Baseball Journal July 2025 Part 11

7-28-25

Tonight’s MLB.TV Free Game between the Rockies and the Indians started two-and-a-half hours late because of a rain delay.    Before the game started, they went to MLB multi-game coverage.    (I forgot what it is officially called.)    They were showing four games all at once.    Interesting, but not the best way to watch a game.       I was intrigued by the game in Cincinnati.    There was this scary-looking red sky there.    There wasn’t audio to find out what was going on.

The scoring started in the third.    Tyler Freeman, traded from the Indians to the Rox recently, sac’d in a run on a line drive.    Nolan Jones, who Freeman was traded for, made a great play on the drive.    1-0 Rox.     

The game was in Cleveland and it was late.    There were intermittent drunks heckling.    There were a couple of loud little kids cheering for the entire game.    It was obnoxious, frankly.    The Rockies announcers were talking about Ryan McMahon, who was traded a couple of days ago.    He was doing well with the Yankees.

There was some more great defense in the game, but in the fifth, Steven Kwan made a good play to catch ball off wall, but made a bad throw afterward that let in a Rockies’ run, 2-0.    That was a hard error.    The ball pretty much caught him off the wall and Kwan made a good attempt at getting it back into the infield.    In the bottom, with two Indians on, Kyle Farmer made a great over the shoulder basket catch to kill the rally.

In the sixth, Warming Bernabel hit a solo home run to make it, 3-0 Rox.    (I checked that name a couple of times, but it’s correct.)    Pitching-wise, Bradley Blalock worked six scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts.    That was a great start.    The hardcore crowd there and the kids started getting louder and more unruly sounding.      

Unfortunately, Rockies’ relief pitching was not so efficient.    In the seventh, Bo Naylor pinch hit a three-run homer with no outs yet in the inning.    The next Rockies’ reliever let two more runs.    After an 11-batter inning, it was 5-3 Indians.    In the eighth, All-Star Hunter Goodman solo homered to get the Rockies back within one, 5-4.

The Indians’ star closer, Emmanuel Clase, was not at the game.    He was on suspension for gambling allegations.    Wasn’t there another gambling suspension recently with another player?    (Yes, and he was on the Indians, too.) Whatever gambling scandal is going on in the MLB has been fairly low-key to this point.    However, Clase’s absence would have a major effect on tonight’s game.   

          

In the top of the ninth, Bernabel led off with a double.    The ball went into the chain link fence in front of the scoreboard and stuck.    Brenton Doyle made sac bunt that the pitcher muffed the throw on and the tying run scored.    Farmer was then hit on shoulder and went down in a frightening fashion, but he stayed in.    Orlando Arcia tried to bunt the runners over, but got hit on the fingers.    He let out a loud shot.    Arcia not only stayed in (and stayed in to play defense), but managed to move both runners over on a grounder.

Freeman singled in a run and forced the Indians to change pitchers.    Mickey Moniak sac’d in another run.    Goodman doubled off the wall for another run.    Surprisingly, it was now 8-5 Rockies.    Before the end of the inning, the Rockies’ coverage found the Rockies’ PA in the crowd.    Wow, this guy is a true fan!    He takes his family on vacation to see the Rockies.   

We’re not done yet.    Seth Halvorsen came in to close.    Some people in the crowd started annoyingly doing a countdown on the pitch timer.    Halvorsen had trouble finding the strike zone and walked the first batter, but he was erased on a double play.       Two of the guys in the booth started doing quotes from Major League, since they were in Cleveland.    The play-by-play guy said, “It’s past you guys’ bedtime.”    It was after midnight there.    Another batter walked and Nolan Jones drove him in, but Halvorsen finally got a strikeout to end the game.    Rockies win, 8-6.    What a game!    That was worth waiting for.

7-29-25

I’m not sure what the occasion is, but the MLB.TV is having all free baseball for the next couple of days.    Let’s overindulge!    Sure I was actually very busy with work, but you have to make time for what’s really important.    These games overlapped and I had multiple games going, but I’ll cover them individually.    I’ll just hit the highlights or the weirdness that I saw.   

