[Westheim]

On our off day, the Canadiens outlasted the Titans just barely, 3-2, cutting our already diminished lead to half a game. We will see them early in September, but at the speed we’re going at, that won’t be a problem anymore. We actually have seven games left against them.

Raccoons (74-53) vs. Thunder (57-69)

Maybe the Thunder and their desolate starting rotation were just what the Raccoons needed now. Hit them, and hard, as long as you can.

Unfortunately, Oklahoma’s Kevin Williams had something against the plan. He held the Raccoons to two hits over seven innings, but that entailed a run. Kisho Saito scattered five hits over eight frames of shutout ball. He was pinch hit for in the bottom 8th with Vinson, who singled to move Bobby Quinn, who had doubled, from second to third. Quinn scored on a sac fly by Gonzalez. West pitched a 10-pitch save. 2-0 Raccoons. Vinson (PH) 1-1; Saito 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, W (15-3);

Atlanta’s Kiyohira Sasaki also put in a superb effort, blanking the Canadiens on a 4-hitter, 6-0, enlarging our lead again to 1.5 games.

In bad news, the waiver trade arranged for Logan Evans did not go through, since the other player was claimed. Who was the other player? CHA 1B/2B Antonio Esquivel, a .270+ hitter and type B free agent to be. Had this gone through, it would have been gold. So, back to the drawing board.

Scott Wade chased #19 again in the middle game, which would tie Evans’ franchise record for single season wins (yes, it’s still August). He got early support with a double bash by Matt Higgins and Mark Dawson in the first inning, two homers for a 3-0 lead. Up 4-0, the Raccoons saw the Thunder implode in the bottom 4th. Vinson and Martin led off with hits to go to the corners. Wade then grounded past SS Tom Nicks for the first run to score. Nicks made one of two terrible errors later in the inning, in which the Coons plated six, half of which came on a home run by Tetsu Osanai, which put him one short of his own franchise record for RBI’s in a season. The game was basically over right there. Wade pitched very well before running out of gas in the ninth. Goodman got the last two outs. 10-0 Furballs! Higgins 1-5, HR, 4 RBI; Osanai 2-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Dawson 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Martin 2-4; Wade 8.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, W (19-4) and 1-2, BB, RBI;

Thus, Scott Wade moved into a tie with Logan Evans for most W’s for the Raccoons in a single season. Again, it’s only August 26. For a very long time, 14 wins was the high water mark for this team. In other news, the same day our AAA SP Jose Fernandez 1-hit the Chula Vista New Order. Also, the Canadiens lost again to the Knights.

The Raccoons loaded the bases in the bottom 1st of the first game, with nobody out, before Osanai popped out, Dawson popped out foul, and Gonzalez popped out. Gnah. The Coons went ahead in the bottom 2nd on a 2-run homer by Glenn Johnston, who doubled in the fourth, leaving him a triple short of the cycle. Jason Turner meanwhile tried to complete a series shutout of the Thunder. And to say the least, Turner outright dominated them, and despite some control issues and a few walks here and there developed a no-hit bid. The defense made some nice double plays and caught soaring line drives in the fifth (Osanai) and seventh (Gonzalez). Top 8th: Marc Shaw grounded out to Higgins, Turner struck out Grady Young, and Frederick Webb bounced out to Higgins. Still a big zero in the Thunder’s H column. Top 9th, the fans were giddy. Fernando Gonzales grounded out to Dawson. Two to go. Adam Warren pinch hit for SP Domingo León and lined way over Gonzalez at short, Hall dashing in, dashing in, HE CAUGHT IT!! Jeff Wagner stepped in, representing the 27th out, but he was an experienced coonskinner. And we go to R.A. Koontz on the broadcast.

Silence has befallen the ballpark all the way since the eighth inning. There is the big goose egg the Thunder team has for hits. And 26 men are out, and here comes their leadoff man, Jeff Wagner. He is batting two-seventy-five with one home run and thirty-six driven in. He is oh-for-three today, and Jason Turner has struck him out twice.

