The Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League (MLB)

[Questdog]

Thursday, July 5, Year I

We are in Houston to play 4 more games indoors over the final weekend before the All-Star break. The Astros just beat Seattle 2 of 3 here. They had a horrible June. After a promising 14-11 start in April, they dropped to 12-15 in May and plummeted to 9-20 in June. They are 3-1 in July, so far, though. We are 3-2 against them on the season and won the only 2 we have played in the Astrodome so far. Houston is dead last in scoring with 3.5 runs per game (Portland is 7th with 4.0, but only scored 6 runs total in the 3 games in Minneapolis). We are tied with them for the fewest HR in the League with 44. They are 2nd in fewest runs allowed with 3.5 per game (Portland is still #1 with 3.1). They are the only team to have allowed fewer HR than us (46 to 48).

Portland Beavers (52-31 .627 in 1st place in the PCL West) at
Houston Astros (38-47 .447 10.5 GB in 6th (last) place in the PCL East)

It is never good to play two last place teams in the same division in a row....
The reason being is that the first team you played is only out of last place because they beat you.....

We have lost 3 in a row; we have not lost 4 in a row this season.

POR: Johnny Maskell (23-R 1-1 5.68) Rookie vs. HOU: Rick Wright (25-L 7-6 3.53) Rookie

Wright is another waiver claim we get to face, but they have all done pretty well against us so far. This will be his second start for Houston since being claimed from St. Louis. In the first, he allowed 5 runs in 2 innings. He is the first left-hander we have faced in almost 2 weeks. We have faced the fewest of any team in the Majors, but there just are not many lefties this season in the Pacific Coast League. We have faced 15 before today and the most anyone has faced is 22 (Denver). The fewest any National League team has faced is 23 (Brooklyn). Baltimore has faced the most (36).

This is Maskell's third Major League start. The first one was great; the second one was lousy.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .305-318-4-37-.802)
2: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .304-56-0-8-.750) Rookie
3: 3B Randy James (32-R .269-238-7-34-.740)
4: LF Howard McNeal (30-R .254-224-6-25-.704)
5: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .248-306-9-39-.688)
6: 2B Dave Lesley (26-R .265-234-3-30-.687)
7: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .262-202-3-22-.731) Rookie
8: C Dave Benya (26-S .143-49-0-2-.379)
9: P Johnny Maskell (23-R .500-4-0-2-1.250)

HOUSTON
1: CF Don Mosley (29-R .231-316-11-37-.686)
2: 2B Bob Webster (22-S .269-227-5-24-.725) Rookie
3: 1B Bob Trigg (29-S .285-281-3-21-.745)
4: LF Tony Baez (32-R .245-294-13-45-.726)
5: 3B Ed Sacco (31-R .292-284-8-37-.768)
6: RF Glen Sternlicht (28-R .100-40-1-2-.357)
7: SS Russ Mitchell (31-R .275-287-1-28-.683)
8: C Bucky White (27-L .167-18-0-2-.377) Rookie
9: P Rick Wright (25-L .031-32-0-1-.062)

LF Tony Baez was among the league leaders in HR with 11 when he was traded to the Astros from the Padres. Since the trade on June 9, he is hitting .213 with 2 HR in 89 AB with a .575 OPS.

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Astrodome
Weather: Indoors
Attendance: 15,369

Top of the First:
Dale Ainsworth strikes out. Eddie Thomas lines one to 1st, but Bob Trigg drops the ball and cannot pick it in time! E-3. Randy James pops out to right. Howard McNeal strikes out.

Bottom of the First:
Don Mosley lines out to center. Bob Webster swings a t a 3-2 pitch and flies out to left. Bob Trigg makes up for his error by beating out an infield hit. Tony Baez lines a hit to right. I was not badmouthing him, just informing the public....so no jinx.... Ed Sacco lines a hit to right and Trigg scores. 1 to 0, Astros. Glenn Sternlicht grounds out to short.

Bottom of the Third:
With 1 out, Bob Webster singles, steals 2nd, goes to 3rd on a hit by Bob Trigg and scores on a fly ball by Tony Baez. 2 to 0, Astros.

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 2 outs, Bob Trigg homers to right. 3 to 0, Astros.

Top of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Randy James triples to right, but he is still there when the inning is over....

Lost - 3 to 0

Four losses in a row and 6 total runs in our last 4 games against last place teams...

We had 3 hits and made no errors
Houston had 9 hits and made 1 error

Johnny Maskell (L 1-2) went 7 innings, allowed 3 runs, 8 hits, 1 home run, no walks and struck out 3.
RHP Barry Chapman pitched 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and 1 walk.

Rick Wright, the waiver claim, went 9 shutout innings (CG), gave us 3 hits, 2 walks and struck out 11.

RF Dale Ainsworth hit a double. 3B Randy James hit a triple. LF Howard McNeal hit a double.

For the Astros, 1B Bob Trigg went 2 for 3 with a walk and his 4th home run of the season. He scored twice.

[Questdog]

Friday, July 6, Year I

The Astros signed 1B Dennis Mulcahy (26-R) as a free agent today after he was released by Los Angeles on June 24. He hit .243 in 210 AB for the Angels with 12 HR and a .777 OPS. The deal was for $392,000 for 1 season, but he is a rookie. So, getting cut was about the best thing to happen for Mulcahy. He got a big raise!

Portland Beavers (52-32 .619 in 1st place in the PCL West) at
Houston Astros (39-47 .453 10.5 GB in 5th place in the PCL East)

POR: Ron Wolf (27-R 10-3 2.97) vs. HOU: Dave Ross (26-R 1-1 3.18)

Ross is yet another waiver claim and he also comes from the Cardinals, the same team that gave the Astros yesterday's winning pitcher, Rick Wright. St. Louis must have pitchers to burn. This will be his 2nd start for the Astros. In the first, he gave up 1 run in 7 innings, but walked 5.

Wolf pitched a 3 hit shutout his last time out and has won 5 decisions in a row.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .304-322-4-37-.802)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .312-298-3-33-.777) Rookie
3: LF Jeff Schottler (24-R .259-205-3-22-.720) Rookie
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .291-306-6-31-.759)
5: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .245-310-9-39-.679)
6: 3B Dave Lesley (26-R .262-237-3-30-.681)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .255-110-1-11-.653)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .288-59-0-8-.724) Rookie
9: P Ron Wolf (27-R .135-37-0-1-.297)

HOUSTON
1: CF Don Mosley (29-R .228-320-11-37-.678)
2: 2B Bob Webster (22-S .268-231-5-24-.722) Rookie
3: 1B Bob Trigg (29-S .292-284-4-22-.770)
4: LF Tony Baez (32-R .249-297-13-46-.731)
5: 3B Ed Sacco (31-R .292-288-8-38-.765)
6: C Dick Becker (33-R .307-114-1-6-.831)
7: RF Dave Longman (23-R .249-173-5-16-.683) Rookie
8: SS Russ Mitchell (31-R .276-290-1-28-.683)
9: P Dave Ross (26-S .000-3-0-0-.000)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Astrodome
Weather: Indoors
Attendance: 21,429

Top of the First:
Dale Ainsworth grounds out to 2nd. Perry Templet loops a hit into right. Jeff Schottler swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses. Gary Long grounds out to 3rd.

Bottom of the First:
Don Mosley strikes out! Bob Webster strikes out! Bob Trigg flies out to left! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Third:
With 2 outs, 1B Jeff Austin makes a 2-base throwing error and P Dave Ross ends up at 2nd as their first base runner of the game. Don Mosley follows with their first hit, a double to right center, and Ross scores their first run. 1 to 0, Astros.

Top of the Sixth:
Perry Templet leads us off with a double, but has to leave the game with bruised shoulder. Howard McNeal goes in to run for him and will play left, with Jeff Schottler moving over to center. Our 3-4-5 hitters are up and they all strike out...

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Phil DeNeui (26-R). 17 SV and a 2.95 ERA. A little wild, but otherwise pretty stout. Has 2 saves against us. Dave Lesley gets a 2-out hit, but PH Randy James grounds out to 3rd.

Lost - 1 to 0

Back-to-back shutout losses and 5 dropped in a row....
Both shutouts to pitchers claimed off waivers...

Ron Wolf's 5 game winning streak is snapped, through no fault of his own...

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

Ron Wolf went 7 innings, allowed 1 unearned run, 3 hits, 1 intentional walk and struck out 4. At bat, he hit a double.
RHP Barry Chapman pitched 1 perfect inning and struck out 2.

Dave Ross (W 2-1) went 8 shutout innings, gave us 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 10. At bat, he scored the only run of the game.
RHP Phil DeNeui (SV 18) pitched a scoreless 9th and gave us 1 hit.

CF Perry Templet had 2 hits with a double. The trainer says the bruise on his shoulder will be gone in 4 or 5 days and will make it difficult for him to throw, but should not affect his hitting.

[Questdog]

Saturday, July 7, Year I

Portland Beavers (52-33 .612 in 1st place in the PCL West) at
Houston Astros (40-47 .460 10.5 GB in 5th place in the PCL East)

POR: Frank Martin (26-R 7-7 3.01) Rookie vs. HOU: Don Panighetti (25-L 7-5 2.71)

Spaghetti Panighetti is no waiver claim, but a true stud pitcher and their #2 starter. He beat us back in early May, giving us 2 runs in 7 IP.

Martin has had 3 good outings in a row, allowing a total of 3 runs.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .305-325-4-37-.802)
2: SS Dave Lesley (26-R .261-241-3-30-.678)
3: 3B Randy James (32-R .267-243-7-34-.741)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .287-310-6-31-.749)
5: LF Howard McNeal (30-R .253-229-6-25-.702)
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .242-314-9-39-.671)
7: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .254-209-3-22-.707) Rookie
8: C Dave Benya (26-S .135-52-0-2-.359)
9: P Frank Martin (26-S .135-37-0-1-.320) Rookie

HOUSTON
1: CF Don Mosley (29-R .228-324-11-38-.679)
2: 2B Bob Webster (22-S .264-235-5-24-.710) Rookie
3: 1B Bob Trigg (29-S .289-287-4-22-.762)
4: LF Tony Baez (32-R .247-300-13-46-.724)
5: 3B Ed Sacco (31-R .292-291-8-38-.767)
6: C Dick Becker (33-R .299-117-1-6-.811)
7: RF Bill Henning (29-L .267-247-1-23-.711)
8: SS Russ Mitchell (31-R .276-293-1-28-.686)
9: P Don Panighetti (25-R .190-42-0-5-.418)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Astrodome
Weather: Indoors
Attendance: 21,855

Top of the First:
Dale Ainsworth grounds out to 2nd. Dave Lesley doubles to right center! Randy James draws a 4 pitch walk. Gary Long takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up! Control has not been an issue with Panighetti this season. The first pitch to Howard McNeal goes through the catcher for a passed ball and Lesley scores! 1 to 0, Beavers! McNeal swings a t a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to short and James scores. 2 to 0, Beavers. Jeff Austin grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the First:
Don Mosley leads off with a walk... He steals 2nd, but Bob Webster walks... Full count to Bob Trigg and he takes ball 4.... Bases loaded with no outs and all the Astros had to do was stand there.... Tony Baez strikes out! Ed Sacco lines a single to right and 2 runs score to tie the game... Dick Becker grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and the runners move up. Bill Henning grounds out to the pitcher.

Bottom of the Second:
After the first 2 are put out, Don Mosley draws another walk. Bob Webster singles and then Bob Trigg doubles home both runners. 4 to 2, Astros.

Wake up! It's the Ninth Inning!

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Phil DeNeui (26-R). 18 SV and a 2.88. 3 SV against us. Randy James leads off with a hit, but Gary Long, Howard McNeal and Jeff Austin all strike out...

Lost - 4 to 2

6 losses in a row and 8 runs scored in them...
All to stinky teams..
18 hits by our offense in the last 4 games total...
1 HR in our last 13 games...

We had 4 hits and made no errors
Houston had 7 hits and made no errors

Frank Martin (L 7-8) went 7 innings, allowed 4 runs, 6 hits, 5 walks and struck out 5.
RHP Antoine Redd pitched a scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

Don Panighetti (W 8-5) went 8 innings, gave us 2 runs, 3 hits, 3 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit and a walk.
RHP Phil DeNeui (SV 19) pitched a scoreless 9th, giving us 1 hit and striking out 3.

SS Dave Lesley hit a double and scored a run and made no errors.

[Questdog]

Sunday, July 8, Year I

We are not going to sign Bobby Otero (16-R) of the Dominican Republic. The bidding has gotten too high.

