[Westheim]

Raccoons (10-5) @ Aces (7-8) – April 19-21, 1996

The Aces were last in the CL South, but only 1 1/2 games back of the top spot. This was much in contrast to the CL North early in the season, where the Canadiens were already seven games out of the leading Loggers. The Aces so far had really struggled to score runs, having only 60 of them to their credit, while their bullpen ranked 2nd in the Continental League.

Projected matchups:
Jason Turner (2-1, 4.80 ERA) vs. Rafael Espinoza (2-0, 1.21 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (1-0, 3.13 ERA) vs. Raimundo Beato (0-1, 11.12 ERA)
Scott Wade (2-1, 2.05 ERA) vs. Ben Carlson (0-1, 8.10 ERA)

The Aces’ hurlers were right-handers throughout. Royce Green had not skipped a game yet, so perhaps we could have him off somewhere in this series. But for the first game, he was moved up to cleanup with Wedemeyer not really clicking at this point, and Green was 2nd in OPS in the league (behind BOS C Luis Lopez).

Game 1
POR: 2B Brewer – SS Salazar – CF Reece – RF Green – 1B Wedemeyer – 3B O’Morrissey – LF Kinnear – C Vinson – P Turner
LVA: SS M. Gomez – LF Douglas – CF J. Vargas – RF Mashiba – 1B Zamora – 2B Duenas – 3B R. Gutierrez – C Guerrero – P Espinoza

The top 2nd saw Wedemeyer reach on an error before O-Mo and Kinnear singled to load the bases with no outs, and as usual we did not get another base knock in this situation, but at least scored a pair of runs on groundouts by Vinson and Turner. Brewer then singled, but Vinson held at third, and was left there when Salazar made the third out. While rain set in in the third inning, Jason Turner gave up our 2-0 lead with back-to-back home runs to Javier Vargas and Taisuke Mashiba in the bottom 4th. The rain forced a delay north of one hour in the fifth inning, knocking both starters from the game without a decision. Little offense until the bottom 8th, when Otero was on the mound for us. Manuel Gomez led off with a single, and then Joe Douglas reached on an error by Brewer. Uh-oh. Vargas singled to left, Gomez tried to score, but Kinnear sledgehammered him out at home. Burnett came in to face Mashiba, and got a double play ball to Brewer – but the Coons didn’t turn it, Mashiba was safe at first. Douglas was at third, and Burnett’s first pitch to Zamora was wild, and too wild for Vinson. Douglas scored, and Qi-zhen Geng sat down the first two Coons in the ninth. Vinson singled through Zamora then, and was replaced with Espinoza to run, while Ingall came out to bat. He doubled to left, but even that was not enough to score Espinoza, and Brewer grounded out to end the game. 3-2 Aces. Brewer 2-5; Reece 2-4; Wedemeyer 2-4; Ingall (PH) 1-1, 2B; Ban 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Yeah, the offense. Clutch hitting has never been a very strong suit for us. Maybe I mismanaged this one. Espinoza should have been in motion during the Ingall AB.

Game 2
POR: 2B Brewer – SS Salazar – CF Reece – RF Green – 1B Wedemeyer – LF Kinnear – 3B Higgins – C Vinson – P M. Lopez
LVA: SS R. Gutierrez – 3B Waller – CF J. Vargas – RF Mashiba – LF Quintela – 1B Zamora – C Cardenas – 2B M. Gomez – P Beato

David Vinson picked George Waller off of first in the opening inning for an early highlight in the game. The Coons got a run off “Pooky” Beato in the third inning, and Wedemeyer homered in the fourth, but that run was given back by Miguel Lopez in the bottom of the inning. In the top 5th, we loaded the bags with a Vinson double, an intentional 1-out walk to Brewer and then Salazar taking a pitch to the buttocks. Yet, we didn’t score, Vargas picking fly balls by Reece and Green out of the air. We left another pair on in the sixth, before Green tripled home Neil Reece in the seventh. Bottom 7th, Lopez surrendered PH Michael Sanders with one pitch, then had Gutierrez and Walker reach with soft singles hobbling through the seams between infielders. Vargas grounded out, putting both runners in scoring position with Mashiba up. Lopez would face the left-hander – STRUCK HIM OUT!! We got another run with a Kinnear shot in the eighth, and Martinez and Miller sat down six straight Aces to get this one into the books. 4-1 Coons! Reece 2-5; Vinson 2-3, BB, 2B; Lopez 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (2-0);

Made another mistake here, accidentally putting Luke Newton as pinch-hitter for Royce Green in the ninth instead of pinch-RUNNER for Neil Reece. Man, I suck.

