[Westheim]

Raccoons (29-37) vs. Loggers (28-38) – June 17-19, 2050

The Loggers were sixth in runs scored and ninth in runs allowed, and also in a position to drop the Raccoons into last place by Sunday night (although the Indians were also mingling at the bottom of the division). We were up 3-1 in the season series, and they arrived without DL inhabitants Ernesto Hernandez and Tony Sanchez.

Projected matchups:
Elijah Powell (4-7, 5.14 ERA) vs. Bubba Poss (3-5, 4.66 ERA)
Victor Merino (3-8, 4.27 ERA) vs. Victor Padilla (5-6, 3.61 ERA)
Victor Salcido (5-2, 3.52 ERA) vs. Alex Flores (3-3, 3.05 ERA)

The series would start with two left-handed opponents and once again we were successful in squishing in a combined three Victors. And fun fact, as bad as both teams were, three lucky pitchers would indeed be victors in this series, somehow.

The Coons came in with a roster move, dropping the timeless wonder that was Matt Glodowski (.233, 0 HR, 2 RBI) to activate Ed Crispin (.182, 2 HR, 5 RBI) from a rehab assignment. Crispin, who was supposed to be the co-pseudo-rookie wonder to Lonzo, had so far missed 48 of our 66 games with two DL stints.

Game 1
MIL: CF de Lemos – 3B N. Jackson – SS Z. Suggs – 2B R. Lopez – 1B Lowe – RF McIntyre – LF Sayre – C Abrego – P Poss
POR: SS Lavorano – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – 2B Waters – C Gonzalez – 3B Lamotta – RF Puckeridge – LF Watt – P Powell

Bubba Poss didn’t retire many to begin the game; Lonzo slapped a triple right away in the bottom 1st, and then a Herrera single made it 1-0. Maldo singled, Waters walked, and the bags were full with nobody out (tee-hee!), runs scoring on a Gonzalez sac fly, a Lamotta single, and after Puckeridge whiffed and Watt walked the bags full again, Powell rolled a single through the right side, plating Waters and Lamotta just ahead of Watt getting tagged out by Nick Jackson at third base after a great throw by Will McIntyre, but that made for a 5-run opening frame. Not that it made for a cozy game – Ricky Lopez, Craig Sayre, and Nick Abrego all socked doubles in the top 2nd to get two runs back for the Loggers right away, because Elijah Powell still sucked. Jack Barrington would bat for the battered Bubba Poss in the top 5th, found Abrego on first base, and mashed a 2-run homer to left to cut the lead to 5-4. Dave de Lemos singled, stole second, and was singled home by Jackson, tying the game after all. Powell soldiered on, walked Lopez, then disappeared after a 3-run homer by Chris Lowe, 8-5.

Nothing good was coming along for the Critters, who had the leadoff hitter on base in the second (Lonzo) and third (Waters), hit into a double play each time, and then just quietly wasted everybody’s time. The nearest thing to a success was Nick Jackson getting ejected for disputing strike three from Preston Porter in the seventh inning. Ricky Lamotta’s single in the bottom 8th was almost counting as a rally already. Puckeridge forced him out with a grounder, two outs, stole second, then scored on a Watt single off new pitcher Nick Johns. But when Evan Van Hoy pinch-hit for Julian Ponce, he drew Chris Cortright as a left-hander and popped out easily to second base. Hitchcock held the 8-6 score in the top 9th, with righty Angelo Munoz assigned to the save chance in the bottom 9th. Lonzo led off swinging at a 3-1 pitch, which made me squeak, but ended up with a triple in the gap, his second triple in the game. Armando Herrera hit a sac fly to center, which made it 8-7, but didn’t get us any closer, actually. Maldo singled to right, though, and Waters worked out a walk, putting the winning run on base. Munoz was 2-1 behind to Gonzalez when another ball was hit past de Lemos in center. Maldo scored on the double, but Waters had to throw the anchor at third base. The Loggers walked Lamotta intentionally, setting up forces all over the place for Puckeridge with one out, but the rookie won the game with a single past Ricky Lopez anyway. 9-8 Raccoons! Lavorano 3-5, 2 3B; Maldonado 2-5; Lamotta 3-4, BB, RBI; Puckeridge 2-5, 2B, RBI;

