The 2073 Daily Keg - Week 10

June 19, 2073

Pittsburgh and Santo Domingo shared the best week in the league, both going 6-0. Pittsburgh got a big week from Sean Blosser, who hit .529 with three home runs and seven RBI in four games, plus a strong start from Benedict Zacarias, who worked 8.1 innings and allowed just one earned run. Santo Domingo leaned on Wyatt Raney, who hit .450 with two homers and four RBI in five games, backed by scoreless relief work from Reid Perrone and Rice Cochell. Philadelphia was right behind them at 5-1, powered by Alec Bridges, who hit .435 with three home runs and seven RBI in six games. On the other end, New York had the worst week in the league at 0-6, with no Cyclone appearing among the week’s top performers. Four teams tied for the second-worst mark at 1-5: Hartford, Syracuse, Montreal, and California. California’s week wasn’t a total loss individually, as Greg Thomas hit .417 with three home runs and seven RBI in six games even as the Kodiaks continued to slide.

Sean Puckett and Alec Bridges were honored as the week’s top players, winning the Player of the Week award in their respective leagues, and Los Angeles slugger Levi Lane capped the week by launching his 400th career home run.

1) Pittsburgh Millers (147.0, o)
2) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (143.1, o)
3) Toronto Canadians (116.6, o)
4) Philadelphia Freedom (114.3, +)
5) Los Angeles Sharks (107.1, o)
6) New Orleans Voodoo (107.0, +)
7) Phoenix Roadrunners (99.4, --)
8) Washington Bats (98.6, +)
9) Baltimore Bulldogs (97.4, +)
10) Wilmington Wildcats (96.8, --)
11) Indianapolis Clowns (95.6, o)
12) Denver Bulls (92.6, ++)
13) Seattle Sasquatch (92.6, +)
14) Maine Guides (87.4, -)
15) Windy City Blues (85.8, +)
16) Dallas Drillers (80.2, ++)
17) Montreal Exports (77.9, --)
18) Batavia Muckdogs (75.8, -)
19) Carolina Tobs (66.9, ++)
20) Pawtucket Patriots (66.7, +)
21) Hartford Whalers (62.9, -)
22) California Kodiaks (61.4, o)
23) New York Cyclones (59.3, --)
24) Syracuse Snappers (31.7, o)

1B Devon Terry, DAL - Terry put together one of the best individual games of the season on June 12th, going 5 for 5 with three doubles, two home runs, and six RBI in Dallas's 14-2 rout of Windy City. Both homers came off Collin Calder, the first a two-run shot in the fourth and the second a two-run blast in the eighth, and Terry added RBI doubles in the second and sixth. He was named Player of the Game after the outburst pushed his season line to .314 with 8 home runs, 30 RBI, and 28 runs scored through 34 games.

LF Sam 'Knuckles' Bradley, MAI - Maine's newest first-round investment, Sam "Knuckles" Bradley, comes into the system with real pop and patience from the left side after going 1st overall in this year's draft. In his final college season he hit .268 with 16 doubles, 8 home runs, and a .919 OPS in 48 games, drawing 47 walks against just 34 strikeouts, a plate discipline profile that stands out even more given his career .311 average and .439 on-base mark over three seasons at USC.

1. Regis Bryant's monster season deserves more attention. He leads the Domestic League in slugging at .698, OPS at 1.124, WAR at 3.5, and Runs Created per 27 outs at 12.05, and he also tops the league in hits with 83 and total bases with 162. He isn't doing it alone either, as teammate Ben Blackman has been one of the hottest bats in the league over the past two weeks, hitting .394 with three home runs and a 1.258 OPS. If Toronto is going to close its six-game gap on Santo Domingo, this is the pairing that has to carry them.

2. Two unbeaten arms are quietly building strong cases in the Bock. Collin Edson is 6-0 with a 2.31 ERA for a Los Angeles club trying to hold its division lead, and Franklin Pennell hasn't lost in 10 straight starts for a Phoenix team sitting 2.5 games back of that same lead, carrying a 7-2 record and 2.97 ERA of his own. Los Angeles has already taken the season series against Phoenix, but with both pitchers still finding ways to win, neither team looks ready to fold in this race.

