Friday, September 28, 2018

El Paso Chihuahuas Season Recap 2018

By the time I realized how long this recap would take, I’d already fired off a bunch of time doing it.  However, I enjoyed this trip down Memory Lane anyway.  It was a great season for the Chihuahuas.  From looking at my latest issue of Baseball America, the Padres still have some great players at the lower levels waiting to come up.  Don’t be surprised if the playoff streak continues next year.  (It won’t help the Padres until they get some decent veteran pitching.) 

3-26-18 The season-opening exhibition game between the Chihuahuas and the Padres.  It was a great event for the fans.  Former Aggie, Joe Galindo, was there with the team. Before the game, there was a question about the Padres moving the franchise to San Antonio, who will host Triple-A baseball starting next year.  Cue ominous music.

4-14-18 Down 7-0 early, the pups had huge comeback win 11-7.

4-18-18 It was 30 degrees and raining in Reno for a dramatic 3-2 win.

4-25-18 Eight wins in a row.  The team was on a roll on the road.

5-6-18 Franmil Reyes hit 8 homers in 5 games.  Little wonder he got promoted shortly thereafter.

5-22-18 The fire alarm game in Tacoma.  Tim Hagerty will be bringing this game up in broadcasts for years to come.  The alarm went off by accident and the stadium was cleared.  Tim was skeptical and was nearly forced out of the booth by firemen, before the alarm finally stopped. 

5-30-18 Hunter Pence was in town with the Rivercats.  Much of the Giants’ roster would show up on rehab over the course of the season.

6-2-18 The Chihuahuas lost again at home.  “The Chihuahuas can’t win at home!” I exclaimed in my post. 

6-3-18 Tim played an interesting interview with Jayson Werth, who was a visiting player, during a weather delay.

6-11-18 A double header in Des Moines started at 8:30am my time.  The pups split the DH.  An interesting stat came up; the Chihuahuas had twice as many road wins as home wins this season.

6-15-18 The Chihuahuas lost in extras to Nashville on leadoff two-run homer (what?), thanks to the new automatic runner rule in extra innings.

6-19-18 The quote of the year came from an out-of-town visitor at my work place listening to the broadcast, “Why are they talking about ‘Chihuahuas?’”

6-22-18 The Chihuahuas got to .500.

6-23-18 Johnny Cueto made a rehab start for the Rivercats in Sacramento against the Chihuahuas.

6-27-18 Chihuahuas win 8 in a row.

6-28-18 The streak is broken.  I wrote a haiku about it.

7-4-18 Happy Independence Day!  I missed the city fireworks show because the pups and the Bees went into extra innings fighting for first place.  The Chihuahuas won in an epic battle.

7-8-18 The Chihuahuas swept out the second place Bees in a FIVE-GAME SERIES!  How unlikely was that?  At the break they were on a 16 of 19 winning streak.  They did not leave first place from here.

7-15-18 Right after the break, the Chihuahuas lost four to the Aces.  Constant rain canceled and delayed games in El Paso.  The pups inability to win at home peaked here.

7-19-18 The Padres traded Brad Hand for Francisco Mejia.  It would be several days before he started playing for the Chihuahuas, but this was a huge move for the team later, as he was as good as his number one prospect status said he was.  For today’s day game, the pups lost 16-1.  My dad complained that it was the worst game ever.  I thought it got pretty funny by the end with position player Brett Nicholas pitching.

7-20-18 Evan Longoria was in rehabbing in El Paso for today’s game with the Rivercats.

7-24-18 Mejia’s first start finally, but in an inauspicious 13-1 drubbing by the Skysox.

7-27-18 A cat delay interrupted the game in Oklahoma City.  Only in baseball.  The pups won 10-2 and Brett Kennedy went to 10-0 in his starts.

8-5-18 A three-run walkoff by Dusty Coleman and the Chihuahuas got their fifth home win in a row.

8-7-18 Another comeback walkoff, and a four-game sweep of the Express in El Paso.

8-9-18 Ty France debuted with the pups.  He homered.

8-12-18 The pups split what had to be the closest series of the regular season with the Rivercats in Sacramento.

8-17-18 Surprise, the voice of Aggie Baseball, Adam Young, called a Chihuahuas’ game.

8-19-18 Ty France doubled in the winning run in the ninth.  The home winning streak continued.

8-21-18 14 in a row at home.  Even a lengthy rain delay couldn’t stop them.  Matt Holiday played for the Isotopes tonight.

8-25-18 The Chihuahuas lost in Tacoma, but over the course of a two-minute commercial break, the Bees were walked off and the pups clinched the division.  Tim was completely stunned.

8-31-18 More Carter Capps/umpire drama and two players were ejected.  It was 6-1 Rainiers after 7 innings.  Ty France hit a two-run homer in the eighth and the game-winning hit in the ninth for a 7-6 win. 

9-1-18 The Chihuahuas’ home winning streak ended at 18 (18!) with a one-run loss.  They even had the bases loaded in the ninth.

9-3-18 I finally got to see a game in person for their last regular season game.  It was hot and the Chihuahuas lost, but I had a great time anyway.

9-5-18 The playoffs started versus the Grizzlies, but minus Rowan Wick, Luis Urias, and Francisco Mejia, some key pieces of the team, and apparently the fans in El Paso, who didnt show because of the rainy weather.  Game 1 was incredibly tense and tight, but the Grizzlies took it 8-7

9-6-18 Weather again scared off the fans.  The pups made a heroic comeback late, but lost 7-5.

9-7-18 The Chihuahuas won in Sacramento 2-0, in one of the most dramatic games of the season.  I basically missed the whole thing going out to see Aggie Volleyball.  I’m still torn as to whether I should feel regretful or not. 

9-8-18 The Chihuahuas won another close game, 4-2.  We went to a fifth and decisive game.


9-9-18 A 10-1 Grizzlies blowout that ends the season.  We’re sad about the outcome, but it was a great season to follow the Chihuahuas.

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