Today’s games mark the end of the month, and while I mention some monthly stats in your individual team write-up, I thought I’d pull out some interesting monthly stats for some of the teams in the EFL as we are set to wrap up June:
Bellingham: Over 190.3 innings pitched this month, the Cascade pitchers lead the league in home runs allowed with 20. That is one home run every 9.5 innings – or, not even one per game.
Canberra: The Roos lead the EFL in team ERA this month at 3.01. That mark leads not only the EFL but also MLB, with the Giants coming in at 3.04.
Haviland and Flint Hill: The Dragons and the Tornadoes are the only two teams in which every batter who has appeared this month has at least one home run.
DC: No EFL team has finished the month with a team OBP above .350, but the Balk will do so this month. They lead the league with a .354 OBP. That mark leads not only the EFL but also all of MLB. The Astros come in second at .352.
Old Detroit: The Wolverine pitching staff leads the EFL and MLB in BB/9, with 2.4 allowed. The next closest MLB team is San Francisco at 2.6.
One more game to go!
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 56 | 24 | .706 | — | 460.6 | 297.2 |
| Peshastin Pears | 52 | 27 | .659 | 3.9 | 387.3 | 281.0 |
| Kaline Drive | 52 | 28 | .652 | 4.3 | 426.5 | 310.9 |
| D.C. Balk | 49 | 26 | .659 | 4.6 | 418.4 | 303.0 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 52 | 28 | .644 | 4.9 | 389.4 | 291.0 |
| Haviland Dragons | 50 | 30 | .621 | 6.8 | 400.5 | 320.0 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 45 | 30 | .606 | 8.5 | 380.8 | 311.8 |
| Cottage Cheese | 42 | 38 | .528 | 14.2 | 445.9 | 433.2 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 41 | 37 | .521 | 14.8 | 389.6 | 371.9 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 38 | 40 | .488 | 17.4 | 316.0 | 326.0 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 34 | 45 | .426 | 22.3 | 395.6 | 468.5 |
Old Detroit: “L,” 5-2; 45PA, 13IP
| AVG: 0.237 | OBP: 0.356 | SLG: 0.342 | OPS: 0.698 |
| ERA: 3.46 | WHIP: 1.077 |
The Wolverines made up for their missed pitching day yesterday by sending two starters to the mound last night. One of them was a good choice, the other, not so much. Walker Buehler continued his excellent month (1.85 ERA in 39IP) by shutting down the Giants, who did not score an earned run in 6.7 innings versus the tight-pantsed man. But Jameson Taillon is a different story. Even though the Yankees won (which has been hard to come by this month for them), Taillon did not help matters, giving up 5 runs in 5.3 innings. There were a smattering of hits throughout the lineup, but the player with the most hits (Tommy Edman) had 20% of his output sent to the minors the previous day. James McCann did hit a home run, and Rafael Devers collected one single and two walks. The Wolverines, despite an average day and a database lost, grew their lead by .1 games over the…Pears.
Peshastin: W, 8-5; 32PA, 6.4IP
| AVG: 0.300 | OBP: 0.344 | SLG: 0.700 | OPS: 1.044 |
| ERA: 4.22 | WHIP: 1.406 |
The Pears leaped over the Balk and the Drive, assuming their more familiar second place spot in the standings. Their good day was almost all due to great hitting. Eight batters appeared, and 7 of them collected at least one hit. Four different players hit a home run – Mike Zunino, Ozzie Albies, Victor Robles and Juan Soto. Mitch Haniger and Tom Murphy each had two hits, too. The pitching was ok, with Trevor Rogers going 5.7 innings and giving up 2 runs, but Genesis Cabrera ruined it a bit, giving up one run in 2/3 of an inning. The Pears not only jumped into second place, but put some distance between them and the third place Drive, to the tune of .4 games, or a swing of .6 games in the standings.
Kaline: L, 6-7; 47PA, 4.3IP
| AVG: 0.211 | OBP: 0.340 | SLG: 0.447 | OPS: 0.788 |
| ERA: 8.37 | WHIP: 1.628 |
You would have expected an adrenaline rush from the Drive players on the day of the Altuve acquisition. Instead, there seemed to be a letdown. Too much celebrating pre-game? Too much expectation that Jose will carry them and so they don’t need to produce as much? Who knows, but they did not do their new teammate a favor by dropping out of second place in response to his impending arrival. Jose Urquidy had to leave the game after 1.1 inning pitched due to an injury, and Rafael Montero gave up 3 runs in 1 inning of work. The most hits on the day came from Bobby Dalbec – yes, he who will become an Allegheny in one day’s time. He went 2 for 3. Several Drive batters hit home runs – Mitch Moreland, Jesse Winker, and Aaron Judge. But it wasn’t enough to hold onto second place, for now. Maybe Altuve will fix it?
