WTOP - A Half-Century of Awful
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The 1916 Athletics may have won only 36 games in the real world. But, apparently, they could hit.
Here’s their box score from today’s 12-7 win over the 1941 Phillies. Every position player had at least one hit, one RBI and one run scored.
Through eight games, the (5-and-3) A’s are batting a ridiculous .404 as a team. They are averaging just under 17 hits per game.
Nap Lajoie is batting .556 (20-for-36), while Amos Strunk is at .538 (21-for-39).
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A few of you had asked for an occasional update on my WTOP tournament, in which I’m trying to determine the worst APBA team between 1901 and 1965. As expected, this has been a lot of fun. I’ve played the first 40 games at a faster rate than usual (for me), so I should be done by late May.
Shockingly, I’ve already rolled three games where a team starting a D pitcher (using optional grade advancement) has beaten a team starting an A.
The tournament batting average is .275 with a slugging percentage of .359.
The overall ERA is 4.46. The WHIP is 1.47
The tourney fielding percentage is .972.
Standings: W-L (GB)
1909 Senators 8-2 (-)
1952 Pirates 7-3 (1)
1932 Red Sox 6-4 (2)
1962 Mets 6-4 (2)
1935 Braves 6-4 (2)
1916 Athletics 5-5 (3)
1941 Phillies 2-8 (6)
1939 Browns 0-10 (8)Team Thumbnails:
1909 Senators (8-2) - Led by a solid pitching staff with a team ERA of 2.12, Washington has already established itself as the class of the field. HOF pitcher Walter Johnson (A-Y) is 2-1, 1.38 ERA and leads the rotation. Offensively, the Senators have four regulars (Wid Conroy, George Browne, Bob Unglaub, Germany Schaefer) all batting above .340. Well-balanced WTOP team.
1952 Pirates (7-3) - The Bucs have been good all-round. Their .417 slugging percentage leads the tournament, while their 2.57 team ERA trails only Washington. Ralph Kiner’s four HR’s are tops in the tourney. The HOF’er has also driven in 12 runs while batting .382. On the mound, Murray Dickson (B-Z) is 3-0, 2.33, while Bob Friend (C ) is 2-0, 1.00. Solid start for Pittsburgh.
1932 Red Sox (6-4) - The Red Sox have had no real MVP performances, but they’re winning as a team. Boston’s #4 starter Ivy Andrews (C ) has been their biggest surprise, going 2-0 with an ERA of 2.50 and a WHIP of 0.78. Dale Alexander is batting .333 with 2 homers and 11 RBI. Catcher Bennie Tate is hitting a surprising .308 with 9 RBI.
1962 Mets (6-4) - Despite batting just .227 as a team, combined with a 5.66 ERA, New York has somehow managed to win six of ten games. Richie Ashburn is batting .419 with an OPS of 1.093, while Felix Mantilla has driven in 12 runs while hitting .324. #2 starter Al Jackson (C ) has been the best of the pitching staff at 1-1, 3.00.
1935 Braves (6-4) - Ben Cantwell (D-Z) has easily been the pitching surprise of the tournament, going 3-0 with an ERA of 1.04 and a WHIP of 1.12. Boston’s #2 starter, Cantwell has been named ‘Player of the Game’ in each of his three starts. Fred Frankhouse (D) is 2-1, 3.00. Boston is batting a solid .298 as a team, while led by Baxter Jordan (.364, HR, 5 RBI).
1916 Athletics (5-5) - The numbers suggest the A’s should be much better than sixth place. Their 71 runs scored and .364 team batting average easily lead the tournament. Their team ERA of 3.28 is third-best. Amos Strunk is hitting an incredible .523, while HOF’er Nap Lajoie is next at .455 with 13 RBI. Top two starters Elmer Myers (B-YW) and Joe Bush (A-Y) have a combined ERA of 0.91, but are a combined 2-and-3 in six starts. Philadelphia is expected to bounce back.
