[Westheim]

Raccoons (56-69) @ Loggers (70-53) – August 26-28, 2070

The Loggers had a 6 1/2 game lead in the North and would like to maintain that, so they had work to do to better their 6-6 record against the Critters this year. They had the second-best offense and sixth-best pitching, for a +126 run differential. We’d get them without their young leadoff batter Sean Van Leeuwen, who was on the DL until Friday at least. Milwaukee was already tops in homers, and Tony Gaytan was making an appearance in this series, so cover your heads.

Projected matchups:
Nick Walla (7-10, 4.20 ERA) vs. Matt Crist (10-8, 4.14 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (8-12, 3.92 ERA) vs. Julio Robles (10-5, 3.23 ERA)
Vinny Morales (6-9, 3.52 ERA) vs. Ramon Carreno (10-7, 5.05 ERA)

Due to a double-header they played last week, the final game could also bring us Curt Green (8-4, 3.82 ERA). All of them were right-handed though.

Game 1
POR: 2B Yocum – LF Otal – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Corral – 3B Gallo – C Flowe – 1B Murcia – P Walla
MIL: RF Da. Wright – 2B Hood – LF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 1B C. Ramirez – SS F. Carrera – CF Parrish – 3B Di. Mendoza – P Crist

The first five Loggers batters made outs against Walla before Fidel Carrera walked and he drilled John Parrish with an 0-2 pitch. Diego Mendoza gave a 3-run homer a good go, but only made it to the warning track and Benito Otal’s mitten. 2-out trouble returned in the third inning, though, with a double by Roland Hood and then a pair of soft singles by sluggers Carlos Dominguez and Manuel Rodriguez to get the infielder home with the game’s first run. Cesar Ramirez then popped out. In the fifth, Dominguez and Rodriguez would land 2-out singles again from the 3-4 spots, but that time with nobody on, and Wharton ran down a Ramirez fly to left-center to end the inning and keep the Loggers from adding on. And the Raccoons? Two singles through five, of whom one (Yocum) had been caught stealing. Not worth even mentioning, really.

That changed in the sixth when Yocum led off with another single and then watched Otal and Katz make unhelpful outs. But Tyler Wharton came through with something, anything, really, and stuck a double into the rightfield corner, allowing Yocum to score from first and tie the game with two outs. Corral grounded out to Hood, and the Coons battery went to the corners with a pair of singles in the seventh inning, but a runner in scoring position and two outs was a no-go for Yocum (who had only 25 RBI on the year) and he grounded out to Hood as well.

For the third time in the bloody game, Dominguez and Rodriguez then reached with 2-out singles in the seventh inning, this time with an INFIELD single for the catcher that Flowe played to gingerly, and they knocked out Walla this time around. McMahan came in against the left-handed 5-6-7 batters, but gave up the go-ahead run on a Ramirez single before Carrera grounded out to second. Walla did not remain on the hook though, because Crist nailed Otal and walked Katz to begin the top 8th. Wharton whiffed in a full count before Jorge Quinones, left-hander by trade, replaced the starter, but gave up the game-tying bloop RBI single to Jose Corral. Gallo popped out, and van Otterdijk batted for Flowe and landed another bloop single in shallow left, but there was no sending Katz from second against Dominguez’ arm in that situation and the bags were loaded for Murcia, who rolled over to short. The Coons got a scoreless eighth from Victor Ramirez, but increasingly useless Edgar Gutierrez lost the game in the ninth without getting anybody out, giving up four straight singles to Dave Wright, Roberto Soto, and the unavoidables in the 3-4 spots. 3-2 Loggers. Van Otterdijk (PH) 1-1; Walla 6.2 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K and 1-3;

Game 2
POR: 2B Yocum – LF Otal – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Corral – 3B Murcia – C Brown – 1B Colter – P Gaytan
MIL: RF Da. Wright – 2B Hood – LF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 1B C. Ramirez – SS F. Carrera – CF Parrish – 3B Monck – P Ju. Robles

Centeno was in the pen from the start in this game in which we inspected Gaytan to give up at least three bombs in the first five innings, and then he could pitch the rest of the game, hopefully without having his head taken off. Gaytan tried to shush the doubters by not allowing a run the first time through (but also struck nobody out!) by allowing two hits and getting a double play from John Parrish. The Raccoons also had a double paly from Corral for no hits, as Wharton had reached on an error in the second and Corral was above exploiting such mishaps.

