Diamond Ducks Bullpen Fails Again, Cal Avoids Sweep 9-8

[ICamel]

Can our Beloved Diamond Ducks replicate the first two wins and sweep the series?

 

First pitch scheduled for 12:05PM at PK Park.

 

Follow along here at OBD Forum for half inning updates against the California Golden Bears.

[Charles Fischer]

The good news is that we have a TON of relief pitchers available today to help, and I hope the starter has a short hook.

 

 

[ICamel]

Jace Stoffal to start on the pitching mound for Oregon on what looks like a decent weather day at PK Park.

 

Friday and Saturday featured some "heavy showers", but little chance of that liquid sunshine for game 3 is forecast.

 

Starting lineup for our Ducks;

lf          31 Smith, Tanner         L                      .322

3b        15 Cowley, Drew          L                      .452

dh        3 Milone, Brennan        R                     .335

1b        25 Walsh, Jacob          L                      .303

ss         4 Kasevich, Josh         R                     .317

rf         35 Hall, Anthony            L                      .333

cf         26 Shade, Colby            R                     .325

c          27 Cromwick, Josiah    R                     .277

2b        5 Grant, Gavin                R                     .298

p          21 Stoffal, Jace

[ICamel]

1st inning;

Ground ball out fielded by Drew Cowley behind second base. Say again? The third baseman nabs a grounder behind second base. Ducks had an infield shift going where the left side of the infield was pretty much wide open. Line out to first base for out number two. Stoffal records the third out on a called third strike.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

[ICamel]

Bottom of 1st;

Tanner Smith continues with his hot bat hitting a single into the gap in center/right field. Drew Cowley follows with a single through the left side of the infield. Brennan Milone ground into a double play (2nd-SS-first), with Tanner Smith moving to third base. Jacob Walsh can't bring Smith home as he strikes out swinging.

0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB

[ICamel]

Top of the 2nd;

Jace Stoffal yields a first pitch single to Cal's leadoff batter. The next hitter lines a double down the left field line into the corner. Runners at third and second with no outs. Jacob Walsh gloves a line drive off of first base for the first out. Stoffal gets the second out on a called third strike. A ground out to shortstop Josh Kasevich who roams to his right and throws to first base ends the Bears threat.

 

 

0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB

[ICamel]

Last of the 2nd;

Josh Kasevich leads off for Oregon with a single into center field. Anthony Hall pokes a single through the right side of the infield, with Kasevich motoring to third base. Runners at the corners with no out. Colby Shade looking to bring Kasevich across the plate. A comeback hit to the pitcher strands Kasevich between home plate and third. In the run down Kasevich is tagged out, but alert running puts Hall and Shade at third and second respectively. Josiah Cromwick strikes out swinging for the second out. Gavin Grant at the plate with two runners in scoring position. And Gavin Grant makes Cal pay with a long hit over the left field wall to drive in three runs!

 

 

Tanner Smith ground out to the second baseman to end the inning.

3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

California 0 - Oregon 3 after two innings.

[ICamel]

Top of the 3rd inning;

Leadoff single for the first batter. Stoffal records a swinging strike out to the next hitter. A walk to the next Cal batter puts him on first, and a "what were you thinking" throw to second base by catcher Cromwick sails into center field allowing the runner at second to advance to third base. On a long ball to deep center field, Colby Shade reaches over the wall to rob a home run to the Cal hitter. "Shades" of what Tanner Smith did in last night's game.

 

 

The runner at third base did tag up and score. Stoffal picks the runner off at first base to end the top of the third inning.

1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Errors, 0 LOB

[ICamel]

Ducks go down in order in the last of the 3rd on a swinging strike out by Drew Cowley, Gground out by Brennan Milone, and another swinging strike out by Jacob Walsh.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

Cal 1 - Oregon 3 at the end of three innings.

[ICamel]

Top of the 4th inning;

Leadoff single into center field. Jace Stoffal is done for the game with Logan Mercado on in relief. A long foul ball is caught by Tanner Smith near the left field corner. The second single of the inning into center field puts runners at the corners with just one out. Mercado gets a called third strike for the second out. Another called third strike ends the threat by the Bears.

0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB

[ICamel]

Bottom of the 4th;

Josh Kasevich hit a high fly ball into center field that is caught near the warning track for the first out. Anthony Hall hit a ground ball out to the second baseman. Colby Shade hit a two hopper to third and is thrown out at first base, to end the 4th inning.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

Cal 1 - Oregon 3 after four innings.

