Week ending May 18
Gulf Breeze vs Mad Town
Rebels and Zephyrs get together for 5. And the winds were blowing.
Game 1
The Zephyrs get things started with 4 back to back doubles in the first for a 4-0 advantage. The Zephyrs would finish with 7 doubles. Heyward doubles in 2 in the 3rd and Jeffers (3) ties it up after 3. 4-4. In the bottom of the 3rd, Marte and Machado SF in 2 for 6-5 Z's lead. The Rebels tie it up in the 5th and go ahead 7-6 in the 7th behind Anderson rbi single. In the bottom of the 8th, Bellinger (4) and Bogaerts (5) scored 5 for the home team. Bllinger was 4 of 5, 2 runs scored, 4 rbi and HR. For the Rebels, Heyward was 4 of 5 , 2 runs scored and 2 rbi
11-7 MTZ
Game 2
The Zephyrs score 4 in the first aided by 3 doubles. They would finish with 5. 12 doubles in 2 games. Schneider drove in 2 more with his 2nd double in the 5th for a 6-0 advantage. Gallen in arguably his best outing was cruising with a 4 hit shutout until the 7th when Tapia and Marsh scored 2 on doubles of their own.
6-2 MTZ
Game 3
Jeffers(4) put the first runs up with a solo shot in the 2nd. Machado and Benintendi doubled in 2 to take the lead in the 3rd. Casas(5), Bellinger (5), Franco (6) and Machado (3) helped Mad Town runaway.
6-1 MTZ
Game 4
Garrett and Heaney put on a pitching show for 6 innings. 7Ks for Garrett and 12Ks for Heaney through 6. Kirk doubled in Benintendi for a 1-0 Mad Town lead. Mountcastle (5) tied it up 1-1. Schneider (2) solo shot was the difference
2-1 MTZ
Game 5
Mountcastle (6) got things started with a 2 run shot in the 2nd. Heyward 2 (4) solo shot extended the lead 3-0 in the 3rd. In the bottom of the 3rd, Taveras doubled and Machado singled him home. With 2 outs, Franco (7) 3 run dinger put Mad Town up 4-3. In the 5th Heyward's 2nd HR put Gulf Breeze up 5-4. In the bottom of the 5th, Garcia loads the bases and walks in the winner
6-5 MTZ
The Zephyrs bats came alive and took all five.
Mad Town goes on the road to Westchester
Gulf Breeze heads home to entertain Northwest
Jonesboro vs Northwest
The Northwest Indians were on the warpath as they visited Jonesboro, taking the series by winning the last 3 games.
Game 1-Jonesboro wins 3-0.Gausman(3-2) pitches a complete game. May(1-2) absorbs the loss.
Game 2-Jonesboro wins 6-5. The Indians score 3 in the 9th to tie the game at 5. Crackers plate 1 in the bottom of the 9th. Romano(3-1) is the winner, Holton(0-1) takes the loss. Hayes(1) homers for the Indians
Game 3-Indians win 8-5. Kelly(3-3) is the loser, Covey(1-1) takes the win. Lindor2(10), Hayes(4), Heim(4) homer for the Indians, Langeliers(4) for the Crackers
Game 4-Indians win 7-6. Borucki(3-10 picks up the win. Romano(3-2) the loss. Lindor(11) and Torres(4) homer for the visitors.
Game 5-Indians win 7-6, in 11 innings.Minter(1-0) is the winner, VerHagen(1-2) takes the loss. Torres(5) homers for the Indians, Pederson(5) and Ozuna(11) for the Crackers.
Next up North West heads to Gul Breeze, and Jonesboro visits Freeport
Arizona vs Freeport
The Arizona Dust Devils host the Bandits from Freeport in Week 8 action.
Gm #1
Eovaldi vs. Nola. The Bandits must have infused lead into their pitches as Raley gets plunked in the 2nd and is out for 7 days! Gomes (1) made them pay with a 2-out blast and Gimenez followed with one of his own. After a Hoerner single in the 3rd, Gunner booted a DP ball putting runners on first and second. Harris (4) tied things up with a long ball. Arizona went up one in the 6th on a Gunner RBI triple. Suzuki tied things up in the 7th with a 2-out single scoring Vierling after his leadoff double. Between the hits, Merrifield was plunked and injured for 3 days. (We found our own lead mine!) The game went extras and at one point the Freeport pen struck out 7 of 8 hitters to get there. Mookie (13) led off the 11th with the long ball the doctor ordered as the DDs took the opener 5-4.
W Duran (2-0)
L Alzolay (0-2)
Gm #2
Elder vs. Bibee. Ramirez (3) and Olson (10) go BTB to give the Dust Devils an early 2-0 lead. Sanchez was nailed in the ribs and will be on the mend for 12 days! (That makes them 2 for 2 in knockouts) The Bandits cut the lead in half on another error by Gunner (12). Bailey (2) ties things up in the 5th. Betts walked to lead off the 6th. After a GO and a PO, 2 walks loaded the bases. Gimenez singled in 2 and Carroll (5) found the swimming pool to make the final score 7-2.
W Hentges (1-1)
L Elder (3-4)
S Jimenez (1)
Gm #3
Assad vs. Sandoval. Sandoval was the beneficiary of 2 homers from Larnach (5), one a grand salami, and the 7 RBI they generated as well as an RBI double by Ramirez allowed Sandoval to remain undefeated as Arizona won 8-4.
W Sandoval (6-0)
L Assad (2-2)
Gm #4
Manning vs. T. Walker. Schanuel’s RBI single in the 2nd and a Hoerner (3) solo in the 3rd gave the Bandits a quick 2-0 lead. Gunner (4) 3-run shot put the Dust Devils ahead after Ramirez singled in Gimenez in the bottom half for a 4-2 advantage. Another Gunner error was significant in allowing Freeport to tie things up in the 4th. The Bandits went up one in the 7th on an RBI double by Harris. Gimenez threw him out trying to advance on a grounder but Jones, in for the injured Vierling (5 days), stole second to reset the same scenario. Schanuel grounded out to end the threat. Gomes doubled in pinch runner Walls to tie the score in the 9th. Suzuki nailed Gimenez at the plate representing the winning run with 2 outs to extend the game into extras. Gunner (5) led off the 11th with his second home run of the game to give the Dust Devils the comeback 6-5 victory.
W Duran (3-0)
L Francis (0-1)
Gm #5
Bello vs. Nola. Carroll (7) led off both the 1st and 2nd innings with big flies to propel the DDs to a 14-5 blowout win and sweep of the visiting Bandits. Olson (11) and Larnach (6) went deep for Arizona and Siri (5) for Freeport.
W Nola (2-3)
L Bello (4-2)
Next up, Arizona hits the road again and travels to Louisville and Freeport hosts Jonesboro.
Stamford vs Mokena
Game 1
Jays 4-6-0
Roozys 0-3-1
WP C McClanahan 41 LP M Strahm 1-2
Starter McClanahan goes 7 innings of shut out ball fanning 11 yielding 2 hits and surviving 6 walks for the win. Back up OF Young drives in two for the Jays.
Game 2
Jays 4-9-1
Roozys 1-5-2
WP C Bassitt 6-0 LP K Bradish 4-2
Starter Bassitt goes 7 innings fanning 4 and giving up 5 hits for the win. Nimmo and Murphy homer for the Jays. Helsley gets his 3rd save.
Game 3
Jays 4-6-1
Roozys 0-7-0
WP J Montgomery 4-2 LP E Rodriguez 1-4
Another stellar pitching performance; this time by Montgomery. He goes 8 innings of 6 hit ball and fans 5 and no walks. De La Cruz drives in 2 for the Jays. They score 3 in the 8th to take control of the game.
Game 4
Roozys 7-8-0
Jays 1-4-0
WP T Kahle 1-0 LP F Bautista 1-3
Mokena breaks open 1-1 close game by scoring 3 runs in the 8th and add 3 more in the 9th. Jays’ reliever Jansen is very wild in the 9th as he walks 4 and hits a batter. Mokena steals 5 bases while the Jays steal 4. Both teams leave 8 batters on base and Jays lose catcher Murphy again to injury for 22 days. Walker belts two run homer for Mokena.
Game 5
Jays 13-17-2
Mokena 4-8-0
WP B Miller 2-3 LP K Hendricks 1-4
Jays bats come alive as they pound Mokena pitching for 17 hits. Nimmo has 4 hits and 3 RBIs while Reynolds has 3 RBIs including a homer. Miller goes 7 innings for the win. Jays lose Kirilofff to injury and McNeil to injury. Mokena has two relievers thrown out of game for hitting Jays batters. .
Next Mokena travels to Durham and Stamford hosts Tampa.
Tulsa vs Westchester
Tulsa gets bottom of the 9th walk-off wins in games 1 and 4 to get a 5-0 series sweep against the Wombats.
R H E
Westchester 3 9 0
Tulsa 4 5 0
R H E
Westchester 3 5 1
Tulsa 6 8 0
R H E
Westchester 0 3 0
Tulsa 7 6 1
R H E
Westchester 1 5 2
Tulsa 2 3 0
R H E
Westchester 2 9 1
Tulsa 11 12 0
Tidewater vs Coney Island
Tidewater gets unlikely sweep of Coney Island.
Gm.1 De La Cruz homers in the game and then scores winning run on Kelenic's walkoff single in the 9th. Rizzo had 2 hits and Laureano 2 RBI for CIC.
Gm.2 TID explodes for 5 homers, 2 by Kelenic who collects 5 RBI. Rizzo's 2 RBI single was the offense for CIC.
Gm.3 A HR by Laureano and RBI's from Marte and Solano in the 9th falls short in a CIC comeback. Bichette goes 4-4 and Palacios HR for TID.
Gm.4 TID goes deep 3 more times. Bichette 3-4, HR, 3 RBI for TID. Devers 3-4 for CIC.
Gm.5 LeMahieu goes 2-3 with a HR and 4 RBI for TID. Solano goes 2-4 with a HR for CIC.
Tidewater out homers Coney Island 11-2 as they lived on the longball.
Week ending May 12
Gulf Breeze vs Shenandoah
Gulf Breeze won their first series of the season by beating Shenandoah 3 games to 2, but GB still holds the crown of worst team in the history of the WIBL.
Gm 1: 2-1 GB A J.Peterson rbi single and following SF would be all that Y.Garcia (1-0) would need in relief of a nice Paxton effort. Maeda lost it (0-2) & J.Pena homered (2)
Gm 2: 9-3 She If fell apart late as the Pandas plated 4 in the 9th. Muncy (9), Morel (6), and Donaldson (4) all left the building and Wheeler (2-3) was adequate for 6.2 frames
Gm 3: 2-0 GB Surprising Gomber CG victory (3-4) as he allowed just one hit and one walk while punching out 11. Kluber was injured and Weaver (1-4) took the loss.
Gm 4: 9-6 She Tied at one after 5, the offenses errupted and the Pandas scored 8 over the final 4 frames for the easy win. Biggio (2) & Sheets (5) homer, Fujinami wins (1-2)
Gm 5: 4-3 GB (10) A 2 out Muncy rbi double in the 8th sent us to overtime where a 2 out Escobar blast (2) won it. Yates (1-0) over Poche (1-2)
Next week, Gulf Breeze heads to Mad Town while Shenandoah heads home to entertain Louisiana.
Tulsa vs Arizona
The Arizona Dust Devils visit Tulsa and take the series 4-1 by winning three of the games by one run. The Dust Devils only outscored the Roughnecks 25-24 as Tulsa outhit the visitors 49-35.
R H E
Arizona 7 9 2
Tulsa 6 11 0
R H E
Arizona 4 4 1
Tulsa 8 17 2
R H E
Arizona 3 6 1
Tulsa 2 10 1
R H E
Arizona 6 6 0
Tulsa 2 5 0
R H E
Arizona 5 10 0
Tulsa 4 6 0
Freeport vs Northwest
The Freeport Bandits take 3 of 5 at Northwest in style
5/8 - FR 1 NW 0. Eovaldi vs. M. Miller. Eovaldi was great on this day,
allowing only 3 singles through 7 innings. Alzolay and Scott, S 4
wrapped it up.
5/9 - FR 4 NW 3.Elder vs. Smyly. Northwest can't get the hit when they
need it, strand 8, and the Freeport bullpen closes it out again.
5/10 - NW 7 FR 1. Assad vs. Strider. The Northwest bats come to life in
game three, Heim's 3 run homer broke a 1-1 tie and Wiemer also went yard.
5/11 - NW 3 FR 2. B. Miller vs. Steele. Miller was hurt after one
inning pitched, will miss a few weeks. The bullpen held a 2-1 lead for
Freeport until
the 8th inning when a walk to Lowe and 2 hits set up the passed ball
that allowed the go ahead run.
5/12 - FR 9 NW 1. Bello vs. Alcantara. The Bandits slam 4 homers,
Harris, Bailey, and Yoshida 2, and route Northwest in the finale to take
the series.
The bandits had 13 hits and Bello allowed only 5 hits through 7 innings.
So there was a laugher for both teams and 3 very tight close games. Next
up, Freeport visits Arizona and Northwest heads out to Jonesboro.
Greensboro vs Cowtown
May 8 - The slumping Hoppers, still without Trout and resting Ohtani, open with the oft-injured deGrom's first '24 start. He opposes Logan Allen. deGrom pitches well, into the 8th, but the Hopper pen doesn't do its job, and Greensboro winds up on the short end of a 6-2 loss. Volpe and Frelick each hit their 2nd, and Julio hit his 6th.
May 9 - Urias and the returning Ohtani in game 2. Shohei just doesn't have it, and the Hoppers drop this one 5-1. Frelick (#3) and Bergman (#5) go yard for the visitors off Shohei, and Lars hits his 4th for the home team.
May 10 - Varland faces Martin Perez as Greensboro attempts to salvage the series. It's not to be, as Greensboro leaves the tying run at second in the bottom of the 9th, as they drop yet another close one to Billy Martin's boys, this time by a 4-3 score.
May 11 - Brad Keller for the Drovers, as Max tries to get on the board for the Hoppers. Max does finally win his first of the season, as the Hoppers hang on for the 7-6 win. Wallner hits 2 (#6 and #7), and Walsh hits his 1st for Cowtown. Albies hits his 7th for Greensboro. Cowtown's Donovan faces an 11-game injury.
May 12 - In the finale it's Keller (again), this time against Quintana. It's a seesaw contest until Tork blasts a dramatic grand slam in the bottom of the 9th to give Greensboro the 9-5 win.
The Drovers take 3 of the 5 as Bill Martin outmanages the Berger and the Hoppers (also the name of a doo-wop group).
