Season Log: Iowa City Country

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:00 pm

SkittleMonster wrote:

I do! It's easier to read

Which means I now know that the ICC have less than stellar pitching but fairly good hitting

The quality of the offense v pitching might have more to do with me than with the individual stats! You shoulda seen how poorly I pitched when pitch speed was set to "slow"!!!

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:05 pm

A last minute trade we failed to report previously, but that could affect the Country:

the Tigers traded star SS Edgar Renteria (BBCCBC) to the Mariners for starting pitcher Erik Bedard (97 CA 2SF – two, CU – two, CB – three, CH – two). Insiders expect the Tigers' 1st baseman Carlos ??? to shift over to shortstop (CBBCDD), which will be a slight downgrade in fielding, but the true impact will be seen at first base which will likely be filled by first-year player Daric Barton (EDFEFD), a significant downgrade in the field and at the plate.

AgentP · **Posted:** Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:25 am

Carlos Guillen, I think.

Barton > Renteria

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Mon Jul 02, 2012 1:21 pm

Iowa City Country Win 2 of 3 from Blue Jays; Move Into Tie for 3rd

8/1 – 3/2008: Iowa city country versus Toronto Blue Jays

Game one summary: the country play the Jays and Roy Halliday tough, but come up short, six – five

Country Gimenez (98EB CH – four, CV – one) versus Blue Jays Halladay (95 BA 2SF – two, CU– four, CB – five, CH – four, HSK – two)

The country were able to jump on Halladay early, as Erdos Spilborghs, and Johnson all singled (with Erdos and Spilborghs coming home on Johnson's deep single). Then, after Cust grounded into a fielders choice, Harris hit a two run home run.

The Jays were able to chip away at the lead, then tie the game, and then go ahead by two by scoring three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth, and two in the sixth (against relief pitcher Jiang). A homerun by Hart in the eighth closed the gap to one run (6-5) against Jays reliever Downs. Deardorff relieved Jiang to begin the bottom of the eighth and retired the Blue Jays in order. Markham retired the country in order to close the game 6-5.

Notable Halladay got the win but failed to pitch into the seventh inning – a "moral victory" of sorts. In giving up four runs over six innings, the Country forced Halladay to throw 84 pitches. Said left fielder Erdos (2/5, R) "the coach has been telling us all year that we needed to take more pitches and with Halladay coming up, we were told to not swing unless a pitch is near the middle of the plate or until we get two strikes. That seemed to work in our favor to get him out of the game as early as possible." When asked whether that rule applied to everyone, Erdos replied "not all of us. Coach says Johnson and Jack (Cust) should keep doing what they're doing, but if any of the rest of us got out on fewer than three pitches, we get an earlier curfew on the next road trip!"

Game two: Country Win 11-10 Marathon

Country Lannan ( 89 ED SL – two, CB – four, CH – two) versus Blue Jays Burnett (98 DA HSK – four, CH – four, KNC – five)

The Country again seemed to be trying to use "patience" at the plate as an offense of tactic, forcing Burnett to throw 14 piches to complete the first inning, including a six pitch at-bat to leadoff hitter Milledge. The Country's first baserunner, Johnson, led off the second inning with a single to right field on a five pitch at-bat, followed by a hit by Jack Cust on the fifth pitch of his at-bat. While the Country tested Burnette's stamina, forcing him to throw 33 pitches in the first two innings, alone, the Blue Jays scored three runs in the bottom of the second on a three run homerun by Scott Rolen. Whether the number of pitches had anything to do with Burnett's performance will be difficult to know for sure, but on his 43rd pitch, occurring in just the third inning, Dan Johnson hit a three-run homerun to tie the game. At that point, Burnett looked visibly shaken and gave up a single to Cust and then a double to Harris on what was clearly a mistake pitch, allowing Cust to score the fourth run of the inning. Unfortunately, Lannan handed back the lead, giving up three consecutive singles, then recording two outs before giving up a three run homerun to catcher Greg Zaun. End of three, Country four, Blue Jays seven