Game 3
POR: 2B Brewer – SS Salazar – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – LF Kinnear – 3B O’Morrissey – RF Espinoza – C Vinson – P Wade
LVA: 3B R. Gutierrez – SS Waller – CF J. Vargas – RF Mashiba – 1B Zamora – 2B Duenas – LF Sanders – C Guerrero – P Carlson

Wedemeyer’s 2-run shot in the first inning got us ahead early, while Wade came out not hitting the edges of the strike zone, which he relied on to be effective. He walked two in the first inning, while the Aces didn’t score, but they got a run back in the second with three hits off Wade. But the ground beneath Ben Carlson came out pretty quick. The Coons scored a pair in the third, and Vinson homered in the fourth, and while Wade was whacked pretty good with a Sanders triple and a Guerrero double in the bottom 4th, we were still up 5-2. The Raccoons added a few runs along the way, while Wade was taken deep by Raul Duenas in the sixth, and then left in the seventh with two out and a man on second base. Salcido came in to face the lefty Mashiba, but the run scored, adding zero to Salcido’s reputation either with the fans or the front office. Nevertheless, the Coons had scored enough in this game to not sweat through the last innings. 9-4 Raccoons! Brewer 2-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Kinnear 2-4, BB, 2B; O’Morrissey 2-4, BB, RBI; Vinson 2-5, HR, RBI;

With this win, we tied the Loggers for the division lead at 12-6, the first time this season we managed to get at least into a tie for first place. That’s what you get for starting out 0-1.

At this point, neither Brewer nor Salazar were getting on base an awful lot. Brewer was also racking up strikeouts like crazy.

Raccoons (12-6) @ Falcons (11-8) – April 22-24, 1996

Despite the CL-leading .292 team batting average they sported, the Falcons ranked 8th in runs scored. But they also ranked 2nd in runs allowed, mainly on the strength of the best rotation in ERA in the CL, with their 2.90 mark just ahead of our 3.04 value. However, the Falcons’ starters for this series were not yet lined up after they had just lost veteran John Douglas to injury.

Projected matchups:
Antonio Donis (1-0, 4.09 ERA) vs. Terry Wilson (2-2, 3.47 ERA)
Kisho Saito (2-1, 2.39 ERA) vs. TBD
Jason Turner (2-1, 4.66 ERA) vs. Manuel Paredes (1-1, 3.20 ERA)

Brewer and Salazar were both given a day off against the southpaw Terry “Loudmouth” Wilson, as was Kinnear.

Game 1
POR: 3B O’Morrissey – 2B Higgins – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – LF Newton – SS Ingall – C Vinson – P Donis
CHA: 1B R. Garza – C Escobedo – SS Kent – CF Dunphy – 2B Barrón – 3B Jackson – LF P. Flores – RF Young – P Wilson

