Around the ABL: July 12-July 25

July 12: Washington 1, Las Vegas 8. Over eight innings of work, Maurice Gould (14-2) strikes out 14 and gives up only one run. Vic Jennings hits two home runs, including a grand slam.

July 12: New York 9, Jersey 10. The Mafia look to have the game in hand, but, in the bottom of the ninth, John Woodard ties the game with a two-out three-run homer. In the 10th, Johnny Graham doubles in Bobby McClughan for the win.

Charlie Jackson

July 13: San Diego 6, Kansas City 5. With the Tornadoes leading, 5-4, and two outs in the top of the ninth, Dorian Knight singles and Charlie Jackson homers down the opposite-field line. Kansas City loads the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but Ricardo Marquis flies to center to end the game.

July 13: Ann Arbor 0, San Francisco 6. Brad Anderson (5-10) pitches eight shutout innings. The Quakes score all six runs in sixth: Valentín Cabrera hits a mammoth two-run homer, and José Piña follows it up with a three-run homer.

David Reynolds

July 14: Minnesota 1, Mile High 2. David Reynolds successfully converted his 67th-consecutive save—but he makes this one interesting. The Mustangs score twice in the fourth off of hard-luck Jim Brady (7-10), and Paul Durden (6-3) holds the Berserkers scoreless for 7 1/3 innings. Reynolds is called upon to slam the door in the ninth, but he uncharacteristically hits the leadoff batter and then gives up a double to Dale Watson. A walk loads the bases with one out, and first-baseman Fernando Garza lets a run score when he fumbles an easy ground ball. With the game on the line, Reynolds digs deep and strikes out the top of the order, Matt Smith and Joe Booth, to end the game.

July 14: So Cal 6, Cabo San Lucas 8. Republican Alfredo Yánez singles in two runs to tie the game in the ninth, but the Toreros get the last word. In the 10th, boring Dan Smith hits a two-run walk-off homer.

John Woodard

July 15: Jersey 4, Montreal 5. Jester John Woodard returned this week from a five-week stint on the disabled list and, boy, is he trying his best to make up for lost time. He hits two home runs today. In his four games since returning from the DL, Woodard has gone 7-for-15 with four home runs and nine RBIs. On the season he has a 1.107 OPS—a mark surpassed only by superstars Steve Frend (1.156) and Peter Blanchard (1.118). The Bandits, however, win this nail biter: all the runs are scored in the first three innings, leaving the pitching staffs to duel it out for six tense innings. Bill Flynn leads off the ninth with a triple, but his teammates can't drive him in.

Tim Duncan

July 15: Seattle 17, Kansas City 8. A trio of 23-year-old Sasquatch hitters clobber Tornado pitchers. Dane Moore goes 5-for-6. Rookie Blake Reynolds goes 4-for-6 with two home runs, driving in six. Rookie Tim Duncan goes 4-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles, and five RBIs. Each of three scores four times.

July 15: Carolina 1, Mile High 0. Mustang Manuel López strikes out eight over 6 1/3 shutout innings, But Carolina's Angel Galindo matches him by tossing eight shutout innings of his own. Neither pitcher is in the game when, in the 10th inning, Greg Beard scores the game's only run by hitting a 408-foot home run.

July 15: Nottinghamshire 8, Boston 5. In a back-and-forth game, rookie slugger Byron Bryant (only 20 years old!) hits a three-run homer in the eighth that gives the Outlaws the lead, 5-4. The Cardinals tie it in the bottom of the ninth when José González homers off closer Oliver Bower, but Nottinghamshire gets the final word when, in the 11th, Marlon Bentley triples in Joe O'Neal.

Tommy Harris

July 16: Carolina 2, Mile High 10. Tommy Harris goes 3-for-3 with two walks and a pair of mammoth home runs. In the first, he hits a 400-footer to left-center, scoring three, while his third-inning home run travels 428 feet and scores two.

Joe Herman

July 16: New York 3, Cabo San Lucas 2. In a battle of division-leaders, New York pulls out a win against Cabo. With closer Gregory Erwin tired from having pitched the previous two games, the Toreros send William Gill (1-3) in to save it. With one out in the ninth, Joe Herman hits a Gill fastball into the right-center-field bleachers—a two-run homer that gives the Mafia their first and only lead of the game.

Ki-moon Pak

July 16: Ann Arbor 6, Georgia 5. Backup Barn Owl outfielder Tommy Shaffer hits a three-run homer in the eighth that ties the game, 5-5. For the next six innings, the feared Ghost Busters bullpen shuts down the Ann Arbor lineup, but the Owls bullpen keeps pace. In the 14th, Ann Arbor finally breaks through as Ki-moon Pak singles in Michael Myers. In six at-bats, Pak-Man gobbles up four hits, including a home run.

July 17: San Diego 15, Jersey 3. Miguel Angel Ortíz hits his league-leading 32nd and 33rd home runs of the season, both solo shots, and Bryan Caldwell goes 3-for-5 with a double and a two-run homer as the Hops clobber the Jesters.

Thomas White

July 17: Mile High 6, Montgomery 12. Manager Anastasio Rosário is known for his unusual strategies, but baseball fans everywhere were scratching their heads in disbelief when the lineups were announced today. Playing first base and batting third for the Mustangs was ... pitcher Thomas White? But Rosario looked liked a genius when, with one on and one out in the first inning, White came to bat and promptly homered to deep left. It was White's first career at-bat. The Mountain Cats, however, score eight late runs—with the major blows coming via Craig O'Day and Chris Collins homers—and win the game.

