Minor League Opening Day Live-Blog: Indianapolis at Pawtucket
Is it wrong that I got more excited about this than I did about Major League Opening Day?
Lineups! Yaaaaay!
Indianapolis:
McCutchen (CF)
Bixler (SS)
Kata (2B)
Pearce (RF)
Boeve (1B)
Walker (3B)
Thompson (LF)
Wilson (DH)
Chavez (C)
Starting Pitcher: Bullington (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Pawtucket:
Joe Thurston (2B)
George "Georgie Sparkles" Kottaras (C)
Jed Carlson* Lowrie (SS)
Chris "GirlSox Nation's Addiction" Carter (LF)
Brandon "Sunbeam" Moss (1B)
Bobby Kielty (RF)
Keith Ginter (3B)
Jeff Bailey (DH)
Jonathan Van Every (CF)
Starting Pitcher: Bartolo Colon (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Note: As I keep up with this, I'll also be following Justin Masterson's Opening Day start for Portland (I'm so proud!). At the moment, the game is in the top of the second inning, and neither side has scored. It's currently delayed, though, so I'll probably be updating rather sporadically on that...
*Why no quotation marks? That's Jed's real middle name.
Top of the First:
Andrew McCutchen leads off against Bartolo Colon, and it's on! Bartolo's first pitch is a ball, but the second one is a nasty slider on the corner of the strike zone. He then fires in a fastball for strike two. The next one misses high and outside, and the one after that misses, as well, but McCutchen grounds out to Keith Ginter for the first out. Brian Bixler is up for Indianapolis, and he works a 2-1 count before grounding out - also to Keith Ginter. Matt Kata steps in, and he works a 2-2 count, fouling off a few pitches. Finally, Georgie Sparkles catches one of the fouls, and the PawSox get their first at-bats of the season!
Bottom of the First:
Joe Thurston, a newcomer to the team (and a rather good singer, or so I'm told), steps in to face Bryan Bullington. Joe goes down 0-2 immediately, but he comes back with a base hit down the right field line. Georgie Sparkles follows him to the plate, but he pops out on the first pitch he receives. Of course, I smile like an idiot anyway because it means that this brings up Jed. There's a pickoff attempt, but Joe gets back unharmed. (The commentators go and mention Stanford again in the meantime. I'm seriously starting to wonder if that's commentator code for something.) He has to go and strike out, though, so I have to yell at him. And I do. But I still love him. Chris Carter is now up. But he goes down on three straight pitches to retire the side, and we're through one. Augh.
Top of the Second:
Steve Pearce is up to kick off the second. He quickly finds out that Bartolo's slider is filthy tonight. After missing the slider and taking two balls, he grounds out to Joe Thurston, who throws him out. Adam Boeve steps in as the commentators try to guess if Bartolo's weight is listed correctly. Meanwhile, Boeve singles to right. Neil Walker is up. Bartolo makes two pickoff attempts at first, and he eventually induces Walker to hit into a double play. He's looking pretty sharp today!
Masterson Update: It's the bottom of the third in New Britain, and he's looking pretty good (except for one wild pitch in the bottom of the first). So far, he's still keeping the Rock Cats off the scoreboard.
Bottom of the Second:
Sunbeam leading off! He lines out to left somewhat quickly. It reminds me of when my brother and I would play All-Star Baseball 2000: the commentators were often heard to utter the phrase, "He made good contact, but he hit it right at a fielder!" Bobby Kielty follows him to the plate, and he grounds out to second. Keith Ginter, another new addition to the team, steps in next. He only takes one pitch, then swings at the next one and grounds out. Bartolo's not the only sharp starter tonight.
Top of the Third:
Indianapolis' first batter this inning is Kevin Thompson. Bartolo throws three strikes in a row into the same exact spot, and Thompson fouls off the third one to stay alive. After taking a ball, he grounds out to Jed, who throws him out with what Justin Masterson refers to as his "rocket launcher." Josh Wilson steps in, and after taking one pitch he flies out to Chris Carter on the next one. It's the 'Stanford Gets You Out' inning! Bartolo quickly gets ahead of Raul Chavez 0-2, but it takes four pitches to strike him out because one misses ever so slightly. Okay, it's the 'Stanford And Colon Get You Out' inning.
Because I feel like voicing this concern: if someone didn't know how to pronounce Colon's name, it could theoretically be read as 'colon,' as in the end of the large intestines. Awkwaaaard...
