[Westheim]

Raccoons (54-49) @ Knights (55-51) – August 4-6, 2036

The Raccoons went on the road for just three games, travelling to Atlanta for the last series with the Knights in ’36. Both teams had won three games apiece so far. The Knights had won four in a row, they were second in runs scored, and eighth in runs allowed.

Projected matchups:
Bernie Chavez (6-8, 3.20 ERA) vs. Terry Garrigan (7-5, 2.20 ERA)
Josh Livingston (0-1, 5.25 ERA) vs. Brad Santry (10-7, 5.07 ERA)
Jared Ottinger (3-3, 4.12 ERA) vs. Chris Lulay (9-7, 4.11 ERA)

Lulay was the only southpaw we’d see in this series.

The Coons activated Kurt Wall from the DL to begin the series, sending Chris Manning (.174, 0 HR, 0 RBI) back to St. Petersburg.

Game 1
POR: 3B Downs – LF Hooge – RF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – C Morales – 2B Vickers – 1B Maruyama – SS Maldonado – P Chavez
ATL: 1B Tutt – 3B Maneke – RF Pincus – CF J. Simmons – C Horner – SS Thomson – 2B Ibarra – LF M. Porter – P Garrigan

Roy Pincus hit home runs number 15 and 16 off Bernie Chavez, both solo shots in the first and fourth innings, respectively. One of those days, I see! The Coons had tied the game in the fourth when Zach Tutt’s error allowed Manny Fernandez on base and Tony Morales’ gap double brought him around with two outs, but obviously the second shot made it 2-1 Knights. Leadoff singles by Maruyama and Maldonado in the fifth looked promising for sure, and Bernie Chavez bunted the guys into scoring position in proficient manner. They both scored on a horrendous bloop single by Adam Downs, flipping the score in the Critters’ favor, 3-2, before Hooge hit into a fielder’s choice and Fernandez grounded out.

Bernie got to run the bases in the seventh thanks to a bad bunt that forced out Chiyosaku Maruyama for the cost of the second out in the inning. Garrigan walked Downs, and Hooge got a ball through Chris Maneke to score Chavez from second base. Fernandez then grounded out again, stranding another two runners. He pitched another inning, but was done after seven innings of 2-run ball on 103 pitches. When the bullpen got involved with the 4-2 game, things started to go pear-shaped immediately. Garavito came out, allowed a leadoff single to PH Edwin Rendon, then a triple over the head of Fernandez, which narrowed the score to 4-3 with the tying run on third and no outs. After Maneke made the first out on strikes, the Coons went to Chris Wise against Pincus, who crucially also struck out. When Justin Simmons flew out to right, Tutt remained stranded on third base and the Coons took their lead to the ninth after all. Well, and there was no way past “The Warden”, right? Right! Yeom Soung got a fly to center from Adam Horner, struck out PH Matt Kilgallen, and got another easy fly to center from Sergio Ibarra. 4-3 Raccoons. Maruyama 2-4; Chavez 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (7-8);

Then Antonio Prieto caught a virus at the very worst time. He was expected to be confined to his bed for the next few days, which crucially would also include the double header in Portland looming on Thursday, and wasn’t that ever a good time to not have all your arms available…

Rest assured though that the Raccoons were already strategically positioning AAA pitchers across the country to be called up at a whim.

And then things got even worse – the Tuesday game was postponed for rain. The Raccoons now had to play consecutive double-headers on Wednesday AND Thursday.

Contrary to normal custom where the team would play the worse pitcher in the second game to give the better guy first dips at the bullpen, the Raccoons kept Livingston in the first leg of Wednesday’s double-header – a sure sign that he wouldn’t be around for the second leg…

Game 2
POR: 3B Downs – LF Hooge – RF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – C Morales – SS Maldonado – 1B Maruyama – 2B Hirai – P Livingston
ATL: 2B Kilgallen – 3B Maneke – RF Pincus – CF J. Simmons – C Horner – SS Thomson – 1B Ryu – LF Dahl – P Santry

A single by Kilgallen, a walk to Maneke, and two deep fly outs gave the Knights a 1-0 lead in the first, but Maldonado would get on base in the second inning, stole second base, and scored on a LOUD Maruyama double off the fence to tie the game. Unfortunately, Yukitsura Hirai struck out, and Livingston wasn’t gonna be useful either. Portland then went up 3-1 an inning later, Downs and Fernandez occupying corners with base hits before Justin Fowler hit an RBI double for his 50th RBI of the year, and Morales chipped in a sac fly.

