Raccoons (64-72) @ Canadiens (61-74) – September 2-5, 2058
Seven to play and a skinny 6-5 Raccoons lead for the season series, and both teams could still easily finish last in the division, that was what was to play for with all seven games in Elk City, too. The damn Elks ranked ninth in both runs scored and runs allowed. Their run differential was -72 (Coons: -26). They lacked Bruce Mark jr. and Kyle Hawkins due to injury, and we were still not getting a report on Noah Caswell, which usually means nothing good.
Projected matchups:
Cameron Argenziano (6-1, 2.90 ERA) vs. Jeff Kozloski (12-10, 3.44 ERA)
Chance Fox (4-6, 4.69 ERA) vs. Federico Purificao (0-1, 10.80 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (11-9, 3.29 ERA) vs. Luis Arroyo (8-11, 5.89 ERA)
Zach Stewart (10-11, 3.14 ERA) vs. Anton Jesus (11-14, 4.93 ERA)
The run with no left-handed starters opposing the Coons, ever, continued, since the Elks’ only left-hander, John Morris (10-11, 4.56 ERA), had pitched on Sunday.
Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Puckeridge – LF Brassfield – C M. Chavez – CF Royer – 3B Brobeck – 1B Starr – P Argenziano
VAN: LF D. Garcia – SS Kuchta – RF Magnussen – CF D. Moreno – 3B Lundberg – 1B Rosenstiel – C A. Maldonado – 2B Saunders – P Kozloski
There were somehow four lefty batters atop the Elks’ batting order, but it worked out well enough for Rich Kuchta to reach on Chavez’ interference and then a 2-run homer to right by Damian Moreno in the first inning. But the Raccoons got back on the Elks immediately, and they did so with the first career home run of Joel Starr, 91 at-bats deep into his career, peppering a 2-out, 3-run homer to left after Chavez and Royer had reached base ahead of him in the inning. Starr cost an unearned run in the bottom 4th, though, allowing Adam Magnussen on base with an error to begin the inning. Damian Moreno walked, and while Tyler Lundberg and John Rosenstiel made poor outs, Alex Maldonado singled home a 2-out run before Argenziano got a K in on Manny Saunders to strand a pair. The lead survived though, because Marcos Chavez had gone deep to left-center in the top of the inning, and Lonzo tripled home Labonte in the fifth to extend the lead to two runs again, 5-3. The leadoff batters were on base again in the bottom 5th as Pedro de Leon singled and Danny Garcia walked, but the Elks then resumed with three poor outs and somehow Argenziano wiggled out of the jam.
Elks right-hander Aaron Hain then filled the bags with nobody out in the sixth as Chavez singled, Royer walked, and Brobeck singled. Starr struck out, but runs scored on Argenziano’s groundout and a wild pitch. Argenziano didn’t get any more outs, though. Lundberg took him deep leading off the bottom 6th, and Rosenstiel’s single and Maldonado drawing a walk ended his outing. Bravo replaced him and allowed a single to Saunders on the only pitch he threw before Eloy Sencion blew the lead with a bases-loaded walk to Garcia and a 2-run single by Magnussen… All even at seven into the seventh, then. Left-hander George Youngblood walked Lonzo to begin the inning. Lonzo stole second, Brassfield was walked intentionally, but that brought up Chavez and Chavez bombed his second home run of the game, a 3-piece to give the lead back to the Portlanders, 10-7. Royer’s ball over the wall did so on the bounce and his ground-rule double led nowhere, and Lonzo and Pucks singled in the eighth against Rafael Flores, but were also stranded. Brobeck and Starr reached base with two outs in the ninth against Flores, but Brobeck only scored on another wild pitch.
