[Westheim]

2037 WORLD SERIES
Portland Raccoons (93-69) @ Nashville Blue Sox (100-62)

There were no emotional support animals left for this one, you’d think. You’d be wrong. (removes Honeypaws from a bag and puts him on the counter of the executives’ bar at the Blue Sox’ park) Sir, my little friend needs a shot, too. – No, no, don’t talk to me about him, talk to HIM!

Game 6 – Bernie Chavez (13-10, 3.38 ERA) vs. Doug Clifford (20-10, 3.74 ERA)

Absolutely having to win, the Raccoons continued to sit Greenway against the left-hander. Hooge was also not in the lineup; Maldonado filled up the outfield, with Vickers again playing second and Stedham, who had not been in the lineup in Game 2 of the same matchup, back at first.

POR: SS Ramos – 3B Trevino – RF Maldonado – LF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – C Garcia – 1B Stedham – 2B Vickers – P Chavez
NAS: 1B Bossert – CF J. Sullivan – 3B J. Allen – LF Ashley – SS Bouldin – C Toki – 2B R. West – RF R. Sanchez – P Clifford

Berto opened this elimination game with a single to right. Cosmo singled to center. Maldonado doubled to left, one run scored, and the Coons were on the board already! Manny popped out, which sucked, but Fowler’s grounder to West was tossed away for an error, plating a second run. Garcia walked to fill the bags, and then Stedham looped an RBI single over Rhett West, 3-0! Vickers hit a sac fly, and then Bernie was not expected to do much, but shot a ball through Chance Bossert for extra bases – a 2-run double for Bernie Chavez!! The inning ended with a Berto grounder after the Raccoons had put SIX on Clifford!

And now I was tempted to learn how long it would take Bernie to give up six solo bombs. Two innings? Three? Toki hit one with two outs in the bottom 2nd, so there was one scratch to be made on the lineup card. But the Blue Sox again had made a stupid out on the bases, with Bouldin hitting a single ahead of Toki, then got caught stealing. Down by six! Come on, boys!! You wanna get beaten by those idiots??

(looks around to find a lot of people glaring at him and Honeypaws)

The Blue Sox added two unearned runs in the third, because the Raccoons were just as ****. Berto threw away Bossert’s grounder for a 2-base error. Sullivan singled him in, Bernie also put Allen aboard, and Ashley hit an RBI single. Bouldin struck out as the tying run.

Top 4th, Berto reached base to begin things. He couldn’t get a jump, but Maldonado’s gapper was well good enough for a run-scoring double, 7-3, and Vickers hit another one of those the following inning with Garcia and Stedham on and nobody out. Archibugi struck out Bernie, but gave up a run on Berto’s grounder. West pulled something on the play and had to be replaced by Brad Critzer. Nothing more happened in that inning, but Garcia doubled home Maldonado off Archibugi in the sixth, as the Raccoons reached double digits for the second time in this postseason, 10-3.

At this point it was clear that the Sox accepted that Game 7 was coming. They left Archibugi in, no matter what, until his tongue would hit the mound from him panting so hard. The Raccoons also squeezed every last pitch out of a mildly inefficient Bernie Chavez, who reached 104 pitches through six innings, and was still sent out for the seventh – have as much bullpen available for Game 7 as possible was the doctrine of the day. Bernie got through the seventh unharmed, then got his pat on the bum.

Archibugi was also yanked after four-plus innings, looking completely gassed. The Raccoons, up by seven, then rolled the dice and sent the one pitcher into the eighth inning they would dare to send into a close game – Travis Sims, who entered in a double switch with Nickas, who would replace Vickers. Sims finished the game without blowing up, and the Raccoons were in a GOOD position for Game 7.

Raccoons 10, Blue Sox 3 – series tied at three

Trevino 2-6; Maldonado 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Garcia 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Stedham 3-5, RBI; Chavez 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, W (2-0) and 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Sims 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;