The Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League (MLB 2001)

[Questdog]

Thursday, April 18, 2002

We purged our pitching staff of all left-handers....
We sent P Dick Register (28-L) and P John Cox (29-L) to Vancouver (A) and called up the two rookies, P Duke McKenzie (24-R) and P Roy Huls (21-R). We do not expect them to be very good yet, but they cannot be worse that the two bums we are sending out. We will put Register back in the Bullpen where he did a decent job for us in the past and maybe he can work his way back to Portland. Cox will go back to starting.

We are in Oakland to play a 4 game series through the weekend. They just split a pair of games in Los Angeles. We were 8-6 against them last season. The Oaks are tied for 8th in scoring in the PCL with 3.93 runs per game (Portland is tied for 10th with 3.47). Their batters are 2nd in the League in HR (19), but are 2nd to last in BA (.221). They are tied for 9th in fewest runs allowed with 4.07 per game (Portland is also in that 4 team tie).

Portland Beavers (7-8 .467 3 GB tied for 4th place in the PCL West) at
Oakland Oaks (7-8 .467 3 GB tied for 4th place in the PCL West)

POR: Bobby Johnson (22-R 1-0 1.14) vs. OAK: Hugo Lopez (26-R 0-0 4.02) Rookie

Johnson pitched a 5 hit shutout last time out to earn his first win.

We have not faced Lopez before. This will be his 4th start. He was a closer in B Ball. He has walked 16 in 15.2 IP, but otherwise has pretty numbers.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: CF Brian Mitchell (21-L .246-57-0-2-.599) Rookie
2: RF Jose Julio (28-R .283-60-0-3-.672)
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .323-62-2-8-.903)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (25-R .327-55-6-13-1.088) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .212-52-2-8-.660)
6: LF Kim Springer (21-L .269-52-1-4-.694) Rookie
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .208-48-0-1-.512)
8: C Darrell Milewski (31-R .103-39-0-0-.325)
9: P Bobby Johnson (22-R .100-10-0-0-.200)

OAKLAND
1: RF Gerry Elliott (29-L .320-50-1-2-.980)
2: CF John Trent (30-R .271-59-2-9-.724)
3: LF Javy Puente (31-S .315-54-8-14-1.177) Silver Slugger All-Star
4: 1B Tim Metts (25-L .204-54-2-6-.635)
5: 2B Mario Rodriguez (29-R .229-48-1-6-.614)
6: 3B Russ Inguaggiato (24-L .224-49-2-4-.628) Rookie
7: C Al Burrell (37-R .175-40-0-1-.498)
8: SS Jim Byrum (29-S .204-54-1-7-.552)
9: P Hugo Lopez (26-R .000-5-0-0-.000) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Oakland Coliseum
Weather: 54 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 12 MPH wind blowing in from left
Attendance: 18,298

Top of the First:
Brian Mitchell strikes out looking... Jose Julio grounds out to 3rd. Shannon Kuchta strikes out...

Bottom of the First:
Gerry Elliott flies out to left. John Trent grounds out to short. Javy Puente, the PCL leader in HR (8), grounds out to 3rd! 1-2-3!

Top of the Third:
We have yet to get a hit. Darrell Milewski leads off with a walk. P Bobby Johnson lays a bunt down the 3rd base line and Russ Inguaggiato charges it, make a nifty bare-handed pickup and guns it over the head of the 1st baseman for a 2 base error! 2nd and 3rd with no outs! Brian Mitchell lines a 3-2 pitch to center for a hit and Milewski scores! 1 to 0, Beavers! Jose Julio grounds into a 6-4-3 double play and Johnson scores. 2 to 0, Beavers.

Top of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Fernando Mexicano hits a home run to center! 3 to 0, Beavers!

Top of the Fifth:
With 2 outs, Brian Mitchell reaches on another 2 base throwing error by 3B Russ Inguaggiato. It is his 2nd error of the game and 2nd of the season. Jose Julio grounds a hit to center and Mitchell scores! 4 to 0, Beavers!

Bottom of the Sixth:
Gerry Elliott leads off with a hit and John Trent gets plunked. The Bullpen is up. Javy Puente takes a 3-2 pitch for strike three! Tim Metts grounds into a 4-6-3 double play!!

Top of the Seventh:
On the Hill: Steve Ehret (37-L), beginning his 2nd inning or work after a scoreless 6th. P Bobby Johnson takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Brian Mitchell lines a hit to right. Jose Julio grounds into a 5-4-3 double play and Johnson goes to 3rd. That is his 4th GDP already; he had 4 GDP's all of last season... Shannon Kuchta takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Glenn Snowden grounds out to short...

Bottom of the Seventh:
Mario Rodriguez leads off with a double down the right field line. The Bullpen is back up. Russ Inguaggiato takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... Al Burrell strikes out. Jim Byrum grounds a 3-2 pitch to right for a hit and the bases are loaded with 1 out. PH Corky McCormick (28-L), 0 for 8 on the season, but hit .274 last year, strikes out looking! 2 outs. Gerry Elliott flies out to center!

Won - 4 to 0

Back to back shutouts for P Bobby Johnson!

We had 6 hits and made no errors
Oakland had 6 hits and made 2 errors

Bobby Johnson (W 2-0) went 9 shutout innings (CG), allowed 6 hits, 2 walks, 1 HBP and struck out 6. 155 pitches. That surpasses the 151 thrown by Steve Muir in a game last season to set a new Beaver record. At bat, he drew a walk and scored a run.

Hugo Lopez (L 0-1) went 5 innings, gave us 4 runs (1 earned), 4 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 4.

CF/LF Brian Mitchell had 2 hits, got hit by a pitch, scored a run and had an RBI. 2B Shannon Kuchta had a hit and a walk. 3B Fernando Mexicano hit his 3rd home run of the season.

[Questdog]

Friday, April 19, 2002

Portland Beavers (8-8 .500 2 GB tied for 3rd place in the PCL West) at
Oakland Oaks (7-9 .438 3 GB in 7th place in the PCL West)

POR: Steve Muir (27-R 0-1 3.94) vs. OAK: Cary Cornman (35-R 0-1 3.27)

Muir has had 2 good outings and one clunker. In his last one, he only allowed 1 run in 6 IP, but got a no decision in a game that we won.

Cornman was 1-0 in 4 starts against us last year, but we knocked him out of the box early in all 3 no decisions.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: CF Brian Mitchell (21-L .262-61-0-3-.636) Rookie
2: RF Jose Julio (28-R .277-65-0-4-.652)
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .323-65-2-8-.902)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (25-R .305-59-6-13-1.017) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .214-56-3-9-.703)
6: LF Kim Springer (21-L .255-55-1-4-.669) Rookie
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .212-52-0-1-.511)
8: C Darrell Milewski (31-R .098-41-0-0-.327)
9: P Steve Muir (27-R .000-5-0-0-.000)

OAKLAND
1: RF Gerry Elliott (29-L .315-54-1-2-.948)
2: CF John Trent (30-R .258-62-2-9-.701)
3: LF Javy Puente (31-S .293-58-8-14-1.100) Silver Slugger All-Star
4: 1B Tim Metts (25-L .207-58-2-6-.626)
5: 2B Mario Rodriguez (29-R .255-51-1-6-.688)
6: 3B Russ Inguaggiato (24-L .212-52-2-4-.606) Rookie
7: C Al Burrell (37-R .182-44-0-1-.499)
8: SS Jim Byrum (29-S .211-57-1-7-.557)
9: P Cary Cornman (35-L .286-7-0-0-.571)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Oakland Coliseum
Weather: 63 F, Overcast, with an 18 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 21,335

Top of the First:
Brian Mitchell doubles to left center! Jose Julio swings at the first pitch and grounds out slowly to short and Mitchell takes 3rd. Runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs, but Shannon Kuchta does NOT strike out! Instead he tries to line into a double play, but SS Jim Byrum lets the ball deflect off his glove and Mitchell scores! 1 to 0, Beavers! Glenn Snowden pops out to 2nd. Fernando Mexicano grounds out to short.

Bottom of the First:
Gerry Elliott grounds a hit to right. John Trent grounds into a 1-6-3 double play!! Javy Puente, eying that 18 MPH wind blowing out to right, flies out to deep left field down the line!

Bottom of the Third:
Jim Byrum leads off with a triple to left center... P Cary Cornman beats out an infield hit and Byrum scores... Tie game: 1 to 1. With 2 outs, Javy Puente lines a hit to center. A passed ball moves the runners up... I am trying to give Milewski to the end of the month to get himself straightened out, but he is making it very difficult... Tim Metts grounds out to 2nd!

Top of the Fifth:
Dave Risinger leads off with a double down the left field line! After Darrell Milewski makes his customary out, P Steve Muir lines a hit to right and Risinger scores! 2 to 1, Beavers! Brian Mitchell flies out to left and they double Muir off at 1st...

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Steve Ehret (37-L), who shut us out for 2 innings yesterday. PH Don Neumann (32-S) draws a walk. With 1 out, Darrell Milewski grounds out to 3rd and Neumann goes to 2nd. PH Jack Hinckley (26-R) is walked intentionally. We let Brian Mitchell bat to keep his glove in the game. He grounds a hit to right and Neumann scores! 3 to 1, Beavers! Jose Julio pops out to short.

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Jeff Gleason (25-R) to face their 3-4-5 hitters. Javy Puente launches one up into that wind heading out to right and it carries the fence... 3 to 2, Beavers. That is his 9th home run of the season, leading all of Baseball... The next three all make outs, though, and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!

Won - 3 to 2

We had 5 whole hits and made no errors
Oakland had 7 hits and made 2 errors

Steve Muir (W 1-1) went 8 innings, allowed 1 run, 6 hits, no walks and struck out 1. At bat, he had a hit and an RBI.
RHP Jeff Gleason (SV 1) went 1 inning, allowed 1 run and 1 hit, a home run.

Cary Cornman (L 0-2) went 7.2 innings, gave us 2 runs (1 earned), 4 hits, 4 walks (1 INT) and struck out 4.

CF/LF Brian Mitchell had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had an RBI. 1B Glenn Snowden had 2 walks (1 INT). PH Don Neumann drew a walk and scored a run. SS Dave Risinger hit a double, drew a walk and scored a run. PH/CF Jack Hinckley was walked intentionally.

[Questdog]

Saturday, April 20, 2002

Today is P Bobby Johnson's 23rd birthday!

Portland Beavers (9-8 .529 2 GB tied for 3rd place in the PCL West) at
Oakland Oaks (7-10 .412 4 GB in 7th place in the PCL West)

POR: Ricardo Gil (23-R 1-1 2.25) vs. OAK: Tom Parris (29-R 0-1 5.40)

After getting mauled in his first start of the season, Gil has only allowed 7 H in 16 IP in his last two.

