The Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League (MLB)

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Questdog

[B]Monday, September 24, Year I

3B Ivan Gallegas (34-R) of Denver currently is in line to win the Triple Crown!

Mike Nackley gets no love 'round here ...!

[Questdog]

Monday, September 24, Year I

Home, Sweet, Home! We are back in Portland to finish out the regular season with 6 more games. First up will be the Los Angeles Angels for a 3 game series. They lost 2 of 3 in San Diego over the weekend, but beat us 2 of 3 in L.A. before that. We are 8-7 against them on the season and beat them 2 of 3 the last time they came calling, June 26-28. They are tied with us for 9th in scoring in the PCL with 3.93 runs per game. They are 1 HR shy of leading the League (145), but last in BA (.234). They are 5th in fewest runs allowed with 3.84 per game (Portland is still #1 with 3.39).

Los Angeles Angels (77-79 .494 14 GB in 2nd place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (91-65 .583 in 1st place in the PCL West)

LA: Ricardo Avalos (24-R 8-13 4.58) Rookie vs. POR: Johnny Maskell (24-R 4-8 4.15) Rookie

Avalos was the #7 prospect this past Spring. We are 2-1 against him this season, but he has gone at least 7 innings every time.

After losing 5 in a row, Maskell pitched a 3 hit CG last time out and won.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
LOS ANGELES
1: Ron Nachman (28-L .317-605-27-96-.904) All-Star
2: LF Rich Cox (29-L .233-120-1-9-.593)
3: RF Billy Shiyou (32-L .201-388-13-44-.604)
4: 3B David Aytes (30-R .218-559-23-74-.688) 2 for 3 with a HR vs Maskell
5: C Willie Hernandez (29-L .260-435-9-48-.698)
6: SS Bobby Chubb (24-R .262-187-3-11-.671) Rookie
7: 1B Chip Klinefelter (25-R .260-169-3-19-.720)
8: 2B Bob Duncan (33-R .238-445-9-40-.674)
9: P Ricardo Avalos (24-L .111-54-0-3-.239) Rookie #7 prospect

PORTLAND
1: LF Howard McNeal (30-R .246-342-8-35-.681)
2: RF Woody Griesbach (23-R .254-67-2-6-.744) Rookie
3: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .263-467-11-49-.728) Rookie
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .272-485-17-80-.783)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .262-564-8-54-.678)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .235-541-15-69-.671)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .221-140-1-12-.569)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .212-264-2-29-.545) Rookie
9: P Johnny Maskell (24-R .206-34-0-4-.471) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: Roof Closed
Attendance: 19,748

Top of the First:
Ron Nachman strikes out!! Rich Cox lines a hit to left and then steals 2nd. Billy Shiyou grounds out to short and Cox goes to 3rd. David Aytes swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle and Cox scores. 1 to 0, Angels. Willie Hernandez strikes out.

Bottom of the First:
Howard McNeal swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 3rd. Woody Griesbach swings at the first pitch and drives one high and deep to left, but not quite deep enough. Jeff Schottler grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Woody Griesbach leads off with a hit, steals 2nd and goes to 3rd on a deep fly ball by Jeff Schottler. Randy James flies out to shallow center and Griesbach has to hold... Gary Long grounds out to short...

Top of the Sixth:
With 2 outs, David Aytes hits a home run to right center. 2 to 0, Angels.

Bottom of the Sixth:
PH Dale Ainsworth (27-L) and Howard McNeal get us started with back-to-back singles. Woody Griesbach flies out to the warning track in center and Ainsworth tags up and moves to 3rd. Jeff Schottler grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6, and Ainsworth scores. 2 to 1, Angels. Schottler steals 2nd and then Randy James singles to left and Schottler heads home. The throw by Cox makes Gary Long vacate the on deck circle and James goes to 2nd on the throwing error! Tied at 2! Gary Long lines a hit to center and James scores! 3 to 2, Beavers! The most runs we have scored in a week! Jeff Austin flies out to right to end the inning.

Top of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Antoine Redd (31-R), the future ex-Beaver.... With 1 out, Chip Klinefelter singles and Bob Duncan walks to get he Bullpen back up and tossing. PH Dave Bailey (24-S), a .200 hitter, doubles to left center and Klinefelter scores. 3 to 3. We walk Ron Nachman intentionally to load the bases up with 1 out. Call to the Bullpen: Lou Hertzberg (29-L). Rich Cox strikes out! Billy Shiyou flies out to center!!

Bottom of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Luis Padia (30-R). We empty our bench with three pinch-hitters, but go down 1-2-3. There is now no one left but pitchers.

Top of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Curt Riley (35-R). Willie Hernandez hits a 1 out single, but that is all they get.

Bottom of the Eighth:
Top of our order. Howard McNeal reaches base when SS Bobby Chubb boots his ground ball. With 1 out, he goes to 2nd on a wild pitch. Jeff Schottler knocks a 2-2 pitch over the head of the center fielder and McNeal scores! The ball takes a crazy bounce when it hits the wall and Schottler ends up circling the bases with an Inside-the-Park Home Run!!! 5 to 3, Beavers!! With 2 outs, Gary Long reaches base on the second error of the inning by SS Bobby Chubb. Jeff Austin singles and long goes to 3rd. Dave Lesley, who is now playing shortstop, doubles to right center and Long scores! 6 to 3, Beavers! That is as many runs as we scored in the previous 5 games combined! C Dave Benya strikes out.

Won - 6 to 3

We had 10 hits and made no errors
Los Angeles had 9 hits and made 3 errors

Johnny Maskell went 6 innings, allowed 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 home run, no walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit.
RHP Antoine Redd faced 5 batters and got 1 out, allowed 1 run, 2 hits, 2 walks (1 INT) and struck out 1.
LHP Lou Hertzberg faced 2 batters and got them both out with 1 strikeout.
RHP Curt Riley (W 2-1) went 2 scoreless innings and allowed 2 hits.

Ricardo Avalos went 6 innings, gave us 3 runs, 7 hits, no walks and struck out 4.
RHP Luis Padia (L 6-4) went 2 innings, gave us 3 runs (1 earned), 3 hits, 1 home run and struck out 2. He threw a WP.

CF Jeff Schottler hit an inside-the-park home run, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBI. He now has 12 HR on the season. 1B Jeff Austin had 2 hits. SS Dave Lesley hit a double in his only at bat and had an RBI. PH Dale Ainsworth had a hit and scored a run.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, September 25, Year I

RF Dale Ainsworth has gotten a clean bill of health from Pepe, so he's back in the lineup today.

Los Angeles Angels (77-80 .490 15 GB tied for 2nd place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (92-65 .586 in 1st place in the PCL West)

LA: Lee Meadows (25-R 1-0 7.71) Rookie vs. POR: Lonny Tomski (27-R 3-3 3.32) Rookie

That one win of Meadow's is against us....He had a 12+ ERA before we gave him a helping hand. He held us to 1 run in 7.1 IP.

Tomski is 3-1 since being recalled from Vancouver. He lost his last start, but was not helped by our defense at all.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
LOS ANGELES
1: Ron Nachman (28-L .317-609-27-96-.902) All-Star 3 for 8 with 1 HR vs Tomski
2: LF Ricky Pulido (28-L .224-263-5-22-.625) Waiver claim from Cle 7/16
3: 3B David Aytes (30-R .220-563-24-76-.696)
4: RF Ray Harrison (24-L .213-207-9-34-.685) Rookie
5: C Larry Hardy (24-S .163-104-0-6-.471) Rookie
6: SS Bobby Chubb (24-R .257-191-3-11-.657) Rookie 6 for 7 vs Tomski
7: 1B Chip Klinefelter (25-R .260-173-3-19-.715)
8: 2B Bob Duncan (33-R .239-448-9-40-.675)
9: P Lee Meadows (25-R .143-7-0-0-.286) Rookie

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .308-555-8-56-.805)
2: LF Woody Griesbach (23-R .254-71-2-6-.730) Rookie
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-545-16-69-.674)
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .272-489-17-81-.781)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .262-568-8-55-.677)
6: LF Howard McNeal (30-R .246-346-8-35-.679)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .218-142-1-12-.561)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .211-266-2-29-.541) Rookie
9: P Lonny Tomski (27-R .278-18-0-3-.683) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 67 F, Clear Skies, with an 11 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 19,012

Top of the First:
Ron Nachman grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Ricky Pulido swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 2nd. David Aytes grounds a 1-2 pitch up the middle for a hit. Ray Harrison swings at a 3-2 pitch and doubles down the right field line and Aytes scores from 1st... 1 to 0, Angels. Larry Hardy, the .163 hitter, lines a hit to right and Harrison scores... 2 to 0, Angels. Bobby Chubb grounds out to 1st, unassisted.

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to 3rd. Woody Griesbach swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short. Jeff Austin strikes out looking....

Through three innings, we are hitless against this bum...

Top of the Fourth:
Ray Harrison leads off with a home run to right... 3 to 0, Angels.

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 2 outs, Randy James gets our first hit of the game with a home run to left. 3 to 1, Angels. And the next batter, Gary Long, gets beaned...but no fight. Howard McNeal walks and Phil Parker lines a hit to center to score Long! 3 to 2, Angels. Eddie Thomas lines a hit to right and McNeal scored to tie the game at 3!! Lonny Tomski lines one to center that is almost a hit, but Ron Nachman makes tough catch to rob him and end the inning.

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, P Lee Meadows doubles to center and Ron Nachman lines a hit to right to put runners at the corners. The Bullpen is busy. Ricky Pulido lines a hit to center and Meadows scores. 4 to 3, Angels. David Aytes walks on 4 pitches to load the bases up. Call to the Bullpen: Brian Hagans (25-R). Ray Harrison strikes out! 2 down. Larry Hardy, who is now a .170 hitter, up. Wild pitch and Nachman scores... 5 to 3, Angels. Balk and Pulido scores... 6 to 3, Angels... Hardy walks on 4 pitches... Bobby Chubb dinks one right in front of the plate and C Phil Parker throws him out to end the inning.

Lost - 8 to 5

We had 7 hits and made 2 errors
Los Angeles had 9 hits and made no errors

Lonny Tomski (L 3-4) went 4.1 innings, allowed 6 runs, 7 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 3.
RHP Brian Hagans went 1.2 innings, allowed 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 3. He threw 2 WP and balked.
RHP Don Schmidt went 2 perfect innings and struck out 4.
RHP Barry Chapman went 1 scoreless inning, walked 1 and struck out 1.

Lee Meadows (W 2-0) went 6 innings, gave us 3 runs, 5 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks, 1 HB and struck out 4. At bat, he hit a double and scored a run.

3B Randy James hit his 18th home run of the year. 2B Gary Long had a hit and 2 walks, got beaned and scored 2 runs. PH Gordon Saunderson hit a triple and had 2 RBI.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, September 26, Year I

Los Angeles Angels (78-80 .494 14 GB in 2nd place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (92-66 .582 in 1st place in the PCL West)

LA: Bobby McGregor (34-R 13-12 3.00) vs. POR: Ron Wolf (27-R 16-12 3.27)

McGregor is their #1 starter. We are 1-2 against him, but he has gone at least 8 innings every time.

Wolf gave up 5 runs last time out.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
LOS ANGELES
1: Ron Nachman (28-L .316-613-27-96-.901) All-Star 4 for 8 vs Wolf
2: LF Ricky Pulido (28-L .228-268-5-23-.632)
3: RF Billy Shiyou (32-L .199-392-13-44-.598)
4: 3B David Aytes (30-R .222-567-25-78-.704)
5: C Willie Hernandez (29-L .262-439-9-48-.703)
6: SS Bobby Chubb (24-R .251-195-3-11-.644) Rookie
7: 1B Chip Klinefelter (25-R .254-177-3-19-.700)
8: 2B Bob Duncan (33-R .237-452-9-40-.670)
9: P Bobby McGregor (34-R .066-76-0-2-.181)

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .307-560-8-56-.802)
2: LF Woody Griesbach (23-R .253-75-2-6-.718) Rookie
3: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .263-472-12-52-.731) Rookie
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .272-493-18-82-.785)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .264-569-8-55-.683)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .235-549-16-69-.670)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .221-145-1-13-.563)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .212-269-2-30-.543) Rookie
9: P Ron Wolf (27-R .141-71-0-1-.324)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 62 F, Clear Skies, with a 7 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 20,118

Top of the First:
Okay, here is Christy the Good Luck Charm to write up Ron Wolf's first inning...

Ron Nachman is the first batter for the Angels and he hits one very hard. Oh, my! The ball bounces all the way to the wall in right field. Dale finally runs it down and throws it back to Gary Long, but Nachman has made it all the way to 3rd base. He can surely run fast! Ricky Pulido is the next batter. He hits the first ball that Ronnie throws to him and it goes on the ground toward Randy James. Randy has to run in to get the ball because it was taking too long to get to him. He picks it up, but does not throw it anywhere. Nachman has run home and crossed the plate. Pulido--

--Here, gimme that! You ain't no charm no more... Nachman triples and Pulido scores him with an infield hit, if you couldn't understand her gibber. 1 to 0, Angels. Billy Shiyou grounds into a 3-6-1 double play! David Aytes grounds a hit to right. Willie Hernandez strikes out looking!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth works the count full and takes ball 4. Woody Griesbach grounds out to 3rd and Ainsworth goes to 2nd. Jeff Schottler strikes out. Randy James grounds a hit up the middle and Ainsworth scores to tie the game! 1 to 1. Gary Long grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the Second:
Jeff Austin lines a hit to left and Phil Parker grounds a hit to right and Austin beats the throw to 3rd. Eddie Thomas strikes out. Parker steals 2nd. P Ron Wolf doubles to right, scoring both runners! 3 to 1, Beavers! Dale Ainsworth unloads on one and knocks it 439 feet to center!!! 5 to 1, Beavers!! Why is it that we can hit the good pitchers and the stinky ones shut us down? Well, except for the good pitchers that also shut us down....

