PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #24

Boy, how often has this statement been made in the MWBL, “Sacramento, the worse team in the league is coming to town”. Not often if ever.

Well, Sacramento may be the worse team in the league but the Nor’easters aren’t far behind. As would be fitting in a six game series between 2 teams at the bottom it was a close series. Jersey wins the 1st game 4-0 behind all-star Brad Hand’s one hit complete game shutout. Sacramento wins the last game 1-0 behind equal all-star Kyle Kendrick’s complete game 3-hitter. The teams play 4 one-run games and 3 extra inning games. It was only fair that the series was split 3-3.

Tijuana holding onto the top spot in the A.L. Central, heads to Chicago who hopes to pick up a few games in the race.

Tanner Roark (2-1 2.44) goes 7 strong, followed up by Neal Cotts who picks up his 26th save on the season. Justin Upton’s 2 run Home Run is all that is needed.Final Score: Tijuana 2 – Chicago 1

Zack Greinke (17-8 2.76) with 2 outs in the 9th gives up a solo shot to Adam Dunn, but Tijuana scores more. Joe Mauer is 3 for 5 with a Home Run & 2 RBI’s.Final Score: Tijuana 5 – Chicago 1

Homer Bailey (18-6 2.38) goes the distance allowing only a solo Home Run to James Loney for the Mobsters. Edwin Encarnacion & Humberto Quintero both Homer for the Bottle Rockets.Final Score: Tijuana 4 – Chicago 1

Adam Wainwright (18-6 1.91) goes 7 innings, and four Chicago relievers hold the Bottle Rockets at bay. Aroldis Chapman picks up his 36th save on the season. Buster Posey is 3 for 4 with 2 Doubles & 2 RBI’s.Final Score: Chicago 3 – Tijuana 2

Anibal Sanchez (17-4 1.41) & Neal Cotts (Save #27) hold the Mobsters to 2 runs. Edwin Encarnacion Homers & drives in 3 RBI’s for the Bottle Rockets.Final Score: Tijuana 5 – Chicago 2

With the score tied at 3 each in the bottom of the 9th, Chicago chips across the winning run. Encarnacion Homers for the Bottle Rockets, Chase Headley & Sean Rodriguez both Homer for the Mobsters..Final Score: Chicago 4 – Tijuana 3

Tijuana takes the series 4 games to 2. Tijuana’s magic number is now down to 3 games. Chicago falls further down in the Division Standings & quite possibly might actually miss the playoffs if Coconut Creek has a good week against Dallas.

Pittsburgh takes 4 of 6 from Elyria.

CCC seems to always play up or down to the competition we face.This series needs to break that pattern.

Nice pitching duel between Corbin and Jimenez. Ubaldo is just a little bit better this time. 8 IP, 2 H and no runs as CCC wins 2-0.

Dallas beats up on Colon a little but the CCC offense cranked up a little behind HR’s from Soriano and Brown. CCC wins 6-3.

CCC goes back to back to back to back in the 1st inning to start the rout.Garza and the bullpen coast to an easy 9-0 CCC win.

a 2-run HR by Napoli gave CCC a 4-0 lead in the 1st inning. Santana and the bullpen barely made that stand up in a 4-3 CCC win.

Feldman and the bullpen cruised into the 9th inning with a 6-1 lead.  Dallas offense then shows a spark and CCC ends up calling on Melancon to save the game with the tying run at the plate. He gets his 4th save of the series and preserves a 6-3 CCC win.

As in Game-1, Corbin and Jimenez lock up in a pitching duel.CCC takes a 2-1 lead into the 9th. With Melancon tired, Medina and then Henderson manage to give up a run and send the game to extra innings. With 1 out in the bottom of the 10th Mercer singled. He stole 2nd and was promptly singled in by Holliday for a 3-2 CCC win.

The Crushers finally play a strong series against a rebuilding team.
A sweep is exactly what we needed.

Playoffs are probably out of reach…but the head to head match-ups are always fun.

