[jksander]

APRIL 5, 1963 . . . We’ve signed an additional reliever, Edward Aguirre, a 30-year-old who has agreed to play for us for the current season, earning just under $500 for the season. He has an above average fastball coupled with a solid curve, and should have the overall stuff and movement to do well in the league, particularly since he can throw in the mid 90s. We’re sending one of our backup fielders, Ramon Adame, down to the reserve roster, to make room for Aguirre, who will become our sixth active pitcher just in time for our upcoming series against the Nuevitas Naturals here at Hunters Field.

Jose Guzman (0-1, 8.59 ERA, 7.1 IP, 2 K’s, 2.05 WHIP) started tonight against the Naturals’ Ivan Garcia (0-1, 7.04 ERA, 7.2 IP, 2 K’s, 2.22 WHIP) in our first of three games against them. The Naturals scored first, thanks to an RBI single by their shortstop Jose Roman in the top of the second, but we tied it up in the bottom of the inning, when Jose Colon tripled and was driven in by an RBI single by Jose Alcaraz to make it 1-1. Guzman got us into the lead with an RBI double, sending us into the top of the third leading 2-1. The game remained tightly contested from there, with both pitchers performing very well. The Naturals scored a run in the top of the sixth off a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-2, They added a run in the top of the eighth with an RBI single to take a 3-2 lead, but Jose Colon hit an RBI double to tie it again in the bottom of the inning. We went into the top of the ninth still tied up, but they retook the lead 4-3 on an RBI double by second baseman Mario Rojas, and leadoff man Danny Quintana hit an RBI double to make it 5-3. Guzman finally got us out of the inning, but we went into the bottom of the ninth trailing by three runs and needing a miracle to keep this one going. With one out, Juan Flores hit a double into deep left, and Victor Diaz got a hit up the gap to give us runners on the corners. Flores scored a run off a wild pitch with two outs to make it a two-run game, but Jose Colon batted himself out to left and we lost this one 6-4.

Guzman fell to 0-2 on the season, but lasted the entire game, allowing 12 hits and six earned runs with two walks and two strikeouts. But most of his damage came in the top of the ninth ... the meltdown happened so fast we couldn’t get a bullpen guy ready. Regardless, his ERA improved to 6.61 through 16.1 innings of work, and even at 34 he still has the drive to succeed in this league. Nuevitas outhit us 12-10 as a team, our offense led by Diaz, who hit three times and scored a run, and by Jose Colon who had a pair of hits for a run and two RBIs. He is currently hitting .429 with three doubles.

APRIL 6, 1963 . . . Ludovic Peltier (0-1, 6.43 ERA, 7.0 IP, 3 K’s, 2.29 WHIP) started game two against the Naturals, facing Juan Cerda (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 10.0 IP, 1 K, 1.20 WHIP). Peltier quickly loaded the bases in the top of the first, and though a run scored, we got the hitter out on a double play, and got out of the frame trailing just by the one run. We got the run back in the bottom of the third, Juan Flores hiting an RBI single to drive right fielder Alejandro Botello in to score, getting the first run of his career with a stolen base along the way! Botello picked up a hit in the bottom of the fourth, driving in a pair of runs with a double to put us in the lead, and Flores batted in another with a single. With the bases loaded, Antonio Fernandez hit a double that drove in three more runs, and the rout was on! Alcaraz batted in another run with a single, a run scored on a wild pitch, and by the time Peltier struck out swinging we’d built a massive 9-1 lead out of thin air! We added another run in the bottom of the fifth off a Diaz double, and Fernandez batted in our 11th of the night with a single to make it a 10-run lead after five. In the top of the ninth, the Naturals got back to back RBI doubles to pull within eight runs, and with two outs second baseman Ricardo Chavez hit a run scoring double to cut it to seven. But Peltier held tough and was able to get out of it without any further damage as we beat Nuevitas 11-4, improving to 2-3 on the season.

Ludovic Peltier improved to 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA, allowing 11 hits and four earned runs while walking three and striking out four in a complete game victory. We outhit the Naturals 15-11, led by Jose Alcaraz with four hits, a run and an RBI. Alejandro Botello, leading off in his first game of the season, had a hit and a walk, scoring three runs and batting in two more, picking up two stolen bases as well.

APRIL 7, 1963 . . . Juan Ortiz (0-0, 12.27 ERA, 7.1 IP, 2 K’s, 2.45 WHIP) pitched today against the Naturals’ Kevin Chauvet (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 13.1 IP, 9 K’s, 1.43 WHIP), They got on the board quickly with an RBI double in the top of the first, and another double by shortstop Jose Roman made it quickly a 2-0 lead for the Naturals. An RBI single put them up 3-0 before Ortiz finally got the final out via strikes. Ortiz got us on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, but his control from the mound left a great deal to be desired as he gave the run right back to them in the top of the third. Juan Flores hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, his first of the season, cutting the lead back to two runs, but Ortiz walked in a run with the bases loaded to again negate our offense. By the time we got up to bat again we trailed 7-2, and could seriously use a solid rally heading into the bottom of the fourth.

We brought in Edward Aguirre to pitch with a man on first and no outs in the top of the sixth, and he got us through the inning nicely. Bottom of the sixth, Alcaraz hit a double to drive in a run, and Aguirre got us into the stretch still trailing 7-3. Pinch-runner Alejandro Botello scored a run in the bottom of the seventh when Antonio Fernandez hit into a fielder’s choice, and Aguirre stayed out to pitch in the top of the eighth, continuing to shine as he shut their batters down three in a row to keep us within striking distance. Aguirre loaded the bases in the top of the ninth but got out of the jam perfectly, sending us into the bottom of the inning needing three runs to prolong the game and four to win it. Edgar Hernandez got us on base with a double to start the inning, and John Flores was hit by a pitch to take his base. Victor Diaz walked the bases loaded, and suddenly this was looking wide open! But we left them loaded, popping out three times in a row as we lost this one 7-4. What a heartbreaker!

Juan Ortiz struggled tonight, falling to 0-1 with a 10.22 ERA thanks to 12 hits for seven runs (four earned), striking out four and walking four through just five innings. Edward Aguirre was amazing to watch, however, giving us four full innings of relief work, allowing just two hits with three walks and four strikeouts, keeping his ERA perfect. If only he had better endurance, we’d be able to consider him for a starting role! Nuevitas outhit us 14-9 but we willed ourselves to stay in the game, led by Flores with three hits, a run and an RBI, while Jonathan Gonzalez led off with two hits, keeping his average at .417. And Ortiz may have struggled from the mound, but he did pick up a hit and batted in his third run of the season, giving him a .667 average through his first two starts.

We’re now 2-4 heading into the three game home series against the Pinar del Rio Roosters, who hold a 1-5 record, the worst in the CL West, a game behind us. We really could use a good stretch of hitting, because we’re currently two games behind the Santa Clara Saints and the Cienfuegos Cubanos, who both started the season with 4-2 records. After this series we’ll have four road series in a row, against the Guantanamo Gators (2-4), the Manzanillo Cattlemen (2-4), and then the Saints and the Cubanos, a brutal stretch indeed.