Game 2
MIL: CF de Lemos – 3B N. Jackson – SS Z. Suggs – 2B R. Lopez – 1B Lowe – RF McIntyre – LF Wieczorek – C Nagel – P V. Padilla
POR: SS Lavorano – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – 2B Waters – C Gonzalez – RF Lamotta – 3B Crispin – LF Watt – P Merino

Tripling and scoring for a 1-0 lead was left to Waters by Lonzo in the second game, Gonzalez bringing him in with a groundout in the bottom 2nd. That was all, and especially in the hits department, the first time through, and Merino fumbled away the lead in the fourth, when Zach Suggs singled, stole second, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on a 2-out single by Chris Lowe, all of which sugged. The Coons got the lead back the same inning through no contribution of their own, Padilla drilling both Maldo and Gonzalez before Ricky Lamotta hit a 2-out single to left. John Wieczorek overran that one for an error, allowing Maldo to score, 2-1. Ed Crispin snuck a single to center to plate both runners, and Watt drew a walk, but Merino grounded out to Lopez to end the inning with a 4-1 lead I had no idea where we’d gotten it from.

Merino gave up a run when McIntyre singled home Lopez in the sixth, then came to the plate again with Crispin and Watt on the bases and two outs in the bottom of that inning, lining out to Lowe to strand them. In return, he fumbled up another run in the seventh on a Barrington double, a balk, and a de Lemos groundout, 4-3. Bottom 7th, Julian Villarreal was in for Milwaukee. Herrera and Maldo hit 1-out singles off the southpaw to go to the corners, but before Waters could try and do damage, a wild pitch brought Herrera across, 5-3, and Waters lined out to Lowe anyway. Maldo was stranded on second when Gonzalez grounded out. Bob Ibold had a perfect eighth, with Villarreal less successful in the bottom 8th. Lamotta singled, Watt walked, and Juan Jimenez tried to pinch-hit, but was nicked to load the bags for Lonzo with one out. Another liner – another liner caught, this one by Nick Jackson, and Herrera grounded out to Lopez. Willie Cruz saved the game anyway. 5-3 Raccoons. Maldonado 1-2; Crispin 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Watt 0-1, 3 BB; Merino 7.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, W (4-8);

Interlude: Trade

It was the last groundout in a Raccoons uniform for Armando Herrera (.345, 3 HR, 31 RBI), who was in a contract year, and waived his 10/5 rights to complete a trade to the Atlanta Knights on Sunday. The Raccoons received #28 prospect SP Kyle Brobeck, a #8 pick in 2048 that had already been traded the previous summer, for the 36-year-old centerfielder.

In five-and-a-half seasons, Herrera hit .313/.370/.405 with 18 HR and 270 RBI for the Raccoons, partaking in two championship runs.

Herrera’s roster spot was taken by the #21 pick from 2036, OF/1B Adam Samples, who was not quite as adept in centerfield, but serviceable there. He was a plus defender on the corners. Samples, 22, had started the season in Ham Lake, had batted .357 there, and .284 in AAA, and now got a shot at the majors. He was a right-handed batter, but did not fit our mold of “oh everybody can at least run a bit”; he was not going to set any stolen base records.

Raccoons (29-37) vs. Loggers (28-38) – June 17-19, 2050

Game 3
MIL: CF de Lemos – LF J. Delgado – SS Z. Suggs – 2B R. Lopez – 1B Lowe – RF McIntyre – 3B N. Jackson – C Abrego – P A. Flores
POR: LF Watt – SS Lavorano – RF Puckeridge – 2B Waters – 3B Luna – 1B Van Hoy – CF Samples – C Jimenez – P Salcido

Salcido got flattened for a walk, four hits, and three runs in the first inning. Lopez singled home Delgado with two outs, Lowe singled, and McIntyre hit the big 2-run double before Lonzo got hold of a Jackson grounder. Just perfect, boys! Really fitting my mood here! You couldn’t say though that Victor Salcido didn’t try to make up for it. After Luna drew a leadoff walk in the bottom 2nd and Adam Samples singled in his first major league at-bat, Salcido came up with two on and two out, and ripped a 3-run homer to right-center to tie the game back up…!

