I heard the sound at 7:44 central daylight: Awww snap! KerCut. The man, the lefty, the return: Clayton Kershaw, tonight at 21:10 central daylight opposing Dinelson Lamet and the San Diego Padres. Kershaw, 15-2 with a 2.04 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP, has not pitched since July 23rd. This will be his 12th HotCut of 2017.
Then I walked to the Metro, took the train to Richmond Heights, walked to Dobbs Tire & Auto, picked up the Subaru and its four new tires, then waded through a sea of seething shoppers at Target and Trader Joe's. I did not carry my phone with me.
When I got back the only game in town Cubs 2 - Braves 0, bottom 8. It was going to have to go deep into extras to bridge until the night action. But Wade Davis got Freddie Freeman to ground into a double-play. Then Davis caught Matt Kemp looking at strike three. Ballgame.
I watched Ziegler nibble, walk a guy, give up a couple of hits—nothing hard but he wasn't getting the double-play ball he needed. He gave up two runs and the Marlins lost 2-1. Héctor Neris got the save. They each pitched their teams' ninth innings last night, too. Neris had his splitter working tonight, though. He must not've had a feel for it last night because I watched him then and I sure don't remember him throwing it. The HotCut starts soon.
Later—it did go extras. It is still there, top 11, no score. Pillar bats with two out, Miguel Castro is pitching. Pillar bounces a high chopper off the plate, Machado charges, gloves, throws, gets Pillar. That was WBC Manny.
I did catch a little of the 'Cut. Kershaw had his offspeed pitches working, both the slider and the curve. He was carving guys up. So was Dinelson Lamet. Alex Verdugo is making his major league debut tonight for the Dodgers, in centerfield.
HotCut Debuts
No doubt it is Lamet's first HotCut of the year—and maybe I've buried the lede—because this is the first HotCut of 2017 for the San Diego Padres! I'm further remiss because when Giancarlo Stanton carried Miami into a HotCut on his bat two days ago it was Miami's first appearance in the 'Cut this year as well.The Day Action I Caught
Not much. The first half of an Indians at Tigers doubleheader led it all off. I was listening to the Tigers radio feed as I drove to the park and then as Hugo and I walked. Dan and Jim talked about Matthew Boyd looking good (he ended up throwing 98 pitches over five innings). They talked moreso about the Tigers as a team in the wake of the waiver-deadline deals yesterday that sent Justin Upton to the Angels and then Verlander to the Astros. They looked at a rotation of: Fulmer, Boyd, Norris, Farmer, Anibal and someone else—Jordan Zimmermann. They talked a little about the prospects Detroit got back. They figured Castellanos would start to get games in right field, now that Upton was in Anaheim.Then I walked to the Metro, took the train to Richmond Heights, walked to Dobbs Tire & Auto, picked up the Subaru and its four new tires, then waded through a sea of seething shoppers at Target and Trader Joe's. I did not carry my phone with me.
When I got back the only game in town Cubs 2 - Braves 0, bottom 8. It was going to have to go deep into extras to bridge until the night action. But Wade Davis got Freddie Freeman to ground into a double-play. Then Davis caught Matt Kemp looking at strike three. Ballgame.
Is Fister Fixed?
He went nine in Cleveland on August 22nd—a one-hitter—and then he completed seven innings on the 27th in Baltimore. Tonight he is through four innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk against three strikeouts. He's thrown 65 pitches, or 16 an inning. As Michal Kay noted on the Yankees TV broadcast, "Fister is working quickly and throwing strikes." At the end of 4 1/2 innings, it's 3-1 Red Sox (Benintendi just homered).Ad-Free September?
Surely I speak too soon but it's a Friday night, we've got Red Sox and Yankees and between innings the MLB.TV experience is back to how it was before Memorial Day: "Commercial break in progress". And that is all. No Buick, no Mark Wahlberg, no Chevy in the desert, no GMC, no Ecuadorian coffee at the Phillips 66, no fat sunburned fella on a mattress on the beach. It's just quiet. Serene. A peaceful red white and blue screen, the logo effortlessly scrolling along from right to left. Too good to be true.Friday Night Miscellany
Jimmy Nelson threw seven pitches inside before slipping a slider right through the heart of the plate to catch Wilmer Difo looking. That's ten K's for Nelson.I watched Ziegler nibble, walk a guy, give up a couple of hits—nothing hard but he wasn't getting the double-play ball he needed. He gave up two runs and the Marlins lost 2-1. Héctor Neris got the save. They each pitched their teams' ninth innings last night, too. Neris had his splitter working tonight, though. He must not've had a feel for it last night because I watched him then and I sure don't remember him throwing it. The HotCut starts soon.
General Console
I haven't watch any of Blue Jays at Orioles tonight but I have noted its scorelessness along the way. It is 0-0, mid-9. I will go to it only if it reached extras.Later—it did go extras. It is still there, top 11, no score. Pillar bats with two out, Miguel Castro is pitching. Pillar bounces a high chopper off the plate, Machado charges, gloves, throws, gets Pillar. That was WBC Manny.
I did catch a little of the 'Cut. Kershaw had his offspeed pitches working, both the slider and the curve. He was carving guys up. So was Dinelson Lamet. Alex Verdugo is making his major league debut tonight for the Dodgers, in centerfield.
Comments
Post a Comment