[Westheim]

Raccoons (11-4) @ Aces (4-11)

That series could not have started much better: Christopher Powell threw a 121-pitch, 4-hit shutout in game 1, with no walks and seven strikeouts. Chris Lynch struck out four times, including to make the 27th out in the bottom 9th. At the plate, the Raccoons took some big rips with home runs by Workman (3-run), Borjón (solo), and Nixon (solo) pacing the team to a 6-0 win. It was Powell’s sixth career shutout. His last had not been removed that far, on August 30, 1981 against the Condors. Moreover, his 12 K/BB led the league by miles. 2nd was LAP David Burke with 3.75 K/BB. Powell was 2nd in BB/9 with 0.33 – trailing “Mauler” Correa, who sported a flat zero. Powell’s 0.99 ERA was 3rd in the majors at this point.

Logan Evans was clearly less brilliant in game 2. He left in the sixth with a 3-2 lead, two down, runners on the corners. Paul Cooper struck out Brad Brown to end the threat. Wally Gaston was hit by the Aces in the eighth, and an error by Matt Workman allowed them to turn the game around, so the Raccoons trailed 4-3 into the ninth. Workman doubled with two down, but Teo Colón made a sprawling catch of a Ralph Nixon line drive to end the game, 4-3 Aces.

Jorge Romero fell behind 3-0 through the third inning, with two runs earned and one scoring after a Nixon error, to start the rubber game. The Raccoons came back in the fifth. They tied it up with an RWI (run walked in :-P) by Steve Walker, before Daniel Hall lobbed a pitch over CF Chris Lynch’s head to score two. Walker was thrown out at the plate, but the game was tied up. Lynch got the Raccoons back with an RBI single in the bottom 5th and the Aces led 4-3 again. The Aces rolled up the game for good in the sixth, whacking Romero, Cunningham, and Cooper. Steve Walker and Daniel Hall made errors that helped escalate the situation. Seven runs scored in the inning and the Raccoons were destroyed, 13-3. Only seven runs were earned after a total of three Raccoons errors.

There it was, the pitching meltdown. It was beginning. Next were the Falcons with the second-best record in the ABL, trailing the 14-4 Miners, mostly on terrific pitching.

Raccoons (12-6) @ Falcons (14-5)

The Raccoons found no recipe against William Williams and the Falcons pen and were shut out to start the series, despite out-hitting Charlotte 8-6. Moran allowed two runs in the fourth, that was it. 2-0 Falcons. Nixon was 2-3 with a walk. Individual LOB’s added up to a whopping 21 for the Raccoons.

Game 2 was about pitching as well. The Falcons scored one early against Ackerman, but a 2-run double by Ralph Nixon turned it around. Zeros were exchanged until the Raccoons coughed up an insurance run in the top 9th. Grant West saved the 3-1 win. Borjón went 2-4 with a triple and a run and made it over .200 for the first time since the first days of the season.

This brought up Powell, who allowed a run in the first of the rubber game, but Mark Dawsons first homer of the season made it 2-1 Raccoons in the top 2nd. The Falcons started Pete Hall in the game, so the Raccoons indeed avoided both Joe Ellis and Juan Correa, but Hall was not a shabby pitcher, either, with a 2-0 record and 3.26 ERA so far. But the Raccoons got to him in the fourth with three more runs for a 5-1 lead. Hall was removed for Franklin Palmer in the fifth. Palmer had been waived by the Falcons at the start of the season, but was now back on the team – he was the second player (besides Pedro Hermundo) whom I had taken a keen interest in, but eventually decided against taking on the aging righty reliever. The Raccoons scored one run against him, while Chris Powell gave up a 2-run shot to John Powell in the bottom 5th. Through five, Powell threw 98 pitches in a much more intense game than his shutout five days before. Powell went 6.1 innings eventually. Steve Walker’s 2-run homer in the eighth completed an 8-3 win for the Raccoons. Powell was now 4-0 with a 1.60 ERA. Walker: 3-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI; Nixon 3-5; Green 0-1, 3 BB;

We had now been tied with the Canadiens for a few days to lead the CL North. We had an off day going home from Charlotte, and the Canadiens didn’t play either. Next were the Loggers, who also surprised everybody with playing above .500 early on.

