Devils and Tsunamis split in six-game marathon; Devils cling to tie for lead

Four game series

Dave Larson’s Taz Devils and Craig Dolan’s Asian Tsunamis split in a rough-and-tumble four-game series and then split again in their two-game home and away series, all played on Monday, April 19. 

The Devils 14-12 split kept them tied for the first half lead with Rod Caborn’s Beefers 11-9 while the Asians, while splitting with the league leaders, failed to gain any ground and remained four games under .500 at 7-11. The Devils won their three games in their last at bat, twice in the bottom of the ninth and once in the top of the ninth. 

During the six games, the Tsunamis outslugged the Devils with 15 home runs to only six for the Tazzies, outscored the Devils 37-28, and drew 21 walks,  but only hit .197. The Devils hit .236 for the six games, augmented by 12 bases on balls. Each team hit a surprising 10 batters.

Two catchers hit grand slam HRs in the serie. Devils C J.T. Realmuto hit a grand slam off Ryan Pressley in game one. Tsu C Tucker Barnhardt connected for his slam of Devils ace Gerrit Cole in game three. 

Game 1  Tsunamis 9, Devils 8

Marco Gonzales vs Clayton Kershaw. The Devils ace is still struggling on the early season as the Fiddler gave up six runs in the first and two more in the fourth. After an RBI double from Tim Anderson, James McCann hit a run homer. Mike Yaztremski followed with a solo homer. After a Max Muncy single, Byron Buxton homer, the Devils plated a pair in the bottom of the first on a Mark Canha double. The visitors added two more in the fourth on a Eugenio homer. The sixth inning saw Edwin Rios get hit by a pitch with the base loaded to give the Tsunamis a 9-2 lead. Realmuto’s grand slam in the bottom of the 8th cut the lead to 9-7. The Devils got an unearned run in the ninth when Xander Bogaerts doubled home a run. 

Tsu      9-10-1  W- Gonzales 1-1 SV- Marhsall 1  HR- McCann1, Yaztremski 2, Buxton 2, Suarez 2

Devils  8-13-1  L- Kershaw 0-4  HR- Realmuto 5

Game 2  Devils 2, Tsunamis 1

Corbin Burnes vs Merrill Kelly. The Tsunamis got a gift run in the fourth as a Donovan Solano error allowed Rios to score. The Devils tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth on a Paul Goldschmidt solo homer. Both pitching staffs were sharp, with the game going into the ninth, still one run each. After going down one-two-three in the top of the ninth, Tsu reliever Jarlin Garcia got the first two Taz hitters to ground out. Devils CF Cody Bellinger then walked and stole second and Goldschmidt followed by dribbling a ball into right to bring home the winning run.

Tsu       1-3-0  L- Jarlin Garcia 0-1

Devils   2-6-1  W- Devin Williams 2-1  HR  Goldschmidt 3

Game 3   Tsunamis 9, Devils 5

Trevor Bauer vs Gerrit Cole. The Devils took an early 2-0 lead as Ke’Bryan Hayes and Dansby Swanson hit solo homers in the second and third inning. Cole got hammered to start the fourth when Juan Soto lead off with a homer. Several batters later, Barnhardt hit a grand slam. The Tazzies cut the lead to 5-4 with two runs in the fourth, getting RBIs from Hayes and Austin Nola. The Devil defense gave up an unearned run in the fifth as Tim LoCastro scored on an error by Darren O’Day. The visitors scored twice in the 8th on RBI from Mike Yaz and Suarez and then got a homer from Rizzo in the ninth. Austin Nola hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth as the game ended in favor of the Tsunamis.

Asians 9-9-0    W-Bauer 1-1  HR- Rizzo 1, Soto 3, Barnhardt 1

Devils 5-9-3      L- Cole 1-3  HR- K. Hayes 1, Swanson 6, Nola 3

Game 4    Devils 3, Asians 2

Ian Anderson vs Zach Davies. Bellinger drove home an unearned run in the first for an early lead. Bellinger’s sac fly in the sixth put the Tazzies up by two. Davis was strong, pitching six shut out innings. But Jesse Winker got around on an O’Day pitch to tie the game in the seventh. The game stayed at 2-2 into the bottom of the ninth. Bellinger lead off with a walk and stole second. He was bunted to third for the first out. Goldschmidt fanned. With Jon Berti at the plate, Bellinger stole home off Eric Yardley for the win. Bellinger was responsible for all three Tasmanian runs on the game.