Parris was 2-1 against us last year.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: CF Brian Mitchell (21-L .273-66-0-4-.663) Rookie
2: RF Jose Julio (28-R .257-70-0-4-.607)
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .304-69-2-9-.851)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (25-R .295-61-6-13-1.003) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .203-59-3-9-.680)
6: LF Kim Springer (21-L .241-58-1-4-.635) Rookie
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .218-55-0-1-.550)
8: C Darrell Milewski (31-R .111-45-0-0-.342)
9: P Ricardo Gil (23-L .000-5-0-0-.000)

OAKLAND
1: RF Gerry Elliott (29-L .310-58-1-2-.919)
2: CF John Trent (30-R .242-66-2-9-.659)
3: LF Javy Puente (31-S .306-62-9-15-1.140) Silver Slugger All-Star
4: 1B Tim Metts (25-L .210-62-2-6-.618)
5: 2B Mario Rodriguez (29-R .241-54-1-6-.651)
6: 3B Jack Reynolds (27-R .222-9-1-2-1.030)
7: SS Jim Byrum (29-S .217-60-1-7-.596)
8: C Juan Rosa (32-R .111-9-0-0-.311)
9: P Tom Parris (29-R .000-4-0-0-.000)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Oakland Coliseum
Weather: 60 F, Clear Skies, with a 10 MPH wind blowing in from left
Attendance: 18,934

Top of the First:
Brian Mitchell grounds out to 2nd. Jose Julio swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Shannon Kuchta strikes out....

Bottom of the First:
Gerry Elliott swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short. John Trent takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... Javy Puente grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and Trent goes to 2nd. Tom Metts swings at the first pitch and pops out to left!

Top of the Second:
Glenn Snowden swings at a 3-2 pitch and doubles down the right field line! With 2 outs, Dave Risinger lines a hit to center and Snowden stops at 3rd. Darrell Milewski grounds a hit to center and Snowden scores! 1 to 0, Beavers! First RBI for Milewski on the season! P Ricardo Gil takes a 3-2 pitch for strike three.

Top of the Fourth:
Glenn Snowden leads off with a double to left center! Fernando Mexicano pops a hit to right and Snowden stops at 3rd. Kim Springer beats out and infield hit and Snowden scores! 2 to 0, Beavers! Dave Risinger lines a hit to right and the bases are loaded with no outs! Darrell Milewski flies out to deep right and Mexicano tags up and scores and Springer goes to 3rd! 3 to 0, Beavers! 2 RBI for Milewski!! A wild pitch scores Springer! 4 to 0, Beavers! The next two make outs.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Tim Metts grounds a hit to right. With 1 out, Jack Reynolds doubles high off the wall in center. Jim Byrum flies out to right and Jose Julio fires to 2nd to double off Reynolds!!!

Top of the Sixth:
New Pitcher: Rookie Tadayoshi Date (23-R), who pitched a perfect inning against us on Thursday. Fernando Mexicano doubles off the wall in center! Kim Springer grounds a hit to right. Dave Risinger strikes out... Darrell Milewski grounds out to 3rd and Mexicano holds and Springer goes to 2nd. 2 outs. P Ricardo Gil takes a 3-2 pitch for strike three again...

Bottom of the Sixth:
Tim Metts hits a home run down the right field line... 4 to 1, Beavers.

Top of the Seventh:
With 1 out, Jose Julio draws a walk. Shannon Kuchta grounds one over the 3rd base bag and ends up with a triple! Julio scores! 5 to 1, Beavers! Kuchta's 4th triple of the season! He had 5 all of last year. P Tadayoshi Date has to leave the game with an injury. New Pitcher: Jerry Loring (28-R). 3.38 ERA in 5.1 IP. 1.11 ERA in 57 IP last year. A wild pitch scores Kuchta! 6 to 1, Beavers! Glenn Snowden and Fernando Mexicano both make outs.

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Mike Wagner (30-R). Jack Hinckley is in to play center and Brian Mitchell moves to left. Rich Cruz is in to play 3rd. P Ricardo Gil had thrown 123 pitches. Surely Wagner can hold a 5 run lead... Jim Byrum draws a walk... Juan Rosa draws a walk on 4 pitches... The Bullpen is up. With 1 out, Gerry Elliott takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up... Call to the Bullpen: David Fuentes (25-R). This is now a save situation! John Trent strikes out! 2 down. Javy Puente grounds a hit to center and a run scores.... 6 to 2, Beavers. Could have been worse, but now the tying run comes to the plate in the person of Tim Metts, who already has a home run today... He swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a hit to center and 2 runs score and Puente goes to 3rd... 6 to 4, Beavers. And the winning run comes to the plate... Mario Rodriguez strikes out and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers! Finally!

Won - 6 to 4

We had 12 hits and made 1 error
Oakland had 8 hits and made no errors

Ricardo Gil (W 2-1) went 8 innings, allowed 1 run, 6 hits, 1 home run, 4 walks, 1 HBP and struck out 4. 123 pitches.
RHP Mike Wagner faced 4 batters, walked 3 of them and got 1 out and all 3 walks scored.
RHP David Fuentes (SV 1) got 2 outs with 2 strikeouts, but gave up 2 hits.

Tom Parris (L 0-2) went 5 innings, gave us 4 runs, 8 hits, no walks and struck out 5. He threw a WO.

RF Jose Julio had a hit and a walk and scored a run and threw out a base runner. 2B Shannon Kuchta hit a triple, scored a run and had an RBI. 1B Glenn Snowden hit 2 doubles and scored 2 runs. 3B Fernando Mexicano had 2 hits with a double and scored a run. LF Kim Springer had 3 hits, scored a run and had an RBI. SS Dave Risinger had 2 hits. C Darrell Milewski had a hit and 2 RBI.

For Oakland, 1B Tim Metts had 3 hits with his 3rd home run of the season and 3 RBI.

The Oaks announced that rookie P Tadayoshi Date had a badly sprained hamstring and would likely miss 2 months of action.

[Questdog]

Sunday, April 21, 2002

Portland Beavers (10-8 .556 2 GB in 3rd place in the PCL West) at
Oakland Oaks (7-11 .389 5 GB tied for 7th (last) place in the PCL West)

POR: Frank Flores (22-R 2-1 1.50) Rookie vs. OAK: Vic Harrington (34-R 2-0 1.88)

After two outstanding starts to begin his Major League career, Flores came back to earth somewhat last time out with 3 runs allowed off 9 hits and 3 walks in 7 IP with only 1 strikeout and took the loss when we could only score 1 run.

We beat Harrington the only time we faced him last year, but did not score an earned run. He pitched a 4 hit shutout his last time out. Last year, he was not so good: 8-16 with a 4.73 ERA.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Brian Mitchell (21-L .254-71-0-4-.617) Rookie
2: LF Kim Springer (21-L .274-62-1-5-.689) Rookie
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .301-73-2-10-.859)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (25-R .308-65-6-13-1.033) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .222-63-3-9-.714)
6: CF Jack Hinckley (26-R .235-17-1-1-.748)
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .237-59-0-1-.579)
8: C Darrell Milewski (31-R .125-48-0-2-.357)
9: P Frank Flores (22-R .375-8-0-3-.819) Rookie

OAKLAND
1: RF Gerry Elliott (29-L .311-61-1-2-.923)
2: CF John Trent (30-R .243-70-2-9-.674)
3: LF Javy Puente (31-S .299-67-9-16-1.087) Silver Slugger All-Star
4: 1B Bobbie Duvall (34-R .250-12-0-1-.558)
5: C Al Burrell (37-R .167-48-0-1-.460)
6: 3B Jack Reynolds (27-R .231-13-1-2-.949)
7: 2B Alexis Montoy (35-S .182-11-1-4-.636)
8: SS Bryan Gardner (31-R Season debut)
9: P Vic Harrington (34-R .000-7-0-0-.000)

Game Start: 1:05 PM
Ballpark: The Oakland Coliseum
Weather: 55 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 12 MPH wind blowing left to right
Attendance: 17,957

Top of the First:
Brian Mitchell flies out to deep center. Kim Springer strikes out... Shannon Kuchta lines out to center.

Bottom of the First:
Gerry Elliott fouls out to the catcher. John Trent strikes out! Javy Puente flies out to left! 1-2-3!

Top of the Second:
Glenn Snowden swings at a 3-1 pitch and knocks it into the left field seats! 1 to 0, Beavers!

Top of the Fourth:
Kim Springer leads off with a double to center! Only our 2nd hit. Shannon Kuchta grounds a double down the left field line and Springer scores! 2 to 0, Beavers! Glenn Snowden lines a 3-2 pitch into left for a hit. Fernando Mexicano hits a home run to left!!! 5 to 0, Beavers! And P Vic Harrington hits the showers! New Pitcher: Jim Coyne (30-R), who pitched 2 scoreless innings yesterday. He gets the next three out...

Bottom of the Fifth:
Jack Reynolds leads off with a double to center. With 2 outs, PH Alex Uriegas (30-L), 0 for 14 on the season, grounds a hit to center... Gerry Elliott lines a hit to left and Reynolds scores. 5 to 1, Beavers. John Trent grounds out to short!

Top of the Eighth:
On the Hill: Larry Sober (31-R), beginning his second inning of work after getting 2 outs in the 7th. Kim Springer leads off with a double to center! Shannon Kuchta lines a hit to right center. Glenn Snowden flies out to right, but Springer holds for some reason... Fernando Mexicano flies out to very deep center and Springer trots home. 6 to 1, Beavers.

Won - 6 to 1

Sweep!
Our last three series have all been sweeps; two to the good and one to the bad.

We had 9 hits and made no errors
Oakland had 4 hits and made no errors

Frank Flores (W 3-1) went 9 innings (CG), allowed 1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5.

Vic Harrington (L 2-1) went 3+ innings, gave us 5 runs, 5 hits, 2 home runs, no walks and struck out 2.

LF Kim Springer hit 2 doubles and scored 2 runs. 2B Shannon Kuchta had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had an RBI. 1B Glenn Snowden had 2 hits with his 7th home run of the season and scored 2 runs. He did not hit his 7th home run last year until May 15. 3B Fernando Mexicano had 2 hits with his 4th home run and had 4 RBI. He did not hit his 4th home run last year until June 2, mostly because he missed 5 weeks with an injury.

The Oaks had two relievers have to leave the game with injuries: Jerry Loring (28-R) has a tender shoulder and should be fine in a few days. Larry Johnson, their closer, strained his back and should be okay in about a week.

[Questdog]

April 22, 2002

Monday Morning Report
NL Player of the Week - Steve Ward, LF, Toronto (32-R .348/.430/1.068) Had 9 hits with 4 HR, 6 BB, 1 SO, 6 R and 7 RBI in 6 G
PCL Player of the Week - Dave Macnaughton, 2B, Minnesota (29-R .354/.365/.512) Had 13 hits with 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 SB, 0 CS, 4 R and 10 RBI in 6 G (3rd career PoW)

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

April 16 - Vic Harrington (34-R) of Oakland pitched a 4 hit shutout at Los Angeles. He walked 4 and struck out 7. He is now 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 3 starts. The Oaks won, 4 to 0.
April 19 - Salt Lake City beat Milwaukee at home, 4 to 3, in 16 innings. 2B Frankie Clontz (27-L) hit a home run with 1 out to end the game.
April 19 - Steve Meyers (26-R) of Hollywood pitched a 5 hit shutout at Sacramento. He walked 1 and struck out 5. He is now 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA in 4 starts. The Stars won, 2 to 0, and only had 3 hits themselves.
April 19 - 2B Jim Markham (24-R) of Brooklyn had 3 hits with 2 home runs, including a 3 runs blast with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game, scored 3 runs and had 5 RBI at home versus New York, but the Dodgers lost, 9 to 8, in 10 innings.
April 20 - Jamie Ladnier (32-K) of Seattle pitched a 4 hit shutout at home versus Los Angeles. He walked 2 and struck out 6. He is now 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA in 4 starts. The Rainiers won, 3 to 0, and only had 5 hits themselves.