The first pitch by Turner, and it catches the outside corner for a strike.

Some Raccoons are pacing in the dugout, some are drilling their fingers into the railing. Justin Reader can barely watch it, waiting for this to resolve.

Wagner lays off and it is low. One and one to Wagner now. Turner shakes off Dadswell, shakes him off again. The next pitch – low again. Wagner lays off.

Two and one the count. Some fans are clapping, some are biting their lips. Turner winds up – fouled away.

The park comes alive again. More people are clapping. Two and two to Jeff Wagner. Turner shakes off Dadswell twice. Look for something off speed here, Wagner has looked very bad at those in this game. Turner settles in.

Windup, and –

HE SWINGS THROUGH IT!! HE STRUCK HIM OUT!! Young Jason Turner has just completed a NO-HITTER!! I DON’T BELIEVE IT!!

Party at the park!! Johnston 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Hall 2-3, BB; Turner 9.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K, W (10-4) [NO-HITTER]; (grabs random reader and screams into his face) ISN’T LIFE BEAUTIFUL (sometimes)??

This was the 11th no-hitter in ABL history, the third this season, and of course the second for the Raccoons after Juan Berrios’ in 1977.

The euphoria!

Raccoons (77-53) vs. Bayhawks (70-60)

The first two innings of the opener, the Raccoons left five on without scoring, and they were remarkably un-clutch after that, too. Higgins singled in the first run of the game in the fifth. Steven Berry was pitching shutout ball, then came to the plate with the bags full and two down in the sixth. With the Bayhawks entering a reliever in Lawrence Bentley, a right-hander, we sent out Jeff Martin, a lefty, to pinch hit for Berry, but he popped out. Matthews struck out the side in the seventh. Dadswell’s sac fly added a second run in the eighth before West came in and quickly converted on five pitches. 2-0 Coons! Johnston 2-4; Osanai 2-4; Dumont 1-2, 2 BB, 2B; Berry 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, W (8-6);

That’s some pitching here! We have now shut out the opposition for four games in a row, and going back to the last game in New York (brrr…), have pitched 37 consecutive scoreless innings!

Interlude: trade

After the previous deal fell through, we now completed the departure of SP Logan Evans (6-9, 5.77 ERA). He was traded to Dallas for versatile utility man Stephen Hall (.218, 2 HR, 39 RBI), who is in a slump season, but will give us another infielder, who can also play corner outfield. The idea was to go to the playoffs with Ben O’Morrissey, but he’s continuing his slump at AAA and will not be on the roster before their expansion. Hall was added to the 25-man roster.

Hall was the Milwaukee Loggers’ sixth round pick back in 1980, where he made his big league debut in 1984 and stayed there through the end of 1987. Since then, he’s been traded thrice and waived and claimed once, playing for the Crusaders, Warriors, Stars, and now the Furballs. He is a career .247 batter with only 18 dingers. He’s 31 and still arbitration eligible, although things are much in the air as far as our roster next year is concerned.

Evans, 33, went 124-98 with a 3.22 ERA since 1978 with the Raccoons, appearing in 328 games (312 starts). He’s been one of our finest for many years, but looking at him, I think he’s toast.

Raccoons (77-53) vs. Bayhawks (70-60)

Game 2 of the series. Carlos Reyes had taken quite a beating in his last starts. He looked much recovered in this game, sitting the first nine men down in order, after which a 2-run homer by Osanai in the bottom 3rd (which broke Osanai’s own single season franchise RBI record) gave him a lead, and Osanai and Dawson added three runs in the fifth. By then, the no-hitter was gone, but the zero stood. Things unraveled in the top 6th, though. Diego Rodriguez was on first with two outs. Reyes tried to pick him off, but Osanai couldn’t get a glove on it and Rodriguez moved to second. Then, Reyes nailed Roberto Rodriguez with an 0-2 pitch and the latter Rodriguez left with an injury. Dave Burton eventually flew out softly to Hall in left field. Reyes went seven innings of shutout ball, before handing it over to Lagarde and Cordero, who continued in that fashion. 5-0 Raccoons. Osanai 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Dawson 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Quinn 3-3, BB; Reyes 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, W (10-6);