1941 Phillies (2-8) - The hard-luck Phils have been the best fielding team in the tournament (.992), but have little to brag about otherwise. Nick Etten has been a bright spot, batting .400 with a 1.048 OPS. Bennie Warren has homered three times and is hitting .323. But #2 starter Tommy Hughes (C-W) is 0-3 with a 5.81 ERA. The Phils have suffered five one-run losses in their last six games.
1939 Browns (0-10) - Simply put, the pitching staff is awful. Winless St. Louis has a team ERA of 9.21 and a WHIP of 2.23. Top starters Vern Kennedy (D-W) and Jack Kramer (D-W) are both 0-3. Kramer’s dreadful ERA is 12.94, which is actually respectable when compared to Kennedy’s 21.61. St. Louis doesn’t hit too bad. Chet Laabs is a solid .359 with 3 HR’s and an OPS of 1.085. George McQuinn and Harlond Clift are both batting above .310. But, oh, that woeful starting pitching. Toss in the fact that the Browns have the worst fielding in the tournament (.948) and this team has been a train wreck.
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Hitting Leaders:
Batting Average (min 36 PA’s):
Strunk (1916 A’s) .523; Lajoie (1916 A’s) .455Slugging Percentage (min 36 PA’s):
Kiner (1952 Pirates) .735; Laabs (1939 Browns) .667Home Runs:
Kiner (1952 Pirates) 4; Three tied with 3 apieceRBI:
Lajoie (1916 A’s) 13; Kiner (1952 Pirates) & Mantilla (1962 Mets) 12 apieceStolen Bases:
Gessler (1909 Senators) 5; Three tied with 4 apieceWorst Batting Average (min 36 PA’s):
Street (1909 Senators) .088; Gallagher (1939 Browns) .108–
Pitching Leaders:
W-L:
Cantwell (1935 Braves) & Dickson (1952 Pirates) are each 3-0ERA (min 18 IP):
Myers (1916 A’s) 0.70; Friend (1952 Pirates) 1.00WHIP (min 18 IP):
Johnson (1909 Senators) 0.73; Myers (1916 A’s) 0.74Strikeouts:
Durham (1932 Red Sox) 14; Podgajny (1941 Phillies) 13Saves:
Five pitchers tied with one save eachWorst ERA (min 2 starts):
Kennedy (1939 Browns) 21.61; Kline (1932 Red Sox) 16.50 -
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Tired of getting kicked around, the ‘39 Browns have responded with their first win of the WTOP Tournament.
The dice, which had treated St. Louis so badly for ten games, could suddenly do no wrong in a 14-1 rout over the ‘41 Phillies.
Funny game, this baseball… :baseball:
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Man, this tournament is producing some fun games. :+1:
In an all-Boston matchup today, the ‘32 Red Sox and ‘35 Braves both started D-Z pitchers. Game was still scoreless until the bottom of the sixth, when the Braves pushed two runs across.
Meanwhile, Braves’ starter Ben Cantwell was upgraded to ‘A’ after 7 innings. But that’s when his struggles began. He gave up a solo HR in the 8th… then two more in the ninth… as the Red Sox won a 3-2 thriller.
Urbane Pickering was the hitting hero, going 3-for-4 including a big RBI double in the top of the ninth. The Sox’ George Stumpf entered the game as a late defensive replacement and made two key catches in RF.
Cantwell fell to 3-and-1 with an ERA of 1.54. Despite not getting the decision, Red Sox starter Ed Durham is now 2-and-1 with an ERA of 2.90. Not bad for a couple of ‘D’ pitchers, after four starts apiece.
Both teams are now 7-and-7 midway through the tournament. :baseball: :game_die:
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I always enjoy seeing a ‘D’ pitcher toss a CG shutout. And when you’re rolling a WTOP tournament, it happens frequently.
Bob Kline (D) had one today for the ‘32 Red Sox, as Boston blanked the ‘52 Pirates 3-0. He tossed a four-hitter, while striking out two and walking three. In picking up his first win in three decisions, Kline lowered his ERA from 11.08 to 6.55.
Boston (8-7) catcher Benny Tate (a .245 hitter in 1932) had three hits to improve his tournament batting average to .310.
Pirates’ starter Bob Friend (C ) falls to 2-and-2 as Pittsburgh drops out of a tie for first place.