3. The Bock is the most competitive race in the league right now, and it isn't getting the attention it deserves. Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, and Denver are separated by just 7.5 games, with Los Angeles at 40-26 on top and Seattle and Denver both sitting at 32-33. What makes it interesting is that Seattle and Denver each enter the week on four-game winning streaks, meaning the two clubs on the outside looking in are both trending the right direction at the same time. If either keeps it up, this could turn into a four-team fight before the summer is out.

4. Levi Lane became the 78th player in league history to reach the 400 home run milestone, going deep for Los Angeles this past week. The 31-year-old first baseman has built the milestone over eleven seasons since debuting with Hartford as the 2nd overall pick in the 2062 draft, and he's still producing at a high level in 2073, hitting .257 with 16 home runs and 36 RBI through 61 games for a Sharks club fighting to hold its lead in the Bock. For his career, Lane now stands at .271 with 1,537 hits, 400 home runs, and 1,050 RBI.

5. What’s on tap?

• Denver Bulls (32-33, 10-18 Road) at Windy City Blues (29-34, 15-14 Home) — June 19, 2073, 3-game series
  Denver rides a 4-game winning streak into this set and already owns the season series 3-0, looking to complete a sweep of the year’s meetings. Windy City counters with Brad Castro, who has been one of the league’s hottest bats over the last two weeks at .357 with four home runs and a 1.140 OPS, while Denver’s lineup has gone cold at the same time, with both Garett Thomas and Henry Munger hitting under .200 in that stretch.

• Seattle Sasquatch (32-33, 13-17 Road) at Phoenix Roadrunners (37-28, 20-13 Home) — June 19, 2073, 3-game series
  Seattle brings a 4-game winning streak into Phoenix but still trails the season series 2-1 and sits 7.5 games back in the Bock. Phoenix starter Franklin Pennell has not lost in his last 10 starts and carries a 2.97 ERA into the matchup, a tough draw for a Seattle club trying to close ground in the division race.

• Montreal Exports (31-34, 13-17 Road) at Santo Domingo Rum Runners (47-18, 24-9 Home) — June 19, 2073
  Santo Domingo enters on a 7-game winning streak while Montreal arrives having dropped four straight, about as lopsided a form gap as the league offers this week. The Rum Runners hand the ball to Devonta Mabry, who is 8-1 with a 3.13 ERA on the year and has been especially sharp lately, posting a 0.64 ERA over his last two starts, against a Montreal club that sits 16 games back in the Lager.

• Pittsburgh Millers (48-16, 19-9 Road) at Syracuse Snappers (14-51, 6-23 Home) — June 19, 2073
  Pittsburgh carries a 6-game winning streak into a visit with the league’s worst team, a 34.5-game gap in the Ale standings. Oliver Bertucci takes the mound for the Millers at 7-1 with a 3.44 ERA against a Syracuse club that is just 6-23 at home.

• Baltimore Bulldogs (33-32, 14-16 Road) at Los Angeles Sharks (40-26, 25-10 Home) — June 22, 2073, 4-game series
  Los Angeles has taken the season series 3-1 so far and sends out Collin Edson, still unbeaten at 6-0 with a 2.31 ERA. Closer Blaine Near has converted 18 straight save chances, giving the Sharks a complete look heading into a four-game set at home, where they are 25-10 on the year.

• Phoenix Roadrunners (37-28, 17-15 Road) at Philadelphia Freedom (38-27, 14-12 Home) — June 22, 2073, 4-game series
  Phoenix has won the season series 2-1 and brings Franklin Pennell’s 10-start unbeaten streak into a ballpark where Philadelphia’s Alec Bridges has been the league’s best hitter, riding a .390 average, six home runs, and a 1.346 OPS over his last 11 games. Philadelphia leads the Stout by three and a half games over Washington, so every game in this set matters for the division race.