Cowtown heads home to host the Armadillos as the slumping Hoppers head west to face Calgary.
Week ending May 6
Antelope vs Westchester
Game 1 – Henry and Wacha in the opener and Wacha gives up only 1 hit in seven innings in the 7-0 River Cats win. HRs for Edman (4) J. Naylor (5)
WP – Wacha 5-0 LP – Henry 0-2
Game 2 – Burnes & Kremer in game 2 with the Wombats coming out on top 7-4. HRs - Anderson (2), McCormick (3), DeJong (4), Votto (2) for Wombats, Tucker (2), J. Naylor (6) for Antelope.
WP – Burnes 3-2 LP – Kremer 1-3 S – Ginkel (3)
Game 3 – Morton faces Woo for game 3. We go to the 9th tied at four and Wombats get 2 with 2 outs to lead 6-4. Not to be outdone, River Cats score 3 in the bottom half to win 7-6. HRs Votto (3), Diaz (4) for Wombats, Suarez (3) for River Cats.
WP – Mayza 2-1 LP – Ginkel 0-2
Game 4 – Canning against Williamson in this one as Antelope gets 4 in the 8th to seal up an 11-4 victory. HRs Rogers 2 (6) for Westchester, Semien (4), Raleigh (8), Taylor (1) for Antelope.
WP – Williamson 2-1 LP – Canning 0-3
Game 5 – Olson matches up with Medina and this one is awful. Medina getting hammered in top of first and manager refuses to pull him! (Not really sure why I did that other than he sucks!) He ends up giving up 14 runs in first and going 5 innings with 5 HRs & 17 runs given up. Final score 19-4. HRs Arraez (1), McCormick (4), Carpenter (1), Haninger 2 (2), Mervis (1) for Wombats, Tucker (3) for Antelope.
WP – Olson 2-3 LP - Medina 1-4
Antelope wins the series 3-2 and continues a long homestand as they will face Jonesboro next. Westchester stays on the road to take on Louisiana.
East Coast vs Louisiana
Louisiana travels to East Coast and it was a tale of 2 different series. The first 3 games were controlled and won by the host team and the last 2 games were dominated by Louisiana for a 3-2 Rockies series win. In Game 4 the Rockies lost both of their active Catchers for multiple games and had to play with a position player behind the plate.
GAME 1: ECR 6-6-0 LOU 2-6-1
All the Rockies runs were from HRs. Robert a GRAND SLAM in the 1st, Greene a solo shot in the 2nd, and Vaughn in the 8th. Grissom had a SF in the 5th and Acuna went deep in the 8th. Peralta (3-0) gets the win and Giolito (2-4) the loss.
GAME 2: ECR 5-10-2 LOU 3-9-0
Thomas singles in a run in the 3rs and Witt a RBI FC in the 5th. Gurriel a RBI double in the 6th after a Contreras error. In the bottom half Riley singles in a run, Alvarez scores on a DP, and Vaughn a 2 run blast, 4-3. Riley homers in the 8th. Lopez (4-1) gets the win and Lynn (1-2) the loss.
GAME 3: ECR 3-5-1 LOU 2-8-0
Two of the runs scores by the Rockies were on bases loaded walks. Davis in the 2nd and Alvarez in the 5th. Gelof smashed a 2 run HR in the 3rd. The winning run was scored by Candelaria on a DP. Cease (4-1) gets the win and Toussaint (0-4) the loss.
GAME 4: LOU 14-17-1 ECR 1-5-0
Both Catchers for ECR were injured in this game. Acuna had 4 hits, Thomas 3 hits, and a trio of hitters had 2 (Realmuto, Gelof, and Moncada). Thomas had 5 RBIs with a HR and Gelof a pair of 2 run HRs with 4 RBIs. Woodruff (4-1) gets the win and Littell (1-2) the loss.
GAME 5: LOU 4-10-0 ECR 0-1-0
Outman singles in a run in the 2nd. Thomas clears the f3ences in the 6th. In the 8th a pair of solo shots by Acuna and Thomas again make it 4-0. Wesnewski (2-3) gets the win with 13 strikeouts and Marquez (0-1) suffers the loss.
Gulf Breeze vs Jonesboro
Jonesboro came to Gulf Breeze this week and the Crackers grabbed 3 of 5 in week 6 action.
Gm 1: 6-3 Jon Lots of new faces for the Crackers w/ Julks (2 for 4, D, HR) & Daza (rbi 1B) leading the attack. Meneses was 2 for 4 with 3 rbi, D, & HR (1) Gausman (2-2) wins it
Gm 2: 4-0 GB Luis Castillo (2-2) tossed 7 and Canha's blast (2) was most of the offense. Margot chipped in a 2 R double. Miley drops it (2-2)
Gm 3: 5-1 GB Austin Gomber tossed his best game in like forever (2-4) and a 4 run 5th won it for the good guys with Soderstrom (1) and Carpenter (3) leaving the building
Gm 4: 6-5 Jon Best game of the lot. Crackers take a 4-0 lead in the first with Pederson blasting one (3) but the Breeze kept on chipping away falling one short in the 9th. In a record of some type, GB used 3 relievers named Garcia. They walked 4 in 3 innings so time to rethink this. Gavin Williams (4-1) over Braxton Garrett (0-4)
Gm 5: 8-2 Jon Actually a close game until the 7th and the Crackers posted 6 tallies over the final 3 frames. Ozuna 2 for 5, T, HR (7) with 4 rbi leads the way. Bielak (4-2) wins
Next week, Jonesboro stays on the road, heading to Antelope while Shenandoah comes calling to Gulf Breeze.
Freeport vs Mad Town
G1
M 5 11 1
F 4 10 0
W- Sims (1-0)
L- Brash (0-1)
S- Abreu (4)
G2
M 1 4 0
F 4 7 0
W- Elder (2-3)
L- Gallen (1-4)
S- Alzolay (6)
HR- F- Harris (2)
G3
M 3 4 0
F 8 14 2
W- Assad (2-0)
L- Kirby (3-3)
HR- M- Bellinger (3)
F- S.Suzuki 2 (4), Chavis (2)
G4
M 6 10 1
F 4 10 1
W- Taillon (2-1)
L- Butto (0-1)
S- Abreu (5)
HR- F- Siri (2)
G5
M 0 5 0
F 3 4 0
W- Bello (3-1)
L- Eflin (2-3)
S- Alzolay (7)
HR- F- N. Jones (3), Siri (3)
Bandits win 3 of 5 from the Zephyrs.
Coney Island vs Greensboro
A Rivalry that has few (if any rivals) as these teams have battled for the NL title many times! Or one or the other seems to occupy the top throne. Greensboro has been the dominate WIBL team as of late - though not always winning the big cheese, but usually being THE team to beat. And lets see - they ARE the current WIBL World Champions!!
And we get to face them after suffering a devasting 5 game sweep at Chappaqua last week. Oh boy!
Well - STOP THE PRESSES! We don't get swept again! In fact, we win more than one game.......how many more?
Game 1 - Scherzer vs. Whitlock
Ever have a game decided on a stolen 3rd base? Well, if the throw goes into LF it could happen.
Cyclones get off to 2-0 lead in the 1st on a Devers (6) 2 run homer. But Seager ties it in the 3rd with a 2 run single. But Fortes (1) homers for Coney Island in the bottom half to regain the lead, 3-2. But the Grasshoppers are the Grasshoppers and Rodriguez ties it up again in the 6th with a solo homer (5). Head to the 9th after Okert and Thornton keeps us in the game and Devers leads off with a double off Phillips. Happ (who had the day off) comes in to PR. Laureano up, Happ takes off and steals 3rd but Contretas makes a high throw into LF and Happ just slides in and back up on heads for home - score - a walk off steal and error. 4-3 Cyclones take the opener.
GRE 3-10-1 LP Phillips (0-1)
CIC 4- 5-0 WP Thornton (3-0)
Game 2 - Ohtani vs. Alexander
I did mention this was Greensboro, right? 4 doubles, 3 homers, 16 hits! And yet, it was only 6-5 Grasshoppers after 6! But then a 4 run 7th basically sealed the deal.
Albies hits a 3 run homer (6) in the 1st. Trout a solo shot (4) - he did get 3 other hits (singles) and scored 2 more runs). And then Arenado (6) belts a 3 run shot in the 4 run 7th (he had 5 rbis in the game).
The final was 12-6 Greensboro - but the batting was the only fireworks (Cyclones got 12 hits and 2 HRs as well). The game featured 22 Ks (10 Cyclones whiffed, while 12 Grasshoppers swung at air). 4 total walks BUT there were 4 Hit Batsmen - 3 Grasshoppers and 1 Cyclone got beaned. Laureano of the Coney Island suffered the worst and will miss 10 days. Walker for Greensboro will miss 5. Ohtani (GRE), Alexander (CIC) and Ferguson (CIC) were all ejected!
GRE 12-16-0 WP Middleton (2-0)
CIC 6-12-2 LP Alexander (0-2)
Game 3 - Quintana vs. Cruz
2nd inning Quintana gives up a solo homer (2) to Arcia and RBI singles to Bleday and Fortes as Coney Island grabs a 3-0 lead. Crowd buzzing!! The buzz lasted until the 6th inning - once Cruz got upgraded he must have gotten stupid - or that 3rd time through the roster....Ohtani doubles in 2, Seager singles in 1. Then with the bases loaded, Okert is called on to relieve - NO OUTS. Big inning for Greensboro coming up. NOPE - 2 ks and a ground out, kills the threat. So we stay tied at 3-3. Meanwhile there were some more batters getting plunked - I'm thinking retaliation as Call and Bleday are taken out by Greensboro and Albies gets hit by the Cyclone staff. Fortunately no injuries!
Okert is relieved in the 8th by Peralta and he blanks the Grasshoppers in the 8th and 9th. Mikloas comes in to close out the 8th and stays in for the 9th. He gets Rizzo leading off the inning but then Call blasts one off the wall in right center and ends up at 2nd. Bleday then gets the IW to face Nick Fortes. Fortes already had 2 hits and a rbi in this game but Greensboro saw him as a weakness and a DP possibility. Well, he hits it hard to 1b - it gets through - and all the runners just keep going. The throw to the plate - it was close - but he was SAFE! Cyclones win it 4-3 again in the bottom of the 9th.
GRE 3- 8-0 LP Mikolas (0-3)
CIC 4-12-0 WP Peralta (1-0)
Game 4 Verlander vs. Kikuchi
Ace vs. Ace and they are tagged for a combined 5 homers. Greensboro gets on the board 1st and it's in the 1st on a Rodriguez single, SB and Seager rbi single. The lead doubles in the 4th when Arenado leads off with a big homer (7). But the Cyclones tie it in the bottom half on a Devers (7) 2 run homer! Cyclones grab a 3 run lead in the 6th on an RBI double by Devers and a two run jack by Tellez (3)!
But those Grasshoppers - Kikuchi can handle just a bit more, right? Top 7th, Salvy opens with a single up the middle. One more hit and Kikuchi will go. IKF - flies out. Torkelson - touches off a big 2 run bomb (5) and the game is now a 1 run game 5-4 as the Cyclones lead dwindles. Get one more out (or batter) - wrong again. Trout follows with a solo blast (5) to tie the game. So the 3 run lead Coney Island got in the bottom of the 6th goes away in the top of the 7th. Thornton in, Grasshoppers go down. Move on. Greinke on the mound for Greensboro, Thornton for Cyclones. Scoreless in the 8th we head to the 9th 5-5.
Top 9 - IKF, Torkelson and Trout go down 1-2-3. Bottom half, Arcia leads off with a walk. Bleday in to PR. Fortes up - Bleday steals 2nd. Fortes then follows with a slow roller up the middle into CF and Bleday is green lighted and he beats Rodriguez's throw at the plate and once again the Cyclones get a 9th inning win and Fortes the walk-off RBI! Now we get the series win as we are up 3-1.
GRE 5- 9-0 LP Greinke (0-1)
CIC 6-12-0 WP Thornton (4-0)
Game 5 - France vs. Manoah
1st inning Rengifo hits a SF giving Coney Island a 1-0 lead. In the 3rd he hits a 2 run homer (3) for a 3-0 lead. But the Grasshoppers get back with a 2 runs in the 5th on a lead off Torkelson (6) homer and an Albies SF. Manoah faced 2 in the inning. From there, the Cyclones bullpen did a big number through 8 holding off anymore Grasshoppers. Still 3-2 Coney in the bottom of the 8th when Phillips comes on - and there is that Rengifo guy again, touch off another 2 run homer (4) (5 rbis in the game) and giving the Cyclones a 5-2 lead heading into the 9th. Peralta called on to close it out and well....Trout fans to lead it off. Torkelson then walks. Nootbar follows with an infield single. Then Rodriguez fans and Ohtani pops out, game over! Cyclones win 5-2.
GRE 2-8-1 LP France (2-3)
CIC 5-9-2 WP Adam (1-1) S Peralta (6)
Oh boy - a 4-1 series win. We were hoping for 1, maybe 2, but got 4. Better not get too thrilled however, we aren't that good. Next week CIC goes across town to face the Codgers while Greensboro heads home to host Cowtown.
Shenandoah vs Tulsa
Shenandoah 4, Tulsa 3 (10)
Shenandoah 8, Tulsa 0
Tulsa 5, Shenandoah 3
Tulsa 4, Shenandoah 0
Shenandoah 14, Tulsa 3
Tidewater vs Stamford
Gm.1 Gilbert went 6.2 innings of 3 hit ball and bullpen finished. Nimmo homered for STA but Kelenic and de la Cruz get 6th inning RBI's to give TID the win.
Gm.2 Reynolds and Murphy homer to lead a 13 hit STA attack to easily take the win.
Gm.3 Murphy homers again for STA but Freeman answers for TID with a homer and Ibanez doubles in the go ahead run in the 8th for TID.
Gm.4 Freeman goes 2-3 with a homer and 2 RBI while Bichette goes 2-4 with a triple and 4 RBI as TID cruises to the win.
Gm.5 TID holds STA to 1 run while TID gets homers from Freeman, Palacious and de la Cruz. They combine for 5 hits and 7 RBI.
TID takes the series 4-1
Northwest vs Arizona
The Dust Devils visit to Northwest was shaped by close games with a
slight 3-2 edge to the Indians.
5/2 - NW 5 AZ 4. Nola vs. Skubal. Arizona used a pair of homers by M.
Betts and a solo shot by Olson to account for their 4 runs.
The 7 walks to the Indians proved costly for Arizona.
