9-22-26
It was an unexpectedly epic first game of the PCL Championship between the OKC Comets and the Las Vegas Aviators. There was a decent crowd of 5,400 in Vegas to see their team going for their second PCL championship in a row. There was even a squishy cube giveaway for the fans at the game. Playoff games do not usually have a fan giveaway, but since LV clinched in the first half and knew they’d be hosting the games, maybe they ordered something. Russ Langer was back on the call for the game with a co-host.
“Darrel barrels one into the gap,” Russ’ co-host announced in the first inning as the Aviators took the lead on a Darrel Hernaiz double. A bases loaded sac fly made it, 2-0. In the second, the Aviators followed with a two-run homer! Err . . . Except, no. It was caught at the tall left field wall and fooled the cameraman, Langer, the runner on first, and me. I don’t know how we all got that wrong. It sure looked like a home run. In the third, “Lava” drove in a run for LV. (That’s Bryan Lavastida.) Luke Mann then dropped in a Texas Leaguer to drive in 2 more to make it, 5-0 LV.
OKC’s James Tibbs III homered to begin the fourth inning to make it, 5-1. Judging by the cheers, there were a bunch of Dodger fans there. (You could see them in the crowd later on.) In the bottom of the fourth, Joey Meneses drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, but what a choice! Hyeseong Kim at second laid out to get the liner and made a backhand flip to second for the out. 6-1 LV.
In the fifth, OKC scored a run, and then another single went between the legs of the left fielder and scored another. After an odd pitch clock violation for a walk, the LV starter was chased from the game. The reliever, Taylor Rashi, walked the bases full with no outs. After giving up a single for two runs, Rashi struck out three in a row, but now it was a ballgame at 6-5 LV.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Aviators loaded the bases and poured it on with the runs. Russ almost lost his voice cheering on the scoring. It was a 6-run inning and 12-5 Aviators. It wasn’t over yet. In the top of the eighth, OKC got runs off of a bases loaded walk, a wild pitch, an infield error, a fielder’s choice, and another infield error. The Comets had scored 5 runs when the dust settled, 13-10.
The top of the ninth, started with another error (the sixth of the game, LV had 4). LV turned a double play next, but then gave up a solo home run. Lucky they turned that DP. A strikeout finally ended it. Las Vegas got a hard-earned (or at least stopped choking first) win, 13-11.
9-23-26
The two Triple-A Championship games were available as free games tonight. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in to it and both games were blowouts. I also discovered that the lower level playoffs have also been on this whole time and I wasn’t paying any attention. I thought their seasons were over by now.
The International League Championship series was between the Rochester Red Wings at the Memphis Redbirds. It looked like a light crowd of diehards in Memphis. I started watching, but got distracted away. I looked back in the second and Memphis had suddenly scored 4. I got distracted again and looked back in in the third and it was 11-0 Redbirds. I checked back in the fifth and it was 15-0. When do they run rule? I watched the end. Rochester had scored a few runs and the final out proved elusive. The announcer said, “Match Point #3” after Rochester had been down to their final strike three times. 15-4 Redbirds win and split the series.
In the PCL Championship later, OKC took an early lead over Las Vegas. In the fifth, down 3-0, OKC’s James Tibbs III hit a 3-run homer into the pool to make it, 6-0 OKC. The final was 7-2 OKC and splits their series. This sets up two finales tomorrow in Triple-A.
9-24-26
Our final weekday day game with the Rangers and Mets was a Rangers’ victory, but a loss for myself as the radio affiliate did not carry the game. I’m still sad and disappointed about getting stiffed. The Rangers lost the first two games of the series and lost the lead of the AL West. However, the Astros have not been able to really capitalize. This may come down to the final game of the season.
My final MiLB Free Games were a pair of decisive Championship games. (The Triple-A Championship game will be a free game, but I won’t be able to see it.) The International League Championship series was between the Rochester Red Wings at the Memphis Redbirds. I think the crowd was bigger than yesterday. It sounded bigger. Memphis has a pretty nice modern stadium with a cool right field club section.
Rochester took a 1-0 lead in the first. In the fifth, it was still 1-0. Rochester lost a runner at third trying to steal home. In the bottom, a solo homer tied it up. Memphis began the seventh leadoff double. Young men in the club section and kids in the stands went “tarps off” waving their shirts. Another double brought in the runner and set the crowd roaring. The batter on second was celebrating as it was 2-1 Memphis. In the eighth, Rochester hit a double with 2 outs. There was a pitching change, but another double and a single, gave Rochester back the lead. 3-2 Red Wings was the final score. The key stat was Rochester being up 12 to 3 in hits.
