Game 52 Recap: Second Verse Same as the First?
Ballers Remain Winless in Second Half with 9-5 loss to Modesto
By Roberto Santiago
WEST OAKLAND— The Ballers’ tough season continued on Friday night with the team falling to the Modesto Roadsters 9-5. Starter Aiden Risse gave the team 82 pitches over 3 innings, taking the loss. It was an odd night for Risse, with much of the dmage against him coming after getting two strikes on the batter. Leadoff batter Lucas Terilli singled on a 2-2 pitch to open the game. The next hitter, Jacob Lojewski, hit an identical single up the middle after falling behind 0-2 to start his at bat. After Baller nightmare Max Handron flied out, Osiris Johnson fell behind 1-2 but fought back to hit a towering three run homer to left, putting Oakland in an early hole. Risse put up an unremarkable second inning, but that two strike conundrum popped up again in the third. Woah, oh, oh, damn Max Handron walked on a 3-2 pitch and two batters later, Justin Boyd hit a 2-2 sacrifice fly for another run. Kolton Reynolds came next with a 2-2 RBI single. Beer Batter Hayden Dunhurst (who would strike out later in the game) stepped in with fans hoping for a double play. Instead, he walked on a 3-2 pitch setting up Terilli again who came through with an RBI double in a 1-2 count. Risse got out of the inning, but his night was done. New Ballers pitcher Ahmad Harajili made his home debut putting up two scoreless innings before hitting his limit and giving up a two-run home run in the sixth.
The Ballers offense did all they could to keep up. Down 7-1 in the fourth, DH Paul Winland was denied a challenge of a called strike by home plate umpire Tony Prater. Ballers manager Aaron Miles came off his spot coaching third base to argue briefly. From behind the plate it looked like Winland had made an appropriate challenge call. Winland responded by hitting a ball that looked like a grand slam, but bounced back into the field of play for a two RBI double. Winland, who is known to be an outwardly emotional player, was sanguine afterward about the missed opportunity: “For me, personally, I know that I've been blessed with power, so if one swing could change a game for me, it doesn't matter what count it is. So just knowing that one swing could change, that's all that matters,” said Winland after the game. As for the potential for an additional couple of runs if the ball had traveled slightly farther, “that was the craziest ball I've ever seen. It hit the top and came back. I don't even understand that.”
Control and situational pitching have been the Achilles’ heel for the Ballers all year. The team is fourth-worst in the league in both walks and ERA. They have allowed 117 home runs. No other team has allowed more than 99. This is a team that had the best pitching in the league last season with the same ballpark and the same coaching staff.
So what’s the difference? According to pitching coach Jim Dedrick, “Just being a willing to go after the hitter and having confidence in your stuff and not pitching scared. And we pitched scared tonight. That's all we did.” As for the season’s struggles, Dedrick said, “[We have] a lot of inexperienced guys in a much older league this year, so it's slowly getting better. We're having our ups and downs daily…We're in a ball game more [often] now…just keep grinding. Keep our focus and always be on the attack. When you pitch on your back foot, you're not going to go anywhere and you're just not going to add trouble to everything you throw. So we just got to stay on the tack, be aggressive, and make them hit us to beat us. Just like we said, there's no defense for the walk.” Indeed, many of the league-leading Long Beach squad were on Pioneer League playoff rosters last year, while Oakland has turned over a majority of its pitching staff.
Odds and Ends:
Jeter Ybarra hit his league-leading 22nd home run on Friday. In keeping with the Dispatches tradition, we asked him about a favorite sandwich: “I would have to say the Rio Grande Club; it's from Erik's Delicafe. I’m not sure how many there are [it’s 29 locations around the Bay, down to Monterey, and Roseville and Folsom]…but there’s one in the Mountain View/Cupertino area right by my high school. Great sandwich.”
It was Free Agent Friday at Raimondi as the club teamed up with Singles Mingle for a dating event in the pink painted stands of the Free Agent Section. The event was a hit, with attendees receiving free admission to the game. Look for the full story on the search for baseball companionship soon here at Dispatches.
Fan Favorite and former face of the franchise Tyler Lozano was in the house last night. He will be the in-game host for the wrestling themed Ballermania game on Saturday at 4:35. Tyler roamed the stands signing autographs and engaging with fans. One young fan got more than they expected after seeking out their favorite player from 2025: “So, um, I saw him. I was like, oh, my God, that's Tyler Lozano. That was my favorite player. And I went and I searched for paper and a pen, and I got paper and a pen, and then I went down to look for him, and I saw him talking to some people,” said Yoshiko. “After he was done, he started jogging toward the dugout. I asked him for the signature, and he gave me a signature, and he happened to be carrying a little basket of hot dogs,” they continued. “Like, I'm not kidding. He was carrying a little basket of hot dogs. And he was like, Hey, do you want a hot dog? And I was like, Sure. So that's the story of how I got a hot dog from Tyler Lozano.” Yoshiko later acquired a ball and got Lozano to sign that as well.
On hosting at Raimondi, Lozano said, “You know, I have picked Aubrey's brain here and there, but no one can cover her, you know, no one can fill her shoes. She does a great job. So, you know, I just got to come close to meeting what she does, but she's a great host.” On his expectations, “I don't know what to expect. I'm the most fired up to host. I think everything is gonna be something new for me, a new experience. I get to experience what makes this place go every day, which is so great. I think everyone's job here is super important. And yes, we're the ones on the field, but being able to experience it this way is awesome. I mean, I get to see why the fans show up every day.”
Photos from Shane Patel Photography.
Video recap from Ben Verhoek.
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.