Raccoons (14-7) vs. Loggers (12-9)

Logan Evans’ start in game 1 was summed up quickly: 6.0 IP, 7 BB, 6 K. He was too wild. He left with a 2-1 lead, both runs batted in by Borjón. Cunningham, Gaston, and West hacked the Loggers batters to pieces and the score stood, 2-1 Raccoons. Borjón was 2-3 with the pair of RBI’s, Workman 2-4 and defensively with a great catch in the first inning that saved a run.

1B Matt Workman received Rookie of the Month honors from the Continental league after this game. He went .293, 2 HR, 11 RBI. By how much Christopher Powell was nipped to Pitcher of the Month remains everybody’s guess. He was 4-0 with a 1.60 ERA and lost to Juan Correa, who put up a 6-0 month with a 2.09 ERA. Correa made one more start, Powell got one no-decision.

Since the Canadiens also fell to the Titans’ John Fowler in a complete game outing, 5-1, the Raccoons ended April in sole possession of first place in the CL North.

Jorge Romero surrendered three runs early in game 2, while the Raccoons could not hurt the Loggers. Romero was chased in the sixth with two out after he walked pitcher John Douglas to force in a run. McCullough came to face lefty Edgardo Garza, who grand slammed the Raccoons into submission in a 9-3 romp. Seven runs (five earned) were against Romero. Daniel Hall stole second in the bottom 7th of game 2. That was his first steal of the season, and worse: the Raccoons’ first steal of 1982, on May 1. Not that we didn’t try…

Carlos Moran and Gary Simmons exchanged zeros through six innings in the rubber game, before a passed ball by Enrique Sanchez got the Loggers 1-0 ahead in the seventh. Workman, Hall, and Nixon loaded the bags with nobody out in the bottom 7th. Borjón flew out, but Cameron Green walked on a full count to tie the game. Dawson fouled out right at 1B Alex Garcia, which brought up Sanchez, but I removed him for Wyatt Johnston, and the old man hit a big banana into the left field stands for a fricking GRAND SLAM!! The pen had a dangerous lapse in the top 9th, when the first two runners got on against McCullough. Cunningham gave a double to Garza, that landed just fair of the left foul line and the Loggers scored two runs, before the threat was contained. Raccoons won 5-3, after Cunningham struck out two. McCullough’s ERA is rapidly growing in size. In turn, Carlos Moran’s ERA was down to 1.49, which led the Continental League. Not bad for a guy who started last season as mop up reliever.

That win made us 48-47 all time against the Loggers again, yay, two teams we have a winning record against (the other being the Blue Sox at 5-4). Next, the true test against the second place Canadiens, who have been improving their game for a few years now.

Raccoons (16-8) vs. Canadiens (14-10)

The Raccoons never got even close to beating the Canadiens in the first game of the 3-game series. Six hits scattered over six different innings – they didn’t even get in Ralph Nixon when he tripled with one out in the eighth. Jerry Ackerman surrendered three runs, Tony Lopez another one in the ninth and the Raccoons lost 4-1. Nixon had two hits, Workman had one for an 11-game hitting streak.

Ralph Nixon left game 2 early with a knee bruise, after he had already delivered a RBI single. Daniel Hall hit a 2-run shot in the bottom 1st as well for an early 3-0 lead for the Raccoons. Borjón homered in the third, but Powell was hit for three runs on a double and a triple in the top 6th and the game was close again with the Raccoons up 4-3. But they responded in the bottom 6th. Sanchez hit a RBI triple and Walker singled him in, 6-3. A 2-run homer by Cameron Green put the game away and the Raccoons won 8-3. Powell: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 3 ER; Walker 3-5, RBI; Hall 1-2, 2 BB, 2 RBI; Workman went 0-4, ending his hitting streak already. Powell was now 5-0, but his ERA was slowly rising, now at 1.99, but hey, I will happily accept every ERA under 3.

Nixon’s bruised knee would bother him for a few days, he was listed as day-to-day. This shifted Walker to second and Gonzalez played short. After this series came an off day anyway, so maybe he would only miss two games.

The rubber game was tight. Logan Evans was better, but the game was tied at 2-2 early on. Dawson homered in the bottom 6th for a 3-2 Raccoons lead. Evans pitched seven innings with three hits, two walks, five K’s. Wally Gaston and Grant West killed the Canadiens from there. 3-2 Raccoons.

