[Westheim]

Raccoons (18-19) @ Titans (19-17) – May 15-18, 2051

The Raccoons hit a part of the schedule that made no sense, which this week included a single-city trip to Boston for four games, only to return home to play the Baybirds, and then straight back onto the road after that. But one problem after the other – first up were the Titans, who somehow led the division by not a whole lot, while ranking fourth in runs scored and seventh in runs allowed in the Continental League. They had a +7 run differential (Coons: -29), and were actually sitting second in batting average and third in home runs. Their pen was probably their greatest weak spot with a 4.48 ERA for their relief corps. We had tropped 10 of 18 games against Boston last year.

Projected matchups:
Bubba Wolinsky (3-3, 2.84 ERA) vs. Victor Scott (2-2, 5.02 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (2-4, 5.73 ERA) vs. Thomas Turpeau (3-1, 2.87 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (5-0, 2.11 ERA) vs. Kyle Turay (3-4, 3.72 ERA)
Juan Mercado (0-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Carlos Vasquez (1-0, 1.13 ERA)

To combat the relative dearth of left-handed starting pitchers the Raccoons came up against so far, the Titans offered us two of their three right to the start of this series. We’d not get hold of the third one (David Barel, 4-2, 2.76 ERA), though.

Game 1
POR: 2B Waters – SS Lavorano – 1B J. Maldonado – CF Puckeridge – RF Rivera – LF Glodowski – C Gonzalez – 3B Kaufman – P Wolinsky
BOS: SS A. Montes de Oca – 2B M. Martinez – 1B L. Rodriguez – RF T. Lopez – CF Monson – C I. Davison – LF van der Zanden – 3B J. Rodriguez – P V. Scott

Neither team scored on their two hits in the first three innings, with Bubba looking quite convincing, whiffing four the first time through the lineup, including the 3-4-5 array of the Titans. The Raccoons had Waters walk twice in the early going, but also found inning-ending double plays in both the second inning (Kaufman) and the third (Maldo) to kill chances with two aboard. Miguel Martinez drew a leadoff walk for the Titans in the bottom 4th, but was immediately doubled up by Larry Rodriguez’ spanker to Kaufman, 5-4-3. Unfortunately, three full counts (two of which ended in strikeouts) accelerated Wolinsky’s pitch odometer in the fifth inning, and he was on 81 pitches after five. He finally got a 1-0 lead for his bothers in the seventh, when Puckeridge drew a walk and was singled home by Glodowski after gaining a base on Oscar Rivera’s groundout. Of course the Titans immediately responded with a Larry Rodriguez single up the middle, then Tony Lopez’ dying duck snort of a single right afterwards. Jason Monson popped out to short, but that was it for Bubba. Kevin Hitchcock inherited the two runners, fell 3-1 behind Ian Davison, but then got a grounder to short that became the zillionth inning-ending double play in the game. Scott croaked in the eighth, getting Waters on a fly to center before walking Lonzo (who stole second), Maldo, and Pucks in order to fill the bases. The Titans sent righty Bryan McDuffie in his place, and the Coons did not hesitate to answer with Ken Crum to bat for the rookie Rivera. He hit a grounder at second baseman Jason Lettner, who dropped it on the first try, which cost the Titans the double play. Pucks was out at second base, but a run scored, 2-0. Ed Crispin batted for Glodowski and rammed a single through the right side for another run before Ruben Gonzalez struck out to end the top 8th. From there, Eloy Sencion grabbed four outs, Willie Cruz the last two, and the Coons had a 4-game winning streak and a .500 record again. 3-0 Raccoons. Glodowski 2-3, RBI; Crispin (PH) 1-1, RBI; Wolinsky 6.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (4-3);

Game 2
POR: 2B Waters – SS Lavorano – 1B J. Maldonado – LF Crum – RF Glodowski – C Gonzalez – 3B Kaufman – CF Suzuki – P Brobeck
BOS: SS A. Montes de Oca – 2B M. Martinez – 1B L. Rodriguez – RF T. Lopez – CF Monson – C Oden – LF S. Lewis – 3B J. Rodriguez – P Turpeau

