Game 10 Recap: Pride Night W

Blowers Steps Up

By Roberto Santiago

WEST OAKLAND—Why was 10 afraid of 7? Because 7, 8, 9. Maybe 10 would have felt better if he knew C.J. Blowers had his back. The Ballers were coming off of a losing streak the past three games and looked to Blowers to play stopper. He delivered, giving the club their first quality start of the season, as the Ballers beat the barnstorming RedPocket Mobiles 3-2. 

Blowers avoided the early inning pitfalls that have plagued the Ballers this season, striking out the side in the top of the first. The teams traded home runs in the second, with catcher Jaden Collura hitting his first professional home run and dealing the blow for Oakland. Tremayne Cobb continued his hot start to the year, clubbing a solo home run in the third and continuing to apply pressure on the bases. It looked like Cobb had another dinger leading off the sixth, but the umpires ruled it was off the wall rather than the batter’s eye. “I thought it was gone,” said Cobb, “I did. But I got a double so it’s cool.” He advanced to third on an Esai Santos groundout but Jeter Ybarra (K) and Jake Allgeyer (pop up) were unable to cash him in. 

Blowers’s only other blemish was a solo home run in the fourth by RedPocket’s Marco Martinez, which tied the score at 2-2. Asked about his approach coming into this game, the recently unretired Blowers offered, “The most important thing was keeping the pace of play up and giving the bats a chance to continue being as hot as they have been.” Blowers was quick to give credit for his strong start to the rest of the team, “I’m just playing a role to keep the ball going.” he said, “Having great synergy with my guy JC [catcher Jaden Collura] behind the plate. That’s number one.” Blowers also revealed how he keeps hitters off balance while working without elite velocity: “Any time you can use the clock as a tool to your advantage, you can keep the hitters on their toes. I do a lot of timing disruptions to kind of make up for the lower velocity. That said, I think the fastball played up today. We threw the fastball a lot, competed in the zone and it worked out.”

The score stayed tied through the sixth thanks in part to some incredible defense by the Mobiles starter, Ren Arias. Following the Cobb home run in the third, Arias handled a screaming low liner that sent him sprawling backwards as he made the catch. The next batter, Ybarra, hit a hard grounder that also put Arias off balance as he fielded the ball and flipped to first for the out. In the bottom of the fifth, Damian Stone hit another liner right at Arias, who again hit the deck while making an improbable catch.

Finally, the Ballers broke through with the go-ahead run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Noah Blythe. From there, the bullpen got back to their winning ways, shutting out RedPocket for the last three frames. Langston Burkett bounced back from his tough outing on Wednesday to throw a scoreless frame, followed by another goose egg from Valek Cisneros.

In the top of the ninth, returning 2024 Baller Braydon Nelson came in to close it out with a one run lead. After putting up 21 saves in college, Nelson came back to Oakland after a year with Long Island of the Atlantic League to serve as the team’s closer. He put himself on a tightrope in this one. Nelson walked the bases loaded with one out and faced Red Pocket’s Raul Guillermo. Nelson got to 0-2, then 1-2. The crowd was humming, ready to explode in revelry or deflate completely. Nelson induced a 2-6-3 double play to end the game and give Oakland a much needed win. “The biggest thing in my head there was just, get the sinker in the zone,” Nelson recalled, “I knew if they put it in play, odds are it’s going to be a double play and that’s exactly what we got. Hopefully next time, I won’t put myself in that situation, but being able to trust the defense was a big thing in helping bring home the dub.”

Odds and Ends:

-There was an odd sequence in the top of the first where it looked like RedPocket’s Maury Weaver was caught stealing with three balls and two strikes on batter, Justin Johnson. Weaver was sent back to first base because Collura had challenged the call of a ball on the pitch. The call was overturned to a strike. Because the call was overturned, the rest of the play is deemed to have not happened. If the call had stood, Weaver would have been out at second and Johnson would have walked. In the end, it’s the same result for this one either way.

-It was Pride Night at Raimondi drawing 2,538 fans decked out in rainbows and pride flags. The number represents the third highest draw for the Ballers this season. Per Sia performed Drag Queen Story Time, inducing the assembled fans to call out, “Bodies are Cool!” as part of the read along. 

-Esai Santos got his first start of the year at second base and was part of all three double plays the Ballers turned in the contest.

-In the top of the third, with RedPocket’s Spence Coffman batting and facing a 3-2 count, the Ballers’s PA started playing the fan’s “Ball Four” drum cadence, traditionally used in the hope of inducing a walk for the home team’s offense, which confused many in the stands.

Photos from Darrell Lavin Photography.

Roberto Santiago is a third generation Berkeley boy currently raising the fourth generation. Roberto’s writing has appeared in Latina, Parents, and various online outlets. A lifelong baseball fan, Roberto worked briefly with the Boston Red Sox and once hit an RBI single off Spaceman Lee on a 2-2 changeup. It was his only at bat ever in a real baseball game. Find him on Instagram.