[Westheim]

Raccoons (47-53) vs. Condors (41-56) – July 24-26, 2040

Two hopeless teams in July. No, Maud, I don’t think we’ll need more than four, five hot dog vendors for this series.

Tijuana was in the bottom four in both runs scored and runs allowed with a -78 run differential (Critters: -41). We had also swept them in the first three-game set of the year, but the times where the Critters had a friendly sweep in them were long gone. On the other claw, the Condors were ravaged by injuries, with Zach Warner, Omar Uribe, Guillermo Obando, Roy Pincus, and a couple others all on the DL.

Projected matchups:
Raffaello Sabre (8-6, 3.23 ERA) vs. Edward Flinn (3-10, 5.04 ERA)
Angelo Montano (2-6, 6.85 ERA) vs. Gabe McGill (3-2, 1.04 ERA)
Cory Lambert (1-1, 7.71 ERA) vs. Brad Quintero (4-8, 4.01 ERA)

Those were all righties for the Condors, but we both had been off on Monday, so they could switch lefty Bryce Neal (7-10, 5.77 ERA) into the set, although looking at his stats it would really be best to leave the old man (age 41) alone…

Game 1
TIJ: CF J. Simmons – C Sawyer – RF Willie Ojeda – 3B Strohm – LF St. Pierre – 1B Vitalini – 2B Ragsdale – SS Riquenes – P Flinn
POR: CF Maldonado – 3B Trevino – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – RF Balaski – 2B Brito – SS Hunter – 1B Kilgallen – P Sabre

Sabre gave up a leadoff triple to Justin Simmons in the first, with Willie Ojeda plating the runner with a sac fly after Mike Sawyer struck out. The Condors tacked on two runs in the second, hitting three screamers off Sabre, including a leadoff double by Jon St. Pierre. The Raccoons however shanked Flinn even worse in the bottom 2nd. Hunter reached base with one out initially, stole second, and was singled home by Matt Kilgallen, who was forced out on a bad bunt afterwards. Then it went rather quickly: Maldonado hit a jack to right, Cosmo singled, and Manny hit another jack to right, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead. Bottom 3rd, Brito (infield single), Kilgallen (nailed), and Sabre (single) loaded the bases with one down, but Maldonado struck out and Cosmo grounded out to Dylan Ragsdale.

Sabre barely made it through five innings, allowing as many runs. Sergio Riquenes singled home Giacomino Vitalini in the fourth, and straight hits from the meat of the order with two outs in the inning produced another run in the fifth. Vitalini was then robbed by Manny in the gap, preserving a 6-5 lead, with the Critters’ sixth run having come on a second Fernandez homer in the bottom of the fourth. Campbell, the old fart, then effortlessly blew that lead in the sixth, putting Riquenes and Travis Sheaffer on base before giving up a 3-run homer to left to Mike Sawyer, putting the Condors up 8-6.

That wasn’t the end of it all, though. After some inefficient poking – the Condors doing theirs against van Campenhout – the Raccoons managed to tie the game in the eighth, getting even at eight when with Cosmo on base, Jeff Kilmer smashed a 2-out, 2-run homer off lefty Ryan McConnell. Tijuana answered fast, Alex Ramirez being shoved around for singles by Vinny Chavira and Vitalini as well as Ragsdale’s RBI double in the ninth inning, breaking that tie again. Bottom 9th, Steve Bailey for the Condors, Jose Brito ripped a double to left to begin the inning. Hunter struck out. Hooge hit for Kilgallen and grounded out, sending the runner to third base. Oliver Anderson had been batting in the #9 hole for a while, and only Nickas was left on the bench, so why pretend... Anderson grounded out, booking the Critters another loss. 9-8 Condors. Trevino 3-4, BB; Fernandez 4-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Kilmer 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Brito 2-4, 2B;

Interlude: waiver claim

The Raccoons claimed 31-year-old right-hander Juan Zabala (0-0, 3.95 ERA) off waivers by the Scorpions on Wednesday. Zabala threw 93 with a curve and changeup and was borderline starter material – the problem was low stamina, and he had never made a start in the majors in eight years on the quad-A train for the Scorpions.

Well, that might change soon.

