Raccoons (32-19) vs. Bayhawks (25-25) June 1-3, 2027
And here came the team with the best offense in the league. The Bayhawks were scoring more than 4.6 runs per game, which at this point was indeed good enough for first place in a low-offense season in the CL, and they were also in the top four in not giving up any runs to the opposition. So, with their +31 run differential, what were they doing at .500? This was not a comfy question to ask, especially since they had already taken two of three games this year from the Critters.
Projected matchups:
Rico Gutierrez (4-4, 3.55 ERA) vs. Ben Lipsky (0-5, 5.04 ERA)
Mark Roberts (4-2, 3.23 ERA) vs. Alex Vallejo (6-1, 2.21 ERA)
Dan Delgadillo (1-4, 3.13 ERA) vs. Allen Reed (2-2, 4.97 ERA)
Looks like two right-handers, then a left-hander, but do they know who else they have? Signed late on May 5, the Bayhawks also ran out Jonathan Toner every fifth day now. Lo and behold, he was 3-1 with a 1.72 ERA.
Game 1
SFB: LF Hawthorne 3B Hawkins 1B Caraballo RF C. Martinez CF Ryder C R. Anderson SS O. Camacho 2B Pick P Lipsky
POR: SS Ramos 2B Spencer RF Gomez 1B Harenberg CF Mora C Tovias 3B Nunley 2B Rock P Gutierrez
Rico Gutierrez began his day with two strikeouts against right-handed batters, but before we could get too euphoric for no good reason, Tomas Caraballo and Zachary Ryder hit singles around Cesar Martinez getting stung with a fastball, and Gutierrez balked in a run before Ryan Anderson could fly out to left. The Coons got Spencer and Gomez on base with 1-out singles in the bottom 1st, but then had Harenberg hit into a double play rather than rallying immediately
Their level of stupidity would reach new heights in the new month. Nunley hit into a household double play in the second inning, which was one thing, but Rafael Gomez drew a leadoff walk against Lipsky in the bottom 4th and was then doubled off when Harenberg lined out to Pat Pick. At that point, the gap was three runs, courtesy of Anderson's 2-run homer in the top of the fourth inning. And that was more or less the entire game, a real stinker, in which the Raccoons hit into a double play as soon as they could. Case in point they didn't have another runner with fewer than two outs until Trey Rock's leadoff single in the bottom 8th. Stalker, batting for Gutierrez, IMMEDIATELY hit a ball right at Tom Hawkins to allow him to turn two. An absolutely shameful performance awarded consistent pushover Ben Lipsky his first win of the season
by forfeit. 3-0 Bayhawks. Spencer 2-4;
That was revolting.
Game 2
SFB: LF Hawthorne 3B Hawkins 1B Caraballo RF C. Martinez CF Ryder C R. Anderson SS Pulido 2B Pick P Vallejo
POR: SS Ramos 2B Spencer RF Gomez 1B Harenberg CF Mora C Tovias 3B Nunley 2B Rock P Gutierrez
Mark Roberts was battered for a 3-spot in the second inning that happened in like no time. Ryan Anderson and Jose Pulido hit back-to-back doubles, and before I could do much in being upset about that maiden run in the game, Pat Pick went well deep to left. That was a quick threesome if I had ever seen one, but at least the Raccoons dug themselves out of the hole this time
while getting a headstart on Anderson's throwing error in the bottom 2nd that put Abel Mora on second base with nobody out. Tovias' fly to left and Nunley's single brought him in to score, and the Raccoons scratched further with a solo jack by Rafael Gomez (#11) in the bottom 3rd, then cobbled together singles in the fourth. Mora got on, stole second base, advanced on a grounder, then scored on another Nunley single. Rock singled, Roberts singled after failing to bunt for two strikes, and now the bags were full for Ramos with one out in a 3-3 tie. Although I was pretty sure, a double play was lurking SOMEWHERE here, Vallejo lost Ramos on balls to push in the go-ahead run, and Spencer hit an RBI single to make it 5-3. Gomez was the double play fool, Hawkins to Pick to Caraballo.