5/3 - NW 6 AZ 4. R. Walker vs. Smyly. Olson and Walls home runs off
Smyly put the Dust Devils in front 4-3 after 5 innings. A bullpen game
was the plan for Arizona, removing Walker in the 2nd inning. But the
Indians chipped away and 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th aided by walks
won it.
5/4 - AZ 2 NW 1. 13 Innings. Bibee vs. Steele. A real pitchers duel,
the Dust Devils got to Steele in the 8th to tie it and the Arizona
bullpen was great,
tossing 6 innings of 2-hit shutout baseball.
5/5 - AZ 7 NW 2. Sandoval vs. Strider. Strider was unable to throw
strikes early and was removed after 4 innings. Sandoval, the former
Indian was dealing,
improving to 4-0. And again, the Dust Devils bullpen shut 'em down.
Betts hit his 11th homer of the season and was 2 for 5 with 3 RBI's for
Arizona.
5/6 - NW 6 AZ 5. Nola vs. Alcantara. The Indians blast 3 homers off
Nola in the 1st inning to buld a 4-0 lead. It was short-lived, Arizona
put up a 4-spot
of their own in the 4th. But it was the 2-run shot by Weimer in the
bottom half that decided it. Skubal tossed 2.2 innings of relief and
Holton notched save 6.
Week ending April 30
Antelope vs Arizona
Game 1 – Sandoval and Wacha in the opener and it's locked up at 3-3 after six. In the bottom of the 15th (yes that's not a typo), Kody Clemens scores Perdomo with the game winner!! 4-3 Cats. HR Schwarber (5)
WP – Estevez 1-0 LP – Beck 0-1
Game 2 – Bibee vs. Kremer in game 2 and it's extra innings again! Tucker singles with 1 out in the 11th and scores all the way from first on a Naylor H & R base hit. Antelope wins it 2-1
WP – Mayza 1-0 LP – Hentges 0-1
Game 3 – Rasmussen against Woo and Woo is tossed in the 2nd after plunking two. This one is a laugher as Devils take it 10-1. HRs Ramirez 2 (2), Betts (8)
WP – Rasmussen 2-0 LP – Woo 2-1
Game 4 – Walker and Williamson for game 4 and Antelope leads 4-3 after seven. Arizona ties it in the 8th, and goes up 5-4 in the 9th. India solo shot ties it again at 5, but Olson HR in 10th wins it for Dust Devils. HRs Sanchez (2), Olson (5), Raleigh (7), India (1).
WP – Graterol 2-0 LP – Mayza 1-1 S – Foley (1)
Game 5 – Sandoval and Medina in the finale and another blowout for Arizona, 11-3 as they blast six HRs, three of them in the 9th!
WP – De Jong 2-0 LP – Wisler 5-2 S – Swanson (9)
Antelope wins the series 3-2, but could have done better after taking the first 3 games of the series. The River Cats finally hit the road to take on Freeport after playing 35 of their first 45 at home. Beantown returns home to face East Coast.
Stamford vs San Diego
Game 1
San Diego 2-4-1
Jays 1-7-1
WP C Kershaw 1-2 LP F Bautista 0-1
A pitchers’ duel as Kershaw gives up 7 hits over 8.2 innings fanning 10. McClanahan yield 4 hits and fans 10 over 7 innings. A costly error by SS Rocchio in top of the 9th allows Garcia to score the winning run. Garcia had hit solo homer in the 2nd and stole 2 bases. Jays has chances but leave 11 men on base.
Game 2
Jays 4-6-2
San Diego 1-3-0
WP C Bassitt 4-0 LP A Civale 1-2
The Jays score three runs in the 8th to break a 1-1 tie to take the lead. Murphy homers and has 3 hits for the Jays. Bassitt goes 8 strong innings fanning 7 for the win.
Game 3
San Diego 6-9-1
Jays 2-6-0
WP T McGill 1-1 LPJ Montgomery 3-2
San Diego gets homers from Cronenworth, Garcia and Doyle to lead their attack. San Diego loses starter Glasnow to in jury ( 36 days) in the 4th inning but three relievers hold Jays in check for rest of the game. Murphy homers again for the Jays.
Game 4 ( 13 innings)
San Diego 3-10-0
Jays 1-5-0
WP Z Curry 3-1 LP B Stewart 0-1
San Diego scores a run in the1st and the Jays tie score in the7th for the only scores until the 13th.. San Diego scores two runs off of Jays reliver Stewart in the top of the 13th to take the lead.. Jays cannot take advantage of San Diego starter Darvish’s 6 walks. Jays leave 13 men on base while San Diego leaves 11.
Game 5
Jays 7-9-2
San Diego 5-8-0
WP B Miller 1-1 LP C
Jays score a run in the 1st and 3 in the 3rd and 4th innings to take a commanding7-2 lead. San Diego climbs back tallying 2 runs in the 6th and a solo run in the 7th. Starter Miller goes 6 innings for the win. San Diego starter Ashcraft is thrown out of the game after he hits his 3rd Jays batter.
Next San Diego hosts Chappaqua and Stamford travel to Tidewater.
Freeport vs Northwest
G1
N 3 7 0
F 1 3 1
W- D. May (1-1)
L- Eovaldi (1-3)
S- Holton (2)
G2
N 3 9 1
F 1 6 2
W- Smyly (2-1)
L- Elder (1-3)
S- Holton (3)
HR- N- Velazquez (5), Heim (2)
G3
N 8 13 1
F 5 8 1
W- Borucki (1-0)
L- T.Scott (1-1)
S- Mlodzinski (1)
HR- N- Lindor (7), G. Torres (2), Guerrero (6)
F- Siri (1), Pinto (1)
G4
N 8 11 0
F 3 7 2
W- Strider (3-0)
L- Bry. Miller (2-3)
HR- N- R. Palacios (2), N. Velazquez (8)
F- S. Suzuki 2 (2)
G5
N 1 2 1
F 2 6 0
W- Bello (2-1)
L - Alcantara (4-1)
S- Alzolay (5)
Northwest wins the series 4 games to 1
Mad Town vs Westchester
Westchester visits Mad Town for 5 games.
Game 1 Henry/Gallen
Gallen--0-3, as the entire Zephyr team, is off to a slow start. He held the Wombats hitless for 3.2 innings. The Zephyr's put 6 on Henry and he was gone after 2. Wade(1) opened the floodgates with the first pitch as 5 were scored in the first. Machado (2) added insurance with a 2 run shot in the 7th. Ward (4) and Rogers (3) broke up the shutout.
9-3 MTZ
Game 2 Burnes/Kirby
Rogers (4) put the Wombats up 2-0 in the first. Wade (2) tied it in the 5th. Machado had an inside the park homer aided by a Varsho error to put the Z's in front 3-2. Dejong (3) tied it in the 8th and Taveras (1) reclaimed the lead
5-3 MTZ
Game 3
Franco (5) put the first run up in the 4th for a 1-0 advantage. Bogaerts and Benintendi each singled in a run in the 5th and 6th. Taillon went 7 scoreless and the bullpen held
5-0 MTZ
Game 4 Canning/Eflin
Bellinger singles in Bogaerts in the first for a 1-0 Mad Town lead. It stayed that way until Diaz doubled in Arraez in the 9th for the tie. McCann walked it off with a 10th innings double.
2-1 MTZ
Game 5 Olson/Heaney
Heaney fired 7 scoreless and Lowe(3) led the way.
6-2 MTZ
Mad Town won their first series and it was a sweep! The just about giddy Zephyrs go on the road to Freeport
Westchester stays on the road to Antelope
Jonesboro vs Tulsa
Crackers take 3 of 5 from visiting Tulsa.
The Tulsa Roughriders visited Jonesboro for the first time, and the Crackers took 3 of 5.
Game 1-Crackers win 4-0. Senga(4-1) absorbs the loss, and Gausman(1-2) the win. Grossman(3) and Ozuna(40) homers for the Crackers.
Game 2-Tulsa snaps back with a 4-1 win. Sanchez(3-1) is the winner Miley(2-1) takes the loss. Drury(2) and Noda(2) goes deep for the Roughriders.
Game 3-Crackers win 4-2. Lugo(1-1) takes the loss and Kelly(2-1) the in. Vogelbach(2) homers for the Riders. Ozuna2(6) and Langeliers(3) for the Crackers
Game 4-Crackers win 5-4 in 10 innings. Baddoo(3), Vogelbach(3)Calhoun(1) homers for the Riders, Urias(1) for the Crackers. Bednar(1-2) takes the loss and Verhagen(1-1) picks up the loss
Game 5- Riders win 3-0. Matz(2-2) is the winner and Bielak(3-2) gets the loss. Game was hard for both teams due to injuries and fatigue
Next up the Crackers head to Gulf Breeze and Tulsa visits Shenandoah
Chappaqua vs Coney Island
BREAK UP THE COMETS! The struggling boys from Chappaqua upset their long-time rival, Coney Island, sweeping five games. The series was closer than the result indicates as three games were decided by one run, including an extra inning battle.
Game 1 CHA 3 CIC 2
Yanier Diaz hit a 2 run HR (5) and Willi Castro doubled in a run as CHA scored three in the 4th and held on for the win. Sonny Gray (2-3), after an 0-3 start, bounced back with another strong outing. Justin Topa got his first ever WIBL save. Tyler Mahle (0-1) was the starter and loser. The Comets were held to four hits (CIC had 6) and they made the most of them to get the opening series win.
Game 2 CHA 10 CIC 4
Comets win in a rout as Castro (4) and Garrett Cooper (2) go yard. Castro was 3-4 with 3 RBIs, 3 runs scored, a walk and a stolen base. Cooper was 2-3 with 2 walks and FOUR RBIs. Harrison Bader was 2-4 with 3 runs scored and 2 SBs. CHA stole four bases in four attempts, giving CHA 6 for 6 in SBs in the first two games. Bailey Ober (2-2) pitched 7 solid innings to get the win. Tyler Alexander (0-1) started and took the loss, giving up 5 runs in 2 innings.
Game 3 CHA 5 CIC 4
Trailing 4-2 in the 6th, the Cyclones tied it before CHA won it with a run in the bottom of the 8th. Cooper stayed hot going 2-3 with 2 RBIs. The Comets stole three more bases (no CS) including 2 by Kim. CIC blasted three HRs, one by Ketel Marte (3) and two by Rafael Devers (5). Both Marte and Devers went 3-4 with Devers driving in THREE. Cyclones SS Miguel Rojas was 4-4.
Yennier Cano (1-0) got the win in relief with 1.1 hitless IP. Jason Adam (0-1) was the loser in relief.
Game 4 CHA 5 CIC 4 11 innings
Another nailbiter goes to the Comets. Trailing 3-1 in the 8th, CHA rallies for 3 to tie it as Caleb Ferguson blows the save (BS1). CIC ties it in the 9th as Cano blows a save for the second time this season. Matt Chapman (2-5) got the game winning single in the 11th off reliever Steve Okert (0-1) who took the loss. Cano got the win (2-0) for the second straight day. The Comets stole two more bases, giving them 11 in 11 tries in the series. SS Kim stole a base and now has 10 SBs on the year.
Game 5 CHA 4 CIC 1
Ranger Suarez (2-1) scattered 7 hits over 6.2 IP, allowing only 1 run to get the win. Topa got his second save of the series and the season.
Alex Manoah (2-3) started and took the loss. Ketel Marte was 4-5 with a double for CIC and is now the club BA leader at .329 (Devers is at .322). Cooper was 2-3 with a walk for the Comets, lifting his BA to .289. Kim stole another base giving him 11 on the year as CHA stole 12-12 in the series.
CHA is now over .500 for the first time this season, at 13-12. The Comets remain in third place in the NL East but have catapulted themselves back into contention for the wild card and even possibly the division title. CHA now trails GRE by 2.5 and STA by 5.5 in the Division, pending the results of the STA-SDA series. The Cyclones drop to 15-11 and now trail Tampa by ½ game in the NL West.
Comets now go on the road for three weeks starting with San Diego. Coney Island will host Greensboro in a rematch of last year’s NLCS (won by Greensboro)
East Coast vs Gulf Breeze
I can't tell you how much fun it was to host the East Coast Rockies this week. The Rebels amassed 7 runs on 19 hits in the 5 games in a truly ugly performance. In the 50 innings of play, they were outhit 50-19 and outscored 30-7. Forgive me when I didn't want to listen to the East Coast management on how poor their offe3nsive team was.
Played on TeamViewer:
Gm 1: ECR 5-0 Freddy Peralta (2-0) spun the CG shutout allowing just 3 hits and Correa had the big hit- a 2 out, 2R single. Riley left the building (5) in the 7th after a big 8-2 DP for the visitors in the 5th. Paxton (1-4) lost again.
Gm 2: ECR 5-6-0 GB 0-0-3 For those of you scoring at home, now a 20 inning GB scoreless streak. But hey- look at the line score- a no hitter by the Rockies! Not only that, but Jones replaced Pablo Lopez (3-1) in the 9th unaware that he had a no-no. Oh well, too bad- Candelario homered (9) and 3 GB errors accounted for all 5 runs to be unearned.
Gm 3: GB 3-1 Tom Murphy homered (1) and doubled in his 3 for 4 day and Austin Gomber (1-4) was adequate through 5. The bullpen rotation worked, though the last 3 relievers allowed hits to keep things interesting. Littell (1-1) lost it. Correa was 3 for 4 for the Rocks.
Gm 4: 6-4 ECR (14 inn) Kevin Pillar (yes- he's still in baseball) had 2 HR and drove in 4 in regulation, but in overtime, Robert (6) and Davis (1) went back to back to ruin our day. Three more GB errors are concerning and today made 2 of the runs unearned. Munoz (2-0) saved by Chavez (3). Puk loses (0-2). Candelario finished 3 for 6.
Gm 5: 13-0 ECR Nothin to see here if you want to skip this part. Robert had 2 HR batting in the 9th slot (8), Riley (7) and Polanco (4) also left the building. One of Robert's blasts was a grand salami. 5 of the runs were unearned.
Next week, Gulf Breeze stays put to battle Jonesboro while East Coast will be home to Louisiana.
Tidewater vs Tampa
TID takes the serie 3-2
TAM 4-1 Snell throws a 4-hitter and Fraley and Castellanos go deep.
TID 3-2 Castellanos goes deep twice but TID counters with longballs from LeMahieu and Steer and then De La Cruz walks it off with a RBI single.
TID 3-2 Same score same outcome. Flores goes 3-3 with a solo shot.
TAM 6-4 Alonso get 2 hits and 2 RBI and TAM get 2 runs in 10th to win it.
TID 6-5 Tid pulls it out in the bottom of the 9th to take the rubber game and the series.
