Game 55 Recap: #Analysis
Ballers fall 7-0 in first shutout of 2026
By Roberto Santiago
It’s becoming difficult to find silver linings in what is becoming a lost season for the Ballers. On Tuesday night, the team lost their seventh in a row, 7-0, to the league-leading Long Beach Coast. Outside of a rough start to the fourth inning that saw two singles and a Cuba Bess home run before an out was recorded, Oakland starter Hunter Day (0-3) looked pretty good. Day bounced back with two Ks and a groundout to end the inning without further damage. In all, Day was charged with 6 runs on the night after allowing runners in the fifth who scored on a two-out RBI triple by Emilio Corona, who was then singled in by Bess. Christian Diaz, signed that day, made his Ballers debut, surrendering one run in 1.2 innings.
The story of the night for Oakland was that they were held scoreless for the first time this year. The team mustered just 6 hits all night as Long Beach starter Jack Martin (6-0) scattered 3 hits over his 5 innings of work. Brendan O’Sullivan had two of those hits filling in for injured short stop Tremayne Cobb who was place on the IL from his injury last week in Long Beach. Another newcomer, Tristan Moore, started in LF and went 0-3 with a walk.
Fan Vibes:
Based on the YouTube chat during the game, fans are mostly sticking by this team. Aside from one (seemingly requisite) call to fire coaches, the majority of the comments fell on the side of supporting the club through a down year. The consensus is that you can’t win every year, especially with a team that has had this much turnover. The 2025 team featured six pitchers and two position players returning from the inaugural team that lost in the first round of the playoffs. This year’s squad has seen more returning players coming in and out, but not with the stability we’ve seen in the past due to consistent transactions, injuries, and promotions. Of the veterans on the roster, three (Gabe Tanner, C.J. Blowers, Braydon Nelson) have moved to other levels of baseball. Others, like T.J. McKenzie (traded), Davis Drewek, and Dylan Delvecchio (both released) are no longer with the team. Recently returned Reed Butz has made one start. All of this is to say: it’s been a hectic season.
This is the same coaching staff and front office that has led Oakland to tremendous success, and when things go south for a franchise, it’s easy to jump on the coaches as the reason things aren’t going well. Likewise, have the team’s scouts lost their touch—not likely—or is there greater competition for players in a reconstituted Pioneer League? The most successful regular season teams over the last five years have been Ogden and Missoula, who have made the playoffs 3/5 and 4/5 years respectively. The league’s high player turnover due to service time limits and leaguewide one-year contracts make it hard to deliver consistent winners. Oakland’s run the first two years was unprecedented, which fans might think about before becoming frustrated.
Odds and Ends:
With the news that the Billings Mustangs—second in the league and already qualified for the playoffs—are in deep contract disputes with their city, there’s reason to peek ahead at what next year might look like. Would the Mustangs really ever move, having been in Billings since 1948? Will Red Pocket continue to be a team without a home? Could they settle in as another western team, potentially forming a Western Division with Ogden (or a new Mustangs?) and the four California clubs? Oakland’s penchant for developing players and sending them to higher levels could act as a strong enticement for talent. The Oakland fanbase, one of the most respected and feared in the league, continues to be a draw for players who want to represent a town that has their backs. (On the down side, with the Ballers’ past success being monitored around the game, we may see some of our coaches or scouts poached by affiliated teams.) The primary asset the Ballers have—as any scorned Oakland baseball fan knows—is committed ownership. Paul, Bryan and their team are dedicated to winning (and building—maybe too well—the baseball neighborhood) and will not rest on last year’s championship.
Along with Diaz and Moore, the Ballers also signed LHP Tyler Bates on Tuesday. The team released RHPs Michael Riley and Jacob Petersheim.
OF Demias Jimerson, who only appeared in two games, was also released. Jimerson is an odd case in that he was acquired from Billings on 7/6 but didn’t sign with Oakland until 7/13. He then appeared in two games as a pinch hitter on 7/15 and 7/16. He did not appear in the next four games prior to his release yesterday.
Man on the scene and B’s artist extraordinare Guy Sliwinski reported that the free-beer-for-all promotion was back in the LBC last night, plus: “I got to share my mascot art with Derrick the parrot and warned him to tuck that chain! I also, let him know that I’ve never seen a green pigeon before and had to ask if he was sick. He got some laughs and tried to steal my hat, but I went Rickey mode and stole it back!”
Art and Photos from Long Beach by Guy Sliwinski. 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.