Bottom of the Fifth:
On the Hill: Gustavo Tavarez (32-R), beginning his 2nd inning of work. Jeff Schottler leads of with a home run to left! 6 to 1, Beavers!

Top of the Sixth:
Billy Shiyou leads off with a double to right, goes to 3rd on a single by David Aytes and scores on a ground out to 1st, unassisted, by Willie Hernandez. 6 to 2, Beavers. Billy Chubb singles to center and Jeff Schottler muffs the pick up for an error and Aytes scores. 6 to 3, Beavers. Call to the Bullpen: Antoine Redd (31-R). He gets two quick outs!

Top of the Eighth:
On the Hill: Lou Hertzberg (29-L), beginning his second inning of work. David Aytes leads off with a home run to right center... 6 to 4, Beavers. That is the 3rd game in a row he has homered and the 6th he has hit against us this season. No one else has hit more than 3.

Top of the Ninth:
With 1 out, Mark Spoon (31-R) and Ron Nachman hit back-to-back singles. PH Bob Farris (28-R) strikes out! Billy Shiyou up with David Aytes on deck. Better end it right now... Shiyou pops one up in foul ground to the left side, but Randy James drops it for an error.... The count runs to full and Shiyou swings at the payoff pitch and pops it to center and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!!!

Won - 6 to 4

We had 8 hits and made 2 errors
Los Angeles had 13 hits and made 1 error

Ron Wolf (W 17-12) went 5.1 innings, allowed 3 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3. At bat, he hit a double, scored a run and had 2 RBI.
RHP Antoine Redd (H 4) faced 2 batters and got them both out with 1 strikeout.
LHP Lou Hertzberg (SV 9) went 3 innings, allowed 1 run, 4 hits, 1 home run and struck out 2.

Bobby McGregor (L 13-13) went 3.2 innings, gave us 5 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 2.

RF Dale Ainsworth hit his 9th home run of the year, walked twice, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. Jeff Schottler hit his 13th home run of the season. 1B Jeff Austin had 2 hits and scored a run.

For the Angels, 3B David Aytes had 3 hits with his 26th home run of the season and scored 2 runs.

We are done with the season series with the Angels. We won, 10-8.

[Questdog]

Friday, September 28, Year I

The Seattle Rainiers are in town to finish off the regular season with a 3 game series over the weekend. They just beat Oakland 2 of 3 in Seattle and swept us in 3 games before that. They are 17-7 in September, the first winning month they have had this year. We are 9-6 against them and swept them in 3 games the last time the visited us, August 3-5. They are 6th in the PCL in scoring with 4.00 runs per game (Portland is tied for 8th with 3.96). They are 10th in fewest runs allowed with 4.58 Per game (Portland is still #1 with 3.42).

Seattle Rainiers (71-88 .447 22 GB tied for 5th (last) place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (93-66 .585 in 1st place in the PCL West)

SEA: Alan Merandi (28-R 10-17 4.27) vs. POR: Terry Melton (26-R 11-4 2.31)

We are 1-2 against Merandi and he has pitched into the eighth inning every time.

Melton has not won a game since June 24 and it would be very nice for him to have a strong game before heading into the playoffs.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
SEATTLE
1: LF John Haynes (30-L .298-396-9-44-.826) 2 for 5 with a HR vs Melton
2: RF Jim Perkins (25-L .235-375-21-66-.747)
3: CF Randy Hobson (25-L .283-565-10-57-.775) Rookie
4: 1B Paul Blaine (24-R .244-349-7-29-.662) Rookie
5: 3B Terry Singer (32-R .247-555-13-61-.700)
6: 2B Bob Dillon (26-R .318-148-2-22-.856) Trade from Den 6/10
7: SS Steve Mann (34-R .216-222-5-22-.618) Waiver claim from Bos 8/12
8: C Oscar Reynoso (26-R .207-29-0-0-.550) Rookie
9: P Alan Merandi (28-R .188-64-0-2-.458)

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .308-562-9-58-.810)
2: LF Woody Griesbach (23-R .241-79-2-6-.682) Rookie
3: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .263-476-13-53-.735) Rookie
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .272-496-18-83-.786)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .262-573-8-55-.678)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-553-16-69-.672)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .221-149-1-13-.561)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .212-273-2-30-.542) Rookie
9: P Terry Melton (26-R .192-52-0-1-.477)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 62 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 7 MPH wind blowing right to left.
Attendance: 22,821

Top of the First:
John Haynes lines out to 3rd. Jim Perkins swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to the pitcher. Randy Hobson swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 1st, 3-1! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth strikes out... That is only the 90th strikeout by Merandi in 215 IP. Woody Griesbach grounds a hit to left and steals 2nd. Jeff Schottler grounds out to the pitcher and Griesbach advances to 3rd. Randy James grounds out to short.

Top of the Third:
Oscar Reynoso leads off with a single. P Alan Merandi lays down a bunt towards 3rd, but Randy James throws the ball away for a 2 base error and runners are at 2nd and 3rd with no outs... John Haynes grounds out to 2nd and Reynoso scores. 1 to 0, Seattle. Jim Perkins fouls out to the catcher! Randy Hobson grounds out to 2nd!

Top of the Fourth:
Paul Blaine leads off with a double to right. Terry Singer follows with a single to right and Blaine heads home, but Dale Ainsworth throws him out!

Top of the Fifth:
Oscar Reynoso leads off by grounding out to short and Terry Melton calls the trainer out and has to leave the game.... New Pitcher: Don Schmidt (26-R). With 2 outs, John Haynes homers to right... 2 to 0, Seattle.

Through six innings, we have 2 hits...

Top of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Barry Chapman (26-R). Jim Perkins leads off with a 435 foot home run.... 3 to 0, Seattle.

Lost - 3 to 0

Merandi is the only pitcher to beat us 3 times this season...

We had 4 hits and made 1 error
Seattle had 9 hits and made no errors

Terry Melton (L 11-5) went 4.1 innings, allowed 1 unearned run, 5 hits, no walks and struck out no one.
RHP Don Schmidt got 2 outs, allowed 1 run, 2 hits, 1 home rune and struck out 1.
RHP Curt Riley went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 3.
RHP Barry Chapman went 2 innings, allowed 1 run, 2 hit, a home run, 1 walk and struck out 2.

Alan Merandi W( 11-17) went 8.1 shutout innings, gave us 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5.
LHP Phil Young (SV 5) faced 1 batter and got 2 outs.

LF Woody Griesbach had 2 hits and stole a base. C Phil Parker hit a double.

Pepe's report on Melton is a nice one. It is not his back, just some tightness in his hamstring and he will be fine in a day or so.

[Questdog]

Saturday, September 29, Year I

We signed injured RP Jorge Reyna (31-R), the 6' 9" Puerto Rican who has missed two full seasons, to a 2 year extension at $700,000 per season. That is a $90,000 pay cut from this year. If he can regain his old form, he will be worth every penny. If not, well, we're wasting more on Joe Harrison ($1.7 million).....

Seattle Rainiers (72-88 .450 21 GB tied for 5th (last) place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (93-67 .581 in 1st place in the PCL West)

SEA: Charlie Booth (24-R 4-2 3.60) Rookie vs. POR: Johnny Maskell (24-R 4-8 4.09) Rookie

Booth was claimed off waivers from Boston on 6/27. He went 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 3 starts for the Braves with 4 HR allowed in 13.1 IP. Since coming to Seattle, he is 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA, only 2 HR in 41.2 IP and only 28 H (.190 OBA). We have not faced him.

We are skipping Frank Martin's spot so he can start Game 1 of the PCL Championship Series. Maskell has had 2 good outings in a row.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
SEATTLE
1: LF John Haynes (30-L .297-400-10-46-.830)
2: RF Jim Perkins (25-L .237-379-22-67-.757)
3: CF Randy Hobson (25-L .281-569-10-57-.770) Rookie
4: 1B Paul Blaine (24-R .247-352-7-29-.672) Rookie
5: 3B Terry Singer (32-R .247-559-13-61-.698)
6: C Harold McMillan (32-R .306-317-9-37-.875)
7: 2B Joe Wasserman (28-R .300-180-3-24-.796)
8: SS Steve Mann (34-R .212-226-5-22-.608)
9: P Charlie Booth (24-R .222-18-1-4-.611) Rookie Waiver claim from Bos 6/27

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .306-566-9-58-.804)
2: LF Woody Griesbach (23-R .253-83-2-6-.697) Rookie
3: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .260-480-13-53-.730) Rookie
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .271-499-18-83-.782)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .260-577-8-55-.674)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .238-555-16-69-.675)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .225-151-1-13-.574)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .211-275-2-30-.538) Rookie
9: P Johnny Maskell (24-R .229-35-0-4-.514) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 64 F, Clear Skies, with an 8 MPH wind blowing right to left.
Attendance: 24,049

Top of the First:
John Haynes lines a soft one to 2nd for the first out. Jim Perkins grounds out to short. Randy Hobson grounds out to short. 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth pops out to shallow right. Woody Griesbach grounds out to short. Jeff Schottler grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the Second:
With 2 outs, Harold McMillan singles and then steals his 2nd base of the season and Phil Parker does his best Dave Benya impression and throws the ball into center and McMillan goes to 3rd. Joe Wasserman lines one to right and Dale Ainsworth tries to make a diving catch, but cannot hang on to the ball and McMillan scores. 1 to 0, Seattle. Steve Mann pops out to shallow center to end the inning.

Bottom of the Third:
Eddie Thomas leads off with a double to left and P Johnny Maskell bunts him to 3rd. All Dale Ainsworth has to do is make contact, something he is good at. The 0-2 pitch is past the catcher for a wild pitch and Thomas scores to tie the game at 1! Dale Ainsworth then does make contact and homers to right center!! 2 to 1, Beavers! Woody Griesbach walks and steals 2nd. Jeff Schottler strikes out, but Randy James comes through with a 2 out base knock to score Griesbach! 3 to 1, Beavers! Gary Long then triples to left center!!! 4 to 1, Beavers! Long is great, as long as he does not have the opportunity to ground into a double play... Jeff Austin flies out to right to end the fun.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Phil Parker beats out an infield hit, but gets erased on a fielder's choice by Eddie Thomas, 6-4. Thomas steals 2nd and P Johnny Maskell strikes out. 2 down. Dale Ainsworth grounds one to 3rd, but Terry Singer boots it for an error and Woody Griesbach follows with a single to left to score Thomas! 5 to 1, Beavers. P Charlie Booth hits the showers. New Pitcher: Bill Nuckolls (28-L), who has been in their rotation for most of the season and had done a credible, if not very good, job. He strikes out Jeff Schottler.

Top of the Sixth:
John Haynes leads off with a double, goes to 3rd on a ground out and scores on a hit by Randy Hobson. 5 to 2, Beavers.

Won - 5 to 2

We had 9 hits, and made 2 errors
Seattle had 5 hits and made 2 errors

Johnny Maskell (W 5-8) went 8 innings, allowed 2 runs (1 earned), 5 hits, no walks and struck out 3.
RHP Brian Hagans (SV 2) went 1 perfect inning and struck out 2.

Charlie Booth (L 4-3) went 3.2 innings, gave us 5 runs (4 earned ), 7 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 3. He threw a WP.

RF Dale Ainsworth had 2 hits with his 10th home run of the season. 3B Randy James had 2 hits and a walk, scored a run and had an RBI. 2B Gary Long hit a double and had an RBI. 1B Jeff Austin hit a double. SS Eddie Thomas hit a double, drew 2 walks, stole a base and scored 2 runs.

Around the League: Kansas City was 3 games out with 3 games to go when they went to Dallas, the team they are chasing, for a 3 game series to finish the season. Today, they beat the Eagles 5 to 2, to win the first 2 games of the series and pull to within a game with 1 more to go.

The Cardinals clinched the NL West with a win over Chicago.

[Questdog]

Sunday, September 30, Year I

Fan Appreciation Day!

We really do appreciate all of you who root for the Beavers!
Especially those who buy tickets....

Seattle Rainiers (72-89 .447 22 GB tied for 5th (last) place in the PCL West) at
Portland Beavers (94-67 .584 in 1st place in the PCL West)

SEA: Ken Morrison (27-R 5-6 4.10) vs. POR: Lonny Tomski (27-R 3-4 3.89) Rookie

We are 1-1 against Morrison. We whooped up on him good early in the year, but last weekend, he held us to 2 runs on 4 hits in 7 IP.

