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EDS Game 1 Preview: Chatham at Y-D
CHATHAM, Mass. — For the first time since 2024, the Anglers are in the playoffs.
Chatham finished the regular season a hair above .500, finishing fourth place in the Cape Cod Baseball League’s East Division with 41 points. With that, the A’s booked themselves a trip to the East Division Series, where they’ll take on top-seeded Yarmouth-Dennis in a best-of-three series. The series opens Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at Red Wilson Field.
Here’s everything to know about the Anglers (19-18-3, East) and the Red Sox (28-11-1, East) before they square off in Game 1 of the EDS.
In its biggest game of the season so far, Chatham will have a worthy starter for the task. Angel Cervantes (UCLA) will get the ball for the A’s for his seventh start of the summer. Cervantes leads all qualified pitchers in the Cape League with a 1.05 earned run average, allowing just three runs across 25.2 innings of work. In his last outing, Cervantes went two innings against Orleans — a short start in place of his weekly bullpen — on July 31 and didn’t surrender a baserunner.
Yarmouth-Dennis will turn to Cade O’Leary (Florida State) to begin this contest. He’s made four starts for the Red Sox this season, allowing 13 runs across 23.1 innings, good for a 5.01 ERA. He’s surrendered 27 hits, but he’s also shown solid strikeout stuff, punching out 24 batters while issuing just nine walks.
Yarmouth-Dennis Players To Watch
Tommy Goodin (Vanderbilt) has consistently been one of the best bats in the Cape this year. Goodin is hitting .313 with an .881 OPS, and he leads the league with 31 RBIs. He’s also the reigning CCBL Player of the Week, as he mashed 13 hits, five doubles and two home runs over his past six games. He took the day off Sunday when Chatham traveled to Y-D, but he’ll return to lead a stellar Red Sox offense on Tuesday.
Kevin Takeuchi (USC) is Y-D’s only other qualified hitter with an OPS above .700 this season. Takeuchi is hitting .245 with 15 RBIs and a .714 OPS across 34 games. He’s struck out 22 times to 16 walks, but still has been a major offensive contributor for Y-D. The infielder went 0-for-3 against Chatham Sunday, but looks to bounce back on Tuesday.
Bino Watters (LSU) has consistently been Chatham’s best bat this summer, and he wrapped up the regular season on a high note. Watters went 2-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs in Chatham’s 4-1 win over Y-D on Sunday. He’s now hitting .318 with a .788 OPS and ranks second in the CCBL with 29 RBIs, right behind Goodin’s league-leading 31.
Aidan Eshelman (UTSA) has played just four games in a Chatham uniform, but he’s been fantastic for the Anglers thus far. The infielder has settled in at shortstop over his past two games, and he hit leadoff Sunday against Y-D. Eshelman is hitting 5-for-10 with two RBIs, two walks and five runs scored. In the small sample size, his OPS is a gaudy 1.171. He could be just the type of bat the A’s need to get going in the playoffs.
The playoffs are all about who gets hot at the right time. And right now, the Anglers enter the postseason as the hottest team in the CCBL. Chatham has won eight of its last nine games dating back to July 24, good for a .888 winning percentage.
Two of those victories came against Yarmouth-Dennis. Chatham began the stretch with a 9-1 win over the Red Sox on July 24. The Anglers then snagged a 4-1 victory over Y-D on Sunday to cap the regular reason on a torrid hot streak.
As previously mentioned, Chatham beat Y-D 4-1 when the teams met just a few days ago. It was just a seven-inning game, as it served as the second contest in a Sunday doubleheader.
Austin Shirley (UT Arlington) got the start for Chatham and surrendered one run across 3.1 innings of work. Derek Desmarais (Tufts) pitched the final 3.2 innings and allowed just one hit, helping the A’s to their second win over the Red Sox this season. Watters had all of Chatham’s four runs batted in, as he hit two almost identical two-run doubles off the center field wall.
The Anglers hope to replicate Sunday’s result to grab a crucial series lead Tuesday.
