8-9-17
It was a matinee featuring the Rangers versus the Mets today. As usual (thanks to bad station scheduling), we picked up the game in progress. Shin-Soo Choo bluffed while on third and induced a balk out of Raphael Montero, scoring. Joey Gallo immediately followed that up with a two-run, second deck home run. It was his seventh in eight games. The bases were loaded after Carlos Gomez was hit by a pitch, but Martin Perez, the pitcher, the struck out to end the inning. 3-0 Rangers after a half inning, and Queens crowd was already letting the Mets have it.
In the second, Elvis Andrus got on. After Eric Nadel mentioned that he’d shutdown his running game since June, Elvis stole second and third and took home on a fielder’s choice, dodging a tag. How do they hear those comments in the booth? Gomez was hit for a second time and the bases were again loaded. Another strikeout ended the inning. 4-0 Rangers. Martin Perez actually had a no-hitter going until a leadoff homer in the fifth by Wilmer Flores. It bounced back on to the field and was ruled live, but replay showed it going out.
In the sixth, Adrian Beltre got hit #3,008 and passed Al Kaline. (I have a Kaline card. It’s one of my favorites.) Again, the Rangers loaded the bases. They got a run on a walk, but that was all, 5-1. In the eighth, Eric talked about a player named “Hansel.” By way of that, he mentioned that “Gretel” was a popular girl’s name in Cuba and Latin America. I’m almost sensing a prank. Perez goes eight innings with a great performance.
During the ninth, Eric talked about the multitude of kids that were at the park. Many were from the Spartan Day Camp. “That sounds horrible,” said Matt Hicks. Eric, who grew up in New York, winsomely described the camp’s daily schedule. 5-1 Rangers win. The Rangers left 15 runners on base and struck out 15 times, but still won. Joey Gallo, with his homer, three walks, and one strikeout (Yes! That’s what we’ve been waiting for: keeping the K’s to a minimum), Three True Outcomes performance was interviewed after the game. Joey was just happy to be hitting behind a Hall of Famer (Beltre) and considers it a career highlight. That’s what we like hear. What a lovely afternoon.
Later, the Chihuahuas played the Grizzlies (no longer the Tacos for the rest of the week). "There we go. We learned something," said Tim Hagerty. Indeed, we did. There's a Miami in Oklahoma. I didn't know that. Apparently, one of the players is from there. Yep. Okay, in the sixth, Tim was running down the night's games for all levels of Padres' affiliates. I think you can guess how interesting the game was, at least compared to yesterday's and Monday’s, from just that. Not every game can be epic.
On the bright side, the Chihuahuas won 5 to 3. This seemed to be mostly because the Grizzlies' pitching broke down. They were warming up a reliever in the first and brought him in by the third. So far, the Chihuahuas' pitching hasn't had exhaustion catch up with them. Dillon Overton gave a good six innings, only giving up two runs. A pair of relievers only gave up a solo home run in the ninth. The most exciting play of the game was by Tony Kemp of the Grizz in the sixth. Nick Buss and Franchy Cordero collided in the outfield on his fly ball. Kemp managed to play that into an inside-the-park home run.
I suppose the big news of the game was Tim saying that Cody Decker had sent him a message. Cody will be with the 51's when they come to El Paso at the end of the week. Everybody's looking forward to seeing him. Cody announced that he'll have a new movie coming out later this week too. Even better.
8-10-17
I was super busy at work tonight, which was a shame because there was plenty of interesting baseball going on. The MLB free game was the Astros versus the White Sox. I came in in the ninth, so I was a little late. I noted a few throwback Astros’ jerseys in the Chicago crowd. The Astros were leading 2-1 until a tying home run sent the game to extras. In the eleventh, Yoan Moncada, the White Sox last remaining good player (they probably actually have a couple more), knocked in the winning run, who’d been put in scoring position by an error in the outfield. 3-2 White Sox and a series sweep by them. On TV, the Dodgers with Yu Darvish on the mound were playing the Diamondbacks, who wearing their throwback uniforms. Yu went five innings and gave up two runs in an 8-6 Dodger win.
Ahead of his return to El Paso on Friday, Cody Decker released a new video, The 4-A Team. Good stuff. I’m not worried about Decker’s career after baseball (especially given the hottie he’s getting married to, Jenn Sterger). The Albuquerque Isotopes ran into the same bad weather in New Orleans that the Chihuahuas did. Their game tonight with the Baby Cakes was cancelled. While Tim Hagerty was there, the locals warned him about crossing flooded streets. Poisonous snakes apparently wash out on to the road during flooding.
As for the Chihuahuas, they were still in Fresno playing the Grizzlies. The Grizz jumped out to a 2-0 lead on two solo home runs in the first. The pups answered back with three runs in the second, but in the bottom Fresno put up two more runs, 4-3. Chihuahua catcher, Rocky Gale, again seemed to be getting some heckling from the crowd. Actually, it seemed like a rough bunch there period.
The score held until the seventh, Chihuahua pitching had flirted with disaster the previous inning, but consummated it in this one. As the PA played, Who Let the Dogs Out, the Grizz scored four runs for an 8-3 lead. Ryan Schimpf, hit a solo home run in the eighth, but the damage was mortal. Meanwhile in that inning, there were calls for “Jumbo,” but we all had to weight . . . err . . . wait until the ninth. And out he came, all 6’4” 315 lbs of Fresno Grizzlies reliever, Jumbo Diaz. Yeah, that’s his listed name too. I can see where this guy might be something of a fan favorite. Not to mention, he closed the ninth out in an efficient manner. 8-4 Grizzlies final. Vacationing manager, Rod Barajas, breathes a sigh of relief that he’ll still have a job when he gets back.
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