(BPI-Van Schaick Island, New York) Biff Barnes Jr. TML Highlight Reel – August 2018 ======Blue Jays and Toxins to Do Battle!

The Toxic Waste River Rats (22-10 in the Summer Stretch) shaved a couple of games off the Burleigh Blue Jays’s lead in the Gehrig Division , and now trail by only 5 games. One of these two will likely be the Atmospheric Conference Wild Card . Both teams acquired some extra pitching via in-season trades for the final run to the pennant!

Elsewhere in the Atmospheric , Beverly (18-14 in the Stretch) has opened up a solid 16-game lead in the Gatto Division , while Robinson leader Madison (13- 19) lost more ground to charging Vanderlyle , who has closed to within 9 games. Vanderlyle knows how to keep their home fans crying, playing .188 ball at home in the Stretch and .813 ball on the road. Whatever works!

Meanwhile, the defending TML Champs Walla Walla Wombats continue to lead the way, putting up a TML best 27-5 record over the Summer Stretch , boosting their record to 85-33 with a 19-game lead over surging Mudville (23-9 in the Stretch) in the Steinmetz Division . Mudville has joined division rivals ‘Skayuna and Albany in the fight for the Oceanic Conference Wild Card . Perth now has a commanding 15-game lead in the Ruth Division and Lake Wobegone has a 7-game lead in the Williams .

------The *hot* batting race has a new leader in Lake Wobegone’s Yulieski Gurriel at .344, followed closely by Madison’s Jose Altuve (.343), Mudville’s Jonathan Schoop (.343), Madison’s J.D. Martinez and Albany’s Mike Trout (both at .339)! The new HR & RBI leader is Marco Island’s with 51 bombs and 119 RBI. Chesapeake’s Trey Turner is still the SB leader (34 SB in 42 attempts).

The ERA leader is still Beverly’s Michael Fulmer at 1.61, followed by Mudville’s Jordan Montgomery (2.04) and the newly acquired Toxin Andrew Cashner (2.14). The new victories leader is Walla Walla’s Ervin Santana at 18-5, followed by Burleigh’s Corey Kluber and Walla Walla’s Lance Lynn , both at 15-3. Albany’s Chris Sale is now 3 ahead of Madison’s Max Scherzer are, 228 K to 225 K. The Saves leader is still Madison’s Pat Neshek ( 31 -33 SVO, 3.10 in 47 GR).

Below are some awards and tid-bits from the Summer Stretch in the TML American.

** Player of the Month **

(PC) Josh Donaldson .371, 43-116, 9-0-11, 85 TB 21 R, 29 RBI, 17 W, 2 IW OPS 1.184, 39 RC

Honorable Mention: (DT).350, 8 HR, 20 R, 21 RBI, 38 RC (BB) .397, 3 HR, 18 R, 19 RBI, 37 RC Aaron Judge(M9) .322, 12 HR, 26 R, 32 RBI, 34 RC Justin Bour(MG) .336, 8 HR, 17 R, 21 RBI, 32 RC Avasail Garcia(BB) .370, 7 HR, 18 R, 24 RBI, 31 RC ------** of the Month **

(BB) Corey Kluber 5-1, 2.07, 8 GS, 7 QS, 2 CG 65.1 IP, 44 H, 7 W, 82 K .185 OAVG, 0.78 WHIP 2 shutouts No-Hitter

Honorable Mention: (RM) 5-1, 2.40, 6 QS, 1.08 WHIP Aaron Nola(BB) 6-2, 2.93, 6 QS, 1.03 WHIP Alex Wood(LW) 6-1, 2.98, 6 QS, 1.05 WHIP Kevin Gausman(SS) 3-1, 2.52, 5 QS, 0.96 WHIP Jordan Montgomery(M9) 5-0, 1.57, 5 QS, 1.08 WHIP Trevor Bauer(AV) 3-3, 2.61, 6 QS, 1.24 WHIP Ervin Santana(WW) 6-2, 3.39, 6 QS, 1.08 WHIP ------

** Top Pitching Performance of the Stretch **

Burleigh’s Corey Kluber tossed the season’s first no-hitter at visiting Danny Way . Kluber was efficiently brilliant, tossing only 93 pitches in his gem. He scattered three walks and fanned 7. Kluber continued his case for the Pitcher of the Year Award, raising his record to a 13-2 and lowering his ERA to 2.03.

7/22/2017, DW17-BB17, PNC Park 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Danny Way 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 1 Burleigh 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 x - 4 8 0

Blue Jays IP H R ER BB K PCH/STR ERA C.Kluber (W 13-2) 9 0 0 0 3 7 93/61 2.03

Diamonds -----A------B------C------D------Wong 2b 1> W 4> K K K DeJong ss 46/f.B-1 K 7>3/g Rizzo 1b 543/gdp 9 8 Castellanos 3b 2>5/fl 5> K 3/g Mazara dh 43 8 8> K Jones,A cf 8 43 5/fl Schwarber lf 3>7 6> W 43 Heyward rf W 14/ SH .1-2 9>9 Wolters c 643/gdp 6 Sanchez,Y ph K

Honorable Mention – Combined No-Hitter 8/2/2017, M917-VC17, Dodger Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Mudville 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 10 12 0 Vanderlyle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0

Nine IP H R ER BB K PCH/STR ERA J.Odorizzi (W 4-7) 8 0 0 0 1 10 133/72 5.78 L.Garcia 1 0 0 0 0 0 9/7 3.06 ------** Offensive Performance of the Month **

‘Skayuna’s David Peralta had a big day, but in a losing cause on the road at Duluth . Peralta was 6-for-6 (all singles), with a walk. His 2-out single in the top of the 9th set up Aaron Altherr’s pinch-, game- tying 2-run HR. Peralta was involved in failed rallies in the 11 th and 13 th . The game ended on a bases loaded walk to Duluth’s Paul Goldschmidt ! (Note: Peralta ended up reaching base in 9 consecutive PAs; a HR in his last AB the day before this one and a walk in his first AB the next day!)

8/1/2017, SS17-DT17, PETCO Park 123 456 789 012 34 R H E LOB ‘Skayuna 101 000 002 000 00 - 4 15 1 18 Duluth 002 200 000 000 01 - 5 11 0 11

Squires AB R H HR BI BB AVG D.Peralta lf 6 2 6 0 0 1 .263 1: 1B ; 3:1B , 4: BB; 7:1B ; 9:1B ; 11:1B ; 13: 1B

Honorable Mentions: 7/17: (DT) 2-6, 7 RBI, Grand Slam, 2-run 2B 8/ 1: Giancarlo Stanton(MG) 3-4, 3 R, 6 RBI, Grand Slam, 2 HR 8/ 9: Tim Anderson(NP) 4-4, 3 R, 7 RBI, Grand Slam, 2B, SF ------** Overtime Game of the Month **

The longest game of the month was a 15- affair between the ’Skayuna Squires and the Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks . After Tucker Barnhart delivered go- head single in the top of the 15 th , “Player of the Summer Stretch” David Peralta iced it with a 3-run HR, giving him 5 RBI on the day! Vanderlyle went down in order 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, sending the fans home in tears!

7/23/2017, SS17-VC17, Dodger Stadium 123 456 789 012 345 R H E LOB ‘Skayuna 001 010 011 000 004 - 8 13 0 13 Vanderlyle 000 002 020 000 000 - 4 7 0 8

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Next up ... September Divisional highlights!

Staff Columnist - Biff Barnes Jr. Previous articles: http://tmlam.org/news/2018- JUN.pdf