Yesterday morning we were at the Oregon Coast, enjoying a weekend of baseball and relishing in 65-70 degree weather. But Monday morning came, as it always does, and we needed to head back inland to the hottest day every experienced in little Newberg. We watched the thermostat on my truck climb as we drove east, jumping 10 degrees every 20 miles or so until we parked in our driveway and read 115 before scrambling inside the while away the rest of the day.
Even though our EFL teams are scattered throughout the world, it appears the PNW heatwave did a number on our teams. Half of the teams sent 0 pitchers to the mound, and the two teams (Pittsburgh and Brookland) who accrued the most normal appearances (plate and mound) to a regular day didn’t actually play a game.
At the end of the day, we had two teams creep a little closer to the top, making certain that the final two days (and hopefully the final two months) of the EFL season will be exciting.
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 56 | 23 | .705 | — | 456.3 | 294.9 |
| D.C. Balk | 49 | 25 | .668 | 3.8 | 415.1 | 293.5 |
| Kaline Drive | 52 | 27 | .656 | 3.9 | 420.9 | 303.9 |
| Peshastin Pears | 51 | 27 | .657 | 4 | 379.0 | 276.1 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 51 | 28 | .644 | 4.8 | 384.7 | 287.1 |
| Haviland Dragons | 49 | 30 | .619 | 6.8 | 389.3 | 312.1 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 45 | 29 | .613 | 7.8 | 375.1 | 303.6 |
| Cottage Cheese | 42 | 37 | .531 | 13.7 | 434.0 | 418.5 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 40 | 37 | .524 | 14.4 | 381.2 | 362.2 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 38 | 39 | .496 | 16.5 | 313.4 | 318.8 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 33 | 45 | .428 | 21.8 | 394.1 | 465.5 |
Old Detroit: “W,” 3-4; 26PA, no pitching
| AVG: 0.143 | OBP: 0.280 | SLG: 0.286 | OPS: 0.566 |
Wolverines do not like heat, and that is no surprise. The pitchers refused to pitch on such a hot day, and the hitters stood in the box to the tune of 26 times, but collected nary a hit (ok, they had three of them). Will Smith did the most damage to the opponent, his one hit being a home run. Despite such a lackluster day, the Wolverines climbed .2 games further from the Balk,
DC: L, 8-9; 25PA, no pitching
| AVG: 0.364 | OBP: 0.440 | SLG: 0.591 | OPS: 1.031 |
The Balk pitching staff put up a similar fuss over the heat, and it cost the team a loss even though the hitters thrived in it. Myles Straw, Pete Alonso and Asdrubal Cabrera all collected two hits apiece, one of Alonso’s being a home run. Xander Bogaerts chipped in a double, and the team collected as many walks (2) as strikeouts (2). But they lost a tiny bit of ground to the Wolverines, and now sit 3.8 games back, just .1 ahead of the Drive.
Kaline: W, 10-5; 52PA, no pitching
| AVG: 0.333 | OBP: 0.423 | SLG: 0.689 | OPS: 1.112 |
A pattern is emerging, and it is that our EFL pitchers are perhaps a bit wimpy. Another team with no pitching? And yet the Drive doubled down on their plate appearances, amassing a whopping 52 of them – and they were excellent ones, to be sure! The team earned 4 doubles and 4 home runs and 6 walks. WIlmer Flores went 4 for 4 with a double, Hunter Renfroe went 2 for 4 with two home runs, and Bobby Dalbec and Willy Adames both chipped in two hits including a home run each. The Drive wheeled their way .4 games closer to first and sit just behind the Balk as the month is coming to an end.