That didn’t mean the W was in the dry, though. The Coons went to Walters despite being up 11-7 in the ninth inning, because we had already used even the marginal talent that could be trusted with the ninth inning. However, Moreno and Rosenstiel hit soft singles, and while Lundberg and Maldonado both struck out, there was danger in the air. Manny Saunders singled to center then; Moreno went home from second base, Royer threw the ball in badly, the run scored, the two trailing runners were in scoring position, and Royer sunk to his knees with obvious paw pain. He left the game; since Caswell had already keeled over dead and Todd Oley had been used to pinch-hit earlier, the Raccoons ended up with Arturo Bribiesca in centerfield, but the game ended with a strikeout before this weakness could be exploited by the damn Elks. 11-8 Coons. Lavorano 2-4, BB, 3B, RBI; M. Chavez 4-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI; Royer 3-5, 2B; Starr 2-5, HR, 3 RBI;
Lonzo stole his 50th base in the game, and New York’s Omar Sanchez (.305, 0 HR, 45 RBI) fractured a rib during the Crusaders’ game today and was out for at least a few weeks. This left Xavier Reyes (46 SB) as the last serious threat in the CL’s stolen base race.
By Tuesday then, the Raccoons had shed both of their established centerfielders onto the DL. Noah Caswell (oblique strain) would return for a week or so before the end of the season, but Steve Royer (ruptured finger tendon) would not, and since he was a free agent-to-be, this ended his Raccoons career. Since Pucks had lost some of his earlier range, that left only Todd Oley on the roster, and we went back to AAA for a reinforcement that had no business being in the majors, Ben Morris, batting .267 with four homers and a .768 OPS with the Alley Cats. He was 20 years old and had been taken in the 10th round of the 2055 draft. Something was off here for sure!
Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Puckeridge – C M. Chavez – RF Martinez – 3B Brobeck – 1B Starr – CF Oley – P Fox
VAN: LF D. Garcia – C S. Contreras – RF Magnussen – CF D. Moreno – 3B Lundberg – 1B Rosenstiel – SS Kuchta – 2B Saunders – P Purificao
Purificao had made only one appearance so far this season, which hadn’t gone so well, and gave up a Brobeck solo homer in the second for an inauspicious start. In the third, Labonte and Lonzo individually hit a single and then tried to steal second base; only the former was successful, but Pucks’ 2-out single still brought in Labonte from third base. Purificao walked Chavez and allowed more RBI singles to Martinez and Brobeck before Starr popped out foul in a full count to end the inning. And then Chance Fox ****** up the entire 4-0 lead, and then some, in the bottom 3rd. Kuchta homered right away. Saunders singled. Fox misplayed Purificao’s bunt to second base, where there was no out to be had. Wild pitch, then an RBI single by Garcia. Santiago Contreras grounded out, and Magnussen whacked a score-flipping homer. The whole thing took just 15 pitches from homer to homer.
Todd Oley singled, stole second, and was driven in by Lonzo, tying the score at five in the top of the fourth, and restoring Lonzo to an undisputed team RBI lead (yay!). Pucks walked, and the Coons took the lead on an error by Kuchta on Chavez’ grounder before Martinez added a sac fly. It was now a 7-5 game, and Colby Bowen was warming up in the bullpen should Fox continue to get his orange tail stuck in a wire fence. The Elks made three loud outs in the fourth, then had right-hander Jim Woods electrocuted by the Coons in the top 5th. Starr doubled, Oley had an RBI single, Lonzo and Pucks both socked 2-out RBI doubles, and Moreno only barely caught Chavez’ drive to center off new punching bag Aaron Hain, which ended that inning, but Hain got whacked around in the sixth and the 6-7-8 batters all got on, with Oley singling in Brobeck for another run and it was now… (counts on the claws of three paws) … 11-5. Fox got dragged through six innings against the heavily left-handed lineup and even struck out Rosenstiel and Kuchta to end his day, which would surely make Cristiano Carmona get all waffley again about how he totally didn’t suck and such.
When Colby Bowen did get involved in the bottom 7th, Santiago Contreras hit a 3-run homer to right in no time, so that lead was axed in half again. Sencion was torched for another two runs, walking Rosenstiel and Kuchta to begin the bottom 8th and then allowed just enough hits for them to score, further narrowing the lead to a skinny run. At this point an offensive reaction would have been welcome, but no such luck; since Walters had thrown 37 pitches for no greater good on Monday, Tanizaki got the ninth inning and right away gave up a single to Moreno. Alex Maldonado pinch-hit for Lundberg, but found Bribiesca at second base and a 4-6-3 double play was turned. Rosenstiel drew another walk, but Kuchta grounded out to second as well to get this game over with… 11-10 Critters. Lavorano 4-6, 2B, 2 RBI; Puckeridge 3-5, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Brobeck 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Oley 3-4, BB, 2 RBI;
The damn Elks were eliminated mathematically on Tuesday, but the Crusaders W would have done this even without the Coons chipping in.
Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – CF Morris – C C. Chavez – P B. Herrera
VAN: LF D. Garcia – C S. Contreras – RF Magnussen – CF D. Moreno – SS Kuchta – 1B Rosenstiel – 3B Bowden – 2B Saunders – P Arroyo
Seven left-handed batters in the first seven spots of that Elks lineup! Bobby Herrera stumbled right out of the gate, with four 3-ball counts and three full counts in the bottom 1st, and a run scored on the walk Danny Garcia drew, the base he stole, and Magnussen’s RBI single. Dave Bowden singled and Manny Saunders walked in the bottom 2nd, but Arroyo struck out bunting foul and then the 1-2 batters also whiffed to end the inning. Labonte would tie the game with his second home run of the season in his second try in the game, and it remained 1-1 with three hits per side through five innings, but Herrera kept finding full counts and took *97* pitches to get through five innings at all.
Also having a wicked day was Ben Morris, who was making his actual debut in this game. He was drilled by Arroyo his first time up, then reached on an error by Rosenstiel the second time around. He reached base again in his third attempt, and finally without physical grief or somebody else’s blunder, drawing a walk from Arroyo that filled the bases in the top 6th, in which Pucks’ leadoff jack had given the Coons a 2-1 lead before Arroyo also led Brobeck and Starr on base. Cortez Chavez’ groundout and a wild pitch both gave Portland an additional run, but Marcos Chavez batted for Herrera already, so the Coons needed to cover four innings with the pen again now. The 4-1 lead was immediately in danger with Neal Hamann, although Magnussen reached on Starr’s error before Moreno singled to center in the bottom 6th. Kuchta struck out, and Rosenstiel grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to get Hamann through the inning, in which a lot happened for just nine pitches. The seventh was worse, though. Dave Bowden singled against Hamann, Bravo was no use either, allowing hits to Saunders and Garcia and Hamann’s run to score, and Ricky Herrera gave up a sac fly to PH Victor Cruz to whittle the lead down to 4-3, then ended the inning with Magnussen and got three deep fly ball outs to Brass and Pucks in the bottom 8th, which at this rate had to count as success. Ironically Matt Walters then faced only right-handers in the ninth inning, but also retired three in a row to take another game from the Elks. 4-3 Raccoons. Labonte 3-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Anderson (PH) 1-1;
Somehow, we beat them, which is all that counts – damn Elks!! (shakes fist)
Game 4
POR: RF Puckeridge – 3B Anderson – C M. Chavez – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – CF Oley – 2B Bribiesca – SS Benitez – P Stewart
VAN: LF D. Garcia – SS Kuchta – RF Magnussen – CF D. Moreno – 3B Lundberg – 1B Rosenstiel – C A. Maldonado – 2B Saunders – P A. Jesus
Hits by Pucks and Starr gave the Coons a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Chavez also drew a walk in between to keep the inning going. Starr kept a monopoly on RBI’s in the game with a 2-run homer to left in the third inning, while Zach Stewart retired eight in a row to begin the game, then gave up a single to Jesus. (rolls big black googly eyes!)
While the mostly-lefty lineup the home team offered for every game of the series caused Stewart much fewer problems, even the backup infield that was rolled out for today hurt Jesus in the fifth inning. He started the inning with walks to Chavez and Brass, but Starr now found a double play to hit into, and instead the RBI’s in the inning went to Oley with an RBI triple and Bribiesca, who bashed an RBI double. Benitez was walked intentionally to get a K from Stewart and an exit from the inning.
