2015 First Period

The Plague vs. Lymebees

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Game 1; Kazmir vs Bumgarner; The Plague score 2 runs in the top of the 6th. Bees tie the score in the bottom half. With 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, Braun hits a solo HR for a 3-2 Bees win.

Game 2; Ryu vs Gray; Bees score in the first 3 innings. The Plague get single runs in the 5th and 7th to get score to 6-2. Bees score 5 in the 8th and win 11-2.

Game 3; Gio Gonzalez vs Alvarez; Bees score in the top of the first. Plague score 1 in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, 1 in the 3rd and 4th. Bees get 1 back in the 5th, but get no closer as The Plague add 3 in the 7th to win 8-2.

Game 4; Wheeler vs Sanchez; The Plague score 1 in the 1st, Bees get 4 runs in the 2nd, The Plague get 1 run back in the 2nd, tie the score in the 3rd and go ahead in the fourth to win the game 5-4.

2015 First Period

Lymebees vs. Birds of Pray

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G-1 Birds got a 3-run homer from McCann to take a 4-1 lead. Bees battled back with RBIs from Lind, Beltre & Upton for 4-4 tie. Birds got an 8th inning 2-run homer from Cruz to break the tie. Bees then jumped on Betances for 3 doubles & a single for 3 runs & a 7-6 win. Bees got 2-out RBIs from Braun, Upton & Avila.

G-2 Bees open up a 3-0 lead on RBIs from Reddick, a bases loaded DP, & a bases load walk to Yelich. Birds tie on RBIs from Aybar, Altuve & Davis for 3-3 tie in the 6th. Bees got a leadoff walk to Hosmer in the 13th & a hit-and-run double by S. Castro for 4-3 Bees win.

G-3 Birds build a 4-0 lead on RBIs by Aybar, Altuve (2) & Lagares. Bees score 4 unearned runs capped by a 3-run double by Upton. Bees got the winning run on a 2-out single by Tulo in the 7th. Bees, 5-4.

G-4 Birds break a 2-2 tie in the 5th on C. Davis’ solo. Bees score 2 in the 6th on another bases loaded walk (to Adams) & a fielder’s choice RBI from Castro for 4-3 win. Bees got solos from Adams & Upton.

Series notes:
Birds entered this series 8-3 in 1-run games. Bees pounded out 17 xb hits, including 15 doubles; Birds, 10 xb hits.
Bees drew 19 walks, Birds 11. Birds lost 18 hits, Bees 9.

2015 First Period

Birds of Pray vs. Eliminators

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The Birds traveled to “The Arch” to begin a 4-game series with the Eliminators. The Birds out-hit & out-scored the Eliminators, and lost 3 games.

G-1 V. Martinez hit a 2-run HR in the 1st for all the runs C. Sale would need. Sale shut down the Birds on 2 hits for a 3-0 win. J. Bruce added a solo.

G-2 V. Martinez homered, doubled & drove in 2 runs & J. Donaldson added a solo as the Eliminators beat the Birds 6-2. Ventura 6.2 IP, 5 hits 1 run. Birds got a solo from Y. Molina.

G-3 J. Lucroy hit a 2-run 5th inning HR for the Eliminators. The Birds got a solo in the 6th from M. Prado & Eliminators sent the Birds to their 5th straight loss with a 2-1 win. Elims Smyly 6 IP, 3 hits, 1 run. Birds’ Worley 7 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs.

G-4 Birds sent 11 batters to the plate in the 2nd scoring 6 & added 4 more in the 4th to end their losing streak & pound the Eliminators 10-1. B. McCann homered & singled to drive in 4, & the Birds got back-to-back RBI triples from J. Lagares & J. Altuve. C.Carrasco 8 IP, 4 hits, 1 run.

Eliminators hit 5 HRs in the first 3 games.

2015 First Period

Speakers vs. Devil Dogs

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Game 1 – James Paxton gets a surprise start when Stephen Strasburg requires a bit more rest from his first outing. Paxton twirls a 4-hit shutout against the Speakers, who have now been shut out five times in 29 games.

Chris Archer matches Paxton until the bottom of the 7th. With two outs and no base runners, Jacoby Ellsbury legs out an infield single and steals second. Former Speaker David Wright bounces a single through the infield for the game-winner. Brandon Phillips adds the exclamation point with an RBI double for a 2-0 final and the Dogs’ first win of the season!

W – Paxton (1-0), L – Archer (1-3)

Game 2 – Ellsbury’s 1st inning sac fly puts the Dogs ahead again. However, Strasburg’s additional rest doesn’t help. The Speakers put together a trio of doubles in the 2nd for a 2-1 lead.

In the 3rd, Strasburg faces a dozen Speakers yet still can’t finish the inning. After 6 hits, 3 walks and an Anthony Rizzo HBP, Strasburg departs with this tragic line: 2.2 IP, 10 H, 10 ER, 4 BB, 2 K.

Against the Dog pen, Rizzo later homers (4) as does Yoenis Cespedes (4) and Yasiel Puig (2). Felix Hernandez finally enjoys some offensive support in the 14-4 win.

W – Felix (5-3), L – Strasburg (0-2)

Game 3 – The Devil Dogs strike for 3 in the 2nd on Sal Perez’s gift 3-run HR off Bud Norris (8.10 ERA coming in to this start). Albert Pujols’ RBI single in the bottom half makes it 3-1 after 2.

Even though the Dogs collect 9 hits over the next 5 innings, they fail to score, thanks in part to a Cespedes 7-2 double play with the bases juiced in the top of the 7th.

