Game 63 Recap: Rubber Hit the Road
Ballers Lose 10-5, Squander Chance at Series Win
by Nick Clementi
MARYSVILLE, CA—In the rubber match of a three-game set in Marysville, the Oakland Ballers quickly found themselves in familiar territory after a few innings: the B’s took a 1-0 lead in the first with a Jaden Collura sacrifice fly, but the Yuba-Sutter Freebirds answered back in the bottom half and never looked back.
Coming off the first complete game by a B’s pitcher in Raimondi Park history (the only other being Gabe Tanner’s here in Marysville last year), right-hander Griffin Smith did not have the command of his pitches to replicate his prior outing. The Freebirds hit three home runs in four innings against Smith, with Cooper Hext collecting four RBI in the process. Hext was an absolute B’s-killer this series, going 9-for-11 with seven RBI. Smith was pulled after four innings, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on eight hits and a walk.
One of the few bright spots of the night for Oakland came from right-handed reliever Brady Chavez. He relieved Smith, throwing two scoreless innings, and allowed just one base runner. After allowing seven runs in his first two games, Chavez has only given up one run in his last 10 1/3 innings.
With a big lead in hand, Yuba-Sutter starter Riley Egloff cruised to a quality start, holding Ballers bats in check until a two-run double from Collura in the sixth. Egloff was pulled heading into the seventh, and a Noah Blythe pinch-hit single and Conner Smith single put some pressure on Yuba-Sutter’s bullpen. This was followed by a sacrifice fly from Brendan O’Sullivan and a walk by Esai Santos to make it a 9-4 game. With two runners on and a comeback in sight, Ballers manager Aaron Miles selected Tremayne Cobb to pinch-hit for in the DH spot for Jaden Collura. It was not meant to be for the typically-clutch Cobb, who grounded out to first base to end the inning.
Oakland and Yuba-Sutter would each score another run, resulting in a 10-5 victory for the Freebirds. In a season that has had many almosts and near-misses for the Ballers, this was a potentially momentum-changing series that slipped away. The Ballers were coming off series wins over Long Beach and Boise with a chance at winning three consecutive series for the first time this season.
I spoke with a frustrated Aaron Miles postgame at Bryant Field, who broke down the issues he’s seen this season: “Not knowing who to go to in the bullpen, [it’s been] tough to define roles..I think we haven’t defended as well as we did last year. I think we have a good hitting team, it’s just been really tough on the mound and in certain areas defensively. There’s a couple teams that I know are stronger in those areas.”
The statistics match Miles’s frustrations with Oakland’s arms; last year’s championship team finished with a league-best ERA of 4.85. This year’s club currently has a team ERA of 8.92, well below California rivals Long Beach and Modesto.
The good news for Ballers players and faithful is that the team comes home to West Oakland tonight, starting a six-game series with the 13-50 RedPocket Mobiles. The Ballers sit at 27-36 overall, 5-10 in the second half. Despite the odds looking increasingly low, a path to the playoffs is still open. With nine games versus Modesto and six games versus Long Beach left for the Ballers, they will have chances to make up ground against the first and second-place teams in the PBL second half standings.
Odds & Ends
SS Tremayne Cobb, who came off the IL on Tuesday, did not start. According to Miles, his running is not 100% yet.
RHP Aidan Risse was traded last week to the Missoula Paddleheads in exchange for future considerations. Risse leaves his tenure in Oakland with a 9.27 ERA.
OF Mitchell Sanford played in his third game with the Ballers last night after recently being acquired from the Frontier League’s Gateway Grizzlies. He hit for an impressive .317 average and 17 home runs at Ole Miss his senior season in the mighty SEC.
Idaho Falls 3B Justin Trimble has been “the one that got away” for Ballers management after being traded from the B’s earlier this season. Trimble is now just two home runs shy of Jeter Ybarra’s PBL HR lead, while also hitting for a .423 average.
Bench Coach James Harris asked fans if it was “dress like a seat night” to explain the number of empty seats at the park.
Video recap from Ben Verhoek.
With photos from Maya Lee.
Nick Clementi is an Oakland native and lifelong Oakland baseball fan. He enjoys long walks on the beach and summer nights at Raimondi Park. He’s a Scrappy enthusiast who doesn't believe in sacrifice bunts. Sports content moderator by day, Ballers beat writer by night. Find him on Instagram and Twitter.