A great start to the series. Shields vs. Strasburg lived up to advance billing. DET’s Jhonny Peralta chipped in the games only homer, but the home team managed to squeak out the opener. YSS 3 – DET 2

A good back and forth game. Gerrit Cole went 7 and the offense scored 2 late runs to snatch game 2. YSS 5 – DET 3

Ivan Nova tossed 8 brilliant shutout innings. The home team has taken the first 3 games. Seth Smith homered and plated 3. YSS 6 – DET 0

Who the F%#@ is Donovan Hand? DET’s surprise ace pitched the Crime to their first win of the series. Shelby Miller pitched well and knocked out Bryce Harper for 11 days, but took the loss. DET 2 – YSS 0

Mat Latos was just a bit better than MadBum. David Wright was one of 3 Stalkers to homer. YSS 4 – DET 1

DET finished strong, taking advantage of Esmil Rogers. Ichiro & Machado each drove home 3 runs to lead the way behind Scotty Kazmir. DET 9 – YSS 4

YSS takes it 4 games to 2, and prepares to play the spoiler role vs. CCC and TIJ to end the year. DET visits SBL and finishes at home vs a CHI team fighting for the playoffs.

Snappers take on the powerhouse Tempers.

Tempe 8-0. Matt Cain (11-3) tosses a 3 hitter.

Valdosta 9-8 (11 Innings). Snappers scored 3 in the 9th to tie it and win it on Jason Bay’s PH HR in the 11th to make a winner of Kimbrel (5-1).

Tempe 12-3. CarGo hit 3 HR’s to lead the Tempers offense.

Tempe 2-1. A 9th inning Cuddyer HR was the game winner.

Valdosta 4-2. Teheran (11-10) and company were able to shut down the Tempers offense.

Tempe 9-0. Matt Cain with another 3 hit shutout.

Tempe wins 4 of 6.

Manhattan, always thin on hitting, is leading the Eastern Division by 7 games, but now has key injuries and has to re-order its rotation so their ace pitchers are pushed back in the rotation.Clovis, has exactly the same record as Manhattan (87-57) is 2d in the Western Division and is battling tenaciously for a wild card spot.

Manhattan 12-4Clovis jumps to the lead, scoring 3 off Worley in the first inning.

Then Manhattan tests the A-Bomb and explodes for 8 runs in the 2nd inning.

Nine of Manhattan’s 12 runs are unearned—due to 4 Clovis fielding errors.

WP=Worley

LP=Vogelsong

Clovis 18-3Wheat King lineup destroys Pomerantz.

Clovis scores 10 runs in the 3rd inning alone.

18 hits—3 off the bullpen

WP=Paxton

LP=Pomerantz

Clovis 11-0Another offensive romp for the Wheaties, this time against Zito.

Three errors by Manhattan fielders contribute to the debacle.

Griffin hurls 6 shutout innings and the bullpen keeps Manhattan shut down.

WP=Griffin

LP=Zito

Clovis 8-6Manhattan scores 4 against Liriano and he gets pulled from the mound.

But Wheat King’s batters just keep battering Porcello.

Reyes, Belt and Byrd account for 7 of the Wheatie’s 8 runs.

Manhattan loads the bases in the 8th, but none score.

WP=Richards

SV=Grilli

LP=Porcello

Manhattan 4-3Clovis opened the game by immediately scoring 3 in the first inning against Medlen.

Manhattan then immediately scored 4 against Gonzalez in the bottom of the first.

The score remained frozen for the rest of the game—neither team even got past 2nd base.

For both teams, the top of the order did all the scoring.

WP=Medlen

SV=Smyly

LP=Gonzalez

Clovis 3-0Again, all scoring in the first inning—

Darvish issues two walks, a FC and a 3 run HR.

That’s the only scoring in the game.

Harvey pitches a No-Hitter!

Darvish has 11 K’s but walks 5 and allows 3 hits.

WP=Harvey

LP=Darvish

CLOVIS TAKES SERIES 4-2Clovis shows decent pitching and relentless hitting. The top of the Clovis batting order just keeps coming at you !!

Outlaws trying to get back into a playoff spot!

Gee goes 6.1 allowing 6 hits but only 1 run. Babe Blanco hits a HR and Mo collects save #23 as NY wins the opener.

