[Westheim]

2018 CONTINENTAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Portland Raccoons (95-67) vs. Las Vegas Aces (89-74)

Game 6 – Hector Santos (13-10, 2.67 ERA) vs. Clark Johnson (10-11, 4.48 ERA)

Do-or-die game #2 for the Raccoons, and they also had to win with Guerrero afterwards, but one after the other… and the Critters had not gotten anywhere close to Clark Johnson in Game 2, either.

Maybe somebody can shut down Armando Martinez (.429, 5 SB) and Danny Rice (.421, 1 HR, 6 RBI) now? PLEASE??

LVA: CF A. Martinez – 1B Flack – LF M. Hamilton – RF Erickson – 3B I. Alvarez – 2B R. Walsh – SS Burke – C D. Rice – P C. Johnson
POR: RF Carmona – SS Walter – 3B Nunley – 1B H. Mendoza – CF Duarte – 2B Mathews – LF DeWeese – C Margolis – P Santos

With rain in the forecast, Martinez opened with a double, but never advanced due to Flack flying out to left, Hamilton getting whiffed, and Erickson flying out to Duarte.

Santos shed a walk in the second inning, but the real issue soon turned out to be Johnson – who allowed a walk to Duarte in the second, but no hits so far – hitting a double to left on Santos’ first pitch in the third inning. Martinez made a poor out, but Johnson then scored on Flack’s single. Matt Hamilton silenced the park with a hammer throw to centerfield and outta here, and the Coons trailed 3-0. After Erickson singled to right, Santos was yanked.

With fans wrapped in blankets to save them from the bitter October night in Orgeon, and some already crying, Ricky Mendoza stepped in and somehow got out of the inning, despite walking Walsh and allowing Burke to hit a rocket to left that singed DeWeese’s glove, but was the third out.

Bottom 3rd, Margolis opened with a walk drawn from Johnson. Mendoza bunted him over, after which Cookie walked, making the exercise moot. After their first three runners all reached on walks, Shane Walter changed things up and got drilled. That loaded the bases with the tying runs, one out, and still two lefties, who were really dangerous, and good, and … and um… and Nunley was batting .136 and I was close to dropping my blanket, and dropping myself out of the window.

Nunley hit the first pitch up the middle, it was not a bad grounder, but it was not good enough to beat Walsh. Walsh had no play on Walter at second, but he did manage to nip Nunley at first, while one run scored. Then came Mendoza with the tying runs in scoring position. He popped out to short.

I have to kill that ****.

And I would not be spared any stupidity. Ricky Mendoza WALKED Johnson in the fourth inning, AND it began to rain. EVERYTHING was being washed down the Willamette, EVERYTHING, oh god, dear heavens, please let me be washed along with all the things. Drown me, oh baseball gods, but safe me from their follies, please …!!!

Johnson’s promising no-hit bid was broken up when Duarte grounded deep behind short to start the Coons’ fourth. Burke kept it in the infield, but had no play, and Duarte had an infield single. Mathews then hit a proper single to center, placing the tying runs on the corners with nobody out for DeWeese, batting .071, and that one hit was more or less by accident. He got drilled by Johnson, the single best possible outcome, bringing up Margolis with the bags choked. Danny tended to be good for a surprise now and then! He hit the first pitch to right, up the line, Erickson over – HE’S NOT GETTING’ IT! Into the corner, two runs scored! Tied ballgame!!! The Coons had runners on second and third and nobody out, then crapped their pants when Ricky Mendoza batted for himself, popped out, Cookie grounded to third to keep the runners pinned, Walter walked, but Nunley grounded out to Burke to leave the bags stacked.

Then we had a rain delay for over half an hour, so leaving Mendoza in was really a good choice we would totally never regret. He was still pitching in the fifth, assuring everybody that he was fine. Hamilton singled to center to lead off. Erickson grounded to Mathews for two – except that Mathews lost the ball in the wet grass, and two were on now. Alvarez grounded to third, Nunley tried to turn two, but Mathews again was not up to the task. Runners remained on the corners for Rich Walsh, hitless in the series. He hit a sac fly to center, and the Aces were inching closer to the World Series again, up 4-3 in the middle of the fifth.

Napkin Mendoza drew a leadoff walk in the bottom 5th, was bunted over by Duarte, went to third on Mathews’ grounder, but DeWeese struck out. Danny Rice, the Death of Coons, opened the sixth with a double over Cookie’s head, but on Johnson’s bunt was thrown out at third base by Ricky Mendoza, who then allowed a hard 3-1 shot to Nunley, who a) survived, and b) nipped Johnson at second, but that left c) Martinez on first base. With southpaws up, Mendoza’s day was over.

It was Thrasher Time. Flack grounded out to first, ending the sixth inning for the Aces. The seventh saw Thrasher retire Hamilton on a grounder before he walked Erickson, which was kinda bad. Alvarez grounded to third, Nunley again got the lead runner, then made an error on PH Bobby Diersing’s grounder, which put two on. Thrasher HAD to face and retire Brent Burke, or else - …! Burke struck out, but the Coons, held to three hits so far, needed to ****ing score now!

The 2-3-4 batters did squid in the bottom 7th, and Thrasher’s only pitch in the eighth and his 33rd overall drilled Rice, which at least precluded him from hitting for extra bases. Mathis replaced him and wiggled out of the inning with K to Brian Skinner, a pop and a grounder, both to Hudman, who had earlier entered in a double switch with Thrasher.

When Duarte cracked a leadoff single to left off Alex Silva in the bottom 8th, at least the tying run was on base. With Mathis appearing right behind him, we retained him to bunt, which hadn’t worked two innings earlier, but we’re Coons, and we never learn! With Duarte at second, left-hander Alex Morin replaced Silva, and Jackson batted thus for DeWeese. Jackson went to 2-2 before firing a fly to deep center. Rich Arrieta back, back, back – caught it. Duarte went to third, but we now had right-hander Enrique Guzman, the Aces’ fifth starter, in to face Margolis, who had expended his monthly extra-base magic already. A single would do, though. He grounded out to Flack.

Off Jason Kaiser, the Aces got their long-awaited insurance run in the ninth inning. The first two reached as Kaiser walked Hamilton, Erickson singled, and the run scored on Arrieta’s groundout. This was Kaiser’s 85th appearance. I was not blaming him. No, I was knotting a rope.

Bottom 9th. Two runs to tie, three runs to win. Hypothetically. Hudman led off and grounded out to short. Cookie fell to two strikes, then lined a single to right. Still alive! Shane Walter, batting .292, came up. He was due a helpful knock somewhere, and so was Nunley. Come on, Shane. Do … something! Anything! Please! He was also down two strikes before long against Steve Rob, then put the ball in play. Bouncer to Bill Hebberd at the keystone, to Burke, to Flack.

I gazed into the night sky
And I saw no stars
There was only the void

Aces 5, Raccoons 3 – Aces win series 4-2

Duarte 2-2, BB;