[Questdog]

Monday, April 22, 2002

C Jim Shippy (31-R) is ready to play, so we sent C Rick Mansoor back to Vancouver (A), even though he went 3 for 5 in his only start. He may be back come May 1 if Darrel Milewski does not pick it up significantly. We recalled 3B Duffy Bowermaster (29-L).

We are back home for the next week to play the two teams tied for first in our division. Might be a long week and a burst to our bubble of success.... First up is the Hollywood Stars for 2 games. They split 4 games in Sacramento over the weekend, but had won 8 in a row before that. We are 4-10 against them last season. They are 4th in the PCL in scoring with 4.37 runs per game (Portland is 8th with 3.74). We are scoring less than we did last season when we barely escaped finishing last in runs. The Stars are 3rd in fewest runs allowed with 3.21 per game (Portland is up to 5th with 3.58).

Hollywood Stars (12-7 .632 tied for 1st place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (11-8 .579 1 GB in 3rd place in the PCL West)

HOL: Oscar Rios (31-L 1-1 3.60) vs. POR: Duke McKenzie (24-R Major League debut) Rookie

Rios was 2-2 against us last year, but pitched well in both defeats.

McKenzie was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 3 starts for Vancouver (A). Only 2 walks allowed, but 3 HR. He led the B Leagues in HR allowed last season...

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
HOLLYWOOD
1: 2B Gus McCollum (30-R .232-69-0-6-.679)
2: RF Bud Lisk (27-L .243-37-1-2-.700)
3: LF Jose Naranjo (28-R .303-76-2-8-.816) All-Star
4: C Steve Bone (27-R .355-62-1-10-.882) All-Star
5: 1B Bobby Deaton (27-S .237-59-0-5-.542)
6: CF Jerry Suazo (27-L .343-67-0-9-.781)
7: 3B Larry Church (27-L .266-64-5-12-.842)
8: SS Jerry Hatcher (25-R .258-62-1-10-.683)
9: P Oscar Rios (31-L .200-5-0-0-.400)

PORTLAND
1: CF Jack Hinckley (26-R .190-21-1-1-.608)
2: RF Jose Julio (28-R .257-74-0-4-.610)
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .312-77-2-11-.879)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (25-R .319-69-7-14-1.074) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .242-66-4-13-.781)
6: LF Don Neumann (32-S .214-14-0-0-.527)
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .222-63-0-1-.544)
8: C Jim Shippy (31-R .375-8-0-2-.875)
9: P Duke McKenzie (24-R Major League debut) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Multnomah County Stadium
Weather: Roof closed
Attendance: 15,003

Top of the First:
Gus McCollum lines out to short. Bud Lisk grounds out to 2nd. Jose Naranjo lines a bullet to left for a hit. He steals 2nd. Steve Bone grounds a hit to left and Naranjo beats the throw to the plate... 1 to 0, Stars. Bobby Deaton flies out to right.

Bottom of the First:
Jack Hinckley grounds out to 1st, 3-1. Jose Julio strikes out... Shannon Kuchta lines out to left.

First time through the order we are 9 up, 9 down...

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Jose Julio grounds a hit to center. He goes to 2nd on a wild pitch, but then gets caught stealing 3rd... C Steve Bone is throwing out over 60% of the runners so far this season... He is not known for having a good arm, just a good bat. Shannon Kuchta lines a hit to left center. Glenn Snowden draws a walk. Fernando Mexicano grounds a hit to right and Kuchta scores! Tie Game: 1 to 1. Don Neumann grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the Sixth:
Jose Naranjo leads off with a grounder up the middle for a hit. The Bullpen is up. Steve Bone hits a home run to left center... 3 to 1, Stars. With 1 out, Jerry Suazo doubles down the left field line. Call to the Bullpen: Ken Powell (30-R). We walk Larry Church intentionally... Jerry Hatcher lines a hit to center and Suazo heads home, but CF Jack Hinckley throws him out! 2 down. P Oscar Rios grounds the 9th pitch of his at bat to center for a hit and Church, the fellow we walked intentionally, scores... 4 to 1, Stars. Gus McCollum lines a hit to left and Hatcher scores... 5 to 1, Stars. Call to the Bullpen: Roy Huls (21-R), to make his Major League debut. Bud Lisk grounds out to 2nd.

Lost - 7 to 3

We had 8 hits and made 1 error
Hollywood had 12 hits and made 1 error

Duke McKenzie (L 0-1), in his Major League debut, went 5.1 innings, allowed 3 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit. It was not a great debut, but it was an upgrade over what Dick Register had been doing.
RHP Ken Powell got 1 out, allowed 2 runs, 3 hits and 1 walk (INT).
RHP Roy Huls, in his Major League debut, went 1.1 innings, allowed 1 run, 2 hits and 1 walk.
RHP Rich Larkin went 2 innings, allowed 1 unearned run, 1 hit, 2 walks and struck out 1.

Oscar Rios (W 2-1) went 8 innings, gave us 3 runs, 8 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 4.

RF Jose Julio had 2 hits and an RBI. C Jim Shippy hit a home run. PH Rich Cruz hit a double and scored a run.

For Hollywood, LF Jose Naranjo went 5 for 5 with a double, stole a base, scored 3 runs and had an RBI. C Steve Bone had 3 hits with a double and his 2nd home run of the season and had 4 RBI. He also threw out the only runner who tried to steal.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, April 23, 2002

Hollywood Stars (13-7 .650 tied for 1st place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (11-9 .550 2 GB in 3rd place in the PCL West)

HOL: Tom Walters (26-R 1-2 4.11) vs. POR: Bobby Johnson (23-R 2-0 0.83)

We have never faced Walters before. He only made 3 starts last year before a bum shoulder ended his season.

Johnson has pitched two straight shutouts and leads the PCL in ERA.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
HOLLYWOOD
1: RF Fred Rambo (25-L .240-50-0-8-.609)
2: 2B Gus McCollum (30-R .230-74-0-7-.661)
3: LF Jose Naranjo (28-R .346-81-2-9-.900) All-Star
4: C Steve Bone (27-R .373-67-2-14-.964) All-Star
5: 3B Larry Church (27-L .258-66-5-12-.843)
6: CF Jerry Suazo (27-L .333-72-0-9-.770)
7: 1B Bud Lisk (27-L .225-40-1-2-.679)
8: SS Jerry Hatcher (25-R .254-67-1-10-.663)
9: P Tom Walters (26-R .111-9-0-0-.222)

PORTLAND
1: CF Brian Mitchell (21-L .250-76-0-4-.603) Rookie
2: RF Jose Julio (28-R .269-78-0-5-.629)
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .309-81-2-11-.860)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (25-R .306-72-7-14-1.038) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .243-70-4-14-.766)
6: LF Kim Springer (21-L .284-67-1-5-.727) Rookie
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .212-66-0-1-.520)
8: C Darrell Milewski (31-R .115-52-0-2-.332)
9: P Bobby Johnson (23-R .083-12-0-0-.237)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Multnomah County Stadium
Weather: 60 F, Clear Skies, with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to left
Attendance: 15,287

Top of the First:
Fred Rambo swings at the first pitch and pops out to 3rd. Gus McCollum swings at the first pitch and pops out to left. Jose Naranjo works the count full and draws a walk. He steals 2nd. A wild pitch sends him to 3rd... A full count to Steve Bone and he swings at the payoff pitch and misses!

Bottom of the First:
Brian Mitchell swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to left. Jose Julio strikes out... Shannon Kuchta flies out to left. Glenn Snowden grounds out to 3rd.

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 2 outs, Darrell Milewski hits a home run to left! 1 to 0, Beavers! Yes, I said Darrell Milewski!

Top of the Sixth:
Fred Rambo leads off with a ground ball double down the left field line. Gus McCollum lines a hit to right and Rambo scores and McCollum goes to 2nd on the throw... Tie game: 1 to t. The Bullpen is up. We walk Jose Naranjo intentionally.... Steve Bone grounds into a 4-6-3 double play and McCollum goes to 3rd. First time I have seen the intentional walk lead to a double play. Still do not like the play... Larry Church grounds out to 1st, 3-1!

Top of the Eighth:
Rich Cruz is in to play short. P Tom Walters leads off with a ground ball up the middle for a hit... Fred Rambo grounds into a 4-6-3 double play! Gus McCollum triples to right center... Call to the Bullpen: Jeff Gleason (25-R). We walk Jose Naranjo intentionally again... Steve Bone lines a hit to left and McCollum scores... 2 to 1, Stars. Our Bullpen just flat out sucks... Larry Church lines a hit to left and Naranjo, the intentional walk, scores... 3 to 1, Stars. Jerry Suazo grounds a hit to left and the bases are loads with 2 outs... Even a crappy Bullpen should not be giving up base runners at the rate we are of late.... This is unreal... Call to the Bullpen: Mike Wagner (30-R). Bud Lisk grounds out to the pitcher.

Bottom of the Ninth:
On the Hill: Gerry Sullivan (25-R), their closer. Acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh in November. 3 SV and a win and has not allowed a run yet this year in 7.1 IP. Glenn Snowden draws a walk. Fernando Mexicano doubles to center! Kim Springer takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with no outs! Rich Cruz swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit to center and Snowden scores! 3 to 2, Beavers! Darrell Milewski grounds into a force at home, 5-2. PH Rick Woodell (30-L) is sent up. He is only 2 for 16 (.125) on the season and due for a hit... He grounds into a force at home, 4-2.... 2 outs. Brian Mitchell pops out to short...

Lost - 3 to 2

3 swings to win the game and we come up empty....
4th straight series to end in a sweep for one side or the other.

We had 8 hits and made no errors
Hollywood had 10 hits and made no errors

Bobby Johnson (L 2-1) went 7.2 innings, allowed 2 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks (1 INT) and struck out 5. He threw a WP. At bat, he drew a walk. Maybe I should have stuck with him for one more batter, but he was tiring and giving up hard contact. Still, he could not have done worse than Gleason did... But Gleason was the one guy left in the Pen that I had some confidence in. No more...
RHP Jeff Gleason did not retire a batter, allowed 1 run, 3 hits and 1 walk (INT).
RHP Mike Wagner went 1.1 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 2.

Tom Walters (W 2-2) went 8 innings, gave us 1 run, 6 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 4. He threw a WP. At bat, he had a hit.
Gerry Sullivan (SV 4) went 1 inning, gave us 1 run, 2 hits and 2 walks.

CF Brian Mitchell had 3 hits, but no runs scored. 3B Fernando Mexicano had 3 hits with a double, but no runs or RBI. SS Rich Cruz had a hit and an RBI in his only AB. C Darrell Milewski hit his 1st home run as a Beaver.

[Questdog]

Thursday, April 25, 2002

The San Francisco Seals are in town to play us a 4 game series through the weekend. They just won a pair of games in Oakland and have won 6 in a row. We were 5-9 against them last season. They are 11th in the PCL in scoring with 3.48 runs per game (Portland is tied for 8th with 3.62). The Seals are 3rd in fewest runs allowed with 3.29 per game (Portland is 7th with 3.71). We have given up the fewest HR of any team (9).