Stewart was not in danger until the seventh inning when Moreno hit a 1-out single to right-center and he lost Lundberg on balls. John Rosenstiel, though, who had hit a soft single in the fifth, found Bribiesca with a reasonably quick bouncer and the Raccoons turned a double play to get Stewart out of the inning. Maldonado drew a walk in the eighth and the inning ran long with a few tall counts; the Elks didn’t get a run off Stewart, but they extended his pitch count to 106, and he would not be able to come back and bid for the shutout. Alex Rios got the ball, walked Kuchta right away, but got a double play from Magnussen, and then survived Moreno’s 2-out double as well when Lundberg grounded out to Starr. 5-0 Furballs! Puckeridge 2-5; Starr 3-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Bribiesca 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Stewart 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, W (11-11);
Sweeeeeeep!!
And yes, I gave every single player a smooch on the cheek when they returned home from Elk City on Thursday night.
Even Chance Fox.
Raccoons (68-72) @ Canadiens (73-67) – September 6-8, 2058
The Titans had tried, but it had been in vain. The Crusaders had galloped away to a 15 1/2 game lead and everybody was just tying up the loose ends now, in our case an 8-7 season series lead for Boston, who ranked second in runs allowed, but had only a +29 run differential thanks to a cruddy offense that could hit homers and nearly nothing else. They ranked fourth in bombs, but in the bottom three in most other key offensive categories. Right now, they were also without Diego Mendoza and Ethan Torrence for batters, and a whole host of pitchers.
Projected matchups:
Justin DeRose (2-5, 6.34 ERA) vs. Jason Brenize (7-12, 4.12 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (6-13, 4.63 ERA) vs. Larry Broad (12-7, 4.08 ERA)
Cameron Argenziano (6-1, 3.19 ERA) vs. Mike Pohlmann (10-10, 4.22 ERA)
Still no southpaw. I’m sad.
Game 1
BOS: RF I. Santiago – LF Ma. Gilmore – 1B M. Rubin – C Arviso – 2B Sowell – SS J. Watson – CF J. Harris – 3B W. de Leon – P Brenize
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – CF Morris – 3B Benitez – C Stanton – P DeRose
The first run of the game came on a home run by none other than Matt Stanton, which was a bit surprising, and it was the first of his career. And while DeRose wasn’t instantly punchable and rage-inducing, he gave up a 2-run homer in the fourth to Jorge Arviso anyway after Manny Rubin had already come pretty close to the fence with a double. It was a step in the right direction at least…
The Coons tied the game in unearned fashion – Jesus Martinez reached on Willie de Leon’s error – and on a wild pitch by Brenize in the bottom 4th, then saw Brenize fail the bags full with the same part of the lineup in the sixth inning of a 2-2 game. Brass, Martinez, and Starr were all aboard with two outs for Ben Morris, who was 0-for-4, but had been on base somehow just as often. Here he grounded out though to end the inning.
DeRose found the hook in rather stupid fashion in the seventh inning. Hector Weir hit a pinch-hit single off him, which was one thing, but when the Raccoons went to Ricky Herrera with de Leon batting, two outs, and Weir on second base, Herrera gave up a long double to left that restored Boston’s lead at 3-2, and then allowed a 2-out, 2-strike RBI single to Brenize as well, 4-2. Benitez walked and Stanton singled off Brenize to begin the bottom 7th, but between Pucks and their middle infielders the Raccoons failed to get a decisive punch landed and had to settle for two fielders’ choices and a run scoring on those, but remained 4-3 behind. Adam Harris struck out two batters in the top of the eighth before complaining about an apparent injury, and Sencion had to finish the inning.
