[Westheim]

2046 CONTINENTAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Portland Raccoons (96-66) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (89-73)

The series shifted to Oklahoma City with that, where goal number one was to stop the bleeding, and maybe score some runs for a change.

Game 3 – Bubba Wolinsky (7-4, 3.09 ERA) vs. Ignacio del Rio (18-9, 3.25 ERA)

While del Rio never came up against Portland in the regular season, Bubba Wolinsky faced the Thunder once and beat them with six innings of 2-run ball.

I think we need better than that…!

POR: RF Mercado – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – C Morales – SS Waters – LF Fernandez – 2B Martell – P Wolinsky
OCT: RF Zurita – 2B Ban – C Adames – SS R. Cox – LF Humphreys – 3B Greer – CF Tortora – 1B Levis – P del Rio

To add to all the other aches and pains, rain was on the way in for the Oklahoma opener. The Raccoons seemed to be aware, going down fast in the top 1st in the hope they’d stay dry, but nobody seemed to have told Bubba, who had three 3-ball counts in the bottom 1st, walked Adames, and somehow got out of there on only 22 pitches.

Toohey drew a walk off del Rio to begin the top 2nd, swiftly followed by a no-doubter by Tony Morales to right, giving Portland a 2-0 lead. A leadoff walk to Humphreys in the bottom 2nd was cleaned up with Greer’s grounder to short for two, but I was eyeing Wolinsky with great concern.

Mercado and Herrera hit 1-out singles in the third, before Maldo grounded into a fielder’s choice. Del Rio struck out Toohey – but not until after he plated Mercado with a wild pitch, extending the Coons’ lead to 3-0. That was not a safe distance, as Wolinsky showed in the bottom 4th, where he walked Adames and Greer, the nailed Tortora with a 1-2 pitch that should have ended the inning and instead brought up Doug Levis with the bases loaded. He grounded out to Maldo, fortunately, and the Thunder left three on.

The rain did not come in time to chase Wolinsky, who walked five in six innings, but also allowed only two base hits, and escaped punishment for his wildness that way. (Mind that he’s our Game 7 bum) Not that the Raccoons were hitting the lights out at the ballpark – they had only three hits themselves against del Rio through six. Ibold and Curl got the Coons through the seventh inning for a Zurita single off the latter, and then it started to drizzle. Pellicano singled in the #9 hole to open the top 8th, was forced out by Mercado, but at least Mercado reached third base on Herrera’s 1-out single. Maldo and Toohey countered the lefty Victor Marquez, but the first popped out, the second walked, and the runners were still there on base. Tony Morales grounded the first pitch over to Levis, which would have ended the inning if not for a fumble by the 39-year-old, allowing Mercado to score, 4-0.

Then the tarp came on and stayed for about 50 minutes with a 1-0 count to Matt Waters, who struck out when play resumed. Nelson Moreno was next hit by a truck, allowing a leadoff single to Adames in the bottom 8th, then a 2-run homer to Greer with two outs. The Raccoons called for Lynn for a 4-out save – Gurney replaced Toohey for defense in a ballsy double switch. Tortora went down on strikes to end the eighth for the time being, while Gurney’s offensive contribution was an inning-ending 4-6-3 in the top of the ninth.

Lynn was up against the 8-9-1 in the bottom 9th. He struck out Levis. Kevin Weese grounded out to short. And Zurita popped out in foul ground.

Raccoons 4, Thunder 2 – Raccoons lead series 2-1

Herrera 2-4; Toohey 0-1, 3 BB;

Raccoons batted .133 (4-30) as a team in this game and somehow still stole it.

Game 4 – Sadaharu Okuda (9-12, 4.20 ERA) vs. Brad Blankenship (5-6, 3.80 ERA)

Were the Thunder trying to confuse us with Blankenship as Game 4 starter? He had made only 13 starts in the regular season (in 48 appearances for two teams), and they had better personnel available. At least he was still right-handed. He did make a start against Portland this year, bleeding five runs in six innings for the loss. Okuda’s only outing against Oklahoma had been a W, six innings of 4-run ball (we scored that day…).

Okuda took the ball exactly two months after his most recent ABL win on August 7 against the Titans…

POR: RF Mercado – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – C Morales – SS Waters – LF Fernandez – 2B Martell – P Okuda
OCT: RF Zurita – 2B Ban – C Adames – SS R. Cox – LF Humphreys – 3B Greer – CF Tortora – 1B Levis – P Blankenship

Through three innings, absolutely nothing happened. The Raccoons were processed in order by Blankenship (shock…), while Okuda issued a walk along the way, but also allowed no hits the first time through and whiffed three.

By the fourth the Raccoons lineup consisted entirely of sub-.182 hitters in the series, except for Armando Herrera (.429, somehow). Mercado opened with a single to right, though, before Herrera rammed a ball through the diving Greer for an RBI double all the way into the corner. Maldonado singled home Herrera, but the Thunder got to Okuda with a Ban double and a Cox RBI single in the bottom 4th, reducing the gap to 2-1 right away. Manny opened the fifth with a single, but was forced out by Martell. At that point I wondered whether we had been in a single bunt situation in this series with all the non-hitting; apparently not, as the Thunder were rusty and Blankenship misfielded the bunt for an error, putting runners on second and first. He then threw a wild pitch, allowing Mercado to bring in a run with a groundout, 3-1. Herrera flew out to center.

