[Westheim]

Raccoons (65-77) vs. Loggers (80-61) – September 11-14, 2023

Hey, let’s play five! What had been a 4-game set now opened with a double header on Monday, including a makeup game that had been rained out on June 18. The Loggers had the highest batting average, were third in runs scored, and also a decent fifth in terms of runs allowed, but all of that had not helped them a whole lot against the Raccoons in ’23, as they were pretty close to losing the season series, coming in with a 5-8 deficit.

Projected matchups:
Rico Gutierrez (9-9, 3.86 ERA) vs. Pedro Hernandez (11-11, 3.49 ERA)
Juan Mendez (0-0) vs. Morgan Shepherd (10-13, 4.29 ERA)
Travis Garrett (5-6, 3.14 ERA) vs. Jorge Villalobos (13-12, 3.39 ERA)
Jesus Chavez (10-13, 3.68 ERA) vs. TBD
Chris McKendrick (9-7, 3.33 ERA) vs. TBD

The poor Loggers had a mighty bad problem. They led the division by half a game, they had to play two on Monday, but they had already played two on Sunday! Worse yet, they had been swept on the weekend by the Elks, so this was a team in a state of falling apart. They didn’t know whom to pitch themselves, and our best guess above already has Villalobos pitch on short rest on Tuesday. Michael Foreman (17-3, 2.66 ERA) and Ian Prevost (14-9, 2.63 ERA) both went (and lost) on Sunday, and are unlikely to appear in the series. All of these five are right-handed starters.

I guess we’ll be surprised?

Game 1
MIL: SS Tadlock – 2B Stewart – RF Gore – 1B Gasso – C Wool – 3B A. Velez – LF Berntson – CF W. Trevino – P P. Hernandez
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Claros – 1B Walter – 3B Nunley – RF Alfaro – C Tovias – SS Stalker – CF Borg – P Gutierrez

Gus Gasso hit his first home run of the season right in the first inning, collecting Brad Gore and his 2-out single to give the Loggers an early 2-0 lead against a merrily missing Gutierrez. Although, him missing was probably preferable in this outing; both Alberto Velez and Jon Berntson hit mighty deep drives in the second inning, both to left. Cookie snared Berntson’s but couldn’t catch up with Velez’, which escaped for a leadoff jack, 3-0. When the Raccoons got onto the board, it was a wicked chain of events that was very Loggers-like. Errors by Velez and Ron Tadlock put Borg and Cookie on the corners with one out in the bottom 3rd. Claros popped out, but Shane Walter – who had singled in the bottom 1st, extending a 10-game hitting streak – was drilled to fill the bags. Nunley’s 2-out grounder could not be dug out by Tyler Stewart, leaving Matt with a run-scoring infield single, but unfortunately Omar Alfaro flew out to center to keep the Coons to their single, doubly-unearned run.

While Gutierrez settled in after the rocky start and held the Loggers at bay in the middle innings, the nature of the Raccoons’ offense was mostly token and mandatory through five innings. They batted because they had to, not because they wanted to change the course of events transpiring. In the bottom 6th however, they at least put Hernandez in the pressure cooker. Walter singled, Nunley walked, Alfaro singled – three aboard, nobody out in a 3-1 game! Hernandez’ lead evaporated on Tovias’ hard-cracked RBI single into shallow right, and then Tim Stalker’s sac fly to right. Greg Borg grounded to short, but Stewart dropped Tadlock’s feed for an error that restocked the bags. Zach Graves batted for Gutierrez and his RBI single to left put Gutierrez in line for the W. Cookie singled and scored two before the Loggers finally yanked Hernandez and Luis Calderon restored order. It was too late for the Loggers’ bid to maintain the lead in the division on this day, though, because between Billy Brotman, Will West, and Brett Lillis, the Raccoons conceded only two more base runners, and no runs. 6-3 Coons. Walter 2-3; Nunley 2-3, BB, RBI; Alfaro 2-4; Graves (PH) 1-1, RBI;

The Loggers. Please never change.