The offensive showcase continued in the fourth inning, as Milledge doubled to the gap in left-center with White on first and one out. Normally, white would have held up at third, but Vernon Wells and inexplicably threw the ball to third, past the cut off man. Seeing this, White was immediately waived home amd scored easily as Wells' throw rolled to third. Erdos' at-bat was a masterpiece. Starting off down 0-2, Erdos fouled off the next pitch, and then Burnett threw a wild pitch allowing Milledge to get the third. Erdos worked the count full amd lofted a deep fly ball that easily brought home Milledge and cut the deficit to one run. Lannan retired the Blue Jays in order in the the fourth, striking out the last batter and keeping the score at seven – six, Blue Jays

The country and Blue Jays traded zero's in the fifth inning and then Burnett was replaced to start the sixth, making this one of his shortest outings of the season, throwing 72 pictures over five innings. He was replaced by Downs (91 CE SL – four, CB – three, CH – two). The country's patience continued to pay off as White singled with one out, and over the 23 pitch inning, Milledge singled White to third and Erdos brought White home on a single to shallow right field,

Country reliever Brown took over the start of the bottom of the sixth and after retiring the Blue Jays catcher, gave up a solo homerun to Scott Roland – Roland's second homerun of the day. After the country where retired in order, the normally dominant Brown allowed another solo homerun to Vernon Wells. End of seven, Blue Jays nine, Country seven.

The Country kept fighting, and with the Blue Jays reliever tiring, Huisman, and White singled, moved to third amd second on a wild pitch to Milledge (who later popped out to second base) and then Erdos singled, scoring Huisman. White probably would have scored on the play and tied the game, but he seemed to be inexplicably held up at third . As it was, with two outs and runners on first and third, Spilborghs took to the plate against new reliever, Markham (91 CC SL – three, CU – one, CB – two, CH – two). Spilborghs took several close pitches before lacing a two – two fastball to deep left center, scoring White and Erdos, and giving the country a 10 – 9 lead

Shawn Green entered to pitch the eighth inning (93 CE SNK – two, SP – three, SL – two) and promptly served up a homerun to Zaun, the catcher's second homerun of the day, on a split fingered fastball that did not drop

The ninth inning began with Jack Cust hitting a towering one run home run into the upper right field deck – his 21st of the season giving the country and 11 – 10 lead that Chamberlain saved with a one – two – three 9th inning

Notable offensive stats: Milledge went 3/5 with one double, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored; Cust went 4/5 with a homerun and two runs scored; White, who has apparently supplanted Sanchez at second base, went 2/5 with three runs scored

Notable pitching: a poor pitching performance from all except Chamberlain, the trio of Lannan, Brown, and Green allowed 10 runs on 14 hits over eight innings with five strikeouts.

Blue Jays pitchers threw 126 pitches today, an unofficial record for the Country in a regular nine inning game. Said the country manager: "we been preaching patience at the plate for a long time, but I think it took our rookies to think about facing Halladay and Burnett to make them feel helpless, and to understand that by taking pitches and forcing starters out of the game, even if you're struck out, you've accomplished something to help the team win."

Game 3: Country Use Balanced Offensive Attack to Take the Rubber Game 12-10

Country Grindell (93 EC CU – three, CB – two, PA – three) versus Blue Jays Litsch (93 DB SL – three, CB – two, CH – two, SP – two)

If "patience" described the country's offensive of philosophy the past two games, then "patiently aggressive" describes how the country came out in the first inning. Milledge (batting 345) patiently watched several piches go by before hitting a changeup up the middle for single. He then waited while Erdos took his second pitch on which Milledge easily stole second. Erdos grounded into a fielders choice on the 3rd pitch of his at bat, and both he and Milledge were safe. Spilborghs singled on the 5th pitch of his at bat, bringing home Milledge, and then Johnson smacked the 1st pitch he saw into CF. Cust patiently waited for a pitch down the middle, which he drove to center for a single, and then Hart hit a hanging curve ball into the left field bleachers, at which point Litsch exited the game without recording an out. The Country sent all 9 batters to the plate that inning, and then started the 2nd right where they left off, as Milledge singled on the 3rd pitch of his at bat, stole 2nd, and came home on an Erdos single. Erdos moved to 2nd on a wild pitch and to third on a Spilborghs groundout. Johnson lofted a fly ball to center that scored Erdos and then Cust, Wth the next pitcher visibly tiring, launched a hanging slider into the upper right field deck. When all was said and done, the Country were up 9-0 going into the bottom of the 2nd.