Asians 2-6-1  L- Yardley 0-3  HR- Winker 1

Devils  3-5-1  W- Hendricks 1-0

Home and Away series

Game 1   Asians 9, Devils 2

Ian Anderson vs Adam Wainwright. The first game of the end of the first half two-game series saw the Asian power once again. Wainwright was tagged for eight runs in the first three innings. Rios hit a two run jack. After LoCastro double home a pair, Soto followed with a two run homer. Yaz got into the swing of things with a two run homer off his own in the third. The Devils got a pair of unearned runs in the fifth but gave an unearned run in the seventh. Game over.

Asians 9-7-1  W- Ian Anderson 1-0  HR-Edwin  Rios 5, Mike Yaz 3, Juan Soto 4

Devils   2-5-1    L- Adam Wainwright 1-1

Game 2   Devils 8, Asians 7

Dustin May vs Max Fried. The Devils took a 3-0 lead in the third with RBI from Solano and Realmuto. The Asian long ball hitters started connecting. Buxton got a solo homer in the third. Rios hit a two-run shot in the fourth and a solo homer in the sixth. Barnhardt also added a solo homer in the fifth and defensive replacement Anthony Rizzo homer in the eight for a pair of runs. With the Devils down 7 to 3, Canha led off the top of the 9th with a double. After two quick outs, he scored on a pinch-hit double from Jose Altuve, who then scored on a Raimel Tapia single. Starling Marte then walked and Xander Bogaerts followed with a three-run homer to give the visitors an 8-7 lead. Devin Williams pitched a perfect ninth to save the game and the six game split.

Devils   8-9-2  W- Liam Hendricks 2-0  SV- 4  HR- Bogaerts 5

Asians  7-6-2   L- Jarlin Garcia 0-2  HR- Edwin Rios 2 HR 6,7, Rizzo 2, Barnhardt 2, Buxton 3.

Whats take measure of Asians; win three to improve to 6-6

Craig’s Asian Tsunami’s traveled down to Whoville to take on the Whatever’s in a key series for each club. The Tsu’s were a little rusty having not played in over 6 weeks while the What’s split their last series with Devils. Both teams struggled to hit the long ball in the series as the Tsunami’s fall to 4-8 while the Whatever’s improve to 6-6 on the season.

Game 1 Tsunamis 3, Whatevers 2

The Whats got on the board in the second with a solo homer by Domenic Smith but the Tsus got doubles by Juan Soto and Edwin Rios to tie it in the fourth. Score remained the same until the seventh when Tsu 3b Eugenio Suarez got a free pass and was replaced by Quinn who promptly stole second base. Tim Anderson followed with a pinch hit single to drive in the go-ahead run. The Asians tacked on another run in the eighth on an RBI single by Trevor Story. The Whats got close in the ninth on a double by Domenic Smith and an RBI single by Gio Urshela but Tsu reliever Eric Yardley retired Frankie Lindor out to end the game and get the save. Bauer went 7 allowing four hits, six Ks, and two walks.

Tsunamis    3-7-1 W-Trevor Bauer, Sv-Erci Yardley.

Whatevers     2- 6- 1 L-Kyle Finnegan 0-1. HR Domenic Smith (3).

Game 2 Whatevers 3, Tsunamis 0

In the first a truly rare play occurs as Edwin Rios is injured while chasing down a foul ball requiring him to miss the remaining two games of the series. A pitchers dual developed thru five innings before the What’s took control. Yadi Molina and Miguel Rojas reach with base hits in the sixth. Charlie Blackmon would drive one in with a single to chase Kim. Marcel Ozuna greets Edwin Diaz with a long double to bring in two runs to end the scoring. Meanwhile, Wheeler goes six shutout innings walking two and striking out seven. James Hoyt a scoreless seventh and Lucas Sims completes the shutout with two perfect innings for his first save.

Tsunamis    0-4-1 (L-Kwang-Hyun Kim)

Whatevers     3-6-0 W-Zack Wheeler 3-0. Sv-Lucas Sims 1.

