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Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger
May 24, 2038: Somewhere over the Pacific – May has been a perplexing month. Aurora began the month with a game and a half lead, only to see it quickly disappear, falling behind by four games to Reno by May 10 - only to storm back and sit only a game back as the Borealis jet-set to Japan for a critical series with Niihama-shi, whom Aurora is a game behind in the wild card race (tied with Okinawa, four ahead of Tempe) - as the Ghosts trails Sovereign League leaders Toyama by 2.5 games.
Troubles for Aurora began in Yuma as the teams split a four game set - the Borealis bookending a pair of losses with a pair of wins. Aurora used a pair f homers by Ortega and Kowalski in the opening two frames to jump to a 4-0 lead and coast to an 8-1 win, as it was the bullpen who did most the work as it was a short outing for Brian Clark as he left in the 4th for an undiscosed reason... Game 2 was a game of long balls as Claudio Hernandez had a pair (numbers 3 & 4), while Yuma managed a pair off 'Lanza' and a 2-out shot off Fujii in the 6th, giving the Yumans the lead - and the win in a 5-3 loss for Aurora... Lewis Uige got the call in place of Ramon Gonzales, and 'Haggis' had nothing as Yuma roughed the Scotsman up for three homers - two solo shots by Vincent Powell, while Kyle Johnstine held Aurora to just 3-hits into the 7th... Aurora pounded out 21-hits in game 4 - including 7-2B (two each from Qing and Daikawa) and 'Matchbox's third homer of the series in a 13-5 win that had Aurora score 10-unanswered runs after Yuma took a 4-3 lead in the 4th. Hernandez was 3-5, with 3 R and 3 RBI...
It was a Yuma hangover as the club faced Tempe at home, and scored a total of 5-runs - after a 13-run, 21-hit outburst in the previous game. Ju-ao Zou held Aurora to 6-hits and a run in the opener, while Cluett also allowed just a run (on 3-hits) before he departed. The 'Hyena' would give up the winning run (in a 3-1 Apollos' win) as Twia continues to struggle to find consistency... It was Tempe's turn to flash some power in game 2, as they had 6-doubles and an Alejandro Garcia homer, while Shojiro Goto scattered 7-hits over his 5+ innings for a 5-2 win... Victorio Guerra gave up 3-runs on four hits and a walk in the 2nd - he allowed 5-hits on the day's 5.1 IP outing - and that was enough. Aurora fought back and loaded the bases in the 9th with 2-out, on three straight singles - and Munoz made it four, but Diakawa was thrown out at the plate trying to score the tying run - ending the game at 3-2...
Aurora opened a series in Duluth, finding themselves four games out of first and third in the wildcard standings, feeling lost - but they quickly found their stroke in Minnesota, and have kept it rolling since - winning 12 of their next 14-games.
They took two if three from Duluth - 9-1 and 8-0 wins, sandwiched around a rough 5-2 loss. Armando Batista was solid in his 5.2 IP performance, allowing just 3 H while striking out 6, with Ruben Ortega 2-4, a double and triple and 3 RBI on the game... Things looked good in game two, as Aurora led 2-0 - another Ortega triple and Kowalski's 6th homer - but Henry Cluett's excellent performance of 7-shut out innings exploded in the 8th before help could arrive - four straight singles and a Dave Petersen 3-run homer chased 'Professor Plum' with a 5-run outburst, giving Duluth the 5-2 win... Aurora turned to the minors this time around for Gonzales' start, and Jung-hyun Yi got the call from AA, and he amazed the 32,807 paid crowd with 6.1-innings of 3-hit, shut out ball, while Rocky Kowalski hit 2-homers and drove home 3 as Aurora punished Cooper Harris and Pedro Gonzalez for 4-runs apiece in an 8-0 win in Yi's major league debut...
Aurora continued their zig-zagging home and road pattern as they bounced back and forth across the Rockies, this time to face the Sandgnats at Northern Lights - a Crystal Lake team that is 4th in the Great Lakes, but just a game and a half out of first as things look to be tight all year in that division. Except, for the 'Gnats, it was bad news, as Aurora had found their groove and pounded the ball all series. The opener was an 8-1 win for the Borealis - only a 2-out, top of the 9th homer by Tony Torres preventing a shut out as 'Matchbox' had a pair of doubles and his 6th homer of the year - leading to 5 RBI on the day in support of Brian Clarks' 8-inning, 7-hit shut out performance... Game 2 wasn't much better as former Win-D and Shisa Scottie Shorland had nothing against Aurora - giving up 8-hitsna d 5runs in 5-innings.It was a classic Aurora singles parade - 12 of the Borealis' 14 hits were singles, with Ruben Ortega hitting his 5th homer, supporting 'Lanza's 7-inning, 6-hit, 2-run performance. Uige bounced back ofter his rough start earlier in the month to have 2-hitless innings in relief, as Aurora won 9-2... 'Nitro' and Batista faced off in game 3, and each found it rough. MacCowan was hit with two HR - one by Qing (his second) and Hernandez' first of two on the day (#8 on the year), while Armando allowed 11-hits and 5-runs in his 6 IP. Barry Rodriguez and 'Machete' would finish the three innings scoreless, while 'Matchbox's second homer made it a 7-5 final...