…which was a nice attempt to plaster over his pitching being an absolute mess in this game, but maybe he could suck his way through five innings for a cheapskate win after all. The Coons’ 2-3-4 batters all reached base to begin the bottom 3rd, presenting Eddy Luna with three on, no outs. Luna squeezed out a walk to push home the go-ahead run, after which we went sac fly, walk, sac fly to bring up Victor “Slugs-A-Lot” Salcido again, but this time he ended the inning with a groundout to short, leaving the score at 6-3.

Salcido managed to drag his furry tush through six innings on 101 pitches, after which Preston Porter invited the Loggers back into the game with a homer surrendered to Suggs, which sugged, 6-4 in the seventh. Other highlights included Lonzo stealing two bags and being stranded at one point, and Eloy Sencion getting through the eighth just fine, but then giving up a double to left-handed hitting Nick Abrego to begin the top 9th when he was meant to shorten the inning for Willie Cruz, not make it more difficult. Barrington, the pinch-hitting devil, singled from the #9 slot to put the tying runs on the corners, but they both held on de Lemos’ fly to Puckeridge in left. Cruz walked PH Craig Sayre in a full count to load the bases, but Suggs made the second out with a run-scoring grounder that Ed Crispin made a nice play on from the hot corner. Ricky Lopez, batting .194 for the win…! Indeed – a strikeout completed the sweep. 6-5 Critters. Samples 2-3, BB;

Raccoons (32-37) @ Titans (37-31) – June 20-22, 2050

Off to Boston for three games, with the season series even at three apiece. The Titans had sagged to 11 games out in a division rapidly becoming boring, ranking seventh in runs scored and fourth in runs allowed. They had the best bullpen in the CL, while the rotation was merely average. Pitcher Tim Steinbach and catcher Ryan Youngquist were out with injuries as the Raccoons came in, the latter without an official diagnosis yet.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (4-5, 4.43 ERA) vs. David Barel (7-6, 2.97 ERA)
Bubba Wolinsky (3-5, 3.22 ERA) vs. Jim Cushing (7-4, 3.89 ERA)
Elijah Powell (4-7, 5.81 ERA) vs. Kyle Turay (5-4, 3.78 ERA)

The Titans had three lefty starters, but we figured to get only one of them, Barel in the opener.

Game 1
POR: LF Watt – SS Lavorano – 1B Maldonado – C Gonzalez – RF Lamotta – CF Samples – 3B Crispin – 2B Castner – P Wheatley
BOS: CF Monson – 3B Massey – 1B Wheeler – RF T. Lopez – 2B C. Jimenez – C I. Davison – SS J. Rodriguez – LF Mangual – P Barel

Jason Wheatley was held to three ****** innings by rain and poor performance, getting routed for five runs on eight hits, including two doubles and two homers. Nate Massey and Chris Jimenez hit the doubles for one run in the first, while Jose Rodriguez’ solo shot in the second and Tony Lopez’ 2-piece in the third kept piling on.

Barel threw only 32 pitches prior to the hourlong rain delay after three innings, and continued to face the Critters afterwards, not allowing a run until the sixth. That inning, Lonzo opened with a leadoff walk (!!!), Maldo singled, and RBI doubles by Gonzalez and Samples got the Coons on the board, 5-2, but Crispin popped out as the tying run. That was the first and only hurrah, though; John Castner poked a few futile singles from the #8 spot, and the bullpen pitched five equally useless shutout innings, but the game had been easily lost by Wheats having another awful outing… 5-2 Titans. Castner 3-4; Landeta 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; Ibold 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Sigh.