     

I started off a continuation of the Rockies at the Indians series from yesterday.    In the top of the second, it was 2-0 Indians.    One of their infielders intentionally dropped a ball in short outfield to throw out the runner at second in order to get the faster runner off the bases.    The infield fly rule didn’t apply, I guess.    It was a good decision, as the runner let on, Warming Bernabel, was picked off trying to take third later.    In the bottom of the second, Ezekiel Tovar made a basket catch by the stands to end the inning.    For some reason, he glared at the fans there.    By the third, it was 7-0 Indians and I tapped out for another game.    10-4 Indians was the final. I guess the Indians recovered quicker from last night’s late game than the Rockies did.

I switched to the Rays at the Yankees.    It was 2-0 Rays in the second and they added another run.    In the third, Cody Bellinger’s three-run homer tied it at 3.    The Yanks added on 3 more later.    In that inning, Jazz Chisholm struck out with the bases loaded, so they could have added more.    I switched games again. The Yankees won, 7-5.    The Rays did make a comeback attempt.

The Cubs were at the Brewers and it was 2-1 Brewers in the fourth.    I’m not sure I actually meant to click on the game, but I’ll take it. In the fourth, Aggie great, Joey Ortiz, hit a grounder off of the Cubs’ pitcher’s rear.    Joey was out, but did advance the runner to second. Judging from some the cheering I head, there might have been more Cubs fans there in Milwaukee than Brewer fans. 9-3 Brewers was the final regardless.

The Blue Jays at the Orioles game I kept coming back to and it turned out to be the best of the night.    It was 1-0 Jays in the second. The O’s loaded bases with two outs, but a strikeout ended the inning. In the booth, the broadcasters showed off a couple of hot dogs in baked rolls.    “Too pretty to eat,” said one of the guys. The broadcasters were later discussing trades for the team at the deadline to tell you how well the team is doing.

In the fourth, the O’s tied it, 2-2.    In the sixth, Colby Mayo made a great play at first by catching a liner and doubling off the Jays’ runner for a double play. In the seventh, Oriole catcher, Adley Rutschman, made a great throw from behind the plate on a steal of second, but Gunnar Henderson dropped the ball. (I didn’t recognize Gunnar.    He’s gone clean shaven.) No problem.    Jackson Holiday made a nice pick at second and fed Gunnar to start a DP to end the inning.   

Still tied in the eighth, Holiday did about the same play again to end that inning.    In the bottom of the eighth, Gunnar doubled off the right field wall.    Adley then hit another one to wall.    The fielder there dropped it and then couldn’t find it at his feet.    Gunnar scored and it was 3-2 O’s.

For the ninth, Corbin Martin came in to close, though he had trouble getting the gate open to the field.    Who?    Where’s Felix Bautista? He’s injured. Seranthony Dominguez was traded from the bullpen between games.    I didn’t realize that this was Game 2 of a double header (O’s won the first, 16-4), so the bullpen was already thin.    This Martin guy was up from the Minors.   

Martin hit his first batter and then issued a walk.    After a successful bunt, Martin got a called third strike on the next batter. The crowd was into it.    (I was into it.) Adley then gloved a wild pitch way outside.    One of the commentators said, “Adley just saved the game.” That seemed premature, but Bo Bichette would strikeout on a pitch up at his eyes and end the game. 3-2 O’s final.    This was Martin’s first Major League save.    This season he’d been DFA’d, wasn’t picked up as a free agent, and then brought back to the Orioles’ organization. Martin credited the mound visit after the walk and talking to Adley to settling him down.

The Diamondbacks at the Tigers was audio-only, so I found myself listening to this game while watching others.    It was 2-0 AZ and the Detroit starter was chased from game in the second.    Tiger pitching locked it down after that.    In the fourth, Tiger outfielder, Matt Vierling, caught a flyball, hit the wall, the ball popped out, he tipped it, and then re-caught it for the play of the night.    The Tigers tied it on a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth.    In the fifth, the Tiger pitcher threw out a runner at third.    The color guy remarked, “The runner thought he was invisible and nobody would notice.”

In the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers lit it up. Gleyber Torres homered, Riley Greene hit a two-run homer, and Zach McKinstry hit a two-run homer. (An AZ fan got that last one.    He was still excited.) The Dbacks changed pitchers.    The play-by-play guy was reading out-of-town scores this inning thought there might be a correlation with the Tigers scoring. The color guy said, “Keep reading!    Are there some Arizona Fall League scores?” The Tigers did keep scoring and won, 12-2.    This was a blowout, but I stuck with it till the end, because I was enjoying it, especially after the Tigers’ losing slide this month.

