Yes We Can!

EFL
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB	RS	RA
Cottage Cheese	6	2	.729	—	63.6	38.8
Portland Rosebuds	5	3	.678	0.4	40.8	28.1
Canberra Kangaroos	4	2	.715	0.5	33.6	21.2
Peshastin Pears	5	3	.644	0.7	45.0	33.5
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	4	2	.676	0.8	41.5	28.7
Old Detroit Wolverines	5	3	.589	1.1	44.6	37.3
Flint Hill Tornadoes	5	3	.578	1.2	50.5	43.2
D.C. Balk	3	3	.452	2.1	20.9	23.0
Bellingham Cascades	2	4	.406	2.4	24.9	30.1
Kaline Drive	3	6	.381	2.9	25.3	32.2
Brookland Outs	2	6	.259	3.8	24.6	41.6
Haviland Dragons	2	7	.256	4	33.3	56.7

Cottage: W, 18 – 6.  (28 PA, .560, .586, 1.120; 2 ip, 0 er). Yikes! You never like to see anyone (else) having a 1.706 OPS day, least of all when it’s a team in first place, who’s been there it seems like forever, so you’re getting tired of always looking up at them.  Eric Thames OPSed 5.000 yesterday (pinch hit homer).  Jorge Polanco OPSed a mere 3.200 going 5 for 5 and hitting for the cycle. Beyond that, four other hitters cleared 1.000 OPS (F. Cordero, Y. Diaz, Y. Moncada, and C. Seager.) Yandy and Yoan, at it again.  Running total for the league:  1.706 OPS. 

Portland: “L”, 9 – 5. (37 PA, .267, .405, .700; 9.3 IP, 6 er, 5.79 ERA).  I am not saying I’d rather see Rosebuds atop the standings.  I’m still tired of that view from last year. Portland had to settle for Mookie Betts being their star hitter: 3 for 4 with a double, a homer, and a walk, only 2.550 OPS.  Why walk when you could triple for the cycle?  Someone needs to confront Betts about his lack of hustle.

Running total for the league: 55 AB, 22 h, 4 2b, 1 3b, 7 hr, 10 bb+hbp, .400 BA, .498 OBP, .891 SLG, 1.389 OPS. (Note: all math is being done in the Commissioner’s head. The Answer Man is not responsible for any errors.)

Canberra: W, 8 – 4. (36 PA, .333, .389, .455; 1 ip, 0 er, 0.00 ERA).  The Kangaroos cleverly hid their pitchers away in the storm cellar to shield them from the offensive onslaught foreseen by Mr. Ready to be Amazed.  Except poor Kirby Yates, who got locked out and had to face the whirlwind alone.  Somehow he survived!  Kangaroo offensive hero of the day:  Tim Anderson, who undid the Mariners with his 3 for 4 with a homer and a walk (2.300 OPS).

Running Total: 88 AB, 33, 5, 1, 8, 13: .375, .455, .727, 1.181.

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Peshastin: W, 5 – 1. (22 PA, .211, .318, .526; 11 ip, 1 er, 0.82 ERA).  Brilliant management by the Head Pear!  He saw his pitching was good so he got a lot of it from Jack Flaherty and Collin McHugh. He saw his hitting was merely pretty good and limited it.

Running Total: 107 AB, 37, 5, 1, 10, 16: .346, .431, .691, 1.122. (This is kind of exciting!)

Pittsburgh: W, 9 – 5. (37 PA, .323, .432, .516; 12.7 ip, 6 er, .4.26 ERA).  Five guys OPSed 1.000 or better, led by Tyler Flowers’ 2 for 3 with a homer and a hbp.

Running Total: 138 AB, 47, 8, 1, 11, 22: .341, .431, .652, 1.083.  (We’re coming down too fast. Someone has to give us a boost.)

Old Detroit: W, 10 – 7. (41 PA, .306, .390, .667;  5.3 ip, 4 er, 6.75 ERA).  Whew!  Wilson Contreras comes through with a homer, a walk, and a HBP — that’s a 5.000 OPS spread over 3 plate appearances.  That’s some kind of a record or something. Also, remember Max Muncy came within a double of a cycle (plus he walked) for another 2.800 OPS.  And don’t forget Nick Ahmen (3 for 4 with two doubles, 2.000 OPS) and Dan Vogelbach (2 for 4 wth a homer, for 1.750, are you seeing this, Scott Servais?).

Running Total: 174 AB, 58, 10, 2, 14, 27: .333, .423, .655, 1.178.  (The W’s come through!)

Flint Hill: W, 8 – 8. (35 PA, .273, .314, .758; 0.7 ip, 2 er, 27.00 ERA).  Poor Jace Fry, caught in the tempest, got hit by flying lumber.  Mike Trout blasted two homers, though!

