Tonight was a Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks show with Rio Ruiz, playing third and batting fifth, making a token appearance for the Astros ... and while that would not normally be appealing to this Astros fan, it was actually a fun, competitive, game. Even the four relievers were equally divided between Minnesota and Arizona … sheesh, the Twins Zack Jones got his third Hold by pitching one-third an inning, walking three and leaving the bases loaded for the Snakes’ Kaleb Fleck – no problem, no runs.
The 5-3 win moves the Salt River Rafters to 11-3-1 and a full three game lead at the halfway point over the suddenly surging Mesa Solar Sox who are 7-3 in their last ten but only 8-6 overall. The Rafters opponent Friday night, the Glendale Desert Dogs, lead the Western division with a 7-6-1 record … the Desert Dogs beat the Rafters and Vincent Velasquez in Glendale ten days ago, and have a winning record at home, so this afternoon road game could be tough following tonight’s late start.
Although MLB has stated that all games played with the new clock have been completed in less than two and one-half hours they are blowin’ smoke … the first game under the clock barely came in under three hours. However, the clock is actually working better than I could have imagined, and has elicited some hilarious reactions from pitchers hit with a 20-second violation … funny for those of us whose future livelihood does not depend upon getting the batter out, that is. The biggest issue is still the timekeeper forgetting to start or stop the clock and the inconsistent application of the new rules by the home plate umps … for instance, does stepping off the mound reset the clock? And the between innings time, originally established at 2:05, has been tweaked a bit … the pitcher now has two and one-half minutes to make that first pitch, and the game is not the poorer for that change.
Another sign that Rio Ruiz is coming around … Rio has been making solid and loud contact of late, hitting line drives but not threatening the folks parked on the berms – tonight in the bottom of the seventh Ruiz backed the Saguaros’ center fielder to the warning track with a 400-foot pop to dead center. It is so good to see … understand that Rio is only 20 and had 602 plate appearances in the California desert before his 46 appearances here in the Arizona Desert – but the bus ride has to be better here.
The main scoreboard at Salt River Field was not working this evening, nor was the scorekeeper for that matter … the latter individual had difficulty keeping track of the opposition’s runs – such a shame, not. I’ll leave repairs to the scoreboard to Tony LaRussa … can’t you picture him with a Home Depot tool belt? Me neither …
Archie Bradley is throwing tomorrow … the young man has had a really tough time after the first inning in his previous starts – and this Desert Dogs team has some real bangers. It would sure be good to see Bradley get it turned around … and even better if we could see some of that Astro talent on the field as well.
The new AFL batting leader, Eddie Rosario, had two more hits tonight and three runs batted in … oh, and two stolen bases. Byron Buxton also had two, but one was an infield slow roller and the other a blooper to left center … Rosario does not hit for power, but he’s giving Byron a real run for his money for that centerfield slot – I’m wondering if Buxton isn’t still injured.
Saturday is my next game … later, dudes and dudettes.
~Wallee Wright~
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