Around the ABL: August 23-September 5

Brooks Davis

August 23: Ann Arbor 2, Seattle 1. Brooks Davis wins the game with his legs. In the sixth, he singles, steals second base and advances to third on a throwing error, and scores on a Stu Barnes single. In the 10th, Davis walks, steals second, and scores the winning run on a Tommy Shaffer single. Davis, a first baseman of only 23, is having a strong season, hitting 19 home runs to go with his 25 stolen bases.

August 24: South Carolina 8, Cabo San Lucas 3. The Bombers, trailing 3-0, erupt for eight runs in the eighth. Francisco Alfonso doubles in the tying and leading runs, and Mario Antonio, in his second at-bat of the inning, hits a three-run homer.

Johnny Graham

August 24: Las Vegas 6, Jersey 15. The Jesters don't just beat Maurice Gould, they destroy him, scoring seven off the Joker ace and kick him out in the third inning. Johnny Graham hits a grand slam off of Gould. Graham later tacks on a three-run homer. Stan Cheslin hits a three-run homer of his own.

August 25: Mile High 4, Maple 7. Jorge Rodríguez wins the game with an 11th-inning, three-run, walk-off home run!

August 25: Nottinghamshire 8, San Diego 6. In the eighth, Jim Crawford singles in two runs to tie the game, 5-5. The Hops regain the lead when Mike Johnson singles in Joe Kessler. In the ninth, Byron Bryant re-ties the game with a solo home run. Later in the inning, Dave Evans scores on a sac fly, and a Crawford single tacks on an insurance run.

August 25: Ann Arbor 9, Seattle 7. The Barn Owls sweep the Sasquatch and win their 13th game in a row! In the first, Kent Rose strikes Javier García for the third out ... but a passed ball lets García reach first base! With the bases now loaded, Stu Barnes comes to the plate and hits a grand slam. In the seventh, with the game tied, 7-7, Tommy Shaffer singles in Jeffrey Coffman for what would prove to be the game-winning run.

Byron Bryant

August 27: Minnesota 13, Nottinghamshire 12. The Berserkers and Outlaws trade punches. Minnesota takes the early lead, 7-3, but Nottinghamshire scores six in the fourth. Byron Bryant hits his 25th home run of the year, and it's a grand slam! Minnesota takes back the lead for good in the seventh. Matt Smith ties the game with a solo home run, and Peter Blanchard singles in a pair for the lead. The normally sure-handed Outlaw defense fails, committing six errors: of the Berserker's 13 runs, only three are earned.

Ron Hamm

August 27: Washington 5, New York 2. Ron Hamm wears number three on his Capitalist uniform, and tonight he gets three hits in three at-bats, drives in three runs, and scores three times. He nearly had three home runs. Two of his hits were out of the park, and he lead off the fourth by doubling off the center field wall.

August 29: San Diego 5, Dallas 6. In the seventh, Texan Ken Hines scores on a Jason Clemons passed ball, tying the game at five runs a piece. Nine innings later, the score remains 5-5. In the bottom of the 16th, 21-year-old Yoshihiro Inoue walks. (Inoue was Dallas's ninth-round draft pick this past off-season: he's one of the first draftees to reach the majors.) Jeffery McDonald bloops a hit down the left-field line that goes for a double. Luis García then grounds a single to left: Inoue comes home, and Dallas celebrates their victory in a marathon of a game!

August 29: Jersey 0, Mile High 1. Thomas White (11-9) tosses eight shutout innings, striking out eight while allowing only three Jester hits. Alert base-running by Eric Black helps to win the game. In the sixth, Danny Hardy walks, and Black singles to center. Hardy tries for third, and center-fielder Ed Shannon guns him down—but Black alertly takes second on the play. The next batter, Jeff Wade, lines a single to center and "Flash" easily speeds home. David Reynolds slams the door for his 37th save of the year.

Dave Nicholson

August 29: Boston 0, South Carolina 1. Dave Nicholson (9-6) pitches eight shutout innings: his 2.26 ERA now leads all of baseball. The game's only run scores when  Francisco Guzmán—hardly a speed-demon—huffs and puffs his way around the bases: he makes it from first to third on a single, then scores on a Juan Marín sac fly. Young Cardinal Alberto Pantoja (5-8) pitches brilliantly but gets the loss.

Bob Fry

August 29: Carolina 6, New York 9. Would you like Fry with that? Since joining the Mafia big club in June, infielder Bob Fry has been an on-base machine: he's currently batting .305, and his on-base percentage is an outstanding .405. Today, Fry had a truly special game. He leads off the first with a triple, later scoring on a Jorge Mora single. In the second, Fry hits his very first major league home run: the two-run shot came on his 301st major-league at-bat. In the third, with two runners aboard, he singles to left and drives in a run. In the fifth, Fry smashes a line-drive down the first base line. He ends up at second base with a stand-up double, completing a cycle in four at-bats! Fry is the fourth player this season to hit for the cycle.

Rich Sweet

August 29: So Cal 21, Minnesota 6. Rich Sweet, acquired by So Cal in a deadline deal with Minnesota, hits a grand slam against his former team and collects six RBIs on the evening. Alfredo Yánez hits his 30th home run of the season and drives in four runs. Batman, who's still only 25, is having a superhero season: besides the 30 home runs, he has a .372 average and 109 RBIs. Nine-hole hitter Bill Smith goes 4-for-5 with a home run: he drives in three and scores four times. In a losing effort, Berserker Juan Rodríguez hits two home runs and drives in five.

