[Westheim]

2028 CONTINENTAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Portland Raccoons (98-64) @ Tijuana Condors (95-67)

Game 3 – Rin Nomura (16-6, 3.07 ERA) vs. Adam Potter (10-7, 3.10 ERA)

With the second right-handed option coming up for Tijuana, the Raccoons would stick to the Game 2 lineup.

Potter had seen the Coons three times this year, including once in relief. He went 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA, but most recently had tossed eight shutout innings at them in the September series. Nomura had also gone 1-1 against them in two starts for a 3.14 ERA (same as Roberts, so maybe we’d better duck). Rin had suffered his only loss after the All Star Game against the Condors.

POR: SS Ramos – 2B Stalker – CF Mora – LF Hereford – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – P Nomura
TIJ: CF C. Murphy – 1B McGrath – 3B Sanks – RF M. Matias – SS Showalter – C Zarate – LF Braun – 2B Fitzsimmons – P Potter

Tom Fitzsimmons shagged Ramos’ grounder to begin the game, but then had straight singles pass him by on either side by Stalker, Mora, and Hereford. The last one put the Coons up 1-0 in the opening frame, but it was the only run the team got in the inning, because Harenberg remained the great deflator around here. He popped out, Gomez singled to load them up, but Sanks robbed Nunley on a quick bounce to end the inning.

The Condors were less picky and undressed Nomura as early as the second inning in shameful fashion. Matias singled and Showalter walked to begin the inning. Zarate hit a fly to center that advanced the lead runner, after which Nomura rung up Brown. With two down, he then bled consecutive 2-out singles to Fitzsimmons to tie, and to ****ing Adam Potter to fall behind 3-1.

Not that Potter held on; Abel Mora opened the third with a gapper for a double, then scored on two productive outs, which cut the gap to 3-2, but the Coons continued with a Gomez double to left and Nunley knotting it up with a single to center. Tovias flew out to right, and when Nomura came back to the mound, he continued to implode. Leadoff walk to McGrath, then a 2-piece drummed by Shane Sanks that put Tijuana up 5-3 and got the Coons pen active. It would then get involved in the bottom of the fourth; Chris Murphy had tripled in Fitzsimmons to extend the gap to 6-3, and management decided Nomura could continue to suck balls in the clubhouse. Fleischer replaced him, but conceded the Murphy run, too, when McGrath hit a sac fly to Hereford, 7-3.

The Critters got a run back in the fifth when Gomez grounded out to allow Mora to score after a leadoff single, but things slowed down completely after that. Ramos got on base in the sixth, but was caught stealing, and the Raccoons went down in order in the seventh and eighth. The wild mix of Fleischer, Anderson, Kearney, and Derks held the Condors also where they were, but that in itself would not help to make up a 3-run deficit.

The ninth inning would see Pat Selby out against leadoff man Elias Tovias, who led off with a single to center. My whiskers twitched. I sensed a chance. Armando Leal batted in the #9 hole and grounded back to the mound. Selby pounced, fired to second – wildly. All paws were safe on the error, and the tying run was at the plate with nobody out. Ramos flew out to center, the stupid ****ing Murphy robbed Stalker in the gap, and Mora flew out easily to Braun.

Condors 7, Raccoons 4 – Raccoons lead series 2-1

Mora 2-4, BB, 2B; Gomez 2-4, 2B, RBI; Fleischer 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Never trust hope. Hope SUCKS.

Maybe even more than our starting pitchers. What is going on, boys???

Game 4 – Dan Delgadillo (8-4, 4.89 ERA) vs. Joe Perry (17-8, 3.31 ERA)

The Condors had shackled Yusneldan for four runs and a no-decision in his only attempt in the regular season, and he had also allowed a run in one inning in relief in Game 1. Perry had piled up a 6.28 ERA in three outings against Portland this year, but somehow had ended up 1-0 in those three starts.

POR: SS Ramos – 2B Stalker – RF Gomez – 3B Hereford – 1B Harenberg – LF Morales – CF Mora – C Tovias – P Delgadillo
TIJ: CF C. Murphy – LF Denzler – 3B Sanks – 1B McGrath – RF O. Larios – C Zarate – 2B Bross – SS Fitzsimmons – P Perry

Ramos led off with a walk and was immediately doubled off by Stalker, which was not a great help, especially with Delgadillo sucking just as much as the other guys in the rotation, minus maybe Rico Gutierrez. The Condors loaded the bases in a hurry in the bottom 1st and got a 2-run single from Omar Larios to take the early lead.

The Raccoons stranded them at the corners in the second inning; Harenberg had reached on an error by Dave Bross, Morales had singled, but that was all they could pile up on Perry in the inning. Mora fouled out, Tovias grounded out to Sanks to strand the runners. By contrast, the Condors tacked on a run on Fitzsimmons’ leadoff double in the bottom 2nd, a bunt, and Murphy’s groundout, 3-0.

Through four innings the Condors out-hit their wholly inept opposition 8-2, but stranded runners in scoring position in the third, and had them again in scoring position in the fourth when Murphy tried to nip second base and was thrown out to end the inning. The situation would not meaningfully change through six innings, or through seven. The Raccoons had two hits, and the Condors had ten.

