9-1-25
There was a full slate of baseball games on the schedule today. Except that didn’t happen. KROD chose not to carry either of the two ESPN Radio baseball games that were on. I went out to the grocery store and for lunch at Roadrunner Pizza. I got a turkey sandwich. It was good but a little spicy for me. This is the fourth day in a row I’ve eaten out. I had barbeque on Friday, fish on Saturday, and a burger on Sunday. Mostly, I haven’t anything else other than the meals out, so hopefully this doesn’t all go to my gut.
The Chihuahuas were off today, so I don’t have to worry about further documenting their downfall today. The Rangers were on later in the afternoon playing the Diamondbacks. I listened to the pregame. The Rangers are on a winning streak (playing the A’s might had something to do with that), in spite of missing several of their best players: Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Nathan Eovaldi. When the game started, I ended up tuning over to the Aggie Coaches Show. I think I knew I was going to lose the game when the sun went down in an hour anyway, which I did, and I wasn’t able to pick it up on a night time affiliate. Still, the Rangers won, 7-5.
Honestly, it’s been a desolate weekend, regardless of my best efforts at staying entertained. I’ve felt a bit brushed off by dad and certainly meant to see him, but it didn’t happen. We’ll try to get together next weekend.
9-2-25
It’s a new series for the Chihuahuas. They’re visiting the new ballpark in Salt Lake City to play the Bees. Broadcaster Tim Hagerty seemed to approve of the facility. Like the old park, it still has great view of the mountains in the background. However, the bullpens are enclosed, so he couldn’t see who was warming up later in the game.
I was mentally checking out on the game as the pups fell behind badly. But then as Tim called it, “In the top of the fifth, it was 7-1 Bees with two outs. In the sixth, the Chihuahuas have tied it!” It was just that quick and they’d go ahead and take the lead 8-7.
In the bottom of the sixth, there was an Umpire Interference call on a strikeout and attempted throw to second that went wild. That temporarily kept two runners on base from scoring, but a run did come in to tie it. An error extended the inning, but the Bees left the bases loaded. There were more umpire hi-jinx in the top of the seventh. There was a totally missed strike call, but then a bad call on a foul tip for a strike. I guess those calls canceled each other out.
In the eighth, Luis Campusano homered to put the Chihuahuas up, 9-8. In the bottom with two outs and two strikes, Ben Gamel drove in tying run for the Bees. In the ninth, pinch hitter, Rodolfo Duran, drove in a run and the team scratched out another to retake the lead, but left the bases loaded. Will this be enough? New Chihuahuas’ pitcher, Stephen Jones, came in for the save and locked it down. Chihuahuas win, 11-9, and stop a four-game skid.
9-3-25
It was the Rangers versus the Diamondbacks on the road in a day game matchup. The pitching duel was Jack Leiter versus Zac Gallen. In the bottom of the first, after a hit and a bad throw, Ketel Marte tried to score, but Ezequiel Duran threw him out at the plate. There was no error on the bad throw, because there was an out on the play. However, the D-Backs did score a run on a single. They added another run in the second on an error. This play did end a 19-game errorless streak. 2-0 AZ.
The Rangers broadcasters called out Mark Grace with the AZ crew for not making a play on a foul to press box. Gallen pitched six scoreless innings and came out. Leiter also came out after six innings. The Rangers had a chance in the seventh. Antonio Osuna picked off second. Zeke was thrown out at third, but given the base on an obstruction call. He was left stranded. I was getting ready for work late in the game. I listened in my car and caught the final inning on Gameday at work. 2-0 Diamondbacks was the final.
I had more baseball coming. The Dodgers were at the Pirates on the MLB.TV Free Game. Bryan Reynolds hit a first inning home run in a 12-pitch at bat to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. In the second, Pirate’s starter, Braxton Ashcraft, loaded the bases with no outs. He had 3-2 counts to first five batters. Ashcraft ended up getting two strikeouts and a flyout to get out of the inning. He’d made 48 pitches in two innings.
In the bottom of the second. Andrew McCutchen had a big leadoff homer. This was after getting fooled badly on a pitch before. Don’t make him mad. 2-0 Pirates. Cam Devanney got his first major league hit in the inning and the Pirate bench signaled for the ball. Dodger pitcher Emmit Sheehan ended up keeping the ball to pitch with and tossed out a new ball that was thrown to him. The Pirate broadcast caught this happening. Catcher Will Smith alertly threw the ball to the dugout after the first pitch with it. Poor Will, though. He then took a foul off his right hand and had to come out of the game the next inning.
In the third, Ashcraft got two quick out and loaded the bases again. Thankfully, he got a dribbler back to him to get out of it. In the booth, Greg Brown was interviewing a former Pirate broadcaster. He had taught him to never say your own name in a broadcast. Well, this explains why I never know Greg’s name, though I like his game call a lot. I also found out that Greg keeps a scorecard with a pen. That’s pretty brave.
