Raccoons (3-2) vs. Thunder (5-2) – April 13-15, 2048
The Thunder were probably still nursing their recurring CLCS trauma, but they still had to face the Raccoons once again. They had taken the regular season series last year, 5-4, but we had again taken the games that counted in October. Out of the gate, Oklahoma was second in runs scored (but with the most games in the bank) and fifth in runs allowed. They had won five straight after starting out 0-2.
Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (0-1, 36.00 ERA) vs. Danny Orozco (1-0, 3.86 ERA)
Victor Merino (1-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. Victor Marquez (1-0, 1.23 ERA)
Jake Jackson (0-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Felix Alvarez (1-0, 1.29 ERA)
Orozco and Marquez would make it three left-handed pitchers in a row here, before we’d get another righty in Alvarez.
Game 1
OCT: CF J. Price – 2B Ban – SS R. Cox – RF Benavides – 1B B. Jenkins – 3B Crim – C Urfer – LF Zurita – P Orozco
POR: SS Adame – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – 2B Waters – RF Pellicano – LF Fernandez – C Prow – P Wheatley
Wheatley had been boiled alive in the season opener, so getting through two innings unharmed this time was already some sort of progress. Matt Waters singled home Alex Adame for a first-inning run on the board, but then came the top 3rd, and things went catastrophically wrong again in the most stupid fashion, beginning with a 1-out walk to the opposing pitcher, then Jim Price getting nicked by a breaking ball. The Thunder didn’t have to be invited twice. Jonathan Ban hit an RBI single to left-center, Ryan Cox hit an RBI double into the corner, and then Toohey fumbled Juan Benavides’ grounder or a third, unearned, run. He’s a second-half pitcher… he’s a second-half pitcher…..
Waters tied the game in the same inning, singling home Maldo and Toohey with two outs; Maldonado had been hit by a pitch and Toohey had singled, with a fielding gaffe by Price giving the runners an extra base and setting up Waters for the game-tying hit. Not that it helped Wheats with being any less abused – he walked Rick Urfer in the fourth, Angelo Zurita singled, the runners were bunted into scoring position, and Waters could not reach Price’s 2-out grounder to the right side that scored both of them, 5-3. Another two hits made for another run in the fifth, and Wheatley ended up showering early again…
For a brief moment in the bottom 6th it looked like the loss would not stick to Wheatley, with the Raccoons loading the bags against right-hander Jon Craig (not the ex-Coon), who then walked in a pair of runs facing Pat Gurney and Alex Adame before Herrera flew out to Angelo Zurita. That was as close as they got, though, with no offensive action in the seventh and eighth innings, and then Nelson Moreno getting taken deep by Price for a 2-run homer in the ninth inning. 8-5 Thunder. Toohey 2-3, BB; Waters 2-4, 3 RBI; Gurney (PH) 0-0, BB, RBI; Hitchcock 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;
No, Maud, thanks. I do not wish to read today’s Agitator…
Game 2
OCT: 3B Montes de Oca – C Adames – 1B B. Jenkins – RF Benavides – LF Hertenstein – SS R. Cox – 2B Crim – CF DeMarco – P V. Marquez
POR: LF Watt – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – SS Waters – RF Pellicano – 2B Martell – C Gonzalez – P Merino
Facing an almost exclusively right-handed lineup, Merino, too, swiftly drowned. Ryan Cox doubled and scored on Nick DeMarco’s single in the second. Angel Montes de Oca hit a leadoff single in the third, and was begged around to score by Merino, who threw two wild pitches in the inning, including one with Montes on third base. They scored a pair in the fourth, although that inning began with a horrendous throwing error by Matt Waters, putting Daniel Hertenstein on second base, and two singles led to the two runs from there. Merino somehow lumbered into the sixth before being knocked out by back-to-back 2-out singles by DeMarco an Marquez… Preston Porter got Montes to fly out to bail out of the inning, not that it mattered given the vast amount of nothing produced by the Raccoons’ offense against Marquez. The lowlight was likely Maldonado in the bottom 6th, poking a 2-out single, only the third base hit off Marquez, and then getting picked off more or less immediately. Matt Waters hit a stray solo homer in the seventh inning. Al Martell struck out on a borderline called strike in the same frame, then got tossed for a disagreeing paw gesture towards the umpire. Pat Gurney replaced him at second base.
