[Westheim]

Raccoons (69-74) vs. Loggers (59-83) – September 11-14, 2056

The ship had sunk and there was nothing to win for anymore. Now it was for decency against the Loggers, who were in a 7-7 tie with the Coons for the season series. Their horrendous pitching (most runs allowed in CL) probably wouldn’t help us score any runs either, and their #8 offense would still offer plenty of stumbles for the Raccoons’ on-and-off pitching.

Projected matchups:
Sean Sweeton (12-9, 2.98 ERA) vs. Brad Blankenship (11-9, 3.74 ERA)
He Shui (13-9, 3.87 ERA) vs. Noah Hollis (9-7, 4.19 ERA)
Ryan Wade (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Jamie Kempf (7-10, 4.70 ERA)
Craig Kniep (8-11, 3.55 ERA) vs. Julian Dunn (8-8, 3.55 ERA)

The Raccoons would face only right-handers here. Ryan Wade was inserted into the 6-man rotation for the last few weeks after making his ABL debut in relief.

Game 1
MIL: CF Valenzano – RF Bishton – 1B D. Robles – LF Pigman – 2B E. Miller – 3B Triplett – SS Gaxiola – C M. Torres – P Blankenship
POR: RF Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Kirkwood – 2B Waters – CF Caballero – 1B Ramsay – 3B Venegas – C Fiore – P Sweeton

The Raccoons took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Lonzo singled, advanced on a groundout by Kirkwood, and was then driven in by Matt Waters. Lonzo and Waters also had base hits their second time up, but then in different innings, and the Raccoons sucked their way onwards while Sean Sweeton pitched a pretty sweet game until he suddenly didn’t. Eric Miller grounded out to begin the fifth inning for Milwaukee, but then the bases filled on a full-count walk, a 3-2 single, and a four-pitch walk, putting Doug Triplett, Robby Gaxiola, and Marvin Torres all on base with one out. Depressingly, Brad Blankenship took himself off the hook with an RBI single, Steve Valenzano doubled in a pair, and Blankenship scored on Ryan Bishton’s groundout. Dave Robles singled home a run, Perry Pigman doubled in another run, and then Sweeton was finally disposed of after giving up five runs in under five innings. The Raccoons thereafter got scoreless relief from Alex Rios, Ricky Herrera, and Colby Bowen to complete nine innings, but their offense had nothing to offer. Lonzo hit a single in the sixth, then a double in the eighth, and both times was stranded in scoring position. The bottom 9th then began with Caballero drawing a leadoff walk and reaching third base on Harry Ramsay’s single. The Loggers went to right-hander Ryan Dow from there, but he walked Venegas to bring the tying run to the dish. Matt Fiore hit an RBI single through the left side, and Pucks pinch-hit for Bowen as the winning run, then drew four balls from Dow and pushed home a run that way. Dow also walked Callaia, which already made it 5-4, and there was still nobody out. The Loggers were scrambling for another reliever, until in quick succession Lonzo hit a comebacker on his first pitch that Dow chucked to home plate for an out on Fiore, Kirkwood popped out, and Waters grounded out to Miller… 5-4 Loggers. Lavorano 4-5, 2B; Waters 2-5, 2B, RBI; Puckeridge (PH) 0-0, BB, RBI; Bowen 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

Eight losses in a row.

The Loggers skipped Noah Hollis for reasons best known to them.

Game 2
MIL: CF Valenzano – SS Gaxiola – 1B D. Robles – LF Pigman – 2B E. Miller – 3B Triplett – RF Garmon – C C. Thomas – P Kempf
POR: RF Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Kirkwood – CF Caballero – 1B Puckeridge – 2B Allred – C Fiore – 3B Anderson – P Shui