The Blue Jays hung tough and clawed their way back to make it a 2-run game in the 7th, but ran out of quality relievers, using 5 pitchers to throw 136 pitches today, and the last pitcher, Borland (82 FD CU-1, FO-1 ), was just not ready for prime time.

Notable offense: the 1st 6 players in the lineup each got 2 hits, Harris & Huisman got 1 hit, and White went 0/3. Johnson, Cust, Spilborghs, and Hart each hit a HR (Hart hit 2). Johnson had 5 RBIs, Spilsborgh 2, and Hart 3. Milledge stole 2 bases.

Pitching: Grindell and O'Connor each pitched 3-1/3 and gave up 3 and 4 runs, respectively. Brown pitched a solid 1-1/3 innings, but tired in the 9th, allowing 3 runs. Chamberlain got the final 2 outs without surrendering a hit.

Awards: Dan Johnson was named player of the week ending 9/3/08 (464, 4 HR, 13 RBI). Hideo Nomo, who the Country traded for Chamberlain, was pitcher of the week (2W 0L, 0 ERA, 5K)

Standings:

SkittleMonster · **Posted:** Mon Jul 02, 2012 1:22 pm

Poor Royals, always in last...

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Mon Jul 09, 2012 6:25 pm

8/4 – 6/2008: Iowa City Country sweep Texas Rangers

Game one: Country Pull Out 9-7 Win Over Rangers

Country Borgeois (90 DC SL – two, CU – four, CB – three) versus Rangers Gennings (90 DB SL – three, CH – two, HSK – two)

The Rangers, playing without Josh Hamilton who they traded earlier in the year, scored first, getting one run on three hits. In the bottom half of the third, the Country loaded the bases on singles by Huisman, White, and Milledge. Erdos grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Huisman and left runners at first and third with one out for Ryan Spilborghs who launched a ball to deep center field for a bases clearing double. The Rangers starting pitcher was visibly shaken at this point and hung a changeup that Johnson launched into the right field bleachers for a two run homerun. After Cust grounded out to the second baseman, Hart grooved a changeup over the left center field fence, giving the Country a six – one lead and triggering the Rangers to replace their starting pitcher

With a six – one lead, country starter Borgeois (five IP, R, 8H, three SO) was replaced with middle reliever Deardorff (88 DC SL – two, CB – one, FO – four). The Rangers did not hit Deardorff hard, but hits just out of reach of the infielders resulted in four runs, and the Country coach called in Brown, the Country's set up man. With runners at second and third, no one out, Brown gave up the tying run on a single and then the go-ahead run on a dribbler between first and second. Before the damage could get any worse, Kinsler hit a sharp grounder right at Hart who tagged out the runner heading towards third and then threw out Kinsler at first for an inning ending 6-3 doubleplay

Harris led off the bottom half of the sixth inning with a double and moved to third on Huisman's base hit. With their reliever visibly tired, White laced a fastball splitting the left and center fielders for a double, tying the game at seven all

Brown pitched a strong seventh inning until he tired and allowed runners to reach second and third with two outs. At this point he was replaced by Jiang who recorded the last out and maintained the 7-7 tie going into the bottom of the seventh

Johnson batted with one out and hit a fastball to dead center field that just cleared the fence for a homerun. Later that inning, Hart launched the ball into the 2nd deck left-field bleachers for his second homerun of the game

Jiang allowed the first two batters in the eighth inning to reach base and was replaced byGgreen, who induced a 4-3 double play and then retired the Rangers cleanup hitter (Kinsler) on a ground out to shortstop, manned by Sanchez, who enterred as a defensive substitution after Harris was replaced for a pinch runner in the prior inning.

