Surprise Saguaros (12-16) 6 – Scottsdale Scorpions (12-15-1) 5
3B David Thompson 2-4, R, 2B, CS
Despite going 2-4, Thompson had an uneven day. He scored after a third inning double to give the Scorpions a 4-0 lead.
After that, he killed a fifth inning rally by getting picked off.
While it has no bearing on the outcome of the game, he also a first inning throwing error. It was his first in the AFL and one of three Scorpions errors.
LF Kevin Kaczmarski 1-4, R, 2B, RBI, K
Like Thompson, Kaczmarski participated in the third inning rally. He doubled home Thompson, and he’d score later in the inning to give the Scorpions a 5-0 lead.
One more with Kaczmarski is that he racked up another strikeout. He now has 11 strikeouts in 39 plate appearances. That’s a significant uptick from his regular season strike out rate. Even with the high strikeout rate, he has had a terrific run in the AFL.
I think you’re only looking at his last ten games. Those 11 strike outs came in his LAST 39 plate appearances (with 7 of those coming in the past week, or so). Overall, he has 19 Ks in 78 PAs. While thats still an uptick over his regular season numbers, he’s been much more productive and is also driving the ball a bit more. And thats what Sandy’s analytics people want out of players.
I’m more interested in the dropoff in production over the past two weeks. Its right about the time that a league starts figuring out a player. Unfortunately, the AFL season is over and we won’t get to see how long it takes Kacz to make the adjustments.