BY TRUMAN BARTMAN ON JULY 11TH, 2024. THE MAVERICKS.CA

The last time the Prospects were in town, there were fireworks. This time, the Mavericks will look to get into a comfortable position so that fireworks are not needed. The Mavs pulled off their biggest comeback of the season, going down five runs and winning 12-10. 

Since then, Med Hat has heated up big time, entering today’s game on a three-game bender and with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games. It’s also important to note that the Midsummer Mavs are back for their annual hot streak, as they’re 6-2 this month alone. 

The Prospects are far away from the playoffs at the moment. If last season’s Mavericks team can teach us anything about late-season pushes, there has to be some belief that the Prospects can do the same. As of late, they’re on a 3-game skid and have won just 1 game in their last 10.

Keys for Medicine Hat

The Mavericks have played catch-up a lot this year, especially at home. For a team that has a 21-14 record, you wouldn’t suspect them to be the kind of team that gets down big in games. 

Medicine Hat needs to improve their play in the first half of games because when they start to face tougher competition down the road, those teams won’t relinquish leads as easily. 

Against a team like Edmonton, look for contact hitters like Marshall Burke, Brady Bean, and Brody Gardner to make life easy for the Mavs bombers. Both Gardner and Bean had strong cases to be named all-stars this season but were left off the roster. 

There could be some added fire when it comes to how each of them will play from here on out. 

Keys for Edmonton

If there’s one player to point out within the Prospects lineup, it has to be Zach Barnao. On his first visit to Athletic Park, he hit a ball into the South Saskatchewan River. Now that there is no official tally on what the longest home run in Athletic Park history is, I can assure you that Barnao’s would be in the top 3. 

Barnao was an offensive lineman at Grambling State University before converting himself into a power-hitting first baseman. If there is one player the Mavericks should avoid pitching to, it’s him!

The Prospects do not have a single qualified pitcher in the top 20 in ERA at the moment. To be fair, they only have Josh Higgins and Yin Jui Chen who qualify as starters, both of whose ERA hovers around 8.00.

The prospect’s pitching hasn’t been very good. Now I understand that this only shows their staff in a vacuum, but there is no need to go through all of the statistical categories to see that the prospects are either dead last or second last as far as pitching goes.

If Edmonton gets their usual play from their pitchers, it could be a long game for those wearing mustard yellow.

Bottom Line

The red-hot Mavericks will play in red-hot weather tonight, as temperatures are expected to be around 36 degrees at game time. Make sure to bring your sunscreen and some water, and hey, why not throw in an umbrella while you’re at it? The only rain fans can hope to see is their team pouring in hits and runs.