[Westheim]

Raccoons (23-13) @ Crusaders (16-21)

Just a few years ago, the Crusaders had been the offensive powerhouse of the division. Now they had 130 runs after 37 games, just over 3.5 R/G. Their pitchers were above average, though. The question was, how the wobbling Raccoons pitchers (in the rotation at least) would keep their stuff together.

Neither the rotation, nor the pen kept anything together in game 1. Logan Evans barely made it through five innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and three walks. The bottom 6th brought the explosion, as Paul Cooper allowed four runners without retiring one and Fletcher Kelley gave up a grand slam. Hits: 18-3 Crusaders. They wrecked the Raccoons 10-1.

Well, that went well. And it didn’t get better. Jorge Romero went seven frames and took a 2-1 loss in game 2, with the Raccoons offense lying dead and the Crusaders getting just that one clutch hit when they needed it.

Game 3. Moran walked three in the first inning and the Crusaders took a 1-0 lead, which they extended to 2-0 in the second. Wyatt Johnston got the start at first and hit a 2-run double to tie it in the fourth, whereupon the Raccoons made two errors (Green and Sanchez) in the bottom 4th that almost got runs again. The Raccoons wiggled through to lead 4-3 in the seventh, where Johnston dropped a ball for the third error of the game. That runner almost scored, but was nailed by Borjón from the outfield. Walker made a sprawling catch to end the inning with a runner on second, then made breathing a bit easier for me with a 3-run rocket in the top 8th, 7-3. Cooper made good for his nightmare outing in game 1 (well, he tried hard, but you hardly ever make good a 0.0 IP, 4 ER outing) with a flawless eighth and Gaston pitched a 1-hit ninth to end it, 7-3. Walker 4-5, HR, 4 RBI;

That series was … finally over. Quick, home, QUICK!!

Raccoons (24-15) vs. Knights (16-24)

This was the last series without Ralph Nixon, although Gonzalez was not doing bad: he had a 12-game hitting streak going, which he extended to 13 in the bottom 5th of game 1. The Raccoons batted for nine hits in the first five innings against Luis Nunez – yet only scored once. Jerry Ackerman pitched a good game and held the Knights down, mostly. Mark Dawson threw out a runner at the plate to end the top 4th, that was a close call for sure. The Raccoons then scored three runs in the bottom 6th with long balls from Dawson (solo) and Walker (2-run), 4-0. Tony Lopez blew the shutout in the ninth, West got the final out. Ackerman 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K; Dawson 2-3, BB, HR, RBI;

Powell was up for game 2, and while he was not quite bulletproof, he held the Knights off the scoreboard. The Raccoons cracked ten hits through six with a 2-0 lead established, then broke the game open with a 4-spot in the seventh. I originally had planned to take Powell out with the small 2-0 lead, but then left him in. He breezed through the eighth, but then Cameron Green made an error to lead off the ninth and Engjell Vulaj, the main threat in the Knights lineup, doubled to right. Powell was yanked for Cunningham, who prevented the two runners on second and third from scoring. The Raccoons won 6-0. Bowling 3-3, BB, 2 RBI; Powell 8.0+ IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K; Powell is now 7-0 and is ERA is down to 2.85 again, and also had his 500th major league strikeout in the game.

The main issue seemed to be with the 2-3 guys in the rotation at the moment. The #2 guy was next. The Raccoons had not swept a series since the 2-game Loggers season opener. The Raccoons were 4-4 in Evans’ starts, with only 22 runs (2.75 R/G). Not the brightest outlooks here.

They did not complete the sweep, althought it was not Evans’ fault, who went seven with two runs (one unearned after a Green error) against him. But the Raccoons missed all their chances and only scored in the eighth, too late, and lost 3-1.

