by Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer
April 9, 2037: Aurora, Colorado – Baseball seasons always begin with hope. They have to, for with no hope there is no excitement at the ballpark on Opening Day. A cloudy 45º day in Aurora, Colorado with threats of snow over nights? That sounds like a good time for a little ‘Netflix and chill’ as kids used to say a dozen years ago or so.
Instead, hope springs eternal and 64,609 fans – nearly a sell-out, turned out for the Borealis’ season and home opener against a team that in it’s history has known little hope after opening day – the Yuma Arroyos, nee Bulldozers. But each season has it’s own story line and each opening day has it’s own brand of hope.
Take the 2037 season. While the Aurora Borealis look to bounce back a season after an early summer dark spell derailed a fourth straight playoff appearance in 2036, the Yumans are hopefully that years of high draft-picks will finally result in a winning season – or that at least the spoils of high-drafting position in the Rule 5 draft will – as Aurora was to discover on Opening Day at Northern Lights Park, as Yuma’s Rule 5 selection, Roberto Hernandez – snatched from the Manchester Organization, took the mound surrounded by frigid temps and a raucous crowd.
The Borealis had their ace – or proported ace, Brian Clark taking the ball in the opener. Proported ace after a difficult 2036 saw his ERA jump over a half run and his WHIP nearly .30 – a result of walks being up and strikeouts dropping. 2036 was a perplexing season for Aurora’s starters in general – but hope was in great abundance at Northern Lights on Opening Day.
The player introductions brought a huge ovation for 3rd year shortstop Jose Aleman, who followed his .280 rookie campaign with a .318 average that included 51-doubles in 2036. Not all was ovations for the Borealis, as there was a scattering of boos amongst the tempered cheers (by comparison to Aleman, Silva and Raul Munoz) for Claudio Hernandez. Plenty of radio voices – Mark Gunter, in particular, has been brutally honest about his opinions – as well as numerous fan sites, have put much of the 2036 failures square on his shoulders.
The anthem finished, ‘Slug’ took the mound and a face familiar to Aurora fans, Juan Carlos Gutierrez, strode to the plate. The one-time Aurora farmhand, whom they had tried to re-acquire numerous times from Okinawa before spending much of his career at Shin Seiki, has spent the past two-seasons with Manchester before signing with Yuma at the start of this calendar year. He had a strong start to the spring and rode it to a .326 average and a spot in the Opening Day line-up for the Arroyos.
Clark, on the other hand, started well – allowing just a run in his first two-spring starts, but finished with a dismal 3.1 IP, 10 H, 7 R performance against Crystal Lake that gave him a spring ERA of 5.19 – though he had 15 K and just 2 BB in 17.1 IP.
So it was Clark and Gutierrez staring one down as Pedro de la Cruz’ throw down to second primed this opening day showdown. It was Clark who would win that initital battle, catching JCG looking at a strike three – and knocking the Yumans down in order. Service held as Hernandez took his turn on the mound. The 22-year old flame thrower looked more than ready for the challenge – despite walking Aleman on a full count pitch that sailed high in the strike zone as he tried to over-power Aurora’s 2-time all-star. Both pitchers were looking hard to beat as they moved through the second and third with ease – only a ‘Litterbug’ double in the third blemished the early third of this ball game.
It was on to the 4th where Yuma had it’s first threat. Clark would walk Gutierrez to lead off the 4th – ending the streak of 9-straight outs. While ‘Slug’ was busy striking out Jose Aguilera, JCG would steal second and find himself standing on third after Alfredo Torres went with an outside pitch and grounded out to Ruben Ortega. To the plate came Sean Peters, the tough right-handed hitter, formerly of the Rising Sun – where since 2030 he had played for the Evas, Akira, Wind Dancers and the Ghosts – getting a championship ring with Niihama-shi last year. Long a nemesis for the Borealis, Clark got him swinging on a pitch in the dirt – ending the threat.
Yuma’s rookie pitcher would not fair so well in his first bit of trouble in the bottom of the 4th. After falling behind Raul Munoz, 3-1, he would walk the Aurora 1B to start the inning. ‘Matchbox’ wasted no time and singled on the first pitch – one that replays showed was a very tough one to hit. Suddenly looking rattled, the youngster then proceeded to plunk David Simmons in the ribs on his first pitch – loading the bases with no one out. Hernandez managed to right himself – for a moment, as he fought past a pair of ripped foul balls of the bat of de la Cruz to strike him out, bringing up Ortega.
Aurora picked up the former-Kentucky Thoroughbred at the deadline last year hoping they would get some extra pop in their lineup – and they were sorely disappointed. But here in the opener of the 2037, the 26-year old Puerto Rican was looking to make amends and start the year with a bang. Hernandez fell behind and paid the price. Ortega crushed a 3-1 pitch deep into the left-center bleachers, half-way up to the Pepsi bottle high on the concourse – a grand slam that gave Aurora a 4-0 lead – and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
For the rookies part, he regained his composure quickly and was able to get G-Rod and Arundale on ground balls and limit the dameage. He also gave his teammates the chance to maybe get back into the game – which 2B Nelson Peralta promptly did, hitting a ball down the line for a solo homer to lead off the 5th – cutting the lead to 4-1. It would have been a 4-2 lead in the 6th after Aguilera homered off Clark – but CF Oniji Kichikawa butchered a ball over his head – off the bat of Raul Munoz – earning an error for his efforts with 2-outs, and setting Claudio Hernandez up with the chance to drive in a 5th run for Aurora – which he managed with a single on a 2-1 pitch.
What Aguilera did manage with his 2-out homer was to extend the inning and get Clark out of the game – as Torres and Peters followed with singles that brought the tying run to the plate. Having thrown 89 pitches – right at his prescribed early season pitch count, Clark was gone and the ‘Werewolf’ came on. The rookie Toshikuni Kichida made easy work of Peralta on a lazy fly to right to end the inning.
And for all intents, end the night for Yuma.
Hernandez would pitch a perfect 6th, and Alberto Rivera would come on and have a perfect 7th and 8th, leaving Yuma fans with some hope, but Kichida would shut down the 7th and 8th himself, leaving the 9th for ‘Machete’ to earn his first save of the year – despite walking Torres on 4-pitches to start the 9th (he got Peters to roll into a DP on a 3-1 pitch).
Yuma, who opened the season strongly with 4-0 and 11-3 wins over Bakesfield at Salt Lick Stadium, fell to 2-1 on the embryonic season as Clark picked up the win and was named the Player of the Game as he allowed 4-hits, 2-runs and struck out 6, walked one in his 5.2-innings. Offensively kudos went to Ortega for his grand slam and Claudio Hernandez who was 2-4 with an RBI.
It was a great night for Aurora as their fans filled the streets surrounding the park on the edge of Cherry Creek Lake, already anticipating game 2 of the shortend opening series with Yuma. Henry Cluett will face off with Yuma’s second year starter Kyle Johnstone in that one. Fans will take note that Aurora started 2036 strongly, before their nose-dive. Here’s to a newer year.