The All-Star Game rosters were announced today and we have 2 players going: P Terry Melton and P Ron Wolf. The team with the most PCL All-Stars is the team we are playing right now, the Houston Astros. They have 4 players going.

In the National League, the Dodgers and the Cubs each have 5 going.

Baltimore, Cleveland and San Francisco were all shut out.

Portland Beavers (52-34 .605 in 1st place in the PCL West) at
Houston Astros (41-47 .466 10.5 GB in 5th place in the PCL East)

POR: Tom Horn (24-L 5-4 2.94) Rookie vs. HOU: Steve Fialho (28-R 6-3 2.44)

Fialho is their #1 starter and he is going to the All-Star Game. The League is only hitting .223 off him this season. For some reason he pitched out of the Bullpen for a month... He beat us back on May 7, shutting us out in 7.1 IP on 1 hit.

Horn has had 6 Quality Starts in a row.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .304-329-4-37-.799)
2: LF Gordon Saunderson (26-L .270-63-0-4-.663) Rookie
3: 3B Randy James (32-R .268-246-7-34-.743)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .284-313-6-31-.744)
5: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .250-212-3-22-.698) Rookie
6: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .239-318-9-39-.663)
7: C Dennis Webb (25-L .252-143-0-9-.618)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .290-62-0-8-.721) Rookie
9: P Tom Horn (24-L .207-29-0-4-.441) Rookie

HOUSTON
1: RF Dave Longman (23-R .246-175-5-16-.679) Rookie
2: 2B Bob Webster (22-S .265-238-5-24-.712) Rookie
3: LF Tony Baez (32-R .243-304-13-46-.715)
4: CF Don Mosley (29-R .227-326-11-38-.679)
5: 1B Gary Warner (26-R .324-102-1-11-.735) Rookie
6: C Dick Becker (33-R .298-121-1-6-.801)
7: 3B Glen Sternlicht (28-R .091-44-1-2-.326)
8: SS Russ Mitchell (31-R .276-297-1-28-.683)
9: P Steve Fialho (28-R .200-30-0-1-.433)

Game Start: 1:05 PM
Ballpark: The Astrodome
Weather: Indoors
Attendance: 24,218

Top of the First:
Dale Ainsworth grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Gordon Saunderson grounds out to 2nd. Randy James grounds out to 3rd.

Bottom of the First:
Dave Longman pops out to shallow center. Bob Webster grounds out to 3rd. Tony Baez lines a home run to left. 1 to 0, Astros. Don Mosley grounds out to short.

Bottom of the Second:
With 1 out, Dick Becker walks on 4 pitches. With 2 outs, he goes to 2nd on a wild pitch and then scores on a hit by Russ Mitchell. 2 to 0, Astros.

Top of the Fourth:
P Steve Fialho strikes out our 2-3-4 hitters....

Bottom of the Fourth:
Don Mosley gets beaned and Gary Warner doubles. Dick Becker grounds out to 3rd and Mosley scores. 3 to 0, Astros.

Top of the Fifth:
Jeff Schottler leads off with our second hit of the day and Jeff Austin singles him to 3rd. Dennis Webb, who had our first hit, singles to center and Schottler scores. 3 to 1, Astros. Jeff Austin then gets picked off at 2nd and we get no more...

Top of the Sixth:
On the Hill: Don Schmidt (26-R), beginning his 2nd inning of work. He gets the leadoff hitter to pop out, but then has to leave the game with pain in his leg... New Pitcher: Antoine Redd (31-R). Dave Lesley (26-R) comes in to play 3rd on a double switch. The first batter Redd faces, Glen Sternlicht, homers to right center. 4 to 1, Astros.

Lost - 4 to 1

7 losses in a row!
9 total runs scored in the games...
A week in and we have already lost more games in July than we did in June....

We had 6 hits and made 1 error
Houston had 8 hits and made no errors

Tom Horn (L 5-5) went 4 innings, allowed 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks (1 INT), 1 HBP and struck out 2.
RHP Don Schmidt went 1.1 scoreless innings and allowed 1 hit.
RHP Antoine Redd went 2.2 innings, allowed 1 run, 3 hits, 1 home run and struck out 2.

Steve Fialho (W 7-3) went 9 innings (CG), gave us 1 run, 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 7.

C Dennis Webb had 3 hits with a double and our RBI.

The trainer's report on P Don Schmidt is not good. He has a pulled hamstring that will keep him out for 5 to 6 weeks. I should not complain, because it is the first significant injury our team has had this season, but why does it have to be to our best relief pitcher? Why couldn't it have been 1B Jeff Austin, who is more or less absent anyway? Schmidt will be put on the Disabled List and Brian Hagans (25-R) will be recalled from Vancouver (AAA).

[Questdog]

Monday, July 9, Year I

Monday Morning Report
NL Player of the Week - Joe Froehlich, 2B, St. Louis (22-S .264/.328/.440) Had 9 hits with 2 2b, 3 HR, 3 BB, 4 R and 10 RBI in 7 G
PCL Player of the Week - Mike Nackley, P, San Diego (26-L 14-5 1.50 ERA) Went 2-0 0.00 ERA 2 GS 17.2 IP 10 H 0 HR 2 BB 13 SO. 1 ShO He has not allowed more than 2 runs in a game since May 19.

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

July 2 - Los Angeles won at Dallas, 7 to 3, in 18 innings. Neither team scored after the 6th inning, until the Angels scored 4 times in the top of the 18th.
July 2 - Bob Harris (26-R) of Denver pitched a 3 hit shutout at San Francisco. He walked 7 and struck out 6. It was Harris' 2nd start of the season. In his 1st, he gave up 7 runs in 6 IP for the Minnesota Twins, who then waived him. The Bears claimed him on July 1.
July 3 - Brett Davidson (31-L) of San Francisco pitched a 3 hit shutout at home against Denver. He walked 1 and struck out 4. It was his first start for the Seals after being claimed off waivers from Houston. It is his 3rd shutout of the season. He is now 6-8 with a 3.01 ERA. Pretty good pitcher to be given away for free.... The Seals won, 4 to 0.
July 4 - Two days after playing 18 innings, Los Angeles and Dallas played 16 innings in Texas, with the Eagles prevailing this time, 4 to 3. Each team scored a run in the 15th inning.
July 4 - Cincinnati lost SS Don Kodra (30-R) for the season with post-concussion syndrome. He was batting .290 with a .713 OPS in 225 AB.
July 4: St. Louis lost 2B/CF Ken Greenhalgh for the season with a broken elbow. He was third in the NL with a .320 BA and led the League with 26 2B. He had an OPS of .869.
July 5 - 3B Tim Kelly (30-R) of St. Louis went 4 for 4 with a home run and 5 RBI at home versus Brooklyn. The Cardinals won, 5 to 3.
July 6 - 3B Dwight Marshall (36-R) of Minnesota went 4 for 4 with a walk and a home run at home versus Oakland. He stole a base, scored 2 runs and had 4 RBI. The Twins won, 6 to 3.
July 6 - Jerry Ivester (25-R) of Denver pitched a 4 hit shutout at San Diego. He walked 2 and struck out 7. He is now 6-6 with a 4.25 ERA. The Bears won, 3 to 0.
July 6 - Miguel Garza (27-R) of Detroit pitched a 1 hit shutout at home versus New York. He walked 3 and struck out 8. He was claimed off waivers from Houston. He is now 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA. The only hit was a single to lead off the 3rd inning by the Giants' pitcher.
July 7 - Mike Nackley (26-L) of San Diego struck again with a 3 hit shutout at home versus Denver. He walked 1 and struck out 4. It is his 6th shutout of the season, tops in Baseball. He is now 14-5 with a 1.50 ERA and on pace to with the Pitching Triple Crown in the Pacific Coast League. The Padres won, 4 to 0.

Random Fact of Week: 7 losses in a row to less than awesome teams.... I cannot think of anything fun to say this week. I have to brood for the next 4 days.... Hopefully, Ron Wolf and Terry Melton do not get hurt at the All-Star Game.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, July 10, Year I

All- Star Game

The very first game of its kind!

The game was staged in Los Angeles.

Voted Starters:
NATIONAL LEAGUE
C Tim Strange, Washington (28-L .302-268-11-39-.868)
1B Tim Vigen, St. Louis ( 27-L .321-318-13-40-.998)
2B Randy Bradley, Boston (34-R .306-350-19-65-.905)
3B Steve Merritt, Brooklyn (26-L .303-330-12-52-.816)
SS Mario Medina, Washington (31-R .289-197-6-30-.790) Injured
LF Don Rockwell, Brooklyn (33-L .326-304-17-52-.952)
CF Tom Bolstad, Chicago (31-L .303-343-17-47-.890)
RF Guillermo Soto, Brooklyn (29-R .250-300-13-36-.859)
SP Ron Bozeman, Boston (32-L 6-6 2.42)
RP George Scaggs, Boston (27-L 6-2 1.47 7 SV)

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE
C Don Stokes, Oakland (39-R .274-241-11-32-.807)
1B Pedro Fuentes, Kansas City (30-R .285-330-16-52-.817)
2B Rob Douma, Denver (27-R .279-337-13-51-.797)
3B Mike Fahy, San Diego (30-L .335-319-10-49-.901)
SS Tom Harriger, Milwaukee (24-R .329-337-5-54-.853)
LF Steve DeMuro, Dallas (29-L .335-251-10-49-1.002)
CF Ron Nachman, Los Angeles (28-L .318-349-12-44-.893)
RF Rick Ingledue, Minnesota (30-L .276-312-16-51-.848)
SP Mike Nackley, San Diego (26-L 14-5 1.50)
RP Rudy Wells, Milwaukee (35-R 2-0 1.47 0 SV)

Ron Nachman was the top vote getter.

The National League won, 3 to 1.

LF Steve DeMuro of Dallas was the MVP. He went 3 for 3 with a walk and a home run, the only one hit in the game.

The two Beaver pitchers sent to the game both participated. Terry Melton pitched the 2nd inning and gave up a hit and struck out a batter. Ron Wolf started the 3rd inning, but did not complete it. He gave up 3 hits and a walk and 2 runs and was tagged with the loss while getting 2 batters out.

[Questdog]

Friday, July 13, Year I

We signed our one and only international amateur free agent today. 3B Antonio Ortiz (16-R) was inked to a contract for a $140,000 bonus. He is a wretched defender and will be moved to First Base. We signed him because he reportedly has some power and can outrun my pet turtle, though the race was close.

Again with the Friday the 13th!
Well, we cannot be having worst luck today than we already got lately...

We start the second half of the season with a double header in Kansas City. We need to make up a rainout from earlier. We will play 4 games with them over the weekend. We are 4-2 against them this season and won the 2 games we played in Kansas City. They are 4th in scoring in the PCL with 4.3 runs per game (Portland is down to 9th with 3.8). They are tied for 2nd in HR (80), only one off the lead, even though Royals Stadium is a tough place to homer. We ware dead last with 44, even behind the Astros now. In our last 14 games, we have hit exactly 1 home run (Randy James). The Royals are 7th in fewest runs allowed with 4.1 per game (We are still #1 with 3.1).

Portland Beavers (52-35 .598 in 1st place in the PCL West) at
Kansas City Royals (49-39 .557 2 GB in 2nd place in the PCL East)

Our 7 game losing streak is on the line today.

Game 1
POR: Terry Melton (26-R 11-3 2.01) vs. KC: Steve Byrd (32-R 12-5 3.32)

Byrd is their #1 starter. We have beaten him twice this season, but he pitched decently, going at least 7 innings each time.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .303-333-4-37-.795)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .315-302-3-33-.784) Rookie
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .240-321-9-39-.663)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .281-317-6-31-.735)
5: LF Jeff Schottler (24-R .251-215-3-22-.697) Rookie
6: 3B Randy James (32-R .265-249-7-34-.734)
7: C Dennis Webb (25-L .267-146-0-10-.652)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .277-65-0-8-.690) Rookie
9: P Terry Melton (26-R .222-45-0-1-.550)

KANSAS CITY
1: SS Alejandro Prieto (26-S .237-299-8-31-.688)
2: 1B Pedro Fuentes (30-R .285-330-16-52-.817) All-Star
3: CF Randy Schmitt (25-L .305-311-11-41-.821) All-Star Rookie #5 prospect
4: LF Ricky Rodriguez (30-R .278-335-14-47-.821) All-Star
5: 3B Tony Olson (37-L .244-303-5-36-.723)
6: RF Ed Gladney (31-L .273-253-5-31-.742)
7: C Jose Muniz (27-R .234-265-8-34-.675)
8: 2B John Brockman (30-L .225-213-4-19-.667) 42 BB
9: P Steve Byrd (32-R .085-47-0-1-.191)

Game Start: 1:05 PM
Ballpark: Royals Stadium
Weather: 90 F, Clear Skies, with a 12 MPH wind blowing out to center.
Attendance: 39,722

Top of the First:
Dale Ainsworth beats out an infield hit. C Jose Muniz has a weak arm and P Steve Byrd is decent at holding runners. But Ainsworth does not run. Perry Templet grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6. Jeff Austin grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4. He does not run either. Gary Long grounds out to short.