Greensboro vs Calgary
April 26 - Greensboro is without a couple of key (Lars and Shohei) as southpaws face-off in the opener - Luzardo and Quintana. Bad sign for the Hoppers: Seagar is ejected after the first 2 batters. Easy 7-2 win for the Bandits, as the Hopper bats are silenced. McMahon hits his 5th, and Albies blasts his 3rd, as Quintana drops his first.
April 27 - Ryan and Verlander. Greensboro leaves the potential tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, but the Bandits hang on for the 3-2 win as Verlander issues a very uncharacteristic 5 walks.
April 28 - Brady Singer faces J.P. France. Greensboro finally takes one, 5-3, as Albies' 3-run homer (#4) is the big hit. Rooker hits his 2nd for the Bandits.
April 29 - Tyler Wells against Martin Perez. Hoppers, 9-5. Goldy hits his 3rd for Calgary, and Julio (#4) and Albies (#5) homer for Greensboro. Martin Perez goes to 3-0.
April 30 - In the finale, hobbling to the end of the series, the Hoppers face Logan Webb. Miles Mikolas gets the nod for Greensboro. Greensboro makes a futile comeback attempt, but they drop the finale, 8-6. Teoscar Hernandez' 2 homers (#4 and #5) are the big blows for Calgary. Seager's #3, and Contreras' 7th are Greensboro's big hits.
Calgary takes 3 of the 5, and they now head home to host Tampa. Greensboro heads north to Coney Island as they eagerly anticipate the return of Shohei and Lars.
Week ending April 25
Antelope vs Freeport
Game 1 – Eovaldi and Wacha matchup in the opener. River Cats with four in the 3rd and three in the 5th to take it 7-3. Jones with HR and 3 RBI for Bandits...J. Naylor with HR and 3 RBI for Antelope.
WP – Wacha 4-0 LP – Eovaldi 1-2
Game 2 – Elder faces Kremer in game 2. Both teams with only 4 hits, but Freeport makes them count with solo runs in 2nd & 8th to win 2-0.
WP – Elder 1-2 LP – Kremer 1-2 S – Scott (1)
Game 3 – Assad against Woo and Antelope leads 4-3 after six. Bullpen blows it giving up 3 in the 7th as Bandits go on to 7-4 victory. Soler (2), Merrifield (1) and Chavis (1) with HRs for Freeport; Martinez (8) and Raleigh (6) go deep for Cats.
WP – Assad 1-0 LP – Graveman 0-1 S - Scott (2)
Game 4 – Miller and Williamson face off and it's 3-3 after 5 1/2. Antelope scores 5 in the bottom of six with 2 outs to go up 8-3. Not to be outdone, Bandits get a 3 run shot from Soler to make it 8-6. In the bottom half, Edman matches him with a 3 run bomb of his own and Antelope holds on to win 11-6. Soler and Edman each with HR #3.
WP – Kimbrel 3-1 LP – Miller 2-2
Game 5 – Bello and Medina for the finale in a low scoring game. Freeport wins it 3-1 as Soler hits HR #4 for the season.
WP – Bello 1-1 LP – Medina 1-2 S – Scott (3)
Freeport takes the series 3-2 in a fairly even matchup: Freeport 21 runs, 37 hits; Antelope 23 runs, 41 hits. E. Suarez 1 for 14 with 10 Ks for Antelope!! River Cats remain at home to take on Arizona next and Freeport returns home to face Northwest.
Coney Island vs Tidewater
Tides vs. Cyclones Early season division leaders. Tides look for real - overly solid bullpen and some potent bats. Cyclones firing on a lot of offensive cylinders, but pitching, well, it's a big committee but suspicious.
Game 1 - Chase Silseth stymies the Tides big bats and the little ones. 2 hitter for 8 innings, 10 Ks, NO runs. A Rowdy Tellez homer (2) in the 2nd gets Coney Island on the board. But Logan Gilbert keeps it a 1-0 game until Alex Call unloads for a 2 run shot (2) in the 7th. Extra insurance run in the 8th runs the final to 4-0.
TID 0-2-0 LP Gilbert (3-1)
CIC 4-6-0 WP Silseth (1-0)
Game 2 - Two 3 run innings allow Cyclones to double up on the Tides, 8-4 as Kikuchi goes 7, 6 hits, 9 ks. He gives up solo homers to Kelenic (3) and LeMahieu (2) but hangs tough. Ramon Laureano goes wild - 3 for 5, 2 runs, 4 rbis, double and homer (1). Happ 4 for 5, 2 runs/rbi, lead the attack. Call hits his 3rd of the year.
TID 4- 8-1 LP Josiah Gray (2-1)
CIC 8-11-1 WP Kikuchi (4-0)
Game 3 - We knew it couldn't last and Kutter (who names their kid Kutter - must have known he'd pitch) Crawford humbles the Cyclones through 7. And while that was going on, his offense collects 4 runs including a big 2 run smash by Ibanez (1) in the 4th. 4-0 in the 8th when Happ unloads with 1 out for a 3 run homer. Problem with homers, they kill rallies and the bullpen has no problems keeping the Tides in the lead. Hoffman and Cosgrove get it done for Tidewater.
TID 4-10-0 WP Crawford (2-1) S Cosgrove (4)
CIC 3- 4-1 LP Harrison (1-1)
Game 4 - this time there is no breakdown at the end. The Tides get a couple early and then 3 runs in the 5th. Even hitting into 4 DPs they score 5 times on 9 hits and 6 walks. Alek Manoah had some control issues!! However, the day belonged to Jon Gray. He pitches a ONE-HITTER! Never out of control, never threatened. Game, set, and match - well at least GAME!
TID 5-9-0 WP Jon Gray (2-1)
CIC 0-1-0 LP Manoah (2-2)
Game 5 - Tie-breaker for the series and Tidewater gets on the board 1st with a Duran rbi single in the 3rd scoring Barrera. But the Cyclones come out in the bottom half scoring 3 times on an Arcia homer (1). Then another in the 4th and 3 more in the 5 (Solano 2 run double the big hit). That was more than enough as the fans held their breath every inning to see if Whitlock could hold off the Tidewater bats. He did - 4 hitts, 2 walks, 8 ks for 7 innings. Young gives up 1 hit in 2 innings of relief.
TID 1-5-1 LP Oviedo (3-1)
CIC 7-7-0 WP Whitlock (2-1)
Fun 5 game series - when bats worked, we had a chance. Tidewater will be tough if they get the lead (and they should be able to do that a lot).
Stamford vs Brooklyn
Game 1
Codgers 8-12-0
Jays 4-10-1 1-2-00
WP A Cobb 1-2 LPS McClanahan 3-1
Starter McClanahan holds Codgers in check until the 6th when he yields homers to Yelich and Vargas and the Codgers take the lead. They add two more in the 9th on Vargas’s second homer. Four Codgers relievers hold Jays in check over the last three innings. McClanahan does fan 8 in losing effort.
Game 2
Jays 6-10-1
Codgers 3-6-0
WP R Helsey 1-0 LP T Stephan 0-2
The Codgers take a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 4th .In the 4th the Jays score two and tie game on a single run in the 5th. The Jays take the lead on runs in the 7th and 8th. Jays are led by Stott who belts a two run homer.
Game 3
Jays 3-10-1
Codgers 0-6-0
WP J Montgomery 3-1 LP P Corbin 0-2
Starter Montgomery throws 8 innings of shut out ball fanning 7. He gets support from Garcia who hits solo homer.
Game 4
Jays 3-10-1
Codgers 2-5-1
WP M Clevinger 3-0 LP A Wainwright 1-2
Jays score first on a Reynolds sac fly in the 1st. The Jays add a run on a Kiriloff solo homer. Codgers tie up game in the 6th at 2 on a Swanson single and an infield out. Jays takes back lead in the 7th on two singles and an error by the Codgers. Clevinger goes 7 innings for the win.
Game 5 ( 16 innings)
Jays 5-14-1
Codgers
WP K Jansen 1-0 LP S McGouggh 1-2
A McNeil double in bottom of the 16th drives in Stott and gives Jays a tough walk off win. Game begins with a rain out. Jays strike first on a Nimmo triple and infield out in the 2nd. Codgers tie score in the 5th as Smith drives in two. They take lead on a 2 run double by Cave in the 7th. Jays cut lead on a Nimmo homer in the 7th and ties game on a Dubon single in the 8th Codgers use 7 pitches and Jays use 6 and yield 9 walks.
Next Codgers host Mokena and Jays host San Diego
Tulsa vs Madtown
The Mad Town Zephyrs visit Tulsa to face the Roughnecks in a well-played close series where all but one game was decided one or two runs. Tulsa takes the series 3-2, their fourth straight 3-2 series win.
R H E
Mad Town 3 7 0
Tulsa 5 9 3
R H E
Mad Town 2 6 0
Tulsa 3 8 1
R H E
Mad Town 6 13 1
Tulsa 4 6 0
R H E
Mad Town 0 4 0
Tulsa 5 6 0
R H E
Mad Town 8 10 0
Tulsa 6 11 0
Chappaqua vs Cowtown
CHAPPAQUA TAKES THREE OF FIVE FROM COWTOWN
Game 1 CHA 3 COW 2
Before the season, these two teams made a big trade with Cowtown sending their ace starter Sonny Gray to the Comets in a deal for Chappaqua’s #1 draft pick, Cole Ragans. Gray got off to an 0-3 start but found his groove against the Drovers as Sonny pitched a complete game win (1-3), allowing only 2 runs and 6 hits with no walks and EIGHT Ks. Rookie Logan Allen (0-2) was the hard luck loser, pitching a complete game of his own.
Game 2 CHA 5 COW 3
Yainier Diaz (4) and Matt Chapman (1) homered for CHA as the Comets take their second straight. Bailey Ober (1-2) pitched 7 strong innings for the win, beating Jose Urias (2-2). Ragans pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the Drovers
Game 3 COW 6 CHA 5
Trailing 5-0 after four, Cowtown rallies to win it as Hunter Renfroe (2) and Nick Gordon (1) go yard for the Drovers. Ragans (1-0) got the win in relief. Justin Topa (0-2) was the loser in relief. Willi Castro (3) and Gabriel Moreno (2) homered for CHA.
Game 4 COW 5 CHA 1
Cowtown evens the series as Brad Keller (6 IP) and Shawn Armstrong (3 perfect IP) combine on a 2 hitter. Alec Bohm (3-4, 2B and RBI) and I. Vargas (2-4, 2B, 2 RBIs) led the Cowtown attack. Marcus Stroman (1-2) was the starter and loser.
Game 5 CHA 8 COW 7 12 innings
Comets win in dramatic fashion. Trailing 7-2 in the 8th, Chappaqua scores 2 in the 8th and 3 in the 9th to tie it and then win it in the 12th when Will Castro (3-6) doubled, scoring Conor Joe from first with the game winning run. The Comets blasted four HRs, two by Josh Lowe (4) (3-5, 3 RBIs) and single HRs by Jazz Chisholm (2) and Seth Brown (1). Cowton got HRs from rookie Rafaela (1) and catcher Zavala (2). Alex Bregman was 2-3 with a triple and THREE walks.
Cowtown’s ace closer, Devin Williams blew the save giving up 2 HRs and 3 runs in 1.2 IP. After Ragans pitched .2 scoreless innings, Robert Stephenson (0-1) came on with two out in the 11th and was the losing pitcher when Castro got the game winner. Matt Moore (1-0) got the win in relief with 1.1 perfect innings, after rookie Yannier Cano pitched 2.2 scoreless IP in relief.
Comets improve to 8-12, third in the NL East while Cowtown is 7-14, second in the AL Central. Next week, the Comets will host long time rival AL West leading Coney Island while Cowtown hosts Durhamqq
Gulf Breeze vs Arizona
The Arizona Dust Devils host the Rebels from Gulf Breeze in Week 4 action.
Gm #(1)
Paxton and Nola open the series on the hill for their respective clubs. Arizona starts the scoring without the benefit of an at-bat! Carroll walks, steals second, and advances to third on a Jeffers throwing error. On the very next pitch, the veteran Paxton buries a curve ball and allows Carroll to score on a wild pitch. Short doubles in Anderson in the second. Arizona goes ahead on an Olivares single in the 4th only to see Gulf Breeze tie it on a Short squeeze in the 6th. Betts singles in Ramirez in the bottom half to put the DD’s up 3-2. Solos by Gimenez (3) in the 7th and in the 8th Olson (3) and Mookie (7) go Back-To-Back to push the lead to 6-2. Carpenter (1) hits one of his own in the ninth to close out the scoring as Arizona takes the opener, 6-3.
W Graterol (1-0)
L Paxton (1-3)
Gm #(2)
L. Castillo and Pablo Sandoval oppose each other in game 2. Olson (4) and Raley (5) hit 3R HR’s to power the Dust Devils to a 6-4 victory. Gulf Breeze outhit the Devils, 12-7.
W Jimenez (2-0)
L Puk (0-1)
S Neris (1)
Gm #(3)
Gomber for the Rebels and T. Walker for the Dust Devils are the starters. After an intentional walk to Mookie, Schwarber (4) makes them pay with a 3R shot in the first inning and the DD’s never look back in this 8-2 laugher. Frazier (2) and Carpenter (2) account for the Rebels two runs in the 9th. March slammed into the wall making a spectacular catch of a Schwarber extra-base bid and is out for 5 days.
W T. Walker (3-0)
L Gomber (0-4)
Gm #(4)
In a matchup of young southpaws, Garrett takes the hill for the visitors and the good guys counter with Abbott. The Rebels jump on top in the 2nd on a Tim Anderson (1) 2R shot (his total for his MLB season!!!). Olivares (1) hits a 2R HR and a Ramirez SF closes out the DD scoring in the 7th to go up 5-3. Margot (1) tosses in his inaugural home run but Arizona hangs on to win 5-4, much to the delight of the home crowd.
W Neris (2-3)
L Garrett (0-3)
S Graterol (6)
Gm #(5)
DeSclafani and Nola take the hill for their teams as the Dust Devils try to sweep the Rebels. Heyward singles in Frazier in the 1st and Raley (6) homers in the 2nd and the score remains tied until the 9th. Frazier (3) leads off the ninth with a blast and 3 singles produce two more runs to put the Rebels up 4-1 to the bottom half. Carroll (3) leads off with a blast of his own and the Dust Devils have the go-ahead run at the plate with two outs only to see Miller strike out Raley to end the game. GBR 5-4.
W B. Wilson (1-2)
L Foley (0-2)
S S. Miller (2)
Arizona begins a 3 series road trip, heading to Antelope. Gulf Breeze goes home to start a 3 series homestand, beginning with East Coast.
