[Westheim]

Raccoons (31-43) @ Thunder (40-35) – June 26-28, 2023

Both teams entered the series with 4-game streaks, although only for the Thunder that was a winning streak. They ranked third in runs scored in the Continental League, but they were also giving up the (tied-)third-most runs, and their run differential was an easily measurable +1. Their problem was an outrageous rotation that was second-worst in the CL and piled up an ERA just north of 4.50. But hey, when did bad pitching ever prevent a team from beating up the Raccoons? The Thunder had a 2-1 edge in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Jonathan Shook (1-1, 4.72 ERA) vs. Jose Menendez (6-6, 5.18 ERA)
Chris McKendrick (0-3, 3.79 ERA) vs. Dave Dyer (1-4, 6.10 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (5-6, 4.43 ERA) vs. Alex Vallejo (2-6, 4.10 ERA)

Three right-handers scheduled for this one. Watch out though for the Thunder’s solid pen, and the fact that they were pretty damn good at drawing walks. I had a hunch that our pitching would not show its best side in this series.

Game 1
POR: CF Stevenson – 1B Cardona – RF Graves – 3B Nunley – LF Newman – C Tovias – SS Stalker – 2B Aponte – P Shook
OCT: SS L. Rivera – LF W. Madrid – C Pizzo – RF Branch – 2B J. Becker – 1B McIntyre – 3B B. Marshall – CF Bareford – P Menendez

The mess started right in the first inning and after Lorenzo Rivera’s initial groundout. Willie Madrid doubled to left center, stole third base, Shook greatly helped himself by nicking Mike Pizzo, and then Madrid scored on a passed ball as Ezra Branch was in the process of drawing a walk that he ended up getting on four pitches. Jeff Becker lined into a double play with Stalker catching Pizzo off second base, which was an uncanny development that was surely win us the game. Not.

The Raccoons would tie the score in the second inning thanks to Matt Nunley’s leadoff double, after which Newman walked. After Tovias went down, Tim Stalker singled to right, plating Nunley from second base with Ezra Branch’s throw to home plate coming in late. It didn’t come in late on the next play, as Newman was sent from third on Aponte’s fly out to Branch – this time the runner was out and the inning ended. Former Coon Andy Bareford put the Thunder back in front in the bottom of the inning, though, parking a 2-out solo shot in the leftfield stands, after which Shook loaded the bases with singles hit by Menendez and Rivera, and a hapless walk issued to Madrid. Pizzo flew out to left, stranding three.

While Nunley was robbed of another leadoff double by Bareford’s spectacular play to begin the fourth inning, and the Coons would not score even after Newman reached on an error by Rivera, the bottom of the fourth saw Bareford lace a leadoff double into the leftfield corner. Shook became unhinged in spectacular fashion, allowing an RBI single to Rivera, another single to Madrid, and then even Pizzo’s fly out was only the second out in the inning. Branch walked in a full count, and the first pitch to Jeff Becker went entirely over Tovias’ head, allowing Rivera to score, 4-1. Becker grounded out on a 3-1 pitch eventually, which should give him a good beating from his manager given the way that Shook was being shaken. Nobody took more advantage of Shook than Bareford, who saw him three times and rapped him for three extra-base hits, including a 2-out solo shot in the bottom 5th, his second homer on the day, which also doubled his season total. Menendez grounded out on a 3-1 pitch (…), which ended the inning and also Shook’s day, because we had seen well enough. The Coons’ spectacular ineptitude also saw them reach base – somehow – in the fifth with Stevenson singling, and in the sixth with Graves getting on … and both runners were caught stealing. Menendez allowed no more base runners through seven, but left-hander Scott McLaughlin coughed up 2-out singles to Cardona and Graves in the eighth. Nunley popped out to second base to end that minor pseudo threat. The worst, however, was yet to come, although Nunley was front and center in that one too in the bottom 8th. Surginer was pitching, and opened the inning with a double conceded to Bobby Marshall already. Bareford legged out an infield single, after which PH John Elliott grounded at Nunley. That could have been two, but Nunley got the ball stuck in his glove, panicked, dropped it, and by then a run had scored, and two were on base. Actually, make that three, because Cardona couldn’t dig out Rivera’s bunt, conceding another single. Willie Madrid hit a sac fly, after which Brotman replaced Surginer. The good news was that Brotman actually got out of the inning with two strikeouts, despite Tovias losing another pitch on a passed ball. 7-1 Thunder. Graves 2-4; Bullock (PH) 1-1; Cowen 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

I don’t usually say this, but … OH JE-SUS CHRIST, they are pathetic!!

