Continued Hot Play, Lose Ground to Gnats
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
May 15, 2023
Duluth continues its blazing hot streak, another 5-1 week and now 16-3 over the last three weeks. The Warriors now find themselves now with the best record in the Sovereign League, half a game ahead of Toyama and Bakersfield. All of that said...
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Somehow the Warriors lost 1/2 game in the Great Lakes division standings as the Sandgnats went 6-1 this week, against perennial powerhouses Aurora and Shin Seiki no less.
Only one thing can sum up my feelings on this topic...
The Neat: Quick Hitters
Paul Norris won both starts this week and has won four straight games. He also struck 10 Zephyrs in his last start; his second career 10+ K game....Smokey continues to burn hot; a 2 HR, 5 RBI game against Reno leaves him with a PEBA-high 15 HR and 35 RBI...Ricardo Aguilar has started 2023 much like he started 2022 - 6 of 7 quality starts, unexpected 2.53 ERA that defies the underlying rate stats. All hail the knuckleball!...SS Andres Hernandez is heating up after a cold April, batting .350/.447/.625 in 10 starts this month...the Warriors offense now leads the SL in runs scored, OBP, home runs, and stolen bases; that sounds like recipe for winning many games to me.
Not-So-Neat: Quick Hitters
3B David Uribes is on the DL for 2 weeks with some back pain; not a great sign for a guy just sign to a long term deal...speedster Joe Kenny has been caught stealing 7-of-16 times already this season, seemingly on a large number of pitchouts; He did steal four bases in five games this week, so maybe this was just bad luck...CF Yang-Cheng Kao has solidified the outfield defense as expected, but is batting a meager .200 after 35 starts. One wonders if moving McGuire back to CF or promoting former first round pick Tomas Flores is on the table...the bullpen currently sports a 4.75 ERA, good for 13th in the SL. Yuck. That can't continue if this team expects to even sniff the playoffs.
On Deck
Ten game road trip to Canton, Kalamazoo, and Aurora. Go Warriors!