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Game 38 Preview: Chatham vs. Orleans
CHATHAM, Mass. — It’s official: The Anglers only have three games left in the 2025 season.
Things had been trending toward Chatham missing the Cape Cod Baseball League postseason for weeks now, but there was still a chance heading into Thursday. In a scenario where the A’s closed a three-game deficit to Brewster, the Anglers would’ve held a tiebreaker over the Whitecaps, completing a miraculous last-second comeback to secure the final playoff spot in the East Division.
Then Chatham came crashing back down to Earth. After exploding for 13 hits in their 10-0 victory over Brewster Wednesday, the Anglers fell 4-3 at Falmouth on Thursday. With the Whitecaps defeating Wareham 7-1, that result sunk the A’s playoff hopes.
With no postseason to bank on, Chatham returns to Veterans Field to take on Orleans in the penultimate home contest of its season, hoping to at least claim bragging rights over its East Division rival.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Chatham’s (15-19-3, East) final matchup of the season against Orleans (20-15-2, East) Friday.
For Anglers fans, the news that Kaden Smith (USF) is back on the bump should be a welcome sight. In his last appearance, he completed six innings of two-run ball against Hyannis, giving Chatham all that it needed to secure a 5-4 road victory over the Harbor Hawks. While his season started off shaky in the bullpen, he’s settled into the rotation with a respectable 4.58 earned run average over 19.2 innings.
Former Angler Kyle Johnson (Virginia), on the other hand, has not done the same for Orleans. Johnson, a two-way player, has started two of his three appearances for the Firebirds thus far. In those outings, he’s allowed 12 earned runs in 6.2 innings for a ghastly 16.20 ERA so far this summer. He’s walked nine batters and struck out just four in that span, meaning that patience will likely pay off for Chatham in this matchup.
There have been a lot of swings in the Cape League this summer. It would be difficult to find a more impactful one than Elijah Ickes’ (Hawaii) 2-2 swing in the bottom of the ninth on Wednesday. Facing Yarmouth-Dennis reliever Dennis Overbay, the shortstop blasted his fifth home run of the summer to give Orleans a 2-1 walk-off victory. It cemented the Firebirds’ status as a playoff team, and is a large reason why they’re now first in the East with 42 points.
Ickes has been Orleans’ best hitter all year, leading the team in runs, home runs, runs batted in, walks, slugging percentage and OPS. But Anthony Potestio (UC San Diego) has him beat when it comes to on-base percentage. The Orleans right fielder is one of two Firebirds with over 20 walks — the other being Ickes — and his patient plate approach has helped him establish a team-leading .420 OBP through 85 at-bats.
He hasn’t gotten off to the hottest start to his Chatham career, but as of late, things have only been trending up for Roman Martin (UCLA). Over the past week, the Anglers’ third baseman leads the team with a .318 batting average and a .400 OBP, while his .718 OPS in that span ranks second among A’s position players. With his stellar defense at the hot corner, Martin has been an anchor in the wake of Gavin Gallaher’s (North Carolina) departure over a week ago.
Trace Mazon (Coastal Carolina) has also filled an infield role admirably for the A’s, though at second base rather than third. Mazon already has six hits in his first eight games for Chatham, and he drove in his first run as an Angler with an RBI single in the A’s 4-3 loss to Falmouth on Thursday. Most impressively, Mazon has walked three times and struck out just once in his 25 at-bats thus far, making him an elite contact hitter for Chatham.
It’s hard to identify the fatal flaw in the Anglers’ season. The A’s offense didn’t do itself many favors in the home stretch of the Cape League season, registering a .588 OPS over the past week — the third-worst mark.
However, Chatham’s pitching staff might have underwhelmed more than the offense did toward the end of the season. Over the past week, Anglers arms gave up a whopping 4.41 ERA, the worst mark in the league over that span. With a staff that conceded more earned runs than anybody, making a postseason run was always going to be an uphill battle for the A’s.
On July 16, Chatham secured a dramatic 8-7 10th-inning win over Orleans. In his first start of the summer, A’s lefty Gavyn Jones (Oklahoma) shone by allowing just two runs across five innings of work. But after conceding four runs in the eighth inning to squander a late 6-2 lead, the Anglers battled back with two runs in extras to outlast the Firebirds.
