7-17-26
The MiLB Free Game was the High-A Asheville Tourists at the Rome Emperors. Rome’s mascot is a penguin in a toga with laurels. Julius is a friendly penguin. One inning, he sat down in the front row and put his arm around a fan. He was also seated next to a good-looking girl in a tank top and little shorts that walked up and down the stairs a few times. He didn’t try getting fresh with her.
In the fifth, Emperors’ pitcher, Ethan Bagwell, gave up back-to-back homers by Tourists. The pitcher was not related to Hall of Famer, Jeff Bagwell, though. In the sixth, the Emperor’s third baseman made a great play on a grounder. He then ran off the field to the dugout, who promptly sent him back out. The announcer explained, “We play to three outs in this league.” The announcer also kept looking at the skies over Rome. It was overcast and rain seemed to be on the way. The teams played fast, at least during the first half of the game. There ended up not being any rain and Asheville won, 4-0.
Hey, I finally noticed that Aggie pitcher, Jack Turner, was taken by the Tigers in the tenth round of the draft. He was scouted in his time at NMSU, so this isn’t entirely surprising. It’d be helpful to the program to get another Aggie in the Majors, but it’ll probably take a little while.
At tonight’s Chihuahuas’ game against the Space Cowboys, they had a violin Anthem and a light rain before the game. In the fourth, the pups took a 3-2 lead. Little did we suspect how long that score would hold up. In the seventh, a Sugar Land player bunted in front of the plate. While the batter was arguing that it was foul, he was tagged out, but did advance the runner.
In the top of the eighth, Ethan Routzahn had 4-pitch inning to keep score unchanged for the Chihuahuas. In the bottom, Nick Pratto, the Chihuahuas’ first baseman, had a swinging strikeout and threw his bat in anger. This got him ejected. (I wonder if there were some words, too.) This had consequences.
In the top of the ninth, the Space Cowboys loaded bases with 2 outs. There was a weak comebacker to the pitcher. He had to make a hard throw to first. The ball went between the replacement first baseman’s legs down the right field line. Three runs scored on the play. The fielder held up his glove. The thrown ball had gone through the mitt’s webbing. Rawlings should take the error on this play. Broadcaster Tim Hagerty described this as a “Shocking loss,” as the Chihuahuas went down, 5-3.
7-18-26
I caught part of two Mexican League ball games; one in the morning, one at night. The morning one was surprising, since they usually play games at night. It seemed surprising to the fans there too, as it was lightly attended. The night one was with the Juarez Indios. Like tonight’s Chihuahuas game against Sugar Land, I was surprised it wasn’t raining at either stadium. I was surprised it wasn’t raining here in Las Cruces, since rain was all over the area.
Chihuahuas lost 8-3 for their sixth loss in a row in their game. I think the Indios beat the Pharaohs. I’d flipped away for a bit during the seventh inning and it was over when I got back. Both teams had pitchers like guys from a beer league. I did see a somewhat disturbing between innings display with the horse mascot in a dress dancing with a batboy. The batboy got the worst of the encounter.
In the afternoon, I thought I’d watch the World Cup consolation game between England and France, while listening to the Rangers playing the Braves on the radio. I got half of that. None of the Mexican stations were carrying the soccer, which was again surprising. Downright shocking was the 6-4 English win. They were up 4-0 at the half, but the French came back on them. Kind of sorry I missed that second half.
I’m also sorry I took off for the mall briefly, instead of listening to the whole Rangers’ game. I basically missed most of the scoring during my absence. I got back in time to hear Evan Carter hit a 2-run homer in the sixth to tie the game for the Rangers. Brandon Nimmo brought in what would be the winning run later in the inning. Mackenzie Gore, in spite of giving up 5 runs, got the win. Jacob Latz worked a 4-out save for a 7-6 Ranger win. This was a nice bounce back from yesterday’s 15-1 loss. Admittedly, I was half paying attention to the game. I was getting a strong signal, but storms in the area were filling the broadcast with static.
7-19-26
For the second day in a row, I gave myself a bellyache. Yesterday, it was a KFC chicken sandwich. (The Colonel nearly gives you a whole bird between the buns.) Today, in the height of gastronomic irresponsibility, I went to 5 Guys. I got a hot dog, which was really good because on a very fresh bun. The gut-buster was the fries. They give you a bunch of big, thick fries even with a small order.
Also, again, I missed some of the Rangers versus the Braves on the radio while getting lunch. I came back to this comment from Texas broadcaster Jared Sandler, “Was the organist playing My Sharona?” His partner, Matt Hicks, answered, “He certainly has a Knack for it.” The Rangers got within a run of a Braves’ lead until the seventh. Ezekiel Duran threw out a runner at the plate for the final out, but a couple of defensive miscues before that had put the Braves back up by multiple runs. My stomach was not relieved with the 8-5 loss.
