs and scored once for the Expos. Kevin Cowden notched his 22nd save in 26 chances. Montreal is 50-58 and Memphis, with the loss, 48-59.

With Montreal leading 2-0 in the top of the third, McKusick hit a splitter from Alfonso de Jesus for a 3-run home run. It was his 4th home run of the season and put the Expos ahead, 5-0.

"It never gets old," said McKusick. "Winning, that is." The free agent signing is batting .216-4-18 .676OPS -0.2WAR in 25 games.

Austin Roy(R, 6-8 3.46) - Jose Archuleta(R, 0-3 6.05) tomorrow. Third try for the 24-year old to win a job.

SP Marty Murrietta 5.2P 7H 4R 4ER 3BB 5K W
2B Robby Weltzer 2-4 R SB(15)
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 R
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 R RBI
DH Tim McKusick 1-3 R 3RBI HR PotG
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-3 R RBI HR
SS Rick Meilleur 1-4
CF Chris Allen 1-4
HR MON: Mah(5), McKusick(4)
HR MEM: Diaz(8)
W: Marty Murrietta(10-8 4.00) L: Chad Orlich(3-9 3.29) SV: Kevin Cowden(22 5.09)
Orlich left injured after 2.1 innings so their pen had to bleed a lot of innings here.

August 6th

Expos Win Game 9-3, Lose V-Rod

The Montreal Expos locked up a win at Bolts Grounds, knocking off the Memphis Bolts, 9-3. On the mound for Montreal was right-hander Austin Roy. He played a major role in the triumph. The Expos, at 51-58, sit in third place in the Eastern League North East Division.

"Austin gave us everything he had," said Montreal manager Aaron McCreery. He worked six innings of 1-run ball and collected his 7th win.

Montreal won the game in part because of Tim McKusick. The designated hitter ripped a run-scoring double in the top of the first inning to put the Expos ahead, 1-0. For the game, McKusick had 1 double and 1 home run in 5 at-bats.

The bad news however, were on center fielder Vicente Rodriguez. On a groundball off the bad of Dave Grochowski, Rodriguez collided with Memphis second baseman Carlos Chavez and had to be taken out of the ballgame. He was diagnosed with a hamstring strain and will be out for 4 weeks.

Dan Hinton(R, 6-7 3.58) - Adam O’Herron(L, 3-4 4.43) tomorrow. Another former BOS star, $25.2M contract that got dumped at the deadline here.

SP Austin Roy 6P 3H 1R 1ER 4BB 5K W PotG
CF Vicente Rodriguez 2-2 R hamstring strain 4 weeks
1B Dave Grochowski 0-3 R RBI BB
DH Tim McKusick 2-5 2R 2RBI DB HR
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-5 2R 2RBI HR
3B Orlando Gonzalez 2-5 R RBI DB
SS Mitku Kazemd 3-5 R RBI DB
2B Robby Weltzer 0-3 R RBI BB SB(16)
CF Chris Allen 2-4 RBI
HR MON: Benavides(11), McKusick(5)
HR MEM: none
W: Austin Roy(7-8 3.37) L: Jose Archuleta(0-4 7.78) SV: none
We lost one player in V-Rod, they lost their starter and a reliever to injury… tough one.

August 7th

Transactions:
CF Vicente Rodriguez(24, 2.5*, .257-2-+26 .628OPS 0.6WAR) was placed in the 10-day IL and recent trade acquisition CF Bobby Martinez(24, 2.5*) was promoted to NMLB to take over the center field job. Martinez came over from San José two weeks ago and is a 60 rated center field defender that can steal some bases, but won’t hit as much as V-Rod.

Expos Blank Memphis, 4-0

Good production from right fielder Chris Allen helped the Montreal Expos topple the Memphis Bolts, 4-0. Allen went 1 for 3 with a home run, while adding 3 RBI and scoring once for the Expos. Montreal has 3 straight wins, Memphis 3 straight losses.

Early in the game, Allen had a 3-run home run for Montreal. It was his 4th home run of the season and put the Expos on top, 3-0.

"I'm trying to see the ball big, see the ball up in the zone and put the barrel on it," Allen told the Montreal Daily News. The backup outfielder is batting .235-4-13 .723OPS 5/6SB in 23 games with the Expos.

Miguel Ricketts(R, 9-7 4.30) - Sam Griffin(R, 10-9 4.69) tomorrow. 2nd in the WL PotY voting last season.

SP Dan Hinton 4.2P 4H 0R 0ER 0BB 4K ND sore thumb 2 days
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4 SB(17)
DH Matt Talbert 1-4 R RBI HR
SS Orlando Gonzalez 1-4 DB
3B Mitku Kazemd 2-4 R
CF Bobby Martinez 1-3 R First NMLB hit
CF Chris Allen 1-3 R 3RBI HR PotG
HR MON: Allen (4), Talbert(6)
HR MEM: none
W: Cesar Alvarado(3-0 1.38) L: Adam O’Herron(3-5 4.43) SV: Kevin Cowden(23 5.05)
Danny gave us a little scare but it was only a little thumb injury. The pen recovered nicely and Cowden got into a rhythm lately.