Now, for a change, this: the makeup of June 18’s rainout was… rained out. We’d try to play two tomorrow then.

For Tuesday, the Raccoons would retain Mendez in the nighcap, so “Tragic” Travis moved up into the second game of the series. Garrett would be responsible for not ending our season-high 6-game winning streak.

Game 2
MIL: SS Tadlock – LF de Santiago – RF Gore – 1B Gasso – C Wool – 3B A. Velez – CF Tesch – 2B March – P Shepherd
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Spencer – 1B Walter – 3B Nunley – RF Alfaro – C Delgado – SS Stalker – CF Borg – P Garrett

“Tragic” Travis was exceptional at handling pressure – he issued three walks, a balk, a single, and yet somehow only one run in the first inning, throwing 36 pitches in the first inning of (probably?) a double header. Salvation arrived in the bottom 1st in form of three of the top four reaching base (with Spencer forcing out Cookie), and Alfaro drawing a bases-loaded walk to tie the score, to which Tony Delgado added an RBI single, and Stalker a sac fly to put the Coons up 3-1. Garrett, nothing more than an *** with a cap, continued his rancid effort, allowed singles to Dan March and Carlos de Santiago to concede a run in the second, and also hit Brad Gore and walked Gus Gasso before Josh Wool grounded out to keep three men aboard in a 3-2 game. It also started to rain…

In the rain, the Coons in the bottom 2nd put an even more crooked number on Morgan Shepherd. Garrett hit a leadoff single, which was never a good sign for the opposing pitcher, and Cookie also reached base, but was then forced out by Spencer again. Walter’s RBI double, Nunley’s RBI single, and Alfaro’s second sac fly of the game ran the score to 6-2, and Tim Stalker hit a 2-out RBI single to right to get to 7-2 before Borg grounded out. Garrett kept failing nevertheless on the mound, walked Velez leading off the third – his fifth free pass in the game – and was lucky that Brad Tesch’s fast bouncer was converted into two by Jarod Spencer. At the plate, slugging Travis hit another leadoff single in the bottom 3rd, which was the curtain call for Shepherd, finally. Gary Ledford replaced the fallen starter, got through the top of the order in orderly fashion, then hit a leadoff single off Garrett in the top 4th… ***hat Garrett walked Tadlock on four pitches, Gore on five, then allowed a single up the middle to Gus Gasso. Ledford scored, Tadlock tried to, but was thrown out by Borg at home plate. It was still the end for Garrett, who in 3.2 innings had allowed four hits and SEVEN walks. Kipple replaced him and got Wool to ground out, ending the inning with a 7-3 score, but then allowed two runs on Jon Berntson’s pinch-hit double in the fifth inning after putting Tesch and Dan March on base with a single and walk, respectively. As Coons pitching continued to melt, the Loggers had the tying runs on the corners against Mike Rehbock in the sixth, but Velez and Tesch both struck out against the lefty, and the Coons maintained a tenuous 7-5 lead.

Bottom 6th, Calderon in for Milwaukee again, but the Coons were on him right away with Shane Walter’s leadoff double and Nunley’s subsequent single to left, and now had themselves runners on the corners with no outs. They would not find another base hit, but at least Delgado’s groundout scored Walter from third after Alfaro’s groundout had kept him put. The Loggers put two on base against Joe Moore in the seventh, but stranded them, and Vince D had a scoreless eighth to move things along, and Brett Lillis would be out for the third straight day in the top of the ninth inning, but managed to retire the Loggers on only seven pitches to run our winning streak to as many games. 8-5 Coons. Carmona 2-5; Walter 3-4, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Nunley 3-5, RBI; Rehbock 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

David Kipple got the W despite allowing two runs. We would field an almost completely different lineup in the second leg of the double header. It’s not like we’re playing for anything. F.e. Matt Nunley was not in the lineup, either, but since he has so far appeared in every game this season, you can bet on him pinch-hitting later on.

