[Westheim]

I need to get to a 5-man rotation. Most other teams were already using it and my starters often didn't get proper rest on only three days.

As an emergency call, Simmons was inserted into the #4 spot ahead of Berrios. Once Christopher Powell gets back from the DL, one of those two can be dealt with. Ocasio will have to succeed, because I don’t have anybody else available. For another arm in the pen we sent CF Zuniga to the AAA level with his .133 average and called up Bill Baker again.

In time for the Titans series, Daniel Hall came down with flu-like symptoms and was replaced by Henderson in the lineup. Clark moved to leadoff, he led the league in steals, but was not a prototypical leadoff hitter with a high average and/or OBP.

The Raccoons opened with Jorge Romero and put him in charge of an early 3-1 lead, which was in danger in the third, but from the warning track in right field Pedro Sánz gunned down a runner at home. He was no threat with the glove, but his arm was like a cannon. The Raccoons added one in the eighth when Bocci mowed down fellow catcher Shawn Gilmore at the plate after a flyout by Sánz. Gaston saved the 4-1 after a leadoff single with two K’s. This put Romero’s record to 8-7! Whooo!! And it also lifted the Raccoons to 5th in the CL North!! Whoooo!!!

The next day the Raccoons were destroyed 9-0 by the Titans, five on Ocasio and four on Cooper, who ran out of his sub 1.00 ERA for good. Daniel Hall returned for game 3 to the leadoff spot and belted his first home run of the season off Aguostinho Tibo right away. Hall went 3-5 and the Raccoons chalked up another 4-1 win in the series. Evans and his nasty splitter lasted 7.2 innings with 4 BB and 6 K.

Next were the Indians in Indianapolis, which is in Indiana. The two worst offenses of the Continental League would meet up, with 249 runs for the Indians and just 223 for the Raccoons. Ben Simon homered for a 1-0 lead in the seventh and Gaston came into the game in the bottom 9th. He blew his first save of the season when the Indians tied it up. The Raccoons (and Gaston) still won, 3-1, after a 2-run blast by Nixon in the top of the 10th. Bill Baker got the save against lefties.

Game 2 was Berrios. He wobbled through the first inning, then made a throwing error in the second that eventually plated six unearned runs. The Raccoons lost 8-0 with just three hits themselves. Berrios was banished to AAA the same day. We called up Zuniga again. He would be on the roster just about one week until Powell would come off the DL. Berrios now had one final chance to get his stuff together in AAA.

The series ended with Romero going against Miguel Sanchez. Romero had a shutout going, but with a 4-0 lead crumbled in the eighth. Brett Justice came in and made matters worse. The Indians tied it in the inning… both teams burned through their bullpens in frightening speed now. I squeezed 2.1 innings out of Bill Baker through the 13th inning, which left only Gaston and we probably had a maximum of two innings in him. But Nixon doubled in Ken Evans in the 14th and the Raccoons held a 5-4 lead. Gaston came in and walked two, but then struck out two to end the game. We had just won an away series at the division leader!

We also would now have 17 games in a row before the All Star game. With a makeshift rotation and a few offensive problems as well this could become a long 2 1/2 weeks. First up were the Condors, and both our teams had a 32-40 record going into the series. This could not end well. The Raccoons were no-hit into the sixth inning in game 1 and didn’t score until the eighth, losing 6-2 with Ocasio having five runs charged against him and now a 6.32 ERA.

This was followed by a 3-2 win in game 2, where it almost got away from Wally Gaston in the bottom 9th as he allowed a run on three walks. Hoyt Cook had before delivered a huge pinch hit 2-run double to take a 3-1 lead in the top 9th in the first place. Since the Loggers lost their game, the Raccoons passed them and became 23rd on the all time records list. Yaaay, we’re making progress towards capturing a few World Series titles.

Aiding in this quest certainly was a 7-6 win in the series finale. The lead changed hands four times in this game, and the Condors’ 2B Johnny Bates cleared the bases with a double in the bottom 8th off Ben Jenkins to make it 6-5 Condors there. The Raccoons scored twice in the top 9th and then Gaston came in to save it, but not before he loaded the bases with two outs. Gaston now had 20 saves in 21 attempts, which sounds effective enough, but watching him close games was nothing for those with heart ailments…

June would end and July begin against the Aces at home, from June 30 on. The Aces were 39-37 and while they were scoring a lot of runs, their pitching was sub par.