Siwik had a scoreless ninth in an attempt to halt his late-season collapse, but the Raccoons had yet to score one to tie and two to win. The eighth was fruitless, and Josh Penington faced the bottom of the order in the ninth inning. Brobeck batted for Benitez and banged a double to left, which was treacherously promising. Stanton grounded out, advancing the tying run to third base. Todd Oley had already been inserted into the #9 slot in a double switch, and that proved to be right where he was needed most, flicking a ball over Alan Leitch at short for a game-tying RBI single! Oley went on and stole second base, but Labonte whiffed and Lonzo flew out to left, and this game went to extra innings, where Boston promptly slapped three singles off Tanizaki to take a 5-4 lead when Matt Gilmore drove home Israel Santiago. The Coons didn’t reach base until there were two outs in the bottom 10th when Joel Starr singled against Dan Lawrence. Cortez Chavez pinch-hit in the pitcher’s spot, which was the first cue to abandon all hope, and he grounded out measly to short to end the game. 5-4 Titans. Brassfield 2-5; Starr 3-5; Brobeck (PH) 1-1; Stanton 2-4, HR, RBI; Oley 1-1, RBI;
Adam Harris headed to the DL with shoulder inflammation and was done for the year. The Coons continued to raid the Alley Cats’ roster as they tried to make the playoffs and imported 22-year-old left-hander and trash heap signing Mike Goldfield, who was “electric” in the broadest definition of the word in AAA. He had once been a second-rounder by the Aces, but had been released for similarly “electric” performances in the low minors.
Game 2
BOS: RF I. Santiago – LF Ma. Gilmore – 1B M. Rubin – C Arviso – 2B Sowell – CF Weir – SS J. Watson – 3B W. de Leon – P Broad
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Puckeridge – C M. Chavez – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Brobeck – CF Morris – P Carreno
Carreno didn’t explode at first sight, which was a pleasant surprise, but who knows what getting nailed in the arm with a Broad fastball would do to his game. This happened in the second inning, after Marcos Chavez’ leadoff jack had given the Coons a 1-0 lead and after Broad had failed the bags full, already hitting Joel Starr in the process. Carreno’s plunk game with the bases loaded and pushed in the game’s second run before Labonte hit into a double play to end the effort.
The third inning was uneventful, but Carreno careened into another big inning in the fourth, offering three walks and two hits in a never-ending inning that yielded a 3-2 lead for Boston. Like a bad smell, Carreno the lingered until Hector Weir walked with two outs in the sixth inning. Bravo replaced him, allowed not one, but TWO infield singles to fill the bases, and then somehow got Labonte to make a play in ******* time on Broad’s grounder to second, so the Titans left three runners stranded.
Marcos Chavez’ second leadoff home run of the game then got us even at three runs each in the bottom 6th, and Trent Brassfield smashed another home run just three pitches later, 4-3 Coons. That’s where I like it, boys! – What’s the grin, Cristiano?
Two more runs scored in the seventh; Richard Anderson drew a walk in the #9 spot against Dan Lawrence, then scored on Labonte’s triple to right that came to a dead stop in the corner. Labonte scored on a wild pitch. Goldfield made his debut in the eighth inning, but allowed a single to Jorge Arviso and then mauled Ken Sowell with a fastball. Tanizaki replaced him, but conceded a run on a groundout, then threw a wild pitch that got Sowell all the way to third base before de Leon grounded out to Labonte on a 3-1 pitch… Which was good, since Matt Walters divined to allow a pair of 2-strike doubles to pinch-hitter Yoslan Valdez and Bruce Burkart in the ninth inning and just narrowly escaped with a tarnished save… 6-5 Coons. M. Chavez 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI;
This team! … We were out-hit 11-6 in this one, so there’s nothing to complain about with the final result.
Game 3
BOS: CF I. Santiago – SS Leitch – 1B M. Rubin – LF Y. Valdez – C Burkart – 3B W. de Leon – 2B J. Watson – RF J. Harris – P Pohlmann
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Puckeridge – C M. Chavez – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Brobeck – CF Oley – P Argenziano
The Coons made the third out at third base on a Todd Oley single in the first inning, but at least Brass scored from second before Brobeck was slapped out by de Leon going first to third, and the run counted. The lead was only briefly on the board; the Titans were scattering singles off Argenziano, getting six in four innings, and when the Coons added allowing Pohlmann reach on an uncaught third strike in the fourth inning, those singles eventually amounted to a run. Jonathan Harris hit a single in the inning, but hurt himself running the bases and was replaced with Ted Lloyd. Alan Leitch bashed a leadoff double to center in the fifth and the noises off the bat remained loud throughout the inning, but three outs were made from the 3-4-5 batters, somehow, and Leitch never got off second base, somehow.
