Back to the ‘old one-win weeks’
After the excitement of a five-game winning streak it was 180 degrees around as the Aviators embarked on a six-game losing streak that was only snapped on the final game of the week. We’re down to 42 games left in 2042, still needing 14 games to top last year’s tally of 59 wins. An unlikely tally to be honest, but at least we should break to 50-win mark. Really, it’s a case of roll on the end of the year, the pitching has got so bad now that whoever starts on the mound you just want to bury your head in your hands.
Games 115, 116 & 117 @ Mexico City Aztecs
8/11 @ Mexico City L 1-5
8/11 @ Mexico City L 2-6
8/12 @ Mexico City L 5-7
The Mexician series opened with another double-header, Michel Girard kept it clean for the first three innings, but two runs given up in the fourth and two more in the fifth finished off Aviators. The night cap was a wash out from the start, Duane Coutts surrendered two first innings runs and added four more in the second without getting anyone out. Wichita never looked like getting back into the game. In the final game of the series, the teams matched each other for the first five innings at 3-3. A three-run sixth by Aztecs completed the sweep though. Duane Whitley Jr went 2-3 scoring twice.
Games 118 & 119 vs Charm City Jimmies
8/15 vs Charm City L 3-4 (39,960)
8/16 vs Charm City L 2-9 (40,029)
Returning home to face Charm City, Wichita lead 2-1 after six innings in the first game. Sancho Torres, making his BBA second start of 2042, pitched well for six innings, but the two runs he gave up in the seventh proved to be the ones that cost Aviators the game. Luis Maldonado’s first homer for the team, in the ninth, brought Aviators to within one, but that was as close as it got. The second game of the short series was finished in the second innings when the Jimmies scored six runs. Jose Montoya quickly went down the pan once more, into the fourth he had given up six runs on six hits and four walks. Duane Whitley Jr had two walks and a solo homer from his four plate appearances.
Game 120 vs New Orleans Crawdads
8/17 vs New Orleans W 3-2 (40,026)
The final game of the week saw Aviators score a run in the first and second innings. The Crawdads pulled one back in the fourth and tied it at 2-2 in the top of the seventh. The Aviators sealed their only win of the week in the bottom of the seventh with a Hedde Aalbers solo homer putting Wichita ahead for good.
Standings as at August 17th
Record v Johnson League
| Frontier | HW | HL | AW | AL | Atlantic | HW | HL | AW | AL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boise | - | - | 3 | 4 | Atlantic City | 1 | 3 | - | - |
| Calgary | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | Brooklyn | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Edmonton | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | Charlotte | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Las Vegas | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | Charm City | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Mexico City | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | Jacksonville | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Phoenix | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Montreal | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| San Antonio | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | New Orleans | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Wichita | X | X | X | X | Rockville | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| TOTALS | 10 | 15 | 20 | 24 | TOTALS | 11 | 17 | 7 | 17 |
Pitcher of the Week was 22-yr-old starter Sancho Torres. It was hard to select anyone this week but Torres, despite picking up the loss in his one start, was the best of a pretty poor bunch. Going seven innings he gave up 10 hits, one walk and three runs while striking out two.
Batter of the Week was 31-yr-old Duane Whitley Jr. He hit .333/.421/.733 in five appearances, walking three times, launching two homers, collecting three RBI and scoring four times.