Record: 52-58, 3rd in EL Northeast, 6.5GB
Week: 4-3 (1-2@ CHI, 3-1 @ MEM)
Power Rankings: #13(-2)
Runs scored: 425(12th)
Runs against: 431(6th)
Starters ERA: 3.97(7th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.15(2nd)
Defensive Eff.: .717(1st)
Zone Rating: +31.3(1st)
Fan Interest: 76(+-0)

Who's hot?
SP Dan Hinton 2G 0-1 1.42 12.2IP 10K
SP Austin Roy 2G 2-0 1.38 13.0IP 13K
1B Matt Talbert 11G 10-21 .476 4HR 10RBIs

Who's not?
RHSP Sam Griffin 3G 1-2 8.40 15IP 8K
C Kevin Craddock 6G 2-22 .090 0HR 2RBI

News:
August 1st – The Seattle Mariners had a fun day at the park, beating the Portland Bears 16-4 today, and two Mariners had a lot of fun in particular in this one. RF Manny Villeda(24, 3*, .268-24-69 .837OPS 2.4WAR), the 2020 WL Rookie of the Year went 5-6 3R with singles only, and 4x Gold Glover 1B Toki Asakura(35, 3.5*, .267-17-48 .844 2.4WAR) went 5-5 6R 4RBI DB TP BB 2HR in a big night.

August 8th - Washington 2B Carlos Sustache(24, 2.5*) was named EL Player of the Week after going 11-20 2HR 7RBI 4R. The Rookie is batting .289-4-13 .780OPS 0.4WAR in 29 games.

August 8th - San Francisco LF Mark Schwarz(26, 3*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 12-26 5HR 9RBI 8R. The 2022 WL All-Star is batting .368-12-46 1.007OPS 2.9WAR in 76 games.

Next: 2vs Arizona Diamondbacks(63-47), 1vs Boston Aeros(58-51), 3vs New York Mets(45-64)

--

We salvaged a winning week and now have two division leaders up next for three games, and then the worst team in baseball in this home stand. This team is in to give me and its fans surprises like you would not imagine, so everything from 6-0 to 0-6 next week is in the cards… As for some reinforcements, Ian Messer is 2 weeks away from recovering from is fractured bones… bad news.

[Griever20]

Week 19: 2vs Arizona Diamondbacks(63-47), 1vs Boston Aeros(58-51), 3vs New York Mets(45-64)

August 8th
Offday

August 9th

Diamondbacks Score Late, Top Expos, 7-3

The Arizona Diamondbacks saddled the Montreal Expos with a loss at Olympic Stadium. The final score was 7-3. Alex Ibarra was 2 for 3, including 1 single and 1 home run. "It's the best feeling when you come through for your teammates," said Ibarra.

The Arizona designated hitter scored 2 runs and drove in 2. The win gives Arizona a season record of 64-47.

Josh Haddad, who is tied for 6th in the WL in doubles with 27, helped out the Arizona cause in the top of the ninth inning with a run-scoring walk. For the game, the center fielder was 1 for 4 with a walk. Their leadoff hitter and 2x Gold Glover is batting .276-9-35 .777OPS 19/30SB 3.5WAR in 94 games.

Tony Romero(R, 5-6 3.05) - Juan Miranda(R, 5-9 4.56) tomorrow. One of their team captains.

SP Sam Griffin 7P 5H 3R 3ER 1BB 7K ND
1B Dave Grochowski 1-2 R BB
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-3 R BB
DH Tim McKusick 1-3 R BB
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-0-4 R SB(6)
3B Orlando Gonzalez 2-4 2RBI SB(5)
DH Matt Talbert 1-4 R RBI HR
SS Orlando Gonzalez 2-4 2RBI SB(5)
CF Bobby Martinez 1-4 SB(1)
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3 BB
HR ARI: Ibarra(7), Martinez(29)
HR MON: none
W: J.D. Dean(2-1 4.17) L: Kevin Cowden(2-7 5.93) SV: none
Cowden fudged up again… We lacked extra base hits today as well, tough game to lose with 4ER in the ninth.

August 10th

Miranda With Six Scoreless in 4-1 Expos Win

Juan Miranda, who is tied for 8th in the EL with a 8.7 K/9 rate, was locked in. The right-hander led the Montreal Expos to a 4-1 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Olympic Stadium. The winner was Miranda. He threw 6.0 innings of shutout ball.

"If you pitch well, you give yourself some opportunities," said Montreal manager Aaron McCreery. The loser was Tony Romero. The Expos, at 53-59, inhabit third place in the Eastern League North East Division.

Huai-yu Mah had a big 2-run double for the Expos in the bottom of the first inning. With Montreal leading 1-0 and runners on 1st and 2nd, he got a curveball from Tony Romero, who is tied for 8th in the WL with a 1.16 WHIP, and swatted a double to left-center. It was his 11th double of the season, and more importantly, it put the Expos ahead, 3-0. The 27-year old is batting .264-5-21 .699OPS 0.3WAR in 62 games.

Steve Behanna(R, 1-2 4.86) - Marty Murrietta(R, 10-8 4.00) tomorrow. Recent trade acquisition from WSH.

SP Juan Miranda 6IP 2H 0R 0ER 2BB 7K W PotG
2B Robby Weltzer 0-3 R
1B Dave Grochowski 2-3 R BB
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-4 R RBI DB
DH Tim McKusick 1-4 R RBI
RF Huai-yu Mah 2-4 2RBI
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-4
HR ARI: none
HR MON: none
W: Juan Miranda(6-9 4.35) L: Tony Romero(5-7 3.14) SV: Adam Rudolph(8 2.05)
The top six of our lineup all reached base at least once and that was enough for Miranda.