Bottom of the Third:
Pawtucket's lead-off man this time around is Jeff Bailey, the DH. Jeff takes two balls (here I pause to giggle immaturely), then fouls off the third pitch. He takes a third ball, then singles to left. Jon Van Every's up! He was with Buffalo last season, but we've got him now, and I'm glad for it - because he homers to left, and the PawSox are up 2-0 in the third! Joe Thurston comes back to the plate for the second time. He pops out in foul territory to bring Georgie Sparkles up. Georgie is clearly in a hurry to get to the mall, because he flies out on the first pitch he sees. In order to prevent this strikeout business, I play Never Gonna Give You Up (whilst eating Double Stuf Oreos) in an attempt to get Jed on base. Disturbingly enough, the pitcher throws three balls all over the place before finally getting a strike in. But Jed walks. HA. Rick Astley for the win. Chris Carter is up. I leave Rick Astley on, but I'm thinking of downloading She Blinded Me With Science for Chris' at-bats if Rick does not work for him. Obviously the Rick Astley is getting annoying, because there are two pickoff attempts on Jed. Chris puts the ball in play, singling and moving Jed over to third. I keep the Rick Astley going because it is clearly working. Sunbeam comes in, and I decide to switch to Bananaphone for him. It works. Brandon takes one pitch, then doubles to bring in Jed. Chris Carter stops at third. Bobby Kielty is up, but there's a coaching visit to the mound first. Someone's up in the pen for Indianapolis. I do not have any theme music for Bobby - any suggestions? Bobby works a full count, but he strikes out looking, and that's it. I knew he needed theme music!
Masterson Update: Mr. Clean is, well, clean through four. Both Portland and New Britain are off the scoreboard 4.5 innings in.
Top of the Fourth:
Colon faces the top of the order - Andrew McCutchen is up first. He flies out to Jon Van Every for the first out. Bixler attempts to bunt, but it goes foul. The second pitch is a called strike, and the third one is a ball. In fact, the fourth and fifth ones are balls, too. But Bixler strikes out swinging, and Colon's first full count of the evening is a success. Matt Kata follows Bixler, and fouls the first pitch he sees off. He also fouls the second pitch he sees off. Colon has really been pounding the strike zone - I'm impressed. The third pitch is a ball. Go figure - right after I talk about how he's pounding the strike zone. The fourth pitch is a foul tip, and that's it. Chris Carter's parents and Brandon Moss' sister have written into the radio station to inform the commentators, who did a shout-out to the players' families and invited them to contact them during the broadcast, that they are indeed listening to the game. So cute!
Bottom of the Fourth:
Keith Ginter leads off the fourth for the PawSox. I need to get him a theme song. He gets in a hole 0-2 quickly, so I choose a random song on iTunes, the first one to catch my eye - Come On Eileen. It fails, as he grounds out to third. Perhaps it will work for Jeff Bailey. It is officially his song, because he walks. I go to pick one for Jon Van Every. I go with Bonnie Tyler. Holding Out For a Hero is not Jon's song, because he hits into a double play. Crap.
Masterson Update: Rick Justin is out of the game, being replaced by Daniel Haigwood. He looked pretty good through the four innings he pitched - I'm so proud! He gave up three hits, but had three strikeouts. Most of his batters were retired - as expected - on groundouts. His groundouts-flyouts ratio was 7 : 1. He's a sinkerballer, and it shows! Haigwood also got through the fifth, and we're still scoreless in New Britain.
Top of the Fifth:
Steve Pearce is in to face Bartolo Colon now. Pearce works a count of 2-2. More e-mails come in, although not all of them are family members. We find out that RJ's Fantasy Camp team won the entire tournament - good for RJ! Jon Van Every's parents contact the commentators as Pearce grounds out to Bartolo, who throws to Sunbeam for the first out. Someone who knows Chris Carter's parents contacts the radio and tells the commentators to give them a shout-out from Yakima, and they do. Colon walks Boeve in the meantime. Neil Walker, Texas Ranger, is now up. He takes a ball, then fouls off the next two pitches. The next pitch is a ball, but Walker gets right back to fouling pitches off after that. The next two are fouled off. Craig "Apnea-Free" Hansen is warming in the bullpen. Bartolo's next pitch is a ball, and it's a full count. Boeve steals second, and George's throw is over Jed, which puts Boeve on third. Uh-oh. The error is on Georgie Sparkles. Neil Walker conveniently strikes out, though, Colon's fourth of the game. Kevin Thompson is up to attempt to capitalize, and he's immediately down 0-2. Colon fans him to end the threat. Impressive, isn't it?
Colon's pitch count: 74 pitches, 45 for strikes. Not bad at all. We'll see if he comes back for the next inning or not.