The next two innings saw little besides both second basemen being stranded at second base at some point, and Roberts made it through seven without further damage incurred, but on 106 pitches, so continuation was not much of a thought in a 5-3 score. The Critters didn't tack on in the bottom 7th, either, with Harenberg hitting into another double play. At least the other Kevin did a good job; Surginer sat down the Baybirds in order in the eighth, whiffing both Omar Camacho and George Hawthorne in getting rid of the 9-1-2 batters. But Alex Ramos was just as been to the opposition in the bottom 8th, which still led us to Jonathan Snyder against the meat of the order. Tomas Caraballo homered as if on command, cutting the lead to next-to-nothing, and then Harenberg fumbled an overly simple grounder by Martinez to put the tying run on base with nobody down. While Zachary Ryder and Jaiden Jackson made outs, Jose Pulido then singled to left, bringing up Pick again, who ran a full count before grounding sharply to first base. This time, Harenberg was on his post and handled the grounder for the final out, and not one attempt too soon
5-4 Critters. Spencer 2-4, RBI; Gomez 2-4, HR, RBI; Nunley 2-4, 2 RBI; Rock 2-3; Roberts 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W (5-2) and 1-3;
It has been almost a month since Kevin Harenberg homered. His last long ball came on May 9 against the Scorpions.
Oh, and here comes Jonny.
Game 3
SFB: LF Hawthorne 3B Hawkins 1B Caraballo RF C. Martinez C Jai. Jackson SS O. Camacho CF Rendon 2B Pick P Toner
POR: SS Ramos LF Spencer RF Gomez 1B Harenberg C Tovias 3B Nunley 2B Bullock CF Magallanes P Delgadillo
Four years removed from being a Critter as well as seven years on from his fourth Pitcher of the Year, Jonny Toner still got sufficient roars from the home crowd to make Dan Delgadillo mighty jealous. Well, maybe if he pitched more like a winner, the people would like him too! He didn't though, loading the bases with no outs in the top 2nd on a walk to Jaiden Jackson sandwiched between Martinez and Camacho singles. A run scored on Edwin Rendon's sac fly to center before Pick hit into a double play, but there were the Baybirds again, leading. Not for long, though. The Raccoons loaded them up in the bottom 2nd, but didn't score, although when they had the bags full, they also had two outs and Delgadillo came up and was whiffed, so that one was almost inevitable. The following inning, however, saw Ramos draw a leadoff walk. Spencer and Gomez were not overly helpful and he was still on first base with two down, but Harenberg shot a ball into the leftfield corner for a double and George Hawthorne took long enough to allow Ramos to score. Tovias then walked, Jonny Toner threw a wild one, then walked Nunley. Well, it brought up all .185 of Daniel Bullock, so my enthusiasm was not exactly fervent, at least until Bullock's fly to center eluded Rendon and made it all the way to the wall. Harenberg in, Tovias in, even Nunley in from first base on a bases-clearing triple! Holy co- and before I could even exclaim that, Cristiano Carmona burst through the door into my office, gleamed all over and asked "Did you see that, Mr. Westfield?? Did you SEE that??" before wheelieing back out again. Yeah, well, that was a damn dandy hit.