August 11th

Aeros Win 1-game Series with 10-3 Rout

The Boston Aeros withstood an impressive performance by Montreal left fielder Ignacio Benavides to defeat the Expos, 10-3, at Olympic Stadium. Benavides went 3-4 with a home run, a double, and a walk, while adding 2 RBI and scoring once. Steve Behanna got the win, improving to 2-0. He held the Expos to 2 runs on 5 hits over 5.2 innings, while striking out 4 and walking 4. The first-place Aeros, at 61-52, now lead their division by 2½ games.

Boston used a clutch at-bat from Ross Saavedra to capture the win. The catcher hammered a 3-run home run in the top of the fourth inning to put the Aeros ahead, 5-2. It was his lone hit in 4 at-bats, but it was a humdinger. The 28-year old is batting .163-4-10 .525OPS -0.2WAR in 32 games.

"Solid performance from our side," said Aeros manager Tony Rodriguez. Things took a turn for the worse for the home team from Montreal when in the third inning, Marty Murrietta hit Aeros first baseman Manny Rodriguez, resulting in a bench clearing brawl and an ejection for both.

Joel Gaspar(L, 5-5 4.12) - Austin Roy(R, 7-8 3.37) tomorrow. 4x All Star that is 0-2 against us with an ERA of 8.16

SP Marty Murrietta 2.2IP 3H 2R 2ER 0BB 4K ND
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4 BB DB
1B Dave Grochowski 2-5 R
LF Ignacio Benavides 3-4 R 2RBI BB DB HR PotG
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-5
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3
CF Bobby Martinez 1-3 RBI DB
HR BOS: Aguilar(21), Saavedra(4)
HR MON: Benavides(12)
W: Steve Behanna(2-0 2.77) L: John Mannino(1-2 4.33) SV: none
Murrietta didn’t exactly help us today.

August 12th

Stuart Hits 2 Home Runs as Mets Hammer Expos 12-6

New York first baseman Seb Stuart played a vital role in his team's 12-6 conquest of Montreal. He hit 2 home runs. He drove in 3 runs and scored twice for New York. The backup first baseman improved to hit .161-8-15 .615OPS -0.5WAR in 38 games.

"Nice to tuck this win away," said Stuart.

The win belonged to Darrell Weber in relief. His record improves to 1-3. Austin Roy took the loss for Montreal. The victory puts New York at 46-67.

New York relied on the hitting of David Steiner to pick up the win. The center fielder ripped a 2-run triple in the top of the third inning to put the Mets on top, 8-3. For the game, Steiner had 1 triple and 2 singles in 4 at-bats.

Josh Eisenberg(L, 4-13 4.51) - Dan Hinton(R, 6-7 3.45) tomorrow. Someone to pitch a good game for us please?

SP Austin Roy 2.1IP 10H 8R 8ER 0BB 1K L
2B Robby Weltzer 2-4 R BB
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-5
1B Dave Grochowski 3-5 3R RBI HR
DH Matt Talbert 2-4 R BB DB
SS Orlando Gonzalez 2-5 3RBI
CF Bobby Martinez 1-4 R RBI HR
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-3 BB
HR NYM: Garcia(10), Stuart 2(8)
HR MON: Grochowski(11), Martinez(1)
W: Darrell Weber(1-3 4.66) L: Austin Roy(7-9 3.87) SV: none
Roy was baaad today. Just when we thought we got the pitching under control.

August 13th

Hinton Leades Expos to 7-2 Win

Montreal Expos starter Dan Hinton pitched well against the New York Mets at Olympic Stadium, leading his team to a win, 7-2. Montreal now sports a record of 54-61.

Hinton allowed no runs on 3 hits over 7.1 innings for the Expos. He walked 3 and struck out 7.

"We played hard and won," said Hinton. "Sometimes, baseball really is that easy.'

Nelson Flores(R, 7-8 4.76) - Sam Griffin(R, 10-9 4.65) tomorrow. My favorite low stamina starter.

SP Dan Hinton 7.1IP 3H 0R 0ER 3BB 7K W PotG
2B Robby Weltzer 2-5 R RBI TP SB(18)
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-5 2R RBI DB SB(7)
1B Dave Grochowski 3-5 R 3RBI HR
DH Matt Talbert 1-4 R
SS Orlando Gonzalez 2-4 R RBI HR
3B Mitku Kazemd 2-4 DB
CF Bobby Martinez 1-3 R RBI BB
HR NYM: Guidry(17)
HR MON: Grochowski(12), Gonzalez(7)
W: Dan Hinton(7-7 3.27) L: Jesse Eisenberg(4-14 4.71) SV: none
Danny with a gem and the bats came alive… enough. Grok with a great day.

August 14th

Expos Blank Mets, 3-0, Behind Griffin

Montreal right-hander Sam Griffin pitched his team to victory over the New York Mets at Olympic Stadium. The final score was 3-0. The winning pitcher was Griffin, now 11-9. He tossed 8 innings of 5-hit ball, while walking 2 and fanning 2. The Expos now have a record of 55-61 with the win over New York.

Ignacio Benavides had a big run-scoring double for the Expos in the bottom of the fifth inning. With Montreal leading 1-0 and a runner on 1st, he got a splitter from Nelson Flores, who finished 2nd in the EL in ERA with 3.24 in 2012, and swatted a double to left-center. It was his 19th double of the season, and more importantly, it put the Expos ahead, 2-0.