Livingston wasn’t very good … he usually had somebody on base, but on the other hand the Raccoons were also very good at policing the infield for him. They turned double plays in the second, fourth, and fifth innings, keeping a 3-1 lead together. The Raccoons then got another chance on Justin Fowler’s leadoff double in the sixth inn- … oh, wait a moment. What is it down there? Oh, just another injury. The normal madness. Fernandez moved to center, Pinkerton entered in the #4 hole. There was a certain, sad routine about this. The Knights meanwhile proceeded to nail Tony Morales before the 6-7-8 batters made embarrassing outs, never even moving Preston Pinkerton to third base. Bottom 6th, the Knights had the bases loaded as soon as infield defense collapsed at once. Maneke reached on a Maruyama error, Simmons reached on a single, and Horner reached on a Downs error. Good job, boys! Livingston remained in there, partly to teach him a lesson about hardship and partly because we were running out of players at a frantic pace. Keith Thomson’s comebacker was turned into an out at home plate, and to anybody’s stunned surprise Livingston then struck out Hiroaki Ryu to strand a full set.

But Livingston was not around for much longer. Kilgallen and Maneke hit back-to-back 2-out doubles in the seventh, narrowing the tally to one run and bringing on Casey Moore, who retired Pincus. The top 8th then saw Pinkerton and Morales on base again – Morales being hit for a second time by Brad Santry! – until Maldonado ended the inning in 4-6-3 fashion. Horner hit a 1-out double in the bottom 8th off Moore, who got Thomson out, but then the Knights sent a lefty pinch-hitter, Matt Porter, for Ryu. Here, the Critters pounced as if on a bowl with whipped cream, sent David Fernandez, and he got a grounder to first to end that inning. Fernandez was also inserted in a double switch, so we were committed on him finishing the game, actually. He even got an insurance run from the deplorables at the bottom of the order when Hirai sunk a 1-out triple in the right-center gap off Roland Warner in the ninth, and then scored on Matt Triolo’s sac fly. Fernandez pitched around Mike Dahl’s leadoff single in the bottom 9th to end the inning. 4-2 Coons. M. Fernandez 2-4; Fowler 2-3, 2 2B, RBI; Livingston 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, W (1-1);

With that, roster moves – Josh Livingston was sent back to AAA because we needed the roster spot. John Hennessy was added as an extra bullpen arm, but right now nobody knew for how long.

Game 3
POR: SS Downs – RF Pinkerton – LF M. Fernandez – 2B Vickers – 1B Maruyama – CF Maldonado – C Wall – 3B Marsingill – P Ottinger
ATL: 2B Kilgallen – 3B Maneke – RF Pincus – CF J. Simmons – SS Thomson – 1B Tut – C A. Jaramillo – CF Dahl – P Lulay

The Coons burst out for a 5-spot in the opening frame, with Jesus Maldonado zinging a 2-out, bases-clearing double after singles by Downs, Fernandez, and Vickers. Kurt Wall doubled him in, and Marsingill plated Wall with a single. Even Ottie walked before Downs made the final out. Lulay in fact retired the Critters in order the second time through the lineup, ending a string of nine straight retirements only when Downs singled with two outs in the fourth, but nothing came of that.

Bottom 5th. The Knights finally brought the battle to Ottie, who had allowed only one hit and one walk in the first four innings. Thomson reached on Downs’ error. Tutt and Alex Jaramillo both singled. Bases loaded, no outs, Mike Dahl flew out to right, with Thomson being sent against Preston Pinkerton, who unleased a beam that saw the runner hammered out at home plate! Lulay grounded out to Maruyama to end the inning with two runners stranded on base and the score still 5-0.