The top of the night began with the Country's Chamberlain being brought in to face the Rangers fifth, sixth and seventh hitters. The Country may have been nervous after the Rangers' lead batter doubled to start the inning, but Chamberlain retired the next three batters easily to close out the game and earn his 14th save of the season

Notable hitting: Johnson and Hart both had two homeruns and two runs scored. Johnson was credited with three RBIs; Hart two. Harris also had a strong day, going 3/4 with a double and a run scored

Notable pitching: aside from reliever Deardorff's terrible one third inning, in which he was credited with allowing six runs, country pitchers pitched well. The five pitchers other than Deardorff allowed one run on 8 – 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. Country pitchers threw 87 pitches over nine innings, while the Rangers threw 103 pitches over eight innings.

Scoreboard watching:

Game two: Country crush Rangers ace 10 – 1

Country Depablos (93 DC SL – four, CB – three) versus rangers Josh Beckett (97 BA 2SF – two, SIFB – four, CH – three, FO – five, DCB – four)

This was a strong pitching duel through four innings, with Beckett allowing a homerun by Hart in the third and wriggling out of several jams, including a strike out of Jack Cust with runners at first and third with two outs. Depablos allowed no hits through three innings, striking out three in that time.

Beckett tired in the fifth inning and was pulled after throwing 77 pitches through 4–1/3, exiting with runners at first and second. The Rangers brought in CJ Wilson (95 DE SL – two, CB – two, CH – one, SIFB – one) to face Dan Johnson. Johnson looped a single to left center field on an 0-2 pitch, scoring Milledge and bringing up Jack Cust with Spilborghs at second and Johnson at first, one out. Cust grounded into a fielders choice, and then Hart singled Cust to second, scoring Spilborghs and bringing Harris up to the plate with runners at first and second. Harris ground out to the second baseman. End of five, Country three, Rangers zero

Wilson tired in the seventh inning, after throwing 28 pitches in 1–2/3 innings, and allowed a single to Erdos, who then scored on a double by Spilborghs. Wilson was pulled after Johnson got a broken bat single too short center field, putting runners at first and third with no out. Cust launched a ball to deep left-center, doubling home Spilborghs and leaving runners at second and third for Hart, who hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Johnson. End of seven, Country six, Rangers zero

Depablos was pulled at the start of the eighth inning, having surrendered no runs and allowing just six hits over seven innings with four strikeouts. He was replaced by Deardorff (88 DC FO – three, CB – one, SL – two). Deardorff pitched a solid eighth inning, and the Country added another run when Milledge singled, stole second, and then scored on a base hit by Erdos. Johnson then singled and Cust crushed any hopes the Rangers had with a three run homerun just over the left center field fence, sending the game into the ninth inning at 10 – 0. Deardorff lost the shutout, allowing three singles after retiring the first 2 batters, but then induced a ground ball to short to end the game, 10 – 1

Scoreboard watching:

Game three: Country use three homeruns and walk off hit to sweep the Rangers

Country's O'Connor (89 EA SL – two, CB – one, CH – two) versus Rangers Rupe (94 DC SL – two, CB – three, CH – one)

Notable lineup changes: LF Erdos is being given the day off in favor of Ryan Sweeney, who will bat second, and Johnson, feeling under the weather, is moved down to seventh in the batting order

In what started out as a well pitched game between two young pitchers, the Country scored first when Harris hit a solo homerun off Rupe in the bottom of the second inning. The Rangers tied it up in the top of the fourth when a Ben Broussard double to deep left center, splitting the Country left and centerfielders brought Blalock home and then Rangers catcher, Laird, singled to right field, scoring Broussard and giving the Rangers a two – one lead heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. A Jack Cust solo homerun with one out in the bottom of the fourth tied the game.