We got two runs on five hits in the first inning before Vinson grounded out to short to end the inning with the bags full. We got another run in the second when a double steal successfully executed with Higgins and O-Mo put the latter in position to be scored by Reece with a sac fly. Reece would also take care of the next run scored, when with two out and the bases loaded in the sixth, he blooped a single into shallow center to score David Vinson. That knocked Wilson from the game, and Pancho Gutierrez got Wedemeyer to ground out to first, so we left the bags full again. That was right before Antonio Donis, who had scattered five hits through five shutout innings so far, ran into a 3-run homer by Joe Jackson, the former Raccoon, in the bottom 6th. We ran into trouble in the bottom 8th then. Ban put a man on, and with two out Burnett came out to face Grady Young, who was replaced by Pedro Lozano, and Burnett walked him. Right-hander Mark Hall came out to hit in the #9 hole and we brought Daniel Miller. Miller walked Hall, and then surrendered a pretty hard fly ball to Ramón Garza – which Newton caught. Escobedo singled to lead off the ninth, and Christian Dunphy’s 1-out grounder to short could not be turned for a double play by Ingall and Higgins. Miller walked Barrón, which brought up Jackson again. This nail biter ended here, with Jackson … (tension) … grounding out to Miller. 4-3 Furballs!! O’Morrissey 3-5; Reece 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Ingall 2-4, 2B; Kinnear (PH) 1-1;

Since the Loggers did not play, we moved into sole possession of first place with this oh-that-was-close win. We left 11 on base, the Falcons a full dozen, so this was pretty much a question who didn’t hit in the clutch the most.

Game 2
POR: 2B Brewer – LF Kinnear – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – 3B O’Morrissey – SS Salazar – C Kondo – P Saito
CHA: 1B R. Garza – C Escobedo – SS Kent – CF Dunphy – 2B Barrón – 3B Jackson – LF P. Flores – RF Velez – P Paredes

The Falcons moved Paredes up to start this game on short rest. It didn’t bother Paredes one tiny little bit. He mowed the Raccoons down at a rapid pace, while Kisho Saito was not sharp, surrendered single runs with two outs in three of the first six innings, and then failed to retire anybody in the seventh. De La Rosa made it worse, hitting a man, and walking another and the Falcons scored three runs (all on Saito) in the inning. Paredes struck out nine during eight shutout innings of 2-hit ball, before being taken out. The Raccoons then obliterated reliever Ray Hoskins, when Reece and Green hit 2-out homers in the ninth for a total of three runs. To no avail, of course. 6-3 Falcons.

Well, that game sucked. Saito was still decent through six, despite three runs. Felix Velez got him twice with those 2-out runs, and you can always say why not walk him and go after Paredes. Looks like I mismanaged some more. I will manage this team to the bottom half of the division in short time, it seems. For the moment we lost first place again.

Game 3
POR: 2B Brewer – 3B O’Morrissey – CF Reece – RF Green – LF Kinnear – SS Ingall – 1B Higgins – C Vinson – P Turner
CHA: CF Dunphy – C Escobedo – 3B Combes – SS Kent – RF R. Garza – 1B Jackson – 2B M. Hall – LF Velez – P Venegas

Ex-Coon Alejandro Venegas (1-1, 3.80 ERA) was thrown into this game. Venegas, 36, was with us 1987-88, going a total of 12-15. He is 57-54 for his career, and on his sixth team post-Portland, not even pitching in the Bigs 1992-93. There was rain in the forecast, and it started early in the third inning. By then the Raccoons were up 2-1, all runs scored on chains of singles in separate innings. The rain eventually forced play to be suspended in the fifth, just after Venegas hit a 1-out single off Turner. After a delay of just over 45 minutes, Turner went back out, but threw a wild pitch and hit Dunphy, and was brought back in. Martinez surrendered the tying run, both starters were gone, and the game was tied, 2-2. In this brand new ballgame, the Falcons brought in Hoskins, who had been clobbered two days ago, and between two walks and a Kent error, the Critters loaded them up with one out for Vinson, now facing Mike Dye, one of our closers last year. Vinson was walked on four straight for the go-ahead run. Salazar batted for Martinez and grounded out, but a run scored. Dye would issue *four* walks in the inning, and the Raccoons scored *four* runs in the inning – without EVER knocking a base hit! Otero then pitched a messy sixth, where a Higgins error scored an unearned run, but we were still up 6-3. Vinson homered in the eighth, while Ban sat down the Falcons, and then in the ninth, the Falcons failed to retire any of the first six Raccoons to step to the plate, and we plated five more runs. Ban tried to pitch a 3-inning save, and although he walked a pair in the ninth, he came through, as the Raccoons smothered the Falcons in this one. 12-3 Furballs!! Green 3-4, BB, RBI; Wedemeyer (PH) 1-1, RBI; Vinson 3-4, BB, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Ban 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, SV (1) and 1-1, RBI;

Have I ever seen four runs scored in an inning without the benefit of an actual hit? I don’t think so.