Game 2
MIL: SS Tadlock – CF W. Trevino – RF Gore – 1B Gasso – 3B A. Velez – C Padilla – LF Tesch – 2B March – P Villalobos
POR: SS Stalker – 2B Claros – LF Graves – RF Alfaro – C Tovias – CF Santos – 1B Cardona – 3B Bullock – P Mendez

Mendez debuted with a flash, striking out five in the first two innings while allowing two inconsequential singles and also knocked a single himself in his first plate appearance in the majors, although that single also proved inconsequential. Both teams had two hits apiece in the first three innings, but didn’t score. The Loggers started to figure him out, however, and Mendez got no whiffs the second time through the order, which was good for 4.2 innings for him, although Milwaukee also didn’t get any hits or walks. Velez was drilled in the fourth; March reached on Claros’ error in the fifth, but the game remained scoreless. Brad Tesch annoyed the Critters in the bottom 6th, snaring gappers by both Alfaro and Tovias with Zach Graves on first base, where he would remain without advancing, and Tesch would also draw the first walk off Mendez, although that didn’t happen until with two down in the seventh of a scoreless game. Mendez also walked PH Carlos de Santiago after Tesch stole second base, but the Loggers didn’t bat for their pitcher Villalobos with two outs. Mendez remained in the game, and of course served up a hanger for an RBI single knocked into leftfield, the first tally in the game. Tadlock grounded out to short, and Mendez was hit for in the bottom 7th. With Bullock on first and two down, Nunley came out to maintain his flawless appearance record this season, but flew out to Willie Trevino in deep center. Top 8th, Kevin Surginer managed to load the bases on five pitches, allowing singles to Trevino and Gore before hitting PH Josh Wool. Brotman replaced Surginer with two outs, Alberto Velez’ sac fly having grown the lead to 2-0, and only made it worse with an RBI single allowed to PH Myles Beckwith, then walking Tim Prince on four pitches. The Coons were out of qualified pitching and had to resort to Juan Barzaga with the bases loaded, two outs, and Jon Berntson pinch-hitting for Villalobos. Bernston knocked in two, just as he had in the first game of the double header, with a single to center, and the Raccoons’ winning streak was quite definitely over by now. Barzaga struck out three in the ninth; the only guy he didn’t strike out was Brad Gore, who homered. 6-0 Loggers. Alfaro 2-4; Mendez 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, L (0-1) and 1-1;

Oh well, you can’t win forever, huh? We won seven straight here.

Game 4
MIL: SS Tadlock – CF W. Trevino – RF Gore – 1B Gasso – C Wool – 3B Velez – LF de Santiago – 2B March – P Foreman
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Spencer – 1B Walter – 3B Nunley – RF Alfaro – C Tovias – CF Santos – SS Bullock – P Chavez

The Loggers, who took a 1-0 lead on the second following their catcher’s 1-out triple and Velez’ run-scoring groundout, tried their luck with Michael Foreman on two days’ rest. Foreman had thrown only 63 pitches against the Elks in a defeat on Sunday, but it was obviously a dicey attempt by them. Nevertheless, Foreman retired eight in a row before walking Chavez for some weird reason. Spencer’s leadoff single in the bottom 4th was the Coons’ first base hit, and Nunley’s single to center put runners on the corners. Alfaro tied the game with a groundout to first base, and tied the game would stay for a bit after that. Chavez doubled in the bottom 5th, but with two outs, and Cookie tried to complete the groundout bingo, rolling out to a different infielder every time he came up, so Chavez was left on base. Spencer hit another leadoff single his next time up, which was to begin the bottom of the sixth. Walter flew out to right (putting at 0-3 with a 12-game hitting streak on the line), but Nunley got a bit more of Foreman’s offerings and homered to right, his 10th shot of the season. It was also the last one against Foreman for now, as the Loggers made the move to the pen immediately.