Week ending April 19
Arizona vs Mad Town
Game 1
Bogaerts(2) put the Zephyrs up 1-0 in the 1st. Hillard scored on a wild pitch to tie it up in the 7th. Betts(4) put the Devils up 2-1 in the 8th. A Franco (2) blast put the Zephyrs up 3-2 in the 8th. Abreu picked up his 3rd save
3-2 MTZ
Game 2
Mad Town raced to a 5-0 advantage behind Franco 2(4) and held on
5-2 MTZ
Game 3
Schwarber(2) and Henderson (1) went back to back in the 6th for the first- and only-run.
3-0 ARZ
Game 4
Carroll (2) won it in the 12th
5-4 ARZ
Game 5
Schwarber(3) got things started in the 1st and Arizona ran away with this one
7-1 ARZ
Arizona takes 3 of 5 and heads home to await Gulf Breeze
Mad Town goes on the road to Tulsa
Louisiana vs Jonesboro
Louisiana takes 3 of 5 from Jonesboro
The Louisiana Cajuns invaded Jonesboro and took 3 of the 5 games from the Crackers
Game 1- Series started with promise as the Crackers in 8-3. Gausman(1) is the winner, Gioloito(1-1) takes the loss. Grossman(1) homers for the Crackers and Outman(3) for the Cajuns.
Game 2-Cajuns bounce back to win 7-3. Miley(1-1) is the loser, Lynn(2-1) the winner. Pederson(3) homers for the Crackers.
Game 3-Crackers in a squeaker 4-3 as Ozuna2(2) homers twice and Bauers(2) also goes yard for the Crackers. Outman(4) homers for the Cajuns. King(1-1) is the loser, Santos(2-0) gets the win.
Game 4-Cajuns win 8-1. Woodruff(3-0) is the winner, Williams(1-2) the loser. Arozarena3(3) homers 3 times, Bauers(3) for the Crackers.
Game 5-Cajuns take the rubber game 3-2. Wesneski(1-1) is the winner and Bielak(1-2) takes the loss. Pederson(4) homers for the Crackers. Thomas(2) and Witt(2) for the visitors.
Next up Jonesboro heads to Shenandoah and Louisiana hosts East Coast.
Tidewater vs Chappaqua
Chappaqua 4-6 visits Tidewater 9-2
Gm.1 TID 5-1 A 2-run double by Duran in the 1st and a 3-run double by Flores in the 8th tips the scales for TID as Gilbert scatters 6 hits over 8 innings for the win. Juge's single accounts for the only CHA run.
Gm.2 TID 5-4 J.Lowe sends one over the wall for a 2-0 CHA lead in the 1st. J.Davis counters for TID with a 3-run shot in the 2nd. S.Brown's RBI double in the 4th ties it. Buxton gets into it in the bottom of the 4th and ties it with his 3rd homer of the year and Soto follows in the 5th with his 4th homer. Buxton's error gives CHA their last run and then TID's pen covers the last 2 innings with 6 up 6 down.
Gm.3 TID 5-2 TID got all 5 runs in the first 3 innings on their way to 12 hits. A.Ibanez was 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. J.Duran had 2 hits and a RBI and J.Palacios 2 hits and a RBI ro lead the way. The pen finished the last 2 innings giving up 1 hit. CHA was led by G.Moreno who went 1-4 with 2 RBI.
Gm.4 CHA 4-0 This was a pitchers game. CHA shut TID down allowing but 1 measly single A.Houser went 7 innings giving up the only hit of the game. The bullpen faced 6 batters in the next 2 innings and struck out 5 of the 6. Y.Diaz provided the offense with a 3-run homer in the 5th.
Gm.5 TID 5-4 F.Freeman had a bases loaded double, Bichette a RBI single and Soto a GO RBI,...all in the 2nd inning for a total of their 5 runs in the game. J.Lowe and E.Valdez had RBI doubles to make the score 5-2 heading into the 8th. Y.Diaz came off the bench for CHA in the 8th and sent a longball over the wall to make it a 1-run game, Once again, however, the pen came through as Cosgrove picked up Save #3 and preserved the win for TID.
This could have gone either way as the games were close and a hit here or there could have made a difference. TID escapes with a 4-1 series win.
Greensboro vs Mokena
April 15 - The Roozys, with much improved starting pitching, open with Bradish against Verlander. Mokena takes the opener in a close one, 3-2. McKinstry (#1) and Tatis (#2) homer for the visitors, and Shohei hits his 4th for the Hoppers.
April 16 - Eduardo Rodriguez faces Martin Perez in game 2. Perez tosses a CG gem, winning 10-zip as the Hopper bats come alive. Julio blasts his first 2 of the season, and Trout (#3), and Albies (#1) also homer for Greensboro.
April 17 - Dunning and Max. Greensboro comes from behind to take it, 9-5. The injured Max wins his 2nd, but he does not pitch well, relinquishing 4 walks and 4 earned runs in 7 innings.
April 18 - Berrios faces Ohtani. This one is really exciting, and very close. It takes 10 innings before the Hoppers make another in-game comeback, plating the winner in the 9-8 contest. Lots of long balls in this one, including four for Mokena: Walker (#2), Harper (#3), Moustakas (#2), and Trejo Lars (#2), Contreras (#6), and Tork (#3) for Greensboro.
April 19 - In the finale it's Kyle Hendricks opposting Quintana. This time Mokena comes from behind, as they take the finale, 2-1. Pham hits his 2nd, and Ohtani hits his 5th.
Greensboro takes 3 of the 5 in a very tough series.
The Hoppers now head west to San Diego, as Mokena heads home to host Durham.
Antelope vs Gulf Breeze
The Antelope River Cats were the opposition in series #3 at Gulf Breeze and the visitors obliterated their hosts- winning in every facet of the game in a 5-0 series sweep.
Gm 1: 9-2 Ant Two in the 4th and 4 in the 5th would be all the Cats needed in this one- Wacha (3-0) was sharp and both Semien & Martinez (3 rbi) were 3 for 5.
Gm 2: 5-2 Ant Tied at one in the 9th, I brought on Bryse Wilson. Bad move. 2R HR by Gurriel (3) & Edman (2) won it. GB out hit Antelope 10-5. Kimbrel with the win (2-1)
Gm 3: 12-5 Ant Down 1 in the 9th, I thought I'd use my 20 reliever. Another bad mnove- It went D, WP, rbi 1B, BB, 1B, rbi BB, 3R triple. My 20 reliever now with a 16.20 ERA. HR bt Martinez (6), Raleigh (5) and Suarez (2). Woo (2-1) over Gomber (0-3, 10.80).
Gm 4: 5-0 Ant Williamson (1-1) was great- just 3 singles allowed in 7 frames and Martinez (7), Semien (3), and Tucker (1) all left the building.
Gm 5: 3-1 Ant For those of you scoring at home- GB went 18 frames without a run, getting a SF in this one in the 9th to break the string. Yay! Too bad Antelope scored 3 tims in the 4th with Edman & Straw notching back to back rbi singles. Medina (1-1) over DeSclafani (1-1).
For the series- Antelope had 24 XBH, including 8 HR. GB had 5 XBH- all doubles. Yeeesch.
Next week, the Breeze heads to Arizona to battle the Dusties while Antelope heads home to host Freeport.
Coney Island vs Brooklyn
Two teams with very weak rotations meet up - who can get the hotter bats (and near no-hitter happens along the way).
Game 1 - Busch homers (1) for Brooklyn in 5th, Cyclones get a 2 run Rivas double in bottom half. But Young comes in to pitch the 6th and Swanson gets a tying rbi single. Then the bats go silent and bullpens get tough! Free baseball sees Pache draw a walk in the 10th, Laureano in to PR - works his way to 3rd and scores on a Pereza walk-off single against a drawn in infield.
BRO 2-5-0 LP Diekman (0-)
CIC 3-4-0 WP Jackson (1-0) BS Young (1)
Game 2 - Crazy game as Codgers score 6 times in the 1st culminated by a 3 run Yepez (1) homer (those homers kill rallys!!). But Harrison struck out the sides in the 1st for a "fast start"!! But actually he settles down well after that and goes 5 more innings - scoreless. And the Cyclones get him back in the game in the 3rd scoring 5 times - no homers. And then 2 more in the 4th to take the lead! 8 WALKS helps in the comeback. Well - Harrison got the Cyclones through 6 and then Adam and Peralta continue the dominance and blank Brooklyn the rest of the way. Good for Cyclones since they didn't score again after the 4th but their comeback was enough!
BRO 6-6-2 LP Corbin (0-1)
CIC 7-7-1 WP Harrison (1-0) S Peralta (5)
Game 3 - Brooklyn again gets off to early lead with 3 in the 2nd on a 3 run Santana homer (3). Swanson drives in 2 more in the 4th and another in the 5th gets them up 6-1. And this time, the pitching holds up. Why? Adam (grade 3) Wainwright on his farewell tour looked like Wainwright of old! 7 innings, 6 hits 1 ER and 7 Ks. Swanson ends up with 3 hits.
BRO 6-10-1 WP Wainwright (1-1)
CIC 2- 7-0 LP Cruz (1-1)
Game 4 - Lots of early scoring, most of it by the Cyclones. 2 in the 1st, 3 in the 3rd and 4 in the 4th (Marte grand slam (2). Devers knocks out 3 hits including a homer (2) and 4 rbis - Cyclones score 3 more in the 7th. Santana slugs a 2 run homer (4) in the 2nd (tied the game at the time) and Haase adds a solo shot (1) late, but that didn't make a dent in the score as Coney Island breezes to a big 12-4 win.
BRO 4-10-0 LP Flexen (0-2)
CIC 12-14-1 WP Manoah (2-1)
Game 5 - Here comes the near no-hitter. Conforto sneaks a single through the infield in the top of the 7th - Yelich singles in the 9th with 1 out. That and 3 walks was the Brooklyn offense. Garrett Whitlock was all over his stuff. CG, 2 hits, 11 ks! Rafael Devers provided way more offense than needed, 4 for 4, walk, 3 doubles and a homer (3) and 7 rbis!!! Everyone in the home dugout had fun as Cyclones took advantage of a roster issue as a non-roster player tried sneaking into the rotation. The replacement, McGough, didn't fare well. 5 hits, 3 walks in 1.1 ip and 7 runs.
BRO 0- 2-2 LP McGough (1-1)
CIC 15-14-0 WP Whitlock (1-1)
Cyclones continue the hot (unexpected) start - but reality will most likely begin to set in next week as they face a tough, tough Tidewater team. Big bonus!! We avoided an injury this week!!!
Northwest vs Tulsa
The Tulsa Roughnecks edge the Northwest Indians 3-2 in the 5 games.
4/15-TUL 11 NWI 4. Senga vs. Gore. Senga improved to 3-0, allowing just
3 hits in 6 innings. Homers by Stewart, Ortega, and Drury for Tulsa.
4/16-NWI 2 TUL 0. Sanchez vs. Steele. Steele improved to 3-0, allowing
only 2 hits in the CG SHO.
4/17-TUL 7 NWI 4. Lugo vs. Strider. The Roughnecks, shut out on 2 hits
through 6 innings, down 4-0, slam the Indians bullpen for 7 runs in the
last 3 innings.
A bases loaded triple by Baddoo was the big blow, solo shot by Turner.
4/18- NWI 6 TUL 1. Matz vs. Alcantara. Alcantara improved to 3-0,
allowing 5 hits through 7 innings. Duvall 's 3 run homer the big blow
for Northwest.
This game had a bad collision between Drury and Ortega, both injured for
5 days and 31 days respectively.
4/19- TUL 2 NWI 1. Javier vs. German. This nail biter was a good one,
the Roughnecks edge by with Stewart doing the book ends hero home run.
Massey injured for the Indians on a hit by pitch, out 5 days.
Week ending April 13
San Diego vs Tampa
Season's going for the Armadillos much as I expected only this series was worse than series 01!
Game one between Snellzilla and Kershaw (achoo!!) went as expected. Both mowing them down into the 8th inning. Tied into extras, this one 16 innings before a homerun from Burger won the game.
The rest of the series was taken rather easily by the Rays as the Armadillos now on a 7 game losing streak.
Looking like there might be a fire sale somewhere down the road.
East Coast vs Westchester
An interesting series between the visiting Westchester Wombats and the host East Coast Rockies. here were 52 runs scored in the series and the Rockies come away with a 5-0 sweep. The ball bounced our way and the hitters came up with the hit they needed at the right time. The Rockies won 3 of the games with their last at bat and had to come from behind in 4 of the five games.
GAME 1: ECR 9-11-1 WES 8-9-1
Paredes goes deep in the first with 2 aboard. In the home half Alvarez hits the first pitch of the game into the seats and Candelario follows 2 batters later and a 3-2 Wombat lead. Vaughn dies it in the 2nd with a double. Alvarez blasts a 3 run HR in the 4th, 6-3. In the 6th Arraez triples in a run, Carpenter a PH RBI single, and Varsho tags a 3 run HR and a 8-6 lead. Alvarez wallops his third round tripper of the game in the home half, 8-7. Springer knocks in 2 with a single in the 7th. Littell (1-0) gets the win and Kelly (0-1) the loss.
GAME 2: ECR 3-6-0 WES 0-2-0
P Lopez pitches a gem. Allowing only 2 hits and 2 walks with 10 punch outs. Contreras singles in a run in the 1st. Polanco a RBI GO in the 5th and Candelario homers in the 8th. Lopez (1-1) gets the win and Morton (1-1) the loss.
GAME 3: ECR 4-10-1 WES 3-5-0 (10 Innings)
Carpenter a SF in the 1st. Riley ties it in the 3rd with a single. Varsho smashes a solo HR in the 5th, 2-1. Votto swats a HR in the 6th, 3-1. In the 8th Greene a PH 2 run double ties the game at 3. Greene a 2 out RBI double in the 10th. Munoz (1-0) gets the win and Jaz (0-1) the loss
GAME 4: ECR 3-5-1 WES 1-3-1
In the 1st after a Correa error Ramirez plates a run with a single. Riley tiues it in the 6th with a solo shot and in the 8th Vaughn a SF and Springer a RBI single. Maton (1-1) gets the win and Nardi (0-1) the loss.
