Tuber Times 2062.18: Sim #17 Recap

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Tuber Times
31 July 2061
Boise, Idaho
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by Stubby Bardenwerper

Boise Spuds 50 60 .455 DIV -14 WC -9 L10: 1-9 Strk: L3


Regardless of whether the Spuds were in an improved state, this week was going to be brutal. A series at Frontier-leading Calgary and at Atlantic-leading Charlotte. All that to say the improvement from Sim #16 was going to be difficult to measure in any case. At least the last 3 games of the Charlotte series were competitive. Boise eeked one out in Calgary but then got beat down to finish the series.

@ Charlotte 7-9 L SP Mahad 'Furball' Einan (ND) - 3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
@ Charlotte 3-4(11) L SP Doug Eckhoff (ND) - 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
@ Charlotte 1-5 L SP Juan Guzmán (L) - 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Boise dropped the opener of this series in Charlotte 11-1, but the last 3 games were a bit more competitive. Like pretty much any measure this season it was a matter of the pitching staff blowing up or not. In the 2nd game, Boise trailed 6-3 headed into the 8th inning where rookie DH Perry Taylor delivered a 3-run HR. But pitching got jabbed over and over to give the 3 runs up in the bottom of the frame. 'Furball' did not have a good start but more damaging in this game was reliever Gerald Rogers allowing 4 runs in 1.1 innings that buried the outcome. Eckhoff got another start, with his 2063 on the line, and performed very well with a quality start striking out 6 and walking none. But CL Mario Santos gave up a walkoff in the 11th after the Spuds scored 3 in the 9th to reach extra frames. The finale was a dud from Guzmán but he is still performing better as a starter. In all 3 games, Flyers starting pitching was dominant. Arturo Trevino, Felipe Cummings, and Brody Picot had Spuds batters outclassed.

@ Calgary 4-3(13) W SP Phil 'Brewmeister' Cole (ND) - 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
@ Calgary 4-13 L SP Muneer bin Khairy (L) - 1.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
@ Calgary 0-4 L 'Furball' Einan (L) - 7.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
@ Calgary 3-12 L Eckhoff (L) - 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
In need of a break amongst a 7-game losing streak, the Spuds did not get one in heading to Calgary. Boise came out motivated, however, as Cole was very quality and the game made it to extras where CF Bob Hills pushed across the winning run with an RBI double. The final three games of the series were not safe for sensitive viewers. Boise got knocked around for nearly 10 runs/game and had no answers at the plate. The only highlight was back-to-back solo homeruns from LF Cosmo Pan and C Tadanobu Otani in the 13-4 loss on the 28th. Measured against the best teams in the JL, the Spuds and GM Ben Teague got a view of the gap from where they are now to where they want to be.