2020 MLB Season: Simulating NL games, May 22-24
By Bill Felber
As the weeks continue trekking along, we continue simulating 2020 MLB season games. Here are the results for May 22-24 for the National League.
You know you’re in a tough race when you take two of three from a post-season contender at their place and still lose ground.
That’s what happened to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who claimed two games of their three-game series with the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Even that outcome wasn’t enough to protect Arizona’s slim advantage in the NL West. The Los Angeles Dodgers swept AL Central contender Cleveland and swept back into a functional tie for the NL West lead.
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The Dodgers are now 36-16, seven percentage points ahead of the Diamondbacks, who are 37-17.
Because the Cincinnati Reds lost two of three-weekend games to visiting San Diego, the Cardinals maintained their one and one-half game advantage in the NL Central.
The Diamondbacks-Cardinals series pitted the NL’s best pitching staff against one of its premier offenses. Arizona is carrying a team .281 batting average, just two points below the league-leading Dodgers. The Cardinals have a league-best 3.37 team ERA.
Pitching won the day Friday when Daniel Hudson and two relievers checked Arizona 2-1. Hudson, 4-3, rode Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run fourth-inning home run to the victory over Robbie Ray, 4-2. Ray and Andrew Chafin allowed just five hits.
But Arizona’s offense opened up Saturday against Kwang-Hyun Kim, 5-3, in an 8-3 victory. David Peralta homered twice and drove in four runs as Arizona jumped out to a 6-1 lead through three innings and let Merrill Kelly coast to a fourth win against one defeat.
2020 MLB Season: Simulating AL games, May 22-24. light. Related Story
The D-Backs muscled up again Sunday, Cardinal starter Adam Wainwright, 5-5, lasting less than three innings. Two errors by right fielder Brad Miller led to three unearned Arizona runs against Wainwright, Christian Walker, and Stu Vogt each driving in three runs.
In other weekend action, the Philadelphia Phillies took two of three from Colorado and the Atlanta Braves did the same against the Mets in Atlanta. That maintained Atlanta’s game and a half lead in the NL East. The Washington Nationals won two of three from Miami in Washington.
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs two of three at Miller Park, and the San Francisco Giants won two of three from the Pirates in Pittsburgh.