[Westheim]

Raccoons (52-66) vs. Buffaloes (64-54)

The mood was very low going into this series. The Buffaloes were battling the Cyclones for the FL East and were impressive at doing so with their limited budget. With Berrios recycled, the Raccoons would go to a 4-man rotation for one cycle, then add Logan Evans from the DL and eat Ocasio for the rest of the season, which is another lost one anyway. I had eight relievers aboard for this series, with Bojorquez added, since Hughes could not stem the workload for lefties alone.

Jonathan Knapp no-hit the Raccoons the first time through the lineup, before we batted around the order in the fourth to turn a 4-1 lead. Daniel Hall had his first hit in over a week, a single. It was enough for the Raccoons to come through in the game, and we won 5-1. The win could have been higher, as we left the bags full twice, in the fifth and seventh.

Christopher Powell allowed only six hits over seven innings – but four came in the fourth alone, and the last one was a homer for a total of four runs. Daniel Hall tied it up again with a liner to center in the seventh, 4-4. The game went to extra innings, where the Raccoons left the bags full in the tenth. The pen held up well, but they just didn’t score. A leadoff double by Sánz in the 13th also went unscored. Wally Gaston had come in in the top of that inning, he struck out the side in the top 14th, unrewarded. Top 15th, Gaston continued to mow through the Buffaloes. Pedro Hermundo, so far 0-6, singled to lead off the bottom 15th. Gaston bunted him over, before Kieran Lawson rolled one softly to short. Buffaloes SS Alex Betsch came in and the ball ate him up, squirting out of his glove. Hermundo never stopped running from second and the Raccoons walked off in anticlimactic fashion, 5-4. Gaston 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K; Hall 5-7, 2 RBI; Sánz 4-7 – the latter two combined for 60% of the Raccoons’ 15 hits that day, no other player had more than one. Simon was especially ineffective, going 1-6 behind Hall and Sánz.

Every starter in game 3 had at least one hit for the Raccoons (including Ocasio), but they still did not complete the sweep and lost 4-3. I brought Gaston to clean up Morán’s mess in the ninth, but it was too late and the Buffaloes scored the winning run.

Raccoons (54-67) vs. Canadiens (58-62)

Angel Costa’s dropped ball in the first inning plated a total of three unearned runs, and the Raccoons lost 3-1. Guess who got the blame from me? Costa was sat down the next day to play the sparkling .000 hitter Colón.

The result was the same: second baseman (Colón) makes an error in the first, three runs score (although only one was unearned this time). Jorge Romero couldn’t smile, and neither could I. The Raccoons trailed 4-1 in the eighth with the bags full. Johnston grounded out but scored a run. Now there were two outs and runners on second and third. I pulled my ace: backup catcher Kieran Lawson came to pinch hit for 0-3 Pedro Hermundo. He lined one into center and both runs scored, the game was tied. From there, there was no scoring for six, although the Raccoons twice had runners on third with less than two outs and could not convert. (I’m looking at you, Ben Simon) Canadiens won 5-4 in the 15th off Coleman.

The Raccoons led 3-0 after the first in game 3. Powell left after six with a 3-2 lead and both teams threatened to score more. In the eighth, the Raccoons did score more, on a grand slam by Stephano Bocci, who had a 12-game hitting streak. Wally Gaston pitched the ninth with the rest of the pen tired, and while he allowed a run, he struck out the side as well for a 7-3 win. This, on August 24, ties the amount of wins the Raccoons had all of last year.

Raccoons (55-69) vs. Indians (70-54)

Logan Evans came off the DL and rejoined the rotation between Gary Simmons and Roman Ocasio. An off day helped in short-starting Simmons again. This was the rotation we’d use until season’s end. Maybe. Bojorquez and Colón were sent to AAA, and we recalled Gustavo Zuniga, who was hitting .311 at AAA.

The hardly ever scoring Indians sunk the Raccoons 11-4 to start the series. Jenkins, Craig, and Moran all had unjustifiable outings. Craig was loaded with five runs alone.

Game 2, and Logan Evans was raped for six runs in the first four innings, he eventually pitched into the sixth because of the recently much abused bullpen. Moran pitched the last three innings without further damage (surprise there), and the Raccoons mounted a rally in the bottom 9th, but fell a run short and lost 6-5 after scoring three on a Clark double and a Bocci grounder.

The contest closed with eight shutout innings by Roman Ocasio, although he was wilder than wildcats, with 5 BB, 0 K, and two pinned batters. The Raccoons managed to cough up a single run themselves and Gaston was sent in in the ninth. Two quick outs later he surrendered two singles, then plunked a batter. This brought up Jose Encarnación, who had gone deep against Simmons in game 1. With the bags full, Gaston closed the book on the game with the Raccoons’ sole K of the day and save #30.

The team had only four hits in the last game, 2-3 was Hoyt Cook. Bocci’s streak ended at 14 games.

Raccoons (56-71) vs. Aces (59-68)

The 1-0 blues was immediately returned to the Raccoons by the Aces. Jorge Romero had a glitchy first inning, where one run came across. That was all the scoring. The Raccoons had bags full and one out in the eighth, Cook flew out, Simon struck out. Simon always strikes out.

Game 2 began under equal signs, but the Aces added another one in the third against Powell. Their starter Fernando Bustamante had gone into the game with an ERA over five, but dominated the Raccoons – but only through four innings. The Raccoons burned him with a 5-spot in the fifth, highlighted by a 3-run bomb by Hermundo to left center. Christopher Powell ended up going the distance, taking the 7-2 win on six hits. All nine Raccoons that started the game, finished it, and all had at least one hit. Sánz and Hermundo had three each.

The rubber game went to the Aces, 4-3. Simmons was socked for all the runs in four innings and was removed before the fourth even ended. Raccoons left chances out again, as it always has been.

A 10-18 August has wrecked this season for good and the team is firmly nailed to last place again.

In other news:
August 22 – The Pacific’s Freddy Perez tosses a 1-hitter in a 4-0 victory over the Stars.
August 22 – A sixth inning single in a 5-2 loss to the Blue Sox lifts Riley Simon to 25 games of consecutive hitting.
August 24 – One loss too much: the Blue Sox trump the Rebels 4-1 and also chill Riley Simon and his 26-game hitting streak.
August 25 – The Capitals turn the game in Cincinnati in the eighth and win 5-1, creating a three way tie in the FL East between the Capitals and Buffaloes (both 66-58) and Cyclones (67-59).
August 29 – The Knights beat the Canadiens 2-0, as Fernando Vigil pitches a 2-hitter for Atlanta.
August 31 – Wolves 2B Pat Graham has pieced together a 20-game hitting streak.

Rosters expand. Do I really want any of the bagpipes at AAA on the major league team?

September opens in Atlanta, then Boston. Home series against the collapsed Crusaders after that and a last ditch chance to get the Loggers under control in Milwaukee through to mid-September.