Chavez lasted seven innings, conceding only two base hits, but was hit for in the bottom 7th with Daniel Bullock on first base after a single and one out. Graves chopped the ball back to reliever Jerry Counts for a double play. The Critters now had to collect six outs without Brett Lillis in a 3-1 game. Vince D entered the fray first, issued a leadoff walk to Kevin Jaeger, who was then forced out by Tadlock’s grounder to short. Trevino struck out, as did Brad Gore… except that Tovias lost the ball, kicked it up the third base line, and Gore reached first base on the uncaught third strike. The tying runs were aboard for Gasso, but he was a right-hander, so Vince D (who had faced the left-handed Gore because of Gasso here, for if a left-hander lost Gore, we’d have to go back to a righty immediately) remained in the game, only to serve up an RBI double to center on the first pitch. Runners on second and third, lefty Josh Wool up, the Coons tapped Kipple, who got the K and was also the pitcher of choice for the ninth inning (and had been beforehand, anyway). Bottom 8th, Mike Kress walked Walter, which would end his hitting streak unless we’d get to extras, but that would require Kipple to blow the lead, so **** that hitting streak, daddy wants to go home for today! Kipple faced three pinch-hitters, of whom Myles Beckwith singled with one out. Tyler Stewart forced him out, but remained on first base, and the Loggers sent Jon Berntson to bat in the #9 hole. He had a million pinch-hit RBI in the series, and was a right-hander, so Kipple was outta here. Joe Moore faced Berntson, walked him, and allowed game-tying single to Tadlock. Trevino flew out to center while I was filling the blunderbuss with lead shot.

Top 10th, Adam Cowen and Tony Delgado entered in a double switch and managed to give the Loggers a lead in real style. Cowen allowed a single to Gore, then walked Gasso and Prince before Delgado lost a pitch to Beckwith for a passed ball that allowed Gore to scamper for home. Beckwith popped out, Stewart lined out to Spencer. The Critters wouldn’t even manage to get Shane Walter back to the plate in the bottom 10th, which would have required one of Delgado, Cookie, or Spencer to get on against left-hander Tim Dunkin. 4-3 Loggers. Spencer 2-5; Nunley 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Chavez 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K and 1-1, BB;

Nope, still terrible! That’s also back-to-back games where the starter went seven, allowed only one run, and still didn’t get the win.

Game 5
MIL: SS Tadlock – CF W. Trevino – RF Gore – 1B Gasso – C Wool – 3B A. Velez – LF Tesch – 2B March – P Prevost
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Spencer – 1B Walter – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – RF Graves – SS Stalker – CF Borg – P McKendrick

Ian Prevost went on short rest and was spotted a 1-0 lead by the third inning when McKendrick got taken plenty deep by very, very light-hitting Willie Trevino. It was the 24-year-old Trevino’s third career homer in 200 plate appearances. McKendrick allowed two base hits through three innings, while Prevost was on five hits allowed by the bottom 3rd, with the Coons having the bases loaded with one out after proper singles by Borg and Spencer, and Prevost turning McKendrick’s in-between bunt into another single. Shane Walter popped out, but Nunley worked a bases-loaded walk in a full count to tie the game, and Tovias’ single into left center plated two for a 3-1 lead. Graves stranded two, flying out to Gore, but McKendrick wouldn’t reap any benefits from the 3-1 lead, leaving the game after four innings with an apparent injury.

Will West would log five outs against the Loggers before allowing a single to Gus Gasso, bringing Billy Brotman into the game against the left-handed bottom of the order. Wool flew to right, Graves dropped the ball, and the tying runs reached scoring position. Jarod Spencer’s mighty stretch on Alberto Velez’ liner ended the inning, just barely. Brotman also retired the Loggers in order in the seventh, whiffing Tesch and Prevost. The latter remained in the game into the eighth. Even after Walter’s 1-out bloop single there, he was still under 90 pitches despite allowing nine hits against the Coons. Matt Nunley would get the tenth hit, a 380-footer around the inside of the right foul pole, running the score to 5-1. For Portland, Surginer and Rehbock held down the Loggers in the last two innings, putting this odd 5-game set away with a 3-2 series win. 5-1 Raccoons! Spencer 2-4; Nunley 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Tovias 2-4, 2 RBI; McKendrick 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K and 1-1; West 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (3-1);

Regardless our exploits of the Loggers, however, mathematical elimination from playoff contention (while trivial) could occur any day now, as the Coons were 15 1/2 back with 16 to play for the division-leading Crusaders.

