At 7:48 central daylight you messaged me to let me know that today there would be a MileHigh HotCut. I had to look again when first I looked and saw that Colorado had not been in a HotCut since May 14 because for a while there they were 'Cuttin it up (seven in April, five in May). Visiting Coors Field tonight are Taijuan Walker and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Colorado leads the NL West at 47-26, the Snakes are two games back at 44-27. If the season ended today Arizona would be the "second" wildcard in the NL, the Cubs trailing that race by seven-and-a-half games.
That game starts later on, at 19:40. Before that are a boatload of day games. I am now listening to the Nationals at the Marlins. ScherZer has just recorded his fourth out, all by strikeout. Straily, opposite him, has used his 91 m.p.h. fastball to great effect thus far, too. Both Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmermann are sitting today for Washington. Michael A. Taylor was a late scratch. ScherZer nicks Derek Dietrich. But he fans J.T. Riddle and ScherZer has struck out the side in both the first and the second innings.
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The afternoon games would have had to go extras in order to Bridge to the evening slate. I took a screen shot of the MLB app at 16:57 and there was nothing doing. I had watched ScherZer's no-hit bid turn into a loss: infield hit, error on the next play, then Max hit Dee Gordon ever so on the shoetop ... bases loaded, a slim 1-0 Nats lead. Max was at 115 pitches or so, Dusty was toothpicking, it was bottom eight, two out. Then Max lost a fastball way high and a run scored whilst the other two runners also moved up. Then Stanton singled to left and the winning run splashed down, 2-1 Fish.
I put John and Suzyn on from the Bronx right at 18:10. Didi went in-deedi, making Yankee fans euphorious. But MartÃn Maldonado touched Jordan Montgomery for a 2-run shot 12 rows deep an inning later, the game tied at two then as it is now in the top of the fifth, two away, Maybin at the plate. Indians-Baltimore was delayed; I am territorially restricted from seeing Wacha get lit by Philly. The 'Cut starts soon. Montgomery walks Maybin again. Calhoun, 3U.
The 'Cut abides. Blanco goes 3-1 on a ranging move to the ground by Mark Reynolds, the long-legged Hoffmann sprinting to cover. Now LeMahieu handles another grounder to the right side, 4-3. 97 mph outer third to Goldschmidt. 98 outside makes it 1-&-2. 95 right down the middle, a foul chopper to the left side. 96 up and in. 96 outside corner, Goldy fouls it back in protect fashion. 96 low and away. Goldy gets a piece, barely, of 97 on the outside corner. 96 outer half, foul. It's 92°F in Denver. Goldy goes 6-3 on 96, upper quadrant. All fastballs to Goldschmidt, primarily away. Hoffmann throws hard, and he kept it away, but I don't see much movement on those heaters and I haven't seen a secondary offering yet.
Here is #99, Taijuan Walker, to face the wooly bearded Blackmon. 93, center-cut. Blackmon's hitting .327. 94, lower outside quadrant. Offspeed, Blackmon reaches and grounds out, 3. Arenado, GIDP, inning over. HolliDinger! Nolasco has allowed 23 homers this year, worst in the AL. (I still have John, Suzyn, and the Yanks going on the kitchen radio by way of MLB audio.)
First pitch curve to Lamb and Jake spanks it to right. To Drury, 94 down and in. 95 looked out but Hoffmann got the call. 94 in jams Drury, 6-3, Lamb to third. Now Descalso aka The ScuZzer. .718 OPS. Slider at 84, in the dirt, I thought Descalso swung but Joe West didn't. Backdoor slider, 83 mph, doesn't get the call. 95, with tail, low and away. A slider at 82 catches the outside corner. Full count. ScuZzer 4-3, the run doesn't score, LeMahieu was positioned in and probably would have gotten the out at home had Lamb tried anything rash. Iannetta, 6-3.
A little bit later a lot has happened. The Snakes wound up with ten runs in that fourth, nine charged to Jeff Hoffman. It was 12-3 last I saw, as the ScuZzer went GIDP to close out the top of the sixth. I opted out of the 'Cut to check in on Mets at Dodgers. Rich Hill and Tyler Pill. It's 1-0 Mets, Granderson having homered to lead off the game. I saw Granderson's second at-bat, a single. Flores followed with a pop fly to second which Utley inexplicably let drop ... or wait ... Utley picked it up and tossed to second, forcing Granderson at second, leaving the ponderout Flores at first. I credit Gary Cohen on SNY for proffering the FAQ: Why was there no infield fly rule call? Per Gary, the infield fly rule only applies when there are men on first and second or when the bases are loaded. Keith chimed in ... at least, I think it's Keith ... I admit I have a hard time distinguishing between Keith and Ron. Keith suggests that the infield fly rule only applies when a double play could be gleaned as a result of the pop fly falling ... which isn't possible when there is only one man on (assuming of course that the batter is running to first and not gaping at the pop-up himself).