I tuned into the Dodgers at the Reds in the seventh because the Reds were winning, 4-3.    Immediately, the Dodgers tied it. Will Smith doubled in a run in the ninth for a 5-4 Dodgers’ win.    Well, that was a waste of time.   

It was “Oppressively hot” in St. Louis, as I heard from the broadcasters there for the Marlins and Cardinals’ game. The home plate ump had severe cramps early in game, but stayed in.    In the fifth, it was 3-0 Marlins.    Sandy Alcantra was pitching for the fish. The bases were loaded with two outs and he got the strikeout to end it. I was surprised he was pitching this close to the trade deadline.    Are they not trading him or were they putting him on display to get better bids?    5-0 Marlins was the final.

The Mets were at the Padres. In the fifth, the Mets loaded the bases with one out.    On a sac fly to the outfield, Fernando Tatis Jr. jumped in front of Jackson Merrill, the centerfielder, to make the catch and throw the ball home, but he didn’t get the runner. It was tied at 1-1.    In the sixth, Merrill tripled in Luis Arraez to make it, 2-1 Padres.    I stopped keeping track of the game after that and the Padres won, 7-1.    I saw Jake Cronenworth at short make a great leaping play and throw for the first out of the ninth.    It was a sellout crowd in San Diego again.

I joined the Pirates at the Giants late.    It 1-1 at the eighth.    I missed Aggie great, Nick Gonzales, getting a single.    The bases were loaded after that.    There was an odd play with a grounder that was fielded, but there was no play at second.    The second baseman threw to first, but the pitcher covering was looking at second for the throw.    The throw ended up hitting the runner.    Nick was driven in on a hit by Joey Bart, the former Giants catcher.    Another runner scored on a fielder’s choice and the Pirates won, 3-1.

I finally tuned into the Mariners at the A’s.    It was 6-1 A’s in the ninth, which would be the final score.    The game was kind of over, but I wanted to see more of “Big Amish” Nick Kurtz.    I didn’t know this guy was also an awesome fielder at first.    He made a great play going vertical for the second out.    He ended the game on a pick on a hard liner.    It’s way early, but this kid may be special.

The Rangers at the Angels was the last game to finish.    The Angels got 2 in the second.    The second run came in via an error on the ball coming into the infield.    In the fourth, Kyle Higashioka took Yusei Kikuchi deep to make it, 2-1.    In the bottom of the fourth, Adolis Garcia got in front of another fielder to make a catch and dropped the ball.    An Angel run scored to make it, 3-1. It wasn’t an error, because Adolis did get a force out on the bases on the play.   

In the top of the fifth, Adolis drove in a run to make it, 3-2.    Wyatt Langford, with two on and one out, was picked off second. Kikuchi had already stepped off twice, so Wyatt thought he could get away with it.    In the bottom of the fifth, Adolis went over the wall to bring back a home run ball with a runner on.    He waited a moment before showing the ball just to add to the drama.

I missed the Rangers getting the lead in the sixth, 4-3, on a play with an error.    Jon Gray came in in relief.    He’s grown out his hair like he’s in the Allman Brothers band.      He gave up 4 runs after getting 2 outs. There were some bad plays in the outfield, including a slip on the lousy-looking turf in Anaheim.    In the bottom eighth, Mike Trout was hit on the hand by a pitch.    The opposing managers almost went at it, as the teams joined in.    The scuffle was averted.    The Angels would win it, 8-5.    There was enough strangeness in this game that the Rangers’ broadcasters kept commenting on it.    I probably missed a lot of it.

I forgot all about the Chihuahuas.    Sorry, guys.    They lost 4-3 to Round Rock.    I did peek in on a couple other games, but they weren’t worth writing about.    This was fun.    We’ll see about getting more tomorrow.   

Baseball Journal July 2025 Part 10

7-25-25

Another shoe drops.    Ryan McMahon goes to the Yankees for prospects from the Rockies.    That’s par for the course for Colorado.

I was listening to the Chihuahuas’ game against the Space Cowboys tonight, but not really into it.    An MLB.TV extra innings Free Game came up with the Diamondbacks and the Pirates tied at zero in the tenth.    I flipped to it, though it was audio-only.   