Ryan van Campenhout (10.80 ERA) was sent to St. Pete to make room.

Raccoons (47-53) vs. Condors (41-56) – July 24-26, 2040

Game 2
TIJ: CF J. Simmons – LF St. Pierre – RF Willie Ojeda – 3B Strohm – SS Ragsdale – C Sawyer – 2B B. Nelson – 1B Vitalini – P McGill
POR: CF Maldonado – 3B Trevino – LF Fernandez – C Morales – RF Balaski – 2B Brito – SS Hunter – 1B Anderson – P Montano

Montano did not get disassembled into his constituent pieces in the first inning, but Cosmo did, hurting himself on a defensive play. He was replaced by Ed Hooge, playing center, while Maldonado moved to the hot corner. Bob Nelson followed soon on the stretcher express, suffering a gash on his wing when Bill Balaski collided with him, spikes first, at second base in the bottom 2nd. Balaski was out, but so was Nelson, replaced by James Arnett. The Raccoons retained runners on the corners with Morales and Brito and one out in a scoreless game, and while Tony Hunter popped out aimlessly, Oliver Anderson popped the power drought with a 2-out, 3-run jack to right, his first of the season in over 130 at-bats.

Montano took his sweet time to get rid of the lead, that was for sure. The Condors got nothing going in the early innings, and when they did load the bases in the fourth on two singles and a 2-out walk to Sawyer, it was Arnett to roll into a casual third out. But just when you thought it would all be well, Vitalini opened the fifth with a double, Justin Simmons walked, and St. Pierre hit a blast outta leftfield – tied ballgame, three runs each. Montano would pitch into the seventh before overcome by a leadoff walk to Simmons and Ojeda’s RBI double. He also walked Ragsdale with two outs, giving him six free passes on the day, which, fun fact, was too many. Lindstrom got a grounder to Maldonado from Ragsdale to end the inning in a 4-3 deficit. Montano would not suffer the loss, with McGill imploding in the same inning for back-to-back 2-out triples by Kilgallen (down left) and Maldonado (in the left-center gap), then fell behind when Hoogey slapped a ball through the left side for an RBI single, taking a 5-4 lead. Manny struck out to end the inning. New arrival Juan Zabala held it all together in the eighth, while Anderson added length with another 2-out extra-base knock in the bottom of the inning, scoring Balaski and Brito after Tony Hunter had hit into a 4-2-3 double play with three on and nobody down. Brent Clark then tried to blow it all to hell once more, allowing a leadoff single to St. Pierre in the ninth, then immediately an RBI double to Ojeda. Sawyer chipped in a blooper for an RBI single with two outs before Arnett was retired in deep left by Manny Fernandez… 7-6 Coons. Hooge 2-4, RBI; Balaski 1-2, 2 BB; Anderson 2-4, HR, 2B, 5 RBI; Kilgallen (PH) 1-1, 3B;

Game 3
TIJ: 3B Quintanilla – C Sawyer – RF Willie Ojeda – SS Strohm – 2B Ragsdale – LF St. Pierre – CF Riquenes – 1B Vitalini – P B. Quintero
POR: CF Maldonado – 2B Brito – LF Fernandez – C Morales – RF Balaski – 1B Anderson – SS Hunter – 3B Nickas – P Lambert

Cory Lambert wasted no time in the rubber game in getting thoroughly and utterly destroyed, loading the bases with the first three Condors he saw before plating a run with a wild pitch and three more when Chris Strohm took him so deep to left, Manny Fernandez didn’t even bother looking after it. Another sad day at the office, huh, Manny? I know the feeling.