The Raccoons burst out for four runs – not in the game, but in the second inning alone! Glodowski and Kaufman initially reached and Mikio Suzuki hit a sac fly to Steve Lewis in left for the first run of the game, after which the bags slowly filled up with Brobeck and Waters. Lonzo crammed a bases-clearing double into the rightfield corner to ramp up the offense before Maldo popped out to Angel Montes de Oca. And Kyle Brobeck handled the lead with grace at least for a little while; only Jason Monson reached base the first time through for Boston, and he was caught stealing by Gonzalez. In the fourth, though, Montes and Martinez hit leadoff singles, Larry Rodriguez walked them full, and Tony Lopez singled home two before Monson cruelly hit into a double play, 4-U when Waters caught Rodriguez an unsafe amount off base. Nate Oden then flew out to Suzuki to end the inning. Lewis drew a leadoff walk in the fifth, but was doubled up 6-4-3 style by Jose Rodriguez to guide Brobeck through five.

Then, what was more surprising? That Brobeck retired another six in order after that, or that the Coons – who had no measurable offense after their 4-run outburst by the way – left him in too long and the Titans planted leadoff singles in the bottom 8th with Lewis and Jose Rodriguez? Ponce now came in, got a force at third base from PH Arnout van der Zanden, then left for Waldo, who balked the runners into scoring position, then put on Angel Montes de Oca with an infield single anyway. Miguel Martinez popped out to Waters for the second out, and Larry Rodriguez also hit a soft pop, but into shallow left and that looked like trouble RIGHT up until Ken Crum snatched it knee-high and on the run to end the inning. Cruz was on it again for the ninth inning, still up by two. Tony Lopez grounded out to short. Jason Monson singled in front of Suzuki, though. However, slow-footed catcher up, and Oden precisely found Matt Waters for a game-curtailing double play…! 4-2 Coons. Lavorano 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Brobeck 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (3-4) and 2-3;

With that, and a Loggers loss, the Raccoons took over first place in the division.

(blinks)

Yeah, I don’t really get it either. (giggles) But I know I got celebratory-stupid-drunk in the nearest Irish bar after the game, and also may or may not have been braying a bit, enough to get a few on the snout from the other patrons. (tips paper towel with red stains on his lip) Worth it.

Game 3
POR: 2B Waters – SS Lavorano – 1B J. Maldonado – LF Crum – CF Puckeridge – RF Rivera – 3B Crispin – C Jimenez – P Wheatley
BOS: SS A. Montes de Oca – 2B M. Martinez – 1B L. Rodriguez – RF T. Lopez – CF Monson – C Oden – LF S. Lewis – 3B J. Rodriguez – P Turay

Waters and Lonzo doubles made for a quick 1-0 lead on Wednesday, but the Titans answered almost as quickly with a Martinez double and Larry Rodriguez’ RBI single. Crispin singled and Juan Jimenez got nailed to begin the top 2nd. A bunt by Wheats moved them into scoring position and the 1-2 batters grabbed the RBI’s with a sac fly and single, respectively. But Wheats had nothing. The Titans’ 6-7-8 batters loaded the bases with hits in the bottom 2nd, Turay brought in a run with a groundout, and then Montes singled home two to take a 4-3 lead. The Coons filled the bases on their own in the top 3rd, as this game had the potential to go crazy. Pucks doubled, Rivera walked, and Jimenez hit an infield single near the third base line that kept Pucks pinned at third base, bringing up Wheatley with three on and one out. He was ahead 2-0 before slapping a ball back to Turay, who first wanted to go home, then changed his mind and went to second for a force on Jimenez, who nevertheless clobbered Montes de Oca, who left the game with a sprained ankle as the Coons tied the score at four. Waters struck out to strand two, and then all of a sudden the scoring ended. After five half-innings with scores, teams agreed on seven half-innings of zeroes.

That doozy string ended in the top 7th when Oscar Rivera got nicked by Turay with one out, kicked it in gear on the first pitch to Ed Crispin, and then scored when the third-sacker came through with a wall-tickling double to right, breaking the tie and putting the Coons up 5-4. Jimenez also got hit by a pitch, which marked the end of Turay’s efforts. With left-hander Jamie Guidry into the game, the Raccoons went to bat Glodowski for Wheatley, but he struck out and Waters flew out to Tony Lopez to end the inning. Ian Davison doubled off Hitchcock in the bottom 7th, but was stranded, yet Ponce was less lucky in the eighth inning. Larry Rodriguez hit a leadoff single, was run for by Elias Rodriguez (muy Rodriguezes…), and the Titans tied the game on a pinch-hit single by ex-Elk van der Zanden… Lewis struck out to leave the go-ahead run in scoring position.