NBC’s Sunday Night Game was the Dodgers versus the Yankees. The Dodgers won earlier in the day, 8-2, because their Saturday game was rained out. The Dodgers had also won on Friday. It was a staff game for both teams tonight. The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first. In the fourth, Max Muncy threw out a Yankee runner at the plate. In the fifth, the Yankees loaded the bases with no outs. The Dodgers brought in a reliever, who got two strikeouts and foul pop up to keep the score at 1-0. The commentators weren’t kidding that the Yankees were having trouble scoring.
There were a surprising (if not, shocking) number of Dodger fans at Yankee Stadium. They can’t be leftover Brooklyn Dodger fans; they were too young. In another segment, Bob Costas defended Babe Ruth over Shohei Ohtani based on the stats. That definitely shocked me. Seldom does Ruth get the nod over Ohtani these days. (Maybe if Shohei was injured less often.) Tommy Edman’s solo home run tied it in the eighth, but Jazz Chisholm homered in the bottom to give the Yankees back the lead and the win, 2-1. I feel like I would have enjoyed this game more, if I’d hated the two teams less.
There was light rain in El Paso to start the Chihuahuas’ game against the Space Cowboys, but it didn’t interfere with the proceedings. In the fourth, the Chihuahuas scored 2 after 3 scoreless innings. In the seventh, the Space Cowboys had a solo home run and then there was a double error on a grounder. Cavan Biggio drove in that run and another run tied it at 3.
The Chihuahuas’ questionable play continued in the bottom of the seventh. They had a failed squeeze play with the runner out at home. On a wild pitch, another runner was tagged out at the plate. In the ninth, Bryce Johnson made a great catch slamming into the wall to end the inning for Sugar Land. In the bottom, the Chihuahuas got two on to begin the inning. Johnson did it again with a game-winning single, 4-3 Chihuahuas. The team finally broke their losing streak, basically in spite of themselves.
7-21-26
It was a late game for the Chihuahuas to start their series in Las Vegas. It was a chilly 98-degrees there at 7:00pm PST. The Aviators loaded the bases in the first. A hit batter and a single brought in 2 runs. The pups came back in the second inning. They scored on a passed ball on a swinging strike and put up 2 more to take a 3-2 lead.
In the fifth inning, Nick Solak hit a 2-run home run or was it a foul ball? The LV manager argued and the umps conferenced, but the score stood, 5-3. This got a standing “boo” from the crowd. Broadcaster Tim Hagerty commented that the crowds in the Las Vegas are quite involved with the game. The Chihuahuas added 3 more runs in the sixth.
In the seventh, LV loaded the bases. The pups brought in a new pitcher and got a double play to end the inning. In the eighth, the Chihuahuas executed a double steal, taking second and home to make it, 9-3. This seemed like piling on, but in the bottom of the eighth, the Aviators finally busted out with 4 runs including a homer by El Pasoan, Darell Hernaiz, to make it 11-7. The Aviators threatened in the ninth. Again, the Chihuahuas brought in a reliever and another DP ended it. 11-7 Chihuahuas. Their bullpen came in clutch tonight.
7-23-26
The MiLB Free Game was the Double-A Tulsa Drillers at the Arkansas Travelers in Little Rock. It was another nice stadium with a second deck of suites with a roof. There was no wall behind the plate, so it was wide open with the fans sitting behind the netting. It was a nice night, as opposed to last week when they had a 125-degree heat index game. It was 93-degrees when the game finished at 9:00pm.
Otey, the team’s swamp possum mascot was going to be getting a bobblehead day tomorrow. The trivia question was to name four other marsupials, who would be attending Otey’s family reunion at the event. The broadcaster was generally stumped, but we got a list the next inning: kangaroo, koala, wallaby, bandicoot, wombat, Tasmanian Devil, among 250 others. Basically, they all flew in from Australia on Quantas yesterday. (Yes, you can get a direct flight from Sydney to Little Rock.) The “Travs” won tonight, 5-4, breaking a 5-game losing streak.
There was another free game with Tacoma at Reno. A weather delay stopped the game for a short period of time. It must have been lightning, since the field wasn’t wet. The game finished with a 7-2 Tacoma win. Down the road, the Chihuahuas were playing the Aviators. It was 106-degrees at 7:00pm in Las Vegas, though at one point the grounds crew was talking to the umps between innings about the weather. Nothing materialized overhead.
Broadcaster Tim Hagerty gave a bit of trivia about El Pasoan, Daryl Hernaiz. He got the final hit for the Oakland A’s. On field, the Aviators balked in the tying run in the sixth and another balk put a runner in scoring position. The pitching coach came out to calm the pitcher down, but he gave up a 2-run homer right after. 5-3 Chihuahaus.
The Aviators came back in the seventh with five straight singles, including two slow grounders that stopped between home and third. The Aviators went ahead, 6-5. The pups did turn a 6-2-3 double play from shortstop to home to first. Tim saw some lightning in the distance, but it didn’t interfere with the game. In the ninth, the Chihuahuas got two on, but left them there. 6-5 Aviators final. Several challenges got used in that last frame trying to extend the game.