July 18: Boston 1, New York 9. Dave Hutchinson hits a pair of two-run home runs to lead the Mafia over the Cardinals. Veteran pitcher Arthur Gardner (5-8) went 14-6 in 2012 but has struggled in 2013. Today, however, he strikes out seven over 6 2/3 shutout innings.

Truman
Madison

July 18: San Diego 4, Jersey 3. The buck stops with Truman Madison. The Hops presidential center-fielder wins the game by hitting a 13th-innings home run. Legs Down (3-1) comes out of the bullpen and pitches four shutout innings, striking out six, to earn the win. San Diego is quietly creeping up on Montreal in the La Russa and now stand only four games back.

July 18: San Francisco 4, Washington 2. The Capitalists lose their 11th in a row despite the best efforts of designated hitter Chance Everett, who hits two solo home runs. The Earthquakes win on a combination of small ball and power: John Ross bunts for a hit on the game's very first pitch, then steals second, moves to third on a sac fly, and scores on a single. Ignacio Villareal hits a two-run home run in the fourth.

Francisco
Morales

July 19: Mile High 7, Ann Arbor 8. Francisco Morales hits for the cycle! In the second, Morales doubles, then scores on when backup catcher Randy Gibson doubles. In the fourth, Morales triples, and, in the sixth, he hits a two-run homer. He flies out in the eighth, but the game goes to extra innings. Morales gets another chance in the 11th, and he grounds a single through the left side.

Meanwhile, the Mustangs take the lead, 7-5, in the 13th, but Lorenzo Rodríguez hits a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning. Finally, in the 16th, Jeffrey Coleman singles in Z-Rod, giving the Barn Owls the win.

July 19: Maple 0, Seattle 13. Steve Frend and Kent Pearson each hit two home runs, and Kent Rose (11-3) shuts out the Marauders.

July 19: Kansas City 4, New York 3. With two outs in the ninth, Howard Lawrence hits a three-run home run, putting the Tornadoes ahead by one.

July 20: Georgia 0, Washington 4. Mike Ege (3-8), the southpaw whose last name is a palindrome, pitches his best game of the year, tossing 8 2/3 shutout innings. Nine-hole hitter Iván Ruíz doubles in two runs.

Fernando Garza

July 20: Mile High 6, Ann Arbor 5. Fernando Garza and Callum Ritchie hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth, tying the game, 5-5. In the 12th, Garza singles, steals second, and races home—just beating Z-Rod's throw—on a Tommy Harris single. The veteran Garza, who missed much of last season with injury, leads the Mustangs with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs.

July 20: San Francisco 8, Montgomery 9. Juan Ramírez hits a two-run homer and a three-run homer. Craig O'Day ties the game, 8-8, with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth: it's O'Day's 33rd home run of the season, only one less than he had all of last year. In the 10th, Ramírez comes to bat with the bases loaded and wins the game with a walk-off walk.

Ángel Galindo

July 20: South Carolina 0, Carolina 4. It's a mid-Atlantic showdown as the Bombers visit the Crush. Carolina's Ángel Galindo (12-1), who began the season at Triple-A, is looking like a Cy Young contender. Today he shuts out his rivals, allowing four hits and four walks while striking out six.

Corbin Butler

July 21: Jacksonville 12, Minnesota 9. The Jacks win a slugfest. Corbin Butler goes 3-for-4 with two homers, including grand slam. Raúl Machado, Jorge Valdéz, and Iván Ortíz also homer.

July 21: Las Vegas 1, Dallas 0. Joe McDowell and Tom Wagner pitch dueling shutouts for eight innings. The game remains scoreless until the top of the 12th, when Carlos Ruíz hits a sac fly that scores Vic Jennings.

July 22: Carolina 4, Eureka 6. Mike Bergeron gives the Hornets a walk-off victory, hitting a two-run homer in the 11th.

July 22: Dallas 0, Cabo San Lucas 5. Aces collide! Wilfred Brooks (12-5) bests Rich Bussell (6-5). Brooks strikes out 11 while shutting out the Texans.

July 22: San Diego 1, South Carolina 3. Miguel Angel Ortíz hits his league-leading 35th home run of the year, but that's the only run allowed by Dave Nicholson (6-3). Nicholson strikes out eight, walks none, and allows five hits—he now has a 1.57 ERA for the season—and the Bombers beat the Hops.

Antonio Gómez

July 23: Montgomery 1, Kansas City 14. The Tornadoes slug six home runs, more than enough support for their ace. Antonio Gómez (14-4) pitches a complete game, allowing one unearned run and striking out seven.

July 23: Dallas 3, Cabo San Lucas 4. Torero Keiran Simmons ties the game with a two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth. In the 10th, Dennis Crawford triples in Dave Carlisle.

July 24: Minnesota 1, Maple 2. Pat Sellers, Jim Brady, and a bevy of relievers hold the game scoreless through 12 innings. The Berserkers finally break through in the 13th: Dale Watson singles in Bryan Gardner. The Marauders make a final stand, loading the bases with two outs: Roland Carr singles in Eric McSwan, and Julian Hutchinson grounds a ball to third that Gardner can't handle. Don Strickland scores on the error, and the Canadians beat the Minnesotans.

July 24: So Cal 4, Mile High 6. David Reynolds saves his 30th game of the season and his 68th in a row. Roberto Mendoza hits a two-run homer.

July 24: Dallas 5, Cabo San Lucas 0. Luis García's two-run homer kicks off a five-run third inning for the Texans. Rafael López (8-4) strikes out eight and shuts out the Toreros for 7 2/3 innings.