The Portland Beavers, est. 2001

[Questdog]

Tuesday, June 25, 2002

Portland Beavers (45-31 .592 1 GB in 2nd place in the NL West) at
Colorado Rockies (39-36 .520 6.5 GB in 4th place in the NL West)

Alan Gross, Por (28 L 7-5 2.44 7.1-0.5-2.1-6.6 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Tom Keasler, Col (37 R 5-7 6.33 10.8-1.4-4.4-6.4)

We are 2-0 against Keasler this season and he has not made it through 3 innings wither time. Last year, with Boston, he was one of the best pitchers in baseball, going 15-10 with a 2.69 ERA. He has a 4.20 ERA on the Road, but it is 8.54 at home.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (30 R .281-1-22-.718 in 253 AB)
2: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .274-2-29-.697 in 288 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .287-3-27-.761 in 167 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .273-7-33-.815 in 231 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .300-3-33-.815 in 160 AB)
6: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .287-1-15-.710 in 157 AB)
7: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .293-2-12-.747 in 133 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .400-0-0-.900 in 5 AB)
9: P Alan Gross (28 L .118-1-3-.378 in 34 AB)

COLORADO
1: 2B Jesus Lopez (34 R .328-0-21-.840 in 256 AB)
2: 1B Bobby Manzano (26 L .344-17-56-.975 in 302 AB) 2001 All-Star 3rd in MVP vote
3: C Willie Solano (27 R .329-15-58-.950 in 252 AB)
4: CF Julio Chapa (27 R .285-14-34-.975 in 144 AB) 2001 All-Star
5: RF Buddy Hartman (34 R .316-10-33-.948 in 177 AB) 2001 All-Star with LAA
6: LF Jeff Johnson (27 L .301-6-15-.832 in 216 AB) 2001 All-Star
7: SS Bob Stallings (26 R .234-8-42-.653 in 278 AB) Rookie
8: 3B Mark Bode (29 R .262-3-8-.795 in 61 AB)
9. P Tom Keasler (37 L .115-0-0-.231 in 26 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 69 deg. Clear skies with a 9 MPH wind blowing in from center.
Attendance: 15,306

Stu Redman swings at the first pitch and lines a hit up the middle. Javy Fernandez grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. Second straight day he has begun the game doing that.... Lee Kowalski flies out to center.

Bottom of the 1st: Jesus Lopez leads off by taking the count the distance and then swings at the payoff pitch and grounds out to 3rd. Bobby Manzano flies out to center. Full count to Willie Solano and he pops out to 2nd! 1-2-3!

Top of the 2nd: Mark Parker leads off with a line drive to center for a hit. With 1 out, Lebron Williams reaches on a 2-base error by Jesus Lopez. E-4. Parker then scores on a ground out by Tim DePriest. 1 to 0, Beavers.

Top of the 4th: Lee Kowalski leads off with a grounder to right for a hit. With 1 out, he steals 2nd and with 2 outs, Lebron Williams doubles to left center! 2 to 0, Beavers! Tim DePriest beats out an infield hit and Mike Campell walks to load the bases up with 2 outs and P Alan Gross at the plate. Balk! Williams scores! 3 to 0, Beavers! Gross flies out to end the inning.

Bottom of the 7th: P Alan Gross is on cruise control. He gets two quick outs and then Mark Bode grounds one to 3rd and Tim DePriest throws it away fro a 2-base error. The Bullpen is scrambled because Gross is over 100 pitches. Pinch-hitter: RHB Byron Wheeler. He doubles to left center. 3 to 1, Beavers. Jesus Lopez triples to right. 3 to 2, Beavers. I hope you are ashamed of yourself, Mr. DePriest.... Pinch-hitter: RHB Manuel Jauregui, who hit a pinch-hit double to drive in a run yesterday. Call to the Bullpen: RHP Ron Beckman, who blew the lead yesterday.... Jauregui grounds out to short!

Bottom of the 9th: Still 3 to 2, Beavers. New Pitcher: LHP Floyd Johnson, making his Beaver Debut. I did not really want his first appearance to be in such a pressure situation in Coors Field.... Bob Stallings flies one to right and Lee Kowalski makes a great lunging catch! Full count to Mark bode and he swings and misses! Pinch-hitter: RHB Dave Leonard, how hit a home run yesterday. He grounds a hit to right. Winning run comes to the plate in the person of Jesus Lopez. Full count and he lines one to center, but Javy Fernandez runs it down and THIS Ballgame Belongs to the Beavers!

Won - 3 to 2

We had 8 hits and made 2 errors.
The Rockies had 8 hits and made 1 error.

Alan Gross (W 8-5) went 6 and 2/3 innings, allowed 2 unearned runs, 6 hits, no walks and struck out 3. 110 pitches.
RHP Ron Beckman went 1 and 1/3 innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 2.
LHP Floyd Johnson (SV 1) pitched a scoreless 9th, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

Editor's Note: This was Alan Gross' 17th start of the season. In 12 of them, OOTP has picked him as the Star of the Game. No one else has more than 5.

Tom Keasler (L 5-8) went 7 innings, gave us 3 runs (2 earned), 8 hits, 2 walks (1 INT) and struck out 4. He is the 2nd pitcher to ever lose 3 games to the Beavers in one season. Gary Poole of the Cardinals did it last year.

RF Lee Kowalski had 2 hits, stole a base and scored a run. LF Lebron Williams hit 2 doubles, scored a run and had an RBI.

For the Rockies, 2B Jesus Lopez had 3 hits with a triple and an RBI.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, June 26, 2002

We are back in Portland for the shortest of home stands: 2 games with manager Champ Walker (40) and his Astros before we are back on the road. The are coming off a 2 losses in Phoenix. We are 4-0 against them so far and beat them 2 games in Houston the last time we met, May 13-14. They are 16th (last) in the NL in scoring with 3.6 runs per game (Portland is #13 with 4.1). They are 11th in runs allowed with 4.5 per game (Portland is #3 with 3.9). Their pitchers have given up the 3rd fewest walks, but the 3rd most home runs. They won 94 games last year, finishing 1 game out of 1st.

Houston Astros (30-47 .390 16 GB in 8th (last) place in the NL West) at
Portland Beavers (46-31 .597 tied for 1st place in the NL West)

Walt Deckman, Hou (31 R 4-4 3.41 8.8-0.8-1.5-6.4 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Larry Duke, Por (34 L 4-6 3.42 9.0-0.8-0.7-3.6)

We have not faced Deckman this season. We were 2-3 when he started last year. He pitched three really good games and two clunkers. He was 8-16 with a 4.60 ERA in 33 starts for the Astros last year. He is 5th in the league in fewest BB/9 this year. Larry Duke is #1.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
HOUSTON
1: SS Ed Larson (27 R .290-6-27-.771 in 214 AB)
2: 2B Jim Ellison (29 R .261-8-27-.691 in 307 AB)
3: C Howard Morrell (28 R .270-12-26-.830 in 237 AB) 2001 All-Star and Silver Slugger 2nd in MVP vote
4: 1B Dave Brown (32 R .232-9-32-.692 in 280 AB)
5: CF Mike Cane (29 L .230-5-30-.630 in 282 AB) 2001 All-Star
6: 3B Ron Janeiro (32 R .247-8-32-.739 in 235 AB) 2001 All-Star and Silver Slugger
7: RF David Rodriguez (27 L .207-2-7-.551 in 82 AB)
8: LF Francisco Gomez (30 L .107-1-2-.424 in 28 AB)
9: P Walt Deckman (31 R .172-0-1-.345 in 29 AB)

PORTLAND
1: CF Don Quinney (27 L .083-0-0-.237 in 12 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .279-1-22-.712 in 258 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .292-3-27-.767 in 171 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .272-7-33-.810 in 235 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .294-3-33-.801 in 163 AB)
6: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .294-1-16-.733 in 160 AB)
7: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .292-2-13-.740 in 137 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .286-0-0-.786 in 7 AB)
9: P Larry Duke (34 L .086-0-1-.200 in 35 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 60 deg. Clear skies with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to left.
Attendance: 20,178

Ed Larson lines a double to right. Jim Ellison grounds out to 3rd. Full count to Howard Morrell and he takes ball four. Dave Brown grounds into a 4-6-3 double play!

Bottom of the 1st: Don Quinney grounds out to 3rd. Full count to Stu Redman and he drills one to deep center, but it is caught on the warning track. Lee Kowalski flies out to left center.

Top of the 2nd: Mike Cane leads off by jerking a home run down the right field line. 1 to 0, Astros.

Bottom of the 3rd: P Walt Deckman strikes the side out in order.

Bottom of the 4th: Don Quinney leads off with our first hit of the game. Stu Redman follows with our 2nd. Quinney tags and moves to 3rd on a fly ball and then scores when David Rodriguez drops a fly ball hit by Mark Parker. E-9. 1 to 1. Redman and Parker try a double steal and C Howard Morrell throws the ball into left and Redman scores and Parker goes to 3rd! 2 to 1, Beavers! Danny Hernandez flies out to center and Parker tags up and scores. 3 to 1, Beavers. Lebron Williams lines a double to left center, but pulls up lame at 2nd and has to come out.... Javy Fernandez goes in for him. The Burgermeister says it is just a slight pull and he should be fine in a few days and can still play on it.

Top of the 5th: Francisco Gomez leads off with a grounder to right for a hit. P Walt Deckman bunts him to 2nd and Ed Larson singles him home. 3 to 2, Beavers.

Bottom of the 6th: Stu Redman leads off with a single up the middle and goes to 2nd when Mike Cane overruns the ball. 1B + E-8. Lee Kowalski lines a hit to right and Redman scores! 4 to 2, Beavers!

Won - 4 to 2

We had 6 hits and made no errors.
The Astros had 7 hits and made 3 errors.

Larry Duke (W 5-6) went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, 7 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks and struck out 3. That is his season high in walks and it is only the 2nd time in 9 starts that he has walked anybody.
RHP Doug Maxwell (SV 7) went 2 hitless innings, with 1 walk and struck out 1.

Walt Deckman (L 4-5) went 6 innings, gave us 4 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5.

SS Stu Redman had 2 hits, stole a base and scored 2 runs. LF Lebron Williams hit a double, PR/CF Javy Fernandez had a hit in his only AB.

For the Astros, CF Mike Cane hit his 6th home run of the season and drew a walk.

[Questdog]

Thursday, June 27, 2002

Houston Astros (30-48 .385 17 GB in 8th (last) place in the NL West) at
Portland Beavers (47-31 .603 tied for 1st place in the NL West)

Jessie Gomez, Hou (30 L 5-6 4.75 10.0-0.6-3.9-6.6 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Angel Rodriguez, Por (24 R 1-1 2.70 8.1-0.5-3.6-5.8)

We won, 3 to 2, against Gomez here in Portland on May 13, but he went 7 strong innings and did not get the loss. He was 7-9 with a 4.00 ERA in 25 starts for the Astros last year.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
HOUSTON
1: SS Ed Larson (27 R .294-6-28-.780 in 218 AB)
2: 2B Jim Ellison (29 R .257-8-27-.683 in 311 AB)
3: CF Mike Cane (29 L .232-6-31-.644 in 285 AB) 2001 All-Star
4: 1B Dave Brown (32 R .229-9-32-.683 in 284 AB)
5: 3B Ron Janeiro (32 R .247-8-32-.740 in 239 AB) 2001 All-Star and Silver Slugger
6: RF David Rodriguez (27 L .200-2-7-.540 in 85 AB)
7: C Roger Bradshaw (31 R .156-1-7-.517 in 77 AB)
8: LF Francisco Gomez (30 L .156-1-2-.494 in 32 AB)
9: P Jessie Gomez (30 L .143-0-0-.372 in 21 AB)

PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (30 R .282-1-22-.717 in 262 AB)
2: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .200-0-0-.585 in 10 AB)
3: RF Dave Priestly (28 R .301-4-14-.886 in 93 AB)
4: 1B George Latimer (31 R .000-0-0-.000 in 5 AB)
5: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .286-2-13-.724 in 140 AB)
6: C Greg Bradt (28 R .667-0-2-1.667 in 3 AB) Playing hurt
7: CF Don Quinney (27 L .125-0-0-.301 in 16 AB)
8: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .276-2-29-.698 in 293 AB)
9: P Angel Rodriguez (24 R .400-0-0-1.000 in 5 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 57 deg. Cloudy with an 8 MPH wind blowing right to left.
Attendance: 21,116

Ed Larson strikes out! Jim Ellison swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to center. Mike Cane walks on four pitches. Dave Brown doubles to left center and Ellison scores. 1 to 0, Astros. Ron Janeiro grounds out to 1st, 3-1, and Cane scores. 2 to 0, Astros. 2 outs with a runner at 3rd. Full count to David Rodriguez and he flies out to left.

