[Westheim]

Raccoons (57-41) vs. Bayhawks (44-54) – July 23-25, 2063

The Bayhawks had lost four straight games, but the Raccoons could barely break .500 against last-place teams, so this one could still go either way. Scoring runs was not the Bayhawks’ problem, but their third-place ranking in offense was wholly undone by a flammable rotation and mediocre defense, conceding the second-most runs in the CL. They had a -34 run differential, with the Raccoons at +13. San Francisco led the season series, 2-1.

Projected matchups:
Angel Alba (9-5, 3.27 ERA) vs. Paul Egley (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Chance Fox (7-3, 2.77 ERA) vs. Joe Chalmers (13-8, 3.69 ERA)
Josh Elling (7-6, 2.85 ERA) vs. Mike Chartrand (5-10, 3.94 ERA)

Paul Egley was making his first career start. He had so far only appeared in four games in relief. He was about two weeks short of turning 23 and had been taken #8 in the 2063 draft. All three starters were right-handed.

Game 1
SFB: CF Blackham – RF Laws – LF Anker – 2B A. Montoya – 3B D. Sandoval – C L. Marquez – 1B A. Rios – SS Barre – P Egley
POR: RF Corral – CF Campos – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – LF Crumble – SS Lavorano – 2B Gardner – C Lawson – P Alba

Neither team managed more than one base hit in three innings on Monday, with the Raccoons stuffing the bases with a Monck single and two walks to Starr and Crumble in the bottom 1st before Lonzo grounded out. In the third inning, Corral drew a walk, stole second base, and scored after a Campos groundout and Monck’s sac fly to get Portland ahead, 1-0. San Fran got David Blackham on base with a single to begin the game, but Alba then retired 11 straight batters, whiffing five, before Armando Montoya flicked another single in the fourth, but was immediately stranded with Dan Sandoval’s pop to Joel Starr. However, Lorenzo Marquez socked a game-tying homer in the fifth inning to get the teams even. Alba tried to take out his anger with a leadoff single in the bottom 5th, but was doubled up by Corral. Campos also singled, stole second base, and then Monck’s fly to deep left was caught on the warning track by Grant Anker, ending the inning.

San Francisco was up 2-1 in the sixth then. Alba offered a leadoff walk to Blackham. Scott Laws singled him to third base, and Anker got the go-ahead run home with a grounder before Montoya struck out and Sandoval grounded out. The Raccoons answered, though, and in the same inning. Starr doubled to right leading off, advanced on Crumble’s groundout to Montoya, and then Lonzo legged out an infield single and Starr scored.

Tied at two, Alba retired the Baybirds in order in the seventh, while Egley put Corral and Monck on the corner with singles by the time there was one out in the inning, then walked Starr, his fifth free pass offered in the game. Jon Bean batted for Crumble, grounded to the right side in a full count, and the Bayhawks couldn’t turn two; they only got Starr at second base, and the go-ahead run scored. Lonzo scratched another RBI single on the infield to knock out Egley. Mike Rocheford got Gardner out to strand a pair on the corners. Alba came back for the eighth, but gave up a leadoff single to catcher Bryan Bogdan in the #9 hole and was lifted for McDaniel with the lefty-leaning top of the order. Blackham immediately hit into a double play, and Laws also grounded out. Carlisle got the ninth and again gave up a run, which was concerning, on a homer by Montoya, but thankfully he got the last outs before the Bayhawks could really crank up the pain. 4-3 Critters. Monck 2-3, RBI; Starr 1-2, 2 BB, 2B; Lavorano 3-4, 2 RBI; Alba 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (10-5) and 1-3;

Game 2
SFB: CF Blackham – 3B A. Rios – LF Anker – 2B A. Montoya – RF Laws – C Bogdan – 1B D. Sandoval – SS Barre – P Chalmers
POR: RF Corral – CF Kozak – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – C Arellano – LF Crumble – SS Lavorano – 2B Bean – P Fox

The Raccoons again went up 1-0 in the bottom 3rd, Monck doubling home Corral with two outs in the inning. He then tried to score on Starr’s single to right, but was thrown out at the plate by Scott Laws. Meanwhile, Fox spent just 20 pitches on nine outs, while still giving up two hits, then surrendered an Anker single and Montoya double, both in full counts, for 16 pitches to begin the top 4th. I saw a meltdown coming and unscrewed the Capt’n Coma, but Fox popped out Laws on the infield, Bogdan to shallow right, and got a groundout from Sandoval to strand those runners in scoring position! Tristan Barre hit another double to begin the fifth, but was also stranded in scoring position on three unproductive outs. And Fox didn’t even whiff them – he had only one K through five innings. It was all a bit too neat and untidy, and so an infield single by Montoya, a 2-out single to left by Bogdan, and then a 2-out, 3-run homer to right by Sandoval *had* to flip the score to 3-1 Bayhawks in the sixth…