Oh well, just another six games this week, and they might well lose all o’ them.

Game 2
POR: RF Graves – SS Bullock – LF Newman – 3B Nunley – C Delgado – 1B Cardona – 2B Stalker – CF Metts – P McKendrick
OCT: SS L. Rivera – LF W. Madrid – C Pizzo – RF Branch – 2B J. Becker – 1B McIntyre – 3B B. Marshall – CF Bareford – P Dyer

But hey, maybe they could get a lucky break against ex-Critter Dave Dyer, who had no place in the majors whatsoever and had issued 60 walks in 72.1 innings this year. Maybe THAT was the kind of pitching against which they could break out! While ‘breaking out’ was usually defined as scoring a bunch early, the Coons at least scored *first* in the game, even though it took a 2-out RBI single from McKendrick to get the runner (Cardona) home. Both Cardona and Stalker had singled earlier in the inning and were on the corners for our pitcher. Zach Graves – batting leadoff as the team’s plunge into the underworld accelerated – would walk to load the bases, but Bullock flew out to center. McKendrick blew his lead right away against the first batter he faced in the bottom 2nd, as Ezra Branch blasted a monstrous home run to right to knot the score at one.

It takes two to tango, they said, and McKendrick had heard of that. Stalker hit a 1-out double in the fourth inning, Dwayne Metts struck out, and McKendrick knocked a ball past Will McIntyre into rightfield for his second RBI single in the game, giving himself a 2-1 lead, and this time he even held Branch to a single in the bottom of the inning, in which the Thunder scored no runs. McKendrick’s value as a 2-out batter was so great, when Tim Stalker reached base with two down in the sixth inning management categorically ordered him to steal second base, so Metts would be walked intentionally to pull up the pitcher again for good things to happen. The only problem was the Thunder pitching out and Stalker being thrown out by a country mile to end the inning. McKendrick was in 2-out trouble of his own in the bottom of the inning, issuing his first walk of the game to Pizzo, who was 3/3 in catching Coons base stealers, and then allowing a full-count single to Branch that sent Pizzo to third with the tying run. Branch stole second in this spot, but Becker grounded out to Cardona to end the inning.

Bottom 7th, McKendrick issued a leadoff walk to McIntyre, but Bobby Marshall smacked into a double play. Things might have ended well for McKendrick here, however both Bareford and PH Brett Dobbs knocked singles into centerfield, removing our starting pitcher in favor of Vince Devereaux, who struck out Rivera in a full count to get through the seventh. The Coons failed to convert a Bullock leadoff double in the eighth (which was so surprising), but the Thunder also didn’t plate Madrid after his leadoff single off Vince D in the bottom 8th. Kipple replaced Devereaux and got two grounders and a K to end the inning, with the Coons still holding on to McKendrick’s flimsy 2-1 lead. This transpired into Brett Lillis’ first save opportunity in 11 days, nor had he pitched with any kind of lead for this long. So McIntyre hit a leadoff single! Because of course he would. Lillis would get groundouts from Adam Baker and Andy Bareford after that, which moved the tying run to third base. John Elliott batted in the #9 hole and hit a ball to deep center, but Dwayne Metts caught up with it and ended the game and the Coons’ 5-game drought. 2-1 Blighters. Stalker 2-3, BB, 2B; McKendrick 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, W (1-3) and 2-3, 2 RBI;

This was McKendrick’s first major-league win of course, and he really earned that thing!

Boy, am I glad we tore up Dave Dyer. We really showed the Thunder here.

