B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 8, Issue 42 – August 20, 2026
Department of Corrections: I wrote Monday that today is the 89th birthday of C League’s Morris Carter. Morris’s birthday is on a Thursday, just not this one – it’s a week from today. The Picayune regrets the error, but does not regret celebrating Morris.
Games of Thursday August 20:
10:00 a.m.: Green (10-5) at Orange (7-7):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Green 5 4 5 0 1 X 15 Orange 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 Pitchers: Green – Spike Davidson; Orange – Tommy Deleon. Mercenaries: Green – Tim Coles, Jim Foelker, Trent Peacock, and Patrick Schmidt. Umpires: home – Jeff Stone, Jack McDermott, and Scott Wright; bases – Steve Browne. Perfect at the plate: Green – Ivan Budiselic, Spike Davidson, Rex Horvath, and Trent Peacock (all 3 for 3, Spike earning an Ohtani Award), Tim Coles (3 for 3 with two doubles), and Jim Foelker (2 for 2 with a walk).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 87, feels like 96; humidity 66%; wind from the South at 9 MPH; partly cloudy – hot!
Let’s just say that Green beat Orange’s ass like Green was Ivan Drago and Orange had wronged the Soviet Union. Scoring 14 of a possible 15 runs over its first three at bats, Green built an early 14-1 lead and cruised to an easy victory. They scored five times on seven singles while making one out in the top of the first; four runs on five singles, Jim Foelker’s walk, and Steve Sandall’s triple in the second; and five runs on Tim Coles’s lead-off double and six singles while making just one out in the third. Six of Green’s 11 batters were perfect at the plate, 1-2 hitters Steve Sandall and Doc Hobar both went 3 for 4 and scored three runs, and as a team Green was 25 for 34 (.735 average) with a walk (for a .743 on-base percentage).
Meanwhile, Spike Davidson throttled Orange, allowing only 12 hits over six innings, allowing three runs while stranding ten runners. Green didn’t turn any double plays, in large part due to lack of opportunity. No Orange player was perfect on the day, though Mark Hernandez came close, going 2 for 2 with a sacrifice fly and driving in two of Orange’s runs. Mark also made a good play on a throw in the dirt for the first out of the second inning, and a terrific play to end the fifth, grabbing Steve Sandall’s liner down the first-base side (which deprived Steve of a 4-for-4 game) and doubling up Jim Foelker off first. That was the second double play Orange turned in the game, having ended the fourth inning with a 6u., 6-3 DP.
All in all, though, an old-fashioned smackdown, like Jameeka Wilson in Philadelphia taking on Chucky-mask guy:
Final score: Green 15, Orange 3, Green improving to 7-0 as the visiting team in Session 3.
Spike Davidson earned his fifth Ohtani Award of the season, going 3 for 3 at the plate while pitching Green to victory.
11:00 a.m.: Maroon (11-4) at Gray (5-9):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 0 5 0 0 2 7 Gray 0 0 3 5 X 8 Pitchers: Maroon – Jeff Stone; Gray – Jack Kelly. Mercenaries: Maroon – Daniel Baladez, Tim Coles, Rex Horvath, Jack McDermott, Trent Peacock, and Don Solberg; Gray – Anthony Galindo, Adam Reddell, George Romo, and Jack Spellman. Umpire: home – Jack Crosley; bases – Tom Langa. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Alan Phillips (3 for 3); Gray – Daniel Carvajal and Clint Fletcher (both 2 for 2), Anthony Galindo (two walks in two plate appearances), and Paul Rubin (3 for 3 with a triple).
Dave Berra’s weather update: hotter!