It was also the final hit off Toner, who was pinch-hit for after three rough innings (4 hits, 5 walks, 4 runs) just after Delgadillo, the second erratic pitcher in the pairing, had loaded the bags in the top 4th and had conceded two runs on a 2-out single by Pat Pick. Andy Howell grounded out to Nunley to end the inning with Rendon and Pick still on base. This also had not been Daniel Bullock's final base hit of the contest he hit a 2-out RBI single in the bottom 4th against Scott McLaughlin, who had begun the inning by conceding a single to Ramos, who had swept second and scored on Spencer's single, and the Coons kept poking him over and over. Nunley hit an RBI single, Magallanes reached on a 2-out infield single, and thus we cleared the pitcher's spot once more in a 7-3 game. Soon enough it was 7-4 as Delgadillo kept bleeding just as well. Cesar Martinez doubled home Hawthorne (leadoff walk) in the top 5th. Omar Camacho's leadoff single in the sixth knocked him out of the game after a terrible performance. Billy Brotman added a runner, Daniel Bullock added a runner with an error, and somehow Dan McLin struck out Hawkins to strand a full set in the sixth
Nunley's double, Bullock getting nailed, and Magallanes working the walk against Ying-hua Ou loaded the bags with one out in the bottom 6th. The Raccoons got one run on Abel Mora's pinch-hit groundout, but Ramos' grounder was cut off by Camacho for the third out. And everything LOOKED fine in an 8-4 game, but then we made a double switch in the eighth inning that turned out nearly fatal. Ricky Ohl and Jing-quo Liu came on to replace Kearney and Tovias, and those two absolutely weren't getting along. Not in sign language and not whenever a bowl of food was standing around somewhere. Ohl walked Pick, the annoying thug, threw a wild pitch, surrendered the run on a Ryan Anderson triple, and that runner scored on a passed ball. They were not even on the same page in the Coons battery, they weren't even in the same library! A new pitcher fixed it all in the ninth. Since lefties were up and Snyder had pitched a while on Wednesday and Boles had yet to see action in the series, it was Josh Boles in the ninth
and he retired the Bayhawks in order. 8-6 Furballs! Spencer 2-5, RBI; Harenberg 4-5, 2B, RBI; Nunley 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Bullock 2-4, 3B, 4 RBI; Magallanes 1-2, 3 BB;
Of course signing is hard with one paw in the glove at all times. And the other in the cookie jar.
Raccoons (34-20) vs. Canadiens (25-27) June 4-6, 2027
And here was the #2 team in runs scored in the CL, which we had already noticed this year when they had swept us during opening week. Although that had also been a factor of the Coons hitting absolutely nothing in Elk Country back then. They were also fifth in runs allowed, and they held a 4-2 edge in the season series they had to lose pronto!
Projected matchups:
Kyle Anderson (5-2, 2.89 ERA) vs. Antonio Muniz (5-2, 3.48 ERA)
Rin Nomura (6-3, 3.50 ERA) vs. Andrew Gudeman (3-7, 3.61 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (4-5, 3.53 ERA) vs. Rodolfo Cervantes (5-3, 2.70 ERA)
Left-right-right. They had been off on Thursday, and I had a hunch they were skipping Jonathan Shook (4-3, 3.56 ERA), who would have his regular turn on Saturday.
Game 1
VAN: CF Day SS Crosby RF Coca LF A. Torres C R. Ortνz 3B Calfee 1B Myles 2B Gura P A. Muniz
POR: SS Ramos LF Spencer RF Gomez 1B Harenberg CF Hollingsworth 2B Rock 3B Bullock C Liu P Anderson
The Coons came close to starting their fourth game of the week in the trailing position when Alex Torres led off the second inning with a single to right, stole second, and moved to third base on Ricky Ortνz' groundout. John Calfee cracked a liner, but right at Trey Rock for the second out, and Adan Myles made the third out and stranded the runner. The Raccoons had to wait to the bottom 3rd for a semi-decent chance, a 1-out walk issued to Jing-quo Liu by "Furball"(??) Muniz. Anderson bunted, Muniz was greedy and tried to get the lead runner, got nobody, then loaded them up when Ramos hit a clean single between Calfee and Adrian Crosby. And then Jarod Spencer annoyingly clubbed the ball right into Crosby's fangs for a 6-4-3.
