[Westheim]

Raccoons (56-48) @ Condors (55-49) – August 4-6, 2064

The season series was even at three and waiting to be decided between these two teams. The Condors were just behind the leaders in the South and needed the wins just like the Raccoons. Tijuana sat sixth in runs scored and second in runs allowed, but the rotation was doing all the heavy lifting there; their bullpen ERA was actually the worst in the CL at 4.25. Willie Acosta was a key player on the DL for them.

Projected matchups:
Chance Fox (8-6, 4.18 ERA) vs. Ryan Singletary (3-1, 2.70 ERA)
Angel Alba (6-9, 4.69 ERA) vs. Marco Clemente (7-10, 3.92 ERA)
Jarod Morris (6-4, 3.34 ERA) vs. Brett Bebout (11-5, 2.87 ERA)

The Condors would cart up only right-handers here. The Raccoons in turn had not only this series to worry about, but also the following 5-game set against the damn Elks, which would start with a double header on Thursday.

The week also started with a day off for Victor Morales.

Game 1
POR: SS Aoki – LF Kozak – 1B Starr – 2B Monck – CF Maldonado – 3B Novelo – RF Tallent – C Lawson – P Fox
TIJ: 1B L. Jimenez – 3B Frasher – C Brann – LF Kaniewski – RF Ewig – SS C. Ramsey – CF Alf. Mendez – 2B Cross – P Singletary

Chance Fox came off a good outing, but ran right into a 3-run smacking in the second inning as John Kaniewski opened the inning with a single and Fox then issued a walk to Matt Ewig. Casey Ramsey right away doubled home the runners and then scored on a groundout later in the inning to give the Condors a sizable lead. Portland would answer with two runs on straight singles of the 4-5-6-7 batters in the fourth inning, but the Condors then walked Lawson intentionally and Fox whiffed and Aoki flew out to center to leave a full set of runners on base. Ramsey hit a single off Fox in the bottom 4th, but was picked off first base by him to end the inning. So things looked like they could still swing either way, but after two calm innings Fox blundered again in the seventh, allowed another hit to Ramsey, and then was taken deep to left by Alf Mendez to decide the game. That was before Ryan Harmer (…) was demolished for three tack-on runs in the eighth and required rescue by Mike Hall. 8-2 Condors. Monck 2-4; Tallent 2-4, 2 RBI;

Alex Cruzado pitched two outs as the first Critter out of the pen in the seventh inning, which was his first action in the brown shirt. He was murmured to make the spot start on Thursday.

Game 2
POR: 3B Morales – LF Kozak – 1B Starr – 2B Monck – C Arellano – CF Maldonado – SS Novelo – RF Oley – P Alba
TIJ: RF Ewig – 2B Churricho – C Brann – 1B Metz – SS C. Ramsey – LF Kaniewski – 3B Frasher – CF Alf. Mendez – P M. Clemente

Monck hit a leadoff single and Arellano walked before Maldonado’s 4-6-3 put a dent into the second inning on Tuesday. Pablo Novelo salvaged what was still left with a 2-out, 2-run homer to left and the first runs in the ballgame. Monck however left Morales and Kozak in scoring position in the third inning with the second of two consecutive groundouts between him and Joel Starr. The offensive indiscretions continued with leadoff hits by Arellano and Maldonado in the fourth, but then a double play hit into by Novelo. Todd Oley was walked intentionally before Alba chipped a 2-out single through the left side to get Arellano home for an extra run. Morales’ grounder to short was then butchered by Ramsey, loading the bases with the error, and Kozak didn’t wait around and knocked out Clemente with a firmly hit 2-run single to left-center. Replacement Vince Ellison struck out Starr to keep two Coons on base, but Starr hit an RBI double to score Morales his next time up in the sixth inning before being driven in himself by Rich Monck, which gave the Raccoons a 7-0 lead.