Okuda had a clean fifth, then scattered two hits in the sixth, but worked out of it himself, popping out Humphreys with the tying runs aboard. When Manny and Martell opened the seventh with back-to-back singles, the Raccoons chose violence and batted for Okuda with Derek Baskins. He looped a single into shallow left to load the bases… with nobody out. (looks gloomy) Blankenship departed after losing Mercado in a full count, which pushed home Manny, 4-1. Marquez appeared once more, but was taken into the leftfield corner by an unrelenting Armando Herrera for a bases-clearing double!! After that Maldo walked and Tony Morales singled home Herrera, running the score all the way to 8-1.

Okay, let’s pick from the shallow end of the pen then! That almost went wrong when two singles and a Martell error had Aaron Hickey surrounded by Thunders in the bottom 7th, but he struck out Zurita and got Ban to pop out to Toohey to elope. On the other end, in the top 8th, the Raccoons loaded the bases without a base hit entirely when Jesse Allison walked two and poor old and almost-blind Doug Levis fumbled another grounder. That brought up Toohey with two outs, and boy, did he need something, hitting 1-for-11 in the series. He struck out. And then he was removed in another double switch for Gurney and Sean Marucci, the hope being for the last two innings from the last guy in the pecking order. He did just that, allowing only one single.

Raccoons 8, Thunder 1 – Raccoons lead series 3-1

Herrera 2-5, 2 2B, 4 RBI; Maldonado 2-3, 2 BB, RBI; Morales 3-5, RBI; Fernandez 2-3; Baskins (PH) 1-1, BB; Okuda 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (1-0); Marucci 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Game 5 – Victor Merino (15-9, 2.81 ERA) vs. Juan Ramos (18-7, 2.71 ERA)

Neither of these two had pitched to a decision in the opener, which had gone 10 innings. The Raccoons were one win away from the World Series, and I would hate to see them drag it out.

We were close to giving Pat Gurney a start at first base, but I just about could control myself.

POR: RF Mercado – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – C Morales – SS Waters – LF Baskins – 2B Martell – P Merino
OCT: RF Zurita – 2B Ban – C Adames – SS R. Cox – LF Humphreys – 3B Greer – CF Tortora – 1B Levis – P Ju. Ramos

Mercado opened the game with a single and was then caught stealing, which cost a run after Herrera’s single and Maldo’s homer to right. Ban and Cox (who was the Thunder’s Herrera, braving the storm of futility made in a skiff of .471 hitting) hit singles off Merino in the bottom 1st, but Humphreys struck out to strand them.

The tying runs were back on the corners in the bottom 2nd with a Tortora double and a Levis single. Ramos struck out, the second out in the inning, and so did Zurita after some battle. Then a chance for the Critters in the top 3rd, as Merino and Mercado reached base on a single and a walk to begin the inning. They advanced on Herrera’s groundout, and Merino scored as Maldo grounded to short, where Cox fumbled the ball for an error. At the same time it started to rain again.

After the Coons whiffed themselves out of the inning, Adames took Merino deep to left to get them on the board, 3-1, in the bottom 3rd. Tortora singled to center in the fourth, but was doubled up easily by Levis. The Raccoons scratched out another run in the fifth; Herrera hit a 2-out single, stole second, and was singled home by Maldo, 4-1. Things looked pretty good now!

Until Merino left the game with an apparent injury in the bottom 5th, having retired Ramos on strikes. So there went the rest of our pitching! Goody goodness! Our take-as-long-as-you-need pitching change then fell together with a rain delay of 30 minutes or so, after which Aaron Curl finally finished the goddamn inning. I felt old and tired regardless.

Then Bob Ibold was torn up in the sixth. Cox single, Ibold error, Greer single – bases loaded with one out. Tortora legged out an infield single to cut the score to 4-2, and Levis hit a sac fly. When the Thunder sent lefty Jose Aviles to pinch-hit, the Raccoons snapped and threw Mike Lynn at him, getting a groundout to short to preserve the 4-3 lead. He also pitched the seventh.

The Coons’ bats were silent at this stage, and it was still 4-3 in the bottom 8th for Moreno, who had been whacked good in this series (20.25 ERA), but retired the 5-6-7 in order in the inning. When lefty Tom Spencer pitched in the ninth, the Raccoons countered with Castner and Dalton as pinch-hitters at the bottom of the order. Castner singled, Dalton found a double play. And THEN Mercado and Herrera got on… Come on, Maldo – do it one more time! Nope, the count ran full and he had to console himself with ball four in the dirt. When righty Alan Fleming replaced Spencer, the Raccoons hit Pat Gurney for Toohey. He flew out to Humphreys…

Which shifted the attention to Josh Rella, who was up against a pile of lefty hitters (but we were out of lefty pitchers). First up was PH Mal Phinazee, ex-Critter, who struck out. Brad Simon singled to left. Angelo Zurita sailed out to Baskins. One more out needed, preferably from .304 hitter Jonathan Ban – who fell to 0-2, then singled through the right side of Castner and Gurney. Simon made for third base, hurt himself, and was run for by Nick DeMarco. Jesus Adames, maybe? At least a right-handed batter! He had also done most of the damage in this series. Rella ached into a 1-2 count before Adames put the ball in play – a high pop on the infield. Castner meandered under it, Castner made the catch!

Raccoons 4, Thunder 3 – Raccoons win series 4-1

Mercado 2-3, 2 BB; Herrera 3-5; Maldonado 2-4, BB, HR, 4 RBI; Castner (PH) 1-1; Merino 4.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K and 1-2;