To begin the bottom 8th, the Raccoons were down 4-1. Watt singled off Marquez to begin the inning, and Herrera got a ball over the leaping Joe Crim for another single. A fielding disagreement between Benavides and DeMarco allowed the runners into scoring position, bringing up the meat of the order with nobody out and the tying run now in the box. Maldonado hit a sac fly to Hertenstein before Toohey homered the game tied, all even at four, with his first bomb of the season. So that was all nice and flowery, but then the Raccoons went back to Mike Lynn, off his horror 4-walk outing against the Knights. It didn’t *really* get better in the top of the ninth, although he walked only one batter this time. He also was busted for five base hits, including a 3-run homer by Adames, four runs on the board and runners on the corners before being depressingly yanked with two outs. Joy-shan Kuo replaced him and fit in seamlessly with more ****** pitching, conceding an RBI single to Joe Crim, a single to Jonathan Ban, and then nailed Angelo Zurita with the bases loaded to push home a sixth run. Montes flew out to Herrera to end the horror **** show. 10-4 Thunder. Watt 2-4;
Jonathan Ban now had a 20-game hitting streak, having raised his clip to .361 against the hapless Coons.
Maybe we can get him to 21 on Wednesday, and maybe we can even make him choke on it…
Nope, I didn’t even get that much consolation – the baseball gods sent rain, rain, and yet more rain, and the Thunder had to leave town without romping us for a third time straight.
Raccoons (3-4) vs. Canadiens (3-6) – April 16-19, 2048
The wobbled Raccoons would host the damn Elks for a long weekend set with the potential for four games of sadness. Vancouver ranked fifth in runs scored and eighth in runs allowed. Their bullpen had been quite resilient, with the lowest ERA in the CL. Their rotation had an ERA over five, although we were not so far away from that mark, either, thanks to the stellar fireworks display by a certain right-hander that had recently signed a huge extension with us… We had won the season series last year, 12-6, and had gone all even – .500 all time – against the damn Elks last September, so a series win was impossible; the best we could hope for was a split.
Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (0-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. David Farris (0-2, 6.00 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (1-0, 2.84 ERA) vs. Bill McMichael (1-0, 4.85 ERA)
Jeremy Baker (0-1, 2.57 ERA) vs. Hisami Furuya (0-1, 5.14 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (0-2, 16.71 ERA) vs. Mario de Anda (1-0, 2.45 ERA)
Right, left, twice. Southpaw Sunday. Yay. Maybe Wheats should start throwing left-handed, too.
Maldonado would have been given a day off on Wednesday for simple early-season rest cycle purposes, but was back in the lineup now, having been given a day off by the weather instead.
Game 1
VAN: LF F. Rojas – CF Escobido – 2B Mancini – RF E. Moreno – SS R. Price – 1B Delagrange – C T. Phillips – 3B Higareda – P Farris
POR: SS Adame – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – 2B Waters – RF Fernandez – LF Baskins – C Gonzalez – P Jackson
The damn Elks had only one base hit the first time through, but that was a solo homer by Angel Escobido to take a quick 1-0 lead. The Raccoons had two hits, a Maldo double that led nowhere once Toohey struck out to end the bottom 1st, then a Ruben Gonzalez single to lead off the bottom 3rd, but Jackson bunted the ball too hard and got Gonzalez thrown out at second, then was stranded himself. Gonzalez then found himself at the plate in the bottom 4th with Toohey on second and Waters on first and already two outs after a quick start to the inning. Farris fell 3-0 behind him before Gonzalez suddenly poked and flew out to Escobido…