DC: L, 3-9; 38PA, 1.3IP
| AVG: 0.156 | OBP: 0.289 | SLG: 0.438 | OPS: 0.727 |
| ERA: 13.85 | WHIP: 2.308 |
It seems the Balk players have taken none-too-kindly to their owner vacationing during the season. On the day of Rob’s announcement that he would most likely skip the draft, thus signaling to his players that no new blood would be joining the team for a mid-summer infusion, they rebelled. Jose Alvarado surrendered 2 runs in 1.3 innings, as the only pitcher who would agree to appear (and it would have been better had he not!). Joey Gallo had some integrity, knocking two home runs while adding a walk. For the most part, though, the Balk hitters acted like an 8 year old kid playing baseball for the first time, standing in the box but keeping the bat on his shoulder. How do I know, you ask? Well, the team collected 6 walks and 14 strikeouts to only 5 hits. DC fell .8 games more behind the Wolverines.
Flint Hill: “W,” 4-4; 41PA, 16IP
| AVG: 0.278 | OBP: 0.366 | SLG: 0.417 | OPS: 0.783 |
| ERA: 2.25 | WHIP: 0.625 |
German Marquez is either making a case to join the big league club or be traded. Why else would you toss a near no-hitter in AAA, and not just go through the motions since your manager obviously doesn’t believe in you? His 9 innings of 0 earned run work meant nothing for the big league club. However, James Kaprielien’s 3 earned runs over 6 innings did, unfortunately. Four hitters collected two hits apiece – Anthony Rendon, Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernandez and Enrique Hernandez. But Mookie Betts, Sean Murphy and Paul Goldschmidt went a combined 0 for 11, and so the Tornadoes, on a day when they could have made some gains, dropped .1 games further behind the Wolverines.
Haviland: W, 12-8; 48PA, 3.3IP
| AVG: 0.395 | OBP: 0.458 | SLG: 0.698 | OPS: 1.156 |
| ERA: 5.45 | WHIP: 0.909 |
The Dragons swatted their way to victory yesterday, scoring 12 runs on a convincing Edgar Martinez Day. Maikel Franco and Jose Iglesias each collected 3 hits, combining to go 6 for 9 with 2 doubles (Franco) and one home run (Iglesias). A few other players doubled – Jonah Heim, Ramon Laureano and Nelson Cruz – while Jake Cronenworth added a triple. Of their team total 17 hits, 8 of them were for extra bases. And that is how you score 12 runs. Who even cares what the pitchers did (as you can see, it wasn’t good)?
Canberra: L, 6-8; 16PA, 16IP
| AVG: 0.308 | OBP: 0.438 | SLG: 0.538 | OPS: 0.976 |
| ERA: 5.06 | WHIP: 1.625 |
Canberra had one plate appearance for every inning pitched, which isn’t a great recipe for success, even when the hitting was very good. I suppose things could have been better on the mound, which has been the Canberra strength this month (league-leading 3.01 ERA this month). The Roos, I imagine, are happy to see this month come to a close later today, since they have been hit hard by replacement plate appearances while their hitters have been waylaid by injuries. But yesterday they did attempt to do enough to earn the win, collecting their own Edgar Martinez Day. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., the leading MVP candidate at the halfway point, in my opinion, went 2 for 4 with a double. And Javier Baez (the leading trade-bait candidate, in my opinion), added a home run. But all three pitchers (Rich Hill, Chris Flexen, and Caleb Smith had ERAs over 4 yesterday.
Cottage: L, 12-14; 35PA, 3IP
| AVG: 0.357 | OBP: 0.457 | SLG: 0.750 | OPS: 1.207 |
| ERA: 21.00 | WHIP: 3.000 |
Another excellent offensive performance undone by an awful pitching performance. Andrew Heaney surrendered 7 runs to the Yankees in 3 innings pitched, which dug a hole too deep for the hitters. But they tried! Shohei Ohtani, for whom one could easily make a case for the AL MVP over Vladito, launched two home runs to take back the home run lead from Vlad. Marcus Semien added 3 hits of his own, including a home run, hoping that people would not overlook his great season thus far. But, alas, they couldn’t do enough, and the Cheese lost.