GAME 5: ECR 11-15-0 WES 10-19-0 (11 Innings)
A big game for Sosa. In the 2nd Sosa singles in a run and Varsho blasts a 3 run HR, 4-0. Vaughn singles in a run in the home half. In the 3rd Riley launches a GRAND SLAM and a 5-4. Candelario a SF in the 4th, 6-4. Varsho a RBI single in the 6th. Polanco doubles in a run in the bottom half, 7-5. In the 7th McCormick a RBI GO and Sosa adds a 2 run single and a 8-7 lead. Vaughn reclaims the lead in the home half with a 2 run double. Diaz ties it in the 8th with a solo HR, 9-9. In the 11th Sosa a 2 out RBI single for a 10-9 lead. In the bottom half Riley ties the game with a single and Greene walks it off with a single. Maton (2-1) gets the win and Kelly (0-2) the loss.
Antelope vs Mad Town
Antelope hosts Mad Town for their first home series of the season.
Game 1 – Good pitching matchup in the opener with Gallen facing Wacha. Cats get 2 in the first and a solo shot from J. Naylor in the 4th to win it 3-0. Wacha with complete game 1 hit shutout.
HR - ARC - J. Naylor (2)
WP – Wacha 2-0 LP – Gallen 0-2
Game 2 – Kirby faces Kremer in game 2 and Antelope leads 4-1 after three. Zephyrs get 3 in the fourth and hold on to win 6-5. J. Naylor injured for 5 days.
HR - MTZ - B. Lowe (2) ARC - Perdomo (2) Raleigh (3)
WP – Kirby 1-1 LP – Kremer 1-1 S – Abreu (2)
Game 3 – Eflin and one of the new Antelope additions in Woo for game three. Cats get 3 in the and that is enough as Woo goes 8 plus giving up 1 unearned run in the 9th. Mayza comes on to get the save as the Cats take it 3-1. Suarez injured for the day.
HR - ARC - J. Martinez (3)
WP – Woo 1-0 LP – Eflin 1-1 S - Mayza (1)
Game 4 – Two lefties in game 4 with Heaney against another new River Cat, B. Williamson. Antelope is up 5-4 after seven, but Zephyrs tie it in the 9th as Mayza walks Bellinger and Franco doubles him home. Mayza strands Franco at 2nd and Cats can't score in bottom half. No score in 10th for Mad Town. In bottom of 10, Straw reaches on an infield hit with 2 outs, steals second, B. Naylor awarded 1st on catcher interference and E. Suarez drives in Straw with a gapper to LC for a wild 6-5 Antelope win. Machado injured for six games.
HR - MTZ - Casas (1) ARC - J. Martinez (4)
WP – Diaz 1-0 LP – Vasquez 0-1
Game 5 – Taillon and Medina in the finale and it is all Mad Town after 6 1/2. Antelope gets 2 back on a Raleigh big fly in the 7th to make 5-2. Bottom of 9th, Edman walks, but next two batters retired. Semien doubles in Edman, Perdomo scores Semien with a single to left, and J.Martinez crushes one to left for another 6-5 walk off win for Antelope.
HR - MTZ - Franco (1) ARC - Raleigh (4), J. Martinez (5)
WP – Kimbrel 1-1 LP – Abreu 0-1
Antelope with all the luck on their side as they take the series 4 games to 1. J. Martinez with 3 HRs and 9 RBI for the series. Mad Town returns home to face Arizona and Antelope travels to take on the Rebels of Gulf Breeze.
Stamford vs Chappaqua
Stamford opens 2024 season against Chappaqua Comets.
Game 1
Jays 5-8-0
Comets 1-2-00
WP S McClanahan 2-0 LPS Gray 0-2
Comets open scoring in the 1st as Judge doubles and is driven home by Diaz. Jays counter in bottom of the 1st on a Kirilofff three run homer. Jays adds two more in the 8th on a Reynolds double. McClanahan pitches 8 innings of 2 hit ball fanning 11.
Game 2
Jays 7-10-1
Comets 2-5-0
WP C Bassitt 2-0 LP B Ober 0-1
Comets again score first on a Chisolm single in the 2nd. Jays score a run in the 2nd and in the 3rd, Kirilofff belts another 3-run homer. Jays add two more in the 5th on a Friedl homer. Comets score one on a Reynolds error. Comets reliever Holmes hits Knizner 8th and an argument ensues and both players are thrown out. Jays however lose Knizner for 14 days; their second catcher lost to injury in the early going. Bassitt goes 7 innings for the win.
Game 3
Comets 3-5-1
Jays 2-4-2
WP K Gibson 2-0 LP J Montgomery 1-11
Comets use the bat of Judge to propel them to a win. Judge belts solo homer in the 6th and drives in two more in the 7th on a double. Kirilofff continues hot hitting with solo homer. Nimmo drives in Jays other run on a sac fly. Gibson goes 6.1 innings for the win. Comets also steal 4 bases.
Game 4
Jays 5-13-0
Comets 1-5-1
WP M Clevinger 2-0 LP M Stroman 1-1
Jays get big games from Stott 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Reynolds 3 hits including a homer. Clevinger goes 6 innings fanning 6 for the win. Three Jays relievers shut downs Comets over last three innings each fanning 2. Castro hits solo homer for Comets only run.
Game 5
Comets 12-14-1
Jays 4-10-0
WP R Suarez 1-0 LP B Miller 0-1
Comets takes finale of the series as they break open game scoring 5 tuns in the 6th. Comets pound Jays pitching for 14 hits. Judge homers and drives in 2, while Chapman drives in 3 and Chisholm also drives in 3 and belts homer. Starter Suarez is in command as he 5 hits Jays over 7 innings fanning 8.
Next Comets travel to Tidewater and the Jays goes on the road to Cowtown.
Freeport vs Gulf Breeze
Division Rivals face off as Freeport hosts Gulf Breeze.
G1
G 4 9 1
F 6 10 0
W- Eovaldi (1-1)
L- Paxton (1-1)
S- Alzolay (2)
HR- G- Heyward (2)
F- Soler (1)
G2
G 5 11 1
F 0 4 1
W- L. Castillo (1-1)
L- Elder (0-1)
S- B. Wilson (1)
HR- G- Jeffers (1), Escobar (1)
G3
G 4 7 0
F 7 11 1
W- Bryce Miller (2-0)
L- Gomber (0-2)
S- Alzolay (3)
HR - G- Jeffers (2)
F- Cron (2)
G4
G 3 6 0
F 5 7 2
W- Hicks (2-1)
L- B. Wilson (0-1)
S- Alzolay (4)
HR- G- Mountcastle 2 (2)
G5
G 9 11 1
F 7 11 1
W- J. Jackson (1-0)
L- Rey. Lopez (0-2)
S- S. Miller (1)
HR- G- Mountcastle (3), Canha (1)
F- Vierling (1)
Freeport wins three of five.
Jonesboro vs Arizona
The Arizona Dust Devils visited Joneboro for the Crackers home opener. Indicators point to a long Cracker season as the Devils take 3 of 5
Game 1-Arizona wins 4-3. Neris(1-1) is the winner and Graterol(2) gets the save. Romano(1-1) absorbs the loss. Raley(4), Giminez(1) homer for Arizona, Mullins(1) for the Crackers.
Game 2-Crackers snap back for a 4-2 win. Miley(1-0) is the winner with Romano(1) picks up the save. Bibee(1-1) takes the loss. Olson(1) goes deep for Devils, Abrams(1) for the Crackers.
Game 3- Crackers win 6-4. Neris(1-2) takes the loss, Stratton(1-0) is the winner and Romano picks up save #2. Schwarber(1) homers for the Devils
Game 4-Crackers lose 4-3. Abbott(1-0) is the winner and Graterol(3) gets the save. Betts(2), Olson(2) homer for the visitors. Mullins(2) goes deep for the home team.
Game 5-Another close game as the Crackers lose 6-4. Rasmussen(1-0) is the winner, Graterol(4) gets another save. Bielak(1-1) is the loser. Betts(3) and Giminez(2) homer for the Crackers. Abrams(2) goes yard for the Crackers.
Next up the Dust Devils head to Mad Town and the Crackers host Louisiana.
Northwest vs Shenandoah
The annual six game set kicked off the home season for the Northwest
Indians, and they didn't disappoint, taking 5 of 6.
4/9 - NW 5 SH 3. Liberatore vs. Smyly. Game one of a two for Tuesday
matinee double header. Mostly solo shots accounted for all of the runs
in this contest, setting a tone for the entire series. Andrus, Muncy,
and Sabol for Shenandoah, the latter a pinch hit shot. Lindor, Grichuk,
and Guerrero a 2-run HR.
4/9 - NW 5 SH 0. Blanco vs. Gore. M. Gore tossed a CG SHO allowing only
4 hits. Lindor was 3 for 4 with 3 runs and a solo homer.
4/10 NW 4 SH 2. Wheeler vs. Steele. Solo homers for the Shenandoah
runs, Ford and Sheets. Wheeler allowed 3 solo shots, Endy Rodriguez,
Tovar, and Lindor. Northwest knocked out 14 hits total, stranding 9.
4/11 NW 6 SH 4. Valdez vs. Strider. Shenandoah hit back-to-back homers
in the 2nd and 9th innings to make this one memorable, but again, solo
homers. Torres, Velazquez, and Lindor homered for Northwest.
4/12 NW 16 SH 8. Weaver vs. Alcantara. This was home run derby folks.
13-5 after only 3 innings. Weaver never made it to the 2nd inning.
Alcantara wasn't much better, allowing 11 hits and 5 dingers in 7
innings pitched. Northwest had 22 hits and 6 homers, Lindor with his 5th
game in a row. Shenandoah had 11 hits and 5 homers. Dingers derby by
Muncy, Wisdom 2, Morel, Sabol for the Pandas. Lindor, Guerrero 2, Hays,
Grichuk 2 for the Indians.
4/13 - SH 5 NW 0. Liberatore vs. Skubal. Muncy's 2-run homer was all
Liberatore needed in tossing 7 innings of 3-hit shutout baseball. The
Tribe hitters were limited to but 4 harmless singles.
So Shenandoah avoids the sweep and heads off to Westchester next for a
series with the Wombats while Northwest will host Tulsa.
Coney Island vs Mokena
Weird results! Mokena wins big, Cyclones win small, Cyclones manage more wins......
Day 1
Game 1 - Nelson vs. Kikuchi
Nelson in the classic "starter" role gets lifted in the 2nd after 4 batters - he had 2 ks and gave up but 1 hit. But he was up 1-0 when after a Wendle rbi double in the top half of the 2nd. Cisnero comes in for Nelson and specializes in hitting bats and over the next 1.1 innings, he faces 10, gives up hits, a walk and 3 run! We like Cisnero!! But gets pulled with 2 outs in the 3rd. Law comes on and we get him for 1 run in the 4th and another in the 5th including a Call (1) solo homer. But the solo homer in the 5th came after Walker unloaded for a 2 run homer (1) in the top half. So after 5, the Cyclones are clinging to a 5-3 lead. It becomes 5-4 in the 8th on a Harper solo homer (2) - but Ferguson comes on for a 5 out save to take game 1 of the Double Header.
MOK 4- 8-2 LP Cisnero (2-1)
CIC 5-12-0 WP Kikuchi (2-0) S Ferguson (2)
Game 2 - Bradish vs. Silseth
Silseth up for the double header wishes he weren't. He goes 6, fans 5 but then there is that bad stuff. 10 hits, 6 walks, 2 homers and 8 runs!! He pitched the 1st two innings well and was up 2-0 after 2 on a Tellez homer (2). But then the 3rd happened - and SIX (6) Roozys cross the plate. 4 of them on a Stallings (1) grand slam!! Which followed a 2 run shot by Tatis (1). 2 more runs in the 4th and that was all the scoring as the pitchers took over control on both sides. But 8-2 is a big convincing win for Mokena and after day 1 and the double header split, the teams are still locked in a 1st place tie! (yeah, yeah, it's only week 2 - but it might be all we have.....)
MOK 8-12-0 WP Bradish (1-0)
CIC 2- 3-0 LP Silseth (0-1)
Day 2, Game 3 - E. Rodriguez vs F. Cruz
Hospital wagon was in use today!
3rd inning Ketel Marte is HBP - and gone for the rest of the series! Arcia in to PR and he scores when Solano rips one into the corner. 1-0 Cyclones! Then the part time starter Fernando Cruz takes over. He scatters 3 hits and 4 walks and combines that with 14 Ks and 2 DPs to blank the Roozys for the surprise win. Surprise win because the Cyclones only manager 4 hits off Rodriguez and Kahnle. And Rodriguez hits a 2nd batter - Rizzo - and he goes down for 3 weeks and a day (22 days)! Ouch.Concussion protocul.
MOK 0-3-0 LP Rodriguez (0-1)
CIC 1-4-1 WP Cruz (1-0)
Day 3, Game 4 - Dunning vs. Manoah
Dramatic PH turns the tide in this one. Manoah starts out strong and is up 2-1 after 4. But then the Roozys find some life in the 5th plating 3 runs for a 4-2 lead. Cyclones cut it to 4-3 in the bottom half and it stays that way until the 7th. Top half, Manoah had been doing well but allows the 1st two batters to reach base. Ferguson in for Cyclones, gets 1, then loads the bases. Pham in to PH - GRAND SLAM! (1) and suddenly a close game is 8-3 Roozys. Cyclones manage 1 in the bottom half but Roozys quiet the Coney bats and win it big, 8-4!
The bad news for Mokena - Caballero crashes into a wall and will miss 3 weeks and a day!
MOK 8-11-2 WP Dunning (1-1)
CIC 4- 7-2 LP Manoah (1-1)
Day 4, Game 5 - Berrios vs, Whitlock
Back to a 1 run game! Whitlock was staked to a 1-0 lead in the 2nd and looked on his way to his 2nd big win but in the 6th a bit of control and WP allows Miller to score the tying run. Game stays deadlocked at 1 until the bottom of the 9th when Ian Happ strokes a short fly to RF that scores slow poke Miguel Rojas with the winning run! Game feature 9 walks (4 for MOK, 5 for CIC) and 18 Ks - 7 Roozys batters and 11 Cyclones bit the dust.
MOK 1-3-0 LP Fairbanks (1-1)
CIC 2-7-0 WP Thornton (2-0)
Day 5, Game 6 - Hendricks vs. Kikuchi
Should be a high scoring Roozys game but through 5 it was 0-0. And Ian Happ batting a whopping .079 gets tossed after a close play where he's called out. Frustration mounting after his slooooow start.
Top of the 6th and Kikuchi suddenly losses his control. A few walks and the Roozys grab a 2-0 lead! So, with the 2-0 lead, Hendricks' day is done according to Foreman and Law comes into pitch the bottom of the 6th. He struggles, gives up 2 walks, 2 hits and 3 runs. Kahnle in for 7th and Devers (1) takes him yard for his 1st dinger of the year and a 4-2 Cyclone lead. Chapman in for the 8th, 3 walks - yup, he loads them up and then we get a Wendle error, 2 runs driven in by Fortes and a SF. Rather messy 8th for Mokena. So instead of them winning the big run scoring finale, the Cyclones take it. But they almost blew it in the 9th as some weaker pitchers had some issues before Peralta comes in with 2 outs and the bases loaded and gets the final out (and a cheap save).