Most infuriating was probably the fact that Perry pitched 7.1 innings and struck out NOBODY. It was all the Raccoons hitting into ****ty out after ****ty out after ****ty out. Maybe a double play when Perry walked one at some point. Nunley pinch-hit in the eighth and singled up the middle to get Perry removed from the game. His replacement, right-hander Mike Baker, walked Ramos to bring up the tying run, which had not been at the plate since the second inning. Stalker grounded a 3-2 pitch at Fitzsimmons, who butchered a near-certain double play for an error, and now there were three on and one out.

And remember how routinely miserable the Raccoons were with three on and no outs? Let’s be glad there was one out!

Rafael Gomez faced Baker and poked the first pitch back to the mound. The only thing that cost the Condors home-and-first was probably that it was still hit a wee bit too hard and Baker only got to knock it down at the first swipe. Nunley was out by a mile still, but Gomez legged out the return throw. The Condors then sent lefty Lisuarte Paradela against Hereford, who popped out on the first pitch he saw. The Condors scored an insurance run in the bottom 8th on FOUR 2-out walks, three of them issued by Nick Derks, and one, drawn by PH Adam Braun, by Brotman. The Raccoons went down without as much as a wheeze in the ninth.

Condors 4, Raccoons 0 – series tied 2-2

Nunley (PH) 1-1;

Three hits, four walks… they still never struck out. And yet they were absolutely horrendous. If only our starting pitching could finally sew up their leaky bum holes and get a decent outing together …!

Game 5 – Mark Roberts (16-5, 3.17 ERA) vs. Jeff Little (14-7, 3.18 ERA)

Back to square one, and two pitchers that had been torn up for ERA’s north of 10 in the first game in the series. Little’s was 10.80, which was scary enough, but Roberts had been mauled for a 16.20 ERA, not at all becoming of a former Pitcher of the Year.

POR: SS Ramos – 2B Stalker – RF Gomez – 3B Hereford – 1B Harenberg – LF Morales – CF Mora – C Tovias – P Roberts
TIJ: CF C. Murphy – 1B McGrath – 3B Sanks – RF M. Matias – SS Showalter – C Zarate – LF Braun – 2B Fitzsimmons – P Little

Three little Raccoons produced three pathetic grounders in the first inning in what was hopefully not their reaction to having been 3-hit by essentially a static display of cotton batting in Game 4. Hereford drew a leadoff walk in the second, Harenberg reached on an error, but Morales struck out and Mora hit into a double play. What a joy to know that this series would only be decided in Portland and that we would get kicked out of the playoffs in front of our home crowd…

At least Mark Roberts went off like a fire engine and struck out four in the first two innings, putting nobody on board, then bunted over Tovias after a leadoff single in the top 3rd. Ramos hit a single to right, but Tovias was not going to score on that. Tim Stalker grounded between the mound and Fitzsimmons, which was not a shabby place to put a roller with a speedy man on first base. Fitzsimmons looked at Ramos, did so decidedly too long, then went to first, and then it was too late – all paws were safe, and Tovias had scored to make it 1-0 in this pivotal Game 5. The Raccoons then sent their remaining runners for a double steal. Zarate fired a really good throw to third base, but it was still not enough to beat Ramos. Those were also the Coons’ first stolen bases in the entire series…

Gomez continued with a bouncer over the second base bag that Fitzsimmons cut off, but this time really had no play – the second consecutive RBI infield single extended the lead to 2-0. Hereford struck out, but Harenberg hit a hard RBI single to left to get to 3-0 before Morales was rung up to bring Roberts back out.

Roberts retired the first 12 Condors in a row between everything went wrong again at once. Mike Matias hit a soft pop to left that was probably going to fall for a single, but a confused Danny Morales managed to play the ball into a triple in a graceless display of panic. Showalter hit an RBI double, Braun hit an RBI single, and suddenly it was 3-2 and scary again.

Little was knocked out in the sixth and replaced by Josh Sharp after Mora walked and Tovias hit a double to left. This came with one out and the Coons were unwilling to let go of Roberts, who struck out. Ramos was halfheartedly walked, not really intentionally, but they wanted no piece of him for sure despite him batting .250 in the series, and would rather try their luck with Tim Stalker, just back from injury, with three on and two outs. He popped out.

Roberts had a scary sixth with two deep drives against him that were caught by Mora and Gomez, respectively, then struck out Matias and Showalter to begin the seventh. And then hung one again. Zarate homered to tie the game, and everything was horrible.

Braun robbed both Tovias and Nunley on deep drives in the eight after Mora had drawn a 1-out walk against Sharp, who seemed to pitch forever and effortlessly.

Before long, it was the 10th. Pat Selby was one for Tijuana, while Kevin Surginer had spun two scoreless to keep the Condors from winning. The Coon made three poor outs in the top 10th before they sent Ricky Ohl to at least give them another chance to blow away. Ohl rung up Showalter. Zarate popped out. Adam Braun hit a 420-footer to right to end the game.

Condors 4, Raccoons 3 (10) – Condors lead 3-2

Stalker 2-5, RBI; Gomez 2-5, RBI; Tovias 2-3, BB, 2B; Roberts 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K; Surginer 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

(lies in rolled up and expressionless in a wheelbarrow pushed by the Druid as the team leaves the park for the airport)