Game 53 Recap: It’s Just a Surreal Feeling

Pitching Duel Unravels Late, B’s Again Denied by Roadsters 9-5 to Stay Second Half Winless

by Joe Horton

WEST OAKLAND—Fans might have been forgiven wondering if the scoreboard was broken when it showed 1-1 after six innings at Raimondi Park or whether it had accidentally swapped scores with the World Cup third place game that finished 6-4. But the pitching duel unraveled in the seventh and onward as the Oakland Ballers lost their fifth straight game 9-5 to remain winless in the season’s second half.

Starter Griffin Smith, who went 6.0 giving up three runs, gave his team every chance to get ahead and build a lead. He discussed with Dispatches what was working to keep the Roadsters confused. “My changeup was great tonight to both righties and lefties which kept hitters off balance.” And did he feel any added pressure with the unusual low-scoring affair where runs for much of the game seemed to be at a premium? “My approach didn’t change too much and kept attacking early which helped us get off the field.”

In addition to Ballermania—with high wrestling drama all afternoon—it was also Tyler Lozano Day as the B’s legend started on the field and moved to eight other innings’ worth of roles around the park. What was it like for Smith to work the first inning with T-Lo back behind the plate? “He was awesome. It was nice to have him back there after he overturned an ABS challenge and threw a guy out stealing!”

Omar Serrano went 6.1 for Modesto, surrendering only two runs, characteristic of his top-six league ERA on the season. Roadster Tyler Williams had two home runs on the way to a five RBI day. The Ballers did not have a hit until the fifth inning, and no B finished with more than one hit. Both teams issued seven walks.

The two-half system for playoff qualification in the Pioneer League is meant to give all teams multiple chances to revive and extend their seasons. For the Ballers, their first week schedule after the reset has done them no favors playing Long Beach and Modesto—a team already qualified for a spot and one knocking on the door—but Oakland may find their final window for postseason relevance closing quickly if they aren’t able to string together some wins.

Odds & Ends

Another B’s champion and fan favorite was in the house on Saturday. Christian Almanza, the current holder of many Ballers’ career marks including homers, runs scored, RBI, and games played, helped throw out hot dogs during the bullpen toss and met fans and took in the game behind home plate. I asked him what it was like to be back. “It's just surreal feeling. Usually coming back, I thought I'd be doing it on the field, but doing it from the stands is honestly a special thing, especially since T-Lo’s able to go out there,” said Almanza during the game. “All those memories are coming out as soon as I walk through those gates. Something special happened a year ago, and hopefully we get to see it from this team this year, but it was one of my most fun years playing baseball ever. And I'll never forget it.”
Reliever Matthew Maloney told the team on Friday that he was leaving the team and retiring. He’s planning to get married soon and move on to other non-baseball pursuits.
Another Raimondi animal rescue! A companionless and collarless dog was spotted underneath a car just outside the park’s main entrance during the game. When the owner tried to move his vehicle (after seeing a furious finger-wagging note on his windshield blaming him for the terrible treatment of his pet which was not his and not, as far as anyone could tell, a pet) the lethargic dog moved, and GM Laura Geist called on Ballers superfan and Oakland Animal Services supervolunteer Dawn Pieper to assist. With OAS on the phone and the dog—a puppy, actually, that Pieper estimated at three months old, a German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix—showing signs of understandable stress, who should arrive, leash in hand, a woman named Monica, who volunteers for Rocket Dog Rescue. She said she would take the dog for the night and then bring him to OAS tomorrow. As always, we will keep up with this furry fan-ily story.