The Peninsula Oilers concluded their 5-game home stand against the Anchorage Bucs with a tentative 9-5 defeat Saturday night.
Tentative, because the game was played under protest by the Oilers from almost the very beginning.
The game began as usual precisely at 6:00 pm. Oiler games are known for their punctuality. This contrasts with games held in Anchorage’s Mulcahy Stadium, where the advertised time is, by custom and leisurely habit, routinely delayed until 20 minutes past the hour.
Yet the home plate umpire demanded that the game begin not a minute late, and absolutely refused to permit Oiler starting pitcher Sam Silversmith the mandated eight warm-up pitches. This is an unprecedented demand, and is contrary to the spirit of the ABL as a league dedicated to the safety and development of the players’ careers.
Bucs’ lead-off batter Cade Lacey took the first two pitches when Oilers’ coach Larry McCann came out to demand that Silversmith be given his warm-up tosses, which by the rules a pitcher is entitled to, without any mention in the rule book concerning advertised starting times. The umpire refused.
Lacey grounded a high chopping ground ball to third baseman Ty Thomas, who was unable to field the short hop for an error.
Silversmith then walked Bucs centerfielder Myles Smith without getting some close pitch calls to go his way. At this point, Silversmith needed to be restrained by teammates and was ejected from the game and Oiler Coach Larry McCann lodged an official protest to the league commissioner. Coming in cold turkey from the bullpen, reliever Drew Dickson was bashed for four runs, including a 3-run home run by Lex Boedicker.
The Oilers responded in the bottom frame with two runs, and at the end of the 6th trailed 7-5, but the Bucs put 2 more runs on the board for a 9-5 win.
The next Oiler home game is a non-conference contest Tuesday at 6:00 pm against the Lake Erie Monarchs. All games are carried on ESPN 1140 AM, 96.9 FM, radiokenai.com, with the pre-game at 5:40. Bob Bird and Nick Sorrell do the home game broadcasts this season.