The Coons went to Paul Miles in the bottom 9th for potentially multiple innings in a 5-5 game, although it didn’t look like he’d even pitch ONE inning. After two sharply hit outs, Jason Lettner – the injury replacement for Montes de Oca – doubled to center. Miguel Martinez singled to right, and Lettner was sent around – but thrown out by Oscar Rivera, sending the game to extras after all. Miles had entered the game in a double switch with Mitch Sivertson, who opened extras with a single off Jordan Ramos. Waters also singled to left, but Lonzo struck out, and then Sivertson was inexplicably caught comatose on second base and picked off by Ramos, which killed the inning in a real hurry. Miles yet held on, and the Coons got a leadoff double off McDuffie from Ken Crum into the leftfield corner in the top 11th. Pucks was walked intentionally, which was interesting. Rivera hit into a double play, Suzuki struck out batting for Miles, and that was that. Brett Lillis jr. took the ball, begged to get walked off on with a leadoff double by Jordan Giammarco from the #6 spot, walked Davison with two outs, but Lettner’s liner to left was shagged by Crum again. To the 12th we went, which saw Sivertson try to make up for stupidity with a triple to center and one out. Waters was walked intentionally by righty Tommy Griffith, then stole second on an 0-1 strike to Lonzo. First base was now open, but Lonzo was in a funk AND on two strikes. The Titans wanted the second out from him – but didn’t get it. The 0-2 was spanked to shallow center for a 2-run single! Lonzo was caught stealing to shorten the inning, but it was still a 7-5 game for … yeah, well, who? Cruz had been out a few days in a row, and Hitchcock had been used. Nobody was particularly fresh among the still-available arms, so the Coons just continued with Lillis, because how bad could that possibly end? Leadoff walk to Martinez. (breathes with difficulty) Elias Rodriguez hit into a force at second, and Lopez grounded out, though. And the Titans’ bench was empty – and behind Monson was the pitcher. Four fingers extended, putting Griffith in the box. A strikeout rather cruelly ended the game. 7-5 Raccoons! Waters 2-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Lavorano 4-7, 2B, 4 RBI; Maldonado 2-6, 2B; Crispin 2-5, 2B, RBI; Sivertson 2-2, 3B; Miles 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; Lillis jr. 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K, W (3-0);

Game 4
POR: 2B Waters – SS Lavorano – 1B J. Maldonado – LF Crum – RF Rivera – CF Suzuki – 3B Crispin – C Gonzalez – P Mercado
BOS: 2B M. Martinez – C I. Davison – 1B L. Rodriguez – RF T. Lopez – CF Monson – LF S. Lewis – 3B J. Rodriguez – 2B Lettner – P C. Vasquez

It felt like the 6-game winning streak was gonna end with Mercado, who gave up a sharp Martinez single, an RBI triple to Davison, and a deep sac fly to Larry Rodriguez inside of eight pitches in the bottom 1st for an early 2-0 hole. The Coons filled the bags with the 8-9-2 batters in the top 3rd, however, and Maldo chopped an RBI single to get them on the board. Crum tied the game by grounding out, which wasn’t ideal, and Rivera hacked over a 3-2 pitch in the dirt to keep it tied.

A serial retirement of hitters in the third and fourth inning followed, and while Rivera reached with a leadoff single in the fifth inning, Suzuki swiftly doubled him up. Crispin singled, but Gonzalez popped out. Waters and Lonzo got on base with singles in the sixth, but Maldo hit into a 4-6-3 double play to nix that effort. Mercado pitched into the seventh after the shoddy beginning, where Monson landed a leadoff single in shallow right and was on second with two outs. Lettner was walked intentionally to force a decision on the pitcher. The Titans opted for violence by pinch-hitting Elias Rodriguez, so the Coons went to get Eloy Sencion, ostensibly to counter that move, although Rodriguez nearly hit a 3-run homer to right. Rivera made the catch on the warning track to end the seventh. When the Coons took the lead in the eighth, they did so on a throwing error by Davison that put Rivera on second base with one out. Suzuki came through with an RBI single in shallow right-center, and moved to second base on Lopez’ late throw home, but would be stranded by Crispin and Gonzalez. Waldo held the fort in the bottom 8th, but while Pucks and Lonzo reached base and pulled off a double steal against McDuffie in the ninth, the Raccoons failed to tack on with poor outs by Maldo and Crum. At least Willie Cruz got three in a row to complete a 4-game sweep. 3-2 Critters. Lavorano 2-4, BB; Mercado 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K and 0-1, 2 BB;

