[Westheim]

The league decreed that the Titans and Loggers would have to play the first tie-breaker in Milwaukee, owing to the Raccoons beating both teams head-to-head during the regular season, with the collective head-to-head record seeing this order:

Raccoons 22-14
Titans 17-19
Loggers 15-21

The game was scheduled in Milwaukee on Tuesday (with Monday reserved for make-up games around the league), where in a duel of southpaws Chris Sinkhorn outlasted Rick Ling as the Loggers squeezed out a 4-3 victory. The Coons entered Milwaukee the following day, playing for the real deal.

Raccoons (90-72) @ Loggers (91-72) – October 7, 2020

The Raccoons had won their only previous appearance in a tie-breaker game, against the Titans in 1995, when Miguel Lopez pitched seven shutout innings to outlast Jose Vidrio in a 7-2 victory.

This time, it will be on Tadasu Abe (12-10, 3.52 ERA) to clinch the division for us, while the Loggers will send right-hander Julio San Pedro (14-7, 3.27 ERA).

Neither Matt Nunley nor R.J. DeWeese were able to play in the game, failing their medical with the Druid. I heard that they had to meditate to clear the medical, and neither achieved zen. DeWeese smashed some things, though, and flung a rookie through a window. Not Graves, however, Graves will play in the most important regular season game in 25 years. Well, maybe beside that season finale in Vancouver in 2012, where Ray Gilbert whacked a pair off Rich Hood in a 2-0 game … BUT THAT NEVER HAPPENED.

Game 163 is upon us.

POR: LF Carmona – 2B Nomura – SS McKnight – 1B Mendoza – RF Graves – C Margolis – CF Metts – 3B Petracek – P Abe
MIL: LF Tesch – SS Burns – CF Coleman – RF Gore – 3B Velez – 2B P. Hall – C Wool – 1B Stickley – P San Pedro

The Critters started the game with three singles off San Pedro, a soft one by Cookie, a medium one by Yoshi, and a hard one by McKnight, loading the bags with nobody out. All runs would score, with Mendoza plating two with a double over the third base bag on which Velez (34 errors on the year and counting) looked pretty terrible, and after Graves’ foul pop out, Margolis got McKnight home with a groundout. The early 3-0 lead was certainly promising! The Loggers got a leadoff single from Tesch in the bottom 1st, but despite stealing second he ended up stranded as Abe turned away the next three batters, including two strikeouts, but the Loggers got to him pretty soon. Paul Hall drew a walk in the bottom of the second inning, and Josh Wool banged a home run to right, cutting the nice lead down to 3-2 without much further ado.

Graves and Margolis hit 2-out singles in the third, but Metts’ fly to left ended up with Brad Tesch. On the other side of the inning, Ian Coleman missed a home run by less than ten feet, flying out to Graves on the warning track. Petracek’s leadoff infield single in the fourth inning was followed up by Abe bunting into a double play, and when Cookie walked after that, he never got a jump, nor did Yoshi, who needed a 4-for-5 or better to still get the batting title, get a ball to fall in, lining out to center. The Loggers also got a leadoff infield single in the bottom 4th, this one by Velez, who moved up as Hall grounded out. Josh Wool beat Abe again, this time for an RBI single to right. The 2-run homer was saved for the next batter, Jack Stickley going yard outta rightfield to give his team a 5-3 lead as the park burst into a frenzy.

San Pedro struck out McKnight and Mendoza to start the fifth, but the 1-2 to Graves got away and was knocked into the right corner for a double. Graves almost would have tried third, but shied away. Margolis’ single scored him anyway, 5-4, Metts also singled, but Petracek grounded out to Hall to end the inning. Kyle Burns beat Abe’s fielding skills for a drag bunt and a base hit to start the bottom 5th, and that was the last we saw of Abe. Kaiser replaced him, struck out Coleman, got Gore to ground into a fielder’s choice, and struck out Velez as well.

