[luckymann]

Portland Stags (36-29) @ Las Vegas Lizards (31-34)
Omnibus Park – Las Vegas, NV; 1.05 pm
LASV: Mark Langston (8-4, 4.93)
PORT: Jim Palmer (4-6, 3.82)

Good Afternoon and thanks for tuning in to PBLTV’s Game of the Week, I’m your host Nik Hill.

You are in for a real treat tonight as the Portland Stags – arguably the hottest team in the league in recent weeks – take on the Las Vegas Lizards, and if you haven’t seen it before then welcome to Omnibus Park, which it’s safe to say is a ballpark like no other and very much in keeping with the locale in which it is situated.

As I mentioned, the Stags have been red hot of late, putting together a 20-9 May that has seen them pull 5 games clear in the West division. Contributors from top to bottom in this lineup and a pretty solid pitching staff makes them an extremely difficult opponent indeed.

That said, Las Vegas had no trouble unpicking them yesterday in a 17-4 rout, with second-baseman Rod Carew and catcher Ted Simmons in particular having big games as “Big Cat” Harry Brecheen went the distance for a complete game victory.

Tricky Lizards southpaw Mark Langston will be hoping for a similar outcome here today, as he faces righty Jim Palmer in what shapes as a real humdinger. Both have had reasonable starts to the season and have deep pitch arrays to call upon, so I’m not expecting tonday to be another slugfest.

Unfortunately our friend Juliana Scott is ill tonight, so rather than a live cross we’re going to have to make do with a quick chat I had about an hour ago with Las Vegas skipper Leo "the Lip" Durocher.

Nik Hill: Leo thanks for taking the time to talk with us, your boys put together their first really dominant performance yesterday, but it has been a bit of a struggle for the club so far. What’s your take on the season to this point?

Leo Durocher: We just haven’t been good enough for the most part, plain and simple.

NH: Where in particular do you think you’ve let yourselves down?

LD: Across the board. We haven’t been terrible by any stretch, but I’m not really close to happy with any aspect of our game so far.

NH: Is that just a function of the squad being so raw and inexperienced, or is there something more to it?

LD: That fact certainly plays its part, and we’re OK with that. But all the players and clubs are in the same boat, so it’s no excuse.

NH: Plenty of positives as well, though. Burkett has been great. Bonds has shown plus-power that looks like it has plenty of blue sky, the pitching has been solid enough on the whole.

LD: Agreed. It’s certainly not panic stations or anything, but we’re going to need to start stringing some good results together or this Portland team is going to run away with it.

NH: Langston on the mound for you tonight, what will your instructions to him be?

LD: Mark and I had a good talk in the team rooms just a little while ago and he seems up for a big challenge today. I try not to get in my pitcher’s head so close to game time, they know what they need to do and I’d only go confusing matters if I did. Mark’s been a bit unlucky in a couple of his recent starts, but I think he’s on the right track. He just needs to trust his pitches and let the rest fall into place.

NH: I really like the look of Martin Dihigo, can you tell us a bit more about him?

LD: One of the most naturally-gifted ballplayers I’ve ever seen. Excellent game instincts, a real general out in the field. More pop than it perhaps looks at the moment. I’m not talking home-run pop, more extra-base pop. I expect he’ll lead the league in triples most years while still putting a few in the seats. An absolute gun.

NH: It certainly looks that way. Righto Leo, I’ll let you go—good luck tonight and until we see you again.

LD: Thanks Nik.

Very much short and to the point is Leo, but he seems to have a quiet confidence about his group once they get a few more games under their belts. It certainly is yet another talented squad like so many others in this league.

OK, a quick word from the people who pay my salary and we’ll be back with the first pitch.


TOP 1ST
Just a single by Magee for the visitors.

BOTTOM 1ST
Palmer begins confidently with a clean inning.

TOP 2ND
Another two-out hit for Portland, this time to Paul Waner, but nothing comes of it.

BOTTOM 2ND
Singles to Bonds and Dihigo put them at the points with none out, and another one to Brouthers opens the scoring. Palmer regroups and does well to keep it at that.
Las Vegas 1, Portland 0

TOP 3RD
A 1-2-3 inning for Langston, who has 5 strikeouts over the first 3.

BOTTOM 3RD
A Carew single is all for the Lizards.

TOP 4TH
Langston with no problems, now having retired 7 in a row.

BOTTOM 4TH
The hosts add to their lead, as Dihigo doubles with one out and eventually scores on a Sosa groundout.
Las Vegas 2, Portland 0

TOP 5TH
10 down in a row now for Langston, with 8 Ks.

BOTTOM 5TH
A couple of baserunners for Las Vegas but they can’t convert.

TOP 6TH
Langston shrugs off an error at 3B by Ripken and a wild pitch to keep his clean sheet intact.

BOTTOM 6TH
Dihigo gets his third hit of the game but is stranded at third.

TOP 7TH
Another poor misplay by Ripken puts Mantle aboard with no outs and a walk to Munson ramps up the pressure. Bell moves them around with a groundout and Jimmy Collins comes into the game with immediate impact, doubling both runners in to tie the game at 2. That’s it for Langston, who understandably glares at Ripken as he trudges off, but the introduction of Bobby Mathews doesn’t help as Jim Whitney puts the Stags in front for the first time with an RBI single, then Rogers Hornsby makes it 4-2 with a run-scoring double. A Campaneris triple plates him to stretch Portland’s lead to 3.
Portland 5, Las Vegas 2

BOTTOM 7TH
The Lizards look shell-shocked and go down in order.

TOP 8TH
A hit but that’s all for Portland.

BOTTOM 8TH
Now it’s Palmer who’s looking strong as he sends them three-up, three-down.

TOP 9TH
Not sure why Durocher leaves him in, as Mathews gets hammered again and the Stags add 2 to their lead. Walker Buehler is eventually summoned from the pen but the game is well and truly lost by this point.
Portland 7, Las Vegas 2

BOTTOM 9TH
The Lizards get a couple of men aboard but a Dickey GIDP ends the game.

Portland 7, Las Vegas 2 (final).

WP: Jim Palmer (5-6)
LP: Mark Langston (8-5)
POTG: Jim Palmer 9 IP / 9 H / 2 ER / 5 K.

A bit of a strange one that, the home side looked to be cruising but some poor fielding and – I have to say it – questionable managerial decisions led to the game completely flipping on its head and the Stags have ended up winning it comfortably. Palmer was rock solid despite an early wobble and the Stags’ hitters got timely hits when they were needed. Langston can consider himself most unlucky here as he gave up just 3 hits over 6+ and struck out 9.

A bit of a break for us as there are no Sunday games scheduled the next two weeks. So we’ll be back on July 2nd when we’ll be heading to the nation’s Capital to watch the Grays take on the Virginia Fury. The East Division has really tightened up so that should be a fantastic contest. Thanks for watching, hope to see you again then.