Game 21 Recap: Back to Fun-damentals
The Ballers’ Bats and Bullpen Hang Tough in 12-7 Win Over PaddleHeads
by Joe Horton
“I would say the biggest change is that we are having fun,” closer Braydon Nelson wrote to Dispatches after the game. “Baseball is supposed to be fun, and we lost that for a minute. But we have started to grow together on this road trip and we have been making sure we are having fun out there as a team—and that has slowly been showing on the scoreboard. Looking to keep rolling with the momentum and finish this trip out strong.”
Yesterday I invoked Dory the forgetful fish from Finding Nemo. Today, in keeping with the theme—and the B’s partnership this offseason with Pixar for the Town Flicks series at Raimondi—let’s go Inside Out. Game by game, the different personalities of the Ballers are starting to work in tandem, and the many emotions at the controls of the 2026 season may have rediscovered the importance of Joy.
Which isn’t to say there wasn’t some Anxiety. Starter Joel Tornero, returning from the injured list, had another vexing outing, walking six and being charged with four runs while only recording two outs before being pulled in the first. Another hot B’s start at the top of the inning, including a massive leadoff homer from Tremayne Cobb and another three-run shot from Noah Blythe, was immediately erased as the teams were tied 4-4 until the third. In that third, the Ballers hit three doubles, including one from Jaden Collura that scored Esai Santos and Jeter Ybarra’s that scored Collura. In all, the B’s hit four doubles and five homers, scoring twelve runs on an economical eleven hits.
Ballers do-it-all stats wizard and melodious man in the booth Gareth Kwok said it best. Right now, the Ballers need “early run support and continuous run support.”
Blythe, who is hitting better than .600 in his past five games (cc: Gareth, thank you), said of his approach: “Honestly, I think it’s the adjustments that I’ve made in these last two weeks that have really got me feeling good at the plate. I haven’t changed my expectations, I just have been working hard and focusing on what I need to improve on with my swing and it’s been paying off. I’m happy that we were able to get the win tonight and hopefully we can keep it going!”
Another long bullpen stretch was doubtless what the B’s wanted to avoid, but after another five walks from Derek Murphy that only plated one run, Michael Riley tossed 3.1 innings and Matthew Maloney added 1.1 before giving way to closer Nelson. Oakland pitchers stranded 12 Missoula runners, and giving up only three runs over the final eight innings looked like the consistency the team has been waiting for all road trip if not all season.
“I really feel like we’re turning a corner here,” wrote Maloney after the game. “We’re playing as a team with the offense, defense, and pitching. We’ve had our struggles and I believe we’re turning that corner. I was very happy to get the opportunity to get the ball in the 7th with a lead and hold the lead for us.”
Which isn’t to say that Sadness and Anger don’t also have their place. “I felt horrible for cashing in one of Riley’s runs and that feeling of letting my teammate down really fueled me to put up a zero in the 8th,” Maloney added. “That’s the attitude that will help us turn the corner, in regards to picking up our teammates…”
Offensively, it was Davis Drewek that put the game out of reach with homers in the sixth—going back-to-back with Cam Bufford’s three-run right-center shot—and the eighth. His second, a two-run smash, traveled at least 450 feet. I asked about his strategy to finding success and how that translates to the team. “Keep stacking days. As a team you are always confident, we know what we bring to the table. I’ve just been trying to slow everything down at the plate, shrink the zone, and focus on left centerfield gap.”
If there was any Envy out there today, it was on the Paddleheads’ side. The team that has most consistently had the Ballers’ number in Oakland’s first two seasons and the start of this one has, for two days, not been able to keep pace. Pioneer League RBI leader 1B Tyler Stone was pulled in the third with an apparent injury, and the rest of the heads of this hitting hydra were limited to nine knocks, down from 18 and 11 to start the series.
One more Inside Out for you. I also asked Nelson if there was a particular event or outing that had helped bring the team together and bring back the fun.
“The team hit the bars of Great Falls on Sunday night after that series last week,” he wrote. “I would say getting out and having a good time out there helped us grow together.”
Not for me to know the particulars, but I will bet I’m not the only Ballers fan who can imagine that night as a core memory, the kind that glows gold and powers growth.
Oakland (8-12) sends Aidan Risse to the mound tomorrow looking to ensure at least a split of the series here in Missoula.
Joe Horton is the editor of Dispatches from Raimondi.
