7-18-25
We’re back from the break. Tonight’s MLB.TV Free Game was the Giants at the Blue Jays. The roof was open at the Rogers Centre and getting a good look at the stadium, I have to say, it looks beautiful after the remodel. I know stadium renovations are hideously expensive, but if you do it right, it’s like getting a new stadium with all of the memories and nostalgia still there.
I was watching the Giants’ broadcast mostly hoping to hear Jon Miller for a few innings, which happened, but I ended up being busy at work and didn’t get to hear much of it. Dave Fleming had the best line of the broadcast talking about the Jays, “They have solid D all over the place.” All together now: That’s what she said. They did turn two double plays in first two innings.
In the second inning, Justin Verlander was not doing well. He gave up 4 runs and 7 hits over 2 innings. A hit batter loaded the bases, but he limited further damage. In the third inning with two outs and one on, Verlander walked a batter and was taken out. Verlander is 0-8 in his starts this season, but is still married to Kate Upton, so he’s a winner. It would be a 4-0 Jays win. The Giants had 11 hits (one was actually an error) and no runs. The Blue Jays had 10 hits and only scored in one inning.
I got some bonus baseball with the Royals at the Marlins tied at 5 in the tenth. The Marlins had been leading the game, 5-0 earlier. Adam Fraizer doubled in two for the Royals to make it, 7-5, in the tenth. The Marlins scored in the bottom, and then Kyle Stowers, who was in the Swing Off at the All-Star Game earlier in the week, hit a monster two-run homer to walk it off. The Marlins’ announcer was borderline hysterical during the call. 8-7 Marlins win.
Tonight’s Chihuahuas game came on late for a West coast game in Tacoma. The Rainiers are in the first place with the Chihuahuas a game behind them. Unfortunately, the broadcast was having connection problems with stadium, so the sound quality was bad. I was busy and found myself mentally tuning out. Also, the Rainiers dropped 8 runs on the pups in the second. In the fourth, Luis Campusano doubled in a run and Yonathan Perlaza homered in three runs to make it, 8-4. Broadcaster Tim Hagerty did say, “This game wasn’t over yet,” earlier, but that was about it for the comeback. Rainiers win, 9-5.
7-19-25
I went out with dad and Lamae to Wecks for lunch to start my day. My opinion of the place hasn’t changed since the last time: it’s not that great and it’s a bit overpriced. At least the waitress was pretty. I went back to dad’s to watch the Amazon Prime game between the Royals and the Marlins.
The Royals were wearing powder blues, which frankly looked terrible. The Marlins were in their Miami Vice-inspired uniforms and looked much better. There was a confused Giants fan in a bright orange jersey in background along the third base line that was a continuing aesthetic distraction.
There weren’t that many fans there, which is too bad since it seems like a neat place to see a game. Without the crowd, you could hear the drum and horn corps in the outfield. They changed tunes depending on what was happening on field. New management got rid of the huge, flamboyant sculpture in the outfield, which I sort of agree with, but now it looks too plain there like there’s something missing. They got rid of the fish tanks behind home plate, and they replaced the Clevelander club with a set of bleachers. Unlike Toronto, this wasn’t a great remodel.
The Marlins scored in the first off a triple and a fielder’s choice, 1-0. In the top of the second, there was a great running catch by the Marlins’ centerfielder. In the bottom, the Royals turned an impressive double play going from the first baseman to second base back to the pitcher covering first.
I was having a problem with the stream. It kept crashing between innings and I had to keep restarting. I tried switching between coverages, but the Marlins’ broadcast had the audio and video out of sync. The Royals’ announcers were talking about their pitcher, Paul Quantrill, chewing gum on the mound, except he didn’t chew until he was between batters. The Marlins’ announcers mentioned the Royals had three catchers on their roster with their ages totaling over 100 years. That’s, of course, mostly Salvador Perez. In fairness, the broadcasters said their ages totaled over a 100, too.
In the top of the third, a Royals’ runner at first was picked off on review. His blue uniform looked terrible with the front covered in dirt. In the bottom of the sixth, Royal Maikel Garcia at third, with his back to the plate, made a basket catch on a popup and made it look easy. This was especially impressive, as he was almost injured earlier from bending out of the way of a pitch at his head. Pity poor Michael Wacha, the Royals’ starter. He went 6 innings, gave up 1 run, and got no run support. This has been the story of his season.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Marlins loaded the bases with two outs, but a fielder’s choice ended it. In the top of the eighth, old man Salvador Perez led off with a home run to straight away center. The ball was still sitting up in the ivy (or whatever it is) later in the game. No kids were running out there to get it like at old Ballpark at Arlington. Two walks in the inning were left stranded. We were tied at 1.
In the bottom of the eighth, there was an extended argument over clock management and a batter time out, as the pitcher was working too quick. The batter stepped out without calling time and was given a penalty strike. He singled anyway. The Marlins loaded the bases with no outs. Otto Lopez doubled in two (and he drove in the run in the first). The crowd there got up and roared and the band got loud.