Raccoons (68-79) @ Condors (76-70) – September 15-17, 2023

Five games out in the South, the Condors still entertained vaguely plausible playoff chances with 16 games left on their schedule, but any attempt at the postseason had to come over the Coons’ thoroughly dead bodies. Sweep or nothing! The season series was level at three, and the Coons had lost it the last two seasons, 4-5 both times. The Condors were ninth in runs scored, but had the best rotation in the league and were conceding the third-fewest runs.

Projected matchups:
Matt Huf (4-9, 4.54 ERA) vs. Luis Flores (10-9, 3.22 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (10-9, 3.88 ERA) vs. Jeremy Waite (16-3, 2.53 ERA)
Travis Garrett (5-6, 3.27 ERA) vs. Andrew Gudeman (13-9, 4.19 ERA)

Flores would be the lone southpaw for the Coons to face this week.

Tijuana was missing two regulars from the lineup in Matt Jamieson and Andy McNeal, neither of which would be back for potential playoffs.

Game 1
POR: SS Stalker – 2B Spencer – RF Alfaro – 3B Nunley – LF Newman – C Delgado – CF Santos – 1B Cardona – P Huf
TIJ: SS B. Rojas – 1B Gershkovich – LF O. Larios – 3B M. Matias – C Sanford – RF Boggs – CF Hatley – 2B B. Torres – P L. Flores

Offense was slow early on, both teams once stranding a pair in the first three innings. The Critters had Santos and Stalker in scoring position in the third inning, but Jarod Spencer lined out to Bob Rojas to keep them on. The scoreboard only lit up in the bottom of the fourth inning, Pat Sanford hitting a 2-out solo jack off Huf. The Critters were held to two hits through five innings, but Huf opened the sixth with a soft single to left center. Omar Larios mishandled the ball into an extra base, but that didn’t matter anymore once Tim Stalker walked. Spencer ripped a ball up the leftfield line for a game-tying RBI double, and runners remained in scoring position with nobody out for the middle of the order. The Condors wanted no part of Alfaro with first base open, but still fell behind on Nunley’s sac fly to right. Will Newman hit into a double play just as it started to rain. Huf retired the first two batters in the bottom 6th, but then the rain got too heavy and a 1-hour delay ensued. Rehbock replaced him afterwards, getting a groundout from Larios to end the inning, with the Coons up 2-1 through six.

Bottom 7th, Hector Morales was in the game, because we were still kinda short on pitching, somehow. Mike Matias grounded out, but Sanford, who was mostly all of the Condors’ offense, doubled to left. Robby Boggs then grounded to the left side of the mound, Nunley had to hurry, but mishandled the ball and was charged a hard-luck error. Boggs was however thrown out trying to steal second base by Delgado, with Sanford still on third and now two outs to PH Francisco Ordaz, whose single to left on the very next pitch tied the score at two. Bobby Torres made the third out, while in the bottom 8th Kevin Surginer did not get a strike past anybody, walked a pair, balked them into scoring position, and then Nunley handled Mike Matias’ grounder for the third out to keep the contest even. Scoreless efforts by ex-Coon Joel Davis and Will West moved the game into extra innings, where the Raccoons continued to be present, but not a threat. West remained in for the bottom 10th and lost the game on four singles by Eric Stephenson, Bob Rojas, Mike Gershkovich, and Mike Matias. 3-2 Condors. Santos 2-4; Huf 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K and 1-2;

Not only were we finally eliminated from the playoffs, but by Saturday there were some news about Chris McKendrick (9-7, 3.29 ERA), though we didn’t like them. The Druid reported that McKendrick had a damaged elbow ligament and needed reconstruction surgery and would probably miss the entire 2024 season. So there’s that.