Cloyd throws a 2 hit CG Shutout as Muscle evens series.

Carlos Beltran hits a walk off Home Run (his 2nd of game) in the bottom of the 9th. Beltran had 5 RBI this game!Ortiz went 4/5 and Gabby Sanchez (MCM) INJURED 6 DAYS!

This ones all Kuroda…..7.2 ip 3h 0 r ….NY wins 1 zip.

Another pitching gem this time by the Franchise 1st Pick Cole Hamels. He goes the distance allowing only 4 hits and 1 run while boosting his season record to 16-6 2.71

Berkman hits 2 home runs, Uribe goes 3/4 with SIX RBI!! And Mo collects save #25. Pierre INJURED 2 DAYS….NY WINS.

New York got a much needed bunch of wins as they go 5-1 in this series.

54-91 Dirt Bags visit 76-69 Thorns in a series with no post season implications.

Lester (14-4) vs. Walters (1-1)Lester tosses 8 innings of 3-run ball but it’s not enough for the W as the Dirt Bags could only plate 2.

LDB Konerko 4-4

RVT Walters (the PITCHER) 2-2, ARod tallies a HR

LDB 2 RVT 3

Carmona (0-14) vs. Pettitte (13-10)Can Carmona find a W after allowing only 1-run over 4 hits in 7 innings, no, it’s not meant to be. Long Beach were tamed today as
Pettitte tosses a 2-hit shutout.RVT Chisenhall 2-3, Qunianilla with g/w rbiLBD 0 RVT 2

Arroyo (7-12) vs. Vargas (8-9)Long Beach finally plates one in the 7th to end an 18-inning scoreless drought. Those Dirt Bags sure know how to make the Roseville staff look good! The Thorns score one in the 1st and 4th and that’s all they’ll need to take a 3-0 series lead.

RVT Aoki 3-4 w/ 2 rbi

LBD 1 RVT 2

Miley (6-13) vs. Hellweg (0-0)Dirt Bags hang a 4-spot in the 5th and plate another in the 6th to take a 5-1 lead. Miley was cruising along until the bottom of the 6th when he crossed the median and hits a semi full of Lousiville Slugger’s. The Thorns’ bat around and score 7 to take an 8-5 lead that they do not relinquish. Teams combine for 24 hits (12 a piece).

LBD Gennett 3-5 w/ 3 rbi, Konerko 3-4 w/ 1 rbi

RVT Pence 2-4 w/ 3 rbi, LaRoche 2-4 w/ 1 rbi and a double, Cozer 2-5 w/ 2 rbi and a double

LBD 5 RVT 8

Workman (3-9) vs. Masterson (12-8)Masterson dominates the day tossing a 5-hit shutout to extend the Thorns winning streak to 6 games. Long Beach still looking for their 1st win.

RVT Chisenhall 2-4 w/ 1 rbi

LBD 0 RVT 2

Lester (15-5) vs. Walters (1-1)Top 3 in the lineup go combined 7-13 with 5 runs scored and 4 rbi to help ensure the Dirt Bags don’t go home without a goodie bag. Lester goes 6 solid innings of 2-run ball to win his 15th. He’ll be looking for a raise next year.

LBD Span 2-4, Crawford, 2-4 with 2 rbi, Middlebrooks 3-5 w/ 2 rbi, Konerko 3-run shot

LBD 8 RVT 3

Roseville takes a late hot streak to nearly ensure a winning season by wrapping up the series at 80 wins. A solid 5 games over .500 they are still way off any chance for a playoff birth. It would take a complete collapse by both Camarillo and Clovis and a dip by the Outlaws for Roseville fans to smell playoff ticket ink this year.Long Beach limps home to face a strong New York squad before finally finishing in front of the home crowd against division rival
Sacramento.

Selkirk overcomes a huge blowout loss in game 1 to take the series 5 games to 1.

Many offensive stars in this one – and Kung Fu Panda goes 13 for 26 (.500) scoring 5 times, plating 6, a double and 2 HRs.