Bottom of the First:
Alejandro Prieto lines a hit to left. Pedro Fuentes grounds a hit to left on an 0-2 pitch. Prieto steals 3rd. Randy Schmitt strikes out! Full count to Ricky Rodriguez and he takes ball 4 to load the bases up. Tony Olson flies out to center and Prieto scores. 1 to 0, Royals. Ed Gladney flies out to center.

Top of the Second:
Jeff Schottler leads off by lining a hit to right. Randy James then drills one over the center fielder's head for a double! Schottler stops at 3rd. Dennis Webb hits a hard line drive right at the second baseman who doubles Schottler off 3rd base.... Eddie Thomas grounds out to 3rd, Tony Olson making a nice play. 2nd and 3rd with no outs, but no runs...

Top of the Third:
P Terry Melton leads off by striking out, but the ball gets past C Jose Muniz and Melton is safe at 1st! They rule it a passed ball. A wild pitch sends him to 2nd and a single by Dale Ainsworth sends him to 3rd. The second straight inning we put a runner on 3rd with no outs. Can we score this time, please? Ainsworth gets thrown out stealing, just like I knew he would.... But Perry Templet does not pop out, like I thought! He grounds a hit to left and Melton scores to tie the game at 1! Jeff Austin then gets his second half off to a good start by grounding into a 6-4-3 double play... He just HAS to hit in the second half....

Top of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Jeff Schottler homers to left!!! A Home Run!!!! We have not seen one of those since July 1!!! You have to go back to June 23 to see another! 2 to 1, Beavers!

Bottom of the Fourth:
After getting the 3rd out, Terry Melton comes to the dugout complaining of back pain again... His day is done.

Bottom of the Fifth:
New Pitcher: Lou Hertzberg (29-L). John Brockman leads of with a double, gets bunted to 3rd by P Steve Byrd and scores on a fly ball by Alejandro Prieto. Tie game at 2 apiece.

Bottom of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Jerry Wilhelm (32-L). Ed Gladney leads off with a double. We walk Jose Muniz intentionally. John Brockman bunts the runners up, but they leave P Steve Byrd in to hit... One or the other is stupid.... We bring the infield in and Byrd grounds out to short. Alejandro Prieto strikes out!

Top of the Eighth:
3-4-5 hitters up for us and they go down 1-2-3....

Bottom of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Antoine Redd (31-R). Dave Lesley is in to play 2nd in a double switch. Pedro Fuentes whacks an 0-2 pitch into the right field corner for a double... We walk Randy Schmitt intentionally. Ricky Rodriguez swings at the first pitch and homers to straight away center... 5 to 2, Royals. Redd has not been good lately and our best, Don Schmidt, is out....

Lost - 5 to 2

8 losses in a row and 7 straight of scoring 2 or fewer runs...

We had 11 hits and made no errors
Kansas City had 8 hits and made no errors

Terry Melton went 4 innings, allowed 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk and struck out 1. At bat, he scored a run.
LHP Lou Hertzberg (BS 3) went 2 innings, allowed 1 run, 1 hit, 1 HBP and struck out 1.
LHP Jerry Wilhelm went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit, 1 intentional walk and struck out 1.
RHP Antoine Redd (L 1-3) faced 5 batters and got 1 out. He allowed 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 home run and 1 intentional walk.
RHP Brian Hagans faced 2 batters and got them both out with 1 strikeout.

Steve Byrd (W 13-5) went 8 innings, gave us 2 runs (1 earned), 9 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 3. He threw a WP.
RHP Jack Rose (SV 17) pitched a scoreless 9th, giving us 2 hits and striking out 1.

RF Dale Ainsworth had 3 hits. LF Jeff Schottler had 2 hits with his 4th home run of the season. 3B Randy James hit a double and drew a walk. C Dennis Webb had 2 hits. 2B Dave Lesley had a hit in his only AB.

For the Royals, LF Ricky Rodriguez hit a double and his 15th home run of the season, drew a walk, was hit by a pitch (before the home run) and had 3 RBI.

GAME 2
POR: Ron Wolf (27-R 10-4 2.80) vs. KC: Troy Levine (24-L 6-2 2.06) Rookie

Levine has been excellent, but we scored 5 runs off him in 4 innings on May 12 in Portland, though we lost the game, 10 to 6.

Wolf, the All-Star Game loser, has only allowed 1 earned run in his last 3 starts combined, but is only 1-1...

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .261-69-0-8-.652) Rookie
2: LF Howard McNeal (30-R .252-234-6-26-.696)
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-325-9-39-.655)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .280-321-6-31-.733)
5: 3B Randy James (32-R .266-252-7-34-.740)
6: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .256-219-4-23-.716) Rookie
7: C Dave Benya (26-S .130-54-0-2-.346)
8: RF Gordon Saunderson (26-L .258-66-0-4-.652) Rookie
9: P Ron Wolf (27-R .154-39-0-1-.359)

KANSAS CITY
1: SS Alejandro Prieto (26-S .238-302-8-32-.687)
2: 1B Pedro Fuentes (30-R .287-334-16-52-.811) All-Star
3: CF Randy Schmitt (25-L .303-314-11-41-.815) All-Star Rookie #5 prospect
4: RF Ed Gladney (31-L .276-257-5-31-.749)
5: 3B Tony Olson (37-L .242-306-5-37-.715)
6: LF Jim Dingess (32-R .312-77-2-16-.863)
7: 2B John Brockman (30-L .227-216-4-19-.671)
8: C Edwin Valdez (34-R .211-19-0-1-.663)
9: P Troy Levine (24-L .065-31-0-1-.161) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Royals Stadium
Weather: 88 F, Clear Skies, with a 12 MPH wind blowing out to center.
Attendance: 39,025

Top of the First:
Eddie Thomas leads off with a 4 pitch walk. He steals 2nd. Howard McNeal grounds a hard one over the 3rd base back for a double and Thomas scores! 1 to 0, Beavers! Jeff Austin swings at the first pitch and flies out to center. Gary Long flares a hit to right center and McNeal heads home... RF Ed Gladney uncorks a wild throw and McNeal is safe and Long goes to 2nd on the error! 2 to 0, Beavers! Can we score more than 2, today? Randy James grounds out to 3rd. 2 outs. Jeff Schottler swings at a 3-2 pitch and flies out to center.

Bottom of the First:
Alejandro Prieto grounds a hit into right. Pedro Fuentes pops out to 2nd. Randy Schmitt doubles to left and Prieto scores. 2 to 1, Beavers. Schmitt steals 3rd. Ed Gladney pops out to 3rd for the second out. Tony Olson homers to right....unbelievable... 3 to 2, Royals. We finally get some runs.... Jim Dingess strikes out.

Bottom of the Third:
Alejandro Prieto leads off with a hit and with 1 out, Randy Schmitt reaches base on an error by 3B Randy James. Ed Gladney singles to right and Prieto heads home , but RF Gordon Saunderson throws him out! Tony Olson fouls out to the catcher to end the inning!

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 1 out, John Brockman doubles, steals 3rd and scores when C Dave Benya throws the ball into left field. 4 to 2, Royals.

After giving us runs in the first inning, P Troy Levine sets them down in order in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th....

Lost - 6 to 2

9 losses in a row....
2 runs in the 1st inning and none the rest of the way...
8th straight with 2 or fewer runs scored...

We had 8 hits and made 2 errors
Kansas City had 9 hits and made 1 error

Ron Wolf (L 10-5) went 5+ innings, allowed 6 runs (5 earned), 8 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 3.
LHP Jerry Wilhelm went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 1.
RHP Barry Chapman pitched 1 perfect inning.

Troy Levine (W 7-2) went 7.2 innings, gave us 2 runs, 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3. At bat, he had an RBI.

LF Howard McNeal had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had an RBI. PH Dale Ainsworth had a hit. PH Glenn Pearce had a hit.

For the Royals, RF Ed Gladney had 3 hits with a double and scored a run.

The trainer's report on P Terry Melton is not good. It is a herniated disk again, but this time he will miss at least 2 months.... Out best starter and our best reliever are gone from the only strength we had on this team, our pitching.... Now we have no strengths and need to hope we can hold on somehow....

Did I say we could not have worst luck than we had been having? How stupid I was...

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Questdog

[B]Monday, June 25, Year I

Random Fact of Week: We have won 7 games in a row and 15 of our last 16. Since May 19, we are 27-7 (.794). During the last 16 games we have outscored our opponents, 92 to 48.

I think I will take my annual holiday in... October!

[Questdog]

Saturday, July 14, Year I

All-Star P Terry Melton (26-R) was placed on the Disabled List and P Lonny Tomski (27-R) was recalled from Vancouver (AAA).

Portland Beavers (52-37 .584 in 1st place in the PCL West) at
Kansas City Royals (51-39 .567 1.5 GB in 2nd place in the PCL East)

Our 9 game losing streak is on the line today.

POR: Frank Martin (26-R 7-8 3.13) Rookie vs. KC: Don Finley (26-R 7-5 4.08)

Finley has not pitched in 3 weeks due to an injury. Hopefully he is rusty today. It is the only hope our offense has, because if he shuts us out, we won't score any runs, for certain.... On May 13 in Portland, Finley gave us 1 earned run and 4 hits in 5.2 innings. He did not figure in the decision, but we lost.

After starting the season 4-2, Martin is 3-6 since.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .310-339-4-37-.804)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .314-306-3-34-.782) Rookie
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-329-9-39-.653)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .280-325-6-32-.730)
5: LF Jeff Schottler (24-R .251-223-4-23-.704) Rookie
6: 3B Randy James (32-R .263-255-7-34-.731)
7: C Dennis Webb (25-L .273-150-0-10-.661)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .260-73-0-8-.652) Rookie
9: P Frank Martin (26-S .128-39-0-1-.304) Rookie

KANSAS CITY
1: SS Alejandro Prieto (26-S .242-306-8-32-.691)
2: 1B Pedro Fuentes (30-R .284-338-16-52-.813) All-Star
3: CF Randy Schmitt (25-L .302-318-11-42-.814) All-Star Rookie #5 prospect
4: LF Ricky Rodriguez (30-R .282-337-15-50-.843) All-Star
5: 3B Tony Olson (37-L .243-309-6-39-.726)
6: RF Ed Gladney (31-L .284-261-5-31-.764)
7: C Jose Muniz (27-R .231-268-8-34-.670)
8: 2B John Brockman (30-L .227-220-4-19-.673)
9: P Don Finley (26-R .250-36-1-5-.643)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Royals Stadium
Weather: 82 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 10 MPH wind blowing out to left.
Attendance: 40,111

Top of the First:
Dale Ainsworth grounds out to 2nd. Perry Templet takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. He gets caught stealing by one of the weakest armed catchers in the League and a pitcher who is not good at holding runners... Jeff Austin grounds out to short.

Bottom of the First:
Alejandro Prieto beats out an infield hit. Pedro Fuentes grounds into a 4-6-3 double play! Randy Schmitt, who leads the PCL in runs scored with 58, grounds out to 2nd!

Top of the Second:
With 1 out, Jeff Schottler singles, steals 2nd, goes to 3rd on a wild pitch and scores on a fly ball by Randy James. 1 to 0, Beavers!

Bottom of the Second:
With 2 outs, P Frank Martin walks the bases loaded, but thankfully it is the pitcher up to bat and he fouls out.

Top of the Third:
Eddie Thomas leads off with a walk, gets bunted to 2nd by P Frank Martin, steals 3rd and scores on a fly ball by Dale Ainsworth. 2 to 0, Beavers! Have we reached our quota, or can we sneak another run past the game warden before this game is over? It has been 13 days since we scored more than 2 runs in a game...

Top of the Sixth:
Dale Ainsworth leads off with a hit and then Perry Templet jerks one down the right field line and just over the fence!! Home Run!! 4 to 0, Beavers!! 4 runs!!!

Won - 4 to 0

2 hit shutout!!

The losing streak is over!!!

We had 7 hits and made 1 error
Kansas City had 2 hits and made no errors

Frank Martin (W 8-8) went 9 shutout innings (CG), allowed 2 hits, 3 walks (all in a row) and struck out 4.

Don Finley (L 7-6) went 8 innings, gave us 4 runs, 7 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks and struck out 3.