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Whatevers 3, Tsunamis 2

Juan Soto SF in the first drives in Tim LoCastro for the early lead. The What’s counter with two in the second on a two run single by Frankie Lindor. Jesse Winkler ties it up in the fifth with a base hit but then the bullpens took over. The game remained scoreless until the tenth when Trent Grisham singles and steals second, George Springer k’s, bringing up Marcel Ozuna who doubles off Diaz for the walk off win. 

Tsunamis    2-6-1 L-Evan Marshall.

Whatevers    3-8-1 W-Lucas Sims 1-0.

Game 4 Whatevers 12, Tsunamis 2

Juan Soto hits the first dinger of the series for the Asians for the early lead but the Whatevers come roaring back. Ozuna, DSmith, and Lindor each double, and Gio Urshela plates a couple with a base hit. Toss in a SF by Whit Merrifield and it’s 4-1. A couple innings later the What’s chase Burnes with five runs on a two run double by David Peralta, two run single by d’Arnaud, and a bases loaded walk. Later in the game Alex Dickerson adds a solo homer for the visitors while Lindor goes deep with one aboard. Gonsolin held the Tsu’s to two hits in six innings of work for his first win of the season.

Tsunamis   2-4-0 L-Corbin Burnes. HR Juan Soto, Alex Dickerson.

Whatevers    12-12-1 W-Gonsolin 1-1. HR: Francisco Lindor (3).

Beefs upend Devils; take three of four to move into tie for league lead

After dropping three of four to the Otters, the Beefers traveled to Tazland. where the Bovines took three of four from the Devils to move into a tied for the lead. Both the Devils and Beefers have 11-9 records, one game ahead of Jonathan Stilwell’s Otters (4-4) and two games ahead of the Whatevers and Tsunamis, both tied at 3-5.

Beefer pitching stifled the Devils bats, winning the first three games. The Beefs hit .230 with 21 extra bases hits while limiting the Devils to a .171 average and nine extra base knocks. D.J. LeMahieu was 7 of 16 with four RBIs to lead the Beefy squad. Jose Ramirez was double trouble on the series, legging out five doubles. 

Game 1   Beefers 5, Devils 2

Shane Bieber vs Gerrit Cole. The Beefs scored early as Bo Bichette led off the game with a single and came home on on a Bryce Harper homer. The Tazzies cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second on a Cody Bellinger solo shot. The sixth saw the inning start with a Bichette single, a Harper double, a Tatis triple. Tatis would later score on a Alex Bohm sac fly. The visitors go up 5-1. Bieber, feeling a bit generous in the seventh, walked Bellinger and then fired a ball down the right field line. Bellinger scored all the way from first. Raisel Igelesias pitched a perfect ninth as the Beefs took the opener. 

Beefers  5-6-0  W- Bieber (3-0) SV- Igelesias (3)  HR- Harper (#5)

Devils  2-4-0  L- Cole (1-2)  HR- Bellinger (3)

Game 2  Beefers 6, Devils 3

Kyle Hendricks vs Zach Davies. Davies entered the game with a 1.89 ERA in three starts but didn’t impress the Bovine bashers. Willson Contreras doubled home a pair in the second. LeMahieu singled home a pair in the third and scored on a double from Brandon Lowe. Will Myers put the visitors up 6-0 with a double in the 5th. The homies got one back in the fifth when Jon Bertii singled home a run. Dansby Swanson cut the lead in half with a two-run double in the sixth, but Hendricks and Igelesias retired the next ten batters out to take game two.

Beefers  6-10-1  W- Kyle Hendricks (2-2)  SV- Igelesias (4)

Devisls   3-7-0  L- Zach Davies (1-1)

Game 3  Beefers 5, Devils 1

Mike Clevinger vs Dustin May. The Bovines started early as LeMahieu tripled to lead of the game and scored on a May wild pitch. Fernando Tatis then walked and score when Will Myers homered on the next pitch. The struggling Tazzie offense sent six men to the plate in the fourth but could only score one run when Austin Nola singled home Mookie Betts. The Beefers pushed over single runs in the seventh and ninth innings, both coming on solo homers by LeMahieu and Jose Ramirez. The Beefer pen finished out game three for the win.