Valenzano’s leadoff double gave the Loggers a runner in scoring position right away on Tuesday, and they didn’t wait long to cash him, with Dave Robles singling home the runner with a ball that dropped in front of Kirkwood. Pigman also singled, but Miller and Triplett made outs to end the inning, and the Coons flipped the score in the bottom 1st, which began with doubles to left by Callaia, and right by Lonzo, and continued with Kirkwood’s single that moved Lonzo to third base, from where he scored on the double play Caballero hit into. Shui then fumbled that, as Corey Garmon crammed a triple into the rightfield corner to begin the top 2nd. He popped out Chris Thomas, but gave up the lead on Kempf’s single. He then ****** the bags full, but Robles’ grounder to Ryan Allred turned into a 4-6-3 double play to keep the game from escalating. But Shui continued to be completely off the rolls. Pigman opened the third with a single, then Miller hit a jack to left, 4-2. That made eighth hits in two+ innings off Shui, who soon put Garmon and Thomas on the corners before getting a K from Kempf. Valenzano grounded out, ending the inning with two guys up in the Critters pen…

From there, Shui failed his way into the sixth inning, giving just one more single to Thomas, but was lifted for Lillis to face Gaxiola with two outs in the inning. Lillis got an easy grounder and went on to get four outs on six pitches, which was the kind of efficiency I could get behind. And the lousy home team? They were entirely silent from the third through sixth innings, and Kempf still had a 4-hitter going in the seventh. He got Allred and Fiore out, then walked Richard Anderson. Daniel Espinoza singled for Lillis, and Callaia hit another single to suddenly load the bases for Lonzo, but his soft fly to shallow right was snatched by Garmon on the slide, stranding the bags very much loaded. Caballero and Allred reached against Kempf in the eighth, but the Loggers didn’t bother to change pitchers. There were two outs, and Fiore sure enough grounded out to Robles to end that inning, too. Ryan Dow axed Royer, Waters, and Callaia in order, with strikeouts on the latter two, to put this game away. 4-2 Loggers. Callaia 2-5, 2B; Allred 1-2, 2 BB; Espinoza (PH) 1-1;

Nine losses in a row!

Come on, boys! No half *****, make it a tenner! I DARE YOU.

Game 3
MIL: CF Valenzano – RF Bishton – 1B D. Robles – LF Pigman – 2B E. Miller – 3B Triplett – SS Gaxiola – C M. Torres – P Dunn
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – LF Kirkwood – 2B Waters – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 1B Ramsay – C M. Chavez – P Wade

More of the same **** the first time through on Wednesday. Lonzo got on, but was caught stealing, and the Raccoons loaded the bases with their 4-5-6 batters and nobody out in the bottom 2nd before Ramsay popped out and Chavez trundled into a 6-4-3 double play. That was about it for offensive heroics for Portland in the early going, while the Loggers limited themselves to one hit and two Coons errors through five innings, not getting even near home plate from the third base side. Ryan Bishton was also caught stealing for the green team. He drew a walk in the sixth inning, but then was doubled up by Robles.

It was still scoreless at the stretch, with Dunn returning afterwards to offer a leadoff walk to Brobeck. Rams was fully expected to hit into a double play, but instead got a doublet of RBI’s with his eighth homer of the year over the rightfield fence. Gaxiola and Torres calmly grounded out to begin the eighth inning against Wade, before Dunn – of all people – hit a single to right. Wade struck out Valenzano, ending the inning. Dunn walked Waters and Pucks in the bottom 8th, but the Coons couldn’t buy a base hit, and the score remained 2-0 for the ninth. And if the Raccoons had still been in contention, Matt Walters would have been in there from the start as Wade drew up against the 2-3-4 batters, the 2-4 of whom were left-handers. But Wade was “only” 95 pitches, the Loggers had looked bad for two hours and small change, and we weren’t playing for anything anymore. Let the kiddo have a go! Bishton grounded out, but Robles hit a jack, which took away the shutout, and also the baseball from Wade. Walters ended the game with two strikeouts. 2-1 Raccoons. Lavorano 2-4; Waters 2-4; Puckeridge 0-1, 3 BB; Ramsay 1-3, HR, 2 RBI; Wade 8.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (1-0);

Not too terrible for a (starting) debut – we’ll let him have a couple more!