San Pedro faced only one more batter, walking PH Tim Prince to start the sixth. For a second we thought about bunting with Cookie, but what sane person would have Cookie bunt!? Facing right-hander Mike Kress, he swung away, sending a liner over Brad Gore’s head for a double, and the Raccoons were in business! Runners on second and third, no outs for Yoshi. The count between Kress and Yoshi ran full before Yoshi knocked a grounder up the middle, past the lunging Burns and into centerfield. Prince scored, Cookie scored, the Coons ahead, 6-5! McKnight struck out before Velez missed another shot by Mendoza for another double. With runners on second and third again, the Loggers walked Graves (.375) intentionally to bring up a right-hander for Kress to match. Margolis had two hits and two RBI in the game, and I kinda wanted to see where this could go. The destination turned out to be swinging strike three, but Metts lined softly over Burns’ glove for an RBI single, 7-5, before Petracek grounded out.

Oh well, just a dozen outs for the pen to collect. What could even go wrong!? Chun did away with the sixth flawlessly before we went really crazy, and the 7-5 lead was given to Nick Lester in the seventh, who just a scant few weeks ago had been the franchise’s worst-ever pitcher with 30+ innings pitched. He still had a horse in the race, but the Loggers sent left-hander Javier Gonzalez to pinch-hit to begin the inning, and had more lefties with Tesch, Coleman, and Gore looming, then the switch-hitting Velez, who was a natural lefty. Kaiser had been used, and Thrasher wasn’t gonna pitch three innings here. Hopefully. The Loggers AGAIN got an infield single to start an inning, as McKnight cut off Gonzalez’ grounder pretty deep behind short, and couldn’t get enough on the throw to first to beat him. Tesch singled to center, moving Gonzalez to third. Now what? Why are you looking at me? Do I know ****?

Burns popped out against Lester, who was still in the game although we should probably know better. But Coleman and Gore were up and I do NOT switch lefty for lefty, ever, unless divine interference occurs, or whatever. The pitching coach gave Lester a pep talk. Oh well, all we need is a double play! Tesch stole second on the first pitch to Coleman, and now the prickle was real. Lester got to 1-2 on Coleman before surrendering the score-knotting single to right center. Gore flew out to center, leaving Velez to deal with. That was when Coleman made it to third on a stolen base attempt that saw Margolis throwing behind McKnight and into centerfield. Lester was understandably flustered by know, so much that at 2-1 against Velez, he was concentrating on Margolis’ signs so hard, he dropped the ball from his hand. “BALK!!” barked the home plate umpire as he jumped out from behind Margolis, who fell forwards onto all his four paws in despair.

HE DID … WHAT???

Coleman weaseled home with the go-ahead run, and the Loggers were now six outs away from their first playoffs since approximately the President Taft administration. Velez flew out to Graves in right, while Milwaukee was turning into party town. Lester was soon caught crying in the dugout as the top of the eighth began – AND ON NATIONAL TELEVISION – and Mendoza stepped in to bat against Ivan Morales. He grounded out to first, but Graves singled to left once new pitcher Jody Loughran was in the game. That was a lefty, and it was the only batter he faced. Morgan Shepherd, a right-hander, moved in to face Margolis. No left-handed bats on the bench, Margolis was always gonna bat, but his high fly to left was well short and ended up with Tesch. Two outs, southpaw Gary Ledford appeared as the fourth reliever in the inning. Bareford batted for Metts, yet flew out to Gore. Paul Hall and Andrew Cooper hit singles off Chris Mathis in the bottom 8th, enough for an insurance run, 9-7.

The ninth was southpaw Quinn MacCarthy, 40 walks and 68 strikeouts in 78 innings this year, but also 46 saves. Olivares batted for Petracek, but popped out. Jackson batted for the useless Mathis, but grounded out to second. That left Cookie at the top of the order and having a 3-for-4 going. His hard shot to the right side was knocked down by Antonio Pagan, who made a blind throw to the hustling MacCarthy behind his rear end…

…and in time. 9-7 Loggers. Carmona 3-5, BB, 2B; Nomura 2-5, 2 RBI; Mendoza 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Graves 3-4, BB; Margolis 2-5, 2 RBI;

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to talk Nick Lester off the ledge atop the building here, and then I will personally chop all his ****ing paws off.

And then I'll throw him OFF that building. Along with Margolis.