Bottom of the Fifth:
American Idol reject tryout Joe Thurston is up! I personally think he's all kinds of awesome. He fouls off the first pitch he sees, but then he gets a base hit. I play Let's Go to the Mall in honor of Georgie Sparkles. Okay, Joe's base hit is now ruled an error on Kata. Oh, well. They attempt to pick Joe off twice - is Robin Sparkles driving them up the wall? Georgie works a count of 3-1, but he grounds into a double play. Damnit. Never fear, though, because we have Jed up, and therefore we get to blast Rick Astley and be obnoxious. They immediately start gunning for him. Oops. The first two pitches are strikes (one of which he fouls off), but the next two miss outside. The third one is up and inside on him. And with a full count, he ends up with an infield hit because the first baseman steps off the bag to make the play. Ah, the power of Rick Astley! I leave it on for Carter, because it worked last time. Jed's hit is ruled an error. Not fair! Chris Carter takes two balls low and inside, much to the perverted delight of GirlSox Nation, but then goes and makes the third out, flying out to left center. I go to the iTunes store to download She Blinded Me With Science.
Top of the Sixth:
Craig "Apnea-Free" Hansen is in to start the sixth. Hmmm, Craig as middle relief. An interesting idea, isn't it? His first pitch to Josh Wilson is a ball. He comes back to fan Wilson on three pitches, though. Raul Chavez steps in, and I find out that the commentators also refer to Kottaras as 'Georgie.' I'll bet they don't call him 'Georgie Sparkles,' though. Craig's first two pitches are balls, but he gets a strike on the third try. The fourth pitch is fouled off, and the fifth pitch is a ball. Chavez walks to bring up McCutchen. Finally, Craig throws a first-pitch strike. He gets McCutchen to ground out to Keith Ginter, and there are two outs with Chavez on second. Bixler steps in, and Craig gets him to swing at the first pitch to make the third out of the inning courtesy of Jon Van Every. We're moving on!
Masterson Haigwood Vaquedano Update: They're through six scoreless. Iggy Suarez is having a nice night at the plate, but sadly he has nothing to show for it. C'mon, guys, help him out! We're through six in New Britain.
Bottom of the Sixth:
Since Sunbeam is up, I kick off this inning with Bananaphone. There is a pitching change - Marino Salas is in to replace Bullington. His first two pitches to Brandon are balls - evidently he doesn't like cellular bananular phones. His next pitch is a strike, though, but then he throws yet another ball. Finally, another strike comes, and Brandon's worked a full count. He fouls off the next pitch just to be annoying (and to stay alive), then does the same with the next pitch. At last, he earns himself a walk! Thanks, Raffi! Brandon skips on over to first, and we've got Bobby Kielty at the plate. With no music, the first pitch to Kielty is a strike right down the middle. Hmmm. The second pitch is a ball, as are the third and fourth ones. Clearly Bananaphone is stuck in Salas' head. Bobby swings and misses at the next one, and we've got the second full count of the inning. The commentators get an e-mail from a listener in Adelaide, Australia. Awesome. Bobby finally pops up to Neil Walker in foul territory for the first out. Keith Ginter, who I still need a song for, is up now. He quickly ends up in a hole 0-2. In desperation, I go to iTunes and click on a random song - this time, it's Time After Time. Keith takes the next two pitches as balls. Hmm, maybe, just maybe...He fouls off the next offering, but then strikes out swinging. I opt not to add Time After Time to the quickly-growing iTunes playlist called "Pawtucket Rally Music." Since Jeff Bailey is up, I switch over to Come On Eileen again. He takes a ball, then two strikes, and then waits as Salas attempts to pick off Brandon. But then he goes and strikes out. Forget this Come On Eileen business - it was just a fluke song.
Portland Update: They're through 7 innings. Nobody has scored. At least if anything happens, Justin won't be on the hook. However, it would be nice if someone from Portland scored. Thank you.
Top of the Seventh:
Hansen still in for the seventh. He faces Matt Kata. His first pitch is a strike down the middle. Kata swings and misses at the second pitch, then fouls off the third one. And the fourth one (which Keith attempts to catch, but misses). Finally, Kata fans, and Pearce is up. Meanwhile, Randy Mobley, the IL president, is in the booth. They talk about the IL Hall of Fame whilst Pearce strikes out. Adam Boeve steps in, and he walks on four straight pitches. This guy is beginning to become a bit of a pain in the ass. Neil Walker is up now. Craig's first two pitches to the Chuck Norris wannabe are strikes, and the third pitch is hit right to Brandon, who retires the side.
We have some IL final scores coming in:
As I said in a previous post, Syracuse beat Louisville 2-0 earlier today.
Rochester outslugged Richmond 9-5.
Durham fell to Toledo 3-2.