"It was a solid team effort," said Benavides after the game. The 25-year old is batting .253-12-50 .734OPS 1.3WAR in 103 games.

Juan Miranda(R, 6-9 4.35) - Josh Dalton(L, 8-1 4.01) the day after tomorrow. 15 relief appearances, but he keeps collecting W’s

SP Sam Griffin 8IP 5H 0R 0ER 2BB 2K W PotG
CF Bobby Martinez 1-4 R SB(2)
1B Dave Grochowski 3-4 R RBI
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-3 RBI BB DB
2B Mitku Kazemd 1-3 R BB
SS Orlando Gonzalez 1-4
RF Huai-yu Mah 2-4 R
HR NYM: none
HR MON: none
W: Sam Griffin(11-9 4.38) L: Jesse Eisenberg(4-14 4.71) SV: Adam Rudolph(9 2.00)
Griffin did one hell of a job today!

Record: 55-61, 3rd in EL Northeast, 6.5GB
Week: 3-3 (1-1vs ARI, 0-1vs BOS, 2-1vs NYM)
Power Rankings: #16(-3)
Runs scored: 451(11th)
Runs against: 463(6th)
Starters ERA: 3.95(8th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.40(3rd)
Defensive Eff.: .717(1st)
Zone Rating: +35.4(1st)
Fan Interest: 75(-1)

Who's hot?
SP Dan Hinton 2G 1-0 0.00 12.0IP 11K
1B Matt Talbert 15G 13-30 .433 4HR 10RBIs
1B Dave Grochowski 6G 14-23 .609 2HR 5RBI

Who's not?
RHRP Kevin Cowden 21G 11SV 9.33 18.1IP 18K
C Kevin Craddock 8G 2-28 .071 0HR 2RBI

News:
August 9th - Las Vegas RHSP Chris Harkless(24, 5*) pitched a beauty today, 8IP 2H 0ER 1BB 8K in a 1-0 win over Denver. The young phenom and 2022 All-Star is 12-4 2.81 144K 4.4WAR in 23 starts, leading the WL in ERA and pitchers WAR.

August 12th - Arizona CF Josh Haddad(27, 3*) collected five hits today in a 8-5 win over the Seahawks, going 5-5 4R RBI 3DB with a swiped bag. The 2x Gold Glover is batting .286-9-36 .799OPS 20/31SB 4.0WAR in 96 games.

August 14th - Aeros SS Tim Kessler(25, 4*) lost something precious, in his case, a 20-game hitting streak in a 12-5 win over the Philadelphia Grizzlies. The 4th overall pick in 2018 is batting .293-10-41 .748OPS 3.8WAR in 105 games.

August 15th - Montreal 1B Dave Grochowski(23, 3.5*) was named EL Player of the Week after going 14-23 2HR 5RBI 11R. The rookie is batting .353-12-67 .937OPS 4.2WAR in 112 games.

August 15th - San José 1B Bill Matthews(29, 4*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 12-26 2HR 6RBI 4R. The 3x WL All-Star is batting .324-18-73 .913OPS 3.4WAR in 111 games.

Next: 3@ San Diego Padres(66-49), 3@ Boston Aeros(61-55)

--

Grok. Just. Keeps. Hitting. He probably won’t beat the league record of a batting average of .3705 by future Wall of Legends CF Jonathan Taylor for the season, but I think the batting title and the Rookie of the Year Award are pretty sure.

As for some shy playoff hopes, the Grizzlies are now 6.5 games ahead, Boston six and we are 8.5GB in the Wild Card. The team would need to the 18-9 July form for the rest of the season tho...

[Griever20]

Week 20: 3@ San Diego Padres(66-49), 3@ Boston Aeros(61-55)

August 15th
Offday

August 16th

Cervantes Homers Twice as Expos Take 9-6 Win

Gabriel Cervantes helped his team muscle past the San Diego Padres, 9-6. In the game, the Montreal catcher hit 2 home runs. The recent trade acquisition is batting .295-15-55 .843OPS 3.2WAR between MON and KCR.

Adam Rudolph notched his 10th save in 11 chances. Montreal has now won 3 straight, while the Padres have lost 3 in a row. "We swung the bats good throughout the lineup," said Montreal skipper Aaron McCreery.

Huai-yu Mah helped out the Montreal cause in the top of the seventh inning with a run-scoring double. For the game, the right fielder went 1-4 with a double, while adding 2 RBI and scoring once.

Marty Murrietta(R, 10-8 4.06) - Joe Baier(R, 9-9 3.25) tomorrow. 25-year old, 4/5* rated stud that is a bit fragile.

SP Juan Miranda 6IP 6H 4R 3ER 1BB 2K W
2B Robby Weltzer 1-5 R 2RBI
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-5
1B Dave Grochowski 2-5 R RBI HR
C Gabriel Cervantes 4-4 2R 2RBI 2HR PotG
SS Orlando Gonzalez 2-4 2R BB
3B Mitku Kazemd 2-5 R DB
CF Bobby Martinez 3-5 R RBI
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-4 R 2RBI DB
HR MON: Grochowski(13), Cervantes 2(15)
HR SDP: Gonzalos 2(34), LaFleur(9)
W: Juan Miranda(7-9 4.35) L: Bryan Nickens(3-2 2.90) SV: Adam Rudolph(10 1.96)
Cervantes highlighted a 16 hit offense today.

