[Westheim]

Raccoons (50-63) @ Crrusaders (49-62) – August 11-13, 2070

Last place playoffs, with the Raccoons being up 7-5 on New York this year. The Crusaders were the worst scoring team in the CL (although we’re always ready to lend a paw) and ranked fifth in runs allowed. Their run differential was -70. What they did have was speed and the third-most stolen bases, and also the second-best rated defense. Regulars Bryant Box and Willie Ospina were on the DL, as were pitchers Russell Anderson and Nick Ellis.

Projected matchups:
Vinny Morales (6-8, 3.43 ERA) vs. Nick Robinson (3-2, 3.14 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (6-8, 4.47 ERA) vs. Jarod Nesbit (6-14, 4.57 ERA)
Nick Walla (7-9, 4.28 ERA) vs. Colt Long (6-6, 4.01 ERA)

Robinson and Long were left-handers, with the 41-year-old former Critter taking the starting assignment for the third time this season in the opener.

Game 1
POR: 2B Yocum – SS Mireles – 3B Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Corral – 1B Murcia – LF van Otterdijk – C Flowe – P Morales
NYC: SS Roza – C Marty – RF J. Acuna – CF B. Davidson – 3B Reber – LF Griffin – 2B J. King – 1B Nakamura – P N. Robinson

The weather was iffy, but at least the Raccoons took a 1-0 lead on straight singles by their 2-through-5 hitters in the first inning, and then Murcia whiffed and van Otterdijk grounded out. Morales gave up just one hit in the first inning, but it was an RBI double to Javier Acuna, plating Ryan Marty, whom Morales had walked. Awesome. Morales issued three walks the first time through the order, but the Raccoons were the next team to score on an unearned sac fly by Murcia after Wharton reached on a throwing error and Corral hit a soft single in the third inning. Soon it started to rain.

Tyler Wharton reached on Crusaders errors twice and they had eight hits in five innings against Robinson, but couldn’t score more than two runs, while Robinson was hit for in the bottom 5th with Robert Ortiz, who tripled and then scored on a sac fly to tie the game. Morales and Yocum hit 2-out singles in the sixth, which predictably led nowhere when Mireles grounded out to short. Morales kept pitching in on-and-off rain until Josh Roza singled and Ryan Marty took him deep to left in the seventh inning, breaking the tie. The Critters didn’t reach base in the eighth inning, but Otal singled off closer John Faughnan to begin the ninth and Yocum soon joined him with another single, which put the tying run on base. Faughnan walked Mireles to fill them up with nobody out, and Katzman crashed into a 6-4-3 double play. Otal scored, Yocum went to third, and Wharton singled through the left side to tie the score when the Coons were down to their final out. Javier Acuna and Bill Davidson reached base in the bottom 9th against Holzmeister, with two outs, but Kyle Reber then grounded out and sent the game to overtime.

Christopher Tinari struck out the side of Critters in the tenth, then walked Gallo and Mireles in the 11th, but it wasn’t like we could find another base hit anywhere. With Holzmeister and Nava holding the fort for the Raccoons, the game continued, and Tinari then filled the bases with nobody out again in the 12th inning, as Corral singled, Huckaby walked, and van Otterdijk singled. Tinari walked in a run against Flowe, was removed for Jorge Solis, and a K to the pinch-hitting Sam Brown and Yocum hitting into a double play killed the inning. Valentin at least came up with a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning, the last out being made by Solis, as the Crusaders’ bench was empty. 5-4 Coons. Mireles 3-5, BB; T. Wharton 2-6, 2B, RBI; Corral 4-6, RBI; Holzmeister 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Rain picked up over night and Tuesday was just a miserable wet day with constant showers and the scheduled game was postponed into a Wednesday double-header.

Game 2
POR: 2B Yocum – LF Otal – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Corral – 3B Gallo – C Brown – 1B Huckaby – P J. Wharton
NYC: SS Roza – 2B Philpot – RF J. Acuna – CF B. Davidson – 3B Reber – LF Griffin – 1B Duhon – C Marty – P Nesbit

Jimmy Wharton had a scoreless first and Tyler Wharton had a double to lead off the second inning, then got one-upped by Jose Corral, who one-upped it over the centerfield fence for a 2-0 lead. But the Crusaders came up with an all-right-handed (or switch-hitting) lineup, so I expected Jimmyboy to start struggling before long. He gave up a stupid run in the bottom 3rd, allowing a 1-out single to the opposing pitcher and an RBI double to Ryan Philpot. Acuna then flew out to Big Wharton.