(sighs)

Game 2
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Spencer – 1B Walter – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – RF Graves – SS Stalker – CF Borg – P Gutierrez
TIJ: SS B. Rojas – 1B Gershkovich – LF O. Larios – 3B M. Matias – C Sanford – RF Boggs – CF Hatley – 2B B. Torres – P Waite

Cookie reached on an error, stole second base, and scored on Spencer’s single to give the Coons an instant 1-0 lead that Rico Gutierrez even more instantaneously blew in the bottom of the inning with Bob Rojas’ leadoff jack. Worse yet, Gershkovich singled hard to left, and Mike Matias hit a 2-piece to put the Condors in front, 3-1. Two innings later, Gutierrez issued a walk to Gershkovich and then served up a bomb to Omar Larios, only falling further behind. Gutierrez would drag himself through five innings without any sparkle and without any support by his team; that first-inning RBI single by Spencer was the Coons’ only hit against POTY candidate Jeremy Waite through five innings… Spencer singled again with two outs in the sixth, but Walter grounded out, ending that inning, too, and while the Coons tried to get long relief from Juan Bazinga or whatever his name was, all seemed dandy for the Condors through seven innings, until Jeremy Waite mysteriously didn’t re-appear for the eighth. Apparently, he had been removed with an injury. Against left-hander Jeff Little in the top of the eighth, the Coons got singles from Stalker and Borg, only for Raul Claros to hit a smoker into a double play, and Cookie to ground out to third base. Barzaga pitched 2.2 scoreless innings before getting scratched on consecutive 2-out doubles by Matias and Sanford in the bottom 8th, but what did another run matter? The Coons went down in exceptionally hapless fashion. 6-1 Condors. Spencer 2-3, RBI;

Waite was later revealed to suffer from a hamstring strain, so his 17th win of the season was bought at some cost. He would miss the rest of the regular season and probably would also not be able to make a possible CLCS.

Game 3
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Spencer – 3B Nunley – RF Alfaro – C Tovias – SS Stalker – 1B Cardona – CF Borg – P Garrett
TIJ: SS B. Rojas – 1B Gershkovich – LF O. Larios – 3B M. Matias – C Sanford – RF Boggs – CF Hatley – 2B B. Torres – P Gudeman

The Condors continued to the dismantlement of the Raccoons in seamless fashion with two singles to begin their efforts in the bottom 1st, a soft one to right by Bob Rojas, then a hard one to center by Gershkovich, and following Omar Larios’ regrettable strikeout found a 3-run homer in Mike Matias’ bat. Not enough, Sanford also powered up to go back-to-back with the third baseman, putting Tijuana 4-0 in front after just one inning. Sweep or nothing, huh? Omar Alfaro hit a leadoff single in the second inning, but for some reason turned first base and was thrown out at second by Robby Boggs. Tovias walked, but Stalker hit into a double play, and so it went… “Tragic” Travis meanwhile, a week and change removed from a 14 K game, continued to craft his true masterpiece, drilling Gudeman in the bottom 2nd and loading the bases with a single and walk before Matias somehow made the third out with the bases stuffed. Sanford got drilled leading off the bottom 3rd, advanced on a wild pitch, and after several Condors refused to hold still and instead made outs to Nunley rather than walk, Garrett finally got Bobby Torres to draw a free pass with two outs, bringing up the pitcher, with Gudeman singling hard to center, too hard actually for Sanford to have a chance at scoring. Bob Rojas – marvelously – struck out.