Yup, that was basically the only scoring opportunity the Critters allowed themselves on Kyle Anderson's watch. The captain gave his all, pitched a sparkling seven innings with nine strikeouts, including whiffing the 2-3-4 batters in the sixth inning, somehow managed even to escape a 2-out wild pitch to Muniz that moved Myles and former pinch-hitter Chris Mendoza into scoring position, and still didn't get close to a win until after he got a pat on the bum after 103 pitches. Gomez led off the bottom 7th with a sizzler past Crosby's glove for a single, then made it to third base on Harenberg's single up the middle. Runners on the corners, no outs. Okay, folks, this is crucial here! How about ARGH, NO, BAD HOLLINGSWORTH! (rolls up a magazine and hits centerfielder on the black pointy nose) Don't you pop out on the first pitch!! Actually, that pop was to rightfield, Tony Coca misjudged it, had to go two steps back at the last second, and that ruined the play for the Elks because Rafael Gomez knew a damsel in distress when he saw one and scurried for home. Coca having to rearrange himself allowed Gomez a few free steps towards home, and those made the difference as he scored the game's first run. Rock walked, Bullock hit into a double play, and I felt very tired. Kearney put a man on in the eighth, Ohl put a man on in the eighth, and just before the Elks could break through, Ramos made a nifty play on Torres' sharp grounder and managed to somehow turn it for a double play to end the frame. The Coons put runners (Ramos, Spencer) on the corners in the bottom 8th, but with two outs, and with Rafael Gomez popping out harmlessly, so it was on Snyder again and he had to improve on Wednesday. He did! Barely. After a K to Ortνz, John Calfee doubled with one out, moved up on Adan Myles' groundout, and then watched with a sad complexion while Chris Brill struck out. 1-0 Blighters. Ramos 2-4; Spencer 2-4; Anderson 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, W (6-2);
Six singles. But I have decided that any which way you win against the stinkin' Elks, the W is all that counts.
I could use my
(rummages through papers on the desk) Maud, where are the drops for my heart!?
(fishes bottle of booze from the lowest drawer) Never mind, Maud, I found them!
Game 2
VAN: CF Day SS Crosby RF Coca LF A. Torres C R. Ortνz 3B Calfee 1B Myles 2B Gura P Shook
POR: SS Ramos LF Spencer RF Gomez 1B Harenberg CF Mora 3B Nunley C Tovias 2B Rock P Nomura
Rin Nomura walked three in the opening inning, and somehow the Elks didn't bludgeon him outright, whiffing twice and finally sent Calfee to fly out to Gomez. Oh well, at least the Coons made Jonathan Shook wish he would have actually been skipped, with Spencer's walk, Gomez' triple, and Abel Mora's homer in the bottom of the first inning meaning a quick 3-0 edge for Nomura to blow, slow or fast, just as he desired. Vancouver had no base hits the first time through the order, but Norman Day led off the third inning with a looong double over the head of Abel Mora in center. No run resulted from that action though, with Day being caught trying to nip third base during Coca's at-bat. Instead, John Calfee hit a solo homer in the fourth inning before the Elks made another out at third base in the following frame. Despicable Ted Gura opened the top 5th with a double to left-center, then got nailed out by Nomura on Shook's poor bunt and the inning concluded with the Coons up 3-1, but things sure were dicey
But the Elks continued to hoof themselves in the gut almost every inning, which sure was a delight. Nomura walked Coca to begin the sixth inning, Coca stole second, then tried for home plate on Ricky Ortνz' single to center. Abel Mora told him otherwise, and after two outs at third base the Elks also made one at home plate on a perfect throw. They oughta have been up by now, but somehow, the Coons endured despite sitting on three base hits through five innings. Shook walked Harenberg and Mora with one out in the bottom 6th, which meant they needed only two more walks / balks / wild pitches to get a man across. Nunley flew out to right, and Tovias also hit a ball to right, albeit deep, deeper, GONE, a 3-piece to extend the lead to 6-1! It didn't stay that way for long, with the Elks getting another leadoff double in the seventh, this one by Adan Myles, and this runner actually got around when with runners on the corners Trey Rock couldn't play Norman Day's 1-out grounder fast enough to turn two. Nomura got through seven, though, and the Coons still led by a slam. Tim Stalker procured an extra run with a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom 8th, then off former Coons farmhand John Waker, which the Elks pulled back in the ninth with three singles off Surginer and Brotman, but the win stood firmly. 7-3 Furballs. Gomez 2-4, 3B, RBI; Mora 1-2, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; Stalker (PH) 1-1, RBI; Nomura 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, W (7-3) and 1-2;