4 base hits in the top of the fifth gave the Rangers a four – two lead, which the Rangers comfortably maintained entering the bottom of the 9th. The Rangers closer, Benwa (96 BE SL – four, CB – two, SP – three, HSNK – one) struck out Spilborghs, but after allowing a single to Cust, Hart launched the next pitch over the centerfield wall for a two run HR, tying the game, at which point he was replaced by Mendoza (90 DD SL – three, CB – three, CH – one). Mendoza gave up a two-out double to Dan Johnson, and then Huisman, who was hitless in yesterday's game and 0/3 in today's game, dropped a single just out of the second baseman's reach, scoring Johnson for the walk off, winning hit.

Scoreboard:

AL Central standings:

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Mon Jul 09, 2012 6:30 pm

Poll: which is more impressive?

AgentP · **Posted:** Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:49 pm

Powerprosfan31 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:54 pm

I'm going to have to go with C as well.

Paul McCartney15 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:19 pm

Yes C is very impressive.

AnthonyP · **Posted:** Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:40 am

B AND A. My guys rock.

PowerPro Jr · **Posted:** Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:36 pm

C. Stats guys would be going insane if that happened IRL.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:00 pm

8/8 – 10/2008: Country versus Indians

Game one: Indians break Country win streak at five, win 10-9 on strong, seven-run third inning

Country Jimenez (98 EB CH – four, CB – one) versus Indians Paul Byrd (90 BA 2SF – two, SL – two, CB – two, CH – two)

Notable lineup change: dan Johnson, still feeling purple, is out of the lineup today, replaced by Sanchez, batting eighth

Summary: the Indians all but won this game in the third inning when, down two – zero, they came back on a series of base hits and homeruns by their seventh and ninth batters (each with E power) to take a seven – two lead. The Indians scored another three runs in the sixth and then held on as the Country brought themselves to within a run, but could not tie the game

Hitting Stats:

Pitching stats:

AL Central Scoreboard watch:

Game two: strong pitching and a three run homerun by Cust even the series at one, country win four – one

Country's Grindell (93 EC CU – three, CB – two, PA – three) versus Indians Sauers (92 EB SL – three, CH – two)

Notable lineup change: Dan Johnson continues rest, replaced by Shrager (DCFDEG), normally a 3B, who will bat seventh

With Milledge and Erdos on base, Jack Cust hit a three run homerun to left-center field, giving the Country a three – zero lead after one inning

In the top of the second, the Indians threatened, but did not score, as there was a leadoff single and after a strikeout, a double to put runners at second and third, but 2 more strikeouts ended the inning without a score. They did not threatened again until the top of the fourth inning when Grady Sizemore doubled home third baseman Casey Blake. The country got that run back when, with two outs, White singled over the second baseman, stole second, and was driven home by Milledge. End of four, Iowa four, Indians one

Grindell was replaced at the start of the sixth inning, having allowed only one run on five hits with six strikeouts. He was replaced by Deardorff (88 DC SL – two, CD – one, FO – four). Deardorff pitched a solid inning and was replaced by Brown (94 DE SL – three, CD – one, CH – four) with one out in the seventh, runners at first and second and leadoff hitter David Eckstein at the plate. Eckstein hit a weak fly to second base and then a pop out too short ended the inning, preserving the Country's four – one lead entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Brown also got out of a jam in the eighth inning, as he induced a fly ball to right field and then a pop out to the catcher to close out the top of the eighth with Indians on first and second base.

Shawn Green started the top of the 9th, against the Indians number eight hitter who he retired, but when the Indians number nine batter reached first on a soft single to center field, Chamberlain entered and retired the next two batters on soft infield groundouts

AL Central Scoreboard watch

Game three: Country win the series with a seven – five win

Country's Bourgeois (90 DC SL – two, CU – four, CB – three) versus Indians Westbrook (93 CA CU – two, CB – three, CH – three, HSNK – four)

Westbrook escaped a jam unscathed in the bottom of the first when, with runners at first and third, one out, Milledge was thrown out at home when Dan Johnson hit a slow roller up the middle to the Indian second baseman. With runners at first and second, two outs, Cust popped up to short.

The Indians did not threaten, but scored first in the fourth inning when Indians catcher, Martinez, homered just over the right field wall. The Country tied the score in the bottom of the fourth when Spillborghs doubled and came home when Cust hit a shot so hard at the 2nd baseman that it that ricocheted off the second baseman into shallow centerfield.

