Game 87 Recap, Aug. 27: What a Sunset
Playoff vibes and Too $hort style end in 3-3 tie; PaddleHeads drop Ballers in the knockout
by Joe Horton
WEST OAKLAND—If it looks like a playoff game, if it feels like a playoff game, if there are rally geese and an extraordinary and perhaps fitting sunset and stands full of Oakland royalty and regulars, does it matter if it’s not really a playoff game?
Sure it does. But the Ballers (20-19 second half, 42-45 overall) and PaddleHeads (27-12, 51-35) gave the 2,852 assembled for Too $hort night a thrilling knockout game that probably did just that for the B’s, and for this season at least, brought all the best vibes of late season, end-of-summer baseball.
Oakland starter Ren Abe-Arias, who since his acquisition from the RedPocket Mobiles has given the B’s nothing but inning after inning of quality baseball and his team a chance to win every time he takes the mound, threw the third complete game in Ballers history and the second this season. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out four on 109 pitches. He gave up only two scoring hits all night—a two-run homer to Xavier Casserilla in the first and, despairingly, a solo shot to Sergio Gutierrez in the ninth to tie the game (if it was indeed a fair ball…) and send it to the Knockout Round.
In their postgame, broadcasters Tyler Petersen and Gareth Kwok heaped praise on the gameplan from Abe-Arias and catcher Conner Smith, with the two using the full compliment of Abe-Arias’s pitches and masterminding several spins through this formidable Missoula roster.
“I had no idea that I was only the third pitcher in franchise history to throw a complete game, so now that I know, I feel truly honored,” wrote Abe-Arias to Dispatches. “It was my first time pitching against Missoula, but I knew they were an aggressive team that swings hard and likes to swing early in the count. I was happy that I was able to attack the zone and get weak contact early in the count.”
“However, because I couldn’t protect the one-run lead in the final inning after giving up the game-tying home run, and we ultimately lost the game, I feel much more disappointed and frustrated with myself than I feel happy or accomplished about pitching all nine innings,” continued Abe-Arias. “At the same time, this game also showed me some new areas that I need to work on. I’m truly grateful to the organization for giving me opportunities every day, and to all of the staff members who support me on a daily basis.”
Added Smith, “Ren can mix really well and that Missoula team has some big bats that we needed to keep off balance. After a first inning mistake we locked it in really well. He’s very detailed with the way he works and it’s a pleasure to catch him.”
Oakland chased that 2-0 deficit all game until the seventh, when Smith and Joey Winters singled, and Logan Johnstone brought Smith home on a fielder’s choice after a great stop in the infield by Missoula’s Will Bermudez. Then Esai Santos doubled to bring in Johnstone, and the game was tied.
Santos also had stellar defensive plays earlier in the game, in particular an all-out “superman dive” in right center to rob Elliot Good in the second inning. “That’s one of the best plays I’ve ever seen made at Raimondi” was the endorsement from Petersen in the booth, who’s seen a few. Is Santos the kind of player who thinks good fielding leads to luck behind the plate? “I do think that good defense can help spark good offense from a team, especially in a low-scoring game,” he explained.
The late season late inning Oakland magic felt almost inevitable after that, especially off the scorching bat of yesterday’s player of the game Tristan Moore, who hit a smash over the left center wall to take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth. When Gutierrez had the answer for Missoula in the ninth, Oakland’s 7-2 record in the knockout coming into the game carried plenty of promise. But in the Battle of the Nic(h)(k)s, the PaddleHeads’ Nich Klemp, hitless in regulation, put up four, and Nick Leehey could only manage one in response.
For the players, did it feel like a playoff atmosphere on the field?
“Yeah,” wrote Santos. “I think the game did have a playoff atmosphere to it with it being low scoring and two teams trying to make the playoffs.”
Smith agreed. “Yes, it had a different vibe to it for sure. Both teams were in it, and the great defensive plays added to the energy.”
With the exception of the B’s blowout of Missoula last night, these two teams played each other very close in this series. One team is headed to the playoffs and the other isn’t, but if you were a casual fan coming to get a baseball signed by Too $hort or catch a game before the season ends, you wouldn’t have been able to tell which was which.
Odds & Ends
You really can get anything in a helmet.
Joe Horton is the editor of Dispatches from Raimondi.