No, I don’t know what’s going on either. (shrugs)

Two-and-a-half games ahead in the North now! (giggles)

Raccoons (22-19) vs. Bayhawks (17-25) – May 19-21, 2051

The Bayhawks had plunged into last place in the South with the unpleasant combo of being second from the bottom in both runs scored (ahead of the Coons) and runs allowed. They had a -50 run differential (Critters: -21, as a reminder that we’re still doomed) and were also missing some key pieces in Sebastian Copeland and Ramon Sifuentes on the corners. Starter Jesse Bulas was day-to-day with a torn fingernail. We had not won the season series with San Francisco in three years, going down 5-4 last year.

Projected matchups:
Victor Salcido (1-3, 5.02 ERA) vs. Milt Cantrell (3-3, 3.34 ERA)
Bubba Wolinsky (4-3, 2.49 ERA) vs. Jesse Bulas (1-1, 3.50 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (3-4, 5.24 ERA) vs. Israel Mendoza (1-4, 3.79 ERA)

Bulas was questionable, but all their starting pitchers were right-handed.

Game 1
SFB: CF M. Roberts – SS Dau – C S. Suggs – 3B Harvey – 1B G. Pena – RF P. Colon – 2B H. Acosta – LF Peltier – P Cantrell
POR: 2B Waters – SS Lavorano – 1B Puckeridge – LF Crum – RF Glodowski – CF Suzuki – C Gonzalez – 3B Kaufman – P Salcido

The first inning was straight from hell, as Mike Roberts socked a leadoff double and Salcido ended up walking three, pushing home a run with Pedro Colon’s 2-out walk before conceding another two runs on a Hugo Acosta single. Adam Peltier, for a period a Raccoons prospect, struck out to end the misery for the time being before Portland grabbed two runs back in the bottom of the inning; they were unearned though. While Mikio Suzuki hit a 2-out single with the bags full to drive home the runs, Glodowski had only reached on an error by Todd Dau and should have ordinarily ended the inning.

Salcido continued to be a mess, but for the next four innings he was a mess that didn’t give up any more runs than were already on the board, although I’d like to opine that seven hits and three walks in five innings were *enough*. For what it was worth, he struck out six, but I refused to be encouraged by that, either. The Coons even had a chance to make him a winner in the bottom 5th; Crispin opened the inning by walking in Salcido’s spot, and then Lonzo hit a 1-out double to center, putting both in scoring position. Pucks fell to 1-2, but managed to hit a grounder to right, which, while intercepted by Acosta, at least got the tying run home and Salcido off the hook. Crum’s grounder ended the inning, though.

The next five Bayhawks all struck out; four against Lillis, and Aaron Harvey against Waldo, before Gustavo Pena hit a belter to left – but it came down on the warning track for Ken Crum to grab and end the top 7th with. Ponce then faced the minimum for the eighth and ninth (an Acosta single and Peltier double play notwithstanding), then was hit for with Maldo in the bottom 9th against righty Brad Barnes, with one out and Kaufman on first base after a single. The first pitch was taken to center by Maldo, but caught by Roberts. Waters singled to left with two outs, but Dan Meyer shagged Lonzo’s fly to right and sent the game to overtime. Pena hit a 2-out double off Hitchcock in the top 10th, but a K to Meyer ended the inning. Barnes was still hanging around after 32 pitches in two innings to begin the bottom 10th, which would bring up the meat in the Coons’ order. Pucks singled, but was doubled up by Crum. Then a walk, a hit batter, and a Gonzalez single to right. Glodowski was sent around – and thrown out by Meyer at the plate. In the 11th, Kaufman got on base, and Waters hit into a double play.