Bottom of the 1st: Stu Redman grounds out to 3rd. Mike Campell grounds out to 2nd. Dave Priestly strikes out looking.

Top of the 3rd: With 1 out, Jim Ellison hits a home run to left center. 3 to 0, Astros.

Bottom of the 3rd: LF Don Quinney leads off and beats out an infield hit, but has to leave the game... LF is cursed.... that is three players hurt as left fielders in the past week.... Quinney is only on the team due to an injury to Frank Wiginton. Lee Kowalski, the only uninjured outfielder left on the team goes in to run for Quinney. Javy Fernandez lines a hit to center and then P Angel Rodriguez bunts the runners up to 2nd and 3rd. Stu Redman grounds one to short, but reaches on a bad throw by Ed Larson and Kowalski scores! E-6. 3 to 1, Astros. Mike Campell grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4, and Fernandez scores. 3 to 2, Astros.

Top of the 6th: With 1 out, David Rodriguez hits a home run to right. 4 to 2, Astros.

Bottom of the 6th: With 2 outs, C Greg Bradt doubles to left center, goes to 3rd on a a balk and scores on a wild pitch! 4 to 3, Astros.

Top of the 8th: New Pitcher: LHP Jim Ackley. Mike Cane lines a hit to right center. New Pitcher: RHP Phil McPhie. Dave Brown lines a hit to left and Cane, who was running on the play, goes to 3rd. Ron Janeiro lines a hit to left center and Canes scores. 5 to 3, Astros.

Bottom of the 8th: Dave Priestly leads off with a triple to right. George Latimer triples to left center! His first hit as a Beaver! 5 to 4, Astros. New pitcher: RHP Bobby Mitchell. Tim DePriest lines out to left and Latimer tags up and beats the throw to the plate to tie the game at 5!

Top of the 9th: Phil McPhie still on the mound, beginning his 2nd inning of work. Only 10 pitches thrown. Francisco Gomez leads off with a triple to right center. Get 'em back up in the Pen! Pinch-hitter: LHB Charlie Banner. 4 for 30 on the season (.133). Full count and he swings and misses! Ed Larson strikes out!! Jim Ellison strikes out on three pitches!!!

Bottom of the 9th: Let's end this now! New pitcher: RHP Gene Lynch, their closer. Javy Fernandez grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Pinch-Hitter: LHB Danny Hernandez. Full count and he takes ball four! Passed Ball! And he goes to 2nd! Stu Redman grounds out to 3rd. 2 outs. 0-2 pitch to Mike Campell and he lines a hit to right and Hernandez scores without a throw!!! ....and THIS Ballgame Belongs to the Beavers! Welcome to the team, Mr. Campell! He seems to know what we are about around here!

Won - 6 to 5

We had 9 hits and made no errors.
The Astros had 10 hits and made 1 error.

Angel Rodriguez went 7 innings, allowed 4 runs, 6 hits, 2 home runs, 2 walks and struck out 6. At bat, he had a hit.
LHP Jim Ackley faced 1 batter and gave up a hit and a run.
RHP Phil McPhie (W 3-2) went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 3 hits and struck out 3.

Jessie Gomez went 7 innings, gave us 5 runs (3 earned), 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. He threw a WP and balked.
RHP Gene Lynch (L 1-8) went 2/3 of an inning, allowed 1 run, 1 hit and 1 walk. That is a lot of losses by your closer before the halfway mark. It is the 2nd loss we have pinned on him.

2B Mike Campell had only 1 hit, but it was a BIG ONE. He had 2 RBIs. RF/LF Dave Priestly had 2 hits with a triples and scored a run. 1B George Latimer hit a triple, scored a run and had an RBI. C Greg Bradt hit a double and scored a run. LF Don Quinney had a hit in his only appearance. PR/RF Lee Kowalski drew 2 walks and scored a run. PH Danny Hernandez drew a walk and scored the winning run.

For the Astros, 2B Jim Ellison had 2 hits with his 9th home run of the season and scored 2 runs. RF David Rodriguez had 2 hits with his 3rd home run of the year.

[Questdog]

Friday, June 28, 2002

The Dodgers beat the Padres yesterday, so we are in first place all alone!

We are back on the road in St. Louis to finish the month with a 3-game series over the weekend with manager Eddie Cape (60) and his Cardinals. The are coming off back-to-back losses in San Francisco after winning two in San Diego to start the week. We won 3 of 4 here April 25-28 the first time we met them. They are 10th in runs scored with 4.3 per game (Portland is up to #12 with 4.2). They are 10th in runs allowed with 4.5 per game (Portland is #3 with 3.9). Their pitchers are 2nd to last in strikeouts, 2 ahead of Montreal, but in 13 more innings.

Portland Beavers (48-31 .608 in 1st place in the NL West) at
St. Louis Cardinals (39-39 .500 8.5 GB in 5th place in the NL West)

Tony Ricketts, Por (27 R 4-3 4.61 9.5-0.9-1.5-5.6 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Javier de la Rosa, StL (29 R 3-4 3.80 8.7-1.2-1.3-7.4)

We won in extra-innings when de la Rosa started against us the first time we met. He pitched 6 innings and only gave us 1 run. He would be one of the best pitchers in baseball if not for his proclivity for giving up gopher balls. Of course, that weakness does not hurt him much against the Beavers.... He was 11-12 with a 3.53 ERA in 34 starts for the Cardinals last year with 34 home runs allowed. He has allowed 13 so far this season.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: LF Dave Priestly (28 R .309-4-14-.911 in 97 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .277-1-23-.704 in 267 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .291-3-28-.771 in 175 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .268-7-34-.797 in 239 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .293-3-34-.801 in 164 AB)
6: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .287-2-14-.721 in 143 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .276-2-29-.696 in 297 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .200-0-2-.533 in 15 AB)
9: P Tony Ricketts (27 R .045-0-0-.091 in 22 AB)

ST. LOUIS
1: LF Frank Winters (31 L .247-7-18-.768 in 215 AB)
2: SS Hector Molina (31 R .275-1-14-.664 in 138 AB)
3: 1B Miguel Medina (26 R .332-14-56-.939 in 307 AB) 2001 Gold Glove
4: C Art Green (32 S .257-8-29-.721 in 237 AB)
5: 2B Esteban Pineda (29 R .306-4-22-.762 in 245 AB)
6: 3B Jose Padilla (37 L .256-1-7-.705 in 86 AB)
7: RF Chuck Massey (36 R .306-0-6-.739 in 36 AB)
8: CF Cory Newby (30 L .250-0-2-.667 in 12 AB)
9: P Javier de la Rosa (29 S .103-0-2-.271 in 29 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 77 deg. Cloudy with a 15 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 19,207

Dave Priestly jerks a 3-1 pitch down the left field line for a double! Stu Redman lines out to 3rd. Lee Kowalski grounds out to 2nd and Priestly moves up to 3rd. 2 outs. Mark Parker flies out to center.

Bottom of the 1st: Frank Winters swings at the first pitch and grounds out to the pitcher! Hector Molina lines out to right. Full count to Miguel Medina and he flies out to left! 1-2-3!

Top of the 4th: With 1 out, Danny Hernandez hits a home run down the right field line! 1 to 0, Beavers! The wind could not hold that one back!

Top of the 6th: With 2 outs, Mark Parker triples to center. Danny Hernandez swings and misses a 2-2 pitch 3 feet out of the strike zone, but the ball gets by the catcher and he is safe at 1st and Parker scores! 2 to 0, Beavers! K + WP.

Bottom of the 6th: With 1 out, Miguel Medina lines a hit to left. Art Green grounds a hit to right and Medina goes to 3rd. The Bullpen is up. Esteban Pineda flies out to right and Medina holds at 3rd. 2 outs now and a runner is in scoring position.... Jose Padilla doubles to right center and both runners score to tie the game at 2. Chuck Massey drills one to deep center, but Javy Fernandez races it down just short of the warning track!

Top of the 7th: And who leads off? Javy Fernandez, of course. He doubles to center! New pitcher: LHP Joe Fisher. With 1 out, PH Mike Wetzel grounds one to short, but Hector Molina throw it away for a 2-base error and Fernandez scores! 3 to 2, Beavers!

Top of the 9th: New pitcher: RHP Ed Johnson, their closer. Tim DePriest lines a double past 3rd. He goes to 3rd on a ground out. Mike Campell draws a walk. Pinch-Hitter: Lebron Williams. He beats out an infield hit and DePriest scores! 4 to 2, Beavers! Williams twisted his ankle, though.... Rick Ferrell goes in to run for him. Dave Priestly reaches on an error my Miguel Medina, the Gold Glover, and the bases are loaded with 1 out. E-3. Stu Redman launches a 1-2 pitch down the left field line and it is gone!!! GRAND SLAM!!! 8 to 2, Beavers! Ed Johnson takes his leave and the crowd is pretty quiet....

Won - 8 to 2

We had 11 hits and made no errors.
The Cardinals had 8 hits and made 2 errors.

Tony Ricketts (W 5-3) went 6 innings, allowed 2 runs, 7 hits, no walks and struck out 3.
LHP Floyd Johnson went 1 perfect inning and struck out 2.
RHP Doug Maxwell went 1 scoreless inning and allowed 1 hit.
RHP Larry Castillo went 1 perfect inning.

Javier de la Rosa (L 3-5) went 6 innings, gave us 3 runs (2 earned), 7 hits, 1 home run, no walks and struck out 2. He threw a WP. At bat, he hit a double.

LF Dave Priestly hit a double and scored a run. SS Stu Redman had 2 hits with a Grand Slam, his 2nd home run of the season. C Mark Parker had 2 hits with a triple and scored a run. 1B Danny Hernandez hit his 4th home run of the year. 3B Tim DePriest had 2 hits with a double and scored a run. CF Javy Fernandez had 2 hits and scored a run. PH Lebron Williams beat out an infield and and had an RBI. The Burgermeister says the sprain is not severe and he can hobble along on it and is should be fine within a week. PR Rick Ferrell scored a run.

[Questdog]

Saturday, June 29, 2002

Portland Beavers (49-31 .613 in 1st place in the NL West) at
St. Louis Cardinals (39-40 .494 9.5 GB in 5th place in the NL West)

Terry Cole, Por (32 L 10-5 3.15 9.2-0.5-3.1-6.7 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Norm Kyle, StL (40 R 2-2 5.76 8.6-1.1-2.2-5.8)

We have not faced Kyle this season. The last time we met him was on September 14 of last season in the first game of a double header and he pitched a no-hitter against us. So, we have some payback on our minds.... He was 6-5 with a 3.18 ERA in 16 starts for the Cardinals last year.

I want this win bad. This is the 81st game of the season and we have 49 wins. A win today would put us at 50 for the first half. A pace to reach 100 wins the season after we lost 100!

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: LF Dave Priestly (28 R .304-4-14-.896 in 102 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .279-2-27-.716 in 272 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .283-3-28-.750 in 180 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .270-7-34-.805 in 244 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .293-4-35-.817 in 167 AB)
6: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .293-2-14-.735 in 147 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .279-2-29-.703 in 301 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .167-0-2-.485 in 18 AB)
9: P Terry Cole (32 L .231-0-4-.487 in 39 AB)

ST. LOUIS
1: LF Frank Winters (31 L .242-7-18-.755 in 219 AB)
2: SS Hector Molina (31 R .268-1-14-.646 in 142 AB)
3: 1B Miguel Medina (26 R .331-14-56-.934 in 311 AB) 2001 Gold Glove
4: 3B Dave Strong (32 R .236-4-33-.714 in 220 AB)
5: C Art Green (32 S .261-8-29-.729 in 241 AB)
6: 2B Esteban Pineda (29 R .306-4-22-.761 in 248 AB)
7: RF Chuck Massey (36 R .300-0-6-.741 in 40 AB)
8: CF Willie Cardona (28 R .212-7-31-.635 in 259 AB) 2001 All-Star
9: P Norm Kyle (40 R .286-0-2-.714 in 7 AB)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Weather: 89 deg. Clear skies with a 20 MPH wind blowing right to left.
Attendance: 20,317

Dave Priestly strikes out looking. Stu Redman grounds out to 3rd. Lee Kowalski grounds out to 1st, 3-1. If he no-hits us again....

Bottom of the 1st: Frank Winters strikes out! Hector Molina grounds a hit to right. Miguel Medina lines a hit to right and Molina heads to 3rd. RF Lee Kowalski makes the throw, but SS Stu Redman cuts is off and fires to 2nd to get Medina out as he was trying to advance on the throw! 2 down and a runner is at 3rd and that is considered 'scoring position'.... Dave Strong flies out to center!

