Tagged: Indians
Bats games with Bri
Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers/Toledo MudHens (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: I’m combining a couple of games we went to before our trip up to Michigan. After battling rain for the first few months of the season, we have been battling extreme heat since then. I miss when the Bats played their Sunday games at 6:00 instead of at 2:00. Makes the heat a little more bearable.
The game against Columbus featured a nice comeback from the Bats. Down 6-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Louisville’s offense kicked in, scoring five runs to tie things up. The Bats scored one more in the seventh, then held on for the win. Leading the way was Narciso Cook, going 2-4 with a pair of RBI’s. Cassidy Brown added a two RBI’s himself, while Nick Longhi got two hits and two runs scored. Eric Stout picked up the win pitching one scoreless inning, while R.J. Alaniz earned the save. FINAL: Bats 7, Clippers 6.
Louisville’s game against Toledo took place the day we left for our trip north. It’s always good to see the Tigers’ affiliates play, also. This one was close early, but Toledo would score two runs in back-to-back innings to take the lead. The teams made the last two innings interesting also, but the Mud Hens would get 16 hits off Louisville pitching, en route to the win. Christian Colon lead the way for the Bats, going 2-4 with two RBI’s. Blake Trahan also went 2-4, and contributed one RBI. Vladimir Gutierrez took the loss, giving up five runs on eight hits in five innings of work. The Bat’s relief pitchers didn’t fare much better. FINAL: Bats 4, Mud Hens 9.
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Louisville Mashers vs. Indianapolis Indians (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Wow, here it is between Christmas and New Years, and I’m just getting our last game posted. This game was on September 2, Labor Day Eve, and as with Christmas my dad was visiting from Michigan. Also, like the game we attended in July, the Bats weren’t the Bats, this time playing as the Mashers. Because this game happened like three months ago, I’m not going to pretend to remember everything about it, but I don know I had fun with Brian and my dad, and that it was a beautiful day.
On to the game, the home team really racked up some runs for us for our last game of the season. Gabriel Guerrero lead the way, going 4-4 with four runs scored and two RBI. Hernan Iribarren was 2-5 with two runs scored, also. Brian O’Grady and Steve Selsky knocked in three runs a piece for the Bats, I mean Mashers… On the mound, Justin Nocolino earned the win for Louisville. He pitched six innings, striking out seven, and only allowing two runs. Final: Mashers 10, Indians 4.
Better late then never on this one. At this point though, starting to miss the Bats games and really look forward to the spring. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and I look forward to what 2019 will bring for us.
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Back to the Bats
Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: After the long drive back from Michigan, you’d think we’d take it easy for a bit, but no, not while the Bats are in town. We took the weekend to recover and unpack, however, and then took in a Monday night game. Despite the weather actually being pretty nice, there was a pretty sparse crowd at Slugger Field. That would come into play later, as Brian was lucky enough to take home a couple of game balls.
The first ball he got was thrown to him by right fielder Rosell Herrera. After the third out, he tossed the ball to Brian as he was coming off the field. We were really surprised that this was a Major League ball in play here in the minors, but I’ll explain that momentarily.
As for Herrera, he went 1-3 on the night, driving in the lone Bats run. Louisville didn’t have much in the way of offense this game. Oh, and the reason why the game ball was a Major League one was because the Reds’ Brandon Finnegan was on the bump in a rehab stint, and that’s what the rehabbing pitchers use (thanks to Jeff Perro/@MiLBClubbie for that info off Twitter).
Ok, and speaking of Finnegan, he took the loss for the Bats, throwing five innings while giving up eight hits, four runs, and striking out two. On a lighter note, Brian got another game ball, this time just a normal International League one, from the Clippers relief pitcher Jeff Beliveau, who threw him a foul ball that came his way while warming up. As I said, there wasn’t much of a crowd, and there was a group of kids who got way more than Brian! Final: Bats 1, Clippers 7.
