7-5-25
Back for more? Sure! I was back at dad’s and this time, we’d get the Cardinals at the Cubs. Yesterday, I’d had dad send an unhappy picture of me in my Cardinals hat to Aunt Judy, since we couldn’t watch the game. This time I had him send a happy picture of me.
It was a beautiful day in Chicago with a full house at Wrigley field. There was a wind blowing out, but not as bad as yesterday when the Cubs set a franchise record with 8 home runs. The Cards were wearing the blue pajamas today. They didn’t look too bad, but I’m generally against the 70’s throwback all blues for any team. Nolan Arenado was scratched from the Cardinals’ lineup today.
In the top of the first, the Cards loaded the bases with one out and scored 2 on a single. The Cubs did the same in the bottom, but without scoring any runs. This was the Cubs’ broadcast. They showed Pete Crow-Armstrong giving the stadium workers a pep talk during their pregame meeting. They were actually thrilled. He also saluted the fans when he went to the outfield to take his position. PCA is already a fan-favorite.
In the bottom of the second, they were talking about Michael Busch hitting three home runs yesterday. He came up and did it again. It was a solo shot to center to make it 2-1 Cubs. A fan in the bleachers caught the ball and was jumping up and down with it. Nolan Gorman came back in the fourth with a solo shot to make it, 3-1 Cardinals. They did have quite a few fans there. In the bottom, the Cubs got two on with no outs. They were moved over on a wild pitch. The lead runner got thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice. After a double steal, another FC brought in a run to make it, 3-2.
Also in Chicago today was an Xfinity NASCAR race, which I turned the TV over to. Road course ringer, Shane Van Ginsberg was on pole. On the radio, the ESPN game was the Yankees at the Mets. In the first, Brandon Nimmo started off with a bang, as he hammered a grand slam home run to put the Mets up, 4-0.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Cubs scored 2 on a blooper and a wild pitch. The Cardinals brought in a new pitcher. The bases were loaded with two outs and PCA struck out. He slammed his bat down in disgust, but the Cubs were up, 4-3. Cub great Fergie Jenkins led the crowd for the Stretch and they were totally into it. Inspired, Carson Kelly homered in the bottom of the seventh to make it, 5-3 Cubs.
The Cardinals started a comeback in the eighth with a solo home run. With one on and one out, the Cubs’ pitcher and catcher collided on a nubber in front of the plate to put another runner on. Pinch hitter, Yohel Pozo cashed them in with a three-run shot out on to Waveland Avenue. After a five-run inning, it was 8-5 Cards.
Dad and I were watching the neighbor’s dogs and dad was lying on the floor with them. He likes them a lot (me, too). In the bottom of the eighth, the Cubs got a runner on via a Catcher’s Interference call. Seiya Suzuki doubled him in to make it, 8-6 Cardinals, but that would be the final score. Aunt Judy finally replied back to my picture. She’d just started watching the game on delay. We couldn’t say anything about the game, because she doesn’t like having it spoiled.
Meanwhile in Queens, Jazz Chisholm and Austin Wells had solo home runs for the Yankees, but the Mets were still up, 5-2. I thought about bringing the game up on Amazon Prime, but instead went to the Rays at the Twins, because it was in the ninth and tied. It was over when I went to it. A bunt had brought in the winning run for the Twins, 6-5.
I opted next for the Orioles at the Braves, where it was 5-3 O’s in the fourth. The Braves were in their 70’s throwbacks (the cool ones, not the blue pajamas). The Braves tied it up in their half of the inning, but the go-ahead run was thrown out at the plate. Back to New York, Cody Bellinger doubled in two runs for the Yankees to make it, 7-4 Mets.
On TV, SVG took Stage 1 of the Chicago race. The coverage did a drone overflight of Wrigley Field and gave the final score. Later, with 9 laps to go, Connor Zilisch had worked his way from the back to the lead, in front of SVG and Stage 2 winner, Sheldon Creed. There was a late caution and SVG got ahead of Zilisch for the win on the restart. SVG did an impressive burnout on track. Checking my e-mail (why not?), the daily MLB e-mail had a story about the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers throwing a combined perfect game. That’s interesting enough, but former Aggie, Titus Dumitru, homered in the win.