CF Perry Templet hit his 4th home run of the season, drew a walk and had 2 RBI. 2B Gary Long hit a double. LF Jeff Schottler had 2 hits, stole a base and scored a run.

[Questdog]

Sunday, July 15, Year I

Bobby Otero (16-R), the young Dominican slugger we had pursued, but dropped out of the bidding after it went past $500,000, signed a contract today with the Brooklyn Dodgers. His bonus was $1,226,500!!!!! Maybe we will be sad that we did not go to $1.5 million, but at least he will be in the National League... By the way, the second highest bonus given to a player this summer has been $380,000.

Portland Beavers (53-37 .589 in 1st place in the PCL West) at
Kansas City Royals (51-40 .560 2.5 GB in 2nd place in the PCL East)

POR: Tom Horn (24-L 5-5 3.11) Rookie vs. KC: Victor Gevara (24-R 1-0 2.79)

Gevara is not a rookie and is working on his 3rd season in the Major Leagues. He has only made 3 starts this season due to injury. In 19.1 IP so far, he has walked 8 and struck out 17. He has a dominating changeup.

Horn has lost his last 2 starts, though he has not pitched terribly. Not particularly well, either, though.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .310-342-4-38-.802)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .314-309-4-36-.792) Rookie
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .238-332-9-39-.655)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .280-329-6-32-.730)
5: LF Jeff Schottler (24-R .256-227-4-23-.709) Rookie
6: 3B Randy James (32-R .264-258-7-35-.730)
7: C Dennis Webb (25-L .266-154-0-10-.644)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .250-76-0-8-.636) Rookie
9: P Tom Horn (24-L .200-30-0-4-.427) Rookie

KANSAS CITY
1: SS Alejandro Prieto (26-S .242-310-8-32-.688)
2: 2B Ken Morris (30-R .222-117-1-6-.617)
3: LF Ricky Rodriguez (30-R .279-341-15-50-.834) All-Star
4: 1B Pedro Fuentes (30-R .284-342-16-52-.809) All-Star
5: CF Randy Schmitt (25-L .298-322-11-42-.805) All-Star Rookie #5 prospect
6: 3B Tony Olson (37-L .240-312-6-39-.720)
7: C Jose Muniz (27-R .230-270-8-34-.668)
8: RF Julio Hernandez (29-L .323-99-4-15-.828)
9: P Victor Gevara (24-R .400-5-0-0-.800)

Game Start: 1:05 PM
Ballpark: Royals Stadium
Weather: 90 F, Clear Skies, with a 10 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 37,575

Top of the First:
Dale Ainsworth swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to right. Perry Templet grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4. Jeff Austin strikes out. Gary Long flies out to left.

Bottom of the First:
Alejandro Prieto works the count full and then pokes one in front of the plate and C Dennis Webb throws him out. Ken Morris grounds out to short. Ricky Rodriguez grounds out to short! 1-2-3!

Top of the Fifth:
With 2 outs, Eddie Thomas sneaks a ground ball through the right side for a hit. P Tom Horn then doubles to center and Thomas scores from 1st! 1 to 0, Beavers!

Top of the Seventh:
Randy James leads off with a walk and Dennis Webb bunts him over to 2nd. Eddie Thomas strikes out. 2 down. P Tom Horn grounds a hit into left and James scores! 2 to 0, Beavers! Horn has both RBI!

Bottom of the Eighth:
Julio Hernandez leads off with a double and hurts himself. Joel Stolte (26-R) is the pinch-runner. PH Jim Dingess strikes out! Alejandro Prieto hits a home run to left to the game at 2 apiece.

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Jack Rose (29-R), their closer. 3.12 ERA. We go down in order...

Bottom of the Ninth:
On the Hill: Antoine Redd (31-R), beginning his 2nd inning of work. They go down in order!

Extras!

Top of the Tenth:
We go down in order.

Bottom of the Tenth:
They go down in order!

Top of the Eleventh:
New Pitcher: Kevin McCormick (22-R). A Rookie. #14 prospect. He had an 0.39 ERA in AA before being called up and has an 0.39 ERA in 23 IP in the Majors. Only 9 H and 8 BB with 22 SO... Jeff Schottler leads off with a liner to right for a hit! He steals 2nd! Randy James swings at a 3-0 pitch and flies out to left. PH Glenn Pearce (39-R) is walked intentionally. Schottler tries to steal 3rd and gets thrown out... 2 down. 3-2 pitch to Eddie Thomas and he swings and misses....

Bottom of the Eleventh:
New Pitcher: Barry Chapman (26-R). Ken Morris beats out an infield hit. Chapman tries to pick him off at 1st, but throws the ball away for an error and the winning run is in scoring position with no outs and their 3-4-5 All-Star batters coming up... Morris steals 3rd... With the infield in, Ricky Rodriguez grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Pedro Fuentes flies out to medium right and Morris tags up...the throw is true and in time!!!!! Dale Ainsworth!! But he hurt himself.... Howard McNeal will go into play left and Jeff Schottler will move to right.

Top of the Twelfth:
We go down in order.

Bottom of the Twelfth:
With 2 outs, backup catcher Tim Pierce gets a hit. Mitch Gingrich (36-R) is sent up to pinch-hit. .175 BA in 63 AB with 1 HR. He hits a 1-2 pitch over the left field wall to end the game....

Lost - 4 to 2 in 12 innings

We had 10 hits and made 2 errors
Kansas City had 10 hits and made no errors

Tom Horn went 7.2 innings, allowed 2 runs, 7 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 2. At bat, he had 2 hits with a double and 2 RBI.
RHP Antoine Redd pitched 2.1 perfect innings and struck out 2.
RHP Barry Chapman (L 4-3) went 1.2 innings, allowed 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 home run and struck out 1.

Victor Gevara went 8 innings, gave us 2 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 7.
RHP Kevin McCormick (W 2-0) went 2 scoreless innings, gave us 1 hits, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 2.

RF Dale Ainsworth had 2 hits and threw a runner out at the plate to save the game (for the time being). 1B Jeff Austin hit a double, but got caught stealing 3rd. 2B Gary Long had 2 hits. LF/RF Jeff Schottler had 2 hits and stole a base, but also got caught stealing 3rd. PH Glenn Pearce was walked intentionally.

The trainer's report on Dale Ainsworth is that he is fine and will be good to go for our next game.

[Questdog]

Monday, July 16, Year I

Monday Morning Report
NL Player of the Week - Ernie Palmer, C, Chicago (30-L .253/.300/.364) Had 6 hits (8 AB) with 2 2b, 3 HR, 1 BB, 0 SO, 5 R and 7 RBI in 3 G (2 GS)
PCL Player of the Week - John Haynes, LF, Seattle (29-L .336/.417/.527) Had 10 hits (12 AB) with 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 BB, 0 SO, 5 R and 4 RBI in 3 G

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

July 13 - Bobby McGregor (34-R) of Los Angeles pitched a 5 hit shutout at home versus Milwaukee. He walked 2 and struck out 2. It is his 3rd shutout of the season. He is now 9-5 with a 2.72 ERA. The Angels won, 5 to 0.
July 13 - RF Dave Arceneaux (26-L) of Pittsburgh had 2 hits with 5 RBI at Boston. He hit a 3 run HR in the top of the 10th. The Pirates won, 8 to 3, in 10 innings.
July 14 - 3B Qian Duan (29-R) of Dallas hit 2 home runs at home versus San Francisco. He had 5 RBI. The Eagles won, 8 to 0.
July 14 - Andy Byers (32-R) of Boston pitched a 5 hit shutout in Fenway Park against Pittsburgh. He walked 1 and did not strike out anyone. It is his 2nd shutout of the season. He is no 11-2 with a 3.41 ERA. The Braves won, 6 to 0.
July 15 - LF John Haynes (29-L) of Seattle had 5 hits with 2 doubles and a triple at Minnesota, scoring 2 runs and driving in 2, but Seattle lost, 6 to 5. The Twins scored all 6 of their runs in the 7th inning.
July 15 - Detroit won at Cincinnati, 17 to 8. SS Joe Duncan (31-R) had 3 hits with a triple and a home run, scored 3 runs and had 4 RBI. LF Joe Wilson (24-L) had 3 hits with 2 doubles and a walk, scored 4 runs and had 3 RBI. 2B Craig Ward (27-L) had 5 hits with a triple and 5 RBI.

(We are skipping the Player stats this week, since only 4 games have been played since the last report....well, the real reason is that they are too depressing to look at...)

Random Fact of Week: Do you remember when we won 18 of 20 games? It was not that long ago; in fact, just before this current horrid stretch where we have now lost 10 of 11 and scored 19 runs total in the 11 games.... I never expected this team to be an offensive juggernaut, but I expected about what they did in the first 3 months of the season: hit for a good average, steal some bases and score enough runs to win some games. From Opening Day until June 30, we hit .265 and averaged 4.04 runs per game. In July (12 G), we are hitting .219 and averaging exactly 2 runs per game....

But as bad as our recent fortunes have been, they are not as bad as the Washington Senators. They have lost 19 in a row! 9 of those losses, including the last 2, have been by 1 run. After starting out 28-24 through April and May, they have gone 7-33 since. They have 10 players currently on the Disabled List, 6 of them on the 60 day and 5 of those not expected to return this season.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, July 17, Year I

We are back home after that miserable road trip where we lost 10 of 11 games. All 3 teams that humiliated us on that trip are coming here for (hopefully) their payback. First up, will be the Minnesota Twins, who got us going on the road trip by sweeping us 3 games in the Metrodome. We are 4-5 against them on the season. They beat Seattle 3 of 4 over the weekend at home and have won 9 of their last 11 games. They are 7th in runs scored in the PCL with 4.0 per game (Portland is 9th with 3.8). They are 10th in fewest runs allowed with 4.6 per game (Portland is still #1 with 3.2).

Minnesota Twins (44-47 .484 10.5 GB in 5th place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (53-38 .582 in 1st place in the PCL West)

MIN: Jesse Marszalek (24-R 3-3 5.09) Rookie vs. POR: Johnny Maskell (23-R 1-2 5.03) Rookie

Marszalek beat us on the road trip, giving us 2 runs in 6.1 innings.

Maskell has made 3 starts: 1 good, 1 bad and one okay. The okay one was his last outing when he gave up 3 runs in 7 IP. He took a loss because 3 runs is out of our range of ability right now.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
MINNESOTA
1: 3B Dwight Marshall (36-R .248-290-5-32-.687) $2.7 million
2: CF Mike Francoeur (26-L .310-348-13-48-.889) All-Star
3: RF Juan Rodriguez (33-L .241-87-2-14-.720) $2 million
4: LF Jamie Cutshall (28-L .228-57-2-2-.694)
5: 1B Gary Olson (26-R .271-255-2-32-.718) Rookie
6: C Steve Church (27-R .219-151-0-13-.592)
7: 2B Billy Allen (29-R .299-224-1-23-.727)
8: SS Jerry Walker (27-R .244-238-1-23-.617) Rookie
9: P Jesse Marszalek (24-R .167-12-0-2-.333) Rookie

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .311-347-4-38-.802)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .308-315-4-36-.778) Rookie
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .237-337-9-39-.654)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .281-334-6-32-.731)
5: LF Jeff Schottler (24-R .259-232-4-23-.710) Rookie
6: 3B Randy James (32-R .261-261-7-35-.726)
7: C Phil Parker (27-S .243-115-1-11-.626)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .247-81-0-8-.622) Rookie
9: P Johnny Maskell (23-R .333-6-0-2-.833) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 81 F, Clear Skies, with a 7 MPH wind blowing in from center.
Attendance: 14,118

Top of the First:
Dwight Marshall lines a hit into center. Mike Francoeur grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4. He steals 2nd and goes to 3rd when C Phil Parker throws the ball into the outfield. Juan Rodriguez strikes out! 2 down. Jamie Cutshall lines out to center!

Bottom of the First:
Let's score some runs! Dale Ainsworth grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Perry Templet grounds out to 3rd. Jeff Austin lines a hit into center. Gary Long flies out to deep right.

Top of the Sixth:
After P Johnny Maskell gave up a leadoff hit in the First Inning, he proceeded to retire 16 in a row until P Jesse Marszalek gets a 1 out hit here in the Sixth. Dwight Marshall grounds into a 4-6-3 double play!

Bottom of the Sixth:
Dale Ainsworth leads off with a drive to left that might be a home run. It is very high and finally comes down just short of the fence, but LF Jamie Cutshall, seemingly afraid of the wall, drops it for a 2 base error! Ainsworth steals 3rd! Perry Templet lines a hit to right! 1 to 0, Beavers! Our 3-4-5 hitters then go down in order, as per usual...