MOK 2-4-1 LP Law (1-1) BS (2)
CIC 7-7-2 WP Kikuchi (3-0) S Peralta (4)
Is the NL West going to be a mystery again??
Cyclones grab 4 of 6, and suffer big injury hits. And pitchers are working over their heads. But hey, it's still just mid-April!
Greensboro vs Durham
April 9 - The much improved Lucky Strikes, Greensboro's neighbor to the east, arrive in town for the Hoppers' Opening Day twin-bill (is it just me, or does it seem to you all that last season ended a few days ago?). Durham opens with Bieber, against Shohei. The Hoppers take the opener, 6-1, as Shohei wins his 2nd of the young season.
In the nightcap, it's Blackburn facing Verlander. It's a much closer contest, but the Hoppers hang on for the 3-2 win, thanks to 2 Shohei homers (he now has 3 on the young season).
April 10 - Colin Rea opposes Martin Perez. Another close one, as the Hoppers come from behind to take it, 8-6. Walker and Arenado each hit their 2nd, and Contreras blasts his 2nd and 3rd.
April 11 - Durham ace Musgrove faces Max. It looks bad for the home team against Musgrove till they finally get to Durham's relievers, plating 6 in the bottom of the 8th, and taking this one handily, 11-3. Contreras (#4) and Arenado (#3) homer for Greensboro, and Reyes and Sewinski each hit their first for Durham.
April 12 - Brito and Miles M. in this one. Durham takes it, 5-2, as Greensboro leaves the potential tying runs in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth. Torkelson hits his 2nd, as Brito wins his debut.
April 13 - In the finale it's Colin Rea against J.P. France. J.P. goes the route, tossing a 4-hit, 5-zip beauty to even his '24 record at 1 apiece. Contreras hits his 5th, as the Hoppers take 5 of the 6 contests.
Next up for Durham is a home series with Tampa, and next up for Greensboro are the Roozys.
Week ending April 7
Westchester vs Jonesboro
sorry for the delay, on Disney Cruise with kids and grandkids, so games had to be relocated from Wombat Field in Rye, NY to Mickey's Stadium at Castaway Cay. Such are the hardships of life! Speaking of hardships, looks like another long season for the Wombats. Decent pitching and no hitting. ERA for the series was 3.30, but only scored 9 runs.
Game 1: jonesboro 3, Westchester 1, 10 inn
Springs pitches well on opening day and Wombats have 1-0 lead after 8. Kelly and Ginkel (our new closerk ;-( blow it in the 9th and 10th,
W-Santos (1-0); L-Ginkel (0-1)
Game 2: Jonesboro 4, Westchester 3
Wombats lead early 2-0 and Burnes looks strong, but caves in the 8th giving up three run homer to Joc Pederson Diaz homers in the 9th to get one back, but that's it.
W-Romano (1-0); L-Burnes (0-1)
Game 3: Westchester 5, Jonesboro 2
Wombat bats finally wake up. Homers by Varsho and Paredes give them two runs on the 4th and 3 in the 7th and Jonesboro never is in the game
(W-Morton (1-0); L-Lelly (0-1)
Game 4: Jonesboro 4, Westchester 0
Williams, Stratton and Irving shut out the Wombats on two hits.
W-Williams (1-0); L-Olson (0-1)
Game 5: Jonesboro 3, Westchester 0
This time Bialek et al shut out the Wombats on 4 hits. homers by Bauer and Pederson do the damage
W-Bialek, (1-0), L-Canning (0-1)
so a good start for jonesboro and not so good for Wombats. Next Jonesboro opens at home against Arizona and Westchester travels to East Coast.
Mokena vs San Diego
Played the games while watching the White Sox/Braves Games. Looks to be a little cool there with rain on the way and lots of hoodies and blankets in the crowd. A few masks on some players too!!
Our games went the way I expected the Armadillos to go this season.
Game one
well pitched game between starters Kershaw and Bradish. Coyotes took it 2-1 with a homerun from Wendle and a single from Monasterios. Garcia homerun for the Armadillos.
Game Two
Extra innings game taken by Wiley in the 10th on an error by the San Diego pitcher Curry. Another homerun for Garcia and one by rookie Julien. 6-5 Wiley.
Game Three
a two run shot by another rookie, Doyle, powers the Armadillos to the win 3-1.
Game Four and five
The Coyotes come back and take both games 4 and 5 from San Diego
Wiley takes the series 4 games to 1.
Gonna be a LOOOOONNNNGGG season for the Armadillos!
Mad Town vs Northwest
Game 1
Velazquez's homer in the 2nd broke up a Gallen no-hit bid. 1 run was all Steele needed as he went the distance shutting out the home team.
NWI 2-0
Game 2
In a home run fest, Duvall,Jung and Heim got the best of Machado and Lowe. Strider went 6.1 allowing 1 hit (HR Lowe) and was pulled. Bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, bases loaded with Machado at bat. Swing and a miss and that's all
NWI 5-2
Game 3
A Berti Grand Slam in the 7th broke the tie and the bullpen allowed only 1 base runner the last 10 at bats
MTZ 6-1
Game 4
The bullpen again allowed only 1 base runner the last 3 innings and held
MTZ 3-2
Game 5
The Zephyrs raced to a 4-0 advantage behind Bogaerts' blast. The Indians kept coming and a 3 run 9th clinched it. Velazquez was 3 of 5, 2 runs scored, 5 rbis and 2 HR
NWI 8-5
Indians take the series 3-2 and head home to await the Pandas.
Mad Town takes to the road at Antelope
Tulsa vs Freeport
Tulsa opens the season at home with a 3-2 series win over Freeport. It was a very competitive series with all games close and low scoring except for game four which was a back and forth slugfest where of the both teams bats were hot.
Game 1: Tulsa 4 – Freeport 2
Game 2: Freeport 3 – Tulsa 2 (12 innings)
Game 3: Freeport 1 – Tulsa 0
Game 4: Tulsa 12 – Freeport 9
Game 5: Tulsa 6 – Freeport 5
Arizona vs East Coast
The Arizona Dust Devils played host to the East Coast Rockies to open the season. The series was a six-gamer, with the doubleheader on day 4 of their visit.
Gm #1
Lopez vs. Walker. For the first time since the current regime took over the franchise, Arizona hosted the opening series. Taijuan Walker got the opening day nod and pitched a gem. He went 6 shutout innings allowing 2 hits and a walk along with 7 strikeouts. Neris and Graterol finished up, with a Springer (1) 2-out ninth inning blast the only run the Rockies would score as the Dust Devils took the opener 2-1. Arizona scored their two runs in the 5th on singles and stolen bases by Gimenez and Carroll and a Mookie 2-out RBI single plating Carroll with the game-winner. East Coast could not capitalize on the 3 Arizona errors, 2 by Gunnar Henderson.
W Walker (1-0)
L Lopez (0-1)
S Graterol (1)
Gm #2
Peralta vs. Nola. It took 10 innings, but the home team sent their fans home with a win as Mookie (1) walked it off with his bleacher reacher following a Ramirez walk for the 6-4 final. Candelario (2) hit two home runs accounting for three of the Rockies’ runs. Correa singled in the other run. First-round pick Luke Raley (1) got the DDs within one with his 2-out 2R shot in the 6th. After a Sanchez walk, PR Walls stole second and scored on a Ramirez 2-out double the next inning to tie things up. The Arizona pen didn’t allow a run in their 5 innings of work.
W J. Jimenez (1-0)
L Maton (0-1)
Gm #3
Cease vs. Sandoval. Three straight singles to open the bottom half of the first inning along with a PB and another 2-out RBI, this on a single by Raley, accounted for the Dust Devils; first 3 runs. A Carroll (1) 3-run shot doubled their total the next inning. BTB home runs by Alvarez (1) and Candelario (3) (who is this guy?) got two back in the 3rd and a Contreras (1) solo shot and a Carlson double drove in their last two runs. A Larnach (1) long ball closed out the scoring as the Arizona pen threw another 4 innings of no-run ball. ARZ 7-4. Betts was injured by slamming into the wall on a catch in the 4th inning. Robert was the very next batter and was HBP. He too was injured. Both are out one day, which happens to be a DH, which actually means two games!!!! Argh, from the both of us!!!
W Sandoval (1-0)
L Cease (0-1)
S Duran (1)
Gm #4 (Gm 1 of DH)
E. Perez vs. Bibee. Alvarez singled in Greene to open the scoring in the first inning. Three errors by the Rockies and a walk allowed the Dust Devils to take the lead 2-1, in the bottom half. The game turned into a laugher. Raley (2) followed a Henderson single to open the 4th with a long ball. After two outs, a common theme throughout the series, three straight walks by Perez and an Olson single plated two and the other runner scored on yet another East Coast error! Schwarber doubled him in for his first RBI of the season and an 8-1 DD lead. Gimenez doubled in Raley to account for the final run in the 9-1 gift-wrapped victory. The Arizona pen threw another 4 shutout innings.
W Bibee (1-0)
L E. Perez (0-1)
Gm #5 (Gm 2 of DH)
Lucchesi vs. Abbott. Candelario (4) followed a Springer double with yet another dinger in the first. Carroll doubled in a run in the third. Two walks, an error, and a Correa single plated two in the 4th. Polanco doubled in Candelario in the fifth for a 5-1 advantage. The home team ties it up in the 6th. Olson rips a 2R triple followed by a Sanchez (1) big fly! The tie is short-lived, as a walk, double, walk, double, single and a Greene 2R triple soared the Rockies to an eventual 12-6 blowout victory and put an end to their season-opening 4-game skid. Polanco (1) and Riley (1) hit solos to close out the ECR scoring. Foley was tagged for 5 ER and Beck another 2 as the DD pen didn’t fare too well in this game. The hopes of an undefeated season are up in smoke! HA!
W Lucchesi (1-0)
L Foley (0-1)
Gm #6
Cease vs. Walker. Both starting pitchers are working on short rest as they ramp up after spring training. After two outs, an Olson double and three straight singles produced the first two runs of the game. Polanco(2) tied it and Gunnar misfired to allow the go-ahead run in the 3rd. Raley (3) put the Dust Devils ahead with his 2R shot in the 4th. Alvarez (2) tied it in the 5th. Polanco drove in the go-ahead run with a double for his third RBI of the game. A Contreras (2) solo and a Springer single drove in Robert with some insurance runs. Arizona could only muster one more run as they fell, 7-5.
W Cease (1-1)
L Neris (0-1)
S Clase (1)
Next up, Arizona heads to Jonesboro and the East Coast Rockies will host fellow division foe Westchester.
Coney Island vs Tampa
1 game short of the getting to the World Series last year - it was a big surprise. Don't expect anything like that this year, but do expect a fun season as the Cyclones begin a rebuild - and it should be an interesting player management as well. But still expect to produce runs (not sure we can prevent too many).
Fans are excited even if the prognostications are slim. Here comes Tampa!
Game 1 - Cole vs Kikuchi
Starting the season against Cole - with Blake Snell in the wings for the next game - oh boy. Yet, the home team scores first when Alex Call knocks a SF in the 2nd. But the Stingrays get it right back in the 3rd on a Brennan rbi double (1 of his 2 hits in the game). In the bottom half a leadoff walk to Happ results in another Cyclone run when Devers doubles him home. Then Cole buckles down, fans 7, 6 hits total no more runs. However, Kikuchi gives up no more runs scattering 7 hits in 7 innings and fanning 9. Then Ferguson, Thornton and Peralta close it off for a surprising 2-1 opening day win!!
TAM 1-8-0 LP Cole (0-1)
CIC 2-6-0 WP Kikuchi (1-0) S Peralta (1)
Game 2 - Snell vs. Mahle
Moniak (1) hits a 1 out solo homer for Tampa in the 1st but a Devers rbi double in the bottom half ties it up. Then Verdugo (3 singles in the game) and Moniak drives in runs in the 3rd for a 3-1 Tampa lead. Cyclones cut it to 3-2 in the 6th only to see Tampa regain the 2 run lead when Castellanos drives in a run in the 7th. Bottom of the 8th, Goriano comes in to replace Snell and he has some control issues walking Laureano with the bases loaded for 1 and then power hitter Miguel Rojas slugs a grand slam (1) and the Cyclones flip the score and take a 7-4 lead into the 9th! Pete Alsonso leads off with a solo homer (1) off Thorton so Peralta is called on again and he gets 3 straight outs to preserve the shocking win, 7-5.
TAM 5-8-1 LP Soriano (0-1) BS (1) (4 walks in 1 inning pitch)
CIC 7-4-1 WP Young (1-0) S Peralta (2) recipients of 7 walks!
Game 3 - Detmers vs. Manoah
This game featured a batter hitting for the cycle, also featured the Stingrays outhitting the Cyclones again. And 5 runs in the 1st. Jake Burger launches a 3 run homer (1) in the 1st. Cyclones get back 2 - the 1st a direct result of a single, a dropped fly ball and then a wild pitch and then a SF. Game is tied in the 3rd on a Rengifo homer (1), his 2nd hit of the game.
Cyclones break the game open in the 5th when Call draws a bases loaded walk and then Rengifo triples driving in 3 for a 7-3 lead! But the game is not over - top of the 6th Kepler steps to the plate pinch hitting for Neto and singles in 2 runs to cut it to 7-5. Then the Cyclone bullpen comes to the rescue and shuts down the Stingrays for the final 3.2 innings. And Rengifo comes up again and doubles to complete the cycle (and the single in the 1st was an infield hit).
TAM 5-10-2 LP Detmers (0-1)
CIC 7- 8-0 WP Manoah (1-0) S Ferguson (1)
Game 4 - Rodriguez vs. Whitlock
Finally, the Cyclones outhit the Stingrays and get started in the 1st on a Marte (1) homer, 1-0. Then Verdugo ties the game with an rbi single in the 3rd. Then in the 5th, the Stingrays tag some shots off Whitlock. Espinal takes Laureano deep down the line in right, 1 down. Neto then hits one to the gap that Laureano races to catch up to an snares it in the webbing. Then Verdugo takes one to the wall, Laureano catches it, slams the wall and the ball pops out of his glove. Verdugo just kept running and scores for a 2-1 Tampa lead. But Whitlock maintains his poise giving up just 2 hits and those 2 runs (1 uneraned) and fanning 8 in 6.1 innings. But he does leave in the 7th with the bases loaded as his control vacated him. But Young and Jackson keep Tampa from scoring anymore. BUT - the Marte homer in the 1st was the only score the Cyclones could muster against Rodriguez, 6 hits,1 run, 7.1 innings. And the Speier finishes the game getting the 5 out save! Tampa wins, 2-1.
