Doug Davis' first pitch (below) led off the game, but the Diamondbacks found themselves in a 3-0 hole after an error in the 2nd inning, a sacrifice fly, and a couple hits by the boys in blue.
Thankfully, we were able to stymie Manny Ramirez, who went just 1-for-5 on the night with a couple strikeouts and an inning-ending double play. He also needs a haircut.
So, while the Diamondbacks were well on their way to dropping the game to the Dodgers, I decided to wander the stadium, since I don't really do that normally. I typically sit in my seat and score the game, but my seat was near some loud and obnoxious Dodger fans with little screaming kids that they were letting do whatever they wanted. So I wandered.
It was 80's Night at the ballpark, and the Diamondbacks brought the stars out to interact with the fans. Mr. T and the A-Team were there in force, helping Baxter throw out t-shirts and posing for photos:
Up near The Sandlot and Futures Field in the upper deck of left field, a few Stormtroopers tried to convert kids "to the Dark Side."
Thankfully, Mark Skywalker was there to rescue them. Instead of the normal player backgrounds on the scoreboard during the players' at-bats, the boys in Sedona Red were posed in famous films of the 1980's. Among them: Mark Reynolds as Luke Skywalker:
A few other favorites were Mark Reynolds as Superman (complete with a theme-song walk-up which really suited him), Stephen Drew as "Scarface," and Gerardo Parra as "Indiana Jones." In another section, the Ghostbusters were there making sure the ghosts of Chase Field were kept at bay. During the 6th inning "Pepsi T-Shirt Toss," the 'Busters' proton packs doubled as shirt launchers, which I thought was really cool!
Up near The Sandlot and Futures Field in the upper deck of left field, a few Stormtroopers tried to convert kids "to the Dark Side."Thankfully, Mark Skywalker was there to rescue them. Instead of the normal player backgrounds on the scoreboard during the players' at-bats, the boys in Sedona Red were posed in famous films of the 1980's. Among them: Mark Reynolds as Luke Skywalker:A few other favorites were Mark Reynolds as Superman (complete with a theme-song walk-up which really suited him), Stephen Drew as "Scarface," and Gerardo Parra as "Indiana Jones." In another section, the Ghostbusters were there making sure the ghosts of Chase Field were kept at bay. During the 6th inning "Pepsi T-Shirt Toss," the 'Busters' proton packs doubled as shirt launchers, which I thought was really cool!Ghostbuster in front: "I ain't afraid of no ghost!"
Unfortunately, amidst all of the hoopla of the 80's, a scary incident also occurred. The Dodgers' starter, Hiroki Kuroda, was drilled in the right temple by a line drive (link goes to the article and video) off the bat of DBacks' newcomer Rusty Ryal. He went down - hard - and he did not get up.
They had to bring a stretcher out onto the field and load Kuroda up onto the medical cart to take him off to the hospital. The game was delayed by about 15 minutes, and you could see everyone was really worried. Ryal was escorted by manager AJ Hinch off the field to calm him down a little, and you could see he was totally shaken about the incident.
Fortunately, subsequent news indicates that Kuroda is just fine, having suffered no fractures to the skull and all-around being very lucky. In fact, he was in the dugout for today's game and is flying home tonight with the team. That's really, really good news, since I saw it happen and it looked like he was a dead man.
Unfortunately, amidst all of the hoopla of the 80's, a scary incident also occurred. The Dodgers' starter, Hiroki Kuroda, was drilled in the right temple by a line drive (link goes to the article and video) off the bat of DBacks' newcomer Rusty Ryal. He went down - hard - and he did not get up.They had to bring a stretcher out onto the field and load Kuroda up onto the medical cart to take him off to the hospital. The game was delayed by about 15 minutes, and you could see everyone was really worried. Ryal was escorted by manager AJ Hinch off the field to calm him down a little, and you could see he was totally shaken about the incident.Fortunately, subsequent news indicates that Kuroda is just fine, having suffered no fractures to the skull and all-around being very lucky. In fact, he was in the dugout for today's game and is flying home tonight with the team. That's really, really good news, since I saw it happen and it looked like he was a dead man. Okay, so, that was in the 6th inning. Fast forward to the bottom of the ninth. The Dodgers lead, 3-1 with two outs left to play. Superman - I mean, Mark Reynolds - smashes a bullet to centerfield which whacks the batter's eye above the yellow line by 6 inches and bounds back onto the field. It's 3-2 Dodgers. A couple minutes later, this happens:
A solo homer by catcher Miguel Montero - and a true "splash homer" at that since it landed in the pool on the fly - to tie the game at 3-3! Next batter up was Australian native Trent Oeltjen, who was given a very fitting background on the scoreboard:
Unfortunately, he and Chad Tracy failed to get the job done, and ended the inning tied! The Diamondbacks nervously awaited the arrival of extra innings on the rail in the dugout (Baxter is standing on top of the dugout, dressed as a member of KISS):
Bottom of the tenth, score still tied. Augie Ojeda singles to left field. Dan Haren comes in to pinch hit for Chad Qualls, and sacrifices Augie to second. Stephen Drew is intentionally walked. Trent Oeltjen also draws a four-pitch walk, which loads the bases with one out in the inning. That's when Gerardo Parra, he of the timely hits with runners in scoring position steps to the plate. The next scene:
Diamondbacks WIN on a long single to deep center field! I love it when we DESTROY THE DODGERS! A final view of the stadium at night. I LOVE Chase Field!A solo homer by catcher Miguel Montero - and a true "splash homer" at that since it landed in the pool on the fly - to tie the game at 3-3! Next batter up was Australian native Trent Oeltjen, who was given a very fitting background on the scoreboard:
Unfortunately, he and Chad Tracy failed to get the job done, and ended the inning tied! The Diamondbacks nervously awaited the arrival of extra innings on the rail in the dugout (Baxter is standing on top of the dugout, dressed as a member of KISS):Bottom of the tenth, score still tied. Augie Ojeda singles to left field. Dan Haren comes in to pinch hit for Chad Qualls, and sacrifices Augie to second. Stephen Drew is intentionally walked. Trent Oeltjen also draws a four-pitch walk, which loads the bases with one out in the inning. That's when Gerardo Parra, he of the timely hits with runners in scoring position steps to the plate. The next scene:
hey i am a half seson ticket holder and you should of stayed after the game to see the fire works i was there and that night they were amazing just saying
ReplyDelete