OOH! PORTLAND ON THE BOARD! The Sea Dogs take a 1-0 lead in the top of the eighth courtesy of a Danielson double and a Bubba Bell RBI! WOOHOO!
Bottom of the Seventh:
Jon Van Every takes two balls to start the inning off. He fouls off the third offering from Salas, then swings and misses at the fourth one. He's got a 2-2 count...and he grounds out, bringing up Joe Thurston. Joe tries to bunt, but it goes foul. The next pitch is a ball. He grounds out to short, so it's up to Georgie Sparkles this inning. This calls for Let's Go to the Mall! Georgie gets into an 0-2 hole pretty quickly, though. The third pitch is a ball, so he hangs on and fouls off the fourth one. After taking another ball, he swings and misses to end the inning. So much for the mall, eh?
I probably shouldn't have ended that sentence with 'eh' because George is Canadian. Sorry for accidentally being mean to you, Georgie!
Top of the Eighth:
Uh-oh, we just put in Dan Kolb. I sometimes call this fellow Gagne 2.0, and hopefully we won't see why. (I knock on wood.) Kevin Thompson takes a called strike and a ball, but then grounds out to Keith Ginter for the first out. Josh Wilson steps in, and the first pitch he receives misses for a ball. The second one is a called strike, though. The third one, too, is a ball. The fourth one, too, is a called strike. I detect a pattern that will work in Kolb's favor if Wilson does not take the bat off his shoulder. The next pitch is a ball. The pitch that would've been the next called strike in the pattern is fouled off. Damnit, you're ruining my fun, Wilson! The seventh pitch of the at-bat is also fouled off. Finally, on the eighth pitch, Wilson walks. Chavez comes to the plate and takes a ball. Kolb's next pitch is fouled off, evening the count. But the next one is a ball, setting the count at 2-1. Chavez fouls the fourth pitch off, and Brandon gets over there and catches it. Two outs in the eighth, and the lead-off hitter is at the plate. Apparently, McCutchen (the batter) is the top-rated prospect in the Pirates organization. Keep an eye on him! Kolb's first two offerings are called strikes, and McCutchen swings at the third one - and hits it right to Jed, who flips it to Joe Thurston for the third out.
Bottom of the Eighth:
Mike Thompson is in to replace Salas. Jed in to replace nobody. Rick Astley in because I can. After a swing and a miss, Jed takes three consecutive balls - and a fourth one. He walks. That's the power of Rick Astley. I try out She Blinded Me With Science for the first time. Seven of the nine batters in the lineup are hitting left-handed today, according to the radio. My entire family is left-handed, so this is totally awesome to me. Chris flies out to left for the first out. Nuuuu! Sunbeam comes up, which means it's time for Bananaphone. Brandon takes a ball, swings and misses, takes another ball, watches Thompson try to pick off Jed, takes another ball, fouls a pitch off, fouls another pitch off, and finally hits the ball off the glove of the first baseman, which is ruled an error. Brandon and Jed are both safe. Go Raffi! The first pitch to Kielty, who is now up, is a strike, and he fouls the second one off. He also fouls the third one off. And he also fouls the fourth one off. Thompson really wants a strikeout here - he's just pounding at the zone. He gets it on his fifth pitch. Keith Ginter is up now. I really need a song for Ginter. I randomly select C'est La Vie by B*Witched, and Keith's count goes to 1-1. But the third pitch is a ball. The next pitch is a called strike, and he fouls off the one after that. And then he strikes out. Keith and B*Witched are not a match.
PORTLAND SCORES TWO MORE IN THE NINTH TO MAKE IT 3-0! GO PORTLAND!
Top of the Ninth:
Lee Gronkiewicz in to close! I am proud of my ability to spell Lee's last name correctly from memory. But for now, since I have to type quickly, we shall call him Lee. His first batter is Brian Bixler, and his first pitch is a strike. The second pitch is fouled off to the right. And nicely enough, the third pitch is popped up to left field, and Chris Carter catches it. One out! Matt Kata steps in next. He fouls off Lee's first offering, then skies the second one to right, where Bobby Kielty catches it. Two outs! Steve Pearce is the last chance for Indianapolis, and he grounds out - and that's the ball game!
Bottom of the Ninth:
We do not need this, for the PawSox pitchers have combined to throw a one-hitter! Way to go, guys!
Oh, this is such a sweet obsession...
Final score: Pawtucket 3, Indianapolis 0. Four PawSox pitchers combined on a one-hitter. Awesome. Now we're just waiting on a final from Portland, whose radio broadcast I'm tuning into right now...
As if by sheer coincidence, Portland also wins 3-0. Three is a magic number!
