Making May Matter

The Dragons lost their grip on first place two days ago, and it has perhaps been a mental struggle for their players to settle into the reality of not being in first. Well, at least for the pitchers. Because the hitters had a pretty good day, especially Joc Pederson (3 for 5 with 2 home runs and a double), Alex Kiriloff (2 for 4 with 2 doubles) and Maikel Franco (2 for 5 with 1 double). The pitchers were not as fortunate. Corbin Martin was the biggest culprit, giving up 6 runs in 4 innings, but Tarik Skubal also gave up 2 runs in his 5 innings. Perhaps while Haviland management is enjoying his first retirement vacation (in Leavenworth), the players will be able to breathe a little easier and finish the month strongly.

 

AVG: 0.195

OBP: 0.267

SLG: 0.220

OPS: 0.486

ERA: 0.00

WHIP: 1.000

The Tornadoes are experiencing their June Swoon a few weeks too early. The hitters were awful, and no one allocated pitched, and the team fell to 2.4 games out of first place. 11 players went to the plate, and all of them but one (Paul Goldschmidt) struck out at least once, for a team total of 14 Ks. Yikes.

 

AVG: 0.086

OBP: 0.135

SLG: 0.086

OPS: 0.221

ERA: 0.82

WHIP: 0.909

The Drive figured out the secret to winning despite awful hitting – and that is exceptional pitching! The hitters, as you can see, were abysmal. 3 hits in 35 ABs – all 3 of them singles. But the pitching was, as has been the case all month for the Drive, really good. Aaron Civale went 8 innings, giving up only 1 run, and Garrett Whitlock and Rafael Montero added a combined 3 scoreless innings to lead the team to victory and .1 game closer to the leading Wolverines.

 

AVG: 0.296

OBP: 0.296

SLG: 0.481

OPS: 0.778

ERA: 0.79

WHIP: 1.228

DC had a great game yesterday on both sides of the ball. The hitting was not powerful, but it was plentiful. Nico Hoerner led the way with two hits, and every batter but two collected at least one hit. The best hitter on the day, the newly healed and reinstated to the Royals Adalberto Mondesi, went 2 for 4 with two doubles. Alas, he is benched for the Balk. The pitching was even better than the hitting, with starters Jose Berrios and Joe Musgrove tossing a combined 10.4 innings and giving up only one earned run. The Balk are in the thick of the race, bunched up with the Drive and the Tornadoes – which of them will make a break for the top in these last 5 days of the month?

 

AVG: 0.435

OBP: 0.500

SLG: 0.870

OPS: 1.370

ERA: 2.00

WHIP: 0.889

Maybe the Roo players were too dependent on Mike Trout to carry them? Something has awoken in them since Trout went down with a serious calf strain. The hitters last night were on fire – everyone who got a hit had at least two hits – and four of them were doubles while two of them were home runs. It’s difficult to know who to feature. Vladito continued his torrid hitting with a home run, Mitch Garver collected two doubles, and Alex Bregman also added a home run. The team walked 3 times and struck out only twice. The pitchers were equally impressive, led by Rich Hill’s 8 innings and 2 earned runs. The Roos are now 6.4 games behind Darth Vader, er, the Wolverines, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they finish the month within 5 games of the leaders (whoever that might be in 5 days).

 

AVG: 0.179

OBP: 0.361

SLG: 0.357

OPS: 0.718

ERA: 2.90

WHIP: 1.129

I guess it isn’t crazy to think that 5 hits and 8 walks could produce 5 runs, but it is difficult to believe. But, here it is, right in front of our faces and so believe we must! Marcu Semien went 2 for 5 with a double, and Shohei Ohtani went 1 for 3 with a home run and 2 walks. The pitching was what propelled them to a win, though. Steven Matz and Andrew Heaney were able to erase some replacement innings, by throwing 12.4 really good innings. The Cheese gained .6 games on OD with their excellent day.

 

AVG: 0.148

OBP: 0.258

SLG: 0.148

OPS: 0.406

ERA: 5.14

WHIP: 1.429

The Allegheny hitting, which has been very good this month, took a break yesterday – not from appearing at the plate, but from hitting the ball. Dominic Smith was pretty good, getting 2 singles and a walk in 4 plate appearances. But no one else did much. Two of the three pitchers did well – Lou Trivino and Derek Holland pitched 2 scoreless innings, but Cody Ponce gave up 4 runs in 5 innings. 

 

AVG: 0.120

OBP: 0.233

SLG: 0.360

OPS: 0.593

Earlier this month the Rosebuds signalled a desire to sell, putting Spencer Turnbull on the trading block the day after his no-hitter. How’s that for appreciating your star? Last night a trade was made official – Gary Sanchez and his .642 OPS was traded for Turnbull and his last few months on his current EFL contract. The trade was disheartening for the team, who then went on to try and match Sanchez’s OPS, but falling just short. So in some ways perhaps the Rosebuds feel Gary’s OPS is something the rest of the team might aim to become? We will see.

 

AVG: 0.161

OBP: 0.212

SLG: 0.323

OPS: 0.535

ERA: 0.00

WHIP: 0.925

Forgive me if I ignore anything the Cascade hitters did (or didn’t) do yesterday, because LOOK AT THAT PITCHING! Ok, fine. Rhys Hoskins hit a home run. Ok, now onto the pitchers. Tyler Mahle returned from his shellacking to limit his opponent to 0 runs over 5.3 innings. Kevin Gausman added 5 scoreless innings of his own. And Charlie Morton went 7 scoreless innings. The three of them combined for 20 strikeouts and gave up only 11 hits and 5 walks. That allowed the Cascades to gain an entire game on OD and begin to work its way out of the cellar.