Corbin Carroll would score for the DBacks in the eleventh after being sac’d over twice.    I got to hear Aggie great, Nick Gonzales, bat for the Pirates in the bottom, but it was an out.    AZ wins, 1-0. Don’t feel bad, Nick.    The rest of the team did no better, as they only mustered one hit for ten innings.    I heard during the game that the Tigers lost again.    This is getting worrying.    They were playing the Blue Jays, who are leading the AL East.

I was also busy at work, but finally tuned back to the Chihuahuas.    They were down 4-0 after two innings, which was probably why I lost interest, but came back to tie it in the next two innings.    Nobody scored for the next five innings.   

It was still tied in the bottom of the ninth.    Clay Dungan walked and stole second.    He wasn’t able to advance on a ground out, but attempted to steal third and was thrown out.    The large crowd was really into it, as the game went to extras.    Eduarniel Nunez worked around a leadoff walk in the tenth with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout.    In the bottom, Forrest Wall drove in the automatic runner for a 5-4 Chihuahuas win.    The crowd there went nuts.

7-26-25

This was pretty much a wasted day.    I was going to visit dad and watch the NASCAR Xfinity race.    Instead, the station was off the air all day.    Instead, I tried to get an old computer working to play an old game on it, but couldn’t get it to work.    At one point, it crashed so hard, the computer turned itself off and wouldn’t come back on until I’d unplugged it and plugged it back in.   

What did work today was my trip to Raising Canes for lunch.    I’d wanted some for the last two weeks.    I’d had recent discussions with two different people who didn’t like Cane’s.    I question their taste.    This just made me want to go.    What also worked today was the baseball.

The Braves were visiting the Rangers in the evening.    Ranger starter, Kumar Rocker, worked into trouble and loaded the bases in the first.    He got two outs, but gave up a single.    A run scored, but the trail runner was thrown out at the plate on appeal.    They scored again in the second to make it, 2-0 Braves.   

The Rangers struck back in the bottom of the second.    Adolis Garcia was driven in by Evan Carter on a triple . . . err, double . . . err, triple.    (The scoring changed a couple of times on the play causing the broadcasters some consternation.)    Josh Jung, back in the lineup, tied it at 2 on a single.    With Corey Seager on, Marcus Siemen was hit on the head by a pitch.    He stayed in.    (This would prove fortunate later.)    The Braves’ pitcher was still erratic and a wild pitch moved them up, where Adolis cashed them in to make it, 4-2 Rangers.

In the fourth, the Braves scored to make it, 4-3.    In the bottom, the Rangers loaded the bases with two outs.    Siemen got some revenge for being hit, when he hit the pitcher on a comebacker.    Unfortunately, the ball deflected to a fielder for an out.    Marcus slammed his helmet down in frustration.    Also frustrating, was an out-of-town scoring update.    The Tigers lost again to the Blue Jays.    Their record is 1-10 lately.    I think the Blue Jays may have the best record in baseball, taking over for the Brewers in that category.

The Braves loaded the bases in the fifth with one out.    Jung triggered a double play at third to end the inning.    The Braves weren’t done.    Michael Harris homered to tie it at 4 in the sixth.    He was 3 for 3, only needing a single for the cycle. Jon Gray was also back with the Rangers.    He gave up that homer, but struck out the side in the eighth.   

Harris tripled for start the ninth.    That was his fourth extra base hit.    (Forget the single.)    Wyatt Langford dove for the ball in center and it got past him.    The broadcasters were not down on him for going for it, as he’d been making those plays all season.    Harris was sac’d in to give the Braves a 5-4 lead.   

In the bottom of the ninth, Jung worked a walk.    I hope Ranger fans are happy to have him back after this game.    Sam Hagerty came in as a pinch runner and stole second.    Jonah Heim doubled him in.    That was the sixteenth blown save this season for the Braves.    A DP line out ended the inning, but it was now tied at 5.    In the bottom of the tenth, Marcus got his final revenge by driving in the winning run.    6-5 Rangers.    I was a winner, too.    The station stayed on until the game was over.    They usually power down as the sun goes down.

