One Buck Baseball, maybe
Travs still in contention for postseason, Grant Black goes to injury list, plus stats, scores and so much more
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This might be the last week the Arkansas Travelers play baseball.
Or, it might not.
Behold what it looks like when a team is in contention for a league crown.
Plus, the team's fate is in their own hands.
All they have to do is win.
The Travs (62-52) face league-leading Wichita (65-49) for a six-game series, with Wichita leading the league and the third-place Travs three games back.
Also in the mix is Frisco at 61-51 and currently in second but only by a fraction as the Travs have won more games but also played more games.
So Frisco is at 54.5 in winning percentage, while the Travs are at 54.4. Wichita is at 57 percent.
The top two teams, based on winning percentage, will play next week for the league championship.
Last week, the Travs went 3-3 on its road trip to Springfield. Picking up the Sunday win was big-leaguer Dakota Hudson, down from St. Louis for a rehab start.
Post-season tickets
The championship series will be best-of-five with the second-place finisher hosting the first two games, with the remaining games at the first-place finisher.
So games would be Tuesday and Wednesday with Thursday off for travel with the series resuming on Friday and, if needed, the remaining two games would be Saturday, Sept. 25 and Monday, Sept. 26.
If games are played at Dickey-Stephens Park, tickets will be $1 for general admission, $6 for reserved seats and $8 for box seats. The Travs front office said season ticket holders would be contacted this week “on how to secure their seats for the playoffs.”
Individual leaders
Jake Scheiner goes to No. 14 in hitting, while Julio Rodríguez, the league’s most sensational player and currently batting .371 doesn’t have enough at-bats in 40 games to qualify. In the meantime, read the terrific story below on him and his path to the Bigs.
No Trav is listed among the league’s top pitchers, based on .8 innings pitched per game
Transactions
Sept. 12: RF Dom Thompson-Williams roster status changed by Arkansas Travelers.
Sept. 12: RHP Joseph Hernandez assigned to Arkansas Travelers from ACL Mariners.
Sept. 8: SS Jose Caballero assigned to Arkansas Travelers from Everett AquaSox.
Sept. 7: RHP Tyler Driver assigned to Everett AquaSox from Arkansas Travelers.
Players of the Week
Dominic Fletcher - Amarillo and Jordan Balazovic - Wichita
The scores
Tuesday: Springfield 5, Travs 4
Wednesday: Travs 10, Springfield 3
Thursday: Travs 4, Springfield 3
Friday: Travs 12, Springfield 5
Saturday: Springfield 14, Travs 7
Sunday: Springfield 8, Travs 1
The standings
Team … Record … Percentage … Games Back … Next Up
Wichita ... 65-49 ... .570 ... - ... Plays Travs
Frisco ... 61-51 ... .545 ... 3.0 ... At Amarillo
Travs ... 62-52 ... .544 ... 3.0 … Plays at Wichita
Northwest Arkansas ... 60-53 ... .531 ... 4.5 ... vs. Springfield
Tulsa ... 60-54 … .526 … 5.0 ... At Midland
Midland ... 56-57 ... .496 ... 8.5 ... Plays Tulsa
Amarillo ... 55-58 ... .487 ... 9.5 ... Plays Frisco
San Antonio ... 55-59 ... .482 ... 10.0 ... Plays Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi ... 50-63 ... .442 ... 14.5 … At San Antonio
Springfield ... 43-71 ... .377 … At Northwest Arkansas
The format for the 2021 Postseason will consist of two teams per league in a single best-of-5 series (beginning Sept. 21). The two playoff participants will be decided for each league (regardless of division) based on the best regular season winning percentage.
Grant Black’s Corner
About Grant Black’s Corner: This is a weekly look at current Minor-League players with Arkansas roots. Have an addition to this list? Email us at arkansas@substack.com or leave a comment on the post.Newport's Grant Black went on the seven-day injured list on Saturday, Sept. 11, and it means his season is likely over at Springfield.
Black’s last game appearance was on Sept. 7, a win against the Travs, as he pitched 2.1 innings in relief of Dakota Hudson, down from St. Louis, who got the rehab start.
Black now has 62 strikeouts this season on 59.1 innings pitched in a total of 60 game appearances. Black also went 1-3 when he was pressed into the starting rotation at both Triple-A Memphis and Double-A Springfield.
Many thanks to Arkansas high school baseball expert Kevin Bohannon for his help in compiling this list. You can catch him on the radio at 103.7 The Buzz as he's the station’s high school insider. He is also the co-host of The Hawg Talk podcast, which can be listened to here. He’s also on Twitter, @CoachKBo_HTP, so give him a follow.
Others on the Corner
Note: Click the player’s name to get current stats.
Luke Bandy, Springdale: Was released. He previously played in the Boston Red Sox farm system and @Luke_Bandy
Gray Fenter, West Memphis: Bowie Baysox, Double-A Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and @Bear_Fenter
Logan Gragg, Prairie Grove: Peoria Chiefs, High-A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and @GraggLogan23
William Hancock, Little Rock Catholic: Quad Cities River Bandits, the High-A Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals
Tink Hence, Watson Chapel: GCL Cardinals, the Rookie Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and @HenceTink3
Blaine Knight, Bryant: Norfolk Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
Grant Koch, Fayetteville: Altoona Curve, the Double-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Evan Lee, Bryant: Wilmington Blue Rocks, the High-A Affiliate of the Washington Nationals and @Evan_Leeeee
Casey Martin, Lonoke: Clearwater Threshers, the Low-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies and @cmartin15_
Jake Reindl, Fayetteville: Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Low-A Affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and @jreindl24
Cody Scroggins, Bentonville: Greenville Drive, the High-A Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and @cody_scroggins
Gavin Stone, Riverside High School (Lake City): Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Low-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers and @gavinstone02
Nick Starr, Conway: Hickory Crawdads, the High-A Affiliate of the Texas Rangers and @nickstarr6
Schedule, tickets and promotions
On deck this week
AWAY GAMES | Tuesday: at Wichita; Wednesday: at Wichita; Thursday at Wichita; Friday: at Wichita; Saturday: at Wichita and Sunday: at Wichita
Next week
Post-season play will start on Tuesday, Sept. 21 and if games at played at Dickey-Stephens Park, general admission tickets will be $1.