Ten mercenaries in this defensive battle, six for Maroon. Neither team scored in the first inning, both leaving runners stranded. Maroon loaded the bases on Steve Browne’s lead-off double, Alan Phillips’s pop-fly single to center, and Jeff Stone’s walk, but Jack Kelly caught Fritz Hensel looking at a called strike three, then got Rex Horvath to fly out to left fielder Anthony Galindo. Gray batters knocked three consecutive one-out singles off Jeff Stone in the bottom of the first, but on the first, Paul Rubin tried to stretch the first into a double and was gunned down 7-4 by Don Solberg throwing to Scott Wright, as the prophecy, or anyway 2026 B League Bingo Card square G-4, foretold:
| B LEAGUE BINGO 2026 | ||||
| B | I | N | G | O |
| Hit for the cycle (Ralph Villela – May 26) | Mad beef re: infield fly rule (July 30) | Triple play | Ken Brown scores from first on single | Walk-off grand slam |
| Jim Aaron home run for last-place team | Acclaim and adoption of Johnny Lee-created nickname | Batter takes a runner from home, runs past the 1B commit line (April 6) | Both teams score 5 runs in each of the first 3 innings | Spellman plays 5 games (C and B) in one day (July 6) |
| New guy pops a hammy (Trent Peacock – August 6) | Double play, second out at home (March 12) | David Brown makes a great defensive play up the middle | 7-inning game (August 10 – Blue vs. Maroon) | 3-pitch half-inning (Jeff Stone – April 23) |
| 3 Ohtani Awards in 1 day (July 6) | Over-the-fence home run at Krieg 2 (April 16) | Base runner hit by batted ball (March 23) | Don Solberg throws out a runner trying for an extra base (August 20) | Rick Jensen delivers St. Crispin’s Day speech |
| Line drive hits Jack Kelly, he brushes it off (March 30) | Ralph Villela hits 2 inside-the-park home runs in one game | Team flip-flops opponent but loses game (July 20 – Red d. Blue ) | Inside-the-park home run at Krieg 3 | Shutout (Joe Bernal, Blue vs. Purple, July 27) |
Maroon grabbed the lead in the second inning, scoring five times on six singles that sandwiched a two-bagger by doubles machine Tim Coles, while making just one out. Jeff Stone then blanked Gray again in the home half, stranding two runners – Luis Sanchez singled leading off and was forced out on Jack Kelly’s grounder 4-unassisted to second baseman Scott Wright; Jack Spellman fouled out (truly terrible at bat); Anthony Galindo drew a walk; Adam Reddell flied out to Steve Browne in left-center.
Gray flipped the script in the third and fourth, holding Maroon scoreless in both innings while rallying and taking the lead in the bottom halves. Jeff Stone walked and Fritz Hensel singled to start the third, but Jack Kelly retired the next three batters, getting Rex Horvath to ground into a 6-4 force, then inducing both Jack McDermott and Don Solberg to hit two-strike fouls. Gray got on the board in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs on five consecutive one-out singles by its 1-5 hitters.
Jack Kelly worked an efficient and scoreless top of the fourth. He gave up a one-out single to Daniel Baladez, then got both Tim Coles and Steve Browne to fly out, to Paul Rubin in right-center and Anthony Galindo in left field, respectively.
Gray then grabbed the lead in the bottom of the inning, scoring five times without making an out, on four singles, Anthony Galindo’s second walk, and Paul Rubin’s rally-capping two-run triple to the fence in left-center.
Time ran out during the inning and the teams proceeded to the buffet with Gray up by two. Jack Kelly got Scott Wright to ground out to start the inning, a hard-hit ball right at shortstop Jack Spellman. Alan Phillips singled, completing a 3-for-3 game. Jeff Stone flied out to Paul Rubin in right-center for the second out. Fritz Hensel singled Alan to second. Rex Horvath came up and drove a pitch to right-center field; Alan scored easily, and, running aggressively, Fritz’s pinch-runner, Steve Browne, scored all the way from first, but a good relay in to second held Rex to a single. Jack McDermott singled, putting the tying run in scoring position, but the game ended with Jim Foelker ranging into foul territory in right field to run down Don Solberg’s high fly for the final out.