Game 3
POR: CF Stevenson – SS Bullock – LF Graves – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – 1B Cardona – 2B Stalker – RF Alfaro – P Gutierrez
OCT: SS L. Rivera – 3B B. Marshall – RF Branch – LF Dobbs – C A. Baker – 2B Ts’ai – 1B W. Madrid – CF Bareford – P Vallejo

The Coons put their first two men on as Stevenson walked and Bullock hit an infield single, but the middle of the order was collectively not helpful in getting a run across. Matt Nunley especially continued to be pulled deeper and deeper into a black hole of not hitting any kind of pitch anymore. The Thunder in turn knocked Gutierrez around right away, shafting him for three singles, a walk, two runs, and he also added a wild pitch to a wretched first inning. The Critters pulled a run back in the top 2nd thanks to doubles to left hit by both Cardona and Alfaro, but Gutierrez continued to be no bueno and allowed another run in the bottom 2nd. Bareford doubled and scored on Bobby Marshall’s 2-out single. Gutierrez also walked Branch before Dobbs popped out to end the inning. Graves’ 1-out double to center in the top 3rd put Nunley in the spotlight again, and the pressured third baseman knocked a single into leftfield. Graves scored, giving Nunley his first RBI in 12 days, and only his fourth game with a run batted in THIS MONTH…!

Nunley was left on in the inning, but the bottom 3rd saw nobody left on. Willie Madrid’s grounder forced out Zheng-ze Ts’ai, who had hit a 1-out single off Gutierrez, who then snapped around and picked Madrid off first base before throwing a pitch to Bareford, ending the bottom 3rd, but he had to sully that good impression right away in the following half-inning. With Stalker and Alfaro on base and one out, he bunted into a double play, third-and-first. Vallejo issued another walk to Stevenson, but Bullock whiffed, and nobody scored. At least Gutierrez held the Thunder away offensively in those middle innings, and he would be rewarded handsomely for that when Tim Stalker knotted the score at three with a solo homer off Vallejo in the sixth inning. That took Gutierrez off the hook … and asking for a W would be a bit much the way he was pitching, striking out one batter through five innings, and that was Vallejo, and then he had been called out on a borderline 3-2 pitch. The Thunder would promptly reach the corners in the bottom 6th with nobody out, Madrid and Bareford knocking hard singles off Gutierrez, giving Oklahoma ten base knocks in 5+ innings. However, a bad bunt by Vallejo, a shallow fly out to Graves in left, and a grounder to Stalker kept Madrid from making that final 90ft trip, and the game remained tied through six.

Vallejo issued a leadoff walk to Daniel Bullock in the top 7th, who went ahead right away and stole second base, putting the Coons at 3/3 on the base paths against Baker after being thrown out in every attempt by Pizzo in the first two games. That runner wouldn’t score, however, with Graves, Nunley, and Tovias making a series of soft and pathetic outs. Gutierrez was left with the no-decision, Joe Moore replacing him in the bottom 7th, in which he retired the Thunder in order. Top 8th, Vallejo drilled Stalker, and after Alfaro struck out for the second out, Adam Howell replaced the Thunder starter, only to load the bases with walks to Metts and Stevenson. Bullock came up, poked, and dropped a single near the rightfield line. McIntyre cut it off, but thanks to Metts’ speed on second base, two runs scored anyway to break the 3-3 tie. Stevenson and Bullock pulled off a cocky double steal on Baker, but were stranded when Zach Graves grounded out. Up 5-3, Vince D became unglued in an instant in the bottom of the inning, allowing a leadoff single to Ts’ai, walking Madrid, and then coughing up an RBI single to the pinch-hitting Pizzo. John Elliott struck out, and Rivera grounded into a double play to keep the Thunder from leveling the score again, leaving Portland up 5-4 in a real nail-biter, which only got worse in the bottom 9th. McIntyre hit a clean single to left with one out, and Lillis next served up a deep fly to center to Dobbs, but somehow Stevenson made the catch. Baker singled up the middle, putting the winning run aboard with two down, when Ts’ai lined to the left side – and right at Bullock, who swiped the ball to steal the series from the Thunder. 5-4 Coons. Bullock 3-5, 2 RBI; Stalker 1-2, BB, HR, RBI; Alfaro 1-2, 2 BB, 2B, RBI;