Tomski has lost 2 in a row and was roughed up badly in his last outing.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
SEATTLE
1: LF John Haynes (30-L .297-404-10-46-.829)
2: RF Jim Perkins (25-L .235-383-22-67-.750)
3: CF Randy Hobson (25-L .281-573-10-58-.768) Rookie
4: 1B Paul Blaine (24-R .244-356-7-29-.665) Rookie
5: 3B Terry Singer (32-R .246-561-13-61-.696)
6: 2B Bob Dillon (26-R .316-152-2-22-.847)
7: C Harold McMillan (32-R .305-321-9-37-.870)
8: SS Steve Mann (34-R .210-229-5-22-.600)
9: P Ken Morrison (27-R .280-25-1-3-.720)

Only 3 players have 1 at bat each against Tomski and they are 2 for 3. He pitched 1 inning of relief against them early in the season and gave up 5 hits and a pair of runs.

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .306-571-10-59-.809)
2: LF Woody Griesbach (23-R .253-87-2-7-.696) Rookie
3: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .258-484-13-53-.724) Rookie
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .273-502-18-84-.787)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .260-581-8-56-.674)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .238-559-16-69-.675)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .226-155-1-13-.572)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .212-277-2-30-.550) Rookie
9: P Lonny Tomski (27-R .250-20-0-3-.618) Rookie

Game Start: 1:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 63 F, Clear Skies, with a 9 MPH wind blowing in from center.
Attendance: 24,306

Top of the First:
John Haynes grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Jim Perkins takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. He steals 2nd, even though we had a pitchout on. Randy Hobson grounds a hit to center and Perking moves to 3rd. Hobson tries to steal 2nd and we do not have a pitchout called, but he is out! 2 down. Paul Blaine grounds out to short!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth hits one high and deep to right center and it just carries the fence! Home run! 1 to 0, Beavers! That is his 3rd home run in the last 4 games! Woody Griesbach grounds out to 3rd. Jeff Schottler grounds out to short. Randy James swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a hit to center. Gary Long, deprived of the opportunity to ground into a double play, instead jerks a ball down the left field line for a home run!! 3 to 0, Beavers!! Jeff Austin flies out to right.

Top of the Second:
They get runners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out, but no runs!

Top of the Third:
With 1 out, Jim Perkins grounds a hit to right and Randy Hobson follows with a triple to right center. 3 to 1, Beavers. With 2 outs, Terry Singer grounds a hit to left and Hobson scores. 3 to 2, Beavers.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Jeff Austin leads off by grounding out to short, but P Ken Morrison is hurt. New Pitcher: Joe Esquivel (34-L), the lone Seattle player to go to the All-Star game this year.

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Paul Blaine singles and Terry Singer follows with a double, the 9th hit of the game for Seattle. The Bullpen is up. Bob Dillon grounds out to 3rd and Blaine scores to tie the game at 3. Harold McMillan strikes out!

Bottom of the Fifth:
Dale Ainsworth leads off with a hit, but gets caught stealing. With 2 outs, Jeff Schottler singles and steals 2nd. Randy James singles to left and Schottler heads home.... John Haynes bungles the pickup and Schottler scores and James goes to 2nd! E-7. 4 to 3, Beavers! Gary Long grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the Sixth:
Steve Mann leads off with a hit and once again there is activity in our Bullpen. Mann gets bunted to 2nd and steals 3rd. With the infield in, John Haynes grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Jim Perkins flies out to left!

Bottom of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Hank Schneider (29-R). 4.80 ERA. With 1 out, Jeff Austin draws a walk, Phil Parker grounds a single to center and Austin heads for 3rd....Randy Hobson throws the ball into the dugout and Austin scores! 5 to 3, Beavers!

Won - 5 to 3

We had 10 hits and made no errors
Seattle had 12 hits and made 3 errors

Lonny Tomski (W 4-4) went 6 innings, allowed 3 runs, 10 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3.
RHP Don Schmidt (H 2) went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 3.
RHP Barry Chapman (SV 10) pitched a scoreless 9th, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

Ken Morrison went 3.1 innings, gave us 3 runs, 4 hits, 2 home runs, 1 walk and struck out 2.
LHP Jose Esquivel (L 4-2) went 3.2 innings, gave us 1 run, 5 hits and struck out 1.

RF Dale Ainsworth had 3 hits with his 11th home run of the year and stole a base. CF Jeff Schottler had 2 hits and a walk, stole a base and scored a run. 3B Randy James had 2 hits, scored a run and had an RBI. 2B Gary Long hit his 9th home run and had 2 RBI. C Phil Parker had 2 hits.

For Seattle, CF Randy Hobson had 3 hits with a triple, scored a run and had an RBI. 3B Terry Singer had 3 hits with a double and an RBI.

Seattle reported that P Ken Morrison's injury was fairly serious, but he has all winter to recuperate.

Around the League: Dallas defeated Kansas City at home, 9 to 0, to win the PCL East.

Down on the Farm: The Vancouver Mounties (90-64 .584) are Champions of the Western League (AAA). P Tim Carrol (26-R) led the league in ERA (2.30)

The Jackson Generals (84-70 .545 4 GB) finished in 3rd place in the Texas League (AA).

The Visalia Oaks (76-78 .494 17 GB) finished in 5th place in the California League (A).

The Kinston Eagles (85-69 .552 10 GB) finished in 2nd place in the Piedmont League (B). LF Tony Casarez (19-L) led the league with 11 HR, though he only played 53 games there. P Gary Cleveland (24-R) led the league in ERA (2.16). P David Coello (24-L) led the league in wins (14) and strikeouts (122).

The Dubuque Packers (88-66 .571) are the Champions of the Midwest League (C) by 1 game. P Gilmer Alston (21-R) led the league in strikeouts (114).

The Salem Senators (40-44 .476 13 GB) finished in 6th place in the Northwest League (D). 2B Earl Radke (20-R) led the league in OPS (.873) and missed the Batting title by 2 points (.331). P Cliff Ramos (20-L) led the league in saves (19).

The Helena Gold Sox (35-49 .417 17 GB) finished in 7th place in the Pioneer League. P Raul Vigil (19-R) led the league in saves (16).

Our rookie and D league teams will rarely do very well, because they will most always be the youngest teams in their leagues.
All leagues have 8 teams.

[Questdog]

Monday, October 1, Year I

Monday Morning Report
NL Player of the Week - Ron Carpenter, C, Pittsburgh (25-R .276/.343/.419) Had 9 hits (17 AB) with 4 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 1 SO, 5 R and 6 RBI in 6 G (5 GS)
PCL Player of the Week - David Aytes, 3B, Los Angeles (30-R .230/.331/.399) Had 12 hits with 0 2B, 5 HR, 3 BB, 2 SO, 8 R and 8 RBI in 6 G

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

September 24 - Charlie Booth (24-R) of Seattle pitched a 2 hit shutout at home versus Oakland. He walked 2 and struck out 6. He is now 4-2 with a 3.60 ERA. Seattle won, 6 to 0. Both Oakland hits were by 3B Antonio Mata (27-R).
September 25 - Tom Wagner (34-L) of Chicago won his 20th game of the season at Wrigley Field in the first game of a double header. He went 7 innings, allowed 4 runs, 10 hits, 1 walk, 1 HB and struck out 1. He is now 20-5 with a 2.38 ERA. The Cubs won, 6 to 5. In the second game, Mike Olson (33-R) of Pittsburgh pitched a 4 hit shutout. He walked 1 and struck out 3. He is now 8-7 with a 4.42 ERA. The Pirates won, 4 to 0.
September 26 - Boston won at New York, 7 to 5, clinching the National League Eastern Division title.
September 26 - 1B Rick Gilbert (31-L) of St. Louis hit 2 home runs, drew a walk and had 6 RBI at Cincinnati, but the Cardinals lost, 8 to 7, in 0 innings.
September 27 - 1B Roberto Rodriguez (34-R) of Minnesota had 5 hits, stole 2 bases, scored 2 runs and had an RBI at Dallas. The Twins won, 5 to 3.
September 29 - St. Louis won, 7 to 5, at Chicago to clinch the National League Western Division championship.

Random Fact of Week: Our MVP this season has to be RF Dale Ainsworth, I think. 3B Randy James was great, especially since we were not expecting much after he hit .213 last season. But Dale's defense is superior and James' is below average. Our Minor League Player of the Year has to be LF Tony Casarez (19-R). He began the year at Kinston (B), got promoted to Visalia (A) in June and to Jackson (AA) in August. Overall, he hit .270 in 604 AB with 25 2B, 5 3B, 24 HR, 78 R, 100 RBI, 65 BB, 98 SO, 8 SB, 8 CS, .447 SLG and .337 OBP. He led the Piedmont League in HR with 11, even though he only played 53 games there. 24 HR in the Minor Leagues is rare and it is unheard of by a 19 year old!

P.S. I told everyone at the beginning of the year that we would not win 94 games and we did not....bunch of glue sniffers at Baseball America....

Editor's Note: My minor leagues all use the exact same modifiers that the Major Leagues use. This makes HR pretty low in the high minors and very low in the low minors.

[Questdog]

Monthly Awards for April, Year I

NL Player of the Month: Ken Greenhalgh, 2b, St. Louis .444/.519/.656 90 AB, 12 2b, 2 3b, 1 HR, 14 BB, 6 SO, 19 R, 17 RBI, 2 SB, 2 CS in 25 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: Mel Roman, lhp, Washington 5-0 1.62 ERA 6 GS, 39 IP, 29 H, 1 HR, 19 BB, 32 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Ken Greenhalgh, 2b, St. Louis

PCL Player of the Month: Steve DeMuro, lf, Dallas .310/.459/.552 87 AB, 11 2b, 2, 3b, 2 HR, 24 BB, 10 SO, 24 R, 25 RBI, 5 SB, 4 CS in 25 G
PCL Pitcher of the Month: Dave Ibarra, rhp, Los Angeles 5-0 1.69 ERA 6 GS, 42.2 IP, 29 H, 0 HR, 10 BB, 22 SO
PCL Rookie of the Month: Perry Templet, cf, Portland .347/.390/.459 98 AB, 6 2b, 1 3b, 1 HR, 7 BB, 9 SO, 15 R, 7 RBI, 4 SB, 4 CS in 23 G (22 GS)

Monthly Awards for May
NL Player of the Month: Randy Bradley, 2b, Boston .389/.435/.761 113 AB, 8 2b, 2 3b, 10 HR, 10 BB, 17 SO, 28 R, 30 RBI, 2 SB, 4 CS in 26 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: Wally Wacker, rhp, Philadelphia 5-0 1.88 ERA 6 GS, 38.1 IP, 32 H, 2 HR, 19 BB, 43 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Jonah Siverston, rf, Cleveland .440/.488/.600 75 AB, 6 2B, 2 HR, 8 BB, 8 SO, 6 R, 17 RBI in 26 G (17 GS)

PCL Player of the Month: Rick Ingledue, lf/rf, Minnesota .306/.390/.622 98 AB, 4 2b, 9 HR, 11 BB, 18 SO, 20 R, 25 RBI, 2 SB, 0 CS in 26 G
PCL Pitcher of the Month: Phil McDevitt, lhp, Milwaukee 3-1 1.80 ERA 7 SV 13 G, 15 IP, 11 H, 1 HR, 6 BB, 9 SO
PCL Rookie of the Month: Gene Belt, cf, Milwaukee .330/.355/.456 103 AB, 7 2b, 2 HR, 4 BB, 14 SO, 9 R, 16 RBI, 2 SB, 8 CS in 26 G (24 GS)

Monthly Awards for June
NL Player of the Month: Tim Vigen, 1b, St. Louis .284/.451/.529 102 AB, 3 2b, 2 3b, 6 HR, 30 BB, 11 SO, 25 R, 14 RBI, 7 SB, 4 CS in 28 G (Was lots better in May)
NL Pitcher of the Month: Kenny Reynolds, lhp, Philadelphia 5-1 0.96 ERA 6 SV 15 G, 18.2 IP, 9 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 15 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Tom Rosenthal, lf/cf, Pittsburgh .303/.371/.562 89 AB, 3 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 12 BB, 16 SO, 16 R, 25 RBI in 27 G (24 GS)

PCL Player of the Month: Mike Francoeur, cf, Minnesota .367/.410/.615 109 AB, 11 2b, 2 3B, 4 HR, 8 BB, 10 SO, 23 R, 14 RBI, 9 SB, 2 CS in 28 G (27 GS)
PCL Pitcher of the Month: Mike Nackley, lhp, San Diego 6-0 0.52 ERA 6 GS, 52 IP, 36 H, 1 HR, 11 BB, 49 SO (3 Shutouts, all in a row)
PCL Rookie of the Month: Randy Schmitt, cf, Kansas City .309/.350/.518 110 AB, 3 2b, 1 3B, 6 HR, 7 BB, 15 SO, 22 R, 17 RBI, 9 SB, 3 CS in 25 G

Monthly Awards for July
NL Player of the Month: Pedro Perez, lf, New York .333/.472/.654 81 AB, 6 2b, 1 3b, 6 HR, 22 BB, 4 SO, 22 R, 25 RBI, 3 SB, 1 CS in 25 G (highest paid player in MLB - $3.7 million)
NL Pitcher of the Month: Jack Senese, rhp, Philadelphia 4-0 1.65 ERA 6 GS, 43.2 IP, 36 H, 6 HR, 10 BB, 15 SO (Rookie)
NL Rookie of the Month: Joe Froelich, 2b, St. Louis .381/.475/.655 84 AB, 7 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 16 BB, 15 SO, 13 R, 16 RBI in 27 G