Pittsburgh: “W,” 9-10; 30PA, 4IP
| AVG: 0.267 | OBP: 0.421 | SLG: 0.433 | OPS: 0.854 |
| ERA: 11.25 | WHIP: 2.250 |
The Allegheny offense was not quite as potent as the teams directly ahead of them, but it was still good enough to score 9 runs. The problem, as was the case for many EFL teams yesterday, was pitching that made a win too difficult. Well, Pittsburgh did eke out a database win, though being outscored. Max Muncy hit his second home run in as many days, helping the Dodgers inch a bit closer to the NL West leading Giants. Youngsters Andrew Vaughn and Garrett Hampson combined to go 4 for 7 with one double. And the outgoing Jose Altuve got on base 3 times via walks.
Bellingham: L, 3-7; 31PA, 12IP
| AVG: 0.154 | OBP: 0.290 | SLG: 0.269 | OPS: 0.560 |
| ERA: 5.25 | WHIP: 1.333 |
The Cascadian march up the standings took a rather large step back, falling a full game behind the Alleghenys after a day they’d like to forget. Charlie Morton and Kevin Gausman gave up a combined 6 earned runs – a rare thing, considering they had combined to give up only 11 the entire month of June until last night. The oddity of them allowing any runs set the hitters back, and they were caught on their heels to the tune of 4 hits all day. One of those was a home run by Rhys Hoskins, perhaps breaking out of his monthlong funk (.593 OPS).
Portland: “W,” 2-3; 36PA, 8IP
| AVG: 0.182 | OBP: 0.250 | SLG: 0.424 | OPS: 0.674 |
| ERA: 3.38 | WHIP: 1.000 |
Portland has been pining for near perfect pitching, or at least something better than what is has done all month (6.81 ERA this month), and last night it got just that! Unfortunately, the hitting disappeared. Mike Foltynewicz was the stud on the mound, tossing 7 innings and giving up just 2 runs. Gary Sanchez continued to make Portland’s owner look good, swatting another home run, his 8th this month (he is OPSing 1.093 in the month of June). Nick Solak did something, which is unusual this month (.543 OPS this month), going 2 for 4 with a home run.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 56 | 24 | .706 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 52 | 28 | .644 | 4.9 |
| Boston Red Sox | 49 | 31 | .613 | 7.5 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 47 | 33 | .588 | 9.5 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 41 | 36 | .532 | 14 |
| New York Yankees | 41 | 38 | .519 | 15 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 26 | 54 | .325 | 30.5 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| D.C. Balk | 49 | 26 | .659 | — |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 45 | 30 | .606 | 4 |
| New York Mets | 41 | 34 | .547 | 8.4 |
| Washington Nationals | 39 | 38 | .506 | 11.4 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 37 | 40 | .481 | 13.4 |
| Atlanta Braves | 37 | 41 | .474 | 13.9 |
| Miami Marlins | 33 | 45 | .423 | 17.9 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Chicago White Sox | 46 | 32 | .590 | — |
| Cleveland Indians | 42 | 33 | .560 | 2.5 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 41 | 37 | .521 | 5.4 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 38 | 40 | .488 | 7.9 |
| Detroit Tigers | 34 | 45 | .430 | 12.5 |
| Minnesota Twins | 33 | 44 | .429 | 12.5 |
| Kansas City Royals | 33 | 45 | .423 | 13 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 47 | 33 | .588 | — |
| Cottage Cheese | 42 | 38 | .528 | 4.8 |
| Chicago Cubs | 42 | 38 | .525 | 5 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 39 | 39 | .500 | 7 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 39 | 41 | .488 | 8 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 29 | 49 | .372 | 17 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Kaline Drive | 52 | 28 | .652 | — |
| Haviland Dragons | 50 | 30 | .621 | 2.5 |
| Houston Astros | 48 | 32 | .600 | 4.1 |
| Oakland A’s | 47 | 34 | .580 | 5.6 |
| Seattle Mariners | 41 | 39 | .513 | 11.1 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 38 | 41 | .481 | 13.6 |
| Texas Rangers | 31 | 48 | .392 | 20.6 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Peshastin Pears | 52 | 27 | .659 | — |
| San Francisco Giants | 50 | 29 | .633 | 2 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 49 | 31 | .613 | 3.5 |
| San Diego Padres | 48 | 33 | .593 | 5 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 34 | 45 | .426 | 18.4 |
| Colorado Rockies | 33 | 47 | .413 | 19.5 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 22 | 59 | .272 | 31 |