San Francisco Seals (14-7 .667 tied for 1st place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (11-10 .524 3 GB tied for 3rd place in the PCL West)

SF: Ricky Villa (33-R 1-1 3.74) vs. POR: Steve Muir (27-R 1-1 3.00)

Villa was 1-1 in 3 starts against us last year with 2 good games and one bad one. He pitched a 5 hitter for his 1st win last time out.

Muir won his 1st game last time out with 1 run allowed in 8 IP on 6 H and no BB.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
SAN FRANCISCO
1: RF Jerry Serrano (28-R .315-89-4-6-.820)
2: 3B Brian Dube (28-R .150-80-0-4-.375)
3: CF Clay Laurence (22-R .280-82-4-10-.871) Silver Slugger Gold Glove
4: LF Dave McDowell (31-R .250-72-4-14-.845) MVP
5: 2B Bill Webber (25-S .284-74-2-10-.774) Silver Slugger
6: 1B Mike Sorrel (26-L .281-64-1-7-.754)
7: C Bruce Jump (33-R .224-58-1-6-.592)
8: SS George Cowles (28-R .158-76-0-3-.387)
9: P Ricky Villa (33-R .200-5-0-0-.533)

PORTLAND
1: RF Jose Julio (28-R .256-82-0-5-.600)
2: CF Brian Mitchell (21-L .272-81-0-4-.639) Rookie
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .294-85-2-11-.820)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (25-R .293-75-7-14-1.006) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .270-74-4-14-.816)
6: LF Kim Springer (21-L .271-70-1-5-.706) Rookie
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .206-68-0-1-.506)
8: C Darrell Milewski (31-R .125-56-1-3-.397)
9: P Steve Muir (27-R .125-8-0-1-.250)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Multnomah County Stadium
Weather: 51 F, Clear Skies, with a 12 MPH wind blowing in from center
Attendance: 12,775

Top of the First:
Jerry Serrano grounds out to short. Brian Dube, the .150 hitter, swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to right. He steals 2nd. Clay Laurence beats out an infield hit. Dave McDowell pops out to 1st. Bill Webber grounds out to 1st, unassisted!

Bottom of the First:
Jose Julio grounds a hit to left. Brian Mitchell grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6. Shannon Kuchta strikes out. Glenn Snowden swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines out to 2nd.

Through 5 innings, the leadoff hit by Jose Julio is the only base runner we have had...

Top of the Eighth:
With 2 outs, P Ricky Villa doubles off the right field wall... Jerry Serrano lines a hit to right and Villa scores... 1 to 0, Seals. Call to the Bullpen: David Fuentes (25-R). Brian Dube flies out to left.

Bottom of the Ninth:
Ricky Villa still on the hill. Top of our order up. We go down 1-2-3....

Lost - 1 to 0

We had 1 whole hit and made 1 error
San Francisco had 8 hits and made 1 error

Steve Muir (L 1-2) went 7.2 innings, allowed 1 run, 7 hits, no walks and struck out 4.
RHP David Fuentes faced 1 batter and got him out.
RHP Jeff Gleason pitched 1 scoreless inning and allowed 1 hit.

Ricky Villa (W 2-1) went 9 shutout innings (CG), gave us 1 hit, 2 walks and struck out 6. At bat, he hit a double and scored the only run ofthe game.

RF Jose Julio led off the game with a hit and then we did not get another the rest of the game. He also drew one of our 2 walks.

[Questdog]

Friday, April 26, 2002

Today is P Frank Flores' 23rd birthday!

San Francisco Seals (15-7 .682 in 1st place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (11-11 .500 4 GB in 4th place in the PCL West)

SF: Mike Bennett (31-L 2-1 3.04) vs. POR: Ricardo Gil (23-R 2-1 1.93)

Bennett was acquired in a trade with Los Angeles in November. He is their #1 starter. He was 2-0 in 3 starts against us last year when he was an Angel. His last start was a shutout, but he only got the first two outs of the game and then had to leave with an injury.

Gil has allowed 2 earned runs total in his last 3 starts (24 IP).

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
SAN FRANCISCO
1: RF Jerry Serrano (28-R .312-93-4-7-.806)
2: 3B Brian Dube (28-R .155-84-0-4-.381)
3: CF Clay Laurence (22-R .291-86-4-10-.876) Silver Slugger Gold Glove
4: LF Dave McDowell (31-R .250-76-4-14-.827) MVP
5: 2B Bill Webber (25-S .282-78-2-10-.760) Silver Slugger
6: 1B Mike Sorrel (26-L .265-68-1-7-.714)
7: C Bruce Jump (33-R .213-61-1-6-.564)
8: SS George Cowles (28-R .165-79-0-3-.397)
9: P Mike Bennett (31-L .125-8-0-0-.250)

PORTLAND
1: RF Jose Julio (28-R .259-85-0-5-.609)
2: CF Jack Hinckley (26-R .200-25-1-1-.591)
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .281-89-2-11-.784)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (25-R .282-78-7-14-.969) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .263-76-4-14-.803)
6: LF Don Neumann (32-S .158-19-0-0-.396)
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .200-70-0-1-.492)
8: C Darrell Milewski (31-R .121-58-1-3-.385)
9: P Ricardo Gil (23-L .000-8-0-0-.000)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Multnomah County Stadium
Weather: 56 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 7 MPH wind blowing in from center
Attendance: 17,785

Top of the First:
Jerry Serrano swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short. Brian Dube lays down a bunt, but P Ricardo Gil is on it and gets the out, 1-3. Clay Laurence grounds out to short! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Jose Julio swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 2nd. No lead off hit this time; does that mean we won't get any? Jack Hinckley swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines a hit to left center! Shannon Kuchta swings at the first pitch and pops out to left. Glenn Snowden strikes out...

Bottom of the Second:
Fernando Mexicano lines an 0-2 pitch down the left field line for a hit. Don Neumann draws a walk. Dave Risinger grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4, and Mexicano goes to 3rd. Darrell Milewski swings at a 3-2 pitch with Risinger on the move and strikes out... Risinger is safe at 2nd with a steal. P Ricardo Gil strikes out looking...

Top of the Third:
Bruce Jump gets a lead off walk... George Cowles pops one up to shallow center and everyone stands around and watches it fall for a hit... P Mike Bennett bunts the runners up. Jerry Serrano hits a fly ball to deep center and Jack Hinckley drops it for an error.... Jump scores. 1 to 0, Seals. Brian Dube flies out to center and Hinckley makes the catch this time, but Cowles tags up and scores. 2 to 0, Seals. Serrano steals 2nd and C Darrell Milewski throws the ball into center and Serrano goes to 3rd... We are a joke on defense... Clay Laurence swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to 1st, 3-1.

Bottom of the Third:
With 2 outs, Shannon Kuchta walks on 4 pitches. Glenn Snowden crushes one 432 feet to left center for a 2 run home run!! Tie Game: 2 to 2. Fernando Mexicano blasts one 421 feet to right!!! 3 to 2, Beavers!

Top of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Brian Dube doubles to left center, only the second hit of the day by the Seals. We do not have to wait long for number three as Clay Laurence grounds it up the middle and Dube scores. Tie game: 3 all. The Bullpen is up. Laurence gets thrown out stealing by C Darrell Milewski! Dave McDowell, last year's MVP, swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses!

Top of the Eighth:
On the Hill: Rich Larkin (22-R), beginning his second inning of work after a perfect 7th. With 2 outs, Jerry Serrano and Brian Dube both hit singles and then Clay Laurence hits a home run to left.... 6 to 3, Seals. I do not think it is possible for a Bullpen to be this bad... Dave McDowell hits a home run to left... 7 to 3, Seals. Bill Webber doubles to right... Call to the Bullpen: Ken Powell (30-R). Mike Sorrel flies out to right.

Lost - 7 to 3

We had 7 hits and made 2 errors
San Francisco had 8 hits and made 1 error

Ricardo Gil went 6 innings, allowed 3 runs (1 earned), 3 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1.
RHP Rich Larkin (L 1-1) went 1.2 innings, allowed 4 runs, 5 hits, 2 home runs and struck out 1.
THP Ken Powell faced 1 batter and got him out.
RHP Roy Huls went 1 scoreless inning and allowed 1 walk.

Mike Bennett went 6 innings, gave us 3 runs, 4 hits, 2 home runs, 5 walks (1 INT) and struck out 3.
LHP Bruce Thompson (W 1-0) pitched a scoreless inning, gave us 1 hit and a 1 walk and struck out 1. He threw a WP.

CF Jack Hinckley had 2 hits, but made an error and got caught stealing. 2B Shannon Kuchta drew 2 walks, believe it or not, and scored a run. 1B Glenn Snowden hit his 8th home run of the season and had 2 RBI. 3B Fernando Mexicano had 2 hits with his 5th home run. LF Don Neumann had a hit and drew a walk. SS Dave Risinger drew a walk and stole 2 bases. C Darrell Milewski drew 2 walks (1 INT) and threw out 2 of 3 base stealers. PH/SS Rick Woodell drew a walk.

For San Francisco, CF Clay Laurence had 2 hits with his 5th home run and 4 RBI.

[Questdog]

Saturday, April 27, 2002

San Francisco Seals (16-7 .696 in 1st place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (11-12 .478 5 GB in 4th place in the PCL West)

SF: Dave Batts (35-R 1-3 6.94) vs. POR: Frank Flores (22-R 3-1 1.36) Rookie

I know Batts looks like he might not be the best pitcher ever, but he did not look like the best pitcher ever last year either, when he ended up 8-17 with a 5.54 ERA. But he was 3-0 in 4 starts against us...

Flores allowed 1 run and 4 hits in a CG last time out.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
SAN FRANCISCO
1: RF Jerry Serrano (28-R .306-98-4-8-.786)
2: 3B Brian Dube (28-R .172-87-0-5-.422)
3: CF Clay Laurence (22-R .300-90-5-14-.915) Silver Slugger Gold Glove
4: LF Dave McDowell (31-R .253-79-5-15-.867) MVP
5: 2B Bill Webber (25-S .280-82-2-10-.760) Silver Slugger
6: 1B Mike Sorrel (26-L .250-72-1-7-.678)
7: C Bruce Jump (33-R .203-64-1-6-.549)
8: SS George Cowles (28-R .169-83-0-3-.402)
9: P Dave Batts (35-L .200-5-0-0-.400)

PORTLAND
1: RF Jose Julio (28-R .256-90-0-5-.598)
2: CF Brian Mitchell (21-L .256-86-0-4-.603) Rookie
3: 1B Rick Woodell (30-L .111-18-0-1-.357)
4: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .272-81-5-15-.839)
5: LF Kim Springer (21-L .257-74-1-5-.669) Rookie
6: 2B Duffy Bowermaster (29-L .083-12-1-2-.487)
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .194-72-0-1-.488)
8: C Darrell Milewski (31-R .119-59-1-3-.401)
9: P Frank Flores (23-R .250-12-0-3-.558) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Multnomah County Stadium
Weather: Roof Closed
Attendance: 14,809

Top of the First:
Jerry Serrano swings at a 3-2 pitch and lobs a hit to left. Brian Dube swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds one down to 3rd, but Fernando Mexicano boots it... Clay Laurence draws a walk to load the bases up with no outs... Dave McDowell swings at the 1st pitch and lines a hit to left center and 2 runs score... 2 to 0, Seals. Bill Webber hits a home run to right... 5 to 0, Seals. Isn't this fun! Mike Sorrel flies out to center and we finally have an out. Bruce Jump draws a walk... The Bullpen is up. George Cowles flies out to center. P Dave Batts grounds one down to 3rd and Mexicano makes the play this time...