On to the sixth, where Kurt Wall came up with a 1-out double to center, then waved for the trainer and eventually came out of the ballgame himself when nobody appeared to pick him up from second base. At this point I had a chuckle and shook my head in disbelief. How on earth…! Hirai ran for Wall, while we’d sort out the order later. The speedy Hirai scored on Ottie’s 2-out single to center, 6-0, and then Ottinger took off and was caught stealing. The Knights would strand runners on third base in both the sixth and seventh innings, with Pinkerton and Fernandez making nice plays, respectively, to keep the shutout in one piece. Top 8th, Dusty Behrens nailed Maldonado with Maruyama on base and one out, bringing up Tony Morales, who struck out, but Marsingill singled through the left side to bring in a run. Ottinger batted for himself and lined out to Tutt, ending the inning. He pitched into the eighth, but allowed a leadoff walk to Kilgallen before both Maneke and Simmons dropped base hits. That DID break up the shutout and the Coons had to go to the pen. Garavito conceded another run on a 2-out Tutt single, but otherwise ended the inning. In the ninth, Kilgallen and Maneke ripped him for 2-out base hits for another run, and with Pincus up and how the series had begun 17 weeks ago, the Coons sent a right-hander, but only a fuzzy one with scuffs on the edges! Dusty Kulp got the K, ending the series with a sweep. 7-3 Critters. Downs 2-3, BB; M. Fernandez 2-5; Wall 2-3, 2 2B, RBI; Marsingill 2-4, 2 RBI; Ottinger 7.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, W (4-3) and 1-3, BB, RBI;

Alright, now for some basic accounting.

Fortunately we had gotten some strong starting pitching the entire series (and probably had used one or two of the starters for an out or two more than we should have…). Despite the Prieto sniffle episode AND the double header, the Coons would head into Thursday *relatively okay*. But another roster move was necessary – so far we didn’t even have Bob Thomson, the starter for the second game against the Loggers, on the roster.

Now, as far as injuries were an issue, Kurt Wall was diagnosed with a “bum knee” and listed as day-to-day. He assured us he could catch, and he better would be able to, because he had to catch nine innings right away on Thursday …!

That left Fowler to sort through – Dr. Chung filed that report on Thursday morning. Fowler had a bruised heel and was day-to-day for about three days. There were good and bad parts to those news, but the good ones probably were more notable.

No roster move was made on Thursday morning; we continued to carry three day-to-day / ill players, and would try to make it through dinner that way…

Raccoons (57-49) vs. Loggers (47-59) – August 7-10, 2036

The Loggers were 17 games out in the division and were as usual looking forward to next season. They were sixth in runs scored, but were weighed down by porous defense (11th in CL) and pitching, allowing the third-most runs in the CL. The rotation was the second-worst in the league. This season series was also tied at three.

Projected matchups:
Gilberto Rendon (3-7, 5.20 ERA) vs. Vinny Olguin (6-15, 5.19 ERA)
Bob Thomson (0-0) vs. Tommy Iezzi (6-3, 4.36 ERA)
Raffaello Sabre (5-6, 3.85 ERA) vs. Paul Metzler (7-10, 4.39 ERA)
Bernie Chavez (7-8, 3.17 ERA) vs. Sergio Piedra (4-6, 3.98 ERA)
TBD vs. Alfredo Casique (3-3, 4.23 ERA)

That’s right, no idea who starts on Sunday. We’ll make something up on the fly, I guess. No word on whether the Loggers would bring in a spot starter or whether they’d send four of their five right-handed starting pitchers on short rest. We had not only Bob Thomson, but another three players stashed away in the clubhouse to readily activate them: a catcher, an outfielder, and another bullpen arm…

Game 1
MIL: RF Valenzuela – 1B S. Ayala – 3B Conner – LF S. Wilson – 2B McWhirter – C M. Cooper – SS Del Vecchio – CF T. Romero – P Olguin
POR: 3B Downs – CF Maldonado – LF Hooge – RF M. Fernandez – C Morales – 2B Vickers – 1B Maruyama – SS Triolo – P Rendon

Rendon remained a burden, allowing a run in the first on a walk to Salvador Ayala, then singles by Josh Conner and Bill McWhirter. While the Coons turned that around on a Vickers single and a Maruyama bomb in the bottom 2nd, Rendon got the first out in the top 3rd on a deep fly to left by Ayala. He then ran 3-ball counts to anybody, walking Steve Wilson, McWhirter, and Matt Cooper to fill the bases with two outs, then tied the game losing Ted Del Vecchio in a full count, too. Needless to say that his pitch count had suffered somewhat in that inning… Tony Romero’s K at least stranded three… The Loggers still took a 3-2 lead in the fourth when Olguin sullied Rendon’s record further with a leadoff double, then scored on two productive outs by Danny Valenzuela and Ayala. Funnily enough, Rendon came to the plate in the bottom 4th with Morales (leadoff single) and Triolo (2-out single) on the corners. The Coons hesitated to pinch-hit with all the problems they already had and let him swing away, and lo and behold, Rendon singled up the middle to tie the ballgame again…! Downs then lined out to short to end the inning.