Maurice Gould

August 30: Maple 0, Las Vegas 7. Maurice Gould (21-4), universally acknowledged as the best pitcher in the game, pitches the best game of his career. Doughboy dominates the Marauders, taking a perfect game into the sixth. Derek Beimer leads off the sixth with a double, the only Maple baserunner all game. Gould finishes with a one-hit shutout and strikes out 14.

August 31: Boston 6, South Carolina 7. Stephen Jackson is all action! He leads off the first with a double and scores soon after. In the seventh, he ties the game, 4-4, when he singles in Mario Antonio. In the 10th, Boston's John White doubles in two runs. In the bottom half of the inning, Jackson homers, and Orlando Bustamante singles in Fernando Guzmán, re-tying the game at six runs apiece. In the 12th, Jackson comes to the plate one more time. He homers a second time—a 439-foot blast to right-center—and the Bombers win in walkoff fashion.

September 1: Jacksonville 7, Kansas City 6. Nick Parks hits a two-run homer, powering the Jacks to an early lead. Jesús Cruz leads the Tornado comeback, hitting a solo home run in the sixth and a three-run home run in the seventh. Cruz is now batting .339 with 31 home runs and 101 RBI. In the 10th, Parks wins the game for the Jacks with solo home run.

September 1: Carolina 0, New York 17. Joe Herman goes 4-for-4 with two home runs, two doubles, and six RBIs—giving him 100 RBI on the season. Dave Hutchinson hits a grand slam. Bob Lee (11-8) and Ronald Hart combine to shutout the Crush, and New York obliterates Carolina.

September 2: Washington 1, Kansas City 2. Bob Watkins hits a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to win the game for the Tornadoes. Robert Cates (12-7) pitches a complete game, striking out eight and allowing only one run.

September 2: New York 6, Maple 5. Dave Olson leads off the ninth with a tying home run. In the 10th, Olson singles in Jorge Mora, and Joe Herman follows with a two-run homer. In the bottom of the inning, Anthony Lewis triples in one run, then scores on an Eric McSwan single. With the tying run on first, flamethrower Sixto Lavio strikes out Doug Smith and gets Tom Hunter to ground to second.

September 2: Montgomery 1, Boston 0. Chris Collins, the second batter of the game, slugs a home to center. That would be Adam Thomas's (14-9) only mistake, but it was one mistake two many. Eduardo Muñéz (6-14) and five relievers combine to shut out the Cardinals.

September 2: Carolina 6, Cabo San Lucas 5. Jeremy Gleave's two-run homer caps a four-run first inning for the Crush. The Toreros come back. Rookie right-fielder Johnny Nelson hits a two-run homer in the second, doubles and scores in the fifth, and singles in two runs in the sixth. The game remains tied, 5-5, from the seventh until the 14th inning. The Crush get two runners on base, and Jim Mason singles. Gleave rounds third and tries to score, but Dennis Crawford's throw is on the money: Gleave is tagged for the second out of the inning. Greg Gordon singles, and Francisco Solano scores, this time without a throw.

Stan Cheslin

September 3: Nottinghamshire 2, Jersey 3. With the game tied, 2-2, the game goes into extra innings. The weather gets wet and, in the 13th, the game is delayed for a further half-hour. Finally, in the 15th, Stan Cheslin, who homered way back in the second inning, homers a second time and wins the game for Jersey.

Jesse Clark

September 4: Dallas 19, Jersey 5. Jesse Clark hits for the cycle! Clark leads off the first with a double, then scores on Luis García's single. In the second, he walks and, once again, scores on a García single. In the fourth, he singles and scores when Ken Hines hits a grand slam! Clark leads off the sixth with a triple, and he comes home on Jeffery McDonald's single. The Texans bat around, and Clark gets a second at-bat in the inning. Would you believe it? Needing only a home run to complete the cycle, Clark comes to the plate with the bases loaded. On an 0-1 pitch, Clark pulls the ball down the line and hits the foul pole—a home run, a grand slam, and a cycle!

September 4: Minnesota 0, Las Vegas 6. Maurice Gould (22-4) follows up his incredible performance against Maple by shutting out the Berserkers. He strikes out 13—including striking out the side in the third—and he retires the last 13 batters that he faces.

September 4: Washington 2, Mile High 3. With the Capitalists leading in the ninth, 2-1, José Guevara hits Mustang Fernando Garza with a pitch, Tommy Harris doubles, and Germán Hernández doubles in both runners for the walk-off win.

Tony Ross

September 5: Ann Arbor 1, Maple 0. Tony Ross (10-13) pitches eight shutout innings, striking out six while walking three. Lorenzo Rodríguez doubles in Jeffrey Coffman.

September 5: Montgomery 6, Jacksonville 5. Trailing by two in the ninth, the Cats pounce. Victor Welsh homers, Ryan Taylor doubles, and Curt Dempsey triples, driving in Taylor for the tying run. Dempsey goes 5-for-6 on the day, with a double and the aforementioned triple. Closer Johnny Tiller pitches four shutout innings, striking out six and lowering his ERA to 1.36, and he gets the win when, in the 12th, Eric Williams hits a home run.

September 5: Montreal 7, Kansas City 3. The Montreal Bandits become the first ABL team to clinch a spot in the 2013 playoffs! The defending World Champions, Montreal has led the Tony La Russa Division all year, and they have only gotten better over the course of the season. They have gone 24-9 since the beginning of August. Tonight, all nine Bandit hitters get a hit. Tom Becker hits his 37th home run, Eric Ware hits his 28th, and Bob Rudyard (10-3) wins his sixth game with the Bandits.