The first Coons hits in the game were 2-out singles by Katz and Wharton in the fourth, but Corral grounded out to short to end the inning. The Loggers began their half of the fourth with Hood and Dominguez singles, who went to the corners, and while Gaytan rung up Rodriguez, he walked Ramirez to fill the bases. The Loggers then scored five runs in SPECTACULAR fashion: Gaytan drilled Carrera, walked Parrish, drilled Rich Monck, and gave up a 2-run single to the ******* opposing pitcher. He was then yanked. Nava came in, got two outs, and then Centeno would get… – hopefully the rest of the game, really.

Centeno got three outs from the 3-4-5 batters and his agile outfielders in the fifth inning, then walked Parrish in the sixth, but struck out Monck in exchange. He was then taken over the fence by that ******* opposing pitcher. He pitched one more inning without looking even more like a loser, but that got him to 54 pitches, and we deemed that enough in garbage relief. In the meantime the Raccoons had actually scored a couple by accident, Katz doubling home Yocum in the sixth and then in the eighth we had Gallo – who entered in a double switch with Centeno, as Murcia replaced Colter at first – and Yocum lead off with singles. Otal hit a sac fly, and Katz and Corral singles off Robles got Yocum home, 7-3, but then Murcia struck out on a 2-2 ball in the dirt, ending the rally. The presumed final inning of the day in the bottom 8th was given to closer Pedro Valentin, who retired the Loggers in order (shrugs!). The Loggers sent Luis Lerma for the ninth after hitting for Robles in the bottom 8th against Valentin, but he gave up a 1-out pinch-hit double to Jake Flowe and then a homer to Gallo, and suddenly the Coons were just two runs away from tying the game. B.J. Butrico replaced Lerma to put the lid on, but Yocum singled and put the tying run in the box. Otal lined out to Monck for the second out, but Katz singled through the left side and put the tying runs on the corners for Wharton to have another go, but he hit a fly to Dominguez – that Dominguez dropped!! Yocum scored, and Katz and Wharton went into scoring position as the entire crowd gasped at once. One more knock was required, and Corral was up to bat. Butrico ran the count full and then gave up a high fly to right. Oh-oh. Oh-oh! OH-OH-OUTTA HERE!!!

Murcia flew out and now the Coons had a bit of a problem as we had already floundered Valentin in an assumed garbage inning and Flowe had batted for him. Nava was also gone, and the right-handed top of the order was up, so we went to Ramirez. He felled the Loggers in three batters and just 11 pitches for his fifth save of the year. 9-7 Furballs!! Yocum 3-5; Katzman 4-5, 2B, RBI; Corral 2-5, HR, 4 RBI; Flowe (PH) 1-1, 2B; Gallo 2-3, HR, 2 RBI;

Yes, yes, Tony. No homers. Your 5-spot was still infinitely more ******ed than the Loggers giving up six in the ninth. No, no, stand right there and keep that stupid grin. Just a second. (fills bars of soap into a sock)

Game 3
POR: 2B Yocum – RF Corral – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – LF van Otterdijk – 3B Gallo – C Flowe – 1B Colter – P Morales
MIL: RF Da. Wright – 2B Hood – LF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 1B C. Ramirez – SS F. Carrera – CF Parrish – 3B Monck – P Carreno

The Coons began on Thursday like they had finished on Wednesday, getting their first runner when ex-Coon Carreno brushed Yocum, who stole second, Katz hit a soft single and was forced out by Wharton’s grounder near the third-base line, and then the Otter cranked a 3-run homer to left for a blitz lead. Yocum doubled to begin the third inning then and scored on Corral and Katz groundouts, while Morales didn’t explode on contact and retired the Loggers for the minimum in the first three innings. Parrish hit a single, but Carreno bunted into a 1-6-3 double play to get rid of the runner. After Gallo and Flowe reached to begin the fourth, Morales drove himself another run home for a 5-0 lead by singling to center. Gallo scored from second, and Flowe got confused and was tagged out between second and third to short-circuit the inning from there.

