[Westheim]

1996 WORLD SERIES
Portland Raccoons (108-54) @ Richmond Rebels (96-66)

Game 3 – Scott Wade (14-7, 3.88 ERA) vs. Henry Selph (18-8, 4.06 ERA)

We gotta win this one, Scotty. You know that. Right. Yes. No more fudging. Go out and kill them.

POR: 2B Brewer – SS Salazar – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – LF Kinnear – RF Strong – 3B O’Morrissey – C Vinson – P Wade
RIC: CF Olvera – 2B Villa – RF R. Vázquez – LF Encarnación – 1B A. Diaz – C Aguilar – SS Gorden – 3B Duke – P Selph

Wade walked Olvera to start the bottom 1st, but the speedy centerfielder was left on second base and the game remained scoreless after one inning.

As we got more desperate, this translated to the base paths. Wedemeyer hit a leadoff single in the second, then was sent to steal second base, and was gunned down by Aguilar. For the Raccoons, all the little things were going just WRONG in this series, as best illustrated in the bottom 3rd:

Wade was not hit safely against in the bottom 3rd when he pitched to Selph, who swung through the first pitch, then was awarded first – Vinson had touched the bat during the swing. Olvera and Villa came up with singles and Selph scored the first run of the game. Behind again. The Raccoons had yet to lead any game in this series.

Salazar got on with a single in the fourth. Reece fouled out on a 3-0 pitch, and we didn’t score once Wedemeyer and Kinnear struck out.

Well, one little thing went the Coons’ way in the bottom 5th, when Olvera hit a 1-out double that he tried to stretch and Kinnear erased him at third base. That cost the Rebels a run when Villa singled to right and there was nobody left on to drive home. Still 1-0 Enemies.

Top 6th. Wade got four junk pitches from Selph, didn’t swing at any of them, and walked. Brewer grounded out, but Salazar singled and we had runners on the corners with one out. Come on, Neil! Get somebody in! He grounded into a force at second, and Wade was initially looked back by Tommy Duke. While that cost the Rebels the double play, the Coons were still not on the board, but Weeds came up. Oh, he grounded out. Oh well.

Kinnear got on to lead off the seventh, and Strong found a way to hit into a double play. O-Mo struck out.

Wade was removed in the seventh. He got two out, before Olvera hit an infield single to third. Villa singled to left, and that brought up the left-handed artillery. Having as much trouble to score one run as we had, you could not get into a situation where you had to score four. So Burnett came in to face Raúl Vázquez. For us, this was the whole series, right in this one at-bat. Vázquez singled up the middle, but Encarnación grounded out with the bases loaded. Still 1-0 after seven.

Vinson and PH Newton made quick outs in the eighth, before Brewer, by now batting .179 in the playoffs, singled to center. Salazar did the same. Reece came up, runners on the corners, two outs, 1-0 behind in game 3 of the World Series, and his team winless. NEEEEIIIILL!!! He grounded out to Duke.

Top 9th. Lawson Steward to face Weeds, Kinnear, and the pitcher’s spot, for which Higgins was grabbing a nice bat. We gotta turn this around!

Steward K’ed Weeds, Steward K’ed Kinnear, and Higgins rolled out to Gorden.

Rebels 1, Raccoons 0 (Rebels lead 3-0) – Salazar 3-4; Wade 6.2 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, L (0-1);

“Whatever works” they say. But what do you do when nothing works at all? Defeated by a runner reaching on catcher’s interference. The Rebels were cooling the champagne for tomorrow and in a phone call with a friend in Portland that night I learned that the Agitator was running rampant over there. Three time zones away, and without any friends, and without any clutch hits, and without any help from the defense, I was very lonely.

Game 4 – Jose Rivera (14-1, 2.35 ERA) vs. Jorge Reyes (4-4, 3.98 ERA)

Two call-ups started the game that could well decide the series for good. Notice the desperation expressed in our lineup.

POR: SS Salazar – 2B Brewer – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Newton – 3B Ingall – LF Kinnear – C Kondo – P J. Rivera
RIC: CF Olvera – 2B Villa – RF R. Vázquez – LF Encarnación – 1B A. Diaz – C Aguilar – SS Gorden – 3B Duke – P J. Reyes

A hard ruling in the bottom 1st charged Salazar with an error on a ball he had to jump to even touch, but couldn’t hold onto. That put runners on the corners with two outs, but Diaz grounded out and the game was scoreless through one inning.

Ingall’s error allowed leadoff man Aguilar to reach in the bottom 2nd. Singles by Gorden and Duke loaded the bags with no outs, but Reyes popped out to short. Olvera put the 1-1 pitch into play, a zipper up the middle. Brewer got it, to Salazar, to Weeds, DOUBLE PLAY!!

The Coons threatened for the first time in the third inning. Salazar and Brewer reached with two out already, and that got Reece another - … groundout to third. The game remained scoreless even when the Rebels loaded the bases in the bottom 4th with two outs. Villa grounded back to Rivera, who got the out at first.

Kondo got himself thrown out at second after a bloop single Olvera got to way quicker than a) Kondo thought, and b) Kondo could run, in the fifth inning. Again no score for Coon City. Bottom 5th, Vázquez led off with a double, and stole third after Encarnación went down. Rivera struck out Diaz, and Aguilar popped out to Weeds. Still no score.

Top 6th. Salazar led off with a double of his own, and moved to third when Brewer flew out to right. Reece was not pitched to, as the Rebels preferred the southpaw Jorge Reyes to pitch to Wedemeyer. Weeds looked at a low 1-2 – and was fisted down by the umpire. I couldn’t believe it and yelled obscenities, and neither could Weeds, and yelled along – and that got him tossed. It took a few minutes to calm down everybody, and O-Mo replaced him, playing third, as Ingall shifted to first.