And Alba? Pretty good for five innings, and then he bungled things pretty good in the sixth with walks to reliever Amari Walker, Matt Ewig, and Andy Metz; in between Querubim Churricho had singled home the reliever, 7-1, but on the other paw the three outs Alba got were all strikeouts, including Ramsey, who had gone unretired on Monday, with the bases loaded to end the inning. The inning still did unspeakable damage to a so far respectable pitch count, and it got no better in the bottom 7th, when he allowed a walk to John Kaniewski, a single to Eric Frasher, and then walked Leonardo Jimenez to fill the bags with one out before being replaced with McDaniel, who true to form walked in a run against Ewig. Churricho plated another run grounding out to Monck, and when Jesse Dover replaced McDaniel, he gave up a 3-run homer to Mike Brann… ******* dimwits.

Vic Morales answered with a jack off Nick Robinson in the eighth to extend the decimated lead again to 8-6, then made an error behind Dover in the bottom of the inning which more capable infielders then thankfully managed to iron out with a 4-6-3 double play behind the foundering rookie right-hander, who at least managed to hand the game off to McGinley for a save and a re-leveled season series. 8-6 Raccoons. Morales 3-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Monck 3-5, RBI; Arellano 2-4, BB, 2B; Maldonado 2-5; Novelo 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI;

Roster moves were made for the series finale. While Bruce Burkart would start a rehab assignment in AAA, Jose Corral would be activated from such an assignment. Marco Campos (.160, 0 HR, 6 RBI) had to vacate his roster spot. Kozak got a day off ahead of the double header.

Game 3
POR: RF Corral – 3B Morales – 1B Starr – 2B Monck – C Arellano – CF Maldonado – SS Novelo – LF Oley – P Morris
TIJ: RF Ewig – 2B Churricho – C Brann – 1B Metz – SS C. Ramsey – 3B Frasher – LF S. Moore – CF Alf. Mendez – P Bebout

The Coons began like a fire engine with a Corral triple, Morales’ RBI double, and then hit the emergency brake as Starr grounded out and Monck flew out to center, Alf Mendez hammering out Morales at home to prevent the sac fly and end the inning after just one run was scored. We found another oddball double play just two innings later when Oley was on first and Morris couldn’t get the bloody bunt down. At 0-2, Oley started, but was thrown out by Brann after Morris looked at strike three. Until then, Morris had at least pitched well, but Ewig tied the game with a solo homer in the bottom 3rd, and Morris put Ramsey and Frasher on the corners with one out in the fourth before plating one run with a wild pitch and the other on Alf Mendez’ double.

Monck doubled home Starr in the sixth to shorten the gap to 3-2, and the Raccoons threatened again in the seventh inning. Elmer Maldonado knocked out Bebout with a single, and Oley reached base against Matt Nelson, hitting another single. Maldonado’s bid for third base drew a meek throw from Ewig and allowed Oley to also reach scoring position with one out. Morris grounded to third base for an easy out, which didn’t help us with anything, but Jose Corral came through with a sharp 2-out, 2-run, score-flipping single to left-center…!

Morris held out for another inning, but Carrillo then saw it necessary to blow the lead by putting a ball on a stick for Frasher, who promptly hit a moonshot in the eighth to even the score at four. Only Jack Kozak reached with a pinch-hit single against Jose Lugo in the ninth inning, and was then caught stealing. Hall held out in the bottom 9th to get the game to extras, which was just dandy ahead of a double-header, and there Lugo brittled and allowed the Coons’ 1-2-3 batters on base without seeing somebody being retired. That brought up Monck in the hardest of all spots (three on, nobody out), and when he swung at a 3-0 pitch I screamed in terror, but he singled up the middle and drove in a run to break the tie. Arellano whiffed, another run scored on a wild pitch, but that was all the hitting prowess the Raccoons ended up mustering. Hall remained in the game for the bottom 10th, and ended the game… after a pair of 2-out singles by Casey Burgio and Moore before Alf Mendez grounded out. 6-4 Critters. Corral 3-4, BB, 3B, 2 RBI; Morales 3-5, 2B, RBI; Starr 3-5; Monck 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Kozak (PH) 1-1; Morris 7.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; Hall 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (1-0);