Final score: Gray 8, Maroon 7
Noon: Purple (5-10) at Blue (7-7):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Purple 0 1 0 5 5 2 13 Blue 0 1 5 0 1 2 9 Pitchers: Purple – Ray Pilgrim; Blue – Joe Bernal. Mercenaries: Purple – Clint Fletcher, Matt Levitt, and Jeff Stone; Blue – Mike Nagy; Anthony Galindo entered for Lawrence Page in the third inning. Umpires: home – Jim McAnelly; bases – Jack Spellman. Perfect at the plate: Purple – Mike Malay, Jack McDermott, and Jeff Stone (all 3 for 3); Blue – David Brown (2 for 2 with a walk), Anthony Galindo (2 for 2), and Lawrence Page (1 for 1).
Dave Berra’s weather update: hottest!
Another pretty low-scoring game, the heat taking it out of us. Neither team scored in the first, each pitcher facing the minimum three batters. Jack McDermott singled with one out in the top of the first, but was doubled off first when David Brown snagged Jimmy Sneed’s liner about six inches off the ground and snapped a throw to first baseman Larry Young, who’d alertly broken for the bag on contact – the throw just beat Jack to the bag for a very nice L-6, 6-3 double play. Ray Pilgrim retired Blue in order in the bottom half.
Both teams scored a single run in the second. Mike Malay led off the top half with a line single to left field, then was forced out 5-4 on Peter Sundquist’s grounder to third baseman Larry Shupe. Ray Pilgrim singled Peter’s pinch-runner Matt Levitt to second. Patrick Schmidt grounded a ball to shortstop David Brown, who threw to George Romo at second for the force there, but George’s throw to first sailed past Larry Young, and Matt was able to score on the misplay.
George got the run back in the home half. He led off with a single through the 5-6 hole, took second on Lawrence Page’s single to center field, and scored on David Brown’s line single to right field. Lawrence took third on the hit, and David took second on the throw in. Larry Young grounded a ball to shortstop Jimmy Sneed, who threw to first for the out there; on the throw, Lawrence broke for home, but about halfway there popped a calf muscle and was doubled up on Mike Malay’s accurate throw home to catcher Peter Sundquist, completing a 6-3-2 double play. (Larry Young and I subsequently discussed the play; Larry thought Lawrence would have been out even if he hadn’t injured himself running; I’m not so sure, I thought he got a pretty good running start on the play.) The inning ended on Donnie Janac’s fly to Jack McDermott in left-center.
Lawrence Page left the game to ice his calf in the home dugout, Anthony Galindo entering in his place.
Purple did not score in the top of the third, Joe Bernal working around Jeff Stone’s one-out single. Blue then took the lead with five runs in the bottom half, all scored after two were out. Larry Shupe drew a lead-off walk. Mike Nagy, making his B League debut, fouled off a two-strike pitch for the first out, and Daniel Baladez grounded into a 6-4 force for the second, though his pinch-runner, David Brown, was awarded second base when Rick Jensen’s throw wound up in home dugout. Tom Bellavia followed with a double, driving in David, and the next five batters singled, four more runs coming across.
Purple got those runs back in the next half-inning, scoring five times on six singles, Jimmy Sneed’s double, and Ray Pilgrim’s sacrifice fly to left fielder Anthony Galindo, the only out Purple made in the inning. Ray Pilgrim then worked a 1-2-3 bottom half.
The game was tied 6-6 entering the final five-run inning. Purple scored five times again in the top of the fifth while not making an out. Jeff Stone doubled (a drive directly over the head of right-center fielder Mike Nagy, learning the lesson I re-learn every time I get stuck out there, that outfielding is difficult), Matt Levitt walked, and Billy Hill singled to center, loading the bases. Jack McDermott’s single to right field drove in Jeff’s pinch-runner and Matt. Jimmy Sneed smacked his second double of the game, a line drive to left field, Billy’s pinch-runner Patrick Schmidt scoring from second, and Jack following him when the relay in was mishandled. Mike Malay lined a single to center, his third hit in as many at bats, to drive in Jimmy with the fifth run.