For the Raccoons, Jorge Romero opened it, while the Raccoons took an early 1-0 lead, when Sánz singled in Hall in the first. It was still 1-0 in the top 6th. Romero struggled a bit, and Aces reached base to lead off every inning but the fourth so far. Aces were on second and third with two out and the #8 hitter, Enrico Maldonado, up. Maldonado was a lefty with a .301 average and we took no chances here and walked him with first open. This brought up Travis Newton, the pitcher, and the Aces manager let him bat. Romero struck him out, his first K of the game. Sánz bashed a solo shot, his fifth HR of the year, in the bottom of the inning and Romero added a flawless top 7th. Up 3-0, my setup guys Justice and Jenkins showed their worst and allowed two runs. With a slim 3-2 lead and Gaston unavailable I needed a lefty to pitch the ninth against the heart of the Aces lineup – and only Bill Baker fit that description. Baker pitched around a Luis Romero double to save the 3-2 win.

Christopher Powell returned from the DL in time to retake #2 in the rotation, pushing down the struggling Ocasio to #4 and Gary Simmons to #5.

By the way, Joe Ellis from the Falcons was named the CL pitcher of the month in June with a 4-1 record and 2.14 ERA. I compared that to Jorge Romero, who also had a very good month: 4-1 record, 2.26 ERA. Romero consistently delivers 6+ innings. In his 20 starts this season, he only delivered two outings of less than six frames, including his first, but he has no complete game so far. June had been good on the Raccoons as a whole, with a 15-11 record. I can’t check at the moment, but his should be their best month so far overall, maybe except for April 1978.

Powell was a bit shaky in his first game back and got 1-0 behind in the first. In the third inning, Powell came to bat – twice. He doubled to lead it off and was the first of four runs scored in the inning, before grounding out with the sacks full to end it. Powell went six frames before being pulled with an 8-2 lead. And then it derailed massively. Carlos Moran came in to pitch the eighth and surrendered a 3-run homer, 8-5. Sánz and Johnston hit back-to-back homers in the bottom 8th for a new 10-5 lead. We continued with Moran, who continued to implode. Baker could not contain the fire. Gaston came in, still a bit tired from recent overuse, with a 10-7 lead, the bags full, and only one out. He got Andre Long to pop to shallow right – and nobody caught the ball, which dropped in and two runs scored. Gaston on four straight pitches walked Fred Harrell to load the bases again. Up came Jeffery Walton, who grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end it. 10-9 win for the Raccoons, who just barely avoided major embarrassment. The Aces scored seven runs in those last two innings.

We aimed for the sweep in game 3. Daniel Hall started it with a leadoff home run to left. The Raccoons scored a lot in the following innings, while Logan Evans worked on a 1-hitter, but he didn’t get through the ninth. He walked two and gave up a hit to load the bases and left after 8.1 innings with 3 BB and 6 K. Paul Cooper came in and surrendered a grand slam to Lino Zagallo, but the Raccoons had led 8-0 and won 8-4 when Orlando Chaves grounded out. Evans was saddled with three earned runs on two hits. Nevertheless, we had just swept the Aces, a winning team before the contest, now they had a losing record, and the Raccoons were 37-41!

Next are the 37-39 Canadiens with the worst rotation in the Continental League for four games, then a road trip to Milwaukee and New York before the All Star break.

We have won five games in a row and eight of the last ten and the team has scored 4.5 R/G over the last ten games. May not sound like much, but for the season we are at 3.38 R/G.

In other news:
June 21 – The Scorpions lose slugger SS Beau Horn for six weeks to a quad strain.
June 21 – Gold Sox pitcher Steve Holland hurls a 2-hit shutout against the Pacifics. He still is 2-10 with a 4.40 ERA for the season.
June 25 – The Pacifics’ ace David Burke (6-6, 3.23 ERA) pitches a 2-hit shutout of the Scorpions in a 2-0 win.
June 26 – A groin injury will keep Crusaders slugger Hector Atilano (.342, 10 HR, 39 RBI) out of action until early August.
June 27 – In the week of 2-hit shutouts, Juan “Mauler” Correa has one himself, as the Scorpions blank the Capitals 2-0.
June 30 – Rebels 3B Riley Simon, batting .349, hits himself in the foot fouling off a pitch from Gold Sox reliever Patrick Livingston. Simon will miss at least four weeks with a broken foot.