The Coons dragged Rendon through six on almost 100 pitches, then batted for him with Maruyama and Triolo on base after a pair of 1-out singles. Justin Fowler took a bat, struck out, and Downs flew out to center. Again, no cigar! But in the bottom 7th, the Raccoons did score a run. Granted, it took them a walk, drawn my Maldonado, who was then caught stealing, and three 2-out singles by Fernandez, Morales, and Vickers to do it, but it put them up 4-3 regardless. And then Maruyama flew out to center and starved another two runners… On the mound, John Hennessy was in line for the win having gotten four outs after Rendon’s departure, but with one down in the eighth the Coons went to Chris Wise, possibly with the intent of a 5-out save. McWhirter reached on an infield single, but Cooper popped out and PH D.J. Mendez struck out to end the eighth. Could the Coons get some insurance? Triolo opened the bottom 8th with a single, then was forced out by Hirai’s grounder; the Japanese second baseman had entered in a double switch with Wise. Adam Downs found the gap for a double, putting two in scoring position with one out and Maldonado at the plate. The youngster’s ****ty grounder to first helped nobody but the Loggers and kept the runners pinned, but Ed Hooge came through, hitting another double between Wilson and Romero for a 6-3 lead! Manny Fernandez one-upped Milwaukee with an RBI triple before Tony Morales grounded out to end the inning. Wise remained in the game, ending the Loggers in just three more batters. 7-3 Coons! Downs 2-5, 2B; M. Fernandez 2-5, 3B, RBI; Morales 2-5; Vickers 2-4, RBI; Maruyama 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; Triolo 2-4; Wise 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (19);

While the Loggers announced Piedra as the pitcher for the second leg of the double header – he had thrown 25 pitches in a relief outing on Tuesday – the Coons made a roster move and demoted Hirai, the .219 batter, to get Bob Thomson on the roster.

The 25-year-old Texan southpaw had been the only left-handed Coons starter in all of 2035, and had made a total of one start. In total he had been in eight games for an 0-2 record and 4.91 ERA. He had been a swingman in AAA this year, going 3-1 with a 4.75 ERA in 14 games (6 starts).

We would try to rest as many players as possible, but with a short bench there was only so much we could do; preventing people from playing four games in 36 hours was then the compromise, so Fernandez and Downs were absent from the lineup on Thursday, part deux.

Game 2
MIL: CF T. Romero – RF Valenzuela – 2B McWhirter – 3B Conner – LF S. Wilson – SS Del Vecchio – C F. Chavez – 1B S. Ayala – P Piedra
POR: RF Pinkerton – 3B Marsingill – LF Hooge – CF Fowler – 2B Vickers – 1B Maruyama – C Wall – SS Triolo – P Thomson

A Maruyama error that put Del Vecchio on base was immediately cashed in on when Francis Chavez doubled off Thomson to make it 1-0 Loggers in the second inning. In turn, Del Vecchio made an error on a Fowler grounder to give the Coons a leadoff runner in the bottom 2nd. Rich Vickers walked, Maruyama singled on 0-2, and the bags were full with nobody out. Kurt Wall struck out, but Triolo had the courage to stick out a hip to get hit by a inside fastball, forcing in the tying run. After a K to a helpless looking Bob Thomson, Preston Pinkerton grinded out a walk against Piedra, forcing in another run, but Marsingill grounded out. The Loggers then loaded the bases on Piedra (…) and Romero singles, plus a McWhirter walk in the top 3rd. Josh Conner walked in a full count to tie the game before Wilson popped out to shallow left and Del Vecchio whiffed.

While neither team was good with runners on base, the runners kept coming. Bottom 4th of a 2-2 game, the Coons got the tie-breaking run aboard when Josh Conner fired away a Maruyama grounder for a 2-base error with nobody out. Wall singled, putting them on the corners, but Triolo’s pop and Thomson’s K were not helpful. Pinkerton walked again, filling the bags for Justin Marsingill, who again poked at the very first pitch a shaky Piedra had to offer, but this time at least got something done, sending a fly up the rightfield line, where it dropped far away from Valenzuela and went all the way into the corner. All runners scored on the bases-clearing double, and the Coons were up, 5-2! Hooge flew out to center to end the inning.

