1 July 2056
Boise, Idaho
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by Fish McWilliams
Boise Spuds 52 36 .591 4.5 GB L10: 5-5, Strk: L2
SP Logan Hill
17 G, 17 GS, 8-2, 106.0 IP, 3.40 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, +3.2 WAR
Boise finally, after a good month or so, seems to be getting its feet underneath them. June was essentially a .500 month and this Sim added more evidence going 13-14. Technically average, but it brought a few teams into a scrum. The month was spent trying to crawl back to something resembling a playoff team. The All-Star break may be exactly what this team needs. And this is the time of year to started sweeping the series that you should/can and hold serve otherwise. To kick July off, Sim #13 ended with the team staying near average with a 3-3 record. They needed to at least win both the Edmonton and Mexico City series with sweeping the Jackrabbits being a bonus. But, in an unexpected twist, Rocky Mountain swept Mexico City which boosted them to 2 games out of the Aztecs in the standings and Boise gained 2 wins on them being only 4.5 GB.
v Edmonton 6-1 W
v Edmonton 5-4 W
v Edmonton 1-4 L
Boise really needed to sweep this series with all the hot teams at the top of the Frontier. They walked away taking 2 of 3. The first game was handled by P Ommar bin Ayyub who allowed zero earned runs, 3 hits, and 1 walk in 6.1 innings pitched. P Robin 'Coop' Cooper rode the win out. The Spuds had a 3-run lead in the 2nd game until the 5th inning when SP Logan Hill allowed 2 runs. But the offense came thru and, despite CL Harold Nothard allowing one run, he did secure the save. Edmonton shut down the Spuds bats in the finale with SP Mahad Einan holding Boise to 1 run in 7 innings. The Jackrabbits added enough runs but this was another very good Sim from rookie SP Geoffrey Greening who allowed 3 runs in 5.2 innings while fanning 6.
v Mexico City 5-4 W
v Mexico City 4-6 L
v Mexico City 2-10 L
This was the series the Spuds needed. Top of the division foe that's slowly slipping away from the rest. Last series of the first half. Let's go into the All-Star break with some momentum! Alas, it did not go as planned. The opener was a duel of blowups as SP Gavrilovich Mastinsky allowed 3 runs in the 4th and Boise scored 3 of their own in the 8th. Nothard, again, made things interesting in allowing a run, but he did close out the save and the 5-4 victory. The next night was much the same with only the outcome being swapped. In the 9th, Nothard pushed his luck and Mexico City bagged 2 runs in the top of the 9th to win 6-4. Boise's SP Ommar bin Ayyub let the finale spin off the rails quick. He allowed a 5-run 2nd inning then 2 more in the 5th. Ten runs was more then enough for the Aztecs.