Top of the Seventh:
The Twins' 3-4-5 hitters are up and they do NOT go down in order; they get ON in order... Mike Francoeur leads off with a walk and then back-to-back singles by Juan Rodriguez and Jamie Cutshall tie the game at 1 apiece. Call to the Bullpen: Antoine Redd (31-R). Gary Olson grounds a hit up the middle and Rodriguez heads home from 2nd, but Perry Templet throws him out! Cutshall steals 3rd. Steve Church walks to load the bases up with 1 out. Redd has lost his magic and Don Schmidt is hurt, so we have no right-handed reliever that I can rely on.... The infield is in... I would prefer to only have the corners in here, but Billy Allen grounds one to SS Eddie Thomas and we get a 6-2-3 double play!!!

Bottom of the Seventh:
Randy James leads off with a hit down the right field line. PH Dennis Webb (25-L) bunts him over to 2nd and he goes to 3rd on a ground out by Eddie Thomas. PH Gordon Saunderson (26-L) grounds a hit up the middle and James scores! 2 to 1, Beavers! They stick with P Jesse Marszalek and Dale Ainsworth and Perry Templet hit back-to-back singles to right and Saunderson scores! 3 to 1, Beavers! Still they stick with Marszalek and Jeff Austin singles in another run! 4 to 1, Beavers! New Pitcher: Eddie Ocean (29-R). Gary Long grounds out to short.

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Jerry Wilhelm (32-L) to face their 3-4-5 hitters, all lefties. Mike Francoeur doubles... Juan Rodriguez doubles... 4 to 2, Beavers. That's the end of the line for Wilhelm.. this next batter will be his last as a Beaver... He strikes out Jamie Cutshall. New Pitcher: Rookie Brian Hagans (25-R). Gary Olson, in a 9 pitch at bat, draws a full count walk. Runners are at 1st and 2nd with 1 out. PH Juan Reyna (34-L) lines one hard and deep to right, but Dale Ainsworth manages to snag it! Rodriguez tags up and moves to 3rd. 2 outs. PH Marcos Falcon (32-L) grounds out to short and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!!!!

Won - 4 to 2

We had 10 hits and made 1 error
Minnesota had 7 hits and made 1 error

Johnny Maskell went 6+ innings, allowed 1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.
RHP Antoine Redd (W 2-3) went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and 1 walk.
RHP Barry Chapman (H 3) went 1 perfect inning and struck out 2.
LHP Jerry Wilhelm (H 6) faced 3 batters and got 1 out, allowed 1 run, 2 hits (doubles) and struck out 1.
RHP Brian Hagans (SV 1) got 2 outs and walked 1.

Jesse Marszalek (L 3-4) went 6.2 innings, gave us 4 runs (3 earned), 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit.

RF Dale Ainsworth had a hit and a walk, stole a base and scored 2 runs. CF Perry Templet had 2 hits and 2 RBI. 1B Jeff Austin had 2 hits and a walk, stole a base and had an RBI. 3B Randy James went 4 for 4 with a double and scored a run. His spot in the starting lineup is entirely due to the fact that we could not trade for a better third baseman this winter. We certainly tried, because James had hit .213 for the Beavers last season. But he is hitting .272 now, and we are very fortunate. Not that we will not try to get rid of him this coming winter, though, because we will.... PH Gordon Saunderson (26-L) had a hit, scored a run and had an RBI.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, July 18, Year I

RP Jerry Wilhelm (32-L) was waived and designated for assignment. If he clears waivers he will go to Vancouver (AAA) to play out his contract and be a free agent at the end of the season. We called up RP Curt Riley (35-R). He had a 1.88 ERA with 25 SO in 24 IP for Vancouver.

Minnesota Twins (44-48 .478 10.5 GB in 5th place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (54-38 .587 in 1st place in the PCL West)

MIN: Jose Nieves (28-R 8-10 3.46) vs. POR: Ron Wolf (27-R 10-5 3.05)

Nieves is their #1 starter and the only one in their current rotation with an ERA under 4.94. We are 2-1 against him, but he has pitched 2 really good ball games against us.

Wolf has lost 3 decisions in a row, counting the All-Star game. He gave up 6 runs in 5 innings his last time out.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
MINNESOTA
1: 3B Dwight Marshall (36-R .248-294-5-32-.684)
2: CF Mike Francoeur (26-L .311-351-13-48-.891) All-Star
3: RF Juan Rodriguez (33-L .253-91-2-15-.743)
4: LF Jamie Cutshall (28-L .230-61-2-3-.681)
5: 1B Gary Olson (26-R .271-258-2-32-.720) Rookie
6: 2B Billy Allen (29-R .295-227-1-23-.718)
7: C Miguel Cintora (26-S .252-119-3-15-.689) Rookie
8: SS Jerry Walker (27-R .241-241-1-23-.609) Rookie
9: P Jose Nieves (28-R .130-54-0-2-.278)

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .311-350-4-38-.803)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .310-319-4-38-.781) Rookie
3: 3B Randy James (32-R .272-265-7-35-.748)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .278-338-6-32-.723)
5: LF Jeff Schottler (24-R .254-236-4-23-.699) Rookie
6: 1B Joe Harrison (35-R .207-29-2-6-.717)
7: C Dennis Webb (25-L .259-158-0-10-.629)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .235-85-0-8-.595) Rookie
9: P Ron Wolf (27-R .146-41-0-1-.341)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 69 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 7 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 17,337

Top of the First:
Dwight Marshall lines out to left. Mike Francoeur flies out to shallow right. Juan Rodriguez grounds out to 2nd! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth grounds out to 2nd. Perry Templet pops out to left. Randy James walks on 4 pitches. Gary Long grounds out to short.

Bottom of the Third:
Eddie Thomas, who has cooled off considerably form his good start with the Beavers, leads off with a hit, gets bunted to 2nd by P Ron Wolf and goes to 3rd on a wild pitch. Dale Ainsworth walks on 4 pitches and then steals 2nd. Perry Templet grounds out to 3rd and Thomas scores. 1 to 0, Beavers!

Top of the Fourth:
Dwight Marshall leads off with a double to center and Mike Francoeur beats out an infield hit to put runners at 1st and 3rd with no outs. Cleanup hitter Juan Rodriguez lines one hard to deep left center and Perry Templet makes a running catch, but Marshall trots home with the tying run. 1 to 1. Francoeur steals 2nd and C Dennis Webb throws the ball into center field and Francoeur goes to 3rd. Jamie Cutshall flies out to shallow left and Francoeur decides to go and he beats the throw to the plate. 2 to 1, Twins.

Top of the Fifth:
With 2 outs, #8 hitter, Jerry Walker, hits his 2nd home run of the season in 243 AB.... 3 to 1, Twins.

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 2 outs, P Ron Wolf doubles to right center and Dale Ainsworth knocks him home! 3 to 2, Twins.

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 2 outs, Eddie Thomas hits his first home run as a Beaver! Tie game: 3 to 3! It is his 3rd home run overall on the season. With 2 outs and the bases empty P Ron Wolf is allowed to hit, even though I am aware that this will certainly mean that he gives up runs in the top of the Eighth....

Top of the Eighth:
They go down 1-2-3! They let P Jose Nieves make the last out.

Bottom of the Eighth:
The top of our order and we go down 1-2-3....

Top of the Ninth:
Top of their order: I was planning on letting P Ron Wolf face righty Dwight Marshall and then pull him, but they send up a pinch-hitter: Don Morse (27-L), so I pull him now. New Pitcher: Lou Hertzberg (29-L). Morse strikes out! Mike Francoeur drives one into the gap in right center. He hits 2nd and keeps going, but CF Perry Templet nails him at 3rd!!!! Juan Rodriguez strikes out looking!

Bottom of the Ninth:
Gary Long whacks a 2-2 pitch into right center for a double! New Pitcher: Eddie Amos (35-L), their closer. 2.30 ERA. He has a win and a save against us. They walk Jeff Schottler intentionally. Joe Harrison bunts the runners up. 1 out. C Dennis Webb is up and he cannot hit lefties. I am thinking that whoever I send up will get walked, so I send up PH Glenn Pearce (39-R). If they do not walk him, he is still good for getting a hit. They walk him. Eddie Thomas is up and he is allowed to hit, because he is not bad against lefties. He grounds into a 6-2-3 double play....

Extras!

Top of the Tenth:
With 1 out, Gary Olson singles to right, but Billy Allen grounds into a 6-4-3 double play!

Bottom of the Tenth:
We go down in order.

Top of the Eleventh:
New Pitcher: Barry Chapman (26-R). They go down in order!

Bottom of the Eleventh:
New Pitcher: Ron Singerman (28-R). 2.41 ERA and only 6 walks (1 INT) in 41 IP. He has a win and a save against us. We go down in order.

Top of the Twelfth:
With 1 out, Mike Francoeur singles to left and steals 2nd. He tries to steal 3rd, but gets thrown out! Juan Rodriguez strikes out!

Bottom of the Twelfth:
We go down in order. That's 10 outs in a row for us...

Top of the Thirteenth:
With 1 out, Gary Olson takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. He steals 2nd, even though we had a pitchout called. Billy Allen strikes out! We walk C Steve Church intentionally to get to Jerry Walker, who has a home run in this game... He grounds out to 1st, unassisted!

Bottom of the Thirteenth:
With 2 outs, Perry Templet draws a walk, ending our string of 12 outs in a row. He steals 2nd. Randy James doubles to right and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!!!!

Won - 4 to 3 in 13 innings

We had 6 whole hits and made 1 error
Minnesota had 7 hits and made no errors

Ron Wolf went 8 innings, allowed 3 runs (2 earned), 4 hits, 1 home run, no walks and struck out 3. At bat, he hit a double and scored a run.
LHP Lou Hertzberg went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 3.
RHP Barry Chapman (W 5-3) went 3 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit, 2 walks (1 INT) and struck out 4.

Jose Nieves went 8 innings, gave us 3 runs, 5 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 4. He threw a WP.
RHP Ron Singerman (L 7-5) went 2.2 innings, gave us 1 run, 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 3.

3B Randy James only had 1 hit, but it was a double to end the game! He also drew a walk. 2B Gary Long hit a double. PH Glenn Pearce was walked intentionally. SS Eddie Thomas had 2 hits with his first home run as a Beaver and scored 2 runs.

For the Twins, CF Mike Francoeur had 3 hits with a double, stole 2 bases and scored a run, but was caught stealing and got thrown out trying to stretch the double to a triple.

[Questdog]

Thursday, July 19, Year I

Minnesota Twins (44-49 .473 11.5 GB in 6th (last) place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (55-38 .591 in 1st place in the PCL West)

MIN: Tom LaForce (29-R 5-9 5.06) vs. POR: Frank Martin (26-R 8-8 2.92) Rookie

We faced LaForce once and scored 4 runs in 6 innings. We only had 4 hits, but he walked 6.

Martin pitched a 2 hit shutout his last time out.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
MINNESOTA
1: 3B Dwight Marshall (36-R .249-297-5-32-.688)
2: CF Mike Francoeur (26-L .315-356-13-48-.898) All-Star
3: RF Juan Rodriguez (33-L .242-95-2-16-.710)
4: LF Jamie Cutshall (28-L .215-65-2-4-.637)
5: 1B Gary Olson (26-R .271-262-2-32-.719) Rookie
6: C Steve Church (27-R .216-153-0-13-.592)
7: 2B Billy Allen (29-R .289-232-1-23-.703)
8: SS Jerry Walker (27-R .240-246-2-24-.617) Rookie
9: P Tom LaForce (29-L .111-36-0-2-.247)

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .310-355-4-39-.799)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .306-324-4-39-.771) Rookie
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .241-340-9-40-.662)
4: 3B Randy James (32-R .270-270-7-36-.748)
5: LF Jeff Schottler (24-R .250-240-4-23-.690) Rookie
6: 2B Dave Lesley (26-R .265-249-3-30-.684)
7: C Dennis Webb (25-L .255-161-0-10-.617)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .244-90-1-9-.639) Rookie
9: P Frank Martin (26-S .122-41-0-1-.289) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 74 F, Clear Skies, with a 7 MPH wind blowing out to center.
Attendance: 16,589

Top of the First:
Dwight Marshall strikes out! Mike Francoeur (who's name is impossible for me to type quickly) flies out to deep center. Juan Rodriguez strikes out on 3 pitches! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth pops out to short. Perry Templet takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Jeff Austin grounds into a 4-6-3 double play....

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Perry Templet gets our first hit of the game, a double off the top of the wall in center. He steals 3rd and scores on a ground out by Jeff Austin. 1 to 0, Beavers!