But wait, we’re still batting! Newton was up with two out and runners on the corners. He grounded out.

(slams head against the wall repeatedly)

Kondo drew a 2-out walk from Reyes in the top 7th. In the scoreless game, this got both pitchers removed. Mark Jones replaced Reyes, and Rivera was hit for by Scott Strong. Jones walked him, and Salazar also walked.

Bases loaded, two outs, top 7th, Brewer up. DO SOMETHING FOR YOUR FUDGING MILLIONS, BREWER!! The count ran full on him, and he finally put a pitch into play, a grounder that Pedro Villa just barely missed. Kondo scored! Strong scored!

Reece struck out, but we were now up 2-0. Burnett came in to face the three left-handers among the first four in the Rebels lineup. With mixed success. Olvera singled, but was forced at second when Villa grounded to O-Mo. Villa however scored when Vázquez hit a double, and Kinnear made a bear play on Encarnación’s liner to keep the lead in place. But Vázquez was at third, and Burnett no longer welcome on the mound. Otero came in to face Diaz, and also surrendered a hard shot to deep left. Kinnear after it – MAKES THE PLAY!!

Still up 2-1. O-Mo reached on an error (which was what it took for him to get on, batting a strong .080), and then Newton stunned the Rebels with a 2-run homer to left. GO COONS!! GO COONS; GODDAMNIT!!!

Miller and Ban were lined up to get the 4-1 lead over to game 5. But Miller put Duke on with a 2-out single, and then Rice hit for the pitcher Norio Hayashi and walked. That changed the plan, as Santana came in to face Olvera. Or should Ban? No, we would match, and Santana matched Olvera. Olvera lifted an 0-1 pitch to left, where Kinnear snagged it. Three outs to go.

Ban faced Villa to start the bottom 9th, and walked him. Vázquez grounded out, moving Villa to second. Then Ban walked Encarnación. Oh come on. Diaz grounded out, moving up the runners. Aguilar walked. That was three. That was enough.

De La Rosa came in to face Rory Gorden. He threw only one pitch, which Gorden grounded to O-Mo, who zinged it to first in time.

Raccoons 4, Rebels 1 (Rebels lead 3-1) – Brewer 3-5, 2 RBI; Newton 1-4, HR, 2 RBI; Rivera 6.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, W (1-0); De La Rosa 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 3-0 IR/S;

That spoiled the party for once, now we need Kisho to spoil it twice.

Game 5 – Kisho Saito vs. Edgar Rey

For whatever reason, I put O-Mo and Vinson back into the lineup and Brewer back to the leadoff spot. Somehow I was under the impression they would click now, although nothing had happened in game 4 to inspire such an illusion. Also note that this is the second consecutive game against a southpaw that two left-handed batters will lead off for the Coons, something I usually never do.

POR: 2B Brewer – SS Salazar – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Newton – 3B O’Morrissey – LF Kinnear – C Vinson – P Saito
RIC: LF Encarnación – 2B Villa – RF R. Vázquez – 3B A. Diaz – CF Gorden – C Aguilar – 1B Rice – SS Duke – P Rey

Rey walked a pair in the top 1st and Luke Newton, who was suddenly glazing hot, made him pay with a 2-out, 2-run triple that got the Coons ahead. We had a pair on with two out again in the third for Newton, but this time he popped out.

Saito struggled with control early on, ending up in a couple of 3-ball counts, but he didn’t issue a walk until with two out in the third, to Encarnación, and nothing came of that.

O-Mo had his first hit in ages in the top 4th, a leadoff single, and Kinnear also got on. Two on, no outs, Vinson grounded into a double play. Saito fell 1-2 behind Rey, before knocking the next pitch into play, a hopper to the right side – and it got through! O-Mo hustled home on a 2-out RBI single by Saito! 3-0 Coons!

Rey was adrift now. The first two Coons got on again in the fifth. Wedemeyer grounded into a force on Reece at second base, and Newton also grounded out, but scored Salazar. O-Mo blooped a single into right, on which Newton went to third and drew the throw from Vázquez, was safe, and O-Mo moved to second. Kinnear had a prime chance to break this game open. He grounded a 2-0 pitch up the middle, it eluded the middle infielders, and Newton scored easily. O-Mo was waved around third, but was nailed down by Gorden’s throw. Still, 5-0 Coons. Should be runs aplenty for Saito, right?

Well. His pitch count was already far advanced due to some wildness (although he walked only one through six innings in the game), but in the sixth, Antonio Diaz hurt him with a 2-out, 2-run homer, cutting our advantage back to 5-2. Saito got Aguilar out in the seventh, but then walked Rice, and that got him out. Martinez retired Duke and PH Olvera to get us within six outs of returning to Portland with a chance (we would return anyway at some point…).

In the top 8th, O-Mo and Kinnear reached with singles. No outs, Vinson grounded to first, but Rice botched the pickup and O-Mo scored on the error. We blew the game open in the inning then. Ingall hit for Martinez but was put on intentionally. Brewer hit an RBI single, Salazar hit a sac fly, and Newton would drive in a pair with two out. Santana and Miller finished out the game on the mound.

Raccoons 10, Rebels 2 (Rebels lead 3-2) – Brewer 2-5, RBI; Reece 2-3, 2 BB; Newton 2-5, 3B, 5 RBI; O’Morrissey 3-5; Kinnear 3-4, BB, RBI; Saito 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, W (1-1) and 1-2, RBI; Miller 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

BACK TO PORTLAND!!