Chris Duhon hurt himself on a defensive play in the fourth and was replaced with Nakamura, while Nesbit filled the bases with Critters in the fifth, hitting Huckaby and Otal with pitches, while Yocum was walked intentionally. Oh come on, boys! They’re BEGGING for it! Katz promptly grounded to short for … a throwing error by Roza which scored a run. (one eyeball becomes markedly bigger than the other) Wharton hit a sac fly, 4-1, and Corral fanned to end the inning.

The Coons were still on two hits through eight innings, but were also still up 4-1 with Jimmyboy not giving up a lot anymore, but Philpot hit a 1-out single on his 108th pitch and it was time for a change. Valentin pitched a 5-out save, despite two tack-on runs being scored in the ninth inning when Murcia, who entered in a double switch with Valentin, and Yocum got on base, and an Otal single and Katz’ sac fly both brought in a run. 6-1 Raccoons. T. Wharton 1-2, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Murcia 1-1, 2B; J. Wharton 7.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (7-8);

The box score was decidedly odd with six runs off four hits, including Katz going 0-for-4 with 2 RBI on the groundout/error and the sac fly.

Game 3
POR: 2B Yocum – SS Mireles – 3B Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Corral – 1B Murcia – C Flowe – LF van Otterdijk – P Walla
NYC: SS Roza – 2B Philpot – RF J. Acuna – CF B. Davidson – 3B Reber – LF Griffin – C A. Morris – 1B Duhon – P C. Long

Walla didn’t retire any of the first four batters he faced, going walk, single, walk, single, and three runs scored in total in the inning, two of them earned and one coming with two outs on a Yocum error, which all in all was such a great start to a ballgame. Walla allowed two more runs on straight hits by the 2-through-5 batters, all with two outs, in the second inning, and didn’t get out of the fifth inning before being yanked following Reber and Andy Morris singles. Victor Ramirez struck out Duhon and Long to get out of there.

In between, the Coons had scored two runs on a van Otterdijk homer and then Walla’s single, after which he was forced out on Yocum’s grounder in the top 3rd. Yocum was balked to second and scored on a Katz hit, but it was still 5-2 after five. The Raccoons did precious little for the next couple of innings, while Holzmeister and Sullivan put up scoreless innings. Yocum then opened the eighth with a double off Adam Dochterman and was driven home on a Mireles single – and now the tying run was at the plate. Dochterman walked Katz, but rung up Wharton, and then got a 4-6-3 double play from Corral to clean up… The tying run was back on base when Flowe and van Otterdijk hit 1-out singles against Faughnan in the ninth inning. Gallo batted for McMahan in the #9 hole and whiffed, badly, and then Yocum grounded out to short. 5-3 Crusaders. Yocum 2-5, 2B; Katzman 2-3, BB, RBI; van Otterdijk 2-3, HR, RBI;

Raccoons (52-64) @ Stars (61-52) – August 15-17, 2070

Dallas ranked eighth in runs scored and fourth in runs allowed, and narrowly led a tight FL West by one game on Friday morning. They were not really excelling at anything except that they had the second-best ERA by a rotation in the Federal League. The Raccoons had last won a series against Dallas in 2060, with five lost interleague series since then, most recently two of three games in ’69.

Projected matchups:
Tony Gaytan (7-11, 3.70 ERA) vs. Andy Canada (12-2, 3.08 ERA)
Val Centeno (1-2, 5.32 ERA) vs. Ramon Torres (2-1, 2.81 ERA)
Vinny Morales (6-8, 3.53 ERA) vs. Bobby Marceau (9-11, 3.55 ERA)

No left-hander here … unless the Stars used the mutual off day to skip the former Critter Juan Sanchez (8-11, 5.19 ERA) into the series.

Game 1
POR: 2B Yocum – LF Otal – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Corral – 3B Gallo – C Flowe – 1B Huckaby – P Gaytan
DAL: CF Stockton – RF J. Evans – LF Fumero – C Varner – 1B Morejon – 2B McNulty – SS Hills – 3B Vic. Morales – P Canada

Having Tony Gaytan pitch in the shoebox that Tyler Wharton used to call home and bash a billion homers in was not exactly high on my list of life goals, but here he was on the mound anyway. Actually not a whole lot of offense happened in the early going. Stalwart .190 hitter J.P. Gallo hit a solo homer in the second inning to put the Coons in front, but the Stars eventually tied it in the fifth of a solo homer by ex-Coon Brian Hills, after briefly threatening with Steve Varner and Jerry Morejon hits with two gone in the fourth. Chris McNulty grounded out, though.