Blue got just one run back in the bottom of the fifth. Tom Bellavia walked with one out, took second on Joe Bernal’s single through the 5-6 hole, tagged and advanced to third on George Romo’s fly ball to Clint Fletcher in right-center, and scored on Anthony Galindo’s single to left. David Brown walked, loading the bases for Larry Young, but Jeff Stone fielded Larry’s grounder down the third-base side and stepped on the bag for the inning-ending force.
Purple led 11-7 entering the buffet, and added two more. Peter Sundquist (Matt Levitt running from home) and Ray Pilgrim singled to open the frame. Jack McDermott ran for Ray and was forced at second on Patrick Schmidt’s grounder up the middle, fielded by David Brown, who made the play at second himself. Rick Jensen hit a pop-fly single to right-center, barely beating an unexpected relay to first – Mike Nagy threw to George Romo, and George threw to Larry Young. Home umpire Jim McAnelly actually called Rick out, but I overruled him – I had a good angle, saw that Rick definitely got his foot to the bag before Larry’s catch. Matt scored on the play. Clint Fletcher hit a ball sharply to the right of second base, looked like a hit off the bat, but George Romo made a terrific play to his backhand to snag the one-hopper, tagged second for the force on Rick, and threw to third trying to double up Patrick – I think the throw beat Patrick, but Daniel Baladez was handcuffed by it and couldn’t hold on, Patrick safe. Jeff Stone’s grounder past shortstop and into left field went for a run-scoring single. The inning finally ended on Matt Levitt’s grounder to shortstop David Brown, who threw to George at second for the force. (Joe Bernal, master of weak contact, induced five ground balls from Purple hitters in the inning.)
Working with a six-run lead, Ray Pilgrim got two quick outs to start the bottom of the buffet, a liner by Donnie Janac that was caught by second baseman Rick Jensen and a drive to left-center by Larry Shupe that was caught by Jack McDermott. Mike Nagy’s sharp grounder to shortstop took a Krieg 2 hop over Jimmy Sneed’s glove and went into left-center for Mike’s first B League hit. The next three batters singled to center field: Daniel Baladez lined a ball past second base; Tom Bellavia’s pop fly fell in safe, Mike scoring; and Joe Bernal’s base hit drove in Daniel’s runner, David Brown. George Romo squared up on a pitch and lined it left field – it looked off the bat like it might sail over Patrick Schmidt’s head, but Patrick reached up and grabbed it cleanly for the final out, a good play.
Final score: Purple 13, Blue 9
Know Your B-Leaguer: Mike Nagy, fresh from celebrating Estonian Restoration of Independence Day, made his B League debut for Blue, going 1 for 3.
2026 standings:
| Session 3 standings: | ||||||||
| Games | Runs | Runs | Runs dif- | W/L | ||||
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Maroon | 11 | 5 | .688 | 0 | 201 | 171 | 30 | L1 |
| Green | 11 | 5 | .688 | 0 | 230 | 201 | 29 | W1 |
| Blue | 7 | 8 | .467 | 3.5 | 148 | 142 | 6 | L1 |
| Orange | 7 | 8 | .467 | 3.5 | 182 | 195 | -13 | L1 |
| Gray | 6 | 9 | .400 | 4.5 | 165 | 174 | -9 | W1 |
| Red | 6 | 9 | .400 | 4.5 | 180 | 192 | -12 | L2 |
| Purple | 6 | 10 | .375 | 5 | 186 | 217 | -31 | W4 |
| Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | Last 5 | ||
| W-L: | W-L: | wins | W-L: | W-L: | W-L: | games: | ||
| Maroon | 6-2 | 5-3 | 3 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 5-2 | WWLWL | |
| Green | 4-5 | 7-0 | 1 | 1-0 | 5-1 | 3-2 | WWLLW | |
| Blue | 3-4 | 4-4 | 2 | 1-1 | 4-2 | 3-2 | LLWWL | |
| Orange | 5-3 | 2-5 | 3 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 3-3 | LWLWL | |
| Gray | 4-2 | 2-7 | 0 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 2-6 | WLLLW | |
| Red | 4-3 | 2-6 | 0 | 1-0 | 2-4 | 2-2 | WLWLL | |
| Purple | 2-7 | 4-3 | 2 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 2-3 | LWWWW |