In the bottom of the seventh in NYC, Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer, his second homer of the game. The Mets won it, 12-6. The Yankees have now lost six in a row. The Braves game was tied after 9 and went to the tenth. The O’s scored 3 and won, 9-6. Though this game went to extras, I’m still not sure I made the right choice as to what game to watch. The Braves broadcasters were kind of lifeless.
I had no trouble picking the next game, the Tigers at the INDIANS! Actually, I thought the game was further along than it was when I went to it, but it had just started. The iPad battery was low, but I thought I could squeeze in one more game. I wasn’t sure if dad wanted to put up with watching another full game. Interestingly, this was the Fox national game feed and not an MLB.TV game. I didn’t know Amazon Prime broadcast Fox games. Jason Benetti, the regular Tigers broadcaster, was calling the game for Fox. Tonight, he wasn’t having as much fun as he was when I was listening Thursday night.
I joined the game in the top of the second. I found out Tiger Gleyber Torres was slightly injured in the first inning. Spencer Torkelson hit a solo shot while the broadcasters were interviewing Tarik Skubal in the dugout. We didn’t know at the time what a big deal that was. Skubal also almost got hit by a foul ball during the interview and let out a curse word. In the fourth, Tork hit one off the left field fence, which Steven Kwan played perfectly and kept it to a single.
I was looking at Youtube on dad’s phone and saw that the Savannah Bananas were on. They were playing to a full house in Fenway Park. What I saw was fun with lots of audience participation. They invited a few retired Red Sox to play with them. Brock Holt fouled out to a fan in his at bat. As per their rules, a fan catching a flyball is an out. The ESPN broadcasters were wondering if the fan was a Red Sox fan.
Casey Mize threw a shutout through 7 innings. In his last inning, the Indians got a runner to second, but Mize got a foul out to end the threat. In the ninth, the Tigers loaded the bases with one out, but Tork hit into a double play. In the bottom of the ninth, Tommy Kahnle faced the heart of the Cleveland lineup. He got the first two outs, gave up a walk, and ended the game with a strikeout after a battle. You’ll notice I haven’t been giving the score. It was 1-0 Tigers. I forgot to even write it down.
I’d tuned into the Chihuahuas at the Isotopes game on the radio during the Tigers game. The pups were up 1-0 in the second when I turned it on. Between the Tigers and looking in at the Bananas, I wasn’t paying much attention to it.
I went back home after the Tigers game and just listened to the Chihuahuas. It was a tight game until the eighth when it was 3-1 Chihuahuas. The pups blew it open with 7 runs. Things started to get weird with the Isotopes lineup during this. I had trouble following this with low reception. They lost their DH position when they switched catchers. Then they did a double switch to bring in a position player to pitch.
None of that maneuvering helped. The pups ended up scoring 9 runs in the inning and it was 12-1. The large Albuquerque crowd waiting for fireworks was not happy. In the bottom of the eighth, in spite of all changes, the Isotopes’ pitcher still ended up batting. In the bottom of the ninth, the Isotopes did not give up. They scored a couple of runs and loaded the bases, which forced a pitching change to preserve a 12-3 Chihuahuas win. As I saw on the TV news, the two teams were in their Copa uniforms with the Chihuahuas as the Margaritas and Isotopes as the Mariachis.
I turned over to the Rangers and Padres playing a very late game. The reception was iffy and crossed up with another station and kept fading in and out. I heard Kyle Higashioka drive in his fifth run of the game for the Rangers and it was 7-4 in the seventh inning.
There was drama in the bottom of the ninth. Luis Arraez got hit by a hit pitch, but swung and fouled it off. He got on anyway to load the bases. A new pitcher came in and got a ground ball out to end it, 7-4 Rangers. It was a sellout crowd there in San Diego. And I was done for the day.
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