September 13, 2018 – Royals 6, Twins 4 – Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City)

https://www.mlb.com/royals/news/heath-fillmyer-posts-longest-start-vs-twins/c-294559756

 

Attendance: 18,745

Duration: 3:12

Weather: 81 degrees, Clear

Wind: SSW 11 MPH

Umpires: HP: Scheurwater. 1B: Cederstrom. 2B: May. 3B: Blaser

 

Section 133, Row E, Seat 7 – halfway down the first base line, 5 rows behind the home team dugout; not a “premium” seat, and a bargain at $50.00 (all seats were significantly cheaper than for the Friday game)

 

Game notes – Heath Fillmyer turned in a great outing for KC, giving up a 2-run homer to Jake Cave in the 2^nd but allowing only 2 more baserunners through the 7^th inning … Twins “opener” Gabriel Moya and Stephen Gonsalves held the Royals without a hit through the first 5 innings … the home team did waste a great scoring chance in the 4^th after the first two batters walked and advanced on a wild pitch … Kansas City did get a run without benefit of a hit an inning later, when Whit Merrifield walked with 2 outs and scored all the way from first on an error by Minnesota shortstop Jorge Polanco … the Royals finally broke out in the 6^th, when a Hunter Dozier double and back-to-back homers by Salvador Perez and Jorge Bonifacio sent Alan Busenitz to an early shower without retiring a batter, after which the home team tacked on one more run … Fillmyer departed in the 8^th with 1 down and runners on the corners … Brian Flynn allowed 2 straight singles to score a run and leave the bases loaded, after which Brandon Maurer allowed a sac fly before Jerry Vasto recorded the final out … Merrifield manufactured an insurance run in the bottom of the frame, as he drew a walk, advanced to 3^rd on a stolen base / overthrow of 2^nd, and scored on a grounder despite the drawn-in infield … KC closer Wily Peralta pitched a clean top of the 9^th, fanning pinch-hitter Joe Mauer to end the game

 

Other – the main and auxiliary video screens were good at providing batter statistics and pitch speed/type/counts, but they didn’t have (or I couldn’t find) a place to post scoring decisions or inform the fans about pitchers warming up in the bullpen … got a good grilled chicken sandwich for $8.00 and a generous bag of popcorn for $5.25 … shortly after parking I realized I had left my phone in the car and took at least 10 minutes to find it (the car, not the phone) … having made careful notes, I had no trouble locating my vehicle after the game, but getting out of the stadium complex was a free-for-all, and I then sat for 20 minutes without moving on I-70, due to an accident on a stretch that was down to a single lane because of road work

September 11, 2018 – Cardinals 11, Pirates 5 – Busch Stadium (St. Louis)

https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/news/marcell-ozuna-backs-miles-mikolas-in-victory/c-294259286

 

Attendance: 37,187

Duration: 3:23

Weather: 67 degrees, Clear

Wind: N 0 MPH

Umpires: HP: Nelson. 1B: Fletcher. 2B: Diaz. 3B: Gonzalez.

 

Section 254, Row 4, Seat 11 – Infield Redbird Club, 200 level, about halfway down the third-base line

 

Game notes – Miles Mikolas fanned an unusually high (for him) 7 batters in his 7 innings of work for St. Louis, allowing just a single run on 5 hits and 1 walk … the Cards plated 2 in the first on a two-run double by Marcell Ozuna, but didn’t manage another baserunner for the next 4 frames … they finally scored another 2 runs in the 6^th on a wild pitch by Pittsburgh starter Trevor Williams and a sac fly by Paul DeJong, and widened their lead on another wild pitch an inning later … the home team broke it open with 6 in the bottom of the 8^th, ruining the major-league debut of Nick Burdi, who gave up a 3-run moonshot to Tyler O’Neill … the Pittsburgh offense finally came to life at the end, scoring 4 off Luke Weaver before Tuesday night’s winning pitcher John Brebbia was summoned to record the final out

 

Other – the “Infield Redbird Club” seemed more spacious and less crowded than the comparable area at Nationals Park, and they also had reasonably-priced pizza slices ($5.75 for cheese, pepperoni, or veggie)

Shuffle #112 (September 12, 2018)

Billy’s Blues – Laura Nyro

A Face In The Crowd – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Award Tour – A Tribe Called Quest

Don’t Be Cruel – Elvis Presley

I Found A Love – Ryan Shaw

Cups – Anna Kendrick

It’s Not For Me To Say – Johnny Mathis

Jet – Paul McCartney

Rock With You – Michael Jackson

Little Red Corvette -- Prince

September 10, 2018 – Cardinals 8, Pirates 7 – Busch Stadium (St. Louis)

https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/news/matt-adams-clutch-hr-powers-cards-past-pirates/c-294095566

 

Attendance: 33,566

Duration: 2:55

Weather: 67 degrees, Partly cloudy

Wind: SSW 4 MPH

Umpires: HP: Gonzalez. 1B: Nelson. 2B: Fletcher. 3B: Diaz.

 

Section 147, Row 7, Seat 9 – Home Field Box, just to the right of home plate, seventh row behind several rows of premium seating

 

Game notes – long-time St. Louis stalwart Adam Wainwright got an extended standing ovation when he strolled in from the bullpen, returning from a 4-month stint on the DL, and breezed through the 1^st inning … he then allowed a solo homer in the 2^nd and 3 more runs in the 3^rd, but recovered to retire the final 8 batters he faced … Pittsburgh starter Trevor Williams was perfect through the first 3 frames, but the Cards tied things up in the 4^th on 4 hits and a sac fly … the Pirates retook the lead in the 6^th, scoring one run each off St. Louis relievers Chasen Shreve and Dominic Leone … the home team struck for another 4-run inning in the bottom of the 8^th, with the big blow being a 3-run HR by Matt Adams … recently-announced closer Carlos Martinez did allow a run in the top of the 9^th, but the Cardinals survived when shortstop Paul DeJong threw out Francisco Cervelli on a grounder deep in the hole, on a play close enough that it was reviewed (and upheld) while the post-game victory fireworks were going off

 

Other – perfect short-sleeve weather throughout the evening, with no humidity and almost no wind … the hot dogs ($5.00) and chocolate éclair ice cream bars ($3.25) are both considerably cheaper than those in DC; other concession items not so much … in a cute touch, they played several seconds of “Who Are You” just before announcing the Pirates’ starting lineup … I wound up sitting next to perhaps the only person in the stands wearing the jersey of winning pitcher John Brebbia (said he liked the beard)