Inside The As

Ballers Firmly in the Postseason Picture

Jason Burke

Oakland Ballers playing at Raimondi Field
Oakland Ballers playing at Raimondi Field / Oakland Ballers
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The Oakland Ballers have won 10 of 12, and after a slow start to the second half of the season, find themselves firmly in the mix for a postseason spot in their inaugural campaign. The B's sit at 42-30 on the year, which is the fourth-best record in the Pioneer League, 12 games back of the otherworldly Missoula Paddleheads (54-18), but only a game separates the Ballers from the second-place Boise Hawks (43-29).

The way the Pioneer League works is that the season is split into two halves, with two teams reaching the postseason for their performance in the first half, and another two for their efforts in the second. The B's ended up two games back of a postseason spot in the first half of the season, so they are still on the hunt to get their ticket punched for mid-September baseball.

The second half of the campaign is only four weeks old, but there are only four weeks left to go as well, meaning that this is go time. With the hot streak, Oakland is 15-9 and currently sit in third place in the PL this half. The Boise Hawks (18-6) and the Paddleheads (17-7) are the two teams ahead of them, with Boise up by three, and Missoula ahead by two.

As fate would have it, the Ballers are set to commence their only series of the entire season against the Hawks this week in Oakland, in one of the team's final two homestands of the season. Losing the series would obviously not be ideal, and splitting the series would keep things as they are while whittling down the number of games left on the schedule. A series win could make things very interesting, with even a 4-2 week from the B's resulting in a two-game swing, which would put them within a game of the top spot in the PL.

One added wrinkle to the playoff format is that Missoula can't take home two postseason berths by being one of the top two teams in each half, so if they finish either first or second in the second half, then a wild-card team would be introduced. A spokesperson from the Ballers said that the team is currently a half-game back of that potential wild-card spot (with Missoula currently in second) behind the Northern Colorado Owlz.

The Ballers and Owlz split their first series of the season at the end of June, but in their series two weeks ago, Oakland began their hot streak, going 5-1. After facing the Hawks this week at home, the Ballers will travel to NoCo and take on the Owlz for six, in what could be a season-determining two week stretch for the club.

If you're still on the fence about going to a game for any reason, Mike the Hot Dog Mayor recently tweeted out a promo code that will get fans 25% off tickets for the rest of the season. He does (jokingly) expect that money to be spent on hot dogs, however.

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Jason Burke

JASON BURKE

Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum. 

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