2026 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 24 | |
| Gray | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 14 | |
| Green | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 20 | |
| Maroon | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 23 | |
| Orange | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | |
| Purple | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 13 | |
| Red | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 15 | |
| TOTAL: | 12 | 21 | 17 | 13 | 19 | 24 | 20 | 126 |
2026 season home run leaders:
Terry O’Brien – 10
Ralph Villela – 8
Steve Browne – 4
Tony Garcia – 4
Trent Peacock – 4
David Brown – 3
Tim Coles – 3
Mike Garrison – 3
Alan Phillips – 3
Jack Spellman – 3
Richard Battle – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Rick Kahn – 2
Jack McDermott – 2
Scott Rokita – 2
Paul Rubin – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Scott Wright – 2
Peter Atkins – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
Joe Bernal – 1
George Brindley – 1
Ivan Budiselic – 1
Mark Dolan – 1
Jim Foelker – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Tommy Gillis – 1
Doc Hobar – 1
Mike Malay – 1
Bobby Miller – 1
David Pittard – 1
George Romo – 1
Luis Sanchez – 1
Steve Sandall – 1
Patrick Schmidt – 1
Hit for the cycle:
Ralph Villela – May 26
Ohtani Awards (winning pitcher + perfect at the plate):
Joe Bernal: 8 (March 2, March 19, March 30, April 16, June 22, June 25, June 29, July 9)
Ray Pilgrim: 7 (March 5, March 23, March 26, June 1, July 2, July 9, August 17)
Spike Davidson: 5 (May 4, July 2, July 20, August 6, August 20)
Tommy Deleon: 5 (April 6, April 30, June 11, July 6, July 30)
Trent Peacock: 2 (March 9, August 3)
Jeff Stone: 2 (March 2, July 9)
Rex Horvath: 1 (March 30)
Jack Kelly: 1 (August 3)
Lawrence Page: 1 (March 26)
Schedule for Monday August 24:
10:00 a.m.: Orange (7-8) at Blue (7-8), Purple umpiring
11:00 a.m.: Purple (6-10) at Red (6-9), Blue umpiring
Noon: Green (11-5) at Gray (6-9), Red umpiring
Maroon has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Next week’s games are the last of Session 3, and we go into it with a tie for first and just a game and a half separating the third- through seventh-place teams. Orange and Blue play at 10:00 Monday, with the winner clinching third place for the session. Blue leads the season series 3-2. At 11:00, Purple looks to extend its four-game winning streak and escape the cellar if it can defeat Red. Purple leads the season series, also 3-2. Of the first-place teams, Maroon has the bye Monday while Green plays both days next week, so they will finish 1-2. Green can put itself in position to win the session if it can defeat Gray at noon on Monday. Green leads the season series 3-1. Will an anonymous benefactor treat us to a spread from Waffle House on National Waffle Day? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Podcast review: The SoxProspects.com Red Sox Podcast.
This podcast is the audio companion to SoxProspects.com, an independent site devoted to covering the Boston Red Sox farm system. Episodes drop about once a week and combine detailed (sometimes mind-numbingly so) prospect analysis with discussion of the major-league team. Lots of scouting reports, prospect rankings, promotions and demotions, minor-league affiliate updates, the amateur draft, trades, player development, and how prospects will fit into Boston’s future roster or as trade bait. Principal hosts are Ian Cundall, Chris Hatfield, and Mike Andrews, the latter no relation to the second baseman for the 1967 Impossible Dream team. They’re all three smart and strongly opinionated but sadly lacking in strong New England accents. The pod is a good way of keeping current with the Sox. New England content: Lack of accents notwithstanding, boatloads. Canadian content: A bit, mostly to do with the divisional rival Toronto Blue Jays. Listening speed: I go at 1.2X. Rating: 🎧 🎧 🎧