PCL Player of the Month: Rob Douma, 2B, Denver .375/.415/.760 96 AB, 3 2b, 2 3B, 10 HR, 8 BB, 12 SO, 20 R, 28 RBI, 10 SB, 1 CS in 23 G
PCL Pitcher of the Month: Steve Fialho, rhp, Houston 3-0 1.23 ERA 4 GS, 29.1 IP, 15 H, 1 HR, 5 BB, 25 SO
PCL Rookie of the Month: Bob Webster, 2b, Houston .364/.375/.597 77 AB, 3 2b, 3 3B, 3 HR, 2 BB, 11 SO, 10 R, 13 RBI, 2 SB, 1 CS in 21 G (19 GS)

Monthly Awards for August
NL Player of the Month: Joe Wilson, rf, Detroit .405/.500/.702 84 AB, 2 2b, 1 3b, 7 HR, 16 BB, 12 SO, 19 R, 16 RBI, 0 SB, 1 CS in 25 G (23 GS)
NL Pitcher of the Month: Tom Wagner, lhp, Chicago 6-1 2.42 ERA 7 GS, 48.1 IP, 52 H, 5 HR, 3 BB, 13 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Joe Wilson, rf, Detroit

PCL Player of the Month: Ivan Gallegas, 3B, Denver .347/.480/.714 98 AB, 11 2b, 2 3B, 7 HR, 24 BB, 10 SO, 23 R, 24 RBI, 3 SB, 1 CS in 30 G (28 GS)
PCL Pitcher of the Month: Bill Avallone, rhp, Dallas 5-1 1.64 ERA 6 GS, 49.1 IP, 40 H, 1 HR, 15 BB, 23 SO (Hit .438 for the month)
PCL Rookie of the Month: Gary Olson, 2b/1b, Minnesota .398/.414/.593 108 AB, 4 2b, 1 3B, 5 HR, 3 BB, 9 SO, 19 R, 11 RBI, 7 SB, 2 CS in 28 G (25 GS)

Monthly Awards for September
NL Player of the Month: Randy Bradley, 2B, Boston .364/.435/.664 110 AB, 6 2b, 3 3B, 7 HR, 14 BB, 22 SO, 22 R, 24 RBI, 8 SB, 0 CS in 28 G (also PoM for May)
NL Pitcher of the Month: Joe Sheridan, rhp, Cleveland 3-2 1.65 ERA 9 SV 14 G, 16.1 IP, 16 H, 0 HR, 6 BB, 16 SO (crap choice; that is not even a good month for a closer)
NL Rookie of the Month: Mike Griffin, rf/lf, Boston .343/.447/.586 70 AB, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 14 BB, 11 SO, 19 R, 13 RBI in 24 G (17 GS)

PCL Player of the Month: Bob Trigg, 1B, Houston .432/.462/.649 111 AB, 10 2b, 1 3B, 4 HR, 5 BB, 4 SO, 22 R, 13 RBI, 3 SB, 4 CS in 27 G (26 GS)
PCL Pitcher of the Month: Charlie Gibson, rhp, Milwaukee 4-1 1.00 ERA 6 GS, 36 IP, 24 H, 0 HR, 7 BB, 22 SO
PCL Rookie of the Month: Randy Schmitt, cf, Kansas City .394/.425/.642 109 AB, 12 2b, 3 3B, 3 HR, 7 BB, 11 SO, 21 R, 22 RBI, 7 SB, 3 CS in 28 G (26 GS) (also RoM for June)

[Hendu Style]

Fellow teetotaler here. Keep up the great work. I hope your health allows you to keep playing and sharing with us. I really appreciate your writing style and attention to detail. Thank you!

[Questdog]

Tuesday, October 2, Year I

National League Championship Series

Game 1
St. Louis Cardinals (91-71 .562 Champions of the NL West) at
Boston Braves (101-61 .623 Champions of the NL East)

All-Stars
ST. LOUIS
1B Tim Vigen (27-L .294-432-16-50-.912)
LF Felix Zavala (30-L .302-483-15-68-.796)

BOSTON
SP Ron Bozeman (32-L 16-10 2.49)
RP George Scaggs (27-L 6-8 3.05 27 SV)
C Ivan Meraz (31-R .292-480-10-62-.802)
2B Randy Bradley (35-R .308-584-34-111-.936)

STL: Vern Oberman (28-L 14-12 3.78) vs BOS: Andy Byers (32-R 19-4 2.97)

St. Louis won, 5 to 4

A 2 run, 2 out single by SS Pete Duncan (26-R) in the top of the 9th gave the Cardinals the win over All-Star closer George Scaggs.

W - RP Luis Carracheo (1-0)
SV - RP Kenny Reynolds (1)

L - RP George Scaggs (0-1)

For the Cardinals, SS Pete Duncan had 4 hits with 2 doubles, a run scored and 2 RBI.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, October 3, Year I

We went ahead and activated CF Perry Templet (23-L) from the Disabled List, though he is not quite ready to play. Pepe says he should be ready to go for Game 3. We sent RP Brian Hagans (25-R) back to Vancouver (AAA). Back to their roster, anyway. He is free to go home for a vacation.

Pacific League Championship Series

We were 8-4 against Dallas during the regular season, but we won 5 of the first 6 games and only split the final 6. In the last series we played against them, they won 2 of 3 in Portland. They led the Pacific Coast League in scoring with 780 runs (4.81 per game). We ended up 9th with 640 runs (3.95 per game). They were 2nd in fewest runs allowed with 609 (3.76 per game). We allowed the fewest runs in the League (and in all the Majors, just as Baseball America predicted) with 552 (3.41 per game).

Game 1
Dallas Eagles (93-69 .574 Champions of the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (95-67 .586 Champions of the PCL West)

DAL: Rod Herrera (27-R 3-1 1.75) vs. POR: Frank Martin (26-R 15-12 2.99) Rookie

Herrera has only made 9 starts this season and has not pitched in the Major Leagues since May 15. He only pitched 1 inning in AAA 10 days ago and gave up 5 hits, a HR and 4 runs. He missed most of last year, too, with multiple injuries and wasn't very good when he was healthy enough to go. He was 2-8 with a 4.98 ERA in 13 GS. We have not faced him this year and I hope to heck he is rusty, because if he pitches like he did to start this season, we won't score a run.

Martin lost his last 3 starts and did not pitch well against Dallas this season. But I just feel like he is our best starting pitcher right now with Terry Melton still seeming to show ill effects from his back injury.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
DALLAS
1: 1B Tony Sierra (25-R .306-422-5-39-.784)
2: RF Chris Hagerty (24-L .294-429-5-53-.761) Rookie Traded from Portland
3: 3B Qian Duan (29-R .261-499-17-.713) Traded from Mil 6/15
4: LF Steve DeMuro (30-L .314-516-24-95-.957) All-Star MVP 6 for 8 with a HR vs Martin
5: CF Bob Holder (26-R .255-581-13-74-.730)
6: 2B Edwin Juan (25-R .259-444-7-57-.692) Rookie #16 prospect
7: SS Joe Aloe (27-L .239-326-6-42-.677) Rookie
8: C Dan Kaczmarek (28-R .292-465-17-93-.841) All-Star
9: P Rod Herrera (27-R .125-16-0-0-.313)

I do not know why they bat Kaczmarek 8th. It is not like he has gone cold. He had a .929 OPS in September. It's like the high school coach who had his best hitter batting 8th and when asked why, he said because the kid is a catcher and catcher's are supposed to bat 8th.

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .310-575-11-60-.819)
2: LF Woody Griesbach (23-R .242-91-2-7-.666) Rookie
3: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .261-487-13-53-.729) Rookie
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .275-506-18-85-.788)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .260-585-9-58-.678)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-562-16-69-.673)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .233-159-1-13-.582)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .210-281-2-30-.542) Rookie
9: P Frank Martin (26-S .152-66-0-1-.346) Rookie

Game Start: 8:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: Roof Closed
Attendance: 44,309

Top of the First:
Tony Sierra strikes out! Chris Hagerty, the ex-Beaver farmhand, grounds out to the pitcher! Qian Duan swings at the first pitch and drives one to deep right center, but RF Dale Ainsworth runs it down! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth leads off with a walk. With a 1-1 count on Woody Griesbach, they call a pitchout and, sure enough, Ainsworth is on his way to 2nd....but the throw is not in time!! Griesbach swings at a 3-2 pitch and strikes out. Jeff Schottler grounds out to the pitcher and Ainsworth moves over to 3rd. Randy James grounds out to the pitcher....

Dallas 0, Portland 0

Top of the Second:
Steve DeMuro, who we cannot get out, grounds a hit up the middle, but Bob Holder grounds into a 4-6-3 double play!

Bottom of the Second:
With 1 out, Jeff Austin homers to left! 1 to 0, Beavers! With 2 outs, Eddie Thomas doubles to left, which is very good, because it means our pitcher will not lead off the next inning.

Dallas 0, Portland 1

Top of the Third:
3-2 pitch to lead off hitter Joe Aloe and he takes it for ball 4. Full count to Dan Kaczmarek, too, but he strikes out! P Rod Herrera bunts Aloe to 2nd. Tony Sierra swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short!

Bottom of the Third:
With 1 out, Woody Griesbach grounds a single to left. Jeff Schottler grounds into a force out, 5-4, and then steals 2nd, but Randy James grounds out to 3rd.

Dallas 0, Portland 1

Top of the Fourth:
LF Steve DeMuro makes an out!! They go down 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Jeff Austin grounds a hit to left, but gets caught stealing.

Dallas 0, Portland 1

Top of the Fifth:
Bob Holder leads off with a double to center, only their second hit of the day. On a 1-0 pitch to Edwin Juan, Holder steals 3rd... We bring the infield in and Juan grounds a hit up the middle to score Holder and tie the game at 1 all. With 1 out, Juan tries to steal, but Phil Parker throws him out! Dan Kaczmarek lines a hit to left and P Rod Herrera grounds a 1-2 pitch to right for a single and Kaczmarek beats the throw to 3rd. They had 1 hit in the first 4 innings and now 4 hits in this 1 inning.... We get our Bullpen up. The first pitch to Tony Sierra is through C Phil Parker's legs for a passed ball and Kaczmarek scores... 2 to 1, Eagles. Sierra then fouls out to the catcher.

Bottom of the Fifth:
Eddie Thomas leads off with a double to center! His second double of the day! P Frank Martin tries to bunt Thomas over, but pops out to the pitcher... Thomas then gets caught trying to steal 3rd... why? With Dale Ainsworth, a .310 hitter up? Ainsworth flies out to left and I feel like we just lost the ball game there....

Dallas 2, Portland 1

Top of the Sixth:
With 2 outs, Steve DeMuro strikes out! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Sixth:
With 2 outs, Randy James lines a hit to right, but Gary Long flies out to deep center.

Dallas 2, Portland 1

Top of the Seventh:
From here on out the Bullpen will have a pitcher ready to go at a moment's notice. Bob Holder grounds a 2-2 pitch up the middle for a hit. Edwin Juan bunts him to 2nd. We walk Joe Aloe, a .239 hitter, intentionally to get to Dan Kaczmarek, an All-Star.... On his first delivery to Kaczmarek, Martin balks.... Runners at 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Call to the Bullpen: Barry Chapman (26-R). The infield is in and Kaczmarek grounds out to 3rd. A pinch-hitter is sent up for their pitcher: Jim Bakutis (26-S), a .297 hitter and a Beaver last season. He is walked intentionally. Tony Sierra grounds out to 2nd!!!

Bottom of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Charlie Sedgwick (35-R) 3.51 ERA. He has a loss against the Beavers this season. We pinch hit for Phil Parker with Howard McNeal (30-R), but he strikes out and we go down in order.

Dallas 2, Portland 1

Top of the Eighth:
Dave Benya (26-S) is in to catch. With 2 outs, Steve DeMuro takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. He steals 2nd. Full count to Bob Holder and he swings and misses!!

Bottom of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Jose Uria (25-R), their closer. 35 saves and a 3.37 ERA, but 11 losses. 3 saves and 3 losses against the Beavers this season. Pinch-hitter Gordon Saunderson (26-L) leads off by grounding a hit to right! Dale Ainsworth tries to bunt (why?) and pops out into a double play, 5-3.... Woody Griesbach flies out to center.

Dallas 2, Portland 1

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Antoine Redd (31-R). He allowed 22 hits in 12.2 innings in September. The Bullpen is ready to jump in. Edwin Juan lines one to deep left center, but Woody Griesbach makes a diving catch!!! Joe Aloe lines a hit to left and that is all I need to see... Redd is useless... Call to the Bullpen: Curt Riley (35-R). Dan Kaczmarek lines a hit to center... LF Tommy Wilson (29-R), who came in on a double switch earlier, grounds into a force at 2nd, 1-4. 2 outs. Wilson steals 2nd. Tony Sierra grounds out to 2nd!

Bottom of the Ninth:
Our 3-4-5 hitters up. That would be awesome if we had 3-4-5 hitters that hit like 3-4-5 hitters.... Jeff Schottler strikes out. Randy James works the count full, but then flies out to center. Gary Long flies out to right...