Game 3
VAN: CF Day SS Crosby RF Coca LF A. Torres C R. Ortνz 3B Calfee 1B Myles 2B Gura P Cervantes
POR: SS Ramos LF Spencer RF Gomez 1B Harenberg CF Mora 3B Nunley C Tovias 2B Rock P Gutierrez
While the Coons got unearned runners in scoring position in the bottom 1st following a Rafael Gomez single and Harenberg reaching on a mildly catastrophic throwing error by Ted Gura, Abel Mora couldn't get the ball past John Calfee and stranded the runners, and Rico Gutierrez retired the first 11 batters he faced before he got taken deep to left by Tony Coca, putting the Elks up 1-0. The Raccoons' immediate response was to have Harenberg lean into a pitch to get a man on with nobody out in the bottom 4th. Mora singled, and Nunley ruined it with a double play grounder before Tovias struck out. Harenberg and Mora were on again in the bottom 6th, this time with two outs, and this time Nunley struck out. Oh dear baseball gods, the offense
Rico held up for eight innings but still allowed another run on a Ricky Ortνz jack leading off the seventh inning. Apart from that, the Elks could hardly faze him, except with the odd long ball. The Raccoons still hadn't done the faintest bit of rallying, although Cervantes was pinch-hit for in the top 8th and they could now face righty J.R. Hreha with the top of the order, whatever sort of consolation that would offer. Absolutely nothing. Ramos flew out to right, Spencer and Gomez both popped out, and this game was another total write-off. The ninth saw ginger fly outs to Torres by both Harenberg and Mora, facing Sean Carlsen, a no-nonsense right-hander, before Matt Nunley surprisingly for everybody involved rammed a home run to centerfield. Yet, the Coons were still trailing by a run. Tovias singled to shallow right-center. Oh great, now they were teasing me. Trey Rock grounded out. 2-1 Canadiens. Tovias 2-4; Gutierrez 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, L (4-6);
In other news
June 1 The Canadiens have to rule out OF Brian Wojnarowski (.302, 4 HR, 23 RBI) for the entire month after the 25-year-old sprains a thumb.
June 1 Despite being out-hit 17-7, the Gold Sox squeeze out a 13-inning, 2-1 win against the Blue Sox. Blue Sox batters strand 15 runners on base and knock it into four double plays.
June 2 The Titans' only hit in a 4-1 loss to the Aces is a home run by 3B/2B Rhett West (.192, 4 HR, 17 RBI) against Luis Flores (8-0, 1.37 ERA).
June 5 LAP SP Shane Baker (3-4, 4.99 ERA) will miss time until the All Star Game with a torn groin muscle.
Complaints and stuff
Offense remains low throughout the league. I mean we are hardly scoring 4.2 runs per game and that is good enough for fourth in the CL. The league ERA is 3.71 (but in the FL has gone up to 4.15), which is the lowest mark since 1988. Last year the league ERA's were 3.80 (CL) and 3.96 (FL).
Next week we will have four with the Loggers, and then will try to avoid revenge exacted on us by the Pacifics for the 2026 World Series. You know, the one we won.
Hear, hear, Cristiano Carmona's weekly presentation on why Daniel Bullock, the best Brazilian shortstop in baseball they say, is the most important player on the team has a new slide 2. What a bases-clearing triple in a rubber game can do. Also a new slide 17, although I am not quite sure what he wanted to show me with that photo of Bullock dripping in the shower. Maybe the new tattoo on his back of two rather cute snakes eating their own tails, which are also interlocked like a pair of rings?
I don't generally know what Cristiano does around here after all, but I sure enough believe him. Bullock stays for another month!
Fun Fact: Last year's 3.96 ERA was the Federal League's second-lowest in 31 years.
31 years (from then on back; 34 years total from now) is coincidentally also the length of time it has been since the Continental League had a higher ERA than the Federal League. 1994 saw the FL at 3.85, the CL at 3.92. In all the decades in between, there was one tie (2025), and apart from that the FL has always been the more-offense-sooner league.