...I love Schoolhouse Rock.
Lineups! Yaaaaay!
Indianapolis:
McCutchen (CF)
Bixler (SS)
Kata (2B)
Pearce (RF)
Boeve (1B)
Walker (3B)
Thompson (LF)
Wilson (DH)
Chavez (C)
Starting Pitcher: Bullington (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Pawtucket:
Joe Thurston (2B)
George "Georgie Sparkles" Kottaras (C)
Jed Carlson* Lowrie (SS)
Chris "GirlSox Nation's Addiction" Carter (LF)
Brandon "Sunbeam" Moss (1B)
Bobby Kielty (RF)
Keith Ginter (3B)
Jeff Bailey (DH)
Jonathan Van Every (CF)
Starting Pitcher: Bartolo Colon (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Note: As I keep up with this, I'll also be following Justin Masterson's Opening Day start for Portland (I'm so proud!). At the moment, the game is in the top of the second inning, and neither side has scored. It's currently delayed, though, so I'll probably be updating rather sporadically on that...
*Why no quotation marks? That's Jed's real middle name.
Top of the First:
Andrew McCutchen leads off against Bartolo Colon, and it's on! Bartolo's first pitch is a ball, but the second one is a nasty slider on the corner of the strike zone. He then fires in a fastball for strike two. The next one misses high and outside, and the one after that misses, as well, but McCutchen grounds out to Keith Ginter for the first out. Brian Bixler is up for Indianapolis, and he works a 2-1 count before grounding out - also to Keith Ginter. Matt Kata steps in, and he works a 2-2 count, fouling off a few pitches. Finally, Georgie Sparkles catches one of the fouls, and the PawSox get their first at-bats of the season!
Bottom of the First:
Joe Thurston, a newcomer to the team (and a rather good singer, or so I'm told), steps in to face Bryan Bullington. Joe goes down 0-2 immediately, but he comes back with a base hit down the right field line. Georgie Sparkles follows him to the plate, but he pops out on the first pitch he receives. Of course, I smile like an idiot anyway because it means that this brings up Jed. There's a pickoff attempt, but Joe gets back unharmed. (The commentators go and mention Stanford again in the meantime. I'm seriously starting to wonder if that's commentator code for something.) He has to go and strike out, though, so I have to yell at him. And I do. But I still love him. Chris Carter is now up. But he goes down on three straight pitches to retire the side, and we're through one. Augh.
Top of the Second:
Steve Pearce is up to kick off the second. He quickly finds out that Bartolo's slider is filthy tonight. After missing the slider and taking two balls, he grounds out to Joe Thurston, who throws him out. Adam Boeve steps in as the commentators try to guess if Bartolo's weight is listed correctly. Meanwhile, Boeve singles to right. Neil Walker is up. Bartolo makes two pickoff attempts at first, and he eventually induces Walker to hit into a double play. He's looking pretty sharp today!
Masterson Update: It's the bottom of the third in New Britain, and he's looking pretty good (except for one wild pitch in the bottom of the first). So far, he's still keeping the Rock Cats off the scoreboard.
Bottom of the Second:
Sunbeam leading off! He lines out to left somewhat quickly. It reminds me of when my brother and I would play All-Star Baseball 2000: the commentators were often heard to utter the phrase, "He made good contact, but he hit it right at a fielder!" Bobby Kielty follows him to the plate, and he grounds out to second. Keith Ginter, another new addition to the team, steps in next. He only takes one pitch, then swings at the next one and grounds out. Bartolo's not the only sharp starter tonight.
Top of the Third:
Indianapolis' first batter this inning is Kevin Thompson. Bartolo throws three strikes in a row into the same exact spot, and Thompson fouls off the third one to stay alive. After taking a ball, he grounds out to Jed, who throws him out with what Justin Masterson refers to as his "rocket launcher." Josh Wilson steps in, and after taking one pitch he flies out to Chris Carter on the next one. It's the 'Stanford Gets You Out' inning! Bartolo quickly gets ahead of Raul Chavez 0-2, but it takes four pitches to strike him out because one misses ever so slightly. Okay, it's the 'Stanford And Colon Get You Out' inning.
Because I feel like voicing this concern: if someone didn't know how to pronounce Colon's name, it could theoretically be read as 'colon,' as in the end of the large intestines. Awkwaaaard...