Jackson, who did his very best to hold the Elks so close on the board that the Raccoons could still tie the game entirely by accident, correctly deduced that his own offensive heroics would be required to turn this game around and opened the bottom 5th with a single up the middle. Farris walked Adame, putting two aboard with nobody out for the second inning in a row. Herrera flew out to Eddie Moreno, but deep enough that Jackson dared to scurry over to third base, from where he scored to tie the game on a sad infield roller by Maldonado where the Elks couldn’t pick a base to throw to for so long that everybody ended up safe. Starved for runs and wins, the Coons called a double steal that was executed successfully, but a poor grounder by Toohey, a walk drawn by Waters, and Manny’s deep flyout to Felix Rojas kept the game tied with three Furballs stranded… And then? Then it started to rain, and David ******* Farris hit a home run off Jackson to reclaim a 2-1 lead in the sixth…
Maldo would dig the Coons out this time, conquering Farris with a homer to left in the bottom of the seventh, tying the game at two. Jackson however opened the eighth with disaster, walking Tim Phillips and allowing a single to PH Jerry Outram that saw Phillips dig for third base and beating Manny Fernandez’ throw, with Outram drifting up to second base behind Phillips. Runners on second and third, no outs, another lefty pinch-hitter up in Mike Allen, the Raccoons dumped Jackson for Kuo, who got a comebacker from Allen to keep the runners pinned, then had Rojas at 2-2 when the rain got so bad that the umpires helpfully called a rain delay that lasted an hour. Kuo was not brought back afterwards, the 2-2 count going to Nelson Moreno instead. Rojas was unimpressed, singled to center to drive in both runners, and this time we’d surely lose the game…
Nah. The Elks sent three relievers for the first three batters in the bottom 8th, and all it got them was another tied game when Gene Pellicano, batting for Derek Baskins who was a staggering 0-for-17 to begin the season, homered to left-center off Sam Heisler with Matt Waters aboard to even the score at four. Heisler then hung another one that Ruben Gonzalez belted for the go-ahead homer. Heisler hung around to retire PH Matt Watt, but allowed Adame on base with two outs. Adame stole second, then scored on an Herrera single for a tack-on run. Gone was Heisler, and Pedro de Leon was the fourth reliever of the inning, getting Maldo to ground out. And who to give the 6-4 lead to now…? Moreno had been used and pinch-hit for, and Lynn was still shivering from the 6-run bombing on Tuesday. Preston Porter got the nod; Eddie Moreno lined out to Waters, Rick Price popped out, and Chris Delagrange struck out to end the game. 6-4 Raccoons. Herrera 2-5, RBI; Maldonado 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Waters 0-1, 3 BB; Pellicano (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Gonzalez 2-4, HR, RBI;
Game 2
VAN: CF Escobido – LF F. Rojas – RF E. Moreno – 2B Mancini – C Julio Diaz – 1B Delagrange – SS R. Price – 3B Higareda – P McMichael
POR: LF Watt – SS Adame – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – CF Herrera – RF Pellicano – 2B Martell – C Prow – P Okuda
The rain hung around for Friday, giving us an hourlong rain delay in a scoreless game in the third inning, and because one annoyance was not enough, it was joined by Nick Valdes, who dropped in to personally inquisition about why I was burning many many millions for pitchers with ERA’s that could easily be mistaken for their age. Like I knew the answers to anything here…!
Okuda threw 39 pitches in three mostly harmless innings prior to the delay and was brought back afterwards but got shackled for three hits by Rojas, Bob Mancini, and Delagrange to surrender the game’s first run. By then, the Raccoons had stranded a guy in scoring position in every inning, sometimes after a leadoff double like Pellicano hit one in the bottom 2nd. Nobody was stranded in the bottom 4th, because Armando Herrera, after reaching on an error, was caught stealing second base to clean up. While Nick Valdes bickered on and on about Jason Wheatley and Mike Lynn, the Elks lost McMichael to injury in the fifth, and then lost their 1-0 lead with Heisler back in the fray when Matt Watt hit a double to right and scored on an Adame single with two outs in the inning, tying the game at one. Heisler fell behind Maldonado after that, then fell to a 2-run blast to left, Maldo’s third homer of the season. – See, Nick, at least that monstrous contract is still paying off!