August 17th

Padres Walk it Off in Tenth!

The San Diego Padres walked off with a big win.

Joe Baier, who is tied for 3rd in the WL in complete games with 1, was locked in. The right-hander led the San Diego Padres to a 5-4 win against the Montreal Expos at PETCO Park. San Diego pitcher Perry Bunn got the win, upping his record to 6-3. Adam Rudolph got the loss.

"Joe is a tough competitor," said San Diego manager Greg Kramer. The triumph puts San Diego at 67-50 for the season.

The decisive blow was delivered by David Dose in the bottom of the tenth when he hit a solo home run off fireballing right-hander Adam Rudolph to win the game for San Diego. The home crowd went nuts. The 29-year old 2021 WL All-Star is batting .270-6-46 .714OPS 25/28SB 1.6WAR in 104 games.

Austin Roy(R, 7-9 3.87) - Jerry Sullivan(R, 8-9 4.35) tomorrow. 2x All-Star

SP Marty Murrietta 4.2IP 2H 1R 1ER 5BB 4K ND
1B Dave Grochowski 2-4 2R BB DB
C Gabriel Cervantes 3-5 R RBI
DH Tim McKusick 0-4 R BB
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 RBI
RF Huai-yu Mah 0-3 RBI
CF Bobby Martinez 1-4
HR MON: none
HR SDP: Dose(6)
W: Perry Bunn(6-3 3.49) L: Adam Rudolph(0-2 2.15) SV: none
Murrietta was wild again and didn’t last five. Tough loss for Rudolph who only faced one batter.

August 18th

Sullivan Goes Distance in 11-2 Win over Montreal

The San Diego Padres picked up a win at PETCO Park, downing the Montreal Expos, 11-2. On the mound for San Diego was right-hander Jerry Sullivan, who played a pivotal role in the win. San Diego now has a record of 68-50 with the win.

Sullivan, who finished 2nd in the WL in wins with 17 last year, pitched a complete game for San Diego. Sullivan surrendered 5 hits over 9 innings and struck out 8. With the win, he moves to 9-9 on the season.

"Obviously, you want to go out there and be good every time out," said Sullivan. "I take the ball every day with the same mindset."

Dan Hinton(R, 7-7 3.27) - Patrick Kellemeyn(L, 12-6 4.72) tomorrow. Workhorse, but never got his ERA under 4.50.

SP Austin Roy 3.2IP 6H 6R 6ER 2BB 3K L
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-4 R
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-4
CF Bobby Martinez 1-3 R RBI
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3 RBI
HR MON: none
HR SDP: Gonzalos(35), McBride(13)
W: Jerry Sullivan(9-9 4.11) L: Austin Roy(7-10 4.17) SV: none
We had nothing today.

August 19th

Alexander Slugs Aeros to 6-5 Win

A good performance from left fielder Kurt Alexander helped the Boston Aeros defeat the Montreal Expos, 6-5. Alexander was 2 for 3 with 2 home runs and a walk. He drove in 3 runs and scored twice for the Aeros. The win gives Boston a season record of 64-56.

With Boston trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth, Alexander hit a sinker from Dan Hinton for a 2-run home run. It was his 23rd home run of the season and put the Aeros ahead, 6-5.

"It's nice to step up when your team needs you," said Alexander. The 2x Silver Slugger is batting .238-23-63 .801OPS 1.3WAR in 111 games.

Sam Griffin(R, 11-9 4.38) - Brian Peduzzi(R, 5-9 4.45) tomorrow. Actually his first start this season against us.

SP Austin Roy 4.2IP 6H 6R 6ER 1BB 7K L
2B Robby Weltzer 1-4 R RBI HR
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-4 R DB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4 R 2RBI HR
CF Bobby Martinez 1-4 R RBI HR
SS Rich Meilleur 1-2 R RBI HR
HR MON: Weltzer(8), Martinez(2), Meilleur(2), Grochowski(14)
HR BOS: Alexander 2(23), Aguilar(22)
W: A.J. Pinkerton(1-0 4.85) L: Dan Hinton(7-8 3.54) SV: Paul Ide(27 3.88)
We knocked their starter out in five as well, but they got one run more out of Danny.

August 20th

#12 for Griffin as Aeros Suffer 5-3 Home Defeat

Montreal registered a win at Fenway Park by beating the Boston Aeros, 5-3. Pitcher Sam Griffin was one reason why the Expos triumphed. The second-place Aeros dropped to 64-57.

Montreal used a clutch at-bat from Kevin Craddock to capture the win. The catcher hammered a 3-run home run in the top of the fourth inning to put the Expos ahead, 3-1. It was his lone hit in 4 at-bats, but it was a humdinger.

"I'm just looking for a good pitch that I can hit well," said Craddock. "And not try to do too much." The backup catcher is batting .208-3-21 .575OPS -0.1WAR in 62 games.

Juan Miranda(R, 7-9 4.35) - Jordan Arroyo(R, 2-2 5.16) tomorrow. Fragile replacement level arm.