Raccoons (58-49) @ Canadiens (48-58) – August 7-10, 2064

Ugh, five games in Elk City! Honeypaws – do something! Honeypaws kept looking fluffy, and the Raccoons were far north of the border while I was back in Portland as persona non grata on moose soil. The Elks were bottoms in the North, were in the bottom four in runs scored and runs allowed, but held a 4-2 edge in the season series that direly needed overturning. Their only injuries were short-term ailments to Steven Spalding and Pat Fowler, the latter of whom was day-to-day with an abdominal complaint after having been acquired in a waiver deal from L.A. just on Monday.

Projected matchups:
Josh Elling (13-4, 3.60 ERA) vs. Ken Nielsen (6-9, 4.60 ERA)
Alex Cruzado (5-0, 3.20 ERA) vs. Carlos Torres (5-11, 6.15 ERA)
Tyler Riddle (11-8, 2.85 ERA) vs. Johnny Doolin (12-7, 4.00 ERA)
Chance Fox (8-7, 4.33 ERA) vs. Shane Fitzgibbon (9-6, 3.58 ERA)
Angel Alba (7-9, 4.74 ERA) vs. Carson Miller (7-11, 4.02 ERA)

The only left-hander in the set was Fitzgibbon, barring any switcheroos.

The Coons had a pair of innings gobblers in reserve in Elk City, should anything stupid happen in the first game especially of the double header. Sensabaugh and Vic Herrera had made the trip north from Florida. Bruce Burkart was not up for discussion at this point and probably would only rejoin the team in the new week.

Game 1
POR: RF Corral – 3B Morales – LF Kozak – 2B Monck – 1B Starr – CF E. Maldonado – SS Aoki – C Lawson – P Elling
VAN: 3B C. Castro – 2B A. Castillo – CF Atkins – LF Whetstine – RF B. Campbell – 1B P. Fowler – SS Sowell – C A. Maldonado – P Nielsen

Morales hit a double in the first and was thrown out trying to make it a triple, then threw away Rick Atkins’ grounder for a 2-base error in the bottom of the same inning. Chad Whetstine pounced with an RBI single for an unearned first run of the game…

It only got better from there, with the Pacific Northwest weather interfering for an hourlong rain delay in the third inning – cue back to my remark about “anything stupid” – and Kozak hitting a single and stealing second base in the fourth inning only to be thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a Monck single. The Raccoons would scatter more runners here and there and managed to waste eight base hits for no runs in six innings, while the damn Elks still held their unearned 1-0 lead on three hits. Alex Castillo and Brent Campbell then hit singles off Elling in the bottom 6th before abdominally-challenged Pat Fowler socked a 3-run homer to right. The Elks slapped another run out of Elling in the seventh before Dover had to dig him out. Dover got the final five outs needed from the Elks in this game while the Raccoons only made it onto the board in the final inning when Joel Starr hit a solo shot off ex-Coon Ryan Sullivan that offered little consolation. 5-1 Canadiens. Corral 2-4, 2B; Kozak 2-4; Starr 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI;

No roster moves were made between games in the end, indicating that also no players suffered a grisly death at the paws of a fuming GM. Said fuming GM of course sat 300 miles away and had to try and contain himself while petting Honeypaws.