The Coons hit into double plays in the fifth and sixth innings, then had Arellano smack a leadoff double in the seventh. The next three batters struck out, grounded out, and grounded out, and so Arellano was left on third base. Both pitchers were active in the eighth inning; Fox got three outs and then was hit for with Nick Fowler for no good result to begin the bottom 8th against Chalmers, who also got Corral before giving up hits to Kozak and Monck to take the corners. Brad Fales replaced Chalmers, but gave up an RBI single to Starr. The Coons then pulled their secret weapon out of the sleeve and sent Todd Oley to bat for Arellano against the right-hander. The Bayhawks failed to respond and blew their 3-2 lead on another RBI single up the middle. Crumble flew out to center, parking a pair on base permanently.

Carrillo went 1-2-3 through the top of the ninth, although Dan Sandoval came mighty close to a homer to leftfield leading off the inning. Fales returned for the bottom 9th against the 7-8-9 batters, which included Scott Lawson in the third spot there. He struck out the side, and the game went to extras, which began with Pat Fowler’s leadoff triple to center, from which Matt Walters did not really recover. Antonio Rios singled home the run, and the Bayhawks eventually stranded a pair before handing the ball off to volatile ex-Coons Steve Watson. Corral led off with a single before Watson struck out two, then walked Starr on four pitches. Marco Campos batted for Walters in the #5 slot, and also struck out… 4-3 Bayhawks. Corral 2-5; Kozak 2-4, BB, 2B; Monck 2-5, 2B, RBI; Starr 2-4, BB, RBI; Oley (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Game 3
SFB: RF Laws – CF Navarre – LF Anker – 2B A. Montoya – 3B D. Sandoval – C L. Marquez – 1B A. Rios – SS Barre – P Chartrand
POR: RF Corral – CF Kozak – 2B Monck – 1B Starr – C Arellano – LF Crumble – SS Lavorano – 3B N. Fowler – P Elling

Again, the Critters scored first on Crumble’s leadoff jack in the bottom 2nd after both teams had already tallied five runners left on base, combined. Lonzo then singled and Fowler doubled, putting a pair in scoring position, and both scored when Elling lobbed a ball over the shortstop Barre and into leftfield. Grant Anker made a lunge for the ball, missed it by quite a bit, and it then bounced behind him for a single, error, and two runs, adding up to a 3-0 lead. Rich Monck’s single to center made it 4-0 with two outs before Starr grounded out to short. Next inning, the 6-7-8 batters loaded the bases with a hit and two walks, but Elling hit into an inning-ending double play.

Elling struggled with control a bit, but in the fifth the Bayhawks made it onto the board without a free pass, getting singles from their battery to begin the inning and one out, respectively, before Scott Laws’ sac fly to left-center shortened the score to 4-1. Nate Navarre – the #9 pick two years ago and making his ABL debut – grounded out to short. Montoya drew a walk in the sixth, but was doubled up, 6-3 style, on a grounder to Lonzo just shy of the second base bag. A Monck error then put Marquez on base to start the seventh. Rios hit a single before Barre grounded out to advance the runners. PH Jose Escalera whiffed, offering an exit from the inning, and Laws also swinging and missing for strike three got Elling through seven innings for just one run allowed. He retired the 2-3-4 batters in order in the eighth as well, but that would be all. The save was taken off however against Rocheford in the bottom 8th; he allowed a leadoff single to Crumble, who stole second. Lonzo flew out to center, moving Crumble to third base, and Nick Fowler singled to center to get the runner home. A passed ball and a walk to Joe Gardner led to another pitching change to lefty Amari Walker. Campos batted for Corral and got plunked, loading the bases with one gone. Kozak’s strikeout and Monck’s groundout killed the effort, however. The ninth inning then saw the Raccoons debut of Jimmy Dingman, who had been acquired on the weekend. He struck out Sandoval and Marquez, walked Rios with two outs, but then got Barre to ground out. 5-1 Raccoons. Monck 3-5, RBI; Crumble 2-3, BB, HR, RBI; Fowler 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Elling 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (8-6) and 1-3, 2 RBI;

Raccoons (59-42) vs. Condors (59-42) – July 27-29, 2063

The season series with the Condors was even at three to begin the weekend set (and the Coons had not lost the season series to Tijuana in 10 years!). After a string of games against meager competition, we were now up against the CL South leaders. They were seventh in runs scored, but second in runs allowed with a very tough rotation. They struggled with getting on base and had not a whole lot of speed on the bases. They had also just put Casey Ramsey and his .314 stick on the DL, where he’d spend a month. Ramsey had by far the highest batting average on the team.