Top of the 2nd: Mark Parker leads off with a hit to left center, so at least there is that off the boards. With 1 out, Tim DePriest lines a hit to right and Parker heads for 3rd. RF Chuck Massey makes a wild throw and Parker scores! 1 to 0, Beavers! 1B + E-9. That is all we get though.

Top of the 3rd: P Terry Cole, Dave Priestly and Stu Redman lead us off with three straight hits to load the bases up with no outs. Lee Kowalski makes it four in a row with a line drive to center and 2 runs score! 3 to 0, Beavers! That is all for this frame, however.

Bottom of the 4th: The get two runners on with 2 outs thanks to an error by SS Stu Redman. Of course, they come through with the 2-out hit, but LF Dave Priestly throws the runner out at the plate to end the inning!

Top of the 6th: Danny Hernandez leads off and takes a 3-2 pitch for ball four. He goes to 2nd on a ground out. With 2 outs, they issue an intentional walk to Mike Campell to get to P Terry Cole. But Cole double to left and both runners score! 5 to 0, Beavers! P Norm Kyle exits stage left.

Bottom of the 6th: Hector Molina and Miguel Medina lead off with back-to-back singles. They move up on a ground out and then Moina scores on another ground out. 5 to 1, Beavers. Esteban Pineda doubles to left and Medina scores. 5 to 2, Beavers.

Bottom of the 7th: Willie Cardona leads off with a double and that gets the Bullpen active. With 1 out, Frank Winters draws a walk to put runners at 1st and 3rd and bring the tying run to the plate. Call to the Bullpen: RHP Ron Beckman. Hector Molina grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4, and Cardona scores. 5 to 3, Beavers.

Bottom of the 8th: With 1 out, Art Green hits a home run to left. 5 to 4, Beavers.

Bottom of the 9th: New Pitcher: LHP Floyd Johnson. Pinch-hitter: LHB Rich Eden. He swings at the first pitch and grounds a double just inside the line at 3rd. Pinch-hitter: RHB Cliff Shute. Full count and he swings and tries to check it, but goes around! Frank Winters pops out to short. 2 down and there is a runner in scoring position.... Call to the Bullpen: RHP Doug Maxwell. Hector Molina swings at the first offering and grounds out to short and THIS Ballgame Belongs to the Beavers! I love those 1-pitch Saves!

Won - 5 to 4

50 wins at the Halfway Mark!

We had 12 hits and made 1 error.
The Cardinals had 10 hits and made 1 error.

Terry Cole (W 11-5) went 6 and 1/3 innings, allowed 3 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he was 2 for 2 with a double, scored a run and had an RBI.
RHP Ron Beckman went 1 and 2/3 innings, allowed 1 run, 1 hit, 1 home run and struck out 2.
LHP Floyd Johnson went 2/3 of an inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.
RHP Doug Maxwell (SV 8) threw 1 pitch and got the final out.

Norm Kyle (L 2-3) went 5 and 2/3 innings, gave us 5 runs, 10 hits, 2 walks (1 INT) and struck out 3.

SS Stu Redman had 2 hits. RF Lee Kowalski had 2 hits with a double and 2 RBIs. 3B Tim DePriest had 2 hits.

For the Cardinals, C Art Green hit a double and his 9th home run of the season and had 2 RBIs.

[Questdog]

Sunday, June 30, 2002

Portland Beavers (50-31 .617 in 1st place in the NL West) at
St. Louis Cardinals (39-41 .487 10.5 GB in 5th place in the NL West)

Alan Gross, Por (28 L 8-5 2.30 7.2-0.5-2.0-6.4 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Jim Phillips, StL (28 L 6-4 3.44 8.4-0.2-2.6-3.8)

On April 25, Phillips held us to 1 run in 6 innings here, but we won in extra innings. He was 2-1 with no saves in 45 games in relief last season for the Cardinals. He is 3rd in the NL in fewest HR/9.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: LF Dave Priestly (28 R .299-4-14-.874 in 107 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .282-2-27-.718 in 277 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .286-3-30-.757 in 185 AB)
4: 1B George Latimer (31 R .091-0-1-.364 in 11 AB)
5: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .298-2-14-.742 in 151 AB)
6: C Greg Bradt (28 R .429-0-2-1.143 in 7 AB)
7: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .190-0-2-.536 in 21 AB)
8: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .279-2-29-.700 in 305 AB)
9: P Alan Gross (28 L .108-1-3-.348 in 37 AB)

ST. LOUIS
1: CF Willie Cardona (28 R .214-7-31-.639 in 262 AB) 2001 All-Star
2: SS Hector Molina (31 R .272-1-15-.651 in 147 AB)
3: 1B Miguel Medina (26 R .333-14-56-.935 in 315 AB) 2001 Gold Glove
4: 3B Dave Strong (32 R .233-4-33-.708 in 223 AB)
5: C Art Green (32 S .265-9-31-.750 in 245 AB)
6: 2B Esteban Pineda (29 R .306-4-23-.760 in 252 AB)
7: RF Chuck Massey (36 R .295-0-6-.720 in 44 AB)
8: LF Cory Newby (30 L .250-0-2-.628 in 16 AB)
9: P Jim Phillips (28 L .185-0-1-.370 in 27 AB)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Weather: 74 deg. Overcast with a 9 MPH wind blowing right to left.
Attendance: 17,998

Dave Priestly lines out to left, Cory Newby making a nice running catch. Stu Redman flies out to center. Lee Kowalski lines a hit to left. George Latimer grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the 1st: Willie Cardona grounds out to short. Hector Molina works the count full and takes ball four. Miguel Medina flies out to left. Dave Strong grounds out to short!

Top of the 3rd: Javy Fernandez leads off with a home run down the right field line! 1 to 0, Beavers. Now, hat has to be the most unlikely home run of the day! Fernandez batting .207 with 21 SO in 77 AB versus lefties and P Jim Phillips a lefty who is one of the toughest to hit home runs off of for anyone! P Alan Gross follows with a double to left! He goes to 3rd on a ground out and then scores on a hit by Stu Redman! 2 to 0, Beavers!

Bottom of the 4th: Hector Molina leads off with the Cardinals first hit of the day. Miguel Medina walks on four pitches and Dave Strong singles to right to load the bases up with nobody out. Art Green fouls out to the catcher. Esteban Pineda lines out to short! But that means....2 outs and runners in scoring position.... Chuck Massey strikes out looking on three pitches!!!! NO RUNS!!!

Bottom of the 6th: Miguel Medina and Dave Strong lead off with back-to-back hits and runners are at 1st and 3rd with no outs. The Bullpen is active. Art Green hits a home run to right. 3 to 2, Cardinals.

Top of the 8th: New pitcher: LHP Dennis Haan. With 1 out, Tim DePriest triples off the wall in left center! New pitcher: RHP Clete Burkhardt. Pinch-Hitter: LHP Danny Hernandez. He doubles to straight away center! Tie game! 3 to 3. Mike Campbell flies out to center. New pitcher: LHP Joe Fisher. Javy Fernandez lines a hit to right center and Hernandez scores! 4 to 3, Beavers!

Top of the 9th: New pitcher: RHP Ed Johnson, their closer. Dave Priestly leads off with a triple to right center! Stu Redman lines a hit to center! 5 to 3, Beavers! Full count to Lee Kowalski and he takes ball four. The runners move up on a ground out by George Latimer. 1 out. Tim DePriest beats out an infield hit and Redman scores! 6 to 3, Beavers! P Larry Castillo is allowed to hit and he flies out to left and Kowalski tags up and scores! 7 to 3, Beavers!

Won - 7 to 3

7 wins in a row!

We had 12 hits and made no errors.
The Cardinals had 6 hits and made 1 error.

Alan Gross went 6 innings, allowed 3 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks and struck out 3. At bat, he hit a double and scored a run.
RHP Phil McPhie (W 4-2) went 1 perfect inning.
RHP Larry Castillo (SV 3) went 2 perfect innings and struck out 1.

Jim Phillips went 7 innings, gave us 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 4.
RHP Clete Burkhardt (L 1-2) went 1/3 of an inning, gave us 1 run and 1 hit.

LF Dave Priestly hit a triple and scored a run. SS Stu Redman had 2 hits, stole a base, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. 3B Tim DePriest had 2 hits with a triple and a walk, scored a run and had an RBI. PH Danny Hernandez hit a double, scored a run and had an RBI. CF Javy Fernandez had 2 hits with his 3rd home run of the year and had 2 RBIs. PH Mike Wetzel had a hit.

For the Cardinals, C Art Green hit his 10th home run, knocking in all 3 of their runs.

[Questdog]

July 1, 2002

Monday Morning Report

AL Player of the Week - Al Cross, rf, Oakland (25 L .360/.380/.485) Had 16 hits with 4 2B, 1 3B, 9 SB, 9 R and 6 RBI in 7 G
NL Player of the Week - Brian Stinnett, p, San Francisco (31 R 6-5 2.96) Went 2-0 in 2 starts. 17 IP 5 H 0 HR 0 R 4 BB 14 SO. First pitcher ever to get Player of the Week (I think).

(Slash lines are for the season, not the week)

June 24: RHP Dean Dibble of Miami pitched a 1-hit shutout at home versus New York (N). He walked 1 and struck out 7. The hit was with 2-outs in the 8th. He is now 5-9 with a 2.66 ERA. That is some tough luck. In 4 of his losses, he allowed only 1 or 2 runs. The Marlins won, 4 to 0.
June 24: RHP Bobby Shipley of Los Angeles (N) pitched a 2-hit complete game at home versus San Francisco. 1 of the 2 hits was a home run and he lost, 1 to 0. RHP Brian Stinnett only allowed 3 hits in 8 innings for the Giants.
June 24: St. Louis won at San Diego, 3 to 1, handing LHP Dave Sikes his first loss of the season. He is now 10-1 with a 1.75 ERA.
June 25: LF Lou Brown of Baltimore hit 2 home runs at home versus Toronto. He had 3 RBIs. The Orioles won, 7 to 3, on a 1-out Grand Slam in the bottom of the 9th by PH Valentin Salviati.
June 27: RHP Rich Hunter of Arizona pitched a 4-hit shutout at home versus Colorado. He did not walk a batter and struck out 5. It was his 2nd shutout of the season, which ties the major league lead. He is now 6-4 with a 2.83 ERA. The Diamondbacks won, 6 to 0.
June 28: RF Jeff Hamilton of Washington hit 2 home runs at Toronto. He also hit a double, drew a walk, stole a base and scored 3 runs. The Senators won, 9 to 8.
June 29: RHP Brian Stinnett of San Francisco pitched a 2-hit shutout at home versus Arizona. He did not walk a batter and struck out 8. He is now 6-5 with a 2.96 ERA. The Giants won, 3 to 0.
June 30: The Dodgers announced that #1 draft pick, RHP Nate Saba, tore his labrum in his 2nd start in the Arizona League (R) and will miss the rest of the season. They expect him to be ready to go by the Spring.
June 30: LF Rick Lewis of Philadelphia hit 2 home runs a t home versus Miami. The Phillies hit 3 home runs in the 6th inning and won, 8 to 5.
June 30: C Danny Dodge of Boston hit 2 home runs at home versus Baltimore. He drew a walk and had 3 RBIs. His 2nd home run was a 2-run blast in the bottom of the 9th with 1 out that ended the game. The Red Sox won, 4 to 3.
June 30: C Ron Schrom of Detroit hit 2 home runs at home versus Tampa Bay. He drew 2 walks and had 4 RBIs. The Tigers lost, 10 to 6.
June 30: RF Alex Soto of Chicago (A) hit 2 home runs at Kansas City. He had 3 hits and 3 RBIs. The White Sox won, 8 to 6, in 11 innings.
June 30: CF Larry Young of Oakland hit 2 home runs at Minnesota. He drew 2 walks, scored 3 runs and had 3 RBIs. The A's won, 9 to 5.

The International League (AAA) announced the rosters for their All-Star game and the only Indianapolis player named was CF Randy McQueen (25 R). He is hitting .317-3-15-.783 in 139 AB. We signed him as a minor league free agent in February and he is not considered any prospect.

Editor's Note: Also, for the first time in history, the Beavers sit atop the weekly Power Rankings!

Also, I have changed the stats a little. First, the new players only have what they have done for the Beavers shown. This took some work to accomplish, so I may have made a mistake somewhere. If you see anything amiss, please speak up. Second, I have redone wOBA so that is is now wBA (Weighted Batting Average). It is the same calculation, except that instead of being on the scale of OBP, it is on a scale of BA. That way, it is easier to tell at a glance whether a fella is having a decent year with the bat or is a bit lacking. We all know whether a batting average is good, bad or indifferent immediately, but our brain will take a little more time to tell us the quality of an OBP. I based it on a .256 League Batting Average, which is the target for the League. So now the wBA scores can be interpreted in your brain the same as Batting Averages are. If it looks like a decent average to you, then it is!