By the 12th, Willie Cruz was out for the fourth time in five days, and it showed. The Bayhawks whacked liners all around, but were held to two singles by Sean Suggs and Aaron Harvey and finally had Meyer out on a spanker to Kaufman to strand them. After an abortive bottom of the inning, we went to Miles for the 13th. He retired his three batters in order, but his spot would be up fifth in the bottom of the inning and we only had Juan Jimenez left on the bench. Glodowski opened with a double to left against Carson Jarvinen. Oh, you teases! A Suzuki single then moved that winning run to third base. Gonzalez popped out. Oh great. More innings! No. For reasons beyond me, the Bayhawks did not elect to intentionally walk Kaufman to force out Miles or get a free out, and Kaufman answered with a walkoff single over the head of Dau. 4-3 Critters. Lavorano 2-6, 2 2B; Puckeridge 2-6, RBI; Suzuki 3-4, BB, 2 RBI; Gonzalez 2-6, 2B; Kaufman 3-6, RBI; Ponce 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K; Hitchcock 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

Eight in a row, none of them by more than three runs, and even that only happened once. No, I don’t know how we do it, either.

Game 2
SFB: CF M. Roberts – SS Dau – C S. Suggs – 1B Harvey – LF G. Pena – 3B Peltier – 2B H. Acosta – RF P. Colon – P Bulas
POR: SS Lavorano – CF Puckeridge – 1B Maldonado – LF Crum – RF Rivera – 3B Crispin – C Gonzalez – 2B Kaufman – P Wolinsky

Jesse Bulas took the ball with the iffy fingernail, and got a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Wolinsky put the first four batters on base with a walk and three straight singles. Acosta drove in one run, Colon another with a sac fly. Portland made up the deficit though in the bottom 2nd, albeit in unearned fashion once again. Crum singled, Gonzalez reached on an Acosta error, and Kaufman stuck a ball into the leftfield corner with two outs, well enough to even get Gonzalez to score from first base. Bulas, who was clearly bothered by his own body, then walked Wolinsky, but Lonzo grounded out to strand a pair.

Bubba then had *another* awful inning in the third, when the first three batters reached base. Dau singled, Suggs walked, which sugged, and Aaron Harvey made it 3-2 with a single to right. Pena then found a double play and Peltier popped out to Maldo in foul ground to guide Wolinsky out of the inning, and the thing was – we didn’t have a lot of bullpen available after 34 innings in three days (and Wheats’ start hadn’t been great in the middle there, either). The Coons frittered away three singles across the next two innings, then fell further behind when Wolinsky walked Harvey and Pena with two outs in the fifth and gave up an RBI single to Peltier in shallow right. Acosta flew out to Crum, completing the top 5th on Wolinsky’s 86th pitch of the game.

Maldo and Crum hit 1-out singles in the bottom 5th, with a misplay by Colon in right allowing both of the tying runners to reach scoring position. Rivera grounded out poorly, leading to me making gurgling noises as I sunk deeper into the cushions on the trusty brown couch, but Acosta saved me by throwing away Crispin’s grounder for two bases and the tying runs to score…! That made for four unearned runs on nine-fingered Bulas, who looked none too happy. He lost Gonzalez on balls, spiking a couple in breathtaking fashion, but Kaufman flew out to left to end the inning in a 4-4 tie. But then we actually got EARNED runs in the bottom 6th! Lonzo and Pucks reached base with one gone, stole a pair of bases together, and were then driven in when Maldo socked a 2-2 pitch over Dau for a go-ahead single, 6-4!

That was the end for Bulas, while the needy Coons sent Bubba back out in the seventh, starting against Dau on 93 pitches. There were two groundouts, but also a Suggs single, and he was lifted before facing Pena again. Waldo and Waters entered in a double switch, with Kaufman to third base and Crispin out of the game. Pena struck out, and Peltier was also retired to begin the eighth before the ball went to Eloy Sencion. Colon and Meyer both poked soft singles with two outs, but Roberts rolled out easily to Kaufman to leave the tying runs aboard. Ken Crum then gained distance with a 2-run homer off Carson Jarvinen in the bottom 8th after the original assignment, Barnes, left the game with an injury. The ninth with a 4-run lead then went to Lillis as options were limited, despite no lefty hitter showing up, another sign that we had to trim our four lefty relievers by at least one. (looks at Lillis) Go ahead, Brett. Do your very best. See whether it’ll be enough. – It was! Grounder, grounder, strikeout to Harvey, and the Coons had another one in the W column…!? 8-4 Furballs! Puckeridge 2-4, BB; J. Maldonado 2-5, 2 RBI; Crum 4-5, HR, 2 RBI;