Projected matchups:
Jeff Applegate (0-2, 3.00 ERA) vs. Marco Clemente (14-3, 2.76 ERA)
Tyler Riddle (7-3, 3.52 ERA) vs. Vince Ellison (8-5, 2.76 ERA)
Angel Alba (10-5, 3.23 ERA) vs. Dan Beare (2-1, 3.38 ERA)

More right-handers. Also more waiting for Applegate’s first career W.

Game 1
TIJ: RF Asencio – LF Alf. Mendez – 3B Frasher – C Brann – 1B Metz – 2B Serrano – CF Cardwell – SS N. Cross – P M. Clemente
POR: RF Corral – LF Kozak – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – C Arellano – SS Lavorano – CF Oley – 2B Gardner – P Applegate

Fourth game of the week, and for the fourth time the Raccoons struck first, this time with a first-inning, 2-run homer by Joel Starr after Corral originally doubled his way on base and was waiting for a helping paw. Tijuana’s Mike Brann answered with a solo jack off Applegate in the second, while the bottom 3rd began with a walk issued to Corral, who then sped to third base on a Kozak single to right. Monck whiffed, but Starr found a hole on the infield to shove an RBI single through, 3-1, before poor outs by Arellano and Lonzo ended the inning.

The next few innings were treacherously calm before the Condors suddenly slapped Applegate around for a Franklin Serrano single and then a long RBI double to center by Chad Cardwell. At least the rookie got Nigel Cross to strike out, and kept a 3-2 lead going. Clemente then hit a leadoff single in the seventh, was forced out by Marco Asencio, and then Alf Mendez hit into a double play with a comebacker to Applegate, which was also the latter’s last action in the game, given that he was up second in the bottom 7th in a squeezer of a game. Crumble batted for him, but the Coons went in order against Clemente. Oley robbed Brann of extra bases with a dash into the gap in the eighth, which Pohlmann pitched, and then Carlisle entered the ninth with no cushion. He had given up a run (exactly) in five of his last six (!) outings. He did not give up a run (exactly) this time around. He gave up FOUR. He nailed Elmer Maldonado and Cross, allowed two runs to ex-Coon Tim Fuller on a pinch-hit double, and then was taken deep by Alf Mendez. (bites into clenched fist) 6-3 Condors. Starr 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Applegate 7.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K;

No ******* win for Applegate – again.

Game 2
TIJ: RF Asencio – LF Alf. Mendez – 3B Frasher – C Brann – 1B Metz – 2B Serrano – CF Cardwell – SS N. Cross – P Ellison
POR: RF Corral – SS Lavorano – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – C Arellano – LF Crumble – 2B Bean – CF Campos – P Riddle

Corral and Lonzo reached to begin the bottom 1st and were then dismally stranded, before the 6-7-8 batters all reached base in the second inning with nobody out, although that already included Eric Frasher’s throwing error on Campos’ grounder to third base. Riddle batted with three on and nobody out and managed a sac fly to center, which made it 5-for-5 for the Raccoons scoring first this week. A soft single by Corral loaded the bases again, but Lonzo popped out poorly. Monck’s 2-out single scored Jon Bean, but Chad Cardwell rushed down Starr’s fly to end the inning.

Riddle looked sturdy in the early innings, and then the Raccoons tacked on when Jose Corral singled home Campos in the fourth inning. Corral was forced out by Lonzo, who stole second, but was then stranded by Monck, keeping it a 3-0 game. Joel Starr hit a leadoff double in the bottom 5th. Arellano flew out, and then Crumble was walked intentionally to get to Jon Bean, who I did not hold in any regard, but who was hitting .292 and was coming from Ellison’s weak side. The Condors got what they deserved, and Bean thrashed a ball into the right-center gap, all the way to the wall, and legged out a 2-run triple, then scored on Campos’ sac fly to double the score to 6-0. Riddle worked into the eighth inning with the shutout before he ran out of juice thanks to a bunch of long at-bats in the second half of his outing. Asencio knocked him out with a 2-out single in the eighth, only the Condors’ fourth hit in the game, and Murdock entered in a double switch with Kozak and got Mendez out. He also retired Frasher and Brann in the ninth before giving in to the urge to blow the shutout with a homer served up to Andy Metz… 6-1 Raccoons. Corral 2-3, BB, RBI; Lavorano 2-4; Bean 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI; Riddle 7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (8-3);

Alright! Some fine pitching here this week (minus the closing issues)!

Angel Alba now had to win on Sunday to keep our string of domination against Tijuana going. He would not face Dan Beare, but another right-hander in Edgar Mauricio (10-4, 2.75 ERA).

