vs
| 05/25/24 - Home | 12-2 W |
| 05/15/24 - Home | 8-3 W |
| 06/02/23 - Neutral | 12-9 W |
| 05/19/23 - Away | 14-4 W |
| 05/08/23 - Home | 16-7 W |
| + 5 more games |
Palmer has gone a perfect 10-0 against Houston recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The Moose will look to defend their home field against the Hawks at 12:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Palmer is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Kodiak, who was ranked 13th at the time (Palmer was ranked 14th). The Moose were the clear victors by a 15-5 margin over the Bears on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Moose, who have now won three matchups by ten runs or more so far this season.
Palmer let Mason Miller and Reed Craner run wild. Miller got on base in all five of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and two doubles, while Craner went 3-for-5 with four runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. What's more, Miller posted two hits, the most he's had since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Tristan Barrey, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Palmer always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .585. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Kodiak hit Houston with a ten-run second inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Hawks fell just short of the Bears by a score of 14-12. Even though they lost, the Hawks' still made a splash at the plate and bumped their average scoring up to 6.8 runs per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).
Sebastian Sanford was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. Sanford was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. He has become a key player for Houston: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-2 otherwise.
In other batting news, Ryan Preboski was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Greg Marano, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
The victory got Palmer back to even at 5-5. As for Houston, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-3.
Saturday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Palmer has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .456. However, it's not like Houston struggles in that department as they've averaged .452. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Palmer's way against Houston in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as Palmer made off with a 12-2 win. Will the Moose repeat their success, or do the Hawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