Amazingly, the Condors stopped hitting after that and the Coons began to nibble away. Lambert hit a single in the bottom 3rd, followed by a Maldonado single, Brito ripped an RBI double, and another run scored on a groundout. Nickas (!) singled in Anderson in the fourth, getting back to 4-3. The inning after that, Maldo was nicked by Quintero to begin the frame, and Brito whacked another double, and where had THAT bat been all those years in AAA?? Manny tied the score at four with a single to right, and Tony Morales made it 5-4 Coons with a sac fly before the inning ran dry. Lambert pitched another scoreless inning, then was hit for in the bottom 6th, in which Nickas (single), Maldo (walk), and Brito (single) loaded the bags with one gone. Manny Fernandez ripped a ball over Strohm’s head for a 2-run single, 7-4, after which ex-Critter David Fernandez was brought in to restore order, but allowed an RBI single to Morales instead. At this point the Coons tried to get too clever, batted Scott Daiker for Balaski to counter the southpaw, and instead cashed two pops over the infield to end the inning. Hunter and Maldonado snapped hits off David Fernandez for a run in the seventh, and with a Morales jack off Armando Zaragoza the Raccoons reached double digits in the bottom 8th. 10-4 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-3, BB, RBI; Brito 3-5, 2 2B, RBI; Fernandez 2-5, 4 RBI; Morales 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Hunter 2-4, 2 2B; Nickas 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Look, Maud! We won a season series!! – Can we print something about that??

Raccoons (49-54) vs. Bayhawks (41-62) – July 27-29, 2040

The next hopeless team followed right on the Condors’ heels, with the Bayhawks actually already having lost the season series to the Critters (5-1). They were last in the South, eighth in runs scored and tenth in runs allowed. Their run differential was a more modest -53. Since trading Dan Schneller almost a month ago, they had entered a tailspin, posting a 5-16 record in July so far.

Projected matchups:
Nelson Moreno (2-5, 3.72 ERA) vs. Noe Candeloro (4-10, 5.80 ERA)
Sal Lozano (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. Gilberto Rendon (6-5, 3.86 ERA)
Raffaello Sabre (8-6, 3.44 ERA) vs. Jose Moreno (7-10, 4.50 ERA)

The series would open with the only southpaw of the week.

Dr. Padilla reported that Cosmo Trevino had a mildly sprained ankle that could be played on, but would irk him for about two weeks. Well, he shall play then – cuddle time’s over in Portland. He would get Friday off because of the left-hander, however.

Game 1
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – 1B S. Ayala – CF M. Hall – C Cedillo – 3B Barcia – LF Oshiita – RF Greer – 2B Levinson – P Candeloro
POR: 3B Maldonado – 2B Brito – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 1B Kilgallen – SS Hunter – CF Hooge – RF Daiker – P N. Moreno

A hit, two walks, a balk – and somehow no runs; Nelson Moreno had a first inning from hell, but Jorge Gonzalez was caught stealing after that leadoff walk and that would cost the Baybirds down the road. Instead, Portland went up 1-0 on a Maldonado triple and another hit by Brito. Moreno survived another leadoff walk in the second inning, which also saw the first career homer by Scott Daiker, a 2-out solo deed that made it a 2-0 game. So far, so well. The third inning saw Ed Hooge getting hurt on a tumbling catch in center, requiring replacement by Balaski (with Daiker to centerfield), and three singles in the bottom 3rd that saw Tony Hunter bring in a run to make it 3-0.

After the early troubles, Nelson Moreno allowed no further hits through five innings, but also struck out only one batter in the first five, and the early mess had him up on 67 pitches. The 1-2-3 went down in order in the sixth for San Francisco, although the string of retirements ended in the seventh on a solo home run to right-center by Dick Oshiita. Marshall Greer grounded out, and although Moreno’s spot led off the bottom 7th in a 3-1 game, he was not batted for. That the Raccoons were short on players by now was not necessarily the main reason. He flew out to left before Maldo and Brito hit singles. Manny grounded to Tristan Levinson for a force at second base, and Kilmer flew out to shallow left to strand runners on the corners. Levinson, PH Dave Martinez, and Gonzalez were sat down in order by Nels in the eighth, including two strikeouts, ending an outing on a high note. Brent Clark then got the 3-1 lead for the ninth. Sal Ayala flew out to center, but Mike Hall singled to center. Eduardo Umanzor batted for Rey Cedillo against the brown-clad southpaw, but hit a grounder to Tony Hunter for a 6-4-3 game-ender. 3-1 Furballs. Maldonado 2-4, 3B; Brito 2-4, 2B, RBI; Moreno 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W (3-5) and 1-2;

Poor Hoogey had broken his hindpaw in the game, and was off to the DL for four weeks, which should be enough as Dr. Padilla opined. The Raccoons brought up Alex Castro, hitting a meager .222 in AAA, as a warm body replacement. The outfielder, age 29, had made 12 appearances in ’38, hitting .391/.481/.609 in an obvious release of hot air.