Random Fact of the Week: The Portland Beavers, in their 2nd year of existence, after losing 100 games in their initial season, now have the best record baseball! We are tied with the Kansas City Royals. Editor's Note: I have tried all I can to not take advantage of the game AI's limitations; we are just going to have to accept the fact that it has not taken us very long to build up a decent team from scratch. I still do not think we will win the division, but we obviously have a pretty good club, especially on the pitching and defense side of things.

[Questdog]

Monthly Awards for April
AL Player of the Month: Antonio Mata, 1b, Tampa Bay (28 S) .423/.455/.769 6 2B 10 HR 8 SB 28 R 30 RBI in 26 G
AL Pitcher of the Month: Doug Schmidt, Seattle (29 R) 4-0 1.79 40.1 IP 32 H 1 HR 9 BB 23 SO
AL Rookie of the Month: Willie Franco, lf, Texas (21 L) .406/.442/.679 7 2B 2 3B 6 HR 18 R 20 RBI in 26 G (24 GS)

NL Player of the Month: Jake Johnson, 2b, Chicago (N) (31 R) .363/.425/.667 2 2B 1 3B 9 HR 24 R 20 RBI in 26 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: Dave Sikes, San Diego (23 L) 5-0 1.64 38.1 IP 21 H 4 HR 15 BB 46 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Jim Detwiler, lf/cf, Colorado (24 L) .379/.449/.690 9 2B 6 HR 15 R 23 RBI in 25 G (22 GS)

Monthly Awards for May
AL Player of the Month: Antonio Mata, 1b, Tampa Bay (28 S) .341/.382/.555 4 2B 1 3B 7 HR 4 SB 26 R 27 RBI in 29 G 2nd win in a row.
AL Pitcher of the Month: Mickey Monroe, Kansas City (27 R) 5-0 1.34 47 IP 29 H 1 HR 16 BB 50 SO
AL Rookie of the Month: Sergio Linares, 3b, Oakland (25 S) .315/.347/.435 8 2B 1 HR 5 SB 12 R 10 RBI in 27 G (24 GS)

NL Player of the Month: Larry Brown, cf/lf, New York (N) (29 R) .406/.496/.783 11 2B 1 3B 9 HR 18 BB 8 SO 24 R 31 RBI in 29 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: Jimmy Nester, Pittsburgh (26 R) 0-0 15 SV 1.47 18.1 IP 14 H 1 HR 4 BB 14 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Marv Kirkeeng, cf/lf, Pittsburgh (22 L) .345/.351/.469 7 2B 2 3B 1 HR 1 BB 14 SB 26 R 13 RBI in 28 G (26 GS)

Monthly Awards for June
AL Player of the Month: Eric Lier, c, Los Angeles (A) (27 R) .425/.472/.650 6 2B 4 HR 19 R 14 RBI in 23 G (21 GS)
AL Pitcher of the Month: Steve Preble, New York (A) (26 R) 4-1 1.80 45 IP 38 H 2 HR 13 BB 27 SO
AL Rookie of the Month: Lou Brown, lf, Baltimore (25 L) .293/.397/.596 6 2B 8 HR 17 BB 22 R 16 RBI in 27 G

NL Player of the Month: Phil Turpen, 1b, San Francisco (32 L) .305/.402/.621 6 2B 8 HR 15 BB 20 R 19 RBI in 27 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: Ron Bell, New York (N) (26 R) 2-1 11 SV 3.21 14 IP 10 H 1 HR 4 BB 20 SO Horrible pick....
NL Rookie of the Month: Tim DePriest, 3b, Portland (27 R) .320/.350/.464 9 2B 1 3B 1 HR 10 R 9 RBI in 26 G (25 GS)

[Questdog]

Monday, July 1, 2002

We made a minor trade last night. 3B Larry Proctor (30 R) west sent to New York (A) for SS Al Haynes (25 R). After the dust settled on our other trades, we had no place to play Proctor. Other teams have asked about him on and off, so they must like him, but SD Eddie Henderson is unimpressed and nothing in his stats in the minors would suggest he is anything worth wanting. Of course, I probably just traded our best third baseman for nothing.... Which is what Haynes is, but he has some youth left yet, at least.

We are in sunny San Diego for a big 2-game showdown with manager Clyde Black (64) and his Padres. They won 2 of 3 here over the weekend against the Rockies. We are 3-4 against them so far this season but won 2 of 3 in Portland the last time we met, June 10-11. The are 5th in the NL in scoring with 4.4 runs per game, even though they play in the toughest hitter's park in baseball (Portland is #12 with 4.2, even though we play in a park favorable to hitters). They are #1 in runs allowed with 3.5 per game (Portland is #3 with 3.9).

Portland Beavers (51-31 .622 in 1st place in the NL West) at
San Diego Padres (49-33 .598 2 GB in 2nd place in the NL West)

Larry Duke, Por (34 L 5-6 3.36 9.0-0.8-0.9-3.6 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Bob Kinney, SD (32 R 7-2 2.72 7.7-0.9-2.2-6.4)

We are 2-0 against Kinney, but he has pitched decently both times and did not get the loss in either game. Last year, he was 10-11 with a 2.82 ERA in 33 starts for the Padres.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: LF Dave Priestly (28 R .295-4-14-.871 in 112 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .284-2-29-.719 in 282 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .286-3-30-.755 in 189 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .269-7-34-.798 in 249 AB)
5: 1B George Latimer (31 R .125-0-1-.375 in 16 AB)
6: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .303-2-15-.765 in 155 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .282-3-31-.714 in 309 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .160-0-2-.483 in 25 AB)
9: P Larry Duke (34 L .081-0-1-.189 in 37 AB)

SAN DIEGO
1: LF Joe Greenslit (28 R .337-10-38-.900 in 267 AB)
2: RF Howard Travers (29 R .325-2-16-.808 in 191 AB)
3: 1B Jesus Quintana (26 L .310-14-45-.911 in 310 AB)
4: SS Floyd Miller (28 R .272-13-51-.765 in 305 AB) 2001 All-Star
5: 2B Bob Sargent (29 R .218-6-26-.686 in 188 AB)
6: C Wil Carballo (31 R .244-3-14-.767 in 86 AB)
7: 3B Emilio Borja (31 R .220-3-21-.613 in 127 AB) Signed as Minor League FA from ChN after they released him 6/30
8: CF Ron Shively (25 R .253-2-20-.676 in 154 AB)
9: P Bob Kinney (32 R .250-0-2-.531 in 32 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 64 deg. Clear skies with an 8 MPH wind blowing in from left.
Attendance: 23,618

Dave Priestly grounds out to 2st, unassisted. Stu Redman grounds an 0-2 pitch to left for a hit. Lee Kowalski swings at the first pitch and grounds into a force a t 2nd, 4-6. Mark Parker grounds out to short.

Bottom of the 1st: Joe Greenslit flies out to right. Howard Travers swings at the first pitch and lines one down the line in right, but Lee Kowalski makes a diving catch! Jesus Quintana lines out to left! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the 2nd: Floyd Miller leads off with an opposite field home run to right. 1 to 0, Padres.

Top of the 3rd: With 2outs, Dave Priestly doubles to left center. Stu Redman beats out an infield hit and then steals 2nd. Lee Kowalski beats out an infield hit and Priestly scores to tie the game at 1! Mark Parker grounds one to short, but Floyd Miller boots it and Redman scores! E-6. 2 to 1, Beavers!

Bottom of the 4th: With 2 outs, Floyd Miller triples to right center, putting him on pace for a Reverse Cycle. He scores on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2.

Bottom of the 5th: Wil Carballo leads off with off with an infield hit. Emilio Borja tries to bunt him over, but pops out. Ron Shively grounds one back to the mound, buy P Larry Duke makes a bad throw to 2nd for an error. E-1. P Bob Kinney lays down a bunt and C Mark Parker throws it away for a 2-base error and Carballo scores. 3 to 2, Padres and they have not hit a ball out of the infield.... Well, now they have.... Joe Greenslit doubles to center and both runners score. 5 to 2, Padres. The Bullpen is up. Greenslit goes to 3rd on a grounds out and then scores on a single by Jesus Quintana. 6 to 2, Padres. Call to the Bullpen: RHP Phil McPhie. He strikes out Floyd Miller to end the inning.

Top of the 8th: New pitcher: RHP Jack Helgerson. Mark Parker leads off with a liner up the middle for a hit. George Latimer, who has looked like an automatic out since joining the Beavers, doubles to left. Tim DePriest flies out to left and Parker tags up and scores without a throw. 6 to 3, Padres.

Top of the 9th: Pinch-Hitter: LHP Danny Hernandez. Manager Clyde Black then makes a pitching change: LHP Manny Hilerio. Pinch-Hitter: RHB Mike Wetzel. He flares a 1-2 pitch into center for a hit. With 1 out, Stu Redman draws a walk and Lee Kowalski grounds a hit to right to lead the bases up with 1 out. Mark Parker flies out to left. George Latimer strikes out. Ballgame. George does not appear to know how we do things around here....

Lost - 6 to 3

We had 10 hits and made 3 errors.
The Padres had 8 hits and made 2 errors.

Larry Duke (L 5-7) went 4 and 2/3 innings, allowed 6 runs (2 earned), 5 hits, 1 home runs, 1 walk and struck out 1. He threw a WP.
RHP Phil McPhie went 1 and 1/3 innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 2.
RHP Ron Beckman went 2 scoreless innings and allowed 2 hits.

Bob Kinney (W 8-2) went 7 innings, gave us 2 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 7.
LHP Manny Hilerio (SV 1) pitched a scoreless 9th, but gave us 2 hits and a walk and struck out 1.

LF Dave Priestly hit a double and scored a run. SS Stu Redman had 2 hits and a walk, stole a base and scored a run. RF Lee Kowalski had 3 hits, stole a base and had an RBI. 1B George Latimer hit a double, but struck out with the bases loaded to end the game. PH Lebron Williams drew a walk. PH Mike Wetzel had a hit.

For the Padres, SS Floyd Miller hit a triple and his 14th home run of the season and scored 2 runs, but also made 2 errors. He has 4 home runs this season against the Beavers, the most of any opposition player.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, July 2, 2002

Our 1st round draft pick from last year, LHP Dave Shelley, has a swollen elbow and will be shut down for the rest of the season. It is beginning to look like SD Eddie Henderson was right about that being a wasted pick....

Portland Beavers (51-32 .614 in 1st place in the NL West) at
San Diego Padres (50-33 .602 1 GB in 2nd place in the NL West)

Angel Rodriguez, Por (24 R 1-1 3.33 8.0-1.0-3.3-6.3 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Rick Witt, SD (26 R 2-1 4.18 9.7-0.3-4.5-4.5)

We have never faced Witt as a starter. He won a game in relief against us last year when he was 4-2 with a 4.09 in 32 games for the Padres. This will only be his 4th start this season.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: LF Don Quinney (27 L .176-0-0-.399 in 17 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .287-2-29-.725 in 286 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .294-3-31-.766 in 194 AB)
4: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .292-4-36-.819 in 171 AB)
5: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .297-2-16-.749 in 158 AB)
6: C Greg Bradt (28 R .300-0-2-.800 in 10 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .282-3-31-.715 in 312 AB)
8: 2B Mike Wetzel (25 R .333-0-0-.833 in 6 AB)
9: P Angel Rodriguez (24 R .500-0-0-1.167 in 6 AB)

SAN DIEGO
1: LF Joe Greenslit (28 R .339-10-40-.905 in 271 AB)
2: RF Howard Travers (29 R .318-2-16-.792 in 195 AB)
3: 1B Jesus Quintana (26 L .312-14-46-.912 in 314 AB)
4: SS Floyd Miller (28 R .275-14-52-.784 in 309 AB) 2001 All-Star
5: 2B Bob Sargent (29 R .220-6-26-.689 in 191 AB)
6: C Wil Carballo (31 R .244-3-14-.756 in 90 AB)
7: 3B Dave Watts (33 R .302-2-16-.820 in 86 AB)
8: CF Ron Shively (25 R .248-2-20-.663 in 157 AB)
9: P Rick Witt (26 R .200-0-3-.600 in 5 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 65 deg. Cloudy with a 7 MPH wind blowing out to center.
Attendance: 24,685

Don Quinney works the count full and then grounds out to 3rd. Stu Redman strikes out. Lee Kowalski doubles to right. Danny Hernandez grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the 1st: Joe Greenslit swings at the first pitch and hits a lazy fly ball to center. Howard Travers grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Full count to Jesus Quintana and he grounds out to short! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the 2nd: 2B Bob Sargent is injured when Don Quinney takes him out at 2nd to break up a double play. Emilio Borja goes in for him and he is no second baseman. Sargent looks to be about for about 6 weeks. That is a shame, but we need every edge we can muster....