Raccoons (33-44) @ Titans (48-31) – June 29-July 2, 2023

The Titans had lost regular INF/LF Mike Kane (.255, 2 HR, 35 RBI) to a broken wrist at the beginning of the week and things had gone anything but well for them in other aspects as well as they had lost their last four games, reducing their lead in the North to 1 1/2 over the Crusaders. They were still second in both runs scored and runs allowed, so this WAS the team to beat in the division, but right now they were soul-searching. This was the second consecutive 4-game set between these teams, with the Coons scratching out a split a few weeks ago, holding them in a 3-5 tally for the season series, which was already more wins over Boston than they managed in all of 2022.

Projected matchups:
Travis Garrett (2-1, 2.39 ERA) vs. Alan Farrell (5-5, 4.60 ERA)
Jesus Chavez (5-7, 4.53 ERA) vs. Chris Klein (7-6, 3.14 ERA)
Jonathan Shook (1-2, 5.89 ERA) vs. Jose Fuentes (6-3, 4.02 ERA)
Chris McKendrick (1-3, 3.16 ERA) vs. Julio San Pedro (7-6, 3.59 ERA)

No southpaw expected for this series, either.

Actually, Kane is the third infield regular to land on the DL for the Titans, getting thrown onto a pile already containing Tony Casillas and Jamie Wilson. They were relying on Tristen Baptiste to get things done now, and Baptiste was batting a rich .102 …

Game 1
POR: CF Stevenson – SS Bullock – LF Graves – 3B Nunley – 2B Stalker – 1B Cardona – C Tovias – RF Alfaro – P Garrett
BOS: 2B W. Ramos – C Leonard – CF Reichardt – 1B Herlihy – RF Braun – LF Almanza – SS Stephens – 3B Baptiste – P Farrell

Matt Nunley continued to not get anything done, and even when he did, fate would still deny him. He came to bat with Bullock on second base after drawing a walk, and Graves on first base after singling up the middle, and lashed a liner to centerfield, that nevertheless Adrian Reichardt managed to catch up with. For all intents and purposes, it should have been an RBI double. Nope, the curse on Nunley continued, but Tim Stalker stunned the Titans with a 3-run homer to leftfield. Enter Tragic Travis, who managed to run a 3-ball count past almost everyone in the first inning, and surrendered one run right away after a Reichardt single and Trent Herlihy’s double. Garrett also bunted into a force play on Omar Alfaro in the second inning, but something had happened to Stalker at some point, because his next time up in the third inning he whacked another homer off Farrell, this one with nobody on base and stretching the lead to 4-1 and also moving him into a tie for the team lead with … five home runs.

Maybe it was Farrell. By the fourth, he was gone with an apparent injury, while Garrett was allowed to fudge his way through the Titans’ lineup for a while longer. But like Farrell, the Coons’ lead ceased to be a thing in the fourth inning. Adam Braun hit a leadoff jack, 4-2, and Garrett continued to shuffle men onto base before allowing a 2-out, 3-run blast to leadoff man Willie Ramos that set the Titans 5-4 ahead. Top 5th, Graves hit a leadoff single off Edwin Balandran, only to get picked off, and Stalker’s at-bat passed without another dinger, as Balandran walked him with two outs. Cardona ended that inning, and Tovias began the next by shoving Stalker into his place with his sixth home run of the season, also to left, tying the score at five and taking Garrett off the hook even before he was hit for in the inning.

