Series #8 @ Fort Wayne

The Lugnuts had an up and down week against the Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres affiliate) going 2-4 bringing our season record to 21-24. We won our first game of the week 11-4, with a huge outburst from our offense against one of their best pitchers. We then dropped four straight and mixed in 27 straight innings without scoring a run, but finished the week with a great win on Sunday.

The week started off poorly when we found out that we would not be staying in the same hotel that we did last summer. Right in downtown Fort Wayne, our hotel last year was near a bunch of great food options and it was walking distance from the ballpark. Having the ability to head to the field at anytime instead of relying on bus times is key. Instead we stayed 20 minutes away in a hotel with air conditioning that barely worked and no solid food options. On top of that, the water was not drinkable. It tasted like metal so every morning I’d walk to the gas station nearby to grab a gallon jug for the day. My trip to Fort Wayne this past week was not as enjoyable off the field as I would have liked.

I pitched on Thursday, coming into the game right after our starter. I came in with one out and got out of the inning with a strikeout, a single, and a pop up. I went back out for the 7th inning throwing a scoreless inning: pop out, walk, strikeout, fly out.

I pitched again on Sunday. We came into Sunday having not scored in 27 innings so it was a relief when we scored in the top of the first inning. I entered the game in the 8th inning with a 2-1 lead. In the middle of the 7th inning, our pitching coach called down to the bullpen on the walkie talkie telling me to warm up. While explaining the situation, he said, “three righties coming up and then it will be Nambi time” which was a new phrase and one the bullpen group got a kick out of. I gave up a hit to the TinCaps lead off batter but then completed a scoreless inning with a pop up, a strikeout, and a fly out. Here is the K:

I threw a scoreless 8th inning, our closer threw a scoreless 9th inning, and we finished the week with a 2-1 victory. Winning on Sunday makes everything better: a bus ride with good vibes only and momentum into our next series.

The Lugnuts currently have eight bullpen arms and four (!!!!) of them are left handed. A whopping 50% of us. We all have mustaches, we all wear our pants up, and we all throw under 90 mph (for the most part). We call ourselves the Velo Boyz. We even got shirts to match. Pitched left to right: me, John Beller, Jack Owen, Mac Lardner. In the picture below is our pitching coach, Don Schulze, is included. Schulze is not left handed but is an honorary member of the group. I love these lefties!

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekend! The Lugnuts will be home this week against the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Minnesota Twins affiliate).