Game 88 Recap, Aug 28: The Natural Order
Ballers fall to Long Beach 11-8 to end slim playoff hopes
By Roberto Santiago
WEST OAKLAND—It was 10:00 PM when the clock stuck midnight on this Ballers season. After a torrid stretch that saw the B’s win three straight series against their California rivals Long Beach and Modesto, there was still hope of a late playoff push. The odds were long, but a series loss to Missoula and coming up short to Long Beach on Friday night leave the Ballers 9 games back with only 8 left to play.
As has often been the case this season, the pitching couldn’t match the hitting. Reed Butz (1-2) took the loss, giving up 8 runs in three innings pitched. Butz pitched into the fourth, but did not record an out while being charged with 3 runs in the inning. Logan Johnstone led the B’s offense with two home runs and 5 RBI. Johnstone got Oakland on the board with a 2-run shot in the third that scored Jaden Collura. Jeter Ybarra and Noah Blythe continued to contribute, with each of them chipping in RBI singles to cut the lead to 5-4. James Pazdera kept Long Beach scoreless in the fifth and sixth allowing Johnstone to continue thrashing the Coast’s pitching staff. Johnstone had a solo shot in the fifth and a 2-run double in the sixth to again cut the Long Beach lead to a single run. But Julio Rosario gave up a 3-run jack to Emilio Corona that put the game out of reach. Oakland managed only one more run on a Blythe sac fly. Team ERA leader Valek Cisneros finished the game with 2 scoreless innings of no hit, one walk ball.
The loss was a familiar one for Ballers fans. The mid-August success didn’t hold as the team fell into the pattern they developed during the bulk of the season. The team sits 5th in the league ERA, 8th in walks allowed and 1st in home runs allowed by a wide margin. On offense, they are tied for 1st in homers but 8th in extra base hits. Surprisingly, they have slightly more wins (.477 win percentage) than their run differential would predict (.449). That’s all to say, they have played almost exactly to their record rather than being subject just to bad luck or statistical anomalies.
While the on-field success hasn’t matched their first two seasons, the fan experience has been excellent. Team President Yeshayah Goldfarb, General Manager Laura Geist, VP of Communications and Fan Entertainment Casey Pratt and the entire gameday staff have made sure that attending a game is a fun, community-building experience. Today’s letter from our co-founders discusses just this divide: a hope to improve on the field while continuing the magic of Raimondi. Just looking at the range of fans brought in by the block parties saw a stadium full of punk rockers, metal heads, hippies and Tejanoistas, proving baseball is for everyone and the Ballers want to see them all. There are two more home games left on Saturday and Sunday with fun themes and giveaways. I hope to see you there.
Odds & Ends:
Jeter Ybarra holds a slim lead in the season home run chase with 33. Whether he can grab the 2026 crown will be fun to track over the last eight games.
There were about 47 different rally geese flyovers, as the birds get in their last runs before the end of the season, including a rare double flyover.
Saturday features a car show and an album release party for local punk band, Stay Out, along with a helmet nacho pin give away. Check out our feature on Stay Out from earlier in the season.
If you’ve been diligently collecting the pins all season, make sure you heed the note from the team: We will be initiating the first members of the Circle of Oaks for those who collected 15 or more Ballers pins. If you are eligible, email info@oaklandballers.com with a picture of your pins and name before Sunday’s game and stop by Guest Services Sunday to show your pins in-person before the game starts for further instructions. If you aren’t yet eligible but looking to join, you have a couple of days to trade for pins you are missing or to visit our merch booth to find our pin collection bundle with Circle of Oaks pinboard.
Photos from Darrell Lavin 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.