Game 4
MIL: CF Valenzano – SS Gaxiola – 1B D. Robles – LF Pigman – 3B Triplett – 2B E. Miller – LF Bishton – C Dye – P R. Alvarado
POR: CF Royer – LF Venegas – RF Caballero – 2B Waters – 1B Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – SS Espinoza – C M. Chavez – P Kniep

Roberto Alvarado (4-11, 6.37 ERA) was on offer for the final Loggers game of the year, which was also another right-hander, and the Raccoons drew mostly blanks after Venegas and Waters hit singles in the bottom 1st and were left stranded. Kniep struck out five in the first three innings, but was also on his second wild pitch by the fourth, in which Milwaukee went up 1-0 on a Pigman single, a groundout by Triplett, and Eric Miller’s RBI double. Miller reached third on the wild pitch, but was stranded there when Bishton flew out to Venegas, who made a (this year) rare start in leftfield.

Alvarado nicked Waters to begin the bottom 4th, and Waters stole second, which was also a rare event in 2056 – this was only his second stolen base. Pucks walked behind him, Brobeck singled to left, and the bases were loaded with nobody out. We barely got the score even on Espinoza’s double play grounder to Triplett, Marcos Chavez was walked intentionally, and then Kniep popped out to Jonathan Dye. Chavez caught Valenzano stealing in the fifth inning before the Coons took a lead thanks to a leadoff triple over Valenzano’s head, mashed by Steve Royer in the bottom 5th. Venegas’ sac fly to right was good enough to bring him home. Matt Waters did him one better, hitting a ball over the fence with two outs and for a 3-1 lead.

Craig Kniep pitched seven innings of 4-hit ball defending the 3-1 lead before his spot led off the bottom 7th against Alvarado. He was just under 100 pitches, so the Raccoons sent Lonzo, who singled, stole his way to third base, and the bags filled with Royer and Venegas drawing walks off Alvarado and Josh Costello, respectively, behind him, so again we had three on and nobody out. Caballero singled home a pair, but Waters grounded out. Pucks drew another walk, filling the bags again, and Brobeck got an RBI single to center. Costello balked in a run, then conceded another on Espinoza’s sac fly before being yanked for Alan Marshall, who popped up Chavez to end the inning with a 5-spot. That put the game away, and led to a split for the season series. The Loggers couldn’t even rally against Alex Rios and Adam Harris. 8-1 Coons. Venegas 2-2, 2 BB, RBI; Waters 2-3, HR, RBI; Puckeridge 1-2, 2 BB; Brobeck 2-3, BB, RBI; Lavorano (PH) 1-1; Kniep 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (9-11);

Raccoons (71-76) @ Condors (67-79) – September 15-17, 2056

On to another team that was just playing out the string, with the Condors being fifth in the South and a whopping 26 games out. They had won four games in a row, however, so maybe they could get the streak going… The Condors were seventh in runs scored and ninth in runs allowed. We were up 4-2 on them for the year.

Projected matchups:
Seisaku Taki (11-14, 3.51 ERA) vs. Steve Hawkins (11-10, 3.44 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (6-7, 4.20 ERA) vs. Jay Everett (7-8, 5.30 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (12-10, 3.14 ERA) vs. Miguel Batista (3-4, 2.70 ERA)

Another slate only with right-handed pitchers.

Game 1
POR: RF Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Kirkwood – 2B Waters – CF Puckeridge – 3B Venegas – 1B Ramsay – C Fiore – P Taki
TIJ: 1B Rosenstiel – 2B D. Mercado – RF J. Harmon – LF T. Duncan – C J. Morales – CF Hildebrand – SS N. Fowler – 3B Chapa – P S. Hawkins

In this Friday game, Seisaku Taki made it a bit of a habit to get to two strikes on guys and then not remove them orderly. The Condors scattered five hits in the first four innings, running him to 59 pitches while doing so. The score was 1-1, both runs scoring in the third inning; Gaudencio Callaia doubled home Ramsay to take the lead, but then Luis Chapa hit a leadoff single on a 1-2 pitch, reached third base on Hawkins’ bunt and John Rosenstiel’s grounder, and then was able to score on a passed ball charged to Fiore…

Taki got only more annoying after that. Danny Hildebrand hit a leadoff single on a 2-2 pitch in the bottom 5th. Nick Fowler forced him out, then advanced on Chapa’s groundout. It was a 1-2 pitch that was bludgeoned into the right-center gap for a go-ahead, 2-out RBI double by the pitcher Hawkins, which gave me at least three or four reasons to be mad about that particular hanger. Rosenstiel grounded out again, leaving Hawkins at second base.