Through 5 innings, P Frank Martin has given them 3 hits and 4 walks, but has managed to keep them off the scoreboard.

Top of the Sixth:
Martin gets the first 2 out, but then gives up 3 straight hits to the bottom of their order, Steve Church, Billy Allen and Jerry Walker to give them a run. Tie game: 1 to 1. They let P Tom LaForce hit and he grounds out to 2nd.

Top of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Antoine Redd (31-R). Top of their order goes down in order!

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 1 out, Randy James draws a walk. Jeff Schottler lines a hit to right, James only going to 2nd because the ball was almost caught. Dave Lesley walks to load the bases up with 1 out. A wild pitch scores James! 2 to 1, Beavers! They walk Dennis Webb intentionally to load them back up. Eddie Thomas flies out to center and Schottler scores! 3 to 1, Beavers. We debate about letting P Antoine Redd bat, but we send up a pinch-hitter: Gary Long (32-R). He grounds out to short. Should have let Redd bat....

Won - 3 to 1

Sweep!
Payback #1....

The last time the Beavers scored 5 runs or more in a game was on July 1....

We had 5 whole hits and made no errors
Minnesota had 9 hits and made no errors

Frank Martin went 6 innings, allowed 1 run, 6 hits, 4 walks and struck out 4.
RHP Antoine Redd (W 3-3) went 1 perfect inning, striking out 1.
RHP Brian Hagans (H 1) went 1.1 scoreless innings, but allowed 3 hits and struck out 1.
LHP Lou Hertzberg (SV 4) faced 2 batter, got them both out and struck out 1.

Tom LaForce (L 5-10) went 8 innings (CG), gave us 3 runs, 5 hits, 5 walks and struck out 3. He threw a WP. At bat, he had a hit.

CF Perry Templet hit a double and drew a walk, stole a base and scored a run. C Dennis Webb went 1 for 1 with 2 walks (1 INT).

For the Twins, who we will see no more this season, C Steve Church went 3 for 3, drew a walk and scored their run.

We finish our season series with the Twins with a record of 7-5.

[Questdog]

Friday, July 20, Year I

The Houston Astros are in town to play a 3 game series over the weekend. They just lost 2 of 3 in Seattle. We are 3-6 against them on the season and they swept us in 4 games in Houston right before the All-Star break. They are last in the PCL in scoring with 3.5 runs per game (Portland is all the way down to 11th with 3.8). They are 2nd in fewest runs allowed with 3.4 per game (Portland is still #1 with 3.1).

Houston Astros (45-50 .474 11.5 GB in 5th place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (56-38 .596 in 1st place in the PCL West)

HOU: Pat Porter (25-R 7-9 3.56) Rookie vs. POR: Tom Horn (24-L 5-5 3.05) Rookie

We have faced Porter twice. He beat us once and the other time we ended up winning in extra innings. He went 8 innings in each game and pitched well, giving us 5 total runs in 16.1 IP.

Horn had a good start last time out, but the time before he gave up 3 runs in 4 innings at Houston.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
HOUSTON
1: RF Dave Longman (23-R .244-193-5-18-.670) Rookie
2: 2B Bob Webster (22-S .278-263-6-27-.739) Rookie
3: LF Tony Baez (32-R .248-331-14-50-.720) 2 for 4 with 2 HR vs. Horn
4: CF Don Mosley (29-R .229-353-11-39-.679)
5: 3B Ed Sacco (31-R .291-316-8-41-.758) All-Star Signed as a minor league FA in April
6: 1B Gary Warner (26-R .318-110-1-12-.724) Rookie
7: C Dick Becker (33-R .299-144-2-9-.822)
8: SS Russ Mitchell (31-R .267-318-2-32-.670)
9: P Pat Porter (25-R .195-41-0-1-.386) Rookie

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .309-359-4-39-.796)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .306-327-4-39-.775) Rookie
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .241-344-9-41-.660)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .276-344-6-32-.719)
5: LF Jeff Schottler (24-R .251-243-4-23-.690) Rookie
6: 3B Randy James (32-R .267-273-7-36-.742)
7: C Dennis Webb (25-L .259-162-0-10-.633)
8: SS Dave Lesley (26-R .263-251-3-30-.682)
9: P Tom Horn (24-L .242-33-0-6-.538) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 71 F, Partly Cloudy, with an 8 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 20,299

Top of the First:
Dave Longman pops out to 1st. Bob Webster takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. With Webster on the move, Tony Baez lines a hit to left and Webster easily makes it to 3rd. Baez steals 2nd, his first steal of the season.... Don Mosley lines a hit to left and Webster scores. 1 to 0, Royals. A wild pitch scores Baez... 2 to 0, Royals. Ed Sacco swings at a 3-2 pitch and flies out to left. 2 down. Gary Warner flies out to left.

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth strikes out. Full count to Perry Templet and he swings at the payoff pitch and whiffs... Jeff Austin lines a double into the right field corner. Full count to Gary Long and he swings and grounds a hit to left! Austin scores! 2 to 1, Royals. Jeff Schottler flies out to deep left.

Bottom of the Fourth:
We have had opportunities to score most every inning, but since the first, we have come up empty. Gary Long leads off with a triple to center! Jeff Schottler grounds a hit up the middle to tie the game at 2! Randy James grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4. With James on the move, Dennis Webb, lines a hit to left and James goes to 3rd. A wild pitch scores him! 3 to 2, Beavers!

Bottom of the Sixth:
Jeff Schottler leads off with a blast to center for a home run! 441 feet! 4 to 2, Beavers!

Top of the Seventh:
Now this is the Baseball gods having fun with me.... With 2 outs, Russ Mitchell plunks one just in front of home plate, but C Dennis Webb acts like it is a greased pig and cannot pick the ball up. E-2. They send up a left-handed pinch-hitter: Bill Henning (29-L), who is hitting .218 versus lefties. P Tm Horn beans him. A wild pitch sends the runners to 2nd and 3rd and Dave Longman singles them both home to tie the game at 4...

Top of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Antoine Red (31-R). Tony Baez leads off with a walk and gets bunted to 2nd by Don Mosley. Ed Sacco doubles off the wall in center and Baez scores. 5 to 4, Royals. Gary Warner lines a hit to right, but Dale Ainsworth throws Sacco out at the plate!

Lost - 9 to 5

That's right, 9 to 5...

We had 9 hits and made 1 error
Houston had 9 hits and made no errors

Tom Horn went 7 innings, allowed 4 runs (2 earned), 4 hits, 2 walks, 1 HB and struck out 2. He threw 2 WP.
RHP Antoine Redd (L 3-4) went 1+ innings, allowed 4 runs, 4 hits, 1 home run and 3 walks (1 INT).
RHP Curt Riley pitched 1 inning and gave up a home run to the first batter he faced on the season and then got 3 outs in a row.

Pat Porter went 6 innings, gave us 4 runs, 8 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk, 1 HB and struck out 5. He threw a WP.
RHP Barry Haneke (W 4-2) pitched 2 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts.

1B Jess Austin hit a double and scored a run. 2B Gary Long had 2 hits with a triple, scored a run and had an RBI. LF Jeff Schottler had 2 hits with his 5th home run of the season and 2 RBI. 3B Randy James hit a double and his 8th home run of the year and scored 2 runs.

For the Astros, 2B Bob Webster hit his 7th home run of the season, drew a walk and had 3 RBI. LF Tony Baez had 2 hits with his 9th home run of the year, drew a walk, stole a base and scored 3 runs. It was his 1st steal of the season and the 4th home run he has hit against the Beavers.

[Questdog]

Saturday, July 21, Year I

Houston Astros (46-50 .479 11.5 GB in 5th place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (56-39 .589 in 1st place in the PCL West)

HOU: Dave Ross (26-R 2-1 1.86) vs. POR: Lonny Tomski (27-R 0-2 4.05) Rookie

Ross beat us, pitching 8 innings of shutout ball two weeks ago in Houston, walking 1 and striking out 10. That was the last time he was on the mound.

Tomski only gets one shot to pitch well or he is back to Vancouver (AAA). The only reason he was recalled over anyone else is because I like his name....

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
HOUSTON
1: 1B Bob Trigg (29-S .287-310-5-25-.768)
2: CF Don Mosley (29-R .230-356-11-40-.680)
3: RF Bill Henning (29-L .263-259-1-23-.701)
4: RF Dave Longman (23-R .249-197-5-20-.680) Rookie
5: 2B Bob Webster (22-S .277-267-7-30-.749) Rookie
6: 3B Ed Sacco (31-R .290-321-8-42-.756) All-Star
7: C Dick Becker (33-R .293-147-2-9-.810)
8: SS Russ Mitchell (31-R .264-322-2-32-.662)
9: P Dave Ross (26-S .000-6-0-0-.000)

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .308-364-4-39-.790)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .302-331-4-39-.766) Rookie
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .241-348-9-41-.661)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .279-348-6-33-.728)
5: LF Jeff Schottler (24-R .255-247-5-25-.707) Rookie
6: 3B Dave Lesley (26-R .260-254-3-30-.676)
7: C Dennis Webb (25-L .261-165-0-10-.638)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .239-92-1-10-.623) Rookie
9: P Lonny Tomski (27-R .333-9-0-0-.844) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: Roof Closed
Attendance: 20,166

Top of the First:
Bob Trigg leads off with a double to left center. Go buy Lonny Tomski a train ticket to Vancouver... Don Mosley chops one to short and gets thrown out and Trigg moves over to 3rd. Bill Henning homers to left. 2 to 0, Astros. His 2nd home run in 260 AB. Where the heck is that ticket! Dave Longman lines a hit to center. Bob Webster lines a hit to center.... Call to the Bullpen: Curt Riley (35-R). Let's see of we need 2 train tickets.... Longman steals 3rd. Ed Sacco flies out to deep right and Longman scores. 3 to 0, Astros. 2 outs. Dick Becker flies out to right.

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 1st, 3-1. Perry Templet grounds out to 3rd. Jeff Austin flies out to left.

Bottom of the Second:
Gary Long leads off with a single, but Jeff Schottler and Dave Lesley both pop out on the infield. Dennis Webb strikes out, but reaches 1st on a passed ball! Eddie Thomas beats out an infield hit to load the bases up for the pitcher. Pinch-hitter: Gordon Saunderson (26-L). He grounds a hit up the middle and Long and Webb both score! 3 to 2, Royals. Dale Ainsworth takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases back up, but Perry Templet grounds out to 1st, unassisted.

Bottom of the Third:
Jeff Austin leads off with a double to the left field corner! He's batting 1.000 in his last at bat! The next three go down in order...

Bottom of the Fourth:
Dennis Webb leads off with a double to center! But once again, the next three go down in order...

Bottom of the Sixth:
Jeff Schottler leads off with a triple to left center! Dave Lesley flies out to right, but Schottler holds. Of course, he does.... Dennis Webb doubles to left and Schottler does NOT hold! Tie game! 3 to 3! Eddie Thomas grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and Webb goes to 3rd. PH Glenn Pearce (39-R) is sent up. A wild pitch and Webb scores! 4 to 3, Beavers! Pearce walks. Dale Ainsworth blasts a home run down the right field line!!! 6 to 3, Beavers! That sends Ross packing.

Top of the Seventh:
Okay, now we have a problem. No one else in the Bullpen is fresh... New Pitcher: Lou Hertzberg (29-L). He gets the first two out on 2 pitches, which is great! But then Dick Becker doubles. He hurts himself sliding in at 2nd. Pinch-runner: Dennis Mulcahy (26-R). Russ Mitchell singles and Mulcahy stops at 3rd. They send up a pinch-hitter: Tony Baez (32-R), who has 4 homers on the season against us... I have no one to go to; Hertzberg has to finish this inning and pitch at least one more... Baez unloads on a 2-1 pitch and hits it about 500 feet....but foul!!! The next pitch he swings and misses!!!!

Top of the Ninth:
P Lou Hertzberg had a 1-2-3 Eighth, so we send him out again. Dave Longman leads off with a single and Bob Webster doubles.... Longman stops at 3rd. The only arm left in the Pen is Antoine Redd, who gave up 4 runs yesterday and is tired. Maybe we can use him to get one out, but not a whole inning... Ed Sacco grounds out to the pitcher! 1 out. PH Gary Warner (26-R) lines out to center and Longman scores. 6 to 4, Beavers, but 2 outs! Russ Mitchell lines a hit to right... Webster stops at 3rd. Oh, man... PH Glen Sternlicht (29-R) is sent up. 1 more batter for Hertzberg... Sternlicht pops out to short and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!!!