Bottom of the Third:
Pawtucket's lead-off man this time around is Jeff Bailey, the DH. Jeff takes two balls (here I pause to giggle immaturely), then fouls off the third pitch. He takes a third ball, then singles to left. Jon Van Every's up! He was with Buffalo last season, but we've got him now, and I'm glad for it - because he homers to left, and the PawSox are up 2-0 in the third! Joe Thurston comes back to the plate for the second time. He pops out in foul territory to bring Georgie Sparkles up. Georgie is clearly in a hurry to get to the mall, because he flies out on the first pitch he sees. In order to prevent this strikeout business, I play Never Gonna Give You Up (whilst eating Double Stuf Oreos) in an attempt to get Jed on base. Disturbingly enough, the pitcher throws three balls all over the place before finally getting a strike in. But Jed walks. HA. Rick Astley for the win. Chris Carter is up. I leave Rick Astley on, but I'm thinking of downloading She Blinded Me With Science for Chris' at-bats if Rick does not work for him. Obviously the Rick Astley is getting annoying, because there are two pickoff attempts on Jed. Chris puts the ball in play, singling and moving Jed over to third. I keep the Rick Astley going because it is clearly working. Sunbeam comes in, and I decide to switch to Bananaphone for him. It works. Brandon takes one pitch, then doubles to bring in Jed. Chris Carter stops at third. Bobby Kielty is up, but there's a coaching visit to the mound first. Someone's up in the pen for Indianapolis. I do not have any theme music for Bobby - any suggestions? Bobby works a full count, but he strikes out looking, and that's it. I knew he needed theme music!
Masterson Update: Mr. Clean is, well, clean through four. Both Portland and New Britain are off the scoreboard 4.5 innings in.
Top of the Fourth:
Colon faces the top of the order - Andrew McCutchen is up first. He flies out to Jon Van Every for the first out. Bixler attempts to bunt, but it goes foul. The second pitch is a called strike, and the third one is a ball. In fact, the fourth and fifth ones are balls, too. But Bixler strikes out swinging, and Colon's first full count of the evening is a success. Matt Kata follows Bixler, and fouls the first pitch he sees off. He also fouls the second pitch he sees off. Colon has really been pounding the strike zone - I'm impressed. The third pitch is a ball. Go figure - right after I talk about how he's pounding the strike zone. The fourth pitch is a foul tip, and that's it. Chris Carter's parents and Brandon Moss' sister have written into the radio station to inform the commentators, who did a shout-out to the players' families and invited them to contact them during the broadcast, that they are indeed listening to the game. So cute!
Bottom of the Fourth:
Keith Ginter leads off the fourth for the PawSox. I need to get him a theme song. He gets in a hole 0-2 quickly, so I choose a random song on iTunes, the first one to catch my eye - Come On Eileen. It fails, as he grounds out to third. Perhaps it will work for Jeff Bailey. It is officially his song, because he walks. I go to pick one for Jon Van Every. I go with Bonnie Tyler. Holding Out For a Hero is not Jon's song, because he hits into a double play. Crap.
Masterson Update: Rick Justin is out of the game, being replaced by Daniel Haigwood. He looked pretty good through the four innings he pitched - I'm so proud! He gave up three hits, but had three strikeouts. Most of his batters were retired - as expected - on groundouts. His groundouts-flyouts ratio was 7 : 1. He's a sinkerballer, and it shows! Haigwood also got through the fifth, and we're still scoreless in New Britain.
Top of the Fifth:
Steve Pearce is in to face Bartolo Colon now. Pearce works a count of 2-2. More e-mails come in, although not all of them are family members. We find out that RJ's Fantasy Camp team won the entire tournament - good for RJ! Jon Van Every's parents contact the commentators as Pearce grounds out to Bartolo, who throws to Sunbeam for the first out. Someone who knows Chris Carter's parents contacts the radio and tells the commentators to give them a shout-out from Yakima, and they do. Colon walks Boeve in the meantime. Neil Walker, Texas Ranger, is now up. He takes a ball, then fouls off the next two pitches. The next pitch is a ball, but Walker gets right back to fouling pitches off after that. The next two are fouled off. Craig "Apnea-Free" Hansen is warming in the bullpen. Bartolo's next pitch is a ball, and it's a full count. Boeve steals second, and George's throw is over Jed, which puts Boeve on third. Uh-oh. The error is on Georgie Sparkles. Neil Walker conveniently strikes out, though, Colon's fourth of the game. Kevin Thompson is up to attempt to capitalize, and he's immediately down 0-2. Colon fans him to end the threat. Impressive, isn't it?
Colon's pitch count: 74 pitches, 45 for strikes. Not bad at all. We'll see if he comes back for the next inning or not.