SP Sam Griffin 6IP 4H 2R 2ER 0BB 6K W PotG
2B Robby Weltzer 2-5 R
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-4 RBI
RF Huai-yu Mah 2-4 R
3B Orlando Gonzalez 0-3 R BB
C Kevin Craddock 1-4 R 3RBI HR
CF Bobby Martinez 1-3 R RBI BB HR
HR MON: Craddock(3), Martinez(3)
HR BOS: Barrales(5), Munoz(11)
W: Sam Griffin(12-9 4.32) L: Brian Peduzzi(5-10 4.59) SV: Adam Rudolph(11 2.11)
Griffin somehow has the most wins AGAIN despite being the fourth best starter on our team based on talent.

August 21st

Expos Takes Series with Close 4-2 Win

The Montreal Expos knocked off the Boston Aeros, 4-2, in Eastern League action at Fenway Park. Montreal pitcher and Boyden, Iowa, native Juan Miranda had an outstanding performance. The winning pitcher was Miranda, now 8-9. He tossed 5.2 innings of 5-hit ball, while walking 3 and fanning 8.

"The only difference is executing pitches and not executing pitches," said Miranda. "When you don't execute, you get beat. When you execute, you usually give your team a chance to win." Adam Rudolph earned the save, his 12th in 13 tries.

Gabriel Cervantes aided the Montreal cause with a run-scoring double in the top of the sixth. For the game, the catcher was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk, while adding 2 RBI and scoring once. The 27-year old is batting .296-15-58 .838OPS 3.5WAR in 93 games.

The third-place Expos bumped their record to 58-64.

Walt Laidlaw(R, 5-11 5.10) - Marty Murrietta(R, 10-8 3.98) the day after tomorrow. 0-1 against us this year.

SP Juan Miranda 5.2IP 5H 2R 2ER 3BB 8K W PotG
1B Dave Grochowski 2-4 R DB
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-3 R 2RBI BB DB
DH Tim McKusick 1-4 RBI DB
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-4
SS Rich Meilleur 1-4
CF Bobby Martinez 1-4 R DB
LF Chris Allen 2-4 R RBI DB
HR MON: none
HR BOS: none
W: Juan Miranda(8-9 4.30) L: Jordan Arroyo(2-3 4.04) SV: Adam Rudolph(12 2.06)
Two out of three from a division rival always feels great.

Record: 58-64, 3rd in EL Northeast, 8GB
Week: 3-3 (1-2@ SDP, 2-1@ BOS)
Power Rankings: #17(-1)
Runs scored: 480(11th)
Runs against: 496(8th)
Starters ERA: 4.03(9th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.47(3rd)
Defensive Eff.: .715(1st)
Zone Rating: +33.7(1st)
Fan Interest: 75(+-0)

Who's hot?
SP Sam Griffin 2G 2-0 1.26 14.1IP 8K
1B Dave Grochowski 9G 17-38 .447 4HR 8RBI

Who's not?
SP Austin Roy 2G 0-2 21.00 6IP 4K
RHRP Kevin Cowden 18G 9SV 10.80 15.0IP 17K
C Kevin Craddock 6G 1-20 .050 1HR 3RBI

News:
August 19th - Detroit LHSP Bret Engling(31, 4*) pitched a complete game 4-hitter to day to beat the Pittsburgh Kings 7-0, striking out seven and walking 2. The 3x All-Star is 10-5 3.42 109K 3.5WAR in 22 starts.

August 19th - Jacksonville 1B Sal Masariegos(30, 3/3.5*) collected a 5-6 hit game with 2R, 3RBI and a home run in a 9-8 win over Cincinnati. The 2016 WL All-Star is batting .231-7-31 .644OPS 7/9SB -0.4WAR in 68 games.

August 22nd - Detroit LF Victor Munoz(22, 3.5/4.5*) was named EL Player of the Week after going 10-18 2HR 5RBI 5R. The #6 prospect in baseball prior to the season is batting .263-3-20 .795OPS 2.0WAR in 107 games.

August 22nd - Salt Lake City CF Ken Connolly(25, 3*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 14-27 1HR 6RBI 8R. The 2021 WL Silver slugger is batting .289-15-53 .822OPS 27/37SB 4.6WAR in 113 games.

Next: 3vs Toronto Blue Jays(54-67), 3vs Philadelphia Grizzlies(65-55)

--

A home stand with a team that swept us the last time we met, and the division leaders. This will be fun. Another fun fact, the Kansas City Royals returned Rule 5 draftee 2B Joe Hawk(24, 2.5*) to us after he hit .265-13-53 .752OPS 1.4WAR in 104 games for them… he could actually be an alternative to Tim McKusick(.190-5-23 .600OPS -0.6WAR 34G).

[Griever20]

Week 21: 3vs Toronto Blue Jays(54-67), 3vs Philadelphia Grizzlies(65-55)

August 22nd
offday

August 23rd

Toronto Beats Montreal, 4-2

The Toronto Blue Jays got a stellar performance from pitcher Walt Laidlaw, who handcuffed the Montreal offense en route to a win, 4-2, at Olympic Stadium. The winning pitcher was Laidlaw, now 6-11. He tossed 5.1 innings of 3-hit ball, while walking 2 and fanning 4. Ron Palovich got the save, his 27th in 33 chances.

Who knows how it might've ended, had it not been for Miguel Huerta? The Toronto second baseman had a run-scoring double in the top of the third inning to put the Blue Jays on top, 1-0. For the game, Huerta had 1 double and 1 single in 4 at-bats.

