With the short first week of the 2020 season in the books, let’s take a look back at results and stories from the handful of games that weren’t washed out by rain these past few days.
Cardinals Take Season Series From White Sox
The only series to completely finish with all the rain we had this past week was the Cardinals taking two games out of three from the White Sox. Despite a stellar offensive performance in the series from White Sox outfielder Brendan Rose, who earned FMBA Player of the Week honors with his performance, the White Sox dropped the first two games in the series before getting their redemption in Game 3 in the form of a 14-4 drubbing of the Cardinals through six innings. Rose narrowly edged out Cardinals first baseman Matt Wenham for Player of the Week, as both players had great offensive showings, but it was Rose leading the league in Hits, Doubles, and RBI while drawing three walks and only striking out once this week that earned him the nod. Sox newcomer Jarvis Greiner pitched a complete game victory allowing no earned runs through six innings in the White Sox Game 3 win, establishing himself atop the major pitching leaderboards in the early going. The Cardinals are off for their upcoming bye week while the White Sox prepare to take on Sidearm Nation Wednesday July 8. Sidearm Nation will no doubt be restless as their entire opening series with the Wolfpack was washed out by rain and they have yet to play a game this season.
NEw Look Canadians Sweep Longhorns In Weekend set
The Canadians are off to a hot start as they took both of their weekend games against the Longhorns who struggled out of the gate offensively, only scoring three runs combined in both games. Some new faces on the Canadians roster seemed to make an immediate impact on their lineup as there were no individual standout performances, but they received moderate production from almost every spot in the lineup throughout their doubleheader. Their improved pitching staff showed up as well throwing a combined shutout during the second game, allowing their two runs to hold up as all they would need to clinch the season series. The third game of this series has been pushed back to August 6th, so the Canadians are heading into their bye week while the Longhorns prepare for a three game set with the Giants beginning Friday July 10 at 6:30pm.
Dukes Offense showing no signs of rust, take season series from giants
The Dukes scored a total of twenty-one runs in their doubleheader with the Giants Sunday evening, staking them an early lead in the B Division Standings. Several Dukes had productive weekends at the plate, but none more so than DH Eric Buckley, who popped his first home run of the season and cashed in a team leading four RBI en route to a .500/.667/1.000 slash line to kick off the year. Some new Giants got off to loud starts at the plate as well during the series despite dropping the two games, as Kye Seitz popped a homer of his own to go along with four RBI and a 1.500 OPS, while his younger brother Kale was four for eight and knocked in three RBI of his own. Ayden Makarus pitched in two doubles and a triple on the weekend, good for a small sample 1.500 OPS too. The Dukes now head into a three game series with the Diamondbacks on Thursday July 9th, while the Giants are preparing for the 0-2 Longhorns.