One game at a time today.    I then turned over to check out the Chihuahuas’ game with the Space Cowboys in progress.    It was 2-1 pups in the sixth.    In the bottom of the seventh, they got some insurance with Forrest Wall hitting a two-run double.    There was a play at the plate on the trail runner, but the ball got away from the catcher.    The Chihuahuas added another to make it, 5-1.    The Space Cowboys had a bases loaded threat in the eighth, but the Chihuahuas got out of it and preserved the 5-1 win.

7-27-25

Happy Birthday!    It isn’t my birthday until later in the week, but dad wanted to do it today.    His neighbor, Lamae bought a huge lunch for us this afternoon from Bubba’s.    It was good pizza and garlic knots and she also bought dessert.    I couldn’t even eat more than a couple of bites of a small brownie cake.   

Dad gave me a gift: a new iPad.    This was probably the most expensive gift he’s ever given me.    I’d also told him not to buy it for me a couple of weeks ago when he asked.    It might go back.    It might stay at dad’s apartment.    We’ll see.    (I wish he’d just gotten me a couple of baseball display cubes like I’d asked for.)    Yesterday, I mentioned my old computer wasn’t working.    Later in the evening, my cell phone crashed and no longer works.    A new iPad isn’t my chief technology concern right now.   

We were also all together to watch the Savannah Banana’s game this afternoon on the CW.    I think they were both pretty skeptical about this spectacle.    It was a full house there in the Philadelphia.    Ominous large clouds were in the background, however.    There was a half-hour pregame and the rules for Banana Ball were presented.    Mostly, they’re to speed up the game or make it more exciting.    From watching, there were two play reviews, and though they were limited to only a minute each, they did stop the game cold.    They might want to get rid of them or have entertainment ready for them.

I’m obviously not doing play-by-play on this.    I’ll just offer a few observations.    Many of the guys were wearing their shirts open.    In fact, one pitcher took his shirt off for one inning.    One of the guys made an entrance and came down from the crowd.    A woman appeared to hand him a note, which I wouldn’t doubt contained a phone number.    In other words, Banana Ball seems to have a pretty good appeal to women.    Many of the guys can dance.    That gets a woman’s attention, too.    Actually, one of the best dancers on the field was the ump.    He worked it in between pitches.

Several players did trick plays in the field, mostly successfully and sometimes not.    There were stats on them at the end of the game.    They said they’re working on a way of working them into the actual scoring.    The best stunt for this game was entirely unintentional.    One of the players made his entrance from the outfield.    The cameraman that was walking backward covering the player, tripped on the mound, and him and his camera went tumbling.    The broadcasters laughed their heads off and promised to never let the guy forget this.

The rain came in the fourth.    One of the emcees announced the rules for rain delays, one of which was, “No complaining; complaining sucks.”    The quick delay ended with a princess singing a rain delay song to restart the game.    The Bananas were out in front, but their opponent, the Texas Tailgaters, scored out of the break.    One of them broke out a fiddle and performed at home plate with the team.   

In the sixth, the broadcasters spoke to a pitcher, while he was working on the mound.    The famous Stilts Man came to bat.    Dad and Lamae found this guy amazing.    In the eighth, with less than an hour left on the clock, there was a second rain delay.    At this point, the game was official and was called, 4-2 Bananas.    Philly Fans finally showed up and booed this result, but otherwise they probably got what they came for.             

This turned out to be my only game of the day.    I’d brought my portable radio, but thought the better of trying to listen to it at Lamae’s apartment with the game on TV.    The Rangers won that one, 8-1, over the Braves.    Another encouraging score I got was the Tigers winning, 10-4, over the Blue Jays.             

The most interesting baseball news happened yesterday and I was unaware of it though I did hear about it.    Ranger broadcasters, Matt Hicks and Eric Nadel, had a discussion about whether there were more 4-home run games or more 6-run games by a single player in a game.    (6-run games are more rare.)    I’d missed why they were talking about this.    A’s rookie, Nick “Big Amish” Kurtz, went 6 for 6 with 4 home runs and he scored 6 runs in the A’s 15-3 win over the Astros.    Fudge!    (Only I didn’t say, “Fudge!”)    This may have been the best offensive performance ever in a baseball game.    Looking in my season preview magazine, Kurtz was #2 of the A’s Top 10 prospects.

