[Westheim]

2046 WORLD SERIES
Portland Raccoons (96-66) vs. Denver Gold Sox (110-52)

They had scored more runs than us, they had allowed fewer runs than us (and we had led the CL in the latter category). It would have been an uphill battle against a team with a run differential twice as big as ours anyway, but losing Jason Wheatley and Victor Merino in the end destroyed the Raccoons’ rotation for good. The only people left now were Jackson, Okuda, Wolinsky, … and then pray for rain?

Merino was not diagnosed by the time the series began, but there was no point in carrying a corpse when we needed more arms than ever before. He was moved to the playoff DL, while Jimmy Dalton was also removed from the roster, with Ruben Gonzalez rejoining in time for the World Series.

And the pitching replacement? Our best whiff was to put Hickey in Game 4, then add whatever arm was still left out there to stuff out the bullpen. And that is how 23-year-old Kevin Hitchcock made it onto the playoff roster….

Oh boy oh boy oh boy …………

Denver brought only righty starters, although our left-handed bats had done a whole lot of nothing in the CLCS, so I was not exactly encouraged.

We lost two of three in the regular season to the Gold Sox, with one L taken by Bubba Wolinsky in seven innings of 3-run ball. The other Raccoons starters that had faced the Sox this August were deceased by now…

The Gold Sox were one of four FL teams we had never faced in the World Series.

2046 WORLD SERIES
Portland Raccoons (96-66) @ Denver Gold Sox (110-52)

Game 1 – Jake Jackson (15-12, 3.35 ERA) vs. Gary Perrone (22-6, 2.51 ERA)

We continued in line from where we had left off in the CLCS, with Jackson taking the ball in the opener. As a friendly reminder, he had been whacked in his start against the Thunder.

POR: RF Mercado – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – C Morales – SS Waters – LF Baskins – 2B Martell – P Jackson
DEN: SS R. Thompson – 1B E. Miller – CF S. Castillo – 2B I. Villa – LF T. Turner – RF Greenway – C D. Phillips – 3B Hornig – P Perrone

The Raccoons’ bats continued to do nothing from the start, while the Sox got a Tim Turner double to left-center to open the second inning for them. Ex-Coon Troy Greenway advanced him with a groundout, and Devin Phillips hit an RBI single for the series’ first run. Worse, a wild pitch advanced Phillips, and Jackson allowed a 2-out RBI single to Perrone, then walked Ronnie Thompson before getting a K in on Eric Miller. He was at almost 60 pitches after just two innings.

After an uneventful third, safe for another Turner double with two outs and nobody on, the Raccoons’ Armando Herrera opened the fourth inning with a single to center – the first base knock for the wannabe contenders from the CL. The Coons’ 3-4-5 went down with a strikeout, a groundout, and a popout, and nobody was surprised. They hadn’t hit in the CLCS, why would they start now?

Perrone also chewed up Jackson in the same inning, hitting another ******* 2-out single. This time Thompson also singled, sending Perrone to third base, from where Jackson balked him in before allowing another RBI single to Miller, 4-0. Miller was caught stealing, not that that could probably figure into the result now.

The Raccoons went to Sean Marucci for length in the fifth, which was also a white flag, then opened the top 6th with singles from Mercado and Herrera. But Maldonado struck out again, Toohey flew out to Turner, and Morales grounded out. Instead, Marucci engaged in walking the 7-8 batters, hitting Thompson, and giving up a run on a Miller single in the bottom 6th.

All that was left to see from there was a scoreless inning from Bob Ibold, and Kevin Hitchcock being tossed into the flames in the bottom 8th, giving up a single to PH John Fink and a 2-run homer to Sandy Castillo.

Gold Sox 7, Raccoons 0 – Gold Sox lead series 1-0

Herrera 2-4;

Not pitching or not hitting is always one thing, but doing neither is a bit of a problem…

Game 2 – Bubba Wolinsky (7-4, 3.09 ERA) vs. Roberto Pruneda (19-8, 2.78 ERA)

The Raccoons went for Pat Gurney with force by Game 2, defense be damned. Never mind that we were sending a bloody rookie into the Denver hellscape.

POR: RF Mercado – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – C Morales – 2B Gurney – LF Baskins – SS Waters – P Wolinsky
DEN: 2B I. Villa – RF E. Miller – CF S. Castillo – SS R. Thompson – LF T. Turner – C D. Philips – 1B J. Robinson – 3B Hornig – P Pruneda

Gurney was the first man on base in the game, hitting a 2-out double in the top 2nd to present himself in scoring position for Derek Baskins to fly out to Tim Turner. The Sox in turn drew a leadoff walk from Ronnie Thompson in the bottom 2nd and rushed from there, Devin Phillips taking the bloody rookie deep to left for a 2-0 score. Jason Robinson and Jeremy Hornig reached base as well, but were stranded after a bunt and Ivan Villa’s groundout to Maldonado.

But – hear, hear! – the Raccoons actually reached the board in the third inning. Pruneda struck out Waters and Wolinsky, but Nelson Mercado singled through the right side, and Herrera found the corner in right for an RBI double, then was thrown out at home on a Maldonado single (as if we could count on .100 Bryce Toohey by now…) Toohey promptly legged out an infield single to begin the top 4th, advanced on a wild pitch, but not by any action by a Critter, and was stranded in scoring position …

At least Wolinsky tried to hold up the team’s colors, not allowing the Sox much on base at all after the Phillips homer. That was, at least, until Tim Turner hit another leadoff double in the bottom 6th and then Jason Robinson managed to fool Armando Herrera in center for an inside-the-park home run. At that point I tore up my sample of the 2046 World Series Winners booklet we had produced in anticipation…

The tying run came to the plate in the seventh, with Gurney (forced out by Baskins) and Waters landing singles, but when Manny Fernandez pinch-hit for Wolinsky, he struck out. The Sox tacked on a run with Villa and Castillo singles (off Preston Porter and Mike Lynn) in the bottom 7th, 5-1, but the Raccoons had one last flick of the striped tail in them before going home to lose the series there. Pruneda offered a leadoff walk to Mercado in the eighth, then gave up a double to Herrera. Here came the middle of the order again. Maldonado poked the 1-0 over Hornig for an RBI single, 5-2, putting runners on the corners for Bryce Toohey – who was the tying run, and popped out to Eric Miller in shallow right. Tony Morales popped out on the infield, and Gurney was out to Villa with a grounder…

The Sox pulled the run back off Josh Rella in the bottom 8th, Phillips going deep to center off him. The Raccoons’ Baskins, Waters, and Gonzalez went in order in the ninth against Javy Santana.

Gold Sox 6, Raccoons 2 – Gold Sox lead series 2-0

Herrera 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Maldonado 2-4, RBI; Gurney 2-4, 2B;

Bleakness.