Game 2
POR: LF Watt – SS Lavorano – 1B Maldonado – 2B Waters – RF Puckeridge – 3B Luna – CF Lamotta – C J. Jimenez – P Wolinsky
BOS: CF Monson – 3B Massey – 1B Wheeler – RF T. Lopez – 2B C. Jimenez – C I. Davison – SS Ale. Silva – LF J. Rodriguez – P Cushing

Lonzo stole his 32nd base of the season in the opening inning, once again surpassing the team RBI lead, which continued to make me both frown and grin at the same time… but mostly frown. Also reason to frown: Jim Cushing driving in his own lead with a 2-strike single in the bottom 2nd, plating Chris Jimenez with the middle infielders on the corners for Boston. Cushing cushioned his lead with a sac fly in a 3-run third that put Boston up 4-0 after Wolinsky had already been swamped in a pile of base runners. Through three, he allowed six hits, three walks, and four runs – marginally better than Wheatley on Monday at best. Without any rain on the horizon, he pitched into the fourth, and barely out of it, conceding another run on Tony Lopez’ double that scored Nate Massey. Another 5-0 deficit, great.

Again, the Raccoons had two hits through five innings, but this time even missed the bus for some offense in the sixth, through which Cushing was largely blameless. Eloy Sencion struck out three in the bottom 6th, which sounded good as long as you ignored Jeff Wheeler’s homer to left that ran the tally to 6-0. Chris Jimenez added a homer against Preston Porter in the seventh. The Coons never added anything but agony to the growing agony pile. 7-0 Titans.

Game 3
POR: LF Watt – SS Lavorano – 1B Maldonado – 2B Waters – RF Puckeridge – C Gonzalez – CF Samples – 3B Crispin – P Powell
BOS: CF Monson – 3B Massey – 1B Wheeler – RF T. Lopez – 2B C. Jimenez – C Salas – SS Ale. Silva – LF Mangual – P Turay

Three singles scored a run in the first inning (for Boston, in case you weren’t sure), but the Raccoons got Puckeridge and Gonzalez on in the top 2nd, and Ed Crispin shoved a single through the left side with two outs to plate both of them with two outs, flipping the score to 2-1 Coon City. And while the defense held Powell together for at least a little bit, ironically it would be Crispin to blow the lead with a throwing error in the fourth inning, conceding two bases to Alejandro Silva and allowing Raul Salas to score from second with a throw into the amused spectators behind first base. Ruben Mangual grounded out, Kyle Turay popped out to end the inning, and the game at least remained tied through four.

Watt singled home Samples with two outs in the fifth, but Powell blew the 3-2 lead without getting anybody out in the bottom 5th. Jason Monson doubled, Nate Massey singled him home, and I was longing my sorry bum to the winter. Massey would be caught stealing, but the Titans took a 4-3 lead in the inning on 2-out doubles by Lopez and Jimenez anyway. Waters doubled in the top 6th, but was stranded, and the Coons kept going back to Powell, the bum, who needed to fill 100 pitches (all awful) after the pen had done most of the hard work in the last few games. Monson singled, Wheeler walked, and Lopez hit an RBI single before Powell was knocked out with one gone in the bottom 7th, down 5-3 with two on base. Hitchcock whiffed Jimenez, while Salas was retired on a Samples dash into the left-center gap to strand the remaining runners, and the eighth was also done by Hitchcock. Top 9th, Puckeridge led off with an infield single against Adam Bates, promoting the tying run to the plate. Gonzalez whiffed. Samples hit into a double play. And that was a sweep. 5-3 Titans. Waters 2-4, 2B; Puckeridge 2-4; Crispin 2-3, 2 RBI; Hitchcock 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Yikes.

Raccoons (32-40) @ Condors (29-42) – June 24-26, 2050

The Condors were in last place, and the Coons were working their way there. Tijuana was up 2-1 in the season series with the second-worst offense and mediocre pitching. Both teams had been off on Thursday – the Raccoons by schedule, and the Condors by virtue of a dust storm that sent the Knights home with unfinished business.