Bottom of the First:
Jose Julio bloops a hit to center. Brian Mitchell fouls off a pair of pitches and then watches strike three go by... Rick Woodell pops out to short. Fernando Mexicano flies out to right.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Brian Mitchell leads off with an infield single. Rick Woodell grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6, and then steals 2nd, down by 5 runs.... At least he is safe. Fernando Mexicano hits a 441 ft. blast to right center!! 5 to 2, Seals. With 2 outs, Duffy Bowermaster triples to left center, but Dave Risinger grounds out to 2nd.

Lost - 6 to 4

We had 10 hits and made 1 error
San Francisco had 6 hits and made no errors

Frank Flores (L 3-2) went 3 innings, allowed 5 runs (4 earned), 4 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out no one.
RHP Ken Powell went 2 innings, allowed 1 run, 2 hits and struck out 1.
RHP Mike Wagner went 2 perfect innings and struck out 4.
RHP David Fuentes went 2 perfect innings and struck out 2.

Dave Batts (W 2-3) went 8 innings, gave us 4 runs, 9 hits, 2 home runs, 1 walk and struck out 4. He threw a WP.
RHP Duane Paxton (SV 7) pitched a scoreless 9th and gave us 1 hit.

RF Jose Julio had 2 hits and a walk and scored a run. CF Brian Mitchell had 2 hits with a double. 3B Fernando Mexicano hit his 6th home run of the season and had 2 RBI. 2B Duffy Bowermaster hit a triple. PH/1B Glenn Snowden hit his 9th home run.

For San Francisco, 2B Bill Webber had 2 hits with his 3rd home run and 4 RBI.

[Questdog]

Sunday, April 28, 2002

Today is Duffy Bowermaster's 30th birthday!

San Francisco Seals (17-7 .708 in 1st place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (11-13 .458 6 GB in 4th place in the PCL West)

SF: Mike Evans (26-R 3-1 2.21) vs. POR: Bobby Johnson (23-R 2-1 1.12)

Evans was 1-0 in 3 starts against us last season, with 1 clunker. He has won his last 2 starts, allowing only 9 H in 16 IP.

Johnson took his first loss of the season last time out, but pitched well. He allowed 2 runs and 6 H in 7.2 IP. He currently leads the PCL in ERA.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
SAN FRANCISCO
1: RF Jerry Serrano (28-R .314-102-4-8-.794)
2: 3B Brian Dube (28-R .165-91-0-5-.404)
3: CF Clay Laurence (22-R .290-93-5-14-.892) Silver Slugger Gold Glove
4: LF Dave McDowell (31-R .265-83-5-17-.884) MVP
5: 2B Bill Webber (25-S .291-86-3-14-.806) Silver Slugger
6: 1B Mike Sorrel (26-L .237-76-1-7-.645)
7: C Bruce Jump (33-R .194-67-1-6-.536)
8: SS George Cowles (28-R .161-87-0-3-.384)
9: P Mike Evans (26-R .167-12-0-3-.417)

PORTLAND
1: RF Jose Julio (28-R .266-94-0-5-.621)
2: CF Brian Mitchell (21-L .267-90-0-4-.631) Rookie
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .272-92-2-11-.774)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (.282-85-9-17-1.008) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Rick Woodell (30-L .136-22-0-1-.382)
6: LF Kim Springer (21-L .256-78-1-5-.660) Rookie
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .197-76-0-1-.489)
8: C Darrell Milewski (31-R .111-63-1-3-.378)
9: P Bobby Johnson (23-R .071-14-0-0-.259)

Game Start: 1:05 PM
Ballpark: Multnomah County Stadium
Weather: 61 F, Overcast, with a 10 MPH wind blowing in from center.
Attendance: 16,167

Top of the First:
Jerry Serrano walks... Brian Dube almost walks, but the umpire is kind and calls a the 3-2 pitch a strike. Serrano steals 2nd. Clay Laurence swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds one up the middle, but SS Dave Risinger snatches it up and throws him out at 1st! Serrano goes to 3rd. Dave McDowell grounds out to short!

Bottom of the First:
Jose Julio strikes out... Brian Mitchell swings at the first pitch and pops out to short. Shannon Kuchta grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the Second:
With 2 outs, Bruce Jump hits a home run to left... 1 to 0, Seals.

Bottom of the Second:
Glenn Snowden leads off with a 4 pitch walk. Rick Woodell makes a bid for a hit with a grounder in the hole on the right side, but 2B Bruce Webber makes a diving stop and throws Woodell out from his knees. Snowden goes to 2nd. With 2 outs, Dave Risinger grounds a hit to left and Snowden scores! Tie game: 1 all.

Top of the Fourth:
Dave McDowell leads off and swings at the first pitch and hits a home run to left... 2 to 1, Seals. Bill Webber follows with a home run to right... 3 to 1, Seals. With 1 out, Bruce Jump doubles to center... The Bullpen is up. George Cowles lines a hit to left and Jump scores... 4 to 1, Seals.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Glenn Snowden takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Rick Woodell makes another bid for a hit with a grounder in the hole on the right side and this one gets through! Kim Springer swings at the first pitch and grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4, and Snowden goes to 3rd. Dave Risinger flies out to left and Snowden tags up and scores. 4 to 2, Seals.

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Clay Laurence lines a hit to left and then steals 2nd and 3rd on consecutive pitches... Dave McDowell beats out an infield hit and Laurence scores... 5 to 2, Seals.

Lost - 9 to 4

10 wins in a row for the Seals.
6 losses in a row for us and the 5th straight series of ours to end in a sweep.
2 to the good and 3 to the bad...

We had 8 hits (all singles) and made 1 error
San Francisco had 13 hits and made 1 error

Bobby Johnson (L 2-2) went 5 innings, allowed 5 runs, 9 hits, 3 home runs, 1 walk and struck out 3. 99 pitches.
RHP Jeff Gleason went 2 innings, allowed 4 runs (1 earned), 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 1.
RHP Roy Huls went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 walk and struck out 2.

Mike Evans (W 4-1) went 8.1 innings, gave us 4 runs (3 earned), 8 hits, 3 walks, 1 HBP and struck out 1.

1B Glenn Snowden went 2 for 2 with 2 walks and scored 2 runs. 3B Rick Woodell had 2 hits. SS Dave Risinger had a hit and 2 RBI. PH/RF Fernando Mexicano went 1 for 2.

For San Francisco, C Bruce Jump hit a double and his 2nd home run of the season and scored 3 runs. SS George Cowles, the .160 hitter, had 3 hits with a double (his 1st of the year), stole a base (his 1st of the year), scored a run and had 2 RBI.

[Questdog]

April 29, 2002

Monday Morning Report
NL Player of the Week - Dick Panos, RF, Atlanta (25-R .386/.413/.474) Had 12 hits with 1 HR, 3 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB, 1 CS, 3 R and 8 RBI in 6 G
PCL Player of the Week - Jim Jaeger, 3B, San Antonio (34-R .333/.453/.632) Had 10 hits with 1 2B, 3 HR, 9 BB, 2 SO, 5 R and 6 RBI in 6 G (2nd career PoW)

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

April 22 - Les Neal (26-L) of Toronto pitched a 5 hit shutout at home versus Boston. He did not walk a batter and struck out 6. At bat, he had a hit, scored a run and had an RBI. He is now 2-2 with a 2.33 ERA in 4 starts. The Blue Jays won, 11 to 0, and scored 10 runs in the 8th inning.
April 22 - LF Jesus Castaneda (25-L) of Cincinnati had 2 hits with a home run, a walk and had 5 RBI at home versus Miami. The Reds won, 11 to 4.
April 23 - CF Tom Boyles (23-R) of Denver had 5 hits with 2 doubles, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI at Salt Lake City. Rookie 1B/3B Colin Woodford (21-L) had 4 hits with a double and a home run and a walk, scored 2 runs and had 4 RBI. The Bears won, 14 to 2.
April 23 - Jeff Hunt (26-R) of Baltimore pitched a 2 hit shutout at New York. He walked 1 and struck out 4. 92 pitches thrown. He is now 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 5 starts. The Orioles won, 1 to 0, and only had 5 hits themselves.
April 23 - CF Bob Whitworth (26-R) had 4 hits with a double and a home run, scored 3 runs and had 4 RBI at home versus Miami. The Reds won, 14 to 3.
April 24 - Jeff Kintz (24-R) of Detroit pitched a 4 hit shutout at home versus Chicago. He walked 2 and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit and an RBI. He is now 3-1 with a 2.95 ERA in 5 starts. The Tigers won, 5 to 0.
April 26 - 3B Tony Sotelo (35-R) of Philadelphia had 3 hits with a Grand Slam, scored 2 runs and had 6 RBI at home versus Boston. The Phillies won, 13 to 3.
April 26 - Willie Jankowski (25-R) of Detroit pitched a 5 hit shutout at home versus St. Louis. He walked 2 and struck out 5. At bat, he hit a SF. He is now 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA in 5 starts. The Tigers won, 3 to 0, and only had 3 hits themselves.
April 27 - SS Alan Schaffer (31-L) of Cleveland hit 2 home runs, including a Grand Slam, drew a walk, scored 3 runs and set a new 21st century record with 8 RBI at home versus Miami in the first game of a double header. The Indians won, 16 to 3. In the nightcap, Mark Riegel (31-R) of Miami pitched a 2 hit shutout. He walked 2 and struck out 1. He is now 1-1 with a 4.80 ERA in 5 starts. The Marlins won, 4 to 0.
April 27 - 1B Alex Urias (36-L) of Boston had 3 hits with and home run, scored 3 runs and had 4 RBI at Philadelphia. The Braves won, 11 to 0.
April 28 - Ben Blachford (25-R) of Minnesota pitched a 4 hit shutout at Houston. He walked 2, hit a batter and struck out 1. It is his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 3-1 with a 2.58 ERA in 6 starts. The Twins won, 2 to 0.
April 28 - RF John Polanski (31-L) of Salt Lake City had 4 hits with 2 home runs and 4 RBI at home versus Dallas. The Bees won, 8 to 4.
April 28 - RF Gerry Elliott (29-L) of Oakland had 3 hits with a home run and 2 walks, stole a base, scored 3 runs and had 4 RBI at home versus San Diego. The Oaks won, 13 to 12, in 10 innings.
April 28 - Bob Riddick (30-R) of Philadelphia pitched a 4 hit shutout at home versus Boston. He did not walk a batter and struck out 6. At bat, he had a hit. He is now 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 6 starts. The Phillies won, 2 to 0.
April 28 - Billy Fritts (27-L) of New York pitched a no-hitter at Montreal. He did not walk a batter, but beaned the leadoff hitter in the 9th. He faced the minimum 27 batters when a GDP ended the game. He struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit. It is the 1st no-hitter in MLB this season. There were two last year. He is now 2-3 with a 2.41 ERA in 6 starts. The Giants won, 6 to 0.