Raccoons (14-7) vs. Loggers (14-7) – April 26-28, 1996

The Loggers were above average on the pitching side, but a bit below average on the offensive side, with 90 runs scored in their 21 games. We split a 2-game set to open the season. The Loggers were without SP Davis Sims and OF Gates Golunski in this series. Sims had forearm tendinitis and was not on the DL, so it would not surprise us if the Loggers would further shuffle their rotation in this series.

Projected matchups:
Miguel Lopez (2-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. Rafael Garcia (3-1, 3.41 ERA)
Scott Wade (3-1, 2.51 ERA) vs. Martin Garcia (4-0, 0.89 ERA)
Antonio Donis (2-0, 4.15 ERA) vs. Jorge Casas (1-2, 5.79 ERA)

Lefty Martin Garcia will be a tough nut to crack. He basically has been untouchable so far. But

Game 1
MIL: CF Fletcher – 2B J. Perez – RF C. Ramirez – LF Hiwalani – SS Grant – 3B Rush – C M. Vela – 1B Chevalier – P R. Garcia
POR: 2B Brewer – LF Kinnear – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – C Vinson – 3B O’Morrissey – SS Salazar – P M. Lopez

As the game started, black clouds were already visible on the horizon. The Raccoons scored three runs in the bottom 2nd for Lopez, but would we get through five before the rains came? Well, would LOPEZ get through five? Through 3.2 innings, he surrendered only one hit. Then, the Loggers unleashed terrible 2-out terror, with five straight hits, capped by a 3-run homer by Jamal Chevalier, to take a 5-3 lead. The Loggers put another (2-out) run on Lopez in the fifth to make this a really crappy day. The actual rain didn’t come until the eighth inning, but by then the mood was already wet anyway. The Raccoons had the tying run at the plate in the last two innings, and never could buy a hit. 7-5 Loggers. Green 2-2, 2 BB, 2B;

What a stinker of a game. Six 2-out runs against you just suck. It is … argh!

Game 2
MIL: CF Fletcher – 1B Evans – RF C. Ramirez – SS Grant – LF Hiwalani – 3B J. Perez – C L. Ramirez – 2B A. Gonzalez – P Casas
POR: 2B Brewer – LF Kinnear – CF Reece – RF Green – C Vinson – 3B O’Morrissey – 1B Higgins – SS Salazar – P Wade

The Loggers moved Casas up to this game. Meanwhile their whole lineup amounted to one (1) home run this season, that slugger being Cristo Ramirez. The Raccoons loaded them up with one out in the bottom 1st, but scored only one run on Vinson’s sac fly. Salazar dropped a ball in the fourth inning that helped the Loggers to score a pair of unearned runs on Scott Wade to turn the game around. This was a game of little action. The Coons left Brewer on third base in the bottom 5th, but then had Vinson, O-Mo, and Higgins all reach with no outs in the bottom 6th. Salazar popped out, forcing Wade to be removed for a pinch-hitter. Espinoza popped out. I swear, goddamnit, I will – Brewer hits the first pitch to deep right, it is gone!! GRAAAAAAND SLAAAAAMMM!!!! We got to the ninth with a 7-3 lead. De La Rosa was put into the game, plunked Bob Rush, and then walked Fletcher and Evans. What the …? Daniel Miller came in, trying to save this one. Cristo Ramirez reached on an infield hit, scoring the first run. Bob Grant grounded out, but the Raccoons failed to turn two, and another run scored. Miller then walked Hiwalani. Jessie McGuire pinch-hit and grounded out to third, scoring the third run of the inning. That forced Miller to get Leon Ramirez. On an 0-2 pitch, Ramirez shot a flyer to deep left that eluded Kinnear, and the Loggers came out of the top 9th with an 8-7 lead. They had scored five runs on two hits and tons of idiocy. John Bennett sat down the side in order in the bottom 9th. 8-7 Loggers. Brewer 4-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Kinnear 3-5, 2B; Reece 3-5, RBI; Ingall (PH) 1-1, RBI; Vinson 2-4, 2B, RBI; Wade 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K;

Bloody ****!!! The bullpen ******s are back! AAARGH!!!