One run through the rotation, zero runs allowed by anybody! Accordingly, we were 5-0 the last run through the rotation. With a no-hitter. (giggles giddily)

The streak ended in the first inning of the last game, when the first two Bayhawks reached base against Kisho Saito and Diego Rodriguez was scored by Roberto Rodriguez, who was not badly hurt, with a sac fly. While Daniel Hall had a day off, Stephen Hall appeared in his first game as a Coon, starting at second base. He hit a double in his second AB in the bottom 5th, then in a 1-1 game. Saito lined between the defenders on the left side for a single and the fairly speedy Hall scored from second. Saito hit SS Mike Powys to load the bags with two out in the sixth. LF Kai Edwards hit one deep to right, but Daniel Dumont JUST caught it to keep the lead in place, but catcher Jose Ortiz homered off Saito with two out in the seventh to tie the game, still. The Bayhawks were now threatening constantly. They had runners on the corners, but hit into an inning-ending double play in the eighth. The game went to extra innings. Quinn flew to deep left in the 10th, but it was just caught. Dawson was nicked to start the bottom 11th and Martin came out to pinch run for him. Gonzalez bunted, Vinson was walked intentionally. Stephen Hall singled into left, but Martin had to hold at third. Dadswell pinch hit in the #9 spot and flew deep enough to center for Martin to tag and score – walk off win! 3-2 Raccoons! Johnston 2-5, 2B; Osanai 2-5, 2B; Vinson 2-4, BB; S. Hall 2-5, 2B; D. Hall (PH) 1-1; Dadswell (PH) 0-0, RBI; Saito 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K; Cordero 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, W (4-1);

That sweep puts us at 60-57 overall against the Bayhawks after starting 0-9 against them in 1977. They join the Loggers as the only CL teams we have a winning overall record against. We’re one under .500 against Indy; everything else … hmmmm.

August 31 was an off day for us, and we ordered a few players from St. Petersburg to Milwaukee: MR Jason Bentley, MR Yasushi Suto, INF Carlos Miranda, OF Neil Reece, and C Josh Cook.

Raccoons (80-53) @ Loggers (47-86)

The last time we saw the Loggers, it didn’t end too well – a 4-game sweep, and we were on the wrong side of things. This started a string of 17 straight games, seven of which were against the Loggers, and four would take place in Vancouver.

The opener was the first of several shots Scott Wade had at hitting 20 wins. The Coons stormed out of the gates with a 3-spot on Davis Sims in the first inning. Wade was dealing, K’ing four of the first five batters he faced. Up 5-0 in the bottom 5th, September call-ups Manny Rodriguez and Charlie Justin then hit back-to-back triples off Wade. The Loggers scored two runs here, and loaded the bags before Wade left them empty-handed in the sixth. Top 7th, the Raccoons had three on and nobody out. Dawson grounded into a run-scoring double play and that was all they got. Neil Reece made his major league debut in the top 9th, drawing a walk as a pinch hitter, and drew a walk before being cut down stealing. It didn’t matter – the Raccoons won, 6-2, chasing a devil or two, and giving Wade and the whole franchise a new milestone. Dumont 3-3; Hall 3-4, BB; Osanai 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Wade 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (20-4); Matthews 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

The Canadiens lost in New York, 2-1, despite David Brewer hitting a game-tying home run in the eighth inning. This puts the Raccoons 3.5 games ahead. Wade is now t-27th for most wins in a season. If he could win three more, he’d be tied for a top 10 position. Nobody has won more than 21 games in the last four seasons and only Scott Wade is in a realistic position to get there this year.