After grounding out in the ninth inning, Bucs’ catcher Joe Garagiola was heard muttering, “APBA GO Baseball is a funny game.” :baseball: :game_die:
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@RandySteinman I reaxhed out. Just curious why DP but suggested adding some offensive stats and pitcher stats. DP is not meaningful in a summary (in my opinion)
2B 3B HR SB RBI LOB RISP so many better -
Real enjoyable game this morning in the WTOP tourney.
Last-place ‘39 Browns hosting the ‘35 Braves. A couple of #5 starters (Ed Brandt, Lefty Mills) were on the hill, each starting the game with ERA’s north of 12.50.
Entertaining back-and-forth match-up. Boston (9-10) took the lead with three runs in the seventh. St. Louis (5-14) rallied to win it with a pair in the bottom of the ninth. 7-6 the final.
Browns’ replacement SS Mark Christman was outstanding. Filling in for an injured Don Heffner, Christman went 3-for-4 with a walk, drove in the tying run in the ninth, and helped turn two big double plays.
But Braves’ 1B Baxter Jordan took Player of the Game honors, going 5-for-5 w/ 2 RBI in the loss.
The game featured 28 hits, four errors and 22 runners LOB. Fun from start to finish. Highly recommend playing some of these awful teams for pure entertainment value… :+1: :baseball: :game_die:
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20 of 28 games are now complete in the ‘regular season’ portion of the tournament. Don’t forget, the best two teams in the final standings will be eliminated. The bottom two teams will advance straight to the semi-finals. The goal of this event is to not be the WORST team in the tournament.
The tournament batting average is .282 with a slugging percentage of .372.
The overall ERA is 4.51. The WHIP is 1.51
The tourney fielding percentage is .970.
Standings: W-L (GB)
1909 Senators 14-6 (-)
1952 Pirates 11-9 (3)
1916 Athletics 11-9 (3)
1932 Red Sox 11-9 (3)
1935 Braves 10-10 (4)
1962 Mets 9-11 (5)
1941 Phillies 8-12 (6)
1939 Browns 6-14 (8)Team Thumbnails:
1909 Senators (14-6) - With a three-game lead with only eight to play, the Senators have all but guaranteed themselves of not making the playoffs. HOF pitcher Walter Johnson (A-Y) is 4-1, 1.23 ERA, while Tom Hughes (C-X) is 4-0, 3.52 ERA. Offensively, the only Washington regular batting under .300 is catcher Gabby Street (at .253). Well-balanced team all-around.
1952 Pirates (11-9) - The Bucs have struggled a bit of late, but are still in great shape. Ralph Kiner has 8 HR’s and 25 RBI to lead the tournament in both categories. The Pittsburgh HOF’er is batting .343, while leading the tourney in both SLG and OPS. Joe Garagiola is batting .360 with 13 RBI’s. On the mound, Howie Pollet (C-Z) is 4-1, 2.42 ERA.
1916 Athletics (11-9) - The A’s have moved up and are still in good shape to avoid the playoffs. Their 122 runs scored and .343 team batting average both lead the tournament. Their team ERA of 3.28 is now best among the eight pitching staffs. At .477, Amos Strunk is running away with the batting title, while HOF’er Nap Lajoie is next at .398 with 19 RBI’s. Pitcher Elmer Myers (B-YW) has allowed only four earned runs in 41+ innings, but is only 2-2.
1932 Red Sox (11-9) - Despite batting a tournament-low .242, the Red Sox are still in position to avoid the playoffs. Their team ERA is a respectable 3.98.
Boston’s #4 starter Ivy Andrews (C ) is 4-0 with an ERA of 2.85, while surprising Ed Durham (D-Z) is 3-1, 2.25. Dale Alexander is batting .320 with 17 RBI’s and continues to be the Red Sox best hitter.1935 Braves (10-10) - Ben Cantwell (D-Z) continues to be a huge pitching surprise for Boston, going 4-1 with an ERA of 2.09. The Red Sox #2 starter, Cantwell is a top candidate for Pitching MVP of the tournament. Fred Frankhouse (D) is 3-2, 3.07. Boston is batting a solid .296 as a team, while led by Art Whitney (.351) and Baxter Jordan (.344). Wally Berger has knocked in 15 runs.