Beefers  5-8-0  W- Clevenger (2-1)  SV- Petit (1)  HR- LeMahieu (2), Ramirez (5), Myers (3)

Devils     1-4-0  L- May (1-1)

Game 4 Devils 7, Beefers 3

Anthony Senzatela vs Clayton Kershaw. The Beefers scored three in the fourth after an error by Ke’Bryan Hayes, followed by AJ Pollack with a two-run jack and LeMahieu single home a run. The Devil bats finally came to life in the sixth, scoring six times, courtesy of a Diego Catillo error. Paul Goldschmidt hit a two- run homer in the inning while JT Realmuto plated a pair. Xander Bogaerts homered in the eighth to end the scoring. Beefer 3b Jose Ramirez tallied three doubles on the game ,but failed to score. 

Beefers 3-7-2  L- Senzatella (0-1)  HR- Pollack

Devils   7-7-1 W- O’Day (3-0)  HR- Goldschmidt (2), Bogaerts (4)

Otters rebound from slow start; punish Beefers with three wins in series

Jonathan Stilwell’s Otters evened their record at 4-4 Monday evening, taking three of four from Rod Caborn’s Beefers (8-8). The Otters won the first three games of the series before the Beefers salvaged the finale in a tight 4-3 decision in the Beefers favor.

Otters SS Corey Seager hit three home runs, including a game-winner in Game Two, as the Furry Ones buried the Beefers three games to one.

Leading the way for the Otters was SS Corey Seager, who homered twice in Game Two, including the game-winner, and hit a key two-run HR in Game Three. Otter 1b Freddie Freeman continued his career assault on Beefer pitching, going 5-12 while Ronald Acuña hit a key HR in Game One and a leadoff HR in Game Two.

Yu Darvish shone for the Otters in the opener, giving up only one run in seven innings while fanning 14 batters. 

For the Beefs, D.J. LeMahieu was 8-13 in the final three games. 

The Otters outhit the Beefs .255-.248 with eight home runs, five of them in Game Two, against only four round-trippers for the Bovines. The Otters had 12 extra base hits while the Beefs totaled 11 extra base hits.

Game 1: Otters 3, Beefers 1

Yu Darvish was at his best for the Otters, allowing only a second-inning homer by Luke Voit to spoil his bid for a shutout. Darvish only gave up three hits in all, while striking out fourteen Beefers. The Otters got on the board in the first on a Freddie Freeman RBI double  and took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on an RBI single by Jake Cronenworth. That’s all that Darvish needed as he went seven-plus innings with Otter reliever Victor Gonzalez keeping the Beefs at bay in the final two innings. 

Beefers 1-3-0  L- Mike Clevinger 0-1. HR Luke Voit (7)

Otters   3-8-1 W-Yu Darvish. HR Ronald Acuña.  

Game 2: Otters 9, Beefers 8

Game Two started off as a slugfest, but morphed into a battle of the bullpens as Otter SS Corey Seager hit an eighth-inning HR to lift the Otters to a hard-fought 9-8 win. 

The Beefs scored five runs in the top of the first off Otter starter Luis Castillo, including a two-run HR by Bryce Harper and a three-run blast by Jeff McNeil. The 5-0 lead immediately evaporated in the bottom of the first, when the Otters pounded Beef starter Antonio Sanzaleta for five runs, highlighted by a three-run HR by Mike Trout and a two-run shot by Corey Seager. 

The Beefs went back ahead 7-5 in the second on a two-run triple by D.J. LeMahieu, but Sanzaleta gave up a game-tying two-run HR to Yasmani Grandal in the fourth to make it 7-7. Both teams scored in the sixth to up the score to 8-8, but Otters wound up with the win off Corey Seager’s second HR of the game, off Diego Castillo in the eighth to give the Otters a 9-8 lead. Tyler Duffey finished off the Beefs in the ninth for what turned out to be a remarkable come-from-behind win for the defending league champs.

Beefers  8-9-0  L- Diego Castillo 1-2. HR Bryce Harper (4), Jeff McNeil (1).

Otters   9-10-1  W-Tyler Duffey. HR Corey Seager (2 HR), Yasmani Grandal (2 HR), Mike Trout.

Game 3: Otters 5, Beefers 2

Otter RF Ronald Acuña hit a leadoff homer and the Otters never looked back as Jacob deGrom went seven innings, allowing only five hits and an unearned run as the Otters glided to a 5-2. Corey Seager hit his third HR of the series in the sixth while Acuña also delivered an RBI double in the fifth. 