There was a short storm after we left Lamae’s apartment.    Apparently, it was more intense and longer in El Paso.    Tim Hagerty came on the radio to announce the lineups for tonight’s Chihuahuas’ game.    He came back from the break and said they were putting the game in delay and the players were taken off the field.    50 minutes later, Tim came back on and said they’d called the game.    The Chihuahuas win the series with the Space Cowboys, 4-1.   

I tried to watch a Mexican League game on TV.    The Chihuahua Dorados team was playing.    They have the rear end advertising for Carl’s Jr. on their uniforms.    I was checking in and out of the game and suddenly halfway through, the programming went to a Sunday church service.    I don’t know what happened there.    Maybe another rain delay?    Apparently so, since the game came back on a couple of hours later.    Amazingly, the large crowd was still there and the game was going to run well past midnight.    These guys are more hardcore than I am, as I went to bed. 

Baseball Journal July 2025 Part 9

7-20-25

I talked to dad to see if he was interested in seeing the Free Game between the Brewers and the Dodgers this afternoon, but he wasn’t.    I wasn’t either.    (This was too bad, because the Brewers won, 6-5, and completed a sweep of the Dodgers.)    I said there were two games on the radio this afternoon and amazingly not on at the same time, so I could listen to both.   

I enjoyed a great lunch at McAlister’s.    I did miss Free Tea Day last week.    I’m still upset about that.    I came home just in time to start listening to the Rangers and Tigers’ game and got nothing but static.    They were off the air.    A half hour later, they were on, but just doing network programming and not the game.    Shoot.   

I was later reminded that the game had actually been rescheduled to the ESPN Sunday Night game.    The game wasn’t carried anyway on either local affiliate (ESPN Radio or the Rangers’).    I missed a 2-1 Tigers victory with Tarik Skubal going 6 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts.    The game was decided late, too.    Like Free Tea Day, I’m a bit upset about this this.

I did get one game.    The Chihuahuas played the Rainiers in the mid-afternoon, as part of their short three-game series.    The Rainiers were using their alternate identity with a fish logo, whose name I didn’t catch.    Probably just as well.    Broadcaster Tim Hagerty had his mic left on during a break and was speaking to someone else about having a better connection today.    It definitely was.

Early in the game, Chihuahuas’ starter, Jackson Wolf, was dealing with 5 strikeouts over his first 7 outs.    Yonthan Perlaza started the scoring with a homer in the third to make it, 1-0 pups.    Tim chatted about the big green batter’s eye in center there in Tacoma.    Only three home runs had been hit it over it in Triple-A games.    Shin Soo-Choo was one.    Julio Rodriguez reportedly hit one in practice.

Also in the third, a batted ball hit the Tacoma pitcher on his throwing arm.    The crowd immediately went “Oooh!” before the game call explained what happened.    He was taken out of game and applauded by crowd.    In the fifth, an attempted Rainier double play throw went into the dugout.    A Chihuahuas player was awarded home on the overthrow and another run came in on a sac fly.    3-0 Chihuahuas.

In the bottom of the fifth, Wolf issued a walk, who later scored to make it, 3-1.    In the sixth, Wolf came out.    He left with 9 strikeouts.    In the seventh, Brandon Lockridge belted a two-run homer to add to the pup’s lead, 5-1.    In the bottom, the Rainiers loaded the bases with two outs.    The crowd was into it.    Ron Marinaccio came in and gave up a single, which brought in two to make it, 5-3.   

In the eighth, the home plate umpire’s call was upheld on a challenge.    That was six ump calls upheld in a row going back to yesterday.    As Tim said, “The umps are on fire.”    In the bottom of the eighth with two outs, a catcher’s interference call (which knocked the catcher’s mitt off) and a hit by pitch put two Rainiers runners on, but they were left stranded.    There was also a seventh challenge where the ump was correct.    Nice job, umps.    In the bottom of the ninth, Eduarniel Nunez came in to close it out.    He’s had 9+ innings of work and only allowed two hits.    Chihuahuas win, 5-3.    And, that’s it for the weekend.

   

7-22-25

No baseball yesterday for me.    Tonight, I made the mistake of trying to listen the Chihuahuas versus the Space Cowboys and the MLB.TV Free Game between the Diamondbacks and the Astros, which was audio-only, at the same time.    On the Chihuahuas’ broadcasts, there’s actually quite a bit of dead air and there’s commercials on both.    That was my rationalization.    Yeah, as you’d expect, though I could hear both games, I could only really pay attention to one and not very well at that.    Both games were close, so I could have picked either and gotten a good game.