Won - 6 to 4

It is the first time we have scored 6 or more runs since June 24...almost a month!
It is the first time we have hit a home run in back-to-back games in over a month (June 19-20).
What are we going to do for a Bullpen tomorrow?

We had 10 hits and made no errors
Houston had 9 hits and made no errors

Lonny Tomski faced 5 batters and got 1 out. He allowed 3 runs, 4 hits and a home run.
RHP Curt Riley faced 5 batters and got them all out, with 1 strikeout.
RHP Brian Hagans went 2 perfect innings and struck out 1.
RHP Barry Chapman (W 6-3) went 2 perfect innings and struck out 2.
LHP Lou Hertzberg (SV 5) went 3 gutsy innings, allowed 1 run, 5 hits and struck out 2.

Dave Ross (L 2-2) went 5.2 innings, gave us 6 runs (4 earned), 8 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 3. He threw a WP.

RF Dale Ainsworth hit his 5th home run of the season, drew a walk and had 2 RBI. CF Perry Templet hit a double. 1B Jeff Austin hit a double. 2B Gary Long had 2 hits and scored a run. LF Jeff Schottler hit a triple and scored a run. C Dennis Webb hit 2 doubles, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. PH Gordon Saunderson had a hit and 2 RBI. PH Glenn Pearce drew a walk and scored a run.

The Astros announced that C Dennis Becker had a broken bone in his foot and would likely miss at least 3 weeks.

Lonny Tomski is already on a train....

[Questdog]

Sunday, July 22, Year I

We called up SP John Alecci (25-R) from Vancouver (AAA). He was 7-8 with a 3.19 ERA there, but has pitched better of late. He will become the 8th pitcher to make his first Major League start for the Beavers this season.

RP Jerry Wilhelm (32-L) cleared waivers, but refused to go to Vancouver... Well, since our Bullpen is gassed and he is fresh, we put him back on the active roster and sent Curt Riley (35-R) back to Vancouver.

Houston Astros (46-51 .474 12.5 GB in 5th place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (57-39 .594 in 1st place in the PCL West)

HOU: Rick Wright (25-L 8-7 3.58) Rookie vs. POR: Johnny Maskell (23-R 1-2 4.21) Rookie

On July 5, Wright pitched a complete game 3 hit shutout against us in Houston. He walked 2 and struck out 11.

Maskell gave up 1 run in 6 IP his last time out. We need Maskell to go deep in this game.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
HOUSTON
1: 1B Bob Trigg (29-S .287-314-5-25-.768) 3 for 3 with a HR vs. Maskell
2: CF Don Mosley (29-R .228-360-11-40-.673)
3: RF Bill Henning (29-L .262-263-2-25-.710)
4: LF Tony Baez (32-R .250-336-15-51-.732)
5: RF Dave Longman (23-R .254-201-5-20-.686) Rookie
6: 3B Ed Sacco (31-R .287-324-8-43-.748) All-Star
7: C Bucky White (27-L .190-21-0-2-.418) Rookie Waiver claim from Chicago
8: SS Russ Mitchell (31-R .267-326-2-32-.666)
9: P Rick Wright (25-L .053-38-0-1-.104) Rookie

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .308-367-5-41-.799)
2: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .240-96-1-10-.618) Rookie
3: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .241-352-9-41-.662)
4: 2B Gary Long (32-R .281-352-6-33-.731)
5: LF Howard McNeal (30-R .254-240-6-27-.702)
6: 3B Randy James (32-R .270-278-8-37-.758)
7: CF Jeff Schottler (24-R .255-251-5-25-.712) Rookie
8: C Dave Benya (26-S .123-57-0-2-.329)
9: P Johnny Maskell (23-R .250-8-0-2-.625) Rookie

Game Start: 1:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 74 F, Clear Skies, with a 7 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 21,747

Top of the First:
Bob Trigg swings at the first pitch and flies out to left. Don Mosley strikes out! Bill Henning hits an 0-2 pitch to left center for a double. Tony Baez, the Beaver Basher, grounds out to short!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short. Eddie Thomas grounds out to the pitcher. Jeff Austin lines out hard to deep center.

Bottom of the Second:
With 1 out, Howard McNeal insures that we will not be no-hit with a single to left from a 3-2 pitch. With 2 outs, Jeff Schottler doubles to the left field corner and McNeal heads home...and is safe! 1 to 0, Beavers! Dave "Automatic Out" Benya strikes out.

Top of the Third:
With 1 out, Bob Trigg homers to right to tie the game at 1. He is now 4 for 5 with 2 home runs against Maskell.

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Howard McNeal swings at a 3-2 pitch and puts it in the left field seats!!! 2 to 1, Beavers! Randy James follows with a blast to center, but it is caught near the warning track.

Top of the Fifth:
Russ Mitchell leads off with a hit, goes to 2nd on a bunt by P Rick Wright. That brings Bob Trigg to the plate and I am yelling, "Walk him! Walk him!", but no one listens... He grounds out to 2nd! Don Mosley then doubles to right center to tie the game at 2. Bill Henning singles to left and Mosley beats the throw to the plate. 3 to 2, Astros. Tony Baez flies out to right.

Top of the Sixth:
Dave Longman leads off with a single and steals 2nd. He goes to 3rd on a ground out and Bucky White grounds a hit through the drawn in infield and Longman scores. 4 to 2, Astros.

Top of the Seventh:
With 1 out, Don Mosley walks on 4 pitches. Bill Henning singles to right and Mosley beats the throw to 3rd. Call to the Bullpen: Antoine Redd (31-R). Full count to Tony Baez and he strikes out! Dave Longman swings at the first pitch and lines a hit into right and Mosley scores. 5 to 2, Astros. Ed Sacco lines out to center.

Bottom of the Seventh:
Howard McNeal leads off with a grounder to left for a hit, but Randy James grounds into a 5-4-3 double play... Jeff Schottler singles and PH Joe Harrison (35-R) takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. PH Glenn Pearce (39-R) doubles down the left field line scoring both runners! 5 to 4, Astros. I forgot to pinch-run for Pearce.... Dale Ainsworth singles to right and the big tub o' lard scores from 2nd without a throw! Tie game! 5 to 5. New Pitcher: Barry Haneke (27-R). Not their closer, but better than him. 0.87 ERA. 18 H in 41.1 IP. He does have a loss to us, though (and a win, too). Full count to Eddie Thomas and he strikes out.

Top of the Eighth:
Well, now all we have in the pen that is not tired is Jerry Wilhelm (32-L) and his 4.35 ERA.... Phil Parker is in to catch. The bottom of their order goes down in order.

Bottom of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Mark Faulk (28-R). 1.69 ERA. Jeff Austin grounds one to short, but Dave Longman, who is playing there now, throws the ball away for a 2 base error! Gary Long lines a hit just over the shortstop's head. Austin only makes it to 3rd because he had to hold up to make sure it was by the shortstop. Howard McNeal strikes out... but P Mark Faulk is injured and has to leave the game. New Pitcher: Brad Hamel (23-R). A rookie with a 1.04 ERA. 8 H in 17.1 IP. Randy James grounds one to short and they try to turn two, but only get the force at 2nd and Austin scores! 6 to 5, Beavers! 6 runs in back-to-back games! 2 outs. Jeff Schottler lines a hit to left. Phil Parker draws a walk to load the bases up with 2 outs. P Jerry Wilhelm is up. Should I pinch hit? Everybody in the Bullpen is tired...but then again, one of them tired is probably better than Wilhelm fresh....hmmm...we let him hit.... He grounds out to 1st.

Top of the Ninth:
Bob Trigg swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short! Don Mosley grounds out to short! Full count to lefty Bill Henning and he swings and grounds out to 2nd and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Beavers!!! Jerry Wilhelm! My boy!

Won - 6 to 5

It is the first time we have scored 6 or more runs in back-to-back games since June 19-20 and the first time we have scored 5 or more in 3 straight games since those Golden Days of June 12-14.
Also the first time since then that we have hit a home run in 3 straight.
We have never hit 1 in 4 straight games.
7 straight no decisions from our starting pitchers.
They are wearing our Bullpen out!

We had 9 hits and made no errors
Houston had 10 hits and made 1 error

Johnny Maskell went 6.1 innings, allowed 5 runs, 9 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 3.
RHP Antoine Redd faced 3 batters and got 2 outs, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.
LHP Jerry Wilhelm (W 3-1) pitched 2 perfect innings and struck out 1.

Rick Wright went 6.2 innings, gave us 5 runs, 7 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 7.
RHP Mark Faulk (L 0-1) faced 3 batters, got 1 out, gave us 1 unearned run, 1 hit and struck out 1.

LF Howard McNeal had 3 hits with his 7th home run of the season and scored 2 runs. CF Jeff Schottler had 3 hits with a double, scored a run and had an RBI. PH Joe Harrison drew a walk and scored a run. PH Glenn Pearce hit a 2-run double and scored a run.

For the Astros, RF Bill Henning had 3 hits with a double and an RBI.

The Astros reported RP Mark Faulk has back pain and should be okay in about 5 days. He will need to be idle until then.

We are done with the Astros this season and lost the season series to them, 5-7.

[Questdog]

Monday, July 23, Year I

Monday Morning Report
NL Player of the Week - Jim Foor, RF, Philadelphia (25-R .303/.391/.498) Had 12 hits with 2 2b, 1 HR, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 SB, 0 CS, 7 R and 7 RBI in 5 G
PCL Player of the Week - Rob Douma, 2B, Denver (27-R .292/.337/.520) Had 14 hits with 0 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 1 BB, 2 SO, 4 SB, 0 CS, 11 R and 15 RBI in 6 G

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

July 16 - 1B Danny Jaramillo (38-R) of New York went 4 for 4 with a double and 2 HR and 5 RBI at home versus Pittsburgh. The Giants won, 8 to 5.
July 18 - The Houston Astros lose their #1 starter for 5 to 6 weeks. Steve Fialho (28-R) is 8-3 with a 2.24 ERA that is good for 4th best in the PCL.
July 18 - The Washington Senators beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9 to 1, at home in the first game of a double header to end their 19 game losing streak. They then proceeded to beat the Reds, 1 to 0, in the night cap to start a winning streak.
July 20 - 2B Rob Douma (27-R) of Denver went 4 for 4 with a triple and 2 home runs, stole a base, scored 4 runs and had 5 RBI at home versus San Francisco. The Bears won, 15 to 10.
July 21 - 2B Roger Rojas (24-R) of San Diego had 2 hits with a Grand Slam at Milwaukee. He had 5 RBI. The Padres won, 5 to 3.

Random Fact of Week: RP Antoine Redd (31-R) has allowed 3 HR and 13 H in 12.2 IP in July for a 5.68 ERA.

[Questdog]

Monday, July 23, Year I

The Kansas City Royals are in town to play a short 2 game set. They beat us 3 of 4 in Kansas City the weekend before last. We are 5-5 against them on the season. They won 2 of 3 in Seattle over the weekend. They are 4th in runs scored in the PCL with 4.2 runs per game (Portland is 9th with 3.8). They are 6th in fewest runs allowed with 4.1 per game (Portland is still #1 with 3.2).

Kansas City Royals (54-44 .551 4.5 GB in 2nd place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (58-39 .598 in 1st place in the PCL West)

KC: Steve Byrd (32-R 13-6 3.21) vs. POR: Ron Wolf (27-R 10-5 3.00)

Byrd is their #1 starter. We are 2-1 against him this year, but he beat us the last time out and has gone at least 7 innings every time.

Wolf pitched decently last time out, but has lost 2 decisions in a row and allowed 9 runs in his last 13 innings, including a loss to these same Royals.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
KANSAS CITY
1: SS Alejandro Prieto (26-S .237-338-12-40-.704)
2: RF Ed Gladney (31-L .281-281-6-34-.771)
3: CF Randy Schmitt (25-L .296-348-12-46-.808) All-Star Rookie #5 prospect
4: 3B Tony Olson (37-L .228-338-6-40-.690) 1 for 2 with a HR vs. Wolf
5: LF Ricky Rodriguez (30-R .275-371-15-51-.821) All-Star
6: 1B Pedro Fuentes (30-R .279-365-16-54-.793) All-Star
7: 2B John Brockman (30-L .222-230-4-20-.661)
8: C Jose Muniz (27-R .230-291-9-36-.670)
9: P Steve Byrd (32-R .077-52-0-1-.173)

PORTLAND
1: RF Dale Ainsworth (26-L .308-370-5-42-.800)
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .301-335-4-39-.766) Rookie
3: 2B Gary Long (32-R .281-356-6-33-.728)
4: 3B Randy James (32-R .266-282-8-38-.747)
5: LF Gordon Saunderson (26-L .257-74-0-7-.637) Rookie
6: C Dennis Webb (25-L .266-169-0-11-.658)
7: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .239-356-9-41-.655)
8: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .230-100-1-10-.595) Rookie
9: P Ron Wolf (27-R .163-43-0-1-.395)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: 73 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 15 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 19,930

Top of the First:
Alejandro Prieto grounds out to 1st, 3-1. Ed Gladney swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle. With Gladney on the move, Randy Schmitt lines out to left and Gordon Saunderson makes the throw to 1st to double the runner off!