Beefers  2-7-1 L- Dinelson Lamet 0-1.

Otters   5-10-2 W-Jacob deGrom. HR Corey Seager, Ronald Acuña.

Game 4: Beefers 4, Tsunamis 3

The Beefs salvaged a tough 4-3 Game Four decision to avoid a sweep. Los Vacas used four stolen bases and a pair of singles to take a 2-0 lead in the fourth, but the Otters pushed over three runs in the fifth to take over with a 3-2 lead. Beef SS Fernando Tatis tied the game at three apiece in the sixth with a HR off Otter starter Zac Gallen and D.J. LeMahieu, who had four hits, hit an RBI double in the seventh that put the Beefs back in front 4-3. The Beefer bullpen did not allow a hit over the final four frames with Rafael Iglesias notching his third save.

Beefers   4-12-0  W-Shane Greene 1-0. Sv Rafael Iglesias (2). HR Fernando Tatis (3).  

Otters  3-7-1  L-Tyler Duffey. 

OAPBA’s origins revealed; a look into the past provided by Joel Prinsell

OAPBA launched its 34th season in February, but the story of how the league started and grew has always been somewhat vague. Thanks to one of the league’s four Founding Fathers, Joel Prinsell, we now know precisely when the league began and how it moved forward during its inaugural campaign. Here’s Joel’s account of the league’s startup:

On Feb. 24, 1988, thirty-three years ago today, or, if any of us want to feel even older — a third of a century ago, the Orlando APBA league commenced its inaugural regular season schedule.  

Attached for posterity are the scoresheets from the first two 2-game series played by the four original franchises – the Tourists, managed by Steve Lorman; the Platoon, managed by Joe Passiatore; the Metropolitans, managed by Bryant Applegate, and the Highlanders, managed by me.  (Sorry, but a few of the attached PDF pages might be upside down, sideways, etc.)

A couple of weeks before the opening games, the teams had held a 25-round snake draft, where Kirby Puckett was selected by the Metros with the first overall pick.

The Tourists won Game #1, 5-0, over the visiting Highlanders. Nolan Ryan (who’s he?!) threw a one-hitter with 7 K’s, with Jeff (?) Reardon pitching the last 2 outs. Mike (?) Scott took the loss. Ryne Sandberg was the league’s first whiff victim. Tony Gwynn was the first player to reach base (how fitting), with a BB (but was caught stealing by “Spanky” LaValierre).  Ozzie Smith had the league’s first hit (a single), the first SB, and scored the first run.  Robin Yount had the first error.  But the star of the game was Benito Santiago, who went 3-3, had the league’s first RBI (plating Ozzie), first extra-base hit (a 2B), and first HR. 

The Highlanders came back to win Game #2, the nightcap of the doubleheader, 6-1.

The next day, the Platoon swept the Metropolitans in Games #3 and 4, 6-5 and 2-1.  Although the Metros got off to a rough 0-3 start, they ended the regular season with the best record. 

Two or three years later, the Beefers, managed by Rod, and the Taz Devils, managed by Dave, joined the league, and the rest is history — the longest running APBA league. 

OAPBA 2021 First half Standings

Team thru April 20	W	L	Pct	GB
Taz Devils	14	12	.538	—
Beefers	11	9	.550	—
Whatevers	6	6	.500	1.0
Otters	4	4	.500	1.0
Tsunamis	7	11	.389	3.0

Dave Larson’s Taz Devils (14-12) remain deadlocked in a tie with Rod Caborn’s Beefers (11-9) for the league’s top spot, but both teams are nervously looking over their shoulder as Walt Taylor’s Whatevers (6-6) and the defending champion Otters of Jonathan Stilwell (4-4) are only a game behind.

Craig Dolan’s Tsunamis split their four-game series with the Devils and also split their home and away two-game series against the Devils and are 7-11, three games out.

In what is shaping up as a Battle Royal for the first half, it’s still anyone’s guess who will prevail.

Upcoming on Friday, Apr 22: Tsunamis at Beefers for a four game series, followed by the Tsunami-Beefers home and away series. This is a big series for the Asians as they need to get past .500 to have a shot at the first half title.