Of course we could not get a smooth win with Nick Valdes in the house. Okuda went back out for the sixth, retired nobody, and left three runners to Bob Ibold after walking Moreno, allowing a single to Mancini, and drilling Julio Diaz. Ibold blew up the game in short order, conceding four runs on a Delagrange single and a Price double to turn a 3-1 lead into a 5-3 deficit. And the Elks pen now seemed to hold up – while they lost another pitcher to injury when Justin Salerno walked off the mound with a hanging moosehead, the Coons could not get a base hit in the sixth, seventh, or eighth… Bonnie, Hitchcock, and Kuo also kept the Elks from tacking on, but the main issue was the Coons still being down by two entering the ninth, and bringing up the sad-sack bottom of the order. Sam Gibson allowed a leadoff single to Al Martell, though. Matt Waters batted for an 0-11 Kevin Prow, and also singled to right. Martell strove for third base, Moreno’s throw was late, and Waters dashed into second base behind all that, putting the tying runs in scoring position for Pat Gurney, hitting for Kuo, and singling to left. Martell scored, Waters was sent – and thrown out by Rojas, killing the tying run at the plate. Gurney made it to second on that throw, but had to be held on Watt’s single to center. He *did* score when Adame poked at a 3-1 pitch, which made Valdes and me shriek in unison, but he dropped an RBI single behind Mike Gibson at second base, tying the game and moving the winning run (Watt) to second base. And then Maldo jacked the first pitch into a 5-4-3 double play, sending the game to extras…
The Coons had to use Lynn in the 10th, post-traumatic stress disorder be damned. His 31.50 ERA went up against the 5-6-7 batters, nailing Diaz before two grounders moved that runner to third base for Adrian Higareda. The righty batter bounced a ball up the middle, but Martell remained on top of that and his throw to first beat Higareda in bang-bang fashion, keeping the damn Elks off the board in the inning. Martell went on to hit the second of back-to-back 2-out singles with Pellicano in the bottom 10th, moving the winning run to third base. Matt Waters, who had remained in the game at short, was itching to walk off the Coons, but would be denied when Pellicano came home on a wild pitch by Gibson instead. 6-5 Furballs. Watt 2-5, 2B; Adame 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Pellicano 2-5, 2B; Martell 2-5; Waters (PH) 1-1; Gurney (PH) 1-1, RBI;
Hey, Nick, look, our $10.8M closer got the win! – Nick, we’ll talk about our $24.5M starter when it’s his turn…! – What do you mean, then you’ll stay through Sunday??
Game 3
VAN: CF Escobido – LF F. Rojas – RF E. Moreno – 2B Mancini – C Julio Diaz – 1B Delagrange – SS R. Price – 3B Higareda – P Furuya
POR: CF Watt – SS Adame – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – 2B Waters – RF Fernandez – LF Baskins – C Gonzalez – P Baker
Silly Nick didn’t believe by conviction that we’d lose the last two games anyway because of divine intervention, swiftly dismissing by concept of the baseball gods never allowing us to get over .500 against the damn Elks permanently, as well as the concept of the baseball gods itself while Baker faced the minimum the first time through despite a leadoff walk to Escobido in the first and a leadoff single poked by Rick Price in the third. Escobido was doubled up, Price was caught stealing. The Raccoons didn’t score either, with Ruben Gonzalez reaching as far as third base after a leadoff single in the bottom 3rd before getting stranded by Adame. Nick Valdes then introduced me to the supreme being he dearly believed in, presenting me with a solid gold idol that he kept in his pocket that was maybe two inches high, but *heavy* … His name is Mammon, Nick, really? – You literally pray to Mammon? – I don’t *pray* to the baseball gods … I just fear them as one should… (glances skywards)
The game was still scoreless when Baker leaked walks to Diaz and Delagrange with one out in the fifth. Nick began to rub his idol, while I began to bicker at the ceiling what I had done wrong now to deserve another meltdown, but Rick Price bounced one to Maldonado for a force at third base, and Higareda also grounded out calmly to end the inning. Baskins then snapped his scary 0-for-18 to begin the season, doubling to left with one out in the bottom 5th, but was stranded when Gonzalez grounded out and Baker popped out. Baker would have another pair on base in the sixth after putting on Rojas with a throwing error of his own, then walking Moreno, all with two outs. The pen was stirring, but Mancini flew out to Manny to keep the Elks off the board. Six inning on 97 pitches, quite a few of them wayward, would be all for Baker, despite allowing only one hit; he walked four instead, and had to settle for a no-decision with an Adame double going unused in the bottom 6th to render him hopeless for a W.
