PudnerSports.com: NL West - Preview or What-if Season to Date

This blog includes summaries of interleague games which count in our AL Statis-pro season but do not count in the official NL Statis-pro seasons.

With Major League Baseball hoping that play an 82-game schedule, this blog covers the results of our NL West games using Statis-pro cards for current rosters. These cards and rosters simulate the projected hitting, pitching and fielding for each player on a 2020 team (including rookies and new stars from Japan and Cuba).

These might be previews of an upcoming 82-game season or if MLB is unable to play it might become a "what-if" blog like our 2020 March Madness. You can also click on the AL West, AL East, AL Central, NL East, NL Central, though our official NL season is all captured here. We use ballpark factors.

Division Statis-Pro Results to Date

Arizona 8-4 - Do not actually look as strong as the Dodgers, but another strong team.
Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 -with Betts and Price they look like the dominant team in the NL, but in our game they lost an 8-0 lead at Houston that in real life would have been a heartbreak.
San Diego 6-6
Colorado 4-8
San Francisco 4-8

Click for google doc grid of all games.

NL West vs. AL West Results

Arizona won 12-1 at Seattle won 10-3

Colorado at Texas swept 8-5 (up 8-1 after 8 inn) and won 7-6.

San Diego won 6-4 at LA Angels won 4-1. The first time in history I've had one team lose 5 players to ejection or injury in the first two innings. The starting pitcher Heaney was already getting hammered in the first inning when a Z-play (unusual play) game up and an RBI roller down the 1st base line resulted in him, his catcher and the 1st baseman getting ejected. After Tommy Pham hit his second homer of the game for the Padres in the 2nd inning, Trout collided with his right fielder chasing a double (luckily in my game injuries just last one game because I use projected stats and the injury rules are meant to take players with great cards but only a few games played out for long stretches). There was even a rain delay later, which makes both pitchers less effective when play resumes. Angels stayed in the game despite having noone left on the bench, so coming back to win the second game and get a split was a major victory.

San Fran at Oakland won 4-1 in 10, 6-3 in 11. Note we use international rules for extra innings. In the 10th each team can go to any place in the line-up and put the first two runners on base on "intentional" walks, and then at the beginning of the 11th and beyond the next two batters who would have hit are instead given a base on balls. Semien therefore saved the A's in the first game with a 2-out double in the 9th to force an extra inning, then he was back up to start the 10th and blasted a 3-run homer due to the two preceeding runners already being on base. Then they won in 11 innings - I only let most relievers (unless they are a long reliever) pitch one inning unless the game goes to extra innings - and the A's closer Henricks was perfect for three innings for that win.

LA Dodgers at Houston won 8-1, 10-9 (5 games to 1 Astros). This would definitely be the most unpopular result, and it looked like the Dodgers would trade blowouts with Houston after building an 8-0 lead in game two. However, Yordan Alvarez hit two doubles and then a walk-off homer to give Houston the incredible rally for a win.

LA Dodgers 6, Seattle 1 (Sweep)
LA Dodgers 5, Seattle 0 (2nd Sweep, Dodgers credited with winning series 6 games to 0, Seattle drops to 8-10 for the season). Adding Price to that rotation and Betts to the top of that line-up - they may get that World Series title Dodgers fans feel they were cheated out of in both 2017 and 2018.

Colorado 3, LA Angels 1. Rockies ace (Gray) and closer (Oberg) defied altitude again in pitchers' duel.
LA Angels 10, Colorado 7. Angels used closer Robles early to get out of jam already down 5-0, then scored 7 runs in next frame started by rare back to back hit and run 2 plays by Simmons and Fletcher resulting in single then triple and setting up Trout's second Homer in 2 games.

Arizona 7, Texas 3. Bumgarner 7.2 up, 1 we, but k marte error in 8th allowed 2 runs to prevent sweep.
Arizona 9, Texas 0 (sweep). Weaver hit by pitch in bottom of 6th, gave up only single in top of 7th for 1-hit complete game shutout.