Opener Not ‘Yummy’
By Francis Ferry, NLN beat writer
April 2, 2040: Bakersfield, California – When the players arrived at The Ballpark Formerly-Known as YUM! – The Oaks at Aera Field, it was a late-, lingering, winter moning in the California Central Valley as tule fog hung close and tight to the ground, keeping the air temps hovering below 50º, but by the time the gates opened and fans began filing into the park – Bears caps and jerseys everywhere as an Opening Day crowd knows nothing but eternal hope – the sky cleared, the temps rose, and a pleasant afternoon became a cool 60º at game time.
Aurora was coming off what ultimately was a disappointing spring – one that concluded with four-consecutive losses, but the Bears were even worse – 9-15 and tied for the second worse record in the SL (with Yuma) – only Duluth, surprisingly, was worse.
But it was Opening Day and Spring Hopes Eternal, as they say, and Aurora sent Brenden Clymo to the mound for his second Opening Day with the Borealis, while the former-Alleghanie and Bureaucrat Juan Guerrero threw the first pitch of 2040 for the Bears – and he quickly dispatched the Borealis in the first and allowed just a walk (and a stolen base) to Hideki Nishikawa in the second. Clymo, on the otherhand, was not so fortunate.
Bakersfield’s big money acquisition, 2B Joe Riley – who led the PEBA with 49 HR last year for New Jersey, singled after Clymo recorded the first two outs of the game, and was followed by another single through the infield by Ernesto Machado. The fans from The Front Range were already on the edge of their seats – having seen this tale more than once last year; a 2-out rally allowed by Clymo, but they breathed a sigh of relief when right-hander got Allen Davis to lift a flyball to left to end the inning.
That sigh of relief was short lived.
1B Shimei Yashiki doubled to lead-off the second and Bernardo Romano hit a long fly to straight-away left – a two-run homer and as Aurora come to the plate in the 3rd, looking for their first hit, they were down 2-0. That hit would come with 2-out in the third – a line single up the middle by Angel Silva. Promptly the inning would end as catcher Luo-shan Lin would throw a seed to second to catch Silva stealing, ending the inning.
Clymo would settle down, allowing just a single in the 3rd and 5th before the pitch count caught up with him after the first out in the 6th, with Abay Icharia coming on in relief. Meanwhile, there began to be cracks appearing in Guerrero. He walked a pair in the fourth before Nishikawa hit into an inning ending double play. Stewart Arundale doubled with 2-out in the 5th, but was stranded. I was in the 6th that Aurora were able to get on the board and chase the Bakersfield starter.
Angel hit it on the nose to lead off the 6th, but right at the 3B Gareth Bulger. Ruben Ortega, who was 0-2, hit a liner to right that looked like it would be caught, but at the last second RF Jose Cruz let-up on it and it fell for a single. That brought Raul Munoz to the plate – the Aurora 1B coming off a horrid spring, waited for Ortega to get a jump – which he did, stealing second easily. With the Bakersfield bullpen in full panic mode, Munoz lashed a shot to the left of second – just behind Ortega and just past the outstretched glove of SS Yong-hong Gui – with Ortega racing around third and beating the throw from Allen Davis, making it a 2-1 game.
Guerrero would face one more batter – striking out Pedro Macias on three pitches, before being relieved by Yoshino Sakamoto, who retired Nishikawa to end the inning – but he continued into the 7th and got himself in big trouble. After a 1-out single by Borealis SS Jose Aleman, and a strikeout by ‘Litterbug’, Masamichi Daikawa came to the plate and laced a long liner into the right-centerfield gap, racing around to third with an RBI Triple to tie the game. It appeared Aurora was about to take the lead, but Jose Cruz chased down a ball headed for the gap in right-center off the bat of ‘Otter’, sending the game to the bottom of the 7th.
Icharia and Sakamoto took care of the next half-innings, and then Barry Rodriguez came into the gae in the bottom of the 8th and instantly put the pressure on as Joe Riley greeted him with a lead-off double. Aurora skipper Michel Provost had Machado intentially walked, hoping for a double play. Corbin Taylor lifted a fly to center – but to shallow for Riley to tag and move over to third – so with Yashiki up, Riley took off for third and stole the bag – putting himself in position to give the Bears the lead. Rodriguez got Yashiki to strike out and then struck out Romano – both swinging – to end the threat and send it to the 9th.
In one swing of the bat the Bakersfield crowd was quieted and the Aurora contingent went wild as with 1-out Lan-quig Qing crushed one – 425’, over the right-cent bleachers, Qing’s and Aurora’s first homer of the year – giving Aurora the lead for the first time and with their closer, Hector Gutierrez coming on for the save. ‘Machete’ had the roughest spring of the bullpen arms, and unfortunately for the Borealis, that stretch was to continue. Gui and Bulger bookended a flyout with singles to open the bottom of the 9th. Gutierrez battled Cruz to a strikeout for the second out – bringing up the troublesome Bear of the day – Joe Riley.
‘Machete’ fell behind in the count – Riley getting it into a hitters count – 3-1, then lining a pitch that was just a little too good, into left – Arundale having no chance of throwing Gui out at the plate, and ssending the game to the 10th. Antonio Sandoval pitched the 10th, allowing just a walk, while Toshikuni Kichida threw a wild, yet perfect 10th – without throwing a strike. That was followed by a perfect 11th for Sandoval before Aurora’s would-be hero became the game’s goat.
It was Yong-hong Gui who would once more start a rally for Bakersfield – once again a lead-off single – an opposite-field liner just out of Ortega’s leaping reach as he ranged to his left. Lin laid down the perfect sacrifice bunt and Bugler swung with purpose, grounding it to second – allowing Gui to move to third, to bring up Jose Cruz with a chance to end the game.
There are a number of ways to score from third with two outs, and a number of ways to lose a game in extra innings, but perhaps no other way could be as painful as a passed ball by your All-Leather catcher – and yet that is what Lan-quing Qing is and that’s what the catcher - whose 9th inning homer looked like a game winner, did. ‘Werewolf’s 0-1 cutter handcuffed the typically reliable Qing and rolled to the screen. Gui race to the plate – scoring standing – and then was mobbed by his teammates as the Bears take home an Opening Day – and of late, an uncommon win over the Borealis, that sent the 61,114 fans mostly into the streets celebrating.
It was a tough loss by the Borealis, a blown save by their 3-time Shutdown Reliever winner and an ill-timed passed ball by the best defensive catcher in the League. Aurora managed just 7-hits – but three were for extra-bases – Arundale with a double, Diakawa’s triple and Qing’s homer – so that was promising.
The 0-1 Borealis (and losers now of 5-staight going back to spring training) take on the Bears tomorrow in the finale of an abbreviated 2-game series, before heading back to The Front Range and the home opener against Reno at Northern Lights. Armando Batista will be on the mound for Aurora gainst Bakersfield’s own old vet – Jeff Mendoza.
