Around the ABL: July 27-August 12

A game that stays scoreless for 20 innings, a hitting streak that surpasses 30 games, and a grand slam in the 17th inning—all this and much, much more await you in this edition of Around the ABL!

Tom Becker

July 27: San Diego 5, Montreal 6. The Tomcats get off to a fast start against Bandit ace Raúl Pérez: they score four in the first, including three on a Wilson Anaya home run. Montreal roars back, led by Tom Becker and his two home runs. "Horseface" has 38 homers and leads all of baseball with 127 RBIs.

Mark Larson

July 27: Maple 3, South Carolina 4. The Bombers seem to have a new secret weapon: the comeback grand slam. Down by three in the seventh, Mark Larson comes to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. He homers to deep left, and South Carolina goes on to sweep their division rivals.

Dan Smith

July 28: Los Angeles 10, Cabo San Lucas 7. Cabo's Dan Smith becomes the first player in ABL history to hit in 30 straight games, doing so by smashing two home runs and driving in five. But baseball's hottest player couldn't beat baseball's hottest team by himself. The Evil Empire win their fifth straight game despite the failure of ace Kingfish Crawford (10-3) to pitch past the third inning (his second disastrous start in a row). Strange fact: only one the Empire's hits goes for extra bases; they score 10 runs on a double and 13 singles. Not so strange fact: Dan Smith wins Munson League Player of the Month for July.

July 28: Boston 2, Jacksonville 3. In his final start for the Jacks, Jim Thompson (5-8) strikes out eight over eight innings, allowing only a single run. Nick Parks hits a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th.

July 28: Nottinghamshire 0, Dallas 1. - It should have been a scoreless tie. Montrell Sturzo, Kent King and Tom Owens held Nottinghamshire to no runs and six hits. Phil Graves and Oliver Bower combined to limit the first place Texans to four hits and no earned runs. The only run came in the fifth when Graves walked Eric Waddell with one out. Graves then tried to pickoff Waddell, but threw the ball away, allowing Waddell to go to second. Alberto Rodríguez was the second out on a sac fly, Waddell taking third. With Jesse Clark up, Graves threw the first pitch wild allowing Waddell to score. (Thanks to William for this recap!)

Lyle Arnold

July 29: Ann Arbor 6, New York 7. The Mafia squeak by the Barn Owls, and Lyle Arnold saves his 20th game. New York wins an ABL-best 17 games in July, and Arnold's lights-out performance is integral to their success. Arnold becomes the first relief pitcher to win Pitcher of the Month: he pitches 15 innings over 13 games, allowing only a single run while striking out 20.

Eric Williams

July 29: Seattle 9, Montgomery 10. Sasquatch bats come out slugging, hitting four home runs in the first five innings, but the Mountain Cats claw their way back. Juan Ramírez gets a hit in his 22nd consecutive game—three hits in fact, including a three-run homer. Eric Williams ties the game in the seventh by singling in Chris Collins, then wins the game in the bottom of the 12th with a walk-off home run. Ramírez will go hitless two games later, ending his streak at 23 games.

Rich Bussell

July 30: Ann Arbor 0, Dallas 10. Rich Bussell (14-2) shuts down the Barn Owls: in 8 1/3 innings of work, he allows only two hits and three walks while striking out seven. His 1.56 ERA is the best in the ABL. Brandon Farmer and Jeffery McDonald homer. The Texans sweep the four game.

Kent Rose

July 30: Los Angeles 2, Jacksonville 0. Not only does the game last 21 innings, it goes 20 innings without a single run being scored! Converted reliever Kent Rose scatters four Jack hits over eight innings, issues no walks, and strikes out five. Batters on both teams waste numerous opportunities: the teams leave a combined 44 men on base. The Evil Empire actually get 14 hits and draw 11 walks, but they leave runners stranded in scoring position in 13 separate innings. Ed Hill finally breaks through in the 21st when, with the bases loaded, he singles in Elroy Anderson.

August 1: Maple 0, San Francisco 10. The Quakes shut out the Marauders for the second game in a row. Yesterday, Ray Larson (10-5) pitched eight innings and gave up only four hits; today, Ray Lester (17-3) pitches seven innings and gives up six hits. Roberto Mendoza hits a pair of two-run home runs for his new club—more on him below.

Bob Watkins

August 1: Eureka 2, Kansas City 10. Bob Watkins smashes a pair of dingers as the Tornadoes blow away the Hornets. Watkins homered in the previous two games and will go on to homer in the next two as well. He wins Player of the Week honors, going 10 for 20 with six home runs, nine RBI, and 11 runs scored. On the season, he is batting .312 with 23 home runs and 20 stolen bases. (Trivia time! Three other players have reached the 20/20 plateau. Who are they? Answer below.)

August 1: Las Vegas 0, Mile High 6. Manuel López (6-8) and Jon Lewis combine on a one-hit shutout. A third-inning single hit by Troy Tracy is the only Joker hit of the night. Francisco Morales hits a two-run home run, and the Mustang offense stampedes across All-Star Game starter Maurice Gould (13-4), who leaves the game in the third inning.

Marvin Welch

August 2: San Diego 8, Minnesota 9. Marvin Welch continues his hitting tear by slugging a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to win it for the Berserkers. Over a seven game stretch from July 25 through today, Welch gets 14 hits in 26 at-bats (a .538 average): he hits two doubles and six home runs, draws six walks (.625 OBP), scores 10 runs, and drives in 15.

August 3: Maple 3, Montgomery 4. Juan Ramírez homers in the fourth, and Chris Collins singles in Curt Dempsey in the bottom of the 15th—the only run allowed by either bullpen in a combined 16 1/3 innings of work.