Bottom of the 5th: P Angel Rodriguez has retired the first 12 men of the game, but Floyd Miller leads off with a home run down the left field line. 1 to 0, Padres. That's Miller's 5th home run against us.... Emilio Borja follows with a 4 pitch walk. He has already made two fine defensive plays at 2nd; so much for our edge.... With 1 out, Dave Watts grounds one to first and Danny Hernandez tries for the force at 2nd, but makes a bad throw. E-3. Ron Shively beats out an infield hit to load the bases up with 1 out. P Rick Witt flies out to deep center and Borja trots home. 2 to 0, Padres.

We are getting shutout by a bum of a pitcher!!

Top of the 7th: Javy Fernandez leads off with a four-pitch walks. Mike Wetzel hits one on the nose, but lines out to short. Pinch-Hitter: LHB Lebron Williams. He draws a four-pitch walk. Don Quinney beats out an infield hit to load the bases up with 1 out. Stu Redman shoots one through the left side for a hit and Fernandez scores! 2 to 1, Padres. Lee Kowalski hits the first pitch to shallow right and it is caught for out #2. Full count to Danny Hernandez and he lines a hit down the right field line and 2 runs score!! 3 to 2, Beavers!

Bottom of the 7th: New Pitcher: RHP Doug Maxwell. He gets off to a grand start by walking the first two batters, Emilio Borja and Wil Carballo. They move yup to 2nd and 3rd on a ground out and Borja scores on a fly ball to tie the game at 3.

Top of the 9th: Still tied at 3. New pitcher: RHP Don Butts, their closer that we traded to them. He sits us down in order with 2 strikeouts.

Bottom of the 9th: On the Hill: RHP Larry Castillo, beginning his 2nd inning of work. He gets Floyd Miler to fly out to left, but Emilio Borja, who has killed us this game since coming in to play a position he is not supposed to be any good at, lines a hit to left. But that is all they get!

Extras!

Top of the 10th: We go down in order, Emilio Borja making another good play at 2nd.

Bottom of the 10th: They go down 1-2-3! Larry Castillo has come up BIG TIME!

Top of the 11th: New pitcher: RHP Jerry Torres. 1.71 ERA in 21 IP. We go down in order. PH George Latimer made our heart race with a drive to center, but it died on the warning track.

Bottom of the 11th: New Pitcher: LHP Jim Ackley, who has not been up to snuff of late. With 1out, Jesus Quintana draws a walk. Floyd Miller up, but he pops out to 2nd! Emilio Borja tries to end the inning with a grounder to short, but he is blessed this game and Stu Redman boots it. E-6. Full count to Wil Carballo and he takes ball four to load the bases up with 2 outs. Dave Watts grounds out to 3rd!

Top of the 12th: Don Quinney leads off with a hit to left. Stu Redman bunts him over to 2nd. He tries to steal 3rd, but is thrown out....

Bottom of the 12th: P Jerry Torres has to bat because their bench is empty, but he draws a 1-out walk. But that is all they get.

Top of the 13th: This ties our longest game of the year. Danny Hernandez leads off with a grounder to right for a hit, but Tim DePriest grounds into a 4-6-3 double play.

Bottom of the 13th: P Jim Ackley gets the dangerous hitters Jesus Quintana and Floyd Miller out, but Emilio Borja, that thorn in our side, lines a hit to left. But Wil Carballo grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the 14th: Javy Fernandez leads off with a shot down the right field line that just clears the fence for a home run! 4 to 3, Beavers! That is his first hit of the game and gives him an 11-game hitting streak. The next three make outs.

Bottom of the 14th: New Pitcher: LHP Floyd Johnson. Mike Wetzel moves to 3rd and Rick Ferrell comes in to play 2nd and Tim DePriest takes a seat on the bench. Johnson is wild, so let's see what happens.... Dave Watts works the count full and then swings and grounds out to short. CF Vinny Sagrero, a lefty hitting 3 for 20 on the season (.150), should strike out, but he lines a 2-2 pitch to right for a hit. P Jerry Torres, who walked in his first appearance, should be bunting here. He does and it is a good one and Sagrero is now at second. A runner is in scoring position with 2 outs.... Joe Greenslit is batting .332 on the season and is due for a hit because he is 0 for 6 today. He lines a 1-2 pitch to right and the runner scores to tie the game.... 4 all. P Floyd Johnson tries to pick Greenslit off at first and throws the ball away to put the winning run in scoring position with 2 outs.... E-1. Howard Travers is another .300 hitter (.308) who is 0 for 6 today.... Do you smell the end of the game right here? I know, I do.... 2-2 pitch and he bounces one just to the left of the mound and beats it out for an infield hit. That brings up their best hitter, Jesus Quintana. At least he is a lefty.... But the other lefty that batted this inning got a hit.... What I smell is a wild pitch to end the game; that is what I smell....Yet another 1-2 pitch that gets whacked hard, but this one is caught by LF Don Quinney! Let's play on!

Top of the 15th: This ties the longest Beaver game of all time. This is the 3rd time we have gone 15 innings and we have won one and lost one. P Jerry Torres is beginning his 5th inning of relief, but he has only thrown 36 pitches. They still have some fresh arms in their pen. We do not.... Danny Hernandez and Rick Ferrell get back-to-back 2-out hits to put runners at 1st and 3rd. New pitcher: LHP Manny Hilerio. Greg Bradt doubles to center and both runners score! But they nab Bradt trying to sneak to 3rd to end the inning. 6 to 4, Beavers!

Bottom of the 15th: Johnson threw 31 pitches in his first inning of work. He will try to finish it but Phil McPhie is warmed up and ready. I do not want to use him, though, because he is not very fresh. Floyd Miler leads off and grounds out to 3rd. Emilio Borja pops out to short! Will Carballo lines a double down the left field line and P Floyd Johnson is clearly laboring. Call to the Bullpen: RHP Phil McPhie. He walks Dave Watts.... Vinny Sagrero lines a hit to left and the bases are loaded with 2 outs. He was 3 for 20 coming into this game but is now 2 for 2 today.... P Manny Hilerio has to bat.... Oh, please let this work to our favor!!! Oh, crap.... I just looked at his scouting report and it says he is a very good hitter.... He is 0 for 2 in his career in the majors.... He swings at the first pitch and pops out to 3rd !!! ....and THIS Ballgame Belongs to the Beavers!!!

Won - 6 to 4 in 15 innings

We are now 9-3 in extra innings, including 5 in a row.

We had 14 hits and made 3 errors (for the 2nd game in a row. I thought the Error Bros. were gone?)
The Padres had 9 hits and made no errors.

Angel Rodriguez went 6 innings, allowed 2 runs (1 earned), 2 hits, 1 home rune, 1 walk and struck out no one. Only 58 pitches.
RHP Doug Maxwell went 1 inning and did not give up a hit, but gave up a run and walked 2 batters and struck out 1.
RHP Larry Castillo pitched 3 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 3.
LHP Jim Ackley went 3 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit, 3 walks and struck out 1.
LHP Floyd Johnson (W 1-0) went 1 and 2/3 innings, allowed 1 run and 4 hits.
RHP Phil McPhie (SV 2) went 1/3 of an inning, allowed 1 hit and 1 walk.

Rick Witt went 7 innings, gave us 3 runs, 7 hits, 4 walks (2 INT) and struck out 3. At bat, he had a SF.
RHP Jerry Torres went 4 and 2/3 innings, gave us 3 runs, 5 hits, 1 home runs and struck out 1.

LF Don Quinney had 3 hits and scored a run. RF Lee Kowalski hit a double. 1B Danny Hernandez had 3 hits, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. 2B Rick Ferrell had a hit and scored a run in his only AB. C Greg Bradt had 3 hits with a double and 2 RBIs. CF Javy Fernandez hit his 4th home run of the season (3rd in the last 11 games), drew a walk and scored 2 runs. PH Lebron Williams drew a walk and scored a run.

For the Padres, SS Floyd Miller hit his 15th home run of the season and the 5th against us. No other opponent has more than 3.

[Questdog]

Thursday, July 4, 2002 Independence Day

We are back home in Portland to play manager Bob Cole (50) and his Reds a 4-game series through the weekend that will take us to the All-Star break. They split 2 games at home with Pittsburgh to begin the week. The first time we met them, we swept a 4-game series in Cincinnati, May 27-May 30. They are 14th in scoring with 4.0 runs per game, even though they play in one of the best hitter's parks in baseball, especially for home runs (Portland is up to #11 with 4.3). They are 15th in runs allowed with 4.8 per game (Portland is #3 with 3.9).

Cincinnati Reds (33-50 .398 15.5 GB in 8th (last) place in the NL East) at
Portland Beavers (52-32 .619 in 1st place in the NL West) at

Victor Castellanos, Cin (27 R 3-4 3.52 9.6-0.7-2.9-4.7 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Terry Cole, Por (32 L 11-5 3.21 9.3-0.5-3.1-6.7)

We beat Castellanos, 4 to 1, on May 30 in Cincinnati, but he pitched a solid 6 innings.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
CINCINNATI
1: LF Rick Murray (29 L .286-6-33-.731 in 227 AB)
2: SS Herb St. Laurent (26 R .307-2-25-.762 in 267 AB)
3: 1B Arturo Martinez (29 L .257-15-52-.847 in 300 AB)
4: C Tony Lupercio (35 R .189-11-25-.596 in 222 AB)
5: 2B Jack Couitt (28 R .292-2-6-.986 in 48 AB)
6: 3B Mike Ray (39 R .303-3-14-.744 in 195 AB)
7: RF Mike Graham (28 L .266-0-9-.680 in 79 AB)
8: CF Harry Papuga (28 R .261-8-24-.709 in 218 AB)
9: P Victor Castellanos (27 R .130-0-0-.330 in 23 AB) Pitcher of the Year in the International League in 2001.

PORTLAND
1: LF Don Quinney (27 L .250-0-0-.530 in 24 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .284-2-30-.717 in 292 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .289-3-31-.755 in 201 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .268-7-34-.790 in 254 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .298-4-38-.820 in 178 AB)
6: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .300-0-0-.800 in 10 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .281-4-32-.722 in 317 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .133-0-2-.411 in 30 AB) Better start hitting soon.
9: P Terry Cole (32 L .268-0-6-.585 in 41 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 60 deg. Cloudy with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to left.
Attendance: 20,962

Rick Murray strikes out looking! Herb St. Laurent grounds out to 3rd. Arturo Martinez swings at the first pitch and lines a double down the right field line. 2 outs and a runner in scoring position.... That fact has more influence on the outcome than the fact that Tony Lupercio is batting .189, because he doubles to left. 1 to 0, Reds. Jack Couitt strikes out looking.

Bottom of the 1st: Don Quinney grounds out to short. Stu Redman draws a walk. Lee Kowalski swings at a 3-1 pitch and smashes a line drive down the 3rd base line, but Mike Ray makes a diving catch. 2 outs. Redman tries to steal 2nd and gets thrown out.

Bottom of the 6th: Don Quinney leads off with a triple to right center! But he is hurt.... man, oh man, our outfielders cannot stay healthy. He has strained his back and the Burgermeister says he'll be stiff for a week or so. Dave Priestly goes in for him. Stu Redman grounds out to the pitcher. Lee Kowalski lines a hit to right and the game is tied at 1!

Top of the 9th: Still 1 to 1. On the Hill: RHP Ron Beckman, beginning his 2nd inning of work. He issues a 2-out walk to Jack Couitt, but that is all they get!

Bottom of the 9th: On the hill: RHP Joe Healey, beginning his 2nd inning of work. Danny Hernandez strikes out for the 3rd time today, though he did have a hit. Mike Wetzel hits a line drive to deep center, but Harry Papuga runs it down for the 2nd out. Javy Fernandez hits another drive to center and this one is off the wall for a double! Mike Campell lines one sharply, but SS Herb St. Laurent makes a diving catch....

Extras!

Top of the 10th: New Pitcher: RHP Doug Maxwell. 3B Tim DePriest is also in on a double switch and Mike Wetzel moves over to 2nd. Mike Campell is out of the game. The Reds get a 2-out walk by PH Bill Ayers, but that is it.

Bottom of the 10th: New pitcher: RHP Jim Roussell, their closer. They signed him as a free agent from Montreal this Winter. He had 49 saves for the Expos last year and has 15 for the Reds this season with a 2.08 ERA and peripheral stats to match. Tim DePriest leads off with a liner to left for a hit, but the next three go down meekly.