As I've been writing (not the first writer to get bogged down in the morass of the infield fly rule) Rich Hill has lifted a ball to center, bringing home a run. It's 1-1 bottom of the third, two outs for Corey Seager, who hit three home runs last night. The Mets walk him intentionally. Enter Chris Taylor. One more thing I must note: the last commercial break contained no commercials. Commercial break in progress, Jake! The Phillips 66 commercial is gone, the Samsung "Our Batteries Won't Blow Up on Your Flight Anymore" commercial is gone. Earlier today they were running the Dairy Queen, "What's a Cloche?" commercial, touting an A-1 Steak Sauce burger. I also saw the dog-licking-young-girl's-face commercial for BP gasoline. But now there is only the serene red, white, and blue slow crawl of the MLB logo with its infamous "Commercial Break in Progress" rejoinder.
Ron Cey is being interviewed on SNY. The broadcast cut to a shot of Tommy Lasorda diamond-side. As my dad would say, "It's tough to get old." But dang, if you have to get old why not get old in a first-row seat at Chavez Ravine? I have it on mute but I can tell that Ron Cey is totally into this interview, not annoyed at all. In stands T. J. Rivera, playing third base tonight. He made a poor throw from there in the bottom half of the inning. He's better at first, maybe second, maybe nowhere. Bermuda Triangle! First base, second base, right field ... Utley called for it and should have had it but it clanked off of the heel of his glove. That one he did not mean to let drop. A good curve from Hill to Reyes, bases loaded, no one out, top four. Hill loses a fastball at 88, up and away, 2-and-2. Same pitch at 85 and Reyes swings under it, K. Gavin Cecchini now. A curve at 74 drops in for a strike. I have heard it said on the Effectively Wild podcast, where they cited FanGraphs pitch values, that Rich Hill's curve has been a bad one this year but I've seen some good ones here. He's throwing it at 75 mph, backdooring it to righties. Then he brings a mid-eighties fastball, which is right over the plate here to Cecchini, which he looks at. I'm assuming Cecchini was looking curve there, because how else does an 85 mph fastball over the heart of the plate not get an offer swing? Rich Hill is about to go on a run. Now a pretty curve at 73 to Pill. Again at 73, not a strike, down and in but Pill swings and is down on strikes. Hill escapes.
That game starts later on, at 19:40. Before that are a boatload of day games. I am now listening to the Nationals at the Marlins. ScherZer has just recorded his fourth out, all by strikeout. Straily, opposite him, has used his 91 m.p.h. fastball to great effect thus far, too. Both Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmermann are sitting today for Washington. Michael A. Taylor was a late scratch. ScherZer nicks Derek Dietrich. But he fans J.T. Riddle and ScherZer has struck out the side in both the first and the second innings.
*
The afternoon games would have had to go extras in order to Bridge to the evening slate. I took a screen shot of the MLB app at 16:57 and there was nothing doing. I had watched ScherZer's no-hit bid turn into a loss: infield hit, error on the next play, then Max hit Dee Gordon ever so on the shoetop ... bases loaded, a slim 1-0 Nats lead. Max was at 115 pitches or so, Dusty was toothpicking, it was bottom eight, two out. Then Max lost a fastball way high and a run scored whilst the other two runners also moved up. Then Stanton singled to left and the winning run splashed down, 2-1 Fish.
I put John and Suzyn on from the Bronx right at 18:10. Didi went in-deedi, making Yankee fans euphorious. But MartÃn Maldonado touched Jordan Montgomery for a 2-run shot 12 rows deep an inning later, the game tied at two then as it is now in the top of the fifth, two away, Maybin at the plate. Indians-Baltimore was delayed; I am territorially restricted from seeing Wacha get lit by Philly. The 'Cut starts soon. Montgomery walks Maybin again. Calhoun, 3U.
The 'Cut abides. Blanco goes 3-1 on a ranging move to the ground by Mark Reynolds, the long-legged Hoffmann sprinting to cover. Now LeMahieu handles another grounder to the right side, 4-3. 97 mph outer third to Goldschmidt. 98 outside makes it 1-&-2. 95 right down the middle, a foul chopper to the left side. 96 up and in. 96 outside corner, Goldy fouls it back in protect fashion. 96 low and away. Goldy gets a piece, barely, of 97 on the outside corner. 96 outer half, foul. It's 92°F in Denver. Goldy goes 6-3 on 96, upper quadrant. All fastballs to Goldschmidt, primarily away. Hoffmann throws hard, and he kept it away, but I don't see much movement on those heaters and I haven't seen a secondary offering yet.