Yet, Thomson was no less shaky then Piedra, and immediately after his offensive heroics Marsingill committed a grim throwing error that put McWhirter on second with two outs in the top 5th. Conner clipped Thomson for an RBI single before Wilson flew out to Ed Hooge. Marsingill made another error in the sixth, adding Chavez to Del Vecchio (leadoff single) on the base paths, but somehow Thomson clawed his way through the inning with a strikeout, a soft flyout, and a groundout. The Loggers still narrowed the score further in the seventh. Valenzuela hit a leadoff single, stole second, reached third on Wall’s throwing error, the fourth Raccoons error (!) in the game, and scored on a Conner single, 5-4. And, boys, I know, it’s been two long days, and even the NWSN announcers had slurred speech by now, despite being doubtlessly way less drunk than me… but can we please keep the stall closed for another couple o’ innings? Casey Moore replaced Thomson, got a double play grounder from Wilson, and the inning ended. It was still 5-4 when Yeom Soung got the ball in the ninth inning, for which Maldonado replaced the sore-heeled Fowler in centerfield. Tony Romero flew out to Pinkerton. Mendez was rung up. McWhirter grounded out to short! 5-4 Furballs!! Marsingill 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI;

That made for a 7-game winning streak …!

We still didn’t have a pitcher for Sunday, but, eh! There was another roster move, though, with Thomson, Thursday’s winner #2, sent back to AAA immediately in favor of another bat. The Raccoons brought up a surprise, 2034 eighth-rounder Steve Nickas, a versatile infielder with some speed that had made it to St. Pete only the prior month, but had hit .377 there. Power was not his game, but if he could make contact that would already be a boon… He was also a switch-hitter, which had never disqualified a ballplayer from a job opening before.

Antonio Prieto was also no longer projectile-vomiting and was back in the pen with his little friends on Friday.

Game 3
MIL: RF Valenzuela – 1B S. Ayala – 3B Conner – LF S. Wilson – 2B McWhirter – SS Del Vecchio – C F. Chavez – CF T. Romero – P Iezzi
POR: 3B Downs – LF Hooge – RF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – C Morales – 2B Vickers – SS Nickas – 1B Maldonado – P Sabre

Sabre started his game with a stink bomb, allowing a double to Valezuela before walking the bags full. Wilson scored a run with a groundout before McWhirter and Del Vecchio went down on strikes, at least stranding a pair of runners. Steve Nickas would hit a single his first time up in the majors, moving Vickers to second base and allowing Jesus Maldonado to flip the score with a triple to center. Sabre left him on base, and did so again in the fourth after Maldonado had hit a 2-out double with nobody on board. In between, though, Fowler had driven in Ed Hooge in the previous inning, extending the lead to 3-1. Sabre got through the top of the fifth while rains were descending on the ballpark, and I will admit that I hoped for a rain-shortened win here…

No such luck, though. There *was* a 45-minute rain delay in the sixth inning, but the game emerged from it. Sabre didn’t, leaving with one out and Del Vecchio on first after 80 pitches prior to the wet interruption. Dusty Kulp got out of the inning against the bottom of the order, and the Coons got Maldonado (walk) and Maruyama (pinch-hit single) on base with no outs the bottom 7th, but Downs hit into a double play and the chance ran away. Prieto got the ball for the eighth and did away with the 3-4-5 batters, whiffing a pair. Only Wilson put the ball in play, flying out to center. The Coons DID tack on in the bottom 8th, with Steve Bass serving up a leadoff jack to Manny Fernandez. Bass retired the next three, including Marsingill batting for Prieto in the #4 slot – Fowler had been removed for defense again with the sore heel. Soung retired Milwaukee in order in the ninth, but there was also a sparkling play by Vickers behind second base, containing a Chavez grounder and turning the ball into an out with a perfect throw. 4-1 Raccoons. M. Fernandez 2-4, HR, RBI; Maldonado 2-2, BB, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Maruyama (PH) 1-1;

Will winning ways ever wane?

And why is Nick Valdes never here when things go rather well??

Fowler reported back 100% on Saturday, so that was also another plus.