Projected matchups:
Victor Merino (4-8, 4.24 ERA) vs. Kevin Daley (4-8, 4.32 ERA)
Victor Salcido (6-2, 3.60 ERA) vs. Tony Llorens (4-8, 3.06 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (4-6, 4.78 ERA) vs. Larry Colwell (4-8, 3.46 ERA)

I’m 4-8, you’re 4-8, everybody’s 4-8! … Llorens was the only southpaw on their rotation. Sam Geren (5-4, 4.26 ERA) could be skipped into the series.

Game 1
POR: LF Watt – SS Lavorano – 1B Maldonado – 2B Waters – RF Puckeridge – C Gonzalez – CF Lamotta – 3B Crispin – P Merino
TIJ: SS C. Navarro – 2B M. Martinez – CF G. Cabrera – C Mittleider – LF Mancini – 1B Yamamoto – RF Blackburn – 3B Watanabe – P Daley

Lonzo pushed the team stolen base lead to 33, and Maldo the team RBI lead to 32 with a single in the top 1st, the latter driving in the former on a grand total of two singles, and I morally readied myself that that would be all on the day. An error put Gonzalez on base and Lamotta doubled to put them into scoring position in the top 2nd, but Crispin’s sad groundout and Merino’s weak pop ended the inning without any offense tacked on. Merino meanwhile faced an all-righty lineup, so that was another thing to duck for. He struck out four against a single the first time through but Chris Navarro and Miguel Martinez plinked 2-out singles in the bottom 3rd before Gil Cabrera flew out to Puckeridge on the warning track.

Three singles from Waters, Gonzalez, and Lamotta loaded the bases in the fourth, bringing back Crispin with one out. He slapped the first pitch through the same hole he had used to flip the score on the Titans two days earlier, this time adding one run for a 2-0 lead, with Gonzalez reasonably held at third base. Merino added a run with a groundout to Shuta Yamamoto, but Matt Watt hit a zinger into the right-center gap for a 2-out, 2-run triple…! Lonzo singled him home for the fifth and final run of the inning, putting Merino up 6-0. The Condors kept crowding him, stranding two in the bottom 4th, and loading the bases with one out in the fifth until Jon Mittleider spanked a 2-0 pitch into a 6-4-3 double play to keep them off the board. The Condors had another two runners in the sixth, and while they still couldn’t touch Merino, the Coons hurler needed 100 pitches exactly to even make it that far and was not back for the seventh inning. The Condors had a pair on against Porter in the seventh, against Landeta in the eighth, and still couldn’t score. The Raccoons also didn’t score anymore, but also removed Maldo and Waters a few innings early in this game. 6-0 Raccoons. Watt 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI; Lavorano 2-5, RBI; Maldonado 2-4, RBI; Lamotta 3-4, 2B; Merino 6.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, W (5-8) and 1-3, RBI;

Game 2
POR: CF Lamotta – SS Lavorano – 1B Maldonado – 2B Waters – C Gonzalez – RF Puckeridge – LF Samples – 3B Luna – P Salcido
TIJ: SS C. Navarro – 2B M. Martinez – LF G. Cabrera – C Mittleider – 1B Mancini – CF Pruitt – RF Blackburn – 3B Watanabe – P Llorens

Tijuana took a 1-0 lead without a hit in the bottom 1st as Miguel Martinez walked, stole second, reached third on a throwing error by Gonzalez, and came across on a wild pitch by Salcido. Nothing quite like an empty battery…!

While the Coons were entirely absent, the Condors didn’t get a hit until the fourth, when they got two singles by Martinez and Mittleider as well as a run when the latter singled home the former. Their 2-0 lead went poof in the following half-inning, though, which Llorens began with a leadoff walk to Ruben Gonzalez, before with one gone back-to-back RBI doubles by Samples and Luna tied up the game. Portland then took the lead the inning after, when Maldo singled and Waters homered, tying another sad-sack team lead, the one for bombs, which in late June sat at … five. Llorens nicked Gonzalez with the next pitch, and while Ruben chirped at him, he didn’t start a brawl, which was a wise decision. He moved up on a Puckeridge groundout, then scored on a Samples hit for the second straight run through the lineup, this time on a 2-out single that died in shallow right-center, 5-2.