Meanwhile, the PCL finale in Las Vegas began with OKC doubling in the game’s first run. In the third, OKC loaded the bases with no outs. They drove in 2 to make it, 3-0. In the sixth, OKC walked the bases full of Aviators with 2 outs, but a ground out to first ended it.
In the eighth, two errors, including a flyball that clanked on the fielder’s mitt, brought in two runs for OKC to make it, 5-0. LV scored 2 in the bottom when I wasn’t watching. In the ninth, the Aviators threw out OKC runners at second and home in the inning. A catcher’s interference call prolonged the inning with 2 outs, but a runner picked off second ended the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, a guy with a .000 batting average came in to pinch hit. The manager was playing a hunch. Even with a dropped popup by the catcher, it was still a strikeout, though it was a long at bat. OKC wins it, 5-2, and will face Rochester in the Triple-A Championship on Saturday. (OKC won it, 5-3, in 10 innings. Sounded like a good game. I wonder if anybody was there for it in Las Vegas.)
9-26-26
Today’s post is going to be mostly college football. My Rangers’ affiliate did not broadcast today’s game. Maybe they didn’t plan to and also, there was a rain delay before the game started. They did beat the Twins to keep their playoff hopes alive. However, the Astros also won, so it’ll come down to tomorrow’s games, along with Philly and the Diamondbacks deciding their fates.
The main event of the day was the 116-th Aggie/Lobo Football game. I wasn’t hopeful about an Aggie victory after seeing last week’s score between Oklahoma and UNM. OK won, 14-6. I literally gasped when I saw that and so did a couple of other people I told. It was only a 21-point spread to begin with. I think the Lobos will be going to another bowl game at the end of the season.
It was only an 11-point spread against the Aggies. This assumed a rivalry game would be close. I’d thought about asking Zanaya to the game, but she was already going to work security there. We did not want a repeat of the incident from October 2022, which caused the downfall of the Aggie Men’s Basketball team (1-7-23), so by all means, increase security.
I resolved to just listen on the radio. Aggie hero quarterback, Diego Pavia, was interviewed in the pregame. He was enthusiastic about being at the game today. Interviewer MJ Newsom tactfully did not ask what Diego was doing currently, since he didn’t make it into the NFL. (The guy did actually change college sports by suing for an extra year of eligibility.) However the game would turn out, a lot of people would see it. Attendance was listed at 25k. That’s only 3k off of a full house.
Sigh. I gonna have to report on this other side story. Football and Volleyball were crossed up in scheduling. I’m not sure there was much they could do about it. They were both going to have to play in the afternoon. Volleyball was playing C-USA powerhouse, WKU. They might not have been expecting a long match that might finish before the football game. Instead, it went 5 sets and extra points (20-18) in the fifth. The Aggies took the first two sets and they were all close, but the Hilltoppers prevailed, 3-2. Tess Fuqua (13 kills) and Mia Fox (11 kills) were the standouts and the team out-blocked WKU.
I was following along with the match and was pretty disappointed for the girls in real time. I was more disappointed in the attendance, which was 320, well below normal, especially for a big game. All of those Aggie fans outside tailgating for football and they couldn’t gone to volleyball if they’d wanted see the whole football game. Given the price of tickets (I looked), you couldn’t even fault the decision.
The first quarter, the Lobos got the ball first and converted with a long bomb and a touchdown to make it, 7-0. The Aggies came right back. James Jones made a huge rush for 54 yards to make it first and goal. The Aggies were kept out of the endzone and the team’s new kicker missed an easy field goal. The next Aggie possession, they were pushed back in their own end. It was a short field for the Lobos after a good return and they turned it into another touchdown, 14-0.
In the second quarter, the Aggies marched downfield, including a fourth and inches play. The previous kicker was brought back out for a field goal and it was 14-3 Lobos. UNM marched downfield themselves. A penalty wiped out a touchdown and they missed a field goal. The Lobos picked an interception late, but punted on the possession. Both teams had some really sloppy play before halftime.
During the break, I went over to Dollartree for a couple of things. Some people there were talking about the game. There was a guy there in a Lobos shirt. Zenaya did report there were a lot of Lobo fans there. (There were four sections tagged for the visitors.) I went next door to the Paleta Bar for a dessert and the girl making my paleta saw my Aggie shirt and asked about the game. This game is a big deal here.