By the eighth, the Titans had suffered another pitching injury to R.J. Lloyd and were burning through their pen at frightening speed, and it was Mike Tharp to face Stalker leading off. Stalker, who countered the left-hander Tharp, remained unretired in the game as he singled up the middle. Manuel Cardona, however, failed to drop down a bunt, then grounded into a double play. The Coons would have runners on in the ninth against their former litter mate Ron Thrasher, though, with Newman singling to right in the #9 hole, and Stevenson working a 1-out walk. That brought up an 0-for-3 Bullock, although we were at the point where there were rarely any promising PH options on the bench even compared to him. He grounded to short, with the Titans getting one out at second base. Graves had been removed in a double switch earlier, and Tony Delgado batted for Surginer in the #3 spot with men on the corners. He chipped the first pitch into play, the ****tiest little bobbling bouncer you’d see in a given month, but Thrasher lunged at it too late and Willie Ramos took too long hustling in from second base – Delgado had an infield single, Newman scored, and the Coons were in the lead again! Thrasher lost Nunley in a full count, loading the bases, before a passed ball on Leonard allowed one runner to score and took away the slam for Stalker. Tim would not go deep again, but cracked another single to center to score two, which also was the end of the line for a thoroughly thrashered Thrasher. Javy Salomon struck out Cardona in the 4-run game to end the top 9th. Kipple was tapped for the ninth, but walked a pair without getting really far. Lillis took over to save it with two outs to collect. Nunley made a splendid play on Reichardt’s slow grounder to the left side, retiring him at first, while Herlihy’s groundout to Stalker was more of the household variety. 9-5 Furballs! Graves 2-4; Delgado (PH) 1-1, RBI; Stalker 4-4, BB, 2 HR, 6 RBI; Cardona 2-5, 2B; Newman 1-1; Brotman 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Kevin Surginer became the second Coons rookie to claim his maiden win this week, picking up the W for 1.1 innings in relief.

Game 2
POR: LF Stevenson – SS Bullock – 1B Graves – 3B Nunley – 2B Stalker – C Delgado – RF Alfaro – CF Metts – P Chavez
BOS: 2B W. Ramos – C Leonard – CF Reichardt – 1B Herlihy – RF Braun – LF Almanza – SS Hebberd – 3B Baptiste – P Klein

The Titans worked their way through some of their frustration right in the first inning, with the hapless Chavez getting banged for two runs right away. Willie Ramos walked on four pitches, stole second, and scored on Reichardt’s single. Reichardt was caught stealing by Delgado (increasing Tony’s CS% to a lofty 13%), after which Trent Herlihy went deep to left center, his 12th dinger in ’23, so things could actually have been even worse for Chavez. Delgado grounded into a double play in the top 2nd, erasing the unretireable Stalker after his 1-out walk, then was charged with a passed ball in the bottom of the inning, although somehow that was still not enough to score Baptiste, who had singled, his third base hit in the series.

Maybe something would be up in the third inning. Alfaro reached on an error by Ramos, and Metts somehow walked in a full count. Both were bunted into scoring position by Chavez, but the Coons would not progress past Stevenson’s sac fly to center. This gave them a run without landing a base hit, and trailing 2-1. Bullock lined out to centerfield. Graves drew a leadoff walk in the fourth, after which Nunley appeared to land a blooper behind short, but Bill Hebberd made a tumbling catch racing backwards. Cameras caught Nunley gnawing on his bat in the dugout afterwards as his average had dropped below .250 for the season. Anyone remember the time he batted .400 in April? The Coons would get onto the corners after a Hebberd error later in the inning, which put Delgado aboard, but Alfaro bounced out to Ramos to end the inning. Five runners, no hits, and still down by one. They would break into the H column eventually, Graves dropping a single into shallow center in the sixth. Nunley batted with one out, sent a drive to deep center, and was denied by Reichardt once more. He calmly walked back to the dugout from first base, picked up his bat in foul ground, and kept walking calmly until reaching the dugout, where he decimated one of the league’s cameras that pointed into the dugout with just two swings. At least those were clear hits.

Chavez had wobbled on unimpressively all the while, missing grossly quite often, and walked Adam Braun with one out in the sixth. Struggling to bat .200, Chris Almanza came through with an RBI double to extend the Titans’ lead to 3-1, but was stranded when Hebberd grounded out and Baptiste flew out to right. Chavez was done after the inning, and the Titans would score two more runs on Adam Cowen later on, although those were unearned thanks to a Jon McGrew throwing error to begin the bottom of the eighth inning, although the Titans’ two base hits that followed (by Jose Duran and Bill Hebberd) were pretty well spiced, too… Chris Klein went the distance, whiffing nine, and helped to reset the Titans pen for the last two games of the weekend. 5-1 Titans.