And you most love these games against the team you battle for first place. Great job! GREAT JOB!! AAAH, I HATE you all!!

Game 3
MIL: CF Fletcher – 2B J. Perez – RF C. Ramirez – LF Hiwalani – SS Grant – 3B Rush – C M. Vela – 1B Chevalier – P M. Garcia
POR: 2B Brewer – 3B O’Morrissey – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – SS Ingall – LF Kinnear – RF Newton – C Kondo – P Donis

Garcia is undefeated, and his ERA tells you “You won’t score”. So what, we get swept. It is still early. The more often I say that, the less it is true.

Garcia’s ERA almost doubled when Liam Wedemeyer slapped a 3-run homer off him in the first inning. Now Donis just had to hold onto that. A run that Donis surrendered in the third inning was given back by Garcia in the fourth, when with two out and runners on the corners, he tried to pick Brewer off first base, but his throw went past Jamal Chevalier, and Luke Newton dashed home from third, 4-1. Donis still was not on the safe side. The Loggers loaded them up in the sixth with one out, and Donis only got out because Luke Newton made two awesome plays on fly balls with hair on them. Donis managed to go seven, still up 4-2. The Coons then had three soft singles by Higgins, Brewer, and O-Mo to start the bottom 7th. Three on, no out. Once more, we did not get a hit in this situation, but Reece and Wedemeyer at least managed two score a pair with groundouts, and we added another two runs in the eighth. How could we blow this one? Nah, I just put Ban in, and he got the ninth taken care of. 8-2 Raccoons. Brewer 2-4, BB; O’Morrissey 2-5; Wedemeyer 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; Higgins (PH) 1-1, BB; Donis 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W (3-0);

So, Donis, struggling with control, struggling with going deep into games, and he is undefeated and ties for the lead in wins on the staff, huh? To be fair, if the hunchbacked ******s in the pen had blown out the middle game, Scott Wade would be 4-1 though.

You know who does not tie for the lead in wins on the team? Kisho Saito.

Raccoons (15-9) vs. Canadiens (6-18) – April 29-May 1, 1996

The Canadiens were in a boat load of trouble with a .250 April. They had neither offense, nor pitching, ranking close to the bottom in most major categories, including about all pitching categories. I suspect a trap and we will get turned inside out.

Projected matchups:
Kisho Saito (2-2, 3.62 ERA) vs. Glenn Ryan (0-3, 4.94 ERA)
Jason Turner (2-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. John Collins (0-1, 6.19 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (2-1, 3.86 ERA) vs. Kiyohira Sasaki (1-3, 7.09 ERA)

Game 1
VAN: CF Ledesma – 2B Mendez – LF Hartley – 1B Mosley – 3B Galindo – SS McFarland – RF Saldana – C Durán – P Ryan
POR: 2B Brewer – LF Kinnear – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – C Vinson – 3B O’Morrissey – SS Salazar – P Saito