Top 7th, Bonnie allowed a leadoff single to Diaz, before turning a double play on a comebacker by Delagrange. Adame then threw away Price’s grounder for a 2-base error. I shuddered, while Ibold came on for Higareda, but ran into Jerry Outram instead. Outram had to be suffering from some thing or other, not making the starting lineup in this series, but still drew a walk to increase the pressure. At the same time, the Elks didn’t bat for Furuya, who struck out to end the inning… Ibold added a 1-2-3 eighth, then was hit for by Gurney with one out in the bottom 8th. Gurney and Watt went to the corners with back-to-back singles, an it was imperative for Adame to deliver something here. Nick rubbed Mammon again and mumbled in a strange language I didn’t understand, while I was content with pressing Honeypaws onto my face so I would not have to see the inevitable double play. I missed an RBI double to left-center, while Nick exclaimed “Ei der Daus!”, whatever the heck that meant.* Maldo dumped Furuya with a single through the left side that scored both runners, and then we handed the 3-0 lead to Mike Lynn. Mancini, Diaz, and Delagrange went down in order, the last two on strikeouts, to put the game and the series away. 3-0 Critters. Adame 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Gurney (PH) 1-1;
Don’t you be dismissing the baseball gods yet, Nick! – Maybe the permanent part of the sub-.500 Elks curse only works over the course of a full season!
Game 4
VAN: LF F. Rojas – CF Escobido – 2B Mancini – RF E. Moreno – C Julio Diaz – SS R. Price – 1B Delagrange – 3B Higareda – P de Anda
POR: SS Adame – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – LF Toohey – RF Pellicano – 2B Waters – 1B Gurney – C Gonzalez – P Wheatley
Wheats began with a leadoff walk to Rojas, who was caught stealing while Wheats struck out Escobido and Mancini, giving him twice as many K in this game as in his first two starts combined… Adame also drew a walk to open the Coons’ first, but was forced out by Herrera’s grounder to short. Herrera stayed on base, though, which gave us an extra run when Maldo walloped another ball over the fence in left for a 2-run homer. Wheats conceded leadoff hits in each of the next three innings, but it took the damn Elks until the fourth to score a run, and then that was assisted by a throwing error committed by Gonzalez; the run was earned though. While on it, Wheats also hit into a double play with runners on the corners and one out in the bottom 2nd… He did reach on an error by Delagrange with two gone in the bottom 4th, with Ruben Gonzalez reaching second base on the non-play. Adame grounded out to strand them, though.
Wheats put the Elks away 1-2-3 in the fifth, while de Anda allowed a leadoff double to Herrera, then walked Maldo, only for Toohey to hit into a double play. Pellicano grounded out, stranding Herrera at third. Wheats was done after six innings when his spot came up with Gonzalez at first and two outs again in the bottom 6th, but Baskins grounded out. Kuo took over, struck out Diaz, then blew the lead with a homer dished by Price. Neither me nor Nick Valdes were amused. Even Slappy showed an emotion when he sighed as the rocket caused havoc in the rightfield stands. Porter had to dig out of that inning…
The Elks arrived at Pedro de Leon in the bottom 7th, who gave up an infield single to Adame, who then scooped second on his own volition, all with nobody out. Herrera singled to left, but Adame had to be held at third base with Felix Rojas all over that ball. Adame had to hold again on an infield roller by Maldonado. De Leon shooed him back to third base at the expense of a potential double play; Herrera reached second, while Maldo was out at first. Toohey was walked intentionally, and with the bases loaded the Coons sent Manny to bat for Pellicano, which the fans appreciated. He struck out, though. Waters flew out to center, and another batch of runners was stranded… At least Manny caught a scorcher Eddie Moreno hit off Nelson Moreno (no relation!) without getting himself killed in the top of the ninth, and the Raccoons held the tie long enough that a single run would complete the sweep in walkoff fashion. Herrera hit a single off Eddie Sotelo to begin the bottom 9th, but was forced out by Maldo, and Toohey popped out. Only Manny sent the runner (Maldo) to third base with a 2-out single to right. Waters hit a fly to deep left – but Rojas was there and caught it, sending the game to extras.