After s second straight Monday off day, Aurora was off to Bakersfield to face a Bears team that has struggled mightily this season, coming in with a 12-27 record - in 5th, 11-games behind Aurora (13 behind Reno, as Aurora has cut the four game deficit to two) and just 2-games better than last place Palm Springs. As bad as the Bears may be, you expect them to still play Aurora tough - and they mostly hung in there. Cluett and Mendoza (for a second straight time) matched one another - each allowing just a run, in a game that went into extra innings. It would be Aurora's 5th extra inning game, and with a pair in the 10th - Arundale and Munoz leading off with back-to-back doubles, Aurora plated two, making it 5-0 in extra innings for Aurora... David Simmons solo homer in the 2nd and a Daikawa triple and Silva double would give Aurora an early 3-0 lead - a second time they spotted the rookie Jung Yi with a lead - and for a second start he was not scored upon - this time allowing just 2-hits in 7.1 IP, as Aurora would win 7-0 - Yi's 2nd win in two tries... Aurora jumped to a 5-0 lead behind 'Slug' - David Simmons third homer - a 3-run shot off Juan Guerrero making it 5, but the Bears fought back with two in the 6th off Clark, and another two in the 8th off Barry Rodriguez (a Bernardo Romano 2-run homer), but after getting a lead-off single in the 9th off Gutierrez, Hyo-sang You hit into a double play to kill any hope - Aurora getting a 5-4 win, and a sweep of the Bears...
The Borealis stayed in California, sliding over from the Central Valley and into the Joshua Tree covered Mojave to face the last place Codgers, but Taki Takata jumped on a 'Lanza' offering with 2-out and 2-on in the first for a three-run homer, while Hung Bao held Aurora to 2-runs on 8-hits - Claudio Hernandez hitting his 9th homer on the year. Guerra's control did him in, as he walked six - two scored, in the Codgers 4-2 win in the opener... Aurora bounced back with Batista on the mound - who scattered 7-hits over 7-innings, allowing a pair, while Aurora had their turn with a pitcher who couldn't throw strikes - Tsugiharu Kamimura walked 6 in 6 IP as Aurora would win 5-2 - Batista's 5th win on the year... Aurora jumped all over Mark Stanford, scoring 6-runs off 8-hits - Ortega and Qing with back-to-back doubles with 2-out in the first giving the Borealis a 4-0 lead that they built to 7-2 by the 4th - and Qing made 8-3 in the 7th with his third homer of the year - Aurora's young catcher hit 3 all of last year in 178 AB - he has 82 on the year and is hitting a tidy .268 - .326 v R, as Henry Cluett picked up his fourth win on the year...
On The Farm
At AAA, free agent closer Tekle Louahla has 13 saves and a 1.00 ERA over 16 appearances and 18 IP - with 26 K and 6 BB... at AA, Mark Newton's shortstop experiment has ended, and he's back at 1B, hitting .269 with 3 HR and 14 SB; Hideki Nishikawa is hitting .290, with 6 HR and 16 SB' Declan Ingall is hitting .293 with 11-2B and 15 RBI... At A Ball, George Anderson is 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA, and in 7 starts has 35 K in 45 IP, with just 4 BB... Short A starts this week and with the Oceanic eyes will be on starting pitchers Leo Gerber, Dae-hyun Pak; 1B Jose Aguilar and Juan Carlos Sanchez; and SS Robert Godfrey...
What's on Tap
Four at the Ghosts - as mentioned at the top, and then a second trip to Duluth to face the 23-22 Warriors, who are 3.5 behind first place Kalamazoo. Aurora will be sending rookie Jung Yi to the mound in the opener as the youngster faces his stiffest competition of his young PEBA career. The Ghosts may have the 12th best average in the SL, but they've scored the 2nd most runs - thanks to the second most homers. Their pitchers have the 3rd best overall ERA with the lowest OAVG - setting up an interesting matchup with the Borealis's top rated ERA (thanks to the 'pen) and 2nd ranked offense, average-wise - though 6th in runs.