Saito struggled early on, and fell 1-0 behind in the first. He came to bat with the sacks full and one out in the bottom 2nd, and managed to coax a walk out of Glenn Ryan! Brewer lobbed a soft single into center for the go-ahead run, bringing up Kinnear with the bags still loaded. Ryan came right down the middle on him, and Kinnear went right out of the park. GRAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAMMM!!!! Glenn Ryan’s day ended after four outs and six runs. That still left Saito to battle to keep the 5-run lead alive (and we know how safe big leads are for us currently…), which was difficult, since the Canadiens hit singles everywhere. They had three in the top 3rd, but left the bags full. Saito’s game ended in the sixth. After surrendering eight mainly soft hits (and three walks against seven K’s), the ninth was a homer by Ledesma, and Saito was removed with a 7-3 lead. Just after Wedemeyer added a pair of runs in the bottom 6th with his sixth homer of the season, Martinez and Otero were blown up for four runs in the seventh. YOU WON’T DARE. Salazar and Brewer drove in runs in the bottom 7th, which brought the score to – I don’t know who’s still counting – Raccoons 11, Canadiens 7, and still six outs to collect. Otero was still in with our pen a bit thin after a weekend of pitching horrors, and managed to collect the first three of those. With another insurance run in the bottom 8th, Miller was sent out there, while Kondo replaced Vinson behind the dish. He gave up a walk and two hits to the Canadiens, who brought the tying run to the on-deck circle, before Neil Reece had enough of this and made a seemingly impossible catch on a Ledesma pop to shallow right center. 12-8 Furballs. Brewer 2-5, 2 RBI; Kinnear 1-5, HR, 4 RBI; Reece 3-4, BB, Wedemeyer 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Newton 1-1; O’Morrissey 2-4, BB, 2B; Salazar 2-4, BB, RBI;

Saito has 1,059 AB in his career, and just 23 walks. So, drawing a game-tying walk is something sweet for sure. Of course, the first run of 12 in a game always gets a little bit overshadowed in the end. But Saito has another number on his ledger after this game, which is #198. He needs two more wins to 200! I expect to see this happen in May. Of course, I expected it to happen last June already.

Also, after hitting zero at the start of the year, Liam Wedemeyer took over the team lead in homers in this game. You got anything to say to that, Royce?

Game 2
VAN: CF Ledesma – 2B Mendez – LF Hartley – 1B Mosley – 3B Galindo – SS McFarland – RF Moore – C E. Ramos – P Collins
POR: 2B Brewer – LF Kinnear – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – C Vinson – 3B O’Morrissey – SS Salazar – P Turner

The Canadiens rushed Turner in the first inning with a walk and four hits for two runs, and Turner never found a groove, giving up four runs in five innings of unwatchable work. The Furballs had to run after the Canadiens, but it looked less like running and more like crawling. John Collins held them to two hits and one run until a sudden rain shower knocked him out before he could complete the fifth inning, forcing a 1-hour delay. The Raccoons continued to be nowhere. Bottom 9th, Canadiens up 4-1. Albert Matthews and his 8.00 ERA entered, and Vinson singled to left. Then O-Mo worked a walk. Tying run to the plate. Salazar was that tying run and singled up the middle. Bases loaded, no outs. We had only Nori Kondo left on the bench, but Espinoza was in the #9 slot already, but flew out to shallow left. Brewer grounded out, scoring Vinson, but the ship was sinking, and Kinnear flew out to Roland Moore in right. 4-2 Canadiens. Newton 1-1; Salcido 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

You think that was all? To make this stinker of a game complete, we also suffered our first significant injury of the season, as Neil Reece tweaked his side on a catch in the eighth inning. Oblique strain, out for at least two weeks, so that meant a trip to the DL. And here we go!

Finding a replacement for Reece was not easy, actually. Just in time, our AAA team had been stricken with injuries, too, with outfielders Kevin Savary and Kenny Crockett both down. In AA, Manuel Villa, our first round pick from last season, suffered a really severe concussion and was out for the year and possibly forever. In the end, the callup went to 3B Mike Crowe, who would not see much playing time, but you need the bat… Crowe was a supplemental round pick in 1992 for us. His problem is that he is blocked by O-Mo (and at the very least O-Mo is blocked by Wedemeyer at first).