August 4: Cabo San Lucas 5, Minnesota 3. Dan Smith's hitting streak may have come to an end, but it's how it came to an end that's the real story. Having gone hitless in his first three at-bats, he comes to the plate in the eighth with one out, the game tied at three, and runners on the corners. Smith grounds a ball to second: the Berserkers get the force at second but Attis Veloukhiotis scores. "A hit would have been nice," said Smith after the game, "But the win is better, and my job was to get the bat on the ball and give Attis a chance to go home." Over the record 35-game streak, Smith bats .404, going 57 for 141 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI.

Mike Ege

August 4: Los Angeles 0, Greenville 7. Mike Ege (1-5) had his curveball going, and he kept the Empire bats off balance all night. He pitches eight shutout innings, issuing four walks and allowing only a single hit. Closer Pat Leaper finishes out the game with a scoreless ninth. All nine slots in in the 84's lineup get a hit.

Wilson Anaya

August 4: Boston 6, San Diego 7. Drafted by the Tomcats in round 61, Wilson Anaya rose to the occasion against Boston. With San Diego down by three in the ninth, Anaya doubles in a run, then comes home on a Stan Sanders single to score the tying run. In the 12th, Anaya doubles in Cornel Pîrcalab to win the game in walk-off fashion—but this is just the beginning.

August 5: Boston 4, San Diego 5. Wilson Anaya hits a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at four. In the bottom of the 10th, he hits a walk-off solo home run, and the San Diego crowd sings Boston off with "Anaya-ya, Anaya-ya, hey hey hey, good-bye."

August 5: Jacksonville 4, Montreal 2. Down by two in the eighth, Roberto Sosa hits a pinch-hit grand slam to win it for the Jacks.

August 7: Ann Arbor 6, Las Vegas 7. In the ninth, Joker Alonso Núñes ties the game by singling in Vic Jennings. In the 12th, José Ortíz wins it with a walk-off homer.

George Fields

August 7: Nottinghamshire 6, Eureka 5. Dylan Foster's three-run home run puts the Hornets up five early. The Outlaws chip away at the lead, led by unlikely hero George Fields. Fields enters the game in the fourth after starting DH Emmett McSorley gets ejected for arguing strikes. Homerless in his first 83 at-bats of the season, Fields hits a pair of homers today. Peter Kelly ties the game in the ninth by singling in Don Schwartz, and Jim Crawford wins the game in the 10th by singling in Fields.

August 9: Montgomery 5, South Carolina 7. Stephen Jackson gets five hits in six at-bats, including two doubles and a home run, and scores three runs. Orlando Bustamante wins the game with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th. Jackson wins Munson League Player of the Week: he goes 14 for 28 (.500 average) with three home runs, six RBI, and six runs scored.

George Sanders

August 11: Seattle 15, Jersey 8. The Sasquatch beat the Jesters in a slugfest. Jersey's John Woodward hits a grand slam in the first, doubles, singles twice, and drives in six. Seattle's George Sanders doubles three times to cap off a stretch in which he wins consecutive Clemente League Player of the Week awards: over the fortnight, Sanders goes 23 for 51 (.451 average) with seven doubles, seven home runs, 15 runs, and 24 RBI.

August 11: Ann Arbor 12, Eureka 5. Another day of Z-Rod being Z-Rod. Lorenzo Rodríguez hits a home run, a triple, and (yawn) two singles. While his batting average has "fallen off" of late (.369), he leads the league with 42 homers and is on pace to hit 59. Can he hit 60?

August 12: Dallas 1, Kansas City 5. Scott Walters hits a pair of home runs, and Rodney Armstrong (5-9) pitches a complete game three-hitter. He walks one and strikes out eight.

Roberto
Mendoza

August 12: Montgomery 4, San Francisco 8. Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, and the Quakes down by three—Roberto Mendoza doubles down the first base line, clears the bases, and sends the game to extra innings. In the bottom of the 17th, Mendoza once again comes to bat with the bases full. This time, he hits a walk-off grand slam. In his first 14 games for San Francisco, Mendoza has slugged .680 with six home runs, 10 runs and 21 RBI.

Christian Clark

Notes: Joker Christian Clark has had a rather incredible season. A round 34 draft pick, Clark began the season in Triple-A Reno. He dominated in his five Raider starts and received the call to the majors. In his first start, on June 9, Clark pitched a complete game and held the powerful Minnesota offense to a single run. The ride quickly turns bumpy, and by the end of June he had a 7.33 ERA. In July, however, the 24-year old Clark bounced back and won Munson League Pitcher of the Month honors. He starts six games, wins four of them, and posts a 2.82 ERA over 44 2/3 innings. ... Steve Frend wins both the Clemente League's Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month for July. He bats .383 with nine home runs, 28 RBI, 32 runs, 22 walks (.500 OBP), and seven stolen bases. ... The Munson League Rookie of the Month for July is Eureka's Mike Bergeron. The young outfielder returned from injury and immediately began to terrorize pitching staffs: he goes 27 for 64 (.422 average) with three home runs, eight doubles, 14 runs, 13 RBI, and eight stolen bases (without a single caught stealing). ... Don Strickland and Jesse Clark won Player of the Week for the last week in July. Maple's Strickland posted a .545 average, going 18 for 33, and Dallas's Clark batted .517, going 15 for 29. ... Nottinghamshire's Marlon Bentley's 21-game hitting streak was snapped on July 28 against Dallas. Over the 21 games, Bentley bats .376, going 32 for 85 with seven doubles, one triple, and one home run.

Trivia Answer: Besides Bob Watkins, the three players who have reached the 20/20 plateau are L.A.'s Chance Everett (24 HR, 22 SB), Jersey's Stan Cheslin (25 HR, 27 SB), and Seattle's Steve Frend (28 HR, 28 SB).