"Nice to see our side come away with the win," Huerta said after the game. He is batting .294-8-25 .836OPS 1.9WAR in 62 games.

The Toronto winning streak has reached 4 games.

Paul Davis(R, 3-7 5.03) - Austin Roy(R, 7-10 4.17) tomorrow. Great stuff from the 23-year old, but he lacks movement and a bit of control.

SP Marty Murrietta 5.1IP 5H 1R 1ER 2BB 6K L
DH Tim McKusick 1-4
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4
3B Orlando Gonzalez 2-4 DB
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-4 R 2RBI HR
CF Bobby Martinez 1-4
HR TOR: none
HR MON: Mah(6)
W: Walt Laidlaw(6-11 4.86) L: Marty Murrietta(10-9 3.89) SV: Ron Pavlovich(27 3.52)
Hnnnnngggg. One hit from the top four of the lineup is not enough.

August 24th

Expos Score 13 to Beat Blue Jays, 13-1

The Montreal Expos beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 13-1, at Olympic Stadium. Montreal catcher Gabriel Cervantes had the hot bat. He went 2-5 with 2 home runs, while adding 4 RBI and scoring twice. The Expos, at 59-65, inhabit third place in the Eastern League North East Division.

Dave Grochowski was 3 for 5 with 3 singles, while adding 4 RBI and scoring once for Montreal. The 24-year old first baseman had a key at-bat in the bottom of the fifth. With one out and runners on 2nd and 3rd, he broke a 1-1 tie with a 2-run single off Paul Davis. It was his 149th hit of the season.

"Good pitching and timely hitting is a recipe for success," said Grochowski. He is batting .351-14-74 .938OPS 4.4WAR in 120 games en route to a batting title.

David Villalobos(R, 4-2 3.30) - Dan Hinton(R, 7-8 3.54) tomorrow. Ace-off

SP Austin Roy 7.2IP 6H 1R 1ER 2BB 8K W
2B Robby Weltzer 3-5 3R DB SB(19)
1B Dave Grochowski 3-5 R 4RBI
C Gabriel Cervantes 2-5 2R 4RBI 2HR
DH Tim McKusick 1-4 2R RBI BB
LF Ignacio Benavides 2-5 R 2RBI HR
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-4 R BB
RF Huai-yu Mah 1-4 2RBI
CF Bobby Martinez 0-3 R BB
SS Rich Meilleur 3-4 2R DB
HR TOR: none
HR MON: Cervantes 2(17), Benavides(13)
W: Austin Roy(8-10 4.00) L: Paul Davis(3-8 5.20) SV: none
WHOA, all but Bobby Martinez got at least a hit today.

August 25th

Transactions:
RF Ian Messer(26, 2.5*, .292-4-20 .811OPS 1.0WAR) recovered from his fractured bones, and was sent on a rehab assignment to AAA as he has only played 43 games so far this season.

Expos Win Wild Game in 15 Innings

The Montreal Expos defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1, in 15 innings in Eastern League action at Olympic Stadium. Montreal pitcher Dan Hinton had a standout performance. He worked 7 innings of 3-hit and 1-run ball. Montreal now owns a record of 60-65.

The decisive blow was delivered by Robby Weltzer in the bottom of the 15th when he hit a run-scoring double off 27-year old right-handed pitcher David Rodgers to win the game for Montreal. The home crowd went nuts.

Weltzer told a Montreal Daily News reporter that he felt "ecstatic" after the win. The 25-year old is batting .279-8-44 .722OPS 19/21SB 2.9WAR in 112 games.

Hugh Kieninger(R, 9-7 2.46) - Sam Griffin(R, 12-9 4.32) tomorrow. Tricky…

SP Dan Hinton 7IP 3H 1R 1ER 0BB 6K W finger blister 3 days PotG
2B Robby Weltzer 2-6 RBI DB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-5
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-6
DH Tim McKusick 1-3 SB(1)
PH/DH Matt Talbert 2-3 R RBI DB HR
LF Ignacio Benavides 0-3 thumb contusion 3 days
3B Orlando Gonzalez 1-6
SS Rich Meilleur 2-5 R BB
HR TOR: none
HR MON: Talbert(7)
W: Cesar Alvarado(4-0 1.69) L: David Rodgers(2-7 4.56) SV: none
The unsung hero was Cesar Alvarado who pitched four scoreless in relief after our closer Adam Rudolph added three. Luckily, the injuries were all none too costly.

August 26th

Expos Take 3-2 Win Behind Griffin

Fans watched the Montreal Expos and the Philadelphia Grizzlies fight to the finish.

Sam Griffin, who is tied for 4th in the EL in complete games with 2, was locked in. The right-hander led the Montreal Expos to a 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Grizzlies at Olympic Stadium. He worked 5.1 innings of 1-run ball and got the W. The Montreal win streak is now 3 games.

Bobby Martinez had a critical at-bat with two out in the bottom of the sixth for Montreal. He came through with a run-scoring single to put Montreal in front, 3-1. The young center fielder is batting .258-3-8 .749OPS 3/4SB 0.6WAR in 17 games.

"We'll pop the top on a cold beverage and get back to work tomorrow," Griffin said.

Alberto Cordoba(R, 5-2 3.51) - Juan Miranda(R, 8-9 4.30) tomorrow. Injury prone, but good.

