The Architects fall back to the pack, following their 22-3 April with a 10-18 May. The order of the American standings does not change this month, but things tighten up considerably. Milwaukee does the most to improve their position, going 16-10 and moving to within two games of the Wild Card. The league awards Batter of the Month to Detroit’s Jon Harrison and Pitcher of the Month to Traverse City’s Scott Banda. Gray Dijkstra repeats as Rookie of the Month.

The Canadian race also tightens. Thunder Bay goes 15-13 this month, but Owen Sound, Kingston, and Toronto do better and gain on the Caribou. Hamilton goes 10-18 and drops to eight games back. After going 4-21 in April, Windsor finds their footing and goes 14-14 in May. Thunder Bay’s signing of slugger Brett Collins pays immediate dividends: he wins Batter of the Month in his first full month as a Caribou. Kingston rotation mates Gabriel Rodríguez and Greg Patterson win Pitcher of the Month and Rookie of the Month, respectively.

Owen Sound pitchers go 32 innings without allowing a run.

May 1

Thunder Bay 2, Hamilton 1. Brett Collins, who led the league with 38 home runs last season, hits his first home run as a Caribou. It’s a two-run shot, and it gives Thunder Bay all the runs that they need.

Toledo 8, Detroit 7. The T-Birds take a 7-0 lead, but the Neptunes don’t give up. They score four in the fifth and four in the seventh to win.

May 2

Traverse City 4, Duluth 0. Don Li (3-3) strikes out 10, walks 2, and allows just two singles in eight innings of work.

Thunder Bay 11, Hamilton 10. The Mounties take a 10-5 lead into the eighth, but the Caribou rally for six runs to win.

May 3

Thunder Bay 6, Hamilton 1. Gustavo Gómez leads off the first with his first home run as a Caribou. José Gonzáles (3-1) pitches a complete game, giving up one unearned run while striking out nine and walking none.

Owen Sound 3, Windsor 2. Vigilantes can’t catch a break this season. They take a two-run lead into the ninth, but a Geoff Harris two-run home run ties the game, and a Tim Dower RBI single lets the Waveriders walk it off.

Toronto 5, Kingston 4. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Toronto’s Elton Anderson singles in two runs to tie the game. Comets regain the lead with a 10th-inning home run off the bat of pinch-hitter Clint Sterrett, but Toronto wins when Manny Estrada doubles in two runs in the bottom of the 10th.

May 4

Thunder Bay 6, Windsor 1. Yakumo Hasegawa (6-0) pitches a complete game, striking out 10 and allowing just one run.

Hamilton 2, Kingston 1. Ernie Henderson (7-0) strikes out nine and allows just one run in eight innings of work.

May 5

Windsor 6, Thunder Bay 5 (10). Dave Dodd goes 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles. He doubles in the first two runs of the game, and he scores the winning run in the 10th.

May 6

Chicago 3, Traverse City 2. Architect Earl Stretton hits a pair of solo home runs.

May 8

Hamilton 4, Owen Sound 3. Mountie Jim Riordan hits a walk-off home run.

May 9

Hamilton 4, Owen Sound 3. Ernie Henderson (8-0) walks none, strikes out eight, allows three hits and one run, and lowers his ERA to 0.69.

May 10

Duluth 8, Chicago 2. Last year’s batting champ, Paul Boulay, hits a grand slam. The Gulls sweep the Architects.

Detroit 1, Traverse City 0. T-Bird Ralph Baxter pitches 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight and giving up just three singles. With the game scoreless in the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitter Chris Christian doubles in Rafael Morales.

May 11

Duluth 3, Kingston 1. Kingston’s Stefan Herrmann goes 4-for-4 with a home run—plus he gets hit by a pitch—but his teammates go 3-for-28. Seven Duluth pitchers hold the Comets to a single run.

Detroit 4, Toronto 0. Jack Wilton (3-2) pitches 8 1/3 shutout innings. David Kenney and Jon Harrison hit back-to-back home runs.

May 12

Toronto 6, Detroit 3. Maple catcher Manny Estrada goes 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs.

Thunder Bay 6, Chicago 1. The Caribou’s new leadoff hitter, Gustavo Gómez, goes 3-for-4 with a triple, a homer, and three runs scored. Mr. Magnificent is hitting .315 for his new team.

Windsor 4, Traverse City 3 (11). Dave Dodd walks, advances to third on a double, and scores the winning run on a wild pitch.

May 13

Kingston 5, Traverse City 1. Greg Patterson (5-1) spent eight years in the minors. A rookie at age 27, he’s making the most of his shot at the majors. He gives up one run over six.

Owen Sound 2, Detroit 0. Walt Connel (3-2) and two relievers shutout the T-Birds. A first-inning two-run homer off the bat of Geoff Harris provides the game’s only runs.

May 14

Owen Sound 3, Detroit 0. Waverider pitchers toss a second straight shutout. Owen Sound’s Jesse Howard (3-2) allows a walk and single, both to Paul Corrigan. He strikes out four and uses just 99 pitches.

May 15

Toronto 1, Owen Sound 0 (11). Owen Sound pitchers came into today having pitched 22 straight scoreless innings. António Méndez and three relievers pitch 10 shutout innings and extend the streak to 32 innings. They finally give up a run in inning number 33, and it costs the Waveriders the game.

Traverse City 8, Duluth 7 (14). Harvey Ormon goes 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. Pedro Morales saves the Bears’ bacon: his 11th-inning homer ties the game. Then, in the 14th, catcher Jesús Ocampo singles in the game-winning run.

May 20

Owen Sound 5, Hamilton 4. Ernie Henderson (9-1) loses his first game of the season. He pitches into the ninth, where he allows three singles before being pulled for a reliever. On reliever Jake Hiscock‘s second pitch, Zhao-Ji Fang singles to right to give the Waveriders the walk-off win.

May 21

Milwaukee 1, Chicago 0. Carlos Snow gives up one hit—a double in the fifth—while striking out nine and tossing eight shutout innings. He gets a no-decision. The Eagle score the game’s only run in the bottom of the ninth when, with two outs, Scott Stokes singles in Karel van de Linde.

May 24

Toronto 5, Thunder Bay 4. Scott Robertson hits two dingers and drives in all five Maples runs.

May 26

Owen Sound 7, Thunder Bay 5 (14). Caribou Brett Collins hits two home runs. Waverider Shane MacKinley goes 4-for-5 with a double and three RBIs, including a 14th-inning sac fly that proves to be the game winner.

Kingston 9, Hamilton 1. Gabriel Rodríguez (7-3) tosses a complete game and gives up just one run. Comets batters knock around Ernie Henderson (9-2), with Sterling Morin going 3-for-5 with a double, home run, three runs scored, and three RBIs.

May 27

Traverse City 8, Chicago 1. George Blakeney goes 3-for-5 with a home run, and Marcos Román (2-4) pitches a complete game and allows just one run.G

May 30

Detroit 7, Toledo 0. Jon Harrison goes 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs. Sam Goerts (6-3) pitches 8 2/3 shutout innings.

Toronto 10, Hamilton 2. Jorge Barrón goes 4-for-5 with a double and a home run. He scores twice and drives in four. Rolland Girault (1-0), last year’s Pitcher of the Year, gets his first win of the season.

May 31

Traverse City 1, Milwaukee 0. Craig Johns (4-4) pitches 7 2/3 shutout innings and doubles in the game’s only run.