The Country scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth when Milledge singled with two out, stole second, and scored on a single by Erdos, who moved to second base on the throw home. Spillborghs then singled home Erdos. End of five, country three, Indians one

With an amazing swing, Hafner took a cutter tailing high & inside and hit an opposite field home run to pull the Indians within one. Country starter Bourgeois struck out Martinez but allowed a double to the Indians Blake and was pulled in favor of Andrew "Fireman" Brown, having allowed two runs on eight hits over 5 – 1/3 innings with five strikeouts. Brown made things interesting by throwing a wild pitch, allowing Blake to move to third, but then struck out DeLucci and induced Sizemore into a slow ground out to first base, preserving the Country's three – two lead entering the bottom of the sixth.

The Indian's Westbrook continued to pitch into the sixth inning, but visibly tired during the leadoff at-bat (to Dan Johnson). Westbrook still easily recorded the first two outs, but then hung a hard sinker to great hart who made him pay, launching a home run over the centerfield wall to put the country up four – two. Westbrook was replaced, allowing four runs in 5 – 2/3 innings, and having made 74 pictures with no strikeouts in that frame. Singles by Huisman, white, and milledge brought home another run in the seventh, giving the Country a five – two lead entering the 8th.

Green replaced Brown, and after quickly recording the first out, surrendered another surprising homerun to Hafner. This time, Hafner took a split finger fastball to the lower outside corner and lifted it for another opposite field homerun. In the bottom of the 8th, country singles by hart, Harris, Huisman and Milledge extended the countries lead to 4 runs

Green started the ninth inning, but was quickly replaced by Chamberlain after allowing a lead off double. Chamberlain came in and allowed that inherited runner to score, giving up a pair of infield singles, and then another run scored on a single to left field, bringing up Travis Hafner, who hit two homeruns in his last two at-bats. A homerun here would give the Indians an eight – seven lead. Hafner hit a deep fly ball to center field, but Millage was able to track down, and then Chamberlain struck out Martinez on three pitches to close out the game

Notable: for the week ending 8 – 10 – 2008, milledge was named AL player of the week, hitting 607 with three RBIs over that span. This is nice recognition for Lastings milledge, who is quietly having an excellent season in the leadoff spot; he is 6th and MLB with a 360 batting average, leads MLB in hits (Dan Johnson is 2d), is the 6th in the AL Central in runs scored and is second in MLB to Ichiro Suzuki in stolen bases (37 to 34)

AL Central Scoreboard watch:

AL Central standings:

Note: at this point, three teams in the East and two teams in the West have equal or better records and the Twins, so it still appears that the central division will not be awarded a wildcard entry into the postseason

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sun Jul 15, 2012 10:12 pm

8/12 – 14/2008: Iowa city country at Texas rangers

Game one: strong pitching by James allows country to hang on for the win

Country James (91 CB SL – two, CH – three) versus Beckett (97 BA 2SF – two, SIFB – four, CH – three, FO – five, DCB – four)

The Rangers scored first, in the bottom of the second inning when Kinsler singled, moved to second on a fielder's choice from Blalock and then came home on Ben Broussard's double to right center field. The country tied the game and pulled ahead in the top of the fourth on singles by Erdos and Hart and doubles by Spillborghs and Johnson. Country starter James allowed two hits but no runs, closing out the fourth inning with the country ahead three – one.

In an exciting top of the fifth, milledge let off with a single and with two strikes on Erdos, bolted for second. Erdos tapped the ball down the third-base line and both runners wound up safe on a fielders choice. Spillborghs then grounded into a fielders choice resulting in runners at first and third with one out for Dan Johnson who walked, bringing up Jack Cust with the bases loaded. Cust worked himself into a full count before hitting a sacrifice fly to right field. Tiring, Beckett seems to get lucky when Hart missed on a hanging changeup and then flew out on a fastball down the middle to head into the bottom of the fifth with a four – one lead.

James pitched a strong fifth inning, registering his first strike out and Beckett failed to take the mound in the sixth, being removed after throwing 77 pitches over five innings and allowing four runs. In comparison, James through 46 pitches over that same span.