At which point at least Matt Nunley remembered that they, too, could score runs, theoretically. He whammied a 2-piece over the rightfield fence, his 12th homer on the season and the third this week, to cut the Condors’ advantage in half in the fourth inning. ****head Garrett responded by walking Gershkovich AND Larios to begin the bottom 4th, and was then removed from the game so he could be beaten to death by the coaching staff out of sight. Joe Moore replaced him, and easily derailed the game with another deranged performance. Surrendering a bases-loading single to Mike Matias on his first pitch, he then drilled poor Pat Sanford as well, pushing in the Condors’ fifth run. Boggs’ sac fly and a 2-out single by Torres also plated runs, running the tally to 7-2. There was only one way to go from there, really, as the Coons again sought innings mostly from the trash can gang at the shallow end of the pen. Adam Cowen put two aboard in the seventh, and Billy Brotman couldn’t fool the lefty Larios, who smacked a 2-run single to center to add to the Condors’ run total. The Coons got another base hit in the eighth inning – rousing success! – with a leadoff single by pinch-hitting Daniel Bullock, although the hardly warm body of Manuel Cardona instantly hit into a double play afterwards. 9-2 Condors. Bullock (PH) 1-1;

In other news

September 11 – An oblique strain ends the season of SAL OF/1B Abel Mora (.296, 7 HR, 44 RBI).
September 12 – The Scorpions seal up the FL West with a 7-4 win over the Wolves behind Sam McMullen (17-6, 3.21 ERA), locking themselves into the playoffs for a Federal League-record 12th time. It is also the fifth straight year that they won the West.
September 13 – SFW RF Justin Quinn (.310, 11 HR, 65 RBI) tears up the Stars for six hits in an 18-4 Warriors win. Quinn falls a homer short of the cycle, including a triple and two doubles in his effort, and drives in three. It’s the Warriors’ first 6-hit game in 28 years, and the second consecutive 6-hit effort against the Stars after DEN Mario Rocha’s last May. In the same game, SFW 1B Dan Culpepper (.254, 15 HR, 61 RBI) does a significant part of the damage, plating seven runs with two walks and two homers.
September 14 – RIC SP Dan Lambert (12-8, 3.18 ERA) is not only out for the season with a ruptured disc, but also highly questionable for Opening Day next year.
September 14 – The Stars walk off on the Warriors in ten innings, 6-5, when SFW Ken Gautney (5-11, 3.93 ERA, 33 SV) plates Dallas’ Ryan Collins (.239, 0 HR, 4 RBI) from third base with a wild pitch.
September 16 – The pinch-hit, 10th-inning walkoff single by DAL INF Raul Maldonado (.310, 1 HR, 64 RBI) produces the only run in the Stars’ 1-0 win over the Rebels.
September 17 – The Capitals beat the Scorpions, 4-2, despite having only two base hits to their 11. Two walks, RF/LF/1B Matt Hamilton’s (.315, 13 HR, 54 RBI) RBI single, and SS Tom McWhorter (.259, 23 HR, 85 RBI) going deep for three do the trick for the Capitals in the fourth inning.

Complaints and stuff

Matt Nunley reached 70 RBI on Sunday, which was a magnificent moment for the team. I will admit, there was a point earlier in the season where I doubted that either Walter or Nunley could even make it to 60. And then they picked up the pace in August and September and now we have a real raptor in the lineup in Matt Nunley and his astounding pile of 70 RBI in the middle of September!

We are truly blessed.

McKendrick’s injury makes signing a decent starting pitcher this winter even more imperative, since “Tragic” Travis once again demonstrated that he can’t be worked with… twice this week. Juan Mendez remains in the rotation for the last two weeks, and he probably would have anyway as we might have gone to a 6-man rotation to give everybody two more reps. Well, it wasn’t meant to be…

Fun Fact: With our successful Loggers series this week we have taken the season series, 11-7. It has now been ten years that the Loggers won the season series against the Raccoons.

The Loggers’ 11-7 triumph in 2013 marks their ONLY season series win over Portland since the Coons’ Decade of Darkness (1997-2006) ended. Three times the season series ended in a 9-9 tie, including twice since ’13. Overall we have a .529 clip all time against them, the best mark against any CL team for the Raccoons, followed by the Thunder at .522.