Tagged: Asher Wojciechowski

July 20, 2017

Great American Birthday

Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals (National League)

Great American Ballpark-Cincinnati, OH: I love it that I have a summer birthday. One perk is that it’s a good even split from presents at Christmas. My sister has a birthday on December 29th. It just seemed like Christmas presents simply flowed into birthday presents a few days later. Another perk of a summer birthday is that I can enjoy it at a ballgame. This year the Cincinnati Reds were nice enough to host a day game in celebration, so Brian and I made the short journey to enjoy some Major League Baseball. As usual, we parked over in Newport, KY, and took the boat across the Ohio River to the Great American Ballpark.

It was a super hot day out, but Brian still wanted to play on the kids’ field for a bit. Good gravy, the game hasn’t even started yet and this kid looks so hot and disheveled…

Our seats were amazing, even in the upper deck. We had front row and had a phenomenal view of the game taking place before us, sitting behind home plate. Unfortunately, as northern boys, the sun and heat were not making it comfortable for us, so we had to move down under some shade. At least we had a solid look at Eugenio Suarez’s home run in the second inning. And that was pretty much all the offense the Reds could muster.

Here’s a hit by Scooter!

If Tucker Barnhart is looking at me for a sign on what to throw to Bryce Harper, I have no clue. That guy can hit just about anything…

The game itself wasn’t a great one for the Reds. Scott Feldman started out on the mound, but only lasted one inning. He gave up five runs on five hits, including two home runs. One was a three-run blast by Harper. Well, he’s now on the DL… Asher Wojciechowski (who was just on Louisville last month) came in to throw five solid innings, giving up one run on two hits, while striking out four. And again, the only offense for the Reds was Suarez’s home run. FINAL: Reds 1, Nationals 6.

Despite the score and the heat, this was a great birthday. Lily and Trevor were up visiting Michigan, so I really missed them, but Brian and I had a good time. I definitely want to take in another game here before the season is over, but maybe in September, and maybe a night game so it’s cooler. We’ll be back at the Bats this weekend, but I can’t believe the season is half-way over, and we only have a few more games planned…

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

July 1, 2017

Bat Boys & Indians

Louisville Bats vs. Indianapolis Indians (International League)

Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: We were back at it last weekend for another Bats game. I really wanted to hit 80’s night the day before, but just couldn’t make it happen. That promotion is simply tailor made for me, but Bri and I still had a great time on Sunday. And the weather was perfect for baseball, as it’s been lately. Also, coming in the gate Brian got a free mini-bat from the Louisville Slugger Museum. We already have a few of these, but you can never have too many mini-bats. We’ll be making it back to the museum soon to check out their Lego exhibit, anyway!

On to the game, starting on the mound for Louisville was Cody Reed, who only lasted through the first two innings. He held Indy off the board, though, waling two, striking out three, and giving up one hit. Asher Wojciechowski pitched three innings, giving up one Indian run on four hits while striking out five. Kyle McMyne gave up the only other Indy run, but still earned the win. He pitched two innings and struck out one batter. Earning the save was Kevin Shackelford, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

Also during the game, Brian got a game ball thrown to him by Indians manager Andy Barkett. He managed for a few years in the Detroit organization, and must have sensed we were Tiger fans!

The Bats scored one run in the first, and went on to take the lead with three in the seventh. Leading the offense for the Bats, was catcher Rob Brantly, who went 2/4 with an RBI. Helping out was Sebastian Elizalde who went 1/3 with an RBI and run scored. Alex Blandino started the scoring for Louisville in the first, and was 1/2 with an RBI and run scored in the game. FINAL: Bats 4, Indians 2.

Another fun day for us, and the Bats had BBoy McCoy, the break dancing bat boy, in attendance to entertain the fans between innings. I still think that break dancing is very cool, and the movie Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo still holds up, today. Unfortunately, the times he was out, we were either at the playground, or I couldn’t get my camera or phone focused in in time to catch a photo or video. I did find a nice video of him on YouTube, though, that I’ll share. I highly recommend seeing him if he’s at a ballpark near you!