[ICamel]

In the 5th inning;

Mercado gets a swinging strike out. A ground ball out to second base that Jacob Walsh reaches high on the throw to complete the out. Mercado got ahead 0-2 in the pitch count and then walked the Pac12's leader in home runs. In all fairness the batter hit two long foul balls that might have been home runs if straightened out. A high fly out to center field closes out Cal in the top half of the 5th.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB

[ICamel]

Bottom of the 5th;

Josiah Cromwick hit an infield single off the pitchers glove. Gavin Grant poked an excuse me fly that drops in front of the center fielder for another single. Runners at second and first with no outs for Tanner Smith at the plate. Tanner places a sacrifice bunt between the pitcher and third base to move the runners to third and second base with one out. Drew Cowley at bat for the Ducks, and Drew hit a line drive to the third baseman. Cromwick made a headfirst dive back to third base to avoid the double play. Brennan Milone hit a fly ball out to right field to strand two runners.

0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB

 

Score remains 3-1 in Oregon's favor after 5 innings.

[ICamel]

Matt Dallas on the mound in relief of Logan Mercado to start the 6th inning;

A fly ball to right/center is gloved by Anthony Hall for the first out. A ground ball out to Gavin Grant at second base is easily handled. And Kasevich at shortstop throws out the next batter at first base. An easy inning for Dallas as he only needed ten pitches to retire the Cal batters in order.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

[Guest Axel]

Shades of George Horton! (*shudder)

 

Coach Wasikowski flubbed the bottom of the fifth inning with his retro-Horton bunting strategy. Rather than play for a big inning--the Ducks had the top of the order up with two men on base and no outs--Waz ordered a bunt, surrendering an out, and statistically playing for just one run. 

 

It turned out that the Ducks didn't score any runs. In my opinion, it was way too early to play for one run. The Ducks had set the table for a crooked number--a 2, 3, or 4-run inning--and Waz took the bat away from Tanner Smith, who is hitting .322. Bye-bye, big inning.

 

Don't be like George, Coach!

 

 

[30Duck]

On 5/1/2022 at 1:54 PM, Axel said:

Shades of George Horton! (*shudder)

 

Coach Wasikowski flubbed the bottom of the fifth inning with his retro-Horton bunting strategy. Rather than play for a big inning--the Ducks had the top of the order up with two men on base and no outs--Waz ordered a bunt, surrendering an out, and statistically playing for just one run. 

[ICamel]

Bottom of the 6th;

Jacob Walsh leads off and is out at first on a ground ball to second base. Next batter Josh Kasevich got all of the second pitch and sends it over the left field wall for a solo home run!

 

Anthony Hall hit a ground ball to the first baseman who throws to the covering pitcher at first base to record the second out. Pitching change for California. Their starter on the mound went 5 2/3 innings. Colby Shade fell behind 0-2 then lined a single to left/center field to continue the inning. Josiah Cromwick also falls behind in the pitch count but works it into a base on balls. Two runners on base for Gavin Grant who is 2 for 2 this afternoon. Gavin pops out to the shortstop to end the inning.

1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB

 

Oregon has extended the lead 4-1!

[ICamel]

In the top of the 7th inning;

Rio Britton is in to pitch. Nice job by Matt Dallas. The leadoff batter is walked by Britton. Next hitter lines a single into right field. A sacrifice bunt moves the runners to third and second with one out. This takes us to the designated hitter and top of the order for Cal. The batter pops out to third base. Oregon intentionally walks the best hitter for Cal to load the bases. Coach Wasikowski opts to bring in the right throwing Christian Ciuffetelli to face the next right side hitter for Cal. A single through the left side of the infield scores two runs. Ciuffetelli hits the next batter to load the bases with two out. A called third strike gets Oregon out of the inning, but California has closed to within a run.

2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 3 LOB

[ICamel]

Last of the 7th;

That home run by Kasevich last inning is the difference in the game. Tanner Smith leads off for our Ducks. And Smith found a pitch he liked that is driven into the gap in center/right that rolls to the wall for a leadoff double. Next up for Oregon is Drew Cowley. Drew is hitting .477 on the season. A hit up the middle is gloved by the Cal shortstop and throws out Cowley at first, but Tanner Smith is perched 90 feet from home plate with only one out. An insurance run here would be great! Brennan Milone works a full count into a free pass to first base. Runners at the corners with one out brings Jacob Walsh to bat. Cal will bring in a new hurler to face Walsh. Jacob swings at a 3-1 pitch that gets past the catcher and scores Tanner Smith, with Milone moving to second. Walsh flies out to left/center for the second out. Josh Kasevich at the plate, and he draws a walk. This brings Anthony Hall to bat with two runners on base. Anthony works a full count and hit a pop fly into short left that is run down by the shortstop for the third out. Ducks a answered in the bottom half of the seventh with a run.