Two hits. We actually amounted to two hits in this game. Poor Chris Klein didn’t get a shutout for that unearned run. He would have deserved it. Really.

Game 3
POR: CF Stevenson – 3B Bullock – RF Graves – LF Newman – SS Stalker – C Tovias – 1B Cardona – 2B Aponte – P Shook
BOS: 2B W. Ramos – C Leonard – CF Reichardt – 1B Herlihy – RF Braun – SS Hebberd – LF K. Evans – 3B Baptiste – P J. Fuentes

A Bullock single and Graves drawing a walk led nowhere nice in the first inning, and Tovias’ leadoff single was negated when Cardona grounded to short for two in the second. Shook spilled another three walks the first time through the order, and only struck out Fuentes in a full count with two in scoring position and two outs in the bottom 2nd, so we clearly had to find some better option for him. He was walking roughly seven per nine innings. However, the Titans would only get two hits off Shook the entire game. Leonard hit a single in the third. And Jose Fuentes hit a bases-clearing double in the fourth, with Shook having walked the bases loaded. He was evicted from the game by management right afterwards, with Kipple at least keeping that fourth run on base, but conceded a run anyway in the fifth inning on two singles and a walk, before having to be bailed out by Cowen, who – what raging success – managed to retire Tristen Baptiste, still batting .143 despite tearing up the Coons in this series.

Those Coons had landed four base hits in the first five innings, never more than one per inning, and were still being shut out, at least until Elias Tovias’ 2-out, 2-run double into the rightfield corner threw ink onto Fuentes’ white shirt. Graves (single) and Newman (walk) scored. Fuentes was hit for in the bottom 6th of the 4-2 game, in which Cowen held up until Alfaro batted for him in the top 7th, doubled to right center, but strained his groin and had to be replaced by McGrew as pinch-runner. A Stevenson single put the tying runs on the corners for Daniel Bullock, which was not always a situation that promised multiple runs to score. Desi Bowles got him to pop up, then nailed Graves to fill the bags for Will Newman, a good hitter in a previous life. He actually knocked a single to right, but only one run was going to score on that base hit as it dropped right in front of Braun. Stalker flew out to center, stranding three, and those were the last base runners of the game. Vince D, Javy Salomon, Billy Brotman, and Thrasher each pitched perfectly from there. 4-3 Titans. Stevenson 2-5; Graves 1-2, BB; Tovias 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Alfaro (PH) 1-1, 2B;

The Raccoons out-hit the Titans 9-4 in this game.

Maybe they should stop employing pitchers that effortlessly walk half a dozen in less than four innings.

Omar Alfaro’s groin was not that bad, but he had to take it easy for a couple of days. Amazingly, he so far had appeared in all but one of the Raccoons’ contests, and Matt Nunley remained a participant in all of them, pinch-hitting and striking out to end the game against Thrasher.

The Titans had their own issues, having to place Alan Farrell (5-5, 4.78 ERA) on the DL by Sunday. The 27-year-old right-hander had been diagnosed with radial nerve compression and was out for the season.

Game 4
POR: CF Stevenson – SS Bullock – RF Graves – 3B Nunley – LF Newman – 2B Stalker – C Tovias – 1B Cardona – P McKendrick
BOS: 2B W. Ramos – C Leonard – CF Reichardt – 1B Herlihy – RF Braun – LF Almanza – SS F. Reyes – 3B Baptiste – P San Pedro

N&N hit singles to begin the second inning, but ended up stranded without reaching third base thanks to some really poor outs made by Stalker and Tovias, and Cardona’s fly to right only reaching to the warning track and right into Adam Braun’s glove. Well, maybe the pitcher could get something going, as McKendrick singled up the middle to begin the third inning, and Stevenson – oh bother! – grounded into a double play. McKendrick allowed a hit and a walk the first time through the order, with Reichardt grounding into a double play in the first inning. With two down in the bottom 3rd he had another lapse of control and issued walks to Ramos and Leonard, and this time Reichardt fouled out. This was uncharacteristically unclutch for the centerfielder, but maybe the Titans were trying to make this a gruesome win by letting the Coons think they could pull off another split?