Here is an oddity: No rookie in Baseball has been caught stealing more than once yet this season.

[Questdog]

Monday, April 29, 2002

Wednesday, May 1, is an off day for us and I plan to spend it making roster moves. We have a Bullpen ERA of 4.96... Something needs to be done about that. We have made the second most errors in the PCL and we have a negative Zone Rating. Something needs to be done about that. And not many of our hitters are endearing themselves to me either....

We are in Sacramento to play the Solons a short 2 game series to finish the month of April. They lost 2 of 3 in Los Angeles over the weekend. We swept them in 3 games here a couple of weeks ago, outscoring them 15 to 4. They are 15th in scoring with 3.21 runs per game (Portland is down to 12th with 3.48). We have the lowest OPS (.657) in the League. The Solons are 4th in fewest runs allowed with 3.54 per game (Portland is down to 9th with 4.04).

Portland Beavers (11-14 .440 7 GB in 4th place in the PCL West) at
Sacramento Solons (10-14 .417 7.5 GB in 5th place in the PCL West)

POR: Duke McKenzie (24-R 0-1 5.06) Rookie vs. SAC: Darrell Williams (25-R 2-3 3.31)

This will be McKenzie's 2nd Major League start. His first was not very pretty.

We scored 6 runs off Williams on 4.2 IP in the first series we played with them and beat him. He has lost 3 in a row, but in one of the losses, he only allowed 1 hit and 1 walk in 6 IP, but still managed to allow 2 earned runs without giving up a home run.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Jose Julio (28-R .265-98-0-5-.617)
2: CF Brian Mitchell (21-L .255-94-0-4-.612) Rookie
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .258-97-2-11-.735) Cold...
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (.299-87-9-17-1.041) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .276-87-6-17-.862)
6: LF Kim Springer (21-L .256-82-1-5-.653) Rookie
7: SS Rich Cruz (30-R .278-18-0-4-.722)
8: C Darrell Milewski (31-R .106-66-1-3-.372)
9: P Duke McKenzie (24-R .500-2-0-0-1.000) Rookie

SACRAMENTO
1: RF Les Olds (29-R .161-93-1-4-.478)
2: CF Harvey Turner (24-L .256-54-1-7-.657)
3: LF Dennis Rayner (27-R .354-79-2-13-.945)
4: 2B Jim Holberton (24-L .273-88-2-14-.747) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Larry Pierce (29-L .265-83-3-10-.733)
6: 1B Dale Cave (29-R .235-68-0-2-.642)
7: C Terry Bass (29-L .313-32-1-4-.963)
8: SS Angel Arana (26-R .203-79-2-11-.613)
9: P Darrell Williams (25-R .000-9-0-0-.000)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: RFK Stadium
Weather: 68 F, Partly Cloudy, with an 8 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 16,185

Top of the First:
Jose Julio swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short. Brian Mitchell grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Shannon Kuchta, 0 for his last 18, grounds out to short.

Bottom of the First:
Les Olds swings at a 3-2 pitch and flies out to left. Harvey Turner nubs one in front of the plate and is out, 2-3. Dennis Rayner swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Second:
Jim Holberton swings at the first pitch and doubles to left center. Larry Pierce gets beaned... With 1 out, Terry Bass grounds into a 4-6-3 double play!

Top of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Brian Mitchell doubles over the center fielder's head. With 2 outs, they walk Glenn Snowden intentionally to face Fernando Mexicano. I thought batting Mexicano, a lefty, behind Snowden against righties would prevent this... Anyways, Mexicano grounds a hit to right and Mitchell scores! 1 to 0, Beavers! Kim Springer grounds one to the hole on the right side, but 2B Jim Holberton shows why he won the Gold Glove last year and makes the play.

Bottom of the Eighth:
PH William Cleveland (25-L), 0 for 16 on the season, takes a 3-2 pitch and draws his 1st walk... Les Olds lines a hit to center, only the second of the game for the Solons... Pinch-runner in for Cleveland at 2nd: Eddie Dyer (26-L). Harvey Turner bunts the runners up. Dennis Rayner swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit through the drawn in infield to left and both runners score.... 2 to 1, Solons. Call to the Bullpen: Rich Larkin (22-R). Rayner is caught stealing! 2 outs. Jim Holberton takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... Larry Pierce grounds out to short.

Top of the Ninth:
New pitcher: Duane Rokita (28-R), their closer who led the League with 41 SV and had a 1.97 ERA last year, but is off to a shaky start this season. 4.22 ERA and 8 BB in 10.2 IP. 2 losses, one of them to us. Glenn Snowden leads off for us and he grounds out to short... Fernando Mexicano draws a walk. Kim Springer swings at a 3-1 pitch and doubles off the wall in center! But Mexicano stops at 3rd... PH Don Neumann (32-S) is sent up, thinking that they will walk him, but they do not and he strikes out... Now the hitter we want up there, Rick Woodell (30-L) is sent up and he grounds out to short....

Lost - 2 to 1

7 losses in a row...

We had 5 hits and made 1 error
Sacramento had 3 hits and made no errors

Duke McKenzie (L 0-2) went 7.1 innings, allowed 2 runs, 3 hits, 5 walks, 1 HBP and struck out 1.
RHP Rich Larkin got 2 outs and walked a batter.

Darrell Williams (W 3-3) went 8 innings, gave us 1 run, 4 hits, 2 walks (1 INT) and struck out 4.
RHP Duane Rokita (SV 4) pitched a scoreless 9th and gave us 1 hit and 1 walk and struck out 1.

CF Brian Mitchell had 2 hits with a double and scored our run. 3B Fernando Mexicano had a hit and a walk and our RBI. LF Kim Springer hit a double and had a walk.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, April 30, 2002

Portland Beavers (11-15 .423 7.5 GB tied for 5th place in the PCL West) at
Sacramento Solons (11-14 .440 7 GB in 4th place in the PCL West)

POR: Steve Muir (27-R 1-2 2.56) vs. SAC: Steve Gonzalez (32-R 1-0 1.13)

Muir has allowed exactly 1 run in each of his last 3 starts, but is only 1-1 in the 3 games. He has not walked a batter in his last two starts.

Gonzalez is a slacker bum that we traded to them. And he is a bum, even though he has pitched a 4 hit shutout and held us to 2 runs in 7 IP in his 2 starts. We ended up winning the game, though.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Jose Julio (28-R .265-102-0-5-.612)
2: CF Brian Mitchell (21-L .265-94-0-4-.638) Rookie
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .248-101-2-11-.706) Very cold...
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (.289-90-9-17-1.014) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Fernando Mexicano (21-L .278-90-6-18-.862)
6: LF Kim Springer (21-L .259-85-1-5-.672) Rookie
7: SS Dave Risinger (26-R .205-78-0-3-.498)
8: C Jim Shippy (31-R .364-11-1-3-1.098)
9: P Steve Muir (27-R .100-10-0-1-.200)

SACRAMENTO
1: RF Les Olds (29-R .167-96-1-4-.491)
2: CF Harvey Turner (24-L .250-56-1-7-.646)
3: LF Dennis Rayner (27-R .349-83-2-15-.925)
4: 2B Jim Holberton (24-L .275-91-2-14-.762) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Larry Pierce (29-L .259-85-3-10-.730)
6: 1B Dale Cave (29-R .225-71-0-2-.617)
7: C Mario Vasquez (26-L .235-51-2-7-.612)
8: SS Angel Arana (26-R .195-82-2-11-.592)
9: P Steve Gonzalez (32-L .000-6-0-0-.000)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: RFK Stadium
Weather: 59 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 13 MPH wind blowing out to center
Attendance: 16,373

Top of the First:
Jose Julio grounds out to the pitcher... Brian Mitchell grounds out to 3rd. Shannon Kuchta swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to left. Glenn Snowden strikes out...

Bottom of the First:
Les Olds grounds a hit to left. Harvey Turner grounds into a 4-6-3 double play! Dennis Rayner strikes out!

Top of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Fernando Mexicano beats out an infield hit. Kim Springer lines a hit to right and Mexicano goes to 3rd. Springer steals 2nd. With the infield in, Dave Risinger beats out an infield hit and Mexicano scores! 1 to 0, Beavers! Jim Shippy flies out to center and Springer tags up and scores. 2 to 0, Beavers!

Top of the Fifth:
Jose Julio beats out an infield hit and then steals 2nd. Brian Mitchell grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and Julio goes to 3rd. Shannon Kuchta lines one to center and Harvey Turner is there, but he drops the ball and Julio scores! 3 to 0, Beavers!

Bottom of the Eighth:
Mario Vasquez leads off with a 4 pitch walk... Angel Arana grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4. PH William Cleveland (25-L) strikes out. He is now 0 for 17 on the season. Les Olds, the .167 hitter, doubles down the left field line and Arana scores... 3 to 1, Beavers. Call to the Bullpen: David Fuentes (25-R). Harvey Turner walks... I am sick of this crap... Dennis Rayner, the .350 hitter, strikes out!

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Ken Powell (30-R). Jim Holberton jerks a home run down the right field line.... 3 to 2, Beavers. With 2 outs, Mario Vasquez swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!

Won - 3 to 2

Losing streak is over!

We had 6 hits and made 1 error
Sacramento had 6 hits and made 2 errors

Steve Muir (W 2-2) went 7.2 innings, allowed 1 run, 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5.
RHP David Fuentes (H 1) got 1 out, walked a batter and struck one out.
RHP Ken Powell (SV 2) went 1 inning, allowed 1 run, 1 hit, a home run and struck out 2.

Steve Gonzalez (L 1-1) went 6 innings, gave us 3 runs (2 earned), 5 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2 (both Glenn Snowden, who does not usually strike out a lot).

2B Shannon Kuchta had 2 hits with a triple and an RBI. SS Dave Risinger had a hit and a walk and an RBI.

[Questdog]

Monthly Awards for April, 2002

NL Player of the Month: Jim Wagner, lf, Washington (25-S) .348/.512/.629 89 AB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 31 BB (!!), 10 SO, 2 SB, 0 CS, 20 R, 16 RBI in 26 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: George Cann, lhp, Washington (24-L) 4-0 1.64 ERA 6 GS, 44 IP, 33 H, 2 HR, 15 BB, 27 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Luis Aranda, lhp, Cleveland (24-L) 2-1 2.93 ERA 6 GS 43 IP 48 H 4 HR 20 BB 26 SO

PCL Player of the Month: Steve Hermanson, 2b, Milwaukee (24-S) .363/.431/.598 102 AB, 7 2b, 1 3b, 5 HR, 13 BB, 11 SO, 5 SB, 4 CS, 20 R, 17 RBI in 24 G
PCL Pitcher of the Month: Al Johnson, rhp, Kansas City (21-R) 5-1 1.70 ERA 6 GS, 47.2 IP, 31 H, 3 HR, 7 BB, 33 SO (2nd career PoM)
PCL Rookie of the Month: Frank Flores, rhp, Portland (23-R) 3-2 2.25 ERA 5 GS, 36 IP, 22 H, 2 HR, 11 BB, 13 SO

[Questdog]

Wednesday, May 1, 2002

An off day for the team, but the trains are running between Vancouver (A) and Portland.

