Baseball Journal August 4-5, 2018

8-4-18

It’s another game at Wrigley for the MLB Mexican game of the week, featuring the Cubs versus the Padres.  It was a beautiful day in Chicago, bright and sunny.  The wind was blowing out and most of the players were wearing stylish sunglasses, even while batting.  Highlights of Friday night’s game looked excited, so we’re hopeful for a good game today.

Walter Lockett was pitching for the Padres.  He was called up from the Chihuahuas, perhaps on very short notice.  It’s hard to understand the commentary.  I don’t understand the Mexican announcers and I can just barely hear the American ones.  A couple of current Chihuahuas were mentioned during the game, including Francisco Mejia.  Nobody said “Chihuahuas” though.  I was disappointed. 

Behind home plate were a couple of adorable little girls in Cubs hats with eye black on.  I saw a couple Padres fans, though they were wearing the cool 90’s jerseys.  More than perhaps any other stadium, Wrigley Field is great for just watching the crowd.  The WGN broadcasts focused on fans all the time.  Cubs’ games are now on a regional NBC Sports affiliate.  I don’t know if that messes up the Cubs’ victory song or not.

The scoring started in the second with a Kyle Schwarber solo home run.  There was a cut-away shot of the Cubs’ bullpen under the bleachers, where the guys were dancing.  This may be a new tradition.  Then Addison Russell drove in a run.  Then Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer.  Ben Zobrist doubled him in and Jason Heyward drove him in.  5-0 Cubs.  This wasn’t looking like the Padres’ day.

Whoa!  There was a remote with the Cubs’ ballpark reporter.  She is gorgeous!  I need to do some more research on this.  Now, I’m really hating that the Cubs’ daily games aren’t shown nationally anymore.  There were also a couple of shots outside the stadium showing a grassy park.  I have no idea where that is.  It must be new.      

In the fourth, Manuel Margot drove in a run with a ball that disappeared into the ivy.  Hunter Renfroe then sacrificed in a run.  Austin Hedges came up and nearly cleared the stadium with a home run.  The ball was thrown back to the cheers of the crowd, but a fan might have been injured in the scrum for the ball.  5-3 Cubs.

In the fifth, Cory Spangenberg made another great, acrobatic throw to first to end the inning.  He’s been diving and flying around the infield all game.  Eric Hosmer and Renfroe got on in the sixth.  Hedges sac’d in a run to make it 5-4.  It was hard not to notice that the ump was calling high strikes today.  The batters were getting pissed, but he was consistent about it.

The Mexican network coverage showed the Seventh Inning Stretch.  They’re definitely baseball fans there.  In the bottom of the seventh, Jose Castillo came in for the Padres.  He gave up two singles and hit a batter to load the bases with nobody out.  Got to give Castillo credit, he buckled down with an infield fly, a strikeout, and a grounder to third to get out of it.  Phil Maton worked the eighth.  He made a good play to first coming off the mound.  However, the Padres went down 1-2-3 in the ninth to end the game.  5-4 Cubs was the final.  That was a fun game to watch.

During the game, there was a NASCAR Xfinity race going on at Watkins Glen.  On one of my look-ins, it was raining like heck there, but they were still racing.  The cars had wipers going and rain tires on.  They even turned on their headlights.  (I’m just kidding.  I know they’re decals.)  The race had enough delays that I was able to watch the end after the game.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. was more pumped up doing commentary than I’ve ever heard him anywhere else.  He’s really into it.  I plan on watching the Cup race tomorrow.

The Rangers were playing the Orioles in the evening, I think.  The reception wasn’t good.  As soon as the Chihuahuas’ game against the Round Rock Express came on, I switched over to it.  Both games were pretty scoreless to start frankly.  In the fourth was the first serious threat by the Express, but Forrestt Allday threw out a runner at the plate.  In the bottom, an error loaded the bases for the Chihuahuas with nobody out.  Diego Goris walked and a sacrifice from Auston Bousfield drove in two runs, but a great catch in the outfield ended the inning without further damage. 

More great defense, Francisco Mejia threw out a base stealer to end the fifth.  In the bottom, Allen Craig grounded into a double play, but scored a runner from third.  Next, Raffy Lopez doubled and Shane Peterson drove him in to make it 4-0.  Chihuahuas’ starter Jacob Nix worked six scoreless innings in his first appearance with the Ears.  Mejia singled in a run in the bottom, though Luis Urias got caught in a rundown to end the inning.  He made it last for a few throws to the delight of the crowd (and consternation of scorekeepers).

In the seventh at 5-0, the Express finally got going.  They loaded the bases with no outs and scored two, and got a third run on an error.  Peterson jumped into the wall for a catch to end the inning and save another run.  5-3.  Hanser Alberto is the only name I recognize in the Express lineup.  I think all their good players are already up with the Rangers.    

Brad Wieck worked a scoreless eighth with three strikeouts.  Another wick, Rowan Wick, came in in the ninth with one on.  He let on another runner, but closed the game out with a strikeout.  5-3 Chihuahuas was the final.  The pups are on a definite roll.

