Baseball Review // Record-Journal Expos: To The Green and Back Again (Three games over a week or so)

Additional photos can be found in a Facebook album here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1788674581862755&type=3

The Expos-Greeners box score from 6/12 can be found here :::

https://ghtbl.org/event/bristol-greeners-record-journal-expos

The Expos-Bankers box score from 6/19 can be found here :::

https://ghtbl.org/event/mt-bank-record-journal-expos-2

The Expos-Greeners box score from 6/20 can be found here :::

https://ghtbl.org/event/record-journal-expos-bristol-greeners

My original plan was to write about the Greeners-Expos game on June 12th but then also include the Greeners-Expos game which was scheduled just days later on June 17th.   However, the June 17th game was rained out and pushed to June 20th, so now there is also a nice little M&T Bank-Expos game in between these two other games.

The Expos and Greeners had a bit of that pitching duel on June 12th at Ceppa.  Kenny Knox and Charlie Hesseltine both went the distance for their teams and it didn't seem like either was going to give up a run.  This truly felt like the type of game where we could've been there all night, just waiting for someone to score.   Even when the Greeners had bases loaded in the fourth inning, the Expos got out of it.

While this game was about the pitching, the end result with the offense was about the new Expos players this season.  Tristan Ciarlo hit a huge double in the bottom of the seventh.  A sacrifice ground out by Nick Lloyd sent Ciarlo to third.  Tyler Casey would bring Ciarlo home and the Expos would walk it off, 1-0.   

On the following Thursday at Ceppa, the Expos took on M&T Bank with a bit of a different style game.  With one out in the top of the first Brendan Lynch hit a deep shot to center field (that ball was DEEP) and then Cooper Johnson would score on a ground out sacrifice to put the Bankers up 2-0 early on.    Through five innings, both Nicholas Cannata and J.D. Tyler kept this the pace of the game.  There were very few base runners and even when they got close, they still didn't score.

In the top of the sixth inning with bases loaded, Brendan Lynch would score on a sac fly to center field.   Zach Nakonechny would get a nice hit to right field to bring in Cooper Johnson, making it 4-0 Bankers.    The Expos would respond by Jack Dunaisky bringing in Luke DiMauro, making it 4-1 after six innings.

The Expos weren't out of reach, but it did feel like people were losing hope as we headed into the bottom of the seventh.  This is where things get interesting.  In the seventh inning, Bankers starting pitcher Nicholas Cannata was out and new-to-M&T pitcher Trevor Nohilly (a former Greener) was in.   Max Giacco would come in to bat and take a walk, which then would see him come in as Luke DiMauro hit a deep shot to center field for a double.  The Expos were back in it, 4-2.   With two outs, Nick Lloyd would single in Luke DiMauro and just like that it was 4-3.

After AJ Hendrickson walked, Jack Dunaisky would single in Lloyd and it was all tied up.  Bases loaded up with another walk and Dante LaRosa would see four pitches- all balls- and just like that, the game was over and the Expos had walked it off.   They had truly done the unthinkable and come back from being down 4-1 to put up four huge runs in the last inning, complete with Trevor Nohilly reminding us that he was once a Greener.

While I understand that different people have different approaches to baseball, I have been of the mindset that if a starting pitcher is in there a certain amount of time, let them finish the game.  Nicholas Cannata pitched a full six innings for the Bankers.  Had he come in to start the seventh, who knows what would have happened.  But if he gave up four runs and they lost the game, at least it was his game to lose.   It's heartbreaking to see these pitchers give up only one run, pitch a gem of a game and then have it all washed away in relief.

As an example, we were recently at a Bristol Blues game and after three or four innings they pulled their starting pitcher.  Now, I know he could've gone more because his family was sitting behind us (they made a terrible mess and didn't clean it up) so if he's not struggling, why pull him?  Especially because then the pitchers who came in after were such a mixed bag that the Blues ended up ultimately losing that game.   There are definitely times when I think "Why aren't they pulling the pitcher or at least having talk" but then during this game they pulled this pitcher early on and I didn't understand why.

The next night the Expos went to Muzzy Field to take on the Bristol Greeners as part of a doubleheader and it was a makeup game from the prior Tuesday.  This was one of those games where you thought it was over right up until the end because it came right down to the very last play.   The Expos would score a run, the Greeners would score a run-- it was rather balanced like this throughout the entire game, but it would all come down to that seventh inning when the Expos would put up four big runs to give them a 6-3 lead, even though for quite some time the scoreboard was behind and said "5-3".

In the bottom of the seventh, a series of walks, a wild pitch and a HBP loaded the bases for the Greeners.  Michael Almonte came in to pitch for the Expos and walked in a run, making it 6-4.  A strikeout brought the first out of the inning and only two more were needed.  But the next two runs would also be walked in, tying the game at 6-6.  At this point it was getting late, I was tired and just wanted to go home.  I didn't want this to go extra innings.

Everyone else seemed to be feeling this as well, as the umpire was missing calls all night and made it impossible to throw strikes for many of the pitchers on both teams.  JD Tyler came in to pitch with two balls on the batter.  Tyler didn't even take the proper amount of time to warm up, said "Screw it, let's go" and threw two perfect balls to allow the winning run to score.   

This game started after the M&T Bank game, so it was around 8:45pm and it didn't end until almost 11pm, but it still felt like it was going on forever somehow.  It had been a long night, especially for the Greeners, but they had finally gotten their first win of the season.

The Expos will now face the South Windsor Phillies for the first time this season at Ceppa- where the Expos seem to be doing a lot of walking off.   As if anything could ever just be a baseball game, as of noon on Sunday we are currently in a heatwave and supposedly setting record high temperatures for this time of year, so both teams will have to beat the heat tonight as well.