In the top of the eighth, the country tacked on two more runs, with Hart homering to left center field and milledge driving in McCurdy (filling in for the catcher Huisman ( given the day off). Country starter James was almost able to make it out of the eighth inning unscathed, but gave up a two run homerun to Ian Kinsler, prompting his being replaced by Fireman Brown, who closed out the 8th with the country leading six – three.

In an exciting 9th inning, Cust homered over the right centerfield wall, extending the country lead to seven – three and then Texas went on the offensive, getting several base hits and a double. When Chamberlain was called in to relieve Brown, he entered the game needing only one out, but with the tying runner on second with the Rangers number three batter at the plate. Bradley hit chamberlain's first pitch – a slow curve, right to the second baseman for the out ending the game.

Notable offense: the country's seven runs were scored with the 3-5 hitters (Spillborghs, Johnson, and Cust) getting only one hit apoece and no member of the country getting more than two hits.

AL Central Scoreboard:

Game two: Rangers even the series with five – three win

Country Depablos (93 DC SL – four, CB – three) versus rangers Millwood (95 CB 2SF – two, CU – three, CB – three, CH – two)

Notable lineup change: the country's outstanding rookie third baseman, Hart, and starting catcher, Huisman, reported in purple condition today and are replaced by Schrager (DCFDED) and McCurdy (DEFCDC) respectively.

The country broke the ice in the top of the first inning when Spillborghs singled with two outs (Milledge previously singled, but was thrown out on a steal attempt), stole second on a strike 2 curveball to Dan Johnson, and scored when Johnson laced a line drive double to right center field. The Rangers immediately turned up the heat, starting the game with two infield singles followed by two singles to the outfield, tying the game and leaving the bases-loaded for the number five batter, blalock. Depablos was lucky to minimize the damage by inducing a double play ball that allowed a run score, and then striking out the next Ranger on three pitches. End of one, country one, Rangers two

The game remained at 2-1 until the seventh inning when RBI singles by Schrager and McCurdy gave the country a one run lead heading into the bottom half of the seventh. Marlon Byrd doubled against the centerfield wall with a runner scoring from 1st, tying the game at three. 1 out later, Milton Bradley singled home the go-ahead run for the Rangers. End of seven, country three, Rangers four

The Rangers added another run in the eighth inning when Stratton, the country reliever, gave up several singles, and the country entered the ninth inning down five – three with their number 4 batter, Johnson, at the plate against Rangers closer, benoa (96 BE SL – four, CD – two, SP – three, HSK – one). Three fly ball outs ended the 9th inning uneventfully.

Offensive notes: Milledge was the most productive offensive player, going 3/4, but he was thrown out on steal attempts twice. Johnson had two hits and was the only other country batter with more than one hit for the night

Pitching notes: country starter, Depablos, pitched very well despite not getting the win. His line: 5 – 2/3 IP, 2R, 7H, 4 SO

AL Central scoreboard:

Game three: country come up short and lose the rubber game in a tough, seesaw battle

Country Grindell (93 EC CU – four, CB – two, PA – three) versus Rangers Padilla (9 6DB HSL – two, CB – one, CH – two, HSK – two)

lineup change: same as in game 2

After being retired in order in the bottom of the first (in part because Milledge was thrown out on a steel attempt after a leadoff single), the Rangers lead off with two singles, including a ricochet off the pitcher by the number two batter. Both runners moved up on the third batter's slow roller to first base for the first out. With the infield drawn in, Kinsler singled to right field driving home both batters, after which Grindell closed out the inning with a groundout and outfield fly

Dan Johnson and Jack Cust hit solo home runs (39th & 27th) to lead off the top of the second inning, tying the game. Later that same inning, White doubled with McCurdy on first and Milledge singled both those runners home, taking second base on the throw home, and then milledge scored on an Erdos single to center. The Rangers threatened in the bottom half of the second inning, putting runners at second and third with no out, but Grindell strikeouts of the Rangers number nine and one hitters followed by a soft ground ball to second by the number two hitter allowed the Country to close out the inning with a five – two lead

