ORLEANS — This was a tough loss.
The Firebirds held the division-leading Harwich Mariners to just 5 hits over the last 8 innings but could not overcome a 2-run homer by Aiden Robbins in the first and lost 2-1 last Friday night. The contest was held in front of a late-arriving crowd of 1,713 on a weather-challenged evening.
The game started on time, several hours after a thunderstorm rumbled through Eldredge Park, leaving the air thick with humidity. That did not bode well for home run prospects but seemingly no one told Robbins, the junior leftfielder who transferred from Seton Hall to the University of Texas in June. Based on his first-inning blast, he will not find hitting in Austin’s humid environment an issue. Robbins stroked his 6th home run of the year off Orleans starter J.T. Raab. It was the first time anyone had gone deep on Raab this season in 12 innings of work. The 2-run shot, which plated Niko Brini, was a no-doubter to right-center field. That tied Robbins for second place in the Cape League home run race behind Maika Niu of Falmouth, who had 7 entering the night.
Robbins’s home run was the only major mistake that Raab made as he went 4 innings, leaving the game after retiring the last 8 batters he faced. He was saddled with the loss, dropping his record to 0-2, as the Firebirds struggled to generate offense against starter Olin Johnson and three Harwich relievers.
Aside from the 4th inning, when the Firebirds combined a walk, a single, a hit batsman, and a sacrifice fly by first baseman Dawson Bryce, there was little for the home crowd to cheer as far as offense was concerned.
Still, the Firebirds were sharp defensively and made several sparkling plays in the latter half of the game that kept their deficit at one. One of the highlights occurred in the top of the fifth when All-Star catcher Cash Dugger cut down Tanner Marsh, Harwich’s speedy shortstop, trying to steal third. On a bang-bang play, Dugger zipped a throw to his summer roommate, third baseman Ryan Kucherak, who slapped on the tag to erase a potential insurance run.
Then came the 9th and prolonged suspense worthy of a hit Netflix series.
Still trailing 2-1, the Firebirds put their first batter on base as George Washington’s Robbie Lavey, pinch-hitting for Kucherak, drew a walk off Harwich closer Christian Rodriguez. Dugger, who was celebrating his 20th birthday, reached first on an error by second baseman Shintaro Inoue. A Rodriguez wild pitch later, the Firebirds had the tying run on third and the winning run on second with no outs. Dawson Bryce struck out, and Harwich Manager Steve Englert had Javar Williams, who already had a single to his credit, intentionally walked.
It was at this point, with the bases loaded with Firebirds and only one out, that Rodriguez, the right-hander from the University of Florida, took charge. He struck out Kyle Johnson, bringing Anthony Potestio to the plate with two outs.
Potestio, a Cape League All-Star and the Firebirds’ leadoff man, patiently took Rodriguez to a full count. With the runners going on the pitch and his father in the stands silently willing him on, Potestio took a rip at a 92-mile-per-hour fastball and got nothing but humid air and disappointment.
With that last swing, the game was over and the chance to claim a commanding lead over the Chatham Anglers in the race for the final playoff spot in the East Division was missed.
Goodbye storybook ending. Hello long night of missed-opportunity flashbacks.
Playoff Race Update
The Firebirds rebounded from the Harwich defeat with an offensive renaissance, registering an 8-5 win at Yarmouth-Dennis on Saturday and an 8-1 victory over Falmouth at home on Sunday. The two-game winning streak means that the Firebirds head into the regular season’s last week with a record of 17-15-2, solidly in fourth place, two-and-a-half games ahead of Chatham for the final playoff spot. In what is one of the closest division races in the league’s history, the Firebirds were also only one-half game behind Y-D and Brewster, who were tied for second going into Tuesday night’s action.
The team played at Harwich on Tuesday night and will close out the regular season with five more games this week. The slate includes home games on Wednesday (Y-D) and Thursday (Cotuit) before the Firebirds travel to Chatham on Friday night. The home season ends on Saturday against Hyannis, and the Firebirds close out their regular season schedule on Sunday, August 3 at Brewster at 4 p.m.
The playoffs, featuring the top four teams in each of the two five-team divisions, get underway on Tuesday, August 5. Each of the three rounds is a best-of-three format.
