Colorado Springs Sky Sox (2nd half:4-3, season:13-41) 010 210 100 5 11 2

Oakland Ballers (2nd half:5-2,season : 42-23) 000 210 002 4 3 2

Will the real Daniel Harris please stand up? Daniel Harris the trumpet player of the national anthem met Oakland Ballers second baseman Daniel Harris before Tue Jul 23, 2025 game at Raimondi Field against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (photo by the Oakland Ballers)

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–You come away from a game like the Ballers’ slovenly trouncing of the faltering peripatetic squad from northern Colorado on Tuesday night, exalted by the thrill of victory but feeling a trifle dirty because what you’d attended wasn’t a drama but a farce. (I admit that there’s a lot to be said for farces, but why quibble?)

You return to Raimondi Park this pleasant Wednesday evening prepared for more low comedy and, of course, a happy ending, and, to your surprise, Colorado springs back and defeats the hometown crew, 5-4, in a nailbiter that ends with the potential tying and winning runs on the corners and what looks like a wrongly called third strike after your team has exhausted its challenges.

As the Cuban saying has it, lo único que sabemos de la pelota es que es redonda y viene en caja cuadrada, all we know about baseballs is that they’re round and come in a square box.

How are we to explain this sudden change of outrageous fortune? A good deal of credit goes to Chase Martínez, the Sky Sox’ starting and winning pitcher. He hung on for six innings, in which he threw 112 pitches and gave up only two hits.

This accomplishment was tarnished by one of them having been a two run dinger by Darryl Buggs in the fourth, which accounted for half of the Ballers’ total run production of four, three of which, all earned, were charged to Martínez. Nowadays, this is considered a quality start at all levels of play. In the context of the Pioneer Baseball League, this is the stuff of Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn at Candlestick Park.

Three Sky Sox relievers, Joe Kinsky, Ryan Velázquez, and Alaín López, who got the save (his third) held Oakland to one run (an unearned tally against Lopez) and one hit (an eighth inning double by Jake Allgeyer off of Veláquez).

Casey Stengel, whose managerial talents led the 1948 Oakland Oaks to thePacific Coast League pennant, observed, “Good pitching always beats good hitting and vice versa,” and the Sky Sox did some pretty good hitting Tuesday night.

Seven of their nine batters got hits, and the two that didn’t walked three times between them. One of them, ex-Baller Marques Titialii got free passage to first twice in four plate appearances. Christian Hall went three for five and almost duplicated his namesake and fellow first sacker Christian Almanza’s Tuesday night feat of hitting three homers. Two of his three hits went yard.

In contrast, the only Oakand hit I haven’t already mentioned was Tremayne Cobb’s leadoff two bagger in the first frame. The Curse of the Leadoff Double refuses to die.

Reed Butz started for the Ballers and took the loss, his second against seven wins. He surrendered four runs, three of them earned, in 4-1/3 innings on the mound, during which he threw 86 pitches. Two of the seven hits he allowed were homers, and he logged four strikeouts against three walks.

Adam Bogosian followed Butts and kept Colorado Springs off the board for 1-2/3 innings,allowing just one hit. Gabe Tanner pitched the seventh and eighth. He gave up the deciding run in the first of those two frames. It came on Hall’s second tatter of the game. James Colyer kept Oakland’s hopes alive by shutting down the Sox on one hit while striking out two in the top of the ninth.

The line score provides a guide to the game’s scoring sequences and the B’s attempts to make do with a stymied offense.

Be prepared for more interesting turns of events starting Thursday, evening at 6:35. The first 500 fans will receive a limited edition En Vogue commemorative cup.