Top of the 11th: The Reds go down in order with 2 strikeouts.

Bottom of the 11th: Mark Parker leads off with a ground ball just inside the line at 3rd for a double! They walk Danny Hernandez intentionally. Mike Wetzel hits a soft grounder to short and he gets thrown out, but the runners move up to 2nd and 3rd. The win is 90 feet away! They walk Javy Fernandez intentionally. We need a pinch-hitter, but the choices are not inspiring... Pinch-Hitter: RHB George Latimer. 3 for 22 (.136) since joining the Beavers. He strikes out on 3 pitches. I have a feeling he will not be a Beaver very long.... 2 outs. Full count to Tim DePriest and he strikes out.... no runs....

Top of the 12th: New Pitcher: RHP Phil McPhie. Jack Couitt leads off by taking a 3-2 pitch for ball four. With 1out, Al Koets beats out an infield hit. The Bullpen is active. Harry Papuga makes my heart flutter with a blast to right, but Lee Kowalski catches it up against the wall. Couitt tags and moves up to 3rd. 2 outs. ....and a runner in scoring position.... Pinch-hitter: LHB Dan Anderson. He strikes out looking!

Bottom of the 12th: New pitcher: RHP Steve Rudie. Awesome looking numbers, except he has given up 8 HR in 48.1 IP. 56 K and 12 BB. 4.10 ERA. He is a 23-year-old rookie. He was named the #12 prospect in baseball this Spring by Baseball America and will be a starting pitcher eventually. Dave Priestly grounds out to 3rd. Stu Redman hits a 1-2 pitch to deep left and it is GONE!!! ....and THIS Ballgame Belongs to the Beavers!

Won - 2 to 1 in 12 innings

We are now 10-3 in extra innings, including 6 in a row!

We had 10 hits and made no errors.
The Reds had 5 hits and made no errors.

We set a new team record with our 6th straight game in double digits with hits.

Terry Cole went 7 innings, allowed 1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 4.
RHP Ron Beckman went 2 hitless innings, allowed 1 walk and struck out 3.
RHP Doug Maxwell went 2 hitless innings, allowed 1 walk and struck out 3.
RHP Phil McPhie (W 5-2) went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 1.

Victor Castellanos went 7 innings, gave us 1 run, 5 hits, 3 walks (1 INT) and struck out 3.
RHP Steve Rudie (L 1-4) faced 2 batters and gave up a home run.

LF Don Quinney hit a triple. SS Stu Redman had 2 hits with his 3rd home run of the season and drew a walk. C Mark Parker hit a double. 3B/2B Mike Wetzel had 2 hits with a double. Right now, he looks like the one decent player we got in all of those trades. Javy Fernandez hit a double and drew a walk.

[Questdog]

Friday, July 5, 2002

Cincinnati Reds (33-51 .393 15.5 GB in 8th (last) place in the NL East) at
Portland Beavers (53-32 .624 in 1st place in the NL West) at

Jose Flores, Cin (28 R 3-1 2.45 6.4-0.8-3.8-8.2 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Alan Gross, Por (28 L 8-5 2.41 7.3-0.5-2.1-6.3)

We have never faced Flores before. He is pitching lights out this season in 8 starts. Before this year he was journeyman minor leaguer who did not look like anything special.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
CINCINNATI
1: LF Rick Murray (29 L .280-6-33-.716 in 232 AB)
2: SS Herb St. Laurent (26 R .305-2-25-.756 in 272 AB)
3: 1B Arturo Martinez (29 L .256-15-52-.844 in 305 AB)
4: C Tony Lupercio (35 R .190-11-26-.602 in 226 AB)
5: 2B Jack Couitt (28 R .275-2-6-.952 in 51 AB)
6: RF Al Koets (33 L .291-7-34-.751 in 306 AB) Playing hurt
7: 3B Mike Ray (39 R .300-3-14-.736 in 200 AB)
8: CF Harry Papuga (28 R .256-8-24-.694 in 223 AB)
9: P Jose Flores (28 R .188-0-0-.438 in 16 AB)

PORTLAND
1: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .280-4-32-.724 in 321 AB)
2: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .125-0-2-.425 in 32 AB) 100 pts. of his OPS comes from IBB.
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .286-3-32-.746 in 206 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .266-7-34-.787 in 259 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .297-4-38-.816 in 182 AB)
6: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .299-1-17-.753 in 164 AB)
7: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .289-2-16-.726 in 166 AB)
8: SS Rick Ferrell (26 R .254-0-0-.609 in 67 AB)
9: P Alan Gross (28 L .128-1-3-.406 in 39 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 55 deg. Rain with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to left.
Attendance: 21,940

Rick Murray strikes out looking on three pitches! Herb St. Laurent grounds out to 3rd. Arturo Martinez flies out to right! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the 1st: Javy Fernandez swings at the first pitch and flies out to right. Mike Campell grounds out to 3rd. Lee Kowalski swings at the first pitch and grounds one to short, but Arturo Martinez drops the throw for his 9th error of the season. E-3. Mark Parker flies out to center.

Top of the 2nd: Tony Lupercio, the .190 cleanup hitter, swings at the first pitch and hits a home run to left. 1 to 0, Reds. Jack Couitt works the count full and then grounds one over the 3rd base bag foe a double. Al Koets beats out an infield hit. Mike Ray grounds into a force a t 2nd, 5-4, and Couitt scores. 2 to 0, Reds.

Top of the 3rd: Rick Murray leads off with a walk and Herb St. Laurent follows with a line drive single to left center. With 1 out, Tony Lupercio, that .190 cleanup hitter, doubles to left center and Murray scores. 3 to 0, Reds. The Pen is up. Jack Couitt doubles to left and both runners score. 5 to 0, Reds.

Bottom of the 4th: With 1 out, Mark Parker and Danny Hernandez hit back-to-back lines drive singles to right center. With 2 outs, Tim De Priest draws a walk to load the bases. Rick Ferrell then knocks a hit to center and Parker and Hernandez score! 5 to 2, Reds.

Top of the 5th: New Pitcher: RHP Larry Castillo. With 1 out, Arturo Martinez hits a home run to right. 6 to 2, Reds.
Bottom of the 4th: Javy Fernandez leads off with a line drive to center for a hit. He now has a 13-game hitting streak. With 1 out, Lee Kowalski hits a line drive home run to right! 6 to 4, Reds. That sends P Jose FLores to the showers...no win for you! New pitcher: LHP Judd Grier. Mark Parkjer doubles to left center. Danny Hernandez lines a hit to left center and Parker heads home and beats the throw! 6 to 5, Reds. But Parker is hurt..... What is up with these injuries lately? And this one is more than the little nigglies that the others have been because the Burgermeister is mum....

Top of the 7th: It starts to rain and the umpires cover the field. Eventually, they call the game complete and we get screwed, not getting a chance to make our patented late-inning rally.....

Lost - 6 to 5 in 7 innings

We was robbed!

We had 9 hits and made no errors.
The Reds had 8 hits and made 1 error.

Alan Gross (L 8-6) went 3 innings, allowed 5 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 2.
RHP Tony Ricketts went 1 perfect inning and struck out 2.
RHP Larry Castillo went 2 innings, allowed 1 run, 1 hit, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 2.
LHP Jim Ackley went 1/2 of an inning and allowed 1 hit before the ran came....

Jose Flores went 4 and 1/3 innings, gave us 4 runs, 7 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 2.
LHP Judd Grier (W 3-2) went 2/3 of an inning, gave us 1 run and 2 hits.
RHP Frankie Jenkinson (SV 2) went 1 inning and gave us a walk.

RF Lee Kowalski hit his 4th home run of the season and had 2 RBIs. C Mark Parker had 2 hits with a double and scored 2 runs. 1B Danny Hernandez had 3 hits, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI. SS Rick Ferrell had a hit and 2 RBIs. PH Don Quinney had a hit.

For the Reds, 1B Arturo Martinez hit his 16th home run of the year. C Tony Lupercio hit a double and his 12th home run, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs. 2B Jack Couitt hit 2 doubles, scored a run and had 2 RBIs.

[Questdog]

Saturday, July 6, 2002

Cincinnati Reds (34-51 .400 14.5 GB in 8th (last) place in the NL East) at
Portland Beavers (53-33 .616 in 1st place in the NL West) at

Jessie Shupp, Cin (32 R 4-8 4.45 10.0-0.7-2.5-5.4 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Larry Duke, Por (34 L 5-7 3.38 9.0-0.8-0.9-3.5)

We beat Shupp, 2 to 1, in Cincinnati on May 28, but he pitched well.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
CINCINNATI
1: LF Rick Murray (29 L .277-6-33-.710 in 235 AB)
2: SS Herb St. Laurent (26 R .308-2-25-.759 in 276 AB)
3: 1B Arturo Martinez (29 L .256-16-53-.852 in 305 AB)
4: C Tony Lupercio (35 R .197-12-28-.628 in 229 AB)
5: 2B Jack Couitt (28 R .296-2-8-1.008 in 54 AB)
6: RF Al Koets (33 L .291-7-34-.750 in 309 AB) Playing hurt
7: 3B Mike Ray (39 R .297-3-15-.732 in 202 AB)
8: CF Harry Papuga (28 R .252-8-24-.685 in 226 AB)
9: P Jessie Shupp (32 L .056-0-2-.111 in 27 AB)

PORTLAND
1: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .281-4-32-.726 in 324 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .286-3-31-.731 in 297 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .287-4-34-.760 in 209 AB)
4: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .308-4-39-.834 in 185 AB)
5: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .295-1-17-.744 in 166 AB)
6: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .286-2-16-.721 in 168 AB)
7: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .111-0-2-.384 in 36 AB)
8: C Greg Bradt (28 R .353-0-4-.882 in 17 AB)
9: P Larry Duke (34 L .077-0-1-.179 in 27 AB)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Weather: 75 deg. Clear skies with a 10 MPH wind blowing left to right.
Attendance: 23,696 New team record for a non-Opening Day Game!

Rick Murray strikes out! Herb St. Laurent strikes out on three pitches! Arturo Martinez strikes out looking!!! 1-2-3! P Larry Duke already has his quota of K's for 9 innings!

Bottom of the 1st: Javy Fernandez works the count full and takes ball four. Stu Redman grounds into a 5-4-3 double play. Does it not seem that EVERY time we get the lead off man on to start a game, he gets erased on a double play? Lee Kowalski grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the 2nd: Tony Lupercio reaches on a 2-base throwing error by Tim DePriest. E-5. With 1 out, Al Koets lines a hit to center and Lupercio scores. 1 to 0, Reds.

Bottom of the 2nd: With 1 out, Lebron Williams doubles to right. With 2 outs, Mike Campell doubles to right! Tie game: 1 to 1.

Top of the 3rd: With 1 out, Rick Murray singles to right and then Herb St. Laurent triples to left center. 2 to 1, Reds. Arturo Martinez strikes out! But their .190 hitting cleanup hitter, Tony Lupercio, hits a home run to left. 4 to 1, Reds.

Bottom of the 4th: P Jessie Shupp strikes out the side in order....

Bottom of the 6th: Lee Kowalski leads off with a stand-up triple to the right field corner. He scores on a ground out by Danny Hernandez. 4 to 2, Reds.

Bottom of the 7th: With 1 out, Greg Bradt lines a hit to right. With 2 outs, Javy Fernandez beats out an infield hit, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. Stu Redman lines a hit to center and Bradt scores! CF Harry Papuga botches the pickup and the runners move up to 2nd and 3rd. 1B + E-8. Lee Kowalski rips one to left, but right at LF Rick Murray.

Top of the 8th: New Pitcher: LHP Floyd Johnson. With 1 out, Mike ray hits a line drive to right and Lee Kowalski manages to run it down, but now HE has to leave the game... Dave Priestly goes in for him. It is bad, since the Burgermeister is mum.... our two best hitters are now awaiting diagnosis....

Bottom of the 9th: New pitcher: Jim Roussell, their closer. Greg Bradt reaches a full count and then takes ball four. I wish we could pinch-run for him, but he is our only available catcher. Pinch-Hitter: RHB George Latimer. A passed ball sends Bradt to 2nd. Full count to Latimer and he strikes out feebly.... Javy Fernandez grounds out to short. Stu Redman pops out to 2nd. Ballgame.

Lost - 4 to 3

We had 7 hits and made 1 error.
The Reds had 10 hits and made 2 errors.

Larry Duke (L 5-8) went 5 innings, allowed 4 runs (3 earned), 8 hits, 1 home run, no walks and struck out 4.
RHP Tony Ricketts went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 3.
LHP Floyd Johnson went 2 scoreless innings and allowed 1 hit. He threw a WP.