TAM 2-3-0 WP Rodriguez (1-0) S Speier (1)
CIC 1-6-1 LP Whitlock (0-1)
Game 5 - Urquidy vs. Harrison
WIBL debut for Harrison doesn't go as hoped. He lasts 5 innings and gives up 10 hits, 2 walks and SEVEN runs. Harold Castro has a big game - 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 rbis. His 1st single drives in the games 1st run in the 2nd, Tampa 1-0. Then the top of the 4th - things came unglued. A 1 out HBP on Burger starts things. But Kepler fans, 2 outs. BUT Castro muscles a double, Burger scores! Rosario doubles, 3-0. Brennan singles, Rosario scores, 4-0. Brennan goes to 2nd. Rutschman then hits the slow roller to CF to make it 5-0! Cyclone offense however comes to the rescue when Rizzo gets the IF single with runners at 2nd and 3rd, 5-1. Call then doubles off the wall, 5-2. Laureano singles up the middle, 5-3. Then he's picked off. And Rojas flies out - so 5-3 after 4, Tampa in control.
Alonso leads off the 5th with a homer (2), 6-3 Tampa. That's it until the 6th when Castro leads off with a single, Harrison's debut is mercifully over. Adam in and Rosario greets him with an rbi double and Tampa has a 7-3 lead!
Bottom of the 7th Wilson in to relieve Urquidy (6 ip, 4 hits, 3 run). Starts with a HBP on Laureano. Arcia in to PH for Rojas and after a SB, Arcia doubles scoring 1. Cyclones scores a 2nd run on a 2 out Marte triple but he is stranded at 3rd so after 7 it's 7-5 Tampa! Jameson and Thornton then blank Tampa in the 8th. Soto comes on for the bottom of the 8th. Devers opens with a single. 1 out, Call is beaned. Laureano then bounces into FC with Devers moving to 3rd. Arcia up, fists one to RF, Devers scores, Laureano goes to 3rd. Delay up - deep to CF, off the wall, Laureano scores, Arica is being waved in - he scores, Cyclones gain the lead 8-7! Soto leaves - too late.9th inning, Peralta in. Rutschman grounds out. Castellanos, whiff. Alonso ropes ones hard to RF, Laureano races to the line, dives, looks like a trap, he's holding it up, the umpires thumb goes up! Out, replay confirms, out, game, Cyclones win, 8-7 on big comeback!
TAM 7-12-0 LP Soto (0-1) BS (1) again they outhit the Cyclones
CIC 8- 9-0 WP Thornton (1-0) S Peralta (3)
Surprising opening series as Cyclones manufacture runs as bullpen fof Tampa fails to hold a few games. Next week we host Mokena for SIX (CIC all set). Tampa flips coasts and goes to San Diego.
Shenandoah vs Antelope
Shenandoah takes 3 of 5 from Antelope
Game One, Antelope 9, Shenandoah 4
Gerardo Perdomo has three hits and scored twice to lead the River Cats to the opening day win. Michael Wacha limited the Pandas to only four hits, but one was a three run shot by Patrick Widsom. Eight different Cats scored at least one run.
Game Two, Antelope 18, Shenandoah 8
The River Cats hit five first innings homers off of Romel Blanco in route to an 11 run inning. The River Cats finished day with a total of eight homers, and had 51 total bases. Both Lourdes Gurriel and J.D. Martinez went deep twice. Starting catcher Austin Hedges was the most effective pitcher for the Pandas, with two shutout innings to close out the game.
Game Three, Shenandoah 5, Antelope 4
Patrick Wisdom broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a solo homer off of Cat reliever Craig Kimbrell to send the Pandas to their first victory. The Pandas scored all of the runs on the long ball, including a two run shot by Christian Morel.
Game Four, Shenandoah 10, Antelope 4
The Pandas bats game alive with a 13 hit attack that chase Cats starter Brandon Wiliamson after only 2/3 of an inning. The Pandas batted around in the first, scoring five runs and put Framber Valdez on easy street for his first win of the season. Max Muncy had the big blow in the first, a three run homer that forced Antelope to tax their bullpen to stay in the game.
Game Five, Shenandoah 7. Antelope 2
Luke Weaver allowed only three hits and one earned run on eight innings of work. Again the Pandas used a pair of long balls, from Eddie Rosario and Patrick Wisdom to give themselves another big inning, a five run third. The River Cats bats never came alive until Cal Raleigh hit a solo homer in the ninth.
Gulf Breeze vs Louisiana
The new look Cajuns came to Gulf Breeze to kick off the 2024 season and as usual outplayed their hosts in winning 3 of 5. But this Cajun squad had something other Cajuns haven't had- speed. They stole 14 bases and were not caught in the 5 games. Add in the usual 8 HR in 5 games, and the Breeze was lucky to stay relevant.
Gm 1: 6-2 GB Opening Day is always exciting and today was that day. Down 2-1 in the 6th, both Anderson and Escobar had rbi base knocks and the bullpen got it done. Paxton wins, Giolito doesn't. Every GB batter but the 9 hole had at least one base knock. Realmuto homered for Louisiana, Marsh & Heyward connected for the good guys.
Gm 2: 3-2 Lou Best game of the set. Lynn walked 7, and allowed 7 hits, but hung in with T.May and King (save 1) closing it out. The game was truly decided in the home 5th with the routing 9-2-6 DP to quell a Rebel rally. Moncada left the building for Lou.
Gm 3: 11-7 Lou Cajuns stole 7 bases on the day and the final score was closer than it should have been. Outman, Acuna, and Witt all homered for our guests and Marinaccio wound up the winner. It was 10-0 Lou before the Breeze plated 6 in the home 5th, but that would be as close as they'd come. Gomber with a solid outing- 4 IP with 8 ER.
Gm 4: 5-0 Lou 161-1 is still a possibility for the Cajuns as Woodruff tossed a sweet 2 hitter and Realmuto homered twice (3).
Gm 5: 5-1 GB Breeze responded with a solid DeSclafani outing and the bullpen pitched the final 3 2/3 without a baser runner allowed. Marsh had a pair of doubles in a 3 for 5 day, and Tom Murphy finished 3 for 3 with a walk. Wesneski was hit hard in the loss.
Next week, Gulf Breeze heads to Freeport while the Cajuns hear to Tulsa.
Chappaqua vs Greensboro
ITS OPENING DAY AND THE START OF ANOTHER GREAT WIBL SEASON AS THE NEW LOOK CHAPPAQUA COMETS HOST THE DEFENDING WORLD CHAMPION GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
The Hoppers have won the NL East Division title TEN YEARS IN A ROW! The Comets, who last won the Division in 2012, are hoping that this is the year when the Hoppers finally come back to earth. After winning a record 132 games (!!) last season, what can Greensboro do for an encore? Well based on the results of the opening series, it looks like it will be another great year for the Hoppers – as the Comets (along with the Jays and Lucky Strikes) try their best to dethrone the reigning champs
Home Runs were flying out of the park throughout the series, as the Hoppers won the first two, the Comets the next two and the Hoppers the finale in a tense, exciting, TWELVE inning contest
GAME 1
Sonny Gray v Shohei Otahni
GRE 7 CHA 0
A classic matchup as the Comets new ace, Sonny Gray, goes up against the great Ohtani. Gray was acquired in a pre season trade when Chappaqua traded its #1 pick Cole Ragans and promising young OF Matt Wallner to Cowtown for Gary and 1B Nick Pratto.
With Gray anchoring the rotation, the Comets are hoping they can finally match up with the tremendous starting rotation of Alan Berger’s boys from Greensboro. Well it was not to be today.
In real life, in the regular season, Gray gave up only FOUR HRs --- Greensboro matched that total today in the first SIX INNINGS!
Mike Trout, Corey Seager, Wilson Contreras and Jordan Walker all took Gray deep as Greensboro got the easy win. Ohtani was, well Ohtani, as he pitched 6 shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits and striking out 7. He also went 1-4 as the DH. Seager had 3 hits and the rookie sensation, Walker had two (including a double together with his HR). The only negative for the Hoppers was star CF Julio Rodriguez was HBP and will miss the rest of the series.
Miles Mikolas pitched three shutout innings for the save. Gray took the loss, as he allowed 12 hits and SEVEN RUNS in 7 innings.
GAME 2
Bailey Ober v Justin Verlander
GRE 4 CHA 2
Greensboro throws out another ace and gets another win as the veteran, Verlander, pitches 8 innings allowing only 2 runs on 5 hits, with 7 Ks.
No easy win for the Hoppers this time as they had to come from behind to pull it out.
GRE scored first when Walker (2-4) continued his hot start with an RBI single. Trailing 1-0, the Comets took their first lead of the season in the 4th when Willi Castro hit a 2 run bomb. The game remained 2-1 going to the 7th. In the 7th Ober got into trouble and Will Smith came on to get Nootbar (4-5) out. But then Jordan Walker singled to drive in a run and tie the game at 2-2.
Rookie Justin Topa took the mound for CHA in the 8th and retired the side in order. Topa, the #3 draft pick for CHA, is expected to be a key part of a rebuilt bullpen- but not today. Starting his second inning of relief, in the 9th, Lars Nootbar homered off Topa to break the tie, the solo shot making it 3-2. Then Ohtaini went deep to make it 4-2. Topa, who had given up only 4 HRs in real life all season, had just given up 2 in one inning!
Evan Phillips pitched a shutout 9th for GRE for the save. Ohtani was 3-5. 1B Seth Brown was 2-2 with 2 walks for CHA
GAME 3
Kyle Gibson v JP France
CHA 6 GRE 4
France was Greensboro’s #1 draft pick this season but his debut was not a good one. The Comets raked him for 7 hits and 5 runs in 4.2 IP and he left trailing 5-4. After the Comets scored one in the first, Greensboro took the lead in the second on a 2 run HR by Mike Trout against Gibson. Conor Joe tied it with a solo HR in the bottom of the frame. In the third, the Comets took the lead as Kim hit a solo HR and Matt Chapman doubled in a run.
GRE got 2 back in the 5th on a 2 run HR by Seager(2) to tie it at 4-4. CHA came right back and regained the lead in the bottom 5th on a solo HR by Josh Lowe, sending France to the showers. In the 6th, Joe tripled and Castro doubled to make it 6-4 Comets, the final score.
Gibson got the win, allowing 4 runs in 6 innings. Three relievers, Matt Moore, Clay Holmes and Yennier Cano each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Cano, the Comets second round pick in this year’s draft, got his first WIBL save.
The loss was costly to the Hoppers in more ways than one as Seager was HBP and is expected to miss two weeks. GRE’s offense is so deep however that even without Seager and Rodriguez it is still one of the most potent, if not most potent, offenses in WIBL.
GAME 4
Marcus Stroman v Max Scherzer
CHA 9 GRE 4
Greensboro’s parade of aces continue as Mad Max takes the mound. But this is not his day as the Comets knock him out in the second inning, after Max gave up 7 hits and 5 runs. Kim lead off with a HR (2) making it 1-0 after one. In the second, David Peralta (with Judge resting) singled in a run, the red hot Joe doubled in two and Gabriel Moreno singled in another. 5-0 CHA after 2. In the 4th, Moreno hit a 2 run HR to make it 7-0, the HR coming off the veteran Zack Greinke who will mainly pitch out of the pen this season.
Nolan Arenado and Salvador Perez hit solo HRs as the Hoppers tried to crawl back into the game. But whatever chances they had were ended in the 8th when lefty reliever Matt Moore struck out Ohtani with the bases loaded and two out.
Moreno, the second year catcher who is expected to have a breakout season, was 3-5 with 3 RBIs (single, double, HR). Willi Castro also had 3 hits.
Marcus Stroman went 7.1 IP to get the win, allowing only 5 hits and 2 runs with ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS and no walks.
GAME 5
Adrian Houser v Jose Quintana
GRE 8 CHA 7 12 innings
With the series tied, it was only fitting that the final game would be a close extra inning affair. What a game! In the third inning, Greensboro took the lead on a 2 run HR by Trout, his second of the series (3-7 on the day, .316 for the series). CHA tied it in the bottom of the frame when Kim walked with the bases loaded and Judge grounded into a bases loaded DP with a run scoring. In the 5th, GRE scored three to take a 5-2 lead but again the Comets came right back in the bottom of the 5th. Judge (1-6, .200) doubled to drive in two and Yainier Diaz (another up and coming second year catcher) singled in a run to tie the game at 5-5.
In the 7th, that sensational rookie, Jordan Walker did it again, singling in another run, his SIXTH RBI of the series! 6-5 GRE Greensboro took the one run lead into the 8th as Ian Hamilton, another 2023 draft pick, took the mound- following a brief rain delay. Diaz greeted him with a solo HR to tie it at 6-6. Then Garrett Cooper hit another solo HR and CHA had the lead 7-6 going to the 9th.
In the 9th, after lefty Will Smith retired Ohtani for the first out, rookie closer Yennier Cano came in to pitch. He walked Albies and then Contreras executed the hit and run perfectly singling to right putting runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. The next batter, Arenado singled and the game was tied at 7-7. Walker was then HBP to load the bases but Cano got Isiah Kiner-Falefa (in for the injured Seager) to ground into a DP.
The game went to extra innings as both bullpens took over. Clay Holmes started his second inning of relief for CHA in the 12th. Second year player Spencer Torkelson homered (only the second of his WIBL career) and the Hoppers led 8-7. Trevor MeGill set the Comets down in order in the bottom of the 12th and Greensboro had a come from behind win in a thriller – and took the series 3 games to 2.
Evan Phillips and Megill (the winning pitcher)combined for four shutout innings in relief, allowing only 1 hit, no walks and striking out 5. Holmes was the loser. Cano had his first career Blown Save.
Diaz and Cooper each went 3-5 for the Comets, with Cooper scoring 3 runs. For GRE, Albies was 4-6 with a double, an RBI, and 3 runs scored.
The rookie, Walker, was 2-5 and hit .381 for the series. Centerfielder Lars Nootbar was 1-4 with 3 walks and ended the series batting .444
Given Greensboro’s fire power, the Comets felt lucky to get 2 wins in the 5 games.
Next: The Comets travel to Stamford to play the Jays, who made the playoffs last season and should pose a threat to Greensboro’s dominance in 2023. Greensboro will host Durham in a six game series, that begins with a doubleheader.
Baseball is back!