A rough outing for our first Bats game of the season, but we’re still looking forward to more to come. The weather turned a little cool once that sun went down, but I’m sure we’ll have some hot days at the ballpark this summer. Don’t forget to follow me on Snapchat: @MinorBaseball for live game action!
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
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!
Video courtesy of the Skillville Group
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Bats double-header Game 2
Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Brian and I settled in for the second game, and were pleased with this one, also, as we were looking for another Bats victory. To start the game off right, though, we had to get ourselves some ballpark treats. Brian went with some Flavor Ice and I settled for some simple ice cream in a helmet.
Pitching for the Bats in game two was lefty Ismael Guillon. He pitched three and two thirds of an inning, giving up four hits and one run, but never allowing a base on balls. Louisville did most of their damage in the fourth inning. Beau Amaral hit a bases loaded triple, scoring Sebastian Elizalde, Brandon Dixon, and Rob Brantley. The Bats lead 4-1 after the fourth and hung on for the victory. Final(7): Bats 4, Clippers 3.
We can’t forget that the Zooperstars were still on hand to put on a show. We were able to see Peyton Manatee, Nomar GarciaParrott, and Whale Gretzky. Harry Canary sang ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame’ during the seventh inning stretch, but I wasn’t able to snap a photo of that.
And we ended the day right by hanging out with Buddy Bat! More posts to come in the next couple of weeks.
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Bats double-header Game 1
Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Well, we finally made it back to Slugger Field for some Bats baseball. Usually with us the rain is a pain, but last weekend it actually helped, as Saturday nights game was rained out, so we were able to enjoy a double-header on Sunday. The first game moved by quickly, but we enjoyed it and cheered on our team.
As is with most minor league double-headers, they are a seven inning games, and this one was a pitchers duel. For the Bats, starter Jackson Stephens pitched all seven innings for a complete game shut out. He gave up seven hits, but gave up no walks in his outing. And while we were watching all of the non-offense, Brian was enjoying his free kids meal of a hot dog, nachos, and root beer.
The Zooperstars were also on hand to entertain us. We saw CentiPete Rose, Tommy LaSwordfish, and Tim TeBull during this game.
We finally saw some excitement in the final inning. The Bats had back-to-back singles from Sebastian Elizalde and Tony Renda to open the inning. Then Brandon Dixon came to the plate and hit a walk-off single for a 1-0 Louisville victory! Final (7): Bats 1, Clippers 0.
Between games Brian and I went out to the West Wing to get out of the sun for a while. As Sunday is Kids Club day, they had plenty of activities for them. Brian was lucky enough to interact with some of our veterans, and made a poppy flower that will go on a Memorial Day parade float honoring our fallen heroes!
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Last game on Labor Day
Louisville Bats vs. Indianapolis Indians (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Where did the summer go? It’s definitely a sad sort of day, the last day of the Minor League regular season, which means the end of 2016 baseball for the Bats. We were blessed with a beautiful day, however, so Trevor and I decided to take a walk down by the river before the game started. To our surprise, WLKY was doing a live broadcast down that way covering some Labor Day events, and we ‘just happened’ to walk behind the reporter and got on the news! Here’s the footage courtesy of Channel 32 WLKY’s YouTube (look for us at the 1:21 and 1:22 mark):
When Trevor and I were done being TV stars, we made our way into the ballpark for the last time in 2016. We had great seats, as we settled in with our $1 hot dogs and drinks on another 90 degree day.
On the mound was Keury Mella who was making his Triple-A debut with the Bats. He pitched a solid seven innings, only giving up three hits, one earned run, while giving up one walk, and striking out six to earn the win. Relief pitcher Kevin Shackelford came in to get the save.
Louisville was lead offensively by Seth Mejias-Brean, who got the Bats on the board in the 4th with an RBI base hit. He also added and RBI on the eighth inning with a triple. The go-ahead run came in the seventh, off of a Tony Renda base hit. FINAL: Bats 4, Indians 1.