Jessie Shupp (W 5-8) went 7 innings, gave us 3 runs (2 earned), 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. He threw 2 WP.
RHP Jim Roussell (SV 16) pitched a scoreless 9th and gave us 1 walk and struck out 1.

CF Javy Fernandez had a hit and 2 walks and stole a base, but did not score a run or drive one in. RF Lee Kowalski hit a triple and scored a run. LF Lebron Williams had 2 hits with a double and scored a run. He also made a great diving catch, but anyone else could have caught it standing up.... 2B Mike Campell hit a double and had an RBI.

For the Reds, C Tony Lupercio hit his 13th home run of the season, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs.

[Questdog]

Sunday, July 7, 2002

LF Frank Wiginton is ready to play (not a moment too soon!) and was activated from the Disabled List. LF Don Quinney was returned to Indianapolis, but may not be gone long. It depends on what we find out about RF Lee Kowalski's damages.....

Cincinnati Reds (35-51 .407 13.5 GB in 8th (last) place in the NL East) at
Portland Beavers (53-34 .609 in 1st place in the NL West) at

Alfonso Pinto, Cin (34 R 3-9 5.42 12.1-0.8-2.7-3.8 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Angel Rodriguez, Por (24 R 1-1 3.00 7.1-1.1-3.0-5.2)

We roughed up Pinto on May 27, winning, 11 to 3, in Cincinnati. He was 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA for Tampa bat last year in 22 starts. But he has already allowed more hits this year (118 to 116) in 88 IP than he did in 144 last year.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
CINCINNATI
1: LF Rick Murray (29 L .278-6-33-.711 in 240 AB)
2: 2B Jack Couitt (28 R .293-2-8-.974 in 58 AB)
3: RF Al Koets (33 L .294-7-35-.753 in 313 AB) Playing hurt
4: 1B Arturo Martinez (29 L .252-16-53-.840 in 313 AB)
5: SS Herb St. Laurent (26 R .310-2-26-.767 in 281 AB)
6: C Mike Midgett (28 R .200-5-18-.615 in 160 AB) 6' 4"
7: 3B Hal Gratton (30 R .140-3-9-.433 in 100 AB)
8: CF Harry Papuga (28 R .252-8-24-.682 in 230 AB)
9: P Alfonso Pinto (34 R .067-0-1-.197 in 30 AB)

PORTLAND
1: LF Frank Wiginton (31 S .295-4-27-.763 in 220 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .285-3-32-.725 in 302 AB)
3: RF Lebron Williams (33 L .300-1-17-.756 in 170 AB)
4: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .302-4-40-.818 in 189 AB)
5: CF Dave Priestly (28 R .279-4-14-.826 in 122 AB)
6: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .279-2-16-.705 in 172 AB)
7: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .125-0-3-.421 in 40 AB)
8: C Greg Bradt (28 R .350-0-4-.881 in 20 AB)
9: P Angel Rodriguez (24 R .375-0-0-.875 in 8 AB)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Weather: 75 deg. Clear skies with an 8 MPH wind blowing right to left.
Attendance: 24,911 New team record for a non-Opening Day Game for the 2nd day in a row!

Rick Murray strikes out! He has struck out to lead off the game all 4 times in this series. Jack Couitt grounds out to the pitcher. Al Koets flies out to left! 1-2-3! Plus, Frank Wiginton did NOT injure himself!

Bottom of the 1st: Frank Wiginton leads off with a four-pitch walk. Did you see that Stu? Were you paying attention? A wild pitch sends Wiginton to 2nd. Stu Redman swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to short. Lebron Williams was the the one not paying attention.... He swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 3rd, 3-1. Wiginton moves over to 3rd. 2 outs. Danny Hernandez strikes out....

Top of the 3rd: With 1 out, Harry Papuga walks. P Alfonso Pinto lays down a bunt and 1B Danny Hernandez tries for the force at 2nd, but too late. Rick Murray singles to right and the bases are loaded with 1 out. Jack Couitt lines a hit up the middle and 2 runs score. 2 to 0, Reds.

They league is batting .322 against P Alfonso Pinto, but we do not have a hit through 3 innings....

Nor through four....

Bottom of the 5th: With 1 out, Tim DePriest draws a walk and goes to 2nd on a ground out. With 2 outs, Greg Bradt lines out first him of teh game to left and Priestly scores! 2 to 1, Reds.

Bottom of the 8th: Pinch-Hitter: LHB Javy Fernandez and his 14-game hitting streak. Sorry, Javy, but some things are more important.... He works the count full and draws a walk! His streak stays intact. New pitcher: RHP Joe Healey. uh-oh... C Tony Lupercio, who has homered the last 2 games comes in as part of the double switch.... Frank Wiginton bunts Fernandez over to 2nd. Stu Redman lines a hit to center and Fernandez scores to tie the game! 2 to 2. Redman heads for 2nd trying for a steal, but they had a pitch-out called....but C Tony Lupercio, cold off the bench, throws the ball into center and Redman goes to 3rd! SB + E-2. Lebron Williams lins one up the middle for a hit! 3 to 2, Beavers!

Top of the 9th: New Pitcher: RHP Doug Maxwell. Javy Fernandez stays in the game to play center, Dave Priestly swings over to right and Lebron Williams takes a seat. Harry Papuga lines one to right center, but Priestly runs it down! No way Lebron does that! Tony Lupercio up and he mashes one to right for a home run.... tie game: 3 to 3. Unbelievable. He was batting .189 coming into this series in 222 AB and we cannot get him out! 3 straight games with a home run....

Bottom of the 9th: Mike Campell gets a 1-out hit to left center, but that is all we get.

Extras!

Top of the 10th: Al Koets leads off with a double to right. We walk Arturo Martinez intentionally. Herb St,. Laurent lines a hit to left center and Koets scores. 4 to 3, Reds. Bullpen is up.... but Maxwell gets out without any more runs.

Bottom of the 10th: New pitcher: RHP Jim Roussell, their awesome closer. We go down in order. Ballgame and series and I have to live with this taste in my mouth for a week....

Lost - 4 to 3 in 10 innings

They Kings of 1-run Victories have now lost 3 in a row, each by 1 run....if you live by the sword, you will die by the 1-run loss....

We had 5 hits and made no errors.
The Reds had 8 hits and made 1 error.

Angel Rodriguez, who is becoming the King of the No Decision, went 8 innings, allowed 2 runs, 5 hits, 4 walks and struck out 7.
RHP Doug Maxwell (L 1-3) went 2 innings, allowed 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 1.

Alfonso Pinto went 7+ innings, gave us 2 runs, 2 hits, 5 walks and struck out 4. He threw a WP.
RHP Joe Healey (W 3-3) went 2 innings, gave us 1 unearned run on 3 hits and struck out 1.
RHP Jim Roussell (SV 17) pitched a perfect 9th and struck out 1.

LF Frank Wiginton drew 2 walks, but got caught stealing. RF Lebron Williams had 2 hits and an RBI. I wish his range was not gone.... PH/CF Javy Fernandez drew a walk and scored a run, but did get an AB and ended his hitting streak at 14 games.

For the Reds, C Tony Lupercio hit his 14th home run of the season in his only AB. 3rd straight game with a home run.

[Questdog]

July 8, 2002

Monday Morning Report

AL Player of the Week - Al Chapman, 2b, New York (A) (24 R .297/.360/.399) Had 14 hits with 3 2B, 2 SB, 4 R and 4 RBI in 6 G
NL Player of the Week - Floyd Miller, ss, San Diego (28 R .284/.339/.473) Had 12 hits with 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 5 R and 9 RBI in 6 G

(Slash lines are for the season, not the week)

July 2: 1B Arturo Martinez of Cincinnati hit 2 home runs at home versus Pittsburgh. he had 3 RBIs. The Reds won, 7 to 5.\
July 2: LHP Tony Perez of Seattle pitched a 1-hit shutout at Oakland. He did not walk a batter and struck out 8. The hit was a 1-out double in the 4th. He retired the final 17 men of the game. He is now 7-4 with a 3.45 ERA. The Mariners won, 2 to 0.
July 3: RHP Lorenzo Moreno of Los Angeles (N) pitched a 4-hit shutout at home versus Arizona. He walked 2 and struck out 9. He is now 7-6 with a 3.45 ERA. The Dodgers won, 6 to 0.
July 4: New York (A) won at Minnesota, 5 to 3, for their 10th win in a row. They took over first place in the NL East when the Tigers lost their fourth in a row.
July 5: 3B Bobby Denney of Washington hit 2 home runs at Milwaukee. He had 3 hits. The Senators won, 7 to 1.
July 6: 2B Billy Hurtt of Boston hit 2 home runs at home. He hit a Grand Slam. He had 3 hits and a walk, scored 3 runs and had 6 RBIs.
July 7: LF Alfredo Cabrera of San Francisco hit 2 home runs at home versus Atlanta. He drew a walk and had 4 RBIs. The Giants lost, 14 to 5.
July 7: 1B Danny Ortiz of Texas hit 2 home runs at home versus Toronto. He had 5 RBIs. The Rangers won, 6 to 2.

Roger Black, p, Stockton (27 L) was named the California League (A+) Player of the Week. He was 2-0 and only gave up 1 unearned run. 14 IP, 8 H, 4 BB and 15 SO. At 27, in High A ball, he is no prospect.

Editor's Note: I changed the stats a little once again. EFF for fielders is gone, because getting it for the new players for only the time they have spent in Portland will be too much hassle. Zrt is the same thing anyway. It is the normal Zone Rating, a counting stat, turned into a rate stat.

Random Fact of the Week: We are at the All-Star break and thanks to the Padres losing while we ere losing, we are still in first place! But are #3 and #4 hitter are both hurt. There is no way we can win without any bats.... So, I have decided to go all in and try my derndest to find at least one big bat over the break to sustain our offense. We will see if I am successful or not.

[Questdog]

Monday, July 8, 2002

We got the medical reports back on C Mark Parker and RF Lee Kowalski. Parker has torn his quadriceps and is expected to miss 5 weeks. The news is better on Kowalski. He has shoulder tendinitis, which will take about three weeks to heal, if we rest him, but it does not affect his hitting, only his throwing and he can play through it. So he will. Of course, at least until he tears it up worse trying to make a throw and misses the rest of the year and is never worth a damn again....

Parker was put on the Disabled List and C Steve Jensen ( 25 R) was called up from Indianapolis (AAA). He did very well for us in September of last year, but went 1 for 12 in April with the Beavers and has not exactly torn up the International League.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, July 9, 2002 The All-Star Game

The All-Star game is in Minneapolis.

Here are the starters for both sides:
Pitcher (Times on AS Team) (Age Throws W-L ERA IP H HR BB S0)
Batter (Times on AS Team) (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-SB OPS)

National League
P Dave Sikes , San Diego (2) (23 R 10-1 2.04 119 IP 82 H 10 HR 37 BB 124 SO)
C Howard Morrell, Houston (2) (28 R .279-14-32-1 .854) 2001 starter
1B Bobby Manzano, Colorado (2) (26 L .330-17-56-0 .925)
2B Dick Hedrick, Pittsburgh (2) (27 L .341-15-66-0 .928) 2001 starter at SS
3B Bill Anzivino, Montreal (1) (30 R .284-10-43-1 .751)
SS Jesus Ramirez, New York (N) (2) (23 S .280-8-42-24 .798)
LF Larry Brown, New York (N) (1) (29 R .293-14-56-15 .926)
CF Gary Brown, New York (N) (2) (28 L .296-12-35-9 .888) 2001 starter
RF Joe Greenslit, San Diego (1) (28 R .325-10-43-19 .867)

American League
P Mickey Monroe, Kansas City (2) (27 R 9-3 1.82 114 IP 72 H 5 HR 32 BB 122 SO)
C Eric Lier, Los Angeles (A) (2) (27 R .366-15-51-0 1.030)
1B Antonio Mata, Tampa Bay (1) (28 S .346-22-86-14 .971)
2B Luis Castaneda, Cleveland (1) (28 L .312-14-46-4 .834)
3B Steve Carrillo, Detroit (2) (28 L .332-10-65-2 .820) 2001 starter
SS Dave Maurais, Washington (1) (31 R .289-12-54-10 .801)
LF Mike Pasqualetti, Boston (2) (28 L .266-7-25-11 .812) 2001 starter
CF Tony Bennett, KC (2) (31 L .316-14-55-9 .875)
RF Darryl Addison, Seattle (1) (34 L .317-12-39-11 .848)

The American League won for the 2nd year in a row. The score was 5 to 0.

C General Windsor of the hometown Twins was the MVP.
He hit a 2-run HR and drew a walk.