Running Total: 207 AB, 67, 11, 2, 19, 30: .324, .409, .671, 1.080.  (As do the Tornados.)

D.C.: W 2, L (-1); 4 – (-6).  ( 35 PA, .273, .314, .303; 14 scoreless innings!) Kevin Gausman and Joe Musgrove both produced 7 scoreless innings with only 4 baserunners in each game. Amazing stuff. But all this pitching prowess distracted the balks from their offense, putting a real dent in the league’s .900 OPS project.

Running Total: 240 AB, 76, 12, 2, 19, 32: .317, .393, .621, 1.014. (Ok, I’ve switched to doing OPS and SLG on paper.)

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Bellingham: L, 3 – 6. (34 PA, .194, .265, .323; 1.3 ip, 0 er, 0.00 ERA).  Only three Cascades got hits yesterday.  I guess in every flood there will be a few eddies, right?  Jarrod Dyson starred for the Cascades, going 3 for 5.

Running Total: 271 AB, 82, 13, 2, 20, 35: .303, .382, .587, 0.969.  (Oh, oh, we lost a lot of ground.  Three more teams to go!)

Kaline:  L, 5 – 6. (35 PA, .303, .343, .545; 1.7 ip, 0 er, 0.00 ERA).  Orlando Arcia went 3 for 3 with a homer and a walk, and Hunter Renfroe added one of the 5.000 OPS pinch hit homers, to maybe buy some room for the league’s .900 OPS quest.

Brookland: W, 6 – (-1). 30 PA, .261, .433, .609; 11.7 ip, 3 er, 2.31, ERA).  The Outs come through! Adam Jones had another great day: 2 for 3 with a double, a homer and a walk.  He led the way for a potent, if small, Out lineup.  Great pitching helped Brookland in the pennant race.

Haviland: L, 3 – 6. (25 PA, .280, .280, .480;  14.7 ip, 11 er, 6.75 ERA). Ramon Laureano went 4 for 4 with a double, and Carlos Santana homered.  Tyler Glasnow (6 ip, 0 er) was undermined by the rest of his staff, especially Alex Reyes and Taylor Williams, who combined to permit 6 earned runs to score in a total of 1.7 innings.  Amid the pitching turmoil, were the Dragons able to salvage our league’s .900 daily OPS? Well, they didn’t walk at all, so that’s not going to help….

Running Total:  AB 352, 105 , 19,  2,  25, 44 : .298, .376, .577, 0.953.

AL East
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Tampa Bay Rays	6	2	.750	—
Old Detroit Wolverines	5	3	.589	1.3
Flint Hill Tornadoes	5	3	.578	1.4
Baltimore Orioles	4	3	.571	1.5
New York Yankees	3	4	.429	2.5
Toronto Blue Jays	3	6	.333	3.5
Boston Red Sox	2	7	.222	4.5

NL East
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Philadelphia Phillies	5	1	.833	—
New York Mets	5	2	.714	0.5
Canberra Kangaroos	4	2	.715	0.7
Atlanta Braves	4	3	.571	1.5
Washington Nationals	3	3	.500	2
D.C. Balk	3	3	.452	2.3
Miami Marlins	2	6	.250	4

AL Central
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	4	2	.676	—
Minnesota Twins	4	2	.667	0.1
Detroit Tigers	5	3	.625	0.1
Cleveland Indians	4	3	.571	0.6
Chicago White Sox	3	3	.500	1.1
Bellingham Cascades	2	4	.406	1.6
Kansas City Royals	2	4	.333	2.1

NL Central
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Milwaukee Brewers	7	1	.875	—
Cottage Cheese	6	2	.729	1.2
Pittsburgh Pirates	3	3	.500	3
St. Louis Cardinals	3	4	.429	3.5
Brookland Outs	2	6	.259	4.9
Cincinnati Reds	1	5	.167	5
Chicago Cubs	1	6	.143	5.5

AL West
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Seattle Mariners	7	2	.778	—
Texas Rangers	5	3	.625	1.5
Oakland A’s	6	5	.545	2
Houston Astros	3	5	.375	3.5
Kaline Drive	3	6	.381	3.6
Los Angeles Angels	2	6	.250	4.5
Haviland Dragons	2	7	.256	4.7

NL West
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Los Angeles Dodgers	6	2	.750	—
Portland Rosebuds	5	3	.678	0.6
Peshastin Pears	5	3	.644	0.8
San Diego Padres	5	3	.625	1
Arizona Diamondbacks	4	4	.500	2
Colorado Rockies	3	5	.375	3
San Francisco Giants	2	6	.250	4