Again, it’s sad that this was our last Bats game of the season, but we will still have some baseball in our future. Brian is still playing Fall Ball, and the Louisville Cardinals will probably play some exhibition games in the coming month or so, also. We might even make it back up to the Reds, but that’s still up in the air. This was a fun day with my son, and feel blessed and lucky for it!
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Bats & Birthdays Vol. 2
Louisville Bats vs. Indianapolis Indians (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: The second part of our birthday adventure took us to the Bats game, as they hosted the rival Indians. Hey, if it’s my birthday, then why is Brian the one who gets to meet Buddy Bat and ride the merry-go-round??!
It was another hot one, in the mid-nineties, as we settled in under the sun. In all honesty, we only lasted there for a couple of innings before finding some seats in the shade.
The Bats have been playing good ball lately, and this was another solid game for the home team. Louisville was lead offensively by Hernan Iribarren, who went 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Also having a good day at the dish was Donald Lutz, who contributed and RBI going 2-4. Jermaine Curtis and Jesse Winkler each went 1-3 with an RBI and run scored, respectively.
On the bump, Robert Stephenson each the victory for the Bats. He pitched six innings, only giving up two hits, while striking out four and walking five. J.J. Hoover ended up earning the save. FINAL: Bats 6, Indians 4.
A fun game, despite the heat, and an all around good birthday. I always feel very blessed and lucky to be able to have these experiences with my kids. It was a long day for all of us, especially in the sun, but we all had a great time. We hope to be back at Louisville Slugger Field next month when the famous Chicken will be here entertaining the crowd! Until then, here’s a little game video:
Video and photos property of Minoring In Baseball
RubberDucks, you’re the one!
Akron RubberDucks vs. Erie SeaWolves (Eastern League)
Canal Park-Akron, OH: After spending the morning in Erie, we had a pretty easy drive over to Akron. Akron is a nice town, but not much parking in the downtown area. They have the university, hospital, and ballpark all close together. We were in town pretty early, and some lots won’t let you park there until after 5:00, so we settled for a parking garage, and took a little nap. We had a three hour drive back to Michigan after the game, so a little rest couldn’t hurt. After our rest, we got a little hungry and went hunting for food. Canal Park has a resteraunt attached to it called The Game Bar and Grill, so we decided on that. Not only was the food very good, but you can see inside the park (after the gates officially open, you can access it from inside the ballpark), and we could watch the Erie SeaWolves warm up and take some batting practice.
After our meal, it was time to head inside the park and get ready for the game. Canal Park is just a beautiful ballpark, and we would plenty of time to explore it. We decided to get our shopping over with, and I picked up a nice t-shirt for Trevor with his name and number customized on the back. Due to the new name and logo, however, they were sold out of many items, such as pennants. We found our seats, and they were awesome right behind the SeaWolves dugout. The dugouts are pretty open, also, so you can pretty much see everything that’s going on. We also got a visit from Akrons mascot, Webster the duck, who looks pretty Disney like.
There was also a Vintage Base Ball game taking place in the outfield, so we watched that for a bit, also.
I then went out to the right field area, where the ballpark entrance to The Game is located. There is lots of room out that way, and not only holds the kids play area, but they had a live concert also, with Wild Ave belting out some classic ’80’s rock tunes.
Back in our seats, I was ready to enjoy some great Double-A baseball, as the clock was turn to 7:05 pm. And then the rain came. And it didn’t stop. Not for two hours. The grounds crew was able to get the tarp on the infield pretty quickly, and the outfield looked like it was draining pretty well. I really give the RubberDucks credit, that they don’t jump the gun and cancel games too early, and they do their best to keep the fans entertained during the rain delay. Both mascots were available for pictures with the fans (the old Akron Aeros mascot Orbit joined Webster), the had games for the kids, and used the video board for entertainment. My favorite is the ‘Baseball Bugs’ cartoon, where Bugs Bunny plays every position. Classic… We are also able to watch some of the College World Series live. And did you notice all of the rubber ducks on the tarp? Awesome!