Lost - 2 to 1

We had 7 hits and made no errors
Dallas had 8 hits and made no errors

Frank Martin (L 0-1) went 6.1 innings, allowed 2 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, 2 walks (1 INT) and struck out 3. He balked.
RHP Barry Chapman went 1.2 scoreless innings, walked 2 (1 INT) and struck out 2.
RHP Antoine Redd faced 2 batters and got 1 out (barely) and allowed a hit.
RHP Curt Riley faced 3 batters and got 2 out with 1 hit allowed.

Rod Herrera (W 1-0) went 6 innings, gave us 1 run, 6 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit.
RHP Jose Uria (SV 1) pitched 2 scoreless innings, gave us 1 hit and struck out 1.

1B Jeff Austin had 2 hits with a home run. SS Eddie Thomas hit 2 doubles. PH Gordon Saunderson had a hit.

National League Championship Series

Game 2
St. Louis Cardinals (1-0 Champions of the NL West) at
Boston Braves (0-1 Champions of the NL East)

STL: Danny Hull (29-R 14-5 3.43) vs BOS: Ron Bozeman (32-L 16-10 2.49)

St. Louis won, 12 to 5

A 6 run 8th inning blew the game open.

W - SP Danny Hull (1-0)

L - SP Ron Bozeman (0-1)

For the Cardinals, LF Felix Zavala (30-L) had 2 hits with a Grand Slam, scored 2 runs and had 5 RBI. 3B Tim Kelly (31-R) had 2 hits with a double, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBI. RF Rob Keller (30-L) had 3 hits with a double and a walk and scored 2 runs. 1B Tim Vigen (27-L) hit 2 doubles and had 3 RBI. P Danny Hull had 3 hits with a double and scored 2 runs.

For the Braves, LF Ken Reid (34-S) had 3 hits with a double and scored a run.

St. Louis leads the series, 2-0, and now gets to play the next three games at home.

[Questdog]

Thursday, October 4, Year I

Pacific League Championship Series

Game 2
Dallas Eagles (1-0 Champions of the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (0-1 Champions of the PCL West)

DAL: Adrian Oliver (32-L 12-7 3.70) vs. POR: Terry Melton (26-R 11-5 2.25)

Oliver had 30 starts and we somehow managed to miss him the whole year. I always felt like we were better against lefties than righties, but we only went 16-16 against them this season.

Melton has not won a game since June 24 and has walked more batters than he has struck out since returning from the Disabled List. If we lose the first 2 games at home, it will be tough to win the series.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
DALLAS
1: 1B Tony Sierra (25-R .306-422-5-39-.784)
2: RF Chris Hagerty (24-L .294-429-5-53-.761) Rookie
3: 3B Qian Duan (29-R .261-499-17-.713)
4: LF Steve DeMuro (30-L .314-516-24-95-.957) All-Star MVP
5: CF Bob Holder (26-R .255-581-13-74-.730)
6: 2B Edwin Juan (25-R .259-444-7-57-.692) Rookie
7: SS Joe Aloe (27-L .239-326-6-42-.677) Rookie
8: C Dan Kaczmarek (28-R .292-465-17-93-.841) All-Star
9: P Adrian Oliver (32-L .100-60-0-5-.276)

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .310-575-11-60-.819)
2: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .210-281-2-30-.542) Rookie
3: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .261-487-13-53-.729) Rookie
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .275-506-18-85-.788)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .260-585-9-58-.678)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-562-16-69-.673)
7: LF Woody Griesbach (23-R .242-91-2-7-.666) Rookie
8: C Phil Parker (27-S .233-159-1-13-.582)
9: P Terry Melton (26-R .189-53-0-1-.468)

C Phil Parker did not start a game versus a lefty all season. He was 1 for 12 against them this year. But Dallas is a running team and I do not want to see a repeat of the 4 error, 1 passed ball performance that Dave Benya had for us the last time he started a game.

Game Start: 8:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: Roof Closed
Attendance: 44,140

Top of the First:
Tony Sierra flies out to deep right, Dale Ainsworth catching it next to the foul pole. Chris Hagerty flies out to left. Qian Duan flares a 1-2 pitch to right for a hit. Steve DeMuro, who hit .500 against the Beavers on the season, lines a 3-1 pitch to right for a hit and Duan goes to 3rd. Bob Holder gets beaned to load the bases up. Melton did not hit a batter during the regular season. Edwin Juan hits a hard line drive, but right to LF Woody Griesbach!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth pops a 1-2 pitch behind the plate, but C Dan Kaczmarek drops it for an error! Ainsworth lines the next pitch right to RF Chris Hagerty. Eddie Thomas draws a walk. Jeff Schottler lines a 2-2 pitch to left for a hit. Randy James swings at the first pitch and grounds out softly to short and the runners move up. 2 outs. Gary Long swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle and both runners score!! 2 to 0, Beavers!! Jeff Austin also swings at the first pitch and also grounds a hit up the middle! Woody Griesbach grounds out to 3rd.

Dallas 0, Portland 2

Top of the Second:
With 2 outs, P Adrian Oliver grounds one to 1st, but Jeff Austin throws the ball away for a 2 base error. Tony Sierra lines a hit to right, but Oliver stops at 3rd. Chris Hagerty then destroys a 1-0 pitch and hits it 446 feet to straight away center.... 3 to 2, Eagles... Hagerty only hit 5 HR during the season. Qian Duan strikes out.

Bottom of the Second:
Phil Parker, 1 for 12 versus lefties, grounds an 0-2 pitch to right for a hit! P Terry Melton then tries to bunt, but pops out to the pitcher. I believe that makes us 0 for 3 on bunt attempts in this series... The next two make outs...

Dallas 3, Portland 2

Top of the Third:
Steve DeMuro leads off by striking out and I am tickled pink, but then Bob Holder drives on high and deep to left and I am not so tickled all of a sudden.....but Woody Griesbach catches it on the warning track and I am tickled again! Edwin Juan grounds out to short. 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Third:
P Adrian Oliver strikes out Jeff Schottler and Randy James... Gary Long beats out an infield hit, but Jeff Austin grounds out to short.

Dallas 3, Portland 2

Top of the Fourth:
Joe Aloe leads off by getting beaned. The second batter Melton has plunked today after hitting none in the regular season.... Dan Kaczmarek grounds into a 6-4-3 double play! P Adrian Oliver strikes out!

Bottom of the Fourth:
Our 7-8-9 hitters go down 1-2-3.

Dallas 3, Portland 2

Top of the Fifth:
Top of the order for Dallas. With 1 out, Chris Hagerty lines a hit to center and then steals 2nd. Qian Duan loops a hit to left and Hagerty heads home....LF Woody Griesbach make a horrible throw for an error and Hagerty scores and Duan goes to 2nd. 4 to 2, Eagles. The Bullpen is up. Steve DeMuro grounds a hit up the middle and Duan stops at 3rd. Bob Holder grounds out to 3rd. Duan holds, but DeMuro moves to 2nd. 2 outs. Edwin Juan dumps a 3-0 pitch to right and both runners score... 6 to 2, Eagles.... Call to the Bullpen: Antoine Redd (31-R). Joe Aloe singles to left center. Dan Kaczmarek drives one to deep center, but Jeff Schottler manages to run it down and end the inning.

Bottom of the Fifth:
Top of our order. Dale Ainsworth leads off with a double to right center. Eddie Thomas grounds a hit to right and Ainsworth scores without a throw because RF Chris Hagerty overruns the ball for an error. Thomas goes to 2nd. 6 to 3, Eagles. But once again our 3-4-5 hitters go down in order in very humbling fashion....

Dallas 6, Portland 3

Top of the Sixth:
With 2 outs, Chris Hagerty grounds a hit up the middle, his 3rd hit of the day. He steals 2nd. But Qian Duan pops out to 2nd.

Bottom of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Woody Griesbach draws a walk and it is time to pinch-hit for C Phil Parker. Howard McNeal (30-R) is sent up and he grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4. Glenn Pearce (39-R) is sent in to hit for the pitcher. He grounds out to 3rd.

Dallas 6, Portland 3

Top of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Lou Hertzberg (29-L). Dave Benya (26-S) is in to catch. Steve DeMuro leads off, but they go down 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Seventh:
Top of our order. Now's the time boys! Dale Ainsworth lines a hit to left. Eddie Thomas strikes out. Jeff Schottler grounds into a 4-6-3 double play....

Dallas 6, Portland 3

Top of the Eighth:
The Eagles go down in order! They used PH Jim Bakutis (26-S) to strikeout for P Adrian Oliver.

Bottom of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Jose Uria (25-R), their closer who finished the game yesterday with a save. We go down in order with 2 strikeouts....

Dallas 6, Portland 3

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Don Schmidt (26-R). Top of their order. They go down 1-2-3.

Bottom of the Ninth:
With 2 outs, PH Gordon Saunderson (26-L) grounds out to 2nd....

Lost - 6 to 3

We had 8 hits and made 2 errors
Dallas had 10 hits and made 2 errors

Terry Melton (L 0-1) went 4.2 innings, allowed 6 runs (3 earned), 8 hits, 1 home run, no walks, 2 HB and struck out 3.
RHP Antoine Redd went 1.1 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 1.
LHP Lou Hertzberg pitched 2 perfect innings and struck out 3.
RHP Don Schmidt pitched 1 perfect inning.

Adrian Oliver (W 1-0) went 7 innings, gave us 3 runs (1 earned), 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4.
RHP Jose Uria (SV 2) pitched 2 perfect innings and struck out 3.

RF Dale Ainsworth had 2 hits with a double and scored a run. 2B Gary Long had 2 hits and 2 RBI.

For the Eagles, RF Chris Hagerty, the ex-Beaver farmhand, had 3 hits with a very long home run, stole 2 bases, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBI.

Dallas leads the series, 2 to 0

[Questdog]

Friday, October 5, Year I

National League Championship Series

Game 3
Boston Braves (0-2 Champions of the NL East) at
St. Louis Cardinals (2-0 Champions of the NL West)

BOS: Rich Summers (31-R 13-9 3.45) vs STL: Scotti Koos (24-R 7-11 4.76) Rookie

Boston won, 6 to 1

W - SP Rich Summers (1-0)

L - SP Scotti Koos (0-1)

For the Braves, 2B Rich Bradley (35-R), an MVP candidate, hit a double and a home run, drew a walk, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBI.

St. Louis still leads the series, 2 to 1

[Questdog]

Saturday, October 6, Year I

Pacific League Championship Series

Game 3
Portland Beavers (0-2 Champions of the PCL West) at
Dallas Eagles (2-0 Champions of the PCL East)

POR: Ron Wolf (27-R 17-12 3.31) vs. DAL: Bill Avallone (30-R 19-6 3.03)

Avallone is their #1 starter and the best hitting pitcher in baseball. We were 1-1 in games he started, but he was 1-0 and went at least 8 innings in each game. He gave us 3 runs in the game we lost, but only 2 in the game we won.

Wolf finished the season winning 5 of his last 6 starts, but did not pitch well at all in the last two. He was 2-2 against Dallas this season with a 3.38 ERA.

CF Perry Templet says he is ready to go, so he is in the lineup today for the first time since September 6.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .310-575-11-60-.819)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .306-484-7-57-.792) Rookie
3: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .261-487-13-53-.729) Rookie
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .275-506-18-85-.788)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .260-585-9-58-.678)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-562-16-69-.673)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .233-159-1-13-.582)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .210-281-2-30-.542) Rookie
9: P Ron Wolf (27-R .153-72-0-3-.361)

DALLAS
1: 1B Tony Sierra (25-R .306-422-5-39-.784)
2: RF Chris Hagerty (24-L .294-429-5-53-.761) Rookie
3: 3B Qian Duan (29-R .261-499-17-.713)
4: LF Steve DeMuro (30-L .314-516-24-95-.957) All-Star MVP
5: CF Bob Holder (26-R .255-581-13-74-.730)
6: 2B Edwin Juan (25-R .259-444-7-57-.692) Rookie
7: SS Joe Aloe (27-L .239-326-6-42-.677) Rookie
8: C Dan Kaczmarek (28-R .292-465-17-93-.841) All-Star
9: P Bill Avallone (30-L .304-92-4-21-.818)

Game Start: 8:05 PM
Ballpark: Arlington Stadium
Weather: 62 F, Partly Cloudy, with an 18 MPH wind blowing out to left.
Attendance: 44,836

Top of the First:
Dale Ainsworth flies out to center. Perry Templet, in his first live at bat in a month, swings at the first pitch, as he is wont to do, and grounds a hit to right! Jeff Schottler strikes out looking... Templet tries to steal and gets thrown out, as he is wont to do...

Bottom of the First:
Tony Sierra grounds out to 1st, 3-1. Chris Hagerty grounds a hit to right and steals 2nd. Qian Duan grounds out to short and Hagerty makes it to 3rd. Steve DeMuro is NOT walked, as I was wishing, but he flies out to right!

Portland 0, Dallas 0

Top of the Second:
Randy James leads off by grounding an 0-2 pitch up the middle for a hit and CF Bob Holder muffs the pickup for an error and James is on 2nd! Gary Long grounds one to short, but Joe Aloe boots it! 1st and 3rd with no outs. Jeff Austin flies out to deep left and James scores. 1 to 0, Beavers! Phil Parker swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to the pitcher and Long moves to 2nd. Eddie Thomas grounds a hit to right and Long heads home from 2nd...he beats the throw by a hair! 2 to 0, Beavers! Ron Wolf takes the count to 3-2, but then grounds out to the pitcher.

