My Traverse City Fighting Tigers (68-42 / .618 pct) had a rough home stand during the month of January, where we went 7-8. So we were hoping to kick off February just right against our upcoming opponents in the Ohio Cougars, Massillon Big Cats & the Florida Panthers. These teams of course, will be playing their home series against me (with my team being on the road).
The results were better than I could have imagined, my team went a perfect 10-0 that night.
vs OHIO
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| Nelson had a lot to smile about during first 2 series. |
In Game 2 of the series, my Tigers' Rich Hill (Grade B-XY) would be solid as well, allowing only 4 hits & one earned run, while striking out 10 Cougars with only one walk in 7 innings of work. Hill's lone run allowed was a solo home run to Manuel Margot in the top of the seventh. The Cougars would keep scratching at Traverse City's lead, with Edwin Encarnacion's RBI double in the 8th off of Tigers reliever Bryan Shaw -- cutting the lead down to 3-2, Tigers. My closer Ken Giles (entering the month with 28 Saves & a 2.41 ERA) would keep the Cougars at bay by retiring the side for the save. The Tigers' offensive hero that game was Marwin Gonzalez, going 2-for-3 with a double, single & sac fly, with 2 RBI for the day.
The 3rd game of the Ohio series, witnessed another solid pitching performance by the Traverse City Fighting Tigers as Jeff Samardzija (Grade C-XZ) pitched 8 innings, allowing only 5 hits, one run & 3 walks, while striking out nine. The Tigers' lineup pounced on James Shields (Grade D-Y), as he allowed 10 hits, 2 walks & 7 earned runs, while actually recording 10 K's in 6 innings. The Panthers would win easily, 8-1, behind Jose Altuve's excellent night at the plate. Altuve batted 4-for-5, which included a three-run homer on a 4 RBI night.
Gonzalez added two more hits, as he has gone 5-for-12 (.417 AVG) through the first 3 games of the series... A delightful sight to Tigers fans' eyes, who has watched Marwin for the most part this season under-perform his 2017 MLB numbers.
In Game 4, the Fighting Tigers picked up where they left off, by clobbering the Cougars in a 15-3 blowout! The Cougars' starting pitcher Dylan Covey (Grade D-W) got ejected early for arguing over a called ball during the bottom of the 2nd inning. Covey's replacement Nick Martinez (Grade D) would get banged around for his 3.2 innings of work, allowing 8 hits, 7 earned runs & 3 walks. The two Ohio relievers (Fernando Salas & Jim Johnson) that later followed didn't fare much better, allowing 6 earned runs combined, on 8 hits, in 3 innings of work.
Plenty of offense to go around - (here is a list of the Tigers stars in Game 4)...
- Jean Segura (SS): 3-for-5, 2 doubles, BB, 3 RBI & 2 runs.
- Jose Altuve (2B): 3-for-5, BB, 2 RBI, 4 runs & a stolen base.
- Buster Posey (C): 4-for-6, 2B, 6 RBI & a run.
- Justin Bour (1B): 3-for-5, 2 doubles, BB, 2 RBI & a run.
- Patrick Kivlehan (DH): 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI & 2 runs.
For Kivlehan, his 3 hits on the night were his first hits of the entire season, as he entered the night batting 0-for-13 (9 games), while he got his 2nd start of the season as well.
In the series finale (Game 5), the Fighting Tigers' 1st inning would get the ball rolling, with a sac fly provided by Yoenis Cespedes & Caleb Joseph's (playing third) two-run double. The Tigers would tack on a big 5th inning of 5 runs on Ohio starting pitcher Casey Lawrence (Grade D-Y), which included a two-run double by Ronald Torreyes & two-run single by Ehire Adrianza. Torreyes filled in nicely for Altuve (who had the night off), going 2-for-4, with 2 RBI & 2 runs.
The Tigers' spot starter / long-reliever Josh Tomlin (Grade C-ZZ) pitched 7 good innings, allowing only 6 hits & 2 earned runs & a walk, while collecting 4 K's. Bud Norris (Grade C-X) and Matt Belisle (Grade C-YZ) combined, didn't allow a hit or run during the last two innings, while getting some work due to another lopsided win.
The Tigers outscored the Cougars, 31-6 during the final three games of the series, while collecting 43 hits... Ohio could only manage 17 hits during that stretch, while only earning 24 hits the whole entire series.
For the Tigers, it was a bit of revenge, as they lost their home series against Ohio earlier in the season, 3-2... To be fair to T.C., they were resting starters against a weaker opponent; Traverse City swept Ohio on the road, during that same month.
vs MASSILLON
Jimmy Nelson had another solid performance, this time against the Massillon Big Cats, going 7 innings, allowing only 3 hits, 1 run & a walk -- to go along with his 7 strikeouts.
- Jimmy Nelson's last two home starts combined: 16 innings, 5 hits, 4 walks & one run allowed, with 13 strikeouts (0.56 ERA).