After the stretch, the Speakers use that momentum at the plate. Manny Machado singles to start the inning against James Shields. Pujols (3-4, HR-2, 3-RBI, R) homers to tie at 3-3, but the Speakers aren’t finished. After Cespedes whiffs, Andrelton Simmons and Jason Heyward club back-to-back doubles. With 2-outs, Buster Posey singles home Heyward, and then Rizzo hits a 2-run HR, his 5th, to complete a 6-run inning.

The Speakers bat around for the second time in two days resulting in a 7-3 win. This despite Norris scattering a dozen hits and a gift HR through 6.1 shaky innings of work. The Dogs strand 11, but it seems like even more, on 13 hits.

W – Jeremy Jeffress (1-2), L – Shields (0-2)

Game 4 – Yovani Gallardo and Alex Wood begin with each turning in a quality start. Simmons’ RBI single follows Carlos Gonzalez’s 2-out double in the 2nd.

Wood coughs up that early lead as Hanley Ramirez homers to start the Dogs’ 3rd. Josh Hamilton solos in the 6th for a 2-1 Devil Dogs’ lead.

Howie Kendrick coaxes a walk to begin the bottom half. Stephen Vogt (2-4, T, RBI) triples him home for a 2-2 tie.

The Speakers feel as though they should be leading due to Vogt getting caught in a rundown at 3rd in the 4th, a bases loaded Pujols GIDP to end the 5th, and Sal Perez picking Vogt off 3rd after the no-out triple in the 6th.

The Dogs get only a Chris Carter (2-4, K) 2-out single in the 9th after Hamilton’s HR. The Speakers don’t fare much better against the Dog pen through regulation. However, Anthony Rendon doubles to start the bottom of the 10th. Rizzo’s 6th HR, his 3rd of the series, walks off with a 4-2 win, the Speakers’ first extra-innings victory of the season (1-5).

W – Jeurys Familia (1-0), L – Al Alburquerque

2015 First Period

Speakers vs. Lemonheads

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The Speakers hobble to Eliott Drive to continue the day’s torture. Fortunately, the GM is greeted by friends, a seat on the sunshine-filled deck and a much-needed brown, frothy beverage. After some soothing high-ABV suds, we’re in the perfect mindset for another disappointing series.

Game 1 – Buster Posey (3) solos in the bottom of the 1st, but Chris Archer says, “We can fix that.” He immediately walks Cole Calhoun to start the 2nd and surrenders an RBI double to Brayan Pena to relinquish the lead before recording an out.

For good measure, Archer gives away three singles and a walk in the 3rd (a 2-run single by Pena) for a 3-1 Heads’ lead. The Speakers continue their MO by recording two meaningless singles over the next three innings.

With 2-outs and no baserunners in the 8th, Erick Aybar triples for the Lemonheads. Naturally, James Loney comes through with a 2-out RBI single for a 4-1 advantage.

In the bottom of the 9th, Loney’s miscue at 1st leads to a pair of runs, but the Speakers strand the tying run at 3rd for a (yawn) 4-3 final. The Speakers are now 3-12 in 1- or 2-run games.

W – Zack Greinke, L – Archer (1-3), S – Fernando Abad

Game 2 – Felix Hernandez serves up a 2nd-inning HR to Calhoun. Ian Desmond’s error in the bottom half leads to Howie Kendrick’s RBI single for a 1-1 tie.

Loney doubles with 2-away in the Lemonheads’ 3rd. JD “Little Edgar” Martinez strokes a 2-run HR for a quick 3-1 lead.

The Speakers record one single over the next ten batters, but then the GM sips another frothy beverage. Anthony Rendon doubles to lead off the bottom of the 6th. Posey homers for the second time in the series to re-tie the score at 3-3.

Kendrick singles to lead off the Speakers’ half of the 7th to end Francisco Liriano’s day. Jordan Waldon walks two of the next three hitters. Rendon skies one to right to score Kendrick, giving the Speakers their first lead in 26 innings.

Felix inexplicably holds the one-run advantage through the next two innings for a 4-3 win, breaking a dismal 1-6 record over the last seven games.

W – Hernandez (4-3), L – Liriano

Game 3 – The Lemonheads haven’t had much to cheer about in 2015 either, and that trend continues in this contest. Wei-Yin takes one on the “Chen” in a lopsided 11-3 loss.

The Speakers pound 17 hits, but still manage a pair of 2nd-column singles, our specialty. Scott Van Slyke (2) and Yasiel Puig (1) each homer. Rendon (3-5, R), Anthony Rizzo (3-4, D, RBI, R, BB) and Posey (3-5, D, RBI, R) break out in a big way.

W – Jordan Zimmermann (4-2), L – Chen

Game 4 – Yan Gomes’ double and Loney’s sac fly get the Lemonheads started in the 2nd. In the 3rd, a leadoff walk to Neil Walker and Rajai Davis’ single start a threat. With 2-outs, those runners remain at 1st and 2nd, but Martinez comes through with a clutch 2-run triple. Gomes celebrates by cranking a 2-run HR for a 4-run inning, reducing Alex Wood.

Meanwhile, the Speakers produce a pair of weak singles through the first four innings. Yoenis Cespedes, who’s hitting a paltry .163, homers (2) to start the 5th. Puig and Rizzo drive back-to-back doubles to close the gap to 5-2.

Kendrick walks to start the Speakers’ 6th. With 2-outs, Cespedes takes Chris Young for another ride (3), resulting in a 5-4 score.

Puig’s leadoff walk in the 7th chases Young in favor of Darren O’Day. With one out, Rendon connects for his 3rd HR of the season, putting the Speakers up 6-5.

This time, the Lemonheads’ offense sputters. After their 4-run 3rd, Heads’ bats tally three singles and never get a runner past 1st base.

W – Wood (1-0), L – Young, S – Jeurys Familia (3)

Coming in to this series, the Speakers lost every series except a split with the Tsunamis. We obviously need to drink more beer.

Starting Lineup