There was no further offense until the sixth inning, with McKendrick cracking another leadoff single, this one to leftfield. Stevenson grounded to short AGAIN, but this time the Titans couldn’t turn the double play, with Frank Reyes having to play the ball too far behind second base to get the speedy Stevenson at first base. Stevenson stole second base, but Bullock grounded out, Graves flew out to center, and Stevenson was starved at third. McKendrick danced around another leadoff walk in the bottom 6th, that one to Ramos, and the game remained scoreless. A Newman single was the most the Raccoons could squeeze out in the top 7th, while in the bottom of the inning McKendrick continued to tip-toe around the edge of the volcano with a leadoff single hit by Braun. Almanza flew out to right, but PH Jose Duran dropped a ball into leftfield near the line. Newman managed to cut it off before it reached the corner, but the Titans were dying for a run here and sent Braun for home anyway. Bullock handled the relay with deadly precision and Braun was thrown out at home plate. McKendrick was so joyous he threw a wild pitch, advancing Duran to third base, but PH Kurt Evans flew out to center anyway. Still no score through seven! That was all for McKendrick, who was at almost 100 pitches and was batted for – to no great effect – in the top of the eighth. Billy Brotman pitched the bottom 8th, and served up a homer to left-handed batter Keith Leonard with two outs and nobody on. Ron Thrasher struck out the side in the ninth, including – again – Nunley to end the game. 1-0 Titans. Newman 2-3; McKendrick 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 K and 2-2;

In other news

June 27 – NAS SP Mike Lake (4-7, 4.50 ERA) could miss up to a year with a torn labrum.
June 27 – IND 2B/1B Rich Mendez (.326, 0 HR, 12 RBI) is going to miss about three weeks with a strained rib cage muscle.
June 27 – The Titans are 1-hit in a 2-0 loss at the hands of SFB SP Mark Roberts (7-6, 2.69 ERA) and CL Tony Harrell (4-1, 2.67 ERA, 19 SV). Boston’s Adam Braun (.279, 2 HR, 41 RBI) hits a single right in the first inning to escape a no-hitter.
June 27 – SAC SP Troy McCaskill (8-2, 4.56 ERA) walks five, but carries a no-hitter through seven innings before having to settle for eight innings of 2-hit, 1-run ball in a 3-1 win over the Miners. PIT 3B Travis Bahner (.236, 4 HR, 20 RBI) and OF Jose Lopez (.283, 2 HR, 21 RBI) hit singles in the bottom of the eighth and Bahner scores.
June 28 – SAC 1B Josh Keen (.311, 9 HR, 46 RBI) tips the scales in the Scorpions’ favor with an 11th-inning grand slam off PIT MR Rico de Herrera (1-1, 6.52 ERA), the margin in Sacramento’s 7-3 win.
June 30 – Entering the bottom of the ninth inning trailing the Crusaders 6-3, the Loggers whack three home runs to win the game. Terry Harris (.167, 1 HR, 2 RBI) hits a solo shot, Josh Wool (.291, 8 HR, 47 RBI) ties the game with a 2-piece off NYC CL Steve Casey (1-4, 5.35 ERA, 24 SV), and NYC MR Jon Ozier (0-2, 1.62 ERA, 5 SV) surrenders a 2-run walkoff homer to grizzled veteran Antonio Esquivel (.273, 7 HR, 26 RBI).
June 30 – SFW SP John Rucker (5-7, 4.38 ERA) carries a 1-hitter in a scoreless effort in the bottom of the ninth against the Wolves, but succumbs to a double by INF Dan Cobb (.281, 2 HR, 28 RBI) and CF Ben Adams (.226, 1 HR, 12 RBI) hitting a walkoff single to take a 1-0 loss.
July 1 – The Scorpions ride a 9-run fourth inning for an 18-8 shootout over the Gold Sox. Sacramento’s Pablo Sanchez (.376, 7 HR, 45 RBI) and Doug Stross (.361, 3 HR, 52 RBI) both have three hits and four runs batted in.
July 1 – The Indians pick up SP Jordan Caldwell (4-5, 2.77 ERA) from the Blue Sox in exchange for two dubious prospects.
July 1 – The Gold Sox trade 41-year-old 1B Alberto Rodriguez (.275, 2 HR, 21 RBI) to the Cyclones for 30-year old SP Chris Munroe (5-4, 5.33 ERA).
July 2 – ATL CL Freddy Heredia (2-0, 3.13 ERA, 20 SV) is headed for Tommy John surgery with a torn UCL and will miss the next 12 months.