   

We had heavy rain here in the Las Cruces.    It rained in El Paso, too.    It didn’t rain as much at the ballpark there, but it did delay the start of the Chihuahuas game and it rained a bit during the game without stopping it.    The pups were hot on their challenges and went four-for-four and jumped out to a lead.    The Space Cowboys came back to within a run.    Eduarniel Nunez saved it in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning and two strikeouts, 5-4 Chihuahuas.    Meanwhile, the Astros scored late to take a 3-1 lead in the ninth.    The Dbacks loaded the bases in ninth with no outs, but a strikeout and a double play ended it, 3-1 Astros.

7-24-25

I got see a Cardinals’ game with Aunt Judy!    Sort of.    We were both watching the Padres at the Cardinals game tonight and exchanging a few e-mails.    It was a pleasant 95-degrees with 45% humidity in St. Louis.    (That’s 103-degree heat index on the field.)    There wasn’t a great crowd there at Busch Stadium.    I don’t know if it was the heat or the team’s performance this season (or the last three seasons).    I’d heard that they haven’t been drawing well this season.

The scoring began in top of the first.    Luis Arraez doubled in Fernando Tatis Jr.    Jackson Merrill drove in another.    A great play by Nolan Arenado at third ended the inning.    (What else is new?)    2-0 Padres.    In the bottom, Willson Contreras drove in a runner from first with a double.    The throw to home actually beat the runner, but missed the catcher.    2-1 Padres.

I know Chip Caray is the Cardinals’ play-by-play man.    I didn’t find out who was the color man, but he was pretty funny.    “It’s that high and fast chess game.    Well, I don’t know anything about chess.    It’s that high and fast checkers game,” he said.    In the bottom of the second, the Cards had a big inning.    Brendan Donovan hit a three-run homer.    A kid made a great catch of it in the outfield stands.    The broadcasters replayed it.   

Yu Darvish was pitching for the Padres coming off of an injury.    His stuff looked great, but was hittable.    The pitching coach came out to talk to him.    All of the outfielders went down to a knee to rest in the heat during the break.    The talk didn’t help.    Contreras followed up with another three-run homer.    The color guy said, “Home runs are thrown, not hit.”    Suddenly, it was 7-2 Cardinals.

We’re not done yet.    In the top of the third, Tatis blasted one out.    Manny Machado then hit a two-run homer and this was before the Padres’ first out.    7-5 Cardinals.    Maybe it’s the heat lifting the balls out.    In the bottom of the fourth, the Cards got another run and drove Darvish from the game.    He was replaced with another Japanese pitcher, Yuki Matsui.    A Cardinal runner thrown out at third trying to steal, 8-5 Cardinals.

In the top of the fifth, the Padres brought in a run via a fielder’s choice.    An error by Contreras at first throwing to Sonny Gray covering the base brought in another run, 8-7.    (They put Willson there because he couldn’t catch, but the ball still finds him.)    In the bottom, the Cards loaded the bases with one out, but the Padres got out of it.    Likewise, the Padres left two on in the sixth.    The Cards popped out another homer in the bottom and there was another great fan catch.    Cardinal fans may actually be the best in the baseball.

The sun had gone down, but it was still plenty hot.    Caray mentioned that fans and players used to put cabbage leafs under their hats in hot weather.    “It looked like a salad bar after the game.”    The Cards loaded the bases again in the eighth with one out.    The Padres pulled out a first to second to the pitcher covering first double play.    The Cardinals would go ahead and win, 9-7.    The color guy said, “That’s a nice way to come off a rocky road trip.”    Groan.    This was a reference to the Cardinals losing two to the Rockies.

I tuned in late to the Chihuahuas and the Space Cowboys.    It was 6-2 Cowboys in the seventh.    I was too busy at work to really listen.    The only drama came in the ninth.    Four Chihuahuas batters came up to give Nate Mondou a chance to continue his 22-game hitting streak.    He fought for it with several foul balls, but finally struck out. 7-2 Space Cowboys and the Chihuahuas’ three-game winning streak also came to an end.    Late note, the Mariners picked up Josh Naylor from Diamondbacks for prospects.    The trade deadline deals have begun.