Chatham finished the regular season a hair above .500, finishing fourth place in the Cape Cod Baseball League’s East Division with 41 points. With that, the A’s booked themselves a trip to the East Division Series, where they’ll take on top-seeded Yarmouth-Dennis in a best-of-three series. The series opens Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at Red Wilson Field.
Here’s everything to know about the Anglers (19-18-3, East) and the Red Sox (28-11-1, East) before they square off in Game 1 of the EDS.
Probable Starters
In its biggest game of the season so far, Chatham will have a worthy starter for the task. Angel Cervantes (UCLA) will get the ball for the A’s for his seventh start of the summer. Cervantes leads all qualified pitchers in the Cape League with a 1.05 earned run average, allowing just three runs across 25.2 innings of work. In his last outing, Cervantes went two innings against Orleans — a short start in place of his weekly bullpen — on July 31 and didn’t surrender a baserunner.
Yarmouth-Dennis will turn to Cade O’Leary (Florida State) to begin this contest. He’s made four starts for the Red Sox this season, allowing 13 runs across 23.1 innings, good for a 5.01 ERA. He’s surrendered 27 hits, but he’s also shown solid strikeout stuff, punching out 24 batters while issuing just nine walks.
Yarmouth-Dennis Players To Watch
Tommy Goodin (Vanderbilt) has consistently been one of the best bats in the Cape this year. Goodin is hitting .313 with an .881 OPS, and he leads the league with 31 RBIs. He’s also the reigning CCBL Player of the Week, as he mashed 13 hits, five doubles and two home runs over his past six games. He took the day off Sunday when Chatham traveled to Y-D, but he’ll return to lead a stellar Red Sox offense on Tuesday.
Kevin Takeuchi (USC) is Y-D’s only other qualified hitter with an OPS above .700 this season. Takeuchi is hitting .245 with 15 RBIs and a .714 OPS across 34 games. He’s struck out 22 times to 16 walks, but still has been a major offensive contributor for Y-D. The infielder went 0-for-3 against Chatham Sunday, but looks to bounce back on Tuesday.
Chatham Players To Watch
Bino Watters (LSU) has consistently been Chatham’s best bat this summer, and he wrapped up the regular season on a high note. Watters went 2-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs in Chatham’s 4-1 win over Y-D on Sunday. He’s now hitting .318 with a .788 OPS and ranks second in the CCBL with 29 RBIs, right behind Goodin’s league-leading 31.
Aidan Eshelman (UTSA) has played just four games in a Chatham uniform, but he’s been fantastic for the Anglers thus far. The infielder has settled in at shortstop over his past two games, and he hit leadoff Sunday against Y-D. Eshelman is hitting 5-for-10 with two RBIs, two walks and five runs scored. In the small sample size, his OPS is a gaudy 1.171. He could be just the type of bat the A’s need to get going in the playoffs.
Number To Know: .888
The playoffs are all about who gets hot at the right time. And right now, the Anglers enter the postseason as the hottest team in the CCBL. Chatham has won eight of its last nine games dating back to July 24, good for a .888 winning percentage.
Two of those victories came against Yarmouth-Dennis. Chatham began the stretch with a 9-1 win over the Red Sox on July 24. The Anglers then snagged a 4-1 victory over Y-D on Sunday to cap the regular reason on a torrid hot streak.
Last Time They Played
As previously mentioned, Chatham beat Y-D 4-1 when the teams met just a few days ago. It was just a seven-inning game, as it served as the second contest in a Sunday doubleheader.
Austin Shirley (UT Arlington) got the start for Chatham and surrendered one run across 3.1 innings of work. Derek Desmarais (Tufts) pitched the final 3.2 innings and allowed just one hit, helping the A’s to their second win over the Red Sox this season. Watters had all of Chatham’s four runs batted in, as he hit two almost identical two-run doubles off the center field wall.
The Anglers hope to replicate Sunday’s result to grab a crucial series lead Tuesday.