Here is #99, Taijuan Walker, to face the wooly bearded Blackmon. 93, center-cut. Blackmon's hitting .327. 94, lower outside quadrant. Offspeed, Blackmon reaches and grounds out, 3. Arenado, GIDP, inning over. HolliDinger! Nolasco has allowed 23 homers this year, worst in the AL. (I still have John, Suzyn, and the Yanks going on the kitchen radio by way of MLB audio.)
First pitch curve to Lamb and Jake spanks it to right. To Drury, 94 down and in. 95 looked out but Hoffmann got the call. 94 in jams Drury, 6-3, Lamb to third. Now Descalso aka The ScuZzer. .718 OPS. Slider at 84, in the dirt, I thought Descalso swung but Joe West didn't. Backdoor slider, 83 mph, doesn't get the call. 95, with tail, low and away. A slider at 82 catches the outside corner. Full count. ScuZzer 4-3, the run doesn't score, LeMahieu was positioned in and probably would have gotten the out at home had Lamb tried anything rash. Iannetta, 6-3.
A little bit later a lot has happened. The Snakes wound up with ten runs in that fourth, nine charged to Jeff Hoffman. It was 12-3 last I saw, as the ScuZzer went GIDP to close out the top of the sixth. I opted out of the 'Cut to check in on Mets at Dodgers. Rich Hill and Tyler Pill. It's 1-0 Mets, Granderson having homered to lead off the game. I saw Granderson's second at-bat, a single. Flores followed with a pop fly to second which Utley inexplicably let drop ... or wait ... Utley picked it up and tossed to second, forcing Granderson at second, leaving the ponderout Flores at first. I credit Gary Cohen on SNY for proffering the FAQ: Why was there no infield fly rule call? Per Gary, the infield fly rule only applies when there are men on first and second or when the bases are loaded. Keith chimed in ... at least, I think it's Keith ... I admit I have a hard time distinguishing between Keith and Ron. Keith suggests that the infield fly rule only applies when a double play could be gleaned as a result of the pop fly falling ... which isn't possible when there is only one man on (assuming of course that the batter is running to first and not gaping at the pop-up himself).
As I've been writing (not the first writer to get bogged down in the morass of the infield fly rule) Rich Hill has lifted a ball to center, bringing home a run. It's 1-1 bottom of the third, two outs for Corey Seager, who hit three home runs last night. The Mets walk him intentionally. Enter Chris Taylor. One more thing I must note: the last commercial break contained no commercials. Commercial break in progress, Jake! The Phillips 66 commercial is gone, the Samsung "Our Batteries Won't Blow Up on Your Flight Anymore" commercial is gone. Earlier today they were running the Dairy Queen, "What's a Cloche?" commercial, touting an A-1 Steak Sauce burger. I also saw the dog-licking-young-girl's-face commercial for BP gasoline. But now there is only the serene red, white, and blue slow crawl of the MLB logo with its infamous "Commercial Break in Progress" rejoinder.
Ron Cey is being interviewed on SNY. The broadcast cut to a shot of Tommy Lasorda diamond-side. As my dad would say, "It's tough to get old." But dang, if you have to get old why not get old in a first-row seat at Chavez Ravine? I have it on mute but I can tell that Ron Cey is totally into this interview, not annoyed at all. In stands T. J. Rivera, playing third base tonight. He made a poor throw from there in the bottom half of the inning. He's better at first, maybe second, maybe nowhere. Bermuda Triangle! First base, second base, right field ... Utley called for it and should have had it but it clanked off of the heel of his glove. That one he did not mean to let drop. A good curve from Hill to Reyes, bases loaded, no one out, top four. Hill loses a fastball at 88, up and away, 2-and-2. Same pitch at 85 and Reyes swings under it, K. Gavin Cecchini now. A curve at 74 drops in for a strike. I have heard it said on the Effectively Wild podcast, where they cited FanGraphs pitch values, that Rich Hill's curve has been a bad one this year but I've seen some good ones here. He's throwing it at 75 mph, backdooring it to righties. Then he brings a mid-eighties fastball, which is right over the plate here to Cecchini, which he looks at. I'm assuming Cecchini was looking curve there, because how else does an 85 mph fastball over the heart of the plate not get an offer swing? Rich Hill is about to go on a run. Now a pretty curve at 73 to Pill. Again at 73, not a strike, down and in but Pill swings and is down on strikes. Hill escapes.
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