Game 2
POR: RF Corral – CF Kozak – 1B Starr – 2B Monck – C Arellano – LF Oley – 3B Novelo – SS Gardner – P Cruzado
VAN: 3B C. Castro – 2B A. Castillo – CF Atkins – LF Whetstine – RF B. Campbell – 1B P. Fowler – SS Sowell – C Varner – P C. Torres

Cruzado had not made a start all year, but looked like a million bucks the first time through, getting four strikeouts for one base hit from the damn Elks. Not a lead, of course, because that would require the rest of the team to do something. The Elks also still had hooves to kick with and in the fourth got Rick Atkins and Chad Whetstine on base to begin the inning. Now Cruzado couldn’t cope, and a run scored on Campbell’s groundout. Fowler drew a 1-out walk, but Ken Sowell and Steve Varner made weak outs to end the inning at least.

But the Coons had only two hits in five innings, and couldn’t score when Corral tripled in the sixth inning, either. Kozak whiffed and Starr popped out to pass on the opportunity, and instead the damn Elks put the game away in the bottom of the sixth, shredding Cruzado for three runs before he was yanked. Atkins led off with a jack, 2-0, before Whetstine flew out. A walk to Campbell, Fowler and Sowell singles, and a Varner double plated three runs. Torres struck out before McDaniel got a fly out from Carlos Castro to end the bloody inning.

The game looked over, with no flick of the tail, let alone a bat, from the Coons in the seventh and eighth innings. Torres completed seven shutout innings despite entering with a 6+ ERA, while the Raccoons were up against Sullivan again in the ninth inning. Kozak drew a four-pitch walk leading off but was immediately doubled off by Starr, 6-4-3. Monck then singled and so did Morales batting for Arellano, which prompted another pitching change to another former Critter, Elijah LaBat. He walked another pinch-hitter, Randy Tallent, loading the bases and bringing up the tying run in Novelo… who struck out. 4-0 Canadiens. Monck 2-4; Morales (PH) 1-1;

Awful! Just awful!

Game 3
POR: RF Corral – 3B Morales – LF Kozak – 2B Monck – 1B Starr – CF Tallent – SS Aoki – C Lawson – P Riddle
VAN: 3B C. Castro – 2B A. Castillo – CF Atkins – RF B. Campbell – SS Sowell – C Varner – LF Lozada – 1B P. Fowler – P Doolin

On Friday, Johnny Doolin got a 1-0 lead on an Atkins homer in the first inning, and 14 outs from 14 Critters before Randy Tallent hit a single with two outs in the fifth to show that we were technically still playing and nominally at least trying. Nothing came of that single, but the Raccoons out of the blue flipped the score in the sixth when Riddle singled and Corral struck a homer to right. The Elks meanwhile had not seen a base hit for themselves since the Atkins homer, mostly making easy outs against Riddle. Alex Castillo then broke the drought with a 2-out single in the sixth, but was left on when Atkins grounded out. However, Brent Campbell raked a game-tying homer to left to begin the seventh, and that was that. (unscrews bottle of Capt’n Coma)

The Coons had nothing in the eighth, while Hall struck out a pair before plonking down Castro and Castillo on the corners. Carrillo came in to counter Atkins, and Morales snagged a liner to end the inning, then led off the ninth with a screaming single against LaBat. Kozak doubled to right, presenting Monck with a prime scoring opportunity. He popped out to short on the first pitch, and I buried my face in my paws and howled. However, Starr singled home Morales to break the tie, and Tallent added Kozak’s run with a sac fly. Aoki reached with an infield single against Duarte Damasceno (I was starting to see why they were in last place), but Lawson grounded out to end the inning. The extra run proved crucial because Campbell hit a leadoff triple off McGinley in the bottom 9th and was brought in by Sowell, but the Elks fizzled out with two strikeouts after that. 4-3 Raccoons. Morales 2-4; Riddle 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K and 1-2;

Finally, a W against the ******* Elks!!