Game 3
TIJ: RF Asencio – CF Cardwell – C Brann – 1B Metz – 3B Frasher – 2B Serrano – LF E. Maldonado – SS N. Cross – P E. Mauricio
POR: RF Corral – CF Campos – 2B Monck – 1B Starr – LF Crumble – 3B Fowler – SS Gardner – C Lawson – P Alba

The Raccoons couldn’t put anything together in the early innings even when Mauricio brushed Alba with a pitch to begin the bottom 3rd and Corral then legged out an infield single. Campos whiffed and Monck hit into a double play to kill that particular effort, while Alba also retired the first 11 batters in the game. He didn’t get the 12th one, though, as Brann socked another homer. In the fifth, Maldonado and Cross hit 1-out singles, were bunted into scoring position by Mauricio, and then both scored on a single to right-center by Asencio, which put the Condors up 3-0. Cardwell then struck out.

It didn’t get any better from there, either. Metz homered in the sixth to extend the Condors’ lead to 4-0, and Franklin Serrano reached on an error by Crumble with two outs in the inning, which was the end for Alba. Walters got the ball, struck out Maldonado to end the sixth, and got another three outs in the seventh. Brann then added another homer off Ding(er)man in the eighth inning. Meanwhile the Raccoons had four hits through eight innings and Mauricio looked to be cruising to a shutout until Monck led off the bottom 9th with a single to right-center, and Starr doubled to center, putting a pair in scoring position with nobody out. Crumble then ran into a 3-run homer, which ended Mauricio’s time in the sandbox. Closer Jose Lugo replaced him against Fowler, but issued a walk in a full count, which brought up the tying run… and McDaniel in the #7 hole. He was hit for with Kozak, who whiffed, as did Lawson. Lonzo had earlier entered the #9 hole in a double switch, but also ended the game with a fly to Elmer Maldonado. 5-3 Condors. Monck 2-4; Fowler 2-3, BB;

In other news

July 24 – The hitting streak of Rebels SS Jason Turner (.267, 12 HR, 55 RBI) ends at 27 games after a hitless day in a 9-0 win against the Scorpions.
July 24 – The Thunder acquire OF J.D. Johnson (.257, 7 HR, 31 RBI) from the Gold Sox in exchange for two prospects.
July 27 – SAC SS/3B Zach Suggs (.268, 16 HR, 56 RBI) slaps his 2,500th career hit in a 4-1 win against the Miners in style, a solo home run against SP Andres Lopez (6-11, 5.84 ERA). The 37-year-old Suggs was a 10-time All Star and 7-time Platinum Stick winner with a career .300/.368/.467 slash line, 331 homers, and 1,368 RBI.
July 28 – The Thunder beat the Loggers, 2-1. The Loggers’ run comes on a home run by RF Dave Wright (.227, 2 HR, 21 RBI), while the Thunder only collect a single by INF Daniel Richardson (.256, 5 HR, 26 RBI) – and that is not even relevant in their two runs, which score in the fourth inning on two walks, two hit batters, and a sac fly.
July 29 – Boston acquires INF Nick Nye (.299, 13 HR, 46 RBI) from the Thunder in a trade that leaves the Thunder with five prospects. Four of them are ranked: #38 CL Fernando Bustos, #49 George Christensen, #90 Steven Fenstermacher, and #158 OF Jose Ortiz;
July 29 – The Thunder also send outfielder Randy Hummel (.295, 3 HR, 27 RBI) to the Miners in exchange for OF Carlos Mata (.286, 4 HR, 31 RBI).
July 29 – Dallas INF Adam Yocum (.400, 0 HR, 4 RBI), who spent most of the year in AAA, has a 20-game hitting streak pieced together with a first-inning single in a 4-2 loss to the Capitals.
July 29 – Warriors 3B/SS Ben Wilken (.256, 11 HR, 61 RBI) takes down the Buffaloes, 1-0, with a home run.

FL Player of the Week: RIC INF/RF Robby Cox (.322, 14 HR, 68 RBI), batting .591 (13-22) with 1 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB 2B/LF Armando Montoya (.284, 22 HR, 91 RBI), hitting .400 (10-25) with 3 HR, 4 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Another 3-3 week, and the shards of our string of season series triumphs against the Condors on the floor, and the trade deadline is only two days away, and we just can’t seem to make up our mind what we actually want to do. More offense? Sure! More pitching? Absolutely! A functioning closer? Would be helpful! How about more donuts for everyone?? HELL YES!!

In any case, the phone is ringing, so maybe … yes, Maud? – The Gold Sox called while I cried? – And the Crusaders called while I screamed? – The Indians while I wept? – No that’s the dry cleaners, that’s actually important, I’ll hop over there real quick…

Ben Morris will come off the DL to begin the new week, but how long until he’s back on it? Jim White will be out for another week, though. And last time he came off the DL, it took him all of two days to return there.

It’s not like younger players solve all these problems with nagging injuries, though. See, Ben Morris.

We play the Knights and Indians next week.

Fun Fact: Atlanta’s Ben Lussier (1-3, 4.59 ERA, 32 SV) has the most saves in the entire league.

And I need to re-evaluate all my ******* life choices!