Nelson Moreno had another 1-2-3 in the 10th, after which Sam Gibson took the ball for Elk City. Gonzalez hit a 1-out single, and Adame scratched a 2-out single in the bottom 10th, but even when Herrera dumped in a third single, we had Gonzalez as the run that actually meant something, and he was not going to score on a ball right in front of Eddie Moreno… Three on, two outs for Maldo! Toohey looked on with great interest in the on-deck circle as Schrodinger’s Batter, for he was not going to bat in the inning. Maldo would either send it to the 11th, or win it outright. He swung at the first pitch, hitting a zinger past a reaching Price for the game-ender…! 3-2 Raccoons!! Adame 3-5, BB; Herrera 4-6, 2B; Maldonado 2-5, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Gonzalez 2-3, 2 BB; Wheatley 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; Moreno 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, W (2-0);
(jumps around screaming like idiots with Nick Valdes, Honeypaws and Mammon getting poked into the air intermittently)
In other news
April 14 – Young Aces CF Brent Cramer (.303, 1 HR, 3 RBI) enters the cycle log at age 23, hitting for all the different base knocks in a 4-for-5 performance as the Aces down the Loggers, 10-3.
April 15 – TOP INF Art Bent (.250, 0 HR, 1 RBI) hits an RBI double in the 10th inning to break the ice in a scoreless game against the Scorpions. Bent is driven home as well, and the Buffaloes win 2-0 in the end.
April 18 – Thunder infielder Jonathan Ban (.311, 0 HR, 3 RBI) has his 21-game hitting streak ended by the Falcons, going 0-for-5 in the 4-2 win for Oklahoma City.
April 18 – DEN INF Ivan Villa (.333, 0 HR, 8 RBI) will be out for the next three weeks after suffering a back strain.
April 18 – Another Gold Sock has a good day, with DEN SP Josh Vercher (2-1, 2.25 ERA) pitching a 3-hit shutout against the Wolves. Denver wins 5-0.
April 18 – RIC 2B/SS T.J. Lujan (.310, 2 HR, 6 RBI) is a triple shy of the cycle as he goes 5-for-5 with an RBI in a 4-3 loss to the Miners.
FL Player of the Week: PIT 3B/SS Ed Soberanes (.383, 2 HR, 8 RBI), batting .522 (12-23) with 2 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB C Sean Suggs (.404, 4 HR, 13 RBI), socking .360 (9-25) with 4 HR, 10 RBI
Complaints and stuff
Wheats and Lynn aside, our long-term deal with Maldo still draws rave reviews from even Nick Valdes. He hit “only” .320 this week (so not far behind Suggs), but he surely hit when it counted, with *10* RBI in the last five games, and at least one in each of them. He has a .963 OPS with a .257 BABIP, so maybe he can break even more pitchers in half!
And then break a leg, because that’s how things go in Portland, usually. (looks skywards again)
Wednesday’s rainout will be made up on May 29 in a Friday double-header. No helpful off days anywhere near to that day, so that’ll be something to work around…
For now we’re in a virtual tie for first with the Titans, who will come in on Monday to resolve the question who shall lead the North. Road trip after that, starting in Charlotte. The Falcons are 6-6, good enough for last in the South. (shakes head)
Fun Fact: Dave Petersen landed six hits in the Scorpions’ 16-5 smothering of the Stars, 69 years ago today.
Nobody remembers Peterson much, who was already 32 years old when the ABL began play in 1977. He held on until ’84, playing for the Scorpions, Buffaloes, and Thunder. He hit .273 with 12 HR and 286 RBI. While not a power hitter, he dropped in an impressive 179 doubles.
*archaic German expression that means nothing more than “hey!” or “look at that!” 