Bethesda visits SouthbendTwo teams playing out the string this season.

BET J.Arrieta vs SBL S.DiamondSBL S.Diamond continues to pitch well as he goes 7 IP giving up 1 ER on 8 hits for the W. Putz comes on formhis 17th save. SBL behind 1-0 until the 6th whne they push across 4 runs. The big hits are a Ludwick 2-run 1b and a Escobar 2-run 2b.

SBL 6, BET 2

BET E.Ramirez vs SBL E.StultsSBL jump out to early 9-2 lead after 4 innings. BET lights up SBL Famila for 6 runs in 1.1 IP to pull within 1. But Webb, Cook, and Putz hold on for a SBL win. BET Cain is 3 for 5 with a 2b and HR, Rendon is 4 for 5 with a HR. SBL gets 3 hits from Crisp and Altuve and HRs from Altuve and Colabello.

SBL 9, BET 8

BET J.McDonald vs SBL J.NieseBET jumps all over SBL J.Niese for 5 runs in the 1st. After two are out BET puts together 7 straight hits. M.Gonzalez 2-run 1b and Pacheco 2-run 2b are the big hits. SBL gets to within 2 at 5-3, but McDonald holds on through 7.1 and Raley finishes it up. McDonald picks up his 1st win of the year. SBL Trumbo hits his 27th HR.

BET 8, SBL 4

BET N.Eovaldi vs. SBL D.HollandSBL scoring starts with a Cedeno SF in the 2nd. BET Punto smacks a 3-run HR in the 3rd. BET adds two more in the 6th ona Heisey solo-HR and a Cruz rbi-2b. SBL gets a Satin rbi-2b in the 6th but can’t solve Eovaldi the rest of the way. Eovaldi finishes it up for the CG
win.BET 5, SBL 2

BET B.Morrow vs. SBL S.DiamondSBL S.Diamond continues his run as he tosses a CG giving up only 1 unearned run for the win. SBL has its way with BET pitching with the big hits being HRs form Altuve and Morse. Both Trumbo and Morse go 3 for 5 with 3 rbi.

SBL 9, BET 1

BET A.Cobb vs. SBL E.StultsBET Cobb just too much for the SBL. Cobb is dominant as he fans 8, walks none, gives up only 5 hits in route to the CG win. Cobb’s only
mistake is a solo-HR to Crisp in the 4th. BET Cain is 4 for 5 with 2 runs. Jay is also 4 for 5 with a HR.BET 5, SBL 1

Well as it should be, a series split. Cain has a good series for BET. SBL S.Diamond is the pitching star of the series winning 2 games and giving up only 1 earned run in 16 IP.

A clash of AL West rivals. HOL comes to VIR reeling from a 5-1 series set-back to ELY while VIR is fresh off a 5-1 series romp over YSS. The Werewolves are looking to get back on track and solidify their hold on first, and the Sluggers are trying to get closer to claiming a Wild Card.

VIR 4-2 Kershaw vs Scherzer. Premier match-up. Kershaw, on his way to a possible Cy Young, is sharp. 3 hits, 3 runs, 8 K’s. Scherzer is
also good, 5 hits, 2 runs, 13 K’s. Sluggers get first run on a Markakis (#17) homer. They add another on HOL error in the 5th.  Stanton’s 2-run double in the 8th is critical as J.Bruce (#30) uncorks a long ball for 2 HOL runs in the 9th.L- Kershaw (25-3)W- Scherzer (22-4)

HOL 7-1 J.Weaver vs C.Tillman. Weaver is tough and the Werewolves bullpen is shut-down good. M.Cabrera has a typical day going 3-5
with 2 runs and 2 RBI while collecting homer #43. T.Plouffe cranks a grand slam in the pivotal 6th inning.W- Weaver (13-8)L- Tillman (13-12)

VIR 4-3 R.Dempster vs J.de la Rosa. Dempster out-pitched de la Rosa but the HOL bullpen failed to hold the lead as R.Ross gave up a 2-run double in the 8th to A.Ramirez for the eventual winning runs.  Goldschmidt and Bruce accounted for all the HOL runs on homers,…Goldschmidt (#35), Bruce (#31).W- de la Rosa (12-3)