Game 2
SFB: CF M. Hall – SS Greer – 3B Barcia – RF D. Martinez – 1B S. Ayala – 2B Levinson – C Umanzor – LF Balderrama – P G. Rendon
POR: CF Maldonado – 3B Trevino – LF Fernandez – C Morales – RF Balaski – 2B Brito – SS Hunter – 1B Anderson – P Lozano

Sal Ayala doubled in a pair off Lozano in the first, but Lozano would take it out on former Raccoon Gilberto Rendon in the bottom 2nd. Morales and Brito had gone to the corners in the inning, Tony Hunter made it 2-1 on a double, and while Anderson grounded out to first base, Lozano zinged a 2-out, 2-run single to right to give himself a lead. Martinez’ throw to home plate allowed Lozano to second base, from where he scored on a Maldonado single. Maldo stole second, but Cosmo grounded out, leaving the score at 4-2. The following inning, Rendon had the bags around him filled with Manny and Morales on singles as well as a full-count walk to Balaski. Brito hit a sac fly, followed by Hunter hitting a single to restock the bases. Anderson then hit into a double play. On to the fourth, Martinez hit a leadoff double off the fence, eventually scoring on a wild pitch, narrowing the score to 5-3 again. Lozano hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning. Cosmo extended his hitting streak to 16 games with another single – he had never batted before his injury in the game against the Condors, so there hadn’t been a way to end it. Fernandez grounded out, Morales whiffed, and the two runners remained on board.

Lozano held up for 5.1 innings, getting Ayala out to begin the sixth before being removed on 94 pitches. Zabala retired five straight after that, whiffing three Bayhawks. The Raccoons had a chance to put the game away in the bottom 7th, with Brito, Hunter, and Kilgallen filling the bags against Juan Melendrez, but Maldonado grounded out to strand all of them. Regardless, Campbell and Clark put the game away in just six more batters. 5-3 Coons. Maldonado 2-5, RBI; Trevino 2-4, BB; Morales 2-5; Brito 3-3, 2 2B, RBI; Hunter 2-2, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Kilgallen (PH) 1-1;

First major-league W for Sal Lozano, then.

Game 3
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – 1B S. Ayala – RF D. Martinez – CF M. Hall – C Cedillo – 3B Barcia – LF Oshiita – 2B Levinson – P J. Moreno
POR: CF Maldonado – 3B Trevino – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – RF Balaski – 2B Brito – 1B Kilgallen – SS Hunter – P Sabre

Cosmo made it 17 with a single in the first, joining Maldonado on the bags just before Manny belted a 3-run homer for a really quick lead. The Coons put another two on base in the inning, but Hunter grounded out to strand them. Maldonado then knocked a triple in the bottom 2nd, with Cosmo flicking another single to run the tally to 4-0. By the fourth, Sabre was on a 1-hitter with two walks and four strikeouts, while Maldonado had the difficult parts of the cycle ticked off, lining a gap double with two outs and nobody aboard in the bottom of that inning. Cosmo walked, but Manny popped out to leave them on.

The sixth saw the Bayhawks the closest to scoring as they had been in the game, with Ayala drawing a walk and Martinez shooting a double through Trevino to put two in scoring position with one out in the inning. Mike Hall flew out poorly to shallow right, though, with Balaski shooing back Ayala, and Cedillo grounded out to short, leaving them still shut out in the middle of the sixth. Maldo then came up in the bottom of the inning with two outs and nobody on, but couldn’t hit the ball fat enough and instead singled to left, completing the third leg of the cycle, missing only the bomb. Cosmo hit another single, but Manny again stranded them, grounding out to Levinson, whom Sabre would nick with two outs in the seventh. It came apart late for Sabre here, who while he didn’t allow a run in seven innings, also lost command more and more through the innings and ran numerous long counts, leaving him over 100 pitches through seven and thus out of the game.