Bottom of the First:
Dale Ainsworth grounds out to 3rd. Perry Templet belts a liner that goes to the wall in center for a triple! Gary Long grounds out to short and Templet scores. 1 to 0, Beavers! Randy James flies out to deep center.

Bottom of the Second:
P Steve Byrd strikes out Eddie Thomas to end the inning, but is hurt and has to leave the game.

Bottom of the Fourth:
P Reggie Mack (26-R), who came on in the Third Inning, after Byrd got hurt, gives up a leadoff single to Randy James and then has to leave the game himself with an injury. New Pitcher: Alex Ramirez (32-L). 2.74 ERA. Joel Stolte comes in to play 1st on a double switch, which means their All-Star 1B Pedro Fuentes is out of the game. Ramirez gets 3 outs in a row.

Bottom of the Fifth:
Eddie Thomas leads off with an infield hit and P Ron Wolf bunts him to 2nd. Dale Ainsworth grounds out to 1st, 3-1, and Thomas goes to 3rd. P Alex Ramirez is hurt and has to leave the game. Wow! 3 pitchers hurt in one game. I feel for them... And we are just past the halfway mark. New Pitcher: John Curtis (31-R). 2.84 ERA. They only have one more reliever who is not gassed in their Pen. Perry Templet grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Randy James hits a home run to right center! 2 to 0, Beavers! That ties him with Jeff Austin for the team lead with 9. Austin hit his 9th over a month ago... And his 8th was a month before that....

Top of the Seventh:
With 1 out, PH Mitch Gingrich (36-R) singles. With 2 outs, Jose Muniz homers to left.... Tie Game: 2 to 2. I hope you did not hear what I said...

Bottom of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Kevin McCormick (22-R). Rookie and the #14 prospect in Baseball. 0.39 ERA in AA before being called up and an even better ERA (0.36) in the Majors. 1 run allowed in 25.1 IP with 10 H and 24 SO. He has a win against us this season. He is the last reliever they have that is not tired, but probably all they need.... After Eddie Thomas strikes out, expectedly, we send up PH Joe Harrison (35-R), who unexpectedly doubles to right center! They walk Dale Ainsworth intentionally and Perry Templet strikes out. 2 down. Gary Long swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines a hit to left center and Harrison scores! 3 to 2, Beavers! Randy James grounds one to 3rd, but Tony Olson boots it and Ainsworth scores! 4 to 2, Beavers! Howard McNeal grounds another one to 3rd and Olson boots it, too! He is normally not a bad fielder. The bases are loaded for Phil Parker (27-S), who came in to catch earlier. Full count and he takes ball 4!!!! 5 to 2, Beavers!! Jeff Austin up to end the inning, for certain.... He drives an 0-1 pitch over the head of the center fielder for a base clearing double!!!!!!!! 8 to 2, Beavers!!!! Eddie Thomas back up and he will end it like he began it, with a strikeout, I am sure. But not until a wild pitch sends Austin to 3rd. Nope! Thomas walks! Joe Harrison pops out to 2nd to end the most unbelievable inning in Beaver History!!!!

Won - 8 to 2

We hit a home run in 4 straight games for the first time this season!

We had 8 hits and made 1 error
Kansas City had 7 hits and made 3 errors

Ron Wolf (W 11-5) went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 5.
RHP Barry Chapman went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit, 3 walks and struck out 2. He balked.

Steve Byrd went 2 innings, gave us 1 run, 2 hits, no walks and struck out 1.
RHP Kevin McCormick (L 2-1) went 2 innings, gave us 6 runs (1 earned), 3 hits, 3 walks (1 INT) and struck out 3. He threw a WP.

CF Perry Templet hit a triple and scored a run. 2B Gary Long had a hit, scored a run and had 2 RBI. 3B Randy James had 2 hits with his 9th home run of the season and scored 2 runs. PH/LF Howard McNeal drew a walk, stole a base and scored a run. C Dennis Webb was 1 for 1. C Phil Parker drew a bases loaded walk and scored a run. 1b Jeff Austin hit a double and had 3 RBI. PH Joe Harrison hit a double and scored a run.

The Royals announced that RP Alex Ramirez would be put on the 15 DL with a sore wrist and should be okay by the time he is eligible to return. RP Reggie Mack has a swollen elbow that they expect to keep him sidelined for a week. But their #1 starter, Steve Byrd, who was 13-6, is out for the rest of the season with shoulder inflammation. That is a huge blow to their chances of catching the Dallas Eagles.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, July 24, Year I

Kansas City Royals (54-45 .545 4.5 GB in 2nd place in the PCL East) at
Portland Beavers (59-39 .602 in 1st place in the PCL West)

KC: Troy Levine (24-L 7-3 2.32) Rookie vs. POR: Frank Martin (26-R 8-8 2.85) Rookie

With the injury to Steve Byrd, Levine, a rookie, is now their #1 starter. We have faced him twice and he is 1-0 with a bad start and a good one. The good one was the last time we faced him.

2 starts ago, Martin pitch a 2 hit shutout against these same Royals for our only win on that horrendous road trip. Last time out, he was not as sharp, but still only allowed 1 run in 6 IP against the Twins.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS)
KANSAS CITY
1: SS Alejandro Prieto (26-S .234-342-12-40-.698)
2: 2B Britt Abrams (31-R .205-146-0-8-.522)
3: CF Randy Schmitt (25-L .293-351-12-46-.803) All-Star Rookie #5 prospect
4: 3B Tony Olson (37-L .226-341-6-40-.687)
5: LF Ricky Rodriguez (30-R .275-375-15-51-.818) All-Star
6: RF Ed Gladney (31-L .281-285-6-34-.769)
7: 1B Pedro Fuentes (30-R .278-367-16-54-.789) All-Star
8: C Jose Muniz (27-R .231-295-10-38-.678)
9: P Troy Levine (24-L .059-34-0-2-.145) Rookie

PORTLAND
1: SS Eddie Thomas (25-R .233-103-1-10-.603) Rookie
2: CF Perry Templet (23-L .300-340-4-39-.766) Rookie 2 for 21 vs LHP
3: 2B Gary Long (32-R .280-361-6-35-.724)
4: 3B Randy James (32-R .269-286-9-39-.761)
5: LF Howard McNeal (30-R .261-245-7-28-.726)
6: RF Jeff Schottler (24-R .263-255-5-26-.727) Rookie
7: 1B Jeff Austin (29-R .239-360-9-44-.656)
8: C Dave Benya (26-S .119-59-0-2-.319)
9: P Frank Martin (26-S .119-42-0-1-.282) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: The Skydome
Weather: Roof Closed
Attendance: 17,594

Top of the First:
Alejandro Prieto doubles to left. He steals 3rd. Britt Abrams strikes out! Randy Schmitt strikes out on 3 pitches! Tony Olson grounds out to short!!!

Bottom of the First:
Full count to Eddie Thomas and he grounds out to 2nd. Perry Templet flies out to center. Full count to Gary Long and he strikes out.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Eddie Thomas skies one to center, but Randy Schmitt drops the ball for a 2 base error. Thomas goes to 3rd on a ground out by Perry Templet and scores on a ground out by Gary Long. 1 to 0, Beavers! With 2 outs, we then load the bases up with singles by Randy James, Howard McNeal (infield) and Jeff Schottler. Jeff Austin then clears the bases for the second game in a row with a double!!! 4 to 0, Beavers!!!

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Pedro Fuentes doubles to left and Jose Muniz follows with a home run to right center. 4 to 2, Beavers. He hit one against us yesterday, too.

Bottom of the Fifth:
Eddie Thomas leads off with a hit and with 2 outs, Randy James homers to right center!! 6 to 2, Beavers!! Second game in a row for a homer for him! He is the first Beaver to double figures. Levine hits the showers. New Pitcher: Jim Oien (26-R). 4.71 ERA.

Top of the Seventh:
Ed Gladney walks. With 1 out, Jose Muniz grounds a double play ball to 2nd, but Gary Long makes a bad throw to 2nd and everyone is safe. PH Jim Dingess walks to load the bases up. Alejandro Prieto singles and Gladney scores. 6 to 3, Beavers. PH Julio Hernandez (29-L) is sent up. Call to the Bullpen: Jerry Wilhelm (32-L). Hernandez flies out to left and the runners hold. 2 outs. Randy Schmitt triples to right.... tie game... 6 all. Tony Olson singles to right.... 7 to 6, Royals. This time, it is truly it for Jerry Wilhelm.... Pack your bags, Wiltin' Willie... Call to the Bullpen: Brian Hagans (25-R). Phil Parker comes in to catch in a double switch. Ricky Rodriguez grounds out to short.

Bottom of the Eighth:
On the Hill: Dave Guenther (29-R), beginning his second inning of work. With 1 out, Randy James walks on 4 pitches. New Pitcher: John Curtis (31-R). 2.94 ERA. Howard McNeal walks on 4 pitches. Jeff Schottler singles to left and James scores! Tie Game: 7 to 7! Jeff Austin pops out to 2nd. 2 outs. PH Dale Ainsworth (26-L) swings at the first pitch and beats out an infield hit to load the bases up for C Phil Parker. Can't pinch-hit for him because all of our catchers are already used up. He grounds out to short.

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Antoine Redd (31-R). With 1 out, Alejandro Prieto singles to left. PH Josh Stapler (30-S) grounds one up the middle, but 2b Gary Long makes a diving stop and throws him out at 1st! 2 outs with Prieto on 2nd. Full count to Randy Schmitt and he swings and misses!!!

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Jack Rose (29-R), their closer with a 2.94 ERA. He has a save against us. With 1 out, Perry Templet doubles off the center field wall! But then gets thrown out trying to steal 3rd....

Extras!

Top of the Tenth:
Their 4-5-6 hitters go down 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Tenth:
With 2 outs, Jeff Austin reaches base on an error by 2B John Brockman, but he gets thrown out stealing....

Top of the Eleventh:
New Pitcher: Lou Hertzberg (29-L). All we have left is SP John Alecci, who is not scheduled to start for a few days, but I do not want him making his Major League debut in such a high pressure situation. Besides, I do not think he is very good... Hertzberg is not fresh.... Pedro Fuentes lines one to right, but Jeff Schottler makes a nice running catch. Joe Muniz singles. John Brockman grounds into a force at 2nd, 3-6. 2 outs. Alejandro Prieto doubles to center and Brockman scores from 1st... 8 to 7, Royals. P Jack Rose is allowed to hit and he flies out to right. They had hitters, but no more pitchers except tired starters.

Bottom of the Eleventh:
We go down in order....

Lost - 8 to 7

Most runs we have scored this year and lost.
We hit a home run for the 5th straight game, a new season high.

We had 10 hits and made 2 errors
Kansas City had 12 hits and made 3 errors

Frank Martin went 6.1 innings, allowed 6 runs (3 earned), 6 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 4.
LHP Jerry Wilhelm, in his truly final game as a Beaver, faced 3 batters and got 1 out with 1 unearned run allowed and 2 hits.
RHP Brian Hagans went 1.1 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.
RHP Antoine Redd went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 2.
LHP Lou Hertzberg (L 4-4) went 1 inning, allowed 1 run and 2 hits.

Troy Levine went 4.2 innings, gave us 6 runs (2 earned), 7 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 2.
RHP Jack Rose (W 2-4) went 3 scoreless innings, gave us 1 hit and struck out 1.

SS Eddie Thomas had a hit and scored 2 runs. CF Perry Templet hit a double. 3B Randy James had 2 hits with his 10th home run of the season, drew a walk, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBI. RF Jeff Schottler had 2 hits, scored a run and had an RBI. 1B Jeff Austin hit a bases loaded double for the 2nd game in a row and had 3 RBI. C Dave Benya went 1 for 1 with an intentional walk. PH Dale Ainsworth had a hit.

For the Royals, SS Alejandro Prieto had 4 hits with 2 doubles, stole a base, scored a run and had 2 RBI. C Jose Muniz had 3 hits with his 2nd home run in 2 days, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. He also threw out all 3 Beavers who tried to steal a base.

We are finished with the Royals for this season. We split the series: 6-6.