Salcido went seven, issuing a total of four hits and 108 pitches, and keeping the 5-2 lead in good working order. Samples plated Gonzalez for the third straight time in the top 8th, then with a sac fly against David Fox, who was already four runners and two runs deep in a mess by then. John Castner had already hit an RBI double to score Maldo at that point. Fox recovered from there to end the inning, while Ibold and Ponce put the Condors away for the last six outs. 7-2 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-4; Gonzalez 1-1, 2 BB; Castner (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Samples 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI; Salcido 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (7-2);

Game 3
POR: LF Watt – SS Lavorano – RF Puckeridge – 3B Waters – 1B Luna – CF Samples – 2B Castner – C Jimenez – P Wheatley
TIJ: SS C. Navarro – 2B M. Martinez – LF G. Carbrera – C Mittleider – 1B Mancini – CF Pruitt – RF Blackburn – 3B Watanabe – P Colwell

Lonzo stole his 34th base in the opening inning, and Castner stole his first in the second inning. Neither one scored, but at least Castner’s stolen base prompted a 2-out intentional walk to Juan Jimenez, and cleared the pitcher’s spot as Wheatley whiffed. Top 3rd, Lonzo hit a 1-out single to left, Puckeridge a double to right, but Waters struck out and Luna lined out to Martinez to keep the board empty… at least until Martinez singled home Shintaro Watanabe in the bottom 3rd. The run was unearned, since Watanabe had reached on a Lonzo error, but I was dismayed nevertheless, as was Wheats, who just couldn’t put a clean game together. First half struggles, eh?

Portland didn’t do much in the middle innings, while Wheats had two good innings before everything came crashing down in the sixth. Navarro led off with a triple, scored on Martinez’ groundout, and he then allowed another three hits and a run to Gabrera, Mittleider, and Mancini to get 3-0 behind. Watanabe, homerless in 181 at-bats this year, homered to open the bottom 7th, which was Wheats’ last inning in another toss-away start. Ed Crispin doubled for him in the eighth, but was stranded. Nobody reached in the ninth. 4-0 Condors. Lavorano 2-3; Crispin (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Larry Colwell spun a 5-hit shutout here.

In other news

June 16 – OCT SP Felix Alvarez (7-3, 2.33 ERA) finishes off the Knights in shutout fashion in a 6-0 win, allowing only one hit, a double, to C Tyler Cass (.337, 3 HR, 40 RBI).
June 16 – The Stars beat the Wolves, 4-0, but Dallas’ Dario Martinez (.386, 15 HR, 59 RBI) has his 22-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-3 day.
June 17 – TIJ 1B/OF Gil Cabrera (.344, 2 HR, 34 RBI) also loses his hitting streak at 21 games with a hitless appearance in a 2-1 loss to the Bayhawks.
June 17 – Thunder SS/LF/1B Ryan Cox (.307, 7 HR, 34 RBI) hits a walkoff triple for an 11-inning, 1-0 win over the Knights.
June 18 – The Blue Sox acquire SP Jason Palladino (1-5, 3.23 ERA) from the Indians for #43 prospect SP Michael McLaughlin.

June 19 – Charlotte’s outfielder Oscar Caballero (.246, 5 HR, 32 RBI) misses the cycle by the double, hitting a homer, *two triples*, and two singles in a 15-11 loss to the Aces. The home run is a grand slam, but even six RBI in total was not enough to lift the Falcons to victory in this one.
June 19 – The Scorpions lose LF/RF/1B Nate Culp (.312, 14 HR, 33 RBI) to a torn ACL, erasing the slugger from the lineup for the rest of the season.
June 19 – PIT LF/RF Matt Cox (.278, 8 HR, 38 RBI) will miss three months with a badly dislocated shoulder.
June 19 – SFB 3B/1B Ramon Sifuentes (.308, 14 HR, 42 RBI) beats the Condors with a solo home run in the seventh inning for a 1-0 final score.
June 19 – The Stars beat the Wolves, 5-4 in 15 innings. Both teams scored a run each in the ninth and tenth innings before the Stars squeeze through when 36-year-old utility Jose Farfan (1-for-3, 0 HR, 1 RBI) singles home Celio Umbreiro (.219, 1 HR, 17 RBI) with his first base hit of the season.