Bottom 5th, and a pair of leadoff singles put Starr and Brobeck on the corners against the right-handed Pohlmann. Oley was hitting .444 in 27 at-bats, but grounded out to Watson here, who elected to take the out at second base while Starr scored and the Coons reclaimed a 2-1 lead. Oley stole second base, and Argenziano whiffed for the second out, as did Labonte… but the inning didn’t end, because now the Boston Bozos fumbled the third strike and the Raccoons were back on the corners and could bring up Slugger McRBI Lavorano, who rushed a screamer into the right-center gap for a 2-out, 2-run triple that was very much unearned and made Lonzo the first Critter to 60 RBI this year. Pucks’ liner to short ended the inning, for reals this time. The following inning, Starr and Brobeck were back on the corners with two outs against Pohlmann, but this time he struck out Oley to bugger out of there. Argenziano had also buggered out of allowing leadoff singles to de Leon and Watson in the top of that inning when Lloyd hit into a double play and Pohlmann grounded out. He departed after a 1-out walk to Leitch in the seventh. Siwik struck out Manny Rubin, who had 22 homers, but was rather toothless in this series, but then gave up hard flies to left to Valdez and Burkart. Valdez’ fell for a double, but Burkart’s was caught by Brass and another pair of runners was stranded.
While Lonzo hit a second triple in the game in the bottom 7th, that came with nobody on base, two outs, and Pucks still not having any luck getting runners home. Instead, the Coons went through four relievers in the eighth inning. Ricky Herrera and Alex Rios gave up three leadoff doubles to the 6-7-8 batters between them, smashing the lead into a 4-3 score and bits otherwise, before Bravo and Sencion fought through a horde of pinch-hitters and narrowly managed to strand the tying run on base. At least Matt Walters recovered from recent wobbles with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to finish with a series win and a split season series. 4-3 Coons. Lavorano 3-4, 2 3B, 2 RBI; Starr 3-4; Brobeck 3-4; Argenziano 6.1 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (7-1);
In other news
September 3 – DAL SP Cory Ritter (12-13, 4.53 ERA) throws a 3-hitter against the Scorpions, who additionally get routed entirely, 13-0 Stars.
September 6 – The Condors need a 16th-inning home run by TIJ LF Tim Duncan (.258, 12 HR, 42 RBI) to beat the Knights, 2-1.
September 6 – CIN 1B Jason Sturgeon (.293, 5 HR, 44 RBI) drives in seven runs in a 15-6 win against the Miners despite “only” two doubles and a single, but both doubles came with the bases loaded.
FL Player of the Week: LAP OF/1B Jesus Espinoza (.310, 11 HR, 64 RBI), batting .483 (14-29) with 1 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: POR 1B Joel Starr (.316, 2 HR, 15 RBI), poking .464 (13-28) with 2 HR, 6 RBI
Complaints and stuff
Swept the damn Elks! Ha-HAH!! This also flipped the all-time tally of deathmatch cage battles against them in our favor, 738-735, so unless we get swept to end the season, we will wear the Northwest Crown for the entire winter, finally!
Marcos Chavez whacked four homers this week, and that was pretty much all he put together. He had only two singles and two walks apart from that. So he reached base without standing around afterwards just as often as he jogged all the way ‘round. I also thought Lonzo had a greater week than he had, batting .333 with 3 triples, but not ultimate greatness. Worse, he stole only one base (hard to steal from third), and Xavier Reyes tied him for tops on the stolen base board with 51 thieveries.
You know, who I didn’t think of as winning Player of the Week until he won it? Joel Starr. Praise be to the baseball gods for not forgetting about the rookie there.
Steve Royer, out for the rest of the season, batted .251 with 11 HR and 106 RBI in three seasons as a fourth outfielder / occasional first baseman for the Raccoons. Not terrible, but not necessarily worth the price of over $3M a year.
We host the Crusaders for four more games to begin next week, then travel to Atlanta for three isolated games.
Fun Fact: The Raccoons have gone a month without facing a left-handed starter.
August 9, A.C. Stebbins. – „Who?” – Exactly.