Sim 2: April 6th – April 12th
It didn’t take long for dreams to burst, just the second sim delivered us back to the bad old days of the 1-6. The first ever homestand might have delivered a bundle of runs but not that many few out of the park, we hit two out while the Pikeman hit eight out (five in the 14-run mauling). The first ever home game in the Church of the All Inclusive Stadium was attended by 54,630, just 370 short of capacity and of course a franchise record.
Games 5 & 6 @ Charm City Jimmies
4/6 @ Charm City L 0-2
4/7 @ Charm City L 1-6
The third game of the series at Charm City saw Chilis shut out for the first time, Sumitomo Takahashi tried his best on his BBA debut, going five innings and allowing six hits, two walks and just one run but El Paso just couldn’t score any runs for him. Tony Hernandez was ejected for arguing balls & strikes in the third innings. The Jimmies scored in the 3rd & the 7th and that was that on El Paso’s first ever defeat. Next day they got their first hiding as the Jimmies had scored six before Chilis scored their only run of the game, Mike England’s first ever El Paso homer. Gerald Sizemore pitched into the sixth giving up six hits, one walk and three earned runs (+one unearned), taking the loss.
Games 7, 8, 9 & 10 vs Rockville Pikemen
4/8 vs Rockville L 2-7
4/9 vs Rockville W 6-3
4/10 vs Rockville L 2-14
4/11 vs Rockville L 1-3
The much anticipated first home game was watched by a near capacity crowd who saw Pikemen score two runs in the first and another in the third. An El Paso run when Jim Gouzzie got a bases loaded single in the seventh sparked hopes of a Chili revival but four Charm City runs in the eighth crushed that. Chilis broke their home duck next game though, a run in the first via Tony Hernandez’s first EP homer and a Luis Maldonado 2-run shot in the third gave EP a 3-0 lead. Rockville cut that to 3-2 in the fourth innings and clung on to Chilis coattails, but two runs in the seventh finally shook them off. Elmer Lomond led off with a 3-4 scoring once and Hernandez followed him up with 2-4 scoring once and driving three runs in. Jose Montoya picked up his second win despite allowing six hits and four walks in five innings, Reynold Voermans earned his second save after getting out the last seven batters allowing just one hit. The third game was just a disaster, 0-5 down after two innings, the final nail was hammered in when Rockville scored five in the sixth to make it 0-12. El Paso found their bats way too late with four hits of their seven coming in the bottom of the ninth leading to both of their two runs. Mario Rodriguez got two of the seven hits and one of the two runs. Ramon Guerrero lasted four innings before getting the hook having given up six runs on eight hits, the two relievers after him gave up four runs each. In the final game of the series a Jeremy Webb double drove in Chris Jenkins in the third innings and for a long while that looked like it might be enough to square the series. Two runs in the eighth & one insurance marker in the ninth by the Pikemen cruelly dashed that though. Sumitomo Takahashi was again the victim, allowing just four hits and a walk in his five innings of work. He avoided the loss this time though, that fell to Augusto Ramirez as he picked up his first blown save and first loss of 2045, giving up three runs on just over an innings on the mound.
Game 11 @ Mexico City Aztecs
4/12 @ Mexico City L 2-7
The teams first series just over the boarder didn’t start well. Four runs by the Aztecs in the fourth innings broke the game open and while Mexico City kept adding a run here & there Chilis had little in response. EP’s only runs came via solo homers, Chris Jenkins first of 2045 in the fifth and the first EP homer by Tommy Cochran in the ninth. Gerald Sizemore took his second loss, his stat line 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Regular Season Standings (April 13th )
2045 Record v Johnson League
| Frontier | HW | HL | AW | AL | Atlantic | HW | HL | AW | AL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boise | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Atlantic City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Calgary | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Edmonton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Charlotte | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Las Vegas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Charm City | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Mexico City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Jacksonville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phoenix | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Montreal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| San Antonio | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New Orleans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| El Paso | X | X | X | X | Rockville | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | TOTALS | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
“Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again”