Hyper-aggressive Loggers drew just *26* pitches in four innings from Morales, which meant no strikeouts until he got Carrera in a full count in the fifth as they tried to change their approach mid-game. Vinny still had a 2-hitter on 52 pitches through six, though, but then had a longer seventh inning with a 3-1 single by Rodriguez and then lost Ramirez in a full count on ball four, which meant he threw 23 pitches in that inning alone, but a shutout was still not off the table once Carrera grounded out to Katz. Roberto Soto hit a bloop single batting for reliever Raul Salas in the eighth, but was left on base; however the 2-3-4 batters would be up in the bottom of the ninth, and the score was still 5-0 as the Coons offense had gone home an hour ago. Hood led off with a sharp 0-2 single, and Dominguez flew out to deep left, signaling that the Loggers were inches from breaking through. Rodriguez flew out to van Otterdijk in a full count, getting Morales to 97 pitches, so he didn’t have a lot left for sure. He got Ramirez to 2-2 … and then gave up a homer to right. (deflates visibly) He walked Carrera and was also denied the complete game as then Valentin came in to clean up and ring up Parrish. 5-2 Raccoons. Katzman 2-4, RBI; Morales 8.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (7-9) and 1-2, RBI;

90 career starts and zero complete games for Vinny Morales. (Morales hangs ears and stares sadly into his full food bowl)

Raccoons (58-70) vs. Falcons (56-71) – August 29-31, 2070

This season series was also tied, at three, as the month ended with a pair of teams that wanted the whole damn season to end, pronto. The Falcons were in the bottom three in both runs scored and runs allowed and had a -104 run differential, but for all that were only a game and a half worse than the Coons in the record department. Outfielder Brady Terrell was the only notable injury on a team that didn’t have a lot of notable personnel.

Projected matchups:
Gabriel Rios (6-0, 2.19 ERA) vs. Dan Speake (6-15, 5.49 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (8-8, 4.01 ERA) vs. Ayahito Ochi (11-9, 4.33 ERA)
Nick Walla (7-10, 4.13 ERA) vs. Edgar Mauricio (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Ochi was the only southpaw for the week. Mauricio would make his second ABL start of the year; the 35-year-old had been absent from the majors for 13 months after elbow ligament surgery last July.

Game 1
CHA: CF L. Collins – 2B A. Rodriguez – C O. Matos – SS Tr. Taylor – 1B A. Metz – RF A. Campbell – LF Mullen – 3B Moraida – P Speake
POR: 2B Yocum – LF Otal – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Corral – 3B Gallo – C Flowe – 1B Colter – P Rios

Landon Collins opened the game with a homer to right, and Rios remained outta sorts after that, allowing a single to Alex Rodriguez, a walk to Oscar Matos, and eventually a 2-out RBI double to Adam Campbell. It took a first-inning mound conference to get an easy last out from Eddie Mullen. The Falcons tacked on a pair in the third with another leadoff jack by Matos, another walk and an RBI double by Campbell, and the Raccoons began to turn towards their pen to see stretchies being conducted. Offensively useless, Rios batted in turn as the Coons got only one guy on base the first time through, but was yanked after a K to Speake, a Collins single, and another RBI double for Rodriguez, 5-0. Sullivan got five outs before being hit for with van Otterdijk in the bottom 5th. The Dutch Antillean doubled home Gallo and Flowe for the team’s first two runs in the damn game, but Yocum obviously grounded out with a guy in scoring position, ending the inning. Garbage duty fell on Gutierrez then, who pitched three innings on 41 pitches and gave up another hard-to-explain homer to Landon Collins, but nothing else of substance and thus maintained his even 3.00 ERA. Ramirez did the ninth in orderly fashion, but the offense never got another paw up in threatening manner. 6-2 Falcons. Corral 2-4; van Otterdijk (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI;

(sigh)

Game 2
CHA: LF Bakker – 2B A. Rodriguez – C O. Matos – SS Tr. Taylor – 1B A. Metz – RF A. Campbell – CF Mullen – 3B Moraida – P Ochi
POR: 2B Yocum – LF van Otterdijk – 3B Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Corral – SS Mireles – 1B Murcia – C Brown – P J. Wharton