1962 Mets (9-11) - Once a contender for first place, the slumping Mets have dropped seven of their last eight. Their team ERA has dropped to a dismal 6.06, while their batting has remained inconsistent. Felix Mantilla has driven in 24 runs while hitting .325. Richie Ashburn has an impressive OBP of .531, thanks to an amazing 27 walks. But New York’s top four starting pitchers have won only three of their combined 18 starts.
1941 Phillies (8-12) - The improving Phils have won six of their last nine and somehow seem better than their overall record would indicate. But they’ve scored fewer runs than any other team in the tournament, and their .311 OBP also ranks last. Nick Etten leads the way offensively with a .360 batting average and .941 OPS. But #3 starter Cy Blanton is 0-5 with a 7.52 ERA. Ouch.
1939 Browns (6-14) - A few weeks ago, the Browns were one out away from a big 10-6 win in Washington. The bases were empty, when the Sens strung together seven straight hits to win an 11-10 shocker. But that ninth-inning meltdown aside, St. Louis has been the best team in the tournament the past ten games. The Browns are hitting .302 as a team and their SLG of .417 leads the tourney. Six regulars are batting above .320, led by George McQuinn at .391 (OPS of 1.087). The team ERA of 7.11 is actually improving, but continues to be a problem.
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Hitting Leaders:
Batting Average (min 72 PA’s):
Strunk (1916 A’s) .477; Lajoie (1916 A’s) .398Slugging Percentage (min 72 PA’s):
Kiner (1952 Pirates) .686; McQuinn (1939 Browns) .655Home Runs:
Kiner (1952 Pirates) 8; Five tied with 4 apieceRBI’s:
Kiner (1952 Pirates) 25; Mantilla (1962 Mets) 24Stolen Bases:
Unglaub (1909 Senators) 9; Conroy (1909 Senators) & Pick (1916 A’s) tied with 7 apieceWorst Batting Average (min 72 PA’s):
Coleman (1962 Mets) .181; Glenn (1939 Browns) .183–
Pitching Leaders:
W-L:
Hughes (1909 Senators) & Andrews (1932 Red Sox) are each 4-0ERA (min 36 IP):
Myers (1916 A’s) 0.86; Johnson (1909 Senators) 1.23WHIP (min 36 IP):
Johnson (1909 Senators) 0.70; Myers (1916 A’s) 0.86Strikeouts:
Bush (1916 A’s) & Myers (1916 A’s) are tied with 21 apieceSaves:
LaPalme (1952 Pirates) & Reisling (1909 Senators) are tied with two eachWorst ERA (min 4 starts):
Kramer (1939 Browns) 10.67; Kennedy (1939 Browns) 9.38 -
They don’t get more unpredictable than this.
The first-place 1909 Washington Senators hosted the fifth-place ‘35 Braves today. Walter Johnson (A-Y) put his WTOP tournament-leading 1.02 ERA on the line against Boston’s Fred Frankhouse (D).
But from the outset, you could tell this would not be Johnson’s day. The Braves scored one run off him in the top of the first inning… added another pair in the second… and tagged on two more runs in the fourth.
Meanwhile, Frankhouse was mowing down the Sens. Only one Washington runner got past first base as Frankhouse tossed a CG four-hit shutout. By the eighth inning, Frankhouse had been upgraded to an A… while the Senators finished with a D pitcher (reliever Frank Oberlin) on the mound.
In the famous words of Michael Scott, “Well, well, well. How the turntables…”
8-0 was the final score, as Frankhouse (5-2, 2.79 ERA) also contributed offensively with a couple of singles and scored twice. Braves’ 1B Baxter Jordan went 4-for-5 with four RBI’s. His only out was a line-drive into a triple play in the eighth inning. And in this bizarre game, it somehow seemed fitting.
A bewildered Johnson (5-2) saw his ERA ‘balloon’ to 1.92. “I have to admit I didn’t see THAT coming,” the HOF’er later said of the outcome.
“I guess that’s why we play the game.”