June 22 – CIN SP Austin Wilcox (7-4, 4.63 ERA) flips a 3-hit shutout against the Blue Sox, claiming the 6-0 win.
June 22 – The Rebels acquire C Dan Whitley (.306, 1 HR, 1 RBI) and a prospect from the Crusaders, who receive outfielder Ken Mills (.326, 2 HR, 17 RBI).
June 22 – The Crusaders collapse in the 15th inning of a game against the Indians and give up five runs after holding the Indians to two runs in the previous 14 frames. New York makes up one run, but loses, 7-3.
June 22 – The Thunder rally for six runs in the top of the ninth inning against the Aces to tie the game, but then still lose on a walkoff double by LVA C Bobby Ortega (.319, 0 HR, 12 RBI), 8-7 in regulation.
June 23 – The Capitals beat the Buffaloes, 3-2 in six innings, as the game is ended by a thunderstorm.
June 25 – SAL SP Darren McRee (4-10, 4.15 ERA) is out for the season with ruptured finger tendons.
June 26 – Warriors INF Jose Rivas (.344, 0 HR, 13 RBI) hits his 2,000th career hit in an 8-1 loss to the Cyclones. Two hits in the second leg of a double header do the trick, the milestone being a leadoff double in the eighth inning against CIN MR Jon Craig (0-2, 3.00 ERA, 6 SV). Rivas is a career .326 batter with four homers and 645 RBI, plus 362 stolen bases.

FL Player of the Week I: LAP 1B Larry Rodriguez (.233, 10 HR, 38 RBI), hitting .480 (12-25) with 1 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week I: BOS 1B/2B Jeff Wheeler (.290, 1 HR, 24 RBI), batting .536 (15-28) with 10 RBI

FL Player of the Week II: PIT INF Victor Corrales (.311, 0 HR, 33 RBI), poking .591 (13-22) with 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week II: BOS OF Tony Lopez (.309, 11 HR, 54 RBI), swatting .542 (13-24) with 2 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Well, we’re still owning the Loggers. Yay.

With Armando Herrera dealt, we get to play more of the youngsters, like new arrival Adam Samples. Still not inclined to trade Waters and Wheatley, not that they would net us much right now. And Maldo is the immovable object anyway and will remain here through the end of 2052 anyway. Unless he breaks his neck soon, he will retire as the Coons RBI leader. He has 1,045 right now, which is only eight behind good ol’ Matt Nunley, and 65 behind Manny Fernandez.

65, or, a season’s worth around here.

I don’t see him taking the franchise home run lead away from Daniel Hall at all by now. He sits at 194, which is behind Manny (198), Mark Dawson (221), and Dan the Man (223).

Sigh. Whatever.

Two weeks left (and no off days) to the All Star Game. We will have the Falcons and Elks (again!) at home next week, then be on the road in New York and Indy after that.

Fun Fact: Armando Herrera’s .313 batting average in the brown shirt is the eighth-highest among players with at least 100 at-bats.

If you reduce that to at least 300 at-bats, he’s already up to fourth behind David Brewer (.335 in 1,707 AB), Mike Preble (.316 in 709 AB), and Tetsu Osanai (.316 in 4,897 AB). Herrera had 2,758 at-bats as a Critter.

Who else sneaks in ahead of him if you lower the threshold to 100 at-bats? Couple more half-season rentals, including Jose Morales (.352 in 2011), Chris Robinson (.321 in 2048), and Scott Strong (.315 in 1996), and also one that you didn’t see coming:

Ottie! … Jared Ottinger, the pitcher with both the meteoric rise and crash, hit .330 in 176 at-bats from 2036 to 2040.

Right behind Herrera on either list at the time of the trade at least? Lonzo, at .312.