Outlaws gearing up for playoff push
With a 15-game lead and 28 games left to play, the Flagstaff Outlaws continue to focus on their overarching goal of winning a BDBL World Series.
“Things have played out the way we expected them to,” Outlaws GM Greg Newgard said during his monthly press conference with local media. “It was 14 or 15 months ago that things were shaping up like this. It’s been comforting to be able to get off to a good start and put some good competition in our rear view mirror.”
Thanks to another 20-win month, the Outlaws have 94 wins going into the final month of the schedule. It’s easy to say this has already been the best regular season in franchise history. The former record was 84 wins during the 102-58 2009 season, when the Outlaws were upset in the opening round of the playoffs.
“That series still stings,” Newgard recalled. “The 102 wins was second to only Los Altos, but it earned us a Wild Card and gave New Milford homefield advantage despite them just winning 90 games. That series went seven with the home team winning every game.”
This year, the Outlaws likely won’t have to worry about that as they appear to have the inside track on home field throughout the playoffs. At this point, they don’t know who their OLDS opponent would be. They know they’ll likely be playing the Benes Division winner, but the Las Vegas Flamingos have stormed back to overtake the South Loop Furies by two games going into the final month.
“We will sit back and look at both teams, but ultimately, I don’t think the opponent will matter much on what we try to do, Newgard said. “We’ll put our best 25 guys out there and look to continue what was worked for us: pitch well, hit well, and field well. It’s just a matter that we don’t get cold in a short series.”
As a team, the Outlaws batters put forward their best effort yet, compiling an OPS of .855 and 163 runs scored, nearly six runs a contest.
“Honestly, that is what we expected all year. This offense should put up hits and runs every single night and it’s good to see how good they could be. We just hope everyone can continue to work hard and keep this going through the end of the season and into the playoffs.”
George Springer took home the Hitter of the Month award. The leadoff hitter put up a triple slash line of .363/.455/.686, scoring 28 times. His nine homers were second to Aaron Judge’s 10 but he racked up 37 hits to pace the team.
“What can you say about George? He really knocked the ball around and had the guys behind him pushing him home. Our offense goes as Springer goes.”
Judge was a close second with his 10 bombs and 27 RBIs and very nice .280/.408/.598 line. Usually those numbers are good enough to take home the monthly prize.
The pitching staff continues to cruise, posting a 3.14 team ERA, slight ahead off their season pace of 3.04. The only real concern was watching the usually lights out Blake Parker struggle for the first time all season. Parker saved 10 games, but also went 2-2, giving up three homers and was charge with a pair of blown saves. Newest addition Matt Albers pitched well is his first month with Flagstaff, throwing a 2.92 ERA in his 12-plus innings.
But the story of the month had to be Chris Sale’s performance. He struggled a bit in Chapter 4, but rebounded in a tremendous way, going 6-0 in his seven starts with a 2.72 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 43 innings.
“The more we watch Sale pitch, the more we can’t believe we made that trade. He’s already broken the team record for strikeouts and will likely have broken it by 100 or more when the final totals come in. His 21 wins already tied the franchise record and he’ll have seven shots at putting that record out of reach for a while. Three losses in 31 starts is just crazy.”
After a tough schedule last month that featured six teams fighting for their playoff lives, the Outlaws will see a much easier lineup of opponents. They’ll still have to face all three Griffin Division rivals, two of which are still in the hunt. They also play the resurgent Flamingos. But they also have four sub-.400 teams in Ravenswood, Myrtle Beach and Western Kansas.