Regular Season, Week 18: July 28-Aug. 3
Last Week’s Results
7/28: Nashville Bluebirds @ Chicago Black Sox - Loss, 7-3.
Bluebirds Upend Black Sox, 7-3
W: E. Likiliki (10-6) L: J. Nicto (7-7) S: L. de' Medici (13).
HR - NSH: W. Wood (4), K. Ata (25) CHI: D. Dave (22)
7/29: Chicago Black Sox @ Twin Cities River Monsters - Loss, 3-4.
River Monsters Take Tight Tilt
W: O. Vega (6-1) L: P. Jaramillo (9-8) S: J. Cerda (6).
HR - TWC: R. Aragón (19)
7/30: Chicago Black Sox @ Twin Cities River Monsters - Win, 10-4.
Chicago Drops Twin Cities, 10-4
W: G. Cordero (2-0) L: L. Thorpe (7-7) S: G. Sosa (26).
HR - CHI: H. Hang 2 (17) TWC: J. Bradshaw (11)
7/31: Chicago Black Sox @ Twin Cities River Monsters - Loss, 4-8.
With 8-4 Win, River Monsters Improve to 57-51
W: M. Espinoza (6-6) L: A. Moelling (8-9) .
HR - CHI: G. Lee (15) TWC: J. Calderón (20), J. Gutiérrez (21), O. Heijnen (18)
8/2: Sacramento Mad Popes @ Chicago Black Sox - Win, 0-8.
Bates in Cruise Control in 8-0 Win
W: D. Bates (12-5) L: M. Ramos (6-7) .
HR - CHI: M. Simpson (15), R. Wattson (19)
8/3: Sacramento Mad Popes @ Chicago Black Sox - Win, 1-3.
Black Sox Top Mad Popes, 3-1, Behind Nicto
W: J. Nicto (8-7) L: L. Gracía (13-5) S: G. Sosa (27).
HR - CHI: R. Wattson (20)
Heroes of the Week
Diesel Dave, C: 13 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .462 AVG, 1.385 OPS
Hao Hang, DH: 14 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .357 AVG, 1.328 OPS
Rocky Wattson, 2B: 21 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .238 AVG, .810 OPS
Zeroes of the Week
Amayas Moelling, SP: 2.0 IP, 6 HA, 7 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 27.00 ERA
Sebastian Fradesso, OF: 24 AB, 3 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .125 AVG, .317 OPS
Grant Lee, OF: 23 AB, 4 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .174 AVG, .513 OPS
Transactions of Note
1B Aarnoud Budding was promoted from AAA Carolina at the start of the week after winning two consecutive Player of the Week awards for the Granville Sub-League. He first won the honor on July 20 after going 11-26 (.423) with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs, then came back and won again on July 27 after going 14-21 (.667) with 4 home runs and 14 RBIs.
So, how’d he do his first week back in the Sox lineup after a month in minor-league exile? It could have been better: 2-10 (.200) with 0 homers and 0 RBIs.
Sigh.
Newly acquired OF Pedro Ávila was sent to Carolina to make room on the roster for Budding, with the idea that he can work on his batting stroke in preparation for returning to the club in September. Ávila had been mired in a season-long slump in Long Beach prior to the trade (.181/.274/.295), and stayed cold for his first week in Carolina (.160/.214/.360, with 2 doubles and 1 HR).
Sigh.
Record as of August 3
W-L Record for Week 18: 3-3, .500
Overall Record: 63-49, .563
Position in Standings: In 2nd Place in the Frick Heartland Division, 10 games behind Yellow Springs.
StatsPlus Playoff Odds: 85.2 Percent
Hot Take
For God’s sake, Fradesso.
I mean, what else can we say? One week OF Sebastian Fradesso wins Player of the Week for the Frick, and the next week he can’t even hit his weight (for the gory details, see Zeroes of the Week above).
For God’s sake, Aarnoud.
I mean, what else can we say? The last two weeks Aarnoud Budding sets the AAA world afire and wins consecutive Player of the Week awards and then comes back to the BBA and … lays an egg. (For the gory details, see Transactions of Note above).
At least we’ve got Gilberto Cordero to keep us warm.
The stud relief prospect continued to impress last week, bringing his season BBA totals so far to 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, 8 Ks and 1 walk.
Be still our heart.
The Week Ahead
1 Game vs Sacramento at Chicago
3 Games at Valencia
2 Games at San Fernando