Domination on Display in 16-1 Win at Lindquist

The Raptors were in search of a bounce-back win following their 6-5 1-run loss on Thursday night, and they delivered the most explosive and well-rounded offensive performance of the young season. The approach at the plate by the Raptors lineup wore down the Chukar's chuckers all night long as they drew walk after walk and hit after hit. The Raptors tallied an astonishing 13 Walks and 11 base hits, with 3 of those hits going over the wall for longballs. 5 of their 16 runs came by way of the home run, and when they weren't hitting big flys, their take-and-wait for mistake mentality at the dish created a plethora of scoring opportunities; Every single slugger in the starting lineup recorded at least 1 RBI, with 4 hitters in total recording 2+, including 3 of their top 4 in the order. Not only was the power at the plate on full display, but it was also remarkable how well-timed these home runs were;  Logan Williams launched his 1st of many 2-run home runs on the year in the 2nd and Juan Teixeira followed that up by smacking his 2nd dinger of the year in the 6th to strike for 2 more runs. However, I would have to say the most impressive feat of the night in the batter's box would have to be Reese Alexiades calling his 2nd inning shot before the game even started. For the 3rd straight game now, Reese went deep, as he continues to put up videogame numbers on his sensational hot streak. I had the luxury of speaking to Reese before first pitch, and I asked him “You going deep for your 3rd straight night?” He took a second to think about it and then hit me back with the most self-assured “Yes” I have ever heard in all my days. Sure enough, in his 1st AB of the day, Reese put the team on his back and started the scoring party off early, staying true to his word, and unloading on a ball over the right-field wall for his 4th home run of the 2023 campaign. 

While Reese was busy doing his best Babe Ruth impression, Jake Mulholland took the lead his team provided and ran away with it, posting his best outing of the year. He recorded his first W of the season after shutting out the Chukars for 7.0 full innings, surrendering only 4 hits, striking out 7, and not walking any batters. It should be noted that incredible offensive performance combined with dominant starting pitching creates 16-1 Wins. The Raptors have unlocked the recipe for domination when they pair deep starting pitching with disciplined hitting; If they can consistently mimic their gameplan from last night, it will be a while before we see another Raptors loss. However, baseball is the longest season, and with over 80+ games left on the schedule, the Raptors will have to keep the fire burning if they want to achieve the dream. We hope to see the Raptors faithful in droves tonight, as they take on the Chukars for game 4 of the series at 6:30 PM.