Game 4
MIL: RF Valenzuela – 1B S. Ayala – 3B Conner – LF S. Wilson – 2B McWhirter – C M. Cooper – SS Benito – CF T. Romero – P Metzler
POR: 3B Downs – LF Hooge – RF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – C Morales – 2B Vickers – SS Nickas – 1B Maruyama – P B. Chavez

Downs doubled, Hooge singled, Fernandez walked, and there were three on and no outs in the bottom 1st, and the Coons got two runs out of it. Fowler hit a groundout, Morales hit a sac fly, but Vickers couldn’t get his grounder by Juan Benito. The Loggers got back at Bernie with back-to-back doubles by McWhirter and Cooper in the top 2nd, but at least Benito and Romero hit groundouts to strand the tying run at third base. We then ran ourselves out of the second and third innings. Nickas and Hooge, respectively, had leadoff on-base appearances. Both were caught trying to nip second base. Nickas came back with a 1-out double in the bottom 4th, sending Rich Vickers to third base. Nothing came of it – Maruyama was walked intentionally, Bernie popped out, and Downs flew out to center. More Raccoons reached base in the fifth, however, with Metzler issuing a leadoff walk to Ed Hooge, followed by Fernandez reaching on an Ayala error. I also felt that the time was ripe for a big knock, and we had the man at the dish for it! Unfortunately, Wilson picked Fowler’s drive off the top of the fence, and the inning ended on two strikeouts…

Bernie went into the seventh with the 2-1 lead before Benito and the pinch-hitting D.J. Mendez tagged him for 2-out singles. They were on the corners while Kenta Yoshioka pinch-hit for Metzler. The Raccoons wisely decided that they wanted a lefty pitcher, and David Fernandez gave them a K to strand the runners.

Bottom 7th, FINALLY a tack-on run. Manny Fernandez singled and stole TWO bases to get it, but then came in on Tony Morales’ sac fly to center…! When David Fernandez walked Ayala and Conner to create a threat in the eighth, the Raccoons got a K of PH Tyler Prestwood from Moore, and Fowler caught McWhirter’s lazy fly. Two more runners were stranded, and when Yeom Soung was discovered to be unavailable, Chris Wise took the ball in the ninth inning against the 6-7-8 portion of the lineup. Cooper struck out, Benito and Mendez grounded out, and the Coons had won seven on the week and nine in a row! 3-1 Furballs!! Hooge 2-3, BB; Nickas 3-4, 2B; Chavez 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (8-8);

Can the Critters win out the week!?

They would have to put up with Darren Brown in order to do so. Hennessy was sent back to AAA and exchanged for Brown to get a starter on the roster for Sunday. Nobody really wanted Brown (3-3, 4.78 ERA in Portland; 5-7, 6.95 ERA with St. Pete!!) back, but we had to kill time and if it was a throwaway game, it just … (shrugs) … you can’t win them all anyway…!

Game 5
MIL: RF Valenzuela – 1B S. Ayala – 3B Conner – LF S. Wilson – 2B McWhirter – C M. Cooper – SS Del Vecchio – CF T. Romero – P Casique
POR: 3B Downs – LF Hooge – RF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – 2B Vickers – 1B Maruyama – C Wall – SS Nickas – P Brown

The Coons had the odd runner early, but it was the Loggers who did the scoring. They got a run in the third on Del Vecchio and Romero singles, then a Valenzuela sac fly, and another run in the fifth on a solo homer by Tony Romero, which was not only his first career homer, but in his 12th game also his first career RBI. Casique wouldn’t finish five, however, walking Brown and Downs to begin the bottom 5th and conceding a run on a groundout and a sac fly before coming out of the game with an apparent injury. Fowler flew out to right against Matt May to strand the tying run on first base.