Bottom of the Second:
The Eagles hit 3 hard balls, but all caught by our outfielders! 1-2-3!

Portland 2, Dallas 0

Top of the Third:
Dale Ainsworth leads off by grounding a hit to right. He steals 2nd on the first pitch to Perry Templet. Templet flies out to the warning track in center and Ainsworth tags up and goes to 3rd. Jeff Schottler swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses.... Just contact is all we needed, Jeff... Randy James flies out to center.

Bottom of the Third:
Dan Kaczmarek leads off by taking a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. P Bill Avallone, who I wold never make bunt, tries to do so, but 1B Jeff Austin gets the lead runner, 3-6! With 2 outs, Chris Hagerty dumps yet another hit for him into left. Qian Duan grounds out to the pitcher!

Portland 2, Dallas 0

Top of the Fourth:
We go down in order.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Steve DeMuro leads off by flying out to center and they go down in order!

Portland 2, Dallas 0

Top of the Fifth:
Eddie Thomas leads off by grounding a hit up the middle!!! He is now 5 for 8 in the series after hitting .210 for us during the regular season! P Ron Wolf bunts him over to 2nd, our first good bunt of the series in four tries. But Dale Ainsworth lines out to center and Perry Templet lines out to left.

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 2 outs, P Bill Avallone lines a hit to right. Tony Sierra follows and does the same and Avallone, who can run decently, beats the throw to 3rd. That brings the hot hitting Chris Hagerty to the plate, but he grounds out to 2nd!

Portland 2, Dallas 0

Top of the Sixth:
Jeff Schottler leads off by striking out for the 3rd time today. Randy James takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4, but that is all we get.

Bottom of the Sixth:
3-4-5 hitters for Dallas. Qian Duan leads off by blooping a hit to right and we get the Bullpen active. Full count to Steve DeMuro and he grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6!! He steals 2nd. With 2 outs, Edwin Juan grounds one to Randy James at 3rd and boots it... Joe Aloe follows by grounding another one down to James and he does NOT boot it!

Portland 2, Dallas 0

Top of the Seventh:
Phil Parker leads off with a double down the right field line! Eddie Thomas grounds out to the pitcher. P Ron Wolf is allowed to hit, but he does not and strikes out.

Editor's Note: And then I jinxed the team....if we lose, it will be all my fault...I have a recording of Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at a Cubs game as part of my rotation of 7th inning stretch ditties. But I only ever let it play out at home games; in road games, when I hear it starting, I quickly mute it. But today, caught up in the exuberance of a lead in the 7th inning, I forgot we were on the road and let it play out in full, singing along with Harry....

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 1 out, the Eagles pinch-hit for P Bill Avallone with Dick Gottesman (31-L), who is a pretty goof hitter (.742 OPS), but not as good as Avallone. He strikes out and they go down in order! Editor's Note: Maybe that jinxed them worse than I jinxed the Beavers....we can only hope!

Portland 2, Dallas 0

Top of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Charlie Sedgwick (35-R), who sat us down in order with 2 strikeouts in an inning in the first game. But he did not have to face Perry Templet in that game, who knocks one off the center field wall for a double to lead us off! Jeff Schottler, who is 0 for 3 with 3 strikeouts today, gets walked intentionally. Randy James swings at the first pitch and complies with the Eagles' strategic maneuver by grounding one to short, but Joe Aloe does not comply and boots it for an error! Bases loaded and nobody out! Gary Long, the master of grounding into double plays, grounds one toward 3rd, but it gets by the fielder for a hit and 2 runs score!!! 4 to 0, Beavers!! Jeff Austin strikes out. Phil Parker grounds into a force at 2nd, 6u, Gary Long takes the shortstop out to prevent the double play. 1st and 3rd now with 2 outs. Eddie Thomas lines one to center that is almost a hit, but Bob Holder makes a great catch to end the inning.

Bottom of the Eighth:
2-3-4 up for Dallas. With 2 outs, Steve DeMuro takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Bob Holder lines a double down the left field line and DeMuro scores from 1st. 4 to 1, Beavers. Call to the Bullpen: Curt Riley (35-R) to face one and only one batter, win or lose. He wins! Edwin Juan flies out to left.

Portland 4, Dallas 0

Top of the Ninth:
PH Woody Griesbach (23-R) is sent up to hit for the pitcher. He grounds out to short and we go down in order.

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Don Schmidt (26-R). Dave Lesley (26-R), making his first appearance of the series, is in to play 3rd. 7-8-9 spots due up for Dallas. With 2 outs, PH Jim Bakutis (26-S) lines out to center and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!!!

Won - 4 to 1

No sweep!

We had 8 hits and made 1 error
Dallas had 6 hits and made 3 errors

Ron Wolf (1-0) went 7.2 innings, allowed 1 run, 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1.
RHP Curt Riley (H 1) faced 1 batter and retired him.
RHP Don Schmidt (SV 1) pitched a perfect 9th.

Bill Avallone (L 0-1) went 7 innings, gave us 2 unearned runs, 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit.

CF Perry Templet, in his first game of the series, had 2 hits with a double and scored a run. 2B Gary Long had a hit, scored a run and had 2 RBI. C Phil Parker hit a double. SS Eddie Thomas had 2 hits and an RBI.

Dallas still leads the series, 2 to 1

National League Championship Series

Game 4
Boston Braves (1-2 Champions of the NL East) at
St. Louis Cardinals (2-1 Champions of the NL West)

BOS: Preston Jarrard (27-R 9-4 4.36) vs STL: Orval Fontaine (30-R 9-13 3.71)

Boston won, 10 to 2

W - SP Preston Jarrard (1-0)
SV - RP Ned Bartos (1)

L - SP Orval Fontaine (0-1)

For the Braves, SP Preston Jarrard pitched 6 shutout innings and then RP Ned Bartos pitched the last 3 to earn a save. He did not have a save during the regular season. LF Ken Reid (34-S) had 3 hits with 2 doubles and a home run and 3 RBI. 3B Ben Newman (25-L) had 3 hits with a double and a home run, scored 2 runs and had 4 RBI.

For the Cardinals, SS Pete Duncan (26-R), the hero of the first two games of the series, was injured and will miss the rest of the post-season.

The series is tied at 2 games apiece.

In the seven post-season games played so far this year in both leagues, the home team has not won a game.

[Questdog]

Sunday, October 7, Year I

Pacific League Championship Series

Game 4
Portland Beavers (1-2 Champions of the PCL West) at
Dallas Eagles (2-1 Champions of the PCL East)

POR: Johnny Maskell (24-R 5-8 3.89) Rookie vs. DAL: Ralph Hoskins (25-R 4-9 5.56) Rookie

The League hit .305 against Hoskins. We were 2-0 against him with 17 H in 10.2 IP with 8 runs scored,

Maskell gets the nod over Lonny Tomski (27-R) because he finished the season with 3 strong starts and went 2-0, while Tomski finished with 3 poor starts and went 1-2. Only 6 runs (5 earned) allowed by Maskell in his last 23 IP. He did not face Dallas during the season. Tomski faced the Eagles once in relief and struck out the side in 1 inning of work.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .310-575-11-60-.819)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .306-484-7-57-.792) Rookie
3: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .261-487-13-53-.729) Rookie
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .275-506-18-85-.788)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .260-585-9-58-.678)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-562-16-69-.673)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .233-159-1-13-.582)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .210-281-2-30-.542) Rookie
9: P Johnny Maskell (24-R .222-36-0-4-.500) Rookie

DALLAS
1: 1B Tony Sierra (25-R .306-422-5-39-.784)
2: RF Chris Hagerty (24-L .294-429-5-53-.761) Rookie
3: 3B Qian Duan (29-R .261-499-17-.713)
4: LF Steve DeMuro (30-L .314-516-24-95-.957) All-Star MVP
5: CF Bob Holder (26-R .255-581-13-74-.730)
6: 2B Edwin Juan (25-R .259-444-7-57-.692) Rookie
7: SS Joe Aloe (27-L .239-326-6-42-.677) Rookie
8: C Dan Kaczmarek (28-R .292-465-17-93-.841) All-Star
9: P Ralph Hoskins (25-R .277-47-0-4-.577) Rookie

Game Start: 8:05 PM
Ballpark: Arlington Stadium
Weather: 74 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 12 MPH wind blowing out to left.
Attendance: 44,902

Top of the First:
Dale Ainsworth lines out to center. Perry Templet lines a hit to left and steals 2nd. Jeff Schottler grounds out to 3rd. Randy James, our team leader in RBI during the season and without one this series, grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the First:
Tony Sierra swings at the first pitch and flies out to left. Chris Hagerty swings at a 3-1 pitch and pops out to left. Qian Duan flies out to center! 1-2-3!

Portland 0, Dallas 0

Top of the Second:
We go down in order...

Bottom of the Second:
Steve DeMuro leads off and lines a 2-2 pitch to right for a hit. Bob Holder swings at the first pitch and sends one to the wall in left, but Jeff Schottler catches it! Edwin Juan grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4, and then steals 2nd. Joe Aloe beats out an infield hit. Dan Kaczmarek pops out to the catcher!

Portland 0, Dallas 0

Top of the Third:
Eddie Thomas leads off with a double to right! P Johnny Maskell tries to bunt and pops out to the pitcher... That makes us 1 for 5 in bunting... I don't think we had 4 bad bunts all season... Dale Ainsworth grounds one to 2nd, but Edwin Juan throws the ball away for a 2 base error and Thomas scores! 1 to 0, Beavers! Perry Templet grounds a hit up the middle and Ainsworth scores! 2 to 0, Beavers! Jeff Schottler grounds one to 3rd and Qian Duan boots it! Randy James swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to right and Templet scores! 3 to 0, Beavers! We pull off a double steal! Gary Long flies out to center and Schottler scores. 4 to 0, Beavers! 2 outs. Jeff Austin lines a hit to left and James heads home. LF Steve DeMuro's throw is limp and we score another run! 5 to 0, Beavers! DeMuro is hurt and has to leave the game. P Ralph Hoskins also exits. New Pitcher: Steve Patterson (29-L). He had a win against us this year. Jim Bakutis (26-S) is in to play left. Phil Holliday is also in to play short in a rare triple switch! Phil Parker flies out to right.

Bottom of the Third:
They put Jim Bakutis in the #9 spot and he leads off with a hit up the middle, but that is all they get.

Portland 5, Dallas 0

Top of the Fourth:
Eddie Thomas swings at the first pitch and bounces yet another hit to right! He is now 7 for 12 with 3 doubles in the series!! P Johnny Maskell bunts him up. Finally a good bunt. With 2 outs, Perry Templet grounds a rare hit against a lefty to right, but Thomas stops at 3rd. Jeff Schottler, the coldest hitter in the lineup, clears the bases with a double to left!! 7 to 0, Beavers!! Randy James strikes out.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Phil Holliday, a .217 hitter during the season, leads off with a double to left. Bob Holder grounds one to the hole on the left side, but SS Eddie Thomas makes a diving stop and throws him out at 1st! Awesome play! With 2 outs, they let P Steve Patterson hit and he grounds out to the pitcher.

Portland 7, Dallas 0

Top of the Fifth:
With 2 outs, Phil Parker draws a walk and Eddie Thomas does it again with a hit up the middle!! P Johnny Maskell strikes out.

Bottom of the Fifth:
Dan Kaczmarek leads off with a grounder to right for a hit and Jim Bakutis draws a walk. Tony Sierra takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with no outs. The Bullpen is put on notice. Chris Hagerty grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6, and Kaczmarek scores. 7 to 1, Beavers. Qian Duan lines out to 2nd and Gary Long fires to 3rd to double off Bakutis to end the inning!!

Portland 7, Dallas 1

Top of the Sixth:
Dale Ainsworth leads off with a home run to right! 8 to 1, Beavers! Maybe it is time to start banking some runs for tomorrow, boys.... Perry Templet swings at the first pitch, as he is wont to do, and lines a hit to left. With 2 outs, Gary Long lines a hit to right and Jeff Schottler, who had reached on a fielder's choice goes to 3rd. Jeff Austin bloops a hit to right and Schottler scores. 9 to 1, Beavers. That will do it for P Steve Patterson. New Pitcher: Bob Hagan (29-R) 2.01 ERA this season. Phil Parker draws a walk to load the bases up for Eddie Thomas. If he gets another hit, Christy, I'll marry you! Christy the PA just said that I guaranteed that Eddie would make an out because I have no chance to marry her.... and she is right, Eddie flies out to right.

Bottom of the Sixth:
They go down 1-2-3 and P Johnny Maskell gets his first strikeout of the game!

Portland 9, Dallas 1

Top of the Seventh:
We go down in order.

Bottom of the Seventh:
Johnny Maskell has thrown 71 pitches. They let P Bob Hagan hit and he lines out to 3rd. With 2 outs, Jim Bakutis draws a walk, but Tony Sierra grounds out to short.

Portland 9, Dallas 1

Top of the Eighth:
With 1 out, Randy James draws a walk. Dave Lesley (26-R) goes in to run for him and will stay in to play 3rd. With 2 outs, Jeff Austin singles to left. Phil Parker grounds out to short.

Bottom of the Eighth:
With 2 outs, Phil Holliday grounds a hit up the middle, but Bob Holder grounds out to 2nd.