Young phenoms faced each other in game 2, as Jason Turner came off his no-hitter and the Loggers sent Judd Montgomery (9-13, 3.40 ERA). Turner no-hit the Loggers for eight batters, before it was Montgomery to double into the left field corner. Turner then fell to a 2-run homer by Jesus Jimenez in the fourth inning and was pinch hit for after completing six frames. The Raccoons had a terrible time with Montgomery on the mound, but Martin, who pinch hit for Turner, led off the seventh with a single to left. Johnston got on and Dumont tied the game with a 2-run triple to right center, and still nobody out. Hall scored Dumont with a sac fly and the Raccoons led, but the Loggers tied the game off Juan Martinez right away. Both teams left runners in scoring position in the eighth, and the game eventually went to extra innings, where Osanai walked to start the 10th. Vinson pinch hit for Dawson to avoid a double play, but hit into a double play. Out of the blue, Antonio Gonzalez homered to right. Higgins got on, and Stephen Hall pinch hit for Dadswell. Home run!! Two middle infielders – what an unlikely source for a double whammy!! West converted nicely, 6-3 Raccoons! Johnston 2-4, BB; Dumont 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI; Gonzalez 4-5, HR, 2B, RBI; S. Hall (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Martin (PH) 1-1; Turner 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K;

Game 3. Reece got his first start in center, resting Johnston, and landed his first career hit, an RBI double in the second inning that made it 2-0 Coons. His next time up, Reece homered to left. Berry struggled a bit with the Loggers and was roughed up in the third and fourth, after which the Coons led 4-3. They loaded the bags in the top 5th with nobody out and at least they scored two this time with sac flies from Dawson and Quinn. Berry walked the first man up in the bottom 6th and was removed from the game, but the bullpen did a stellar job of holding the Loggers to their three runs. 6-3 Raccoons! Higgins 2-4, BB; Hall 2-4, BB; Reece 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Miranda 2-4, 3B; Cordero 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K; West 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, SV (35);

Matt Higgins tied the franchise records of three stolen bases in a single game so far held by Daniel Hall, who achieved the feat in 1979.

The Raccoons have a 9-game winning streak going! Meanwhile, the Canadiens were swept in New York, giving us a major break.

In other news

August 25 – ATL SP Glenn Ryan (14-7, 3.78 ERA) will miss up to a full year due to a torn UCL requiring Tommy John surgery.
August 26 – NYC SP Carlos Guillén (12-8, 3.52 ERA) is out for the season after suffering a concussion in a violent home plate collision with POR C David Vinson.
August 29 – The Condors lose Cipriano Ortega (.275, 1 HR, 49 RBI) for the rest of the regular season with chronic back soreness. He could possibly join the team in October.
August 30 – LVA Antonio Lopez (7-18, 4.77 ERA) has not had much fun this year. But at least he makes headlines with a 3-hit shutout against the Crusaders now. The Aces win 3-0.
September 2 – ATL RF Michael Root hits a 3-run homer off San Francisco’s Juan Jose Aviles in an 11-1 rout. It is Root’s 35th home run of the season, tying Gabriel Cruz’ single season record with a month to play.

Complaints and stuff

NO-HITTER!!! I couldn’t type for five minutes after that final out, my fingers were shaking. =)

Tetsu Osanai hit .404 in August with 5 HR and 22 RBI to clinch the CL Hitter of the Month trophy.

We are now 5.5 games ahead of the cross-border pests. If we hold our ground and tie the 4-game set in Pest City that is coming up, that would be a HUGE step towards the division. I wanted to get that series in today, but it’s late (2:30am) and I can barely muster enough awakeness to follow the Mets-Pirates game.

Outfielder Randy Powers would have been a call-up on September 1, BUT … he hurt his ankle and is out for the season. Arf.