[Westheim]

2035 CONTINENTAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Portland Raccoons (84-78) @ Tijuana Condors (97-65)

Game 6 – Gilberto Rendon (15-7, 3.08 ERA) vs. George Griffin (15-9, 2.54 ERA)

The rematch of Game 2 took place with the Raccoons needing to score some ****ing runs this time around, and oh, Gil, it would help if you tossed a shutout. I can’t guarantee that they’ll get you outta there in under ten innings, though…

Maud had taken great care to comb my hair before we flew south, but it was all a mess as I left the plane in Mexico. I had seen nothing but doom for a couple of days, and pulling my hair was all I had to cope.

POR: SS Ramos – RF M. Fernandez – LF Wallace – CF Fowler – C Morales – 2B Stalker – 1B Zitzner – 3B Marsingill – P Rendon
TIJ: RF C. Murphy – 1B Zuazo – CF J. Williams – 3B Sanks – C J. Flores – LF Palbes – 2B Bensinger – SS Bunyon – P Griffin

Both teams first reached base with two outs in their halves of the second inning. After Stalker’s single, Zitzner farted and flew out. After Palbes walked, he stole second and jogged home on Bensinger’s screaming double over the head of Wallace. Bunyon struck out, but it was 1-0 Condors and I had no hope. The shutout had been the only battle plan I had been able to draw up and it was gone.

Gone was also a chance with 2-outs base hits by Berto and Manny in the third inning. Wallace flew out to Williams to strand them. Williams instead knocked a 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the inning, cashing Murphy, who had walked and stolen second base. The developing pattern was deeply unpleasant, with another two Raccoons singles in the fourth (Fowler, Zitzner), and then a piss-poor groundout for Marsingill.

The tying runs were on base again in the fifth inning, but only reached with two outs. Fernandez doubled over the head of Williams and Wallace then coaxed a walk to bring Fowler to the plate. But somehow Justin Fowler had to have been switched with Bob Fowler, Portland’s leading apiculture expert, because he was batting .158 with one RBI and looked generally lost at the plate. Not that pinch-hitting for him would EVER be an option. I’d rather take a golden sombrero and a loss with him than any other loss with, heck, Pinkerton. He grounded out to Bensinger.

At this point the Raccoons out-hit the Condors, 6-2, although three walks issued by Rendon had been a problem. The Portland starter was yanked in the fifth after a Zuazo double, a balk (…!), and another RBI single for Williams. Livingston allowed a screaming first-pitch double to the skunk weasel, but Williams had to hold on third base, and poor outs by Flores and Palbes ended the inning with runners stranded in scoring position. Any team with a vigorous offense still had a chance to come back from 3-0 down. The Raccoons’ offense had been perplexingly flaccid for all of the last 49 innings…

When Stalker landed a 1-out single against Griffin in the sixth, Travisty Zitzner smashed a baseball at the skunk weasel for an EASY 5-4-3 double play. Bensinger then rammed a homer on Livingston’s first pitch of the bottom 6th, 4-0.

Griffin went to bed after the sixth, having shut out the Coons on seven hits (…), with Adam Moran taking over. The lefty hurler made his first appearance in the series and right away let Marsingill on base with a single to center. At this point I failed to muster much euphoria. Vickers batted for Garavito and singled over the head of Bensinger. Berto singled sharply to center – the bases were loaded with nobody out, and, no, I still felt nothing. Moran remained in there with two more lefty bats appearing, and the Coons weren’t likely to hit for either one of those. Manny Fernandez was impatient to the nth degree and flew out to center, with Marsingill tagging up and scoring. Wallace ALSO swashed away at the first pitch, but at least got a grounder past Bensinger to fill the bags for Fowler, batting .150 in the series. One strike, two strikes, then a fly to left. Not gonna get outta here… Palbes had it casually, but had no chance to get Vickers at home plate. Kurt Wall batted for Morales and flew out to center.

To get through the middle of the order, the Raccoons employed Chris Wise in the bottom of the seventh. The outcome wasn’t quite as expected. Williams singled, Sanks walked, and Flores reached by sticking his hip into an inside pitch. Three on, one out, then a K to Palbes. Firmino Cambra batted for Palbes, but grounded out, stranding three.

Portland didn’t reach in the eighth, and David Fernandez retired two in the bottom of the inning before all the pictures fell off the wall again. Murphy singled, advanced on a wild pitch, Zuazo walked, and coonskinner Williams lashed a single out of the reach of Wallace (but not any other outfielder in the whole world) for an RBI single, his third in the game. That brought up Skunks, and the idea was to just nail him in the kisser. Fernandez actually hit him… but only unintentionally with two strikes. Bases loaded, the Coons brought Prieto against Flores. A strikeout ended the inning and brought out Andrews.

The ninth began with the #9 slot. Not knowing any better, Bob Zeltser hit for Prieto. His bouncer tipped off the edge of Bunyon’s glove up the middle and the Coons had the leadoff man on with a single. Berto flew out in a full count before a wild pitch advanced Zeltser. Fernandez ended up striking out anyway, and Jimmy Wallace had to get on base and Fowler had to hit a homer to get even now. Andrews never found a strike against Wallace, indeed walking him to bring up Fowler as the tying run! Fowler fell to 1-2 before he golfballed a pitch out of the dirt and over Andy Hughes at the keystone for a 2-out RBI single. Kurt Wall could not be batted for even if we wanted to. And I thanked him for trying to make this one quick. He ripped at the first pitch with all he had. Fly to left. Palbes raced back, but the elite defender ran out of room. HOME RUN!! KURT WALL WITH A HOME RUN!!! COONS AIN’T DEAD!!

Andrews was, though. Josh Heckman got a groundout from Stalker, and then it was Ed Blair against 6-7-8. Palbes ran a full count, then struck out. Hughes bounced out to Ramos. Another full count was nursed by Bunyon, who then hit a liner up the line for a 2-out double. Willie Carbonell would pinch-hit in the #9 spot, his first appearance in the series. At least a righty, eh? Carbonell hit a comebacker, Blair fumbled it once, but picked it up again and still threw to first base in time. 6-5 Furballs!! Ramos 2-5; M. Fernandez 2-5, 2B, RBI; Fowler 2-4, 2 RBI; Wall 1-2, HR, 3 RBI; Stalker 2-5; Vickers (PH) 1-1; Zeltser (PH) 1-1;

(stares with mouth agape)