Top 7th, leadoff walk drawn by Pucks, which was the first free pass offered by Hawkins, who otherwise had struck out seven so far. Venegas squinted a single into shallow right-center, moving the tying run to second base. Rams hit into an obvious double play and Fiore fanned, so everybody did what they did best once more, and the Raccoons scored no runs for it. Taki hung around until the bottom 7th, which Jerry Morales began with a leadoff single to left, then was lifted for the left-handed bunch at the bottom of the order. Eloy Sencion got two outs, then was lifted for Lane to face the righty pinch-hitter Mario Estrada, who grounded out to Venegas to strand Morales in scoring position. The Condors still got the crucial insurance run against Lane and Fiore in the eighth inning. It was another passed ball (…!) that allowed Craig Sayre to score after hitting a pinch-hit leadoff single off Lane. Then again, lefty Matt Otte didn’t allow anybody in the ninth inning anyway…. 3-1 Condors. Callaia 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Game 2
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Kirkwood – 2B Waters – RF Puckeridge – P Brobeck – 3B Venegas – CF Solorzano – C M. Chavez
TIJ: 1B Rosenstiel – 2B D. Mercado – RF J. Harmon – LF T. Duncan – SS Sheilds – C J. Morales – CF Hildebrand – 3B Chapa – P Everett

Marcos Chavez turned an 0-2, 2-out fastball around and lobbed a ball over Tyrese Sheilds for a 2-run single to give Portland a 2-0 lead in the second inning, with Waters and Venegas scoring, while Solorzano went to second base, as finally somebody on the team got a knock with the bags stacked. Callaia then promptly grounded out, while the Condors got a leadoff triple to right from Tim Duncan in the bottom 2nd, but then Sheilds lined out to Lonzo and Brobeck rung up both Morales and Hildebrand, which stranded the runner on third base. The Coons doubled the score in the third inning with a Lonzo single and stolen base, then a Kirkwood homer to left, 4-0. The inning continued as Waters and Brobeck went to the corners with singles, and then Anton Venegas drilled a ball up the line in left for an RBI double. Solorzano found the gap between Duncan and Hildebrand for another double, and the score ballooned to 7-0. The Raccoons loaded the bases again in the fourth inning against lefty Peter Faulds, who walked Kirkwood and Waters, then gave up a soft single to Pucks with one out in the fourth inning. Brobeck singled home a run, Venegas doubled in two, and the Raccoons suddenly reached double digits… and a new pitcher, as the Condors yanked Faulds for righty Zach Johnson, who gave up a sac fly to Solorzano, then an RBI single to Chavez. Callaia flew out again, somehow managing to be 0-for-4 by the fourth inning of a 12-0 game.

Ironically it was Johnson to get the Condors on the board against Brobeck in the fifth inning, hitting an RBI double to drive home Hildebrand. Brobeck allowed another two hits to John Rosenstiel and Jamie Harmon, but got Duncan out to end the inning with two across and two left in scoring position. Solorzano drove home Pucks for a 13th Coons run in the sixth, but that was also the last inning for Brobeck, who came apart wholly and fully in the bottom of the inning, conceded four hits, a walk, a balk, and three runs before being yoinked from the 13-5 game. Jamie Harmon flew out to Solorzano against Ricky Herrera to end the dismal inning.