Raccoons (26-16) @ Bayhawks (21-24)

We changed something about our rotation as well, and dropped Jorge Romero to the #5 spot. He was not getting it done currently, and probably the best part of his career was past him. Also, Ralph Nixon came off the DL, but the problem was whom to bench. Gonzalez had a 15-game hitting streak going, Walker was leading the team in average, Green was leading in OBP, and Workman was solid all around. The solution was to play with five infielders. No, Cameron Green was benched, but maybe I could work out a system where Green, Walker, and Gonzalez shared the three spots on the left side. Walker was put to 3B to start the Bayhawks series.

The Bayhawks had problems with their rotation and pen, but the bad news were that we would face the good part of their starters, if all went to plan. Their offense had already scored 225 times, leading the CL.

Daniel Hall hit a RBI double in the first for an early 1-0 lead, which the Raccoons never got to extend. Moran pitched seven shutout frames, but Wally Gaston was beaten in the eighth. He nicked a batter and surrendered two hits, blew the save and took the loss, 2-1 Bayhawks.

Maiden major league hit for starter Jerry Ackerman in game 2: he hit a game-tying RBI single in the top 5th of game 2, equalizing a first inning run of the Bayhawks. The Raccoons bats were silent again through the first four innings, but in the sixth Nixon and Borjón led off with hits to stand on the corners with nobody out. At least those two were scored, with another RBI to Ackerman on a fielder’s choice. The Raccoons won 4-1, as Ackerman pitched eight frames of 3-hit ball. Edgardo Gonzalez’ hitting streak ended in style: 0-5, 3 K! Ackerman’s five wins put him second on the team.

With Gonzalez’ streak over, we put in Green again at third base and started an experiment with him batting leadoff. His high walk numbers with Walker’s .320+ batting behind him might have positive effects on production. Hall and Nixon were next with averages around .280, and Borjón swung fifth. He was still around .220 …

Romero was on the mound in the rubber game. His opponent was veteran Walt McCorkindale, who held the Raccoons short until the sixth, where the first two got on, and McCorkindale added two walks for a run. Romero meanwhile went six innings of 2-hit ball, but that sounds so much better than he was. In fact, Daniel Hall, Mark Dawson, and Ralph Nixon all made defensive plays that will be seen in sport broadcasts’ highlight reels for years to come. What made the pen with that 1-0 lead? They immediately broke it. Cooper and McCullough surrendered hits to the only batters they faced and Cunningham could not contain the fire this time. The Bayhawks emerged with a 3-1 lead, and won 4-2, a Mark Dawson home run in the ninth was meaningless.

In other news:
May 18 – Dean Botts tosses a 3-hitter as the Capitals beat the Rebels 3-0. Botts’ 1982 resume is much less favorable with a 2-5 record and 5.52 ERA.
May 19 – Miners C Sam Murphy (.331, 6 HR, 27 RBI) is out for a few weeks with a torn hamstring.
May 20 – Pacifics reliever Adem Dajan, 34, is out for the season with radial nerve compression. We had posted a 3-0 record and 1.46 ERA in 16 games.
May 22 – Ulnar nerve irritation and three months out: the Wolves lose 27-yr old SP Bob “Butcher” Haines (5-2, 1.33 ERA), blowing a gaping hole into the last place club’s rotation.
May 24 – The Rebels lose CF Jimmy Hunter (.333, 1 HR, 17 RBI) to a strained oblique for about three weeks.
May 24 – Loggers SP Bill Warren (3-3, 3.43 ERA), a true workhorse, won’t pull the plough for a while: the 25-yr old suffered a stretched elbow ligament and will be out for almost a full year.
May 26 – Titans fans are shocked: Juan Valentín suffered a knee sprain and is out until the All Star game. His .321, 5 HR, 28 RBI was pacing Titans batters.
May 26 – Charlotte’s Cordell Atkins brings a hitting streak to 20 games.

The rotation is suffering badly, the bullpen’s excellence has been trashed, and the offense is completely silenced. They scored 3.0 R/G in the last three series.

Next: homestand against Condors and Aces, then road trip to the Loggers and Indians.