It had been a long weekend for both teams, and the Loggers also showed that in the sixth. Vickers led off with a double, which was dandy, before Maruyama hit a foul pop on 1-0 that should have retired him, but Wilson dropped the ball in foul ground. Maruyama was sent back to the plate, struck out, but the ball got away from Cooper and the Coons got runner son the corners out of the uncaught third strike. Wall then struck out. Nickas struck out. And then May picked Maruyama off first base. That half-inning – not one that would delight baseball purists. I wasn’t a purist. I was about wins, so I was equally miffed. The pickoff also occurred after Preston Pinkerton was already announced as pinch-hitter, so the Raccoons lost a player on the whole ordeal, with Dusty Kulp entering the #9 slot and getting through the seventh despite two walks. He was then hit for by Maldonado, who singled past Conner into left to begin the bottom 7th against Mike Bass. Maldonado started on Bass’ initial motion for the 1-0 to Downs, who hit a double to left-center, and that early jump allowed Maldonado to score and tie the game at two. But the offense’s batteries were empty. Hooge, Fernandez, and Fowler all made poor outs and stranded Downs on third base eventually… Wise and Garavito would keep the Loggers in check through nine, with Alex Banderas, recently underemployed closer, out for the bottom 9th against the 9-1-2 batters. Tony Morales pinch-hit to get the inning underway. He struck out, and while Downs singled the Coons didn’t get more than a fielder’s choice and another groundout from the two left-handers, sending the game to extras. At this point, even Slappy had nodded off…

It was a Downs throwing error that put McWhirter on base to begin the 11th inning against Casey Moore that began the unwinding of the winning streak. Moore had anything but a good day, walked Del Vecchio and Mendez to fill the bags, and conceded a run on Francis Chavez’ grounder to second. The run was unearned, but counted all the same for a 3-2 Loggers lead. Loggers righty Bobby Valencia and his 3.08 ERA were up against the bottom of the order in the bottom of the 11th. Kurt Wall rammed a homer over the fence to tie the game at once, and now the Raccoons actively stared at the possibility of running out of pitchers after all. Nickas flew out easily. Triolo hit for Moore and popped out behind home plate. Downs hit the 1-0 to center, and that was gonna get over Wilson’s head for extra bases! Downs chugging around second, the ball was still waiting to be collected by Wilson, who had misstepped on a lunging jump, and had lost more time there. Downs approached third base with Wilson just firing the ball from the deepest part of centerfield, and here was the third base coach, windmilling Downs around and sending him to home plate. Del Vecchio with the relay, bad throw to the catcher, bouncing halfway, and Cooper had to vacate home plate to reach the ball at all, and Downs slid home safe – INSIDE-THE-PARK, WALKOFF HOMER!!! I’M GOING NUTS!!! … 4-3 Coons. Downs 3-4, 2 BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Maldonado (PH) 1-1; Brown 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K;

In other news

August 5 – DEN MR Peter “Graveyard” Gill (2-2, 2.38 ERA, 1 SV) shows he still has it, pitching a 3-hit shutout of the Capitals in a spot start. The 33-year-old right-hander hasn’t been a regular starter since 2034.
August 6 – VAN SP Josh Weeks (8-12, 4.10 ERA) blanks the Thunder on two base hits in a 5-0 shutout.
August 8 – DAL CL Josh Boles (1-1, 2.11 ERA, 29 SV) nails down his 300th career save in a 4-3 win over the Gold Sox. The 32-year-old southpaw had a 2.78 ERA for his career, seven All Star nods and two Reliever of the Year trophies.
August 9 – 42-year-old veteran WAS RF/LF Pablo Sanchez (.350, 3 HR, 39 RBI) could be out for the season with an elbow strain.
August 9 – A broken finger rules out DAL INF Jon Ramos (.335, 0 HR, 39 RBI) for the next six weeks.
August 10 – SFB 3B/SS/RF Marshall Greer (.268, 6 HR, 32 RBI) is out of the season with a ruptured achilles tendon.
August 10 – The Aces’ OF Justin Nelson (.255, 10 HR, 65 RBI) drives in six runs in a 14-2 rush of the Condors.

Complaints and stuff

And then there was that one time where the Coons played four games in 36 hours and won ****ing all o’ them!

Just when you think you’ve seen all the misery there is in the world thanks to them, they unfurl one of those…! And I haven’t even gotten into how they went EIGHT-ZIP for the week, and have a 10-game winning streak!

Boston didn’t play badly – they won two of three from the Condors and split a 4-game set with the Crusaders, but of course 4-3 couldn’t stink up to 8-0, so suddenly the Raccoons were back within a pawful. With the schedule relentless, we’ll have the Crusaders in for four games starting on Monday, then make another single-series dash across the hills for Sioux Falls on the weekend.

Jimmy Wallace will begin a rehab assignment early next week. Tim Stalker is at least another week off, and Colt Willes may or may not return to the mound this year at all. Everybody else was already lost for the season for sure.

Fun Fact: This week was fun enough!

Also exhausting. Sorry, more effort again next week. :-P