The Raccoons lifted a few regulars at the stretch, and the Condors got two more runs off Herrera in the bottom 7th when Luis Chapa knocked a 2-out, 2-run single to plate Sheilds and Morales. Rosenstiel homered off Adam Harris in the eighth, whittling the lead down to five runs, but they would only get one more base runner after that when Tyrese Sheilds hit a single off Tanizaki in the ninth inning. He was stranded at second base, and the Raccoons just missed blowing a 12-run lead. 13-8 Critters. Lavorano 2-4; Kirkwood 2-5, BB, HR, RBI; Puckeridge 2-5, BB; Brobeck 3-4, RBI; Venegas 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI; Solorzano 2-2, 2 BB, 2B, 4 RBI; M. Chavez 2-5, 3 RBI;

Game 3
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – LF Kirkwood – RF Caballero – 1B Puckeridge – 2B Allred – 3B Venegas – C Stanton – P Sweeton
TIJ: 1B Rosenstiel – 2B D. Mercado – RF J. Harmon – LF T. Duncan – SS Sheilds – C J. Morales – CF Hildebrand – 3B Chapa – P Batista

Tijuana took a 1-0 lead on hits by Rosenstiel and Duncan in the first inning against Sweeton, but the Raccoons would tie them up again in the third when Matt Stanton hit a leadoff double to center and then scored on Lonzo’s 2-out single. Batista threw a crucial wild pitch after Ryan Allred’s leadoff single in the fifth inning to move the runner into scoring position and Anton Venegas didn’t have to be asked twice and slapped an RBI single to send the Coons up 2-1.

Sweeton then had his fifth-inning explosion right on time. Rosenstiel got on base, there was another wild pitch, Mercado got the RBI knock to tie the game, and Harmon’s 24th bomb gave the Condors a 4-2 lead. He got out of the inning, then three pops in the sixth for a quick inning, but the damage was done, and Batista did not allow a base runner for the rest of his outing in the sixth and seventh innings. Rick Johnson then retired Callaia, Royer, and Lonzo in order in the eighth. Harris and Bravo kept the Condors away in the seventh and eighth, while it was the left-handed Matt Otte and his 5.52 ERA again in the ninth inning. He was up against the meat of the order. Kirkwood grounded out to third. Caballero grounded out to short. Pucks grounded out to second. 4-2 Condors.

In other news

September 11 – Capitals OF Dan Martin (.252, 20 HR, 62 RBI) is out for the year after suffering a torn meniscus.
September 12 – A 3-hit shutout is thrown by NYC SP Ben Seiter (14-7, 3.16 ERA) against the Indians. Seiter strikes out a dozen Indians in the 1-0 walk on the razor’s edge.
September 14 – Blue Sox INF Nick Nye (.351, 10 HR, 39 RBI) puts out five hits, three for extra bases, and drives in two runs in a 10-9 win over the Cyclones.
September 15 – NAS INF Nick Nye (.358, 10 HR, 41 RBI) keeps making good news with a 3-for-4 day and two RBI in a 6-0 win over the Gold Sox. Nye now has a 20-game hitting streak.
September 15 – A single by DAL RF/LF Josh Bursley (.284, 5 HR, 45 RBI) is all the hits the Stars can put together in a 5-0 loss to the Capitals. WAS SP Jesse Bulas (2-4, 6.39 ERA) does however walk seven Dallas batters in lieu of additional base knocks.
September 15 – A torn labrum ends the season for OCT SP Bubba Wolinsky (10-6, 3.65 ERA).

FL Player of the Week: SFW OF Jose Marroquin (.279, 12 HR, 49 RBI), slapping .441 (15-34) with 3 HR, 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC SP Ben Seiter (15-7, 3.05 ERA) going 2-0 with 17 scoreless innings and 18 K

Complaints and stuff

What’s new – Kennedy Adkins was not expected to pitch in the majors this year, but he has been cleared for baseball activities now and we could just cram him in for a start or two at the tail end of the season.

Apart from that we’re just playing out the string and stuffing our snouts with cookies. We will head home up I-5 now and then start a 9-game homestand with the Thunder, Indians, and Titans on Tuesday. The last weekend of the year will be another trip to New York for three games. And that’s gonna be that.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons and Loggers split their season series at 9-9 for consecutive years.

The odd one in there is that this had never happened before. There had been 13 ties before 2055-56, but none of them in consecutive years. In fact, consecutive 9-9 season series for the Raccoons and one of their division rivals have happened only three times before, never for more than two years, and it also hadn’t happened in a good long while:

1977-1978 Titans
1991-1992 Titans
2000-2001 Indians

I know, I know, I’d also prefer to harp on about how we’re winning and winning and winning.