L- Ross (4-1)

HOL 5-1 T.Hudson vs C.Archer. Once again the pitching was good.  Hudson went 7.1 allowing 8 hits and 1 run. Archer, bidding for ROY
honors, went 6 allowing 1 hit and 0 runs. This time it was the VIR bullpen that fell apart. Behind 1-0 in the top of the 9th, HOL’s M.Cabrera rocked his 44th homer to send the game to the 10th. Then B.Parker gave up a 3-run jimmy jack to J.Werth (#24) and HOL  tied the series at 2-2.W- Uehara (4-4)L- Cecil (1-4)

VIR 5-1 D.Price vs T.Chatwood. Price only allowed 9 hits in his 8 innings,…but 4 of them were home runs. Chatwood, on the other hand, allowed 1 run on 7 hits in his 9 innings. Rizzo, Stanton, Schierholtz, and Segura accounted for all 5 Slugger runs on their homers.L- Price (18-7)

W- Chatwood (7-6)

HOL 4-2 C.Kershaw vs J.Garcia. Well, if you’re keeping track, each team is winning every other game. So, this shouldn’t be a surprise. Kershaw took another step toward his Cy Young, pitching 7.1, 3 hits, 2 runs, 8 K’s. Bullpen only allowed 1 base runner. Only reason VIR
scored 2 runs on 3 hits is because they hit 2 homers, Markakis (18) and Culberson (3). Funny thing is, HOL scored all their runs on homers too. They were 2-run blasts by Goldschmidt (36) and Werth (25).W- Kershaw (26-3)L- Garcia (1-3)

Well, 3-3 really didn’t help OR hurt either team. Pitching and power were factors in this series, as it has been all year. Hollywood
seems pretty well set as the WEST Division winner. They host Traverse City next and end the regular season at CCC.Virginia goes next to Fremont before finishing at home against Southbend.Will these two teams meet again?We’ll see.

Camarillo fighting for a playoff spot, Iron City not..

Series split, with some nice pitching in the last 3 games by Camarillo.

Life’s not great for these two teams that are in the bottom half of
the league.

Fremont 7, Traverse City 6Traverse City makes a comeback attempt of 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th, but come up short. Justin Morneau of the Cannons, went 2-for-4, with 2 HR’s & 2 RBI.

Traverse City 4, Fremont 2Tyler Moore hits solo HR for Crusaders, while Travis Wood pitches solid game of 7.2 innings — allowing 4 hits & 2 runs, while striking out 5. Luke Gregerson comes in and closes game out for 2nd Save.

Fremont 4, Traverse City 0Jared Cossart pitches two-hit shutout of the Crusaders. For the Crusaders this is only a bad sign for things to come.

Morneau & Nick Swisher hit solo HR’s for Cannons.

Traverse City 9, Fremont 1Jeanmar Gomez cruises through 8 innings, allowing 4 hits. He now has 4-1 record with 1.98 ERA, in a combination of starts & relief work
for T.C. this season. Steve Pearce went 2-for-5, with three-run HR.

Fremont 6, Traverse City 0Big game for Cannons, Carlos Gomez goes 3-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 steals & 2 runs. But the big news goes for Kevin Slowey who cruises through a complete game shutout, with 11 K’s, and oh yeah… and he pitched a NO-HITTER!

In Fremont & T.C.’s brief history of match-ups, they sure like to make history. If I am correct, they also had the longest game in history earlier in the season.

Traverse City 5, Fremont 3Crusaders got off to quick 5-0 start after the first two innings.  The Cannons’ three runs all came via solo HR’s by Dietrich, Chris Johnson & Gomez. While David Phelps (for most part) has yet another good outing — curious to look & see his numbers the last month for T.C. after his ERA early on was pushing 9.00, and doing everything to avoid 20 losses — improving to 7-18, and lowering ERA to 5.22.
Brett Gardner went 3-for-4 with a steal.

Both teams split 3-3 with a no-hitter by Kevin Slowey of the Fremont Cannons.