P Ken Powell (30-R) and the two rookie relievers, Rich Larkin (22-R) and Roy Huls are on their way to the Great White North. C Darrell Milewski (31-R), 3B Duffy Bowermaster (30-L), SS Dave Risinger (26-R), LF Don Neumann (32-S) and CF Brian Mitchell (21-L) are also on board the Amtrack Cascades.

On the return trip to Portland will be P Chuck Purnell (26-L), P Dick Register (28-L), P Jim Kokos (28-R), C Rick Mansoor (28-R), 1B Kurt Cunning (30-R), 2B Randy Dunaway (26-R), SS Juan Rojas (23-S) and CF Esteban Mondolfo (30-R).

That's almost 1/3 of the roster turned over.

[Questdog]

Thursday, May 2, 2002

The new look Beavers are back home to face the East Division leading Twins in a 4 game series through the weekend. We were 2-6 against them last year. They just beat Salt Lake City in two games in Minneapolis and have won 5 of their last 6. They are tied for 2nd in scoring in the PCL with 4.81 runs per game (Portland is 14th with a pathetic 3.37). We are on pace to score 546 runs on the season... The Twins lead the League in BA (.289) and 2B (49) and 3B (10). They are in a 5-way tie for last in HR (15). The Twins lead the League in fewest runs allowed with 2.96 per game (Portland is tied for 8th with 3.89). Their pitchers have allowed the fewest hits (191) and walks (66).

Minnesota Twins (18-9 .667 in 1st place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (12-15 .444 8 GB tied for 4th place in the PCL West)

MIN: Jeff McKeeman (30-R 2-1 2.56) vs. POR: Ricardo Gil (23-R 2-1 1.85)

McKeeman was 1-0 in 2 good starts against us last year, including a 3 hit shutout.

Gil is 2-0 in his last 3 starts, allowing 1 earned run in each.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
MINNESOTA
1: 3B Larry Murphy (22-R .266-109-1-12-.774)
2: LF Phil Brown (28-R .286-105-3-16-.793)
3: 2B Dave Macnaughton (29-R .362-116-3-19-.910)
4: CF Marco Manga (22-L .267-105-2-12-.710)
5: C Dave Kiehne (27-R .337-89-1-14-.852)
6: SS Dick Henry (24-S .343-102-1-11-.861)
7: 1B Dave Metcalf (26-R .289-90-2-13-.796)
8: RF Bobby Salazar (31-L .300-20-1-4-.914)
9: P Jeff McKeeman (30-R .333-12-0-2-.667)

PORTLAND
1: CF Esteban Mondolfo (30-R Season debut)
2: LF Kim Springer (21-L .258-89-1-5-.665) Rookie
3: RF Fernando Mexicano (21-L .277-94-6-18-.847)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (.277-94-9-17-.973) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Rick Woodell (30-L .185-27-0-1-.456)
6: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .257-105-2-12-.736)
7: SS Juan Rojas (23-S Season debut)
8: C Rick Mansoor (28-R .600-5-0-0-1.200)
9: P Ricardo Gil (23-L .000-9-0-0-.000)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Multnomah County Stadium
Weather: Roof Closed
Attendance: 11,132

Top of the First:
Larry Murphy strikes out! Phil Brown grounds out to the pitcher! Dave Macnaughton fouls out to 1st! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Esteban Mondolfo fouls out to 1st in his Beaver debut. Kim Springer grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Fernando Mexicano lines out to center.

Top of the Second:
With 1 out, Dave Kiehne doubles down the left field line. Dick Henry doubles down the right field line and Kiehne scores. 1 to 0, Twins. Henry steals 3rd. Dave Metcalf flies out to left and Henry tags up and scores. 2 to 0, Twins.

Bottom of the Second:
Glenn Snowden leads off with a 436 ft. blast to straight away center! 2 to 1, Twins.

Bottom of the Third:
With 2 outs, Fernando Mexicano hits one 427 ft. to right center! Tie game: 2 to 2!

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, RF Fernando Mexicano makes a diving catch for out #2 and and LF Kim Springer makes a great running catch for out #3, but he does not get up off the grass.... Trudy the Trainer heads out...

Bottom of the Fifth:
Esteban Mondolfo nubs one in front of the plate, but C Dave Kiehne fumbles the ball for an error! Mondolfo steals 2nd. PH Jose Julio (28-R) grounds out to 3rd. He'll stay in the game to play RF and Fernando Mexicano will move to left. Mexicano grounds out to short and Mondolfo goes to 3rd. Glenn Snowden grounds out to short...

Bottom of the Sixth:
Rick Woodell takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. With 1 out, Juan Rojas grounds a hit to left and Woodell beats the throw to 3rd! Rick Mansoor swings at the first pitch and flies out to deep right and Woodell trots home! 3 to 2, Beavers! P Ricardo Gil lines a hit to left! Esteban Mondolfo grounds out to short.

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 1 out, Fernando Mexicano lines a hit to left. Glenn Snowden grounds a hit to center and Mexicano takes 3rd. Rick Woodell lines one to deep left center. LF Phil Brown makes a great running catch, but Mexicano trots home! 4 to 2, Beavers! Shannon Kuchta gets called out on strikes and argues the call and gets tossed from the game... Randy Dunaway (26-R) will make his Major League debut at 2nd in the 8th.

Top of the Eighth:
With 1 out, Bobby Salazar hits a home run to left... 4 to 3, Beavers. PH Larry Scherer (31-L). 1 for 7 (.143) on the season, grounds a hit to left. Call to the Bullpen: Mike Wagner (30-R). Larry Murphy, who struck out all 3 times against Gil and should have faced him one more time, draws a walk... That's my bad... Phil Brown lines a hit to left and Scherer scores.... Tie game: 4 to 4. Some Bullpen we got... Dave Macnaughton grounds into a force at 2nd, 1-6, and Murphy goes to 3rd. Call to the Bullpen: Dick Register (28-L). Marco Manga swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to 1st, 3-1!

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Jeff Gleason (25-R). Jack Hinckley is in to play center. Dave Kiehne takes a 3-2 pitch for strike three! Dick Henry strikes out! Dave Metcalf flies out to center! I wanted to send Gleason to Vancouver (A), but there was no else pitching well down there to take his place.

Bottom of the Ninth:
On the Hill: Joe Sarette (29-R), beginning his 2nd full inning of work after a scoreless 8th. Jose Julio strikes out looking... Fernando Mexicano strikes out... Glenn Snowden swings at a 3-2 pitch and comes up empty...

Extras!

Top of the Tenth:
The Twins go down 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Tenth:
New Pitcher: Randy Bergman (35-R), their closer with a 2.89 ERA. 0 BB and 14 SO in 9.1 IP, but 12 H. Rick Woodell swings at a 3-2 pitch and strikes out... Randy Dunaway, in his 1st Major League AB, strikes out... Juan Rojas flies out to deep center.

Top of the Eleventh:
With 1 out, Dave Macnaughton grounds a hit to left. Marco Manga strikes out! Macnaughton tries to steal, but C Rick Mansoor throws him out!

Bottom of the Eleventh:
With 2 outs, PH Rich Cruz (30-R) lines a hit to right. Jose Julio pops out to center.

Top of the Twelfth:
New Pitcher: David Fuentes (25-R). Dave Kiehne doubles to center... Dick Henry takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... Dave Metcalf bunts the runners up. Bobby Salazar strikes out! PH Doug Barton (27-L), a rookie who is 0 for 1 in his career, grounds out to short!!!

Bottom of the Twelfth:
New Pitcher: Jack Hauber (32-L), with 6 scoreless innings so far this year with only 2 H and 1 BB allowed. Fernando Mexicano swings at a 1-2 pitch and hits it over the wall in left center!!!!! And THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!!!!!

Won - 5 to 4

We had 10 hits and made no errors
Minnesota had 8 hits and made 3 errors

Ricardo Gil went 7.1 innings, allowed 4 runs, 5 hits, 1 home run, no walks and struck out 6. 4 of 5 base runners score... At bat, he had a hit.
Mike Wagner (BS 1) got 1 out, allowed 1 hit and 1 walk.
LHP Dick Register faced 1 batter and got him out.
RHP Jeff Gleason went 3 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 5.
RHP David Fuentes (W 1-0) went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and 1 walk and struck out 1.

Jeff McKeeman went 7 innings, gave us 4 runs, 7 hits, 2 home runs, 2 walks (1 INT) and struck out 3.
LHP Jack Hauber (L 0-1) faced 1 batter and allowed a home run.

CF Esteban Mondolfo, in his Beaver debut, went 0 for 4 and stole a base. PH Rich Cruz had a hit. RF/LF Fernando Mexicano had 3 hits with 2 home runs, including the game ender, and scored 3 runs. He has 8 home runs on the season. 1B Glenn Snowden had 2 hits with his 10th home run. 2B Randy Dunaway, in his Major League debut, struck out in his only AB. SS Juan Rojas, in his season debut, had 2 hits. C Rick Mansoor had a hit and a walk (INT) and a SF.

Trudy's report on Kim Springer is back spasms that she thinks will bother him for about a week.

[Questdog]

Friday, May 3, 2002

Minnesota Twins (18-10 .643 tied for 1st place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (13-15 .464 8 GB tied for 4th place in the PCL West)

MIN: Ben Blachford (26-R 3-1 2.58) vs. POR: Bobby Johnson (23-R 2-2 1.99)

We have not faced Blachford before. He pitched a 4 hit shutout his last start.

Johnson has lost his last two starts and was hit very hard in his latest outing: 5 R, 9 H, 3 HR in 5 IP.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
MINNESOTA
1: 3B Larry Murphy (22-R .257-113-1-12-.753)
2: LF Phil Brown (28-R .282-110-3-17-.776)
3: 2B Dave Macnaughton (29-R .355-121-3-19-.889)
4: CF Marco Manga (22-L .255-110-2-12-.680)
5: C Dave Kiehne (27-R .340-94-1-14-.871)
6: SS Dick Henry (24-S .340-106-1-12-.862)
7: 1B Dave Metcalf (26-R .280-93-2-14-.768)
8: RF Dick Turner (26-R .184-49-0-5-.420)
9: P Ben Blachford (26-R .333-15-0-0-.733)

PORTLAND
1: RF Jose Julio (28-R .252-111-0-5-.582)
2: CF Esteban Mondolfo (30-R .000-4-0-0-.000)
3: LF Fernando Mexicano (21-L .290-100-8-20-.915)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (.283-99-10-18-.995) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Rick Woodell (30-L .167-30-0-2-.429)
6: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .248-109-2-12-.709)
7: SS Juan Rojas (23-S .400-5-0-0-.800)
8: C Rick Mansoor (28-R .500-8-0-1-1.000)
9: P Bobby Johnson (23-R .067-15-0-0-.243)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Multnomah County Stadium
Weather: Roof Closed
Attendance: 12,270

Top of the First:
Larry Murphy beats out an infield hit... Phil Brown flies out to center. Murphy steals 2nd. Dave Macnaughton flies out to center. Marco Mango strikes out!!