Portland 9, Dallas 1

Top of the Ninth:
Eddie Thomas leads off with a walk. Woody Griesbach (23-R) is sent up to hit for P Johnny Maskell. He grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4, and we get nothing else.

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Lonny Tomski (27-R). He struck out the side in the only inning he pitched against Dallas this year. Edwin Juan leads off by hitting a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall for a home run.... 9 to 2, Beavers. PH Dick Gottesman (31-L) grounds out to 2nd. Dick Kaczmarek lines one hard to deep left, but Dale Ainsworth tracks it down. Jim Bakutis strikes out and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!

Won - 9 to 2

We had 14 hits and made no errors
Dallas had 7 hits and made 2 errors

Johnny Maskell (W 1-0) went 8 innings, allowed 1 run, 6 hits, 3 walks and struck out 1.
RHP Lonny Tomski went 1 inning, allowed 1 run, 1 hit, a home run and struck out 1.

Ralph Hoskins (L 0-1) went 2.2 innings, gave us 5 unearned runs, 5 hits, no walks and struck out 1.

RF Dale Ainsworth hit a home run and scored twice. CF Perry Templet had 4 hits, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. LF Jeff Schottler hit a double, stole base, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. 1B Jeff Austin had 3 hits and 2 RBI. SS Eddie Thomas had 3 hits with a double, drew a walk and scored 2 runs.

The Eagles announced that LF Steve DeMuro would miss the rest of the post-season. I hope he feels great by Christmas, but this is very good news for us. He was 4 for 11 with 2 walks this series and hit .500 against us during the season.

The series is now tied at 2 games apiece.

National League Championship Series

Game 5
Boston Braves (2-2 Champions of the NL East) at
St. Louis Cardinals (2-2 Champions of the NL West)

BOS: Andy Byers (32-R 19-4 2.97) vs STL: Vern Oberman (28-L 14-12 3.78)

Boston won, 3 to 0

Andy Byers pitched a 4 hit shutout, walking 1 and striking out 2.

W - SP Andy Byers (1-0)

L - SP Vern Oberman (0-1)

For the Braves, 2B Randy Bradley (35-R) had 3 hits with a double and scored a run.

Boston now lead the series, 3 to 2.

Now there have been 9 post-season games and still the home team is 0-9.

[Questdog]

Monday, October 8, Year I

Pacific League Championship Series

Game 5
Portland Beavers (2-2 Champions of the PCL West) at
Dallas Eagles (2-2 Champions of the PCL East)

POR: Frank Martin (26-R 15-12 2.99) Rookie vs. DAL: Rod Herrera (27-R 3-1 1.75)

Dallas won Game 1 that matched up these two pitchers, 2 to 1 in Portland.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .310-575-11-60-.819)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .306-484-7-57-.792) Rookie
3: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .261-487-13-53-.729) Rookie
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .275-506-18-85-.788)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .260-585-9-58-.678)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-562-16-69-.673)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .233-159-1-13-.582)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .210-281-2-30-.542) Rookie
9: P Frank Martin (26-S .152-66-0-1-.346) Rookie

DALLAS
1: 1B Tony Sierra (25-R .306-422-5-39-.784)
2: CF Chris Hagerty (24-L .294-429-5-53-.761) Rookie
3: 3B Qian Duan (29-R .261-499-17-.713)
4: RF Dick Gottesman (31-L .276-199-6-29-.742)
5: LF Bob Holder (26-R .255-581-13-74-.730)
6: 2B Edwin Juan (25-R .259-444-7-57-.692) Rookie
7: SS Joe Aloe (27-L .239-326-6-42-.677) Rookie
8: C Dan Kaczmarek (28-R .292-465-17-93-.841) All-Star
9: P Rod Herrera (27-R .125-16-0-0-.313)

Game Start: 8:05 PM
Ballpark: Arlington Stadium
Weather: 73 F, Clear Skies, with an 11 MPH wind blowing out to left.
Attendance: 44,992

Editor's Note: Not sure if I mentioned this before or not, but Capacity is 45,000 for every ball park.

Top of the First:
Dale Ainsworth flies out to deep right. Perry Templet grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Jeff Schottler grounds out to short.

Bottom of the First:
Tony Sierra walks on 4 pitches... Chris Hagerty swings at the first pitch and grounds into a 5-4-3 double play!! Qian Duan swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short!

Portland 0, Dallas 0

Top of the Second:
With 2 outs, Jeff Austin doubles to right center, but Phil Parker strikes out.

Bottom of the Second:
With 1 out, Bob Holder doubles to left center. Edwin Juan swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to center and Holder scores. 1 to 0, Eagles. Juan steals 2nd. Joe Aloe grounds out to 2nd and Juan goes to 3rd. 2 outs. Dan Kaczmarek strikes out looking!

Portland 0, Dallas 1

Top of the Third:
We go down in order.

Bottom of the Third:
P Rod Herrera leads off and reaches 2nd on a 2 base throwing error by 3B Randy James... But the next three go own in order!

Portland 0, Dallas 1

Top of the Fourth:
Perry Templet leads off with a double to the left field corner! But the 3-4-5 hitters make outs #1, 2 and 3....

Bottom of the Fourth:
Dick Gottesman leads off by flaring a hit to left. With 1 out, Edwin Juan grounds into a 6-4-3 double play!

Portland 0, Dallas 1

Top of the Fifth:
Jeff Austin leads off with a home run to left center! Tie game at 1. With 1 out, Eddie Thomas draws a walk and gets bunted to 2nd by P Frank Martin. With 2 outs, Dale Ainsworth swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle and Thomas scores! 2 to 1, Beavers! Ainsworth steals 2nd. Perry Templet lines a hit to center and Ainsworth scores! Templet goes to 2nd on a throwing error by CF Chris Hagerty. 3 to 1, Beavers! Jeff Schottler takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Randy James swings at a 3-2 pitch and pops out to short.

Bottom of the Fifth:
They go down 1-2-3!

Portland 3, Dallas 1

Top of the Sixth:
Gary Long leads off with a line drive to left for a hit. With 2 outs, they make a change at pitcher: Bob Hagan (29-R). He gets the final out.

Bottom of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Chris Hagerty lines a hit to left and stretches it into a double. The Bullpen is up. Qian Duan pops one up, but 2B Gary Long, our Gold Glove candidate, drops it...E-4. Runners at first and 3rd with 1 out. Martin will get 1 more batter... Dick Gottesman lines a hit to left and Hagerty scores. 3 to 2, Beavers. Call to the Bullpen: Barry Chapman (26-R). Bob Holder grounds into a 6-4-3 double play!!!

Portland 3, Dallas 2

Top of the Seventh:
Woody Griesbach (23-R) is sent up to pinch-hit for the pitcher. Full count and he grounds out to short. With 2 outs, Perry Templet crushes one 434 feet to center!! Home Run!! 4 to 2, Beavers!

Bottom of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Lou Hertzberg (29-L). Edwin Juan leads off with a 425 foot home run to center.... 4 to 3, Beavers. With 2 outs, Jim Bakutis (26-S) is sent up to hit for the pitcher. Full count and he takes ball four. Tony Sierra grounds out to 1st, unassisted!

Portland 4, Dallas 3

Top of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Charlie Sedgwick (35-R). 4-5-6 hitters up and he strikes them out in order...

Bottom of the Eighth:
Dave Lesley (26-R) is in to play 3rd. With 1 out, Qian Duan grounds a hit to left. Dick Gottesman grounds into a 4-6-3 double play!!

Portland 4, Dallas 3

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Jose Uria (25-R), their closer. Shaky during the season, but lights out in this series so far. After he strikes out the first two to make it 5 K's in a row for our hitters, Gordon Saunderson (26-L) is sent up to hit for the pitcher. He does NOT strike out!! He fouls out to the catcher....

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Don Schmidt (26-R). Bob Holder beats out an infield hit... Edwin Juan tries to lay down a bunt, but comes up empty on two tries, so with 2 strikes, he lines a hit to center.... Joe Aloe gets beaned to load the bases up with no outs.... My heart is breaking.... Christy the PA is crying... Now I am crying... With the infield in, Dan Kaczmarek grounds into a force at home, 6-2. 1 out. Pinch-hitter: Fran Haer (26-R). Hit .321 for Dallas after being traded from the Reds on June 5. Infield still in, and Haer grounds into a force at home, 4-2! 2 outs. Full count to Tony Sierra and he grounds one to 3rd and beats it out for an infield hit and Holder scores to tie the game at 4.... Why do the Baseball gods tease me so?.... Now, we have to face Chris Hagerty.... He swings at the first pitch and grounds one up the middle, but Eddie Thomas somehow reaches the ball behind second base and throws him out!!!

Portland 4, Dallas 4

Extras!

Top of the Tenth:
New Pitcher: Tom Murray (35-R). First appearance in the series, but had a 1.81 ERA in 59.2 IP with 64 SO. Top of our order. Dale Ainsworth leads off with a double to left center! Perry Templet swings at the first pitch, as he is wont to do, and lines one to center, but Chris Hagerty makes an unbelievable catch and Ainsworth is almost doubled off. They walk Jeff Schottler intentionally, the coldest hitter on the team, to get to Dave Lesley, who has not had an AB in this series. I wish I would not have put him in for Randy James, now... A passed ball sends the runner to 2nd and 3rd! Lesley works the count full and draws a walk to load the bases up with 1 out. Gary Long is up... Please, no double play.... They have the infield in and he grounds into a force at home, 6 to 2. Jeff Austin lines out to center... dern, dern, dern, dern, dern....

Bottom of the Tenth:
We will stick with Don Schmidt until he gets in trouble, because he is due up next inning. With 2 outs, Bob Holder doubles to left... dern..dern... We'll stay with him, because I do not want to bring in Antoine Redd or Lonny Tomski and I want to save Curt Riley for next inning. Edwin Juan homers to center.... There is no next inning...

Lost 6 to 4, in 10 innings.

We had 8 hits and made 2 errors
Dallas had 12 hits and made 1 error

Frank Martin went 5.1 innings, allowed 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3.
RHP Barry Chapman (H 1) faced 1 batter and got 2 outs.
LHP Lou Hertzberg (H 1) went 2 innings, allowed 1 run, 2 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 1.
RHP Don Schmidt (L 0-1 BS 1) went 1.2 innings, allowed 3 runs, 5 hits, 1 HB and 1 home run.

Rod Herrera went 5.2 innings, gave us 3 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 3.
RHP Tom Murray (W 1-0) went 1 shutout inning, gave us 1 hit and 2 walks (1 INT).

RF Dale Ainsworth had 2 hits with a double, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI. CF Perry Templet had 3 hits with a double and a home run, scored a run and had 2 RBI. 1B Jeff Austin hit a double and a home run.

For the Eagles, LF Bob Holder had 3 hits with 2 doubles and scored 2 runs. 2B Edwin Juan had 4 hits with 2 home runs, stole a base and had 4 RBI. 3 HR in the series. Starting to look like the #16 prospect he was labeled in April.

We are heading back to Portland now and need to win 2 games in a row.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, October 9, Year I

National League Championship Series

Game 6
St. Louis Cardinals (2-3 Champions of the NL West) at
Boston Braves (3-2 Champions of the NL East)

STL: Danny Hull (29-R 14-5 3.43) vs BOS: Ron Bozeman (32-L 16-10 2.49)

The Cardinals knocked Bozeman out of the box in the 3rd inning, taking a 5 to 0 lead, but the Braves scored 6 run in the 5th.

Boston won, 8 to 6

W - RP Scott Mortensen (1-0)
SV - RP George Scaggs. (1)

L - RP Luis Carracheo (1-1)

For the Braves, 3B Ben Newman (25-L) had 3 hits with a double and an RBI. He had 10 RBI in the series.

For the Cardinals, 3B Tim Kelly (31-R) hit a 3 run home run.

Boston wins the National League Championship, 4 games to 2.

2B Randy Bradley (35-R) was named the MVP of the NLCS. He was 12 for 25 (.480) with 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR and 7 R and 5 RBI. 1.540 OPS

[Questdog]

Wednesday, October 10, Year I

Pacific League Championship Series

Game 6
Dallas Eagles (3-2 Champions of the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (2-3 Champions of the PCL West)

DAL: Adrian Oliver (32-L 12-7 3.70) vs. POR: Terry Melton (26-R 11-5 2.25)

Dallas won this match up in Game 2, 6 to 3, knocking Melton out of the box in the 5th inning. Oliver gave us 3 runs, but only 1 earned in 7 innings.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
DALLAS
1: 1B Tony Sierra (25-R .306-422-5-39-.784)
2: CF Chris Hagerty (24-L .294-429-5-53-.761) Rookie
3: 3B Qian Duan (29-R .261-499-17-.713)
4: RF Dick Gottesman (31-L .276-199-6-29-.742)
5: LF Bob Holder (26-R .255-581-13-74-.730)
6: 2B Edwin Juan (25-R .259-444-7-57-.692) Rookie
7: SS Joe Aloe (27-L .239-326-6-42-.677) Rookie
8: C Dan Kaczmarek (28-R .292-465-17-93-.841) All-Star
9: P Adrian Oliver (32-L .100-60-0-5-.276)

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .310-575-11-60-.819)
2: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .210-281-2-30-.542) Rookie
3: 2B Gary Long (32-R .260-585-9-58-.678)
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .275-506-18-85-.788)
5: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .261-487-13-53-.729) Rookie
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-562-16-69-.673)
7: LF Woody Griesbach (23-R .242-97-2-7-.666) Rookie
8: C Phil Parker (27-S .233-159-1-13-.582)
9: P Terry Melton (26-R .189-53-0-1-.468)

Game Start: 8:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 57 F, Clear Skies, with an 8 MPH wind blowing right to left.
Attendance: 44,703

Top of the First:
Tony Sierra lines out to 2nd, Gary Long making a nice catch. Chris Hagerty lines out to deep left, near the foul line. Qian Duan grounds out to 2nd! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth grounds one to 3rd, but Qian Duan boots it! Eddie Thomas flies out to right. Gary Long grounds out to 3rd and Ainsworth moves to 2nd. 2 outs. Randy James grounds a hit to left and Ainsworth heads home, but LF Bob Holder throws him out.... Holder does not have a very strong arm...