Two Portland Beavers got to watch the game from the dugout!
Alan Gross (28 L) and Doug Maxwell (23 R)
Neither got into the game.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, July 10, 2002

Alright, I went ahead and did it.... I feel ashamed of myself, but I want to win it this year and I especially want to win 100 games the season after we lost 100! So I made a trade.

We sent LHP Floyd Johnson, RHP Neil Russell, 1B George Latimer, 1B Ernesto Gonzelez and RF Tom Cade to Baltimore for 3B Ron Peddicord, SS Mike Basinski, 2b Steve Nist and CF Antonio Orona. Johnson, Russell and Latimer were just taken in trades last week and the only one I am sad to see go is Johnson. Ernesto is done, I think. He had a good run for us last year, but GM Joe Huber asked for him, so there you go, Joe. Cade is nothing, but again Huber likes him for some reason. Of the players we are receiving only Peddicord has any value. The others are just throw-ins to play in our minors. Peddicord was an AL All-Star and had a hit and scored a run in the game. He is great, but he is 36. He is signed through next year at $19 mil. each season, but we got Baltimore to pay 70% of it. So, he will only cost us $5.7 million.

The Padres made an even bigger trade than we did and I'm thinking it might help us out, which means it won't..... They sent 1B Jesus Quintana (26 L) to New York (A) for P Steve Preble (27 R). Straight up deal All-Star for All-Star. Quintana was their best hitter and they already had an awesome rotation. But now they have a really awesome rotation. Quintana was hitting .321-15-48-.931 in 336 AB. Preble is 7-4 with a 2.08 ERA in 17 starts. The trade will give the Padres 4 starters with ERAs under 2.85.

I wanted a big thumper at 1B like Jesus Quintana, but the only player I could trade for was Antonio Mata of Tampa Bay, who is having a Triple Crown-type season. He is almost perfect for me: can run and play great defense and hit for average and power. The only down side is that he does not walk a bunch, but he walks a little and with his average, a little is enough. But I could not pull the trigger on stealing a Triple Crown chance from him.... There really is not another first baseman that matches my ideal as well as him, though. Jesus Quintana is a better hitter, but cannot run and does not play defense nearly as well.

[Questdog]

Thursday, July 11, 2002

We sent 3B Tim DePriest to Indianapolis (AAA). He had a nice little run there playing over his head, but all good things must come to an end. We called up 3B/1B Jim Eighmy and LHP Al McMillian.

The opening of the 2nd half was rained out and we will have to play a double header tomorrow. Is that a bad omen?

[Questdog]

Friday, July 12, 2002

We begin the 2nd half in Pittsburgh with a 4-game series through the weekend, beginning with a double header today, with manager Larry Bookout (61) and his Pirates. The first time we met was on April 5-7 and they swept 4 games from us in Portland. We scored 3 runs in the 4 games. They are 12th in runs scored with 4.2 per game (Portland is #13 with 4.2). They are 15th in runs allowed with 4.7 per game (Portland is #2 with 3.9). Their pitching has gone downhill since holding us to 3 runs in 4 games....

Portland Beavers (53-35 .602 in 1st place in the NL West) at
Pittsburgh Pirates (44-42 .512 5 GB in 3rd place in the NL East)

Game 1
Alan Gross, Por (28 L 8-6 2.71 7.6-0.6-2.1-6.3 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Jerry Turner, Pit (29 R 7-4 2.66 9.3-0.8-2.9-5.7)

We were shutout the first time we faced Turner on April 5, in the first game of a double header. He held us to 3 hits in 8 innings.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: LF Frank Wiginton (31 S .293-4-27-.761 in 222 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .283-3-33-.720 in 307 AB)
3: RF Lebron Williams (33 L .305-1-18-.761 in 174 AB)
4: 3B Ron Peddicord (36 S Beaver Debut .309-13-43-.872 in 314 AB for BAL)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .295-4-40-.802 in 193 AB)
6: C Greg Bradt (28 R .333-0-5-.818 in 24 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .280-4-32-.728 in 328 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .140-0-3-.451 in 43 AB)
9: P Alan Gross (28 L .128-1-3-.406 in 39 AB)

PITTSBURGH
1: SS Hilton Waggoner (24 R .281-6-31-.785 in 338 AB)
2: 1B Marv Helton (26 L .308-8-49-.805 in 341 AB) 2001 All-Star, Silver Slugger and MVP
3: LF Eddie Jasper (28 R .305-4-16-.855 in 95 AB)
4: 2B Dick Hedrick (27 L .341-15-66-.928 in 343 AB) 2001 Silver Slugger 2001/02 All-Star
5: RF Jerry Ford (31 R .290-11-54-.800 in 307 AB) 2002 All-Star
6: 3B Gene Freeman (27 R .266-1-16-.744 in 124 AB)
7: C Masanori Ishii (33 R .224-4-24-.630 in 246 AB) Original Beaver
8: CF Dick Baker (24 L .227-2-11-.703 in 88 AB)
9: P Jerry Turner (29 R .088-0-0-.203 in 34 AB)

Game Start: 1:05 PM
Weather: 71 deg. Cloudy with a 10 MPH wind blowing out to right.
Attendance: 20,009

Frank Wiginton leads off with a grounder through the left side for a hit. Stu Redman grounds into a force at 2nd, 1-4. Lebron Williams flies out to right. 2 outs. Redman steals 2nd. Ron Peddicord, in his Beaver Debut, flies out to right.

Bottom of the 1st: Hilton Waggoner lines a 1-2 pitch to left for a hit. He tries to steal, but Greg Bradt throws out his first base runner of the season! Marv Helton flies out to right. Eddie Jasper doubles to right center. Dick Hedrick strikes out looking on three pitches!

Top of the 2nd: Danny Hernandez and Greg Bradt lead off with back-to-back singles to right and we have runners at 1st and 3rd with no outs. Javy Fernandez flies out to left and Hernandez tags up and scores! 1 to 0, Beavers!

Bottom of the 3rd: Hilton Waggoner leads off with a hit and then Marv Helton and Eddie Jasper hit back-to-back doubles to left center. 2 to 1, Pirates. With 1 out, Jerry Ford knocks in Jasper with a hit. 3 to 1, Pirates.

Bottom of the 4th: Dick Baker leads off with a grounder up the middle for a hit, goes to 2nd on a bunt by P Jerry Turner and scores on a 2-out hit by Marv Helton. 4 to 1, Pirates.

Lost - 8 to 3

We had 10 hits and made 2 errors.
The Pirates had 13 hits and made 1 error.

Alan Gross (L 8-7) went 6 innings, allowed 4 runs, 10 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3.
LHP Al McMillian, in his Beaver Debut, faced 4 batters and allowed 4 runs (3 earned), 3 hits and 1 walk. Trading Floyd Johnson, may not have been prudent....
RHP Larry Castillo went 2 hitless innings, allowed 1 walk and struck out 2.

Jerry Turner (W 8-4) went 7 innings, gave us 1 run, 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.

LF Frank Wiginton had 2 hits and an RBI. SS Stu Redman hit 2 doubles, drew a walk and had an RBI. 3B Ron Peddicord, in his Beaver Debut, went 0 for 4 with a strikeout and a GDP, but at least drew a walk. C Greg Bradt had 3 hits and scored a run and threw out the only runner who tries to steal.

For the Pirates, 1B Marv Helton had 3 hits with a double, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. RF Jerry Ford had 2 hits, scores a run and had 3 RBIs.

Game 2
Terry Cole, Por (32 L 11-5 3.10 9.1-0.4-3.0-6.6 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Francisco Granados, Pit (31 R 5-7 5.60 10.9-1.0-3.6-6.9)

We have not faced Granados this year. He beat us last year, 8 to 4, but gave us 4 runs in 5 innings. He was 14-8 with a 3.84 ERA for the Pirates last year in 30 starts.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: LF Frank Wiginton (31 S .295-4-28-.762 in 227 AB)
2: SS Stu Redman (30 R .286-3-34-.732 in 311 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .285-4-34-.761 in 214 AB) Playing hurt
4: 3B Ron Peddicord (36 S .000-0-0-.200 in 4 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .294-4-40-.796 in 197 AB)
6: C Steve Jensen (25 R .083-0-0-.350 in 12 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .281-4-33-.727 in 331 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .152-0-3-.478 in 46 AB)
9: P Terry Cole (32 L .256-0-6-.558 in 43 AB)

PITTSBURGH
1: SS Hilton Waggoner (24 R .283-6-31-.785 in 343 AB)
2: 1B Marv Helton (26 L .312-8-50-.814 in 346 AB) 2001 All-Star, Silver Slugger and MVP
3: LF Eddie Jasper (28 R .313-4-18-.886 in 99 AB)
4: 2B Dick Hedrick (27 L .339-15-67-.923 in 348 AB) 2001 Silver Slugger 2001/02 All-Star
5: RF Jerry Ford (31 R .293-11-57-.802 in 311 AB) 2002 All-Star
6: 3B Gene Freeman (27 R .266-1-16-.736 in 128 AB)
7: C Ed Scott (31 L .206-1-8-.491 in 107 AB)
8: CF Dick Baker (24 L .231-2-11-.708 in 91 AB)
9: P Francisco Granados (31 S .219-0-2-.492 in 32 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 67 deg. Cloudy with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to right.
Attendance: 19,091

Frank Wiginton tries to bunt his way on, but gets thrown out. He likes to do that, but it doesn't ever seem to work. Full count to Stu Redman and he swings an misses. Lee Kowalski grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the 1st: Hilton Waggoner leads off with a double down the left field line. Why did I make that trade? We do not have a shot in hell of winning the division and I gave away two really good relief pitchers.... Marv Helton flies out to center. Two good relief pitches that could have given us years of service for two years of an aging star that won't make much difference anyway, even if he plays well, which he won't.... Eddie Jasper walks on four pitches. I should be concentrating on building a strong base for out future and not grasping at mirages of glory in the present.... Dick Hedrick lines a hit to right center and Waggoner scores. 1 to 0, Pirates. I should turn in my resignation to Mr. Hamilton... I am not fit for spending his money.... Jerry Ford grounds into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. We were 2 games ahead in the division at the All-Star break and I should have left it well enough alone. Instead, I make a stupid trade that only takes us 1 day to lose the lead.....

Bottom of the 2nd: P Terry Cole is hurt.... the one thing we cannot do is lose any starting pitcher, because we have absolutely no depth. But we just lost the pitcher that is leading the league in wins.... and the Burgermeister is mum, so it is bad....

Top of the 4th: With 2 outs, Ron Peddicord gets hit first hit as a Beaver, a line drive single to right. Then he shock everyone, including me, by heading out for 2nd base! Now, he is slower than Grandma Moses since she died, and he does not have a chance in hell of stealing a base unless the catcher throws the ball away.... the catcher throws the ball away! Peddicord goes to 3rd! SB + E-2. Danny Hernandez then launches a blast to right center for a home run! 2 to 1, Beavers! Man, I am glad I made that trade! I KNOW Danny Hernandez had his energy level elevated by seeing Peddicord steal a base and THAT allowed him to crank the ball!

Bottom of the 4th: With 1 out, Jerry Ford singles to left. Gene Freeman grounds a double play ball down to 3rd, but Ron Peddicord boots it.... Why, did I make that trade? I am so stupid.... With 2 outs, Dick Baker hits a 3-run home run to right for 2 unearned runs.... 4 to 2, Pirates. I will turn in my resignation tonight. It is the only honorable thing to do....

Bottom of the 6th: Lee Kowalski bruises his knee making a catch and he has to come out of the game. It gets pretty ugly pretty fast....

Top of the 7th: C Steve Jensen hurts his back breaking up a double play with a slide at 2nd.... What the hey?

Lost - 4 to 2

We had 7 hits and made 1 error.
The Pirates had 7 hits and made 1 error.

Terry Cole went 1 and 2/3 innings, allowed 1 run, 2 hits and 1 walk and who knows when he will pitch again....
RHP Phil McPhie (L 5-3) went 2 and 1/3 innings, allowed 3 unearned runs, 3 hits, 1 home run and struck out 1. At bat, he hit a double.
LHP Jim Ackley went 2 scoreless innings and allowed 1 hit.
RHP Ron Beckman went 2 scoreless innings and allowed 1 hit.

Francisco Granados (W 6-7) went 8 innings, gave us 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 5.
RHP Jimmy Nester (SV 31) went 1 inning, gave us 1 hit and struck out 1.

SS Stu Redman hit a double. 1B Danny Hernandez hit his 5th home run of the season and had 2 RBIs. 2B Mike Campell hit a double and drew a walk.

For the Pirates, CF Dick Baker hit his 3rd home run of the year and had 3 RBIs.