Baseball Review //
South Windsor Phillies 5, People's United Bank 2 [8/5/20 @ Wethersfield High School, Wethersfield, CT]
Additional photos can be found here :::
In the time between People's playing at Dunkin Donuts Park and this game a lot has happened. While it was only one day- Tuesday- Connecticut was hit by a storm which had lots of rain but even more wind. There were power outages across the state (I somehow never lost power) and even more trees and branches fell down. On our way to Wethersfield High School, we decided to take the Silas Deane Highway because Quentin wanted McDonald's. Everything on that stretch of the Silas Deane was closed. None of the traffic lights were working. It was certainly a sight unlike any I had ever seen before.
While people joke about the next big thing happening in the news as being a sign of the end times, this really felt like we were driving through somewhere in "Zombieland". We sat in a little bit of traffic as well because of the lights acting as stop signs and people not always knowing when to go. The first road that you could turn onto that comes up right before the road the school is on (off of Wells) was closed because it had a tree down and you could see that as you drove by. It's just crazy to think about how much damage this storm did on Tuesday night and how it be still be cleaned up throughout the weekend.
Fortunately, the game was not affected and the field looked about as good as it was going to look at Wethersfield High School. This was the Phillies first game back since their loss on Friday to the Expos in extra innings and of course People's had played a few days prior at Dunkin Donuts Park, winning over the Expos. When we got settled in on the hill Quentin asked me "Where are the Expos?" and I had to explain to him that they weren't in this game. This was one of those games we came to see just because it should have been a good game- because even though the Phillies won, there was still that chance that People's might win.
This game started with Travis Ferguson pitching for the Phillies, which was interesting because we saw him pitch in relief last Friday. Travis Ferguson pitches hard and he's not a pitcher I would want to face. People's were able to put up a run in the first inning, but they were held scoreless for three more innings after that and it was the only run Travis Ferguson would give up. Sometimes, Travis Ferguson worked himself into some jams, but he was able to get out of them and that's what's important. People won't remember you had runners on first and third as much as that you got out of the inning without allowing any runs.
People's started with Kienan GIller on the mound and he seemed to get off to a good start, not allowing any runs in the first inning, but in the second he gave up two runs as the Phillies went up 2-1 and after that the Phillies would score in every inning to follow. People's did change pitchers frequently though- bringing in both Kevin Lukeivic and Jeff Keenan- but this just felt like a game where People's offense was shut down. In the bottom of the fifth, Neifi Mercedes hit a homerun to center field and it might have been the start to something had this game not been cut short.
As I learned back when the Expos-Graphics got rained out: they must play four full innings for the game to count. After five full innings the "home plate" umpire decided that it was over because it was getting dark. You can't really complain that People's still had six more outs and could have come back because it could just as easily be stated that the Phillies could have put on more runs and instead of 5-2 it could have been 7-2 (or more) This was my first time ever seeing a game called because it got dark but it's also going to be always remembered as that game Quentin and I went to when the power was out everywhere.
At one point during the game, a ball dropped right in front of Quentin so he picked it up. A fan behind us said "Put it in your pocket" and Quentin wasn't sure what to do but one of the Phillies players was really pushy like, "C'mon, man, you gotta give it back" and this is just one of those reasons why no one likes the Phillies. Being so concerned about a kid having a baseball just shows where your priorities are. For the record, before the game I told Quentin to fetch the foul balls in the parking lot and he said he didn't want to because he has "too many baseballs" so I told him he had to give it back. So he knew and he ended up throwing the ball to a Phillies player that wasn't the one crying for it, but I guess the Phillies always have to be heels, right?
And where is Luke Terrance? Did he change numbers or is he just not playing anymore??
The Phillies win here combined with the Orioles loss to Ulbrich Steel makes for an interesting first place chase as the Phillies and Orioles are now tied for first place with 7-4 records. Tonight, someone will be 8-4 and someone will be 7-5 as the Phillies and Orioles pick up a game where they left off, a game where the Phillies are up 8-7. People's is the only other team in the league with only four losses, sitting at 5-4, and if they are able to defeat the Jets twice tonight and Ulbrich Steel on Friday we could have a tie for first place with an 8-4 record for both teams. Though People's will have to win three straight to do that and the Orioles or Phillies only have to defeat each other.
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