Bottom of the Fifth:
American Idol reject tryout Joe Thurston is up! I personally think he's all kinds of awesome. He fouls off the first pitch he sees, but then he gets a base hit. I play Let's Go to the Mall in honor of Georgie Sparkles. Okay, Joe's base hit is now ruled an error on Kata. Oh, well. They attempt to pick Joe off twice - is Robin Sparkles driving them up the wall? Georgie works a count of 3-1, but he grounds into a double play. Damnit. Never fear, though, because we have Jed up, and therefore we get to blast Rick Astley and be obnoxious. They immediately start gunning for him. Oops. The first two pitches are strikes (one of which he fouls off), but the next two miss outside. The third one is up and inside on him. And with a full count, he ends up with an infield hit because the first baseman steps off the bag to make the play. Ah, the power of Rick Astley! I leave it on for Carter, because it worked last time. Jed's hit is ruled an error. Not fair! Chris Carter takes two balls low and inside, much to the perverted delight of GirlSox Nation, but then goes and makes the third out, flying out to left center. I go to the iTunes store to download She Blinded Me With Science.
Top of the Sixth:
Craig "Apnea-Free" Hansen is in to start the sixth. Hmmm, Craig as middle relief. An interesting idea, isn't it? His first pitch to Josh Wilson is a ball. He comes back to fan Wilson on three pitches, though. Raul Chavez steps in, and I find out that the commentators also refer to Kottaras as 'Georgie.' I'll bet they don't call him 'Georgie Sparkles,' though. Craig's first two pitches are balls, but he gets a strike on the third try. The fourth pitch is fouled off, and the fifth pitch is a ball. Chavez walks to bring up McCutchen. Finally, Craig throws a first-pitch strike. He gets McCutchen to ground out to Keith Ginter, and there are two outs with Chavez on second. Bixler steps in, and Craig gets him to swing at the first pitch to make the third out of the inning courtesy of Jon Van Every. We're moving on!
Masterson Haigwood Vaquedano Update: They're through six scoreless. Iggy Suarez is having a nice night at the plate, but sadly he has nothing to show for it. C'mon, guys, help him out! We're through six in New Britain.
Bottom of the Sixth:
Since Sunbeam is up, I kick off this inning with Bananaphone. There is a pitching change - Marino Salas is in to replace Bullington. His first two pitches to Brandon are balls - evidently he doesn't like cellular bananular phones. His next pitch is a strike, though, but then he throws yet another ball. Finally, another strike comes, and Brandon's worked a full count. He fouls off the next pitch just to be annoying (and to stay alive), then does the same with the next pitch. At last, he earns himself a walk! Thanks, Raffi! Brandon skips on over to first, and we've got Bobby Kielty at the plate. With no music, the first pitch to Kielty is a strike right down the middle. Hmmm. The second pitch is a ball, as are the third and fourth ones. Clearly Bananaphone is stuck in Salas' head. Bobby swings and misses at the next one, and we've got the second full count of the inning. The commentators get an e-mail from a listener in Adelaide, Australia. Awesome. Bobby finally pops up to Neil Walker in foul territory for the first out. Keith Ginter, who I still need a song for, is up now. He quickly ends up in a hole 0-2. In desperation, I go to iTunes and click on a random song - this time, it's Time After Time. Keith takes the next two pitches as balls. Hmm, maybe, just maybe...He fouls off the next offering, but then strikes out swinging. I opt not to add Time After Time to the quickly-growing iTunes playlist called "Pawtucket Rally Music." Since Jeff Bailey is up, I switch over to Come On Eileen again. He takes a ball, then two strikes, and then waits as Salas attempts to pick off Brandon. But then he goes and strikes out. Forget this Come On Eileen business - it was just a fluke song.
Portland Update: They're through 7 innings. Nobody has scored. At least if anything happens, Justin won't be on the hook. However, it would be nice if someone from Portland scored. Thank you.
Top of the Seventh:
Hansen still in for the seventh. He faces Matt Kata. His first pitch is a strike down the middle. Kata swings and misses at the second pitch, then fouls off the third one. And the fourth one (which Keith attempts to catch, but misses). Finally, Kata fans, and Pearce is up. Meanwhile, Randy Mobley, the IL president, is in the booth. They talk about the IL Hall of Fame whilst Pearce strikes out. Adam Boeve steps in, and he walks on four straight pitches. This guy is beginning to become a bit of a pain in the ass. Neil Walker is up now. Craig's first two pitches to the Chuck Norris wannabe are strikes, and the third pitch is hit right to Brandon, who retires the side.
We have some IL final scores coming in:
As I said in a previous post, Syracuse beat Louisville 2-0 earlier today.
Rochester outslugged Richmond 9-5.
Durham fell to Toledo 3-2.
