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09/13/2049
A lot of winning this week as Los Angeles, Windy City, and Montreal all went 6-1, while California and New Orleans went 5-2. On the other side of life Washington went 1-5 while Philly, Syracuse, Seattle, and Dallas all went 2-5. Some team leaders: Montreal scored 44 runs (Was 8), Phoenix swiped 18 bases, LAD hit four triples, Montreal allowed 14 total runs (Wil 52), Pittsburgh K'd 78 opposing batters, and LAD recorded six saves.
Power Rankings
1) Pawtucket Patriots (121.1, +)
2) Montreal Exports (109.9, ++)
3) Washington Bats (106.2, -)
4) Los Angeles Dinos (102.4, ++)
5) Batavia Red Jackets (100.8, -)
6) New Orleans Voodoo (98.6, o)
7) Windy City Blues (97.3, ++)
8) Pittsburgh Millers (96.7, --)
9) California Kodiaks (95.0, +)
10) Hartford Whalers (93.7, --)
11) Maine Guides (91.3, ++)
12) Denver Bulls (89.7, -)
13) Toronto Canadians (89.5, ++)
14) Wilmington Clowns (86.4, -)
15) Phoenix Roadrunners (85.8, ++)
16) Seattle Pilots (85.4, --)
17) Carolina Tobs (81.6, -)
18) Philadelphia Freedom (80.1, --)
19) Baltimore Bulldogs (78.7, +)
20) Dallas Drillers (78.2, -)
21) New York Cyclones (77.8, +)
22) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (76.7, --)
23) Indianapolis Racers (75.2, +)
24) Syracuse Snappers (64.8, -)
Performance of the Week
P Brendan Linnett - Welcome to top Mr. Linnett as he turned in the #1 overall pitching performance of the season on September 11th against Washington. Over eight innings he allowed no runs, only one hit, and one walk, all while striking out an amazing 18 batters. Only DJ 'The Brick' Engstrom has ever struck out more when he K'd 20 batters back in September of 2019. Linnett's day went like this: K, K, K, K, K, K, K, BB, K, fly out, K, K, K, K, ground-out, ground-out, K, K, K, fly out, fly out, single, ground-out, K, K, K. On the year he's 12-10 with a 3.42 ERA and 116 ERA+.
Prospect of the Week
P Phil O'Connell - Drafted 13th overall by the Millers in 2045 he had a rough '45, '46, and '47 where he was a combined 7-22 with an ERA over 5.00. He started to mature a little though and last season went 12-3 with a 2.62 ERA. This season he finished 17-3 with a 1.60 ERA and 210 ERA+ that included two Pitcher of the Month awards and a no-hitter tossed in July. At 21 years old he throws six pitches, can reach 96 mph on the gun, and coaches love his work ethic.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. We have our first division champion as Pawtucket has clinched the Ale. It is the Patriots 5th straight division title and one of the earliest we've seen in quite some time. All the other divisions are still up for grab, with Washington having the lowest magic number at nine. The Bats are the only other team to clinch a playoff birth but after only winning one game last week they have given Batavia some life. The Red Jackets went a leagues best 22-8 last month and look to be a lock for the top wildcard spot if they can't catch Washington.
2. Speaking of Pawtucket they had a doozy of a game against Maine on September 6th. The game featured 24 runs, 41 hits, and only three home runs as the Patriots won 16-8. In the top of the second Pawtucket went through the entire lineup as Sean Sayers, Montay Kim, Jericho Gurgenidze, and Gaige King all batted twice. That inning went single, single, double play as Maine fans figured they could escape unharmed. Not so fast my friend as Pawtucket then went double, single, single, single, single, walk, walk, grand slam HR, single, and finally ground out. Nine runs, nine hits, one left on base.
3. Just when we thought Richie 'Powder' van Luik's stolen base record of 92 was safe, good ol' Chadd Chua got hot. Last week he hit .433 and stole a whopping nine bases to give him 83 on the season. He's back on pace to tie the record and odds are he might break it. After a summer that saw him hit .257, .255, and .227 in June, July and August he's now smashing .333 in September. The first round pick from by Toronto in 2033 is in his 10th season in the BLB. He's a 2x All-Star, and is just three away from 500 career stolen bases which places him 5th overall among active players.
4. The wildcard race in the Domestic has been narrowed down as it appears just Wilmington has a chance to shake things up. Currently the Clowns are 72-73 and stuck in neutral after playing .500 ball in June, July, and August combined. Their playoff odds now sit at 22% as they trail Toronto by 2.5 games for the final spot. In the Import it appears Batavia and Denver have locked things up, but the final two spots are still a race between Cali, Phoenix, Philly, Windy City, and Seattle. The Pilots are only 3.5 back, the Blues are two back, and Philly is only half a game back. Meanwhile after playing 20 games under .500 in June, July, and August the Kodiaks are now 8-3 in September and have a 76.3% chance of making the postseason.
5. What's on tap? How about both 1v1 match-ups? That's right this week in the BLB features LAD at Washington, and Montreal at Pawtucket. What could be better than that? Well how about Phoenix at Windy City and New Orleans at Montreal to kick off the week. The Roadrunners and Blues are fighting for their playoff lives, while the Voodoo and Exports are fighting for the Lager. Currently Montreal leads New Orleans by one game and this will be the last meeting between the teams this year.
Stat of the Week
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Most HRs in Debut Season
.
| Name Andy Ulloa |
Team SEA |
Year 2022 |
Age 30 |
HR 58 |
| Rory Elia | CAR | 2034 | 20 | 48 |
| Blake Hartman | WAS | 2038 | 25 | 44 |
| Taylor Harmon | SEA | 2042 | 25 | 44 |
| Chase Bartell | DEN | 2046 | 25 | 42 |
| Sidney Ishibashi | CHI | 2039 | 23 | 41 |
| Elmer Caceres | NO | 2035 | 22 | 41 |
| Gil Mandell | PIT | 2036 | 23 | 40 |
| David Perry | PIT | 2032 | 22 | 39 |
| Jon Montalbo | PAW | 2003 | 25 | 38 |
| Manny Nieto | SEA | 2022 | 21 | 38 |
| Ron Snider | PIT | 2025 | 23 | 37 |
| Hector Duarte | LAM | 1997 | 23 | 37 |
| Reid Cole | CHI | 2041 | 24 | 37 |
| Dave Hodge | DAV | 2025 | 23 | 36 |
| Phillip Klopf | CAR | 2034 | 22 | 35 |
| Edgar Alonzo | WAS | 2037 | 25 | 35 |
| Xzavier Medellin | PHO | 2039 | 22 | 35 |
| Cayden Huff | WIL | 2039 | 23 | 35 |
| Joe Rojas | MIS | 1989 | 21 | 34 |
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