Tuber Times 2061.55: Sim #17 Recap - CLT,NO,MTL

[cheekimonk]

Tuber Times
25 July 2061
Boise, Idaho
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by Stubby Bardenwerper

Boise Spuds 46 58 .442 DIV -24 WC -8 L10: 5-5 Strk: W1
Maybe Boise has this all figured out: if you win every other game then you can't lose a 4-game series. Brilliant. The Spuds do excel in featuring close games. All 7 games in Sim #17 were close outside of a Spuds 7-0 victory.

@ Charlotte 5-6 L P Jeremy Nickerson (ND) - 20 G, 13 GS, 1-4, 4.82 ERA, 84.0 IP, 1.46 WHIP, 0.0 WAR
The finale of the Charlotte series decided if Boise could take 3 of 4 in interdivision play or just a split. It was the latter and the game itself had a yo-yo nature to it. The Spuds touched up Charlotte starter John 'Little Johnny" Rasmussen III for 3 runs in the 3rd inning, giving them a 4-0 lead. Nickerson more than matched him on the other side giving up just 5 hits and 2 runs in 6.2 innings. But, as is tradition, the bullpen came in and blew the lead late. Boise scored in the top of the 9th to snag a 5-4 lead, but the Flyers pimped them off with an RBI single from Charlotte 1B Ben Graybill to walk away with the split.

@ New Orleans 7-0 W P Juan Guzmán (W) - 23 G, 7 GS, 3-2, 2 SV, 5.07 ERA, 65.2 IP, 1.31 WHIP, +0.4 WAR
@ New Orleans 2-3 L P Tariku Jabiri (ND) - 2 G, 2 GS, 0-1, 3.27 ERA, 11.0 IP, 1.09 WHIP, +0.1 WAR
@ New Orleans 5-2 W P Doug Eckhoff (W) - 21 G, 18 GS, 4-8, 5.01 ERA, 97.0 IP, 1.44 WHIP, +0.2 WAR
CL Mario Santos (SV-15) - 33 G, 2-7, 15 SV, 5.30 ERA, 35.2 IP, 1.60 WHIP, 0.0 WAR
@ New Orleans 1-2 L P Mahad 'Furball' Einan (L) - 21 G, 21 GS, 5-5, 4.24 ERA, 123.0 IP, 1.25 WHIP, +0.8 WAR
The Spuds next traveled to the Big Easy for a series between two teams watching their Wild Card aspirations fade away. The opener was just dominant and a real difference maker if P Juan Guzmán can hold down a spot in the rotation. On this occasion he blanked New Orleans over 8 innings allowing just 6 hits while striking out 7. Boise scored 2 in the opening frame of the 2nd game, but couldn't add to the tally and the Crawdads inched their way ahead for a 3-2 win. To not allow the chance that the Spuds could be swept again, they needed to take the third contest and so they did. The game featured a 3-run Spuds 4th that ultimately decided the victor. Utility infielder Fred Mailing surprised everyone with a 2-4 day driving in 2 runs. The finale was, again, a close affair with Furball allowing only 2 runs on 6 hits in 7.2 innings and New Orleans' John Lucas just better enough holding the Spuds to 4 hits and 1 run in 6.2 innings. And so the Crawdads put a split on Boise.

v Montreal 7-10(10) L Nickerson (ND)
v Montreal 3-2 W Guzmán (ND)
P Tim Stops (SV-1) - 9 G, 1 SV, 6.75 ERA, 13.1 IP, 1.80 WHIP, -0.4 WAR
Next, the Spuds returned to Idaho to face yet another team scrapping for a Wild Card spot. The opener was defined by explosions of offense for both teams. The Blazers shut Nickerson down early scoring 5 runs in the 2nd. But Boise answered with 3 in the 6 and in the 7th. Regular frames were not enough to decided this one so the teams went to the 10th tied at 7. Montreal put up a solo HR, double, and 3 singles against Boise CL Santos before he could strike out the side. The finale was a close game, too, but low scoring. Montreal got out to a 2-0 lead before the Spuds could equalize in the 3rd, but both pitching staffs shut things down from there until the bottom of the 8th inning when Boise used 2 singles and a Blazers fielding error to push home what would be the deciding run.