Benito Otal’s leadoff double soon led to a fresh Coons lead in the sixth, despite Katz making a poor out. The Stars declined to invite Wharton for some bashery, but instead gave up an RBI single to Corral. Jeff McFadden replaced Canada, walked Flowe with two outs to fill the bases, and then gave up a 2-run single to Danny Huckaby. Gaytan whiffed, then proceeded to bleed two runs on hits by Carlos Fumero, Varner, McNulty, and Hills in the bottom 6th…

Despite this, Gaytan pitched another inning, holding the 4-3 lead, and while Wharton couldn’t get going, Gallo wouldn’t stop mashing, going yard for another solo homer off Allan Bergerud in the eighth. Nava and Valentin then pitched clean innings at the tail end to get the W in the books. 5-3 Coons. Gallo 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI; Huckaby 2-4, 2 RBI; Gaytan 7.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, W (8-11);

Still hitting .195, by the way.

Game 2
POR: 2B Yocum – LF Otal – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Corral – 3B Gallo – C Flowe – 1B Huckaby – P Centeno
DAL: RF V.D. Morales – 3B Stockton – LF Fumero – C Varner – 2B McNulty – SS Vic. Morales – CF J. Evans – 1B Morejon – P R. Torres

Centeno had plainly nothing, besides 40 pitches on the clock after one 3-run inning. Three hits, three walks, three runs, and three left on base when Torres flew out to Otal. He then gave up just a single his second time through the order, and in the meantime Wharton drew a leadoff walk in the top 2nd and Corral romped a homer to right to narrow the score to 3-2. But the bottom 4th saw Victor David Morales (not to be confused with Victor Morales, the ex-Coon) and Dallas Stockton get on base with 2-out hit before Fumero flew out to center, and Centeno’s days in this game were clearly numbered. The fifth inning was his last, and he was taken deep by McNulty to extend Dallas’ lead to 4-2. The Raccoons just wouldn’t get on base, though; they had just four hits through eight innings against Torres and a barrelful of relievers, and then faced Jerry Washington in the ninth inning. Otal made a quick out, but Katz reached on an error, bringing up Wharton as the tying run. He was also hitless in this return to the shoebox, remained so, and both him and Corral struck out to end the game. 4-2 Stars.

Game 3
POR: 2B Yocum – LF Otal – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Corral – 3B Gallo – 1B Murcia – C Brown – P Vin. Morales
DAL: RF V.D. Morales – SS An. Mendez – LF Fumero – CF M. Little – 2B McNulty – 3B Stockton – C Reyna – 1B Morejon – P Marceau

Yocum singled on 0-2 and was caught stealing to begin the game, but in the second inning the 5-6-7 all reached base against Marceau. Sam Brown flew out to right, Corral went home from third, and was thrown out by V.D. Morales. Vinny Morales meanwhile had given up a leadoff walk to V.D. Morales in the first inning, and, worse, gave up a homer to Stockton in the second to find himself 1-0 behind. He gave up a leadoff double to Marceau in the bottom 3rd, but then saw off the 1-2-3 batters without conceding the run, while Katz drew a leadoff walk in the fourth and was also caught stealing…

The fourth and fifth were largely calm until Vinny Morales sent V.D. Morales into the corner with a leadoff double in the sixth inning, putting the tying run in scoring position. Yocum popped out, which didn’t help at all, but Otal cranked a 2-run homer, which did help indeed as it flipped the score to 2-1 Portland. Katz singled and Wharton continued his bleak weekend with a 4-6-3 grounder. In the seventh Gallo singled… and was caught stealing.