Dallas 0, Portland 0

Top of the Second:
3 up, 3 down!

Bottom of the Second:
After Jeff Schottler pops out to 2nd to drop to 2 for 20 during the series, Jeff Austin, batting .400 and looking like he might keep his job for next year, draws a walk. He gets caught stealing... What was I thinking? Never praise a player... Full count to Woody Griesbach and he lines out hard to right.

Dallas 0, Portland 0

Top of the Third:
They go down in order with 2 strikeouts!

Bottom of the Third:
We go down in order with 2 strikeouts....

Dallas 0, Portland 0

Top of the Fourth:
3 batters, 3 ground ball outs!

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Gary Long grounds a hit to right. But the other 3 batters in the inning all strike out...

Dallas 0, Portland 0

Top of the Fifth:
They go down in order!

Bottom of the Fifth:
Please score some runs, boys! With 1 out, Griesbach doubles to left center, but 2 automatic outs are due up and I am not going to pinch-hit for either one. Phil Parker, automatic out #1, draws a 4 pitch walk! Terry Melton, automatic out #2, does not bunt and my heart drops to the floor when he swings away and grounds one to 3rd... but they do not get a double play, only the out at first and it works just like a bunt... 2 down. Dale Ainsworth grounds out to 1st... dern...

Dallas 0, Portland 0

Top of the Sixth:
2 up, 2 down and P Adrian Oliver up. After retiring the first 17 batters of the game, P Terry Melton throws a 3-2 pitch out of the strike zone and walks the pitcher.... Tony Sierra grounds out to short!

Bottom of the Sixth:
After Gary Long makes the second out by sending a fly ball to the warning track in center, Randy James grounds a hit into center. But Jeff Schottler goes to 2 for 22 by flying out to center.

Dallas 0, Portland 0

Top of the Seventh:
This is rough on my nerves.... Chris Hagerty swings at a 3-0 pitch and grounds out to short! Qian Duan grounds out to 2nd! Dick Gottesman bloops a hit to left.... dern, dern, dern, dern... we are going to lose.... Bob Holder grounds a hit up the middle and Gottesman goes to 3rd. That brings Edwin Juan and his hot bat to the plate.... what to do?.... Call to the Bullpen: Barry Chapman (26-R). The only reliever we have, who has yet to give up a hit... Let's give him a chance to blow one... Perry Templet (23-L) comes in to play center in a double switch. Full count to Juan and he swings at the payoff pitch and grounds out to 3rd!!!

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 1 out, Woody Griesbach lines a hit to right. Now that the no-no is no more, we will pinch-hit for Phil Parker with Howard McNeal (30-R), in possibly his final at bat as a Beaver. He pops out to short. 2 outs. That brings up Perry Templet, who was 5 for 37 (.135) against lefties on the season... He works the count full and swings at the payoff pitch and sends it deep to right center.....415 feet deep! Home Run!!! Un-Beee-LEEEEEE-Vah-BULL!!!! 2 to 0, Beavers!!!! Dale Ainsworth grounds out to 2nd.

Dallas 0, Portland 2

Top of the Eighth:
Dave Benya (26-S) is in to catch. 7-8-9 hitters up for them, although with Steve DeMuro out, their #8 hitter is the best hitter on the team... With 2 outs, Jim Bakutis (26-S), the ex-Beaver, pinch-hits for the pitcher and he whacks one down into the right field corner. He rounds second and heads to 3rd, but RF Dale Ainsworth gets the ball there first and he is out!!!!

Bottom of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Charlie Sedgwick (35-R). We go down in order with 2 strikeouts.

Dallas 0, Portland 2

Top of the Ninth:
Dave Lesley (26-R) is in to play 3rd for Randy James. The Bullpen is ready to hop in. Top of their order is up. Tony Sierra lines a hit to right. Call to the Bullpen: Lou Hertzberg (29-L). They pinch-hit for Chris Hagerty with Fran Haer (26-R). He grounds into a 6-4-3 double play!!! Qian Duan plops one down in front of the plate and C Dave Benya throws him out and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!!!!

Won - 2 to 0

We had 6 hits and made no errors
Dallas had 4 hits and made 1 error

Terry Melton, finally looking like his early season self, went 6.2 shutout innings, allowed 2 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3. He retired the 1st 17 batters of the game.
RHP Barry Chapman (W 1-0) went 1.1 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 1.
LHP Lou Hertzberg (SV 1) pitched a perfect 9th, only facing 2 batters!

Adrian Oliver (L 1-1) went 7 innings, gave us 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 6.

3B Randy James had 2 hits. LF Woody Griesbach had 2 hits with a double and scored a run. CF Perry Templet had 1 AB and hit a 2 run home run!! Against a lefty!!

[Questdog]

Thursday, October 11, Year I

Pacific League Championship Series

Game 7
Dallas Eagles (3-3 Champions of the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (3-3 Champions of the PCL West)

DAL: Bill Avallone (30-R 19-6 3.03) vs. POR: Ron Wolf (27-R 17-12 3.31)

We won this matchup in Game 3, 4 to 1, our first win of the series.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
DALLAS
1: 1B Tony Sierra (25-R .306-422-5-39-.784)
2: CF Chris Hagerty (24-L .294-429-5-53-.761) Rookie
3: 3B Qian Duan (29-R .261-499-17-.713)
4: RF Dick Gottesman (31-L .276-199-6-29-.742)
5: LF Bob Holder (26-R .255-581-13-74-.730)
6: 2B Edwin Juan (25-R .259-444-7-57-.692) Rookie
7: SS Joe Aloe (27-L .239-326-6-42-.677) Rookie
8: C Dan Kaczmarek (28-R .292-465-17-93-.841) All-Star
9: P Bill Avallone (30-L .304-91-4-21-.818)

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (27-L .310-575-11-60-.819)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .306-484-7-57-.792) Rookie
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-562-16-69-.673)
4: 3B Randy James (33-R .275-506-18-85-.788)
5: 2B Gary Long (32-R .260-585-9-58-.678)
6: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .261-487-13-53-.729) Rookie
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .233-159-1-13-.582)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .210-281-2-30-.542) Rookie
9: P Terry Melton (26-R .189-53-0-1-.468)

Game Start: 8:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 55 F, Clear Skies, with an 8 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 44,839

Top of the First:
Tony Sierra lines one to left and Jeff Schottler cannot quite reach it and Sierra has a single. There goes the no-no.... Chris Hagerty grounds into a force at 2nd, 6u. Qian Duan lines out to 1st and Jeff Austin beats Hagerty to the bag to double him off!

Bottom of the First:
Score quick and early and often, Please... Dale Ainsworth grounds a hit to left center! He steals 2nd! Perry Templet grounds out to 2nd and Ainsworth moves to 3rd. Okay, this is why Jeff Schottler was moved out of the 3 hole. We just need contact! Jeff Austin grounds out to short and Ainsworth scores! 1 to 0, Beavers! Randy James grounds a hit up the middle. Gary Long gets beaned. Jeff Schottler swings at a 1-2 pitch and homers to left!!!! 4 to 0, Beavers! Phil Parker grounds out to the pitcher. So all I had to do was ask nicely? I should have tried that a long time ago!

Dallas 0, Portland 4

Top of the Second:
Dick Gottesman leads off with a double down the right field line. Bob Holder doubles to center.... 4 to 1, Beavers. With 2 outs, Dan Kaczmarek, who has been fairly quiet this series, lines a hit to right and Holder scores. 4 to 2, Beavers. They pinch-hit for Bill Avallone!! Fran Haer (26-R) is sent up. He flies out to center!

Bottom of the Second:
New Pitcher: Fernando Martinez (30-R), making his first appearance of the series. Only 38 games during the season and no starts, but 104.1 IP. 9-2 with a 1.81 ERA. Has a starter's stuff, but not the endurance. Eddie Thomas leads off with a hit to left! P Ron Wolf tries to bunt, but once again we fail and he pops out to 3rd. Dale Ainsworth hits a home run down the right field line!!! 6 to 2, Beavers!!! With 2 outs, Jeff Austin singles to left. Randy James grounds out to short.

Dallas 2, Portland 6

Top of the Third:
Tony Sierra lines a hit to center. With 1 out, P Ron Wolf picks Sierra off at 1st!!! Qian Duan grounds out to the pitcher!!

Bottom of the Third:
We go down in order.

Dallas 2, Portland 6

Top of the Fourth:
Dick Gottesman leads off with a towering shot to right that lands 374 feet from home plate, but must have travel about 600 feet in the air. 6 to 3, Beavers. If we lose this one, I will be devastated..... The next three go down in order!

Bottom of the Fourth:
More runs, please! We go down in order.

Dallas 3, Portland 6

Top of the Fifth:
Dan Kaczmarek leads off with a hit to right and we get the Bullpen amped up. They let P Fernando Martinez bunt Kaczmarek to 2nd. Tony Sierra grounds out to short. Full count to Chris Hagerty and he lines out to 1st!

Bottom of the Fifth:
Now, I know for certain that if I had let my pitcher hit in that situation, the Baseball gods would make me pay by having him give up runs the next inning....Let's see if it is only me they torment.... With 1 out, Jeff Austin homers to left center!!! 7 to 3, Beavers! It is comforting to know I am not singled out! That is Austin's 3rd home run of the series and he has just convinced me to give him another chance next year. Maybe he can bounce back the way Randy James did this season. He's 3 years younger.

Dallas 3, Portland 7

Top of the Sixth:
3-4-5 hitters go down 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Sixth:
With 2 outs, Eddie Thomas reaches on an error by 2b Edwin Juan. We let P Ron Wolf bat and he grounds a hit to right and Thomas goes to 3rd! They relieve P Fernando Martinez. New Pitcher: Steve Patterson (29-L). Jim Bakutis (26-S) comes in to play left in a double switch. Dale Ainsworth grounds a hit to center and Thomas scores and Wolf goes to 3rd! 8 to 3, Beavers! Perry Templet grounds out to 2nd.

Dallas 3, Portland 8

Top of the Seventh:
With 2 outs, Dan Kaczmarek doubles down the left field line. Jim Bakutis flies out to right!

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 1 out, Randy James lines a hit to center. Gary Long, who has not had many opportunities, finally gets one, and grounds into a 4-6-3 double play.

Dallas 3, Portland 8

Top of the Eighth:
Top of their order. Tony Sierra lines the first pitch to center for a hit. With 1 out, Qian Duan grounds into a 5-4-3 double play!

Bottom of the Eighth:
Jeff Schottler leads off with a double down the right field line. With 2 outs, we pinch-hit for P Ron Wolf with Woody Griesbach (23-R). He works the count full, but then flies out to center.

Dallas 3, Portland 8

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Lonny Tomski (27-R). Dave Lesley (26-R) is in to play 3rd. Dick Gottesman fouls out to 3rd. PH Tommy Wilson (29-R) flies out to left. 3-2 pitch to Edwin Juan and he takes ball 4. Joe Aloe flies out to center and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!!!

We are going to the World Series!!!

Won - 8 to 3

We had 11 hits and made no errors
Dallas had 9 hits and made 1 error

Ron Wolf (W 2-0) went 8 innings, allowed 3 runs, 9 hits, 1 home run, no walks and struck out 1. At bat, he had a hit.
Lonny Tomski pitched a scoreless 9th and allowed 1 walk.

Bill Avallone (L 0-2) went 1 inning, gave us 4 runs, 3 hits, 1 home run, no walks, 1 HB and struck out no one. At bat, he did not get an at bat!

RF Dale Ainsworth had 3 hits with his 2nd home run of the series, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBI. 1B Jeff Austin had 2 hits with his 3rd home run of the series and had 2 RBI. 3B Randy James had 2 hits and scored a run. LF Jeff Schottler hit a double and a home run and had 3 RBI. SS Eddie Thomas had a hit and scored 2 runs. He gets my vote for MVP! 9 hits with 3 doubles and 6 runs scored! .360 BA and superior defense!

We hit 8 home runs in the Series! 7 in the last 4 games!

For the Eagles, 1B Tony Sierra had 3 hits. C Dan Kaczmarek had 3 hits with a double and an RBI.

We win the Series, 4 games to 3!!!

The writers voted CF Perry Templet the MVP and I cannot argue with that. We were 0-2 before he stepped onto the field. He went 10 for 21 (.476) with 2 doubles and 2 home runs, scored 5 runs and had 5 RBI in only 4 starts in the series and 1 relief appearance (a BIG relief appearance).