2056 #8 Brisas Watch - Sim #25 review

[conman14]

BUA @ JER
Game 1 – BUA 4 JER 6
A rare disappointing outing for starter António Ramírez, who gives up 5 earned runs and 7 hits in 5.1 innings. The only bright sparks of offense come from bit part players Talbot Purcell and Cris Martinez, who put up multi-hit games, the latter hitting his 2nd home run since being brought up in the middle of August.

Game 2 – BUA 4 JER 6
A tighter affair between the teams, as the Hammers walk it off in the bottom of the 9th with a 2-run homer off reliever Steve Wauchope. Catcher Miguel Hernandez brings home his 50th RBI of the season in a 2-hit day, while backup 3B Kozma Gizikis makes his case for 2057 by getting on base 3 times, through 2 walks and a 2-run home run – he’s slashing .293/.383/.585 across two GBC stints since mid-August.

Game 3 – BUA 3 JER 10
Another disappointing start for Richard Balgera, who is credited for giving up 7 runs in just 4.1 innings of work – his ERA sits at 5.33, and is on the hook for $3.3 million next season. On offense, Purcell puts up another multi-hit game, while glove-first center fielder José Carlos hits his 5th homer of the season as he tries to play his way into Swain's 2057 plans.

BUA @ SYD
Game 1 – BUA 5 SYD 3
The first win of the week comes in an impressive performance, as the Brisas put up 15 hits on the day. Young starter Evgeny Daibov goes 5.2 innings, giving up just 2 runs and striking out 5 as he is working to a pitch limit in his first starts. It’s another multi-hit day for José Carlos and Talbot Purcell, while young infielder Miguel Angel Lopez scores his first career RBIs with a 2-run double in the 6th.

Game 2 – BUA 4 SYD 5
Another tight game that could’ve gone either way. The scores were level following a pinch-hit home run from Barry O’Quinn, but another poor outing from reliever Bani Marita sees him give up 2 hits and a walk in just 0.1 innings, as well as the defeating run – he is credited with the loss.

Game 3 – BUA 2 SYD 1
Cris Martinez hits his 3rd homer of the week to help the Brisas overcome the Sharks in another tight game – the Guatemalan ends his week 8-for-20, with an OPS of 1.359. António Ramírez shows his recent Jerusalem start was just a blip, striking out 6 in 7.0 innings, to bring his ERA back to 3.03 – he should have one more chance to bring his ERA below 3.00 next week.

The week in review
It seemed an inevitability that the Brisas were going to come up just short of the postseason, though in the past couple of weeks it seemed like they were slowly chipping into the deficit. This week however, it proved to be one step too far, as a 2-4 record for the week sees them eliminated.

With a week left to go in the regular season, the Brisas now have the chance to play party-pooper in the post-season race, with two 3-game series remaining against 2nd placed Cairo and 4th placed London left in the season, both of whom are vying for the post-season spots along with Jerusalem and Sydney.

For GM Swain though, the preparation for 2057 has already begun, and he will no doubt be rubbing his hands at the scale of the task that awaits as he looks to take the Brisas back to the GBC post-season. Swain was downbeat following their elimination, but was full of praise for his team. “This week has been a tough week for the organization. I came in with one aim in this second half of the season and ultimately it proved to be a step too far. The guys have played their hearts out, and that’s about as much as I can ask for.”

[Jwalk100]

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