Raccoons (18-9) @ Buffaloes (17-11)

The Buffaloes rotation had it’s issues, ranking 10th in the FL, but they had a bullpen with an ERA of 1.67, so you had to hit them quickly.

But first we had to worry about Jorge Romero. He walked three in the first inning, throwing 12 straight balls. After I stormed out to the mound and tried to choke him, he got his act together, and pitched much better. The Raccoons touched up Buffaloes starter Chad Ray for four runs in the first five frames. But Romero was roughed up as well in the sixth and left in a 4-4 tied game. Mark Dawson sent a 3-run homer to center in the seventh to get the Raccoons up again. The pen held the Buffaloes down and the Raccoons won 8-4. Walker 3-5, BB; Hall 3-4, BB, RBI; Dawson 2-5, 4 RBI; Gonzalez 3-4, BB, RBI; the Raccoons had 17 hits in total.

And that was without Ralph Nixon, who returned in game 2. But before he could swing the bat, Carlos Moran was torn up by the Buffaloes for five runs, including a grand slam by Jose Rivera. The Raccoons left the bases loaded twice in the game and lost every chance to come back. Raccoons lost 6-2.

Nixon remained the headliner in the rubber game. He doubled to right, but the bat shattered and put awkward pressure on his thumb. He was out with a strain, and would miss up to two weeks this time. Teams scored pairs of runs in the game. Raccoons led 2-0 after three, but the Buffaloes tied it in the fourth, but we scored two in the sixth to lead 4-2. Then, trouble: Grant West walked two on full counts to lead off the bottom 9th. Gaston came in and coaxed a groundball out of 1B Arturo Garcia for a double play. Beau Horn was up with a runner on third. The veteran popped out to Steve Walker and Gaston had saved the day. Workman 3-5, RBI; Ackerman 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K;

April 24 – Vancouver 2B Eddy Bailey strained his calf and is out for a few weeks. He hit .324 last year and started with a .283 bat this season. He will also miss against the Raccoons in early May.
April 28 – Crusaders outfielder Juan Medine is out for four months with a fractured hand.
April 29 – Indians 2B Luis Camacho retires at age 29 with a hopelessly torn labrum. He appeared in 752 games for Oklahoma City, Salem, and Indianapolis, compiling a .273 average with 35 HR and 314 RBI. He also stole 31 bases in 43 tries.
April 30 – Jonathan Knapp, key piece of the Buffaloes rotation, will miss three months with elbow inflammation. He is 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 1982.
May 1 – LAP SP Jorge Vallejo (2-1, 4.34 ERA) tosses a 2-hitter in an 8-0 shutout of the Scorpions.
May 6 – Buffaloes 1B Harry Beauman is out for the month with a sore shoulder. He has hit .333 so far this season. This comes again just in time for the Raccoons series.
May 9 – Laurentij Mlotkovsky (2-2, 2.60 ERA) tosses a 1-hitter in a 4-0 win of his Gold Sox against the Bayhawks. Mlotkovsky was once traded by the Raccoons for Christopher Powell. (I regret nothing)

Offense is 3.8 R/G now, with 3.03 R/G allowed by our pitchers. This ranks us 7th at the plate and 1st on the mound among CL teams. With Nixon’s bat out for now, we will see how Gonzalez can replace him. His last few games were certainly not bad, but I know him as a .210 hitter, sadly.

What Is going on with Pedro Sánz is beyond me. He doesn’t get anything done at the plate. I thought, the duel with Dawson and Green would be between Green and him, but Green is clearly the best of the three. Dawson and Sánz platoon in right at the moment.

A couple additional stats not shown below: Cameron Green is t-2nd in OBP (.433), Walker is 6th (.424); Nixon, Borjón, and Hall are all in the top 8 in slugging; Borjón also features prominently in triples, extra base hits, and RBI. Among pitchers, Powell is 5th in ERA, Moran is 8th. Powell and Ackerman are in the top 3 in BB/9 (trailing the “Mauler”), and Powell is the WHIP leader at 0.93! Richard Cunningham’s 12.18 K/9 were fourth among relievers. (All only including CL teams)

The schedule is a bit choppy from here, with the Warriors at home, then a trip to Boston and New York, a home series against Atlanta, and then a trip down the coast to San Francisco.

The table below still lists Nixon, but he will go to the 15-day DL. Yet, it is 11pm here and I’m tired, so that will be dealt with tomorrow, if my real job (which is only occasionally fun, too) permits.