The Game

Two runs yesterday would have put the game into extra innings. The Braves waited until the first inning today to score them, though, on an Acuña homer, a Baldwin double, an Olson bloop and a Dubón groundout. They chose not to apply them to yesterday’s game, though, figuring they might need them later.

The Snakes tied it back up immediately, though, aided by the slightly curious decision of Austin Riley not to try and erase the first run at the plate, opting instead for a safe out. I say only slightly curious, because early in a game it’s probably the right play even with a substantial chance of getting the runner at home. Still, my eye showed that chance at considerably beyond substantial. And the D-Backs ended up scoring three anyway, so the infallible conditional hindsight dictum meant Riley should have tried. (I will point out that a Google search appears to reveal that you have just read the first Internet usage of the term “infallible conditional hindsight”. Put that in your trophy case and move on.)

After a minor threat in the bottom of the 2nd, Arizona put another three runs on the board in the top of the third. For the first time in several outings, Sherlocks was leaving pitches in highly smashable locations… and Arizona did some smashing. Once he realized how hard his strikes were being hit, he started to nibble: two walks predictably followed and he was replaced by Victor “Boy who Batted 1,000” Mederos in the 4th.

Other than a couple of Nolan Arenado homers, nothing much happened for a while. Offensive results got no better when Eduardo Rodriguez gave way in the 7th for Jonathan Loaisaga, but at least I got to see my first name on the TV screen. Danny Young, who I discovered is still with the team, pitched the mop-up 9th. Young hasn’t pitched in a week, and other than his mother, I doubt anyone has missed him. The three-run homer he yakked up means he has to go back to Gwinnett… or Rome, or the center of the sun, right?

The failure to score 8 runs in the 9th meant we lost. Rusty’s sojourn continues, so you’re stuck with me again tomorrow. Soroka returns to Atlanta to face Bryce Elder, who I confidently predict will not pitch a complete game. But neither will Soroka.

Announcer Note

The game was on Fox, who hired Brandon Gaudin for the night to work with Adam Wainwright. While it is vaguely possible that Brandon Gaudin and Adam Wainwright are old friends, Gaudin calling him “Waino” the entire game — once or twice an inning — got to be really annoying. Probably just me.