1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors, 2 LOB

 

California 3 - Oregon 5 at the end of 7 innings.

[ICamel]

Kolby Somers has come in to try and close out the last two innings. A fly ball out to right field is an easy catch for Anthony Hall. Somers gives up a base on balls to the second batter. And Kolby goes full count to the second straight hitter before walking him. Tying runs on base for Cal. A line drive single to right field drives in a run for the Bears. A single to center/left loads the bases and only one out. Somers gets a called third strike for out number two. A fly ball to right field is over run by Anthony Hall and drops to the grass which is ruled a inside the park grand slam home run. Hall is injured on the play and has to leave the game. Somers yields a single through the left side of the infield. Foul ball is caught by Gavin Grant for the last out. Those free bases are killers!

5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB

[ICamel]

Oregon in the bottom of the 8th inning;

Colby Shade is caught looking at third strike for the first out. Josiah Cromwick strikes out swinging. Gavin Grant hit a ground ball between third and short into left field for a single. Tanner Smith looks at four straight pitches wide of the plate to bring Drew Cowley as the tying run to the plate. Cowley worked the pitch count full before swinging at an inside and low pitch for the last out of the eighth inning. Ducks can't answer.

0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors, 2 LOB

 

Cal has taken the lead 8-5 after 8 innings.

[Guest Axel]

The Diamond Ducks have one more inning to pull off another miracle finish, but so far, this is one of the strangest baseball games I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of them.

 

Coach Waz knows his personnel better than I do, but I have no idea why he left Kolby Somers in the game for so long in the eighth inning.

 

Anthony Hall ran a country mile trying to catch that goofy inside-the-park home run in the eighth, but it appeared that he overran the ball at the last second and that he should have made the catch.

 

The Ducks have squandered many scoring chances, and their pitching staff is once again leaking oil, transmission fluid, axle grease, walks, hit batters, and base knocks of every sort. The relief corps has surrendered seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings. 

 

 

 

 

[ICamel]

In the 9th inning Caleb Sloan in to pitch for Oregon;

Cal gets a runner on base with a single into right/center. The second batter plants a single into left/center with the runner advancing to third. Sloan retires the first out with a swinging strike out. A fly ball into shallow right field can't bring in the runner from third. Now two outs with runners at the corners. An 0-2 single up the middle scores a run and the runner at first is able to advance to third. A fly ball out to center takes us to the bottom of the 9th inning with Oregon trailing by 4 runs.

1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB

[ICamel]

Last of the 9th;

Brennan Milone hit a ball wide of the shortstop and he is on base. Jacob Walsh hit a ground out to second base. This brings Josh Kasevich to the plate. A ground out to shortstop and Oregon is down to the last out. Milone advanced to third on the out. Tyler Ganus pinch hits and gets a single into center/left. Colby Shade hit a single off the second baseman's glove into right field which moves Ganus to third. Tying run at the plate in Josiah Cromwick. Bears want a new pitcher to face Cromwick. And that pitcher walks Cromwick to load the bases. Gavin Grant could be the hero, and he already has a homerun today! Grant hit a ball that goes between the second baseman's legs for an error scoring Shade and Ganus. Cromwick at third base. Tanner Smith hitting for Oregon. Grant stole second base to put the winning run there. Smith works into a full count, but he grounds out to first base to end the game.

3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Errors, 2 LOB

 

California 9 - Oregon 8 final score

[ICamel]

But Oregon still wins the three game series 2-1.

[Guest Axel]

A porous bullpen has a crushing effect on a team's morale. 

 

Give credit to the Diamond Ducks for putting the winning run on second base in the ninth inning, but you simply cannot have your bullpen give up eight runs in the last three innings. 

 

Coach Waz will have his hands full trying to keep the team cohesive. It's totally natural for the hitters on a team like this to start resenting the guys who are supposed to get batters out. 

 

The fact that the Ducks won the weekend series is little consolation in the wake of another terrible loss like this one. And there is no sugar-coating it; this was a terrible loss, a game that the Ducks needed to win and should have won. 

 

The silver lining in all of this is that Coach Waz should be able to recruit some competent arms to Eugene for future seasons. He can show pitching recruits that they'll benefit from plenty of run support. That does not help this year's Ducks, though, and that's a real shame, because these guys are battlers, they don't quit, but they're being consistently let down by some very poor pitching performances.

[ICamel]

It's "a game of inches". If Anthony Hall had caught that fly ball in right field, it's the third out and four runs don't score. Probably results in a win for Oregon. Admittedly he made a long run just to get to it. I think Hall would be the first to say that he should have caught it. I just hope that there is no serious injury to Anthony.