Peshastin: W, 7-2; 13PA, 7.6IP
| AVG: 0.364 | OBP: 0.462 | SLG: 0.727 | OPS: 1.189 |
| ERA: 2.37 | WHIP: 1.053 |
Finally, a pitching staff willing to carry its weight in the heat. They did so well the hitters were also able to take some time off and not overexert themselves in order to cover for pitchers who refused to appear. Freddy Peralta led the way, pitching 6 innings and giving up 2 runs. Two reliever, Chasen Shreve and Genesis Cabrera, added 1.6 innings of no-run baseball. The hitting was light in appearances but strong in production. Three batters appeared, and all got at least one hit. Ryan Mountcastle led the way, going 2 for 3 with a home run and two walks. The Pears gained .4 games on the Wolverines.
Flint Hill: W, 9-4; 18PA, 2.3IP
| AVG: 0.429 | OBP: 0.556 | SLG: 0.929 | OPS: 1.484 |
| ERA: 15.65 | WHIP: 3.478 |
The Tornadoes had a backwards day, in terms of what the normal patterns have been thus far into the season, getting very good hitting coupled with horrid pitching. Though Flint Hill would have preferred its pitchers sit out due to the heat, they decided to tough it out, and Ryan Tepera should have just stayed home. He gave up 4 runs in 2/3 of an inning. Thankfully he was only 33% activated. The hitters were very good though, particularly two old teammates who switched MLB teams – Mookie Betts and Enrique Hernandez. They had identical lines yesterday – 2 for 3 with a home run and a walk. Anthony Rendon added a double and two walks. If Rendon and Betts can actually begin to hit perhaps the Tornadoes might be able to make some noise come July? They did gain a paltry .2 games on the Wolverines yesterday, so that’s a start. Paltry is better than putrid.
Haviland: W, 9-6; 21PA, 5.6IP
| AVG: 0.412 | OBP: 0.524 | SLG: 0.706 | OPS: 1.230 |
| ERA: 4.82 | WHIP: 1.250 |
The Dragon players are doing their best to prove to their owner that they still have a chance to compete for the title. With their second win in as many days, they now sit 6.8 games out of first which is a small hill to climb with more than two months left in the season. Spencer Howard, who has incredible stats when going through the lineup the first time (.065/.194/.097, 0.00 ERA, 2.22 FIP, 33.3 K%) and awful stats when a second time (.286/.500/.786, 14.73 ERA, 14.33 FIP, 13.6 K%), pitched true to form. One good inning, and then a bad inning. Chad Green and Ryan Hendrix helped to smooth things out, and they did just enough because the hitting was excellent and carried the team to a win despite the pitchers allowing 6 runs. Amed Rosario, having an very good June, went 3 for 5 with a double. Gio Urshela added 2 hits in three ABs, including a home run.
Canberra: “L,” 4-3; 15PA, no pitching
| AVG: 0.333 | OBP: 0.400 | SLG: 0.417 | OPS: 0.817 |
Cottage: W, 10-8; 24PA, no pitching
| AVG: 0.409 | OBP: 0.458 | SLG: 0.773 | OPS: 1.231 |
No, you are not reading the same thing over and over again, living some Groundhog Day dream (though every day OD stays atop the standings makes it feel a bit like Bill Murray’s inability to escape Punxsutawney). Yet, here it is again – no pitchers willing to pitch, and hitters who masterfully covered for them. Five batters appeared for the Cheese, and all 5 got at least one hit. In fact, all of them except for their stud Shohei Ohtani collected two hits! All Shohei did was hit a 117 MPH home run for his first hit in Yankee Stadium. Trea Turner went 2 for 5 with a home run, and Alec Bohm stole a base, earned a walk, and collected two hits (one a double).
Pittsburgh: DNP, 0-(-4); 22PA, 6IP
| AVG: 0.278 | OBP: 0.364 | SLG: 0.444 | OPS: 0.808 |
| ERA: 3.00 | WHIP: 1.000 |
One of few teams in the EFL to send pitchers to the mound (they grow them tough in Pittsburgh), the Alleghenys were not rewarded for their toughness. In fact, the heat perhaps confused their team, because pitchers appeared and batters batted even though no game was played. That hardly seems fair – as one of the few teams to actually try, they ended up having no movement in their record due to an off day. Tyler Anderson and Nick Sandlin combined for 6 innings and 2 runs, and Max Muncy hit a home run in the first inning and then nothing else the rest of the game.
