Game 25 Recap: Let’s Play Again Tomorrow
Ballers Beat Coast 8-7 in Raimondi’s First Knockout of the Season
by Joe Horton
The Oakland Ballers beat the league’s hottest team on a chilly night in West Oakland, as Tremayne Cobb blasted four knockout round homers toward, on, and over Campbell Street.
The Long Beach Coast came into the game at a league-leading 19-5, but they were no match early for B’s starter C.J. Blowers, who went six innings, giving up only two runs and striking out eight in one of the B’s best outings all season. Oakland bats offered immediate run support with homers from Jaden Collura in the first and Jeter Ybarra in the second and third.
Blowers, despite his dominance, was quick to deflect the credit onto his teammates. “Not too much to comment on. I felt great. The main things I want to comment on are Jeter Ybarra and Tremayne Cobb, Jr. Just bottom-line ridiculousness all around,” said Blowers after the game. “I'm just so blessed to have teammates that are so damn good.”
These teams have played close and back-and-forth ball all season, and it was destined to be another tight contest. The Ballers’ bullpen couldn’t keep the Coast bats down all night, and the seventh saw the visitors tie it 5-5 behind a homer from Emilio Corona (the Oakland 68’s Ross, a leader on the Ballermetrics board: “I prefer Modelo!”) and scoring singles from Eddy Pelc and Patrick Roche Jr.
It seemed like all would be forgiven when Ybarra hit his third long ball of the night in the eighth making it 6-5 Oakland. Ybarra, speaking to Dispatches after the game, was asked if he started to expect to homer. “Oh, no, absolutely not. I mean, the only thing I'm thinking about is trying to not hit a home run, actually, after hitting the first one. So, to hit three is unbelievable.”
Which one felt the best? “Oh, last one, obviously…I mean, dead center, game on the line right there to get the lead.”
But there went that man again, perpetual B’s antagonist Pelc, who blasted his own no-doubter in the ninth deep into left to knot the game. The Coast loaded the bases with no one out and brought home one more run on a fielder’s choice from Cuba Bess. It could have been worse except for a high-pressure pair of outs from Matthew Maloney.
It was a team effort to get back the run in the final frame. Esai Santos walked and was replaced by pinch runner T.J. McKenzie. A Jake Allgeyer base hit moved McKenzie over, and Collura singled him home to tie 7-7.
In the knockout round, Coaster Matthew Bardowell got in early out trouble (you get five hit non-homers in the round before you’re out) but managed to put three over the fence. Cobb, who was the knockout batter in the B’s only other tiebreaker this season in Glacier, avoided the early outs that plagued him there and hit three to tie with outs and time to spare. He waited, and waited, and waited for his final pitch—to the rising anxiety of all the remaining 2,572 fans —to excuse that ball from the park and send his teammates onto the field. Watch his whole round here:
I asked Cobb if he felt any pressure, particularly after hitting three early homers and needing to wait for just one more. “I mean, it's not that stressful, man. There's definitely more stressful things in life to worry about. It's just a game. You do what you do; if you don't, you don't. That's how I got to keep it good mentally.”
I asked player of the game Ybarra about the difference being back at home in front of West Oakland fans. “It's everything. I mean, with their support behind me, it just encourages me to do the best that I can.”
But with hitting three homers and Tre still getting the call in the knockout, does Ybarra want that spot at some point? “No!” he laughed. “I want Tre to keep having it. He's really good at it, he’s having a bunch of success. I don't want to mess that up.”
I also asked assistant coach James Harris, the B’s designated knockout pitcher, about his strategy on the mound. “Throw it in one spot,” he said simply. Does it get stressful out there for him; does he feel any pressure too? “No. I've thrown enough derbies now, especially after last year's practice, so it’s easy now.”
And how much credit does he take for the win? “Zero. The players play.”
And they don’t just play. Earlier in the day, Cobb read Summer is Here to a group of children at the Oakland Public Library’s West Oakland Branch. The book and the game ended the same way: “You’re a natural’, said Bear. ‘Let’s play again tomorrow. Summer is here.’”
Odds & Ends:
This was the Coast’s second-ever and second-straight knockout round. They also lost to Modesto via slug-off on Sunday.
On Cal night, Ballers legend and bestower of the final championship out Connor “Sully”/“Slim Reaper” Sullivan threw out the first pitch. I asked about his approach in this high-leverage situation. “You establish the fastball early. You got to get ahead. Especially it's hard when you only have one pitch. So got to make it count. Go in there and make it happen.” I told him, without evidence, that the speed gun said it was 99. With a smile, he said, “You know, it felt like triple-digits.”
Mr. Cal, Mr. Baller, Mr. Mayor Mike was handing out special stickers all night to the delight of the Berkeley crowd.
Video recap from Ben Verhoek
Joe Horton is the editor of Dispatches from Raimondi