Balaski got on base in the bottom 7th, ensuring that Maldonado would get another shot in the bottom 8th, which would start with the #8 batter. First though, the Bayhawks ripped a triple (Gonzalez) and two singles (Hall, Cedillo) off Lindstrom in the eighth, getting on the board with one run. Maldonado then faced right-hander Josh Irwin in the eighth with two outs and nobody on base. He hit another ball hard – but again not upwards. A single to center put him at four hits for the day. Cosmo lined out to left, sending the game to the pen. Brent Clark had been the primary closer since Rico Sanchez had been traded away, but he had been out a lot this week, including both of the last two games. With Oshiita leading off, the Raccoons went with Chuck Jones, who got the K on the lefty bat, but then walked Levinson and was replaced with Campbell once Umanzor showed up in the box. Campbell gave up a single on the first pitch. Marshall Greer batted for Gonzalez and flew out to left. Ayala fell to 1-2 before putting a 2-out single into shallow right. Levinson came around to score, with Umanzor absent-mindedly making to third base, thinking the ball had beaten Balaski. Spoiler: it hadn’t, and Balaski threw out Umanzor at third base to end the game and complete the sweep. 4-2 Raccoons. Maldonado 4-4, BB, 3B, 2B; Trevino 3-4, BB, RBI; Balaski 2-3, BB; Sabre 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, W (9-6);

In other news

July 24 – 38-year-old BOS CL Gilberto Castillo (3-4, 3.02 ERA, 26 SV) has his 300th career save in a 6-4 win over the Falcons. Castillo, a 3-time All Star, spent most of his 16 major league seasons with the Warriors.
July 24 – LF/1B Melvin Hernandez (.284, 11 HR, 49 RBI) is swapped from the Warriors to the Cyclones for a prospect.
July 25 – The Thunder beat the Loggers, 13-9, with six runs being driven in on three hits by RF/1B/LF John Marz (.282, 11 HR, 50 RBI).
July 25 – The Loggers acquire Denver CL Kurt Crater (2-5, 2.31 ERA, 26 SV) in a deal for two prospects. The package includes #79 prospect C Amari Thompson.
July 26 – SAC RF/LF/1B Carlos Cortes (.287, 22 HR, 74 RBI) helps tear down the Buffaloes with six base hits in an 11-6 win. Ironically, the slugger hits six singles and drives in only one run
July 27 – Denver’s OF/1B Rich de Luna (.313, 4 HR, 51 RBI) hits a triple in a 6-5 loss to the Miners to reach a 20-game hitting streak.
July 28 – CIN 1B Jamie King (.345, 23 HR, 65 RBI) has a 20-game hitting streak, too, getting a ninth-inning single in a 9-8 loss in Dallas.
July 28 – The Buffaloes take on SP John Kennedy (2-7, 6.69 ERA) from the Warriors, parting with two prospects, including #86 SP Juan Arrocha.
July 29 – The Rebs acquire SP Keith Black (12-7, 3.32 ERA) from the Pacifics, parting with a basket of four prospects.

FL Player of the Week: SFW/CIN LF/1B Melvin Hernandez (.293, 15 HR, 56 RBI), hitting .423 (11-26) with 4 HR, 7 RBI – one game played with the Warriors, five with the Cyclones
CL Player of the Week: TIJ RF/1B/LF Willie Ojeda (.329, 7 HR, 41 RBI), batting .522 (12-23) with 2 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Just like that, the deconstructing Raccoons posted a 5-1 week. (extends both arms and ceremoniously proclaims) Baseball!!

To be fair, the competition this week was appalling. It will get stiffer next week, with a 2-week road trip starting in Atlanta and then circling through Indy, Milwaukee, and Sacramento on the way home. We’d only be home for a 3-game set against the Caps after that before the next road trip.

Second year in a row we won eight of nine against the Bayhawks, too.

Fun Fact: Carlos Cortes’ 6-hit game on Thursday marked the 300th total occurrence of an individual no-hitter, cycle, 6-hit, or 3-homer* game in ABL history.

Amazingly, the Raccoons have the highest total there with 25 entries into the record books: eight no-hitters, six cycles, seven 6-hit games, and four 3-homer* games.

*Includes of course the 4-homer game by Craig Bowen in 2007.