Jimmyboy’s scoreless first got his ERA into the 3’s again and he alloed only one hit in the first four innings, while the Raccoons were perfectly harmless the first time through the order before Yocum reached base to begin the fourth. The Otter singled and a double steal got them to where a Katz grounder brought the game’s first run in. Wharton flew out, but Corral found a 2-out RBI single for a 2-0 lead before the inning ran out of fizz. Ochi then walked the 7-8 batters to begin the fifth, who were bunted into scoring position by Jimmy Wharton, and Yocum accidentally got the runners home with a single through the right side. Adam Campbell’s throwing error not only meant there was no threat on Sam Brown being out at the plate, but the loose ball also allowed Yocum to second base. Ochi walked the Otter and lost Katz on a 3-2 infield single to load the bases for Big Wharton, who was held to a sac fly by Matt Bakker. Corral fanned, keeping the score at 5-0 after five. Mireles hit a leadoff single, advanced on a grounder by Murcia, and scored on Sam Brown’s single in the sixth, tacking on another run, while Jimmyboy allowed a leadoff single to Matos and then was taken deep by Trent Taylor to stain his ledger in the seventh, which was also his last inning in the game due to general inefficiency; he needed 106 pitches for seven innings. Nava had a scoreless eighth before the ball went to Sullivan in the ninth, but he walked Rodriguez and allowed a single to Taylor for only one out and was replaced with Valentin, who saw a requirement to walk the bags full with Andy Metz before getting a double play grounder to end the game from the tying run, former Elks foe Adam Campbell. 6-2 Coons. J. Wharton 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (9-8);

No Critter had more than one base hit, and outside of the three middle innings they did virtually nothing.

Humph was basically ready to return at this point, but rosters would expand on Monday anyway and we kept him laid over in St. Pete a day longer for ease of procedures, and it wasn’t like we’d make up a 15-game deficit anyway.

Game 3
CHA: CF L. Collins – 2B A. Rodriguez – C O. Matos – 1B A. Metz – SS Tr. Taylor – LF Bakker – RF A. Campbell – 3B Moraida – P E. Mauricio
POR: 2B Yocum – LF Otal – RF Corral – CF T. Wharton – SS Mireles – 3B Gallo – C Flowe – 1B Murcia – P Walla

Walla retired Charlotte in order the first time through, whiffing two to get to 100 K for the season (which was about time), while the Coons only got Wharton on base under their own power with a leadoff single in the second. Mireles reached on a Taylor error, but the Falcons shortstop then started a 6-4-3 on Gallo, so it all added up to zero runs in the end. Walla walked Landon Collins to begin the fourth, but he was also doubled off. Otal drew a leadoff walk in the Coons’ half of the fourth inning, advanced twice on a grounder, and then scored on a soft Mireles single over the head of Rodriguez before Gallo fanned.

The Falcons’ first hit was a 2-out single by Bakker in the fifth inning, after which Walla fell to 3-1 on Campbell, who then doubled to right-center. Bakker went for the plate, but so did Tyler Wharton and hammered the runner out to end the inning. Flowe then replied with a leadoff jack in the bottom 5th, Murcia singled and scored as well on Otal’s 2-out single, 3-0. Otal stole second, then danced home with Corral on a 2-out homer by the rightfielder.

Five and two thirds innings of shutout ball got Walla’s ERA under four as well, and he maintained control of the 5-0 game through six. He was on shutout pace, but a Murcia error extended the seventh inning to where Walla ended up reaching the stretch only on his 88th pitch of the game. He gave up a pinch-hit single to Kevin Huffman in the #9 spot in the eighth inning, but kept the runner on, although he reached 100 pitches at the completion of eight. Corral’s double and a Wharton homer off David Gooding put the game away for all practical purposes in the bottom 8th. Katz batted for Gallo, only reached on an error by Danny Moraida, and then scored from second on Flowe’s single. Walla batted for himself to end the bottom 8th, whiffing, and then faced the 3-4-5 batters with an 8-0 lead. Matos then raked a triple into the rightfield corner for instant deflation, but Walla remained on the hill and got a pop from Metz on the infield that didn’t allow Matos to score. Taylor ALSO popped out on the infield, bringing up Bakker as the potential final out! And again the Coons were denied the shutout as Bakker hit a 2-out single. Campbell also singled, and Walla was lifted for Gutierrez, who had to **** around, allowed a single to Moraida, walked in a run against Eddie Mullen, and only then got Collins to end the game. 8-2 Raccoons. Corral 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; T. Wharton 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Flowe 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Walla 8.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (8-10);

