Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Baseball Journal July 4-6, 2018

7-4-18

Happy Independence Day!  There were three games on the radio today that I might have been able to listen to.  (My affiliate wasn’t carrying an ESPN Radio day game, if there was one.)  Unfortunately, all the games basically started at the same time in the evening.  Also, I would have only been able to hear the Rangers’ and Rockies’ games after dark and probably would have only gotten to hear an inning or two, if at all, so I didn’t really try.  (I heard the Astros beat the Rangers in a tight extra innings game.)  However, the one game I heard more than made up for missing any of the other games today.

The Chihuahuas were in Salt Lake City tonight to play the Bees.  They’re tied for first in their division.  I came into game in the second with the Bees up 2-0.  I went to see Deadpool 2 in the afternoon and then went for dinner afterward, so I came in late.  (And with some degree of indigestion.  I used my last Aggie What-a-burger ticket coupon and the meal was good.  But for dessert at Caliches, I inadvertently ordered a huge brownie, hot fudge, frozen custard concoction that was great, but gut-busting.  I didn’t entirely get over it until noon the next day.)

Picking up the action in the fifth, Forrestt Allday homered for the Chihuahuas to make it 3-2 Bees.  The pups then loaded the bases and tied the score on a sacrifice.  Allen Craig then doubled in a pair of runs to give the Chihuahuas a 5-3 lead.  The Bees used three pitchers in the inning.  In the sixth, Walter Lockett was chased from the game after letting two Bees on with no outs.  They tied it and then Ben Revere hit a three-run homer to give them an 8-5 lead.  (Salt Lake news apparently loved reporting that Revere homered on Independence Day.)

In the seventh, Franmil Reyes drove in two to make it 8-7.  In the bottom, it got a bit contentious as a Bees batter took offense to a close pitch.  The batter and catcher, Brett Nicholas, exchanged words before the ump intervened.  Allday made a great catch to end the inning.  He came up in the eighth and doubled.  He scored on a hit by Auston Bousfield, where the ball went in and out of the fielder’s diving glove.  (Which was ruled an error at the time, but properly re-scored as a hit.)  The inning ended on a deep fly ball that the fielder collided with the wall catching, 8-8.

I could hear the city fireworks going on outside, but I wasn’t missing a tie game in the ninth.  (I ducked outside for a couple of minutes between innings.  I could just see it from the parking lot, but was obscured by a big tree across the street.)  There were fireworks in the Salt Lake too.  The city display was going off nearby and might have been distracting the players.  No one scored the ninth.  Brad Wieck struck out the side for the Chihuahuas.  In the tenth (with the free runner at second), Allday got an RBI on a fielder’s choice.  Javy Guerra just made it home on a play at the plate, 9-8 Chihuahuas.

In the bottom, a leadoff double by Taylor Ward (who went 4 for 4 in the game) immediately scored the tying run.  The Bees then loaded the bases with no outs.  Wieck wiggled out of it without giving up another run.  Even after listening, I’m still not sure how he did it.  In the eleventh, Luis Urias drove in the free runner with a triple (he went 4 for 5 in the game).  Raffy Lopez drove him in on a fielder’s choice, and that was the ballgame.  Chihuahuas win 11-9.          

The 14,500 attendance in attendance actually cheered the end of the game.  It had gone four and a half hours and they wanted their fireworks.  Team officials were actually getting a little nervous as Salt Lake has a curfew for setting off fireworks.  Tim Hagerty, calling the game, had a great time.  The game highlights went for five minutes, which he thought might have been a record.  He also thought this might have been the largest crowd the Chihuahuas had ever played in front of.

I had a good day, but I didn’t have a Dodger Dog.  Mike and his girlfriend went to the Los Angeles for the Fourth (like last year) to see a game and the fireworks.  I told him to send me a picture of a hot dog, but never received one.  I assume they went, but I’ll find out for sure later.  The Dodgers beat the Pirates 6-4 in a close game.  For my part, I stayed up late trying to find a station to get the score.  I missed the TV news and had a terrible time getting a result on the radio.  They were mostly talking about the hot dog eating contest at Coney Island.