(gigglingly joins the conga line going round the office, pushing Cristiano Carmona’s wheelchair while Cristiano in turn fondly holds Steve from Accounting by the bum)

Game 3
SFB: SS A. Diaz – 1B Dau – C S. Suggs – CF M. Roberts – 2B Quiroz – LF G. Pena – RF P. Colon – 3B Peltier – P I. Mendoza
POR: 2B Waters – CF Puckeridge – 1B Maldonado – LF Crum – RF Rivera – 3B Crispin – C Jimenez – SS Sivertson – P Brobeck

Brobeck opened with a walk to rookie Alonzo Diaz, but got two on Dau’s grounder to Crispin, 5-4-3. He faced the minimum the first time through – as did Mendoza, who retired nine of nine – before walking Dau in the fourth. Suggs and Roberts grounded out, and nobody scored. The #2 batter also walked in the bottom 4th, with Pucks being the first Raccoon on base after ten straight retirements to begin the game. Crum singled with two outs to move him to third base, and Rivera lifted a 3-1 pitch over Peltier’s head for an RBI single and the game’s first run. Crispin singled up the middle, scoring Ken Crum, but Jimenez’ comebacker to Mendoza ended the inning.

Brobeck exploded at once. Sergio Quiroz doubled off the fence in right, Pena homered to left, and Colon whacked another hard double, eventually scoring on a 2-out single by Todd Dau to turn a 2-run lead into a 2-run deficit. Brobeck and Pucks went to the corners on singles in the bottom 5th, but were left there on a poor fly out by Maldonado. The Coons didn’t get on in the sixth, but Sivertson singled with one gone in the seventh. Lonzo batted for Ponce and clanked a ball off the fence in right-center for an RBI triple…! With the tying run 90 feet away, but Waters fell to two strikes quickly and I briefly lost hope again before Waters lobbed a ball to left deep enough for Lonzo to dash home and level the score at four.

The inning ended with Pucks though, and the eighth was a whole load of nothing before Willie Cruz had his fifth outing of the week in the ninth, and still wasn’t sharp, and it showed. Hugo Acosta singled, advanced on a wild pitch, and was singled home by Pedro Colon to break the tie again. The Coons meanwhile brought up the bottom of the order in the ninth against ex-Critter Josh Livingston. Mikio Suzuki batted for Jimenez and hit a single past Diaz to put the tying run on base. Chaos then broke out on a hit-and-run call on the first pitch to Sivertson, who flailed, but Suggs also dropped the ball and kicked it into foul territory on the first base side for an error, allowing Suzuki all the way to third base. All that for Sivertson to pop out then; Glodowski batted for Cruz. His sac fly to center tied the game and sent the third contest of the week to extra innings once Waters popped out.

Eloy Sencion would get the ball despite a decidedly not very left-handed lineup, gave up a leadoff single to Diaz in the tenth, but struck out two in working his way out of that situation, but the Coons didn’t make it past a Maldo single in their half of the tenth, either. Sencion had Quiroz poke a leadoff single in the 11th, but retired Alfonso Cedillo and Harvey, only to walk the normally not very patient Peltier. Justin Kristoff pinch-hit in the #9 hole then, but popped out on the first pitch, leaving two aboard. Bottom 11th, and a meeting with Victor Merino, who had struggled in the rotation for the Raccoons for years, and was now struggling in the pen for the Bayhawks with a 5.64 ERA. Crispin singled to right, Gonzalez singled to left. Sivertson found Quiroz at second for a fielder’s choice, but the winning run moved to third base. Brian Kaufman was the last stick left on the bench, and batted for Sencion with runners on the corners and one gone. Merino didn’t fool him either, and Kaufman shoved a single through the left side with force to end the game…! 6-5 Furballs!! Rivera 2-5, RBI; Crispin 2-5, RBI; Suzuki (PH) 1-1; Gonzalez 1-1; Lavorano (PH) 1-1, 3B, RBI; Kaufman (PH) 1-1, RBI; Sencion 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, W (2-0);