Game 4
POR: 3B Morales – SS Novelo – LF Kozak – 2B Monck – C Arellano – 1B Starr – RF Tallent – CF E. Maldonado – P Fox
VAN: 3B C. Castro – 2B A. Castillo – CF Atkins – LF Whetstine – SS Sowell – C Varner – RF Lozada – 1B K. Graves – P Fitzgibbon

Fox got a 2-0 lead before he took the ball, as Morales singled, Kozak slapped an RBI double to center, and then scored on a Monck RBI single in the top 1st. The Raccoons’ tosser of the day managed to blow the lead on two walks and a game-tying triple on just nine pitches, and Atkins also didn’t remain on base, but scored on a Sowell single to give the Elks the 3-2 lead. – Maud, I will need a basket of muffins. Now. Either that or a good piece of rope.

The Coons pulled even in the top 2nd with Tallent’s leadoff triple and a Maldonado single. With two outs in the inning, Novelo singled home Maldonado to even take a new 4-3 lead, but that also didn’t last long. Whetstine socked a score-flipping homer in the bottom 3rd, with Rick Atkins having reached on a third strike not caught by Arellano… Fox would not get out of the fourth inning, putting another two runners on base that were then cluelessly waved around by Carrillo allowing two more singles to let the damn Elks get up 7-4.

The Coons wasted two singles in the fifth before Jose Corral entered in a double switch with McDaniel in the bottom 5th, then powered a solo homer off Fitzgibbon in the sixth to narrow the gap to two runs again. The seventh was treacherously calm before Joel Starr bombed “DD” Damasceno leading off the eighth, 7-6. Joe Gardner – in for Monck after more double switching, which might yet come back to bite us in the fuzzy tush – grounded out, but the Coons then got runners in odd ways as DD nailed Maldonado, who stole second, and then Corral reached on catcher’s interference whilst missing an 0-2 pitch. WHATEVER WORKS. The damn Elks went to Raffy de la Cruz – was ALL their bullpen Raccoons flameouts?? – against whom Morales grounded out, moving the runners into scoring position. Aoki batted for Novelo, but struck out, and the inning ended….

The Elks pulled out an insurance run against Ryan Harmer, who went two innings in garbage relief for Fox, so the Coons were back at two down in the ninth inning against Sullivan, and with no Rich Monck coming up to bat anymore. Sullivan walked Kozak to begin the inning, but the best we could do to bat for Harmer was Todd Oley, who singled past Sowell to put his tush on base with the tying run. Arellano’s grounder to third advanced the pair, and Joel Starr ran a full count before shoving a ball through between Fowler and Castillo for a single. One run in, two runs in, tied ballgame! Gardner made a useless out before Starr stole second base and Steve Slye nailed Maldonado. Corral flew out to Lozada, though. Instead Ken Sowell took Mike Hall deep in the bottom 9th to decide the game. 9-8 Canadiens. Oley (PH) 1-1; Starr 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Tallent 2-3, 3B; Corral 1-2, HR, RBI;

Rats.

Game 5
POR: RF Corral – 3B Morales – LF Kozak – 2B Monck – 1B Starr – C Arellano – SS Aoki – CF E. Maldonado – P Alba
VAN: 3B C. Castro – 2B A. Castillo – CF Atkins – LF Whetstine – 1B P. Fowler – SS Sowell – RF C. Richardson – C A. Maldonado – P C. Miller

Corral singled and Kozak and Monck walked before Starr killed the effort with a double play grounder to Castro, and the Raccoons didn’t score in the first inning on Sunday, but they scratched one out in the second on Arellano and Aoki singled and an Alba sac fly. Morales’ leadoff double and a Monck single made it 2-0 with one out in the third, while Alba doled out two hits and two walks in the first three innings, but didn’t allow any runs to score so far. Alba was next up at the dish after Elmer Maldonado got on base with a soft single to begin the fourth inning. His bunt was thrown away by Alex Maldonado, and the Coons had a pair in scoring position with nobody out. Only one of the unearned runs came in on Corral’s groundout before Morales lined out to a diving Sowell and Kozak grounded out. The bags were full in the fifth after Carson Miller issued walks to Starr and Arellano, then conceded a single to Yukio Aoki. However, Maldonado lined out to Fowler, and Alba flew out easily. Through five innings, the Critters left TEN runners on base…

