Pastime Baseball League - Baseball Bi-Weekly Vol. 1, Monday April 6, 2009
The PBL season got underway with a series of exciting affairs...six games on Opening Day, four of those one-run affairs and two heading into extra innings.
Louisville Racers 9 - Chicago Hitmen 3
The Louisville Racers hammered the Chicago Hitmen on Opening Day, scoring four runs in the first of Chicago starter George Bradley and never looking back en route to an emphatic 9-3 victory. Backed by 8 strong innings from Roy Oswalt and a 19-hit attack, the Racers saw their top three hitters of Herman Long, David DeJesus and Dan Brouthers go a combined 9-for-15 with 6 runs scored. Chicago starter George Bradley was rocked for 6 hits and 5 runs - 4 earned - over 2 innings. The Hitmen made three errors on the day. Albert Pujols homered and drove in all three of Chicago's runs.
Sacramento Stingers 2 - Philadelphia Ringers 1 (11 innings)
That a game that was pitched as well as this one was ended on a bases loaded walk seems almost unfair. Yet, that's what transpired Opening Day in Sacramento. Philadelphia starter Satchel Paige was strong, scattering seven hits over six innings, striking out 10 and allowing only one run - a third-inning homer from Ginger Beaumont. But Paige was matched, and then some, by Sacramento starter Jim Devlin, who went 9 innings of 1-run ball, surrendering only an RBI single to Bid McPhee in the 5th. But Micah Owings would walk Beaumont on a 3-1 slider with two out in the 11th to score Sam Bankhead, whom he had hit to lead off the inning.
Indianapolis Racers 4 - Charlotte Cougars 3
Indianapolis starter Charlie Buffinton outdueled Charlotte's Tim Keefe, and a spotty bullpen held on to close it out as the Racers opened the season with a 4-3 win. The Cougars struck in the first when Austin Kearns tripled with one out and the next batter, Paul Hines, smacked a grounder to short that the Racers' Hanley Ramirez booted. Kearns scored, but the Racers would dent Keefe for three in the top of the second when they batted around, the big blow being a Harry Steinfeldt triple to drive in two. Nonetheless, the Racers felt they missed a chance, as they left the bases loaded to end the inning when Billy Hamilton popped up to short. The Cougars would score again in the bottom of the second when John McGraw tripled home Bill Dahlen - the game's third triple. But the score would stay deadlocked until the sixth, when Hanley Ramirez would double, steal third and score on a Jake Beckley groundout. Clint Barmes would triple - yes, another one - off Indianapolis closer Joakim Soria to drive in Dahlen with two out in the ninth, but Tommy Tucker would fly out to end it.
Las Vegas Bosses 4 - Alabama Airmen 3 (10 innings)
The Las Vegas Bosses jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after two in the Opening Day matchup against the Alabama Airmen before watching their lead vanish when the Airmen rallied for two in the ninth off Scott Stewart, before Vegas scratched a run home in the 10th for the 5-4 victory. Grant "Home Run" Johnson and Jimmy Ryan each drove in two for Vegas - Ryan's last a two-out seeing-eye single off Brendan Donnelly in the 10th to score Corey Hart from second. George Van Haltren homered for Alabama, which saw Dan Uggla and Nick Swisher drive in the other runs.
Memphis Strummers 5 - Arizona Sandmen 3
Memphis got a strong start out of Tim Lincecum and took advantage of four Arizona errors in what Sandmen manager Patsy Tebeau called a "hideous" display. The Strummers saw Ichiro Suzuki and Oscar Charleston reach on back-to-back errors in the first. The pair pulled off a double steal then scored on a Deacon White single. Nap Lajoie hit an RBI single to score Pee Wee Butts in the bottom of the first, and Lajoie would score in the third on a Pete Hill single to make it 2-2. But Memphis would rack up four hits in the 4th, including back-to-back doubles from White and Bobby Wallace, to plate three more. Willie Keeler and Jose Reyes would double back-to-back to start off the bottom of the fourth, but the scoring would end there as Lincecum would buckle down and Dick McBride would throw two scoreless innings in relief to end it.
Los Angeles Idols 6 - Orlando Orcas 5
Billy Rhines threw eight strong innings and helped himself with a 2-run double as the Idols built a 6-0 lead and hung on late to win despite the Orcas' late surge. George Scales, Benjamin Boyd, Harry Stovey and Cal McVey each had two hits - one of Boyd's a solo homer - on the offensive side for the Idols. Ryan Howard and Sam Crawford had two hits apiece for Orlando, including Crawford's first homer of the year, and an Otto Krueger error almost doomed the Idols in the ninth, allowing two unearned runs to score off Mark Buehrle. But after Howard's 2-run single, Crawford flied out on the first pitch to end it with two runners on in the top of the 9th.
Trade Winds Blow For First Time
The PBL saw its first trade, on the heels of Opening Day, as the Indanapolis Engines traded reserve outfielder Lip Pike and utility man Alberto Callaspo to the Las Vegas Bosses for catcher Ossie Schreckengost. While Duke Farrell is seen as a slightly better defensive player than the newcomer, Schreckengost is seen as a significant offensive upgrade. Pike is a powerful lefthanded bat and is seen as playing against righties in the Vegas lineup. Callaspo will sit on the reserve squad for now, but offers some roster flexibility in the event of an injury.