Splish, Splash

Game 43: Durham Bulls 18, Pawtucket Red Sox 1
Wrap, Box

Game 44: Durham Bulls 0, Pawtucket Red Sox 1
Season: 24-20
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

The park was nearly empty at four o’clock Sunday afternoon. We were guessing that maybe the word had not gotten out about the plan to finish up Saturday’s game first, then play a seven-inning second game. The Red Sox took the field and we settled into our seats. Bulls were ahead 5 to 0 from the previous day. Desmond Jennings on second, Elliot Johnson on first, Justin Ruggiano at bat. On the first pitch of the restarted game Red Sox pitcher T.W. Large plonks Justin and we are off. Dan Johnson comes to bat and hits a single and gets his second RBI of the game (he got one the day before on a sacrifice fly). By the end of that inning (the second) the Bulls are ahead 10-0. The next time Justin comes to bat (the next inning as it happens) Jennings and Elliot Johnson are on base again, this time Jennings on third and Elliot on second. T.W. [T. J.] Large hits Justin again. Dan Johnson comes to bat again. This time he hits a grand slam, picking up four more RBI. At the end of that inning the Bulls are ahead 14-0. In the 5th inning Ruggiano comes to bat with nobody on base, does not get hit by a pitch, does hit a double and is on second with Dan Johnson comes to bat. Dan hits another home run collecting two more RBI. Pretty good day(s) for Dan and for the team after losing five in a row. By now the park is pretty full.

From a pitching point of view this game (and the next) looks really odd. Aneury Rodriguez got the start, but only went two innings because of the rain and Richard De Los Santos picked it up on Sunday and went five innings for the win. Winston Abreu, who had not pitched since May 18th got an inning in as did Heath Rollins, who had also not pitched since May 18th.

Can’t wrap up this game without mentioning the spectacular catch against the wall by center fielder Desmond Jennings to end the 7th inning. Only fair that it was a deep fly ball of Red Sox center fielder Josh Reddick, who made a couple of nice catches himself during the day.

The second game was to be a nice, short seven inning affair started off by Carlos Hernandez who was, as noted earlier, due for a good day. It was Negro League Day and both teams were in replica uniforms. Off in the distance black clouds kept boiling up until they boiled over in the second for the Bulls third rain problem in three days. On Friday in Toledo the game was cancelled. On Saturday the game was postponed until Sunday. And on Sunday the game was delayed by an hour and a half.

When the Bulls got back on the field, I was at home watching on Channel 251. Usually I like a low-scoring game, but this really didn’t have the feel of a pitcher’s duel. Could be all the fidgeting the pitchers were doing in their ill-fitting uniforms. Pitcher’s discomfort seemed to reach a peak in the sixth [fifth] when the Red Sox Cabrera [Paranto] got face to face with home plate umpire Fran Burke. But somehow Pawtucket manager Lovullo got tossed instead of Carbrera [Paranto] (TV did not pan to argument).

Jeremy Hellickson is on for tonight. The weather forecast, unfortunately, looks almost exactly the way it has for the last two nights. Here’s hoping that we can get in a full game for a change.

Update: A sharp-eyed reader has noted several errors in today's post. Corrections are in italics. It was Paranto that got into it with the ump, and it was in the fifth not the sixth. And it's TJ Large, not TW Large. I guess that there's a reason why Terry W. Large wants to be listed at T.J., probably something along the lines on why B.J. Upton is called B.J. At any rate, messed that up a bit. Can't even plead that the rain screwed up my score sheet, since I was home by the time of the dustup with umpire.