Lawrence (7-15, 5.02)
Ortiz (5-11, 6.73)
Oops. Into the second inning, so a little later than usual! Ortiz has already allowed four hits and two earned runs, so clearly our Underperforming Starter (TM) is at his normal high standard... However, Gonzo hit a solo-homer, so it's just a one-run deficit at the moment.
The magic number is down to one: a loss today or tomorrow, and we will be mathematically eliminated from the post-season. Okay, about 100 games later than we thought we would be, but still...and who better to take us out of contention that Russ Ortiz, the biggest waste of money this organization has seen in a long time.
But there'll be no Bell on the bench: Bob Watson, VP of On-Field Operations for Major League Baseball, announced that bench coach Jay Bell "has been suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount for his inappropriate actions and comments during his club's September 9th game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field". It's because he came out onto the field to argue after being tossed by the umpire, which merits an automatic suspension: "I'm not going to stand there in the dugout, get ejected and not defend myself," said Bell.