Nationals Looking Up…Sox Go Down 10-2

The Washington Nationals took the rubber game of their series with the Boston Red Sox in runaway fashion, scoring early and often to win it going away, 10-2.

The Nationals scored two in the first. Curtis Mead, batting second, tripled to center field. He was followed by Andres Chaparros’ 1st home run of the season.

The score stayed that way until the Nats broke things open in the top of the 4th.

Nasim Nunez launched his 1st career home run to center field. A single by Drew Millas and walks to James Wood and Curtis Mead loaded the bases. Luis Garcia smacked a two-run single to left field, scoring Wood and Millas. Daylen Lile’s ground out sent Curtis Mead to the plate. Jacob Young then doubled to left, scoring Garcia. 7-0 Nats!

Washington added some insurance runs in the top of the 7th . Jacob Young and Drew Millas drew walks and both scored ahead of James Wood’s 22nd dinger to center field. 10-0 Nationals. The Red Sox avoided the shutout by pushing across a couple of runs in the bottom of the 8th. Three singles by Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Willson Contreras loaded the bases. Caleb Durbin then drew a walk, sending Rafaela to the plate. Nate Eaton then grounded into a force out, scoring Contreras. But that was it. Final score Nats 10 Sox 2.

Washington went 4 and 2 on their road trip to Baltimore and Boston. Andrew Alvarez won his 2nd game of the season pitching 4 2/3 innings of two hit ball after coming in for starter Brad Lord in the top of the 3rd. The plan was to have Lord pitch only a couple of innings and then replace him with Alvarez. Manager Blake Butera's plan worked to perfection Washington is back to two games over .500 at 45 and 43. The Red Sox fell to 37 and 48.

Today was the last day for voting for the All-Star game starters. In the race for starting NL

shortstop, the Nationals C.J. Abrams currently has 56% of the votes vs. 44% for Mookie Betts. Looking good!

The Nationals get a well-deserved day off on Thursday before opening a three-game series

at home against the Pirates on Friday July 3, 6:45 EST Dave’s Dime…Road Trip Part Deux

After a good night’s sleep, Joe and I took off for Detroit early in the morning.

I always drive when I’m visiting my brother. You see, back in 1988 when this story takes place, he drove a cab during the winter, not so much now, but he drove a great deal back then. He has all those cab driver traits: running red lights, tailgating, middle-finger giving, Hollywood stops. You get the idea. But never had an accident, as far as I know.

I don’t remember who Detroit played that day, but the game was at the old Tiger Stadium, the home of the Tigers from 1912 until 1999. What a great place to see a game…really. We

were up in the second deck next to the right field foul pole. In fact, I gave that old pole a hug a time or two. I didn’t care how silly I looked; I was a tourist and proud of it. Stare at me all you like. The stadium was unlike these modern ballparks. The lower deck did not jut out into the field below you. It was straight up and down. Completely vertical. Really an awesome feeling. I almost wished I had a bungee cord. Their manager that year was the legendary Sparky Anderson. Their infield included one of the greatest double play combos of all time: Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker. They played together on the Tigers for 19 years. Trammell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, but Whitaker has yet to receive the honor. He’s actually thought of as one of the biggest HOF snubs of all time. Someday, Lou, someday.

It’s difficult to figure out why certain athletes fail to attain a level of immortality through an induction into a sports hall of fame, or any type of hall of fame for that matter depending on the occupation. Like Lou Whitaker. And don’t even get me started on the Rock and Roll

Hall of Fame. Oh, My lanta… No Three Dog Night? No REO Speedwagon? No Guess

Who? No Scorpions? You get the picture.

I saw a game at the Tigers’ new home, Comerica Park, back in 2023. It’s a nice, intimate

place to watch a ball game. A perfect size for a city trying to make a comeback. I liked it.

Well, that next morning we headed in the opposite direction to watch a game at the one

and only Wrigley Field. The stadium is actually right in the middle of a residential area in

Chicago called Lakeview. We just got off the interstate and drove around until we found a

place to park. The Cubs’ actual parking lots are small and require advanced booking, so

most attendees just wing it. Many nearby residents sell parking spots in their driveways.

When we got there, we were told that standing room only tickets were the only ones

available. Well, we said the heck with that and went outside the stadium looking for scalpers. We found someone right away and bought a couple of general admission tickets from the gentleman. (I actually remember his extreme body odor.) Of course, when we got back inside the stadium, the tickets were in the nosebleed section right behind a giant pole.

So, we ended up sneaking down toward the field and ended up sitting a few rows behind

The Cubs’ dugout. We didn’t care; this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We actually got to sit there for most of the game before an usher showed up with a couple of stiffs whose seats we were in. Where had they been? The game was almost over. So, we went to the next level up and found a couple seats there. Standing room only…yeah, right. The famous Goose Gossage pitched for the Cubs in 1988, the only year he did so. He

actually got the save that day. Gossage was a native of Colorado Springs, just like my brother and I. He was on a little league team with my bro back in the early 60’s. What a

small world it is… And what a great vacation…games in KC, Detroit, and Chicago. I was on cloud nine. But

now it was time for me to head back to Colorado. However, I had one more stop in mind. I drove up to Ludington, Michigan, and took a car ferry to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, just south

of Green Bay. I remember I got sea sick on the rough waves of Lake Michigan as it rained

the whole way across. It took about 4 hours to cross. Felt like 44. Then I made a quick stop at the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and later took off for Milwaukee. In 1988 the Brewers played in Milwaukee County Stadium. It was a pretty cool

place, I remember. There weren’t too many fans there, so I had my pick of seats. I ended up sitting in the upper deck. I guess I felt like really stretching out. I do remember who the

Brewers played that day, the Cleveland Indians. (No wonder there weren’t many fans.) But the reason I remember who they played is kind of interesting. Back in 1988 the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate was the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Now whoever

the geographical non-genius was who came up with that affiliation is anyone’s guess. The

two cities are 1,115 miles apart. Not really that convenient for a quick call-up. The Sky Sox stayed with the Brewers until the Colorado Rockies joined the National League

in 1995. Now that made way more sense due to the two cities being only 60 miles apart.

I happened to be wearing my Sky Sox cap that evening at the game. On my way out, someone shouted at me, “Where did you get that hat?” I pointed to my cap and shouted back, “I live there!” The things you remember…and it gets worse as you get older. Ofcourse, most of the things you remember are from 50 years ago and not what you had for dinner last night. But which memory is more important?

So, I left for Colorado the next morning. I think I drove straight through, not that I wanted to. It’s just that I kept going over and over in my mind all the great things I had experienced that past week and a half and the miles just flew by.

It’s just so amazing how many of my best memories revolve around the wonderful world of baseball.

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