Aug 22, 2016 4 min read

They are the lowest-scoring team in the Frontier League. They also have the fewest hits. And they have lost their two best pitchers – the ace of the starting staff and the closer – to major league organizations.

Yet, somehow, some way, the Wild Things are still in the thick of the muddled playoff race with 13 days remaining in the season.

How is that possible?

As first-year manager Gregg Langbehn explained, you can overcome some flaws by winning the close ones and controlling games with good pitching and defense, which Washington has done often enough that the next two weeks promise to be exciting.

“It has been an interesting year,” Langbehn said, “but we’re right there. All you can ask is to have a chance down the stretch. I’m proud of the way we’re playing.”

Washington enters a doubleheader tonight (6:05 p.m.) against Traverse City at Consol Energy Park with a 41-41 record. The Wild Things are 2½ games behind the first-place Joliet Slammers in the East Division and a half-game behind the Normal CornBelters and River City Rascals, who are tied for the second and final wild-card playoff position.

Of Washington’s 41 wins, 25 have come by either one or two runs. That’s a significant number for a team that has only a .238 team batting average.

“We know we’re not built for slugfests,” Langbehn said. “We don’t play well if we fall behind big early in a game. Our strength is pitching – it’s what has carried us for most of the year – and controlling the game with our pitching and defense.”

The Wild Things are fourth in the league with a 3.84 ERA but were in the top three for most of the season.

Left fielder Andrew Heck, who is batting .326 over Washington’s last 11 games, says there’s more to winning and losing than just batting average and ERA. Teams that find ways to win the close ones usually end up playing in mid-September.

“Though our batting average hasn’t been great, we’ve put together good at-bats. Our on-base percentage is good,” Heck said. “We’re scrappy, and a lot of credit goes to the back end of our bullpen. They’ve been able to hold it together and shut down games for us.

“I look at us like the Schaumburg team that won the championship a few years ago. They beat us five times by one run. I said, ‘Is that really the best team?’ But they found ways to win and it carried over to the playoffs. There’s something to be said for a team that finds ways to win close games.”

Though they are still in catch-up mode, the Wild Things’ best friend down the stretch is the schedule. They have four games remaining against Joliet, all at home next weekend. Meanwhile, Normal and Gateway – the two teams vying for the wild card and are currently ahead of Washington – have a combined 12 games remaining against Southern Illinois and Evansville, the teams with the two best records in the league.

Southern Illinois and Evansville are the reasons why Washington is currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Coming out of the all-star break, Washington was swept twice by Southern Illinois and once by Evansville.

“We’re 1-11 against Southern Illinois and Evansville, but we’re 10 games above .500 against everybody else,” Langbehn is quick to say.

“Look at the league and you’ll see a lot of teams are still in the playoff race, but they also have to play each other. That means somebody is going to be losing. We’re still in a good situation. We have to catch some breaks, though.”

Washington must make a final playoff push without starting pitcher Trevor Foss and closer-turned-starter Zac Grotz, who had their contracts purchased this month by the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively. The loss of Foss, who was 8-3, with a 2.50 ERA and eight complete games, was the fallout from the major league trade deadline. Cleveland’s farm system was short on pitching after trading four minor-league pitchers at the deadline.

“We’re excited for the players who have moved on,” Langbehn said. “We’re taking that NFL mentality of next man up. We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves because we lost some good pitchers. The players understand that somebody has to step up.”

Notes

Wild Things’ outfielder Chris Grayson and Joliet starting pitcher Liam O’Sullivan were named Frontier League Player and Pitcher of the Week. Grayson, in his first season in the Frontier League, went 11-for-24 last week. Grayson is batting .299 with seven doubles, two triples, three home runs, 16 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 31 games.