July 22, 2007 [LINK / comment]
The Nationals found a way to prevail over the Colorado Rockies this weekend, winning 3-0 on both the Saturday and Sunday games. Thus, they won three of the four games in the series, the second one in a row they have won. RFK is becoming a good luck charm once again. The main credit for the victory on Saturday goes to Mike Bacsik, who allowed only three hits, three walks, and no runs in 6 2/3 innings. The hero this afternoon was Austin Kearns, whose 3-run home run into the left field mezzanine level in the bottom of the eighth inning was the only run-scoring play of the game.
The humble Devil Rays walloped the once-vaunted Yankees by a score of 14-4 on Friday night, but the home team got revenge during the weekend, winning by 7-3, 17-5, and today 21-4! The total four-game score was 49-26. According to MLB.com, "the last time the Yankees scored this many runs in back-to-back games was 40 back in 1936..." A-Rod was among the Yankees who hit a home run, and now needs only two more to reach the 500 mark. Perhaps the Yankees are finally on a rebound. The trading deadline is approaching, and decisions must be made...
Hall of Famer pitcher Bob Feller, who is 88 years of age, recently visited his home town of Van Meter, Iowa. There is a poignant story about the visit by the former Cleveland Indian ace at MLB.com. I visited the Bob Feller Museum in August 2004, and of course I can relate to the small-town setting Feller grew up in.
On FOX Saturday baseball, I was watching the Barry Bonds interludes and noticed what others have commented upon: The right field distance marker at Miller Park still says "345," even though they supposedly moved the fence in by several feet prior to the 2006 season, making room for a "patio" area with tables. I'll have to get to the bottom of this discrepancy.