SP Sam Griffin 5.1IP 5H 1R 0ER 2BB 3K W PotG
1B Dave Grochowski 1-2 R BB SB(5)
DH Tim McKusick 2-4 R RBI
SS Rich Meilleur 1-4 R DB
C Kyle Craddock 1-3 RBI BB DB
CF Bobby Martinez 1-3 RBI
HR TOR: Jimenez(12)
HR MON: none
W: Sam Griffin(13-9 4.17) L: Hugh Kieninger(9-8 2.52) SV: Dusty Jenkins(2 3.76)
Griffin and the pen held the fort and we got some offense by our tired lineup. Bad news, our star lefty reliever Joe Herzer collected another injury, back spasms 1 week.

August 27th

Transactions:
LHRP Joe Herzer(24, 3.5*, 3-3 2.88 59K 65.2IP 0.6WAR) was placed on the 15-day IL and AAA LHRP Pablo Mendoza(24, 2,5/3*, 1-0 15SV 1.19 18 22.2IP 0.8WAR AAA), acquired in the Cervantes deal, was promoted to NMLB.

Cordoba Now 6-2 Following 3-2 Win

Olympic Stadium was the site of a competitive game between the Montreal Expos and Philadelphia Grizzlies.

The Philadelphia Grizzlies picked up a win at Olympic Stadium, taking down the Montreal Expos, 3-2. Starting pitcher Alberto Cordoba was a big reason why. Jose Gutierrez notched his 26th save in 29 chances.

Cordoba allowed no runs on 3 hits over 7 innings for Philadelphia. With the win, the southpaw is 6-2 with an ERA of 3.09.

"Alberto was pumping the zone," said Philadelphia manager Pat Pierce.

The win puts Philadelphia at 68-58 this season.

Oscar Guzman(R, 5-8 4.66) - Marty Murrietta(R, 10-9 3.89) tomorrow. Can’t get his ERA below 4.50.

SP Juan Miranda 6.2IP 7H 3R 3ER 3BB 6K L
2B Robby Weltzer 2-3 RBI BB DB
1B Dave Grochowski 1-4
RF Huai-yu Mah 2-4
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3 R DB
CF Chris Allen 1-4 R RBI
HR PHI: none
HR MON: none
W: Alberto Cordoba(6-2 3.09) L: Juan Miranda(8-10 4.29) SV: Jose Gutierrez(26 2.70)
Miranda was good today, but we struggled with hits in the middle of the order.

August 28th

Grizzlies Take Series with 4-2 Win

Philadelphia parlayed a decent outing from starter Oscar Guzman into a solid win over the Montreal Expos. The final score was 4-2. The first-place Grizzlies, at 69-58, lead the Eastern League North East Division by 4 games.

Guzman scattered 3 hits over 8 innings for the Grizzlies. With the win, Guzman goes to 6-8 on the year with 126 strikeouts.

"Oscar mixed and matched," said Philadelphia manager Pat Pierce.

Austin Roy(R, 5-8 8-10 4.00) - Gerry Smith(L, 7-9 3.73) tomorrow. Struggles with control.

SP Marty Murrietta 5.1IP 6H 4R 4ER 3BB 8K L
1B Dave Grochowski 1-3 R DB
PH Matt Talbert 1-1 R
C Gabriel Cervantes 1-3 BB
LF Ignacio Benavides 1-4 RBI
2B Mitku Kazemd 1-3
SS Rich Meilleur 1-3
HR PHI: de Leon(24)
HR MON: none
W: Oscar Guzman(6-8 4.48) L: Marty Murrietta(10-10 4.00) SV: Colin Taylor(1 5.87)
There is a reason why those Grizzlies have that record… they are tough.

Record: 61-67, 3rd in EL Northeast, 8.5GB
Week: 3-3 (2-1vs TOR, 1-2vs PHI)
Power Rankings: #19(-2)
Runs scored: 504(11th)
Runs against: 511(5th)
Starters ERA: 3.95(9th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.34(3rd)
Defensive Eff.: .715(1st)
Zone Rating: +34.6(1st)
Fan Interest: 75(+-0)

Who's hot?
SP Sam Griffin 3G 3-0 0.92 19.2IP 11K

Who's not?
SP Austin Roy 3G 1-2 9.88 13.2IP 12K
RHRP Kevin Cowden 19G 8SV 10.47 16.1IP 20K
IF Orlando Gonzalez 5G 2-21 .095 0HR 0RBI

News:
August 26th - Vancouver C Jake Williams(26, 5*) collected a big 5-hit game today in a 9-7 win over the Marlins, going 5-5 R 5RBI HR. The 2x All-Star is batting .305-17-58 .850OPS 4.0WAR in 95 games.

August 28th - Oakland LF Tye Dowling(28, 3.5*) saw the longest hitting streak of the year end today, 26 games. The 2019 WL All-Star is batting .315-26-76 .879OPS 2.4WAR in 111 games.

August 29th - Chicago 1B Justin Farrell(27, 4*) was named EL Player of the Week after going 12-24 2HR 10RBI 6R. The 3x All-Star is batting .280-20-75 .861OPS 2.5WAR in 108 games.

August 29th - San José 1B Nate McClory(23, 3*) was named WL Player of the Week after going 12-26 4HR 10RBI 8R. The rookie is batting .317-15-58 .934OPS 2.8WAR in 84 games.

Next: 3@ Miami Marlins(54-72), 4vs Washington Nationals(56-71)