After getting the first out, an intentional walk was issued to Kyle Stowers to reload bases. The infield fly rule was call on a popup, and an FC ended the inning, 3-1 Marlins. Anthony Bender came on for the save in the ninth. What a name for a pitcher. He closed it out for a 3-1 Marlins win. It was a quick game with a few double plays quickly ending innings.
The NASCAR Xfinity race at Dover came on during the ballgame. The highlight was a prerace interview with Austin Hill. There was this gorgeous girl with long brunette hair in the background shaking hair out and running her fingers through it. Yikes! There was water or something on the track which delayed the start. It would be a sign of things to come. There was heavy rain on the radar in Stage 2. By Stage 3, the race was official, and there were sprinkles. It was put under caution and then red flagged with 66 laps left. It was still only sprinkling, but the storm was coming. Connor Zilisch was leading and later given the win.
I went back home and then over to the mall to look for something at Barnes & Noble. I ended up only getting a snow cone, which really hit the spot after that hot walk over. I thought I should get a tea at the boba tea place, but the there was a line for that. I did this while missing the Rangers’ game against the Tigers on the radio. I’m not sure what I was thinking. (And worse, I didn’t have anything to do in the early afternoon on Sunday, but I didn’t know that would happen at the time.)
It was 3-0 Rangers in the second when I started listening. Rowdy Tellez, who I didn’t know was now on the team, had hit a three-run homer and I just missed it. Rangers’ pitcher, Kumar Rocker, got out of a having two on in the fourth and hadn’t given up any hits. Corey Seager drove in a run in the fifth to make it, 4-0 Rangers.
The no-hitter was broken up in the sixth with two out. The announcers were constantly mentioning the no-hitter, but I don’t think they jinxed it. (Never call bother anything a possible no-hitter until the eighth.) They were also commenting on a “bat race,” maybe with fans participating. A couple of the bats were going at it in the race.
Rocker was taken out after getting one more out in the seventh. What a great effort. In the top of the ninth, Tiger Riley Greene hit a home run. Wyatt Langford then made a great catch in center for the second out. Rangers win, 4-1. I was pleased that the station stayed on long enough for me to hear the whole game. (Often, they power down well before sundown.) I was less pleased the next day, when the station didn’t carry the game at all.
The Chihuahuas and the Rainiers started another late game. The pups were down 3-2 in the second. In the third, the Rainiers got a two-run homer to make it, 5-2. It sounded like a huge crowd there in Tacoma during the home run. In the fourth, Rodolpho Duran singled in two as part of four-straight singles. The bases were loaded, but a double play ended the inning. 5-4 Rainiers.
In the fifth, Yonathan Perlaza tied it at 6 on home run. The Rainiers retook the lead in the sixth. There was then a failed rundown on a double steal, where a runner stole home, 8-6 Rainers. I switched games around this point, but rejoined the game in the ninth. The Chihuahuas loaded the bases and a run was walked in, but the Rainers closed it out, 9-7.
When the sun went down, I switched over to catch the end of the Rockies and the Twins. I joined in the top of the eighth, 8-3 Rockies. A Twins’ double brought in two runs with two outs, 8-5. The Rox scored two in the bottom of the eighth. Suddenly, there was a huge buzz on the radio and I lost the signal. I tuned back in a little later and got the final, 10-6 Rockies. There was an unfamiliar voice on the broadcast. Tim Hagerty with the Chihuahuas had mentioned that the Isotopes’ announcer had been called up to broadcast games for this series.
Flipping around on the TV, I ran into a soccer match between the El Paso Locomotive playing the Phoenix Rising. I didn’t know this was on. They were playing for the Jagermeister Cup. No, I don’t know what that is, either. It was 2-2 in extra time when I joined the coverage. The EP goalie made a great one-on-one save late. However, the Locos lost, 7-6 on penalty kicks. Those PK’s took a while. They should take those shots from the top of the box to make this quicker and more interesting.
There was also Mexican League baseball on between the Juarez Indios against the Rojos. Yes, it was the Indians versus the Reds. The Reds were wearing black. The Indios were in aquamarine tops. Something like the San Diego Chicken was working the crowd. In the top of the ninth, it was 2-2 with two Rojos on and no outs. A wild pitch moved them up. After an out, the bases were loaded. There was strikeout and the Juarez crowd got up and cheered. However, an infield hit somehow brought in three runs. I’m still not sure what happened. The ball dribbled past the fielder with the runners moving. The infielder was injured trying to make the play. 5-2 Rojos was the final.
Amazingly, I ran into a big boxing match on another Mexican station, probably on delay. I know I’ve lost my Press hard card for not sufficiently covering boxing, so I’m not bothering to do a full fight recap. (Also, I’m just kidding about the Press card.) The fight was between Manny “Pac Man” Paquiao and . . . wait, is this a rebroadcast of an old fight? No, this is from today. Okay. Paquiao was fighting some guy that looked a lot bigger and younger, which would pretty much describe any other active boxer. (It was Mario Barrios.)
The old man and kid did go at it hard and it was a back-and-forth fight. I saw the decision coming. It was a split-decision with two judges ruling it a draw. The crowd booed, but I think they did enjoy the fight, just not the outcome.
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