Game 3
VAN: RF Saldana – 2B Mendez – LF Hartley – 1B Mosley – 3B Galindo – SS McFarland – CF D. Edwards – C Durán – P Dominguez
POR: 2B Brewer – LF Kinnear – 3B O’Morrissey – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – C Vinson – CF Newton – SS Higgins – P M. Lopez

The Canadiens scratched Sasaki and entered Jose Dominguez, who was 14 years Sasaki’s junior, but still 1-4 with a 6.37 ERA. Dominguez got chainsawed in the first inning with a 2-run homer by Wedemeyer and 2-out, 2-run single by Higgins as the Raccoons batted through the order. While that knocked out Dominguez instantly, Miguel Lopez was torn up for FIVE runs in the second inning. These Canadiens would just not stop hitting singles. Oh, and a 3-run homer by Alberto Durán. Then the Canadiens brought in Jackie Lagarde and he surrendered three runs (two earned) in two innings. So, we were up 7-5 after, uh, three innings. We put two more on Holden Gorman in the fourth, while Lopez barely made it through five innings, with ten hits and five runs surrendered, while he only struck out one batter, and that was the last one he faced, Drew Edwards, to end the fifth. Things didn’t get better with Martinez coming in to pitch the sixth. Well, the Canadiens played themselves out of an inning, with Durán thrown out at third base for the first out by Kinnear’s strong arm, and after Peter Hughes, the next reliever in line, singled his way on, Salvador Mendez hit him with his grounder to end the inning. Then, Vinson got himself thrown out stretching a double in the bottom of the inning. This game would just not stop being crazy! Durán homered off Burnett in the eighth to get back to within three runs of the Raccoons. Miller came in to save that 9-6 game. A 1-2-3 inning would be boring, and so with one out the tying run was at the plate, but McFarland flew out leisurely to Kinnear. That brought up the lefty Edwards. The pen was empty, this had to be all Miller’s. Edwards doubled in the runners, and Ledesma came out to hit for Durán to counter Miller’s right arm. He was walked intentionally to get to the pitcher’s spot, where the Canadiens, after expending the entirety of their bullpen, had installed the previously scratched Sasaki in the ninth. They removed him for Edgardo Ramos to hit. He singled up the middle and the bags were full. Miller against Saldana. The count ran full. 3-2 pitch, Miller got into motion, the runners got into motion, Saldana got into motion to take a big rip. He missed. 9-8 Raccoons. Green 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Vinson 2-4, BB, 2B; Newton 2-3, BB, RBI; Higgins 2-4, 2 RBI;

Wow.

Looking at this game and the series opener, in both games the teams combined for 31 hits. The Canadiens out-hit us each time, 17-14 and 19-12 respectively, and we still won both. But wow, is our pitching in trouble!!

The last two series, not pleasant. Just not pleasant.

In other news

April 19 – SFW LF/RF/1B Hjalmar Flygt (.475, 1 HR, 13 RBI) is not only on fire early on in the season, he has also an accomplished career in the record books. During the Warriors’ 4-3 win over the Rebels today, Flygt knocked three base hits, with a leadoff double off Chris O’Keefe in the sixth being his 2,000th career hit. Flygt, 33, was the second overall pick in the 1984 draft by the Titans, for whom he played until 1994.
April 19 – 185-game winner SP John Douglas (2-1, 2.70 ERA) of the Falcons will have to sit out three months with a torn triceps.
April 19 – Pittsburgh’s SP Craig Hansen (1-1, 7.04 ERA) 3-hits the Stars in a 6-0 win for the Miners.
April 27 – IND SP Lorenzo Ángel (2-1, 3.24 ERA) will miss four months with shoulder inflammation.

Complaints and stuff

Neil Reece was named CL Player of the Week for the week we ended in Las Vegas, going 12-25 with one dinger and five driven in. Yaaaay, Neil!! It is his eighth POTW award and he is yet to turn 30 (which he will do in September). I must say, Neil is by far by favorite person from Massapequa, NY! Of course, now he is on the DL and I will cry myself to sleep for a couple of weeks.

To continue with awards, Antonio Donis’ undefeated April (3-0, 3.70 ERA) made him the CL Rookie of the Month for April!

Scott Wade notified me of his desire to stay in Portland past the end of this season. He is the first of our group of to-be free agents to turn to me, and given the circumstances the one most likely to be retained, given that he has always worked for cheap, and I love his style.

Fine stat: Ben O’Morrissey averaged 18.3 errors 1992-94. He had nine in an injury-shortened season last year. He was errorless in April!