Domingo Santana collected a two-run homer (during the 1st inning), while Caleb Joseph added one of his own (in the 7th). For Joseph, it's his 8th HR of the season, while it is his 6th HR at home this season... His 2017 APBA Baseball Card (Single-Column) has a good pop element to it, with a 11-6, 33-6 & 66-1.
Joseph also has already duplicated his real-life total of 8 home runs, with 35 games remaining, although his playing time will be far less than it was earlier in the season, now that Posey got all of his days-off in for the season & can play everyday for the remainder of the year. The good thing is that Joseph can get some time at third, or behind the plate when Posey is fielding first base.
In Game 2, Rich Hill was simply untouchable! Hill went the rare distance for a complete-game 5-hit shutout, while striking out 14 Cougars, and allowing 3 walks. The Tigers' Gerardo Parra (2-for-4, HR & 3 RBI) & Jose Altuve (2-for-4, HR, RBI & 2 runs) for the lineup, as the Tigers win 6-0.
- Rich Hill's (trying to keep up w/ Nelson) two starts combined: 16 innings, 9 hits, 4 walks & one run allowed, with 24 strikeouts (0.56 ERA).
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| Hill celebrates after a key strikeout against Massillon. |
Game 3, both teams were tied 3-3 entering the 7th inning stretch. The Tigers' Taijuan Walker (who didn't pitch at home against Ohio) was rolling smoothly through 6 innings, allowing only 3 hits & 1 run, but like clockwork Walker would allow a two-run homer in the 7th. I can't tell you how many times that Walker (Grade B-Y) has hurt good pitching performances in the stat sheets, by staying in an inning too long.
Walker still earned the win, as Keon Broxton's bottom of the 7th inning sac fly would help get him the decision. A three-run 8th inning, highlighted by back-to-back home runs by Domingo Santana (a two-run homer) & Ronald Torreyes would help the Tigers pull away with a 7-3 victory.
I have had a lot of luck with Torreyes with his HR totals, I have already doubled his real-life total of 3 home runs with 6 for the season (3 at home, 3 on the road)... Besides that, his other numbers are quite similar and on par with his real-life 2017 MLB totals (check it out, below).
Torreyes - Batting Average, On-Base, Slugging & OPS
- Ronald Torreyes (2017 MLB): .292 AVG/.314 OBP/.375 SLG (.689 OPS)
- Ronald Torreyes (2017 UAL / Entering FEB): .293 AVG/.312 OBP/.410 SLG (.722 OPS)
Torreyes - Basic Hitting Statistics
- (MLB): 3 HR, 36 RBI, 35 runs, 15 2B, 1 3B, 11 BB & 2 SB (315 AB).
- (UAL): 6 HR, 27 RBI, 38 runs, 15 2B, 1 3B, 8 BB & no SB (273 AB).
We play with games limits on position players (not at-bats), so by season's end he will have over his MLB total in at-bats, due to the fact that I rely on him starting more than the actual New York Yankees did in terms of usage.
Jeff Samardzija was pretty good against the Massillon Big Cats, especially during the first two innings where he logged 5 strikeouts, finishing the game with 8 for the night. Samardzija would go on to allow only 4 hits, along with 3 walks through 7.1 innings. Co-Captains Jose Altuve and Buster Posey contributed 6 of the Tigers' 8 hits, while Posey knocked in 3 runs. Ken Giles would come in for the save as the Tigers win 4-1, while Samardzija earned the win.
The Big Cats' Derek Holland (Grade D-W) pitched good for a D starter, allowing only 2 earned runs & no walks, on 6 hits through 6 innings of work, but the offense could not give him any run support.
- Jeff Samardzija's two home starts combined: 15.1 IP, 9 hits, 6 walks & two runs allowed, while striking out 17 batters (1.17 ERA).
Game 5 would be a close one, while Yu Darvish would give up his only two runs, both being solo home runs to the dangerous J.D. Martinez. It would be a lead-off double by Traverse City's Domingo Santana & a badly timed error by the Big Cats' Nick Markakis in left, that would break the 2-2 tie. Ken Giles would close the door to complete the perfect night of APBA dice rolling, leading to a 10-0 home record start for the month of February -- while winning 11 straight at home, dating back to the end of January.
The Fighting Tigers' Fiery Arms (Starting Pitching through 10 games):
- 9-0 record (1 no decision)
- 1.70 ERA (14 earned runs)
- 0.834 WHIP
- 43 hits allowed (5.2 hits per 9 innings)
- 78 strikeouts, 19 walks
- 74.1 innings pitched
- 2 complete games
- 2 shutouts
Now about Valentine's Day, the wife and I don't celebrate it, we feel love should not be solely slated for one day, but for all days, so we celebrate our love every day.
While my wife is always sweet on me, it turns out the APBA Baseball gods were sweet on me as well.
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