After a mere 2 1/2 hour delay, we finally had baseball! The teams still went through their pre-game routine which took some time, but eventually the RubberDucks took the field, and the SeaWolves went to bat. The home team finally did some ass-kicking, but unfortunately, we were kind of rooting for Erie in this game. Third baseman Corey Jones lead the way offensively for Erie, going 2-3 with his teams only RBI. Outfielder Jason Krizan went 2-4, also. On the hill, Tommy Collier took the loss for the SeaWolves. For the hometown Akron squad, DH Bryan LaHair had three RBI’s off of his only hit, which was a double. First baseman Jake Lowery went 3-4 in the game, also. The winning pitcher was Joseph Colon for the ‘Ducks. Due to the weather delay and our long drive ahead, we only stayed for about five innings before hitting the road. I’d love to make another trip back to Canal Park. It’s a wonderful place to watch a game, and they treat the fans well. Final: RubberDucks 7, SeaWolves 1.
Here’s a video from the last game of your 2014 Baseball Trip!:
All photos and video property of Minoring In Baseball
Aye, aye, Captains
Lake County Captains vs. South Bend Silver Hawks (Midwest League)
Classic Park-Eastlake, OH: All I can say about Classic Park, is that it is truly a classic! We still arrived at the ballpark plenty early, despite a busy day in Cleveland, so we decided to play a little catch in the parking lot until more cars started to arrive. I really like how the parking is set up, with the large parking area across the street, and the have a bridge so fans can walk across the busy highway. I took a photo from the top of the bridge above. There was a line up to get in because it was free hat night, so we waited patiently in line and finally made it into the park. The layout and concourse are very nice, but I was disappointed the gift shop didn’t sell any team pennants, as I collect those and decorate Brian’s room with them. Our seats were right behind the Captains dugout, so we had a great view of the action. The Captains mascot, Skipper, waddled by a few times. I’m really not sure what he is, but he seemed to be pretty entertaining.
The Captains were taking on the Silver Hawks, who the Whitecaps just edged out for Eastern Divisions’ top spot in the first half. The Hawks were still a pretty good team, so the home town boys had their work cut out for them. It was also raining lightly to begin the game, but both teams just played through it like it wasn’t there, and we were right there with them enjoying the action. This ballpark has such a great look and baseball atmosphere, that we really didn’t notice anything but the game going on anyway. Unfortunately for the Lake County fans, the Hawks were off to a 4-0 lead early, and the Captains couldn’t get anything going offensively.
The rain ended up letting up, and it became an extremely beautiful night. Since it was a free hat giveaway, I thoroughly supported the Captains, and took a quick selfie between innings, showing off the new lid.
With the score still a little lopsided, I decided to explore this amazing ballpark a little bit more. The concourse doesn’t go all the way around the outfield, but it’s pretty close, which allowed me to get some decent photos from out there.
In right field, there is a wall dedicated to all of the players who have suited up for the Captains that are now in the majors. I’m sure this includes the franchises time in the South Atlantic League!
Out in center field, the Captain himself was trying to rally his troops! Lake County did finally get one across the plate, when short stop Ivan Castillo scored on an Eric Haase RBI. Center fielder Clint Frazier went 2-4 on the night for the Captains, also. Too bad for Cap that South Bend answered their lone run with three of their own in the ninth.
In all, this was a great baseball experience. A great ballpark with some great fans. The Captains put on a spectacular show, and win or lose, it’s a very satisfying night. Along with all of our other adventures of the day, this was a perfect way to end it. This one’s highly recommended, also, baseball fans. Final: Captains 1, Silver Hawks 8.
Here’s another video from my YouTube channel. This one turned out a lot better than the last one.
All photos and video property of Minoring In Baseball
Minoring In Baseball 