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(AP)
Maine goes a perfect 6-0 as they got out the brooms against Toronto and Montreal. When you lead the league for the week with a team ERA of 2.17 and outscore your opponents 38-16 good things generally happen. Batavia had the 2nd best weekly record by going 5-1 while seven other teams went 4-2. Meanwhile Baltimore, California, and Montreal all went 1-5. Some team stat leaders: Philly stole 8 bases, Indy and Maine hit 13 home runs, Batavia allowed 14 runs, and Philly struck out 56 batters.
Power Rankings
1) Maine Guides (117.3, ++)
2) Seattle Pilots (108.5, -)
3) Hartford Whalers (108.3, o)
4) Washington Bats (105.1, +)
5) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (104.1, -)
6) Pittsburgh Millers (103.6, ++)
7) Miami Sharks (99.4, --)
8) Indianapolis Racers (96.2, +)
9) Los Angeles Dinos (95.6, ++)
10) Denver BC (95.1, ++)
11) Syracuse Snappers (94.5, --)
12) Pawtucket Patriots (92.5, +)
13) Phoenix Roadrunners (91.9, -)
14) New York Knights (91.9, ++)
15) Batavia Red Jackets (90.5, ++)
16) California Kodiaks (90.2, --)
17) Carolina Tobs (86.7, -)
18) New Orleans Dukes (81.7, -)
19) Philadelphia Freedom (80.5, --)
20) Wilmington Wildcats (77.0, +)
21) Baltimore Bulldogs (73.3, -)
22) Windy City Blues (70.4, o)
23) Toronto Canadians (57.6, +)
24) Montreal Exports (50.4, -)
Performance of the Week
P Erik Wilmes - Nobody showed up in the top performances of the year this week so we scoured the league and found a slightly shiny gem by Wilmes. On July 30th against Syracuse he pitched a shutout with four K's and 1 walk allowed as Toronto won 1-0. The undisputed captain of the Canadians is 8-7 on the year with a 4.15 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.
Injury of the Week
C Pat Bingham - On July 27th against California Bingham was rounding 2nd on his way to 3rd when he said later that he "felt a pop" in his foot and barely beat the throw to the base. He was removed from the game and diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon and will be out for almost a year. He's known as one of, if not the best defensive catcher in the BLB, and losing the 24 year old for this length of time is a huge disappointment to the organization.
Prospect of the Week
SS J.R. 'Mugsy' Djojohadiksumo - Along with Richie 'Powder' van Luik the Pilots have the best named duo of 17 year old prospects in the BLB. The scouts rave that both of them have the potential to be unbelievable contact hitters that almost never strike out while also bringing speed and versatility to the field as well. They both have a long way before they ever see a BLB field but we're be watching.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The Freedom finally did it and got to .500 on July 28th with an 8-7 victory over Windy City after starting the year 5-18. Unfortunately they ran out of gas and have lost four in a row to fall to 50-54 on the season. With Jarrod Peacock out for an unknown length of time due to a hamstring issue and Ivan Sepulveda being lost for the year on July 23 will they have the pitching down the stretch to make a playoff push. Jabari Chester, an undrafted FA signed back in 2028, was called up and made his first start of his career but gave up eight hits and five runs in six innings to Denver on 7/30. Not a good start to say the least. Last season he did post a 3.80 ERA in 23.2 IP though so there might be hope after all.
2. Montreal went an amazing 4-21 in July and now sits only 1.5 games ahead of Toronto for the worst record in the BLB. They started the month 1-11 and finished the month 1-8 and their manager doesn't seem to have any answers. The rebuild is reported to be in full effect now as they are looking to sell off assets for future picks or prospects. For a team that won over 90 games from 2027-2029, including a Brewmasters Cup in 2027, they have fallen on hard times quite quickly.
3. Even with the Bulldogs going 1-5 last week they are only 4.5 games out of the final wild card spot in the Import League. Windy City, who is in last place at 42-61, is only 9.0 games back. Even though it looks like Washington and Seattle will take the Stout and Bock, the wildcard races are going to be great. Meanwhile in the Domestic League only half a game separate Hartford, Pittsburgh, and Maine for the Ale lead while Santo Domingo and Miami are one game apart in the Lager top spot.
4. New Orleans has a new GM and has turned around after a disastrous start when their former GM ran the off-season, started out the season, then stepped down mid-draft. Talk about leaving your team in a lurch. Since then though they are +11 in June and July and only 5.5 games out of the wildcard. The key to their success...playing the Toronto Canadians! New Orleans is 11-0 against the Canadians, the only matchup in the BLB where one team is undefeated against another.
5. Joey 'Last Resort' Seymour got paid on July 30th by Seattle to the tune of a 5 year/$96m contract extension. Reports by a local Seattle site stated that he immediately flew to Vegas with several friends and partied so much that he missed his flight back. The Pilot's GM flew down in his personal jet and picked him up and flew him across the county to face Batavia on August 1st. Seymour rewarded them by giving up 5 earned runs in 5.2 IP, the most runs allowed by him this season.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Strikeouts in Debut Season (Top 25 Players, Inaugural Season Ignored) |
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