8-5-18

NBC finally put on a NASCAR race on their over-the-air network, so I started watching it before the Rangers and Orioles game started.  Not only were those two events on this afternoon, but there was another drag race (FOX seems fairly committed to NHRA until football starts) and there was a Gary Anderson Sci-Fi puppet show marathon going on the Comet Network.  (Okay, and Yvette Hernandez was on Pasion Deportiva at the same time too.)  The marathon included the Thunderbirds movies and several other TV shows.  I’m still amazed by the puppets and the props used in those productions, very detailed and stylish.

The Cup race was at a sold out Watkins Glen.  There weren’t any weather issues like yesterday’s Xfinity series race.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. was up in a tower, calling the race at the Bus Stop chicane.  Before the race, he was talking about how he used hear all the people partying in the infield on the Saturday night before the race.  Junior vowed that when he stopped racing he was going to join those folks having a good time at the race.  Today, driving over to his perch, he counted over 400 coolers in the infield and here he was stuck in a tower.  Dale hasn’t quite achieved his goal yet.

Just to briefly recap the race, it was pretty hard-fought in the opening laps.  After some attrition of contenders, it was Chase Elliot and Martin Truex Jr. fighting for the win at the end.  Truex ran out of gas on the last lap, but was close enough to coast over the finish line.  Elliot got his maiden win in this 99-th start.  He also ended a Hendricks’ extended winless drought that gave the team their 250-th win.  Jimmie Johnson came around to push Elliot’s stalled car back to the finish line.  Bill Elliot was his son’s spotter and congratulated him in Victory Lane.  It was a great race.  My dad mentioned that the France family may be trying to sell the series.  Hmm.  One wonders how somebody else run the show.

Meanwhile in Arlington (and here in Las Cruces), it was hot as heck.  When the new stadium opens there, fans are going to be so happy, regardless of the product on the field.  The jetstream was also blowing out.  Mark Trumbo on the O’s took advantage of that with a first inning home run.  The Rangers came right back in the first.  Joey Gallo, hitting .194 with 30 home runs, walked to load the bases.  Robinson Chirinos came up and drove in two as Jurickson Profar just got in under a tag at the plate to make it 2-1 Rangers.

In the second, the Orioles got three runs on one hit to make it 4-2.  In the bottom, Shin-Soo Choo sacrificed in a run and an Elvis Andrus’ fielder’s choice tied the score.  Gallo then singled in the go-ahead run with a broken bat.  (He still has more home runs than singles.)  However, the bases were left loaded to end the inning.  That lead didn’t last long as Trumbo hit a two-run home run to make it 6-5 O’s.

In the sixth, the Orioles got another home run to make it 7-5, but the scoring had cooled off a bit.  With the nearly historic losing record by Baltimore this year, the guys started discussing all-time losing teams.  The Cleveland Spiders (they may as well change the name back to that after they retire the Chief) were so bad that the owner cancelled their last month of home games.  They were making more money just playing road games.  They even recruited a hotel bellhop to pitch for them. 

Then the radio station went out for about 20 minutes.  Their signal had kept fading in and out during the game like they were powering down for the night.  I left the radio on, hoping it would come back.  When it did, I was just in time to hear Trumbo hitting his third home run to make it 9-5.  The Rangers managed to get a run without a hit in the eighth, but that was all.  9-6 Orioles final.  Maybe I should have just watched the race.  

  

Later in the evening and about 100 degrees later, the Chihuahuas played Round Rock Express.  A 13-year old Chihuahuas’ fan came on to start the game and read the lineup.  The kid apparently does his own pregame show before games and caught the attention of the team and they invited him to come on the radio. 

Kyle Lloyd, in his first game back from injury, started for the Chihuahuas and went three scoreless innings.  In the third, Forrestt Allday was picked off first, but Francisco Mejia doubled, and then Raffy Lopez singled him in for a 1-0 Chihuahuas’ lead.  In the fourth, a new pitcher from High A-Ball, Emmanuel Rodriguez, entered the game. 

Also entering the booth was a Chico’s Kid’s Club member.  He was 5-years old and wearing his ballpark food, which he enjoyed.  The kid unintentionally quoted from Bull Durham, “Sometimes you win.  Sometimes you lose.  Sometimes it rains.”  The Express got two on, but the kid called the final out.  Tim was loving it.  He loves having enthusiastic, chatty kids on.    

In the fifth, the ump redrew the back line of the batter’s box and made an Express batter stand in front of it.  He did it again in the eighth.  In the sixth, the Express set up with a four-man outfield as a shift.  In the seventh, the Express tied the score on a couple of hits.  Rodriguez came out after four innings and only one run given up.  In the eighth, Kazuhisa Makita came in and worked a scoreless inning.  Tim was amazed by a kid in the upper deck catching a ball.  He hoped the TV crew caught it on video.  In the bottom, a ball hit a bad spot on the infield and Mejia got on, but was stranded.

In the ninth, Javy Guerra committed an error which put two runners on, but the Express did not score.  In the bottom, the Chihuahuas got two on with two out.  Dusty Coleman came up and hit a monster fly ball.  Tim went crazy as ball seemed to hang up in air forever.  Eventually, the outfielder gave up on it, as the ball flew over the fence and maybe out of the park.  The 9,000+ crowd erupted.  That was a three-run walk off homer that gave the Chihuahuas a 4-1 win.  That’s five home wins in a row from the team that couldn’t win in El Paso earlier in the season.