Bellingham: DNP, (-1)-1; 26PA, 6IP
| AVG: 0.240 | OBP: 0.269 | SLG: 0.360 | OPS: 0.629 |
| ERA: 4.50 | WHIP: 1.667 |
The Cascades were also confused by the heat – contributing the closest thing in the EFL to a complete game with 26 plate appearances and 6 innings pitched on a day when, like the Alleghenys, they did not actually play. Anthony DeSclafani gave up 3 solo home runs but otherwise pitched very well. Keston Hiura appeared for the first time ever as a Cascade, and made his presence felt by going 2 for 4 with a home run and a walk.
Portland: L, 4-10; 24PA, 2.7IP
| AVG: 0.261 | OBP: 0.250 | SLG: 0.391 | OPS: 0.641 |
| ERA: 10.00 | WHIP: 2.593 |
The Rosebuds are the only team (as far as I know) who ACTUALLY had a player succumb to heat sickness, with Dylan Bundy calling it a day after 1.7 innings pitched and 2 earned runs. The rest of the team was surely affected by his struggles, and in solidarity, decided to eas their way through the rest of the game. Dylan Carlson hit a triple and Luis Urias added a double, and the Rosebuds added a little more certainty to their draft slot next year.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 56 | 23 | .705 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 51 | 28 | .644 | 4.8 |
| Boston Red Sox | 48 | 31 | .608 | 7.7 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 47 | 32 | .595 | 8.7 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 40 | 36 | .526 | 14.2 |
| New York Yankees | 40 | 38 | .513 | 15.2 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 25 | 54 | .316 | 30.7 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| D.C. Balk | 49 | 25 | .668 | — |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 45 | 29 | .613 | 4.1 |
| New York Mets | 40 | 34 | .541 | 9.4 |
| Washington Nationals | 38 | 38 | .500 | 12.4 |
| Atlanta Braves | 37 | 40 | .481 | 13.9 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 36 | 40 | .474 | 14.4 |
| Miami Marlins | 33 | 44 | .429 | 17.9 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Chicago White Sox | 45 | 32 | .584 | — |
| Cleveland Indians | 42 | 33 | .560 | 2 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 40 | 37 | .524 | 4.7 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 38 | 39 | .496 | 6.8 |
| Minnesota Twins | 33 | 43 | .434 | 11.5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 34 | 45 | .430 | 12 |
| Kansas City Royals | 33 | 44 | .429 | 12 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 46 | 33 | .582 | — |
| Chicago Cubs | 42 | 37 | .532 | 4 |
| Cottage Cheese | 42 | 37 | .531 | 4 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 39 | 38 | .506 | 6 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 38 | 41 | .481 | 8 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 29 | 48 | .377 | 16 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Kaline Drive | 52 | 27 | .656 | — |
| Haviland Dragons | 49 | 30 | .619 | 2.9 |
| Houston Astros | 48 | 31 | .608 | 3.8 |
| Oakland A’s | 47 | 33 | .588 | 5.3 |
| Seattle Mariners | 41 | 38 | .519 | 10.8 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 38 | 40 | .487 | 13.3 |
| Texas Rangers | 30 | 48 | .385 | 21.3 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Peshastin Pears | 51 | 27 | .657 | — |
| San Francisco Giants | 50 | 28 | .641 | 1.2 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 48 | 31 | .608 | 3.7 |
| San Diego Padres | 47 | 33 | .588 | 5.2 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 33 | 45 | .428 | 17.8 |
| Colorado Rockies | 32 | 47 | .405 | 19.7 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 22 | 58 | .275 | 30.2 |