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The 28-game ‘regular season’ portion of the tournament is now complete. The best two teams in the final standings (the 1909 Senators & the 1916 Athletics) have been eliminated. The bottom two teams (the '39 Browns & '41 Phillies) advance straight to the semi-finals. Again, the goal of this event is to not be the WORST team in the tournament.
The best-of-three quarter-final matchups will pit the Red Sox against the Braves and the Pirates versus the Mets. The series losers will advance to face the Browns and Phillies in the best-of-five semi-finals.
The tournament batting average is .284 with a slugging percentage of .372. The overall ERA is 4.58. The WHIP is 1.54. The tourney fielding percentage is .969.Final Standings: W-L (GB)
*1909 Senators 18-10 (-)
*1916 Athletics 17-11 (1)
#1952 Pirates 16-12 (2)
1932 Red Sox 16-12 (2)
1935 Braves 14-14 (4)
1962 Mets 12-16 (6)
**1941 Phillies 11-17 (7)
**1939 Browns 8-20 (10)*Eliminated from tournament
#Awarded third place on tie-breaker
**Advance straight to semi-finalsTeam Thumbnails:
1909 Senators (18-10) - The best team in the event from the start. HOF pitcher Walter Johnson (A-Y) finished 5-2, 1.92 ERA, while Tom Hughes (C-X) was 5-0, 2.72 ERA. Offensively, Wid Conroy batted .352 with 19 RBI. Every Washington regular finished with a batting average above .270.
1916 Athletics (17-11) - The A’s 170 runs scored and .330 team batting average led the tournament, as did its team ERA of 2.94. At .430, Amos Strunk won the batting title over HOF teammate Nap Lajoie at .410. Pitcher Elmer Myers (B-YW) finished 4-2 with a sizzling ERA of 1.07.
1952 Pirates (16-12) - The Bucs were paced by Ralph Kiner’s 9 HR’s and 30 RBI, which led the tournament in both categories. The Pittsburgh HOF’er batted .340, while leading the tourney in both SLG and OPS. Catcher Joe Garagiola batted .386. On the mound, Howie Pollet (C-Z) was 6-1, 1.87 ERA.
1932 Red Sox (16-12) - The surprising Red Sox finished with a team ERA of 3.82. Boston’s #4 starter Ivy Andrews (C ) was 5-0 with an ERA of 2.70, while Ed Durham (D-Z) was 3-3, 2.78. Top hitter Dale Alexander singled in his final four AB’s to finish with a .404 batting average.
1935 Braves (14-14) - Boston’s top two starters were the biggest surprise of the tournament. Ben Cantwell (D-Z) finished 5-2 with an ERA of 2.41, while Fred Frankhouse (D) was 5-2, 2.79. Boston batted .305 as a team, second only to the A’s. Art Whitney batted .343 while Wally Berger knocked in 29 runs.
1962 Mets (12-16) - The Mets faded badly but still managed to make the quarter-finals. Their team ERA of 7.05 actually passed the '39 Browns for worst in the tournament. Roger Craig (D) finished 0-5 with an ERA of 10.43. Leadoff hitter Richie Ashburn had an impressive OBP of .518, thanks to 36 walks.
1941 Phillies (11-17) - The Phils scored fewer runs (123) than any other team in the tournament, and their SLG and OPS also ranked last. Nick Etten batted .333 while Danny Litwhiler drove in 25 runs. On the mound, the Phils’ top three starting pitchers won only four of their 20 starts.
1939 Browns (8-20) - The Browns never really recovered from their 0-and-10 start. But their offense is better than average and their pitching staff rebounded to finish with a team ERA of 6.79. George McQuinn batted .353 (OPS of 1.023), while Johnny Berardino hit .308 with 24 RBI.