Things had been trending toward Chatham missing the Cape Cod Baseball League postseason for weeks now, but there was still a chance heading into Thursday. In a scenario where the A’s closed a three-game deficit to Brewster, the Anglers would’ve held a tiebreaker over the Whitecaps, completing a miraculous last-second comeback to secure the final playoff spot in the East Division.
Then Chatham came crashing back down to Earth. After exploding for 13 hits in their 10-0 victory over Brewster Wednesday, the Anglers fell 4-3 at Falmouth on Thursday. With the Whitecaps defeating Wareham 7-1, that result sunk the A’s playoff hopes.
With no postseason to bank on, Chatham returns to Veterans Field to take on Orleans in the penultimate home contest of its season, hoping to at least claim bragging rights over its East Division rival.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Chatham’s (15-19-3, East) final matchup of the season against Orleans (20-15-2, East) Friday.
Probable Starters
For Anglers fans, the news that Kaden Smith (USF) is back on the bump should be a welcome sight. In his last appearance, he completed six innings of two-run ball against Hyannis, giving Chatham all that it needed to secure a 5-4 road victory over the Harbor Hawks. While his season started off shaky in the bullpen, he’s settled into the rotation with a respectable 4.58 earned run average over 19.2 innings.
Former Angler Kyle Johnson (Virginia), on the other hand, has not done the same for Orleans. Johnson, a two-way player, has started two of his three appearances for the Firebirds thus far. In those outings, he’s allowed 12 earned runs in 6.2 innings for a ghastly 16.20 ERA so far this summer. He’s walked nine batters and struck out just four in that span, meaning that patience will likely pay off for Chatham in this matchup.
Orleans Players To Watch
There have been a lot of swings in the Cape League this summer. It would be difficult to find a more impactful one than Elijah Ickes’ (Hawaii) 2-2 swing in the bottom of the ninth on Wednesday. Facing Yarmouth-Dennis reliever Dennis Overbay, the shortstop blasted his fifth home run of the summer to give Orleans a 2-1 walk-off victory. It cemented the Firebirds’ status as a playoff team, and is a large reason why they’re now first in the East with 42 points.
Ickes has been Orleans’ best hitter all year, leading the team in runs, home runs, runs batted in, walks, slugging percentage and OPS. But Anthony Potestio (UC San Diego) has him beat when it comes to on-base percentage. The Orleans right fielder is one of two Firebirds with over 20 walks — the other being Ickes — and his patient plate approach has helped him establish a team-leading .420 OBP through 85 at-bats.
Chatham Players To Watch
He hasn’t gotten off to the hottest start to his Chatham career, but as of late, things have only been trending up for Roman Martin (UCLA). Over the past week, the Anglers’ third baseman leads the team with a .318 batting average and a .400 OBP, while his .718 OPS in that span ranks second among A’s position players. With his stellar defense at the hot corner, Martin has been an anchor in the wake of Gavin Gallaher’s (North Carolina) departure over a week ago.
Trace Mazon (Coastal Carolina) has also filled an infield role admirably for the A’s, though at second base rather than third. Mazon already has six hits in his first eight games for Chatham, and he drove in his first run as an Angler with an RBI single in the A’s 4-3 loss to Falmouth on Thursday. Most impressively, Mazon has walked three times and struck out just once in his 25 at-bats thus far, making him an elite contact hitter for Chatham.
Number To Know: 4.41
It’s hard to identify the fatal flaw in the Anglers’ season. The A’s offense didn’t do itself many favors in the home stretch of the Cape League season, registering a .588 OPS over the past week — the third-worst mark.
However, Chatham’s pitching staff might have underwhelmed more than the offense did toward the end of the season. Over the past week, Anglers arms gave up a whopping 4.41 ERA, the worst mark in the league over that span. With a staff that conceded more earned runs than anybody, making a postseason run was always going to be an uphill battle for the A’s.
Last Time They Played
On July 16, Chatham secured a dramatic 8-7 10th-inning win over Orleans. In his first start of the summer, A’s lefty Gavyn Jones (Oklahoma) shone by allowing just two runs across five innings of work. But after conceding four runs in the eighth inning to squander a late 6-2 lead, the Anglers battled back with two runs in extras to outlast the Firebirds.