Vinny Morales ended up with a no-decision, leaving the game after a 1-out double by Victor Reyna in the bottom 7th. McMahan replaced him to face Morejon, but the Stars sent Jake Evans instead, who banged a double off the wall in right to tie the game. Hills and V.D. Morales then made two meek outs to end the inning. Colter pinch-hit and singled for McMahan in the eighth, but was left on base. Holzmeister kept the game tied and Jerry Washington came to visit upon the 3-4-5 batters in the ninth. All were out easily, with a K on Wharton. Victor Ramirez had the bottom 9th, got an out from Stockton, and then put Reyna on with a single, Evans with a walk, and V.D. Morales with a 2-out infield single that filled them up for Victor Morales. There were a lot of Moraleses in this game! Wharton tracked down the former Brownshirt’s fly to center, and the game went to extras.

The Coons went in order in the tenth against McFadden, while Gutierrez entered in a double switch with Huckaby and put Matt Little on with a 1-out single and then McNulty with a walk, but Stockton flew out and Reyna rolled over to Katz for the last two outs. Yocum hit a 1-out single in the 11th, took off for a steal again, and this time Reyna didn’t get the runner. And McFadden didn’t get Otal, whose RBI double broke the tie. Katz grounded out to second, advancing the runner, and Wharton – a whopping 0-for-10 with 4 K in the series! – was walked intentionally. The Stars sent lefty Antonio Santelices after … the pinch-hitting van Otterdijk, who knocked in an extra run with a single through the left side! Gallo whiffed, and Valentin came in and… gave up a leadoff triple to Evans, an RBI single to Santelices (!!), and eventually that run as well on Vic Morales’ single. Morales made it all the way to third base before being stranded by Fumero and Little.

Nava put a pair on base in the 12th inning, but this time Evans and Santelices made the last two outs. Santelices walked Otal and Katz in the 13th inning, but Wharton remained ghastly and hit into a fielder’s choice, and van Otterdijk grounded out to leave them on the corners. The Stars ended the charade then; V.D. Morales drew a walk off Nava, who got a groundout from Vic Morales, but then gave up singles to Fumero and Little to cash the loss. 5-4 Stars. Yocum 2-6; Otal 2-5, BB, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; van Otterdijk (PH) 1-2, RBI; Colter (PH) 1-1;

In other news

August 11 – LAP SP Francisco Tello (7-8, 5.39 ERA) is headed for Tommy John surgery and expected to miss a year after tearing his UCL.
August 11 – DAL SP Alex Quevedo (7-7, 2.43 ERA) was going to miss the rest of the month due to an oblique strain.
August 12 – Two singles and a double in an 8-7 win against the Loggers extend the hitting streak of VAN INF Roberto Barraza (.336, 0 HR, 50 RBI) to 20 games.
August 15 – The Scorpions beat the Indians, 11-1, in a game in which both teams land 11 base hits. Sacramento has the benefit of two home runs, including a grand slam by OF/2B/SS Mike Pinault (.258, 20 HR, 81 RBI).
August 15 – The Aces win a 15-inning, 3-2 game against the Miners.
August 17 – The hitting streak of VAN INF Roberto Barraza (.337, 0 HR, 53 RBI) reaches 25 gams after an RBI double in an 8-5 loss to the Warriors.
August 17 – LAP CL David Wright (2-7, 3.72 ERA, 37 SV) could miss the rest of the season with a triceps strain.
August 17 – The Rebels beat the Bayhawks, 5-4 in 15 innings. Both teams previously scored a run in the 12th.
August 17 – The Pacifics hit four solo homers to barely squeeze by the Loggers, 5-4 in 14 innings.

Player of the Week (FL): LAP OF Chris McLean (.259, 13 HR, 46 RBI), batting .345 (10-29) with 4 HR, 8 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): ATL RF/LF Tom Troxel (.264, 7 HR, 44 RBI), hitting .688 (11-16) with 1 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

0-for-11 with 4 K – I didn’t imagine Tyler Wharton in the shoebox quite like that. Maybe we signed the wrong Tyler Wharton. Maybe it’s that.

Maybe it’s something in the water.

While Gabriel Rios started a rehab assignment in AAA this week and should return soonish, this year’s #44 pick Dan McPartland pitched to a 5.40 ERA in 19 games with Aumsville before tearing the labrum in his shoulder and will sit out until early 2071 now.

The Raccoons would next have three games at home with the Miners, a day off on Thursday, and then another road trip to Indy and Milwaukee, with another day off in the middle of that.

Fun Fact: Tony Gaytan has more strikeouts (112) than Jason Brenize (111).

Is Brenize fading??

It’s not necessarily that Gaytan is *amazing*…! Surely not even better than last year.