Bottom of the First:
Jose Julio grounds a 2-2 pitch to center for a hit. Esteban Mondolfo hits a slow roller to 3rd and Larry Murphy charges it and tries to make a play at 2nd, but throws the ball away for an error. Fernando Mexicano flies out to center and Julio tags up and beats the throw to 3rd. Glenn Snowden crushes one, but hits it right to the right fielder. Julio holds at 3rd. Rick Woodell swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit to center and Julio scores and Mondolfo goes to 3rd! 1 to 0, Beavers! Shannon Kuchta grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the Third:
Dick Turner leads off with a double to center. If you are hitting under .200, come see the Beavers and we'll get you some hits! P Ben Blachford bunts the runner to 3rd. P Bobby Johnson balks home the run... Tie game: 1 to 1. With 2outs, Phil Brown beats out an infield hit. He steals 2nd and goes to 3rd when C Rick Mansoor throws the ball into center field... Dave Macnaughton hits a home run to right... 3 to 1, Twins. Marco Mango lines a hit to right. He steals 2nd and C Rick Mansoor throws the ball into center field again... Dave Kiehne pops out to short.

Top of the Fourth:
Dick Henry reaches on a throwing error by 2b Shannon Kuchta. Dave Metcalf grounds a hit to center. Dick Turner grounds into a 6-4-3 double play and Henry goes to 3rd. P Ben Blachford beats out an infield hit and Henry scores... Really? 4 to 1, Twins.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Shannon Kuchta walks on 4 pitches and Juan Rojas grounds a hit to left. But the next three make outs...

Bottom of the Fifth:
Esteban Mondolfo walks on 4 pitches and Fernando Mexicano hits a home run to right!! 4 to 3, Twins.

Top of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Jim Kokos (28-R). P Ben Blachford doubles to left center... We walk Larry Murphy intentionally.... Phil Brown grounds into a force at 2nd, 3-6, and Blachford goes to 3rd. Brown tries to steal and C Rick Mansoor throws him out! 2 down. Dave Macnaughton grounds out to 2nd!!!!

Lost - 8 to 3

Our wonderful Bullpen again....

We had 7 hits and made 3 errors
Minnesota had 13 hits and made 1 error

Bobby Johnson (L 2-3) went 6 innings, allowed 4 runs (3 earned), 9 hits, 1 home run, no walks and struck out 1. He balked. At bat, he had a hit. Three straight losses and two straight rough outings.
RHP Jim Kokos went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and 1 walk (INT).
LHP Dick Register faced 1 batter and struck him out.
RHP Mike Wagner went 1.2 innings, allowed 4 runs, 3 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 2.

Ben Blachford (W 4-1) went 8 innings, gave us 3 runs (2 earned), 7 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 3.

RF Jose Julio had a hit and a walk and scored a run. LF Fernando Mexicano had 2 hits with his 9th home run of the season and 2 RBI. C Rick Mansoor hit a double. He threw out 2 of 5 base runners, but also made 2 throwing errors.

For Minnesota, 2B Dave Macnaughton hit a double and 2 home runs and had 5 RBI.

[Questdog]

Saturday, May 4, 2002

RP Mike Wagner (30-R) has been sent to Vancouver (A) and RP Garry Ayers (29-R) has been recalled.

Minnesota Twins (19-10 .655 tied for 1st place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (13-16 .448 9 GB tied for 4th place in the PCL West)

MIN: Carl Jones (28-R 2-2 5.74) vs. POR: Frank Flores (23-R 3-2 2.25) Rookie

We were 2-0 against Jones last season, though he pitched 1 good game.

Flores only made it through 3 innings last time out, allowing 5 runs.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
MINNESOTA
1: 3B Larry Murphy (22-R .259-116-1-12-.760)
2: LF Phil Brown (28-R .287-115-3-18-.777)
3: 2B Dave Macnaughton (29-R .365-126-5-24-.957)
4: CF Marco Manga (22-L .252-115-2-12-.668)
5: C Dave Kiehne (27-R .327-98-1-14-.837)
6: SS Dick Henry (24-S .336-110-1-12-.850)
7: 1B Dave Metcalf (26-R .289-97-2-14-.777)
8: RF Carlos Alvarez (24-R .211-38-0-4-.612)
9: P Carl Jones (28-R .200-10-0-2-.573)

PORTLAND
1: RF Jose Julio (28-R .252-115-0-5-.585)
2: CF Esteban Mondolfo (30-R .000-7-0-0-.125)
3: LF Fernando Mexicano (21-L .298-104-9-22-.947)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (.272-103-10-18-.958) All-Star Gold Glove
5: 3B Rick Woodell (30-L .176-34-0-3-.437)
6: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .241-112-2-12-.697)
7: SS Juan Rojas (23-S .333-9-0-0-.667)
8: C Rick Mansoor (28-R .417-12-0-1-.929)
9: P Frank Flores (23-R .250-12-0-3-.558)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Multnomah County Stadium
Weather: Roof Closed
Attendance: 11,728

Top of the First:
Larry Murphy swings at the first pitch and knocks it off the left field wall... Fernando Mexicano has trouble running the ball down and Murphy circles the bases with an inside the park home run.... 1 to 0, Twins. Phil Brown flies out to left. Dave Macnaughton flies out to the warning track in center. Marco Manga swings at the first pitch and flies out to left.

Bottom of the First:
Jose Julio grounds out to short. Esteban Mondolfo lines out hard to right. Fernando Mexicano takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Glenn Snowden flies out to the warning track in right.

Top of the Seventh:
Dave Macnaughton leads off with a double to center. The Bullpen is up. Marco Manga is walked intentionally... Dave Kiehne grounds a hit to left and the bases are loaded with no outs.... Dick Henry takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to force in a run.... 2 to 0, Twins. Call to the Bullpen: Jeff Gleason (25-R). Dave Metcalf beats out an infield hit and another run scores... 3 to 0, Twins. Carlos Alvarez swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses and we finally have an out. P Carl Jones beats out an infield hit and another run is in... Unbelievable... 4 to 0, Twins. Larry Murphy takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... 5 to 0, Twins. I am going to go find some rope real quick.... brb....

Lost - 5 to 1

We had 5 whole hits and made no errors
Minnesota had 7 hits and made no errors

Another bum pitcher shuts us down....

Frank Flores (L 3-3) went 6+ innings, allowed 5 runs, 4 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks (1 INT) and struck out 2.
RHP Jeff Gleason went 1 scoreless inning (of his own runners - he let all 3 that were on base when he entered the game score), allowed 2 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.
LHP Chuck Purnell, in his Major League debut, pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 1.

Carl Jones (W 3-2) went 8.1 innings, gave us 1 run, 5 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks, 1 HBP and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit and an RBI.

3B Rick Woodell hit a double. 2B Shannon Kuchta hit a double and his 3rd home run of the season. PH Kurt Cunning drew a walk. PH Randy Dunaway drew a walk.

[Questdog]

Sunday, May 5, 2002

Minnesota Twins (20-10 .667 tied for 1st place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (13-17 .433 10 GB tied for 6th place in the PCL West)

MIN: Jorge Vela (32-L 4-1 1.09) vs. POR: Steve Muir (27-R 2-2 2.29)

Vela was 2-0 against us last year. He currently leads the PCL in ERA.

Muir has had 4 straight starts where he has allowed exactly 1 run.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
MINNESOTA
1: 3B Larry Murphy (22-R .261-119-1-12-.792)
2: LF Phil Brown (28-R .275-120-3-18-.745)
3: 2B Dave Macnaughton (29-R .369-130-5-24-.965)
4: CF Marco Manga (22-L .246-118-2-12-.657)
5: SS Dick Henry (24-S .327-113-1-13-.833)
6: 1B Dave Metcalf (26-R .297-101-2-15-.785)
7: RF Carlos Alvarez (24-R .190-42-0-4-.560)
8: C Darrell Sommerville (24-L .214-14-0-1-.598) Rookie
9: P Jorge Vela (32-L .188-16-0-2-.375)

PORTLAND
1: RF Jose Julio (28-R .242-120-0-5-.561)
2: CF Esteban Mondolfo (30-R .091-11-0-0-.258)
3: 2B Shannon Kuchta (24-R .250-116-3-13-.741)
4: 1B Glenn Snowden (.264-106-10-18-.937) All-Star Gold Glove
5: LF Fernando Mexicano (21-L .290-107-9-22-.927)
6: SS Juan Rojas (23-S .333-12-0-0-.718)
7: 3B Rich Cruz (30-R .273-22-0-4-.684)
8: C Jim Shippy (31-R .308-13-1-4-.950)
9: P Steve Muir (27-R .077-13-0-1-.154)

Game Start: 1:05 PM
Ballpark: Multnomah County Stadium
Weather: Roof Closed
Attendance: 11,930

Top of the First:
Larry Murphy grounds out to the pitcher! Phil Brown pops out to short. Dave Macnaughton doubles down the left field line... Marco Manga, who had a .920 OPS last year at age 21, flies out to left!

Bottom of the First:
Jose Julio grounds out to 3rd. Esteban Mondolfo lines out to 3rd. Shannon Kuchta swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 3rd.

First time through the order we are 9 up, 9 down...

Bottom of the Fourth:
Jose Julio leads off with a grounder to left for a hit. With 1 out, he steals 2nd. With 2 outs, Glenn Snowden swings at a 3-0 pitch and lines a hit to right and Julio scores! 1 to 0, Beavers!

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Rich Cruz takes a 4 pitch walk. Jim Shippy grounds a hit to left. P Steve Muir is up and on the first pitch to him the corners are charging to field a bunt, but we do not bunt! He takes the pitch and we pull off a double steal! Now the infield plays in and Muir grounds one through the right side for a hit and Cruz scores! 2 to 0, Beavers! Jose Julio fouls out to 1st... 2 outs. Esteban Mondolfo swings at the first pitch and triples to left center! 2 runs are in! 4 to 0, Beavers! We cannot score off pitchers with ERA's over 5, but we can hit them when their ERA's are almost 1! Uh, oh... Mondolfo calls out Trudy the Trainer... Pinch-runner: Jack Hinckley, who will stay in to play center. Shannon Kuchta grounds a hit to center and Hinckley scores! 5 to 0, Beavers! That does it for P Jorge Vela. New Pitcher: Chris Baillargeon (33-R), with a 1.35 ERA and 9 SO in 6.2 IP. Glenn Snowden flies out to right.

Won - 5 to 1

An error by SS Juan Rojas led to an unearned run in the 9th to spoil the shutout, but now P Steve Muir has 5 straight games of allowing exactly 1 run!

We had 7 hits and made 2 errors
Minnesota had 5 hits and made no errors

Steve Muir (W 3-2) went 9 innings (CG), allowed 1 unearned run, 5 hits, no walks and struck out 5. At bat, he had a hit, scored a run and had an RBI. He has allowed 1 total walk in his last 4 starts.

Jorge Vela (L 4-2) went 4.2 innings, gave us 5 runs, 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 1.

CF Esteban Mondolfo hit a triple and had 2 RBI. PR/CF Jack Hinckley scored a run. 1B Glenn Snowden had a hit and a walk and an RBI. 3B Rich Cruz had a hit and a walk, stole a base and scored a run.

Trudy's report on Esteban Mondolfo is a strained oblique that will take about 3 weeks to heal. He can play, but he's not that good to be effective when injured...

The Twins announced that RP Mike Cheney (28-R), injured during the game, had mild shoulder inflammation that would bother him for about a week.