7-5-18

Back to work.  The Chihuahuas were set to square off against the Bees for their second game in a five-game series.  In the first, Tim Hagerty quickly had to adjust the crowd microphone.  It was too close to some chatty fans.  He recalled an extra innings game in Colorado Springs where some rowdy fans sat next to mic and he had to apologize to the FCC and politely ask the fans to tone it down.  He doubted this would be a problem in Salt Lake, but didn’t want to be eavesdropping anyway.  Actually, the huge crowd from last night was amazingly quiet for its size and the excitement of the game itself.  Props to the Bees for their cool walkup music, by the way.          

I started listening to the Chihuahuas, but my attention got held by another game.  I’d forgotten to check the MLB.TV free game, but quickly brought it up as soon as I saw the headline on the website about it.  The Marlins had a 9-0 lead in the fourth over the Nationals.  In the sixth, Trea Turner had just hit a grand slam which gave the Nats an 11-9 lead.  The Marlins might have some pitching issues.  I joined the game in the seventh as Trea was up again with the bases loaded.  The Washington crowd was on their feet, cheering for him.  He doubled in two runs. 

It wasn’t over yet.  In the eighth, Brian Anderson hit a three-run homer for the Marlins to make it 14-12.  In the bottom, Bryce Harper dodged a tag on a double play ball.  The Marlins got the out at first and threw to second.  Harper ran back in a rundown and almost made it.  It was an impressive effort. 

In the ninth, the Marlins rallied again.  Starlin Castro almost decapitated Nats’ closer Sean Doolittle on a comebacker, which would have made my night since I don’t like him.  Doolittle managed to put out the fire anyway and the Nats won 14-12.  The team was fired up as Turner finished the comeback.  Their coaches looked pretty nervous there in the ninth.  The disappointing Nationals had had a team meeting yesterday after being swept by the Red Sox.  This was certainly a good win for the team, kind of, against a really bad team.    

In the meantime, there wasn’t much to report from Salt Lake.  The Bees and Chihuahuas were knotted at 0-0.  The Chihuahuas had left the bases loaded in the sixth.  In the seventh, Javy Guerra tripled in a runner that had got on via an error.  Luis Urias scored him on a fielder’s choice.  Franmil Reyes then singled and got an RBI.  The pups went up 3-0 with all the runs unearned.  On the mound, Brett Kennedy finished seven strong innings.

The ninth became eventful.  Ben Revere tripled in two runs for the Bees after a misplay in the outfield.  Phil Maton was pulled with two on and one out.  Brad Wieck came in.  Diego Goris threw out Revere at the plate on a squeeze play, and a popup ended the game.  Chihuahuas won 3-2.  Clutch.


7-6-18
     
I only saw the ninth in the MLB.TV free game between the Mets and Rays.  It was tied at one.  Jacob DeGrom had pitched well for the Mets, but wasn’t in line for a decision.  Everyone’s wondering when him and Noah Syndergaard are going to be dealt.  The Rays loaded the bases in the top of the ninth the hard way, as Daniel Robertson was hit square in the nuts in his at bat.  There was a poor throw to the plate on a grounder and the runner almost made home, but the Rays didn’t score.  Jose Bautista ended the game in the bottom on a walkoff grand slam for a 5-1 win.  The Rays had intentionally walked the preceding batter to face him, and Bautista sent the first pitch into the second deck. 

It’s Game 3 of a five-game series between the Chihuahuas and the Bees in Salt Lake City.  The Chihuahuas are wearing their third different uniform in three days.  Allen Craig got the pups going in the first with a fielder’s choice RBI, 1-0.  The Bees took the lead in the second, 2-1.  There was a play at the plate where the runner was out by a mile, but avoided the tag in a rundown long enough to get Ben Revere to third, where he scored on a sacrifice fly.


The Chihuahuas loaded the bases on three walks, but left them there on an inning-ending strikeout.  Brett Nicholas made a great play at home to tag a runner to end the bottom of the inning.  It was 3-1 Bees in the seventh, but a throwing error on a rundown which allowed two runs to score and tie it.  The bases were loaded on a couple more walks.  Then Craig hit a grand slam to put the Chihuahuas up 7-3, which was the final.  Even the Salt Lake crowd applauded Craig’s homer.  The Bees were a great team at the beginning of the season, but Major League injuries have hurt their roster.  As they say, “It’s not who you play, it’s when you play them.”

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