I drove my mother, a friend of hers, and a 9-year-old to Lakewood yesterday to see the BlueClaws play the Bowling Green Hot Rods, the low single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The kid Nick and I got some player autographs before the game. Justin DeFratus, who started for the 'Claws, was crisp in the 1st, then struggled, to put it mildly, the rest of the way. We left in the middle of the 7th with the BlueClaws trailing 12-2.
In the car, I went straight to the Phillies game, where Ryan Madson was on for Moyer in the 8th. Moyer, Madson, and Romero combined on a one-hit shutout of the Marlins. Raul Ibanez homered twice and Ryan Howard once in the 4-0 win. It was the 200th homer of Howard's career. He is the fastest in MLB history to reach 200 homers; he did it in 658 games. The next closest is Ralph Kiner, who did it in 706 games.
This morning I learned that the BlueClaws put nine on the board in the bottom of the 7th. Wow! That must have shaken the crowd out of its torpor. Ultimately, though, the 'Claws fell 14-11.
Yesterday Michael Taylor was promoted to Lehigh Valley. The 'Pigs won behind Kyle Kendrick, 5-4, who went eight innings, giving up just two runs. It was wedding night at the park and the 'Pigs wore wedding tux jerseys that were awesome/embarrassing/hilarious/bizarre. Take your pick. Happily, starter Kendrick is recently engaged.