Complaints and stuff

The Critters won three in a row this week, which does not sound like a lot, but I would like to point out (and do not take pride in) the fact that this 3-game winning streak from June 27-29 was their first such streak since the 15th through 17th… of the previous month. They had another 3-game winning streak earlier in May, and only one 4-game winning streak in April, which included a 3-game sweep of the Elks following a 1-0 wringer over the Bayhawks in which Jonny Toner, for practical purposes since deceased, pitched six scoreless for a W.

But such are the tales of a team for which Daniel Bullock is now regularly batting second. This will change next week as we expect both Shane Walter and Jarod Spencer to come off the DL before the All Star break. We’ll be at home against the Indians and Elks, the former being our four-and-four opposition this season. Cookie is a bit further off, but should be back right after the All Star Game when we embark on a 3-city, 10-game trip around the country to Indy, New York, and the Bay Where Nothing Good Ever Happens.

That Toner win on April 27 technically took place at the Bay, but then it was probably the third-to-last of his career, so there’s that for sadness.

On Saturday, this year’s international free agent signing period began, but since the Raccoons splurged big in ’22, they were in the penalty box this year. We could not sign anybody for more than roughly $34k, which was not that bad … you can get five Daniel Bullocks for that price, and still have enough for an orgy. – Cristiano, why do you have a starry look in your eyes? – I don’t know where your drawing equipment is. – I am not sure we have paper that big readily available here.

Fun Fact: On July 2, 1984, exactly 39 years ago today, Mark “Icon” Allen hit for the cycle in his Aces’ 12-5 win over the Bayhawks. Allen would be the Rookie of the Year that season and soon enough became a star. He would lead the CL in slugging three straight years a bit later from 1986 through 1988, and only narrowly missed a triple crown in ’87, leading the league with 31 homers and 123 RBI, an effort that won him his only Player of the Year award.

The Raccoons did not get their paws on Allen until his 30s, at which point his power had diminished, and he had shaved roughly 100 points off his 1987 batting average of .329; he batted .227 with 11 homers and 54 RBI in the Coons’ 1993 championship season, and only .197 with 14 HR and 35 RBI the following year. Acquiring him and Marvin Ingall (INGALL SINGLE!!) from the Wolves cost us Robert Vazquez, who had won 32 games between ’91 and ’92 and would crumble to dust in the Federal League soon afterwards, as well as serviceable setup relievers Roberto Carrillo, ending the latter’s second stint with the Critters.

“Icon” Allen dragged himself through two more seasons with the Condors and Miners, producing lines even worse than those he had put up in Portland, and retired at 35. He received token Hall of Fame considerations on the first post-Secret Ninja Committee ballot in 2004, but dropped off the ballot in ’05. Overall he batted .274/.342/.475 with 215 HR and 897 RBI. That total is actually stunningly close to that of another mercurial player of roughly the same era gone too soon that was also on the Raccoons, Royce Green (.271/.351/.487 with 220 HR and 847 RBI), who bashed 38 homers as a 24-year-old before tearing up his shoulder shortly afterwards and lingering for almost a decade in agonizing successlessness before also retiring at 35. The Critters arguably got the best of Green’s career, though.

The Coons could have been more cautious, because Allen missed 67 games with the ’92 Wolves and played constantly hurt (he was cited in the league injury report no less than five times that year), but we obviously thought these things would be transient. Well, they ****ing weren’t.