I missed a bit of the third quarter. In that time, Aggie quarterback, Trey Hedden, threw another interception, which was converted into a Lobo touchdown, 21-3. I started listening just as Hedden fumbled. The Lobos recovered and scored again, 28-3. Backup, Adam Damante, came in as the Aggie quarterback. He led a nice drive, but it ended on a turnover on downs. The Lobos threw another bomb and that resulted in a third touchdown in the quarter, 35-3.
Damante led a touchdown drive with a 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter to make it, 35-11 Lobos. The Lobo put up a late touchdown, 42-11. The Aggies got the ball back with under two minutes and Damante quickly took the ball downfield for a touchdown before the end. The broadcasters had already given Damante the starting quarterback job after the last series. He was passing the ball well, though I don’t know if it was against the starters. 42-18 Lobos final. This wasn’t a surprising result.
I hate to say this at this time, but Aggie Football is going to be playing on the weekdays next month, and I’m not going to covering those games and likely the rest of the season. There’s a possibility I might go to a game. I’ll write it up, if it happens.
I wasn’t totally shutout on baseball. I picked up the Rockies’ game after the sun went down. They were up 5-3 over the White Sox in the eighth. The Rox added on in the top of the ninth with a Hunter Goodman 3-run homer, 9-3. That was his 41-st of the season and his second of the game. In the bottom of the ninth, Andrew Benintendi hit a 3-run homer for the Sox with no outs. The crowd in Chicago went crazy. However, Rockies’ pitching did finish it off, 9-6. The White Sox were scoreboard watching, as the Indians won their game and won the AL Central.
It was late and I needed good laugh. I tuned into Oregon State versus UTEP on the radio. It was 20-0 Beavers at the half and 33-7 final. Broadcaster John Tischer said the 15k fans there likely enjoyed the large drone show afterward more than the game. That’s a pretty good crowd for such a lousy team. I watched this betting show in the morning. They were talking about how bad UTEP was, but at least they’re getting some national attention.
The heartwarming story of the day was Iowa beating Michigan on a last second touchdown. A couple of weeks ago, lowly Central Michigan had beaten Michigan at Ann Arbor, but the refs added a second to an expired clock to give Michigan a second chance at a Hail Mary, which they converted on and won. That was egregious meddling, so it was nice to see some payback.
9-27-26 MLB Postseason Preview
The Astros definitively punched their ticket with 9-0 win over the A’s. The Rangers lost 6-4 to the Twins, but it didn’t matter either way. My Rangers’ affiliate didn’t carry the game anyway. Philadelphia also won to finally set the playoff field.
If you want a good laugh, go read my predictions in my Baseball Preview for this season. I correctly predicted the Dodgers’ success and getting Tarik Skubal, but so did everyone else. Just about everything else was hysterically wrong. I owe an apology to the Rays. Apparently playing fundamentals is a path to winning baseball. Who saw the White Sox being good this season? The Indians may have caught them to win the division in the end, but going to playoffs seemed so unlikely. Then again, it was a terrible AL Central and a mostly terrible AL altogether. (How is the AL Central sending two teams to the playoffs? The Astros only won the AL West with a .500, 81-81, record.)
Our playoff field is set:
AL: Rays (bye), Indians (bye), Yankees, White Sox, Red Sox, Astros
NL: Brewers (bye), Dodgers (bye), Braves, Cubs, Padres, Phillies
I suppose I should say something here other than I feel like I barely saw any of these teams play. (Thanks for ending the daily Free Game, MLB.TV.) The Dodgers have the pitching and should win. I’m hoping the Brewers, the only 100-win team, wins it. Go Joey Ortiz (though he may be injured)! (And speaking former Aggie greats, Nick Gonzales finished batting .300 for the Pirates.)
Beyond those two teams, I think you have to make a more involved case for the others. The Braves are a good all-around team. The Cubs have a great offense and field defense. I’d like to see the Phillies win just to give Bryce Harper a ring, and I’ve just liked the Padres for the last few years. I wouldn’t put a bet on either team.
Can the Rays really do it? They came out on top in the AL East that sent three teams to the playoffs. They must be doing something right. The Yankees certainly have great pitching. If only Aaron Judge could run, you might take them seriously. (If he just hits home runs, he won’t even have to do that.) I could see the Red Sox suddenly getting hot and running the table. I wouldn’t even entertain the thought of the other three teams, though watching Munetaka Murakami party with a White Sox World Series win would be awesome.
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