OOH! PORTLAND ON THE BOARD! The Sea Dogs take a 1-0 lead in the top of the eighth courtesy of a Danielson double and a Bubba Bell RBI! WOOHOO!
Bottom of the Seventh:
Jon Van Every takes two balls to start the inning off. He fouls off the third offering from Salas, then swings and misses at the fourth one. He's got a 2-2 count...and he grounds out, bringing up Joe Thurston. Joe tries to bunt, but it goes foul. The next pitch is a ball. He grounds out to short, so it's up to Georgie Sparkles this inning. This calls for Let's Go to the Mall! Georgie gets into an 0-2 hole pretty quickly, though. The third pitch is a ball, so he hangs on and fouls off the fourth one. After taking another ball, he swings and misses to end the inning. So much for the mall, eh?
I probably shouldn't have ended that sentence with 'eh' because George is Canadian. Sorry for accidentally being mean to you, Georgie!
Top of the Eighth:
Uh-oh, we just put in Dan Kolb. I sometimes call this fellow Gagne 2.0, and hopefully we won't see why. (I knock on wood.) Kevin Thompson takes a called strike and a ball, but then grounds out to Keith Ginter for the first out. Josh Wilson steps in, and the first pitch he receives misses for a ball. The second one is a called strike, though. The third one, too, is a ball. The fourth one, too, is a called strike. I detect a pattern that will work in Kolb's favor if Wilson does not take the bat off his shoulder. The next pitch is a ball. The pitch that would've been the next called strike in the pattern is fouled off. Damnit, you're ruining my fun, Wilson! The seventh pitch of the at-bat is also fouled off. Finally, on the eighth pitch, Wilson walks. Chavez comes to the plate and takes a ball. Kolb's next pitch is fouled off, evening the count. But the next one is a ball, setting the count at 2-1. Chavez fouls the fourth pitch off, and Brandon gets over there and catches it. Two outs in the eighth, and the lead-off hitter is at the plate. Apparently, McCutchen (the batter) is the top-rated prospect in the Pirates organization. Keep an eye on him! Kolb's first two offerings are called strikes, and McCutchen swings at the third one - and hits it right to Jed, who flips it to Joe Thurston for the third out.
Bottom of the Eighth:
Mike Thompson is in to replace Salas. Jed in to replace nobody. Rick Astley in because I can. After a swing and a miss, Jed takes three consecutive balls - and a fourth one. He walks. That's the power of Rick Astley. I try out She Blinded Me With Science for the first time. Seven of the nine batters in the lineup are hitting left-handed today, according to the radio. My entire family is left-handed, so this is totally awesome to me. Chris flies out to left for the first out. Nuuuu! Sunbeam comes up, which means it's time for Bananaphone. Brandon takes a ball, swings and misses, takes another ball, watches Thompson try to pick off Jed, takes another ball, fouls a pitch off, fouls another pitch off, and finally hits the ball off the glove of the first baseman, which is ruled an error. Brandon and Jed are both safe. Go Raffi! The first pitch to Kielty, who is now up, is a strike, and he fouls the second one off. He also fouls the third one off. And he also fouls the fourth one off. Thompson really wants a strikeout here - he's just pounding at the zone. He gets it on his fifth pitch. Keith Ginter is up now. I really need a song for Ginter. I randomly select C'est La Vie by B*Witched, and Keith's count goes to 1-1. But the third pitch is a ball. The next pitch is a called strike, and he fouls off the one after that. And then he strikes out. Keith and B*Witched are not a match.
PORTLAND SCORES TWO MORE IN THE NINTH TO MAKE IT 3-0! GO PORTLAND!
Top of the Ninth:
Lee Gronkiewicz in to close! I am proud of my ability to spell Lee's last name correctly from memory. But for now, since I have to type quickly, we shall call him Lee. His first batter is Brian Bixler, and his first pitch is a strike. The second pitch is fouled off to the right. And nicely enough, the third pitch is popped up to left field, and Chris Carter catches it. One out! Matt Kata steps in next. He fouls off Lee's first offering, then skies the second one to right, where Bobby Kielty catches it. Two outs! Steve Pearce is the last chance for Indianapolis, and he grounds out - and that's the ball game!
Bottom of the Ninth:
We do not need this, for the PawSox pitchers have combined to throw a one-hitter! Way to go, guys!
Oh, this is such a sweet obsession...
Final score: Pawtucket 3, Indianapolis 0. Four PawSox pitchers combined on a one-hitter. Awesome. Now we're just waiting on a final from Portland, whose radio broadcast I'm tuning into right now...
As if by sheer coincidence, Portland also wins 3-0. Three is a magic number!
...I love Schoolhouse Rock.