Series #5 vs Dayton

The Lugnuts had a tough week against the Dayton Dragons going 2-4 to bring our season record to an even 13-13. I got to throw twice this week after only throwing once last week. Our first game was on Wednesday - Tuesday got rained out which led to a Thursday double header - at 11 AM for Kids Day. For the month of May, we play early day games once a week so that young students can attend the games with their class. The only downside to these games is that they are played at 11 AM, which calls for an early wake up.

My first outing was on Wednesday. Our starter was reaching his pitch count in the 7th so I warmed up to finish the inning. I entered the game with two outs and nobody on base. I walked the first batter I faced even though I was painting the bottom of the zone with my fastball. The umpire just wasn't calling them strikes. I got the next batter to fly out to end the inning and while walking to the dugout, I got stopped for a routine sticky substance check. I introduced myself to the home plate umpire, something I do every game, and asked where he had those pitches. He responded, "just down but they are good pitches." HA! I know they were good pitches because they were strikes! When I got to the dugout, my pitching coach - who has the pitch location and strike zone in real time on an iPad in the dugout - confirmed that they were strikes.

Between innings, my pitching coach told me I had a righty and then a lefty coming up but didn't mention the third hitter which was odd. When I got to the mound for the 8th inning and saw movement in our bullpen, I knew that I wasn't going to be facing the third hitter. I struck out both batters to start the inning but I completely spaced out after I got the second hitter:

After I realized that the inning wasn't over, my manager came to take the ball from me and when I got back to the dugout, everyone was laughing. Silly me.

I also pitched on Saturday, entering the game after the starter again, this time in the 5th inning. I came in with runners on first and second and nobody out. I struck out the first batter I faced. Here is a curveball from the at bat:

The next batter hit a first pitch fastball to left field. He definitely didn't smoke it - only 96 mph off the bat - but the wind was blowing out to left so it carried well. It was ruled a home run by the home plate umpire. Our left fielder who was right there said it didn't hit the railing, but hit the top of the wall and bounced back in play, which should not be a home run. Here is the video:

I thought it was the wrong call but there was nothing I could do about it. I struck out the next four batters - two to finish the 5th and the first two in the 6th - gave up a single, and then got a ground out to finish the 6th inning. A solid outing outside of the one fastball that got hit hard.

The Lugnuts are traveling to Grand Rapids this week to play the West Michigan WhiteCaps (Detroit Tigers affiliate). Grand Rapids is one of the biggest cities in the league so it's always a fun atmosphere to play in because of the crowds they attract.

Thanks for reading! More updates to come