A Blalock 2 run homerun off of a hanging curveball tightened the score to 5 – 4 and after allowing the next batter to reach base, Grindell was replaced, having gone 2 – 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. He was replaced by the rookie free agent, Stratton (85 DC SL – three, CB – three, FO – three) who previously solidified his role as the long reliever who comes into a tight game. But Stratton was unable to contain the Rangers, who grabbed a seven – five lead heading into the fourth inning

In the top of the fourth, the Country grabbed the lead and knocked the Rangers' starter out of the game on singles by Schrager, McCurdy, milledge, Erdos, and Spilborghs that scored three runs and brought Dan Johnson to the plate with one out and runners at first and third, facing CJ Wilson (95 DE SL – two, CD – two, CH – one, SIFB – one). Johnson grounded into a double play on a curveball, and the Country took an eight – seven lead into the bottom of the fourth. Blalock hit a game tying single in the bottom of the fourth, and the teams entered the fifth tied at eight.

Marlon Byrd led off the bottom of the fifth inning against new country reliever Deardorff (88 DC SL – two, CB – one, FO – four) with a double, and was later driven home on a two-out single by Milton Bradley, taking and nine – eight lead into the sixth inning

The lead swung back to the country when Spilborghs hit his 10th homerun – a two run shot that could have been a three run homerun if milledge was not thrown out for a second time in the game (for those keeping track, this was his fourth time caught stealing in 2 games) and then Johnson singled and scored from first on a double by Cust against a clearly-worn out CJ Wilson. Harris singled home cust against the Rangers Eduardo, who replaced Wilson, and the bottom of the sixth began with the country leading 12 – 9. Dierdorf retired the Rangers while allowing only one hit, preserving the 12 – 9 country lead entering the 7th.

The Rangers added a run in the bottom of the seventh inning off of reliever Shawn Green, and the top of the eighth started with the Country up 12 – 10. Country set-up man Andrew Brown took the ball in the eighth inning and successfully preserved a 12 – 10 lead by striking out Rangers third baseman, Blalock, and retiring the next two batters on harmless ground balls

Brown also started the bottom of the ninth inning, but was replaced by Chamberlain after allowing a leadoff single. Chamberlain also allowed the first batter he faced to reach base, the number nine batter, bringing up Marlon Byrd with a rnner on 2nd, the tying runner on first and nobody out. After retiring the next batter, a single and a double tied the game and left runners at second and third with one out against the Rangers number 4 batter, Kinsler. Amazingly, Kinsler got an infield hit against the drawn in infield when Harris seem to run around the ball. No one scored, and no one was charged with an error. Blalock then pounced on a second pitch slider, hitting a walk off grand slam to win the game 16 – 12 and take the series two – one

AL central scoreboard:

AL Central standings:

Next up: the country fly to Cleveland to play a three-game series against the Indians. They then have their last day off before playing every day for the rest of the month against the A's (six games), the angels (three games), and the Mariners (four games)

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:55 am

When we began the season, the Iowa City Country were hoping to play some close, entertaining games, and now in mid-August, they find themselves with a potential opportunity to grab a postseason berth in their inaugural season. Clearly, this is mostly due to the AL Central being one of the weaker divisions this season, evidenced by the Central's losing record against the AL East (except for the Tigers and Twins who have 500 or slightly better records against the AL East) and West (except for the Twins who have 500 or winning records against each of the Western division teams).

It appears that as long as the Country play 500 baseball through the end of August (no guarantee, comsidering the Country's last 7 games will ne against the Angels and Mariners), September will determine whether they make the postseason, as after the first week of September, all their games will be against intra division foes, including eight games against the Twins. Meanwhile, the Tigers and Twins have yet to play the AL East Yankees and Rays, so we can expect them to face these strong ALEast opponents numerous times from now until the end of September, potentially helping the Country by adding to the Twins and Tigers loss column. Similarly, the Tigers and White Sox have not yet played the Mariners, so none of the AL Central teams would appear to have an easy path to the post season.

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