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Hitting Leaders:
Batting Average (min 87 PA’s):
Strunk (1916 A’s) .430; Lajoie (1916 A’s) .410; Alexander (1932 Red Sox) .404Slugging Percentage (min 87 PA’s):
Kiner (1952 Pirates) .619; McQuinn (1939 Browns) .613Home Runs:
Kiner (1952 Pirates) 9; Three tied with 5 apieceRBI’s:
Kiner (1952 Pirates) 30; Three tied with 29 apieceStolen Bases:
Unglaub (1909 Senators) 10; Conroy (1909 Senators) 9Worst Batting Average (min 87 PA’s):
Warstler (1932 Red Sox) .1777; Hodges (1962 Mets) .1782–
Pitching Leaders:
W-L:
Hughes (1909 Senators) & Andrews (1932 Red Sox) were both 5-0ERA (min 28 IP):
Myers (1916 A’s) 1.07; Pollet (1952 Pirates) 1.87WHIP (min 28 IP):
Johnson (1909 Senators) 0.87; Myers (1916 A’s) 0.99Strikeouts:
Bush (1916 A’s) 32; Myers (1916 A’s) 29Saves:
LaPalme (1952 Pirates), Reisling (1909 Senators) & Moford (1962 Mets) tied with two eachWorst ERA (min 28 IP):
Craig (1962 Mets) 10.43; Kramer (1939 Browns) 9.46 -
The quarter-finals are done. And there was a bit of a shocker in the WTOP world.
The 1962 New York Mets - losers of 13 of their previous 17 - rallied to win two straight games from the '52 Pirates to eliminate themselves from the tournament.
After dropping the best-of-three series opener 5-4, the Mets got outstanding back-to-back complete-game pitching performances from Al Jackson (C ) and Jay Hook (D). The Mets swept the final two games by scores of 3-1 and 7-1 to send the stunned Pirates into the semi-finals.
New York’s hitting hero in the final two games was little-used catcher Sammy Taylor. After Choo-Choo Coleman was ejected for arguing balls and strikes early in Game #2, Taylor came off the bench to go 5-for-7 with two walks and three RBI’s.
Pittsburgh will now face the '39 St. Louis Browns in a best-of-five semi-final, while the other series will pit the 1935 Boston Braves against the 1941 Philadelphia Phillies.
The Braves advanced to the semi’s after losing two straight games (by scores of 3-2 and 9-4) to the 1932 Boston Red Sox. -
And things are quickly going from bad to worse for the '52 Pirates.
In their semi-final series opener, the Bucs blew an early 7-0 lead and fell 10-7 to the '39 Browns. The wild game featured 34 hits, five errors and 23 runners LOB.
The Pirates were without SS Dick Groat and Hall of Fame LF Ralph Kiner. Both were injured in a collision in Pittsburgh’s previous game against the '62 Mets.
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A pitcher’s duel has ended the semi-final portion of the WTOP tournament. And the 1935 Boston Braves will face the 1939 St. Louis Browns for the ‘championship.’
The Braves and 1941 Philadelphia Phillies went to a fifth and deciding game in their semi-final. In a battle of ‘C’ pitchers, the Phils’ Johnny Podgajny and the Braves’ Bob Smith both tossed complete games. But a two-out RBI single by Philadelphia’s Joe Marty in the top of the 8th cashed in the lone run of the game.
The 1-0 victory eliminated the Phillies from the tournament and sent the Braves into the best-of-seven final against the '39 Browns. St. Louis advanced by losing three games to one to the '52 Pirates in the other semi-final, as Pittsburgh exploded for 43 runs in the four-game series.
The Braves (16-18 in the tournament) will have home-field advantage in the final. The underdog Browns have an overall record of 9-and-23.
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In a game much closer than the final score would indicate, the Braves take the series opener 5-1.
Boston pitcher Danny MacFayden (D-Z) gets his first win of the tournament, tossing a complete game six-hitter. His only blemish was Chet Laabs’ solo HR in the fourth inning. MacFayden (1-3, 4.18 ERA) even singled in a big insurance run in the eighth.
Braves’ catcher Frank Hogan doubled home two runs in the first, then doubled again to lead off a three-run rally in the eighth. Les Mallon broke open a tight 2-1 game with a key two-out, two-run single later in the inning.
Browns’ pitcher Vern Kennedy (D-W) went the distance in the loss. He dropped to 2-5, while lowering his ERA to 8.03.
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really fun tournament… can’t wait to see who ‘wins’!