Metro Stars Week In Review, 6/10/39-6/16/39 (2039 - #10)

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Metro Stars Week In Review, 6/10/39-6/16/39 (2039 - #10)

Post by ThePreyingManta » Tue Jul 23, 2019 12:14 am

Record: 2-4 Run Differential: -12

After taking the first two of the series, the Metro Stars were hoping to complete the sweep of Jerusalem to kick off the week. Instead, Hammers’ starter Van Willard rendered the Metro Stars’ lineup punchless. Despite Jose Olivarez’s 3-4 performance, the rest of the offense only tallied two hits while Leonardo Gomez struggled on the mound. The Hebrew Hammers took the game 5-1, in what would be the start of an undefeated week for them.

Division rivals Bucharest rolled into town next with a season record of 7-5 against Mumbai, the only team to post a winning record against the Metro Stars to this point. The Impalers put up a huge 3rd inning in the first game, scoring seven runs. The Metro Stars slowly clawed their way back before tying the game up in the 6th on a Jose Olivarez run-scoring single. Both bullpens were fantastic, holding each lineup scoreless through the next six innings. Bucharest finally put an end to things in the 13th inning with two runs. In game two, both starters pitched incredibly, with the first run being scored by the Impalers in the 7th inning. Thanks to a Rafael Diaz error, Bucharest went on to score five more runs in the 9th. The Metro Stars mustered only one hit, a Toshio Taguchi single in the 7th, and were unable to score against the combined performance of starter Miguel Acosta and relievers George House and Roberto Muniz. Recently-acquired starter Irving Espinoza made his Mumbai debut in the series finale, as the Metro Stars tried to prevent their first sweep of the season. However, Espinoza was only able to last 2.2 innings while he gave up five runs, enough for the Impalers to take yet another series from the Metro Stars. Despite the loss, CF Dave Molina was named the Player of the Game after going 3-3 with a three-run homer.

The Metro Stars were given a great opportunity to recover from their longest losing streak of the season with a three-game set against cellar-dwelling Beirut. Reese Rayner delivered his fifth straight quality start in game one, while the offense, led by Toshio Taguchi (3-4 with two home runs), scored eight runs to get the team back on track. After a hot start to the season, SP Leonardo Gomez continued his string of rough starts. While he only allowed two earned runs, Gomez did allow eleven hits and a walk over six innings. The offense was able to save Gomez and relief pitchers Lyndon Rosebotham and Martin Bacardi from poor outings by scoring ten runs. The offense was once again led by Toshio Taguchi who went 4-5 with a home run, two RBI, and four runs scored.




Hitter of the Week: 3B Toshio Taguchi
.385/.407/.808 6 R 6 RBI 2 2B 3 HR

Taguchi has had a bit of an up and down season. He was absolutely on fire in April, ice cold in May, and has been fantastic again in June. He struggled in the first four games last week before exploding in the last two against Beirut where he went 7-9 with three homers, six runs, and six RBI. Taguchi will need to stay hot for the Metro Stars to keep their slim lead over Bucharest and Jerusalem.

Pitcher of the Week: SP Tim Oliver
6 IP 0 ER 7 K 0.00 ERA 0.17 WHIP

Perhaps inexplicably, Oliver was left off of the Opening Day roster this season. Since being promoted to Mumbai, he has made the most of every opportunity, leading the staff with a 2.70 ERA and 9.8 K/9. In his most recent outing, he pitched six runs of scoreless ball while only allowing one hit. Despite his great performance, it was not enough to account for a weak showing by offense where they only got one hit.




Other Notes

With the rough going the Metro Stars have had over the past two weeks, they find themselves with only a three-game lead over Bucharest and a five-game lead over Jerusalem. Although Bucharest has maintained their second-place position in the Bancroft League for most of the season, surging Jerusalem is arguably the bigger threat. The Hebrew Hammers were the preseason favorites, and they recently signed two big free agents in C Antonio Robles and RF Carlos Alonso. Metro Stars’ fans have been holding their collective breath all season waiting for Jerusalem to pass them in the standings, and it looks like that could be happening sooner rather than later.

The Metro Stars signed their second round pick Ivan Lovett to a contract with a signing bonus worth $240,000. The 2B/3B will report to A Ho Chi Minh City along with Mumbai’s other draft picks.
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