Week 23: September 15th – 21st
Game 148 vs Las Vegas
9/15 vs Las Vegas W 1-0 (30,846)
Aviators completed their second series win of September; they’d started with an 0-7 loss but had come back to win the last two games. In the series decider it was a pitcher’s battle as the two teams only managed a total of 11 hits and just the one run. That run came in the bottom of the sixth innings when Jorge Rincon doubled and stole third base, enabling Juan Roman to drive him in for the winning & only run. Lead-off man Rincon had two of Wichita’s six hits and Takanori Goto got his ninth win as an Aviator pitching eight innings and allowing four hits, three walks and struck out four while giving up no runs. Tony Alomar took care of the final innings for his 21st save. Wichita finish the season against Las Vegas with an 8-9 season record against them.
Games 149, 150 & 151 @ Boise Spuds
9/16 @ Boise W 5-4
9/17 @ Boise W 6-5 (F/14)
9/18 @ Boise L 3-6
In the first game of the series at Boise Aviators extended their winning streak to three games and seven out of the last eight. Given that Wichita only won eight games all September last year, it’s fair to say that Aviators have really stepped it up this year for the final month. Both teams plated two runs each in the first innings before Aviators opened up a two-run lead in the second innings. It was high fives all round in the Boise dugout when they tied the game at 4-4 in the fifth innings but “the joy didn’t last, coz the bastards ran too fast” was the song as Jason Bowen unloaded the ball into the right field bleachers for the winning run just an innings later. It was another tight one in the second game, Boise led 1-0, Wichita led 3-1, Boise led 5-3 before Aviators squared the score at 5-5 in the eighth. We then had an almost total power outage. The bullpens kept everyone off the scoreboard all the way to the 14th where Duane Whitley Jr hit his 25th homer of 2043 to win Wichita’s fourth straight and their ninth game of September 2043, one more than September 2042. Wichita used seven pitchers to get the win and the retiring Abe Colbert Jr picked up his second win of the series, improving his record to 5-3 and his career record to 117-118 in 554 BBA outings. In the final game of the series Boise ran in a four-spot in the second innings and that was enough to win the game. Luis Maldonado’s ninth inning 3-run homer was the only offence for Wichita. Maldonado had two of Aviators five hits, Lane Aldridge’s record dropped to 0-5 as he gave up six runs in the three innings he pitched before he got the hook.
Games 152 & 153 @ Calgary Pioneers
9/20 @ Calgary L 2-7
9/21 @ Calgary W 5-2 (F/16)
The opening game in Calgary saw both sides mange to score twice in the first innings. Although a run fest didn’t materialise, Pioneers batted around in the fifth, a 3-run shot & a solo shot helped them to score the only other five runs of the game. Jorge Rincon went 3-5 scoring once. Wichita’s 10th win in September was another long drawn out affair, Aviators scored in the first and Calgary in the second. That 1-1 tie lasted to the 11th when . . . both teams scored again. The 2-2 tie lasted until the 16th innings before Aviators sent eight to the plate and got three of them home. Sean Maguire as a 10th innings pinch hitter stayed in the game and went 2-2 with two walks driving in a run. Maldonado tweaked something throwing the ball in for his 20th outfield assist of the season and although he’s only listed DtD, might just find his playing time limited for the next week.
Regular Season Standings (September 21st)
With all the minor league seasons now finished, we will actually see a few additional bodies on Wichita’s roster next week. It’s not worth starting the clock of any of MiL contract prospects for the last nine games, but a few major leaguers down in the minors finally get a chance to return to the bigs. Julio Garcia & Sancho Torres will make the trip from Albuquerque to the Aviators bullpen while DH Guillaume Martin accompanies them, he will likely spend the week as the Wichita DH after hitting career highs of 33 homers & 90 RBI in Albuquerque. A surprise inclusion is Elmer Lomond who comes to Wichita after his first season at Double-A level. He’s worked hard to be competent in fielding all across the outfield And drove in 100 runs during the Brown Sox’s regular season. He’s likely to get a few games in right field while Maldonado deals with his back issues. In the middle of tall those arrivals, Damon Tipping returns from the IL after his herniated disc, he will take over Lane Aldridge’s rotation spot with a short pitch limit.
2043 Record v Johnson League
| Frontier | HW | HL | AW | AL | Atlantic | HW | HL | AW | AL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boise | 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 | Atlantic City | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Calgary | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | Brooklyn | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Edmonton | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | Charlotte | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Las Vegas | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | Charm City | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Mexico City | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | Jacksonville | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Phoenix | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | Montreal | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| San Antonio | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | New Orleans | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Wichita | X | X | X | X | Rockville | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTALS | 18 | 35 | 22 | 31 | TOTALS | 7 | 15 | 7 | 18 |
Pitcher of the Week: 37-yr-old Abe Colbert Jr in one of the last weeks of his 14-season BBA career. In four appearances he pitched 9.1 innings and collected two wins. He allowed eight hits, one walk and one run as he harped back to the form of his youth, he also struck out 10 batters. His WHIP for the week was 0.96.
Batter of the Week: 30-yr-old Luis Maldonado hit two homers and averaged .300 as he drove seven runs in during his six games. He also stole a base on his attempt.