Mike Burrows relieved Ashcraft in the fourth and worked a quick inning. In the fifth, Burrows let two on with no outs. Reynolds made a great catch on a gapper, and then a double play ended the inning with no damage. In the sixth Andy Pages has a 12-pitch at bat, but Burrows struck him out on an offspeed pitch.
In the bottom of the sixth, Joey Bart doubled in Aggie great, Nick Gonzales. I missed that happening because I was working. 3-0 Pirates. In the seventh, the Dodgers got two on again. Shohei Ohtani even went from first to second on a flyball. However, reliever Evan Sisk got out of it. Two relievers closed it out for the Pirates. Closer Dennis Santana got Shohei for the final out. 3-0 Pirates final, with a chance for a sweep tomorrow.
4 of the 5 Pirates’ pitchers used were rookies. 10 runners were left on base by the Dodgers. This was a pretty entertaining game and not just for the result. The Pirate pitchers were really wriggling in and out of trouble for most of the game.
(The Pirates did complete the sweep. Paul Skenes pitching might have had something to do with it. The Dodgers came out and said they were “embarrassed” to have lost three-in-a-row to the Pirates. Wow, great bulletin board material for the Pirates there.)
Finally, the Chihuahuas were playing the Bees. The Chihuahuas again went down, 7-1, halfway through the game. This time they didn’t manage a comeback and lost, 7-3. This was even with the Bees spotting the pups a couple of errors. The highlight of the game: the crowd won free pretzel bites on a strikeout in the eighth.
9-4-25
Dad got good news from the doctor this morning and invited me and Lamae out for lunch at Wecks. I honestly didn’t think much of the lunch I’d there the last couple of times, but decided to go anyway. After eating out four days in a row over Labor Day weekend, I was trying to be good and hadn’t planned on eating out today since I had the day off.
Just about everything on the Wecks menu has green chili on it, which was why I’d had the plain hamburger before. This time, I got a croissant sandwich with scrambled eggs, cheese, and bacon and a side of hash browns. It was bigger than I thought it’d be, but excellent.
They ran a couple of errands afterward and I went along. We were next door to Michael’s, so I hopped in and got a couple of display cases for my souvenir balls. This turned out to be a good idea, since they were selling them two-for-one. I got home and put my Rangers and Rockies balls in them. I discovered the shelf wasn’t quite big enough for them, but that’s okay. I also discovered I had a couple of more souvenir balls that I’d forgotten about. I think I need a couple more display cases. I also saw a softball-sized one that should fit my souvenir volleyball.
While I was waiting to go to Aggie Soccer, I caught some interesting stuff on TV. Enter the Dragon was on, along with a Mexican movie, Santos y Blue Demon Contra El Monstruos. [The whole movie is up on Youtube.] It was Bruce Lee versus famous luchadores. Both were great in their own way. The wrestlers were fighting the mummy, the Frankenstein monster, the wolfman, the vampire, the woman vampire, and the cyclops. (The gillman must have been unavailable.) The wrestlers fought them by punching them.
After the game, I listened to the Chihuahuas versus the Bees in my car on the way back home. It was 5-5 in the seventh. The Bees had just scored the tying run. In the eighth, I could barely hear signal, but Sammy Natera came in to pitch for the Bees. He’s a former Aggie great, as broadcaster Tim Hagerty mentioned. Natera was just up from Double A and pitched a scoreless inning and a third.
Unfortunately, when I got home, I had no reception at all on the game and had to give up on it. The Chihuahuas won 6-5 in the tenth. Nate Mondou drove in the winning run. Instead, I listened to the Cowboys and Eagles game. It’s the first game of the NFL season. I was surprised it was still going on, but they’d had an hour weather delay in Philadelphia. Of course the Cowboys lost from lack of offense. Whatever.
9-5-25
I was pleasantly surprised to hear the “butterscotch” tones of Jon Miller on the call for the Giants at the Cardinals on the MLB.TV Free Game. I didn’t know that he was doing road games. I saw Yadier Molina in the Cardinal dugout. I briefly thought he’d become their new manager, but he was just there for a ceremony. He certainly looks like he could be a manager, though. The Cardinals were wearing their in terrible City Connect uniforms. Like some other teams had gotten, the Cards need a “redo” on theirs.
I wrote my Aunt Judy and asked if she was watching the game, but I’d forgotten that the Chiefs were playing tonight (in Brazil, no less). She was watching that, but said she loves baseball more was recording the Cards to watch later. I should have told her not to. The Giants won easy, 8-2. The Chiefs didn’t win either. It was a bad night in Aunt Judy’s household for sports.
There was some bonus coverage as the Rangers and Astros went into extras. It was a 4-3 Ranger win in the 12-th. Dustin Harris, just called up and who came in as a pinch runner in the tenth, delivered the walk-off single.
Meanwhile, the Chihuahuas were winning 7-1 over Bees until the fifth. Salt Lake City came back and took the lead by the eighth. The pups got two on in the ninth, but stranded them. 8-7 Bees final. I guess after the several Chihuahuas’ big comebacks this season, they had this coming. Of note, Tim Locastro had a three-run double in the fourth, which included himself, as he rounded the bases on a misplay in the outfield.
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