In other news

May 15 – Vegas’ 1B/RF/LF Aubrey Austin (.329, 5 HR, 21 RBI) has a 20-game hitting streak following a first-inning double in a 10-6 loss to the Bayhawks.
May 15 – The Rebels and Capitals have to play 10 innings to score at all, with Richmond prevailing 1-0 on a LF/RF/1B Alex Marquez (.293, 5 HR, 10 RBI) RBI double.
May 16 – A broken kneecap renders CHA OF Ethan Whitehead (.297, 2 HR, 8 RBI) out for the season.
May 16 – Two homers, three singles, and four RBI by OF Danny Rivera (.270, 6 HR, 23 RBI) lead the Crusaders to a 9-3 win over the Indians.
May 17 – Five hits, including two triples, and three RBI by VAN OF Tim Burkhart (.243, 4 HR, 10 RBI) lead the Canadiens to a 10-9 win over the Loggers.
May 17 – In a season of broken kneecaps, the next victim is Las Vegas’ Neville van der Wouw (.304, 9 HR, 22 RBI), who will also miss the rest of the season.
May 20 – The hitting streak of the Aces’ Aubrey Austin (.323, 5 HR, 24 RBI) reaches 25 games with a fourth-inning double in a 4-2 win over the Titans.
May 21 – Streak gone: the Titans hold LVA 1B/RF/LF Aubrey Austin (.320, 5 HR, 24 RBI) hitless on Sunday and end his hitting parade at 25 games. The Aces win the game at least, 6-5 in 15 innings.
May 21 – The Loggers have a bit of a ninth-inning collapse against the Thunder, allowing eight runs in the top of the ninth to lose 10-4.
May 21 – VAN C Julio Diaz (.310, 2 HR, 9 RBI) homers to beat the Condors, 1-0.

FL Player of the Week: SFW RF Matt Diskin (.302, 4 HR, 16 RBI), batting .519 (14-27) with 3 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC OF Danny Rivera (.287, 8 HR, 29 RBI), hitting .536 (15-28) with 4 HR, 11 RBI

Complaints and stuff

A 10-game winning streak! Second in the power rankings! What!!?? (laughs madly)

Please note that while we are now six over .500, we still have a -15 run differential, and it won’t last, because it can’t possibly last. But the Agitator is on the bandwagon, and the headline on Sunday already literally read “These Players are Magic, And If They Fail It’ll Be Management’s Fault”. (tosses paper into the corner) Can’t do much with that mindset behind you…!

Also remind yourself please that of the ten wins in a row, five were by one run, and only two were by more than two runs. Five wins were only put in the bag in the ninth inning or later, including two walkoffs against the Elks last weekend and three extra-inning wins this week.

Maybe they are magic, but they’re an enthusiastic ten-year-old’s magic trick, and it’s entirely possible that the Ace of Clubs you’re looking for ends up half drowned in somebody’s juice cup.

Speaking of Aces of Clubs – still last in runs scored. 5.4 runs per game during the streak, but still only 3.66 for the year.

Getting closer to the draft – the draft pool is already out – and we start to clean house a tiny bit. 2048 Nick Brown Memorial Pick Bruce Bowhay was released today for not living up to the Hall of Fame standards set for 11th-rounders in 1995, and several pitchers were moved from Aumsville to Ham Lake, including f.e. 2049 supplemental-rounder Josh Mayo, who had a 3.95 K/BB ratio with the Beagles.

Aces and Falcons up next week. Those are actually winning teams for a change…

Fun Fact: The Raccoons haven’t had a 15-game winning streak in at least 50 years.

If they had, I’d have that achievement in Steam.

+++

Unrelated: today's the last day of my World Series lazy time off; tomorrow it's back to the grindstone with old pokey black nose. I think I went 10-for-12 with Raccoons updates in that span, which I consider a decent job. From now it's more like four updates a week again, maybe five. However, I have to burn a lot more piled up days off over the winter holidays, so I might be home for two full weeks then. We shall see.