In other news

August 25 – In only his fourth major league appearance of the season, Bayhawks SP Austin LaRosa (2-1, 1.99 ERA) throws a PERFECT GAME against the Condors, striking out six and retiring all 27 Condors batters in a row in a 4-0 win. LaRosa needs only 86 pitches to complete the amazing feat.
August 28 – LVA SP Luis Ortiz (13-6, 3.31 ERA) shines with a 1-hitter against the Thunder to claim a 6-0 win. The only Thunder knock comes from INF/LF Carlos Gutierrez (.320, 9 HR, 70 RBI) with a single in the seventh inning.
August 30 – A concussion ends the season of rookie Wolves catcher Ken Flaminio (.344, 0 HR, 10 RBI).
August 31 – The Capitals beat the Stars only in 14 innings, by a score of 6-5.

Player of the Week (FL): SAC OF/2B/SS Mike Pinault (.259, 22 HR, 90 RBI), hitting .500 (10-20) with 1 HR, 5 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): SFB OF/1B Ryan Redding (.277, 4 HR, 32 RBI), clipping .571 (12-21) with 2 HR, 5 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: SAL OF Chris Bauer (.339, 14 HR, 77 RBI), batting .386 with 4 HR, 25 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: MIL RF/LF Carlos Dominguez (.376, 18 HR, 94 RBI), clapping .361 with 5 HR, 11 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: SFW SP Alex Diez (14-3, 2.23 ERA), going 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA, 48 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: ATL SP Erik Lee (14-6, 2.29 ERA), a perfect 6-0 with an 0.43 ERA and 35 K
FL Rookie of the Month: NAS 1B Orlando Reyes (.294, 7 HR, 34 RBI), bashing .366 with 4 HR, 17 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: VAN UT Eddie Campos (.310, 3 HR, 13 RBI), batting .320 with 2 HR, 11 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Ryan Redding won Player of the Week honors at a tender 20 years and 253 days of age, and after only 84 major league games. The Baybirds drafted him first overall in 2068 and he never appeared in a game in AA on his way to the majors. He looks like a real menace in the making and I can’t wait for him to endlessly hit walkoff knocks against the Coons at the bloody Bay.

The Loggers lost their series to the Coons this week but the damn Elks are doing some hard collapsing right now and the Loggers look like they’re gonna walk the division with five weeks to go. We might still take the season series, somehow.

So roster expansion will bring back Steve Humphries, who was last seen here on May 15, on Monday, along with some other bodies. I don’t have any hot prospects to offer to you, unless you’re really into the thought of Dan Gomez coming back or something like that. We will probably do the 6-man rotation thing with Val Centeno, so we’ll load up on ham-and eggers for the pen. That’ll be fun!

We’ll be in the Northwest for the next two weeks, hosting the Thunder and Titans for the rest of the homestand. There’ll be a 3-day trip to Elk City (of which we have TWO left), and then another 3-game set at home against the Crusaders.

Fun Fact: Austin LaRosa’s perfecto on Monday is the sixth perfect game in league history.

Before that the following pitchers had perfect games:

CIN Juan Garcia vs. Buffos on May 19, 2008
WAS Eric Williams @ Rebs on September 8, 2024
IND Chris Sinkhorn vs. Rebs on August 17, 2027
TOP Jose Arias vs. Rebs on April 30, 2047
NAS Marcus Wilkins vs. Buffos on September 10, 2055

LaRosa’s is the first one that has come against a CL team, which isn’t surprising giving the Rebels’ penchant go go 27 up, 27 down. LaRosa is the first pitcher to throw a perfect game that is not a regular starter (almost 80% of his ABL appearances were in relief), and he’s also a waiver claim.

No pitcher to throw a perfect game has made it into the Hall of Fame, but Chris Sinkhorn for a while came pretty close.

Career totals:
Juan Garcia (2001-2015): 128-139, 4.44 ERA, 1,684 K – 1 ring
Eric Williams (2018-2034): 182-133, 3.27 ERA, 1,907 K – 2 rings
Chris Sinkhorn (2018-2033): 184-131, 3.50 ERA, 2,368 K – 1 ring, 1x Pitcher of the Year, 2x ERA leader, 1x strikeout leader
Jose Arias (2044-2059): 118-95, 3.68 ERA, 1,279 K
Marcus Wilkins (2045-2060): 140-134, 4.26 ERA, 1,682 K – 2 rings
Austin LaRosa (2063-xxxx): 14-16, 4.30 ERA, 285 K