Monday, June 6, 2011

A DAY IN THE (BALL)PARK

I accepted my friend Steve's invitation to go to Phoenix yesterday and attend the final game in the series between OUR Arizona Diamondbacks and the Washington Nationals at Chase Field.


The next photo shows an angry Justin Upton, just after being hit by a pitched ball for the fourth time in this series.  An umpire is trying to calm him down as Matt Williams moves into the center of the action.  The Washington pitcher has been tossed out of the game and their manager is about to be evicted.


Both managers and two pitchers were ejected and four players were hit by pitches.  Espinosa of Washington was hit twice by two different pitchers.  We kept waiting for a "donnybrook" to break out but it never did.


This young fellow was a hero in our section as he made a great one-handed grab of a high foul ball.  He got a standing ovation from the crowd.


Finally, here are the two old codgers - Steve on the left, me on the right - getting ready for a Diamondbacks victory.  Unfortunately it was not to be.  Our team made a gallant run in the 8th and 9th innings when they scored their only runs to tie the game at 4 apiece.  But they couldn't bring the winning run across and a grand slam home run in the 11th inning brought victory and a series split with the lowly Nationals.  Still, a great day in the park.

6 comments:

  1. great post and great scenes. made us feel like being there. sorry about the outcome and sorry you couldn't foment a riot, but you still saw a great game.

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  2. Actually, it was a pretty good game. Jason Werth made another amazing catch in right field to rob us of a home run. He was subsequently booed by the partisan crowd each time he came to bat.

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  3. It's hard for me to enjoy a baseball game, I must admit... Being not born in a baseball country has something to do with it but I must admit I like the atmosphere and here is a perfect example of a great day!

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  4. Wow, super post. I'm a baseball fan. The A's are my team, but they are struggling at the moment. Wish I could have been there. This is the next best thing.

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  5. Oh those pesky Nationals! They apparently have my Braves' number. And of course we already pre-hated Werth from his Phillies days :)

    Sounds like a lot of fun though. We've been to a few games in Cincinnati - I love the carnival atmosphere. But to WATCH the game I prefer my TV & slow motion replays.

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  6. Dana, I'm with you. It's become just too much of a struggle to get to the ballpark and home again in one day and tv has made it too easy to stay at home.

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