They added two more seamlessly in the sixth, but at least Alba had the Elks under control through the middle innings. They were on three hits and three walks now, but his pitch count was nearing a hundred rather rapidly thanks to seven strikeouts. He kept going into the seventh, but Alex Maldonado and Castro hit singles and he was gone with two outs as Thomas Whittington pinch-hit for Castillo and the Coons actually preferred McDaniel to face somebody. He walked Whittington on four pitches (…), but Atkins then popped out on the very next pitch to strand a full set. At this point, both teams combined for 20 stranded base runners in a 3-0 game.

The Elks added two more to the tally in the eighth as Fowler and Sowell hit 1-out knocks off McDaniel, but Chris Richardson’s pop and a K to Alex Maldonado kept the runners on base this time. Starr singled in the ninth and was left on of course, while McGinley offered a leadoff walk to Kenny Graves in the bottom 9th, struck out two, was taken deep by Atkins, and then rung up Campbell to finally end the series. 3-2 Critters. Morales 2-5, 2B; Arellano 2-4, BB; Aoki 2-4; Alba 6.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K, W (8-9);

In other news

August 4 – In a waiver deal, the Canadiens send 3B/SS Stephen Medlock (.164, 0 HR, 4 RBI) to the Pacifics for 1B Pat Fowler (.309, 1 HR, 10 RBI). L.A. also receives a prospect.
August 5 – 22-year-old PIT 3B/SS Brian Robinson (.285, 4 HR, 45 RBI) has a 5-hit day with a homer, four singles, and two RBI in a 6-2 win in the second leg of a double header against Los Angeles. Pittsburgh wins both games, and Robinson goes a grand total of 7-for-8.
August 7 – Dallas super-Star CF Tyler Wharton (.362, 22 HR, 96 RBI) will miss a month at the minimum with a torn meniscus after stepping into a hole in the Warriors’ outfield on a defensive play. To add insult to injury, the Stars lose the game, 6-1.
August 8 – The Crusaders beat the Loggers, 6-5 in 16 innings, which is nothing compared to the Aces’ 14-11 win against the Condors in 18 innings. In both games, both teams score a run two innings prior to the actual conclusion of the game. LVA INF Mike Roberts (.244, 2 HR, 34 RBI) draws six walks while going 1-4 with a double.
August 9 – The Pacifics beat the Wolves, 12-5, on account of an 11-run third inning.
August 10 – Cincy catcher Josh Heath (.267, 5 HR, 37 RBI) puts out five hits, including three doubles, and two RBI in a 7-6 win over the Buffaloes.

FL Player of the Week: PIT 3B/SS Brian Robinson (.286, 4 HR, 48 RBI), pushing .464 (13-28) with 1 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: POR INF/RF Victor Morales (.295, 5 HR, 44 RBI), clipping .433 (13-30) with 1 HR, 2 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Only one homer and two RBI for Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico’s finest, Vic Morales, but he also had four doubles to prop up the slugging. No walks drawn, but just two strikeouts. Let’s just say kid hat a solid week and we can use more of that. Speaking of kids, as of Sunday night him and Robinson combined to be just 45 years and 317 days old.

Doesn’t mean I won’t at some point beat Morales dead with his own glove if he keeps making stupid errors galore, but right now that’s his first Player of the Week award at 23 years and two months.

4-4 week and half a game gained on the Titans – the week could have gone worse in a sea of hopeless relief and terrible clutch hitting for the entire 8-game slate we had to slog through this week.

The road trip will continue right away with three games in Indy, then a day off and three more games in Sacramento. After that we’ll be home for a week with a weekend set against the Titans.

Fun Fact: With 50 games to play, we have six each left with the three other winning teams in the North.

All the season series are standing at 7-5. The Coons are ups on Boston and Milwaukee, but trailing the Arrowheads by that score.